Nevertheless... (Ezekiel 16)

What was/is the purpose of Israel?

2011-10-02T15:03:00.000-07:00

The purpose of Israel in the Old Testament:

A. to bring the Messiah into the world
B. to glorify God
C. to bring the nations to God
D. all of the above
E. None of the above

judgement in James

2011-01-17T16:23:00.000-08:00

I am wondering if any of you readers could share your thoughts with me about two passages in James. Is the judgement spoken of in 2:12-13 and 3:1...

- the final judgement (ie Matthew 25)
- two seperate judgements
- the beleivers judgement (ie I Cor
- some other interpretation I havent thought of?

Would appreciate your thoughts!

Theological Reflections #2 - Why I Like Systematic Theology and Why I Think it is Essential

2010-12-26T00:13:00.001-08:00

I guess there are people who still read this and I have been blessed by your feedback, both in the comments section here and on facebook.

It's been a while since I wrote on this subject so I have linked to the first post here

My last post was a little hard on Systematic theology and I gave the reasons why. I ended that post promising, "Next up: What I like about systematic theology and why I think it is essential". I wonder if everybody caught that.

While I must admit studying systematic theology is at times a struggle for me, I do think it is important, perhaps essential.

Here's what I'm thinking:

The Bible talks a lot about "Doctrine". I know doctrine is not a word we talk about much anymore, but it's right there in the Bible numerous times. Most germane to our discussion are Paul's exhortations to Timothy to :
- nourish himself on the "sound doctrine which you have been following" (1 Ti 4:6)
- protect the honor of the doctrines the apostles teach (I Tim 6:1)
- defend against those who go against the doctrines of Jesus (I Tim 6:3)
And to Titus:
- stand for sound Doctrine (1:9; 2:1)
- Good deeds and good doctrine are inseperable (2:7; 2:10)

It seems clear that just as Jesus and the apostles would not have wanted someone to take one aspect of their doctrine or teaching and isolate and fixate on it - effectively ignoring the rest of their teaching - so we should not attempt to do the same with the collective doctrines of Divine Revelation as recorded in the Bible. A systematic understanding of the various teachings of God in Scripture is an essential element of faithfully understanding and obeying those teachings. If you cannot see how the micro theme (assuming you have indeed actually discovered/interpreted the passage/verse/phrase correctly) of an isolated passage relates to and harmonizes with the Meta themes of the whole of Scripture...tread slowly and carefully. Much if not all false teaching (intentional or, more often, not) has come from this dangerous position.

I leave you with the following thought from Spurgeon:

“Systematic theology is to the Bible what science is to nature. To suppose that all the other works of God are orderly and systematic, and the greater the work the more perfect the system; and that the greatest of all His works, in which all His perfections are transcendently displayed, should have no plan or system, is altogether absurd. If faith in the Scriptures is to be positive, if consistent with itself, if operative, if abiding, it must have a fixed and well-defined creed. No one can say that the Bible is his creed, unless he can express it in words of his own.” - Spurgeon, The Forgotten Spurgeon Ian Murray

Fall 2010 Newsletter

2010-11-13T15:52:00.001-08:00

The Nineveh Chronicles Fall 2010

Coming back home...changed

2010-03-29T04:12:00.000-07:00

As some of you know I have been in training for the last 3 months (5 weeks in Newport, RI for Navy Officer Development School and 7+ weeks in Columbia, SC at the Navy Chaplaincy School and Center). Following graduation on Wednesday, Sarah and I will be traveling back to Los Angeles and San Diego for about 10 days before we go on to my ultimate duty station in Okinawa.
I am excited to be back home, but I also know that these last three months have been a transformative experience. Some of the ways I have been changed are obvious - I make my bed now and shave everyday. But much of the change has been on a deeper level and is harder for me to put my finger on. I expect some of this change will become more evident when I return home to LA. I know this could be a potentially hard return as I will feel disconnected somewhat from the people I have been so close with over the last ten years because they do not understand what I have been through these last months.
I have learned many important lessons through this experience and I would ask you to join me in prayer that I would be able to understand and communicate these lessons in a way that is helpful to my brothers and sisters in Los Angeles. Pray that God will give me the right message to share and the right way of sharing it as opportunities arrive upon my return.
This situation is uncharted waters for me.

Introducing....The Cross and Anchor

2010-03-14T17:12:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know, my wife and I have recently taken a step of faith in following God's call and I have become a chaplain in the United States Navy. We see this as a both an amazing opportunity to engage in a unique ministry and also great training for future mission work. To document this journey I have started another blog, The Cross and Anchor.
I will continue to post here from time to time and keep posts at The Cross and Anchor solely focused on issues related to the Chaplaincy. At least that's the plan. So stop on by and journey on this new adventure with us!

by His grace
for His glory
jrf

Prosperity Videos

2009-11-04T09:44:00.000-08:00

Here are two videos I came across recently speaking to the issue of the prosperity "gospel". This false gospel is something that is very prevalent especially in areas of poverty, including the neighborhood I live and work in.

The first video is John Piper explaining some of the many reasons he "abominates" this perversion of the Truth.

The second is a short documentary about how the teaching has taken deep roots in Africa.

The Prosperity Gospel from The Global Conversation on Vimeo.

Gospel thoughts

2009-11-03T14:43:00.000-08:00

Alright so I'm back from Europe, almost done with the Navy application process and crawling to catch up with ministry here in Los Angeles. I really want to get back soon to our journey through systematic theology, but that will have to wait for now. In the meantime chew on this and let me know your thoughts.

The Gospel is composed of objective propositional truth that must be believed to be effective. But since the ultimate truth is a living Being (John 14:6) the Gospel is not only propositional but experiential and relational. This is not some emotional high or vision from heaven (necessarily), but there is an aspect of the Gospel that affects not only what we intellectually assent to but also emotionally and relationally commit to. True belief involves not only the intellect, but the body, soul, and heart of a person (Matt 22:37). True knowledge and understanding is not just mental but experiential and practical. To receive the Gospel is to receive a new belief system and worldview. But it is more than that. It is to receive a new life. A new way of thinking and a new way of living. Mere behavioral change is not the Gospel. But a salvation that is not being worked out (not worked for) is no salvation at all (James 2:14-26, Phil 2:12-13).

your friend
jrf

Litmus test for Great Commission faithfulness

2009-10-23T12:34:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share something that I heard listening to Al Mohler's podcast this morning.

In response to a caller's question he stated that a good test of whether or not the American church is faithfully fulfilling it's Great Commission mandate is not so much by looking at whether there are those who are ready to go as missionaries (which there are) but whether or not our churches are eager and mobilized to send those missionaries.

What do you think? Is the American church taking their mandate seriously? Are we spending as much time, money, and effort in seeking the salvation of souls, the healing of bodies, and the glory of Christ among the nations as our unbelieving counterparts are in seeking a profit in the Global community?

Did you know that more people know the name of Coca-Cola than they do the name of Jesus? Just sayin.

Word of God more important than freedom?

2009-09-09T15:57:00.000-07:00

"All who are under the yoke as slaves are to regard their own masters as worthy of all honor so that the name of God and our doctrine will not be spoken against."
- I Timothy 6:1

If I'm reading this right Paul is saying that the honor and reputation of the Word of God is more important than the freedom of slaves that are believers in Christ.

Would you agree? Disagree? Let me know what you think.

PS I don't think this is a case for dismissing Christian Social Action

Evangelistic Methodology Gum

2009-08-28T08:51:00.000-07:00

Chew on this question posed by Will Metzger in his book, Tell the Truth
"Instead sending His Son, why didn't God just send a tract?"

Theological Reflections - why I don't like systematic theology

2009-08-25T17:09:00.000-07:00

Well a whole summer has passed since I last posted, so I'm not sure if anyone reads this anymore. If you are looking for up to date information and important discussions on topics like "what's on John's mind right now" (that's a joke) I regularly post low-thought updates on my facebook page. But I am am going to make a quasi-valiant effort to get back to posting on this site.

I am attempting to post a series of theological reflections. I have no idea how long this series will last. The subject matter (God) is infinite and therefore the limiting factors will be not the lack of things to ponder but my ability or lack thereof to ponder them coupled with my lack of discipline.

I ask you to please challenge me and interact with what I post as much as possible. Hopefully this will be a fruitful journey for us all.

The idea for this series comes from my realization that I feel like systematic theology is one of the weakest areas of my life. There are probably many reasons for this but here are a few I could think of:

1. All systematic theologies have an inherent bias in them. The Bible is not a systematic theology book. Systematic theology requires the filter of a human mind and therefore can and most likely will have fallibilities in them. Wading through the muck of the author's presuppositions can often be daunting.

2. There is a strong temptation when studying theology to make it only academic. Every fiber of my being loathes studying just for studying's sake (although I too often fall into that trap). For that reason I have tended to deemphasize systematic theology. I remember being frustrated in seminary when the practical things I was experiencing in inner city ministry didn't seem to find a place in the systematic theology syllabus we were being taught. Part of that I believe was the personal bias' and perspectives of the professors who were not concerned/exposed to the issues of the inner city. Most of it was my failure to convert orthodoxy into orthopraxy.

3. I love expository preaching/studying. I have strong convictions that the expository method is the best and most faithful way to understand and explain the Word of God. Systematic theology done bad has all of the pitfalls of a bad topical sermon, namely taking verses out of context and eisegesis.

4. The Bible is not a systematic theology textbook, and I really like the Bible.

5. Systematic thinking is very much a western concept. Does that make it necessary for understanding and living out the truth of Scripture?

6. Good systematic theology books are huge and I am a lazy, slow reader.

7. I prefer reading narratives to didactic writing.

Well that's it for now
Next up: What I like about systematic theology and why I think it is essential

Shalom in Jesus
jrf

Ralph Winter pt III

2009-05-28T16:47:00.000-07:00

Here is a 16-minute video from the U.S. Center for World Mission telling the story of Ralph Winter's life and ministry.

Ralph D. Winter Tribute from U.S. Center for World Mission on Vimeo.

Ralph Winter pt II

2009-05-22T10:48:00.001-07:00

In my previous post I shared some quotes from one of Ralph Winter's many monumental articles. Sadly for us, two days ago, Ralph Winter passed into eternity.
It blows my mind to think about what he is now experiencing, being in the presence of his King and seeing the fruit of his long years of missionary service and mobilization. I can imagine he is meeting many families of the earth that he never met while here but who came to know Christ as a result of his work and voice.

here is a link to John Piper's Personal Tribute to Ralph Winter.

for the King
jrf

Reconsecration to a Wartime, Not a Peacetime, Lifestyle - by Ralph Winter

2009-05-13T09:45:00.001-07:00

Below are some quotes from Ralph Winter's classic article:

Obedience to the Great Commission has more consistently been poisoned by affluence than by anything else. The antidote for affluence is reconsecration.

There will only be a way if there is a will. But we will find there is no will:
- so long as the Great Commission is thought impossible to fulfill
- so long as anyone thinks that the problems of the world are hopeless or that, conversely, they can be solved merely by politics or technology
- so long as our home problems loom larger to us than anyone else's
- so long as people enamored of Eastern culture do not understand that Chinese and Muslims can and must as easily become evangelical Christians without abandoning their cultural systems as did the Greeks in Paul's day
- so long as modern believers, like the ancient Hebrews, get to thinking that God's sole concern is the blessing of our nation
- so long as well paid evangelicals, both pastors and people, consider their money a gift from God to spend however they wish on themselves rather than a responsibility from God to help others in spiritual and economic need
- so long as we do not understand that he who would seek to save his life shall lose it

When will we recognize the fact that the wrath of God spoken of in the Bible is far less directed at those who sit in darkness than it is against those who refuse to share what they have?

If the the average mission supporter is only five pounds overweight, it means he spends [on food], to his own hurt, at least five times as much as he gives for missions. If he were to choose simple food (as well as not overeat) he could give ten times as much as he does to mission and not modify his standard of living in any other way!...the overall lifestyle to which Americans have acquiesced has led us to a place where we are hardening our hearts and our arteries simultaneously.

I believe that God cannot expect less from us as our Christian duty to save other nations than our own nation has required of us in times of war in order to save our own nation

Whosit or Whatsit?

2009-05-07T15:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a few questions for you:

1. Is God three Persons in one Being (Three Who's in a What)
or
Is God three Persons in one Person (Three Who's in a Who)

2. Is this important?

Whattya think and why?

New Newsletter coming soon

2009-04-30T11:33:00.000-07:00

Sarah and I are sending out a new newsletter soon. If you would like to see what has been happening in our life and ministry, put your email in the box below and hit subscribe!

Mercy vs. Evangelism = false dichotomy?

2009-04-16T16:35:00.000-07:00

Below is a great conversation between D.A. Carson, John Piper, and Tim Keller about how ministries of the Word and ministries of mercy need not be at odds, but rather natural, necessary outflows of keeping the Gospel at the core of what the church is and is for.

Quotes from Samuel Zwemer and Friends

2009-03-15T13:33:00.000-07:00

Samuel Zwemer has been called the "Apostle to the Muslims". He was a pioneer missionary who spent his life sharing the Gospel with the Muslim world and calling the church to take seriously it's mission of preaching the message of Christ's kingdom in all the world, especially the "unoccupied fields" of the Muslim world. Here are a few quotes from an article he wrote called "The Glory of the Impossible".

Our willingness to sacrifice for an enterprise is always in proportion to our faith in that enterprise. Faith has the genius of transforming the barely possible into actuality.

You have a factor here (speaking on the Great Commission) that is absolutely infinite, and what does it matter as to what other factors may be. 'I will do as much as I can,' says one. Any fool can do that. He that believes in Christ does what he can not do, attempts the impossible and performs it." - Charles Spurgeon

Does it really matter how many die or how much money we spend in opening closed doors, and in occupying the different fields, if we really believe that missions are warfare and that the King's glory is at stake?

The unoccupied fields of the world must have their Calvary before they can have their Pentecost.

The unoccupied fields of the world await those who are willing to be lonely for the sake of Christ.

Who would naturally prefer to leave the warmth and comfort of hearth and home and the love of the family circle to go after a lost sheep, whose cry we have faintly heard in the howling of the tempest? Yest such is the glory of the task that neither home ties nor home needs can hold back those who have caught the vision and the spirit of the Great Shepherd. Because the lost ones are His sheep, and He has made us His shepherds and not His hirelings, we must bring them back.

There is nothing finer nor more pathetic to me than the way in which missionaries unlearn the love of their old home, die to their native land, and wed their hearts to the people they have served and won; so that they cannot rest in England, but must return to lay their bones where they spent their hearts for Christ. How vulgar the common patriotisms seem beside this inverted homesickness, this passion of a kingdom which has no frontiers and no favored race, the passion of a homeless Christ! - P.T. Forsyth

There is no instance of an Apostle being driven abroad under the compulsion of a bald command. Each one went as a lover to his betrothed on his appointed errand. It was all instinctive and natural. They were equally controlled by the common vision, but they had severally personal visions which drew them wither they were needed. In the first days of Christianity, there is an absence of the calculating spirit. Most of the Apostles died outside of Palestine, though human logic would have forbidden them to leave the country until it had been Christianized. The calculating instict is death to faith, and had the Apostles allowed it to control their motives and actions, they would have said: "The need in Jerusalem is so profound, our responsibilities to people of our own blood so obvious, that we must live up to the principle that charity begins at home. After we have won the people of Jerusalem, of Judea and of the Holy Land in general, then it will be time enough to go abroad; but our problems, political, moral and religious, are so unsolved here in this one spot that it is manifestly absurd to bend our shoulders to a new load." - Charles H. Brent

When Judson was lying loaded with chains in a Burmese dungeon, a fellow prisoner asked with a sneer about the prospect for the conversion of the heathen. Judson calmly answered, "The prospects are as bright as are the promises of God"

There are hundreds of Christian college men who expect to spend life in practicing law or in some trade for a livelihood, yet who have strength and talent enough to enter these unoccupied fields. There are young doctors who might gather around them in some new mission station thousands of those who "suffer the horrors of heathenism and Islam," and lift their burden of pain, but who now confine their efforts to some "pent-up Utica" where the healing art is subject to the law of competition and is measured too often merely in terms of a cash-book and ledger. They are making a living; they might be making a life.

Do not pray for easy lives; pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be a miracle. - Phillips Brooks

Faithful versus Dutiful (Perspectives #3)

2009-03-15T13:04:00.000-07:00

Each week's reading for my Perspectives class begins with a key word and a brief explanation of that word in the context of missions. This weeks word is "Faithful"

"Faithful: Faithful people know they are being trusted. Zeal to fulfill that trust distinguishes the faithful from those who are merely dutiful. The dutiful perform what is required, and so they are sometimes daunted in the face of sacrifice. The faithful remain dedicated to the One who entrusts them despite the high cost. Sacrifice is a light thing for them, because they have already entered into some of the joy of their Master, who commends them for being not only good, but also faithful."

Perspectives on the World Christian Movement - #`2 The Great Commandment and the Great Commission

2009-02-13T22:02:00.001-08:00

In Matthew 22:34-40 Jesus states that the Greatest Commandment is total love for God which will express itself in selfless love of one's neighbor. All of God's commandments are summed up in this.

In Matthew 28:18-20 declared to all his disciples that He had universal authority, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them ina the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

So how do the Great Commandment and the Great Commission work together? Are they merely two different ways of expressing the same mandate?

While certainly much could be said about how they complement each other there is one major distinction that must be pointed out.

The Great Commandment will never be completed. We will be loving God and our redeemed neighbors in heaven for eternity.

The Great Commission however will be fulfilled and will eventually become history. As pointed out in the previous post, the Great Commission's fulfillment is founded on God's promise to "bless all the nations", a promise reiterated by Jesus Himself (Matthew 24:14). There is a linear point in history where the Great Commission will become the Great Fulfillment.
We are closer than ever to that point.
As you strive for faithfulness to the Great Commandment, may you be used by God to complete the Great Commission.

Perspectives on the World Christian Movement - #`1 The Living God is a Missionary God

2009-02-04T16:52:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I began taking the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement class offered through the U.S. Center for World Mission. So far the class has been mind and heart blowing. It is so encouraging, convicting and motivating to be in a theology class and actually get excited about God! I also am enjoying this class because of all the connections it has been making for me. I came out of seminary knowing how to exegete, exposit and preach a passage, but this class is helping me see the big picture of how God is working in the world to bring people to Him. I can now say without hesitation that God is a missionary God and that everything He has revealed about Himself is connect to that purpose.
I hope to post some thoughts from time to time about what I am learning in this class.
To get us started let's look at the Abrahamic Covenant in Gen 12:1-3:

The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.
“I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”

Previously when I thought of missions the texts that would first come to my mind were the Great Commission in Matthew 28:16-20 and Acts 1:7-8. I thought of mission almost exclusively as a New Testament phenomenon. Studying this passage changed that. I saw that missions is not something that Jesus made up but that Jesus fulfilled and enabled. I was profoundly impacted by the statement, coming from the Abrahamic Covenent, “Missions is not a duty or a task, it is a promise”. God promises that He will use His people to bless the world and through Jesus (the seed of Abraham) not only does the world receive that blessing but Gentiles like us are able to be included in that blessing (Gen 3:14), which in turns enables us to be bearers of that blessing to the rest of the unreached world.

God will keep His promise to bless all the nations through the seed of Abraham, the question is will we surrender ourselves to be used to fulfill that promise, or will we choose to miss out on God's exhilirating work of redemption in this world.

blessed to be a blessing,
jrf

Best of 2008

2009-01-07T13:30:00.000-08:00

Here's the short list of the best of 2008 (take "best" in a mostly trivial sense)

Best Movie: Slumdog Millionare
close seconds: Dark Knight, There Will be Blood

Best Book Fiction: The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
Honorable Mentions: the Samurai by Shusako Endo; The Bridges at Toko-Riby James Michener; A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle;
The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy

Best Book Biography:
The Road to Lost Innocence by Somaly Mam

Best Book - Theological: The Gospel According to Jesusby John Macarthur
honorable mentions: Crazy Loveby Francis Chan; The Cross and Christian Ministryby D.A. Carson

Best Album:
Keith Green: The Live Experience

Best Trip: Driving to Canada and back with my honey

Best Youth Group Memory:
Missions trip to NYC
honorable mentions: Having Joe live with us, Seeing Joe and Anai lead youth group, Youth led worship band

Best Adventure: Lobster Fishing on San Clemente Island with Dad

Best Kisser:

Sarah Freiberg

Happy New Year!

Son of Hamas Leader now My Brother

2009-01-05T10:25:00.000-08:00

This report by Fox (Ya I know...Fox) gives a breath of true hope to the ongoing Palestinian/Israeli conflict. Bottom line: horrible suffering on both sides, deep seeded idealogies, Satanic religions, and ceaseless cycles of hatred and violence, are no match for the power of the Gospel of Christ.
It is also a powerful reminder that we need to be praying for the souls of both Palestinians and Israeli's, that although they are at war with each other, in their sins both groups are at war with God. Peace with God is their greatest need.

(props to VOM Blog for pointing me to this story)

New Newsletter out!

2008-12-12T10:25:00.000-08:00

Just in case you are not on our newsletter mailing list, our June-November Newsletter is out. If you would like to receive our newsletters (sent every few months), just put your email into the subscription bar on the left. Thanks!

Prayer Quotes

2008-12-01T07:29:00.000-08:00

"...I would suggest that in the beginning it is wise to strive for uneventful prayer experiences. Divine revelations and ecstasies can overwhelm us and distract us from the real work of prayer. Our approach needs to be more like that of the Psalmist, who sought to avoid, "marvels beyond my scope. Enough for me to keep my soul tranquil and quiet like a child in its mothers arms" Ps.131:1-2,JB). Besides, if we are unaccustomed to it, just slipping quietly into the presence of God can be so exotic and fresh that it delights us enormously."
- Richard Foster

"Through the Prayer of Tears we give God permission to show us our sinfulness and the sinfulness of the world at the emotional level. As best I can discern, tears are God's way of helping us descend with the mind into the heart and there bow in perpetual adoration and worship...The most rock-bottom reality for the Prayer of Tears is that we are sinners. I do not mean that we commit sins - thought I am quite sure that is true, too. I am giving not a moralistic judgment on our activities but a theological judgment on our separation from God. We are not sinners because we commit sinful acts; rather, we commit sinful acts because we are sinners." - Richard Foster

"The Spirit teaches me to yield my will entirely to the will of the Father. He opens my ear to wait in great gentleness and teachablenes of soul for what the Father has day by day to speak and teach. He discovers to me how union with God's will is union with God Himself; how entire surrender to God's will is the Father's claim, the Son's example, and the true blessedness of the soul."
- Andrew Murray

"Prayer - secret, fervent, believing prayer - lies at the root of all personal godliness."
- William Carey

"None of us will keep up a life of prayer unless we are prepared to change. We will either give it up or turn it into a little system that maintains the form of godliness but denies the power of it - which is the same thing as giving it up."
- Richard Foster

spiritual and physical needs

2008-11-25T11:07:00.000-08:00

I recently got the following email:

Hello,

My name is XXXXXX, and I am a student at the Master's College in Dr. Tatlock's Urban Ministry Class. A project for the class involves studying an ethnic group within an LA enclave, and I have chosen Latinos and Hispanics in Pico Union. I was wondering if you could describe the spiritual and physical needs of the people 1st EV Free ministers to, and how the church has been working to meet these needs. Thanks so much for your time!

I thought I would post my response as it might give a little picture about what we do:

XXXXXXX,

my apologies for not getting back to you sooner. I have been out of town for the last week and was not able to get to your email. I hope it isn't too late.

I'll give you the short answer for now and if you want more info I'll be glad to respond more promptly.

Spiritual need: Well, the spiritual need of the people here is the same as that of all people - They are sinners who need to be reconciled to God. Obviously there is something supernatural that needs to happen in the life of a person for them to come to Christ, but God uses His people to proclaim the message and be midwives in the new birth, helping those seeking the truth to understand it, surrender to it, and live it. So some specific obstacles that need to be overcome when sharing the Gospel with those in our neighborhood are:
1. There is a distrust of outsiders, especially caucasians. Obviously this does not go for everyone but is the norm. This comes from a multitude of sources, including racism, oppression, classism, differing education levels, different languages, catholic vs. protestant issues, jealousy, and misinformation. When someone automatically does not trust you, they will not listen to the Gospel you have to share with them. It is important that Christians find ways to incarnationally live out the Gospel as they try to share it effectively in inner city Latino communities.
2. The culture of the city is one that is very spiritual, but very Godless. Therefore definitions of words should not be taken for granted. For example, we would define sin Bibilically as something which is outside of God's will, or missing God's mark. But to an unbeliever in the city, sin would be defined as anything that hurts someone else. As long as it doesnt hurt anybody, it is not sinful or evil. Thus, they have divorced the idea from any recognition of God and His Holiness. Tolerance is God. Everyone has their own ideas of what spirituality is, and in our neighborhood it is a strange mix of Catholicism, witchcraft, and MTV.
3. The Family, specifically fathers. Our cities will never be what they should until our neighborhoods will be what they should, and they will never be what they should until the churches in those neighborhoods are what they should be, and our churches will never be what they should be until the families in those churches are what they should be and they will never be what they should be until the fathers in those families are what they should be. (Sorry for the run-on sentence, I am preaching on this subject this week and get very passionate about it). In the youth group I oversee, 95% of the youth have only a mom at home. this has taken a huge toll on our community and the youth's understanding of family, responsibility, love...etc.

Some of the ways our church tries to meet these spiritual needs is by:
1. earning trust and introducing them to the love of Christ through meeting physical needs (job opportunities, providing education, helping with groceries, being advocates in legal and health issues, fighting for justice and those who have no voice in our political system, and having a ministry of presence, ie we live amongst them and are available to struggle through the myriad of trials they daily face with them). The Nehemiah House is a major tool in this aspect of our ministry
2. Placing an importance on the Word of God. We have to fight a battle of redeeming the culture of the city and the way to do that is by confronting and teaching people with the Word of God. In the word of Paul "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Co 10:4-5). We do this through providing Bible studies, services, and small groups in the heart language of the people. We make every effort to make the Word of God accessible to everyone, whether that means providing a ministry in their own language, or providing audio to the many who are illiterate in our community.
3. We are working on this one. We have a men's group, and we do MAN Camp for the youth, where we take them out of the city and do manly things and study what Scripture says about being a man of God. We try to emphasize the family in everything we do. Stressing the importance of the Father in the family is sometimes a source of contention as in most Latino communities, the mother is the center of the family. To be honest we have a lot of work to do in this area of our ministry...any ideas?

so I dont know if that was helpful or not. Let me know if you have any other questions. Of course the best way to learn would be to come down and spend a weekend with us and see what we do. You could come down on Friday for our youth group and stay till Sunday at the Nehemiah house. Let me know if you are interested.

Hope your paper goes well and you can apply it for the Glory of God outside of the classroom.

Congo in Crisis

2008-11-19T16:25:00.000-08:00

Nehemiah 8-9

2008-11-03T13:33:00.000-08:00

I had the privilege to preach for the English Congregation this Sunday. Below for your reading and Bible study enjoyment is the outline of my sermon on Nehemiah 8-9.

IV. Prerequisites for Understanding the Word of God
1. Hunger for it
2. Put yourself in a postion to receive and respond to it
3. Work at it until it’s meaning is made clear
V. 7 Necessary and Inevitable Responses to Understanding the Word of God
1. Understanding the Word of God must devastate you (8:9)

2. Understanding the Word of God must cause you to celebrate (8:10-12)

3. Understanding the Word of God must create compassionate fellowship (8:10-12)

4. Understanding the Word of God must produce obedience (8:13-17)

5. Understanding the Word of God must realign your religious traditions (8:17-18)

6. Understanding the Word of God must move you to confess your sins (9:1-4)

7. Understanding the Word of God must bring about a renewal of Covenant Faithfulness (9:5-38)

FINISH THE PRAYER! PUT YOUR HISTORY IN THERE! CONFESS THE WAYS YOU HAVE TURNED YOUR BACK ON GOD, AND REMEMBER THE WAYS THAT HE HAS DRAWN YOU BACK TO HIM!
NO GREATER EXPRESSION OF GOD’S LOVE AND FAITHFULNESS AND INEXHAUSTIBLE GRACE THAN THE PERSON AND WORK OF JESUS CHRIST!

Take this time to respond to God’s Word. Hopefully God has made some things clear to you this morning. This is an opportunity to express to Him in writing how His word has Devastated you, Given you Joy, inspired you to seek and maintain compassionate fellowship, how it has produced in you a desire to live a life of radical obedience (get specific), caused you to rethink and reflect on your religious traditions, how it has moved you to confess your sins, and how the inexhaustible Love and Grace of God has given you a foundation by which you can renew your promises of faithfulness to Him.

Pray for the DRC - UPDATED

2008-10-29T12:07:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, an African church meets in our church building. The majority of the church members are refugees from the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo), a place which God has put on our hearts. Through this church Sarah and I have gotten to know some of the wonderful people from The Light of Africa missionary organization. Two of their primary missionaries, Esther and Camille Ntoto, are strongly connected with the African Church. They minister in Goma, a region of DRC which has seen some of the worst fighting over the years. In the last few years of relative peace, the Ntoto's have had a very fruitful ministry working with churches, victims of violence and rape, AIDS patients, and starting a radio ministry amongst a myriad of other things. However, recently the rebel activity has surged dramatically. I recieved this email today, and share it with you to inform and challenge you to be praying and supporting our brothers and sisters in the DRC.

Subject: Urgent from Camille FW: GOMA WARDEN MESSAGE
> Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2008 10:12:02 -0700
>
> Camille has sent this response saying that Goma is in trouble (see below).
> Sam and I just got off the phone with Esther and Camille (two calls).
> Apparently, they received word that Goma was safe to return to earlier today
> and Camille headed towards Goma to catch the boat. They thought that would
> be the best and safest way to get to Bukavu. However, he met a friend in
> Gisenyi that told him his information was incorrect and to turn around. He
> did. Within 30 minutes, they heard heavy gunshots and realized that Goma
> was taken.
>
> Camille is in an expensive motel but safe and he has shelter. He is no
> longer trying to get to Esther. With Goma falling, Camille says that Bukavu
> will most likely be next but not imminent. He has to get Esther out of
> there. Bukavu isn't safe. He has her passport. Please pray that God will
> help us find a way to get her passport to her and get Esther to Camille.
> Camille even stated that he may consider going back into Goma/Gisenyi area
> to use the boat option to get her out.
>
> The bus trip is no longer a safe option. People, rebels and looters are
> everywhere.
>
> They are undecided on how to spend their time before their planned
> departure. Camille says it is very confusing to say the least. He thinks
> UNICEF may have an obligation to help take care of the women in Bukavu that
> are there with Esther.
>
> PRAY! PRAY! PRAY!
> Cindy and Sam

HERE IS AN UPDATE I RECIEVED TODAY FROM AMY FROM LIGHT OF AFRICA

Thank you for prayiing! God has protected Esther in many ways already. Your prayers were heard yesterday as Esther was in danger. People thought she was a Tutsi. She had gone up to her room and was getting ready to take a shower. She heard the noise of voices, turned off the water, opened the bathroom window. People were talking about getting to her room from the balcony. Statements were made about wanting to see her passport. She made sure all doors were locked, curtains closed and lights off. Right then a group of us here in the states were meeting about congo and decided to call her. We were able to pray for her, be there with her. By the time we called her back the she was able to reach the UN police were able to pick her up and take her to safety..

Esther is now getting her passport through the US Embassy and will be taken by UN protection to Rwanda to meet up with Camille. She leaves Saturday morning. Please pray for her safety on Saturday morning.

Camille has spent the last several nights at a hotel just across the border. Today he walked back into Congo, went to his house, paid workers. They hadn't been able to leave the premises for several days. He is doing what he can in the city during the "cease fire."

Pray for Camille's safety on the road.

Please pray that every voice will be used to stop a blood bath from happening in Eastern Congo once again.

If you would like to read more I've included accounts from Goma, from Heal Africa who Esther is very involved with. They provide physical, emotional and spiritual healing for the women who have been raped.

Call+Response

2008-10-15T14:52:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to do my part in letting you know about the film "Call+Response", a film about the modern sex slave trade. Looks to have some pretty sweet music as well. A few quick facts:
- there are more slaves today than ever in the history of the world
- the sex slave trade made more money last year than Google, Nike, and Starbucks combined

May this film be used to convict, expose, awaken, and mobilize a generation of slaves of Christ to give their lives in bringing freedom, both spiritual and physical to the millions of slaves in this world we are passing through.

Check out the trailer here:

To find showtimes near you go HERE
If you are in L.A., leave a comment and we can find a time to all go together.

James 3: a story

2008-10-13T13:29:00.000-07:00

Here is a great short film by Desiring God. If you don't get it, read James chapter 3:1-12

On Skid Row

2008-10-02T13:51:00.000-07:00

I want to point your attention to a documentary series on YouTube called "On Skid Row". We are showing this 5 part documentary to our youth, challenging them to think about what it means to be believers in Christ when Skid Row is only a few blocks away. I would put the same question to all of us, no matter how close you live to Skid Row. I would encourage you to watch the first segment and then follow the links to find the remaining four. It was not done by a believer, but is the best, and most up-to-date synopsis of the most concentrated area of desperation and depravity in our nation that I have seen. Keep in mind this documentary only scratches the surface. I could tell you stories that would make you sick, and my exposure to the area has been minimal.

$700 billion

2008-09-25T15:52:00.000-07:00

"It's extraordinary to me that the United States can find $700 billion to save Wall Street and the entire G8 can't find $25 billion dollars to save 25,000 children who die every day from preventable diseases."

- Bono

Jesus and Psalm 90:14

2008-09-15T16:06:00.000-07:00

I have been preparing for a sermon series in Youth Group called, "Portraits of Jesus". My goal is to present Jesus to the Youth the way the Bible does, which is not the way we normally think of Jesus. Too often we pick the things we like about Jesus and ignore the rest. Youth in the church grow up with a Jesus-lite and Youth outside the church get their ideas of Jesus from MTV or worse sources. My goal is to confront them with the real Jesus and see what happens. Should be fun.
A huge benefit of this series is that I get to spend all of my study time learning about my favorite person, Jesus Christ. Hopefully this time won't just be learing about Jesus through reading what other people think they know about Jesus but will also be a time where I can be taught about Jesus by Jesus Himself. When I get up to preach to the kids I don't want to just talk about the Jesus of history, or the Jesus of Billy Graham or Macarthur or Spurgeon....I want to talk about MY Jesus. The Jesus that I know personally. The Jesus that owns me. The Jesus that delights in me because of who His blood has made me to be. The Jesus that watches me sleep. The Jesus that rides my bike to church with me everyday. The real, living Jesus. To be honest I don't feel like I can talk about Jesus like that every day. But I want to.
In Psalm 90:14 Moses cries out that God would "satisfy us in the morning with His unfailing love." Since there is no greater expression of God's unfailing love than the person of Jesus Christ, another way of saying this could be, "God satisfy us with Yourself!" The idea of satisfaction is recieving something you want. something you are hungry for. If you are hungry for a steak, a pickle won't do the trick. I am not satisfied with Jesus, because I am not hungry for Him. So behind the prayer of Moses which I echo, is the prayer, "God, change my tastes. Help me not to settle for anything less than You! You are willing and able to satisfy me, if only I was hungry for You! Change my twisted desires. Complete Your promise to give me a new heart that craves only You! How I long for the day when there is no competition in my soul for the affections You deserve. I will never be truly satisfied unless I first hunger."

craving Jesus
jrf

Photos from our Roadtrip

2008-09-08T10:12:00.000-07:00

For anyone interested, you can view photos from our road trip (as the title so creatively states), to Vancouver and back and a little bit of everything in between HERE.

The Cultural Argument Against Gay Marriage

2008-09-04T13:47:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to a great article to educate you and help you speak about the issue of God marriage with intelligence and compassion.

The Cultural Argument Against Gay Marriage

The Amazing Leslie Woo

2008-09-03T16:36:00.000-07:00

One of the joys of this summer was meeting Leslie Woo in Brooklyn, NY. He is a little boy around 10 years old who latched on to me while we taught VBS. He is definitely a trouble maker, and has virtually no social skills. His mother died when he was a baby and his father basically abandoned him, leaving his grandmother to raise him in her busy boarding house. For the first 8 years of his life virtually all human contact came in the form of television. The wonderful staff of the 2nd Evangelical Free Church of Brooklyn has taken on the challenge of loving and training Leslie. I was privileged to be a part of his life for a week and hope to continue having an input in his life over the years.

Here is a small taste of my man Leslie. I love how he say's "Mr. Big John"!

Isaiah 25:8-9

2008-09-02T09:47:00.000-07:00

Thursday, August 21 Sarah and I drove north from Seattle and entered Canada. After spending a few hours in downtown Vancouver we caught a ferry over to Vancouver Island and camped for a few days. Saturday morning Sarah told me that the night before she had had a dream in which she saw Joshua Ortiz walking down the street. Holding his hand was Jesus.* Sarah has vivid dreams almost nightly, so neither of us thought too much of it. On Monday, August 24 as we were driving south through the rain of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State, I dug out my phone from glove compartment. Finally being back in cell phone range, I began to check my messages.

"John, I'm calling to tell you that Joshua passed away this Saturday."
I pulled over next a marsh and sat outside and watched the Kingfishers and Herons fish in the rain while I tried to swallow what I had just heard. Josh, 17, who had been in youth group, who had played paintball with us at man camp, who I had tutored in english, math, and history, who I had picked up for youth group every Tuesday, my friend...was dead.
Yet as Sarah and I sat in the rain the same peace that I had experienced in the hospital room in Houston the last day I saw Josh seemed to come over us again. There were no words to be said just a heart of gratitude that Josh, who suffered so much rejection, abandonement, and physical pain in this world is now in arms of my precious Savior Jesus who by dying for, drawing to, preparing an eternal destiny for, and delivering Josh to heaven has loved and is loving Josh more than he could have ever known here on earth.

The last thing I said to Joshua is, "I love you and I will see you later." I still believe that. Joshua trusted in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to pay the deserved penalty for his sins. I made clear to Josh that must not just say these things now that he is sick and near to death without actually submitting his life to Christ as not only his Savior but also His Lord but truly believe and trust and acknowledge Christ's invasion and ownership of his soul, whether he lived another 80 years or 80 hours. I know as well as can be humanly known that Josh wanted more than anything to please his Jesus and that Jesus was pleased with Josh's dependence on Him.

It was an honor to know Josh as he passed through this temporal life and his eternal life will always be a reminder of why God has left me here on this earth for now.

In love with the One who is, did, enable, and is doing pure eternal Love
jrf

Back from Houston

2008-08-11T12:47:00.000-07:00

I returned from visiting Joshua Ortiz and his family in Houston a few days ago, but after getting a few hours of sleep headed north to San Fransisco to visit the in-laws. Tomorrow, Sarah and I continue our long-awaited road trip to Vancouver and back.

My time in Houston was good, all things considering. For those of you who know Josh or have been following his story on this blog, we thank you for your prayers.
His health is rapidly failing and unless God does a true miracle, which I believe He can, Josh probably has only a few more weeks with us. His organs are beginning to fail and the doctors have stopped treating him.

Please continue to lift Josh and his family (brother Alex, Grandma and adoptive mother, biological mother, and Aunt) up in your prayers, assured that God hears them and answers them according to his perfect and loving will.

While I will be processing and learning from this experience for the rest of my life, I want to record a few preliminary reflections here before the memory of my visit fades away. I apologize if they seem trite or make sense only to me.

- Josh asked me, "is it true that if I have played certain video games that are bad, I am going to hell?" What an honor and blessing it was to be able to clearly share the truth about the grace of God and that Christ's atoning work on the cross covers all of our sins, if we are willing to repent and trust in Him alone for salvation. Our salvation rests on what Jesus has done for us, not what we have done for Him. Jesus loves us not because of who we are or what we have done, but because of who He is and what He has done. Fundamental stuff but I was reminded of its power when explaining it to a person on the brink of eternity.

- To my shame, I was surprised at how even in this grave situation, I was unable to maintain the proper focus on things of an eternal nature.

- I prayed with Josh many times and each time, he began his prayers by praying for those around him, his doctors, his nurses, his family, his friends, often he didn't even pray for himself. I was floored by the Christ-given selflessness of this youth who by the world's standards has so much to complain about.

- It truly was a supernatural experience speaking to Josh about the reality of Heaven and seeing Jesus face to face. His entire countenance changed. As we talked of seeing our Savior a big smile came across his oxygen mask covered face and he began to cry. An incredible peace came over the room. I felt like I was in the presence of someone whose faith was already beginning to become sight.

Please join me in continuing to pray for Josh and his family.

Back from NY

2008-08-06T07:17:00.000-07:00

First let me apologize for the lack of posts while in NYC. I really only had time to put up pictures. (which can be seen on facebook here)

We returned back safely to LA on Sunday evening. Without going into too much detail, I will say that the trip was an amazing success! God worked in tangible and amazing ways both through our official ministry to the Chinese children and through the other events of the week. Many if not all of our youth had potentially life-changing experiences and tasted the glory and power of God in new ways.

Please join me in
- praising God for His faithfulness!
- lifting up the church in Brooklyn (2nd EV Free) and the children we were able to share the love of Christ with
- praying for our team, that they make the transition to "normal" life in a way that incorporates what they learned and experienced on this trip.

thank you for all your support and care!

Quick Update

2008-07-23T12:51:00.000-07:00

Got back from Bolivia...which was a very hard trip...but good.

Got sick so I had to postpone my Houston trip to August 5-7.

Am now hosting a group of about 30 highschoolers for a week.

Then will be taking 15 youth to NYC on a missions trip July 26-August 3.

Will try to post something more substantial in the not-too-distant future.

Pray for Joshua Ortiz - UPDATED...AGAIN!

2008-06-30T08:29:00.000-07:00

UPDATE 7/01/08 8AM GOD HEARD OUR PRAYERS! THE SURGERY WAS SUCCESSFUL1 I DO NOT HAVE ANY DETAILS BUT JOSHUA SURVIVED THE SURGERY AND CAME OUT OF ANESTHESIA. THE DOCTORS STILL THINK THAT THIS ONLY EXTENDED HIS LIFE FOR A FEW MONTHS BUT AT LEAST THIS WILL GIVE HIM TIME TO PREPARE HIMSELF FOR DEATH. THE NEXT FEW MONTHS WILL LIKELY BE FULL OF INCREASED SUFFERING, YET GOD HAS A REASON FOR NOT TAKING JOSH HOME YET. IT LOOKS LIKE I WILL BE GOING OUT THERE SOMETIME AROUND JULY 14-18. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE FINANCIALLY TO THIS TRIP PLEASE SEND CHECKS TO:
1ST EV FREE CHURCH OF LOS ANGELES
1356 S. ALBANY ST.
LOS ANGELES, CA 90015

(PLEASE ATTACH A NOTE DESIGNATING THIS MONEY FOR "JOHN FREIBERG'S TRIP TO TEXAS")

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRAYERS AND SUPPORT! PLEASE CONTINUE TO LIFT UP OUR YOUNGER BROTHER IN CHRIST AND HIS FAMILY!

UPDATE: 6/30/08 6PM JOSHUA WENT INTO CONVULSIONS AND WAS RUSHED INTO EMERGENCY SURGERY. THERE IS A SLIM CHANCE THAT HE WILL SURVIVE THE SURGERY. PLEASE BE IN PRAYER FOR JOSH AND HIS GRANDMOTHER AND BROTHER ALEX. I WILL BE GOING OUT WHEN I RETURN FROM BOLIVIA. PLEASE PRAY THAT I WILL BE ABLE TO TALK TO JOSH ONE MORE TIME.

If you are a regular reader, you have prayed for Joshua Ortiz before. If not, you can get caught up here and here. Last fall, Josh, his brother Alex, and his grandmother moved to Houston, Texas to live with their uncle. Things seemed to be going well and I have been able to keep in touch with them, although admittedly not as well as I should have.

Yesterday I found out that Joshua has a malignant brain tumor and was given six months to live. Obviously we are all deeply saddened by this news. We believe that God can and does miracles and that total healing is a possibility. However, outside of a miracle death seems inevitable. Please pray that Joshua, who professes Christ, truly knows Jesus as Lord and Savior and that God will pour out His grace on Joshua. Pray that his faith is strengthened and that he will pass into glory in a way that will make much of God.

I would like to go visit Josh and our head pastor wants me to as well. As I am already on support and have been raising funds for our missions trips to Bolivia (July 3-12) and New York (July 26-August 3) we do not know where the money for this trip is going to come from. Sorry to be asking for money all the time but for those of you who believe in our mission to the inner city, this is a very tangible way to enable it.

Primarily though we value your prayers. Please be lifting up this situation to our Lord who loves to hear and answer the prayers of His children.

by His grace,
for His glory.
jrf

Going to Bolivia!

2008-06-27T17:19:00.000-07:00

The Emmanuel Evangelical Free church in Burbank has graciously invited Carlos Pizarro (ass. Pastor for our Spanish Congregation), David Castro (a young adult that I have been mentoring, AKA Gong Boy), and myself to join their missions team to Bolivia. We will be working with Operation Harvest speaking at pastor’s conference, doing ESL in a local high school and running a VBS. I will also have the opportunity to preach in some of the local churches. We leave this Thursday, July 3 and return July 12.
Please pray for unity amongst the team as we three do not know the other 5 members very well and don't know what it is going to be like doing ministry together. Also please be praying for our finances as we are a few thousand dollars in the hole as a team for this trip. Please let me know if you are interested in supporting us financially. Lastly and most importantly be praying that this trip will have a lasting impact on the church in Bolivia for the glory of Jesus Christ!

New York Night

2008-06-18T13:41:00.000-07:00

Last Friday Team New York, our church's first high school short term missions team, put on New York Night 08. The fundraiser included hot dogs, a short presentation about the trip, an art gallery full of student art, a raffle, and a stock exchange where patrons could invest in youth in exchange for having a postcard sent to them from NYC. The night was a smash success and we raised over $1000. Perhaps most exciting is seeing our church transition from being a church that recieves short term missions teams to one that sends them. We pray that this is the first of many.

The New York City trip will be from July 26-August 3. We will be working with the 2nd EV Free Church of Brooklyn. Our primary ministry will be running a VBS for the children of Chinese immigrants. Our group consists of 5 leaders (myself included) and 11 high schoolers. Please keep us in your prayers. If you would like to support us financially please let me know. The trip is $600 per person and so far we have raised about half of that.

by His grace
for His glory

Pray for Pico Union

2008-06-09T14:10:00.000-07:00

In the last three days there have been three fatal shootings within 2 blocks of our church. Our neighborhood (Pico Union) is the stronghold and home of 3 of the largest, violent and most notorious gangs in the country: The Burlington Street Locos, Mara Salvatrucha, and the 18th Street Gang. Things have been fairly quiet as far as gang warfare goes in our neighborhood for the last few years, and our neighborhood was seeming to take steps towards becoming a safe community. But since January of this year gang violence has been on the rise again. Of these recent shootings one took place right in front of the grocery store that I frequent on a weekly basis, another was a few yards down from our church. Many of our youth saw the shootings and the neighborhood seems to have been plunged back into fear. I would like to ask that you pray for a few specific things:

1. God would use these events to open doors for the Gospel
2. God would use these events to motivate the church to be more active in connecting with and confronting gang members with the Gospel. Pray that we would be willing to die if need be so that others might hear the message that brings life.
3. God would use his church to confront the attitudes, injustices, and evil that lie behind and perpetuate gangs.

by God's grace
for God's glory
Safety

The Gospel and Personal Evangelism

2008-05-19T09:22:00.000-07:00

I recently finished reading The Gospel and Personal Evangelism by Mark Dever. Although it was pretty basic, I would definitely recommend it. Here are a few memorable quotes:

"Isn't it amazing that we have trouble sharing such wonderful news? Who would mind telling a friend that they held a winning lottery ticket? What doctor wouldn't want to tell their patient that the tests came back negative?" (16)

"Your conclusion that you are not gifted for a particular task does not absolve you of responsibility to obey" (25)

"The Bible presents God not simply as our creator but as our jealous lover. He wants us --- every part of us. For us to think that we can disregard him sometimes, to set aside his ways when it suits us, is to show that we haven't understood the nature of the relationship at all. So, you see, we can't claim to be believers and yet knowingly, repeatedly, happily break God's law." (34)

"One of the main reasons that the local church is to be a community of love is so that others will know the God of love" (51)

"The temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70, and there is nothing about a great Christian temple in the New Testament - a place of granduet and majesty to which we can point our non-Christian friends and say, "Look! Aren't you impressed? Doesn't this show how wonderful and mysterious and beautiful and true and good God is?" What happened to the temple in the New Testament era? There is nothing like it, because the temple has become us. We Christians have together beccome the temple of the Holy Spirit. When you read the New Testament, you find that it's not our church buildings but us, Christians. We Christians have together become the temple of the Holy Spirit. So the community we live in will be given hope by those of us who live distinctive Christian lives, not by your church or mine, not by how similar we are to those around us (a common mistake Christians can make), but by how attractively different we are. That's why we are to live the distinctive lives that we do - because we are God's picture, God's billboard, in our city." (67)

νουθετέω (Colossians 3:16)

2008-05-06T11:16:00.000-07:00

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Col 3:16-17)

As I was preparing for a Bible study on "How to respond to believers in sin" I was struck with something in these verses. Something that perhaps I knew but really hadn't understood clearly the implications of. In these verses, Paul is commanding, not suggesting, that the word of Christ (the Bible) permeates every aspect of the believers life in the Body of Christ. Some examples of this church life are then listed: teaching, admonishing, singing, hearts of thankfulness. Paul then sums it up by saying that "whatever you do" should be Christ centered.

What hit me is that in Paul's list of activities and attitudes that he assumes are a natural part of church life, admonishing is sandwiched right between teaching and singing. That seemed weird to me. I have been in the church my whole life. I have heard a lot of teaching. I have sung a lot of songs. But admonishing? Apart from the occasional pulpit pounding sermon, admonishing has not been a regular experience for me in the Body of Christ, either giving or receiving.
The word admonishment in Greek literally means "to counsel about avoidance or cessation of an improper course of conduct" (BDAG), in other words, confronting people in their sin and lovingly calling them to repent. I know that we most often see that kind of thing as the responsibility of the pastor to cover in his sermons (where, by the way he probably won't use names and confront any individuals directly) but if we really want to be faithful to Scripture we will realize that the command to admonish each other is binding on every believer. We must be confronting each other about our sin! Its not an option. Get your hands dirty at church. Some of us don't even know anybody well enough to know what they need admonishing about!
Perhaps that greatest realization that I had about this passage is that admonishing each other is and should be as natural a part of the Christian experience as teaching, preaching, and singing worship songs. In fact, in our Western church services where everything has to be compartmentalized and scheduled to the exact minute, we should have a "admonishment" time right between worship and the sermon. We tend to think that when confrontation of sin has to take place that it is a bad thing. Of course sin is bad. But that is why we need sanctification and it is clear from scripture that sanctification does not happen in a vacuum, it happens in the Body of Christ. What better place to be confronted about and confess and repent of our deepest, darkest, demons then in the midst of a community who has felt the same conviction of sin and tasted of the loving mercy of our Savior? What better way to love your brother or sister in Christ than to be willing to have a hard conversation about them and warn them of their wandering from God? God is calling you and me to be about confronting sin in the lives of His children. Let's be obedient to give and humble to receive admonishment.

That Hideous Strength

2008-04-26T16:19:00.000-07:00

I'm almost finished with the last book in C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy. I have enjoyed these books immensely for how Lewis intricately weaves theology, philosophy, and science fiction together. That sounds like a dangerous combination, and assuredly could be, but read with discernment, these books have created in me a deeper longing for my Savior and Creator.
Below is the account of Jane's, one of the main characters in That Hideous Strength, conversion. I really connected with it as it is similar to my own conversion. I had grown up knowing the facts of the Gospel, but never experienced the reality of them, or the reality of Jesus Christ. I know that sounds kinda esoteric or mystical, but Scripture is clear that mere mental assent to the Gospel is not sufficient to save (James 2:19) but one must have a real, transforming, self-denying, regenerating, new-birth conceiving meeting with the real, living Jesus Christ. This may not be a dramatic, Damascus Road experience but is real none the less.
In the book, Jane has just been told by a prophet (Called the "Director") that she will become a Christian. This seems like nonsense to her, as she grew up in the church but rejected it as an adult because it seemed stale and made of fairy tales. Besides doesn't she have a say in the matter? She goes out to the garden to contemplate things...

"...for one moment she had a ridiculous and scorching vision of a world in which God Himself would never understand, never take her with full seriousness. Then, at one particular corner of the gooseberry patch, the change came.
What awaited her there was serious to the degree of sorrow and beyond. There was no form nor sound. The mould under the bushes, the moss on the path, and the little brick border, were not visibly changed. But they were changed. A boundary had been crossed. She had come into a world, or into a Person, or into the presence of a Person. Something expectant, patient, inexorable, met her with no veil or protection between. In the closeness of that contact she perceived at once that the Director's words had been entirely misleading. This demand which now pressed upon her was not, even by analogy, like any other demand. It was the origin of all right demands and contained them. In its light you could understand them; But from them you could know nothing of it. There was nothing, and never had been anything, like this. And now there was nothing except this. Yet also, every had been like this; only by being like this had anything existed. In this height and depth and breadth the little idea of herself which she had hitherto called "me" dropped down and vanished, unfluttering, into bottomless distance, like a bird in a space without air. The name "me" was the name of a being whose existence she had never suspected, a being that did not yet fully exist but which was demanded. It was a person (not the person she had thought), yet also a thing, a made thing, made to please Another and in Him to please all others, a thing being made at this very moment, without its choice, in a shape it had never dreamed of. And the making went on amidst a kind of splendor or sorrow or both, wherof she could not tell whether it was in the moulding hands or in the kneading lump...And as it closed, without an instant's pause, the voices of those who have not joy rose howling and chattering from every corner of her being.
"Take care. Draw back. Keep your head. Don't commit yourself," they said. And then mreo subtly, from another quarter, "You have had a religious experience. This is very interesting. Not everyone does. How much better you will now understand the Seventeenth Century poets!" Or from a third direction, more sweetly, "Go on. Try to get it again. It will please the Director."
But her defences had been captured and these counter-attacks were unsuccessful.

persecution and the Olympics

2008-04-09T10:03:00.001-07:00

The father of someone at our church has become passionately involved in fighting to expose the persecution in China, especially of Christians. He has put together a very informative website that you should check out here.

Hope for those controlled by Hatred - A praise update

2008-04-02T16:19:00.001-07:00

Last week I had the immense privilege of sharing the Gospel with a youth who had been involved with gangs and to watch God bring him to repentance and salvation. This young man had been trying to break ties with the gang he was in but was jumped by 10 other gang members, resulting in a dislocated shoulder, a few knocked out teeth, and a concussion. Ever since this happened this youth has been filled with thoughts of hatred and revenge. He told me, “If I see these people again and I have a gun, I will shoot them.” He knew it was the wrong thing to do but he felt like he had no other choice, his hatred had taken him over. I spoke to him about the transforming power of Jesus Christ and that Jesus didn’t want to just change or fix some things about him but he wanted to kill him and give him a new life. God wanted to nail his old, sinful, hate-controlled self up on the cross with Christ and give him a new life as a child of God. When I explained these things to him from Scripture, he said that was exactly what he wanted and needed. I told him to just express his heart to God and without any coaching from me, a tear-filled, contrite prayer with sentences like, “I know I need to change but I am helpless to change”, “I have sinned against you and need your forgiveness”, “please kill my old self and give me new life”, and “I trust you with my life now Jesus” poured out of this broken teenager. What a joy to be able to witness this miracle! Please pray that this youth will be protected from the temptations and dangers of his old life and will remain faithful in following Christ.

Hood Kids

2008-04-01T10:44:00.001-07:00

Meme Webb, 19, grew up in a tough, lowincome neighborhood. Like many children, she was dragged to church in her early days but wondered what the church had to say to her generation—to whom God was acceptable but the church was considered out of touch. She writes:

Hood Kids

hood kids
but good kids
not bad kids
just misunderstood kids
watch mom shoot up
and dad shoot bullets
and combat the words
that scream that I'm useless
I'm not
just hot
and mad at dad who split
and mom who took him back
even though he split
her lip the third time
I watch from the sidelines
and grow full of hate
from parents' guidelines
and you, pastor
push me faster
to hate
taking our crumbs to fill
your already full plate
your frock is stained
you mock the name
of He who commissioned
cuz you're more concerned
with titles and pensions

than the mission to save me
don't forget the babies
don't be so lazy
cuz I need you greatly
it's not about parking spots
and who pays a lot
but who gives a lot
and who prays a lot
for me
the lost sheep
but nobody's looked for me
don't you know God made
the Good Book for me?
but I need direction
some protection
much affection
not rejection
I...NEED...YOU
man of God
woman of God
be of God
and keep your eyes peeled
for real
we're crying
and dying
but still trying
though momma ignores us
and daddy abuses us
I'm sure that God still
wants to use us
when momma doesn't hug us
and daddy slugs us
I'm confident that God
still loves us
cuz I'm a hood kid
but a good kid
not a bad kid
just misunderstood kid
and I need your help
before it's too late
and I walk the same path
that my parents made
look at us
behind the chain linked fence
pain wrenched kids
such tainted kids
who were struck
but never fainted kids
we live hellish lives
but can be saintly kids
if you just try TRY!
until then
we'll continue to die
continue to cry
the hood kids
that no one really cares about
it's so obvious that no one
really cares about 'em...

Expelled - the Movie

2008-03-27T11:15:00.000-07:00

Ben Stein (writer of presidential speeches, game show host, eye drop commercial guy, "Bueller, Bueller") has released a new film which documents the persecution Intelligent Design scientists have faced in the Academic world and the media. Should be a interesting and conversation starting. It opens April 18 nationwide. CHECK OUT THE TRAILER HERE

Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions - John Donne on suffering and death

2008-03-17T12:05:00.000-07:00

John Donne (1572-1631) was raised a Catholic in Protestant England. Having been persecuted for his Catholic faith (denied a degree at Oxford and Cambridge even though he was one of the top students, his brother dying in prison for harboring a priest) he rebelled against all faith and spent his young adult years between the sheets - "celebrating his sexual exploits in some of the most frankly erotic poems in all of English literature." (Yancey, Philip. Soul Survivor, 208). He eventually got married, but was slandered by his father-in-law and lost his job at the noble court and was thrown into prison. For the next decade he lived in poverty until, at the age of 42, he had a conversion experience and decided to become an Anglican priest. Shortly after this, his wife died, leaving him with seven children (five more had died in infancy). Eventually Donne became the dean of St. Paul's Cathedral in London.
Donne was dean of St. Paul's when the Great Plauge struck London. During his tenure, a third of the city perished from the plague with a third more fleeing to the countryside. Eventually Donne himself was diagnosed with the plague. For six weeks he was bed ridden, thinking each day was his last. During this time he wrote what would later be compiled into Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions (Emergent as in "Emergency" - no relation to the Emergent Church movement). The Devotions are a "no-holds-barred wrestling match with God Almighty...trenchant without being blasphemous, profound without being abstract or impersonal" (Yancey, 207.)
The following quotes from Devotions are taken from Philip Yancey's chapter on Donne in his book Soul Survivor. I have also included some quotes from Yancey, that help give context. Donne's quotes will be in italics and Yancey's in quotation marks. My prayer is that they will challenge, encourage, and induce worship to our Sovereign Lord Jesus.

"In Devotions, John Donne calls God to task. 'I have not the righteousness of Job, but I have the desire of Job: I would speak to the Almighty, and I would reason with God.' Sometimes he taunts God, sometimes he grovels and pleads for forgiveness, sometimes he argues fiercely. Not once, though, does Donne leave God out of the process." (211)

as thou has given me a repentance, not to be repented of, so give me, O Lord, a fear, of which I may not be afraid. "At first- confined to bed, churning out prayers without answers, contemplating death, regurgitating guilt - he can find no relief from fear. Obsessed, he reviews every biblical occurrence of the word fear. As he does so, it dawns on him that life will always include circumstances that incite fear: if not illness, financial hardship, if not poverty, rejection, if not loneliness, failure. In such a world, Donne has a choice: to fear God, or to fear everything else." (213)

If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. "We grieve at another's death because we ourselves are diminished. In the same event we sense a deep unity with others and also its rending." (216) (the daily death of plague victims was marked by ringing church bells, Donne heard these bells out his window on a constant daily basis, as he waited for his bell to ring).

Though so disobedient a servant as I may be afraid to die, yet to so merciful a master as thou I cannot be afraid to come

Wilt thou forgive that sin where I begun,
which was my sin, though it were done before?
Wilt thou forgive that sin, through which I run,
And do run still: though still I do deplore?
When thou hast done, thou hast not done,
For, I have more.

Wilt thou forgive that sin which I have won
Others to sin? and, made my sin their door?
Wilt thou forgive that sin which I did shun
A year, or two: but wallowed in, a score?
When thou hast done, thou hast not done,
For I have more.

I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun
My last thread, I shall perish on the shore;
But swear by thy self, that at my death thy son
Shall shine as he shines now, and heretofore;
And, having done that, thou hast done,
I fear no more. (A Hymn to God the Father)

that voice, that I must die now, is not the voice of a judge that speaks by way of condemnation, but of a physician that presents health

Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for, thou art not so...
...One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more, Death thou shalt die.

I cannot plead innocency of life, especially of my youth, but I am to be judged by a merciful God, who is not willing to see what I have done amiss. And though of myself I have nothing to present to Him but sins and misery, yet I know He looks upon me not as I am of myself, but as I am in my Savior...I am therefore full of inexpressible joy, and shall die in peace."

Our last day is our first day; our Saturday is our Sunday; our eve is our holy day; our sunsetting is our morning; the day of our death is the first day of our eternal life. The next day after that...comes that day that shall show me to myself. Here I never saw myself but in disguises; there, then, I shall see myself, but I shall see God too...Here I have one faculty enlightened, and another left in darkness; mine understanding sometimes cleared, my will at the same time perverted. There I shall be all light, no shadow upon me; my soul invested in the light of joy, and my body in the light of glory. (from Donne's Sermons)

"Why I Would Die for South Africa"

2008-03-12T11:27:00.000-07:00

Below is a link to an article written by Michelle Cantrell, wife of Tim Cantrell, missionaries through Bethlehem Baptist Church (John Piper's Church) to South Africa. It is one of the most Biblical and moving calls to missions I have read in a long time. I highly encourage you to read it and respond to it.

Why I Would Die for South Africa

Prayer Request - NYC Missions Trip Meeting

2008-03-05T16:51:00.000-08:00

We would appreciate your prayers tonight. We are having an informational meeting about a missions trip for the high school youth group this summer. We will be serving at a church in Brooklyn working with children of Chinese immigrants. Please pray that God would move the hearts of the youth and their parents to see the importance and impact of this trip.

Thoughts From the Old World

2008-03-04T10:34:00.000-08:00

Stop by my other blog This is my Father's world and check out the some of my travel musings. Right now there is a post that is part of a 3 part series comparing and contrasting America with Europe. Stop by and leave a comment. I would love some feed back!

Planned Parenthood Accepts Money to Abort African American Babies

2008-03-03T08:22:00.000-08:00

Prayer Request - African Church Young Adult Retreat

2008-02-29T20:19:00.000-08:00

My wife and I could use your prayers. Tommorrow we are speaking at a retreat for the African Church that meets in our church building. I am speaking for an hour and a half on sex, lust, and marriage and then for another hour and a half session my wife and I will be doing a Q and A, with Sarah answering questions from the women and me answering questions from the men. This a great yet humbling opportunity. Please pray that we represent God's truth in word and spirit and that the hope of His Gospel sets free those in bondage or deception concerning these issues!

Support Letter

2008-02-27T11:18:00.000-08:00

Below is the support letter (minus the pictures) that Sarah and I have mailed out recently. It explains our heart for the ministry we are in, new opportunities coming up, and our need to raise support in order to keep ministering in this capacity. If you are interested in joining our support team send us a note and your address at Freibergjr@gmail.com.

Dear Friends and Family,

You have all been a part of our life in some meaningful way. It is our joy to share with you some of the new adventures God is taking us on.

What We’re all About:
Sarah and I (John) were married on July 22, 2007. We met each other while pursuing our passion, bringing Christ to the darkest parts of the earth. We were both attending the Master’s College and serving in the Nehemiah House, an internship house in the inner city of Los Angeles when we discovered that not only did we love serving Christ, we loved each other and wanted to serve Him together. Over the next few years of serving together in the youth ministry we knew that the Lord was calling both of us into full time ministry and that He was calling us to serve together as husband and wife.

Our ministry (or the ministry the Lord has graciously entrusted to us):
Since 2005 I (John) have been serving in the First Evangelical Free Church of Los Angeles as the High School Director. Our Youth Group consists of kids of church members as well as neighborhood kids who have received Christ through our outreaches. Some of the many responsibilities of being in this ministry include the normal youth group stuff: counseling, discipleship, staff development, running weekly meetings, preparing sermons, organizing trips and outreaches…etc. However, due to our inner city location there are many unique challenges to this ministry some of which include: poverty, generations of broken families, gang warfare, low education levels, language barriers, undocumented immigrants…etc.

Our Neighborhood: Pico Union
The following Wikkepedia entry gives a good overview of our neighborhood:
Pico Union is one of the poorest neighborhoods in Los Angeles… it is now primarily populated by first-generation Hispanic immigrants, particularly Mexicans, Guatemalans, Salvadorans, and Hondurans. Nearly 50% of the population is believed to be living in the United States illegally, but due to Los Angeles being designated a sanctuary city, many of the undocumented are allowed to freely live there. Most of the district lies within the infamous Rampart Division of the Los Angeles Police Department, and is plagued with high crime. Several transnational gangs, most notably the 18th Street Gang and Mara Salvatrucha ("MS-13"), were started in the neighborhood and maintain a strong presence. -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pico_Union

New Opportunities
Now that I have finished seminary, the church has asked me to become a full time associate pastor. My three areas of focus will be overseeing spiritual development (discipleship, Bible studies, and encouraging members to be consistent with their devotionals...etc), facilitating and hosting outreach groups from other churches/schools, and (the big one!) starting, organizing, overseeing, and running a new service geared for the younger generation in our church and neighborhood. This last task has been on our hearts for years and it is so exciting to be given the freedom and authority to pursue it. This service also has the potential to become a church plant in itself. These tasks are God-sized in scope and only through His strength, power, sovereignty, and grace will it become a reality, but we are overwhelmingly grateful for the opportunity and burning with excitement to start this new adventure.

Your Support
One of the challenges of inner city ministry is the lack of resources in the face of such great need. This challenge can be your opportunity. There are many ways that you can support our ministry in one of the darkest yet strategic cities in the world.
Prayer Support: God has promised and proven throughout time that He listens to the prayers of His faithful. Please consider battling alongside us through committing to praying for us and the Lord’s work in Los Angeles.
Ministry Support: There are many ways to use the gifts and resources God has given you to help further His work in the inner city. Organizing missions trips from your home church to our church, sponsoring a youth to go to summer camp, donating basketballs for a sports outreach, hosting meetings to create partnerships between inner city and suburban churches, helping run health clinics for children without health insurance…the sky is really the limit for possible ministry opportunities.
Financial Support: Due to our church’s inner city location and situation, they cannot afford to pay me. We are taking steps to provide salaries for staff members but at this point it is just not a reality. According to our budget, Sarah and I will need $2,500 a month for living and ministry expenses. (This does not cover any of Sarah’s medical school costs, we took out a loan for that). We are sure of our call to this ministry and trust that the Lord will make it possible, yet the means by which He will make it possible are yet to be seen. We do not know whether God will provide through the financial gifts of supporters like you or if He desires me to commit to less time at the church and work a secular job as well. It is obviously our desire that I would be able to devote all of my time and energy to the ministry and we believe that if that is God’s will He will make it possible. In the meantime, I continue working a night job at the Staples Center to meet our monthly quota. In short, if we are able to raise our goal of $2,500 a month through outside support I will be able to work full-time (and more!) at the church. We are very committed to this ministry and we will do whatever it takes to keep our commitment but your support would enhance, enable, and expand it greatly! Ultimately, we joyfully trust in God’s perfect plan and never-changing faithfulness in providing what is needed to respond to His call.

In Christ’s Love,
John and Sarah Freiberg

For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:12-15)

“And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.” (Hebrews 13:12-14)

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:18)

Quotes on discipleship

2008-02-22T10:02:00.001-08:00

"The Christian way is different: harder, and easier. Christ says, "Give me All. I don't want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don't want to cut off a branch here and a branch there, I want to have the whole tree down...Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked - the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours"
- C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity

"O, begin! Fix some part of every day for private exercises...Whether you like it or no, read and pray daily. It is for your life; there is no other way: else you will be a trifler all your days...Do justice to your own soul; give it time and means to grow. Do not starve yourself any longer"
- John Wesley "Letter to Mr. Jonathan Maskew"

"Fully immersed in this world, Christians belong to no world. Instead, while teased by each hope and every vision, they know them to be only hints of the new heaven and the new earth rooted in divine promises. And our yearning to become lost in God only intensifies our tears over the thought of leaving this life. Christian existence is a joyful nonsense. In a culture of self-realization, the Christian's call is to renounce self; in the face of noise, silence is the preference; in a world of competition, the Christian's declaration is that the winners will be losers and the losers winners; in a culture whose economy is intent on consumption, the Christian insists on simplicity; in a culture structured by possessions, the Christian insists upon a high standard of life; and at every point, the Christian exposes the emptiness of fullness for the sake of the gospel's fullness of emptiness."
- W. Paul Jones The Art of Spiritual Direction

Here comes the chief

2008-02-21T13:56:00.000-08:00

Whatever you think of the "Dubwa" you got to admit he's got moves. Just wish he would have used this kind of diplomacy in the Middle East.

Dear sin, you are hideous

2008-02-16T17:12:00.000-08:00

I was struck while reading Perelandra (Book 2 in C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy) at the ugliness of sin and convicted by my lack of deep hatred for it. In the book the main character, Dr. Ransom, has been taken to a planet that is just being created. This new planet has an equivalent Adam and Eve and sin has not yet infected this new creation. Everything is new, pure, beautiful, peaceful, perfect, and full of life. Ransom spends a few days on this planet, basking in the beauty of God's unspoiled work, until evil is introduced. When Ransom stumbles across the first effects of this evil he is stunned by something that we would not think twice about here on sin-stained earth. But this decay in a world of pure life brought out the reality of the stark contrast between death and life. Here is how Lewis communicates it.

At first he (Dr. Ransom) thought it was a creature of more fantastic shape than he had yet seen on Perelandra. Its shape and was not only fantastic but hideous. Then he dropped on one knee to examine it. Finally he touched it, with reluctance. A moment later he drew back his hands like a man who had touched a snake.
It was a damaged animal. It was, or had been, one of the brightly coloured frogs. But some accident had happened to it. The whole back had been ripped open in a sort of V-shaped gash, the point of the V being a little behind the head. Something had torn a widening wound backward -- as we do in opening an envelope -- along the trunk and pulled it out so far behind the animal that the hoppers or hind legs had been almost torn off with it. They were so damaged that the frog could not leap. On earth it would have been merely a nasty sight, but up to this moment Ransom had as yet seen nothing dead or spoiled in Perelandra, and it was like a blow in the face. It was like the first spasm of well-remembered pain warning a man who had thought he was cured that his family have deceived him and he is dying after all. It was like the first lie from the mouth of a friend on whose truth one was willing to stake a thousand pounds. It was irrevocable. The milk-warm wind blowing over the golden sea, the blues and silvers and greens of the floating garden, the sky itself -- all these had become, in one instant, merely the illuminated margin of a book whose text was the struggling little horror at his feet, and he himself, in that same instant, had passed into a state of emotion which he could neither control nor understand. He told himself that a creature of that kind probably had very little sensation. But it did not much mend matters. It was not merely pity for pain that had suddenly changed the rhythm of his heart-beats. The thing was an intolerable obscenity which afficted him with shame. It would have been better, or so he thought at that moment, for the whole universe never to have existed than for this one thing to have happened. (108-109)

I want to have this kind of repulsion to sin and its effects. I want to see the ugliness of Satan as exposed in the piercing and truthful rays of God's glory. I want to curse the father of lies and be sickened at the horribleness of sin every time I drive by roadkill or am selfish or watch a dear friend die of cancer or see a people group systematically oppressed. I want to praise God that even His sin perverted-creation can still have a shadow of beauty that goes beyond any synthetic imitation we could make. I want to see and feel sin and its effects from God's perspective, not my own desensitized, complacent position. And I can because Christ, through His being twisted, tortured, torn and terminated has faced sin and it's rotten Father and defeated them for and throughout eternity.

12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— 13 for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.
15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
18 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. (Ro 5:12-19)

But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.
(Heb 9:26)

by His grace
for His glory
jrf

Valentine's Banquet

2008-02-15T21:13:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday (Feb. 12) the high school youth group put on a Valentine's Banquet. This was both an outreach to the families of the youth and a fundraiser for a summer missions trip we hope to go on. We were hoping for 20-30 people but got over 130! This was of course a blessing but it definitely added to the craziness of the night and necessitated a couple emergency trips to the store to get more food. Despite the pandemoniom, the night was successful in the things that mattered.
The staff worked as a team, the youth stepped up and owned the night participating in everything from leading prayer and worship to waiting tables to fixing food, we raised over $400 and most importantly the Gospel was preached! My friend from college and seminary preached a short but excellent and potent message on having a cross-centered family that preaches and lives out the Gospel daily and Carlos Pizarro, assistant pastor for the Spanish Congregation, translated. Below are some pictures from the night. Enjoy and join with me in praising God for blessing the night!

The Great Porn Debate

2008-02-14T11:38:00.000-08:00

The following is an announcement from XXXchurch, a ministry that helps those in the church who struggle with an addiction to pornography, as well as evangelizes and rehabilitates those who are in the porn industry. Hopefully this debate will be a powerful opportunity for the Gospel to be displayed and hope to be given to those in the bondage of pornography.

::: ITS ON! The Great Porn Debate is at Yale University this Friday night, February 15. You all are invited to watch it unfold on ABC. The ABC website will have the entire debate posted and Nightline will have short segments of it up one day after. Start watching the debate Thursday Feb. 21 on ABCNews.com, plus watch the full story on Nightline, Friday, February 22 at 11:35 pm ET. Check it all out here.

The debate is at Sex Week at Yale with porn pastor Craig Gross and porn star Ron Jeremy. This debate will feature former porn producer Donny Pauling with Craig and a current actress in the porn industry with Ron.

::: GET INVOLVED We need the X3 family worldwide to get involved!

On the ABC News website you can interact two ways:
1) Discussing the upcoming debate through the blogs of the site.
2) Submitting questions for the debate through video and text.

Help Craig and Donny out by asking some awesome poignant and provocative questions for both sides. Go here to get involved!

::: GET EXCITED It is a huge deal for ABC News and Nightline to cover the debate. We are excited that the other side of the porn story is being discussed. We encourage you to use this to open up discussion with others. Pass on the website link and video, and get to discussing. Thank you for your support!

One day, two worlds

2008-02-11T11:19:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, February 10, I attended two gatherings, both intended to bring honor to a specific person or group of people. One was, of course, church. The other was the Grammy Awards, which I, believe it or not, sold candy at. Needless to say it was big culture shock going right from one to the other. Below are some contrasts and comparisons. I will let you determine which event I am talking about:

- One had a few dozen in attendance, the other was watched by millions
- Both brought together people of all ages, races, and musical tastes
- I wore an old striped shirt and cargo pants to one, I wore a collared white shirt, black tie, and brand new dress pants to the other
- I sat next to a 3 year-old with a stinky diaper at one, there was no one under 15 at the other
- Speeches were limited to 30 seconds at one, at the other we listened intently to someone speak for over 30 minutes
- There was a lot of shaking of hands at both
- There were believers and unbelievers at both
- There were people who had been addicted to drugs at both
- Some of the richest people in our country were at one, some of the poorest people in our country were at the other
- One took months of preparation, at the other a band practiced 15 minutes before
- One will not take place for another year, the other will take place every week
- One was full of familiar strangers, the other was full of family members who are strange
- Honor was shown at one with loving hearts and engaged minds, honor was shown at the other with gold trophies
- One ceremony gave honor to creations who made creations, the other brought honor to the Creator of all
- At one thanks and credit was given by the one being honored to various people who had supported them, at the other credit was given to no one except for the One being honored
- One honored people who had died, the other honored Someone who had died and come back from the dead.
- One honored people who were born and will die, one honored a Being who always has been and always will be
- I saw Snoop Dog, Josh Groban, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Seal, Tina Turner, Beyonce, Alicia Keyes, and many more famous people at one, no one famous was at the other.

That's all I've got time for now!
Hope it gave you some food for thought!

"Suffer hardship...like a good soldier of Jesus Christ"

2008-02-08T11:50:00.000-08:00

This week has been hard. Not hard like persecution. Not hard like starvation. Hard like American-spoiled hard. I admit that my "hard" is most of the world's fantasy. But for me this week was hard. Ministry emergencies, deadlines, interruptions of my routine, spiritual warfare, lack of sleep, emotional gymnastics, the sin of other's and my own sin all collided to make a trying week. More discouraging is the fact that these trials took me by surprise and I found I was ill prepared to face them, resulting in my retreat into escapism in some cases.
So when I was in my weekly discipleship meeting this morning with a student who has faced much of these same trials with me and we were going through II Timothy 2:1-7 I received a much needed kick in the pants from God's Word through Paul to Timothy.
As you may know Paul exhorts Timothy to "Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus." II Tim 2:3. He then goes on to illustrate this by saying that, "No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer. 5 Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules." (:4-5). As we began to talk about these verses I started to really think about what it means to endure hardship as a soldier does. The application that stuck out to me in a renewed way was that a soldier expects to see hardship. A soldier is not surprised when people start shooting at him. In fact, a soldier may even be disappointed if they come to the end of their career and have never been tested in the fires of combat. A soldier does not spend their life trying to avoid conflict, continually retreating to safety. A soldier is not consumed with finding new avenues of comfort and safety, but is consumed with engaging and defeating the enemy.
As I held up my life to those standards, I found myself lacking. In many ways my life (sometimes unintentionally, often intentionally) has been full of spiritual draft-dodging. I have tried every trick in the book to avoid facing the horrors of spiritual war and when the war finally comes to me, I am not prepared.
No longer can my life be about avoiding trials. Just as the soldier is consumed 24/7 with the mission so must I. My father is in a war zone right now and I guarantee you he does not know what Britney Spears did yesterday, or what movies are coming out this weekend. He might not even know who won the Superbowl. That's a good thing. Those things have nothing to do with his mission right now. So must I, and anyone who wants to be a good soldier of Christ, be so consumed with the painfully joyful mission of pressing on in our faith that "civilian" things are not allowed to choke out our light and let our guard down. Furthermore, our everyday energy must go towards preparing for trials, that will come and should be expected, and face them head on with the strength of the Lord, our Commander, Weapon, Prize, Medic, and Victor.

Church Website Now Up!

2008-02-07T15:33:00.000-08:00

Our church has finally joined the digital age and our website is now up and running for your enjoyment. It is still under construction so check in periodically for new content. Here's the link: http://evfreela.com/

enjoy!

Snow Day!

2008-02-04T12:43:00.000-08:00

This last Saturday we took the SAY Yes (our church's afterschool program) families up to Mount Pinos for a snow day. It was great to see the kids get out of the city and experience God's beautiful creation. For some it was their first time seeing snow! It was also great getting to make new memories with some of the families and staff. The day also gave me the opportunity to practice my snow photography with my new camera so enjoy!

Prayer Request

2008-01-31T14:45:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday night one of mothers of the student leaders in our youth group was beaten by her drunk boyfriend. Since she does not have health insurance, she spent 16 hours in the waiting room of the LA County Hospital before she was treated for injuries to her face, including a broken nose. This is not the first time this has happened to this woman. Thankfully none of her 3 children were hurt.
Because this has happened before and because the boyfriend is connected with a local gang, the mother wants to get out of the neighborhood. Unfortunately she has no where to go and so is looking to stay at a shelter for battered women. There is also a possibility of the kids going into foster care. Obviously, our church would like to provide other alternatives to these scenarios but most of our church already lives in over crowded apartments that the social services would not allow this family to stay at. It would also be devastating to have to say goodbye to her children, who are a vital part of our youth ministries. So needless to say we need your prayers. Please pray that the mother would come to know Christ and his forgiveness and comfort, that her children (who are believers) will trust, find refuge in, and be protected by their heavenly Father and that our church, Christ's hands and feet in this neighborhood, can make responsible decisions that reflect God's heart for the widow, orphan, and abused.
on a personal note, this family is very close to Sarah and my's hearts and even as I write this my eyes are full of tears and my heart is full of pain and anger and desperation. I meet with the oldest son on a weekly basis and he has become like a little brother to me. To see them go through this pain is overwhelming. Please pray that I would see God's faithfulness even in this and that I would be able to point this family and others to that hope. Also please pray that I will have the ability to love even this boyfriend who I may see around the neighborhood (even in writing this request I feel the fires of anger against this man), yet still stand up for justice.

With hope in the Holy One
jrf

New Blog!

2008-01-30T11:05:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to let everybody know that I have started another blog, called "This is My Father's World". The purpose of this new blog is to provide a resource for believers who travel, especially missionaries as well as possibly providing some income for my own ministry (I get money for the advertisements in the right column). It is still in construction so if you have any suggestions please let me know. The posts there will mainly be personal reflections about travel and culture, links to interesting articles and helpful resources, and reviews of travel resources. I would love to have some guest writers as well so if you have any thoughts on any travels you have done recently let me know and we can put em up! This blog (Nevertheless) will still be focused on ministry reflections, and whatever else happens to pop into my slimy little brain.

Check out the new blog here: This is my Father's World

thanks!
jrf

News from Iraq

2008-01-25T19:43:00.000-08:00

As some of you know, my dad shipped out to Iraq for thirteen months last week. Here is his first news letter:

The Next Big Adventure
Tales from the Land of the Arabian Nights

Hello friends and prayer partners. After a harrowing and eventful (just kidding) 20 hours on the airplane, we found ourselves in Camp Virginia, Kuwait. Having arrived at 0400 in the morning, we were assigned our tents and promptly did a recon of our situation. Being the old guy in the group, I tried to sleep. However, after listening to 20 other senior folks make noise, I realized it was an exercise in futility. Having then joined the gang, I went to breakfast.
After a day-long delay, we got a brief and our line types received ammunition for their weapons. We were after all, in a war zone. When our flight arrived, we all put on our flak jackets and helmets and crammed into a C-130 flight to Al Asad. Once there, we all pulled our gear and went into our assigned quarters. May I say, rustic is too good of a word to describe the situation. However, no complaints here because it was better than many who went before us had it. It was here that I stopped to thank the Lord for those who were praying for me and also for His grace in my life.
Having not slept for 2 days, it was a great feeling to sleep. Being a light sleeper, I had no trouble at all falling asleep for three hours before I woke up to meet my fellow Chaplains. Matter of fact, I had no trouble falling asleep when I was listening to many boring briefs. Yes folks, jet lag had set in. My counterpart did his best to accomodate my inattentiveness, but I finally succumbed and hit the rack at 7 pm only to become wide awake at 2 am. Forcing myself to sleep again, the Lord refreshed me and all is normal once again.
I have spent the day now looking at facilities, logistical arrangements and placing Chaplains over this whole base. I will say that this is a position which is out of my league and so I ask you for the following prayer requests:

1. Wisdom in using limited resources of preaching and teaching so we can maximize our testimony for Jesus Christ.
2. The Lord of the Harvest. There are over 22,000 souls on this base. Many do not know or care about the Lord.
3. Safety for our fighting men and women. It’s been a month since the last death, but that is still one too many.
4. Peace in this part of the world, so that the Gospel will have free access.
5. Peace of mind for Nancy who is taking care of the family business at home.
6. The radio ministry to be an effective witnessing tool for this base and 3 others as well.

I will give more specifics in my next letter. For now I just want to thank you for your part and help in this ministry. For the glory of the Lord!!

Sanctity of Life week

2008-01-24T12:01:00.001-08:00

This week is the 35th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade supreme court case that made abortion legal in the United States. For pro-choice supporters this week is a celebration over the triumph of the "freedom to choose" over the freedom to live. For pro-life supporters this week is a time to mourn the genocide of the unborn, to re-commit ourselves to reflect God's heart of compassion and justice in standing up for the unborn and showing the hope of the Gospel in forgiving mothers who have murdered their children, and celebrate the fact that we live in a country where we can speak out and change policy if we really want to. Below are some links and videos to remind us of the gravity of this national curse. May God move us to Spirit-guided action!

links to resources:
Abort73.com
a personal testimony
Eternal Perspectives Ministries - Prolife Resources

A word from John Piper and MLK on MLK day

2008-01-21T09:59:00.000-08:00

The following is written by pastor John Piper and taken from the Desiring God Blog:

The point of this weekend is not to celebrate all that MLK was. You need not belabor is sins. The point is to lift up some magnificent things he stood for and some necessary and amazing achievements of the civil rights era in which he was a key leader. We are Christians and can see these things in the light of providence and the gospel. Let everything point to Christ and him crucified. Consider Revelation 5:9 if you wonder whether ethnic diversity and ethnic harmony are Jesus-blood issues.

All you have to do to find some good word from MLK is Google his name. His "I have a dream" speech has some powerful lines. He dreams that some day his children "will not be judged by the color of their skin but the content of their character." That cry is as important today globally and locally as it was in 1963.

In my judgment the "I have a dream" speech was not the apex of King's eloquence. That is reserved for certain passages in "Letter From a Birmingham Jail" (April 16, 1963). Here is the most powerful word from King I have ever read:

Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging dart of segregation to say, "Wait." But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six- year-old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five-year-old son who is asking: "Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?"; when you take a cross-country drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading "white" and "colored"; when your first name becomes "nigger," your middle name becomes "boy" (however old you are) and your last name becomes "John," and your wife and mother are never given the respected title "Mrs."; when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of "nobodiness" then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience.

You need not have all the answers. You need not be democrat or republican. You need not think things are as bad as they were or as good as they could be. What you need to do is press the issue of ethnic ill-will on the consciences of your people in the name of Jesus, who came to us when we were more alien to him than anyone has ever been to us.

God give you courage and grace.

Best of 2007

2008-01-10T09:03:00.000-08:00

For your amusement and (hopefully) edification, here are some my Best of Lists of 2007:

Movies:
3:10 To Yuma - A return to the classic man-movie. Well done and well acted. I especially appreciated the themes of redemption and a counter-cultural emphasis on shame and the importance of honor, even at the cost of your own life. Warning: rated R for violence.

Enchanted - Clean, fun, imaginative Disney soon to be classic.

Amazing Grace - Finally a movie that has the Gospel in it...and is done well! My favorite parts are where Albert Finney (John Newton) steals the show.

Honorable Mentions:
Reign Over Me - Drama about a man dealing with loosing his family in 911. Caution, has bad language.

Pirates 3 - the more I think about Pirates 2-3 as one big movie the more I appreciate it

Stardust - a blend of Willow and Princess Bride. Caution: subtly (subtle enough not to ruin the movie but also to unconsciously assent) presents things such as premarital sex and homosexuality as acceptable (which they are in our society but use discernment when watching, especially with kids).

Elizabeth 2 - Excellent performance as usual from Cate Blanchett. Deals with England's war with Spain.

wanted to see (but didn't and therefore cannot recommend one way or the other):
Trade
Lake of Fire
The Darjeeling Limited
No Country for Old Men
War/Dance
I'm Not There
The Kite Runner

Books:
For Whom the Bell Tolls - Hemmingway at his chillingly best. Interesting history of the Spanish Civil war. Explores themes of futility of life, the depravity of man and the murkiness of war

The New Covenant Ministry of the Holy Spirit by Larry Pettegrew - A thoroughly Biblical book which gives attention to a member of the Trinity that doesn't get a lot of press time in my circles.

The Pursuit of Man by A.W. Tozer - Still reading it but it's knocking my socks off! Painful like surgery.

Evangelical Hermeneutics by Robert L. Thomas - a great critique of Hermeneutical trends. Lots of food for thought

Prince Caspian - Read this again in preparation for the movie this summer. Unlike the Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, which was a metaphor for salvation, Prince Caspian is a metaphor for sanctification.

Measuring a Meridian by Jules Verne - Africa and Jules Verne. Can't go wrong there.

The Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross by A.W. Pink: Short, concise and powerful.

The Radical Cross by A.W. Tozer: I don't only read Tozer books but when I do I am glad I did.

Check out Desiring God's Best of List here!

For His glory
by His grace
jrf

Quote of the day

2008-01-08T11:05:00.001-08:00

"I live simply so the poor can simply live" - John Stott

Blessings and Trials...a look back at 2007

2007-12-31T15:10:00.000-08:00

As with any year, month, or day, 2007 was a beautiful fusion of trials and blessings. Looking back now on the melange of pain and exhilaration, victory and failure, it is easy to see God's faithful constancy through every situation. During the trials I did not easily see this truth however, and often failed not only to remember that God was in control but that He was using these trials to break myself of myself and trust in Him. If I learned anything at all from this year I pray that it is the ability to believe and remember that God is faithful and good through all things.

I have a few goals for this post. For those of you who are interested and have supported our ministry with your prayers, I hope this provides you with a brief overview of what's been going on in our lives and the life of our church. I also hope that this post provides an outlet for me to reflect on the past years and hopefully grow in the process. Above all I pray that this post glorifies God and points you to Him.

Trials.

1. The Suicide of Jon Moore.
While this was a tragedy and trial much more for those closest to him, like his brother my pastor and Jon's children, Jon Moore was an integral part of our church family. He had been at our church since the seventies and had served as an elder for many years. More than that, he was one of the most outgoing and caring people I have ever met. While I do not know the details that led him to take his own life, I do know that he was on some pretty heavy medications and had not been himself for the months prior. While his suicide was a definite sin, and his vision of Christ and ability to persevere in His strength was obscured in his last months I believe that he did trust in Christ for his salvation and that I will see Jon again in heaven. I also know that the Gospel was powerfully proclaimed to over a thousand people at the various memorial services.

2. The Falling Away of Close Friends
This trial did not sting quite as sharp and suddenly, yet has proven to be more lingering and wearisome to my heart. 2007 saw the turning away of some close friends from Christ back to the bondage of the lusts of the world. Some denied Christ openly with their words, some denied Him with their lives. Few things are more painful than watching someone you love turn their backs on the One who truly loves them and chase (or slowly sink into) destruction. Yet as long as there is breath there is hope. In this I must also have faith that God will work His plan perfectly.

3. Sarah in Physician Assistant School
This is also a blessing but the fact that both Sarah and I were in full time school with me having a half hour both way commute and her having an hour both way commute each day definitely was stretching on our schedule and budget at times. God was gracious and we trust in Him to help us continue to manage our time and priorities.

Blessings

1. Watching God work in the lives of the Youth.
God has worked in a way more visible than I have ever seen Him work in the Youth Group. This yearI saw kids who live in homes where their mom's boyfriend continuously abuses them show a Christ-like love to their mom's abuser. I have seen the children of a prostitue share Christ publicly with an entire neighborhood. I have seen unchurched youth express a burning desire to know the Word of God and share it with others, with one youth even specifically feeling a burden to share the Gospel with the neighborhood drug dealers...and then do it! God is working powerfully in the youth and it is my eternal joy to be along for the ride.

2. Unity in our Church
God has also been working to bring more unity in our church family. As you may know, we have two congregations in our church - Spanish and English. At times in the past some in the congregations have clashed over everything from philosophy of ministry and doctrine to who gets to use the bathroom. This past year however, both congregations have made intentional steps to function as one body of Christ. In addition God has put us in situations that have forced and fostered true Christian community.

3. Finishing Seminary
Seminary was one of the most challenging things I have ever faced. Through it all God was overwhelmingly faithful to give me what I needed to get through (and sometimes no more). It will only be worth it if I can live out all of the treasure that I was privileged to learn.

4. Growing deeper in my relationship with Sarah
My wife is a deep cavern of untold riches. I am still interpreting the treasure map. What a blessed adventure!

5. Travels
As you know I love to travel and 2007 afforded a few more opportunities. Highlights were a month long road trip to Minnesota and back with Sarah, traveling to Minneapolis with my father to attend the Desiring God conference, a two night stay in a luxurious cabin (belonging to a friend of the church) at Big Bear, and a two night backpacking trip into the Ventana Wilderness with my wife and father-in-law.

While I could write for much longer recalling the ups and downs of last year, and remembering the constancy of God through it all, I believe that the above represents the major high and low points and provides a general overview of what we've been up to. I pray that you were encouraged and that you will trust with an ever-increasing confidence in the the God who is not us or like us but is for us, if we are in Christ.

Happy New Year
jrf

please standby....

2007-12-27T17:17:00.000-08:00

I pray that all of you had a great Christmas. While you may have expected me to post more now that I am out of school, think again. I am taking time off to let the scabs on my brain heal and quite frankly I am being lazy. But don't worry, I'm working up to a few posts that hopefully will have some substantial depth to them as well as updating you about the ministry. But for the meantime here is a Tozer quote to marinate in.

"We cannot think rightly of God until we begin to think of Him as always being there, and there first. Joshua had this to learn. He had been so long the servant of God's servant Moses, and had with such assurance received God's word at his mouth, that Moses and the God of Moses had become blended in his thinking, so blended that he could hardly separate the two thoughts; by association they always appeared together in his mind. Now Moses is dead, and lest the young Joshua be struck down with despair God spoke to assure him, "As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee" (Joshua 1:5; 3:7). Nothing had changed and nothing had been lost. Nothing of God dies when a man of God dies."

Seminary, prostitutes, adultery, grace and the sovereignty of God

2007-12-17T12:00:00.000-08:00

At 11:57am on Thursday, December 13, 2007 I finished my last test for my Master's of Divinity degree at the Master's Seminary. The program took me 3 1/2 years to complete and was immeasurably more difficult than my bachelors in every way - academically, spiritually, physically, emotionally..etc.

It will take me much time to process this experience and I will probably never fully realize it's impact on my life and hopefully the lives of others. This post is not an attempt to understand or reflect on my seminary experience. I merely want to praise God for His faithfulness.

Perhaps the most prominent feeling I have been experiencing as I let the fact that I am done with seminary sink in is a sense of unworthiness. People expect me now to be qualified for ministry just cause I got an M Div. People expect me to have all the answers now and to not struggle with sin, expectations I will never meet. I know that most people dont actually have those expectations for me, yet often that is how I feel. I have learned Greek and Hebrew, studies homiletics, and know the outlines of the Bible and I know I have grown in my understanding and love of the Lord, yet in many ways I am still the same tired, struggling, sinner I was when I started.

So what does that have to do with prostitutes and adultery you might ask? Well, I will tell you. The morning after having the burden of seminary deadlines lifted from my shoulders, I decided to read through the book of Matthew. As you may know, the book of Matthew begins with a 17 verse genealogy of Jesus, starting with Abraham. It is easy to skip over this list of names but to do so would to rob yourself of a passage of inspired Scripture which contains great encouragement. As I read over the genealogy the names that stuck out to me were these: Tamar (:3), Rahab (:5), Ruth (:5) and Bathsheba (:6). The names of these four women represent some of the most sinful and tragic episodes in the Old Testament (Gen 38:13-30; Joshua 2:1; Ruth 1:3; II Samuel 11) yet they are included (and even highlighted - recording the names of women was not a common practice in ancient geneologies) in the genealogy of Jesus. We can look at this and be amazed at God's grace - how he could use things like prostitution and adultery and a Moabite woman to bring the Messiah into the world. Yet we can go farther than that. God didn't just make the most of a bad situation, He chose this way to bring Jesus into the earth. It was His perfect plan all along. Not that sin is excusable or that God is culpable for it, but in His sovereignty He chooses to use sinners to accomplish His purposes. That gives me great hope. God can use a sinner like me. God has chosen to use a sinner like me. The proper response to God's sovereignty is not a fatalistic, it-doesn't-matter-what-I-do attitude, but a bold confidence that God has a purpose for me, even me. A confidence that is in the unchanging faithfulness of the one who was killed and in turn killed death so that I and all those who He brings to Himself can be called His children. A confidence that manifests itself in a growing, burning, and joy-filled obedience to the Lord of all things. Who or what can stand in the way of such God-anchored confidence? Praise the sovereign and faithful God of the universe!

by His grace
for His glory,
jrf

Road Trip (part 7)

2007-11-30T12:16:00.001-08:00

Well, even though almost an entire semester of school has passed since I posted about Sarah and I's road trip last summer, the masses have demanded that I finish the story. Alright maybe not the masses but one or two relatives but hey, it's finals week and I don't have the time or brain capacity to write anything worth your reading so I'll post some pictures from our trip and let them do the talking.

We last left our heroine and her dashing prince in Rapid City, South Dakota. If you need to review, here is the link to Part Six of our Road Trip.

We pick up our story at the Marriot in Rapid City, SD. We then drove until we saw our first glimpses of ...

Mount Rushmore!

I had seen Mt. Rushmore as a kid and obviously the heads hadn't changed but the viewing area/museum/gift store/food court had. Not quite as rustic feeling as I remembered it. Still impressive though.

After looking at the awe inspiring decapitated presidents we headed east. Once we were on the freeway we were reminded about every 1/8th of a mile where our next destination was...

Walldrug!

Walldrug is basically a souvenir shop on crack, steriods, and acid...in a good way! Every kind of Western/mid-western paraphernalia (and a bunch of other random stuff) you could ever want or think of and more is available at this former small town drugstore. We ate at the super-cheap and super-good and super-crowded-with-every-painting-that-has-to-do-with-the-wild-wild-west cafeteria, our meal complete with 10 cent coffee. After that we perused the grounds. Sarah especially enjoyed the animal life.

After we had stocked up on supplies we again headed east to our ultimate destination...

Sarah, myself, our car, and our two cowboy hats arrived at Grandma's and put our heads down just as the sun was coming up.

Until next time!
jrf

Tozer Time!

2007-11-24T13:01:00.000-08:00

"How tragic that we in this dark day have had our seeking done for us by our teachers. Everything is made to center upon the initial act of "accepting" Christ (a term, incidentally, which is not found in the Bible) and we are not expected thereafter to crave any further revelation of God to our souls."
- A.W. Tozer in the pursuit of God p. 6

More fun from Japan

2007-11-15T18:07:00.000-08:00

I came across this picture that Sarah took near Mount Fuji last winter. It made me laugh.

Steve Irwin and Eph 5:16

2007-11-07T10:06:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, Steve "the Crocodile Hunter" Irwin is one of my heroes. He's not in the same class as some of the Godly men and women past and present I look up to like Hudson Taylor, Amy Carmichael, Polycarp, Calvin...etc. But I consider Steve Irwin a minor hero for one reason, his passion for life. If he could live every moment of his life being passionate and infecting other people with his passion for the animal kingdom, how much more so should I live passionately for the King of Kings!
In a recent interview, his widow, Terri Irwin shares personally about what it was like to be married to Steve Irwin. The highlight is when she talks about Irwin's philosophy of life, “He had this strange feeling, especially after losing his mother in a car accident. He said ‘I just have a feeling it’s going to be something like that, something sudden.’

“It was bizarre,” she continued. “He wasn’t sad, or awful about it. He took it on that ‘Come on, come on, come on! We’ve got to get this done. I don’t know how long I’m going to be here. Let’s make it happen!’”

Irwin's approach to life reflected, (probably unintentionally on his part) the truth in Ephesians 5:15-16
"Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise,
making the most of your time, because the days are evil."

Does your life reflect this truth? And if it does is the object for which you passionately live deserve that kind of life-consuming passion? Directing this kind of passion to anything or anybody less than the Creator of the universe and Savior of your soul amounts to idolatry. Directing anything less than this kind of consuming passion to our beautiful and glorious God ends in idolatry as well.

Let's make it happen!
jrf

p.s. another highlight of the article is when Terri Irwin states that Steve was "hot in the cot" Crikey!

loving the Corinthians

2007-11-04T16:02:00.000-08:00

I Corinthians 13 is arguably one of the most beautiful passages in all of Scripture. It is the chapter of love. Chances are you are familiar with this passage. I have read this passage many times and often return to it to remind myself of the preeminence and definition of love in the Christian walk.

Yet recently I have realized that I have been lacking in my love for people (which is ultimately a lack of love for the Lord). Besides the ever-present, ever-ugly love of self from which I chronically suffer, I believe a contributor to this lack of love has been the heartwrenching blows that ministry often brings. In the past few months our friend and former elder at our church committed suicide, two practically orphaned boys in our youth group, one with severe cancer whom I care about deeply moved to Texas to live with their openly gay uncle, close and dear friends have forsaken their commitment to the Lord and returned to the addictions that used to bind them, students from the youth group who have graduated and become infatuated with the glitter of the world, friends I have looked up to for years for their radical faith have become worn down and lukewarmed by the grind of daily adult life...etc. I write these things not for you to have pity on me but to express to you some of the real pain of ministry. Many of you have no doubt experienced similar or even more intense pain. And perhaps some of you have responded to that pain in a similar manner as me...numbness. The price of numbness is empathy. It is hard to look out at my neighbors, students, and church family and see their spiritual needs when I am too busy trying to protect myself by divorcing my emotions from my ministry. Empathy means feeling the pain of others. There's a lot of pain out there to be felt.

So what does I Corinthians 13 have to do with this? Many things. But the point I want to emphasize in this already rambling post is this: Paul wrote this great masterpiece of love to the Corinthians! Out of all of the churches that Paul ministered to it was arguably the Corinthian church with its rampant gross sin that ripped Paul's heart to shreds more than other. And yet he did not allow the battle scars of ministry to jade him or make him numb towards those in his care. On the contrary, he emphasized even more strongly the preeminence of love among the spiritual gifts to this group of believers. The letters to the Corinthians can be blunt and even somewhat harsh at times but one cannot accuse Paul of failing to lace those admonitions in love and empathy. When ministry became hard, when loved ones fell into sin Paul became more empathetic, not less. What a lie it is to believe that I am protecting myself from ministry failure by trying to be strong and unshaken by the pain around me. No. my strength comes from the One who made Himself weak and suffered with and for the broken. Empathy is essential for the Christian walk and ministry because the empathy of my Savior was essential for my salvation. My God is empathetic with me. That incomprehensible reality demands and frees me to be empathetic with others.

learning to love
jrf

the Divine Oops?

2007-10-23T11:53:00.000-07:00

Alright,

now that I know that at least four people (my 2 year old second cousin included) read this blog I have a renewed sense of worth and purpose. No, really thank you for your kind and encouraging comments.
So now that i know you all can use the comments section, let's get a discussion going. Below is a quote from Bruce Ware's book entitled God's Lesser Glory: The Diminished God of Open Theism. Open Theism is a model of thinking about God being proposed by some in the "evangelical" world of Christianity. It basically states that true love and relationship can only happen between two equally vunerable persons. Therefore if God truly loves us and we are to truly love Him, He would have to share our limitations as far as not knowing the future. If He predetermined the future, or even knew the future, He would have an unfair advantage over us and therefore the relationship would not be genuine. or something like that. So, read the quote below and let's talk about what the implications are for and against believing in a God that knows the future. Let's discuss freely but as always, the Word of God will be the final authority.

"I have in mind particularly the suggestion that God reassessed his decision to bring a flood upon the whole world, sensing the pain from that destruction to have been greater than the pain from the sin itself. I see no other way to take this than as a suggestion that God in hindsight judged that he had made an enormous mistake. Granted, Sanders makes clear he believes that God was righteous in this judgment. Fine, but was he wise? Consider the magnitude of this mistake, if in fact God thought it so to be. The whole world, save a few people and animals, was deliberately killed by God in this action. Issues in human affairs could hardly get weightier than this. to think that God looked back and thought to himself, This was too severe and I am not entirely sure I should have done it; in fact, I'll never do it again, is nothing short of staggering! What confidence can we have in a God who must second guess his own actions? What does this tell us about the wisdom of God's own plans? If God is not sure that what he does is best, can we be sure that he really knows what he is doing? The simple fact is that a God who can only speculate regarding what much of the future holds, at times second-guesses his own plans, can get things wrong, can falsely anticipate what may happen next, and may even repent of his own past conduct is a God unworthy of devotion, trust, and praise. What open theists have "gained" by their insistence on God as a risk-taker has been won at the expense of God's full wisdom, knowledge, trustworthiness, majesty, sovereignty, and glory; and it leads inevitably to doubt, worry, and fear regarding the fulfillment of God's plans. This surely is a case of trading in the family inheritance for plans to build a new home on attractively advertised but worthless swampland." (Ware, 158-9)

Is anybody out there?

2007-10-20T13:06:00.000-07:00

I need to know if anyone is reading this blog anymore. When I started this over two years ago, I stated my goal:

My goal in creating this blog is both to provide exposure and dialogue to a very dynamic and needed ministry as well as to share the lessons and adventures that the Lord brings my way. I don't know if it is such a good idea, but I will attempt to be open and honest in my writing. At times it will be offensive, confusing, vulgar, and desparate because let's be honest so is life (and coincidentaly the Bible). Yet just as I will share my tears with you, I promise to strive to share my joy with you as Christ shows His burning glory in my world. I pray above all that this blog points always to Christ and not to myself.

Easier said than done.

My goal remains the same. To sum up I hope this blog exposes readers to inner city ministry, excites readers about Christ, spurs believers on to thought and discussion, and edifies readers in their pursuit of knowing Christ and making Him known.

Really the only way I have of knowing if progress is being made towards these goals is from your feedback. Do you agree, not agree, need clarification, have imput on the topic posted on, think I'm a heretic, think I'm ugly, want to give money to our ministry...etc.

For those of you unfamiliar with how blogs work, let me introduce you to the COMMENTS section. At the end of every post, there is a section that will say: comments. The number of comments will precede it, so what it will probably look like for most posts is:
Posted by jrf at 10:44 AM 0 comments Links to this post.

to comment click on the word comments.
a page will come up and you choose your identification (your blogger id if you have a blog, your name, or anonymous if you are scared I'm gonna hunt you down). type in your comment in the box and click "publish your comment". The comment gets sent to me so I can approve it. I do this to weed out spam and inappropriate content.

If you read this blog and it has been helpful for you, or you have ideas about how it could be helpful to you, please comment. It will be like giving me an electronic hug! or whack on the head! Both are welcome.

I know it takes time to read and comment on posts but it also takes time to write the posts and if nobody is reading/and or benefiting from them, I would be a better steward of my time doing other things.

through Christ
for Christ
jrf

"Missions and Masturbation" by John Piper

2007-10-19T10:44:00.001-07:00

Don't see the connection? Check out this article by John Piper. Then check out this more recent article by Piper in the current Christiainity Today. .

by His Grace
for His Glory

Prayer in the Life of Elijah (part 8)

2007-10-10T11:09:00.000-07:00

Persevering Prayer
One more aspect of Elijah’s prayer life from which we can draw application to our own, is his example of persevering or persistent prayer. This is perhaps most clearly seen in Elijah’s prayer for rain to return after the 3 ½ year drought. In I Kings 18:41-46 we see that Elijah’s request for rain to return was not immediately granted. Yet Elijah persistently prayed with his face buried in between his knees until God answered his prayer. Again we see the patient perseverance of Elijah’s prayer in his prayer for the widow’s dead son(I Kings 17). Three times this man of God prays to God for a resurrection. In the mystery of God, some of Elijah’s prayers were answered immediately and others were answered only after patient and persistent prayer.
Jesus commanded the same such persistent prayer of His followers. We are to be like the persistent widow of Jesus’ parable (Luke 18:1-8). Let us not give up if our prayers are not answered immediately and emphatically. God’s ways are not our ways and He answers prayer in accordance with His plan and timetable.

by His grace,
for His glory,
jrf

Desiring God Conference 2007 Top Ten

2007-10-03T10:24:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I had the priviledge of attending the Desiring God National Conference with my Dad. Needless to say it was a great conference. The speakers were: John Macarthur, Jerry Bridges, Randy Alcorn, Helen Roseveare, and John Piper. All of the sessions are available to view and/or listen to at the Desiring God Blog

Since the conference was in Minneapolis, where I was born and most of my extended family is, I was able to visit some of my relatives as well. While there were many, many memorable experiences, here is a list of the top ten:

10. Stillwater - after getting picked up at the airport at 430am and sleeping for a few hours, my dad and I drove out to the town of Stillwater. Stillwater is a beautiful (whoa, I almost said 'cute'!) along the St. Croix river which forms the border with Wisconsin. More importantly it is home to one of the greatest used Christian book stores in the country.

9. Fall - I was again struck by the beauty of Minnesota. Fall doesn't really happen in L.A.

8. Worship - being able to join in worship to our Lord with believers that I didn't even know (and sing a lot of songs that I didn't know!) was and is always a blessing and a wonderful testimony to the power of Christ in uniting people from all tongues and tribes to worship Him.

7. John Piper - Piper on his homecourt...need I say more?

6. Jerry Bridges - this man began serving in the Navigators the same year my parents where born (1955). He is still doing it. A highlight of his message was when he spoke about the fact that the Gospel is not for unbelievers only, it is for believers as well. The same grace and power that saved us, is the same that will sustain and preserve us. We need to begin everyday at the cross.

5. Macarthur - I've heard Macarthur at my college, seminary, and at his church. But to see Him in another context I was able to see how incredibly gifted God has made this man in explaining and expounding the Word of God in a clear, relevant way.

4. Meeting Helen Roseveare - I didn't know it before I went, but Helen Roseveare is my hero, and always has been. She was a missionary in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. She worked there for a number of years doing medical missions before a civil war tore the country apart. Not only were all of the hospitals that she helped establish demolished, she was taken hostage and brutally beaten and raped. After 5 months she was rescued. She returned to England but returned to Congo a year later to get back to doing the Lord's work. She is now in her mid 80's and still full of fire for the Lord. I got to meet her and told her that my wife and I are preparing to do missions in Congo. She was so excited and asked what organization we were going with. I told her that I was having problems finding agencies willing to send us to DRC and she said, "Oh, bother! Go with WEC! (the organization she is with) We'll send you!" and gave me some contact information. I pray I still have that kind of zeal at 50, let alone 85.

3. Seeing Josiah Timothy Hendley - While I was in Minnesota, my friend, cousin, and brother in Christ Matt had his first boy. It was an honor to visit Josiah, and Matt and Bonnie and Gracie (their daughter)in the hospital. I have never seen such a young baby and it was amazing to wonder at the miracle of new life.

2. Witnessing God working in my Uncle Bruce - Before the conference started my dad and I were able to spend some time with my Uncle. My dad and uncle have not always gotten along, so the time had a good probability of being somewhat tense, with me playing peacekeeper. I was praying about this time far in advance, and God graciously and abundantly answered prayers. Instead of getting into arguments, the majority of our time was spent discussing things of the Lord. God is working powerfully in my Uncle, who has not always confessed Christ. He was sharing Scriptures he had been studying on his own and asking questions about certain passages and theological beliefs. It was really wonderful to the hunger for the truth the God has put in my uncle. It was also wonderful to see my dad and uncle show the love of Christ to each other. A miracle indeed.

1. Spending time with the Old Man - that's not the "old man" of Ephesians 4:22 (KJV)but my dad. Sure we got into plenty of arguments but that seems to be how God forces us to go deep with each other. But we also had plenty of times of great conversation. I could have listened to the sermons online but it was experiencing the moments of the conference with my dad and working through the truths presented together that makes me the most thankful that I went.

by His grace
for His glory
jrf

Funeral Meditations for a Christian who Committed Suicide by John Piper

2007-09-23T17:04:00.000-07:00

These two sermons by John Piper have been helpful in helping me process the news of the post below. I found the exhortation at the end of the second sermon to be especially powerful.

Funeral Meditation for a Christian Who Committed Suicide (1981)

Funeral Meditation for a Christian Who Committed Suicide (1988)

Thankyou for your prayers.

Prayer Request

2007-09-21T19:56:00.001-07:00

last wednesday evening, John Moore, our head pastor's brother, a former elder of our church, and friend, committed suicide. Please pray for his family and our church family as we grieve and process this tragedy. Pray that we would be able to trust in the Lord during this time, even if we cannot see God's purposes at this moment.
God is good and God is in control, even in times like this. Thank you for your prayers.

by His grace,
for His glory
jrf

Gong boy gets Baptized!

2007-09-17T12:05:00.000-07:00

It was my honor and joy to be able to participate in baptizing one of our youth last evening. It has truly been amazing and exciting to watch David Castro grow in the Lord over the years. He come to be a close friend and brother. Join me in praising God for His work in and through David.

Prayer Request - Youth Group Kick Off!

2007-09-13T11:56:00.000-07:00

I want to take a break from the never ending road trip to ask for your prayers as we prepare to kick off another year of youth ministry. We are trying a lot of new things this year, including emphasizing small groups a lot more. We have never really been able to get consistent small groups off the ground but hopefully this is the year. another big change is that we are going to have Junior High and High School together for the worship and teaching time and then split up when we go to small groups. Could get pretty crazy.
the first seven weeks I will be preaching through the topics highlighted in our missions statement:
Our mission is to create a Christ-centered community of passionate worship, unwavering discipleship, personal and corporate holiness, and radical missional ministry

By spending so much time going through the missions statement I hope to create a sense of unity in purpose and mission, so that the Youth and Staff are clear about what we are about and what our goal is as a body of Christ.

So if you would like to join in our mission, you can do so by praying for the following things:
- that the staff would make the priority of their life to know and love Christ deeply , whether or not that translates into "successful" ministry
- that the youth would catch the vision to know Christ deeply themselves and want to share that knowledge with their city
- that we would be excellent in every aspect of ministry
- that logistics would go smoothly
- That we would have a CHrist-reflecting attitude even and especially when things don't go smoothly

thank you for lifting us up,

by His grace
for His glory
jrf

Yellowstone to Rapid City (Road Trip part 6)

2007-09-07T13:22:00.000-07:00

The next morning we packed up our tent and headed east out of the park.

We ended up in Cody, Wyoming, a town founded by Buffalo Bill. We had lunch in the original saloon, and I made the experience complete with a nice cold sarsaparilla.

After browsing around town for a bit we hit the road for the long drive across Wyoming and into South Dakota.

We hit one of my favorite sites, Devil's Tower, right as the sun was setting. Our first glimpse of the monument came as we simultaneously crested a hill while reaching the climax of the overture to "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (which was filmed there). Way cool.

The National monument had officially closed when we got there, but no one was in the booth and the gate was open so we went in and had the place to ourselves.

After we left the park, and got lost in a town called Hulet (I say it is pronounced Hull-it, Sarah insists its Hue-let), we drove east the rest of the night until we pulled into Rapid City just in time for my eyes to stop working.

Yellowstone (Road Trip part 5)

2007-09-03T12:10:00.001-07:00

The next morning, we left the Grand Tetons behind...

...and headed north to Yellowstone National Park

After we had found a camp site...

...we drove around and explored the park

We saw many animals, including Bighorn sheep, Bald Eagles, Coyotes, and lots of elk

We also saw some of the geothermal features of the parks

And of course, Old Faithful

We also visited some of the man-made sites, like the Old Faithful Inn

We spent the evening visiting Sarah's friend, Emily, who works at the park during the summers. Afterwards we drove back across the park (about a 2 hour drive) in the dark completely alone. It's quite a strange feeling seeing the eyes of a bull elk reflect in your head lights as it is shrouded in steam from a nearby

Bison video from the Grand Tetons

2007-09-03T11:00:00.000-07:00

Salt Lake City To the Grand Tetons (Road Trip part 4)

2007-08-14T11:23:00.000-07:00

I will let the pictures do most of the talking for what was by far the most beautiful and most exhilirating day of the entire trip for me.

We took a beautiful backroad up from Salt Lake City into Wyoming...

...swinging through a corner of Idaho on the way.

We stopped for lunch for the best pizza this side of the atlantic...

...then we headed into the storm

We stopped in Jackson at a used book store to stock up on Louis L'Amour books and then headed into...The Grand Tetons!

We didn't have a place to stay that night so we decided that we would camp out here. When we found a campsite we were greeted by one of the locals...

After setting up camp we decided to see the neighborhood a little. I really wanted to see a bison, so I was ecstatic when we saw this fella...

...then we saw his friends...

We spent the rest of the evening exploring more of the area, seeing Great Herons, a herd of elk, pronghorns and natural beauty that would blow your mind.

After the sun set we settled into our campsite, just in time for the second craziest thunderstorm of our trip. Thankfully our REI tent held up against the rain, wind and lightning.

next episode: bears, sulfur, wolves and more!

Sex trafficking in Los Angeles

2007-08-10T11:12:00.000-07:00

You would be shocked at how common stories like these are in this city. All the more reason that the light needs to shine in this dark place.

"For he will deliver the needy when he cries for help,
The afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
He will have compassion on the poor and needy,
And the lives of the needy he will save.
He will rescue their life from oppression and violence,
And their blood will be precious in his sight;"
Psalm 72:12-14

"Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom : she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy."
Ez 16:49

"They are fat, they are sleek,
They also excel in deeds of wickedness;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the orphan, that they may prosper;
And they do not defend the rights of the poor.
' Shall I not punish these people?' declares the LORD,
'On a nation such as this
Shall I not avenge Myself?'"
Jer 5:28-29

"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
Matt 5:16

Salt Lake City (Road Trip part 3)

2007-08-06T10:16:00.000-07:00

We pulled into the hotel parking lot in Salt Lake city and stepped out of our air conditioned car and into the 100 degree Utah evening. After getting settled into our room (the only way we were able to afford this nice hotel is because Sarah worked at a Marriott) we decided to go see the sites. When in Salt Lake City the "sites" are pretty much limited to Mormon monuments.
We wandered our way up the deserted Sunday streets and found our way to the Beehive House. This was the official residence of the (false) prophet Brigham Young. Young earned the nickname "the Mormon Moses" for leading the followers of Joseph Smith, Mormonism's founder, from Illinois to what is now Utah. He was known as a man of strong leadership, controversy, and many wives. The house adjacent to the Beehive House is the Lion house, built to accommodate Young's wives, (27) and children (56).
Moving on, we made our way past the ominous Mormon Global Headquarters which strangely reminded me of the euthanasia center from Soylent Green.

Wandering on, we found our way to the main event, the temple.

I guess it's a pretty building, if you can look past all the occult symbols that adorn it. It's really not that big and lacks the disneylandish feel of the San Diego temple that I'm more familiar with. After walking around the temple for a bit we finally came to the visitor's center. As you enter you are greeted by a small army of well dressed latter day lackeys. Everything in here looks ultra-Christian. The walls are lined with paintings of Jesus' life as recorded in the Gospels (the real ones). The center-piece of the room is a large largely inaccurate scale model of ancient Jerusalem. On the surface, a Christian (and by Christian I mean someone who believes that Christ is God and that the Bible is the one and only true word of God - you really gotta define your terms when dealing with Mormons) would feel totally comfortable in this room - and that's scary. After perusing the visitor's center for a while we went outside and were met by two Mormon young ladies. They asked us if we would like a tour of the complex. So for the next hour and a half we toured around.
We saw the tabernacle, famous for it's choir and accoustics.

We saw more of the visitor's center and listened to the Jesus say nice things while staring at the 30 foot Caucasian Jesus statue. We also walked around the temple again and heard a spiel about it from our tour guides.
Probably most interesting was the conference center. This isn't normally on the tour. The auditorium holds a frightening 21,000 seats. Two Jumbo Jets can fit into this thing side by side. In more sobering terms, imagine a morgue with 21,000 bodies all representing a soul separated from God from eternity for believing lies about Christ.

The lobby of the conference center was similar to that of the visitors center with one major difference: instead of paintings of the life of Christ as recorded in the Gospels, these paintings told the story of Jesus' suppossed adventures in the Americas. These pictures and the stories they told seemed like something that could only happen if Jack Chick, George Lucas, and William Randolph Hearst joined forces to make a really bad children's book while on acid. I don't have the time to go into all the details (and I don't know all the details) of the book of Mormon but here's a crude summary: Jesus really didn't go back to heaven He went to Mexico and taught some more to the Indians who were really the lost tribe of Jews. This teaching though was lost cause the good Indians were killed off. Fortunately the knowledge was hidden on some tablets by a guy named Moroni. After thousands of years the knowledge was re-discovered by Joseph Smith who founded the Mormon church in the late 1800s. But he lost the tablets or something and apparently they weren't enough because he kept having new revelations, sometimes contradicting his old ones.
Anyways, the point I wanted to make about the conference center was that it was here, not the visitor's center that you really began to see what the Mormons believed. Everywhere else on the tour was either benign facts or blatantly Christian/Bible-friendly. The conference center was not supposed to be on the tour, perhaps for that very reason.
At the end of the tour we sat down and the two young ladies asked if we had any questions. We did. For the next 45 min or so we talked to these ladies about their faith and the Bible. They were very cordial, very lucid, and very authentic. I did my best not to just barrage them with the classical arguments against in a way that came across like I was just arrogantly listing off reasons why they are stupid. I avoid this approach one because it's not my style and two because I don't think it would have been very effective. In fact, when I mentioned that I was trying not to be arrogant they thanked me that I wasn't like the combative evangelicals they often meet. Instead I just merely asked questions that I was truly interested in and communicated them in a loving but clear way. One such question that seemed to get them thinking was, "If we are to obey God, specifically the 10 commandments (which they were very sure about), and if we are to worship Jesus (which they emphasized many times), but Jesus is not God, then aren't you guilty of idolatry?" They really didn't have a solid answer for that one. I wasn't glad that I stumped them, but I was glad that perhaps a crack had been made in their belief system, a crack through which the truth of the Gospel (and maybe some good old fashioned common sense) would seep in through and wash away their false beliefs.
There's something about Mormons that make you hungry so after our discussion we wandered around in the still deserted city to find somewhere to eat. The only place we could find was a pub. Fortunately they had delicious sausage sandwhiches. Unfortunately it was amatuer stand up comic night. The first comic spoke for about 5 minutes about his adventures using a urinal. I like potty humor as much as the next guy (maybe more) but this was just dumb. The next guy was even worse. He didn't know what to talk about so he asked the audience for ideas. Some inebriated invertabrate yelled, "sex!". Another yelled, "Mormons". Next was, "sexy Mormons!" That's when we left.

Salt Lake City had a tramatic effect on me. It put a face on a false religion. It made me realize that the majority of Mormons aren't coniving, snake-oil salesmen or a band of bike-helmeted agents whose sole purpose is to wake me up from my nap and give their cheesy literature to. They are lost, decieved, blind men, women, and children. Men, women, and children who think they know the real God and want to worship that God with all of their heart. Men, women, and children who need to know the Truth, the Way, the Life. I have since had many dreams about our tour guides, one from Alabama, the other from South Africa. I have dreamed that they had the eyes of their heart healed and they saw Jesus as the God He is and has revealed Himself to be. I may never know if this dream will come true but I pray that I will never again see Mormons as a nuisance to be avoided but an opportunity to show the grace and truth of the True Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega.

Back from Camp

2007-08-04T11:39:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posting. But I have a good excuse. I spent the last week being a counselor at World Impact's summer camp, the Oaks. This was a new experience for me as I had never been to a summer camp, either as a camper or a counselor. While I would like to record every moment of the week so as not to forget the amazing experience this was, my time and your patience do not allow for a detailed account. Instead I will just list this brief and incomplete list of things that I learned at camp. Many of these things were not new but it was refreshing to be reminded of them in new and different ways.

1. There are few things, if any, that are more powerful and exciting than telling someone that Jesus unconditionally loves them and is willing and able to save them no matter what they, their mom or their dad has done.
2. Few things are more beautiful than watching Christ bring together 150 inner city kids of all ethnicities and backgrounds to worship Him.
3. I like glowsticks
4. The Gospel is both vastly complex and utterly simple. Because I am fascinated by the complexity of the Gospel I often unnecessarily and unfortunately present it in a way that robs it of its power and beauty. A youth entranced by the glitz of the world, a homeless woman selling herself to earn money so she can worship at the altar of cocaine, or a business man chasing after the wind does not need the know the intricacies of predestination, headship or the hypostatic union to find the hope their soul needs. They need to know that they are not lovable, yet God loves them anyways, that the perfect and holy God/Man Jesus Christ is willing and able to save them if they will repent of themselves and give their torn, battered, shame-filled lives to Him!
5. Chorizo, Mountain Dew, and Cottage Cheese is a bad idea.
6. Party like a Christian...ie. Christians should be constantly showing the world that we have more joy than they do. That righteousness and being right with God and enjoying Him is immeasurably more satisfying than the lust of the world.
7. Standing firm in the Lord is both an individual and communal task.
8. I love my wife
9. I want to be a film director (our cabin made the best music video)
10. It is a great privilege to be used by God in someone else's life

Stand Firm
Eph 6:10-18
jrf