text pertaining to the love of God

It has been far too long since I’ve posted, but I can guarantee that I have not been twiddling my thumbs. I want to keep you all updated, so here is the promised video of me giving a tour of my apartment. Ian and I were able to hang out on Thursday night, so he filmed this for me.

The days here go faster than ever. It is hard to believe that I have been here for almost a month and a half. I’m still getting a handle on seminary classes and what it means that I am now a graduate student. I am totally loving the time I get with the Jr. High and High School. The Lord has been gracious to allow me to enjoy hanging out with them and I think they enjoy hanging with me to some extent. It is strange to be just out of college and to be doing what I have always wanted to do and what I am training to to do.

This week was really tough. I only slept a little over an hour on Monday night and only a couple hours last night, and yet I did not get anything done. I know that all of this is growing me and stretching me, but sometimes it is just painful. I feel like I cannot give my all to either ministry or seminary because I am being pulled so strong on both ends. But I know that the Lord gives the grace to endure and I am constantly seeking His face for the strength.

I am so thankful for all the people who pray for me. They have been a crucial part in my transition process, which as gone well. It is so encouraging to know that God’s people support one another and we can do that through speaking with our compassionate Creator. So, if you have been praying for me thank you, thank you, thank you - it means so much to me.

Our church down here is in the middle of a big outreach campaign to reach the city of Upland. Teams have been going from 6:30am to 10pm spreading the gospel to college campuses, nursing homes, and neighborhoods. These people are hardcore ambassadors of the gospel of Christ. It has been humbling to see them minister in such faith and persistence. If you remember them the rest of the week, please pray that hearts would be soft to the Word of God. We have already seen several people make professions of faith.

There is so much more to fill in on, but that will have to be at a later time.

If we aren’t careful, we can tend to become familiar and slack when it comes to relating to the God of the Bible. There are many things which can lead to such sluggish apathy, but I think one catalyst to such an attitude comes from interacting with Scripture on a surface level. We read the Bible in our language and we know it is talking about a great God. But we take the blessing of God’s Word being readable and knowable and then we begin to think that God is kind of like us. This does not happen immediately, but subtly.

I know it sounds so blasphemous to say that we think God is like us, but I can feel the tendency. I begin to just assume that God is an English speaking God who relates on a human level. But God is so far above us and beyond us. In fact, He says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8,9) He is entirely NOT human and completely different. Paul Washer said, “He is not quantitatively bigger than us, He is qualitatively different from us.” In other words, He does not just do everything better than us and in a larger capacity, but He does things differently.

The reading of the words that have come from the mouth of God must lead us to small view of God because the words are understandable, but to a high view of God that worships and thanks Him for speaking to us.

Actually, it hit me the other day that I am not “the intern” anymore. I lifted up my water bottle from ichthus this year and saw that title written on the bottom. It caused me to reflect on how that period of my life is over. I will never again fill that position and serve on staff with all the wonderful one28 staff.

But that’s okay because it is better to be where God wants you even if it is uncomfortable and unfamiliar than to be where it’s comfortable, but not where God wants you. So I’m living in Upland because it is exactly where the Lord wants me and I don’t want to be anywhere else.

On Monday, I will be moving into the new apartment, which is affectionately known as Outreach Point Alpha. The name came from the fact that the church will be using the place as a hub for ministering in the community. We want to reach out the people in the area, but it has been hard when everyone else lives in a different part of town. My roommate, Leif, and I are not responsible for doing all the ministry, we are just “holding down the fort” for when others come. But we will have the opportunity to get to know our neighbors and hopefully shine the light of the gospel in that place. Please pray that the Lord would do great things through this apartment.

I realized that most people who read this blog have never been to FBC and have no clue what my office looks like, so I filmed a tour. Enjoy

In terms of the student ministries, I really enjoy my position, but I have not had many opportunities to interact with the students, so I’m eager to spend time with them. The Lord is pulling together a staff that is passionate about discipling students. The Jr. High will start meeting on September 14th and the High School on the 17th. I’ll be teaching through First John with the High School and something with Romans for the Jr. High.

Anyways, God has been so good and I’m thankful the opportunity to serve Him here in Upland. I now must head off to a birthday party for the pastor’s granddaughter. I have been staying at the pastor’s house these last several weeks, so I’ve been able to join in many family activities. I will post on the great people later.

My first week of seminary is over. I am taking four courses:

• Greek Exegesis I • Hermeneutics • The Biblical Theology of Emotion • Discipleship Lab

Three of them will be easy and one of them will cause me to question my calling. Well, not really. It will just require a lot of time to study. I am the only M.Div student in the class. The rest of them are Th.M students. But I am excited because it is a subject that I’m interested in and I wrote a paper on it last fall. We will look at how God in the OT and Christ in the NT exhibit four core emotions: love, joy, sorrow, anger. Ultimately, we are going to look at what application it all has on the Christian life.

I know that seminary will challenge me in many different ways and may possibly threaten some important things, if I am not careful. I intend to compose a list of seminary resolutions - commitments that I will make to God and to myself for the purpose of keeping my priorities in line and coming out the other side with a deeper knowledge of God, a greater love for Christ, and a greater dependence on the Spirit. We’ll see how soon I get to those.

This story is a bit out of the ordinary here at Affectional Writ, but it’s worth passing on.

Man uses Barbie fishing rod to make record catch

Friday, August 22, 2008 2:51 AM EDT
The Associated Press

ELKIN, N.C. (AP) — David Hayes’ granddaughter just asked him to hold her Barbie rod and reel while she went to the bathroom. He did. And seconds later he landed the state record channel catfish at 21 pounds, 1 ounce.

Alyssa’s father had bought the pink Barbie fishing rod for Christmas and she had caught a few bluegill before her grandfather hauled in the catfish.

The Winston-Salem Journal reported the catch Aug. 5 in eastern Wilkes County has been certified as a record by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

Hayes and his granddaughter have been fishing in the pond behind his house since she was big enough to hold a pole.

Hayes said his granddaughter worried he would break her rod. He landed the 21-pound fish on a 6-pound test line. It was 32 inches long, 2 inches longer than the rod.