I'll Make Up a Title Later...

Do you know who He is?

2006-07-22T14:02:00.000-06:00

He created everything. Then He flooded it. He called Abraham out of his home. He was with Joseph when his brothers sold him into slavery and when he was in prison. He brought Israel out of Egypt and parted the sea so they could walk through it. He knocked down Jericho, He slew Goliath, He fulfilled all of his promises to David. When no one answered Elijah's foes cry for fire, God answered and consumed both the offering and the alter. He gave His word to the prophets. He sent His only son to die for the sins of the world. He is the God who raised Jesus and overthrew the power of death. He has gone with every single martyr right through death and into eternal life. And He is with those who believe in Him and call on His name. He is the God who turned off the lights on Bourbon Street. That is the God whom I serve.

My Wild Night on Bourbon St.

2006-07-17T17:26:00.000-06:00

On Friday night the group went out on Bourbon St. to share the gospel. We had avoided the area thus far because the noise makes it nearly impossible to share, and because there are strip clubs all over the place. So someone had the idea that we could all wear signs with Bible verses on them and walk up and down the street. Good idea, really scary. I have always been terrified of what people think of me when I share the gospel with them, so this was something that I really had to trust God for. I wanted to cut and run all day Friday. Before we went out Friday night, the whole group gathered to pray for protection and that our presence on Bourbon would impact people's lives. People just started praying and throwing out all of these awesome verses about how the Lord doesn't abandon his people, how he always protects us and always goes with us. There was much to fear on Bourbon St. In addition to the battles that the men have to fight to overcome the lust caused by strip clubs where the nudity is practically in the street, we were also surrounded by angry drunk people who were pissed off that we were proclaiming the Word of God in the middle of their party. But God was so faithful! He answered all of our prayers. We all came back safe, and we got into some really good conversations with people. People insulted us, but it didn't matter a bit. When they said "You guys are effing idiots" we just smiled at them, because we knew that they were insulting Christ, not us. He told us that no servant is greater than his master, and that we should EXPECT insults and persecution. In fact, he says we are blessed when we are hated for his name's sake. We all came back rejoicing because we knew that we obeyed God, and that God had been faithful to us, as he alway is. There is no greater calling than to obey Christ. Even if it costs my life, think on the reward I gain through obedience to him...when I die I will see his face because he has made me an object of mercy. He has chosen to use each one of us who believe in him to glorify his own name, in spite of ourselves and all of our pride that holds us back. We have nothing to offer but obedience. We have nothing to lose but our chains. We have Christ to gain, and that is everything.

Gutting for the Glory of God

2006-07-14T14:26:00.000-06:00

Today is my group's gutting day. We showed up at the house we were assigned to gut out in Lakeview, and I was all ready to knock out cabinets with the sledge hammer. But Betty, the lady who owned the house, actully didn't need it gutted because it was only going to be bulldozed anyway. She had all kinds of collectible dolls in the house, but they had all been covered by the mud when the levee broke. Her house is only one block away from where the levee broke in Lakeview. She just needed us to bring all of the dolls to her so that she could see which ones she wanted to salvage. Betty is an older lady, so she sat out in a chair on the lawn while we brought out her stuff for her. I had a bad attitude about it. I was ready to knock out a wall, not help someone sort through their rubble. But when we left the house, we all gathered around her to pray for her. She began sobbing, and I was so ashamed of myself. I looked around and realized all over again what was happening. To me, Betty's things were just more trash to be thrown out. The reality is, we were standing in the middle of a thousand symbols of a life that would never be the same because of the storm. Years and years of collecting those dolls were washed away by the storm. How dare I tell God how he should use me? Betty needed someone to help her carry that stuff out of her house. We were given a precious opportunity to love this woman, and I almost missed it because I thought that it would be better for me to be destroying something. It's so hard to stay sensitive. It has been two months now, and every day I see the destruction wrought by Katrina and the neglect that has followed. It's so difficult not to be hardened. I want to have compassion and love for the people we help. It says if I don't have love, my deeds are nothing more than a clanging symbol. But day by day I see the mementos of lives that were rocked by Katrina, and I can't help but think that I have already seen this before. Maybe I have. There is no devastation worse than in the Lower Ninth Ward, and I've seen that. But that doesn't mean that every house I enter was someone's home. What if it was my home. I would be devastated. And every house we gut has a devastated family that goes with it. Those families are why we are here. God wants us to love the families the same way he does. Like I said, I walked away from that house humbled and ashamed of myself.

From the Big Easy, with love

2006-07-13T15:49:00.000-06:00

So I never thought I would have enough to say to start a blog (and you may judge for yourself whether I'm wrong about that now), but this trip has given me a lot to think about. Last night I went to a concert at St. Anna's Episcopal Church on Esplanade St. A group of about 30 parishoners gathered to enjoy a meal and revel in the music which New Orleans is famous for. A trio of lady singers dominated the performance, and they were fun to watch. They had a great time up there. I don't think that they realized it, but their songs showed the soul of the people of this city after Hurricane Katrina. Most people here lost their homes, their cars, and their lives as they knew them. Almost a year after the storm, they are still gathering the pieces, but now they have accepted what happened. In one song, the ladies sang about how their house and car are gone now, and the whole room broke out in laughter. These people have been through great hardship, but they bear it very well. One of the young men sang this chorus: "Praise be to the true king of New Orleans. Praise be to the one who died for sin." In the midst of a tragedy, this guy has turned to God and found that He is real and strong and ready to save those who call on Him. I dunno maybe I read to much into it, but I was encouraged to see someone who puts his trust in God. I have been so discouraged so often by people's stubborn refusal to admit that they don't have what it takes make it through life. Especially down in Central City, where upwards of a dozen murders have happened this summer. It is so poor there. We got to play basketball with a group of kids from one of the school's, and I felt so weak because there is nothing that I can do to give them a better life. If I gave all of my money, maybe I could help one of them go to college and make a better life. But even that is doubtful. It's just really difficult to keep believing that God wants me to be here when I can't help anyone beyond feeding them for a day or two. I don't know. Anyway...can't wait to come home.