The Haven

Hungry?

2008-11-19T07:44:00.001-08:00

Listening to the young missionary share her brokenness, her joy, and her deep hunger was exactly what I needed. She has healed through God’s power, seen the unseen, walked with death, and loved deeply – and she is hungry for more. She isn’t sitting back saying, wow, that was great…she is looking forward to see what God will do next. She has tasted his goodness and desires more…more of Him, more of his love, more of his power, more of his grace. She is hungry.

Are we? Or…have we become satisfied?

Every year we do the 30 hour famine to raise awareness and money for World Vision. By fasting for 30 hours, we are able to identify – in a small way – with those that go hungry every day. It is one of the few times that I feel truly, deeply hungry. There is an emptiness that grows with the hours and at times consumes your mind. I get tired of the liquid diet after just a few hours and just can’t wait to sink my teeth into something solid.

Around hour 27, it begins. The smell of food starts to fill the air around the kitchen as servant-hearted people begin to make our break-the-fast meal. There is nothing like the aroma of sausages and pancakes after 30 hours of fasting. Just the thought of food makes your mouth drool and your stomach roll. It becomes all Ican think about as I wait for the meal that I know is coming. I can almost taste the crispy bacon because my hunger is so strong. In fact, the smell seems to bring on the realization of just how hungry I really am and how badly I want to eat.

At hour 29 ½ we come together for worship and communion so that at hour 30 the first thing we taste is the bread and the cup. The taste of the bread is like nothing you can describe. It is filling, in and of itself. There is a satisfaction way deep down as the food becomes a part of you. It makes you feel whole and complete in a way I can’t explain.

BUT, that is not the end. There is so much more. It does not end with communion. I walk through the door and there is a whole table filled with hot, mouth-watering food…even though communion felt like enough, the promise of more is exciting. I begin to get impatient; worry if there will be enough food for all of us because the big teenage boys in the front have their plates so full. After our big break-fast meal, we all go home fully satisfied…until our next meal.

What if we lived with a hunger for God like that? What if we weren’t satisfied with just salvation, but we walked with the expectation that there is so much more waiting behind the next door? What if a liquid diet frustrated us and we pushed for the solid food God has for us? What if just the thought of him made us react physically and emotionally with an expectation and impatience of what is to come?

I want to be hungry like that for Him. I don’t want to life a satisfied life that is content with occasional amazing meals; I want to live in full hunger and expectation for what he has in store where just the aroma of Him fills me with excitement.

What about you? Are you hungry?

saved or follower?

2008-10-28T10:26:00.000-07:00

So, I grew up in a world where camp/vacation bible school/church was all about the one big night where you went forward and asked Jesus into your heart and BOOM you're a Christian. It's that one big moment that life changed and now you are a disciple of Jesus....but I was 7. I am not thinking that it didn't count, but I'm wondering if that is what Jesus meant when he said "Follow Me"?

This makes me wonder, is salvation a one shot deal and then we learn to be a disciple, a follower of Christ? Jesus didn't say, "accept me" - he said, "follow me". Maybe salvation and discipleship are interwoven. Could salvation really be more of a journey, a discovery, an answer to the invitation "follow me"? To answer the invitation that really just shows a heart willing to follow. When we answer an invitation, we still have to show up to the party to participate in it. Jesus didn't say, "accept me" - he said, "follow me". We can answer his invitation, but does it stop there?

This raises a thought: Each disciple made a choice to follow Christ, to answer his invitation, but in that moment they actually knew nothing of what he would ask of them - so were they saved in that moment or was it a journey of discovery?

I raise these questions not to discount the faith of a 7 year old that loved Jesus, but to wonder if when we "share a testimony" and talk of that "one big moment" are we missing the point. Is it about that one moment we were 'saved' or the daily living for Christ that is the point. To say I was saved when I was 7 may not actually be accurate. Maybe I should be saying - when I was 7 I began the journey of discovering what it means to follow Christ and I am continually being saved by Christ as I goof up and go off course, it is a journey I am still figuring it out today - and that is called discipleship.

What do you think?

value?

2008-10-21T09:38:00.000-07:00

What gives something value? Does it come from where it was made or who made it? Does it come from it's age or the materials used to create it?

As I prepare to talk about our value to a group of homeless people tonight, these questions come to mind. Where does my value come from? Do I create my own value? Is that a good thing? If I didn't have a home, if I didn't have a job, if I didn't have anything - would that affect my view of my value? I'd have to say - yes - even though I know it shouldn't.

My daughter made me a cup. Does it's value come from the clay - of course not. The priceless value of that cup comes from the one who made it.

I know my value is not dependant on my job, my house, my family, or my possessions. My value doesn't come from outside of me - it comes from who made me. It is not my age (thankfully) that brings me value but the one whose hands formed me before I was even aware of him.

Yet, we live in a world that puts prices on everything. Our world's pricetag creates value. A honda or a lexus will both get you across town - but one is seen as more valuable than the other.
A person that lives on the street or a person that lives in a mansion will both live lives here on earth but we give one more value than the other - we fall into the trap of thinking that value depends on the job, home, or people around us when in fact our value comes from the one who made us.

May you see yourself through the eyes of the one who made you...