Unlikely Messenger

Throughout history, God has used the most unlikely messengers for the spreading of his message. Whether you look at Paul, Peter, or even John the Baptist - each one have quirks/blemishes to their story that make you wonder about their selection. I think this is just another example of God's incredible grace, and affirms the Gospel all the more.

How bout John Newton? Ever heard of him? He was a sailor who lived during the mid 1700's. He had a reputation of being a nasty, profane, and untrustworthy individual. A Wikipedia article about him says the following:

     While aboard the ship Greyhound, Newton gained notoriety for being one of the most profane men the captain     had ever met. In a culture where sailors commonly used oaths and swore, Newton was admonished several times for not only using the worst words the captain had ever heard, but creating new ones to exceed the limits of verbal debauchery.

He created cusswords? Takes the expression curses like a sailor to a whole new meaning.

This guy ended up leaving the British navy to go work on an African slave boat. Here he bounced around between boats and at one point was shipped off to a plantation to work as a slave. Shows you how much he was hated by his peers.

Somehow while working on the plantation he found his way back to another slave boat, and became one of the ranking officers on the boat. One night the sailors fell under a massive storm and the boat was nearly capsized. Newton tried everything he could to save the ship and was quoted with the following:

"If this will not do, then Lord have mercy upon us!"

Seems like the standard, desperate cliche 'God help us', right? Well it turns out they made it through the storm, and Newton was left to ponder these words during his eleven hour shift at the helm. His near death epiphany turned out to be a life changing moment for Newton. The effects of this night led him to conversion to Christianity, and to leave the slave trade business all together. God's grace is amazing.

Big deal right? Well our friend John Newton also had a knack for writing. Years after this terrifying night at sea he wrote a song.

His song became a staple to African American folk music. The same guy who exploited and captured innocent Africans wrote a song that promised their deliverance. Pretty ironic huh? It should also be mentioned that John went on to be an advocate for the abolition of slavery.

What does this guy have to do with the spreading of God's message?

Currently his song is performed over 10 million times a year. It has been recorded using the melodies of just about every music genre ever created. I would argue that it's the most popular tune ever played. And all this coming from a man who was considered vile, disgusting, and wretched by the most vile, disgusting and wretched group of people? Worst of the worst. Doesn't make sense... But does God's grace ever make sense?

Romans 3:23 says we are all sinful and are separated from God. It's only by God's grace and the blood of Christ that we are reunited with the Father. Below are the lyrics to John Newton's famous jingle.

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.

’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!

Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my Shield and Portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise

Than when we’d first begun.

Gospel Homecoming

Over the past few months we've had all sorts of different groups come to camp. From upper middle class women's groups to 300 men on four wheelers, we've seen it all. This weekend was Young Life snow camp. Holy freaking awesome.

Young Life seeks the unreachable - which is broad. Unreachable could be the high school quarterback who literally gets everything he wants. It could also be the future rocket scientist who can count his friends on half of one hand. Two kids who most likely have nothing in common but one thing - they probably haven't heard much about Jesus.

So Friday night 506 Young Life kids come to camp. We've spent the previous 8 hours shoveling snow and removing ice from sidewalks (nothing ends a fun weekend like impromptu iceskating down a flight of stairs). All this 'camp prep' is undone by 500 high schoolers in less than 10 minutes.

You've got 10 kids from one school at the top of a two story deck, hurling snowballs as if they are defending Fort Knox. Below them are 12 kids from a different school packing their snow missiles with rocks. These kids are out for blood.

50 feet to the right is a bonfire, with 4 couples sitting around looking like they might suffocate if separated from one another. Behind them walks three kids dressed in black, with chain wallets that hang to their patent leather Dr Martens.

There's one thing that's blaringly obvious about these kids. They all seem like they're fighting like hell to find something. Every single one seems out of place and uncomfortable. You may call this child development. If you do, you probably haven't witnessed the transformation that takes place from Friday to Sunday.

A Young Life weeeknd camp is packed with fun activities, and 4-5 group sessions we call 'club'. The first two sessions typically talk about who Jesus was, most often using a story out of the 4 Gospels. The third session is the Sin talk. This is when kids are told of their sin-condition, which separates us from God. Kids are then left with 6-8 hours of free time and activities to marinate on this terrible news they've been given. It's also interesting that most fights break out during these 6-8 hours. Saturday night is the cross talk. This is when the greatest love story is ever told. God incarnate coming down to earth to die for our sins. The ultimate sacrifice to reunite humankind with its creator.

Last night I had the priviledge of working the screamer swing 2 hours after kids heard the cross talk. The screamer is a 50 ft swing that flies over the Arkansas River valley. Its name is derived from the vocal phenomenon caused by the swing's intensity.

It was incredible to see the difference in these kids. Many seemed like totally changed people. Rather than searchers out of place, they seemed like they had found something. I guess more complete. Seeing such an incredible metamorphosis over a three day period is proof in the pudding. We are built with a gaping hole, only to be filled by a savior who loves us greatly.

In John 10:10 Jesus says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly"

A lot of these kids were given life this weekend. Sweet dang that awesome.

What does the sheep say?

Today I was going back through my journal and reading entries from before I moved to Colorado. Don't let me fool you - I've never really been a journaler or a writer. My journal goes all the way back to 8/28/2011... Impressive huh?

It was interesting to reread my thoughts leading up to my year out west. I don't really remember having these thoughts or prayers, as I have a hard enough time remembering what I had for lunch yesterday. The 8/30/2011 entry goes like this... 

'Dear Frank (because every journal deserves a name), 

     One thing I pray will happen - As I'm drawn out of my comfort zone, that I will become more reliant on God for strength and comfort. Over the years I've become self-sufficient and comfortable with the life I have in Jax....'

     At the bottom of the page I wrote: 'Prayer - Reliance on Him'

Pretty much nailed that one. 

The overarching theme of the past few months has been God breaking me of my worldly comfort (most times against my will and with a vacuum in hand). I probably sound like a broken record by now, but I'm pretty stubborn. God has been showing me over and over to trust in Him, and that he is the source for true strength and joy. I get glimpses of this comfort, but it seems like I forget just as quickly as I remember. 

I think there's a reason for my grace amnesia.

First of all we are all sinners and fall short of our expectations. But also, the Bible gives us some insight of how smart we humans really are... The word 'sheep' is used in the Bible 196 times. That's a lot of times for such an insignificant word. As a frame of reference, the word 'love' is used 683 times. Seems like a lot of sheep right? The word sheep is mostly used to describe us. Yes, there are many times where it's used to actually describe animals in the Bible, but mostly it's our doppelgänger. Sounds great, right?

- 'But he who enters the door is the shepherd of the sheep.'

- Jesus says 'My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me'.

- Jesus says to Peter, 'Feed my sheep'

A few quotes from the Wikipedia entry on sheep...

- 'Sheep are prey animals' 

- 'Sheep are frequently thought of as extremely unintelligent animals.'

- 'Sheep are just below pigs and on par with cattle in IQ'

Sheep. are. dumb. But as always, there's good news about our inability to fend for ourselves. The 196th time that 'love' is used in the Bible is in Psalm 91:14

¹⁴"Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
   I will protect him, because he knows my name.
¹⁵When he calls to me, I will answer him;
   I will be with him in trouble;
   I will rescue him and honor him.
¹⁶With long life I will satisfy him
   and show him my salvation."

We love Him because he loved us first. We need to come to grips with our sheepish nature... And also rest in who we belong to.