Lessons From Brazil

During my spring break I had an amazing opportunity to travel to Manaus Brazil to travel down the Amazon River distributing and giving medical and dental care to tribes along the river. The trip was absolutely amazing and one of the most amazing parts of the trip was one night before we got on the boat, we went to one of the larger churches in the heart of Manaus. Now before I explain to you how amazing this experience was, I have a confession to make. When I was flying from Miami to Manaus I was thinking about the experience that was ahead of me and I was thinking about the spirituality of the Brazilians. I had this spiritual ego that was rooted in my American thought that said that any preaching or sermons I would hear would be watered down and weak. I mean when I think about major thinkers in spirituality I think about C.S. Lewis, though born in Ireland, a gifted writer from Oxford who wrote “Mere Christianity”, or Martin Luther, the radical German theologian who nailed the 95 Theses to the door of the Schlosskirche (Castle Church). My thinking was saying that anyone who really could think about Christ in an educated, challenging way was either in Europe or America.
As the service started all the Americans occupied the first two pews on one half of the rather large church. My mindset was shattered the moment the service started; the pastor welcomed everyone to the church and then asked everyone to get into groups of two or three and pray for the service and for the worship and for each other and the world around us. After about five minutes of prayer they opened with a few songs of worship. As I looked around I saw the congreation in deep fellowship and communion with God through worship, not the typical “just stand their and move your mouth” American church worship, but real, raw worhsip. Then an associate pastor gave his testimony and more worship followed.
Sadly, as the head pastor rose to give the sermon, my mind had not fully overturned it’s prior ways of thinking about the spirituality of the people around me. Then the pastor spoke. I was taken back as he delieved a sermon on a highly controversial message on James 1:19-27 about “Listening and Doing” and pure religion and moved to James 2:14-26 on “Faith and Deeds” and how “without faith it is impossible to pelase God…” (Hebrews 11:6). He challeneged the congreation to act, because if there are no actions, James claims there is no real faith. A real faith in God propells and motivates actions of love in the name of Jesus Christ. He challenged the congreation to recognize the drugs in the community, and the orphans and widows and to love them, and take them in and take care of them.The service not only blew me away but challenged me more than any church I had been to in years.
Afterwards came a few more announcments, one of which was an older women who was announcing a play about Jesus and crying, and begging the congreation to bring their neighbors and the community around them because she believed that the play would have an effect. As she walked off stage we got up for communion and many members of the church came and walked from the other side of the church to comfort her and encourage her. The entire experience was so breathtaking and amazing, and that was just the first 24 hours. My eyes were opened to so much that whole trip through my Brazilian and American teammates on the boat and experiences in the city.
Before I left I was already struggling with the issues in the church of America. We are so split, with so many denomenatnions, what happen to Ephesians 4, “Unity in the Body of Christ”? It bothers me that we don’t open in not only in prayer as a church, but in prayer with the people around us. It bothers me how it’s become so mundane when we sings things like “open the eyes of my heart” or “I’m coming back to the heart of worship and it’s all about you” or “you’re more than enough for me”, we don’t mean it. I don’t understand how we can say such powerful statements and walk away unchanged. As I open my Bible I find that when the disciples got together after Jesus died, among the things they did was devoted themseleves to Jesus’ teachings, to looking out for each other, communion, and prayer and “the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” I may not know exactly what we are missing, but until we start seeing these things happening, something is wrong. We need more pastors to speak Truth, to challenge the church to live for Christ, not listen to Him on Sunday. “Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourseleves. Do what it says” (James 1:22). We should not run from broken people, broken homes or broken neighborhoods, for we are the “light and salt of the earth!” We need to see the evil but overcome it with light, not shy away, but realize that “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Maybe the reason this is a problem is because we have the “educated writers” and thinkers of Christianity, and not enough leaders of living Christianity. Coming back from this trip, that was the cry of my heart. To stop thinking, I know what the Bible says, it says to “love my neighbor” and I don’t need to look into it anymore. The Greek and Hebrew all add up to the same thing: “love your neighbor”, so why do I not even know my neighbor? “O God let us be, a generation that seeks, that seeks your face o God of Jacob” (Give us Clean Hands, Charlie Hall).

Brazil

Well I will be heading to Manaus Brazil in about a week. It's crazy to think that it's coming that soon, but I am ready for it and wanting it to come. I can't wait to get away from my crazy life right now with failing school, lacrosse sucking up my life and whatnot. i can't wait to just unplug and go down a river and hang out with kids. I can't wait. It will be so awesome and the team, especially the guys are so awesome and I've gotten to know them really well. I can't wait, please pray for that. I still have some letters to send out, I need to get on that I know, but I need to write another letter and that is intimidating so I put it off. But I will. Please pray for the trip, the members, me, the kids, and the safety of the people, that we don't get sick with anything while were there. Thanks!

Promises

Hebrews 13:5b: "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

Romans 8: 35, 38-39, 1: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."


Lately the weather in West Palm Beach has been, well let’s just say way below par. From Tuesday to Wednesday if I looked out my window it looked like there was a waterfall outside my window. There was even a tornado watch Tuesday night. So I have had a lot of time inside to dink around and just think. No my roommate smokes the occasionally and so he has lighters lying around. Now since I collect them I have a few myself and we would always play with them and I always found it interesting just to look at fire and watch it work and just watch what it does. Now Tony and my other friends, when they see a lighter they start to burn things, paper, forks, really whatever is around. This makes me slightly aggravated because the room starts to smell awful. But lately I have been wondering about their obsession with burning things and how I don't know why you would because the results are mostly all bad. A burned paper is: useless, smelly, messing and the only good thing is how big and cool the fire gets, but it's so temporary compared to turning up your lighter to full blast and you can hold that flame for as long as you want. It's safe, contained and doesn't have any of the bad side effects.

Now to my point. I think lately my actions in life have been identical to my friend’s actions in burning things in my room. They have been extremely temporary and have left horrible side effects on my areas of my life. Like my friends, I feel like I have rushed into this semester, seeing a lighter and I just start to light things on fire, not thinking about others, myself or what God really wants for me. It's been a struggle for this semester for sure. Just getting into God's word and spending time to just sit and communion with Him in prayer has been really difficult because I have been busy burning things. I'm holding on to those promises though and it has been such an encouragement to me. Last night I was so angry at myself for getting distracted from such a great Father, and I was so angry at so many things in my life. I felt so alone and begged God to show me that He never leaved me and never forsaken me. I begged Him to hold me close and to draw me close to His heart so we could breathe together and live together again. He did, and after at least 30 minutes of being angry and upset, I was asleep with minutes of praying that and feeling God draw me close and feeling His peace "which transcends all understanding" guarded my heart and my mind (Phil. 4:7).

God is so good, I know in the mist of my pain and anger and frustration and busyness of life that He is good and here. Some of the verses I have memorized have helped: "Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart have multiplied; free me from my anguish." "My heart says of you 'seek His face!' Your face Lord, I will seek." "I am still confident in this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living (earth). Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."


Psalms 25:16,17 ; 27:8 ; 27: 13,14

Journal Excerpt

Ps 23:1 "The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want."

Lord, draw near to me; because i feel incapable to draw to you. My actions & mouth drive me further from you as my heart longs to be closer. Because of this desire (if through my lack of action you can call it that) I make promises to you that I struggle to keep. Promises that David said, so I feel like I can too. Like "this earth has nothing I desire but you" and "the LORD is my shepherd I shall not want". Lord i know the intensity of those prayers, yet i just say them, almost to make my heart mean it instead of my heart meaning it first. Or maybe I want you to be proud of me. I want you to know that I love you even when I don't always show it. That I'm trying my best to love you and it's just so hard right now & I don't know why. Yet LORD, I know it's just my unbelief, the same that tackled Adam & Eve in the garden. Your Word says you couldn't love me more. I just don't believe that all the time. And the scary part is I don't know what you'd have to do to prove it! Was your son not enough!! What a sad statement to think. That what your son, my savior, did on the cross was not enough to show me you care & that you want a deep relationship with me.

LORD, open my eyes so I may see & say "amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost, but now i'm found, was blind but now I see" or "How deep the Fathers love for us, how vast beyond all measure, that He should give His only son, to make a wretch His treasure. Why should I gain from His reward? I can not give an answer, but this I know with all my heart, His wounds have pain my ransom." LORD, show me how to increase my faith. I want a faith that rocks a world but only glorifies You beacuse You know I've done nothing even close of earning any but judgement from you. I just want the mindset to constantly think of you so when you come I can sing "Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD God almight" with all the angels & hear my Father say "well done, good & faithful servant!". "I love you LORD and I lift my voice to worship you, o my soul rejoice", "for it is well, it is well with my soul." LORD I know I amke you proud, please help me to live like I know that. Please help me to know your Word, and to pray like I know you will answer. Not to pray because it sounds good to your ear. Help me mean Psalms 23:1, help me live like it's true in my life. Open my heart and eyes so that I may see. Thank you LORD