Speaking...

Not much posting going on due to a busy week. I am speaking twice this week. Thursday night at Watershed I will be giving a message about Evangelism (which I will continue working on after posting this) and Sunday in all 4 services at New Covenant the topic will be Community (specifically looking at the relationship of David and Jonathan in 1 Samuel). And Sunday will include one fun element - I get to speak with one of my best friends in the whole world, Leo Anderson. That will be a pleasure to share a platform with Leo. It will be even more fun if we can get the sermon actually put together. :o)

Computer's Back

I just got my laptop back today after it had a trip to the "computer hospital". The hard drive (made by Toshiba - so please no "let's bash Apple" jokes) was going bad. Thankfully it was all under warranty. Now I'm having to go back through and bring things back up to where they were when the drive went bad. Thankfully I had most things backed up, but I didn't have a few apps backed up (so I'm re-downloading them and re-installing them), and worst of all - I had failed to back up my bookmarks! A complete travesty.

And for some reason I can't get my email program to connect correctly to the Exchange server at church. Other than that, it's been somewhat easy (and a bit fun - although a time waster) to get things back into order so I can at least look like I'm being efficient).

Ok, so this was a waste of a blog, but at least you now know the reason for my blogging absence. So all 3 of you can rest easy now - the computer's back, so I'm back.

The Lust of Money

While I may be lusting after cameras and computers, one American Idol judge is lusting after something more direct. Money.

I'm not an avid Rolling Stone mag reader, so forgive me if you've already heard this. But in the April 6 edition of Rolling Stone, Simon Cowell, of American Idol fame, said during an interview:

Rolling Stone: What do you want more than anything else in the world?
Simon Cowell: Money. As much money as I can get my hands on. It's as simple as that.
RS: I read that you're worth something like $90 million. Not enough?
SC: No.

I just read the above in Servant magazine. And immediately after this excerpt, they had this Benjamin Franklin quote (whose face graces the $100 US bill):

"Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. There is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of its filling a vacuum, it makes one. If it satisfies one want, it doubles and triples that want another way."

Mr. Franklin in the 1700s was merely echoing what had already been in the Holy Scriptures thousands of years before.

Whoever loves money never has money enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.
This too is meaningless.
Ecclesiastes 5:10

At last Thursday's Watershed Worship Gathering, I spoke about being desperate. Are you desperate for money like Simon - which doesn't satisfy? Or are you desperate for the One who does satisfy and will meet all your needs (which, by the way, are different from your wants - like cameras)?

Material Lust

I have a confession to make. I am currently struggling with lust.

I think I know why God hasn't made me rich. As often as I try to fool myself into thinking I'd do the super spiritual thing and give it all away, I have a feeling I know where some of that money would go.

I am currently lusting for the new Canon Digital Rebel XTi (also called the 400D - see photo at left). And Apple just put out a 24-inch iMac. Our current camera and computer aren't performing at their peek, so it's justified, right? (Oh yeah, the bank account says we can't afford it. Bummer...)

I guess I should thank God for new products like these to help me relearn contentment!

If you'd like to think about finance, possessions, and contentment more, I recommend viewing the newest Nooma film - 013 Rich.

The Focus of Worship

Tonight at Watershed's Thursday Gathering I will be starting a series on the values that Watershed holds as a young adult ministry. The first value we'll be discussing this evening is Worship.

In my personal reading times, I've been going through the Old Testament (or my new word choice - "The Hebrew Scriptures"). Recently I came across a story in 2 Kings that I really wanted to use in tonight's talk, but for the sake of time and clarity, I'm not using the passage. So I thought I'd blog it! :o)

Worshipping Saving Snakes
Perhaps you are familiar with the story of the serpent on the pole in Numbers 21. It's a bit of an odd story - God has commanded the Israelites NOT to worship idols (I'm thinking specifically of the 10 Commandments in Exodus 20), but in this passage he has Moses craft a bronze snack, put it high on a pole, and have the people look at it whenever they get bitten by a poisonous snake. Jesus refers to this story in John 3:14-15 when he says that like the snake, he too must be lifted up (meaning that when people look on the crucified Christ to save them, they will be healed from their sin and separation from God).

(Interesting side note: I've been reading "The Gospel According to Moses" by Athol Dickson. Athol talks about this paradox (no idols, but look upon a bronze snake), and mentions that the Hebrew word used in this passage for "pole" is used elsewhere in the Hebrew Scriptures as "banner" or "example". He wonders aloud in his book that perhaps it wasn't the snake that the people were to look to but the "example" or the One behind the serpent. This goes along with what I discovered in 2 Kings, which I now come to...)

In 2 Kings 18:1-4, we are introduced to Hezekiah, the new king of Judah. Of the many kings talked about in 1 and 2 Kings, Hezekiah is one of the better ones - he was focused on doing what was right in the eyes of God. As the chapter is opening and sharing about the good things Hezekiah did during his reign, it mentions in verse 4 that he destroyed the bronze serpent that Moses has fashioned.

What? Moses is a hero - an icon of the Jewish faith. How can Hezekiah be "good" if he destroyed an ancient artifact that Moses himself crafted?

Because the people had stopped worshipping the God who told Moses to build and raise up the bronze snake and began worshipping the snake itself!

Worship Snakes Today
I think sometimes we make similar mistakes. I know Christians who have clung on to their style, their preferences, their "banners", and have gotten their eyes off the One those things originally pointed to. And I'm not just talking about people who are clinging to what many churches call "tradition". I think even "new" forms of worship have turned into bronze snakes for some people.

So when you go to worship God, whether corporately or privately, what is your focus? How good the band did? How well the devotional writer wrote? How much organ or drums there were during the music? What the pastor was wearing while he delivered the sermon? Or is your focus on the One who called these people and these forms for a season to be used as tools to direct people's attention to Him?

As John Piper says: "God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him". I encourage you to not be satisfied simply by a music style or a particular book. But be satisfied only in the One who gave the grace for us to enjoy the music and the books and to be used to draw our hearts toward Him. Move your eyes past the snake to the One who was lifted up on a cross for the forgiveness of your sins.

Dave the Driver (in CR!)

The Starving Jesus gang has put up a "Dave the Driver" video on their home page. While it is pretty funny, I got a kick watching out the window of the RV - this was all filmed in Cedar Rapids!

And as you watch, keep in mind that J.R. and Dave (the two insulting each other in the video) have known each other since 1st grade. So you'll understand why they treat each other like brothers.

Final Thoughts (Starving Jesus and the fast)

Starving Jesus
What a GREAT night. Even though Craig Gross got stuck in Chicago and couldn't make it, the night still exceeded my expectations. JR was extremely transparent as he talked - and his passion for Christ betrayed the fact he's been talking about this stuff everyday for the past 27 days+ (I would probably be getting bored saying the same thing over and over). And to meet Dave and Clint was an additional treat.

But what has me just as excited was the number of Compassion kids that were sponsored. I don't have a total number, but I saw a LOT of people adopting kids. It was awesome to watch.

And then our House of Hope construction project set for Oct. 7th and 14th in one night was almost completely filled. I think we only have like 2 open slots left. That too blew me away.

I want to say a gigantic thanks to everyone who helped us with set-up: Matt, Steve, and Kern who showed up at 3:30 to get things started (you guys did a great job moving trailers by hand!). To Joe, Amber, Christina, Heather, Jonathan, Austin, Andy, John, Phil, and anyone else I might have missed - thank you for not only helping with set-up but sticking around to take it all down as well. We could not have gotten things done without you.

And a special thanks for Andrew Male who bailed us out last minute with the video stuff. We went from one projector that wouldn't work to two projectors and two TVs that worked beautifully!

And last, but definitely not least, thank you God for the gorgeous night and for showing up in JR, and the videos, and all that took place that I don't even know about.

Be sure to check out the Starving Jesus website with their thoughts on their time in CR. (And the photo above is of the praying mantis that joined in the night with us - biggest praying mantis I have EVER seen!) To see more photos from the Cedar Rapids stop, go to our basic Starving Jesus photo page on the Watershed website.

Break Fast
I was surprised last night that I could do all the work I did without much fatigue at all. I thought for sure after 8 days of no food and only water and juice (and Propel) I would be quite a bit weaker. It was by God's grace I felt so good. In fact I admitted to some people that I felt like I could keep going. But I didn't. :o)

I decided to start simple - I ate a yogurt when I got home at midnight. Well... and a piece of left over birthday cake I made for LeAnn last Saturday. :o) But I think my taste buds went to sleep on this fast - the yogurt tasted kind of weird and the cake really wasn't very good (but it was 6 days old...). My cereal this morning was fine, and my Chic-Fil-A sandwich was better, but I still feel like my taste buds are trying to figure out how to work again.

And as I admitted on the blog earlier this week, I did not step on our scale at home during the fast so that I wouldn't think about the weight loss - I wanted all this to be about God.

But now that the fast is over I stepped on the scale this morning. I haven't seen a number that low in quite some time. :o)

Between January (when we got our scale) and the start of my fast last week, I had lost approximately 13 lbs. Well, in one week, I lost 9 lbs. I had heard that you can lose about a pound a day during a food-free fast, but I didn't think I would lose quite that much. I guess I was wrong. And to be honest, it's kind of nice to be this thin again. :o)

Someone asked if I will fast again like this. Undoubtedly yes! It is hard to do with a family (mealtimes together are so precious) and those first few days are quite hard, but it felt kind of nice to be free of food, to be more intentionally focused on Christ and the Word, and to sense God giving me grace when I was so tempted to eat. I might even try to go longer - but it sure would help to have someone else doing it with me.

So that's the wrap up to the Starving Jesus event and of my personal fast. It was a great experience, and I hope the residual effects of all of this are seen and felt for quite some time.

-E