Marriage was Not Designed for This

I'm sorry to those who find it hard to see marriage things flood social media, as my posts and pictures have been basically nothing but that. I am not big on social media, but I like to publicly announce to the world, I am taken, and so is my wife to be Emily Lyles. It is not for this desire that I apologize, I think it could be a true time of joint celebration. This opportunity is especially true for those who are brothers and sisters in faith, for we are called to be one as Jesus and the father are one. Therefore, my joys are to be your joys, but the reverse is also true, your struggles should be a personal concern of mine. However, we (Emily and I) are only a fraction of the reason to celebrate our marriage. Marriage, as a covenant bond, is a representation of the covenant bond God offers us through Jesus Christ. To be clear I, in no way, think married or engaged people have a better or closer relationship to Christ. I also realize that this whole post could sound hypocritical, but in light of the very apparent and burdensome weight that this culture puts on marriage, the weight I have just started to become increasingly aware of as "The Big Day" comes closer, I feel I must speak anyways.

I am a pretty "go by the beat of my on drum" kinda guy, as I have been told often. So until recently my beat wasn't ever beating wedding tunes, or more relevantly, I was not listening to what the cultures drum beat pounded loudly about marriage and relationships. That pounding from an accumulation of messengers is the reason I am sorry. Marriage is a huge end game for a lot of people and for many others it is game over. Neither of which is true. I declare this confidently as truth. This declaration is not due to my own wisdom, but that of the great cloud of witnesses, the predecessors who demonstrated the light of truth from generation to generation, and from the scriptures and God's spirit.

The first wrong view can result in statements like "Once you know God is enough, He will provide a spouse," and "True love waits." As if married people, or those on track to be married, live from a knowledge that God is enough in a more profound way than their single brothers or sisters. As for the well meaning "True love waits," to wait for true love, is to wait to breathe. Jesus is the only unblemished true love, a husband or wife is merely to be a shadow of true Love to an individual. Similarly to a shadow of a tree, a shadow has some of its own, but not independent, benefits. You can relax in shade on a hot summer day, as you can rest in the arms of your spouse after a long hard day. On the reverse, shadows cannot be climbed or bring nourishment, and it makes it more challenging for a flower trying to complete photosynthesis. Spouse's likewise creates difficulties, they cannot be your ultimate source of joy, worth, or purpose, no matter how godly your spouse is, he or she can not satisfy your deepest intrinsic needs. As for those who at some level are waiting for Mr. or Mrs. Right to fill that void, this is a dangerous lie that will only succeed in putting a weight on the shadow that can only be held by the tree. Even if you intellectually accept and morally agree with the previous, it is still a struggle to live out, as you start the process of becoming one, or try not to covenant the ones who are on that journey. In addition to that real stumbling block, there is a plethora of other struggles of getting married, if there wasn't, divorce would be a rare phenomenon.

Which leads to the other extreme, marriage is game over, which is also untrue but considering this has been primarily about marriage most people in that boat glanced at this post, felt sorry for me, and moved on. So I'll keep this section short. The first proof that marriage is not game over in life is the aforementioned pinnacle benefit of marriage, namely a representation of God's commitment to us, which can be celebrated as a supporter or a participant. Another one would be to take a love from a fickle union with the chance of being undone by a current, very possible fleeting, feeling to a dependable covenant love is scary but exhilarating.

With all these false ideas putting weddings on a pedestal and/or diluting the sanctity of marriage, I felt it would be useful to hear from a man of God currently in the throes of the exciting and hectic engagement stage. This was originally going to be a sentence or two post about reading the Meaning of Marriage for premarital counseling and looking up wedding ring prices... blah blah... marriage. As you can tell it turned out to be something completely different, and I truly believe that there is a reason that I wrote this.

P.S. To those who do not share my faith, you might have noticed there was not much about marriage that would be universal, and that is because I believe God set up marriage, redeems marriage and is revealed in marriage.

Transitory by Design

Below is a blog post I wrote for the Greensboro Fellows program (aside from some made up words not making it to the official copy). Check out some of the other things we have been up to this year http://www.greensborofellows.com/#!following-the-fellows/c43a
This past week The Greensboro Fellows, as well as our honorary members Elspeth Glasgow and Chris and Jessie Meriwether, traveled to Baltimore Maryland. I have been looking forward to this trip since before I joined the program because we were going to see Ravi Zacharias.  Ravi (we are first-name close, check the picture), is a Christian speaker I have queued up on my podcast app to give myself an intellectual mind blown't experience.  However, my big take away from the trip was not anything Ravi said, but the opportunities seized in transit.

             Our taste of nomadic lifestyle had me resonating with a biblical verse in a new way. 1 Peter 2:11a: "Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners..."  By design we are not meant to be stagnant in any sense of the word.  I think it is easy in the hustle and bustle of routine to hinder God's "little" blessings, or at least not notice them.  This adventure to Maryland was not weighed down with such monotony. We made memories with former strangers, had opportunities to pray for previously unknown siblings in the kingdom and had doors open by opening doors with no expectation of repayment.  All these beautiful interactions happened in literal transition as we were making our way to another location. If we would have been consumed about reaching our destination with efficiency as the highest priority, I would say this trip would have been one big missed opportunity after the next.  In such an isolated incident as a road trip, it could be enticing to believe this type of intentionality is not intended to be a daily practice.  In fact, I believe it would be advantageous to our faith if we, as a body of believers, made it habitual to be more concerned with people than our agendas.

I’ll end with just one story of how this willingness to communicate rather than being blinded with the need to do what’s next, played out in Baltimore, John Hopkins’ campus to be more precise.  Before I do, I want to acknowledge I was pretty vague in my description of blessings we encountered, but it was purposeful.  I do not want to box in what this perspective change will bring you or, even worse, the belief you are entitled to a like experience when you encounter a masterpiece of God's you have not met before. With that said it's good to share small ways you have been encouraged.

We were rushing to the building where Ravi was speaking, and a woman asked if we were heading that way and if she could follow us.  Waving her and her two campaigns on, we continued on as a group.  Fighting the urge to rush to the front of the group to get to the building a split second sooner than the others, I started talking to the most recent members of our entourage.  It turns out that they work for Ravi and two of them were going to be on stage with him to address the Q&A portion of the talk.  Ruth, the woman who first inquired about our destination, handed Andrew and me a business card, telling us to contact her and she will try to send us a book or something.  To be clear this is not a “treat everyone nice because there is a chance they are a connection to someone famous” plea, the other like stories on the trip involved average Joes in the world’s eyes, but we got a glimpse into the masterpiece God has for them through our interaction.  This is “let’s be a people that truly believe we have the same Father and big brother in Christ, and treat them like so, valuing them over our to-do list.”     

Ravi

             

What has Taken Place Spiritually this Summer

This is my response to a debrief question that was somewhere along the lines of "What has Taken Place Spiritually this Summer" asked by the great folks at world harvest missions. 

I guess to answer that question honestly I would first have to confess my pre-formulated  Christian-sounding response. Along side this response there is a confession of pride and a desire to be viewed as holy and knowledgable of The Lord in a profound way. My pre-formulated response would go something like this: "Hebrews 12:28 talks about the unshakable kingdom we receive in Christ, and verse 27 talks about how God shakes all creation so only the unshakable remains. These verses really resonated with me over this summer because these truths are clearly amplified in a cross-cultural setting.  This is only one of the reasons I strongly encourage  that everyone should go on a cross-cultural mission experience."  Before I move I want to validate that I believe my pre-formulated response is not only biblical but the reality of those words did play out some this summer for me.  The reason I confess that answer rather than profess it is that it is good sounding head knowledge, that God was faithful in fulfilling despite me. That response does not leave room for God uniquely working in me, a specific loved child of God. It does not point to the fact that He loves to pursue me passionately creatively and with newness. So although I definitely had some American values shaken leaving the solid underlying foundation built on The cornerstone of Christ, He more so taught/retaught me of His diversity in "speaking"  caring and loving for His people. 

One obvious way He "spoke" to me was through the sonship course, lesson after lesson on our undeserving adoption into His family. However, these lessons also made a clear distinction that undeserving does not mean begrudgingly. God not only redeems, meaning turns our mess-up into a situation where good can come out of it, but He also does not make His love contingent on our actions.  

I have also been aware of His diversity in speaking by witnessing and partnering with different Christians making a real impact in their community, some in ways completely different than the way I would.  The third main way this spiritual awakening has happened is that my go-to ministry tactics were neutralized by me going out of America. These go-to tactics include things like purchasing food for a loved but in need child of God with my credit card. This allows me to meet a physical need while looking for an opportunity to go into spiritual matters. I think this is a good practice and plan to continue getting to know the less fortunate around me, but it is also a situation I have prepared and prayed for, again both good things. It simply took me out of my comfort zone, which I thought was much larger than it actually is, to come across situations with no precedent and realize God still wants to move through me in situations I am clueless on what to do.

To end this post I just want to say another serious thank you for all my supporters partners and pray warriors who helped me get to Ireland, and to preserve with faithfulness for the whole time. If anyone would like to talk to me about my time in overseas missions this summer please message me I would love to share more of how Jesus moved this summer. 

Dia duit

The title of this post means “God be with you.” That is a common greeting in Irish. Before I go on, note: I only have my phone and limited wifi access, therefore expect this to be a short, maybe choppy, post. Right now I am in the middle of a sonship course in Greystones. Greystones is a beautiful place and the sonship course is a deep look at our blessed adoption into His kingdom. I've been meeting a lot of cool people and learning some really sweet, in the traditional since, things. We cannot earn God’s love, it is not given to us through clinched teeth but freely and with pleasure. Know, truly know, two things: you are hopelessly wicked and God is miraculously good. Good in such a way that your hopelessness is redeemed despite yourself. From working out of those two truths you have the pleasure to accept God's invitation to pursue disciplines to spend intentional time with your savior like praying, scripture reading and study time as well as fasts and the like. If you express these disciplines outside these two truths, it leads to hopelessness that you are not allowing God to heal. So that is a little of what I am learning. We are also working along side Irish interns, which has been a cool cross-cultural experience. In this setting it is easier to see how I let my culture define my faith rather than my God. There is a load more going on but texting is hard and it will take more time than I have now to explain it well. Thank you all that helped me get here and be praying for me, the other interns, and the people we will interact with.

What Impact did I Make?

So last year I would have been nearly immobilized to hear I had to raise over five grand to serve the Lord.  Thinking, I can't ask people to support me financially so I can be extremely blessed to do His work, that is too good to be true situation.  However, I have learned that it is also a blessing for others to partner with me. If my friend asked me if they can buy me a drink and I say no (which I have done before), I am denying them the reward of blessing someone else.  That is what Ministry Partnership is, in a much grander scale.  Instead of a refreshment, I am allowing people to refresh my, and in many cases their own, soul(s) by putting hands and feet to God's and His people’s prayers.  This is an honorable and trustworthy system predating Paul's first letter.  Now, I've come to believe this truth is theologically sound and I've grown in my understanding to trust that it is biblical. Unfortunately, as I apply this truth to my life, lies creep in.  As I continue to raise money I am disheartened by the apathy my friends seem to have for my trip.  Not all of them, but as the saying goes: it takes ten good deeds to block out one bad one.  So whether it is a perceived majority or actual majority, this nonchalant response my brothers and sisters in Christ have for something God has deeply woven in my heart frustrates me.  Some of it is in a godly discontent, but some of it is prideful and selfish way.  The worst part of it is I am having trouble distinguishing the two.

I started this post, but didn't want to seem bitter and post it in my frustration, so I sat on it. Since then I actively started wrestling with this dilemma, which has given much light to the situation.  Yes, it is still hard when I have poured into people's lives with the joy of Christ intentionally for two, three, sometimes even more years, and when this opportunity to help me go on a mission trip arises, it is as if I am a stranger.  Funny thing about "strangers" in relations to Christianity is that we are called to love strangers for they are our sibling in Christ. I have been blessed to see this lived out; hundreds of the dollars I've raised have come from generous hearts of people I have never met before they donated, and in many cases will never see this side of heaven again.  This is yet another reason I am glad I did not rush to update my blog.  This love I was shown, that was given not because who I am but because who I serve, was humbling.  The support I am getting is not an evaluation of my worth, but a revelation of others’ love for Him.

That simple sentence may just seem like the last sentence to the second paragraph on a blog of a guy you may or may not know, but to me it was comfort, love and God's hand on my shoulder.  I was getting a little bitter towards people that I have cared for, given up sleep time for, bought dinner for, cooked for, invited into my home and shown hospitality towards, all because they didn't care to support me as I was doing something God was calling me to.  The love of those whom I have never even given a drink of water to convicted me in the best way, forcing me to ask, "Did I care for them to get something in return, or because of God's love in my life (see Luke 6:34).  It was from exploring that question that I realized I was wrapping my worth into my support raising.  I was letting others define me, people would turn a blind eye to my needs for this mission.  In return I would wonder if I even had an impact on their life, if I have ever shown God with my actions.  In some ways I was thinking I was being turned a blind eye because I was not worthy to be looked at.  That was such a selfish viewpoint, thinking I was the center of the universe, not caring for them past this petty hurt.  Some people I found out didn't turn a blind eye, but waited for bank things to be settled, (granted prayer or encouraging words in the meantime would have been beautiful). Others have been hurt in a way they feel that Ireland isn't where they can support from a loving heart, which is sad, but understandable. In situation of brokenness, that is everywhere, I should pray and care for them, not just want them to get over it and give me money.  Still others love money more than me or supporting missions, which is not right but it is not a sin against me.  They have not had their eyes open to the wonders of partnering with God, trusting Him more than wealth.  Their are plenty of other reasons, but one more I want to mention is some people give beyond their means already, they have a heart for certain things out of God's inspiration and although they may be joyed to hear of my trip, they have not been called to support me.  Which is right and good because I know sometimes you have to say no even to good things, or you will be burnt out doing Christian things, rather than living a Christian life.  I am so glad God has been teaching me these lessons because I plan to go into ministry and the challenge and difficulties of raising $5,000 was discouraging me from going into ministries, thinking I did not have a large enough support base.  In an earthly mindset this makes sense; if I can't even get enough for two months mission trip, how can I make a sustainable living?  With God that is not a sound concern, He sent his disciples out with no money and they came back with great stories because God provides what we need (see Luke 10).

To wrap up here is a finical update: I am right around $2,000 short for my mission and the support is due in 9 days.  If you feel like you can give glory to God with a contribution, no matter how small, it would be much appreciated (http://www.whm.org/give/missionary?ID=22066  ).  I truly trust that this is not a large number for God, even though it feels like an enormous gap in such a small time for me; if God wants me in Ireland, like I believe He does, I will get the funding.  However, I also believe that God partners with broken people like you and me to do great things we couldn't do on our own.  Therefore, I must be diligent in my pursuit of funding and forming partners to pray with and talk to. Feel free to email me at Mr.Palcsak@gmail.com with any questions, comments, concerns, or encouragements. This email is primarily dedicated for communication for partners in the faith and missions, so please do not hesitant to send me an email.     

 http://www.whm.org/give/missionary?ID=22066  

---

 [EL1]Not a word, but it works

Moving to a Different Beat

If worship in the musical expression were a lady, our relationship would be complicated, sprouting from a rough first couple dates.

First a little back story, I got saved when I was 18 years of age (see older blog posts for more details),  and I was completely invested in my youth group, I mean it was the least I could do, it was in part because of the youth group existence that I recognized my true need to meet Jesus as my personal savior.  I do not mean where I heard the name Jesus but understood the reality, that me wearing the cross necklace and saying, "I'm a christian" wasn't the beautiful invitation Christ had in store for me.  It was because of this commitment to this youth group and my belief in the message being proclaimed there that I never really had to be pulled aside to be talked to.

So when the musical worship ended and Mr. Rowe, the youth pastor, asked if he could talk to me for a moment, it was not a normal practice.  He called me over just because I was making hand gestures for each word for "Mighty to Save" and trying to get some friends to use them. Granted I was doing it more for my attention than for His glory.  As Mr. Rowe was talking to me I remember wanting to dismiss his rebuke, classify it as a "agree to disagree" situation.  I thought we just had different views on musical worship, he liked it and I just wanted to get to the Bible study.  However, I am glad I did not harden my heart to his words, explaining the importance of showing God we love Him in a plethora of ways, including musical worship. 

That conversation was a learning moment, that has played out in my own life multiple times.  I was faced with advice given to me in a situation where I did not do anything inherently wrong, aside from trying to spice up a seemingly less important part of youth group.  It would have been easy for me to nod my head say "you're right" and just mouth the words of the worship songs to play the "good Christian role."  Instead of that lackluster passive approach, I entered into a time of investigation of the importance of musical worship. I would like to say that I came out the other side of the investigation simply captivated by all worship songs, but that would be a lie.

To this day I struggle to get fully immersed in praising the heavenly Father with song.  I question the biblical accuracy of the lyrics, and I wonder if I am singing for others in the room, or the Lord solely.  Truth  be told if church would be done my way, we would most likely sing one maybe two worship songs max.  This would be the musical stance at the Church of Kevin, despite the fact that God has moved me deeply, from time to time, via musical worship, and my knowledge that it is pleasing to the Lords' spirit to lift our voices up to Him in praise and adoration "Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!" -Psalm 95:1- The reason for the disconnect is because church is meant to be about Christ not ourselves.

Reflecting on how God has worked in my musical life has made me ask two main questions to filter my thought process through.  One: how do I handle rebuke? Do I handle it like a fool, ignoring it, or like a wise man, learning from it? "Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you," -Proverbs 9:8- Two: is my faith for my self-indulgence or for His edification?  It is true that true faith is living a life we were designed for, therefore we will be most satisfied as we are glorifying God.  On the other hand it is false to assume we have faith to make life easier.

Anyways, this whole post was inspired because, as you most likely know, I am going to Ireland and I started looking for Irish Christian bands. I am sure that the musical atmosphere will be as different as I have been discovering that the culture is. I am excited to embark in a completely different worship experience, musical and otherwise.  I am also pleased to  inform you that I have found an awesome Irish Christian band called Rend Collective Experience, and posted one of my favorite songs below. Speaking of Ireland, I am still pretty short financially (less than half funded) so if you can support me in that way it would be much appreciated.  Simply go to www.whm.org/give/give-to-a-missionary, then click on my name, Kevin Palcsak. Thank you in advance for the ways that you are partnering with me in God's mission in Ireland.

Procrastination and Productivity don't Mix

Ok, I plan for this to be one of my shortest post ever, but we will see how that goes. I meant to be posting more often in order to get in a habit of keeping my supports updated on what one of their favorite missionaries has been up to.  However this has been a crazy last couples of weeks, and I am just getting use to the increase pace.  I am graduating in May so it is crunch time here at ECU.  But as the title might have suggested I have not been too busy to keep up with things such as my blog, but to lazy to make the effort.  Now in the last couple of weeks I have done some really cool things, like reached out of the Christian bubble to make some cool friends and gave a talk on "The Gospel in the Old Testament" at Intervarsity the Christian organization I am a part of, which was amazing probably one of my favorite talks to give, great one end with.  On the other hand after a day of doing this that and another, some things really important others not so much so,I have also thought of all the things I still wanted to get done and just watched TV until I was so tired it made sense to just go to bed.  Currently it is 9 till 2 and I just finished some homework and felt the urge to post a update blog.  I am trying to have my post be less polished and more raw, but still have a coherent flow for others reading, it is a work in progress.  Anyways that is a short little summary of how procrastination and productivity don't mix , the same concept applies for Kingdom productivity, only even more so.  I hope*will try to get another blog posted soon more geared towards my excitement and preparation for going to Ireland!

As always if you would like to find out more about my trip to Ireland go to World Harvest Missions webiste or my previous blog "Go and Make disciples in Ireland" and/or/than contribute financially at http://www.whm.org/give/missionary?ID=22066 (half of the money was due on the 11th and I am not quite there yet).  I realize my past three or so blogs have been about my shortcomings I promise I have positive attributes, I am just prideful so it is more helpful for me to write out areas of improvements than tell you how I've been allowing God to prepare me for missions.  

*I am trying not to use the word hope as often because it is a powerful word that implies reliance, if you truly hope for something and it does not come through you will be devastated.  I truly put my hope in Jesus knowing He will save me.  I do not hope to see you tomorrow, though it would be nice if I did.     

Relatively Hot

When it is snowing outside and I make it to my apartment, it is relatively hot.  I do not mean to say that it is pretty hot in my apartment, because my roommates and I decided to not turn on the heat all winter in order to save money.  What I mean is relative to the snow outside my 40ish degree apartment is hot.  This is a obvious statement but it can be lost in translation when applied to spiritual matters.  I can seem relatively hot and on fire for God when surrounded by new and not-yet-Christians, even if I am experiencing a low in my walk with the lord. 

This can be a dangerous reality feeding into a "Pharisee" type of mind set or cynical feelings towards others.  That is why it is really great to challenge yourself by having deep conversations with the strong Christians that you know.  Obviously, the righteous road is narrow, so trapping yourself in a Christian bubble will not give you the freedom to live out the Great Commission Jesus gave in Matthew 28, to make disciples, so it is also important to share your faith with those who do not already know Jesus.  However, the witnessing aspect of the training weekend can be a blog for another time provided it is a "Luke 10" type of situation, not a "Matthew 6," if you catch my draft.  This is about the uplifting time I had bonding with my fellow missionaries in PA.

I believe Mission training was just a small sample of the great things to come this summer with World Harvest Missions.  The folks running everything set up great organizational things and the care and planning that went into the logistics of the whole weekend was clear.  Even with all that working for the training the best part of the weekend was hands down the interactions I had with other 20-some-year-old college students that had a real heart for God.  Not only did they have a spirit for God but they also had willingness to take bold steps down the adventurous path laid by the hands of the creator of all good things!  Anyone who left the Christian faith out of boredom never understood what Christ did or what His mission is!

The renewing atmosphere can hardly be put into words, it was like being in a room filled with die hard ECU (insert favorite team) fans as they are reminiscing over the previous night's overtime win.  Only instead of fans, we were members, and instead of reminiscing, we were equipping.  Members of the most high God passionately and excitedly being equipped for His missions He called each one of us to overseas.  We would be joking around about what kind of orange sour cream looking substance we trustingly were spreading over our bagel, and then... As if as natural as breathing, Jesus' name would fly across one of our lips.  It would not enter the room with the silence that can proceed the utterance of the most powerful name in everyday life.  No, there was no amplified heart beats as His name was reverently praised.  This time, it might have been something like how diversely and personally Jesus our savior works.  After adoration was verbalized, the conversation could easily flow back to the breakfast spread, or it could transform into this deep relevant and truthful proclamation of Jesus' attributes.

Being surrounded by this kind of community reminded me of the one I have only read about in Acts.  Granted no one sold property to meet a need of another brother, but I could see a glimpse of how mustard-seed faith could blossom into a martyr's dying act of joyful obedience (Acts 7).

The ability to pick any one of my fellow brothers or sisters in Christ and have an educated discussion about the Bible, and the drive to apply what we know/learn, was amazing.  This was a wakeup call for me about what being on fire for God feels like.  My concluding note is this: do not be quick to be proud because you are relatively godly. That is like saying that my apartment is hot because it’s colder outside.  God is leading His people in every cultural to some amazing things!  Of course we could take this a step further and compare my apartment to the sun , there is really no comparison, just like when our, as humans, good deeds are compared to God’s righteousness.   

For those who do not know, the training I was referring to was preparing me to go to Ireland for two months on full time missions.  More information about my missions can be found on my last post "Go and make disciples in Ireland."

Go and Make disciples in Ireland

Ok so if anyone cared to read my extremely long messy but raw last post, at the end I put a link on how to support me financially for my missions to Ireland, and I wanted to give anyone interested my official support letter.  I want to post this so that you know more about how you will be helping God move through me and in Ireland.  As much money would help me get to Ireland, pray and an actually support team praying for my needs and of the needs of the World Harvest team will help us live for Christ in Ireland not just survive the trip.  

Hey!

I am truly blessed to have an amazing opportunity to spread God’s love to Ireland this summer, with World Harvest Mission (WHM), and I am excited to invite you into the experience as well, not just financial either.  Yes, I need to raise money.  I need to raise $5,371 to be exact, by May 15^th, and I will mention where and how to support me financially at the end of the letter.  I do not want the money thing to be a stigma, in fact I am not too concerned about it; maybe it is my confidence that God will provide, or maybe it is my naïve youthful spirit, to be honest it’s most likely some combination of the two.  Either way I do not feel money is going to be an issue.  Which is in itself a small miracle, just last year that whole money topic would be so hard to mention, thinking it was in some way humiliating and that I was begging for money for nothing.  God has really worked in my heart to see that fundraising is an opportunity for others to be the blessed vessel in which God works, and I hope that is precisely how you feel about the prospect of partnering with me as I go to Ireland in the name of Christ. 

So what exactly is this great thing that you have a chance to be a part of? Well, I will be going to Ireland from June 5^th to August 5^th, while there my full time occupation will be to care and nurture an environment for the Holy Spirit of God to work and grow in.  I will be able to devote all my time to this because your contribution will cover housing, airfare, even food, and I will be able to stay strong in the spirit and endure in part because of your prayers.  I ask that you would pray for my boldness instead of my protection, and for my comfort zone to be stretched instead of a comfortable and easy time.  I had to evaluate how I wanted you to pray for me and submit it to what would bring God the most glory.  So please pray that I stay strong and never lose heart telling others about our majestic forgiver.   

In order to effectively minister in Ireland we will be partnering with Irish college students and young adults who care about the spiritual health of their homeland.  This will be a cross-cultural journey that I truly believe will allow me to see God in a context I never had before.  I plan to use however God WILL show up in guiding my next steps in life.  I am highly considering becoming a full time youth minister, urban minister, or missionary; however, I feel like I should not make that decision until after I experience what it is like to be Christian in another context.     

Now the “how” of finical support, checks can be made payable to World Harvest Mission and sent to:
World Harvest Mission
Donations Processing Center
PO Box   1244
Albert Lea, MN      56007-1244

 If you choose this route please remember to include my Pledge Card in the envelope with your donation. You can also donate online by going to www.whm.org/give/give-to-a-missionary and giving to Kevin Palcsak.

If you choose to support me in prayer, please do not forget my brothers and sisters in Christ going with me and who are already there or the Irish hearts that might be open to the true Gospel for the first time.

Your Brother in Christ,

Kevin Palcsak

I did not include the pledge card so if you plan to mail the support please let me know first so I can get you a copy of the pledge card.

I'm a Missionary not worthy of His Mission

Since my last post, so long ago, I have written starts to a lot of topics God placed on my heart. All these beginnings and ideas but with no follow trough, so they are all still in my drafts. However, all these post started because they are kingdom issues God taught me some great things about and I think my insight might help others. Why do I not finish them, at least some? That is a good question, to which I do not have an easy answer, but it will be addressed in this post as part of the reason I am not worthy to His call to be a missionary.

 First things first, I am going to Ireland for a two months missions project, but we are all commanded not called to go and make disciples, so we are all missionaries, and this post would be equally true if I was just spreading the good news in my hometown this summer. Before I move on I must admit that the subject matter in this post was one of the topics mentioned in the first paragraph and I probably wouldn't have felt compelled to work through this subject more if I wasn't going overseas to tell a different culture about Jesus, and asking other people for money to do so. Lastly before we get to the crux of this post I believe all this preamble was just a stall because this is going to be by far the hardest blog post I've every done. I am a prideful man and this is taking a deep look why I am woefully unequipped to serve my Master Jesus Christ.

I, for the most part, enjoy studying scripture, and definitely like knowing the verses to support my case. This is my opening point for why I am not good enough for God, because Jesus, God incarnate, reserved some of his harshest language for the pharisees and other religious know-it-alls. I am not saying reading my Bible is a strike against my character, Jesus the perfect God modeled for us the importance of knowing God's word, it was in part how He Himself avoided the devil's temptations. In fact we are instructed to devote ourselves to the scriptures daily. The reason some of Jesus' harshest language "son of vipers" are often times directed at me, is I find my worth in my bible knowledge, I try to form a relationship with an inanimate object, rather than the creator of life.

 “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! -John 5:39-

 I even see how the Pharisees are better then me at least they had had follow through in their false idols, they fasted twice a week memorized full books of the bible they committed themselves to the law. Yes I know this showy form of self-worship masqueraded as true worship was something Jesus warned them not to do. To be honest when I was a younger christian I was dumbfounded that the Pharisees had Jesus, the well spring of life, yet clung to their shattered pieces of drinking jars, known as religious practices. Now as I have become wiser in my own way I can relate more to them, which is a dangerous path. I understood that they grow up being taught that to please God do this that and another, then this homeless guy just strolls in saying their livelihood is built upon misunderstandings. How else do you suspect them to react? "Great Jesus I'll do it your way". I know for me when I read something in the bible that doesn't line up with My God or My way of thinking I am not quick to lay down my beliefs for the truth. What God wants and tells me to do should take precedent over tradition, but tradition is easy and comfortable with a lot of my friends supporting me in that.

 I read my Bible and it says love my neighbor as myself as part of the greatest commandment, it tells me in order to get into the kingdom of God, we with two jackets must give to those with none. I compare that with the Christian culture in America today and get nearly opposite picture. Instead of brothers and sisters giving even out of their needs, I see pastors in $50,000 cars and hear stories of homeless and humans with records being kicked out of God's place of worship. Again I look at the scripture and I see That Jesus says what you've done to the least of these you've done to me" Then I think back to the Pharisees tradition that says memorize some books tell people what to do and receive prestige and power, or follow this Jesus guy, and lose wealth respect and be hated. I respond often in the same way they did, avoidance, or trying to make my own lifestyle look more godly than the actual godly thing to do.

The realization of the difference between what Christian are called to and how a lot, not all, act can also lead to becoming cynical and/or a since of hopelessness. Cynical in the way that I did, I started following Jesus words more carefully when I was in the mood. During the time I was in the mood I acted as if I never deviated from follower Jesus. When I had compassion for a stranger I was outraged that my friend didn't share my heart, but if I wasn't in the mood there was always understandable extenuating circumstances. I felt a mix of superiority and frustration because I was reading and praying, and some of my friends were not. Frustrated they claimed Jesus with their words but I could point out their inconsistencies even in the dark. 

Forgetting the lesson taught in Matthew 7 I first must look at my own sins then others. So that is what I do sometimes, like now, reflecting on how dreadfully short I am from the perfect Holy one which is God. Keeping that lesson in minds takes me down the hopelessness path, if I am doing this that and another, and still fall so short of God my friends are surely screwed. Or well they are saved and they do not do nearly as much activity as I do, so my effort is wasted. The worst for me is when I just get apathetic to my faith due to the deep reality. Following God is impossible no one is doing a good job and it is lonely trying.

It is at this point when I walk away from the passionate drive God gave me and I re-look at His good commands for us, and I see the temporary fun in saying yes to sin but not the devastating outcomes to simultaneously saying no to God. I think how I do not do this or that or that or that and I go here and give to this resulting in giving away x amount of clothes and x amount of money, all because I want to look christian. I weigh the perceived gain against what I would lose and I think... how I have to be a Christian. This is not yet the Sunday church answer "I just got to be a Christian because life with out Him is buns. It is for the last 5 years of my life being Christian has been my life so I must be a Christian, much as I imagine, the Pharisees felt about the following the law. My whole college I've barely cared about school just enough to get good grades, never doing anything extra to set me apart from any other classmate aside from my Christian organization I am highly involved in InterVarsity. My girlfriend would not date a non-Christian the only future plans I've been looking at involve being a Christian; youth college or urban minister or missionary, all of which I am not worthy of.

Here is where the pretty bow is suppose to go, to wrap up my blog post and put a happy ending on it. That is not what is going to happen because it is part of my brokenness, I care too much about appearances, this has resulted in some earthly loses like giving some of my favorite shirts because it put all the attention on me. In the same way I care how people perceive me like my writing skills (one reason I am just posting this rather than saving in drafts till it is good enough for the public, I use to never do that, my first posts are sloppy and not the best written but I read them and I remember what God did for me then. And that is one of the reasons I started blogging to remind me of God's work in my life) especially my christian walk, so I just want to say I wrestle with not being worthy with one hand and being too prideful in the other, I am not worthy of God's love because I am messed up and try to earn it.

(awkward break)

All that I wrote is to the best of my knowledge true, but is also true that God is the one holding us up not the other way around, God died precisely because we were are not worthy. It is these truths I must submerge myself in to remember: I am worthy of the mission and the support, both finical and spiritually, I am raising for Ireland not because I am so godly, but because God is so redeeming. What other response do I have than to tell others about this kind of redemption. To wrap this post up I am confidently putting a link to World Harvest mission, the organization I am going to Ireland with, so you can get more information to pray for me about, and I have no qualms also saying God is doing great things in my life because of who He is.  So it would be a good use of your money if you also feel lead to donate financially. I say this even after a whole post of how I try to be labeled a Christian sometimes more then I try to follow Christ.  I still have this confidants only because He will not stop the good work He did in me, and I believe Ireland will be a great stepping stone of growth for me personally and He will use me in ways I can not even imagine yet.

http://www.whm.org/give/missionary?ID=22066

What Dictates Your Faith?

This is a paper I wrote and submitted for my sociology class, I have not made any changes except adding the verses to scriptures I referenced and the challenge I added at the end of my paper. O and also this intro was not part of my assignment that would be odd.

I want to preference my paper with the fact that I am a devout Christian, with strong belief in Jesus Christ as both my savior and Lord. I say that to clarify that the knowledge of the power of observation has not weakened my faith, rather it enlightened me to a phenomenon of a growing and dividing subculture to the one Christ put into institution over two thousand years ago. It is written in the Christian doctrine the bible “build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s son” [Ephesians 4:13]. Paul, the writer of Ephesians, where I got this verse, makes clear that we who claim Christ must build each other up to complete the goal we have of being united as one body in faith and knowledge of God. Now this goal was set out to the body of believers who took on the name “Christians” over sixty generations ago, and it seems as if there are more subcultures within the body of Christ than ever. There is the subcultural of Baptist, Catholic, Protestant, those who believe in predestination and those who believe in freewill. There is also the subculture of those who believe you can’t drink and others that think you must drink in remembrance of the Lord, other subgroups can’t go to the movies, still other sets think it doesn’t matter what you do. The list goes on and on of different subcultures within the revolutionary cultural that Jesus set up based on love, love for the God and for your neighbors [Mathew: 36-39]. I feel as if it is necessary to make another clarification at this time: I do not find these subcultures, in and of themselves, the problem. Subcultures can be a thriving drive behind the culture growing as a whole. Take for example the college subculture in America, in many ways it is unique and different from the American cultural as a whole. This college subculture is formed closer by factors unique to college students, like interests, but mainly because they are all in the same place in life. In this way subcultures are great to form community and fellowship. God does not work in generic formulas, so I believe there should be many different kinds of churches to reach God’s many different kinds of beloved children. On the other hand, subcultures can also be counterproductive to the culture in which it is a subversion of, by being detrimental to that culture’s goals. This can be especially devastating when the subculture causes division among what used to be one, to form two or three new but smaller separate cultures. As I have stated earlier the main objective and goal of the culture of following Christ is to Love God with all your heart, soul and mind, and love your neighbor, and it is also written that “everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" [Philippians 3:8]. Both of these ideas came from the truth that Christians claim to believe in. All this knowledge that I have just laid out leads me to make the assumption that a good many Christians let the society, and different subcultures they belong to, dictate their relationship with the one true God. Christianity is not an elitist club, it is a needed handout given freely and undeservingly.

Challenge to think about.

Where are your deepest convictions? Are they in proving you’re right about how you think about Christ, or how your denomination is the best, or is it in the endless pursuit of perfectly loving and living as Christ did. Or is it in something that isn’t your faith, like a game, school, friends or family?

I mentioned in my paper how the college subculture is different and unique from the rest of the cultural it is a part of. Are we, as Christians, different from this world we are a part of as Christ calls us to be? [John 17:14-19]I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.

3 is No Longer a Crowd "The Big Picture" Grand Finale

Back to the life of Paul, the reason he had to escape out the window is because he was boldly proclaiming the Lord’s name (Acts 9:22-23). The fact that he had to sneak out of a city for his confident and powerful speaking as an ambassador of Christ is an illustration of Great faith. However, the character and power of Jesus shines bright when we take a look at who Saul was just before this event took place. Chapter 9 of Acts starts off with Saul’s eagerness to kill the Lord’s followers (verse 1). He planned to go to Damascus and bring Christians back in chains (verse 2). O’ how the Lord changes the plans and hearts of His people. He turned Saul's life upside down by coming to him the way he was, not waiting untill he was living a perfect life(Acts 9:3-5). Jesus wastes no time guiding Saul's steps right away (9:6). Although He loves us no matter where we are, He desires far better for all of us, He desires for us to prosper in His will (Jeremiah 29:11-12). The Lord also sent someone to follow up with his will for Saul, work on both his physical wants and more importantly his spiritual needs while he was busy praying. Prayer is an important part of one's pursuit towards the purist only true God. He used Ananias a man that had good reason to be scared of Saul for the task of healing and verifying (Acts 9:11-17). You never know how your actions are going to affect someone else's faith, so always try to live in God's will and don't let fear be a reason to shy away from God's commands.

God is active in your life he does not play a passive role, he is continuously reaching out to improve yours and His relationship, which in turns improves your whole life. This is not the only time God unambiguously changes Paul, I am confident in the statement that God had to intervene many times in Paul's life, as He must in all of our life. what makes Paul such a godly man is he listened. If we look back at 2 Corinthians Paul openly admits that he and Timothy were overwhelmed, much like Mark was in Acts chapter 13. Also like Mark they were relying on themselves rather than God (2 Corinthians 1:8-9). This is why I find it no coincidence that in verse 4 of the very same chapter he talks about how God comforts us so that we can comfort others. A message so strong that Paul felt compelled to write to Timothy (1 Timothy 1:15-16) with the same message of forgiving because we are forgiven an estimated five years later. It is my belief that Paul wanted to warn his pupil against making the same mistake he made.

The overwhelming experience Paul mentions in 2 Corinthians could and almost certainly is a factor in Paul and Mark’s reconciliation. He could have better understood what Mark might have gone through and felt the comfort of the Lord and was ready to provide comfort to Mark. As I said earlier having faith in Christ Is not a life time pass to bliss-ville, suffering will come in our life. In fact sometimes we will be faced with afflictions because of our faith. God does not orchestrate evil or hardships, but he will make good come out of any situation when you give your life to Him. This good can happen situationally but even more often, He corrects our outlook and/or our priorities. In Paul and Timothy’s example their suffering leads to knowledge of how to rely on God, a life lesson of forgiveness and in this case God even rescued them from their dangerous situation. This improvement through trials takes a trust in God to guide you (Isaiah 58:11).

This reunion in faith is made apparent when Paul writes 2 Timothy chapter 4 verses 11 “…Bring Mark with you, for he is useful to me in my ministry.” This one verse might not seem like much more than a simple invitation by itself or even in context of the whole book of Timothy. However as I hope to have proven, when looked at as part of a big picture this kind gesture of friendship is turned into a potent representation of magnificent reconciliation through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Back 2 "The Big Picture"

Barnabas’s grace doesn’t stop with just Paul either he not only forgave John Mark for leaving, but trusted him enough so that he could redeem himself. In chapter 15 verse 36 of Acts Paul suggests that he and Barnabas go back and visit each city they had preached at, to check up on the believers. Barnabas agreed full heartily with Paul’s suggestion to revisit the churches. Which is no surprise it is a great idea because God desires more from His servants, His friends [John 15:15], than to simply tell people who He and His son Jesus are then never come back, never try to form a relationship with them. It is good to help others grow in their faith. However, Barnabas differed with Paul on who to invite (verses 37&38). Barnabas was ready to forgive John Mark and allow him to work on God’s mission with them again, but Paul was not. Paul was still hurt that John Mark abandoned them in Pamphylia, Barnabas and Paul's disagreement got so sharp that they split Barnabas took John Mark also known as Mark with him, and Paul took Silas (verses 39&40). This is a low point post salvation for Paul, even though he once prosecuted and killed Christians; he could not forgive Mark for leaving the missionary trip early. To clarify this would be an equally low point for any of the other apostles as well regardless their history, nobody's perfect except for God Himself. As the Lord says in his example of how to pray forgive and you will be forgiven (Matthew 6:12)

Praise the Lord He doesn’t leave us when we fall into judgment of others, condemning them for the same things God forgives and pours out grace on us for. God asks nothing of us that He Himself didn’t do thorough His son Jesus Christ. In fact I am really glad I found this in the bible because it goes to show you all will fall short of Gods glory (Romans 3:23). Including apostles of Christ and even the author of multiple letters in the bible. It can be easy to put the humans written about in the bible on a pedestal thinking of them as more than human, looking at their works as impossible to do anything near as great never the less surpass. When in reality through Jesus we are actually capable of so much more then even Jesus did on this earth when we stay in His will and have faith (John 14:11-13). The biblical heroes were just humans with flaws, but God still desired to use them. He had to teach them, encourage them, and constantly guided them. They were not immune to the disease of flesh like pride (Luke 9:46-48) and doubt (Judges 6:14-15).

Then if these people in the bible are not perfect why are they blessed enough to make it to the holy book? Why do they deserve the honor of being substance in the living water? In short they don’t through their weakness God is made strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). That was going to be it for the humanity of the apostles, but while making sure I did not take 2 Corinthians 12:9 and 10 out of context , the Lord open another door of His amazement. I zoomed out a little and first made sure I knew who was writing these words. 2 Corinthians was written by Paul and Timothy but these particularly verses (12:9-10) were written by Paul. I can say this confidently because starting just 10 verses back in chapter 11 verse 33 the writer writes that he “I” had to be lowered in a basket through the window, which happen to Paul (Acts 9:24-25).

Side note: if you ever are thinking how hard your life is and how God is treating you unfair you might want to read 2 Corinthians 11:23-33, it is a short summary of what Paul went through for God. Which by the way did not come as a shock to God that he would suffer for His name(Acts 9:16). Being a Christian doesn’t promise a life of rainbows made up of kittens and sunshine that gently kisses your check, don’t let anyone tell you different. Even Jesus was persecuted and warns us that truly following Him will naturally result in persecution (John 15:20). But, this is not a hopeless faith, it is one of peace joy and love. This is because we do not put our worth in things that will fade and have no eternal value instead we put it in Christ (Ephesians 5:1-2, John 16:33 John 15:9-13 *Luke 23:34 get context* John 3:16 Matthew 6:19-21) these verses are just a start of the the message of the love God has for us, presented in the bible. It is impossible to sum this message up completely and certainly deserve full devotion, not a branch off another train of thought. I suggest reading the gospel of John to try and grasp what Jesus is all about do it with pray and don’t be afraid to ask clarifying questions.

Back to the life of Paul, the reason he had to escape out the window is because he was boldly proclaiming the Lords name (Acts 9:22-23).

Part one of "The Big Picture"

Here is the first part of something I have resorted to referring to as “The Big Picture”, this is some of what God has been teaching me as I dig into His word to try to have a mind that will be glorifying to Him who has authority over all. I have believed for awhile that Gods word is truly living water that can never dry up. I have study a single verse for over an hour and later discovered things that my friends and I missed, that have been revealed later at the right time, and I know there is much more still undiscovered. I also know it is important to keep verses in context by looking at a chapter or even a book as a whole which I also have enjoyed doing in times past. However this is a study, which I personal never conducted before, I have only heard sermons on it. It is looking at the bible and how it is all interconnected. I urge anyone trying to grow in the Lord with their knowledge to try this, it is by far the most challenging for me but it turns individual parts of the bible into a more whole message greater than even the sum of each part that goes into the whole. At Rock Bridge, a Christian camp I went to with my InterVarsity chapter, I walked through how to do a study like this with Peter’s life. It was here we turned seven different stories Peter was in from five different books in the bible into one look at Peter’s life, salvation, shortcomings and maturity into faith. All of which were great stories like how he dropped his net to follow Jesus, but when combined the message Jesus taught me through Peter broke me down an built me up stronger. When I started documenting what God was teaching me through His perfect word this summer, I was not planning on doing the kind of study I just descried. I just kept taking the doors the Lord was opening, fueled by the Spirit inside me ambitions to better understand the bible, and chronicling them so I would not forget what I was taught. Resulted in..

The start: I took a look at some commentary for Judges to better understand Judges as a whole, it is here I read how the tribe of Judah military collaboration (Judges 1:1-4) are compared to the joining of John Mark to Paul and Barnabas missionary trip (Acts 13:1-3). While investigating the similarities to these seemingly unrelated incidences, I saw that in both a set number was sent and blessed by God but more than that set number participated in said calling, not trusting that the amount God sent was sufficient. In Judges Judah was called to go against the Canaanites for they were given victory but they feared they would not be a large enough army so they invited the tribe of Simeon to join them in battle. In Acts John Mark doesn’t have any recorded praying for discernment if he should go on this mission trip like Saul and Barnabas did. Also according to scripture he was not sent out by the Holy Spirit as the other two were (Acts 13:4). He ends up accompanying the two anyways, nine short verses later we find out the direct effects of his rogue actions as he abandoned his two brothers in Christ to return to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13). Rogue in the fact that John Mark went without God’s blessing, as far as I can tell. This is a strong case that even doing good things can and will burn you out really quickly if you are trying to use your own strength to accomplish your goal and not letting God work though you. This is not the extent of the consequences that arise from John Mark’s premature exit.

However, before we get to that while reading another commentary I found out that it is suggested that an influence of why John Mark left could be his assumed Kinsman Barnabas went from leading to being lead. In Acts 11:22-25 it tells us that the Church sent Barnabas and he recruited Saul latter to be known as Paul to help him. It seems that his name change, first recorded in Acts 13:9, also marks the transfers of leadership. Immediately after the name change Paul is the one calling the shots. He is the one that blinds a sorcerer trying to harden the heart of the governor of Paphos by attempting to get him not listen to Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:10-11). Paul is the one speaking to the crowd in Chapter 13 verse 16. Although this is a suggested reason why John Mark may have left, it doesn’t seem to cause any tension between Barnabas and Paul; they continue to travel together doing God’s will. Before this day I have never thought that much of Barnabas, but his act of great discipleship and leading deserves to be explored. I believe him and Paul did not split over the trade of power because Barnabas prioritized God’s will above his own, and his selfless motives (Acts 4:36-37). God clearly willed Paul to be the vassal in which He uses to lead the Gentiles the Kings and the people of Israel alike to Himself (Acts 9:15). Barnabas wanting God’s will to be done cared not that Paul was making the speeches and becoming the figure head of their group. In fact it probably brought him great joy because he trusted in Saul when most people feared that his conversion was not genuine (Acts 9:26). Barnabas exemplified a true leader of Christ by allowing even encouraging a man better suited for the job to start leading over himself. Keep in mind Barnabas was the one that brought Paul in and groomed him, by letting Paul take the reins he is showing blatant disregard for his ego while simultaneously showing great respect for the Lord’s will.

Barnabas’s grace doesn’t stop with just Paul either he not only forgave John Mark for leaving but trusted him enough so that he could redeem himself.

Mattie's and I Last small group of 2010

This is my outline I used for my last small group before Christmas. Mattie and I decided to run our finial small group of the year a little differently. Instead of just presenting a passage and some framework we decided were going to share more of what we learned while preparing for the small group and ask some thought provoking questions before we go into are usual “what stood out” method. Don’t get me wrong I love the “what stood out” method it gives everyone a chance to talk and, isn’t telling people what is in the chapter it allows people the chance to figure that out on their own before going in a group discussion format. However, Mattie and I felt that each week there are things we learn or notice that we simply run out of time before we have a chance to share them. So to change things up we decided we would do a blanket overview of two thirds of the passage (me-1/3 her 1/3 and 1/3 untouched) before completely opening it up to the group who would indubitably have some insight we did not catch, because the bible truly is living water.

My one third of Luke 1-12

We started, as I would ask you to, by reading the passage slowly and carefully marking anything that might stick out to you. This would include anything that speaks to you makes you curious, or question even seemingly small things like the repetitiveness of a particular word.

Luke 2:1-12 (New International Version, ©2010)
1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Vacancy for Jesus?

It’s easy to get caught up in the idea that Christmas started out the extravagant winter monopoly, it is today. That simply isn’t the case, as I am sure you notice while reading over the true Christmas story. The birth of our Christ and savior Jesus was not one of famed limelight. In fact Joseph and Marry had to take to the streets after Jesus was born to avoid the evil plot of King Herod.

Matthew 2:13
When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

So not only did Jesus come into a world that did not want to make room from Him, (can someone read Luke 2:7?) but then He and His family was pushed out of their own hometown.

Before we move on, last week we talked a little about apologetics, defending your faith. I want to scratch the surface of that iceberg, by authenticating the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ unwelcomed birth, with a little extra biblical text. Like first, would Joseph really have to go back to his home town? This is an insert from a papyrus found in Egypt that confirms one would have to travel back home in order to register. "Because of the approaching census it is necessary that all those residing for any cause away from their homes should at once prepare to return to their own governments in order that they may complete the family registration of the enrollment and that the tilled lands may retain those belonging to them." There is another ancient inscription found in Antioch that confirms that Quirinius was the governor of Syria in 7 BC. These are just two minor examples, that get straight down and dirty, to insure that a statement is legitimate; you would want to make sure the extra biblical text is creditable, but that’s a whole another story.

Now back to our homeless Savior, Jesus being God in the flesh, could have been born with a silver spoon in His mouth, made out of solid gold even (pause for laughter)… but much like the free will He gives us to turn from Him, He came to this world allowing the world He created to reject Him and outcast Him. Jesus must have been the youngest person to ever have a bounty on His head. You would be hard press to find a fetus that could get into that much trouble. What could he/she have done, a 300 style kick knocking a Prince over a cliff throw the mother’s stomach? Then imagine a little baby coming out with the tiniest little hand cuffs (pause for a mixture of awes and laughs).

Yea it’s funny to think about it in that way, but kinda essentially that is what happened, Jesus was born with a bounty on His heads because He had exponentially growing rap sheet. Well if Jesus never sin how does He have a rap sheet, how can someone not make room for a birthing mother and most importantly what kind of persons tries to kill a baby, I mean honestly? He has an increasing growing rap sheet because he came to bare our sin, and free us of its captivity. Sin is anything thing that goes against God’s will, it creates separation from us and God. We hurt Jesus constantly because we do not measure up to Gods standard, but if He didn’t take the blame then the wrath of God would destroy us all. It’s because of Jesus, that our records are white as snow. Why then could no one around make room for a pregnant woman, carrying the Messiah no less?

Well let me ask you this, do you make room for the Messiah in your own heart, or is He still in a manger on the outskirts of your heart?

A.) What does it look like to make room for Jesus in your heart?
a.) What kind of external actions change, internal?

And lastly why is that man trying to kill a baby? Well as we all know hatters just mean you’re getting somewhere and Jesus came out of the womb accomplishing more than any King ever did.

Update

I haven’t posted in awhile, but fortunately this time it is for a good reason. I have been planning time examining my walk at least once a week, but instead of posting my external thought process I have been sharing it with the small group I am co-leading with Mattie, called We are 12. So I did not feel like my walk, or relationship with Christ was any less then it was last year. Now this may be very well and true only God can judge one’s heart. With that said, I just finished reading a paper I wrote last year and the obvious Christ influence decorated the page like bright lights. This year I have only had a few papers, and still I wonder if I have been sprinkling culture in my work in order to insure I don’t ruffle the fathers of my possibly non-Christian teachers. Sprinkling cultural on Christ-like things is comparable to mixing NaCl with another substance, it loses its taste.

If this is the case it’s not because of a fear of offending my teacher that I dim my Christ influence. I am not a person who finds strong faith of any religion offensive. I take their boldness as something to value, and hopefully I will have the courage to share ideas planting seeds for Christ, but not expecting to see it grow immediately. Thanks to Christ patience is not as hard for me anymore. Side note: I have found Christians, non-Christians and Atheists alike who have pushed their ideas in an offensive manner however. Back on the subject at hand the reasons I may be slightly dodging the fact and truth all the good I have comes from Christ, is it takes humility and if you are turning in the paper to a teacher that has been wronged by religion you better believe that paper is going to be graded harshly. With that outlook I am only looking at the negative side of things, and not the viewpoint I am sure Christ would take. Ok, maybe one or all my teachers have a bitter taste of “Christianity” in their mouth. This would probably be due a mislabeled Christian, meaning someone who clocked themselves with the blanket of Christianity but did not allow Christ to give them the warmth of His love.

Should I write my papers differently, hypothetically knowing that the grader has been wronged by religion in some way? Maybe a little, but in a way that amplifies faith and the way to live. I am not saying to blatantly ignore the prompt and write of Christ powerful love, but Christ is in all aspect of life, he even deserves our thoughts to be focused on Him. [Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest] - Hebrews 3:1. And/or [And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’] –Mark12:30- So whether you are writing about yourself, the global effects of media, or even a fictional story, I encourage the prominent influence of Christ to be boldly noted. This avenue might cause a few unnecessary point reductions, hopefully because of an accidently bias not intentional hatred, and it may also cause your actions to be studied under a magnifying glass by that teacher. However if we remember that [Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ] - Philippians 3:8- including grades and also the fact we are called to follow the example Christ set… and being under a microscopic great accountability to help you follow Christ and succeeding under the watchful eye of a critic is a strong witness.

This isn't the best written paper but I had a lot of ideas bouncing in my head and God uses are short commings to bring Him glory as well, something I like to keep inmind esp when I think I am better then another of Gods masterpices!

He is My Crutch, and That is Why I Stand Strong

I lead a Sunday school for the college students at Gatecity a few weeks back. I spent a good amount of time planning and taking notes on what to say, and it ended up being a pretty good class if I do say so myself. Was it my preparation, no. How about my thought provoking questions, no. In fact I did not use one single note or prepared question. The night before I was suppose to lead the class around 11:59 pm while I was putting the finishing touches on my message, I decided to give my message completely to God. I wanted to see what he had in store for me, the results were outstanding

The plan, of this non-planed study, was to take the stigma off having a Christ filled conversation. A spiritual high does not need to be attained in the confines of a Church structure, or with a formal meeting of the spiritual minds. When the belief in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, is the most important detail of your life, as it should be, then you should not need a planed agenda to bring up His Almighty name.

This approach of trying to have a untailored conversation in an every-day kind of situation was slightly complicated. Considering it was not in every-day kind of situation, chillin with friends. It was a Sunday school at Church kind of situation, making the spontaneity part of my message hard to display. Another small hiccup in leading was, I was still a leader of a message, so I could not fake that fact that I did have an idea of what I was going to say. It is hard to go to sleep knowing 5-15 people are investing about an hour of their life they can't get back, in what you have to say, and not think at least a little about what you are going to fill that time with. Granted I knew and know if I want to make sure their investments returned plentiful I need to depend on the only One who is truly good, God. That is truly what I tried to do, but that doesn't change the truth that there was a hiccup in trying to demonstrate that God can be seen everywhere. Everywhere evens includes our classes, the music we listen to, and especially the people we encounter, and we should not be afraid of noticing, and bringing it up to the ones around us.

I will be the first to admit it didn't go perfect, but we as the human race can't achieve perfection, and besides it wasn't bad. We started out sharing our highs and lows which is what was the best part of our week and what was the worst, something that might need prayer or need to be given to God. Afterwards I kind of awkwardly tried taking off the stigma by pointing out the observation that you will be hard pressed to find a profitable movie in western civilization that does not have a Christian motif. This point was made clear to me in one of my classes at Ecu matter of fact, it was a New Testament class but still it was taught in a secular viewpoint. After this people started sharing other places they noticed Christian motifs, or heard of a inspiring story sparked by a few people out of church focused on God.

So despite the complexity and the hiccups God worked through me, and other people in the room, to talk about how God is at work in every single life, and how regular situations can be amplified with the joy that comes from deliberately discussing and bringing glory to the giver of life Jesus Christ.

And the Dust Gathers

I was sitting on my bed hunched over a Rubbermaid container, were my computer and at the time my Bible laid, formulating a foundation for “The Boro Experience”, a small group I am trying to start up in Greensboro during the summer, when an unfortunate revelation accrued. The revelation was this; I bought a stack of paper back bibles somewhere in the ballpark of seven months ago, as I have been known to do from time to time as my supplies run low, but this last shipment has not run low. This last shipment of 7-12 bibles, have somehow made like bunnies and multiplied, or so it seems.

Those bibles are a tangible but hypothetical slap across my apathetic cheek. This apathy doesn’t stem from not peddling the hopefully addictive substance on the street fast enough. No, it stems from not being on the street with the substance, the light, the living water, at least attracting traffic, with a shining example of what’s inside the book. Does God take one day off giving all living creatures the air we breathe, or the gravitational pull that keeps us on this planet He made, or the life we take for granted? Then should we, those who are truly saved by His grace, take one day off trying our best to bring Him glory? I have not turned from His path and started walking in the opposite direction. I do not write my constructive criticism to myself from the depth of the lowest rocks, I simply write to urge all of His followers to take up God’s armor and wear it proudly in the world. Dust accumulated due to apathy is detrimental to one’s fire for God.

The Lone Wolf's Cry for Help

A blog post is well over due, not because of the amount of days that have passed since the last one, but because, the amount of stuff that I have been presented to write about but didn't. The primary reasons for this neglect is; I was finding less significant things to devote with the time God gave me, largely in part because of the difficulty I was having writing on a subjected I was trying to force out. I thought just because I had a sweet title I should finish writing the whole thing, even though I wasn't in a place in my life to do the subject justice.

I am sure I am not alone in being stubborn to having it my own way. It can be hard to walk a path that someone else picked out for you, even when that someone else is perfect and has plan for you to prosper. The flaw of being a lone wolf is a clear trait of mine when thinking of titles. I enjoy titling things, so when I have the responsibility to pick a title, I usual automatically dismiss all title people suggest to me. I am stubborn and prideful in thinking I can think of the best title.

That is the same thing that happen with my blog I had a great title picked out and a few well constructed sentences that rolled off the tongue, and suddenly I started thinking I, by my own power, I need to make this post a killer good one. Well that was riddled with flaws, first of all my goodness comes from the Father. [ Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow] -James 1:17-, and another thing it's not about how it reads but the authenticity and meaning behind the words I write. This blog is more for me then for anyone else, it is a way to stay close to Christ read back and see how he has worked through me, and the "you" sentences are directed specifically at me when I read them over again. Honestly, I need that sometimes, a straight call out or recall for encouragement, from someone I know and trust, me. "You" mustn't forget the reason behind your action or you have forgotten where you placed the heart.

This isn't a post on one issue there is a few things in there but I am not going to try to separate the issues, I am going to trust in God that He will provided what needs to be provided out of this to the reader, including , but, if I may be so blessed, not limited to myself.

I am, are you?

For my English class I had to write a paper to describe myself in 5 objects. We couldn’t use characteristic traits or desirable personality adjectives; this is not a E-date site quiz question. Anyways my paper is posted below, I found this assignment thought provoking on whom we are and how we betray ourselves. These are 5 objects that describe me what 5 objects are you…why?

I am a hanging Cross, a Bible that is being worn out, a simply ring, a receipt in the back of my draw, and I am a t-shirt. These are five things that I am, five things that best describes who I am. All of these things can be found on my body or in my room at anytime. This is because I believe what best represents who we are, are the things we represent.

I am a hanging cross above my bed, because it represents that the Lord is my peace and comfort. My nights are a little easier when I have that symbolic reminder that the Lord died for my sins, and I have nothing to fear. I keep my nights more restful by remembering what I have already received.

I am a Bible filled with highlighted verses, because it represents my commitment I made when I was saved. It documents the fact that I am constantly trying to bring glory to His name, with my mind body and spirit. For I know the inspired word of God brings great wisdom to the reader, and strengthens their Christian walk. It is for those reasons I can be found in the Bible on my desk.

I am a matching set of rings, because it represents the earthly relationship I am in with my girlfriend. I received this part of me from Lane, even before we went out, as a theatrical addition to our witty banter. However at that time it was just a metal loop colored white and gold, it didn’t become part of me in till much later. It became a representative of who I am, the day I realized the ring foreshadowed the relationship that was to come. I am the ring that holds many memories of Lane.

I am a nine year old crinkled receipt to target, because it represents my loyalty to my best friend of ten years, Michael. On me you will find the price of two remote controlled cars plus tax equals a lifetime of memories. Although my ink is faded if you look close enough you can still see the red and blue cars racing the home made tracks around my house. I am not the cars, for the cars are lost and broken, but I am the proof that, my memories are real.

I am a T-shirt with no name brand, because it represents the fact that I am not concerned with impressing a society that is impressed with money. I don’t put high value on money but I put an even lower value on the label on my t-shirts. I am a humble shirt purchased at good will, and proudly made in America. On my chest I don’t have a man on a horse or a check mark, but I have the words “sould out 4 Him” with a picture of a cross. I believe the material things that represent us should and do reflect our identities, our faith.