Report of the Week

Well, it has been a little while. I can explain why I haven't posted. I was putting together a movie to put on here that kind of summed up the first half of the trip but it ended up being too big or something like that so that was kind of what I have been working on to put up on the blog but it didn't work so I will probably try to put it on facebook or something like that. I will try to briefly sum up this last week. English class has been going very well and I am starting to build a pretty good friendship with some of my students. More and more they are open to talking about religion and the gospel so Praise the Lord for that. Cole and I have had a few interesting encounters the last week. We went to some type of forest, which was beautiful, and we were able to get some sweet pictures of the sunset overlooking the coastline and different things like that but the fun part was that there is some type of abandoned castle thing and we were going to go in it but there was some guy there claiming to be the caretaker or something like that and he was going to charge us money to go inside so we decided against that. Maybe some other time. But while I was walking around the building just kind of checking it out there were a bunch of boar that we had seen earlier that came from the woods out of nowhere about 15 feet from me. It was so weird because they just stared at me and then they started to walk towards me and there was no way I was going to stick around to find out what was going to take place so I like scaled down some wall and ran back around to the front where Cole was. It was definitely one of those you had to be there.

On Wednesday we went to a city that is owned by the Spanish to check it out and pass out some literature. Since it is owned by the Spanish then it is fair game to do whatever religiously so that was good. It was a gorgeous city right on the coast and pretty much at the tip of North Africa. Now, last night was pretty crazy. Cole and I were sitting in the office just kind of minding our own business, checking our email, reading, things like that and all of a sudden we begin to hear an incredibly loud noise. People were banging on drums, playing weird snake charmer type flutes and what not so we opened the windows to look outside and find out what was going on and there was a huge parade of people walking down the street and in the middle of the group was some lady on a horse but she was in like a box type thing covered in fabric. Kind of like what you would see on a movie in India or something. Anyway, we grabbed our cameras and ran outside and just kind of joined the group because we wanted to find out what was going on and we wanted to get everything on film. It ended up being some wedding ordeal but it was pretty crazy and so we followed the parade of people all the way to their final destination. Now the crazy part is to top it all off, it is not like this was taking place at 9 or 10 at night it was like 1:30 in the morning. As we were walking down the streets everyone was waking up from the noise and opening up their doors and windows to see what was going on. It was quite the experience. I am glad that we joined in on the processional or whatever it was and get it on film.

I guess the last thing to make note of is that Cole and I had the opportunity to spend some time on Friday and Saturday with two guys and we are starting to build a decent relationship with them. Well, I think I will end this because I don't want to make anyone fall asleep. Hopefully I can update a little more often this week so that the next post won't have to be so long. Keep praying that God will open doors, Christ will be the center of our focus, and God will be glorified.

God Opens Doors Wide Open

For the sake of not really being able to explain in a concise way how my students know where I am spiritually and what I believe, I will just say that they have a general idea. It mainly has come up during times that we have shared common misconceptions about our cultures and so I have shared a lot of misconceptions that they have about Christians and what a true Christian is. The idea that most of them have is Catholicism. Anyway, two of my students today remained after class and began to ask me questions. To make a long story short God gave me the opportunity to pretty much walk them through God's redemptive plan for mankind throughout history. Pretty much a "Creation to Christ". We talked for about an hour and a half to two hours and most of the time I was talking answering their question but mainly proclaiming Jesus Christ as God who came to this earth and died for their sins as a perfect once for all sacrifice. It was amazing and God gave me the words to speak. Another opportunity came about this evening. Another one of my students wanted to get together and spend time with me so we did. We spent a couple hours together and during the course of that time I had the opportunity to share with him the motives for why I do what I do and my desire to serve Christ and love Christ and know Christ and then share that with other people. So I thank God for that opportunity as well. This student that I spent the evening with is a very real person. He is very genuine and very dedicated to Islam. His commitment to what he believes is much stronger than I see in a lot of American Christians and it caused me to think. A lot of Muslims in this city neglect to pray except maybe on Friday but he prays five times a day. There was actually a point this evening when we were walking be a Mosque in the city and he excused himself to go in and pray for a few minutes because it was at the point of one of the prayer times during the day. As I stood outside the Mosque waiting for him I couldn't help but cry out to God for more American Christians that are totally abandoned to the cause of Christ as well as realizing the only thing that is going to penetrate a heart so given to darkness so given to something that is not the truth so deceived is the Holy Spirit opening his eyes to the truth of the gospel. These people need the truth. Desperately!!!

Are you meditating on the cross daily?

I have 2 videos to share with you and one quote for meditation from the book "The Truth of the Cross" by R.C. Sproul. One of the videos is some Nigerians singing at a bible study that we had with them. They are in this country because they are trying to get over into Europe to make money and have a better life. We want to disciple them to love Jesus more than anything this world has to offer. The time with them was very encouraging and very funny. We also played a little bit of soccer with them before the bible study. The second video is the reaction of the men watching Spain versus Italy when Spain put in their final PK to seal the win and their entrance into the semi-finals. And I am absolutely positive that the reaction you see in the video was the reaction in every restaurant in the city. Their passion and love in life is soccer. It is what gets them through the day. It is what gets them through the week. It is ingrained in them. The video that was taken was actually taken by someone else in a different cafe then I was in. As I stood their in the cafe that I was in watching the reaction of the people my heart was weighed down again to the reality of what they believe life is all about. I was consumed with the thought of these millions of people not knowing what true joy is. Their joy wavers with how their team is doing in the EURO 2008 cup. And when their team loses or even if their team wins that temporary joy is going to come to a screeching halt and they are going to be left with an emptiness inside. The only thing that can free them from the bondage of serving the idol soccer is if their eyes are opened to the truth of the gospel and so that is what my prayer is.

Finally, a quote to get you meditating on the cross again...It would be nice if I could type out the whole chapter for you but I will keep it to a few paragraphs. Let this soak in.
"God is too holy to look on iniquity, so when Christ hung on the cross, the Father, as it were, turned His back. He averted His face and He cut off His Son. Jesus, Who, touching His human nature, had been in a perfect, blessed relationship with God throughout His ministry, now bore the sin of God's people, and so He was forsaken by God.
Imagine how agonizing that was for Christ. Thomas Aquinas argued that throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus remained in a constant state of intimate communion with His Father. Aquinas speculated that the Beatific Vision, the vision of the unveiled glory of God, was something Jesus had enjoyed every minute of His life until the cross, when the light was turned off. The world was plunged into darkness, and Christ was exposed to the curse of the wrath of God. To experience the curse, according to Jewish categories, was to experience what it means to be forsaken.
I've heard sermons about the nails and the thorns. Granted, the physical agony of the crucifixion is a ghastly thing. But thousands of people have died on crosses, and others have had even more painful, excruciating deaths than that. But only One received the full measure of the curse of God while on a cross. Because of that, I wonder whether Jesus was even aware of the nails and the thorns. he was overwhelmed by the outer darkness. On the cross, He was in hell, totally bereft of the grace and the presence of God, utterly separated from all blessedness of the Father. He became a curse for us so that we one day will be able to see the face of God. God turned His back on His Son so that the light of His countenance will fall on us. It's no wonder Jesus screamed from the depths of His soul.
Finally, Jesus said, "'It is Finished!'" (John 19:30b). What was finished? His life? The pain of the nails? No. The lights had come back on; God's countenance had turned back. So Jesus could say, "'Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit'" (Luke 23:46b).
The hard reality is this: if Jesus was not forsaken on the cross, we are still in our sins. We have no redemption, no salvation. The whole point of the cross was for Jesus to bear our sins and bear the sanctions of the covenant. In order to do that, He had to be forsaken. Jesus submitted Himself to His Father's will and endured the curse, that we, His people, might experience the ultimate blessedness."

Reflections from the Beach

Another day of English classes went very well. We had a lot of fun today in class. I had them pair up with one of the other students in the class and then point their chairs in opposite directions. Then they had to carry on a phone conversation in front of their classmates. I think they really enjoyed it. It really makes them think about what they are saying and they can't cheat by looking at hand gestures or anything like that so that was a lot of fun. They laughed a lot so I guess it was a success and I think they learned. I am thankful for people who think up good ideas for teaching English. I spent some time on the beach this evening after dinner. When I arrived there were some guys playing soccer so I stood and watched for a while just meditating and praying. Then they asked me (with hand gestures) to join so I obviously did. It was a lot of fun. A few of them spoke a little English but one guy in particular spoke enough English to carry on a conversation so that was good and hopefully we will be able to get together again on the beach over the next few weeks so we will see. He told me that he plays soccer just about every day at that time so I think that there is a good chance to build a relationship with him and share the truth with him. After we finished the game I decided to just stick around on the beach and spend some time reading in the word and praying. It was exactly what I needed. For the first time since I have been here God really began to press upon my heart the weight of a million plus people in this city not knowing the truth. I finally began to feel the weight of looking back up at the city from the beach seeing the apartments, building, and people realizing the reality of eternity in all of our lives. I cried out for these people who are in bondage to sin with no hope. I also was in awe and humbled by the grace of God at work in my life and the fact that I am no longer a slave to sin but a slave to righteousness which is in no way bondage but freedom; freedom to live for eternal things. And then once again I returned to the thoughts of a people so lost in darkness, blinded by Satan. I pray that God will continue to give me more and more of an awareness of eternal things when I pass by the people in this city as well as when I return home. The gospel must be proclaimed. Jesus Christ must be exalted. And God must be glorified among the peoples of this world.

Prayer Works...Prayer Gives the Glory to God

Today was an incredible day. I got to teach English for the first time and it was a blast. I had so much fun. I don't know about the other teachers but I really enjoyed it. The students that I have are fairly comfortable with English so that makes it really fun. We are able to get into discussions that are enjoyable. Not that beginning stuff wouldn't be enjoyable but, anyway. My students are between the ages of 16 and 24 so they are young and eager to learn. It is also very encouraging to begin to put names with faces that I can begin to pray for and eagerly await to see what God is going to do over the next four weeks. So today was the beginning of new relationships and Lord willing fruit for His glory. I also had my first official Arabic lesson today. My teacher is AJ. It has been very encouraging to spend time around AJ and see what God is doing in and through his life. Let's just say that Arabic isn't exactly the easiest language to learn so it is going to take a lot of repetition and hard work. I would love to take some big strides in the language over the next 5 weeks but who knows? It takes a lot of time and time is being pulled in a lot of different ways. Plus I understand that you can only get so far in 5 weeks. Tonight was also very encouraging because after dinner I went to the beach to attempt to meet people and it is really hard to find people that speak English. So I prayed about it a lot last night and God brought two men across my path tonight that I was able to talk to for about 2 hours and it actually was before I even got to the beach. So, Praise the Lord!

A day in the life of a city bus rider...

Today was a good day. We rode the buses for about 4 hours. We saw a lot of the city and we were able to observe much of the culture by the way that they interacted with each other on the buses. I was able to meet a few people but one in particular was a very good contact. He spoke some English so that made it much easier to communicate with him. His name was David and I was able to get hie e-mail and cell number so pray that God will open up a door for the gospel in his life. I am picking up a little Arabic every day but like I said it is a little. I hang out with two guys a lot. One I will call MJ and the other AJ. MJ only speaks Arabic, French, and Spanish but no English (only Arabic, French, and Spanish...wow that is the understatement of the week) anyway, I spent time with MJ riding the buses today and he taught me how to count in Arabic as well as say "to go" in the past, present, and future and he taught me how to say "to eat" in the past, present, and future. Oh yeah and I learned how to say he, she, him, her, I, you...and so on but don't ask me to remember it all. We will have to have a review time tomorrow. Can I just say that I am so glad that Coke is universal. Wow! How refreshing it is to buy a Coke anytime anywhere. We had the wonderful opportunity of eating supper at a McDonald's tonight and something that was mildly humorous was that they had an item on the menu named the McArabia. The only way I can think to explain it is like a thick tortilla with meat, lettuce, and what not in the middle. Don't quote me on that though. After dinner we all went to the men's humble abode (that would be where I am staying) and talked with some friends back in the States through the internet/web cam. We finished off the evening by getting out into the community and attempting to meet people. A few of us guys took a basketball and a futbol (soccer ball for all of you Americans confused) out into the streets and after a while we had a ton of kids/teens around us so we had a good chance to meet a number of people in the neighborhood as well as maybe some future friends/contacts. I guess we will find out over the next few weeks. Some of the people that we met today that you can pray for are Mohammed, David, and Ali. Also pray for MJ and AJ. May God be glorified in everything that we do. Prayer is vital. Prayer is a must. If I am self dependent I can do nothing. If I don't pray than I am proud and self dependent and nothing takes place for the glory of God. If I am on my knees and God dependent than things take place for His glory. Pray that I will remain on my knees.

Travels and First Impressions

All right, we are finally here. We arrived Thursday morning around 7 in the morning North African time. It has been a fun first 2 days but traveling for almost four sitting in airports, on planes, and on trains was quite an ordeal to say the least but we are here. I will say more later but I am pretty tired and need to get some rest so this will be just a quick post. We got to see a little bit of the city today so that was pretty cool. There are some guys our age that live here that we have been spending time with and hanging out with and they are very cool and a lot of fun. We did go to the beach today which was a lot of fun. I ended up jumping in a soccer game down at the beach while we were there and it was a blast. I played for about an hour maybe more. One of the guys spoke a little English so that helped but most of the time I had no idea what they were saying. Although, there are certain things related to sports that cross all language barriers. It is an incredible way to meet new people. Athletics can break down a lot of barriers and build relationships that may not ever take place otherwise. I hope and prayer that some solid contacts will come from playing soccer on the beach in the evenings. We serve an amazing God. I hope and pray that His name will be glorified over the next six weeks. Pray for us tomorrow as we will be riding buses most of the day trying to establish contacts and share the truth with people.

Open Doors

I have been in Atlanta this last week getting ready for the trip to North Africa and it has been very good. God has grown me in a lot of ways. It has been very exciting to see God open many doors and give many opportunities to myself and others to see the gospel of Jesus Christ go out to people in Atlanta. Just to give a few highlights, (I won't go into super detail. I also want to mention that everything that went on this week was totally of God. So I want to praise Him for what took place) but last Tuesday I had the opportunity to share the gospel with two Muslims from Somalia. I was able to sit down and talk with a family from the Congo for about 45 about the gospel. I had the opportunity on Wednesday to give the gospel to a man from India at an Indian restaurant. I had the opportunity to share the gospel with a kid on Thursday in a Hispanic community, and on Saturday Cole and I were able to sit down in the apartment of one of the Muslim Somalians that I had talked to on Tuesday and share the gospel with about 5 or 6 of his family and friends in his living room. God has been so good this week in opening up doors so that the gospel of Jesus Christ can be proclaimed amongst the people in some different immigration communities in the Atlanta area.

Now, we left for North Africa today but we ran into a few problems. We left Atlanta this afternoon and we were supposed to make a connecting flight at JFK airport in New York with no problems. Unfortunately, to say the least, we missed the flight because we landed at JFK and then sat on the plane for about an hour. We ran to our gate but it ended up being a little too late. We went through the hassle of trying to get some vouchers for a hotel and food but to say the least after talking to 4 different employees for Delta I wasn't able to get anywhere. God is good though and He is in control. We ended up making it to a church in Manhattan so we are sleeping here tonight and then we fly out tomorrow evening. God is definitely in all of this so I am excited about our short detour.

I have been reading the book "The Holiness of God" by R.C. Sproul and I would like to leave you with a quote from the book. It is lengthy but very good. Think about it. Meditate on it. Ponder it and let me know what you think. To set up the context were are jumping in on a discussion of God's Holy justice and how he dealt with certain people in certain situations for instance Uzzah or Nadab and Abihu and an appearance of vast difference between the two testaments but Sproul inserts a thought.
"The false conflict between the two testaments may be seen in the most brutal act of divine vengeance ever recorded in Scripture. It is not found in the Old Testament but in the New Testament. The most violent expression of God's wrath and justice is seen in the Cross. If ever a person had room to complain of injustice, it was Jesus. He was the only innocent man ever to be punished by God. If we stagger at the wrath of God, let us stagger at the Cross. Here is where our astonishment should be focused. If we have cause for moral outrage, let it be directed at Golgotha.
The Cross was at once the most horrible and the most beautiful example of God's wrath. It was the most just and the most gracious act in history. God would have been more than unjust, He would have been diabolical to punish Jesus if Jesus had not first willingly taken on Himself the sins of the world. Once Christ had done that, once He volunteered to be the Lamb of God, laden with our sin, then He became the most grotesque and vile thing on this planet. With the concentrated load of sin He carried, He became utterly repugnant to the Father. God poured out His wrath on this obscene thing. God made Christ accursed for the sin He bore. Herein was God's holy justice perfectly manifest. Yet it was done for us. he took what justice demanded for us. This "for us" aspect of the Cross is what displays the majesty of its grace. At the same time justice and grace, wrath and mercy. It is too astonishing to fathom."

Worthy is the Lamb

Of First Importance is a great site and if you do not visit the site regularly or receive the email then you must. There was a great quote on there from a couple days ago from John Stott. It speaks to us of our total unworthiness and the absolute surety of cross centered focus producing humility in our lives. We desperately need to look at the cross every day so that our thinking is radically transformed and we live in His strength and not ours. Looking at and meditating on the cross produces something in us. It produces an intense passion to live for the one who died for us to the glory of God the Father. Life is not about me. Life is not about you. Life is about Christ. Becoming like Christ and pursuing to know Christ in everything that He is so that we can bring glory to God the Father. That is why we are here. That is why we were created.

Through my time at Northland and friendships created there as well as messages by numerous pastors and sermons by John Piper God has instilled in me a passion to preach the gospel where Christ has not been named. John Piper calls it a Holy Ambition. That is the title I selected for the blog because the first step in that passion to preach the gospel where Christ has not been named begins this summer in North Africa for 6 weeks. Lord willing I will be uploading pictures and giving updates periodically over the next 6 weeks. May God be glorified and may Christ be known among the nations. "May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His sufferings!"