the.new.day

Hope, Faith, Life, Love

2010-01-25T23:31:00.004-05:00

I am learning something new. Today my teacher is pain, of a kind and a degree previously unknown to me. A strange teacher, but a good one, I'm told.

What am I learning? I am learning about love. God does not love as we love. See what I am finding in the scriptures, words that not only speak, but live:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son...
John 3:16

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
1 John 4:10

Christ told his disciples, "I do not give as the world gives," and in another place God says, "my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways." Clearly God is loving us in a profound and powerful way, not a way we are used to receiving or giving. Yet we are called to this same love in response. See the next verse in 1 John:

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
1 John 4:11

When asked for the greatest commandment of God (a trick question, to be sure), Jesus compacted the Gospel down to two scriptures from the old testament and declared that all of the other scriptures rely on these two commands. So let us pay close attention:

Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
Matthew 22:37-40

I find in these commands something shocking. I find the death of my agenda. I find the fall of my kingdom. I find the losing of my own life. Yet somehow the death of my hopes and plans allows for a new hope to be created within me. The fall of my kingdom makes room for a better kingdom to come. The loss of my old life somehow gives birth to a new, deep, lasting life. I do not know what is best for me. I cannot see the whole story, so I do not understand my present pain. But there is a story. God does not play with people. God does not waste our pain. The great mystery of His plan—and the great display of His power—is the using of evil events for the building of His kingdom. When the testing of our faith develops perseverance, and perseverance produces character, and character produces hope, then our hope will not disappoint us.

The great love we have received, which is poured out on us always, both satisfies all our needs and drowns all our fears. As long as the LORD is my shepherd, I have all that I need. Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid.

Safely Home

2009-07-12T14:51:00.002-04:00

My Friends, thank you for your prayers. Even on a 28 hour bus ride, God can show up and work in the hearts of His people. I talked with a couple guys I sat next to, a few of whom are committed Christians, and we talked about life and encouraged each other with God's Word and what He's been teaching us. That is something I did not expect on a Greyhound bus, but God is making the plans!

I am home resting now for a few days. Then, Julie and I head out on another road trip, for just a week this time, to attend the wedding of a good friend of ours. After that, I expect to be mostly stationary for a while. As I was asking God about what country I should go to and what mission agency I should look into, I have felt Him calling me to invest in my neighbors for a while. So, if all goes well, my church will finish buying a house in downtown Grand Rapids within a few weeks, and I'll move in shortly thereafter, and it will be some sort of intentional community reaching out to the neighborhood. Lead on, Lord Jesus. Lead on.

Long Day Ahead

2009-07-10T09:09:00.003-04:00

Today is my last half-day of work at OM Ships in Florence, SC. My Greyhound bus leaves at 12:30pm, and I am ready to be on it.

Pray
Please pray for me, as I'll be stuck on that bus for 27.5 hours (arriving in Grand Rapids, MI at 4pm Saturday, Lord willing). Pray that God will use that time for His glory, whether through giving me rest through thinking/journaling/reading, or through conversations with fellow bus riders.

Praise
God has met me through His Word, His Spirit, and His people in amazing ways this month. I have wrestled with Him and surrendered many things to Him. Lots of stories to tell of His grace. I'm glad to tell, just ask!

Photos

A holiday at the sea

2009-07-04T14:12:00.006-04:00

Went to Myrtle Beach yesterday, got sunburned, bought some aloe vera, toured a WWII battleship, and made it home with pictures and plenty to think about (you will find the pictures below). Now I am pondering the following, and you are all welcome to comment:

Freedom
War
American history
Patriotism
World history
WWI and WWII
Our founding fathers
What it means to give your life for something
How hard it would be to live on a cramped battleship with 2000 men and fight in battles and keep your nerves.
The Spiderwick Chronicles (since we listened to them on the drive)

Adventure Half-Full

2009-06-29T17:26:00.011-04:00

Is my techy mission road trip half-started or half-finished? Actually, it's both. Here's a brief update:

The Computing in Mission conference was fantastic! The Lord powerfully reminded me that He is Lord of technology just as He is Lord of everything else. Every decision I make regarding technology should be based on His truth. Sounds strange, right? Why would God care about technology? Because it directly affects His people. Our technology choices will affect how we minister to God's people locally and abroad, so we must let God speak to these decisions.

At the conference, I also met lots of wonderful people and made good contacts with a few organizations that I will pursue more. I still don't know where I'll be in two months or a year, but God knows and I am not afraid to follow Him. Praise God for His peace!

Meet my cohorts in crime...I mean...missions: Tim and Patricia Young.

We had a few days of rest in Delaware and DC before heading to our first mission agency visit in the mountains of North Carolina. Once there, we met Clarke, a man with a passion for the unreached peoples of the world. He cast the vision for a website to mobilize people to pray for God's kingdom in all ways, especially for those living without the Gospel. Then we spent the week building the website with his constant feedback, keeping in mind that we only had a week. With God's help we made good progress, but it's not launched yet. Pray that God would bless the work of our hands and glorify His name through this project. We also spent time praying together, hiking in the mountains, and visiting with local families. Praise God for a wonderful, encouraging time with Clarke!

Yesterday, we arrived in central South Carolina for our two week stay at Operation Mobilization's ships ministry office (OM Ships). Plenty of tech work to do here! Please pray that God would give us wisdom to set priorities and leave OM in a good, working state.

My Itinerary:
June 12-16: ~~Attend International Conference on Computing and Mission (ICCM) at Taylor University~~
June 17-21: ~~Travel to "Home Base, Delaware", debrief on the conference, prepare for our first stop~~
June 22-26: ~~Beech Mountain, NC: Christian Hospitality Network~~
June 29-July 10: Florence, SC: Operation Mobilization - Ships ministry office
July 10-11: Greyhound 28 hour bus trip to Grand Rapids!

Prayer Requests

I feel God leading me to explore missions opportunities "where I am", meaning in my home community and through my existing connections. Please pray for courage as I step into this daunting unknown region of my future. God is giving my lots of ideas, and now it's time to investigate and pursue some of them.
Pray that I will welcome God's work in my life, even when it involves scary and uncertain things.
Pray that I will schedule my day around Him instead of me, both now and when I return home.

Praise

God has inspired me to pray! It is the foundation of any effective ministry for God's kingdom, because it begins with submission to God. Join me in praying for His will to be done.
I have experienced the kindness, hospitality, and fellowship of many believers. Praise God for the world-wide Body of Christ! He is alive!

Did you make it to the end of this post?? Post a quick comment so I can thank you! Post your prayer requests too, or email them to me, and I'll pray for you.

Dawning of a New Day

2009-06-15T00:30:00.006-04:00

When I was laid off a few months ago, the Lord had already been stirring my heart for change. I was looking to the future, trying to understand my "calling" in God's big plan (which, I've concluded, need not be revealed by a big spiritual event, but is simply "where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet"; thanks, Frederick Buechner). While the future direction is still very foggy, I have decided (or discovered) a few solid things:

I love Jesus Christ above all else
I love the Body of Christ; when it works right, there's nothing more alive in the world
I love communication, music, community, games, children, solving puzzles, being childish (in moderation)
I have skills in technology and in interpersonal communication
I need to be around people at least part of the work day to keep me motivated and productive

This knowledge led me to seek current opportunities with technology in the mission field. While I have talked about this for years, it seemed best to pay off most of my school debt first. I was nearly finished with this when I was abruptly laid off, and the Lord soon put missions on my mind again. That has led me to my present location—Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, at the ICCM conference, surrounded by missionary computer geeks, and I am having a blast. So far, I've attended tech in missions presentations, met great people, heard challenging stories, and had some humbling conversations with the Lord as I relearn that He is the boss of my life, not me. I am also learning of opportunities in some mission organizations that I will consider pursuing. By far, the best part of this conference is the Christ-centered perspective. I get so consumed by the logic puzzles I'm trying to solve (that's how I view computer problems) that I forget that even technology belongs to God. He is the giver of all wisdom and knowledge. So let's submit our logical, natural, I-can-do-this-myself tasks to the Lord of all things. Let's pray about our computer issues. Let's recognize the King of kings and stop trying to take His throne.

When the conference finishes, my next adventure starts: three weeks of tech missions road trip with Tim Young of LightSys. Tim spends most of his time traveling to mission agencies around the world to consult and help with their tech needs, and I'm joining him and his wife for a piece of their USA road trip. They have a great Method of Ministry which you can learn about here.

My Itinerary:
June 12-16: Attend International Conference on Computing and Mission (ICCM) at Taylor University
June 17-21: Travel to "Home Base, Delaware", debrief on the conference, prepare for our first stop
June 22-26: Beech Mountain, NC: Christian Hospitality Network
June 29-July 10: Florence, SC: Operation Mobilization - Ships ministry office

Personal Goals
I want to know where I can fit well in God's big plan. I hope this trip will give me a broader perspective on the technology related needs in missions, and whether any of them are screaming my name.
I have done a lot of computer programming, but I prefer working with people. So I hope to use my technology skills in a more interpersonal context. That will help me decide what long term path to pursue.

Prayer Requests
Pray that I would have good chances to practice interpersonal stuff, like consulting or training, rather than menial technical stuff.
Pray that I will take time to be with the Lord, and for reflection on my experiences on this trip.
Pray that I will return with new vision and energy for God's work.

Praise
God has already provided me with a new laptop and a new (used) car at just the right time. He is taking very good care of me.

Here's a verse that one speaker powerfully shared, and it is shaping me this weekend.

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:10-11

One new day at a time

2007-07-04T06:58:00.000-04:00

Have you ever wondered about the Bible? Have you finished reading a story and found yourself wondering if the God you worship is the same as the God who parted the Red Sea? Does He really heal lepers? Does He really forgive sins? Just what does God have in mind for His church, His Body?

I have considered these questions before. "Does God still do miracles?" That's a very important question to answer for yourself, because it's a matter of trust between you and your God. Consider verses like the following:

"And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith." (Matt 13:58)

Is faith only related to miracles? Of course not. Faith is the extent to which you are willing to admit that you don't see the whole picture, and then you submit to the One who does. Faith is not about miracles--it's about submission. It's about letting go of those precious securities that we cling to at the core of our being. Sure, I trust God and I love Him and want to follow Him, but I really need to be around people that know me. I really need to have some personal space, where I can be alone when I need to. I really need to be around my family once in a while. These are my securities, the things I never think might rival my humble submission to all of God's plan for me. What if God asked me to give those up? Oh, then we'd have an argument on our hands.

"God, you don't understand how important that is to me."
"God, do you know what you're asking of me?"
"Come on, Lord, you seriously want me to trust you and nothing else? You're crazy! People just don't work that way!"

It seems to me that faith at the core is not when I muster enough courage to step off a cliff. Instead, faith is when I let go of the things I really can't live without, finding that I land in the hands of the One I truly need. How does one go about this? What will the faith-ful life look like? For some, it might mean giving up precious time with friends to be alone with God once in a while. For another, it could mean abandoning your social comfort to share openly what God is doing in your life. For others, it might be giving the Holy Spirit a chance to really be part of your understanding of God, and admitting that He (not it) wants to be the Life of the Church, the breath in the Body of Christ.

Miracles?
Vulnerability with friends?
Forgiving a deep injury?
Being quiet?
Speaking in tongues?
Sharing Christ?

If you feel the Holy Spirit nudging you, or pricking you, or you somehow sense that God is asking you to do something, and it feels WAY out of your comfort zone, here's my challenge to you:

Take a minute to wonder why you don't want to do it. Is my comfort really more important to me than my God?

Remember who your God is. Memorize some short verses that talk about Him. He's ruler of all things, He loves you deeply, and He's working for your ultimate good.

Are you willing to trust Him? Even with this way uncomfortable circumstance? If you're not sure, try praying this phrase a few times: "Not my will, but yours be done." Try to mean it. Then take the risk. Obey, and see what God will do.

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Matthew 13:44

the First of seven new days

2007-06-09T08:01:00.001-04:00

by Phil Walter

Saturday.
Woke at 6am, made tea for three (earl grey). Ate breakfast. Helped gather final items for the trip.
At 7am, drove the three to church, with piles of luggage. Saw friends, some recent, some not. Enjoyed the sunrise.
7:45, prayed for the group, asked the Lord to bless them with more than just fun and adventure and adrenaline. Left wishing I was going too.

8am. Mist rises from the tarp over our little 14' hobie cat sailboat, as the early summer sun declares You are God on this new day. I only care about sailing because of these summer youth group trips; I've gone on five of them, learned new things about community, humility, adventure (and the tough or mundane that come with it), and encountered the Creator and Lover in new ways. And now I send my sister as I pine for those legendary days.

As I read through the Narnia series last year (really for the first time), I was deeply impressed by one common theme present in most of the books: the long journey. The time between adventures. The Pevinsies' journey to the Beavers' house, Shasta and Aravis's ride across the desert, Digory's flight to that magic Tree, Jill and Puddleglum's march to the land of the Giants, and certain moments from the Voyage of the Dawntreader when they sit windless for days or sail Eastward as provisions run low. Each story describes some long, difficult, repetitive, unadventurous piece of the adventure, and that surprised me.

I was surprised mainly because my adventures have rarely lasted more than a week. Anyone can endure the mundane for a week! But after two or three weeks of the same arduous tasks, I imagine you would start to forget why you are adventuring. Thoughts of "the good life" back home, worries of the dangers ahead, the usual little annoyances which build with time, could easily turn to mutiny. "Let's go back," they would say, "back to the life we knew, where comfort reigned and pleasure was accessible." I feel that way sometimes, when I have forgotten what I was seeking and what great goal initiated this adventure. What can be done about this mutiny within me?

Remember.

Remember the goal, the prize, the treasure. Repeat to yourself the story of the moment you chose this adventure. Relive the choice you made in the face of all the dangers you knew would come. Revive those first steps, those first moments of being truly alive, and the radical self-abandonment and courage and faith. Restore the vision of a journey completed, a hope fulfilled, a glory achieved. Wouldn't that be worth it all, worth anything and everything?

That is the only way I know to quell the mutiny. Now, for seven days of vision renewed, hope restored, decision remade. Adventure towards glory, and all that comes along the way. This is the life I have chosen, and when my whole self cries mutiny, I will remember and choose it again.

"...Christ in you, the hope of glory." Colossians 1:27

What is a New Day?

2007-05-16T13:11:00.000-04:00

by Peter Thomsen

When I created and named this blog, I had a few things in mind.

First, I often find myself longing for that "perfect me" that I can't seem to construct. I battle between hope and worry, wanting some assurance that some day all of my failures and poor judgments, all the hurt that I've caused and the good I've neglected, it will all be made right. There is a scripture verse that keeps me hoping. It says, "Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new" (2 Corinthians 5:17, CEV). That same section describes how we are made right with God -- our relationship with Him has been restored. Now, instead of Him being "angry at us" because we keep messing up His perfect world, He sees us a perfect because of Christ. We have peace with God. Peace. That's what I want.

There was another reason for this blog's name. I was inspired by a song written by John David and recorded by the Airwaves and more recently by the Kings Singers, titled "You are the New Day" and containing these lyrics:

I will love you more than me
and more than yesterday
If you can but prove to me
you are the new day

Send the sun in time for dawn
Let the birds all hail the morning
Love of life will urge me say
you are the new day
Hope. Clear as the new day. Connect that with a person, a powerful, expansive, bright-as-the-sun person and yet still loving person, and you have found what I'm looking for. As surely as the sun will rise, You are the new day.

Revelation 21:1-4, 22-27
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.