Voicing Heaven in Earth's Language

A lot changed last week when a handicapped guy came rolling through the doors of Lighthouse to get a free meal. I had just finished washing dishes after the normal lunch served to the homeless and I walked out in the main room to find one of the program guys feeding this guy. I took over because this program guy needed to do something else and we launched into a long talk. What a difficult situation! This man was and is facing homelessness and I immediately wanted to do something about it. I didn't realize how close our contact would be for at least the next few days. He needs help with about everything. I saw him again the next day where he discovered my life on the streets and invited me to stay at the motel where he was staying for a night. I graciously accepted and went back to Wilmore for the Sunday like usual. On Tuesday, he faced the prospect of homelessness and I cared for him much of the day. At supper, God deposited the thought into my head of 2 ladies I knew and

In following God, I did not take my cross and was not whole-hearted, because subconciously I received Jesus, but did not receive the suffering which comes with that name. Now, the Father poses the question to me, "Will you drink the cup of suffering that comes with bearing Jesus' name?" He did not ask me to make life hard on myself or to strive to do religious things driven by fear, but to receive the suffering which comes with following Jesus. Instead of opposing it, will I receive it? Will I embrace all that the fasted lifestyle entails and receive the suffering which my flesh endures so that it might find it's greatest fulfillment in Jesus? I've half-heartedly embraced it, but not to the fullest degree yet and I might as well leave it behind and say "No, thanks" to the Lord if I'm not totally going to embrace it. This is a part of the heart of God; that I embrace the suffering which reminds me of my dependence on Him. We must know that when we say

I'll admit that the Lord has been teaching me about his kindness and mercy, his patience and how important faith is even before works, and yet how works are such an important aspect of faith. I've also learned in the past years of my life (or shall I use the word "indoctrinated") to be tolerant and patient toward those of other beliefs. I have bought into this belief mainly for one reason and it's not due to what I've seen in Scripture. I've bought into this belief because I know some people in this world that are sincerely seeking truth that do not believe the same as I do. Of course, that's only an assumption. Some people in this world are probably seeking truth more zealously than I am and I'm probably seeking truth more zealously than some others. Now this brings me to a problem. Those may sound like good intentions, but Scripture proclaims with authority that Jesus alone is the truth. Faith should inevitably result in increasing one'

Yahweh has shown me how much I've bought into the lie of fear and furthering my own ego, especially recently in my approach to Scripture. I have been used by God to facilitate a weekly Bible study for guys in the program at the Lighthouse and lately I've been distracted by the temptation to put together good intellectual Bible studies that reflect my abilities in order to prove myself to them and God. God is certainly putting me through some purging right now to purge that very desire from me. What I'm seeing is that the rhetoric of faith is not just rhetoric. I have believed the lie (not whole-heartedly, but subconsciously) for much of my life that the Scripture was just good philosophical rhetoric without truly practical application and that to live life, it was really just up to me to produce. God has been using this time in me to expose that lie in the strongest terms. The rhetoric of Scripture is actually absolute truth with practical application! I say this not

Beloved, I have had a hiatus recently as I returned to Michigan for almost 2 weeks. What a good time. It was great to see old friends and be with family, but I also realized how much I belong in Lexington, KY. I was so ready to return after those 2 weeks. As much as I love and miss Michigan, I could not be happy there unless God called me back there, even though some of my favorite people are there. I enjoyed the beach, and sitting on rooftops watching fireworks, speaking at my dad's church, and spending 2 a day in Cincinnati seeing the Creation Museum. That museum was my graduation gift from my parents and it was awesome. It's quite a facility they've built, dedicated to perpetuating a biblical worldview. It greatly informed my thinking and provided me with some great resources. Now, it's time to be back on the streets. So far, I do not know how much longer I'll do this, but I'm giving my time to building my faith and the faith of others, studying, and