Hello friends below you should find our update letter for July 2010.
Archive for the ‘Jesus’ Category
July 2010 Update
Posted 07 Jul 2010 — by nick
Category Friends, Fun, GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, Photos, Spirituality
Category Friends, Fun, GCM, Illini Life, Jesus, Ministry, Photos, Spirituality
New Nooma – 022 Tomato
In an attempt to stir the remaining embers of this blog, I thought I’d share the newest Nooma with you. Tomato is free on facebook until Wednesday November 13th at noon, your opportunity is slipping away, check it out now while you have a chance.
(click on the video to watch it on Facebook)“Jesus invites us to die so that we can have life, Jesus invites us to lose our life so we can find it.” (paraphrased from Mathew 16:24-26 among other Jesus teachings)
These truths stopped me mid-sip of my morning coffee – truth I know, a reminder I needed. My idle state of life, living for myself and propping up the image I’ve constructed, dropped for a moment and the words of Jesus sank in. Today I choose to live as a Christ follower and die to myself, allowing me to forgive freely and love abundantly, to have life.
I hope God stirs your heart as well.
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Now playing: Enter the Worship Circle – Put in Me
via FoxyTunes
Pain and Healing
Posted 03 Jun 2008 — by nick
Category Jesus, Ministry, Spirituality
Category Jesus, Ministry, Spirituality
A barefoot little boy runs across the dilapidated, weathered deck. The risks, while known from previous encounters, go un-calculated. Fragile brittle spears of wood lie awaiting to depart their harsh bite. One pierces his little foot, momentum frees the pointy-now lodged spear from it’s previous home. Slinking to the deck, the pain races up his leg, across his spine, reaching his brain and releases a wail and tears. He holds his foot and rocks as Dad frees him from the grips of the wood.
Inside they rush, up the stairs to the bathroom. Needle and tweezers in hand Dad gently and quickly begins surgery. The wailing continues and quickens as the boy squirms and begs his Dad to stop. Through sobs Dad continues to work, “It hurts, stop! No, leave it alone. Stop, Ouch!” The small spear is freed, the pain diminishes and eventually the sobs. Pain remains, though not as intense. The boy rests in his father’s arms as the last tears fall to Dad’s shirt.
Healing is painful. Whatever the form, emotional, physical, spiritual – pain. From my experience the decision we’re often faced with: Do I handle the pain now quickly in the short run, or Do I continue on as if nothing is wrong and deal with deeper, greater pain later. If Dad doesn’t remove the splinter infection sets in, lock-jaw becomes a risk. The pain lasts longer, grows more severe and dangerous.
Healing is a violent process, each of us has encountered our share of splinters. Are we willing to let Dad do surgery, or are we ignoring the pain, dulling it with time, just coping – all along infection is gripping us.
This is a topic that has found home in my heart these past years. One of my pastors recently spoke about healing and pain through relating a story about his son. It spoke powerfully to me. You can hear it here. As well a friend of mine spoke at one of our services this year on being a healer, he’s a counselor, so he has a unique perspective on the violent process of healing – having seen a lot of it. You can listen to his message here.
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Now playing: Phil Wickham – Grace
via FoxyTunes
Cure for the Pain
Tonight while hanging out with the Dawgs “Cure for the Pain” by Jon Foreman filled our small dinning room. This song pulls tears from me no matter the emotional state I’m in. The cause: maybe the sadness in Jon’s voice, maybe the ways it reminds me of how I’ve tried to cure my pain, or the ways I know trying to run would simply be a lie. Either way, tonight it causes me to stop and reflect on the healing journey God has me on and how these days I don’t feel quite as lonely as I once did. The tears change from ones of sadness to ones of thankfulness and remembrance.
And here tonight while the stars are blacking out
With every hope and dream I’ve ever had in doubt
I’ve spent ten years trying to sing these doubts away
But the water keeps on falling from my eyesAnd heaven knows, heaven knows
I tried to find a cure for the pain
Oh my lord! to suffer like you do
It would be a lie to run away
Tomorrow Spring the next seasonal EP is released and I’ll be picking it up for sure. You can get it the EP’s here.
Palm Sunday: Jesus Triumphant Entry
Posted 17 Mar 2008 — by nick
Category coffee, Jesus, Light, Scripture, Spirituality
Category coffee, Jesus, Light, Scripture, Spirituality
“Happy Palm Sunday!”
That’s how Josh Wondra greeted me this morning as I stirred from sleep and trudged to the couch with my coffee.
Palm Sunday, it’s been on my mind all day – thinking about the beginning of Holy Week. About Jesus riding in to Jerusalem on a donkey, his followers laying cloaks and branches before him and singing praises.
They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest!”
Matthew 19:7-9
I’ve decided, as in years past, to reflect on the Easter Story throughout the week. This time I plan to save the Resurrection accounts until Sunday and focus on the events that transpired the days before the Crucifixion. Today I studied the Jesus Triumphant Entry, tomorrow I’ll look at Matthew’s account of the events.
My hope and prayer for you all: That you’d find time to stop and reflect, meditate on the Easter Story and let God draw your heart more to Him and respond in praise. After all He replied “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.“
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Now playing: Jon Foreman – Learning How to Die
via FoxyTunes
PS: The picture for this post is one claiming to be of the gate at Jerusalem Jesus is said to have entered on the first Palm Sunday.
Podcasts: Faith Swapping
NPR Story of the Day is one of the podcasts I keep up with on a regular basis. Embarrassing as it is to admit, often times it is the ONLY news input I get in a day.
Particularly interesting to me was today’s story: “Religion Survey Find Many American’s Swap Faiths.” The segment is short, less than 4 minutes and worth listening to, but if you’d rather read it you can find the transcript here and the results of the survey here.
Since I’m short on time I don’t have the ability to get into much depth on this, but I think it reinforces something we see in college ministry all the time and a trend I’ve seen in my family. Children choosing a different flavor of Christianity from their parents, happened with my Dad and his parents and my brother and I with our parents.
The Moment of Disgust
Posted 26 Feb 2008 — by nick
Category Darkness, Jesus, Television, Videos
Category Darkness, Jesus, Television, Videos
I hesitate to post this video. I found it painful and appalling.
Apparently The Moment of Truth is a current hit show on Fox. Arriving at work this morning some of my co-workers were talking about this episode from last night, I checked it out. After this clip Lauren goes on to answer that she has cheated on Frank, her husband of two years. The pain comes from imagining how cutting these revelations much be to Frank and how much he must be hurting, and also how trapped Lauren must have felt with the weight of her thoughts and actions. My eyes welled over as I saw this for the first time, I waited for Frank’s do the same.
Is this entertainment? Why is this on TV?
Maybe seeing other people’s pain and problems makes us feel better about the mess of our own lives, or maybe as a society we’ve gone the way of the Romans and the Colosseum and are completely desensitized to the violence and horror of our brokenness and extreme self-centeredness.
It bothers me that this is on TV. It disgusts me that this is considered entertainment. I think that’s a good thing.
Can it be more obvious that we and our world needs putting back together? This pulls my heart to follow Jesus all the more and strive to join Him in making things right.
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Now playing: Derek Webb – This Too Shall Be Made Right
via FoxyTunes
Dost thou Pisseth Against the Wall?
I usually avoid posting twice in one day since it can tend to cause posts to get lost as the noise floor of your daily input raises. This post will be brief:
I first saw this video on Walk The Razor, one of Noel Heikkinen‘s blogs and then later on Tall Skinny Kiwi. Can you say viral video?
I laugh when I watch this but later I find it just sad.
Thinking about Anger
Lately the subject of anger and forgiveness have had a healthy amount of my brain and heart (in a philosophical sense not as in a “I’ve been angry a lot” sense). Anger examined in my life has quite often proven tied to an idea of entitlement. This concept, entitlement, is a little more foreign to me though. I have long been aware of frustration and anger in situations where something doesn’t go my way or the way I thought it should have – but this I was less aware of.
The thought process sounds like this: “You deserve to be heard or listened too in this group.””You deserve to be respected or understood.””You deserve to be left alone.””You are entitled to this or that.”
Last night anger had it’s death grip around my heart for a bit. I had walked out of a situation where I felt entitled to my voice and thoughts being heard, neither felt true. Enter the strongman Anger to take my heart hostage leaving isolated and lonely.
This morning I read this passage and as it sank in I began to reflect on last night.
“You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.
Matthew 5:21-22
Something happens to us when we get angry with another person. It feeds self-centeredness, it dehumanizes me as I elevate my feelings/needs/desires above another persons. The anger doesn’t do anything to the other person, only to me.
Freedom from the prison of anger requires I walk back through the tangles of self-centeredness untying the bonding straps of my prison along the way. The agreements I’ve made saying I am entitled to this or that.
Last night I chose to take this journey and return to a state of less self-centered living. The result: reunion and reconcillation and a heart living free again.
