God as Father

I heard a truly amazing story from a friend the other day that I just have to share with all of you.  Everything you are about to hear is true, only the names have been changed to protect those involved.  The only name that hasn’t changed is the name of the Lord because even if I tried to change it, it wouldn’t matter you would still know it was Him J

The story goes like this:

There was once a seemingly perfect family that lived not to far from where you sit right now, well call them the Joseph’s.  From almost any angle this family looked like a model family.  The parents were quite well off, loved Jesus and had many friends.  The kids were all college graduates; one was married another engaged and another studying to become a fire fighter.  Life was easy for this family…

Then one day it all changed.  25+ years of apparent bliss dissolved into a world of lies, deceit and pain in a split second.

You see it turns out the Dad in this perfect family (we’ll call him Steve) had been having affairs for years.  His wife knew, but no one else in the whole world did.  This man was a leader of a large ministry, a motivational speaker, a very successful businessman and a hero to his children.  And one day after years of keeping his secrets the Mother (well call her Ann) realized he was slipping back into habits and decided she couldn’t take it anymore.  She called her oldest son (my friend, well call him Thomas) and told him everything.  His world spiraled out of control, as did his brother and sister’s.  They had been completely deceived; everything they thought they knew their whole lives had been a façade.  Their parent’s marriage was nothing more than a pain-ridden front intended to hide the truth from everyone around them in hopes that they wouldn’t have to open up their world of hurt and shame. 

On top of that there was the money.  It seemed that somewhere amidst the process of keeping the adultery secret the Joseph’s had lost the ability to face reality all together.  They had hidden the dissolve of their fortune by racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars in credit card debt, again completely unknown to anyone including their children.  They had appearances and an image to protect after all.

Soon after Ann told her children the truth Steve left.  He ran away and Thomas told him not to come home.  Ann collapsed, finally allowing herself to feel the pain she had kept hidden for three decades.  For 3 months Thomas had to carry his mother to bed every night because she was so depressed and sick.  She refused to eat and could only sleep when she took pills.

Meanwhile Thomas tried to speak with his Dad but soon realized that his Dad had a disorder.  He was disconnected from reality, addicted to sex and so dependent upon the praise of people that he refused to step down from his job as a motivational speaker and financial advisor to thousands of people.

The next year and a half was marked by chaos.   Visits with lawyers, therapy sessions and tears became a daily occurrence.  Not only was Steve struggling with addiction but it was soon clear that Ann was an addict too.  Only her addiction was Steve.  He was the only man she had ever been with, they were 16 when they started dating and she knew nothing of a life without him.  Despite all the pain he had caused her she longed to have him back.  She stalked him obsessively; She would hire Private Investigators to follow him, hack his phone and bank statements.  She would spend countless hours pouring through his emails and Facebook account just tearing scabs off any wound that tried to heal…

Thomas and his siblings were at a total loss, they had nothing left to give.  They longed for parents but found only selfish children incapable of truth.  Thomas began to doubt the Lord’s faithfulness.  After all, everything he knew about the Lord he had learned from his Father.  If everything else had been a lie, then this God must be a lie too.   God had never seemed less present for Thomas and his family than in that moment.  But the reality was he had never been more present…

Very soon the depression, sleep deprivation and malnutrition began to take its toll on Ann.  After much prodding Thomas and his siblings convinced her to see a doctor.  The doctor told them that her heart was functioning at 30% its normal capacity and if she didn’t have surgery soon her heart might not be strong enough to pump blood out to her body.  She was literally dying of a broken heart. 

The problem was heart surgery was expensive.  The Joseph’s could never afford the surgery.  At this point they were hiding cash in their freezer because the creditors would confiscate any money deposited into the bank.  Their phones rang night and day with credit card companies trying to claim the money they were owed.   

This was the moment God had been working towards for two years.  Ann, Thomas his brother and sister had no answer.  Their whole life they’d had all the answers.  They had been able to rely on themselves for everything and now they could do nothing.  Here at this brokenness God finally had their attention and was ready to show them who He Is.

The Joseph’s spent the next month in prayer like they never had before.  Thomas told me he remembers very vividly a night at Rock Harbor where his Mom stumbled sobbing to the front for prayer in the middle of worship something she had been adamantly opposed to doing his whole life (which makes sense when you consider she feared the people praying were just like here husband).  In the midst of total depravity God was driving their whole family to their knees to cry out to Jesus because they had nothing left to cling to.

A few weeks later Thomas got a call from his younger brother Kyle.  Kyle was excited and told Thomas that he and his sister were going to need to come to LA for an interview the next week.  He said he couldn’t say what it was for but just that they needed to come.  Two weeks later Thomas, Kyle and their sister Kara were sitting in a makeshift office in the basement of a bank building in LA.  Kyle, an aspiring actor, had answered an ad for families with an interesting story to come and tryout for new game show and the Joseph’s had made the final round of auditions.  

The premise of the show was that the contestants would be playing to win money for someone they felt deserved it, hence the name of the show “You Deserve It”.  The catch was that the person you were playing for was not allowed to know any of this was happening.  So after a few on camera interviews, a few practice rounds of the game and a trivia test the Joseph’s headed home and waited to hear if they made it… 

Yesterday Ann had her heart surgery with the money the Joseph’s won on You Deserve It. 

Thomas would tell you that while the surgery may have fixed what was wrong with her heart the Lord had restored what was in it way before that day.  It took more pain and brokenness than one would ever hope to experience but today Thomas thanks the Lord for every moment of the journey because their family now stands on the other side with a faith in Jesus that is not contingent upon circumstance, success, image or their ability to provide for themselves. 

God’s provision is mighty, He is present always, there’s nowhere you can be that He is not with you.  Pray that He uses WHATEVER circumstance necessary to draw you closer to Him.  Pray that He breaks down your self-reliance and builds faith in His provision.  Pray that He will make you weak for the purpose of revealing His strength.   Pray that you may know Him as your Father.

Sorry that got a little long but its something I just had to share.  If you’re interested the Joseph’s episode of You Deserve It will air Monday December 26^th on ABC.  Check it out.  I gotta go now though the Dr. is coming back into the room to check on my Mom.

Love you guys,

Taylor

The "Experiment"

I have been really blessed by reading through everyone's blogs this past couple weeks.  I feel like you all have shared your hearts with such honesty and I have gotten to know you all so much more through the process.  Then I looked at my blog and I realized I haven't shared much about me and my life.  On that note i thought it would be a good opportunity to share a post from my wife's blog that I wrote about a decision we made to live communally with another couple.  So here is a glimpse into the marvelous journey the Lord has had Amanda and me on for the past year.  Looking forward to continuing to grow with you all...

(sorry its a little long)

Wed. July 6th 2011

Before starting to write this entry we had to look back to see the last time we checked in because it had clearly been a while.  Fittingly, it has been almost 2 months since Amanda wrote about the amazing experience we had shared during Easter week.  The concept of living like “He is risen” is something we walked away from that week earnestly desiring to understand more.  That week there was a seed planted in us that God has been growing every day since.  

The fruit of that seed I believe can be summed up in the word restoration.  If you follow the movement in the modern church its undeniable that there is a theme running through the hearts and minds of its leaders that our generation is one that longs to be defined by restoration.  You can hear it in the yearning voices of leaders like Francis Chan, Mike Eerie and John Piper and you can see it in the “radical” lives of other like David Platt, Gabe Lyons and Shane Claireborne.  The Lord is raising up his people to restore the image of His Church that has been marred by hypocrisy and replace that image with one of love, selflessness, service, grace, mercy, joy, peace and restoration. He is calling us to restore His image more with our lives and less with our words.  

I wonder sometimes how heavily we feel the burden of being an image bearer of Christ?  For Amanda and me, we have felt the Lord pushing us towards understanding what it means to live as image bearers of the one true God.  That pushing has come in the form of many different things from the above mentioned church leaders, to our amazing community of friends and family to the truly inspiring church home we have found in Rock Harbor (www.rockharbor.org).   One of the biggest prayers we have lifted up since we got married was for a community of fellow believers that we could rely on for continued support and sharpening.  

Gabe Lyons, author of the book Next Christians, says this about the role of community amongst the next generation of believers:

          “In stark contrast to today’s social norms, the next Christians crave selfless, life-giving community.  Like-minded individuals are assembling into affirming communities everywhere, and the next Christians are often at the helm.  Intentional relationships define them.  In essence, they are restoring community to its original place in culture.  These next Christians seem to recognize the irreplaceable role community plays in how we function as healthy citizens, and especially as Christians.  As a result, they haven’t bought the lie that individualism promises a better, more fulfilled life.  They know that being grounded can’t happen without a community of friends.  They are people committed to experiencing life together, not just by saying nice words but engaging in the hard realities of loving, grieving, serving and suffering with one another.”

This thought echoes so much of what Amanda and I had been thinking as we began to pray for a community to surround us as we began our marriage.  Each of us knew what a vital role our individual communities of friends had played in supporting us through our lives to this point and now we began desiring to share in a “life-giving” community together.  Nine months after we began that prayer, I can sit here today and tell you that God has done “immeasurably more than we could {have} ever asked or imagined” (Ephesians 3:20).  We have been blessed with an eclectic, spirited, selfless, passionate group of friends that have pushed us further in our faith than we have ever been before.  Together we are pursuing what it means to live a life “no longer for ourselves but for him who died for us and has risen again” (2 Corinthians 5:15).  As we sought after this goal, slowly but surely, God revealed to us areas where we had set up idols in our lives.  

One topic that constantly came up in conversation more than any other (just as in the bible) was money.  As young married couples you are bombarded with the message that it is so important to develop financial security.  You are led to believe that you need to have a solid 401k, at least 3 month’s salary in savings, and own a home as soon as possible.  Initially there is no doubt that Amanda and I felt many of those same pressures.  Now don’t get me wrong those things aren’t bad things, but what is harmful is when you become slave to them and your dependence on God is replaced with a dangerous self-reliance.  As a group we tangled with the idea that God may really have something completely different for us as believers than the American Dream.  Out of those conversations was born a desire to fight the deadly consumer mindset that has infected so much of the church community.  Our dependence upon our things (our IPhones, cars, houses, clothes, etc.) is more obvious now than ever before in history.  David Platt author of the book Radical even goes so far as to state that he believes that the next generation of the church will look back on the consumer culture within the church today much like we look at slavery in the church in generations past.  Now that is a strong statement, but every time a church builds a multi-million dollar building while members of its congregations suffer in debt, hurt or homelessness it becomes more and more true!   

All this lead us one Thursday night into a discussion about living in community.  Most of us had read Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claireborne and thought, “man that community seems beautiful” and a few of us even knew couples that were so “crazy” and “weird” that they had actually moved in together.  We weighed the pros (saving money, accountability, less reliance on things, additional support in hardship, ability to provide greater care to others, prayer etc. etc.) and cons, shared our opinions, prayed and then left just like we did every other Thursday night.  Nothing happened, or so we thought…  

Within our group are a couple by the name of Dustin and Brooke Armer.  Dustin is a bio-medical engineer from Michigan that has a childlike playfulness that is balanced beautifully with a fiery passion for the name of Jesus.  Brooke is a first grade teacher at St. Mary’s Christian School and embodies everything you would hope your son or daughter’s 1^st grade teacher to be.  She is warm, kind, articulate, full of life, joy and Jesus.  They were there that night that we started the conversation about community and God pushed Dustin over the edge first.  Brooke would tell you that Dustin is pretty regularly throwing out “radical Christian ideas” for them to pray over and communal living probably fell somewhere between living on 1/10 your income and moving to Uganda.  But this time it was different, God was speaking clearly to them both.  

So, about a week after that Thursday night we got a call from Brooke and Dustin inviting us over for Dinner.  (Important note: Amanda and I had been in the midst of a search for a new apartment, our lease was set to end in 2 weeks, and we had been to probably 50 places in search of more space for less money.  Looking back that search was a painful process for us, nothing felt right, we fought over what we wanted and couldn’t agree on any place, it’s so obvious now why.)  We enjoyed dinner and then sat down on the couch in the living room.  I remember very clearly right before they spoke Dustin looked over at Brooke and Brooke gave a small confirming nod as if to say, “I’m with you husband,” and then they invited us to move in with them.  We listened to their reasoning, thanked them for even considering us friends worth living with, told them we would pray about it and get back to them.  We got in the car that night and I think for both of us we knew the answer would be yes, but we took time to pray, talk with friends, family and each other. 

During that time I was reading Radical (the book I mentioned above) and in the last chapter David Platt challenges the reader to take part in an experiment and in one year pray for the entire world, read the entire bible, sacrifice your money for a specific purpose, spend time in another context and commit your life to multiplying community.  He says this about his experiment:

            “So I challenge you to an experiment.  I dare you to test the claims contained in the gospel, maybe in a way you have never done before.  I invite you to see if radical obedience to the commands of Christ is more meaningful, more fulfilling, and more gratifying than the American Dream.  And I guarantee that if you complete this experiment, you will possess an insatiable desire to spend the rest of your life in radical abandonment to Christ for his glory in all the world”  

Even though he was speaking to a different experiment the point was the same for our experiment.  Unless you step out and test the claims that the life Christ promises is greater than life without him then how can you ever know for sure?  We decided that the most important decision we could make early on in our marriage was not to protect privacy, or commit time to ourselves but to build the discipline of saying “yes” to the Lord and allowing Him to show His mighty provision and care.  This way the next time He puts something on our hearts that seems a bit “radical” we will be able to boldly take that step having experienced his provision first hand.  

As I write this, we are three weeks into our “experiment” and I can already say that God is very good and we have been truly blessed already.  We look forward to updating you all on how God is using this time and how he has used this home for his glory.  We love all of you, we would love you to comment, ask questions and continue to read our little blog.  Sorry it’s a little long this time J 

-Taylor

A talent isn't something till you give it away...

Prior to my actual entry this week I just want to thank Ross and Tyler for your prayer this past week at circles. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful…

Before I go any further I need to preface this entry by saying I had no intention of writing on this topic. I simply planned on sharing with you some of the amazing ways that the Lord has answered prayer in my life and also how he has used other people to speak truth into my life. But as I began to write I realized that this was a great opportunity to practice the prayer training Jonny had just given us. So I stopped, laid face down on my bed and listened. What follows is the result of that listening. I have no idea the potential purpose of the post or even if it really truly was the Lord putting this on my heart. But either way I hope it speaks to you…

The Parable of the Talents

You know the story: A man calls his servants to him and gives them varying sums of gold to watch while he is away on a journey. When he returns he finds that two of the men have doubled his money and one man just guarded the money in fear and returned exactly what he was given. The master praises two of them and lauds the third for being “wicked and lazy”. (In case you haven’t heard it, the whole parable is found in Matthew 25:14-30) The story ends with the lazy servant being thrown outside into the darkness.

Pretty intense. I mean the guy didn’t lose his money or even worse steal it. He just simply guarded it and returned it to his master and he is cursed and removed. So what does this mean? What is Jesus trying to tell us? Ill bet you know or have heard someone site this passage as an example of how we are to be good stewards of our money. Were to invest and build on what God has given us. I totally agree….

BUT

I think there is a problem with that explanation. It doesn’t explain how we are to be good stewards, how we are to build on what God has given us. Often times this leaves us with nothing but the world to guide us on how to take our money and “make the most of it”. Don’t get me wrong I totally believe the Lord wants us to make the most of what he is giving us, but I don’t believe that happens by investing wisely in stock market, or get a savings account with an awesome interests rate. In fact the bible seems to make it very clear how we can get the greatest return on our money. Lets look:

Luke 12:33” 33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.”

1 Timothy 6:17-19 “17As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.”

Luke 6:38 “38 give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you."

2 Corinthians 9:6-11 “6The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully[a] will also reap bountifully. 7Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency[b] in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. 9As it is written,

"He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor;

his righteousness endures forever."

10He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.

Isaiah 58:6-11 6"Is not this the fast that I choose:
 to loose the bonds of wickedness,
 to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed[a] go free,
 and to break every yoke?
7Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
 and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
 and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
 and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
 the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
9Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
 you shall cry, and he will say, 'Here I am.'
If you take away the yoke from your midst,
 the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
10 if you pour yourself out for the hungry
 and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
 and your gloom be as the noonday.
11And the LORD will guide you continually
 and satisfy your desire in scorched places
 and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
 like a spring of water,
 whose waters do not fail.

It would seem that God is clear on this point. Take your talents and give them away. Then you will receive the greatest return, one that will never fade.

I know some of you are still in college and have yet to really deal with the pressures of financial struggles and my prayer for you is that you will let these verses sink into your soul as you get older in life. Money is a gift, and we are to be stewards of it. But please don’t let anyone lead you to believe that that means anything other than what God’s word says.

Begin the patterns now early in life that will guard against money ever being an idol in your life. Release the lie that tells us we are to be self sufficient and lean into the Lord for his mighty provision. It is not until you step out beyond self -sufficiency that you will see the mighty power of God’s faithfulness and provision.

See you around Circles.

Taylor

The journey from knowledge to belief

I took a class in college (UC Irvine) on Greek Mythology. We were taught all about the pantheon of gods that they worshiped in ancient Greece. I did pretty well in the class, I found the topic to be incredibly interesting. I would even say today that I know a lot about these "gods". However I would never for a second tell you that I believe the things I know about them to be true. In this case there is a clear distinction between my knowledge of a topic and my belief in it.

Along the same lines when I get up in the morning, check the weather on my phone, and see a 60% chance of rain I now have been clearly informed it is supposed to rain. So when i choose to put on shorts and a t shirt and leave my jacket behind I make a clear statement that I dont really believe it is going to rain, despite whatever knowledge i may have.

I use both of these examples to show the clear distinction between knowledge and belief. Belief, much like love, is irrevocably linked to action where knowledge is not.

For all of us I hope we realize how important that is in our faith. James 2:18 tells us "But someone will say, "you have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from works and I will show you my faith by my works." And also in John 14:15 Jesus himself makes it very clear to us how we are to love him when he says "If you love me, you will keep my commandments".

During this journey through circles I hope we challenge each other to grow, not only in knowledge of Jesus Christ, but more importantly in belief. Because if we can push each other towards a greater faith in Christ we will begin to see the power of Christ revealing itself in each one of us as he promised. "Nevertheless, I tell you the truth; it is to your advantage that i go away, for if I do not go away the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you" John 16:7

Im looking forward to the journey with all of you.

-Taylor