Vox Lucens

I’ve spent a good portion of the last couple of weeks just feeling overwhelmed with life. There’s the normal craziness (which still hasn’t settled down since completing studies!) but in it all I have been trying to switch paradigms. I’m trying to go from thinking about life in terms of “getting through law school, to thinking about long-term goals, from career to passions to dreams of success.” It’s different, and trying to come to grips with the uncertainty of it all is a rather terrifying thought.

But as I was struggling through all of this, I went back go a passage of Scripture that is fast becoming one of my favorites the book of 1 John. There I found a simple phrase that gave me such encouragement that I want to share it with you.

Chapter 3 starts with a simple phrase, saying, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us…”

Behold, John tells us. Look - just look at the love of God!

So I thought I’d try it. Where does one look for the love of God? I tried looking at my past, and sure enough, there it was. God has opened every door I needed, proving His faithfulness at every turn and that is not even mentioning His unbelievable gifts of salvation and forgiveness.

I tried looking at my present, and God’s stamp of love is all over. I have a job that I not only enjoy, but that gives me the opportunity to do a good work while gaining experience. And God has brought me through the challenges of law school and the Bar.

And I tried looking at my future. Of course, I can’t know that future, but His promises are so clear. It does not take much faith to see His love all over my future, too.

Am I overwhelmed? Do I doubt and fear?

Behold.

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us…

Two weeks from today I’ll be leading a team arriving in Amman, Jordan, for a series of medical clinics focusing on Iraqi refugees. In many ways, it feels like this trip is sneaking up on me, with work very busy (and having just come back from another trip mere weeks ago!).

But even though it may be sneaking up on me, I don’t want to forget to ask you for a very important request. Will you pray for me, and for our team?

Pray, if you would, for our preparations. We are taking a boatload of medical supplies, and the logistics can be tricky. Even just missing one item could jeopardize our ability to minister - please pray that everything would come together flawlessly. And pray for us as we prepare mentally, emotionally, and spiritually as well.

Pray, if you would, for our travel. Pray that the people would arrive refreshed and ready to minister. Pray that the luggage - so carefully prepared - would arrive! Pray for our travels in country, that the Lord would grant us safety and favor.

And pray for those that we will minister to. Pray that God would bring us just the right people to minister the love of Jesus Christ to, in practical ways.

We’ll be leaving July 4 and returning July 14. Thank you, friends.

Click here for more info on this trip.

Last night I headed north for a weekend in North Carolina with friends - “old” friends, and new friends. A friend from high school, her new husband, and a couple of more folks…and a weekend of hanging out, catching up, and relaxing. (Incidentally, it is the same friend whose wedding I was trying to get to when this happened.)

But all the catching up has gotten me thinking. I’m really very bad at keeping up with people, the people that God has brought into my life to bless and enrich it. I’ve moved a lot, leaving a trail of memories, but not always keeping up with the people that share those common memories.

I regret that, but I’m not quite sure how to fix it. The Internet is a great tool, and I’ve enjoyed my limited foray into social networking, and of course my attempt at blogging, as a tool to keep in some semblance of touch with friends both old and new. But even that limited foray is time consuming, and time is something that I simply don’t have a lot of.

Is anyone good at keeping in touch? How do you do it?

I have about a million ideas for posts…and about zero time to turn ideas into reality. I hate that it has been more than a week since I posted–and I thought life was supposed to get less busy after the Bar! How wrong I was.

So here I am, with a million updates and just a couple minutes to write something up. I’m going to write the blogging equivalent of a drive-by, but since I’m using that metaphor in writing a shattershot update, it is mostly likely a drive-by with a shotgun. Here’s my 12-gauge blog post.

Had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend up in Pennsylvania and Virginia, celebrating David’s graduation with great people. Congratulations, Brother Dave!

Now I’m back at home for two days before departing for the Pacific. Read more here. Updates to follow.

Today, I was judged to be moral.

Tonight, in between all the preparation-to-leave-things, I’m going to play for another championship.

And so I bid you adieu for now, dear reader, hoping all the scattershot has missed you and wondering whether you will next hear from me from this side of the world or the other…

I have struggled this week with the overwhelming amount of horrible international news from places and people I care about deeply. The extent of it all reminded me of Jesus’ dire warnings in the Scriptures…and there I was reminded of the hope that is at the end of all suffering in the Body of Christ.

I put my thoughts in today’s Weekly Reminder…

*****

The events of this week reminded me of the warning Jesus gave His disciples: “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.” (Matthew 24:7)

Doesn’t that sound like our world? You’ve heard about the cyclone in Burma, a natural disaster which has created a huge famine, and the hampered relief effort that is opening the door for unbelievable pestilence. You heard about the earthquake in China, killing thousands. And you may have even heard of the fighting in Sudan. Everything Jesus foretold has come to pass.

But as I read that passage and thought about the magnitude of the suffering each one of these disasters has brought forth, the next verse caught my eye. “All these are the beginning of sorrows.” (Matthew 24:8)

The beginning of sorrows? What could be worse than war, and famine, and plague, and earthquakes? The answer is simple.

Persecution.

“Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.” (Matthew 24:9) Wow. Targeted, specific, deadly attack, leveled against the children of God, pouring out affliction so intense that even the biggest natural disaster is only the beginning of sorrows. So is there any hope for the children of God?

“But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.“ (Matthew 24:13) Ah, friends, these words of Jesus are not idle. We see the proof of His warnings all around us and we have the proof of His promise inside us. That proof can give us strength to endure to the end, that we might be saved from the suffering.

I know what you’re thinking– “Whoa, two posts in one day…what is the world coming to?”

Well, that’s a good question, and it is actually what is prompting today’s second post. Let’s recap some recent news:

Bloated Corpses Pile Up in Myanmar

Clashes with Darfur Rebels Reported Near Sudan’s Capital

And as I worry about the impact this could have on our work, I can’t help but wonder what impact these stories would have if they were closer to home. Can you even imagine the outrage if our government stole international aid supplies? Can you imagine the fear if rebels attacked Washington, D.C.?

But reading these stories is very personal to me. When I read about Karen State, Burma, or Omdurman, Sudan, I have memories to go with it, mental images of the people and places now filled with suffering and death. It feels a bit like it would if the headlines had been different –

Corpses Line the Streets of Purcellville, VA

Rebel Attacks Reported in San Diego

I think that approaches the sort of personal impact we’re supposed to feel when the Body of Christ suffers. After all, when one part of the body feels pain, the whole body suffers with it. Does reading these stories, and knowing the impact they are having on believers, feel like you have lost a finger? Do you even feel a pinch?

So what is the world coming to? Nothing that we could not have expected as a result of sin. Dictators rule, storms and earthquakes cause suffering–and some of us, the “lucky” few, are blessed beyond all measure. But don’t let that make you forget that you are part of the Body, and must feel its pain. Without that pain, you will never know the joy of its fellowship.

But don’t stop with the pain…there is so much that you can do without ever getting up from your knees.