Burning Bushes

When you make a decision to change your life in a radical way like we have, many times you have doubts. You start to think that maybe you aren't hearing from God. The pendulum swings from just dropping everything and returning home (whatever that is), to wondering if you are crazy. I've come to realize that when we really think about it, looking through the lens of our own human perspective, we are crazy, and none of this makes any sense. What good are we doing? What exactly are we doing? These questions hit me hard sometimes. Eventually, the Lord speaks softly to my soul, encourages me through my wife, or through random people we have met and gotten to know. Here are some things I have really been thinking about lately that makes all of this crystal clear.

Jesus’ Kingdom is not of this world, it doesn’t make sense to man. Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place." (John 18:36)

Here are a few things that don't make sense when looked at through our human lens:

• Love your enemies
• Be happy and rejoice when people say bad things about you
• If someone hits you on your right cheek, offer him your left
• If a soldier asks you to carry his pack a mile, carry it two
• Give everything to the poor
• If a man sues you for your shirt, give him your coat too
• The first will be last and the last first
• You must die to truly live

This is just a few of the things that show that Jesus' Kingdom is not our kingdom, His ways are not our ways. If we are doing things that don't make sense, and we are fervently seeking His face, we can probably assume that we make sense in His Kingdom, but not in this one.

He has been giving us little burning bushes, little signs of His presence. One, is our own life transformations. He is aligning us more and more with His ways, He is renewing our minds, which He promises He will do when we seek Him. This is evident in our desire to love on people who many consider "unlovable." We have a deep desire to love on people we don't know, simply because Christ has asked us to -- this is a miracle in our own hearts.

Another example is the people He has had cross our path, the list is long, but sprinkled across the country from Boise, to Spokane, to KC and Denver, to Chicago and Grand Rapids, to Cleveland and now Boston, the Lord has put people in our paths who have fed us, who have loved us, who have accepted and encouraged us. This, in itself, is a miracle.

Finally, our support has been fantastic. Not only has the Lord provided through you guys back at home for our basic needs as a family, but our monthly mortgage has been covered the past 4 months - Thank you Jesus! If you haven't heard what we want to do with our home in Hubbard, Oregon, check out Serenity's blog for an explanation. All of this has been another miracle, and if we don't slow down enough and look around us we will miss the things God is doing each and every day, confirmation that the Lord is walking along side of us. I get the picture that He is walking up and down the sidelines like a coach, clapping and smiling, excited about the work we are doing.

Burning Bushes by Andy Gullahorn

I’ve never seen a dead man come to life
or seen a blind man get his sight.
I’ve never seen water turned to wine.
It isn’t that I don’t believe
but it would be easier for me
if you would just send down a sign.
I remember the childlike innocence.
A faith with no coincidence.
The world around was living proof.
Has that world just disappeared
or is it me that isn’t clear how to recognize its you.

I’m praying for a miracle to let me know you’re listening.
Waiting for a lightning bolt to strike.
Walking through a garden of a thousand burning bushes
looking up to heaven for a sign.

I walk through the water and the waves
looking for a drop of rain
but you’re still not coming through.
Maybe its new eyes that I need
or maybe it takes more faith to see
I’m drowning in the truth.

We arrived on the East Coast exactly 4 months from when we left on June 16th. Also, I figured that it would take about 7,000 miles of driving on veggie oil before we would break even with the engine conversion. When we left Portland our odometer read just over 98,000 miles. Sitting in Boston it now reads 105,199. We have driven over 7,000 miles -- we are in the black baby!!!

The Holy Grail of Booster Seats

So my daughter Allyson is growing up, as she says herself, "I have the loooongest legs ever!" She was in need of a booster seat, one like her older brother Avery had, one that she could buckle herself, and one that was obviously pink. We began this quest yesterday morning. I originally thought it would be a quick trip down to Target and a little father/daughter time. Target was out of the pink ones, I think they had the Dora the Explorer model. So off to WalMart a few miles away. Nope, they didn't even carry a pink one. We went home for lunch and headed back out to another WalMart I had Googled. Nope, Google maps strikes again (this is another blog post by the way, google maps has done me wrong so many times on this trip). I drove around in the country for 20 minutes before finally hitting a major road and aimlessly driving down it looking for a place that might sell a pink booster seat. No again at WalMart. Another no at Babies R Us. After waiting for the Target employee to "check the back" for 20 minutes we were still without a pink booster seat. Since we are in the midwest we came across another WalMart, same story. I was tired, but we pressed on. At one point Ally started to say something about just getting a black one, but I said, "honey, we haven't come this far to just quit, to just give up, we are going to come home with a pink booster seat." After a 3rd Target and the 2nd Babies R Us, we came to the Big K Superstore and inside found this:Nine stores later: mission accomplished. And really, this is what I was looking for:

What kind of a guy was Paul?

This is an article that was forwarded to me by some good friends. It speaks to some of the things we are going through right now. The article begs the question, what kind of guy was Paul? We know that Paul had a "falling out" with many of his ministry partners, from John Mark, to Barnabas, to Timothy. It sounds like Paul was a little tough to get along with, or was he extremely passionate and focused on doing exactly what he believed the Lord was asking of him? I guess it could be all of the above. Here is the article:

The Separation of Paul and Barnabas by Wayne Jackson

Saul of Tarsus had been such a vicious persecutor of Christians that even after his conversion the brethren were still afraid of him. When Paul eventually returned to Jerusalem following his conversion to Christ, Barnabas had to persuade the disciples to let the apostle fellowship with them (Acts 9:26). As a result of this intercession, a wonderful friendship between Paul and Barnabas was formed. It is, therefore, rather sad to note that they eventually had a "falling out" of sorts.

On their first missionary journey together, John Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (Col. 4:10), accompanied them. Along the way, however, John Mark decided to return to his home in Jerusalem (Acts 13:13). The reason for his departure is not specified in the sacred text. Later on, when a second campaign was planned, Barnabas proposed taking Mark as a helper, but Paul resisted the idea. The New Testament record indicates that a "sharp contention" developed between them (Acts 15:36-41). They could not reach an agreement, and so they split up. As far as the sacred record indicates, these two remarkable men never saw one another again.

The serious Bible student cannot read this episode and not be moved. Nevertheless, there are some vital principles that one may learn from the dispute that developed between these Christian brothers.

Disagreements that Do Not Involve Doctrine

This dissension between Paul and Barnabas was not over a doctrinal issue. The rupture involved a personal dispute based upon a judgment call. TO THEIR CREDIT, NEITHER PAUL NOR BARNABAS LET THE CONFLICT DISTRACT THEM FROM THEIR RESPECTIVE EFFORTS OF SPREADING THE GOSPEL.

Making application to Christians today, there will always be times when good brethren will disagree in matters of opinion. THE IMPORTANT THING IS TO KEEP FOCUSED ON DOING THE WILL OF CHRIST. THAT IS WHAT PAUL AND BARNABAS BOTH DID. AS A RESULT, PERHAPS EVEN MORE WORK WAS ACCOMPLISHED FOR THE LORD BECAUSE OF THE MANNER IN WHICH THEIR DISAGREEMENT WAS HANDLED.

Who Was Right?

Was it Paul, or Barnabas? One simply does not know. Some, rather confidently, argue that Paul was just too stubborn to give in. Lloyd Ogilvie wrote:

"Paul had fought and won one of history's most crucial battles over the Gentile converts. He was not able, however, to apply the same truth to his relationship with John Mark" (Drumbeat of Love, Waco: TX: Word, 1976).

On the other hand, the church in Antioch "commended" Paul and Silas (Acts 15:40), but nothing is said about any commendation of Barnabas and Mark. That circumstance may suggest how the matter was perceived by the saints in Antioch. Paul may have been guided by experience and cool logic, whereas Barnabas was moved perhaps by a kindred familiarity and a warm heart.

Many of us may be a bit drawn to Barnabas when we reflect upon the fact that we too occasionally have needed a second chance. Over the long haul, the decision of Barnabas may have proved best - at least for John Mark. Years later, Paul finds the formerly useless Mark "useful," as revealed in the apostle's concluding epistle. "Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministering" (2 Tim. 4:11). And in Colossians 4:10, one observes that the once-rejected young worker was commended, and the Colossian saints were asked to be receptive to him.

Other Observations

There are a couple of points that are worthy of consideration as our discussion is concluded.

1. THE SEGMENTATION OF THEIR WORK DID NOT DISRUPT PERMANENTLY THE LOVE & RESPECT THAT PAUL & BARNABAS ENTERTAINED FOR ONE ANOTHER. Paul would later affectionately mention Barnabas as being worthy of monetary support in his work of proclaiming the gospel (1 Cor. 9:6). THE FACT THAT THIS PERSONAL CONFLICT IS OPENLY DISPLAYED ON THE PAGES OF THE NEW TESTAMENT IS EVIDENCE THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT GUIDED LUKE, THE WRITER, IN PRODUCING THIS NARRATIVE. Natural inclination would have led Paul's friend to omit this potentially embarrassing incident!

There are many wonderful truths to be learned from the various experiences of the personalities portrayed in the Sacred Volume. No account, however irrelevant such may superficially appear to be, is without importance. There are lessons to be mastered.

Genuine Religion

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

James 1:27

One thing I think is strange about (post III). . . .

Chicago

I grew up in a small town in Southern Oregon with a population of 10,000. Portland, with the 568,380 people who live there, seemed humongous. Chicagoland (the area south of Milwaukee through the city of Chicago to Indiana) has a population of 10 million residents. It is the 3rd largest metropolitan area in the United States behind New York and Los Angeles. It took us nearly an hour and a half to drive 15 miles from the suburbs to Uptown Chicago and it wasn't even rush hour. It was really interesting to see the different boroughs we traveled through in such a short distance, from Latino to black to Jewish communities, sometimes within a few blocks.

I don't know about crime statistics in Chicago, but instantly I noticed these hard-to-miss boxes attached to some of the telephone poles.

The blue lights on top of these boxes flashed so that citizens wouldn't miss them, the department actually dubbed them "Operation Disruption" in that they hoped it would deter crime. They are pretty hard to miss, the "Chicago Police" logo on the side, CPD trademark black and white checkered stripe. We knew what it was, it was somewhat annoying and obtrusive, and we could see them from blocks away. Basically they were screaming "you are entering a high crime area!" These little boxes have 360 degree surveillence, and gunshot detectors that can find the location of a gunshot within 20 feet. Many people like the surveillence boxes because they deter crime, and it is a constant presence. And they are even paid for with seized drug money -- kinda funny, drug dealers and drugies are actually paying for the police to watch them :)

Now the strange part. They are moving towards a second generation of police surveillence -- hidden cameras. These things are less obtrusive and in-your-face. Unless you know what to look for, you wouldn't even notice them, which won't "disrupt" much crime if people don't know they are cameras.The biggest question is when will the government start to move towards completely undetectable surveillence? I'm not a big conspiracy theorist, and I don't spend much time worrying about what the government is watching me do -- mainly because I'm not doing anything illegal -- but it reminds me of George Orwell's 1984.