The Great Rescue

I see the mountains before me
The ocean beside me
The canyon behind me
And my sin surrounds me

And fear lives inside me
Unless someone will guide me
The love of a Father
The strength of a Savior

Now the mountains are growing
The ocean is storming
And the canyon is so wide that I could never cross it alive.

So Jesus, rescue me!
Reach Your nail-scarred hands
And save me from myself
Tell me I am Yours
For You are my first Love
The world will never be the same
The Greatest Rescue is God with us

Higher than the mountain
And deeper than the ocean
So much wider than the canyon
Nothing can separate us
From the Love of Christ that saves us

pero Dios...

There is in Mexico City a spirit of revolution that i have never felt in my life before. The air is thick with the smell of rebellion and change. It cuts through the smog of the city like a sword, and leaves in its wake the fragrance of a mighty King. I saw it in the eyes of the Cali 6--guys who came down to the city with a common vision of living life among all kinds of Mexican people in the same way that Jesus would have. A life of genuine relationship and devotion to the interests of others. I saw this spirit in the eyes of my friends Abram and Daniela--students at a university with 300,000 others. They want nothing more than to see their campus transformed into a living, breathing vessel of Christ-followers who will change the entire world. I saw it in the eyes of those who had never heard of such an idea so radical as the one we proposed to them. An idea that the God of the universe--indeed, the God who created the universe--would love each one of them (personally) enough to leave His home in heaven to die in their stead. An idea that life goes beyond intellect and touches each social and spiritual part of our lives. An idea that God offers life itself so abundant that each day begins with a definite purpose that crosses cultures with a cross that is the one and only symbol of Grace. Most importantly, an idea that God offers that life as a free gift for everyone.

i so wish that i could feel that same revolutionary spirit here. What if we all just got on our knees and were just prayer warriors for the campus we live on; for this city; for this country? What if we were intentional about spreading love to people here in our actions and words? What if we got out of our stupid bubbles of "christiandom" and were willing to be vulnerable with people who are different than us? What if we celebrated our weaknesses so that God's power could be made perfect in us? He promises that He will arrive in powerful ways.

"Let us acknowledge the Lord;
let us press on to acknowledge Him.
As surely as the sun rises,
He will appear;
He will come to us like the winter rains,
like the spring rains that water the earth."
-Hosea 6:3

It hardly ever rains in Mexico City during this time of the year, but we witnessed a spectacular thunderstorm on Thursday night. Maybe, just maybe, God was trying to tell us that He has heard the cries uttered on behalf of la Ciudad de Mexico and is raining His Spirit down upon it. Maybe you'd like to be a part of that. i know i do. History is being made, and what could be better than being part of a revolution that God started? It stands no chance of failure, though the enemy will try his hardest to put down the insurgents. The God of Light longs to redeem these Mexican people, and they are longing for a Savior.

we are living on the edge of eternity.
how are you preparing for it?

locus sigilli

"For there is love that is as strong as death
Jealousy demanding as the grave
And many waters cannot quench this love."

God bends His ears just to hear what they say

It's snowing really hard right now. Earlier, i was tired of doing homework, and so i closed the books and just walked outside for a while. You know, i really love snow. i have always just really enjoyed seeing it fall. i don't ski or snowboard or anything on it; i just like to watch it. It brings me peace and it allows me an escape. As i was walking i began to wonder if i would like snow as much if it was always falling? i don't think i would.

Then i began to think, what if i began to look at the hard times in my life in the same way i look at snow? What if i saw in my trials that same cold, hard, vivid beauty of the snow covered mountains around me? As something which makes the beauty of Spring and Summer that much more alive? As an opportunity to deepen my appreciation of the warmth of the unfathomable love of Jesus Christ?

All too often i am just like the people here who complain incessantly about the snow, simply because it makes their morning commute a little messier than normal. Simply because they have to wear ugly boots and wear unfashionable clothes and have messed up hair. i complain about the smallest hardships in my life, refusing to see them as the "light and momentary afflictions" that Paul speaks of. The thing about snow is that i enjoy it because i know that i can run back into my apartment when it gets too cold and windy. And so it is with my life, although i don't often live that way.

The reality is that the world can be bitterly cold at times. It can batter you around with a wind so furious that you lose all sense of direction. It can blind you and leave you feeling numb to everything and everyone around you. But that is why i believe so firmly in the saving grace of Jesus and what He did on the cross for you and i. He said "in this world you will have troubles, but take heart, for I have overcome the world." That is only thing that really gives me a purpose. i pretend all the time that other things fulfill my need for meaning, but when the rubber meets the road, these are just lies i feed to myself. And people say that Christians just use Jesus as a crutch. Well, i have yet to meet a person that didn't need a crutch of some sort. My God is much better than a crutch, though. He is mighty to save.