This is how they will know...

"(v.34) A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. (v.35) By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13

Jesus himself said that the way the world will know who we are, and ultimately who he is, is by the way that we love each other. The task we have at hand as Christians is very simple: love God and love people. We lose this raw truth in our church services and youth rallies and songs and righteous lives. We're more concerned with keeping our nose clean that getting into the trenches and riding out the hard times with people.

In preparing to go to Australia, I've looked at how sharing my faith will be different in Australia's culture. I've thought about different paradigms that I will encounter. BUT, this message of love is cross-cultural. I'm not sure, but maybe this is why Jesus CHOSE to use it! He knew that love looked the same in every tribe, tongue and nation; and that it was HIS love that would unite all of them. Why can't we just tell people how much Jesus loves them?

The day is fast approaching...

Wow. It's Saturday night (May 8th) and I leave next Monday (17th). I would be lying if I said I was completely ready and at peace. I remember feeling this way last summer right before I went to Summer Beach Project. Everyone always asks: "so are you scared or excited?" I'd say I'm 100% excited and 100% scared! It's that really weird feeling you have when you know that something great is about to happen, a new chapter of life is about to unfold. It's that last day of High School/first day of college feeling. I know that it will be amazing and I'm so thankful that I've been given this great opportunity. I just don't know exactly what to expect.

The following is a letter that I plan to send to my support team before I leave. For all of my faithful blog-watchers, I'll give you a sneak peak..

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. Matt 28:18-20

Dear Support Team,

First of all, I would like to say thank you for your prayer and financial support of my trip to Australia this summer. The preparation for this trip has taught me more, and caused me to draw closer to the Lord than almost anything I can remember. I’ve seen God’s power and providence in ways that I never imagined. More than anything, I’ve seen how small my faith is standing next to the huge power and holiness of God. I can relate to the disciples when Jesus filled their nets to the breaking point as I see what it’s like to ask and receive.

Financially, I’m in great shape for the trip. God has provided me with $6,200 in support at the time of writing this letter so not only will my trip be paid for, through your support I’ve been able to help the rest of my team as we labor to raise support together. Thanks again for allowing God to use you to make this happen!

As we prepare for departure, my team has compiled a set of prayer requests to pass on to our support teams. In Australia, Americans are generally disliked. Aussie’s think that we talk too much and are generally fake. This leads to a common insult used to describe Americans: Sepos (short for septic tanks). In good humor, as always, we created an acronym using this insult to ask God to provide for our needs. It goes like this:

-Servant Hearted: That we will be quick to serve Aussie believers and non-believers- Mark 10:45

-Evangelism: That God will bless us with many relationships and open doors for the gospel-Colossians 4:3

-Passion: We would gain a deeper sense of awe and passion for Christ as we pursue intimacy with Him- Psalms 27:4

-Others-Centered: Our team would be others-centered and unified in the Spirit- Philippians 2:3-4

-Security: That we will grow in our grasp of our position in Christ as find security in Him when facing rejection-Galatians 1:10

Thank you so much for your faithfulness and continuous encouragement through this process of preparation. Without your help I wouldn’t be going to Australia. My team and I will be leaving on May 17^th and returning on June 29^th. Please continue to pray during this time. Also, feel free to contact me if you have any questions at all, or would like to discuss the trip further.

For His Kingdom,

-Brandon

brandonwhite224@gmail.com

and their nets were breaking....

In Luke ch. 5, we see a miracle of Jesus. At this point in his ministry, Jesus has just left the wilderness being tempted by Satan, and is ready to call his first disciples. The story takes place on one occasion of Jesus' teaching to the crowds. He was standing by a lake as the crowd continued to press him (v.1). To avoid being overrun by the sheer force of the crowd, he instructs some fishermen to pull their boats out a little way from the land to give Jesus some space.

These fishermen were cleaning their nets. Fishermen don't clean their nets BEFORE they fish, the clean them after. These guys has been on the water all night. As professional fishermen, they knew the best time and place to fish and had been there at the right place and the right time, but caught nothing (v.5). They were literally getting ready to go home for dinner when Jesus called them. It was probably very inconvenient. That seems to be the Lord's preferred time to call his people.

What these fishermen didn't realize is that they were hosting the Son of God on their ship. The one who had created them and the fish they were looking for. (v.4) And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." Simon immediately responds: "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But, at your word I will let down the nets." Is this not how we approach God so often? I know through this support raising process that's how I've felt. There were many occasions where I talked to my parents and the people leading our team and told them that I just couldn't see where the money was going to come from. I had exhausted all of MY efforts, and I equated that with exhausting all of God's efforts.

As you probably know, as soon as the fishermen obeyed Christ, they caught so many fish that the nets were breaking! They had to get another boat to help them! Remember, these are the guys who had fished all night long and had no luck. These were professionals, who knew the lake like no one else did. It was nonsense for someone to tell them how or where to fish. BUT, when they did what Jesus said, even though it was against everything that they knew to be right, he blessed them with an abundance of fish.

When I heard this story growing up in sunday school, I thought of it as just that, a story. Don't get me wrong, I believed that Jesus was real and that this miracle really happened; but it wasn't real in my heart. I couldn't wrap my mind around what it really looked like in real life. I've spent this semester trying to raise funding to go to Australia and San Diego. In total, I was trying to raise $6,650. This is a huge sum of money that my family and I don't have! If nothing else came in other than what a few more families have already committed to, I will of received $6,850. In spite of my doubt and unbelief, God provided for me just like he did Simon Peter. And not only provided, but gave me more than enough so that I can help the rest of my team.

I can only think of one appropriate response to this sort of provision: the same thing Simon Peter did. To fall down at Jesus' feet and repent of my own lack of faith, to repent of trusting in my own ability, and to repent of doubting the power of the Son of God. I must also not forget what I've learned through this. People have and will continue to fish all through the night in Australia. I must trust in God that not seeing fruit immediately does not mean that no fruit is coming. Sometimes we exhaust all of our own efforts before God begins to use us. He takes us to the point of utter desperation, makes us fish all night, makes us depend solely upon him without seeing any way that success is possible, then rocks our world with his power. Amen to a God who is not limited by my incapabilities and doesn't work on my schedule.

Out of the furnace comes purity

Today I had a conversation with a man of God and we discussed our mutual struggles. We metaphorically related our sanctification to the purification process of gold. God takes us, a filthy mass of impurities, minerals, and a little gold all mixed together and plunges us into the fiery melting pot. He lets us sit there and burn and melt as our sin floats to the top and becomes visible, many times miserably. As our sin is brought into the open, and we repent, our risen savior rakes the impurities off the top, and casts them out of the mold. We are then plunged right back into the furnace to continue the process. We wonder why sanctification has to be so grueling. Why must it go like this? Why can’t this just be easy? The fact is, refinement is not easy. It takes heat, and lots of it to melt down gold and it’s only when it’s melted down that the imperfection can be removed. Every time he plunges us into the fire it’s not to punish us, but because he knows what a refined piece of gold looks like. Our creator knows who’s image we were created in and exactly what it will take to bring us back to what we were created for. God is not satisfied with anything other than perfection, and because of that we know that he loves us. Through his refinement and discipline we know that he cares about us. He is using every struggle that we have to make us more like him, and thereby working all things together for our good, from an eternal perspective. If you're wondering why this struggle won’t leave you, just remember, you aren’t a finished product. Thank God that he is not content with an impure piece of gold….

Almost there...

The time is drawing near. I looked at my calendar yesterday and realized that in one month I'll be traveling across the world. For an Alabama boy that's never been outside the US, that's a long way to go. In spite of all the uncertainty and lack of control that I have, I'm very excited. I know that God will use this trip in miraculous ways to change my heart and the hearts of others.

I have good news! Matt and Brian (the dudes in charge) just got back from Sydney and found a place for us to stay. We will have 2 one bedroom apartments in downtown Sydney for the time that we're there. It will be close quarters, especially for the guys, but as those of you that have been to summer beach project know, we can manage. It's an extremely strategic location because it's right in the middle of everything. God provided in a HUGE way.

More good news! My personal support raising is going very well. For the first time all semester I'm right where I should be. I've got about $4300 turned in, and about $5500 including verbal commitments! I'm almost there! This is an amazing testament to God's faithfulness. I can look back a month, even at posts on this blog, and see how direly I needed God to step in and provide and he did. We truly serve an awesome God.

As well as things are progressing in my support raising, some of the members of my team are struggling. The majority of us don't have all the money we need right now, and it's weighing heavy on all of us. Please pray for them that God would provide. The plane tickets have been purchased and there's no turning back now. It's just a matter of God following up his plan with the resources to accomplish it, and he always does.

Jehova Jireh

Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! Luke 12:24

I am continually amazed at how faithful God is to provide. As much as I doubt what he's capable of, he continually shows me how powerful and able he is. At this point I've received $3800 towards my trip to Australia (63%). God has been using people that I never expected, and some that I've never met to send me. It's absolutely amazing what he's doing. This week I've also had some very generous verbal commitments that will help in a huge way, always pushing me closer to where I need to be. It is to God's glory that this is even possible. I ran out of people that I knew to send out letters to a long time ago. I've been pulling people out of the woodwork trying to get information about my needs out there as much as possible, and God is truly blessing it in a miraculous way.

On a much smaller note, God is also teaching me about his faithfulness to meet my daily needs. This week has been rough at school. Since getting back from San Diego, I've been playing catch up from being gone over the break. This afternoon I was planning to write a paper that I honestly haven't had a chance to do. I'm guilty of procrastination many times, but this wasn't one of them. The time just hasn't been there! So I was on my way home from church with my parents thinking about it. I was thinking about how much I had to do, and how badly I needed some down time. I prayed that God would come through and give me time and energy to get done what I needed to. I got home, looked at the course calendar, and it was actually due NEXT Monday. I know this sounds small, but it really was a huge blessing for me to have the afternoon to do absolutely nothing. Instead of writing a paper and doing schoolwork like I have all week, I was able to sit down, chill out, and watch the Yankees/Red Sox game. God knows what I need. He knows how much I can handle, and when I need to take a break. It's crazy how he uses little things like a mistake on my calendar to bring us so much joy in our relationship with him.

CCP support, and school work are things that I need God to work in and through. I desperately need him to sustain me, and increase my life's capacity; however, God is not only the provider of earthly things. His full power is much greater than what we see played out here on earth, or could even comprehend for that matter.

And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." Matthew 26:27-28

On good Friday, I attended a passover meal at Redeemer as part of the Easter celebrations. So many times we hear Easter and Christmas stories, and we allow them to become monotonous. We forget the deep meanings and symbolism present as Jesus fulfilled prophecies that were spoken 1,000's of years earlier. Taking part in the passover showed me once again how the Old Testament is not a retired manual of Jewish ritual. It is so much more than that. The OT points towards Christ just as much as the NT reveals his character. The passover festivities commemorated the "passing over" of the death angel in the plagues while the Israelites were in Egyptian captivity. It celebrates the freedom from captivity given by God, and reminds them of God's redemption. It was not by chance that the oldest son was chosen by God to bear the sin burden for entire family. In Counterfeit Gods, Tim Keller elaborates on this concept and I would encourage you to check it out. In short, the oldest son was held accountable for the sins of the entire family. We can see this played out in Genesis 22 when God calls Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. He was not randomly telling Abraham to kill his only son, God was in essence calling in a bad sin debt, and seeing if Abraham was willing to give up his son to be right with God. The same took place in the passover. There had to be a payment for sin. The father of the house had to use a lamb's blood to avoid having to sacrifice his oldest son for the sins of the family. Outside of God's grace, we are in debt. The payment for our debt is hell and the accompanying separation from God because we have sinned against him:

BUT GOD, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-by grace you have been saved-and raised us up with him and seated us with him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-7

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21

Jesus took the place as our older brother. He bore the burden of sin that he did not commit and satisfied God's wrath. By Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, we have a new covenant with him. This new covenant did not replace the covenant he made with Moses, but FULFILLED it. The promise God made, he kept. He freed us not from worldly captivity under worldly kings, but from our own sin! That is the true freedom brought by Christ. We can now enter into the holiest of holies and meet with our heavenly father. We can openly cry out to him in our time of need and he will answer us. We are no longer slaves, in debt because of our sin. Our ransom has been paid by our true elder brother Jesus, the perfect first-born of our heavenly father. Now, our sins are "passed over" because Christ's blood covers them. By his grace alone, we are saved and secured a place in eternity with Christ. There's your liberation gospel. Happy Easter

Full of Grace and Truth

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

Over the past couple of weeks, God has been showing me how important it is to balance grace and truth in our relationships. In the past, I look back and see so many mistakes I've made by being overly assertive. I tend to look at things as completely black and white; I rarely see any gray area in between my views and the wrong views. I've strained many relationships with friends, fraternity brothers, and many people that I try to share Christ with. I've been seeing that even though absolute truth exists, I am not the source of that truth. My thoughts, feelings, beliefs, etc do not constitute truth. I've had numerous discussions with friends over theological issues, convictions about sin, and so many times I push people not towards the cross, but towards my opinions. It is not my opinions that will change hearts, but God's word and grace. I'm in the progress of working through what this balance looks like. I want my life to be a reflection of the gospel, not only in word but also in deed. Jesus Christ was the perfect Son of God, and he was full of grace AND truth. I think this quote by Randy Alcorn from "The Grace and Truth Paradox" summarizes my thoughts better than I can:

The apparent conflict that exists between grace and truth isn’t because they’re incompatible, but because we lack perspective to resolve their paradox. The two are interdependent. We should never approach truth except in a spirit of grace, or grace except in a spirit of truth. Jesus wasn’t 50 percent grace, 50 percent truth, but 100 percent grace, 100 percent truth.

In Christ's sinless perfection, he was able to find this balance. He was never judging, but always honest, speaking truth. Always loving but never wavering. This is definitely an area that I need growth in. As I strive to become more like Christ, it is completely necessary that I begin to truly love people, and show truth to people in the way that he did. Full of grace and truth.

It's easy to imagine how I'll be confronted with this issue in my trip to Australia. I'm about to be plunged into a culture that I don't know or understand. I'll be surrounded by people who have completely different beliefs about God than I do. How do I reach these people? How do I minister to people who don't know the God that I do? The same way Jesus did, by being full of grace and truth....