A new way to approach politics

I've decided that while the old adage, "all politics is local," makes a lot of sense, when it comes to the federal government, I think it's quite the opposite.

Many people know I'm not a Republican (or a Democrat), but that I voted for Texas Congressman Ron Paul (a libertarian leaning Republican) in the primaries (and then a third-party candidate when McCain became the GOP frontman).

I like Dr. Paul because he believes in the words if freedom that were written in the Constitution; words from which we have veered so far. He believes in limited government, personal responsibilty, peace and prosperity.

Although he isn't our president, I'm still glad he is in the US House of Representatives, fighting for principles of freedom on behalf of all Americans. I wish I could vote for him.

Or can I? There are no serious candidates of Dr. Paul's caliber in my congressional district, nor will I vote for a mainline Republican or Democrat without many compelling reasons.

So this leads me to my thoughts. Our representatives on Capitol Hill aren't typically consumed with how to make life better for us, their constituents. Rather, as citizens of our areas, they are required to weigh in on federal issues.

Well, I propose that we approach politics not from a geographic standpoint, but by an ideological one. I cannot technically vote for Dr. Paul (or his son, Rand, who is running for the Senate) or a host of other freedom-minded acolytes, but I can lend my financial support to their campaigns, promote them in my own social networks, lobby people in their districts and do other such things. I'm not saying I will necessarily, but it makes more sense for me to help like-minded politicians into office rather than lukewarmly sitting on the sidelines wishing I had a candidate like Ron Paul.

The point is, it's better for us to help get as many viable candidates of a similar ideology into office ad possible, than it is for us to be confined to our geographic areas.

Having more pro-freedom candidates in office is better than fewer. Freedom is a local issue. And the more people of a minority ideology that get into office, the more momentum builds, and the easier it will be to get additional candidates into office.

And who knows, perhaps a local viable congressional candidate would eventually emerge.

You're Alive

I've never seen your eyes
But I know the way you look at me with love
I've never seen your hands
But I know what they've given to me
I've never seen your mouth
But I hear the loving things you say

You're alive - you're alive!
And I'm immersed in your presence
You're alive - you're alive!
I feel you, I found you

I've never seen your heart
But I know it beats with love for me
I've never seen your feet
But I hear them moving all around me
I've never heard you breathe
But your breath of life is everywhere

Prayer warrior or mooch?

I've had an impediment in my prayer life these past -- well, my entire life.

I have a hard time praying for certain things. While I love God, I have always had this problem involving Him in the "little things" of life by praying.

Somewhere in my Christian walk, when I was growing up in a more conservative denomination, I was taught that prayer had to follow a formula similar to what Jesus laid out for us in The Lord's Prayer. I don't remember exactly how it goes, but I fo remember that we were told that before we asked for things we needed to thank God for Who He is and worship Him for what He has done.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love to praise my God. I love to reflect on His goodness and worship Him. The problem I have run into with this formula is that I would feel like a moocher if I didn't follow the formula exactly. By having these perceived expectations, this liturgical norm in place, I realize that I eliminate the conversational, abba father dialogue God so desperately wants to have with me.

I always felt that I was just bugging God if I didn't have the right adoration up front. But the truth is, David didn't follow that formula... And he was a man after God's heart! I'm too quick to look at daddy God as a rich old man who is stingy with His money... That I have to schmooze Him to make Him warm up to my request. That's simply not my God!

It's going to take some retraining, but I know that I need to embrace that kind of close relationship with the daddy whose storehouse is never empty, who loves to give gifts to His children.

A balance

Through the iPhone bible I use, you can read people's personal devotionals; lessons they've submitted. Here's one I read by a certain Charles Cameron, who pinpointed right where I'm at:

Jesus cared about spiritual priorities. Jesus cared about social concern. When “the crowds followed Him”, “He welcomed them and spoke to them about the Kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing” (Luke 9:11). This combination of the spiritual and the social is much needed in today’s world. We need to care about God. We need to care about doing His will. We need to care about pleasing Him. We need to care about people. We are to love them with the love of God. We are to show them that we love them. We are to show them that God loves them. True caring is grounded in faith, worship and prayer. As well as healing those who neded healing, Jesus spoke to them about the Kingdom of God. Before feeding the five thousand, Jesus spoke to them about the Kingdom of God. This ministry of speaking about the Kingdom of God undergirded Jesus’ ministry of miracles. Our caring for people is to be built upon the ministry of God’s Word. God’s Word is preached to us. We receive instruction in faith. We are called to worship. We are challenged to pray. We grow in faith. We participate in worship. We persevere in prayer. Out of all this spiritual commitment, grounded in God’s Word, comes the kind of real caring action which makes a difference in today’s world. At the centre of this commitment to faith, worship and prayer, there is Jesus Christ. In Him, the spiritual and the social come together. We’re not forced to choose between social action and the spiritual priorities of faith, worship and prayer. We choose Jesus Christ. We commit ourselves to Him. When our commitment to Him is real, He will lead us in the pathways of faith, worship, prayer and caring action. May God help us to grow stronger in our commitment to Jesus Christ. May God help us to commit ourselves to Christ’s spiritual priorities. May God help us to commit ourselves to Christ’s social concern.

AMEN!

Seek ye first...

I'm getting to a place in my faith walk where I have to make the words of Jesus real in my life, more than ever.

The Word says to seek first the kingdom of God, and all these other things, desires, will be added to you.

It seems sometimes we can put so much emphasis on spiritual gifts: healings, prophecy, speaking in tongues, etc. And while those things are wonderful and faith building, by themselves they are incomplete.

Jesus makes it clear that true faith, true pursuit of the Kingdom of God, involves profound, practical giving. He says that the poor will always be with us, and that "true religion" is to look after widows and orphans.

If that's true, which of course I believe it is, then that's what should occupy our thoughts and haunt us in a holy way. That's what our motivating force should be. The Kingdom of God is a backwards community of strengthening fellow believers to go out and recklessly love the people around them.

Don't get me wrong... I love explosive, intimate encounters with God, and yet I believe if we are truly experiencing Him and His presence, we can't help but do the things He did and to yearn for the things for which He yearns!

What did Jesus do with most of His time? Look at that, and our priorities will come into focus...

Tim Keller and the Prodigal God

Saw a fantastic message delivered by Dr. Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan during the annual Willow Creek Leadership Summit, broadcast at our church.

Dr. Keller dug into the story of the Prodigal Son, which many times we Christians believe is all about the lost wandering back to the Father. And it is, but we often forget to look at the Father's other son -- the one who didn't run off and squander his inheritance, but stayed home obediently.

Check out the summary of Dr. Keller's notes from my colleague Tim Schraeder of Park Community Church in Chicago. He does a great job of capturing the essence of what was said.

In summary, though, neither brother really showed love to the father. The younger son had no interest in him, and the elder felt the father OWED him for his obedience and goodness. There are two ways to show you don't love God, Keller posits: irreligiosity and religiosity. One way ignores God; the other tries to order Him around.

The Bible clearly communicates that the latter is more spiritually dangerous, and in the end, it's the irreligious son who makes it to the big party (salvation!). There is a third way to be, Keller says, and it's the best way: Instead of living for God in order to get something, living for God because you GOT something -- eternal salvation!

Get this: Loaves and Fishes = Jesus' life!

In the story of the loaves and fishes feeding the 5,000 (John Chapter 6), it's often resolved that the story is about how God can take something small and multiply it if it's freely offered.

That's true, but I also believe a few other things are important. First, the fact that people needed to be sat down before the food was to be passed... this required an amount of faith -- or at least cooperation.

It also put everyone on the same level, unable to fully see what was happening in the baskets. Each person had an experience reaching into the baskets and pulling out bread and fish. It was an individual experience, shared by many. Each person had to take the action of reaching to grab some food, which everyone to some degree must have thought foolish.

But the fact was that the multitude had gathered in pursuit of God through Jesus, and He wasn't going to let those people's needs go unmet. And He wasn't going to let the needs of the flesh distract them from the words of life.

The Word makes special note that Passover was near -- and I wonder why. Is that relevant? Is it because it shows a contrast between God the Passover protector and God the Passover lamb?

This experience eventually leads to where Jesus explains that people must consume Him to find life. By being filled with the bread of life -- the Word of Him who was sent -- and drinking, being filled with the blood of the Passover lamb, eternal life is possible. People thought He was being a cannibal or something, and got freaked out, but what they didn't understand was the fact that Jesus HAD to die, and that His sacrifice of body and blood was what was to be consumed. It was a gift that appeared small -- ONE life, but in God's hands (like the loaves/fishes), proved to more than fill very soul, with "food" flowing over -- endlessly!

Accepting Jesus' sacrifice is much like eating the bread and fish -- we must have faith in what we don't see to give us nourishment. We must be in a position to receive Him, and then do so on an individual level, while experiencing Him together. His food never runs out!

God's chosen ones

I've thought often about the significance of the term "God's chosen ones" and what it really means. Often, this term referred to the Jews, since they are the descendants of the promise -- of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob/Israel. But Galatians 15-29 speaks directly to the issue.

"All the families of the earth will be blessed through you," God promises Abraham in Genesis. But God apparently makes the promise to Abraham's CHILD, too -- singular, not plural, as in descendants. That, Galatians says, is Jesus -- which makes a lot of sense. It reinforces the theory I have -- that God wasn't so interested in the Jewish race exclusively for just the fact that they were Jewish, but because really, the race was a vehicle from which the Savior of the world would come.

Jesus isn't just a Jewish messiah, right? A race, a people had to usher in the much-needed redeemer. God picked Abraham's family because of Abraham's faith and relationship with God.

And because that big promise was handed down throughout the ages, that's why the Jews were most ready to receive the Messiah. God wants to bless the whole world, but picked a family -- a system -- that would best represent Him, that all the world could know Him!

Let me boil it down: The Jews are CHOSEN because they were picked to bring about the Messiah for the WHOLE WORLD to be blessed!

The [Church] Office: Part 3

Here's Part 3 of "The Church Office"!

The [Church] Office

I'm taking a break from serious stuff for a bit, and thought I'd share the fruits of my labor the past few weeks.

I've written six scripts for "The Church Office," a parody of the hit NBC show that also serves as the basis for the current message series we're in at East Hill.

The first four have been filmed, and the two that have been shown in church have been extremely well-received. Here are the first two... enjoy!

In the Hands of God

When trying to figure out how to title this entry, the title of the new Newsboys CD, "In the Hands of God" was the only thing that sufficed.

That's because my son truly was in the hands of God yesterday.

Mondays are my day off, and as such, allow me and the fam to run errands and have fun. We went to Costco yesterday to get some essentials and to just pal around after London's 18-month checkup.

All was fine until I had the idiotic notion to let my son play in a structure he had no business being in. Savannah and Liberty were an aisle over from us as I decided to hoist my son up into the fully assembled playhouse that was about 5 feet up on a shelf. I thought it would be fun for him to sit up there for a sec, and then we'd move on.

I had him within arm's reach, and he seemed to enjoy the little clubhouse, and was being cute, saying "Whoa" and a whole bunch of other intelligible things. But all of the sudden, he backed away from me, and I had this horrible feeling that something bad was going to happen. And it did.

I was aware that the shelf provided the "floor" for the playhouse, but was unaware that the playhouse itself was wider than its "floor." So I never would have guessed (and really, who the hell puts their kid up in one of those things!?!) that London would fall into a gap on the other side of the playhouse where the floor -- the shelf top -- ended.

I heard a bang and looked up and saw my son hanging by his head, stuck in the hole. I leapt up onto the shelf and pulled my son from the playhouse, as I began to hear my wife scream. As I sprinted to the front of the store, blood was pouring from his mouth -- a terrible, horrifying scene I will never forget. I was in shock, and had no idea what had happened.

By the time I reached the front of the store, I screamed to someone "HELP! He's bleeding and I don't know what to do!" Someone ran up and offered gauze to stop the bleeding, and it was at that point I realized that all of London's top teeth had bitten through his bottom lip. It was horrible.

The ambulance soon arrived, and they checked London out and decided that they didn't need to transport him, a discussion that took place while I waited in the car with Liberty, who also was crying.

When I loaded the rest of my family into the car, I completely lost it.

We got to the Kaiser Sunnyside E.R., and London proved how amazing he truly is. Although he was in a completely blood-soaked shirt -- he was still his charming self, waving and saying "hi" to the people who walked by.

The doctor said that London didn't need stitches, and instead cleaned the wound and put a liquid bandage on it -- a compound similar to superglue -- and said that would protect the wound from opening for a day our two. The doctor said there probably won't even be a scar on the underside of his bottom lip... but even if there were, it wouldn't be visible to the average person. On the inside of his mouth, London no doubt feels the worst canker sore he's ever had in his short life.

I'm having a really hard time right now with this. I made a stupid decision. I put my boy in danger, and it could have killed him. The image of him pinned in that hole haunts me constantly, and I think that had London not been in the hands of God, he might not be with us today. I'm so thankful for that. I'm so humbled. I'm so ashamed. I've never cried so much in my life. It's safe to say that yesterday was among the worst of my life, and it definitely was the worst as a parent.

Every time I hear him say "ow" about his mouth, or see him have a hard time eating or sleeping, or look at the wound itself, my heart hurts. I know all is forgiven by God, London and even Savannah (her grace really makes no sense!), but I'm not letting myself off the hook for this one. I'm devastated by the consequences and the potential consequences of my own ignorance. Yes, we were just trying to have fun, but I put my son in critical danger. How reckless! How not-worth-it!

Never again. I'm the cautious parent now. Please pray for my son to heal quickly, and that this wouldn't affect him emotionally or physically somehow in the long-term.

"Now that I've Found You" (a song)

The following song materialized in my skull while driving today. I used the voice recorder on my phone to capture it, then chorded it out at home tonight. Enjoy!

"Now that I've Found You"

Who are we, Lord, that You look for us?
... Search for the sheep who have gone astray?
We've gone astray.
--
Who are we, Lord, to receive your grace?
A love so deep for eternity.
Who are we?

You called me Your child, out of dark shadows.
You rescued my soul, more than I'll ever know.
You saved me!

Now that I've found You,
I'm giving everything I have to worship!
My life is Yours.

You've opened up the impossible.
You give us future and a hope -- forever.
You anoint our heads and move our feet.
Everything You are saturates.
You're beautiful.

You called me your child, out of dark shadows.
You rescued my soul, more than I'll ever know.
You saved me!

Now that I've found You,
I'm giving everything I have to worship.
My life is Yours.
So glad I found you.
Now I'm gonna run from the distractions.
My life is Yours!

My life is Yours, my life is Yours.

The Passion: Facebook-style

I found this on a blog I frequent, and thought I'd pass it along. It's what Jesus' final week would have looked like had it been recorded on Facebook. It's a bit edgy, but worth sharing. My favorite part is where it says Jesus has sent a friend request to everyone.

CHECK IT OUT HERE.

The three-legged stool of our witness

It seems to me we have a real problem with balance among the body of believers. The first example of this is the subject of the book I'm reading, "The Grace and Truth Paradox" by Randy Alcorn... but what I want to focus on is the Church's imbalance with regard to its priorities.

It's important for us, as believers, to be committed to personal holiness... that is, placing a priority on being Christlike and not like the world. It's also important for us to serve people and seek social justice around the world, being Christ's hands extended, getting them dirty. And thirdly, it's crucial that we bask in the Lord's presence and seek the power of His Holy Spirit.

But we find ways to prioritize one of these legs and diminish the other two. My observations are, admittedly, generalizations -- but there's enough of a pattern to warrant a double-take.

I've noticed that classic evangelicals and protestants are heavy on personal holiness, moderate on social justice and community service, and light on the Holy Spirit. The emerging church -- the next generation of postmodern, anti-establishment revolutionaries -- is heavy on social justice and community service, moderate on the Holy Spirit and light on personal holiness. Charismatics are heavy on the Holy Spirit, moderate on personal holiness and light on social justice and community service.

The truth is, as believers, we need the stool of our faith to be balanced by all three legs of witness. We are only going to be effective, and truly change the world and ignite revival by being strong in personal holiness, social justice/community service and the Holy Spirit.

It puzzles me that some charismatics can be so close to God in His presence, but then keep it to themselves. It puzzles me that protestants can focus so much on obeying God's law, but miss the grace and power of the Holy Spirit to which the Word refers. It puzzles me that the emerging church can serve and serve and serve, yet behave just like everyone else.

I say this fully knowing that my balance is way out of whack. God, help me to experience your presence. Help me serve Your people. Help me change from within. Amen!

Lover and Lord

Here's a new song I wrote last night... I wish you could hear the music, because it's out of my normal "box" sonically.

"Lover and Lord"

VERSE 1:

Lift up your head, redemption’s call is sounding

The victory -- is at hand

We raise our hands

To reach our loving Savior

He’s never far away

He’s never far away

VERSE 2:

God you’re a mystery, beyond comprehension

I don’t deserve this grace

Lord take these hands

Everything I offer

I give my life to you.

I give my life to you.

CHORUS:

You heal us

You reveal to us

There is no good gift, you withhold

You died for us

You did rise for us

You’re our lover and our Lord

BRIDGE:

Whose love is like our God’s?

Raining down truth, raining down grace

Whose love is like our God’s?

Lift up your head, lift up your head

"Makes the Heart Sick" (a poem)

I wrote this poem after watching "Slumdog Millionaire" tonight:

"Makes the Heart Sick"

Things are not what they should be.
Nor what they once were.
Brokenness and pain,
So many innocent are slain.
Disregard for precious life,
ignorance of the saving-everlasting.
The justice ones are overdue,
from our souls' hopes they're fasting.
Reluctantly we watch the darkness binge,
the blackened hearts are just the start.
A grinding cycle gets ever stronger,
Cutting flesh, burning eyes, searing thoughts.
Cries of young ones, heard by none?
Heard by One. Heard by One.
Things are not what they should be.
Or what they're going to be.
Though justice rain won't fall today...
Someday.

Aliens

Yesterday I went to the movie "Knowing" with my father, as part of his trip here from Georgia. Let me begin by saying that I was lobbying hard to see "Slumdog Millionaire" instead, but he insisted on, and paid to see, "Knowing."

You can read more about the synopsis HERE, and get a Christian perspective of the movie's good, bad and ugly parts HERE. But I want to address a particular part of the film.

Somehow, the mysterious "whisper people" who appear throughout the movie are guiding these two kids, showing them the horrors coming to Earth and directing them towards safety.

But scattered throughout this sci-fi thriller is a mishmash of Biblical literature, including an interpretation that Ezekiel's wheel (mentioned in Chapter 1 of that book) is the prophet's description of an alien craft. The movie takes this a step farther by showing us that what the ancient writers of scripture described as angels actually were aliens with translucent bodies and wings made of light.

My dad said, "Ummm... I'm a bit offended." Yep, shoulda saw "Slumdog."

I think that the claim that our concepts of God and angels and the divine are somehow connected to "little green men" or whatever is stupid. It doesn't answer the question, "Where did we come from?" because it doesn't answer where these supposed "other" life forms came from. Are we the celestial ant farm of some superior civilization? Yeah right. Now THAT takes faith.

But I found myself in the theater thinking about how God, and the things of God, are indeed, very ALIEN.

Consider these definitions of the word "alien":
- extraterrestrial being: a form of life assumed to exist outside the Earth or its atmosphere
- being or from or characteristic of another place or part of the world;

In both of these cases, God and the Heavenly hosts (and the demonic) fit the bill. God is outside of our realm of understanding, superior beyond comprehension. His hands created our little blue ball and everything on it. His angels are beings that, upon looking at them, probably would really creep us out. (And, really... why are some so quick to say that Ezekiel saw a ship? Many scholars believe the wheels were a symbol. Plus, when you're dealing with some crazy things of God, your vocabulary's not going to suffice, y'know?)

Yes, God is not like us. But... we are like Him! The Bible says we were made in His image. We're not dealing with a cold, unconnected race of scientists... we're dealing with the Creator of all things, the One who ... is. Alien to our ways, but never very far. Beyond our comprehension, but close enough to understand us.

Yes, the divine is very alien, but then again, those of us who believe in Christ -- the man from another kingdom -- are in a constant state of changing our citizenship from this place to Heaven, which is another world, another dimension, another reality. We become alien to the broken things that have been presented to us.

I think understanding the holiness of God -- the fact that He is SO different from us, yet so willing to meet us, brings us to a place of worship, and to a place of awe.

And isn't it great to know that our Creator is not some little green being in a saucer, but the King of all things... the One whose very essence is love!

Growing as a worshiper

I'm finding more and more that God wants to make me a worshiper... not just every other Sunday night, but all the time. I really am starting to believe it's my calling.

It's funny... I find myself having an excited feeling about leading worship, not unlike the infatuation one feels with a new flame. I think it's because God has been preparing me for this all my life, and that I'm finally open to it. (Some people might remember I used to dislike worship music... I said I'd never listen to it, much less play it!)

I miss it when I'm not doing it, and I think there's two things God wants me to keep in mind. First, I need to make sure I'm in love with Him and not the act of doing worship. I don't think that's a problem, but I think He wants me to just make sure. And second, He wants me to be happy worshiping alone with Him, in my home, in my car, in my office -- wherever. And I genuinely think I am, but there's something different about Sunday nights... something different about corporate worship.

I'm open to growing as a worshiper, no matter what setting or situation, but the fact remains... I LOVE what I'm doing on Sunday nights. I'm excited about it. I'm hopeful. I'm ready for more. And I have a feeling I know where God might want to take me down the road.

Night is darkest just before dawn

In "The Dark Knight," Harvey Dent says, "The night is always darkest just before the dawn." Of course, he's referring to rampant crime in Gotham City, but I like to think that's true of our world.

I just read this article today stating that religious faith in America is on the decline. Among the findings, we learn that agnostics/atheists are up to 15 percent nationwide, that the Northeast (not the Northwest) is now the least-churched part of the country, and that 1/3 of Vermont residents claim no religious faith.

Interestingly, non-denominational Christians have grown from 0.1 percent in 1990 to 3.5 percent last year. Pentecostals have held steady at 3.5 percent since 1990.

That last fact was interesting to me, especially after reading the phrase that followed in the article: "...a surprising finding considering the dramatic spread of the tradition worldwide."

The Spirit is moving around the world, but here we seem to be just keeping it to ourselves. How do we, the supposedly most Christian nation on the Earth, somehow miss out on the greatest move of God happening? We have some SERIOUS work to do. But I do feel the dawn is coming, despite all the challenges people of faith face.

This study shows me that people aren't looking for religious systems that have burned them and failed them... they're looking for truth. And ultimately, of course, they're looking for Jesus. It's getting pretty dark out there, but I believe the opportunities to really present the Good News of Christ are better than ever.

God, bless our country. Give us the ability to embrace the kind of move of your Spirit that the rest of the world is starting to see... a phenomenon even the mainstream media is starting to notice. Bring it here, Lord! Prepare our hearts so that we can be ready.

Nathan's legacy is the catalyst

What do we do when God doesn’t make sense? Or at least, when it seems like he doesn’t make sense?

I’ve been thinking a lot about Nathan Vredevelt, and what his accident and subsequent death means for us.

We had an amazing experience at the high school retreat last weekend in Bend, where the Holy Spirit not only moved among us, but healed hearts, minds and bodies. It was amazing, and our souls were overjoyed as we all realized that we were on the verge of something big. A renewal… revival.

Then, tragedy struck. We heard Sunday night after an amazing night of worship that one of our own, Nathan Vredevelt, was critically injured and in the hospital. The atmosphere of prayer materialized. The next night, the youth gathered to pray for Nathan.

It was in the midst of prayer that our young people began to have visions, and soon it became obvious that unconnected people were believing that Nathan would be healed by God, and that healing would be the catalyst for revival. The faith and outpouring of prayer exploded not just in our youth group or church, but in the community, and even around the world.

But then God took Nathan to Heaven. Now what? My fear is that some people’s hearts will be faint, and their faith in question; the move of God they believed was coming a distant doubt. For those of you in that place, I encourage you to believe that your prayers were not in vain. God answered them, but perhaps it will take time to understand exactly how He did that.

What does all this mean for the words spoken over Nathan, such as the one that he would wake up from his coma praising the Lord. What about the catalyst for a move of God?

Nathan’s departure from this world doesn’t stymie those things in any way. He is released from a broken body, healed and enjoying fields of grace in a glorified, new body. That’s healing. Upon waking up in Heaven, my guess is that he began praising God. That's one fulfilled...

But what about the revival? What does his death mean? I’m sure many people are asking God, “Why didn’t you heal him? Wouldn’t that have made people believe in you? Wouldn’t that have changed the world?”

I’ve seen miracles before. When I was the editor of the Sandy Post, I was praising God and was amazed at the story of Doris Anderson, a 70-something woman who got lost in the Wallowa Mountains while accompanying her husband on a hunting trip. This aged woman survived two weeks in rugged, bear-filled terrain and survived! It was a major act of God!

And the media reported it. Doris was on major network morning shows, telling her amazing story, and giving God the glory. Even my paper proclaimed “MOUNTAIN MIRACLE” to our audience.

Doris survived despite amazing odds. She is a believer. She has a fantastic, one of a kind testimony now. But did revival start? No. Shortly after Doris had made her rounds on the TV circuit, the story went cold, and people returned to their lives.

That doesn’t take away from Doris’s story nor God’s amazing power to save her, but it shows that one miracle isn’t enough to bring about revival in the hearts of people. God just doesn’t work that way. He’s into changing people’s hearts, not putting on a good show. (And you’d better believe that Doris and her family’s faith was strengthened! I know mine was, as was countless others!)

Think of the story of Moses. A lot of signs and wonders were meant to tell the Egyptians to let the Hebrews go, but that wasn’t enough to change their hearts. Jesus did all sorts of miracles, and yet the Pharisees still wouldn’t believe. It’s not about the signs, it’s about the wonders of God’s love.

Even when Jesus did miracles, He told most of the recipients of His power not to say anything about it, and instead to make certain changes in their lives (“go and sin no more,” etc.). What He did tell people to do was to LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

And that, dear friends, is Nathan’s legacy. He will be remembered for his love for people, for his spiritual sensitivity, and his happiness. God chose to take him home where he can run and play and sing on tune and get hugs from Jesus all day long. As Paul says, "To live is Christ, and to die is gain." Nathan has gained a lot today, and for that we should be so happy for him.

I deeply believe this tragedy WILL be the catalyst for revival. We are a people hungry for God’s presence. We are open to the works of His Holy Spirit, and we’re dedicated to worship. But that’s not all that’s required.

Now, let’s complete the equation with love. 1 Corinthians 13 talks about all the various spiritual gifts available to believers, before making this declaration:

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing."

Then it goes into the “love is patient, love is kind” portion that’s recited so often at weddings. But that’s the gift Nathan has given us. He’s shown us love. He’s inspired us. He’s challenged us. We loved him, and yet realize that we probably could have loved him more while he was here. We now can go forward loving people deeper, smiling more often, and truly operating with a servant’s heart, adoring God’s children.

That’s where the revival will come from – the ignition of a legacy of love. It’s now up to us to run with it. For his sake, as well as ours and the Lord's. That's my prayer for us all.