Suddenly

Some of you will remember this picture. It's from an email that was sent to us from one of the John supporters:

I experienced a little bit of this kind of thing happening to me last night. I was talking with two of my good friends over the phone. (The three of us were on a "party line.") We were making all kinds of small talk, and then the conversation started turning deeper. And all of us were facing one kind of dilemma or another. And we were complaining, seeing no way out of our individual dire situations when all of a sudden, one of us said, "Wait a minute. The whole point of our Christian lives is to 'seek holiness.' That's the answer for me! I'm supposed to seek holiness, and not worry about trying to do a balancing act between living as a Christian and living in the world."

This, of course, had a ripple effect on all of us, and we were suddenly seeing the "solution" to all our so-called problems. We needed to focus on the truth that the Christian life is meant to be tough, and because of that we rely on the Holy Spirit to give us grace and strength to carry on.

Yeah, the three of us realized what had just happened: God had "snuck up on us" and had made His way into our conversation. It was amazing! I thought, this excitement was what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego must have been feeling in the fiery furnace when they saw the "fourth man"--the preincarnate Christ--in the flames, with them.

I mean, suddenly He was there in our conversation--"without previous warning."

And is it okay if I believe, that just as suddenly, He'll make provision for John, as His people respond in giving of themselves for the saving of lives...through a "little" film called, The Gospel According To John.

So, let's keep on, in bringing about greater awareness of John throughout the body of Christ, because we'll never know what someone might do with a postcard we gave them; with a web address we gave them; or a DVD we showed them; or a brochure; or a web banner. We just never know. God can do anything.

The Rabbit Hole

As with some of my previous posts, the subject of this entry will eventually have something to do with John.

I feel like I am right now sitting in front of the character "Morpheus" from the film The Matrix (1999). And he's asking me if I'm ready to--if I want to--go down the "rabbit hole" of discovery that will lead me to see things in the light of reality.

In the film, The Matrix, we have a world where human beings are grown in a factory by sentient robots, and the robots have created a computer program whereby people are made to live in a virtual fantasy world that looks and feels just like a normal world, when in fact all the humans are asleep in coffin-like containers, hooked up to a computer, while their body's natural energy is harvested for the use of the robots.

Of course some of the humans have figured this out, freed themselves from the computer-generated virtual world called "the Matrix" and it is now their mission to free others, by exposing the truth about the Matrix to individuals who are willing to listen.

Once again I've been asking deep questions as to "Why am I here?" and "What purpose am I serving?" and "Am I even making a difference in the kingdom of God?"

These past two months, the Lord would take me down another "rabbit hole," one that would cause me to examine myself once again, in the light of reality. I began to see my own deep-rooted character flaws. And with this understanding, He's slowly chipping away at my stubborn-ness...my pride.

And finally, the answer to "Why am I here?" -- is that I am here to make a difference. By being Jesus--not of my own strength, but by "dying" to myself and letting Jesus' character ooze out through me. I know, I'm being vague, but right now, it's the best I can explain. The Lord is giving me a course-correction, a heart-correction, a motivation-correction.

And He's showing me, that if I am to do anything that holds water, is that I have to know that it's about that man that Jesus loves. That woman that Jesus loves. That child. That teen. That college kid.

It's ringing in my ears: "Rejoice with those who rejoice, and WEEP WITH THOSE WHO WEEP!"

Every time you become a listening ear to some one who needs another human being to catch their tears, see their blood, and send prayers to God...

...and every time some one sends a dollar in toward the realization of John--it is to do a small thing for His glory that actually holds water. Done in sincerity. Done in humility. Done in the grace of God. Done in the hope that we would, together with other precious human beings, go down the rabbit hole of discovering the flesh-and-blood love of Jesus Christ--together crying, together bleeding, and together triumphing in Love, in Truth, in Beauty--who is Jesus Christ--the Word of God made flesh.

"In the beginning was the Word..."(John 1:1) Imagine that.

The e-Newsletter...and more

There is so much going on at the John website!

Bruce is doing some more radio and TV appearances on behalf of John.

Sharon at Marchiano Ministries has set up a brand new, awesome John e-Newsletter that is full of updates, new information, and reports coming in from John supporters all around the world--and of the wonderful things that the Lord is bringing about. (This is also a great tool to spread the news about John because you can fill out a form to have the newsletter emailed to your friends!)

Go to www.gospelaccordingtojohn.com and click on recent updates to get in on all the goings on.

Finally, a word of encouragement to all of us involved in this kingdom project (and to any Christian laboring for His kingdom):

Currently my Bible reading plan is taking me through the book of Nehemiah. In reading chapter 4, it really blessed me: The Jewish people have returned from their captivity in Babylon to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem under Nehemiah's leadership. And I saw how everyone contributed, how everyone did their part, and how the surrounding nations would attack and taunt the wall-builders, but they kept at it, arming themselves with swords, and they kept at it, saying:

"Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes [...] The work is great [...] Our God will fight for us"(Neh. 4:14,19-20).

And so, we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. (And go, go, go, sign up for the e-newsletter if you haven't already!)