Reconciliation in Christ المصالحة في المسيح

Water from the Rock

2009-09-23T22:00:00.002-06:00

Exciting news broke today that data from the Indian spacecraft Chandrayaan-1, along with data from Deep Impact and Cassini, have all confirmed that water exists pervasively on the surface of the moon, if extremely diffusely. The results are "unequivocal," according to scientists who've seen the data and analysis.

I got excited reading this news, since it means lunar exploration, either robotic or human, could utilize this water for life support systems, rocket fuel, or other needs. The most popular theory at the moment is that extremely fast protons in the solar wind (H+ ions) slam into the Moon's surface, knock off oxygen from oxidized compounds in the lunar soil like aluminum oxide, and then the hydrogen and oxygen bond together. Much of this then evaporates and escapes the Moon's low gravity, but the solar wind continually replenishes the surface with a very, very disperse "coating" of water molecules.

After reading about this, I picked up my Bible to read before going to bed, and the very first words my eyes saw were these, in Numbers 20:

"Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink."

Wow. Will God one day "pour out" water from the Moon's rocks for humans to drink, just as He did for the Israelites in the desert? Perhaps. If so, I pray the humans will give glory to God and thank Him for what's He's given them. But one thing is for sure: Jesus is the Rock that pours forth living water, and the true satisfaction for our souls' thirsts. As Paul says of the Israelites in 1 Corinthians 10:4, "they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ."

Many scientists and space enthusiasts will be excited when they read this news about water on the Moon. I doubt very many of them will be as excited about the living water that Jesus gives us. May God help them, and all of us, to recognize the meaning of the water that pours forth from the Rock, and provides for us in this dry and weary land. As the Psalmist aptly said, "The heavens declare the glory of God." (Psalm 19:1)

Hope Triumphant

2007-11-25T14:23:00.000-07:00

I just wrote this to a friend, and thought it might encourage other people too. :)

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It's really encouraging when I think about how God fulfilled his promises in Christ, and what that means for my life. The Jews in exile in Babylon must have felt so abandoned, lied to—didn't God promise David, after all, that "Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever" (2 Sam 7:16)? So why is the king, the son of David, now cut off and humiliated before the power of Babylon? Why is the temple destroyed? Why has God abandoned us, and abandoned His promises to us? When you read Psalm 89 in this context, it's so heartbreaking—in verses 19-37 the writer (Ethan the Ezrahite) talks about the promise God made to David:

"Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—
and I will not lie to David—
that his line will continue forever...

"But you have rejected, you have spurned,
you have been very angry with your anointed one.

"You have renounced the covenant with your servant
and have defiled his crown in the dust."

What is going on? the psalmist wonders. How can God break His own promise, which he swore to David He would uphold forever?

And yet, the reality of God's promise to David was so much bigger than simply having a descendant of his to always reign as king over the political state of Judah. God's promise was fulfilled in Jesus, in a way that was so much bigger and greater than anything Ethan and the other exiles could have imagined—something that took the people of Israel's sinful desire for a king and turned it into a glorious expression of God's faithfulness.

The same thing can be shown with the crucifixion and the resurrection. What must the disciples have felt when they saw Jesus rejected, crushed, humiliated, and killed at the hands of the Romans and the Jewish leaders? What kind of teacher were they following? They must have felt so let down, disappointed, maybe even deceived in a way. No wonder Thomas didn't want to believe. Behind his doubts was his broken heart, his broken hopes. "I don't want to hope again until I know without a doubt—it would hurt too much to be disappointed again." Jesus understood and was merciful to him—he came and showed him the reality of God's promise fulfilled. The cross was not a failure, but the most incredible and shocking triumph of God in history. And God was shown to be faithful—even if the way He fulfilled His promises was not always what the people were expecting, it was much better than they could have imagined.

Praise God! When I think of how He's done this in the past, it encourages me to believe that God can and will fulfill His promises to me, even in times when I can't see how that could happen. It makes me want to never lose hope, to always believe and trust in God even when I fear my hopes being broken and my dreams being shattered, because even if God does end up breaking some of my hopes, the reality of what He replaces it with will always be better than I could have hoped for, as in the end we will all clearly see.

Read the entirety of Psalm 89 here.

O Magnum Mysterium

2007-10-15T13:24:00.000-06:00

We're singing Morten Lauridsen's "O Magnum Mysterium" in choir this semester. I think it might be the most beautiful choral piece I've ever sung. Thinking about all the glory of God in a helpless infant, lowly and rejected by His society, born "out of wedlock"...the amazing love of God, that He would come to us not in power and terror but in humility and poverty.

The Hebrew word for "to bring good news," or to bring the gospel, is yevaser, from the root basar or flesh. So the power, beauty and glory of the gospel is that God, infinite in glory and majesty, became flesh--human, weak, ordinary--to show us what real love is, and to give us real life. This is a truth of incomparable beauty, and I can't think of a more beautiful song to express it.

Here are the words (in Latin, then English):

O magnum mysterium,
et admirabile sacramentum
ut animalia viderent Dominum
natum, jacentem in praesepio!
Beata Virgo, cujus viscera
meruerunt portare
Dominum Christum.

O great mystery,
and wonderful sacrament,
that animals should see the new-
born Lord, lying in their manger!
Blessed is the Virgin whose womb
was worthy to bear the
Lord Jesus Christ.

(Video of the song can be seen here.)

Europa Rising

2007-05-10T11:52:00.000-06:00

Wow!! Gorgeous!!

Run For the World 5k

2007-05-07T10:03:00.000-06:00

Hey everybody--

I'm helping to organize another Run For the World 5k this year, to raise money for building an orphanage in Zambia. Here's the basic info:

Saturday, May 19th @ 8:00 am
$15 registration ($17 the day of)
At Coot Lake, northeast side of Boulder Reservoir
All proceeds go to our friends at World Orphan Relief to help build an orphanage in Silembe, Zambia

How can you be involved?

1) Run!! (or walk, or crawl, or hobble on crutches...) Register online

2) Volunteer! Contact me if you want to help on race day or the night before to help set up, take down, time runners, etc. We'll need at least 15-20 people to help out.

3) Sponsor other runners (like myself)!! Go to the registration page for details.

4) Tell others! Get people at your church, work, etc. involved. Not only will it be a great time in a great location (I had an absolute blast last year), we'll be helping to build a home for orphans in a country where more than 10% of the population are orphans.

Hope to see you there!

Seth

(PS The registration page is zambiansoap.com/run.html)

Run For the World 5k Race
Sponsored by Sambah Naturals and World Orphan Relief

Loving is Healing

2007-04-09T11:31:00.000-06:00

I was reading through something I wrote to a friend recently and realized it was good stuff, so I wanted to put it here (with a few slight edits). For background, a good friend of mine, Laurie Mansdorfer, recently died of cancer. This was written right after I went to her memorial service.

Just got back from Laurie's memorial service; I was really glad I got to go. Wish you guys could have been here too. They're such a sweet family; it was great seeing Jacob running around, Hannah being her beautiful shy self. It's gonna be hard for Mike...but I know God will bring them through, just like He sustained Laurie to the end in faith and love. They'll be in Indiana the next week or two; we're gonna do everything we can (and everything we'd be needed with, of course) to help them along in the coming months.

Going to the service, thinking about Laurie and life and death, made me think we were wrong in the way we were talking the other day. Not that death isn't a release from pain and suffering and sin--that's what makes Laurie's death bearable and not quite so tragic--but the implication that life is merely to be endured. I think that attitude's been dominant in me for quite a while. But the wonderful thing I saw with Laurie, from the stories people told and the lives she impacted, is that even when she was suffering she was still reaching out to others, giving to others, spreading God's love to others. Now I'm sure she wasn't doing that perfectly, but she wasn't letting her suffering ultimately prevent her from fulfilling the purpose God had for her life.

And I guess that's what really hit me tonight. "What is the purpose of my life?" Is it just to get through without screwing too much up? Is it to make lots of money on airships? Is it to sell lots of soap and lip balm and build schools and orphanages in Zambia? Well, maybe on the last couple in a way...

But the ultimate purpose of my life, I realized, is to love. To love God, and to love others as myself. A life full of God's love, pouring out to Him and others, is what we were made for. Anything beyond that is meaningless, ephemeral.

I feel like I've been so focused on myself recently--ironically stemming from my desire to be a more godly person, yet debilitated by the sadness and frustration I feel at failing so utterly in that--that I haven't had hardly anything to give in love to others. The solution to my problems, the solution to my pain, is simple: Love. If I let myself be hungry for God, trusting that He will satisfy me, if I give myself in love to others, care about them in the same way I want others to care about me, then I will in that very act of love be healing myself. In other words, I've felt that what I needed was for others to love me. But that was completely wrong. What I needed was to let myself really love.

Oh Lord, help me to live this way, to trust in you that giving is more blessed than receiving, that when I give of myself I will end up having more of myself to give.

Fall

2007-01-25T06:50:00.000-07:00

I just woke up from a dream I had, where I showed up to a big gathering at Horizons (dressed in a toga, actually), having forgotten that I was supposed to give a talk to the audience. I literally hadn't prepared a word. So I quickly got up front, my mind blank, saw the rather large crowd on the bleachers stretching out before me, saw the beautiful fall day around me, and started (like any good speaker) by talking about the weather. This, more or less, is what followed.

A lot of people say fall is their favorite season. I know it's mine. The crisp air, the beautiful leaves in all their glorious assortment of color--it's like nature's reminding us of what it's capable of. I love to go up in the mountains as the aspen trees are changing color, and see the beautiful sea of delicate, quivering leaves, splashing their color onto the canvas of the mountainside.

One might consider these beautiful colors as the last words of dying leaves--the last glorious shout before their end comes. One might even be tempted to think of it as a desperate cry for attention before their inevitable death overtakes them: "Look at me!! I'm valuable! I'm beautiful! Love me!!"

But most of us don't think this way. We seldom see the leaves falling as something truly tragic. Why? Because we know that after the winter has passed, spring will come, the leaves will grow again, and their beauty and life will be restored to us anew. We don't see the fall as a tragedy because we know the spring will come. We don't see the leaves' death as a tragedy because we are sure of the coming rebirth.

Sometimes, though, winter comes early. I remember a few seasons in Colorado where an early snowstorm would hit in September or October, before the trees had let their leaves die. What happens? If there's enough snow, the weight of the snow collects on the leaves and eventually breaks the branch. I remember taking a chain saw to these huge branches literally covering my backyard after one particularly heavy early snow. These branches looked strong and powerful, but they were swiftly felled by the unexpected winter.

I believe most people live their lives like these mighty branches, believing that what matters most is to make themselves strong and beautiful, decorating their lives with glorious leaves that glimmer in the summer sun. We strive for success, we strive for others to love and value us, to see us as beautiful and strong and important. "If I can show the world how beautiful my leaves are, then I will be happy." They might even think, "Come November, I'll have created my beautiful life and will be ready to leave in style."

But those unexpected storms have a nasty habit of showing up. And unlike in Nature, where snow might come in September, but surely never in July, we never know how short our lives might be. As the Psalmist said, "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom" (90:12). We simply have no guarantee for the future of our lives, no matter how strong and beautiful our branches may be.

Jesus said in the gospel of John that "Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds" (12:24). You see, there is a death that is not tragic, but beautiful. The kind of death that leads to rebirth, like the leaves falling in autumn, is beautiful and glorious. It is the leaves submitting to God's way, allowing His hand to bring them down because they know He will lift them up. Only if the leaves refuse to die, insisting they remain strong and beautiful and "alive," will the snow be able to destroy them. Only that death is truly tragic.

The beautiful colors of the falling leaves are not tragic because of the rebirth to come. Jesus' death on the cross, though terrible and sad, was not ultimately tragic, because, as Peter preached in Acts, "God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him" (2:24). There was so much life, love, and beauty in Christ that death simply could not contain him. Even better, unlike the spring which eventually turns to summer and then fall again, Jesus' death for us destroyed the very power of death itself. "For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God." (Romans 6:9-10)

As we identify with Christ and submit to the loving hand of the Father, He will bring us down so that He may lift us up--beautiful, umblemished and eternally new, free forever from death and sin. If we die to ourselves to live in Christ, if we allow God to kill our selfishness and pride and envy and all the other things that we fear giving up--that we we fear we will not be strong enough or beautiful enough without--then this death will be like the falling of the leaves, radiant in their beauty, even in their death full of life.

Beauty Is Truth, Truth Beauty

2007-01-17T09:31:00.000-07:00

Here are the lyrics to two songs we're singing in choir, one hymn and one Shakespeare sonnet. What's really struck me is how songs that are "secular" can still often have such beauty and depth as to bring the soul closer to God, sometimes just as much as "sacred" music. It helps that the sonnet, a love poem, can be interpreted as directed to God, wherein it gains a meaning much deeper than perhaps the original intent.

Wondrous Love

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.

When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down beneath God’s righteous frown,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.

To God and to the Lamb, I will sing, I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb, I will sing.
To God and to the Lamb Who is the great “I Am”;
While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing;
While millions join the theme, I will sing.

And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on.
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing and joyful be;
And through eternity, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;
And through eternity, I’ll sing on.

Sonnet 29

When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes
I all alone beweep my outcast state
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless* cries
And look upon myself and curse my fate

Wishing me like to one more rich in hope
Featured like him, like him with friends possessed
Desiring this man's art or that man's scope
With what I most enjoy, contented least

Yet in these thoughts, myself almost despising,
Haply† I think on thee--And then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate

For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

*useless, futile †by chance

Lord Jesus, may thy sweet and wondrous love remembered
such wealth bring,
That I would scorn to change my state with kings.

The Enemy is Disarmed

2007-01-10T22:27:00.001-07:00

Some good words from John Piper.

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And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:13-14)

Those last words are the most crucial. This—this record of debt that stood against us—God set aside, nailing it to the cross. When did that happen? Two thousand years ago. It did not happen in you, and it did not happen with any help from you. God did that for you and outside of you.

Make sure you see this most glorious of all truths: God took the record of all your sins...that made you a debtor to wrath, and instead of holding them up in front of your face and using them as the warrant to send you to hell, he put them in the palm of his Son’s hand and nailed them to the cross...

Have you ever wondered what the next verse in Colossians 2:15 means? Right after saying that God nailed the record of our debt to the cross, Paul says, “[God] disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” This is a reference to the devil and all his demonic hosts. How are they disarmed? How are they defeated? Don’t they prowl around like a roaring lion today (1 Peter 5:8)?

The answer is: They have many weapons. They can do much damage. But they are disarmed of the one weapon that can damn us. The weapon of unforgiven sin. Be sure you see the connection between Colossians 2:14 and 15. In 2:14, it says God nailed the record of our debt to the cross. It’s punished. It’s finished. And in the next breath he says that God disarmed the rulers and authorities. He triumphed over them. Sure, they can beat us up. They can make us see weird things on the walls of our rooms. They can shake your house and cause lying signs and wonders. They accuse you and call you a loser, but they cannot damn you. That weapon is out of their hands. Only unforgiven sin damns. And that was nailed to the cross for everyone of you who despairs of saving yourself and trusts in Jesus.

For Unto Us a Child Is Born

2006-12-24T22:00:00.000-07:00

The people walking in darkness
   have seen a great light;
   on those living in the land of the shadow of death
   a light has dawned.

You have enlarged the nation
   and increased their joy;
   they rejoice before you
   as people rejoice at the harvest,
   as men rejoice
   when dividing the plunder.

For as in the day of Midian's defeat,
   you have shattered
   the yoke that burdens them,
   the bar across their shoulders,
   the rod of their oppressor.

Every warrior's boot used in battle
   and every garment rolled in blood
   will be destined for burning,
   will be fuel for the fire.

For to us a child is born,
   to us a son is given,
   and the government will be on his shoulders.
   And he will be called
   Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
   Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace
   there will be no end.
   He will reign on David's throne
   and over his kingdom,
   establishing and upholding it
   with justice and righteousness
   from that time on and forever.
   The zeal of the LORD Almighty
   will accomplish this.

-- Isaiah 9:2-7

Maybe They're Born With It...Maybe It's Zambeezi

2006-12-21T17:38:00.000-07:00

The Zambeezi lip balm models at a local Boulder restaurant. ;)

Zambeezi--The only fair trade organic beeswax lip balm on the market.

Christmas Groaning

2006-12-21T13:36:00.000-07:00

My friend Jason Stryd, who lives and ministers in Kovoso, wrote this beautiful letter. (I knew the man he speaks of, Faik, from my visits to Prishtina.)

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For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
(Rom 8:22-25)

In this time of Christmas busyness, activity and fellowship are you groaning inwardly?

Could it be that this time of year which offers so many reasons for contentment and satisfaction like family, vacation, food, rest and fun is actually a time when we experience the groaning of our souls more than ever?

It is for me. What do I mean by groaning? I mean a longing, a hunger, a cry of the heart that remains in a person even after experiencing some of the best things that this earth can offer. It is a cry that says I am still broken, still subjected to the futility and bondage of decay and sinfulness. It is the cry of a heart that still aches and longs for something, more, something that might quench the soul.

The time that I have longed for weeks has come and is going. I have been blessed by great time with family and friends, better time and fellowship than I ever could have asked for the last few weeks. I have enjoyed celebrating and preparing for Christmas. I have been lavished abundantly with love and care by many. And yet at times my inward groaning has been abundantly clear. It has humbled me and surprised me.

In reality, all the blessings that this world offers in fellowship, family, worship, and time celebrating still leaves us longing for more. We still wait. We wait for the redemption of our souls and our bodies. We wait for the revealing of the kingdom of God. We wait and long for the face of God to be unveiled and to see him in all his glory with all our sickness, worries, fears and pains being burned away in the light of his presence. Our groaning is an expression of hope. It is an expression of our soul that anticipates and seeks the one thing that will fill it, God himself.

Make no mistake, we get glimpses of this in this season and they are good. We fellowship and experience pictures of intimacy in the body that we will know in fullness in heaven. We are marveled by the truth of God, truth that we will see with wide open eyes in heaven. And we experience tastes of God revealed to us in Jesus Christ, a revelation to be fully unveiled in heaven. Yet they all point to God and heaven. They point to something more.

And this is the glory of Christmas. It is the glory of the coming of Immanuel into history, an event that forever has set history in course to its ultimate climax, life with God. We celebrate hope and waiting this Christmas because we celebrate that in the incomprehensible love of the Father, he has sent his glorious Son humbled all the way from stable to the cross for our redemption. And that redemption is guaranteed, mission accomplished. Christmas is a time of hope. It is a present hope that God has invaded our present suffering to suffer with us and our chaotic times to give us peace. But it is also an expectant hope that he has done more than that. He has secured for us eternal life with himself in all its mysterious glory, wonder and promise. And it is living with this hope that frees us to live for today taking every moment captive and frees us to look ahead to the coming of that day for which he came to purchase.

As I was getting ready to send this email today, I received some shocking news. My very good friend Faik in Kosova passed away yesterday from a heart attack. You may remember him as I have spoken often of him. He was 54 years old, a father of 4, and had been sick with Muscular Dystrophy, high blood pressure and headaches. Faik was a joyful man, had recently finished reading the bible for the 4th time in 2 years and was stepping into new areas of understanding and vision for his family and neighborhood. From the beginning of my time in Kosova I have visited him and his family 2 times a week. He was one of the most regular attendee of meetings at church, anything from services, to bible studies, to prayer meetings, to social outings. He always came hobbling down the side of the street with his cane to the church. By the time he arrived he would be tired, but full of a smiling joyful face.

Faik groaned inwardly a lot. Physically he was weak, unable to work and deteriating in his ability to get out of the house. He suffered from headaches and pain. Spiritually and emotionally he groaned from the worry for his family and his inability to provide for them. He groaned with longing for his family and neighbors to know Christ and the hope that he had found. Recently there were times that Faik was just sad for no reason, aching in his heart for these things. One time we talked about the above passage, agreeing that he was groaning for redemption.

I remember a many things about Faik and my time with him. There have been numerous times where I have been over and he has felt very sick and tired. During some of these times we had begun to talk about heaven. He spoke of going first and waiting for me when it was my turn. He joked about hanging out up there with Bill Clinton and the others who were involved in saving the Albanians from the Serbs as he saw them in a funny way as instruments of God for Kosova. As he spoke of these things his face would light up in true joy and expectation, a beautiful thing. It was a confidence and assurance radically different from the normal fateful submission in Islam to a god devoid of love or promise of salvation. Faik was ready.

Why did God take Faik now? I don't know. I wish I was there right now. I wish I had known before I left to say goodbye to my good friend. I can't imagine going back and with him gone.

How will God provide for Faik's family, his children and his home? I don't know, but I am sure that we as a church have a great role in this.

How will his death affect the faith of his family, his children and his neighbors? I hope and believe that it will be like Christ said about the grain of wheat which when it dies bears a great crop. So may the death of Faik testify to many and reap a harvest among those he prayed for and groaned for.

Today Faik groans no more. He loved God and his suffering is ended. He has obtained the reward of his faith, eternal life with God. And this is true because of the reality of Christmas…not lights, trees, food or vacation. But because of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, who came into our world, shed his blood and purchased for us eternity. An eternity that today Faik is experiencing.

So this week when you find yourself groaning inwardly in the midst of fun, family and activity. When you in a moment of quiet find your heart longing for something more, know that there is something more. And this is the hope and promise of Christmas. Our groaning is not in vain, Jesus the Christ has come and though we experience it in part we shall know it in full some day.

Merry Christmas!

Jason

Jesus Christ the Apple Tree

2006-12-15T19:52:00.000-07:00

I've been recently enthralled with the song "Jesus Christ the Apple Tree," which we're singing in my choir (the Boulder Chorale Chamber Chorus). I feel like God was speaking to me through it ever since we started practicing it, but recently it's really started to mean even more to me. Part of the importance to me is that three years ago I wrote a song called the "Tree of Life" which brings out the imagery and symbolism in the Bible on trees and vines, especially the tree of life and the cross. The idea of Jesus as an apple tree comes from Song of Solomon 2:3:

Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest
is my lover among the young men.
I delight to sit in his shade,
and his fruit is sweet to my taste.

A video of the Cambridge King's College Choir singing this song can be found here.

You can also listen to the song I wrote here.

Here are the lyrics to "Jesus Christ the Apple Tree":

The tree of life my soul hath seen
Laden with fruit and always green
The tree of life my soul hath seen
Laden with fruit and always green
The trees of nature fruitless be
Compared with Christ the apple tree

His beauty doth all things excel
By faith I know but ne'er can tell
His beauty doth all things excel
By faith I know but ne'er can tell
The glory which I now can see
In Jesus Christ the apple tree

For happiness I long have sought
And pleasure dearly I have bought
For happiness I long have sought
And pleasure dearly I have bought
I missed of all but now I see
'Tis found in Christ the apple tree

I'm weary with my former toil
Here I will sit and rest a while
I'm weary with my former toil
Here I will sit and rest a while
Under the shadow I will be
Of Jesus Christ the apple tree

This fruit does make my soul to thrive
It keeps my dying faith alive
This fruit does make my soul to thrive
It keeps my dying faith alive
Which makes my soul in haste to be
With Jesus Christ the apple tree

Home For Disabled Children in Jenin

2006-12-10T08:32:00.000-07:00

Hello friends,

My friend Yousef (a student at Bethlehem Bible College) has written me about his idea to build a home for disabled children in Jenin, similar to one they have in Beit Jala (Bethlehem area) that he works at. Jenin is an almost completely Muslim town, and is suffering a great deal economically from the political situation. There's currently nothing like this in Jenin, and for the Christian community to be able to give this to the town would be a great blessing and a witness of God's love for them.

It takes some cash to make something like this happen, so I want to ask if anyone either a) happens to be wealthy and interested in helping, or (more likely) b) is connected to a church or ministry that might be able to help support this project. I really believe it would be a beautiful outreach to the people in Jenin, and pray that God would bring this about for His kingdom.

E-mail me if you're interested in learning more (seth@zambiansoap.com).

Seth

School Fundraiser Idea

2006-09-15T13:01:00.000-06:00

I'm super excited about the school fundraiser project we have with the Zambian Soap Co. If you're a teacher or know teachers, check out this page. You can help build a school in Zambia while raising money for programs at your school, and at the same time teach your kids about Africa.

I'm probably going to Zambia next week--don't have a ticket yet, but that's the plan. Should be fun! I've never been to Africa before.

Seth

Why Do the Nations Rage?

2006-08-08T16:54:00.000-06:00

I try hard not to voice political opinions too strongly on this blog, but when it's a matter of God's glory being defamed, I have a hard time keeping silent. This is a letter I wrote to Colorado Senator Wayne Allard, in response to his "response" to my e-mail (which was, of course, simply a position paper that addressed nothing I'd said). I pray that the political and religious leadership of the United States would have the humility to forgo worldly empire in return for the peace and humility of the Kingdom of Heaven.

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Dear Senator Allard,

I doubt you'll actually read this, since nothing you said actually addressed what I wrote, but I feel it my moral duty to at least say something in response to your letter.

You say that Israel has the right to defend itself. Does Lebanon not also have the right to defend itself against Israel's brutal aggression? Nearly a thousand Lebanese civilians have died, even though it was Hezbollah, not the Lebanese government or public, that attacked Israel. Yet Lebanon has not taken this right. Why? Because they do not receive billions of dollars of military aid from the world's only superpower. They are helpless against Israel's immense US-provided firepower. We are funding a massacre.

Are Israeli lives more valuable than Lebanese? Are Jewish lives more valuable than Muslim or Christian? Then why do we aid and even support Israel's killing of hundreds of Lebanese, creating hundreds of thousands of refugees and destroying the Lebanese economy, while we deplore as "terrorism" Hezbollah's attack on Israeli military targets? When Hezbollah rains down rockets on Israeli civilians, this is terrorism. But when Israel does the same against Lebanese villages, why do we not have the courage and moral fortitude to deplore it in similar terms?

I strongly condemn Hezbollah's aggression, especially against civilian targets. I have friends in northern Israel who are under attack, and whose safety I'm praying for. I have lived in Israel, I speak Hebrew, and I love the Jewish people. But I am ashamed of my president, and ashamed of my senator, for supporting the massacre of civilians in Lebanon that have little or nothing to do with Hezbollah. What is the difference between a "terrorist" bomb and an Israeli (or US) bomb? Both kill human beings created in God's image.

Whoever is actually reading this e-mail, I want to plead with you to not let Israel destroy itself by ignoring its moral foundations, the standards of democracy and human rights and the Judaic spiritual tradition. As we Americans should heed ourselves, we also should exhort our friends in Israel to heed the teachings of a Palestinian Jew of long ago:

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

This is my plea and my prayer.

Sincerely,

Seth Wilson

Personal Account From Beirut

2006-08-01T17:35:00.000-06:00

A friend of mine wrote this letter from Beirut, in the first week of the crisis in the Middle East. I took his name off since I haven't asked him if I can post this. (I think he got cut off at the end.) Please pray.
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Hi there dear friends,

This is the sixth day of the attack on Lebanon. Some of you might not know this but I am in Beirut at the moment, in the East at relatively safe distance from the bombing. It's getting harder for people here. Grocery prices are going up, fuel is going to run out at some point. One cell-phone company has closed, their lines are still working but phone cards are getting more expensive everyday (making communication harder). who knows where it will go from here.

Getting out of the country by means of a cabride to Syria costs 400$, a ride that 7 days ago was still the normal price of 10$. People are sitting by their television sets waiting to see what happens next. Some of my friends have fled from the bombed places. One of them lost his family house in the city, luckily they still have their country home. People don't know what to do, don't know what will happen next and don't know if and when foreign intervention will actually come.

This is not a political call for action. I am not asking that you get angry, or take sides. Our fight is not against flesh and blood. It is against the powers of darkness (Ef. 6:10-20, for exact quote). Will you please pray for the people here. That they will find out what the real war is that is going on "behind their backs". Will you pray that they come to know the true Savior, who can offer real "resistance" to darkness.Also pray for the believers that they don't lose sight of their Savior and that they know that love conquers all. Those of you who know people here and their personal situation, keep them in mind. Bless them from where you are.

And for me personally, I don't know what to do: I feel God is with me and I am encouraging people around me, praying, helping out. On the other hand, my family in Holland is worried about me and I don't want to put a strain on them. There are others like me, who don't know if they should stay and be a help or leave and wait for things to calm down. I don't want to be selfish and leave, but I also don't want
to make a wrong decision.

Others in Lebanon are in a much more difficult position than me, so I feel selfish in asking prayer for my situation. Pray

Much love,

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Great Stuff

2006-06-06T20:40:00.000-06:00

I was just reading through an old e-mail I sent back in 2001, right after I came to know Jesus. I'm going to put parts of it here, since it's great exciting stuff. It's also amazing to me to see the kinds of e-mails I was writing right before that, and then the sudden and drastic changes. :) (The name of the recipient has been removed.)

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I can't begin to describe to you the happenings of the last couple weeks. So I won't try to in detail, but I do want you to know a few things at least. I'm not sure how much you'll understand, but I want to make an effort at least, to give you a chance.

Jesus has finally caught up to me, _____. I've been running from Him so long, trying so hard to avoid the reality that I felt, trying to find other ways to explain things. I finally surrendered, and oh, what a wonderful peace. What pure joy! How can I describe to you...

I've told you how I finally came to accept the existence of God, and what an amazing experience that was--the intense Spirit that I felt, the knowledge that this was more real than anything else I'd ever experienced before in my life.

Well, at that time I still didn't want to say that God and Jesus were equivalent, mainly because I had a hard time understanding how Jesus dying on a cross could possibly have anything to do with my imperfections. Also, more recently, I've been turned off by the notion that one religion has more truth than another, because it seems to lead to more conflict and tension, and what do I really know? So why don't we all just have our personal preferences, acknowledging that in the end it doesn't mean any more than whether you prefer strawberry, chocolate or vanilla. "God is real, Jesus is an opinion."

But the problem with this was that I never really stuck to God. I'd say "Yeah, God is real, God is wonderful," and when I was in a good mood I'd believe it, but when I felt the depth of my imperfections, my complete inability to really transform myself into the person that I wanted to be, there was nowhere to turn. By saying "religion is a language that's trying to express the more profound truths of the universe," I was able to ignore those profound truths as "just a language, not the reality." And because I was always aware of my imperfections, my flawed nature compared to the perfection of God (and the perfection I wanted for myself), there was no reason to draw closer to God--He wouldn't want me anyway; what could He do with me anymore than I could do myself just by trying to be a "good person"?

Last week, I finally realized that if I was going to be of any use to God--if all the plans and ideas I had to work with refugees, serve people, make a positive difference (all ideas I felt were conforming to what God wanted me to do with my life), I was going to have to really, truly give myself completely to Him. I had to believe that Jesus was real, and could change me, could free me from my imperfection. "Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come." (2 Cor. 5:17).

I've learned so many times in the last year that I'm only truly happy when I'm in the presence of God, but I always felt that my sin would always keep me from truly living in His presence. Since I couldn't possibly change myself, I resigned to failure. But now, now that I've accepted the sacrifice Jesus made for me--without understanding how it works, why He did it, anything really--just by letting Jesus take on those burdens, He frees me, creates in me a heart that can do His work. "Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool." (Isaiah 1:18). Only by fully giving myself to Him--imperfections and all--am I able to live with Him, do His work, and fulfill the purpose of my existence.

Oh, _____, I don't know if this makes any sense to you, but it's so real!! ¡Qué capísimo es el Señor!! I looked and I searched and I thought and thought, but I couldn't do anything until I stopped and let Jesus take hold. It's so beautiful! I have so much to learn, but already I can see that God has amazing things prepared for me if I just let Him take me there. "Jehováh es mi pastor, nada me faltará." ...

Oh _____, I'm afraid that you'll think I've gone off the deep end, that you're afraid you won't be able to understand me anymore. But I'm still Seth, just better now! Just more open to God's love, more able to share His joy, serve others in compassion (once I start letting Him breaking down all the walls of fear that are in my heart), love everyone the way God loves them. I want to empty myself and let God fill me up. Oh, it's so real, so beautiful! I do want you to understand that, but more than that, I want to be sensitive to the way you feel, which is probably odd right now, confused at what the heck is wrong with me. But I promise, there's nothing wrong--I'm feeling wonderful. =)

Run For Jesus

2006-05-20T23:08:00.000-06:00

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter* of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." (Hebrews 12:1-3)

*The Greek words for "author and perfecter" can also be translated "starter and finisher" (as in a race).

Run For the World 5k

2006-05-05T23:04:00.000-06:00

Hi guys,

Guess what? We're doing another Run For the World this year! May 20th at 8:00 am, at Coot Lake (next to Boulder Reservoir). Registration is $15 ($17 after May 18th). The race is 5 kilometers (you can run or walk) and the money goes toward Horizons projects in Zambia and Kosovo. Sign up--it'll be super fun!

Also, for both the Run For the World and the Bolder Boulder this year, I'm running to raise money for school in Iraq through Servant Group International (the organization my friend Josh Stacey worked with while he was there). So if you're interested in sponsoring me for Iraqi kids, let me know! (you can e-mail me at sethwilson1@yahoo.com if you don't already have my e-mail).

Hope to see all of you who are in the Boulder area on the 20th at Coot Lake!

Work As Worship

2006-04-29T01:04:00.000-06:00

My friend Nathan (Nathanael) wrote an article a year or two ago with this same title, and I've been thinking about the idea recently. I'll borrow the title, but go in a slightly different direction than my dear friend, mainly because I'm a different person. :)

The very first thing we read about in the Bible is the story of God working. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." For the first six days He worked--pretty hard, if He created the entire universe. Then on the seventh day God rested from His work, after He had seen that it was "very good."

In the Garden, humans had work to do. We were to be fruitful and subdue the earth, and God put Adam in the garden "to work it and take care of it" (Gen. 2:15). So work is not simply a product of the fall--it was there in the beginning, as God worked to create, and it was there for us, as those made in God's image.

Work becomes tainted by the fall not in its existence, but in its difficulty, travail and sometimes futility. "By the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread" doesn't mean that working the land is a punishment from God--He gave us this very work in the Garden. But work after the fall involves uncertainty, struggle and a sense of meaningless.

So if this is true, then it fits well with what Paul says in Colossians 3:23-24: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." Work, then, is redeemed in Christ to be a form of worship. This is true whatever the nature of your work (although of course you can't be actively sinning by engaging in your work--you can't worship God as you work in prostitution or drug dealing or money laundering). We should look at our work, then, not only as an opportunity given by God to work to care for our needs and others, but as a direct form of worship. (This applies, by the way, regardless of whether our work is "secular" or in ministry--the scripture says "whatever you do." There is no truly secular work for the Christian.) By working sincerely and diligently in our vocations, we are offering up our time and our energies to the Lord, who gave Himself for us. He worked to create us and to redeem us, so we in turn give Him thanks by offering the fruit of our hands and minds to Him.

What a beautiful and glorious truth this is! What if we worked every day with this in mind? Would the work we do have more meaning, more joy and satisfaction? To know that by writing a program to calculate the cost of shipping soap internationally, or counting the bars of (very yummy-smelling) spearmint we have in stock, I am offering up worship to the living God! And the same thing goes for those of us working in construction, at McDonald's, at a bank or hospital or school or farm or church or insurance firm.

Let us rejoice in the opportunity we have to spend six days a week serving the Lord by working (whether at our jobs or at home, etc.), and let us rest in remembrance of God's finished work on the cross. Let us work to worship God, and to honor Him by serving in a way that blesses others. And let us not make work an idol by failing to rest as God rested, so that we acknowledge Him as the source of our providence and of our redemption, and give glory to Him through our work and our rest. "And whatever you do," whether work or rest, "do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Col. 3:17).

Guilty Campaign

2006-04-17T22:46:00.000-06:00

I wanted to bring to your attention the work of a couple friends of mine, the Guilty Campaign (or, I Am What's Wrong With the World). Things are still being developed, but the central philosophy is that the problems of the world are all simply an outpouring of the problem of the human heart--that education, health and wealth, while good in themselves, won't turn sinners into saints. Only Jesus can change people's hearts, so the ultimate solution to the problems of the world is the gospel. Pray for this message to go out to the campus here in Boulder, and to everyone whose heart is the source of the greed, violence, pride, hatred and injustice in this world. (That is, everybody.)

Pensamientos y oraciones

2006-04-08T00:04:00.000-06:00

Buenas,

No sé por qué exactamente, pero estoy en un humor de pensar en español, y decidí que quería escribir aquí. Aún no sé quien leería esto que entiende el español; la mayoría de mis amigos hispanohablantes no leen este blog porque está escrito en inglés (y árabe o hebreo de vez en cuando). :)

Creo que mi humor tiene que ver con el hecho de que conocí al Señor en Argentina, y por eso el español para mí tiene un lugar muy importante espiritualmente en mi vida. Es como tener más español en mi cerebro sinifica que estoy más cerca de Dios o algo. Me acuerdo que las primeras semanas después de que Dios me salvó, aún no sabía bien como orar o adorar al Señor en inglés--fue casi como si el inglés fuera el idioma de mi "pasado pecadoso," y el español de la vida nueva que tenía en Cristo. (Es posible que esa es una razón porque siempre me interesan más las chicas latinas--las buenas asociaciones espirituales que tengo con el español, la cultura latina y todo.) Claro que Dios habla inglés tanto como habla español, pero en mi mente sigue habiendo un lugar más alto espiritualmente para el español. También creo que el hecho de que la mayoría de mis amigos acá no hablan el español quiere decir que es más especial, más misterioso o algo--no es el idioma de mi vida cotidiana, y por eso tiene más importancia y poder espiritualmente. Cuando digo "Te amo, Señor," quiere decir algo diferente que "I love you, Lord." Los dos son importantes--quiero que Cristo sea el rey de mi vida cotidiana tanto como mi vida esotérica y transcendente. Pero sin embargo no son los mismos en mi corazón. (A veces quiero comunicar con Dios en árabe o hebreo u otro idioma también, pero la verdad es que el español es el único idioma extranjero en que realmente me siento cómodo expresarme--no siempre digo las cosas perfectamente, pero siempre puedo expresarme.)

Señor, quiero decirte que te amo. Me alegro tanto de que me hayas dado el dón de poder decirte en varios idiomas que te quiero, que te agradezco por lo que hiciste en mi vida, lo que seguís haciendo. Me has derramado tu gracia y tu amor, y nunca quiero dejar de agradecerte por esta misericordia. Quiero estar contento en ti, satisfecho por el pan que me das, físicamente y espiritualmente. Sólo tú tienes palabras de vida eterna--ayúdame a buscar mi vida y mi gozo en ti, y no en ningún otro lugar. Lo siento que trato de correr de ti tantas veces. Ayúdame a ser fiel a ti, mi Dios fiel. Te amo--me has comprado por tu sangre, y soy tuyo para siempre.

Volunteer to help the Zambian Soap Company

2006-03-31T16:17:00.000-07:00

Hey all,

Anyone who's interested in helping to sell soap from the Zambian Soap Company, check out http://www.zambiansoap.com/advocate.html. All the profits go to fund the ministry of Zambian Christians, including caring for AIDS orphans and widows and bringing the gospel to others in Africa, the Middle East and beyond. Besides, it's great, all-natural soap, which I must say feels very nice!

Seth

PS I know everything I've posted recently has been soap stuff; that's mostly because it's the most exciting stuff going on in my life! But I'll try to write a few things non-soap related soon.

Zambian Soap update

2006-03-16T18:04:00.000-07:00

More news from the Zambian Soap Company! CLICK to enlarge.