How do I get up this?

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One of the blessings of having studied at Denver Seminary is that they allow their alums to audit classes for the price of dinner for family of five, at McDonald’s.  Ashley Denton, author of Christian Outdoor Leadership, offered a course for fours days on  Adventure Ministry in Cross Cultural Contexts.  As I read that title, the Spirit whispered, “This is for YOU!”  As we studied other world religions, poured over the Scriptures to see what they teach the wilderness and applied our learning to specific cross cultural scenarios, I was refreshed.

I was particularly gripped by five elements of wilderness theology and how to apply them to reach young people.  The five elements are TEMPO, TIMING/TERRAIN, TRIALS, TRUST AND TRAINING.  In TEMPO, Jesus used a rhythm of retreat into the wilderness and engagement in ministry.  He used TIMING/TERRAIN to frame his teaching.  For example, he called His disciples to a life of fishing for men at the seaside just after they had been fishing.  Through TRIALS, like the storm the disciples faced on the Sea of Galilee without Jesus, God exposes one’s heart condition and opens a door to transformation.  In the Wilderness, God shows us His TRUSTworthiness and calls us to embrace it if we want our identity to be renewed.  Finally, Jesus TRAINED his disciples in the Wilderness.  He gave them the Great Commission, not in a classroom, nor a synagogue, but on top of a mountain so that they could see the nations to which they would be sent (Matthew 28.16).

Question: how can you use one of the five elements of wilderness theology in your area of service?

Hold Onto Dad

“Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.” (Hosea 6.3, ESV)

One of our deepest desires at ITW for you is that your intimacy with Jesus would grow to new levels this year, or as Hosea puts it, that you would “press on to know” Him.  Intimacy between two people comes through a relationship, where they speak and listen to one another.  In our relationship with God, we speak to Him through prayer and we listen to Him by reading His Word.

How people see me

What people think about when your name comes up in conversation?  How do people perceive you?  What would be the great theme that emerges from your life?  What one word would be used to describe you?  Is it what you want?  Is it what God wants?

I have been reflecting on this for some time and it culminates in this question: “On my gravesite, what would people write about me?”  God is at work in the life of us all (Acts 17.28).  He is writing a story about who He is (2 Corinthians 3.3).  The thing I’ve noted about this in particular is that the theme of my life is much different than who I am by nature.  By nature, I tend to be very driven, goal-oriented and can use people to obtain the goal I desire.  If people make mistakes, I respond in giving them what, by nature of their choice they deserve.  This is what the Bible describes as the Law.  We get what we deserve.

Now, I, like many, tend to think that I deserve more than I do.  Sometimes, I demand that people give me more than I deserve.  The Law says that I deserve death for my mistakes, my sin (Romans 3.23).  But Jesus came to give me grace .  He came to gift me what I don’t deserve: relationship and intimacy with God (1 Peter 3.18).  Jesus’ grace to me is life (John 16.16).  I get to live in relationship with God and others.  I get to give grace to others.  This is where my “life theme” enters.  God is making me a person who gives grace to others, who gives them what they don’t deserve.

Recently, my wife has made some poor choices.  Now, she IS an amazing gift to me.  I don’t write this to speak poorly of her, but through her choices she has had to face painful outcomes.  For instance, she left her bag on the bus replete with documents, ipod and grocery money for the month (we had just gotten paid).  She received her bag back minus the money.  When I first heard that, my response was, “God will provide.”  Honestly, I couldn’t believe this came from my mouth.  It seemed like a movie where you watch the actors speak and act from the point of view of a spectator.  Later on I had the fleeting thought of saying, “Well love, you got what you deserved.  That will teach you to …”  This is me without Jesus. Thankfully, God used me to be grace to her.  Because Jesus is in my life, God is using me to be grace to others.  I desire to have the words written on my tombstone, “He was like Jesus: God’s grace to us.”

Upon reflecting on this theme, I came up with several questions that might help you discover and develop a life theme:

1. By nature, what do you struggle to give to others?
2. What does God, by nature, love to give to you?
3. How have you received this?  Or need to receive this?
4. How might you practically give it to others?

Question: How are you developing a life theme?

Last summer I had the remarkable privilege of attempting to climb Mt. Blanc via the Gouter Dome approach. In my company was Josh Schmidt, a deft climber and my brother-in-law. We attempted the peak as a last ditch effort to connect on a heart level and build one of those memories you carry with you for life. He and his family planned to visit us in Northwestern Italy at the end of August. As we contemplated a potential climb together right after their flight from the US, it seemed that Blanc was a long shot because typically you need to leave yourself seven days of climb time in order to get a good window to summit Blanc. We set our sights on the 27-29 of August for our potential window. God’s grace was thick (2 Corinthians 9.8), covering all of our needs to prepare for and attempt the climb.

Josh arrived on a Wednesday and we departed Thursday morning for the trailhead. The weather reports for our window were “ify,” nobody recommended us trying to climb during the days we considered, with wind threats of up to 100 kilometers per hour. However, as we left the cable car that took us to 2300 meters, the air was motionless and the sky was blue like that of the sea near Cinque Terre, which we would later visit together.
The entry hike exhausted us both, and upon arrival at the hut, we both crashed for a 3 hour nap during midday. The nights we reserved at the hut again testified at God’s grace, we had reserved them only a week prior. This is virtually unheard of on the Gouter Route.
We didn’t sleep much that night, our departure was at two hundred. The weather was supposed to hold and we were prepared to behold God’s glory like Moses on his unforgettable climb (Exodus 33.17-23). At first daylight, with crampons knifing through ice & rock, an ice axe slicing through the crusty snow and our safety rope tugging on my waste to signal Josh’s next departure, the French Alps were aglow with lavenders, a salmon orange and rose-tones. We snapped a slough of pictures and continued. Our next encounter was the sun, it shot through a notch in the eastern crest and lit up our bowl, nothing short of glorious. Our summit ascent was long and arduous with deadly snow bridges to the left and right. Upon arrival at our destination, both speechless from the climb and the vista, we marveled at the gift of reaching the summit. Since my stomach was churning like a mixer from the altitude, our summit celebration was brief.
As we descended the some fifteen hundred meter to our return train trip, we heard many guides comment on the weather, “Yesterday and today are the best days we’ve seen on Blanc all summer!” Upon hearing the news, our hearts echoed a resounding, “Thank you Jesus!” (see Psalm 150.6) for we had just experienced God’s grace in a new and fresh way.

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Question: how have you experienced God’s grace in a new and fresh way, particularly in creation?
For a superb visual on the trip, check out this great slide by Josh at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imJ2XoKXcaE

Frigid Morning on Lower Radovna River

As I rolled up to the fly shop, I knew that the fishing reports were going to be poor.  We had just too much rain the night before, but I was in the Julian Alps in Slovenia, a fly-fishermans paradise!  The guide greeted me and gave me the hard news, “I won’t fish today if I were you,” he replied.  I reeled from the news as if I had received a bad health diagnosis.  I had no other choice, this was my only free day to fish!  So I asked, “What are they biting on?”  ”Nymphs,” he retorted.  ”I’ll take a few and a day’s license on the Radovna.”  He showed me a picture of the river, it was clear but overflowing its banks.  I knew it would be a challenge, but then again who doesn’t love challenges?

I spent a little time in prayer, thanking God for the beautiful day and the gift to be on the river.  Thoughts of Psalm 37.4 flowed through my mind as I tied on the #10 bead-head.  The river was to be tough to fish, my first cast landed me a long-jam of debris from last nights thunderstorm.  After repeated casting, I realized that all standard holes where I intuitively thought fish should lie in this river were just guesses.  As I continued to search for active fish, I reflected on how faith and culture are like this freestone stream.  Even when you think you know how to read streams and catch fish, two days of thunderstorms can change everything about the stream and how the fish feed.

The same is true when trying to understand different cultures so that you present the gospel to it in a way that makes sense.  I have lived in Northern Italy for about six years.  I think I have grown to understand its culture, but recently I have been challenged by the responses of many young people as I try to relate the life, death and resurrection of Jesus to everyday life.  Northern Italians tend not to understand their sinfulness and its deadly consequences in this life.  I think I know how to read their culture, or the stream, but I don’t because of some “thunderstorm(s)” that have changed the way the Northern Italians think and behave.  Gently, God was nudging me to take a closer look at the culture in which I live so that I present His gospel in a clear and practical way.

As I returned to fishing, I immediately hooked a gorgeous brown and then a rainbow in the same hole!  I quickly released them and started to see a pattern.  I need to fish deep.  It was difficult to get into position because of the force with which this stream was flowing.  Several moments I came close to swimming!

Later on I noticed a local angler on the stream.  He was fishing the edge of the current just before it tumbled over a waterfall.  He hooked two nice fish, though he didn’t land them.  He just kept persevering in that unusual little hole.  He didn’t move for over 30 minutes, which seemed like a lifetime to me.  He obviously knew the stream, or the culture if we return to the metaphor.  But he also showed me a critical quality for successful fishing that day: perseverance.  So I moved to another stretch of river and moved into a hole like his.  I watched several trout begin to rise, it was a dream!  I put cast after cast over these fish, till, finally, I caught a chunky brown.  And just as I pulled him in and snapped a picture or two, it started to rain and thunder again.  At this point I decided to retire for the day and get back to my family.  However, on the drive back, God spoke to my heart again, “Persevere in fishing for people here in Northern Italy.  You will catch men” (Matthew 4.19).

My Gospel Community

Come si diventa una persona con una fede robusta, uno scudo ben coperto di pelle e bagnatissimo per spegnere tutti i dardi infocati?  Oppure, come si dice il padre del figlio indemoniato a Gesù in Marco 9.21-24, “21 Gesù domandò al padre: «Da quanto tempo gli avviene questo?» Egli disse: «Dalla sua infanzia; 22 e spesse volte lo ha gettato anche nel fuoco e nell’acqua per farlo perire; ma tu, se puoi fare qualcosa, abbi pietà di noi e aiutaci». 23 E Gesù: «Dici: “Se puoi!” Ogni cosa è possibile per chi crede». 24 Subito il padre del bambino esclamò: «Io credo; vieni in aiuto alla mia incredulità».”.  O come, “gli apostoli [che] dissero al Signore: «Aumentaci la fede!»” (Luca 17.5).

C’era una gruppo delle chiese nella Palestina che riceveva tanti dardi infocati dalla parte degli Ebrei.   Erano così tanto perseguitato per la loro fede in Gesù che pensavano di tornare al Giudaismo.  Un certo predicatore, l’ha saputo e ha scritto una lettera, più come una predica per esortarvi a continuare nella “buon combattimento.”  Dopo avergli parlato  della bellezza della loro fede al di sopra della fede Ebraica, gli ha dato i comandi per come crescere questa la loro fede. In Ebrei 10.19-25 dice,

”19 Avendo dunque, fratelli, libertà di entrare nel luogo santissimo per mezzo del sangue di Gesù, 20 per quella via nuova e vivente che egli ha inaugurata per noi attraverso la cortina, vale a dire la sua carne, 21 e avendo noi un grande sacerdote sopra la casa di Dio, 22 avviciniamoci con cuore sincero e con piena certezza di fede, avendo i cuori aspersi di quell’aspersione che li purifica da una cattiva coscienza e il corpo lavato con acqua pura. 23 Manteniamo ferma la confessione della nostra speranza, senza vacillare; perché fedele è colui che ha fatto le promesse. 24 Facciamo attenzione gli uni agli altri per incitarci all’amore e alle buone opere, 25 non abbandonando la nostra comune adunanza come alcuni sono soliti fare, ma esortandoci a vicenda; tanto più che vedete avvicinarsi il giorno.”
Questo ci da le indicazioni.  Continuate nella communione con Dio, di avvincinarvi a Dio, soprattutto nella adorazione della preghiera e nell’adorazione della preghiera.  Ricordatevi di ciò che Dio ha fatto per voi e lodate Dio per tutto che e’ e tutto quello che ha fatto.  Quando ci incontriamo per pregare.  Lodiamo Dio per il suo carattere e le sue opere passate, sia nella Bibbia, sia nella nostra vita personale.  Questo aumenta la fede.  Vi incoraggio di scrivere tutte le risposte alla preghiera in un quaderno, di riflettere su della sua fedeltà!

Non solo continuate nella preghiera, ma anche manteniamo ferma la confessione della nostra speranza.  Questo vuol dire che ci ricordiamo chi e’ il nostro Maestro, cosa ha fatto per noi, e cosa abbiamo confessato a Lui.  La nostra professione di fede di dare a Lui i nostri peccati, di prendere la Sua fede e di seguirLo.  Ragazzi, la dottrina in cui crediamo e’ importante.  Faremo del bene di ricordarci giorno dopo giorno del nocciolo del vangelo e quali sono le conseguenze.  Se volete.  Abbiamo tradotto una serie di cosa significa il vangelo e come viverla nella pratica si chiama, “Cristo sulla Croce.”  Dice qual’e’ il vangelo e di conseguenza, come viviamo in modo pratico.  So che alcuni di voi avete i dubbi della fede.  Alcuni di voi pensate, come posso vivere il vangelo per tutta la vita.  Mi sembra troppo difficile.  Ecco il segreto, vivi un giorno per volta nella ferma confessione di ciò che ha fatto Gesù al posto tuo affinché tu possa camminare con Lui.  Basta pensare di oggi.  Poi, quando ti alzi domani.  Basta pensare di quella giornata.  Così la tua fede crescerà e la tua passione per condividere aumenterà.

Poi, vi ricordate ciò che cerca Satana?  “qualcuno per divorare.”  Satana cerca gli individui che pensa di potere crescere e vivere la vita cristiana sola.  Il predicatore dice di non farlo.  E’ pericolosissimo.  Sai perché le cellule o le comunità piccole sono così importanti per il rifugio?  Perché questo e’ un modo fondamentale per crescere la fede.  Li ci stimoliamo all’amore e alle buone opere.  Queste comunità non e’ il posto per solo parlare ma per vivere la fede insieme 24 su 24.  Diciamo, “dai, vieni a casa mia, o vengo a casa tua.”  “Dimmi ciò che Dio sta facendo in te.”  Oppure, “posso confessarmi con te.”  “Possiamo leggere un passaggio dalla Bibbia insieme?”  Quando viviamo così, tendiamo a evitare divisioni nella chiesa.  Meglio, cerchiamo di andare nella ricerca di persone che sono sole per esortarli di riconciliarsi con gli uni gli altri.  Chi e’ separato dal rifugio?  A chi puoi andare per portarlo di nuovo in chiesa e invitarlo alla cellula?

The True King of Israel

“There was no king in Israel” echoes four times at the end of the book of Judges (see Judges 17.6; 18.1; 19.1; 21.25). This comment haunts me because it signals another moral and spiritual disaster in the life of Israel. As soon as I see it, I brace myself for more wreckage in the life of this young nation.

It is easy to see this and apply it only to nations or organizations and not apply it personally. By when I look at it personally, I must ask: “When has my life been lived without a ‘king’ on the throne?” Simply put, when have I abdicated leadership to someone else, lived my life passively.  More specifically, when have I let my wife lead, my kids lead, the culture around me lead or even my own fleshly desires lead?  Essentially, I have quenched the Spirit’s work in my life (1 Thessalonians 5.19) because I didn’t let Him lead through me.

Recently, I have been on a journey of establishing a life plan (see attached document from Michael Hyatt- life-plan-template). What is God uniquely calling me to do and what steps do I need to take to get there?

Will God rule through me to accomplish His purposes for my life (Proverbs 20.5)? Will he be able to do it in your life?

Into the Wilderness is geared at accomplishing this in the life of each participant. Namely, letting God call them out, speak to their hearts, give them a new heart with new desires and then use them through His calling to give hope to others.

Let me know if you have found some resources dedicated to accomplishing this in people’s lives.

Ciao, ciao … Anthony

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