We don't often associate the words "jealousy" and "God's love" in the same sentence, but God himself describes his love for us that way. 

"I, the Lord your God, am a jealous god who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods."  Exodus 20:4

In the prophetic worship song "You Won't Relent", written by Misty Edwards, the words from Song of Solomon 8:6-7 are used of the Lord to describe his relentless, passionate love towards us, his bride:

"Place me like a seal over your heart,
like a seal on your arm.  For love is as strong as death,
its jealousy as demanding as the grave.  Love flashes like fire, the brightest kind of flame.
Many waters cannot quench love,
nor can rivers drown it.
If a man tried to buy love with all his wealth,
his offer would be utterly scorned."

After singing this song all week at summer camp, my teenage daughters returned from summer camp with the question, "What is 'jealousy as demanding as the grave' mean, Dad?"   As we processed how demanding and enduring death is- it comes for us all; and what godly jealousy is- an unwillingness to share our hearts affection with another, a picture of God's fiery love begins to surface.  God's love is more than mere niceties and sweet nothings.  It's a consuming fire that demands the entirety of our heart.  It's probably a more biblical perspective of God to see him as desiring an untamed, passionate love affair with us than it is to see him as a sweet old gentleman wanting to have a weekly conversation with us on the front porch. 
Disturbing to our religious sensibilities- probably.  Unsettling to the status quo of our day to day life- definitely.

Let us all choose today to allow the unchained melody of God's love ring in our soul and capture our affections in a renewed way today!

"But then I will win her back once again.  I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her there....
She will give herself to me there, as she did long ago when she was young...
I will make you my wife forever,
showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion.
I will be faithful to you and make you mine,
and you will finally know me as the Lord."
Hosea 2:14-20

^{I Cor 14:2}
For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit...⁴He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself"

Check out this interesting study done on the  brain activity in the frontal lobe during the activity of speaking in tongues. 

Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves,

This 19th century Christian hymn has been mocked repeatedly in numerous Hollywood offerings, including Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, The Simpsons, Children of the Corn, and Two and a Half Men.   This was also the favorite hymn of Charles and Caroline Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie, being sung on at least four episodes of the popular 70's tv drama.   It's time for me to publicly confess now that I have heartily sung this sung with my children, with a slight smirk and twinkling eyes accompanying the singing.  You have to admit, it's a strange refrain if there's no context given to the words.

Taken from Psalm 126, this hymn speaks of the powerful principle of sowing and reaping, as related to the kingdom of God.  As we sow the seeds of faith, prayer, generosity, sacrifice, intercession, brokenness, and kindness,  we can be confident that a harvest WILL RESULT.  I like the way the New Living Translation crafts the ancient Hebrew text:

Psalm 126
 ⁵ Those who plant in tears
      will harvest with shouts of joy.
 ⁶ They weep as they go to plant their seed,
      but they sing as they return with the harvest.

What was once a slightly comical hymn to me, has taken on a more sober offering in the past week.  Today we say good-bye to a hero in my church family, the Foursquare Church- Tom Ferguson went to be with Jesus last Thursday.  Probably no one that I've been personally aquainted with in my 40 years on earth has had more of an eternal impact, in terms of bringing people to faith in Jesus Christ.  You couldn't be around Tom without an altar call being given shortly, often accompanied to the strains of "I Surrender All", another classic hymn.   Tom's life was lived with an eye on the importance of the harvest.   No one brought in the sheaves like Tom Ferguson.

I'm stirred in a fresh way today to pray with purpose, to fast with faith, to serve with steadfastness.   Will you join me in presenting ourselves before the Lord today for a fresh touch from Him?

Father, Give us faith to see the harvest.   Give us the eyes of a faith-filled farmer. Where a patch of dirt lies, we see the potential of a fruitful harvest and we plant our seeds.  Where a hardened heart lies, we see the potential of a redeemed soul in love with the Lord, and we plant our seeds.    We choose to sow today, that we might bring in the sheaves tomorrow. 

Psalm 84   
 ⁵ What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord,
      who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
 ⁶ When they walk through the Valley of Weeping,
      it will become a place of refreshing springs.
      The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.
 ⁷ They will continue to grow stronger,
      and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.

A faithful Jew made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem three times a year for feasts and fellowship with God.  On the way he would get weary and in need of refreshment.  On the way he would walk through valleys.  In these three verses lie a promise for the pilgrim.  It's a promise that doesn't make sense in the natural realm- the longer you walk, and the more you walk through, the stronger you will get.

strength for the journey
First of all, that for those of us on pilgrimage to the Eternal Jerusalem, we have a resource beyond our ability or emotional capacity in this life.  We can gain strength from the Lord when we are weak.

strength in the valley
Secondly, that, though there is going to be seasons of grief and pain, of barreness and weariness, that we can experience the refreshing presence of the Lord and be clothed in blessings in the midst of it.   David described it this way: "Even when I walk       through the dark valley of death
   I will not be afraid,
      for you are close beside me"

strength that increases
Finally, and perhaps most amazing, is the promise in verse 7, "they will continue to grow stronger..."  God's promise to us that are journeying through life towards an eternity with him, is that we will experience a lifetime of strength and refreshing from him along the way; strength that actually increases in us the longer we walk.   Father,
Give us faith to receive this amazing promise for our lives.  Breathe into the areas of weariness we are experiencing today.  Speak into our valleys of weeping and grief.  Strengthen us in increasing measure today.

UNINITIATED WORSHIPER
Into the basilica of Sacre Coeur we walk and galk, along with 1000 other tourists from every nation.  Indian Hindus, New York Jews, French Algerian Muslisms, and Parisian Agnostics all meander around the outskirts of the worship service in progress.  75 faithful sit, stand, and kneel in various positions of worship.  The priest waves his hand mysteriously over the elements communion while 8 nuns sing with fairy-like voices in the background.

"Come and worship me", I think I hear the Lord say. "But I don't know how to do this Lord!  This is so bizarre to me.  I don't speak the language.  It all seems like such pretentious grandeur.  Are you even here in the midst of this?"

"Come and worship me."

Moving away from the whispering tourists, I make my way into the midst of the Roman Catholic worship service.  I kneel.  I worship.  And in a way I can only describe as a "God moment", I feel the joy of united, congregational worship of King Jesus in a manner that supercedes language, culture, and liturgy.  I'm in the presence of the Lord together with other blood-washed saints, simply worshiping.

UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER
My body still adjusting to the 9 hour time difference, I took a midnight walk my second night in Paris.   Even though it was a weeknight, there was still a bustling nightlife, with 30-40 people in the square of local cafes nearby, sipping burgundy and philosophizing like true Parisians.    I sat on a park bench and soaked in the scene.  That's when I saw Brian.

He was sorting through the leftover garbage bins, setting aside various treasures with a familiarity and ownership that said, "this is my turf now".    He sat down next to me and we talked for an hour.

Stereotype shattered.  Brian spoke English with no discernible accent.   And French, of course.   And Spanish, being from Barcelona.  And Russian, of which he was a teacher in his native Spain.  In addition to languages, Brian brightly conversed in philosophy, science, and religion.

Stereotype confirmed.  When the subject of family came up, Brian clammed up.  When the subject of God's love came up, Brian grew quiet.

"Can I pray for you Brian?"

"Oh...I'm not dressed to go inside a church."

"No, can we simply pray together right here in this park?"

And for the next few minutes Brian and I experienced the love of the Heavenly Father together right there in that park, and we were both reminded that we never have to live one moment of our lives apart from the knowledge that God loves us.


Where is Jesus in Paris, France?  The same place he is in Marysville, WA.  Wherever he is welcomed and worshiped.

"Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst"  Matthew 18:20

It's 9pm on a rainy Sunday Paris evening.  The cafes are filling up with people escaping the rain and looking for company and conversation.  11 am in Marysville, WA and the church I love is just finishing worship and probably just taking their mid-service coffee break. 
It brings a feeling of awkwardness and irresponsibility for a man, used to spending my time purely on behalf of others, to simply spend time on myself and my wife simply enjoying life.  But there it is.   I suppose it's good for all people called to servant-leadership to know that the sun doesn't rise and fall upon our command and the Jesus is REALLY the head of the church. 
So I'll just sit back, have another cafe and pan de chocolat and know that he can shoulder the problems of the world perfectly well without me!!

This whole "Sabbath" idea.  I think it's a God-idea!

By the way, next time you see me, ask me about my midnight Paris-park conversation with Brian, the homeless professor.

Marysville New Life is joining forces with Hope for The Future this summer in reaching out to the devastated Southern Sudan.  Join with us in our monthly financial suppport of this amazing ministry or find out how to support our 2010 ministry trip to the Sudan.  Below are some amazing real life stories of God's power and love in action in the Sudan:


·        Noah is 25 years old but he has had a lifetime of trouble.  During the war years he was a SPLA soldier who lived the hard life, drinking, robbing and partaking of any kind of vice that might ease the emotional pain in his life.  He ended up killing two people in a drunken robbery and spent two years in prison.  Yes, soldiers quite often got unbelievably light sentences in the war years.  After the signing of the peace he decided return and finish his schooling, so at 25 he is in P8.  Jonathan and Patrick went to his school to do an assembly. Patrick preached, but Noah was not interested in Christianity because he grew up in church, the son of an Anglican pastor who was consulting witchdoctors, at the same time he was pastoring. He observed his father’s false life and knew he didn’t want to be Christian.  As Patrick continued preaching the Holy Spirit began seriously working on him and he fell under heavy conviction.  He realized that he was not hearing the real Word of God when he was growing up in Church.  He knew that he had to do something, and when Patrick gave people the opportunity to respond to the Gospel he was relieved and immediately came forward to pray to receive Christ as his Lord and Savior.  That week he started taking our new believers course “Getting Started With Jesus”.   Later he testified that he had been confused about the need to be born again because he had been water baptism as a baby; but the study showed him what the Bible really said about these things.  Now Noah is very hungry for the Word, he is the first person to show up on Sunday.  He confesses “I want to know everything I can from Bible; I feel like I am behind and need to catch up.”

·        Charles had been a soldier in the war.  There is no better way to describe his life than, “messed up.” His sister a Spirit Filled believer was very concerned about him and asked Jonathan and Patrick if they could minister to him.  They went to his house and found him drunk, they talked to him about receiving Christ but he said he wasn’t ready and asked them to come back the next day.  When they arrived at his house that next day he insisted that he was already born again and therefore couldn’t give his life to God again.  They responded by opening their Bibles and showing him what it said about salvation and being born again.  When he saw the Word of God for himself, the Holy Spirit started speaking to him and he began to realize he was not really saved.  But he still had some confusion in his mind about baptism because he was baptized as an infant.  So they taught him about the real purpose of water baptism.  Finally he was ready, he prayed and asked Jesus to forgive him and grant him salvation.  A flood of joy began to roll over him.  He instinctively knew in his heart that there was more, and he knew he wanted it.   He asked them to please come back next day.  They returned and brought him a Bible.  From that day he began studying very seriously because he was educated.  The word began working on his life so powerfully he was delivered from his alcoholism.  Within a few Sundays he brought his niece to church and she got saved.  Now he meets with Patrick or Jonathan almost every day for training.  

Figuring out the dates and times of Biblical Chronology can be a confusing task.   The following link is from one man's attempt to figure out the time from God's promise to Abraham to give his descendants the land of Canaan until the actual exodus from Egypt- tell me what you think!!

http://www.herealittletherealittle.net/index.cfm?page_name=Israelites-in-Egypt

http://www.hischannel.com/streambird/9000/9005/hdtv.html

Check this video exploring a literal interpretation of Noah's Ark. View-worthy for older kids and teenagers.

As we're working through our current series, "Epic: The Story of God" we're reading accounts that many have assumed are allegorical or mythological.   Let's not be so quick to assume this, however.   
Check out these interesting resources defending the literal interpretation of a worldwide flood, it's scientific feasibility, and a possible  architectural discovery of the ark itself:

http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-c013.html

http://www.answersingenesis.org/

http://www.arkdiscovery.com/noah's_ark.htm