Oriented North

Life makes more sense when it’s oriented north. Even sinks that face south are confusing to me. Suddenly hot water comes from the east knob and cold from the west. Everything is backwards and confusing.

Every time I look at a map I feel the same way, it’s like playing mental twister trying to figure out what the heck is going on. But then when I get it spun around so that north on the map is north in the world, everything suddenly makes sense. East things are east, west things are west and north things are north.

My life here in Oregon is not so different. Bible college; the education, the experience, the people, none of it really makes sense till I spin it around and point it north.

I’ve never been called anywhere but Alaska. While many of my Alaskan friends are anxious to get out of Alaska, to travel the world to see and experience the world, I still have the same mindset as when I turned 16. My Grandma traditionally takes her grandchildren on a trip when they turn 16. I could have asked to go anywhere in the world! What did I want to see? Southeast Alaska, one part of the state that I love that I had not seen yet.

If you would have asked me in 2007 when I completed my Surveying education, what I wanted to do if I grew up I would have told you that I wanted to live and work in Alaska (rather broad don’t you think); in 2008, full time ministry in Alaska; In 2009, Ministry for the church in Alaska; In 2010, Ministry for the church in Alaska with the possibility of serving the native community; and now in 2011, I have a call to serve in Port Alsworth Alaska in a new ministry known as Tanalian Leadership Center. It is a ministry, centered around building up Native leaders to serve in their own communities and churches…

It’s amazing what happens when you walk with God, not knowing where he’s taking you but following one step at a time.

I am especially amazed that he has provided me with this opportunity when I consider the three primary loves in my life. (not counting individual people because that’s a whole different category)

1.     Jesus Christ: The one who has redeemed me from a pointless self centered life and called me to participate as a character in his epic plan of redemption, the greatest story of all time. There is nothing and no one I love more that Him.

2.     His church: His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all, the physical manifestation of his presence in this world. She is broken and hurting from living in this world, but she bears the image of her creator and He is making her beautiful. I would / will give my life to be a part of that.

3.     Alaska: My home, the last frontier, the vast and untamed land that will try to kill you. That land where a man can still be swallowed up by the wilderness and reminded of just how small he really is. The land that carries in its heart the people that I love.

I have never fit in Portland and I don’t suspect I ever will. As Josh Turner would say, “I live in the city but don’t fit in.” I can love the people here, but I don’t feel very useful. The majority of my skills and experience are completely irrelevant in this environment. I feel a little like a polar bear in Hawaii.

Needless to say, it would be easy for someone like me to get confused and disoriented in a place like this when suddenly I have be south when everything in my life has pointed north. Thankfully God’s compass is still working and he knows where he’s going.

So now, here I am finishing my degree in Bible / Theology and Pastoral Ministries and Tanalian Leadership Center needs a guy who is single, has Bible education and a heart for discipleship. Preferably with vocational skills outside of ministry and experience living and working in Alaska, especially among natives. Hm, Check, check, check, check, check, check, check, check.

Wow.

Life does make more sense oriented north. 

Who says Numbers is boring?

The mob is coming closer. They shake their fists and shout in an indiscernible roar of anger. Moses and Aaron stand alone in front of the tabernacle calling upon every ounce of their strength to stand their ground in the face of the angry throngs approaching them. They know that their only hope now is YHWH himself so, although their instincts told them otherwise, they fell on their faces before the tent of meeting begging God to stave off the impending disaster.

Among the shouts that were now drawing nearer they could just distinguish some of the accusations that were being hurled at them.

“You killed Korah!”

“Our son’s blood is on your heads!”

Moses and Aaron knew the truth of the matter, Korah and his son’s had rebelled and God swallowed them up in the earth to make an example of them. Now, what was supposed to put a fear of God in the hosts of Israel had only stirred them up to a more massive rebellion. The situation seemed beyond hope.

Now both Moses and Aaron could feel the sickening feeling in their stomachs as they sensed the wrath of God building in the tent behind them. Finally, it could no longer be contained and Moses looked up to see a wave of people falling dead. It started at the back of the mob and began rolling toward them, bodies falling like so many dominoes in a gust of wind.

Moses yelled at Aaron,

“Quick! Get the fire and the incense from the tabernacle and run out and make atonement for the people before YHWH slays them all!”

Aaron hurried to do as he was instructed and Moses watched as the wave of falling people and the lone figure bearing only a smoking censor rushed together toward the inevitable collision.

As Aaron pushed through the angry and now confused throngs, fear surged through his veins as he realized that he was rushing to make atonement for an undeserving and wicked people without an ounce of blood to shed on their behalf. He knew the law. The blood of an innocent must be shed for the sin of the people. And he wondered as he ran if it would be his own blood this time in the absence of a sheep or goat. But there was no time for second guessing now, his people were falling by the thousands and he must stop it no matter the cost. 

Finally the wave and the priest met and the wave stopped like a swell against the cliffs. The remaining people drew back from those who had fallen and there stood one man in the gap between 14,700 corpses and the remnant of the congregation who were now silenced in fear.

Having stopped the plague, Aaron slowly walked back to where Moses was standing and wondered to himself, “What kind of lamb could possibly be sacrificed take away the sin of these people and still allow his life to be spared?”

Based on Numbers 16:41-50.

Some interpretive liberties were taken, but I hope that you will not find it too far from the truth. 

Deed to a Church

So apparently this one is a work in progress. I had a different picture of a church to go with it, but this time down the highway I found the church that I really wanted for the picture. It had been bugging me all summer because on the way north we blew by it and I knew I wanted a picture but we didn't stop. This time I got it. So here's the latest manifestation of the poem that probably has the most effect on me out of my whole collection. 

I am blown away by God's forbearance and mercy.

Beauty in Treachery

“The Fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.”
Something we’ve all heard but none of us really likes if we think about it too much. It kinda throws a monkey wrench in our loving, peaceful God picture. How is there room for our Psalm 23 God in this? Oh wait… What’s that line in Psalm 23?
“Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
Aww, that’s nice, how do they comfort you?
Well, I know that one swing of the staff can crush the skill of an attacking wolf.
And I know that the rod is used to break the legs of wayward lambs so they will have to be carried for a time and learn to follow their shepherd. I suppose that’s a strange sort of comfort. A little scary too I have to admit.


One of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen is also one of the most dangerous. Alaskans often warn visitors, as they head out to experience the state, by saying,


“Be careful, this state is trying to kill you.”


But there is one particular area that will do it very quickly. The Alaska Range is a stretch of mountains over 500 miles long and nearly a hundred miles wide, which spans across the heart of Alaska and contains the tallest mountain in North America at 20,320ft. The craggy and near eternally snow covered peaks jut upward out of millions of tons of Ice. Glaciers that never melt, but as fast as they grow, they creep down toward the valleys giving birth to frigid torrents that tumble and fall down the steep slopes and cliffs to the valley below to join the river in its long journey to escape the mountains.
As I fly over the range, soaking in its breathtaking grandeur, I always ponder what would happen if the engines in this little plane suddenly quit…
If somehow we managed to dodge the rocky peaks on the way down and put the plane on a glacial slope, then managed to avoid the deep crevasses that offer a gaping invitation to the heart of the glacier, then the adventure would begin. We’re still a hundred miles from nowhere, perched on the frigid, barren mountainside.


Oddly, however, I find a strange sort of comfort as I soar over the wild and unforgiving terrain. Because, if rocks cry out, then these mountains scream the name of my God.


“I lift my eyes up, unto the mountains. Where does my help come from?
My help comes from YHWH who made the heavens and the earth.”


If the creator of all this is my refuge and strength, then what do I have to fear?


In the words of C.S. Lewis,


"He is not a tame lion."

Standing on Trimble Glacier looking up at the Alaska Range

God is Love

A Parable of Time

There once was a father who had two sons and a daughter. One Christmas he decided to give them all a gift. When Christmas morning came, the children all ran downstairs excited to open their gifts. As they tore into the packages, each of them pulled out their very own chunk of time.

The gifts, however, all had different amounts of time in them so it wasn’t long before the children were fighting and complaining about how unfair it all was. The father just shushed them all and quietly explained that they shouldn't be concerned because when the time ran out, then he would give them the real gift that he’d been waiting all his life to give them. This pleased the children and soon the ones with the least amount of time were bragging and the others were jealous. The father then shushed them all again and explained that it was not so much about how much time they had, but about how well they spent it that mattered.

The next morning each of the children got up and began using their time. The first child thought to himself, “I don’t have much time to spare, I’d better start getting everything I can in the time I’ve got so it doesn’t go to waste.” And so he did. before long he had a big mansion all to himself and a very nice sports car.

The second son saw how the first had spent his time and thought to himself, “how foolish! I’m going to use my time for something far more important than myself. Dad will be proud!” And so he began to go out and give away all of his time to others. Soon everyone knew him as the man who gives away time. He was very well loved by everyone and they gave him many awards for his generosity.

As all this was happening, the daughter, who’s name was Sophia, watched how her two brothers used their time and thought to herself, “hm… those are good ways to use time, but I wonder what dad really meant when he told us that we should spend our time well?” And so she took her time and every day should give some of it to her father. They would spend their time together laughing, talking and even weeping over the two brothers that they barely knew. Over time, they learned to love each other as fathers and daughters should. After spending this time with her father, she began to understand what it meant to use her time well and so she would go out and spend the rest of her day in a way that made him smile.  

Although this parable has nothing to do with my family,

I thought this picture illustrated the relationship well.

My Dad is a great example of someone who spends quality time with his children.

I wrote this parable while sitting out in the woods enjoying the gift of time that was graciously and thoughtfully given to me by several of my good friends Laura and Rob. I had thought that I was giving that evening to Laura, but she was sneaky and seeing what I needed, gave it right back to me and literally told me to "get lost" :) As I sat out there enjoying the time, I realized that I was becoming like the sons in this parable toward God. I was using all my time up either for myself or giving it away. As I thought about it, this parable came to mind and I began to realize just how much I had missed those times with God. 

Also on this trip, I had the time and opportunity to do some artistic photography which you can see the results of here. https://picasaweb.google.com/Kroto1/TheGiftOfTime#

Hope you enjoyed it and I hope that you will make the time to get to know your God before someone has to force it on you. :)

They Say Time Flies

They say time flies;

I wonder what they mean?

Does it fly like a water droplet birthed at the precipice of the falls only to plunge faster and faster till it meets its immanent end? 

Sometimes it feels like it.

Does time fly like a sparrow flitting from bush to tree,

that I can only follow and hope to see?

If that’s the case, a bird in the hand would be nice.

Does time fly like a jet through the atmosphere,

 just taking it’s load from there to here?

I think I’d rather miss that flight.

Or does time fly like an eagle soaring on the breeze,

Stopping to rest in the tops of great trees?...

I’ve always wanted to fly.

Values and CRT

If you were to ask someone like myself what my values are, I would say that at this point
in my life they are something like the following:
1. Learning all I can about the word of God and thus growing in my relationship with him.

2. Investing in friendships that God has given me.
3. Local church ministry
4. Outreach
5. Rest.
However, if you were to look at my calendar and my budget, you would see that I just lied to you because some of those are true, but there are some contradictions. Sometimes I find myself spending more time wandering in the woods than I do in church ministry every week. I spend more time watching movies and dabbling on facebook than I do having actual conversations with friends. I spend more time waiting for my PC to boot up than I do sleeping and more time picking my nose than doing outreach. Therein lies a contradiction because values are determined by what we actually do with our lives not by what we say we want to do. We have been given x amount of money and 24 hours a day with seven of them per week and like it or not, what we do with them determines what our values actually are.
Well we are college students so all our money is pretty much gone or accounted for, but we still have 168 hours a week. Where does that go? I know for me I want it to go to that first list of values. And since I am apparently outreach challenged, I would like to remedy that situation.
Well recently my friend Cassie presented an opportunity to me that could be the answer for me. Community Response Team (CRT), a long lasting legacy at Multnomah that has apparently dropped through the cracks with some transitions going on in the leadership structure. It is a ministry in which Multnomah students actually get up on a Saturday morning (Gasp!) and grab some tools and go serve individuals in our community through yard work and a variety of other tasks, touching lives and building relationships, one at a time. So Michael Boyd and myself have committed to rebooting this foundational ministry of Multnomah and assembling a team around the following vision and core values.

Community Response Team is,
Committed to bringing the Gospel to our neighbors through service

By
-Serving our neighbors
-Emphasizing relationship
-Depending on the Holy Spirit through prayer

If outreach is something that you would also like to make a value, I would encourage you to do so in whatever way fits best with your other values and your giftings and abilities. Michael and I would like to make CRT one opportunity for you to join us in making outreach a core value. If you would like to join our team we need people with a variety of gifts and abilities to do this ministry well so please come talk to us.

Picture from Day of Outreach Sp. 09

God of Paradox

A poetic commentary on Isaiah 52:13-53:12

This is meant to be read as a commentary on the biblical passage simply to point out the incredible paradoxes that are apparent in the passage. Each piece below is parallel to a chunk of the scripture except for the last two lines which are added as a conclusion. I've included the passage in NASB on the end so you can look between the two but what I wrote was based on many translations and commentaries so don’t be surprised if you are a little confused about how I got where I did. 

The beauty of this passage absolutely astounds me and I hope you can see a little of what I have.

Enjoy.

The servant acts in wisdom and he finds exaltation
by being beaten beyond recognition.

YHWH’s power is among us
In an unattractive baby

YHWH sends his servant
We shun Him like we’re better

Our sorrows,
He carried
We called Him cursed of God

We sinned,
He was crushed

His flesh torn,
Our spirits healed

We do as we please
YHWH puts our sin on Him.

The servant was beat to a pulp
Yet still he was silent
lead to execution
But still not a word
judged, condemned and put away

Which of His executioners understood?
This death they caused,
was theirs to die.

He died with common thieves
But was buried with the wealthy
because he was not guilty

YHWH worked gladly
to crush his beloved
The innocent One
In place of the guilty

YHWH saw his dead Son
And makes His life long
Giving Him His Joy, the resurrected

Through the soul’s dark night
He will find the light

The righteous One
Bears the sin
Of wicked multitudes

He will be numbered among kings
Because was counted with the criminals

He took on sin
to be a priest

Now the greatest act of judgment
is the greatest act of love.

Isaiah 52:13-53:12

13 Behold, My servant will prosper,

He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.

    14     Just as many were astonished at you, My people,

So His appearance was marred more than any man

And His form more than the sons of men.

    15     Thus He will sprinkle many nations,

Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him;

For what had not been told them they will see,

And what they had not heard they will understand.

Ch 53

    1     Who has believed our message?

And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

    2     For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,

And like a root out of parched ground;

He has no stately form or majesty

That we should look upon Him,

Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.

    3     He was despised and forsaken of men,

A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;

And like one from whom men hide their face

He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

    4     Surely our griefs He Himself bore,

And our sorrows He carried;

Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten of God, and afflicted.

    5     But He was pierced through for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our iniquities;

The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,

And by His scourging we are healed.

    6     All of us like sheep have gone astray,

Each of us has turned to his own way;

But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all

To fall on Him.

    7     He was oppressed and He was afflicted,

Yet He did not open His mouth;

Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,

And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,

So He did not open His mouth.

    8     By oppression and judgment He was taken away;

And as for His generation, who considered

That He was cut off out of the land of the living

For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?

    9     His grave was assigned with wicked men,

Yet He was with a rich man in His death,

Because He had done no violence,

Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

    10     But the Lord was pleased

To crush Him, putting Him to grief;

If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,

He will see His offspring,

He will prolong His days,

And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.

    11     As a result of the anguish of His soul,

He will see it and be satisfied;

By His knowledge the Righteous One,

My Servant, will justify the many,

As He will bear their iniquities.

    12     Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,

And He will divide the booty with the strong;

Because He poured out Himself to death,

And was numbered with the transgressors;

Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,

And interceded for the transgressors.

New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995). Is 52:13-53:12.

Mr. Daddy Sir

Why is it that we feel like we must call our God by his title and not by the name that He gave us to call Him by? I don’t remember growing up and asking my dad questions, “Hey Mr. Daddy Sir, can I go ride the snowmachine?” It just feels weird. Why then do we say things like, “dear LORD, please help us with this test.”? It’s like we are calling him Mr. without even bothering to tag a name on the end.

Well the obvious answer to this question is that is what we read in our bibles. “The LORD said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand’” So then the question becomes, why does the bible translate the name of God into his title when all the other names such as Moses, Joseph, Abraham are all transliterated. (spelled out with English letters to make roughly the same sounds as the Hebrew) and God’s name is translated from the Hebrew word that sounds something like YHWH to LORD. Last I checked those don’t sound anything alike.

First of all, where did YHWH come from and why doesn’t it have any vowels? Well it was the name given in Exodus 3 when God introduced himself to his people through Moses at the burning bush. He wanted to establish a relationship with his people and so Moses asked him, “what are we supposed to call you?” (Andrew Paraphrased Version) to which God responded I AM WHO I AM. Which, in Hebrew, is written YHWH. (they didn’t believe in writing vowels but we typically pronounce it Yahweh)

Now why is it translated LORD? Well apparently, at some point, some Jews became really paranoid about taking the name of YHWH in vain so they stopped pronouncing it out loud and instead substituted Adoni (Lord in Hebrew) so they wouldn’t be hit by any smitening bolts if they accidentally messed up the pronunciation.

So the text still said YHWH but it was pronounced Adoni. Well when the translators got to work changing the Hebrew to English, they carried on the tradition of changing it from the personal name YHWH to the title, lord. Well thankfully, they gave us a way of telling when it is really YHWH that is meant by putting it in small caps “LORD”. So in reality, when you are reading the Bible, unless you are worried about smitening bolts, you can, if you like, read “LORD” as YHWH because it is the name that he gave us to use in our relationship and that the authors wrote down.

Now some might ask, “haven’t you lost all your reverence for the holy God by calling him by his first name?” to which I would respond, well yes, we here in our western evangelical Christianity may have wandered toward a little too much of a “buddy buddy Jesus” at times and forgotten just how great, immeasurable and transcendent he is. But that can be avoided if we take this seriously. Just realize that when you use the name YHWH you are really using the name that means Existing One, or I am that I am. You are addressing not just the creator of the universe, but the one who was before the universe, who is acting in and beyond the universe and who will be for all time, that same God who gave us his name to call him by because he wanted to know us. He wanted to know us so much that he was willing to descend to our level and become man, to die at our hands in our place.

That is YHWH… Blessed be his name.