“A Time to Cry”

Just got through packing. It’s 11:15 & at the crack of dawn I’ll head out with some students to do a camp. I’ve done over 50 through the years & I’m praying this will be one of those where God really shows up & uses us as we lead & seek Him. All through the years I’ve been inspired by & shared the music of Steven Curtis Chapman with literally thousands in camps, retreats, revivals & concerts. I both admire & appreciate his talent but more than that, the fact he gives it back to God.

God has used Steven to touch the lives of millions across the planet. He’s sold over 10 million records & garnered about every award possible in Christian & popular music. He & his wife Mary Beth have also touched the lives of over 1700 families as they lead in Shaohanna’s hope adoption ministry. The Chapman’s have adopted three little girls from China & help make it possible for families to obtain financial help in the costly adoption procedure.

As a musician & singer/songwriter, I appreciate Steven for his music & talent. As a writer/speaker, I appreciate Steven for his books & ministry. As a Dad of an adopted little boy, I appreciate Steven for helping make it possible for families to give a godly home to a hopeless child. As a Christian leader, I appreciate his unwavering commitment to Jesus.

While the Chapman’s are wonderful Christian people, it does not make them immune to pain. This past Wednesday, their baby girl of 5 was accidentally killed. On a day of celebration as eldest daughter had an engagement party, & their son had a graduation party, a family member backed out of the drive & didn’t see Maria. She was struck & later died at the hospital.

Why? I could spout platitudes & ‘church answers’ ‘til the cows come home’ but truth is we don’t understand all in this life. Even good people get hurt. It’s part of this life. Life is wonderfully awful & awfully wonderful. There are roses & there are thorns… on the same vine.

Arguably, the most wise man who lived wrote, “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance.” Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 NLT

I’ll throw out no heady explanations of why trouble & tragedy strike. No trite answers here, just quiet faith. Faith in God when I don’t always understand the stuff of life. (On another day I’ll share a song I wrote as we found my Mom was diagnosed with two blood cancers.) I simply encourage you to pray for the Chapman family as they continue to live, laugh & love. Steven recently wrote a song that little Maria inspired entitled, “Cinderella.” Check out the web site to see the video more about their ministry.
http://www.stevencurtischapman.com/in_index.html

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Do You Have a Heart to Know God?

I’ve confessed many times that I’m a social animal. My friends and family would say that I ‘never meet a stranger.’ That has helped me get to know literally thousands of people. I don’t talk to people & get to know them just so I can say I know thousands of people. I simply have a heart to know & love people. Consequently, it is rare that I go somewhere without bumping into someone I know. Grand Canyon? Yep! Saw Big Jim Fowler. Guatemala? Yep! New York? Yep. Orlando…well, you get the picture. Just about everywhere we go I see someone. My wife has about broken me from the habit of saying, “don’t I know you from somewhere?” Usually I do & it results in a lengthy conversation.

As I know thousands of people, I know some famous & some semi-famous. Most folks I know, however, I just know a little. I really don’t know their heart & have a close relationship with them. But when it comes to knowing God, that kind of ‘kind of knowing’ someone doesn’t cut it. We need to know God in an intimate way.

God gave His laws & commandments to Moses while Moses was on Mount Sinai. When Moses got down from the mountain with tablets of God’s law in hand, his people were having a serious party. They had melted down their gold & made an idol & were worshipping it. Needless to say, God was not happy. He had delivered them from slavery & sudden death on multiple occasions but they seemed to have a short memory. Consequence…God withdrew from them.

Moses had to meet with God outside their encampment. God said if they really wanted to get ‘right’ with Him they would put off their worldly things & seek Him. They did, but God did not immediately grace them with His presence. They needed to REALLY want to know Him. That’s kind of one level of ‘knowing God.’ When we feel bad for what we’ve done & are willing to straighten up for a time.

Moses went on to the next level of chasing after God: He asked God to “Show me Your way.” He wanted to know right from wrong & how to follow God better. That’s another step in growing closer to God. God would speak to Moses through the tent down in the form of a cloud & the people could see that God’s presence was near Moses.

That wasn’t quite enough for Moses. God told Moses that He might not follow them as they traveled. Moses said, in essence, ‘if You don’t go with us we don’t go. He asked God to “show me Your presence.” He wanted to have a consistent walk with God daily. God was moved but his heart of humility.

That wasn’t quite enough for Moses either. “And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.” Exodus 33:18 NKJV. Again, God was moved by Moses’ heart but reminded him that no one can see the pure, white-hot Glory & perfection & God & live. While we are in this fallen world we are sinful at our best & can’t stand to see God ‘face to face.’ That’s the final level of intimacy with God, though. It’s wanting Him to strip away any sin & pretense until we can be as close as possible.

So here’s the million dollar question: “Do you have a heart to know God?” What level are you seeking after God? Sometimes I find myself at the first level & asking forgiveness for stupid stuff I’ve done. Sometimes I want to know the right way. At times I long for His presence & then there are times that I want Him to purify me of all the junk so I can really ‘see His Glory!” I encourage you to read the story in Exodus 33 for yourself.

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Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org cell 870-217-9376

-God Remembers the Future-

Have you ever forget anything major? I’m sure you have, you just forgot! That’s not the case with Jill Price. I recently saw a TV newsmagazine that chronicled her life of 42 years. She remembers things from early teens. Not just things…everything! Every last detail of any day, hour, week, year, down to what she wore & how the weather was is stored in her brain & pulled up at a second’s recollection. Sounds like a major blessing, never forgetting an anniversary, birthday, special occasion or person. Thing is, she also remembers with clarity all the pain & bad things. She has struggled with depression remember, NO reliving every painful moment of life. God allows our brains the blessing of forgetting for a reason. Our psyche is held in sanity by how our brain copes with terrible tragic events, namely forgetting. You can find her story in her recent book, The Woman Who Could Not Forget.

I was sharing with our staff a devotional thought the other day about how God actually forgets some things. Before you go off & burn me at a stake for heresy hear me out. When we ask forgiveness for our sin, God doesn’t actually ‘forget,’ He simply chooses to remember them no more. We often struggle with forgiving and forgetting. God is God. He doesn’t. The bible has numerous references to how He ‘blots out your transgressions…” & He says “I will not remember your sins.” He puts them “behind Him” and “casts them as far as the east is from the west.”

Trick is we have to confess our sins. We have to admit we sin & repent. I John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
wickedness.” I’m thankful He’s not tallying up all the bad things I’ve done. I’m thankful He cleanses me from wickedness also. Wish I could keep the record perfect but it’s a daily battle as long as I live in this house of skin.

As I was sharing the devotional thought, my pastor reminded us that not only does God forgive us & realize our weakness, He also knows our future & the ‘might have beens’ that could be if we let Him have complete control. He coined a phrase I want to remember: “God remembers the future.” That’s awesome. He’s God and transcends time & space (heck, He created it), so He sees what’s been & what will be. It’s like this, He not only saw you before you were born, He knows if you will accept His life & sees you in heaven! That’s enough to make a simple guy like me have a headache just thinking about it!

“God knew His people in advance, and He chose them to become like His Son, so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, He called them to come to Him. And having called them, He gave them right standing with Himself. And having given them right standing, He gave them His glory.” Romans 8:29-30 NLT

The next time you are confronted by Satan as to how you are a lowly rotten sinner not worthy of God’s love & mercy, even after you’ve asked for forgiveness and cleansing, simply remind him that God chooses to forget! It’s covered by the cleansing blood of Christ. That’s ‘church talk’ for a rich, healing forgiveness that only Jesus can bring to bear. If you’re curious about this thought or want to continue this whole deep subject email, text, message, or blog me.

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ASUN website www.bcmasunewport.org
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org cell 870-217-9376

Revival

As a young man studying art, we were instructed to paint or draw a “still-life.” For the uninitiated, that simply means drawing a bowl of fruit or flowers or some such. It was ‘still’ alright, but it wasn’t life. It simply represented life. I particularly attempted to do ‘super-realism’ opposed to surreal or abstract art. No matter how much you try to make ‘still-life’ appear real, it is simply art: a two dimensional attempt to represent life.

My home church is in ‘revival’ this week. Again, for the uninitiated, that means we meet each night at church for worship & an encouraging, challenging message. We ask God to revive our hearts & lives. It’s a fresh infusion of His power & vision.

My Grandma’s church used to have ‘brush arbor meetin’s.’ Some denominations join with other churches for ‘ole time camp meetin’s.’ Again, these are to sense a fresh awareness of God & hear His message.

A ‘revival’ meeting differs from a ‘crusade’ in that the meetings are primarily to encourage Christians to walk closer to Christ & share His message of love with the world. A ‘crusade’ is where there are meetings & worship & the emphasis is to share the message of Christ with people who are seeking. (Think Billy Graham Crusade.)

I have personally been involved in over 160 revivals, crusades or mission trips where I have seen God do some fantastic things. To be honest, what may be more exciting than seeing someone physically healed or seeing a large number of people come to a service is when God actually changes lives.

We have one more night left in our ‘revival’ & I’ll have to say I’ve really heard from God this week. The speaker has been forthright & honest with no intent on manipulation or coercion. We’ve been inspired. Tired, broken hearts have been renewed. This old heart gets tired sometimes and, frankly, I’m thankful it wasn’t just another meeting or service. It’s been revival.

The Psalmist said, “Won’t you revive us again, so your people can rejoice in you?” Psalm 85:6 NLT. Do you ever feel in need of reviving? Thankfully we don’t have to go to a ‘revival meeting’ to meet with God & sense spiritual revival. Simply call on Him & seek His face. The only catch is you have to have His life within you to be revived. Otherwise, it’s simply still-life: a two dimensional representation of life!

www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport.

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ASUN website www.bcmasunewport.org

Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org cell 870-217-9376