Since launching The Jerusalem Experiment: Ephesus, life has been a bit of a whirlwind. With about two months before my departure to Israel, I still have about $8,000 of support left to raise. The temptation has been to worry and reconsider whether or not I’m actually being led by God in this endeavor. However, it would be naive to think that God refrain from using this experience to refine my character and cause me to trust Him more. So often this happens through hardship, uncertainty and a certain amount of wilderness-wandering. I remain convinced that in God’s time I will have what I need to leave for Israel confident that I’m truly doing something that might further God’s Kingdom.
Friday my friends Sharon and Phil Lindau and I will be hosting a dessert reception for The Jerusalem Experiment. I pray (and I invite you to pray along with me) that my next update will be one of praise for how God provided.
This past weekend. I had the opportunity to serve as the speaker for New Hope Church’s Fall youth retreat. The beautifully crisp weather (these pictures were taken on the retreat) provided a perfect context for our considering the fact that the God who breathed forth all of creation is the same Abba who bridged the chasm between our depravity and His deity–allowing us to enter into an eternal relationship with our God. As so often happens when I preach, I walked away convicted and emboldened to “walk in a manner worthy of my calling.”
