Northern Lighthouse Ministries

2010-03-30T22:29:00.005-05:00

David

2009-09-13T17:28:00.004-05:00

Seven years ago, I lived in Sweden. A lot of people already knew that I spent a year there when I was 16, but one of the stories I haven't told many times is one about a man named David Örkvist, a man that saved my life.
I met David through my host mother at the very beginning of my year in Sweden. He worked for the state church, and he had a passion for kids. He had put together the funds to begin a youth house, a place for teenagers to hang out where there was no drinking or smoking. This was a unique thing in the city I was in, so he had a host of people backing him up. But he wanted this center to be designed by students. So, in an effort to make friends and become involved, I attended that first meeting. I couldn't understand anything that they were saying, because I didn't speak Swedish yet, but I remember thinking that David was a bit strange. In the US, people would have been suspicious of a person like him, thinking he was involved with kids for all the wrong reasons. But what I also noticed was that the kids he knew were incredibly loyal to him. Why? Because he openly loved and cared about them in a way few people do in a place like that.
Now, I had had some pretty rough experiences with Christian adults before going to Sweden, and I had quickly learned that youth leaders, teachers, and other Christians that worked with teenagers generally disliked me. I wasn't the right kind of kid. I was hard to love. But David changed that. I began working out at the house that was to become the youth center, cleaning and painting walls, building Ikea furniture, and other things like that. When things at home started to get worse, I started spending most of my day hanging out at the youth house, doing whatever needed doing. It was during this time that I got to know David. He was openly Christian, a brave thing for a Swedish man, and he used to wander around, singing old worship songs and talking about Jesus and God's love, living it out in every possible way. Kids flocked to him. He was just that kind of person, and a kid that might bash God one second would keep his mouth shut around David out of respect. I couldn't believe how much those kids respected him. In my experience, a guy like that would have been an embarrassment. But I soon found that he was the only adult I knew in the whole country that I trusted. And he was one of the only people that I knew loved me in that place. Imagine what that meant to a kid like me. What's more, I wasn't the only one. He really had become Christ to the lost and lonely kids of Lulea.
I can remember that one night, one of those nights when I thought I couldn't go on any longer, David said, "I know that something is wrong, and you don't have to tell me what it is, but I want to pray for you." I wasn't in the habit of letting people put hands on me and pray over me. That still makes me squirm. But I couldn't say no to David. I don't remember what he said, but I know what I was thinking at the time: God, are you really there? I don't think I believe that anymore. I don't believe that you care at all. But here's this guy, praying for me anyway... And this guy was praying with more joy than I had ever seen in a person. I had never met anyone who loved Jesus like him. And even now, I can say with confidence that his intercession on my behalf gave me a grain of hope that later led me back to Jesus.
Now, when I eventually accepted Christ, I really wanted to tell him. I wanted to find him and write him and thank him for everything that he did for me. But by then I had lost contact with everyone there, and I have tried in vain to find him online; you know, a phone number, email address...anything. And I'll give up for awhile, then remember him again, and try to find him and fail. He's one of those people, though, that I'll keep looking for because he changed my life.
There are people like that in everyone's story, and when I hear songs like "Thank You for Giving to the Lord" by Ray Boltz (I know...old song...), I can't help remembering David and wishing I could tell him what God has done and what I am doing now. But I may never get to do that. What I can do, however, is thank God for him, and pray that he's still changing lives.
Tell me your story, about who God brought into your life when you needed them the most. Because we all have those people. And, David, if you read this, I want to say thanks. Thank you for being Christ to me.

North on the fourth--a joyus time

2009-07-09T11:06:00.006-05:00

I love the fourth of July for many reasons, the fun, the food (no big revelation there) and of course, the fireworks. I also have come to think of it as a celebration of our nation, Praise the Lord!

But what I really love about the fourth is how we at the Northern Lighthouse tend to celebrate the special day we, as God's folk, enjoy getting together and just being with each other as dear friends. I know that most holidays would be kind of dreary to me since I have no family close to me.

We make a big deal out of the fourth of July at the Lighthouse. Going back to the very beginnings over 10 years ago. Back when we were just a church plant, we thought of using the fourth as a promotional event to get people to come and check us out. We had planned to have rides, concessions, and a concert, but at that time, God did not supply us with what we needed to do those things, so instead we decided to make do with what we could. Much to every one's surprise, we had so much fun it was a memorable time for all. Many traditions we hold dear got started on the fourth.

One of those traditions was the water balloon fight. It began way back when by accident when two people started throwing water balloons at each other for fun, but this soon escalated into a full blown melee where even pastor Sam got wet. Since then, the water balloon fight has went through many changes, but it still survives to this day (got you Wes, heh, heh, heh) It is all done in fun, and usually the day is hot enough so that you don't stay wet very long.

The recent Fourth of July was a little different, the temperature was a great deal cooler ( in the 60's or so) and the sky was overcast. Everyone still had a great time, and there were all the games and sand volleyball. Plus a water slide that didn't have much attention, due to the cooler temps.

I remember Abigail (Pastor Jeff's girl) crying when her parents were discouraging her to play on the water slide, but this little Heerspink was not to be deterred by any mere adult standing in the way of her having fun. As the picture will show, this little drowned rat is Abigail Heerspink fresh from off the water slide, still smiling, and shivering. I don't know if she caught a cold, as her parents feared, but as you can see by her big smile, she was having the time of her life.

Before we form an opinion about Abigail or her parents let us consider our human nature for a minute. Sometimes, though God tells us explicitly NOT to do something, it only makes the temptation to do it more powerful, and we go ahead and do it anyway. Sometimes it seems as though we get by with it, but most of the time we eventually get caught. If we think about it, when God is telling us not to do something we find out that it is really for our own good. I believe that God is not so much anti-fun as he is pro-safety and wanting us to live as long as we can. But like Abigail, we still have to go down the water slide on a day we probably shouldn't, and we have fun, but we end up shivering, and maybe even catching cold when it's over.

I have done the same thing, and if we are honest about it, we all have. But praise to God, we have a God that will forgive us, and allow us to have a second, third, and so many chances to succeed.

A question of focus

2009-07-09T09:48:00.005-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

Anyone who knows me know that I have recently come under conviction in my life to change some things in my behavior that is causing me some grief. I have been kind of coarse and short with people and although I want to be Christ-like, I miss the mark and I sound like a know-it-all, or so pious as to seem unapproachable.

I have found that this pride (which is what it amounts to) is sinful in God's eyes. There are many instances in the Bible where God makes his feelings on pride very clear; he doesn't like it one bit.

After I confessed my sin, I was left with how to go about changing a behavior that seemed so comfortable to me for all of my life. After much prayer, and talking to those I consider wise in the church and my life, I decided that the simple answer to my question was changing my focus.

If I focus on myself, it all comes from me, and goes to me. I see myself as the center of my attention. Oh I might give God some praise, and sound like I know what I am talking about, but I find that God will not accept that, and he will confound my efforts to perform, serve, and worship him like I really should. I also tend to not give to those around me the grace that God bestows on me. I cannot gauge the damage I have done to my testimony by doing things like this; and for that I am so very sorry to those who seen me instead of Christ.

If I focus on Jesus, (as I am starting to find out) my whole life changes greatly. Suddenly, with this basic change, I have a different outlook on life entirely:

My attitude towards the scriptures changes
The way I look at others in my life (saved and unsaved)
My worship (as a lifestyle--not just something to do once in a while)
I notice more things in my life that are blessings from God alone
God is opening more doors for me I would otherwise not have access to.

The focus of my life is now one of doing things that are pleasing to the Holy Spirit, and with that the grace that God affords me, I can freely ladle it out to others in my life. It is a joy to be merciful, a warm feeling to be gracious to those whom I would have been cold to otherwise.

It is all for Him, to Him, and to Him goes all the glory.

Hearing God

2009-07-02T16:43:00.002-05:00

I have never felt like I have had a strong ability to hear God. I have often wanted to hear God like most people when I have a big decision to make or when I simply want to make a quick choice. However, I have come to see that God is speaking, speaking each and every day to us.
In my past it was we only heard God by the reading of His Word (to be sure this is a great and most consistent way for us to hear God speaking, although we may need to ask if we are listening). Yet, today I have heard God speaking and see God speaking in a number of ways.
It is the little things like how I was thinking that we need to do a series at the NL on Galatians so that we focus on the Gospel in our community and then I go to hang out with my new friend Kevin and he hands me a short commentary on Galatians and tells of how God has been teaching him through this book.
It is in the ways that as I read different authors on the church and I hear these similar themes on missional communities and the changes that I have been feeling need to happen as well as these guys have done or are expressing the same thoughts.
Or it is how Beth was doing dishes the other day and gets the idea that she needs to check craigslist. In doing so she finds a two seated bike trailer for our kids something that I have been wanting and desiring so that I can take all three kids on a bike ride when I am at home witht he kids (We had been looking and could not find one at a reasonable price and this one is like new and was cheap)
God is speaking to us today and these are just a few ways that I have seen this happening. Are you listening?

A Joyous experience...really

2009-06-30T09:42:00.005-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

A few months ago I entered into an arrangement with a person I had met in a Bible study I have gone to for years they are a small businessman who deals in Credit card processing machines. He had given me the opportunity to earn some money to help me out of a bind. We had differences, so I left his employ not wanting to deal with the stress of working for a person I had so much friction with. Unfortunately, I owed him some money that I was paying back to him a little at a time.

Now recently I had a need to raise some money, and this same person had contacted me also at that time with an offer to help him download and deliver some machines about 100 miles or so away. I decided to make it clear exactly what I intended to do, what I intended to do it with, and how much I intended to be paid for what he wanted me to do. He agreed to how I wanted to roll with this, and I went back to work for him.

I did the work, and when it came time to get paid he disagreed with me on our original agreement and did not want to pay me.

Now in the past, I would have gotten real mad, argued with him, maybe even registered my complaint with my knuckles, or at the very least I would have threatened taking him to court. After all, this is a person that I had been going to a Bible study with for a long time, I could have embarrassed him in front of the group, or his church by calling him all sorts of things.

But lately I am learning how much is to be gained by having a great deal more control in dealing with these things, by and with the grace of God. I have been praying about this, studying verses in the Bible about how we should approach things like our relationship to each other, our business dealings with each other, and how we can and should provide a witness to others on how to deal with these things in love.

Instead of resorting to the old ways of dealing with this fellow; a calmness came over me, a peace that I knew that this would be handled, and that if I exercised my "right" that no good could come of it. Time to put all of those heady principles to practical use, so I just walked away from the guy, and although I was hopping mad at being cheated; I decided to let that verse about "vengeance is mine says the Lord, I will repay." to be more than just a theological principle.

Was I upset? You bet your grandma's spittoon I was. Did I have all kinds of urges to retaliate? I won't tell you what I planned to do in my head; I am too ashamed to go into it here. I thought about slandering him to all that I knew, but what of that? Wouldn't it make me look like more a jerk than I imagined this guy to be? What I did do was pray first, then I just sent him a copy of my bill. I told him that he did not deal with me in good faith, and that I expected to be paid. I then left it at that, and felt better in the short haul that I didn't blow my top at him, and let my alligator mouth write a check I didn't want to cash.

I am happy to say that I now have my friend back. He just walked up to me yesterday at the Bible study we both attend, and paid me what he owed me. I was happy that there was no more tension between us, I was overjoyed that a Biblical principle that I had overlooked, treated like I couldn't use, and didn't have enough faith to rely on, worked and paid off in a really big way. I now have a friend that I can fellowship with, learn from, and I have gained more confidence to live a life that is God honoring, Christ centered, and I willingly and joyously thank God for. I am in awe at this, and I am humbled at God's working behind the scenes.

Interesting?

2009-06-26T20:22:00.002-05:00

It is interesting isn't it. That a person in the US can die and for what may be the first time in my memory that every headline on Yahoo News is about this one person (Yahoo typically has three headlines). Yet at the same time conflict is still happening in Iran (in fact the the headline reads "Iranian Cleric says some protesters should be executed"), The house is passing bills on the environment and a couple just got arrested for domestic dispute using Cheetos (not that sounds interesting).
I also noted that the other day on face book I posted on my status that I was in awe of the work of God in my life and in relationship around me, no one commented. I then posted a status that stated that I wanted a Harley. Within 12 hours 9 people respond with comments about me needing to make up for a lack of something (careful), to me going through a midlife Crisis as 37, while others simply laughed, or supported my thinking.
The point is that it has been interesting to see what we in our culture find interesting. I find it odd that out of over 300 friends on facebook no one asked about how I saw God at work or what was going on. I find it interesting that people or at least the media assumes that we care more about an old pop music icon then ANYTHING else. I am not thinking that we should not care about the death of Micheal Jackson or that I myself do not have memories of wearing one white glove and listening to "Thriller" on MTV over and over and over again. Nor am I want to to have us always be living in a tisy about the environment. Nor is it all about me and my facebook experience. It has simply got me thinking about what I respond to, pay attention to, and care about. It has made me think about what I should care about and how easy I can get caught up in waisting time reading about things that matter little, while there are many things that matter much. How about you?

Grace for all, all for grace

2009-06-25T05:09:00.004-05:00

Image by ashley.adcox via Flickr

It seems we talk about grace a lot around the Northern Lighthouse, and to be sure that is what we are all about in all instances. However, this one wonders what value do we really hold of that grace if we carelessly go about out lives without the inevitable changes that grace brings.

The kind of grace I am talking about here is not the "aw, heck, that's ok bubba." variety. it is the grace that accepts on a personal AND spiritual level. Let me open this up for you a little bit.

Grace, in the form that provokes change in a persons life come from not only a commitment to change, but a change that brings the person experiencing it closer to what God's standard is. I feel that repentance (really being sorry about) is a first class ticket to this unmerited favor that only God is capable of bestowing on a person who is really at the end of themselves, on the ropes, cut and bleeding. It is indeed a precious thing that is not to be treated lightly, nor is it to be held in such low esteem that we think that there is plenty of it, so as Paul said in the Letter to the Romans, "So. shall we sin so grace may abound? God, forbid!"

Much too often, in my life and others, we treat grace so cheaply that we think, "well God isn't coming back today, and __________ would be so nice to do, I think He'll let me get by with it." This is the definition of cheap grace that I see so much around our lives, it is this rationalization that got us into trouble way back when in the garden, seems we haven't learned much.

All I can offer is that when we come under conviction (our conscience bothers us) and it is so bad that it almost physically feels like a pain. It is high time, past high time I should think, that we need to be like that tax collector in the temple crying out to God, "Be merciful to me , a sinner!!" and plead with God to show you the way to repentance; especially if you are feeling like a prisoner of your sins.

When I have prayed like this, God has never let me down--ever. He shows me the way I can get right with Him, and by learning of Him in a personal way. It is then I experience that wonderful grace that we all like to dispense at the Northern Lighthouse.

Prayer Warrior Alert!

2009-06-20T01:34:00.003-05:00

I ran into Angie and Jody Harris at Wal-mart tonight and they informed me of some very sad news. As some of you may know, our church helped start a daughter church called Oasis in Waverly, Nebraska. There is a family that has been monumentally important to the growth of this church named the Schmuckers. Angie informed me that this last weekend one of their sons (I don't know his name, but he's the one that is 10 years old) almost drowned and is in serious condition in a hospital in South Dakota. They still aren't sure if he's suffered any brain damage, and he is at high risk for infection. I wanted to throw this info out there for everyone so that you can keep them in your prayers. Also, I wanted to forewarn you that Angie, Jody, and I will be attempting to set up several fund raisers to help them pay some of the bills they have acquired due to this unfortunate incident. If anyone has any ideas about what sorts of fundraisers we should do, let me know, but also be aware that I will be leaving for Philadelphia on July 6, so someone may need to step up and assist us. As I said, this family has served our community in many ways and now, I think, we should demonstrate God's love to them as they struggle through this.

The road

2009-06-18T02:07:00.000-05:00

I don't know about you, but my experiences in Christianity have been sort of like the Rocky Mountains. I've seen amazing things happen, and I've also been gravely disappointed (my metaphor is supposed to...reflect the idea that the mountains have peaks and valleys...yeah). One thing that I've learned is that I have a really hard time letting go of the old crap that wrecked me in the past. And I was reminded (harshly) only last night.

I grew up in Lincoln, and I'll say that I was blessed to have a Christian family. And I don't just mean parents that made me go to Christian school and church every Sunday; I'm talking about generations of God honoring, loving, faithful people. I see the legacy my family has left behind, and it is truly something to be proud of. But I could not live up to that life. I've said this many times, but I think that our standard Christian community (I'm talking about the church bubble) has a "ideal Christian kid" in their heads. They look a certain way; they act a certain way; most importantly, they know how to follow rules really well. If you've met me, you know that I have some...personal issues that have hindered me from living up to the expectations I thought everyone had for me. And as a result, I grew bitter (horribly bitter).

One of the people in my life that caused me a lot of distress was a man in my church. I doubt he'll ever read this, but I'm not going to name him. I'll just say that he was part of our youth group, and as a teenager I looked up to him like he was the closest thing to...I don't know...someone really cool and famous. He was funny; he was crazy sometimes...you get the idea. And I was sure that out of all of the people in the world, he was going to like me. I was like him, so he had to...

But he didn't. He totally didn't. He made sure I knew that he didn't. And I felt that for years.

Just the other night, I was sitting with him (as well as a bunch of other friends), and I was acting super friendly, like he hadn't been one of the people in my life that caused me so much pain, but it was so, so hard. The whole way there I couldn't stop thinking about what I'd really like to say to him, how I really felt about him. So, I'm sitting there, pretending to be interested in what he has to say but really wishing I could just punch him in the face. And then I realized something monumental:

I don't have to live this way. I don't have to hate him anymore. God did what he wanted to do in my life, regardless of how hurt I had been by anyone in my past.

And then today, I realized something that was almost as important (that I've realized before but forgotten):

I would never have been the person I am without the pain I suffered. I'm also not sure I would know how to sympathize or empathize with people that I have met through my church if I had not gone through pain myself.

So here it was. I feel sort of bad sometimes, thinking that I'm doing better in my life and letting things go, because I am still hurt on a very deep level. But God did something in me because of that pain. And I know what it is to be on the fringe because I was one of those people. This is what God's grace is. God took the bad stuff and made it good. How much more awesome could He be?

Tell me something that God has taught you about his grace in your life.

(That image is of me when I was about six - before I was really, really nerdy).

Clearly, it is not about religion

2009-06-17T19:16:00.000-05:00

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

It is, and will be forever more, about RELATIONSHIP. A personal and meaningful dialog between you and God by knowing and accepting Jesus as your personal savior. Let me expand on that a moment. I assert that until you can stand at the foot of the cross and look up into Jesus' eyes while he calls you by name and says "I am doing this for you, because I love you and want you to be with me forever." you cannot know true salvation, true forgiveness, nor peace.

When one accepts Jesus on those terms, the Bible says that He will come to "live" with us. What that means to me is the place inside of me I used to fill with drugs, lusts, and rage, has now been filled by Jesus. To me, Jesus drove out my attempts to "be good" because I was being good for my own reasons (to make God like me I suppose) and ultimately replace my motivations for His. Jesus gives me the peace I need to face the day, the confidence in knowing that I may still sin (and o'boy, do I ever!) I have a God that sees that my sins are paid for by the precious blood of Jesus.

All of this would be possible if I were alone on a desert island, but as it is, I am not. I have to live in a world full of other people, some of whom believe as I do, but most do not. Those who follow the same kind of Jesus that I do, the Holy Spirit calls me to come together with them and this is called "fellowship" There is a good reason for this, consider a bunch of sheep alone in the wilderness with the shepherd, now sheep are not what one would call the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to brains, and they are prone to wander off. The shepherd must keep a close eye on the sheep for stragglers. Lone sheep are prone to being picked off by the wolves. Others have used the analogy of a log that has fallen out of the fire going out because it is not in the fire.

What did Jesus say?

2009-06-17T19:06:00.000-05:00

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What about the statement that Jesus makes when he says "I am the truth and the light, no man comes unto the father except by me." Clearly, there is an exclusivity to that statement. That would seem to take such things as Islam, Mormonism, and most of the eastern religions off the table. From my understanding, those religions rely on somebody else's interpretation of God and totally take away the fact that we ourselves (at least in our natural state) have no other way to believe (that is, if we want eternal life)

If you say that those religions offer enlightenment, the question begs enlightenment to what? The next thing to consider is I can say this or that about what God says, I can even point to it in the Bible and say "See, it's in the Bible! I must be right!" But now the question begs, what meaning do I pour into those words? How do I interpret those things, integrate then into my life, and tell others about them?

Interpretation is where most of the argument centers around, and continues to be a stumbling block today for most people. The simple answer is that the Bible (by many virtues) can speak for itself (stand on it's own two feet) The Bible that we have today took over 1500 years to complete, and it has many writers from many times and locations. The curious part is that no matter who is speaking for God, be it a prophet, king, or Jesus Himself throughout all that time, the Bible binds itself together.

In conclusion, the Bible may have had many writers, but only one author. The last thing I would say is that some will say "Yeah, but there are a lot of books that the Bible doesn't include" Just think if you were an archeologist in the 26th or the 30th century and somehow you found a copy of a National Enquirer. From that, would you assume we had things like a Bat Boy that we sent around the world to assassinate world leaders we didn't like? Perhaps, but if you were good at your job, you would look for proof before you said anything. I said all of that to say all of this, The reason I have learned that some of the so-called books of the Bible have been omitted is that some conflicted with the whole of scripture, others were written many years after the death of the last Apostle. Still others the Holy Spirit omitted because they did not edify the spirit of those reading them. Joseph Smith claimed to have another testament of Jesus, which makes some pretty outlandish claims, and none of which can be verified, yet they use the Bible as ONE of their Holy Books. Hmm. read the very last verse in the Bible to find God's reply to those who would add, delete, or change the wording of the Bible.

Welcome

2009-06-16T23:45:00.000-05:00

Hello. This is the official blog of the Northern Lighthouse Ministries. Feel free to pose questions, comments, or even start a topic. We welcome anything and everything. So, welcome to everyone.