looking to the end

Often times in life, when we are in a process of accomplishing something, we ask ourselves "What is the end goal". These past few months, I have been living with a former Marine, and he always needs to know what the end goal of everything is. For him, the task or project is not worth the effort put into it if he does not know the end goal.

I think this is a very important question to be asking ourselves. I ask my self it a lot. But I often forget to ask myself that question in the most important aspect of life; life itself. Americans are very good at not knowing why they do the things they do. I am an American and I am very much included in that statement.

I often do not think about the end goal of life throughout my day. It seems silly when I think about it. As followers of Christ we know our end goal: to preach the gospel and bring Christ's kingdom to Earth, so one day, when every tribe has heard the name of Jesus, He will return as our King bringing the perfection we so long for. Yet so often I just don't think about that in the midst of my day. That should always be on my mind. If I really want to follow Christ, that is the culmination of the life of a follower. That needs to be on my mind constantly. I need to realize that in the midst of my interactions with people, my commute to school, in the shower... everything, I need to be aware of that reality.

Jesus is coming back. Does my life show that I am aware of that and am preparing for it?

longing

I read The Journey of Desire this past month. Many of the words Eldredge penned really spoke true of something I have been sensing over the past year. As the pages of a calender continually change, I am struck with the awareness that what I truly long for in this life will never be fulfilled. Eldredge reminds us wherever humans look, we see traces of what was. Eden. Perfection. Perfect Relationship with God. He says

"What if nature is speaking to us? What if sunrise and sunset tell the tale every day, remembering Eden's glory, prophesying Eden's return?" P. 107

And that is what we long for. A perfect world where we can have perfect relationship with God. Complete restoration of what was. I have been sensing that truth more and more. That longing of my heart will never be filled on this side of eternity.

The other night was I was reading revelation before I went to bed. It was comforting, but disappointing at the same time. It is not here yet. No matter how much time I spend in prayer or in the Word, this sense of longing will still be there. And that is good. We need not be discouraged because we do not yet have who we desire. For our perpetual awareness of who we do not have in His fullness is our hope that one day we will indeed obtain Him.

Winter

It's getting colder. The leaves outside my window have just about died. Fog encapsulates the morning, and leaves its trace of fresh layers of frost. As I have grown up, I have always loved the change of seasons. I am captivated by the stark transition from autumn into winter. Seeing the ground become brisk and eventually frozen, coupled with my breath on a cold night often reminds me that this life here is temporal. But in the midst of this earthly life, there are seasons. I am understanding more about the seasons of my own soul and why they happen the way they happen. The winter of the soul is one of those seasons that inevitably come, sometimes unexpectedly. It is often a barren place. Feeling and emotion are rare. The monotony of life tends to dominate those weeks and months. It often feels like the exitement of life has died. And in most cases, it has. But in the midst of winter, there is still life. Its outward appearance may be lifeless, but inside every living thing life awaits to show its life again.

I think the Lord takes us through these seasons because they are a necessary part of our growth. In Psalm 1, it takes about how man is blessed if he delights himself in the law of the Lord. It goes on to say

"He is like a tree planted by streams of water
that yields fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither."

I noticed that the fruit is produced in its season. At least the visible fruit. And that is what we all look for. We want to see the fruit our life. We want to know and feel the love of our Lord and see that love grow in the people around us. I think winters of the soul are there to remind us that even when we do not see or feel that love, it is still real. God is still working when we do not see it or feel it. I often need reminded of this.

November arrived again yesterday. Time continues to move and seasons continue to change. But as this body wastes away, His Spirit in us does not. There will be a day when there are no more seasons, and this longing for arriving face to face with Him will be met. But let us hold on to that longing, for it is what keeps us keeping on.



JN

a man

Over the last few weeks, I have been struck with the reality that God became a man. Flesh and bone. Human. I know that I know this. But it often doesn't sink in. I forget who was talking about it, but someone said that for most people in the world, the idea of God leaving heaven and becoming a human being is completely foreign almost unheard of. Yet we in Christendom have become so accustomed to hearing this, that the significance of this beautiful truth easily becomes overlooked and common.

God taking on flesh is anything but common. I have been reading through Luke, and my favorite part of it so far has been the detailed account of the birth of Christ. Luke spends a good two chapters recounting the infant Christ. God as a fetus.

I often forget that I am loved by a person. I often forget that it is a person I am praying to. I often forget that when I sin, I hurt a person. I've just been challenged these past few weeks to reexamine the truth of the person of Jesus Christ. I am amazed by the fact that right now, He is sitting on the throne, yet He is with me at the same time. Until the day we see Him face to face.



JN


"The Word became flesh and dwelt among us" John 1:14

a heart for the nations

The Lord has been challenging me in the last few months, but specifically this past week, to have a heart for the nations. As I read scripture, I see God through His prophets call the nations to Himself. But God is not just calling nations to Himself. He calls His disciples to have a heart for the nations... to go to the ends of the earth with the gospel. He calls ALL His disciples, not just missionaries. I hear a lot of people say "I have a heart for the world". It is easy to say that. But do we? What does a heart for the nations look like? I have been prayerfully asking myself that question the last few days.

Today at church, a missionary family from the center of Mexico came and shared. They said that in their city of over 300,000 less than 5% of the people are disciples of Christ. The other 95 % are very religious, but don't know Jesus. They kept on saying how they had a need for leaders to disciple people so they can plant a church. It breaks my heart and it angers me to hear that Satan is using religion to blind hundreds of thousands of people to the light of the gospel. It makes me want to do something.

Last night, all of us guys were sitting in a coffee shop, and one of us posed the question, "what are your goals for the next 5 years?" I really hadn't thought to deeply about it. But as I examined my heart, I realized pretty quickly the direction I want to be moving in. And I believe I am moving in it. I think there are 2 kinds of Christians. Goers and Senders. (John Piper expounds on this) The goers go and the senders send. Being a missionary kid in China for 3 years, I know there is a Goer in my blood. I believe God used that experience to give me a passion for the nations, specifically the people groups that have never heard about Jesus. But for the next 5 years, I really believe my role is to be a sender. And I want to grow in that... a lot. I think daily prayer for the salvation of people groups, the ministry of church planters, and perseverance of church leaders is something I really want to start doing. I want to start cultivating a heart for the nations here in Ohio. Now, it is easy to have good intentions. It is hard to put the intentions into action.

So ask yourself. If you are a sender, what are you doing to send? Are you praying for friends overseas? Are you giving to missions? Are you learning about the needs of the persecuted church? Are you committed to a specific people group? These are questions I have been asking myself. And they are very convicting questions, because most of my answers have been, no. Psalm 2:8 says "Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession." Are we asking? Do we desire this?

Whenever I think about the global church, I get wicked fired up. I have a hunch I will be overseas one day, but now, at least until I am 26, I am here with Off The Wall Ministry.


I just pray that the American Church will have a heart for the nations, and remember our brothers and sisters that are being persecuted, slandered, and martyred for the faith that we (the American Church) are so often ashamed of. May we have the boldness of the believers who are being martyred in the streets of of North Korea. here. Let us take back our faith from the American Dream. Let us make our brothers and sisters all over the world proud by our testimony for Christ. But most of all, let us live worthy of the calling we have received, so when we enter glory, Jesus says "well done, my good and faithful servant". That is my prayer.


JN

reflections on a rainy day

The rains came last night. I awoke this morning at 5:30 with the realization that today is the last day I am a legal minor. I will be 21 at midnight. I have known this day would come and have been expecting it. But I didn't know it would come this quickly. My friend took me out for breakfast this morning, and as we were driving in the breaking dawn, a memory flickered in my spirit. I was 6 years old again and it was a fall day. The leaves were golden-red and many of them had been raked into piles against a big maple tree in my backyard. There hung a twenty five foot rope swing on that maple that my dad put up. I loved to climb it. I always climbed to the top and just hung there while my mom got nervous. But on that particular day, I remember just sitting on the knot at the bottom. I remember wishing I was 9, because 9 years old felt so old to me. I thought if I was nine, I would be one of the big kids. I remember this feeling of longing and anticipation for time to elapse on that particular fall day.

This fall day isn't much unlike that one, 15 years ago. I feel that sense of longing again. But it is different. Age is not what matters anymore. 21 is just a number. There is so much more I long for. I long to see what God will do in my life. I long to see who He brings into it and where He takes us. I long to see people I am pouring into fall more in love with Jesus. I long to love those people more like Christ loves us.. Ultimately, I long to love Him more than anyone and anything. I am not quite there yet, but I want to be.

I have been thinking a lot about that verse in Psalm 42 that says "As a deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you O God." I want to long for Him like that.


The leaves on the tree outside my bedroom window are just starting to change. Summer is gone. Autumn is alive and well. And its good. Seasons bring new things. And sometimes they bring old things to the surface. And that is why I have grown to appreciate all of them. The natural and spiritual.

So as the day draws to a close and my little minuscule life increases a year, I am thankful that God has kept me thus far. I am thankful that He has given me another year. And if am around a year from today, I will thank Him again.

Blessings

JN

Radical Passionate Obedience

For the last 5 or 6 years, these two words have been the torch that has burned in the hearts of the people of the Kingdom. Chris Tomlin and Louie Giglio come together in 1997 to found the Passion conference. And last year, David Platt writes the book that has called the Church of America to take back our faith from the American dream, and reclaim what we have fallen so far from.

There is this call in our nation today. But it is not a call you will find on the television or on the radio. Politicians can't hear it. Priests have become numb to it. For this is a call that does not resound in the megaphones of 21st century individualism. It is a call that goes deeper than what we see around us. It is a call that burns beneath our bones and into the depths of our hearts. And I feel this call. Oh how I feel it. And I know you feel it too, for if you did not, you would not be reading this. I feel it now as I am sitting a coffee shop studying. I feel it when I am in the shower. I feel it when I don't expect to feel it. It's like it just starts screaming. This is the call of the Spirit of God. If you are listening, it is a call that goes deeper than any call that you have ever heard before. He is calling us, Church. He is calling us to radical, passionate, obedience. He is calling us to bear the torch of Christ. He is calling us to lead our world, our nation, our cities, our towns, our friends and our families to radical, passionate obedience. He is calling us to take back our faith from the American Dream and reclaim it in the words of scripture.

Let us run this race. Let us carry the torch of Christ wherever we go. Let us live with radical, passionate, obedience to the Spirit of God and Word of God. And let us keep on running until He comes.


Lets go.


Joshua Nims