Monday, January 8th, 2007
We are still in Palenque. Seth Barnes, Gary Black, Andrew Shearmann, Bob Waig, and another guy named Steve came down yesterday. They’ll be with us for one week to disciple us… to break us for the nations, to empower us with God’s authority… to teach us how to just say “yes.”
Yesterday (Happy- real- Birthday Jake), we went to church in a town about an hour away from here, up a winding mountain road. You could see for miles off some of those outlooks. And this place is greener than any green in New England. When we reached church (after the umpteenth topa, or speed bump), we were greeted by many Spanish and Chollo speakers alike. And Scott and I ended up in the front row of this service. We sang songs that I could sing in English, while everyone else sang in their native tongue. Scott and I laid hands on a boy about 12 years of age, and he wept and wept, and God kept telling me that this boy is going to change his generation in this town…. it’s just too bad I don’t speak Cpanish, or Chollo, or else I’d speak those words into his life! Any time you hear a word of encouragement, of edification for another brother or sister, don’t be afraid to speak those words of life into each other! It’s so easy to gossip, to put down, or to find only the bad in a person, but ask God for words to breathe life into one another, and then speak them. What if the church did this more, what would the church look like?
After church we went up another amazing mountain road to a waterfall called Agua Azul. This water was so clear it was tourquoise, and sparkling. The falls were huge, and the current strong. If only it had been explained to me better (it really was a tourist attraction, there were many foreigners there) becase when we were told we could bring our suits, I opted for shorts since I thought I’d only wade in the water at a little creek. And how was I supposed to know that there’d be bathrooms to change into, and, man, I’d had to go home all wet on an hour long ride. So, Steph and I sat by the water with our feet dangled into one of the small falls, watching all 50 something of the bags. We both talked about how we are not impulsive people, that we like to have all the details of something so that we can make informed decisions, and that half of the people out swimming didn’t even think about the ride home when they hopped into the water…
And so Steph and I made a pact. We’ve decided to something somewhat impulsive in each country we go to (not necessarily something dangerous, or life threatening, just unplanned). It’s nice to know that there are other planners out there like me. And God can use planners. Scott constantly tells me that if not for my planning and organizing skills, we’d never make it to the World Race… and the World Race is pretty impulsive all together.
Today, Andrew Shearmann spoke to us this morning. My eyes were heavy, but my heart longed to hear the words of a man who’s truly LIVED! He’s 62, but acts like he’s still a teenager. I can’t actually imagine our dads, and other seniors hopping around and shouting at the top of their lungs (try it sometime you guys…see if you feel like a teenager again!) And after a good nap this afternoon, I’m beginning to process a little bit of what he’s said. Basically, the goal of life (as Gary Black puts it) is to be unoffendable. We need to give up this spirit of religion we’re all hiding behind. We need to know who we truly are… part of why Scott and I are on the World Race to begin with. (Who the heck am I, and how do I live out who I’m supposed to be?)
And so Andrew told us about the 42nd generation of Matthew 1 (interesting how I just started in Matthew), where it lists the geneology of Jesus. The last verse of the geneology adds 14 + 14 +14 gereations, which equals 42. But if you were to individually add all the generations you’d only get to 41, Jesus being the 41… which means that Christ is the 42nd generation. Jesus was 100% man, Christ was 100% God, but both in one (trinity stuff). And Jesus as a boy must have had the who am I questions (since Mary would have had to tell him that Joseph was not his real father… straight out a soap opera script, right?) And as a carpenter, he probably thought for a while that a carpenter was what he would be… but Jesus had to accept his identity as Christ. And we are Christ also! We are the body of Christ, as 1 Cor. 12:27 says… this is not figurative. We are Christ, if we choose to accept our new identity. We must come to faith about who we are, just as Jesus had to. We get new DNA… I’m still trying to wrap my mind around this one.
New DNA means that I’m no longer allowed to say that I’m a worrier, and that’s who I am because that’s generational. And my mom can’t say she’ll have Alzheimers because my grandmother just passed away from her battle with it. I must let go of generational strongholds if I choose to accept my new DNA. And my new DNA gives me strengths and gifts that I never thought I’d have. The gift of healing, a strong SHOUTING voice that speaks with all the authority of heaven (yeah, right, can you see me shouting healing into people and casting out stringholds and demons with a booming voice?) That’s what I thought, I’m a little scared of the person that God is going to make me, but we must take hold of (not just receive) the new creation God wants to make us. When I come home, you may not recognize me, but you will say that I am more me than I ever was!
