More than I ask or imagine. . .

The Injustice, The Scandal, and Lamentations: Making Sense of Penn State in Prayer

 

 

   Living in Central PA now, there is one story that everyone is talking about the Penn State  scandal.  In preaching the book of Lamentations, I am seeing this whole scandal in a new light.  Lamentations details the destruction of the city Jerusalem and the punishment that was brought on by their injustice and sin.  While the destruction is terrible, the reason that is has happened is detailed in Lam 3:

34      To crush underfoot
         all prisoners in the land,

35      to deny a man his rights
         before the Most High,

36      to deprive a man of justice—
         would not the Lord see such things?

The answer of course, is "Yes He will see and He will act."  Therefore, when justice happens God has seen and acted.

My sermon last week was on praying prayer of vengence, known as the imprectory psalms.  Praying that God would bring justice is so vital to those who do not have a leading voice.  God hears those prayers and brings justice. I used the example for someone who has been abused. Tolerence or sentimental notions of God being only a tolerate God will not give hope.  God will bring judgment to those who oppress and victimize. He will make things right again. Only God who loves deeply and passionately will see and act in response to the prayers of the victimized and abused.

The Penn State story broke Saturday up here but no one knew the details until Monday or late Sunday.  I have seen friends go through the whole process of greif. They see JoePa fired and the end of everything for the program that dominated sports life here. They see the program they love turn to something diabolical.  Those abused children have cried out and God has heard their prayer.  Finally the abuser will be brought to justice and the whole system needs to be disrupted.

Below is a video of Matt Millen, a former Penn State football player reacting to the scandal.  As he processes what has happened he breaks down around minute 4:00 of the clip.  He says, "When we can no longer protect our children, then we as a society are pathetic".  This scandal is not just about one man's violent abuse or one university's inaction. This has far reaching implications in our whole society, from our obessions with sports to our families breaking down allowing for children to be preyed upon.  We are sick, and we are pathetic as a society. This is an opportunity for us to repent to examine our lives and call out that God would change our hearts and the hearts of others.  We should also pray that God would end such victimization of our children and bring justice to those who have no justice.  Only before the throne of God can we begin to let this change us. We also give honor to the victims by allowing it to change us. Let justice come as Jesus makes all the wrongs right.

O God, would you fogive us as a people and individually in ways that we have contriubuted to this culture where the most vulnerable are the most violated.  Have mercy, Lord, and may Jesus' victory triumph in this whole event and in our world's history.

 

Stop your Convicting Jesus Powers, Eugene Peterson. It's too much! But I do need it.

Casually reading Eugene Peterson is oxymoron. I tried to do that with his book The Contemplative Pastor.  I happened upon this paragraph, and it hit a little to close to home.

"It was a favorite theme of CS Lewis that only lazy people work hard. By lazily abdicating the essential work of deciding and directing, establishing values and setting goals, other people do it for us; then we find ourselves frantically, at the last minute, trying to satisfy a half dozen different demands on our time, none of which is essential to our vocation, to stave off the disaster of disappointing someone." p 19.

Wow, let's just say that has made me reevaluate what it means to be an un-busy pastor.  Thanks be to God that He gives me little windows like this to see my sin and trust in Christ for radical forgiveness. Now, I can see it, own it, and turn joyfully to live my vocation.

New Ministry: Partnership between Harvest USA and New Life Dresher

Harvest USA and New Life have a new opportunity for College-Age women. This is a excerpt from the New Life Website.

Journeyers in Grace

Today, Casey O’Neal writes a guest blog on our new small group for College Age Women called Journeyers in Grace. This group will start September 29th, at 7pm at New Life Dresher.  For more information and sign up, please contact Ellen Dykas, Harvest USA’s Women’s Ministry Coordinator at ellen@harvestusa.org.

“How far is too far when we’re dating?”

“Why do I keep falling into the same temptation again and again?”

“How do I help my friends in their relationships?

“Is God just trying to take away all my fun? Why does he have so many rules?”

“Can God ever forgive me for what I’ve done?”

“Does the Bible really say anything about this stuff…hooking up?

Masturbation?  Homosexuality? Emotional Dependency?

“Could I ever walk in the light? I’ve kept my sexual sin in the dark for my WHOLE life…..”

“What if I don’t even want to change?”

“Why do I want what I want? I don’t even understand my desires…how could I ever tell anyone?”

Ever asked these questions?  The lie is that you’re alone. We’re all asking these questions.  Let’s ask together…with Jesus.

This fall, Harvest USA and New Life Dresher are partnering to equip and disciple women, ages 18-24, in topics relating to God’s design for relationships and sexuality.  We will learn how struggles in these areas can be changed and healed through the love and truth of Jesus.  It is our vision that the church would be a safe, grace-filled place to understand these issues!

Lust Losing Its Luster, Part 4: Statistics You Need to Know

Picking up on a former trend on this blog.  I recently saw this on Coveant Eyes Blog, and below are the sobering statistics based on two years of polling of college students. Everyone working with College students should be aware of these trends.

 

Curveball Theology

The following article is from my friend, Dan Turis, on the Catalyst website. Since I have known him, he has always focused on intentional discipleship.  For more information on this method of discipleship, see Robert Coleman's Master Plan of Evangelism, and AB Bruce's The Training of the Twelve.

Curveball

I have seen a trend in Christian education that attempts to provide pragmatic solutions at the cost of theology. I was sitting in a coffee shop across from a Christian college student and she said, “I don’t believe in theology.” When I pushed for more explanation, she said, “I don’t believe in theology, it is all wrong, I believe in Christ.” Her simple assumption about Jesus needed to be harvested. She liked the church she was going to because the pastor was giving steps on how to follow Jesus and “not theology.”

Living Jubilee

Hesed and I are currently praying for two of our college students, Trevor and Peter.  These two students are not just having a summertime week. They are in Haiti on a mission trip, but this is not your ordinary summer missions trip.  They are not just doing a construction projects or leading Bible Studies. 

So what are they doing?  These two Landscape Architechture majors at Temple Ambler decided to go to Haiti for a Reforestation Project that Trevor developed a year ago.  Trevor was in Haiti the day of the earthquake on back in January 2010. This time he took along Peter a younger student to help him manage the trees they have given out, and develop further resources for the Haitian people to develop tree nurseries.

Trevor and Peter are taking their education and a Christian World and Life View to Haiti, as part of the Kingdom of God.  Christ is King over all the earth, and as his represenatives, Trevor and Peter are using their callings to bring about God's Shalom over the whole world, including Haiti.

Here are Trevor's own words as he approaches this trip:

"As I continue to work in Haiti I am constantly made aware of how deep and complex
the country’s problems are. The recent earthquake is only the latest catastrophe the
people of Haiti have had to face. Political violence, natural disasters, endemic poverty,
and social instability have taken its toll on the people of Haiti and its environment.
Extreme deforestation, due to charcoal dependency, has led to massive topsoil erosion,
widespread famine, drought, mudslides, and ecological destruction, plunging Haiti into
even greater poverty. Yet through all the devastation the will of the Haitian people
seems to survive and press on no matter the adversities. I have found first hand, that
many of the Haitians are eager to restore their country and environment yet they are
unable, simply because they do not have the resources to do it.

The reality is that rebuilding and restoring Haiti cannot be accomplished without
addressing these overwhelming environmental issues. With this understanding, the focus
of the project is not to simply come and plant trees, but rather to empower local
individuals by providing them with the resources and education necessary to begin this
task. We are looking to set in place long-term and sustainable solutions by
simultaneously equipping local individuals to plant and maintain trees on their own land
while introducing inexpensive alternative energies to replace charcoal and firewood
usage."

Pray with me for them and their Kingdom work in Haiti.

Building Habitats in North Carolina

Tomorrow morning, my family and 4 students from Temple Ambler will head down to Concord, NC.  We will be working with Habitat for Humanity.   This is the third trip I have taken with them, and will not be the last.  Habitat knows how to run a Spring Break trip calling it Collegiate Challenge. They think through so much and also know how to guide students in thinking through issues like poverty and charity.

I will be updating the blog through my Kindle and my Twitter account @jerryfourroux throughout the week with the hashtag of #tahfh.  My journal for the week will be my thoughts and reflections on the day before.  Check out Facebook for pictures next week.

Okay, off to pack up and get ready for an 8 hour drive to Concord, NC.  I cannot wait for some good North Carolina pulled pork BBQ, and seeing if JD can swing a hammer.