On Wednesday a.m., Michael Kelley spoke from John 11 about the death of Lazarus. It was not only high drama, but it was high impact. Kelley walked us through the event and the seeming stunning callousness of Jesus’ intentional 4-day delay.

Get this. Three of Jesus’ closest friends - one is on his deathbed. An urgent message is sent to Jesus. They have come to believe in Him as the Messiah and Savior of Israel. They know that He can.

Jesus gets the message… and does nothing.

He can. But He won’t.

How does that hit you?

Kelley pointed out that in at least one other circumstance in scripture, Jesus had only to say the word, and healing took place without Jesus even being there. But He doesn’t do that here either.

On top of that, He doesn’t even head in that direction. He waits two more days, and then makes the two-day journey to Bethany. By the time He arrives, Lazarus is dead, Mary and Martha are mourning, and Jesus’ reputation is on the line.

Jesus has two powerfully poignant conversations with Lazarus’ sisters: Martha and Mary. Martha confesses her belief in Jesus; Mary can only fall at His feet in tears. Both state the obvious: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

I could not help reflecting on all the instances in my own life in which the big IF statement was there. When I’ve “iffed,”  it is usually because my understanding of my circumstances is exceeded by my frustration with them. Implicit in “if” statements is a disagreement with how God has chosen to handle a matter.

When was the last time you were there? You realize that God can, and you’re devastated that He won’t.

Mary and Martha should be commended for their understanding of Jesus’ power. They were confident in Jesus’ abilities. They were now not so sure of His motives.

Things were so bad that upon arriving at the tomb - and I like how the King James Version puts it - they object to Jesus’ command to roll away the stone: “Lord, by this time he stinketh…”

That’s how I sometimes view situations in which the Lord doesn’t act on my own timetable… they stinketh.

But Kelley focused on Jesus’ encounter with Mary. She was the sensitive one, the contemplative one. She was the one who had sat at Jesus’ feet in Luke 10.39 in quiet adoration of the Messiah. Now she was at his feet in grief and confusion.

It was this that stirred the heart of Christ. The ESV records, “When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in His spirit and greatly troubled.” (v33) Just a moment later, “Jesus wept.”

Kelley asked, “What is more amazing - that Jesus raised the dead, or that Jesus knows the end of the story and weeps anyway?”

This is a profound indication of Jesus’ love for His children. He has a larger purpose. We are unaware, and our vision is obstructed. Yet Jesus weeps with us.

One other thing… Kelley pointed out that there is a sense of anger and indignation in the phrase “deeply moved and greatly troubled.” He asked where it was directed:

• To Mary: “Suck it up, Mary, and be a good soldier.” Was she angry that she didn’t get it after all this time?
• To the Sin-Infested World: The world is in such a state that the only way to break through the stranglehold of sin and announce the truth of the Gospel in Christ is through the suffering of God’s people. Sin has so obscured men’s view that His people must suffer in order to for others to see.

He pointed out that suffering is a preeminent theme throughout scripture. Suffering is a primary means that God uses to refine His people and display His glory.

Kelley did a magnificent job preaching this message. It wasn’t a sermon; it was a faith-conversation with us all.

I’ve summarized David Platt’s message here, but you can listen to it here.

When was the last time you saw over 1000 college students study the Bible deeply for five straight hours?

I saw it last night.

David Platt has led his church, Brookhills, to host an event called Secret Church. Here’s what the site says about it:

When we think of “church” in America, we think of going to meet at a building, singing, praying and hearing a message from a Pastor or teacher. But in many places around the world, “church” meets in a home, an apartment, even in secret. These small groups of Christ-followers often meet for many hours in study, prayer and fellowship, as it is dangerous to travel to “church” and they want to make the most of their time together.

Secret Church is our “house church,” where we meet periodically for an intense time of Bible study–lasting 4-6 hours–and prayer for our persecuted brothers and sisters across the globe. This is not for the uncommitted or faint at heart. But if you desire to know God more deeply through His Word, and know His Church more fully around the world, then please join us for Secret Church.

David led us all in a 5-hour study of the Doctrine of God. We had a 74-page booklet that we went through that detailed the awesome attributes and character of our holy God. It was powerful to be part of the event and see students eating it up.

What does that say about a generation of church folks that can hardly tolerate a sermon longer than 20 minutes? And what does it say about the amount of doctrine that folks can possibly know? Perhaps are churching are starving for God’s Word.

David Platt spoke Monday night from Exodus 33.1-4, 12-18. It’s a rather dramatic moment in Moses’ and Israel’s relationship with God. Basically, the Lord has just extinguished the lives of a few thousand Izzies for worshipping the golden calf. In an expression of his divine sovereignty, he announces to Moses that he may go on up to the Promised Land, but that He will NOT go with them.

Platt shared about the dynamics of this encounter and related it uncomfortably well to the church today. Essentially, God told Moses that he could still have what had been promised but that God’s presence would not be a part of it. David shared that we too often crave God’s blessings rather than His presence.

What about you? Do you enjoy God’s blessings and crave more but wish that He would just leave you alone to live your life as you please? It’s akin to winning a shopping spree at Wal-Mart. We just want God to let us enjoy all that He offers without enjoying Him.

The sad thing is, I believe, that few people are even aware that they can enjoy God. Christianity for them is not about relationship with a loving Father. Rather, it’s a religion that needs to be maintained, kept up, and white-washed.

Platt shared that what we need (and what a lost world needs) is for God’s people to be desperate for Him. He said that we needed to be desperate for the Spirit. Like Moses, we need to say that we will not go up into the Promised Land without God. His presence is more important to us than His presents.

As I was journaling this a.m., having had time to reflect on the message, I wrote the following:

I totally agree that we should be “desperate for the Spirit.” Yet, it’s crucial for us and a collegiate audience to know what that looks like. For instance, while we are desperate for the Spirit, we must also realize that a genuine follower of Christ is…

• 1) already sealed by the Spirit (2 Corinthians 1.22, Ephesians 1.13, 4.30),
• 2) baptized in the Spirit, (Mark 1.8, 1 Corinthians 12.13)
• 3) needs to yield to (or walk in) the Spirit. (Galatians 5.16, 25)

I think the latter is what David had in mind in the phrase “desperate for the Spirit.” For the phrase by itself is not enough to carry the day. Nor is the effort to be desperate for the Spirit. It must translate in our lives into a beautiful sacrifice of obedience to God’s revealed Word. It must be matched by a self-denying daily walk with Christ.

When Jesus said His sheep know His voice, He meant that they would recognize, hear and respond to Him. We must learn and acclimate ourselves to the voice of God above all the noise of our lives. This is being desperate for the Spirit. That God sometimes speaks in a gentle whisper should prompt us to live listening for His Word.

By yielding to His Spirit, we will be drawn into His Word so that we’ll become more acquainted - not just with His voice - but with His heart. When we seek to know Him - as Paul in Philippians 3.10 describes - we will be sensitive to the promptings and leadings of His Spirit through the day.

That is what I think Platt was getting at when he urged us to be “desperate for the Spirit.”

Practically, a person desperate for the Spirit will, of course, seek the Father in obedience. That is when the Spirit will produce fruit in our lives - as we yield our lives and bodies to His service. (Galatians 5.21-22) We will also seek Him privately and corporately (with other desperate believers) in prayer.

Platt shared about Jeremiah Lanphier amazing prayer movement/revival as an example of what it means to be desperate for the Spirit. The word “desperate” is such a good description of a much-needed attitude in the church. We need to be like Moses and with shock realize that God does not have to go with us. And we need to be so desperate for Him - apart from His gifts - that we will not move until we’re confident of His presence.

So, being desperate for the Spirit truly should look like embracing God’s Word, practicing obedience, and seeking Him and His glory in humility and grateful dependence.

When was the last time you were desperate for the presence and person of God? If it’s hard to remember, try gathering 1-2 others with you for a time of prayer and in humble desperation, call on the Father for His presence rather than His presents.

On Monday, Michael Kelley and David Platt both preached and taught powerfully from God’s Word. Both were complementary of each other. The point is an old one, but they presented it with biblical authority and conviction: go to and get involved in the church! Christians who disparage the church are also maligning the very bride of Christ.

Michael’s message centered on Romans 12.1. He demonstrated convincingly after a summary of each chapter of the Romans that the “therefore” in Romans 12.1 is a reflection of all that Paul has written so far.

“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”

Now here’s where it got interesting. He pointed out that in some translations (the NIV included), the word “sacrifice” is plural. However, in the Greek it is singular. That’s a powerful distinction. Essentially, what Paul is geting at is that all believers (plural) should present our bodies (plural) as one, singular sacrifice to God. That infers the corporate nature of the church.

Especially as you continue reading the next several verses in Romans, you see Paul describing how God gave gifts to believers to function as His body, the church. Kelley preached that God did not give us an individual assignment but a “group project,” and that group project is the church. You can see this taught in 1 Corinthians 12 as well. Christians are not to withdraw from the church for their own selfish, dissatisfied reasons. Nor should we in the church malign it or other Christ-following fellowships.

In the church, God calls and gifts leaders to encourage, direct, rebuke, and exhort the people of God. In the church, you have ugliness AND beauty. No church is perfect, and the fact that anything gets done at all for the kingdom of Christ is simply a testimony to the fact of God’s grace and power over man’s sinfulness. But it is in the church that the very presence and fulness of God rests. It is upon the church that God pours out His Spirit. And it is the church that God calls into the world to preach the Gospel.

Kelley said, “You must be you so she can be her,” in referring to using our gifts for the church and the extension of the kingdom of God.

I felt it was a powerful message for those of us so familiar with the church that we sometimes criticize it. It was also a powerful rebuke for those who would sit on the sidelines embracing uninvolvement and even those who would create un-churches (groups disconnected from the whole body of Christ) out of discontent with the way church is being done.

Kelley said that perhaps the reason so may people disdain the church today - including disconnected Christians - may be because we have radically underestimated the role and scope of the church in redemptive history. Essentially, we must re-mind ourselves that the church is God’s only strategy for redeeming a lost world!

Listen to the message below:

I’m pooped. And I need a walker.

Jeremy and I hiked six miles yesterday after lunch to see a ghost town. It wasn’t much more than a clearing back up in the mountains. It was stunningly beautiful. Blue spruce trees really have a blue tint to them. We also saw the remnants of an old hotel. The basement walls were visible and showed stone masonry. In the crosscut timbers, you could also see the large, square nails that were used.

I enjoyed the hike while I was on it, but last night, I stiff-legged everywhere. I was fine most of today as well, but in the worship service tonight, my legs apparently died. When I got up to leave, they ignored my commands, and I had to drag them along underneath me like dead wood. I will whip them for their disobedience and hope they behave better tomorrow.

Under gorgeous skies and crisp mountain air today, I got to eat lunch with Tracy, Jeremy and David James - the Collegiate Ministry Team leader for Arkansas. We had a great visit and dined out at an authentic Mexican food (or New Mexican) restaurant in Pecos. I tried to order enchiladas without green or red chile sauce on them, and the matronly waitress said I couldn’t. We were all a little surprised at her directness, but she politely explained that they wouldn’t serve their enchiladas in a way that might lead me to conclude they were tasteless. So I ordered a hamburger.

Before you ridicule for the hamburger, she did bring us samples of the chile sauce - both red and green. They were hotter than Arkansas is right now. Imagine the hellish heat of a piece of asphalt that’s been scorched by the sun all day long concentrated onto the surface of your tongue. You’d order a hamburger too.

I taught a seminar this evening on Blogging for Impact: The Power of Social Webbing for Witness and Leadership. I am scheduled to teach it again on Wednesday. There was a great turnout for it, and I think it went well. They asked some excellent questions. One surprise: in the room, there was only one person who Twitters besides me and Jeremy. They all were intrigued by the opportunity Twitter provides for ministry updating and networking.

Yesterday, Tracy and Jonathan barely made it to the worship session. They spent a long day fighting lost luggage issues and medicine prescriptions which required a trip to Santa Fe. After the worship time, the four of us gathered on the balcony of New Mexico Hall for a time of intimate prayer. It’s powerful to pour out your heart to the Father with folks who are doing the same.

Nuff said for now…

I’m at Glorieta for National Collegiate Week. Michael Kelley is the Bible study leader for the mornings, and David Platt is the teacher during the evenings. Both brought the Word of God with conviction and authority today. The gathered crowd of 1500+ collegians and ministers were visibly moved by the messages.

Kelley spoke from Mark 11.12-24. It’s the passage where Jesus curses the fig tree as he’s heading into Jerusalem during the last week of his life. Mark makes a point to separate the fig tree account with the story of Jesus driving out the money changers from the temple.

The picture is of Jesus expecting to find something of substance, something of benefit, something to indicate fruitfulness, but He found nothing. Kelley asked if we and our churches have any substance, or if there are just leaves there - leaves that give a false impression of life and fruitfulness but which conceal our spiritual barrenness.

Platt spoke from Luke 9.51-62 about four pictures of Jesus and our response to Him. In each instance in these verses, people approached Jesus, wanting to follow Him, and in each case Jesus indicated that either they were not suitable or they could not. It’s definitely a “hard” passage.

Platt spoke powerfully and with great conviction. He asked us whether we, like the people mentioned in the passage, were using Jesus as a means to an end. “I’ll accept Him so that ________.” (fill in the blank) Platt pointed out how ludicrous it is to even conceive that we “accept” Jesus. Rather, it is the other way around, and His acceptance of us is based only on His grace and our faith.

For those who have “accepted” Jesus and used Him as a “ticket” to heaven, peace, better life, etc., Platt had strong words of caution that indicate that true faith may not be present.

Platt said God is the giver of the gospel; that Jesus is the gift of the gospel; and that Jesus is the goal of the gospel. We pursue Christ not to get _________, but rather to get Christ. He is the end of search.

Jesus doesn’t “need” us, Platt warned, and any thought or attempt at motivating people to serve God because God needs help is blasphemous. He is perfectly able to work without our help. We should be thankful that He chooses to use us in His grace. This perspective prevents our pride and false religion from being established.

In closing, Day 1 yielded some powerful teaching and many intimate conversations with friends and ministers.

Listen to David Platt and Michael Kelley’s messages from Sunday here.

I mentioned earlier that I’ve written a chapter for Age of Conversation: Why Don’t They Get It? It comes out next month, shortly after Labor Day. I hope you’ll order a copy. Bring it by, and I’ll sign it and smile bashfully. All proceeds go to the Variety Children’s Charity.

There are 243 authors! Pretty amazing work of collaboration. Many thanks to Drew and Gavin once again (this is the second AOC book!) for their hard work in pulling all of this together. Here’s the author list:

Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock, Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Arun Rajagopal, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Chris Brown, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Schawbel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Dave Davison, David Armano, David Berkowitz, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne & Todd Cabral, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, John Herrington, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kristin Gorski, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tim Brunelle, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff, Yves Van Landeghem

OK, I’ve been using Swurl for about two weeks now and LOVE it. Of course, it’s competing in my microblogging heart for affection with Tumblr. I’d be curious which of the two websites you like the most.

• journeyguy.tumblr.com
• journeyguy.swurl.com

Both are wonderful tools for lifestreaming. Both are very easy to set up. Both allow you to track friends - although Swurl is far more comprehensive with this option. Here are the differences:

• Tumblr actually can be used as a blog. You can make new entries there. It will also pull your microblogging from others sources. Swurl only pulls all your entries from other sources - you can’t actually “create” an entry in Swurl.
• Swurl has an amazing visual archive feature. In moments, it had archived all my tweets, my blogs, and status updates in an attractive graph. This is startling, because it successfully archived this blog which has close to 1000 entries!