Time and Pressure

There is a wonderful line in "Shawshank Redemption" describing how the main character, Andy Dufresne, escaped Shawshank prison. Morgan Freeman's character gives us this gem that has stuck with me over the years: 

"Oh, Andy loved geology. I imagine it appealed to his meticulous nature. An ice age here, million years of mountain building there. Geology is the study of pressure and time. That's all it takes, really. Pressure, and time. That and a big damn poster."

The reference is to Andy's escape. But the phrase "time and pressure" always stuck with me. I've long since used it as a symbol of what it takes to be successful. I tend to apply it in broad strokes to marriage, business, parenting, and life. It seems few people lack the fortitude necessary to do the right thing over a long period of time. We are hopeful that our decisions will have an immediate impact. We say "I love you" to our spouse and then lie in wait, hoping they will unfold. We make a slick video for our website and hope that it brings in droves of new purchasers and customers. We read a blog about the benefits of healthy dieting and we spend 30 days eating "whole foods" all the while dreaming of the euphoric 31st day when we can eat all the "bad foods" that we find so comforting. 

These aren't bad things. Changing your diet is often inspired and healthy. Making a new video can be useful. And telling your significant other you love them is obviously a good thing. But I think most of us look to these behavioral changes as a sort of rescue and when they don't deliver the promised outcome, we simply switch to a new one. This is why fad diets continue to earn millions, get rich quick schemed con thousands out of time and money, and marriages fail some made up percentage of the time. 

What's the real solution? Pressure and time. That's all it really takes. Doing the right thing over a long period of time. Working hard over a series of years at whatever it is you are considering and valuing. A marriage is not built in 2 years of dating or 6 months of engagement, as Rome was not built in a day. A successful business is not built in a yearlong flurry. And a healthy body and mind are not built in a month. There are exceptions to these rules, but by and large, most of us will find more joy in the lifetime grind. Pressure and time...and a big damn poster (posters for sale on my website).

The Moon

Light floods the roadway

Like stars dancing naked on the beach

I am jealous for its shine

Inconstant clouds protrude into the warming rays of darkness

Dark and light they move quietly into view

They mustn’t leave us alone

For the radiance would be too brilliant to withstand

Circling like sharks

Vapors obstruct our intimacy

What are they thinking, these clouds?

They have never known love

Perhaps they are desperate for attention

I shan’t give them a thing for this effort

My soul desire is for you, my moon

Bid them flee, until we are alone.

It is mostly the dark ones who have overcome us

Blotting out your light from my ocean eyes

Clear clouds know their place

They accent your beauty

Framing in the grains of sand shaping your face

Shall we run from them?

They are but a mist, and will surely pass.

You and I must live forever

Like tangled souls, my moon.

A Right to Be Angry- The Rob Bell Problem

If there were a FAQ section of Christianity, it would be filled with things like:
If God is good and real, how can there be pain and suffering in the world?
How did Satan fall?
And, if God is loving, how can he send people to hell?

This blog is in response to the last question, because, according to Scripture, God has every right to be angry. I am writing because the wrath of God has come under attack from emergent churches, but this is to be expected as Paul certainly encountered such problems.

First, we must understand that God is indeed loving, but that is not the sole characteristic by which we know Him. Nor is it the entire focus of the Bible. God is loving, just, compassionate, humble, glorious, and many other things. All of these combine to say that God is perfect, or Holy. The Hebrew definition of "holy" is set-apart, different, flawless, perfectly righteous. So all of God's characteristics in sum show us how different he is than us, how holy he is. And if one of those attributes were missing then he would not be holy, he would not be perfect, and thus would not be God. Let us say, for instance, that God was not perfectly loving, but loved with flaws. His love would be incomplete, and thus he would be incomplete, and he would not be God, certainly not a God worth worshiping. The same is true for his justice. If God is not perfectly just, then he is not holy, and he is not therefore God, and is not worth worshiping. By all this it is essential that we see God as just. He must be perfectly just.

Second, we must define what it means to be just. By human standards, just means to be guided by truth, reason, fairness, and justice. By God's standards, he must be perfectly guided by truth, reason, fairness, and justice. In order for God to be just, he must be perfectly these things. Most people would not debate up to this point, but here is where people start to turn away because it is a difficult truth.

The third conclusion we must reach in order to understand this is that human beings are sinful. We are completely and totally depraved. After the fall of man in Genesis 3, human beings have been 100% evil. Romans 3 states that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Every person in history (except for Jesus) has fallen short of what God intended for our lives (namely, to worship Him- think garden of Eden). Scripture also says that the payment for this sin is death (Romans 6:23). So every person who has ever sinned (which is all of us), will pay the payment of death. And not just any death, but death separate from God. Death in itself is no punishment/payment at all, for it simply means not existing. There is no pain or consequence while not existing, it is simply nothingness. The punishment for our sin is death, and in order for God to be just he must punish wrongdoing with death, namely a death apart from Him.

Paul says in Ephesians 2 that we are by nature children of wrath. IT IS OUR NATURE. I'm not sure how it could be worded more clearly than that. God must hate sin. If he is holy, if he is God, if he is perfect, he must hate sin with an infinite amount of passion, and he MUST punish it. If God did not punish sin, he would not be good!

God had every right to be angry at me. He had every right to destroy me, to kill me, to separate me from himself forever because of my sin. But, and that is a beautiful but, God being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us...made us alive together with Christ (Ephesians 2:4-5). How were we made alive? With Christ. How is a person saved from the wrath of God? Through Jesus. God's great provision was to send his Son to bear my punishment. This was the only solution. In order for me to be made righteous and for God to remain holy, his wrath had to be poured out on sin, and he CHOSE to do that on his Son.

Oh that we could see and fear that divine omnipotent wrath and know what it was we were saved from! This is what makes the Gospel so precious. Without it then we have a compassionate and unjust God letting sinners go freely with a great amount of wrath built up towards sin, and the cross has saved us from nothing.

Scripture is clear that in order for a person to be saved they must believe in their heart and confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord (master) of their life, and that God raised Him from the dead. That is the only essential belief. And if this is not required, Scripture is wrong.

In a recent video, seen below, Rob Bell raises the question of how a loving God could send people to hell. This video has already caused quite a stir in the evangelical world, and the camp seems to be divided. Many who have been impacted by Bell's intellectualism and thought provoking ministry are calling judgments "premature and unfair." Others are frustrated that Bell is getting further and further from Biblical Christianity. While Bell may be a "contrarian" and uncannily good at "asking innocent questions" so as to remain guiltless in all this, it seems his new book has crossed into universalism. The publisher's review of the book has this in the preview: "Bell addresses one of the most controversial issues of faith—the afterlife—arguing that a loving God would never sentence human souls to eternal suffering." Some are saying judgment is premature, and others are saying that Bell is simply asking questions. But if the publisher is saying that Bell is making this argument, either Bell has departed from Biblical Christianity or the people who pay to have his books sold don't even understand what he is writing. The real problem- Bell is a pastor. It is his job to shepherd the sheep, to answer questions, and to help people trust the Bible. He seems to generate distrust, controversy, and strife all for the sake of publicity for himself and his writings. This is not the call of a pastor or a Christian, and I pray that Bell would repent and head back to Biblical based faith.

God does not need me to run to his defense, and this is certainly not me wishing to stir up dissent within the church. But believers cannot be misled by false teachers. I will pray for Rob Bell, and hope that this is simply a publicity stunt. But a lesson is to be learned here- Theology should be based off of the Bible, not feelings or relevancy- simply the Word of God. And strong Theology is essential if we are to keep from forming our God into the image of ourselves.

Bell may have a hard time seeing God with wrath because loving human beings are often pictured as never being angry. But God is not human, he is Holy, which means he is very different than every one of us. It is essential that we understand God's wrath towards human beings poured out on his Son Jesus to free us from that wrath in order to truly understand the weight of the Gospel. Without God's wrath, the cross was meaningless.

Winter Camp Day 3 Update

It's the final night of a 4 day pursuit of God. The last day at camp held quite a few surprises. We started the day off with breakout sessions once more. Today we had guys and girls breakouts in separate areas, and had a panel of youth leaders answer questions. One panel of all ladies fielded any questions the girls could think to ask, and the guys did the same thing on the other side of campus (we figured the distance would be appropriate). The questions are written down on small paper clippings and dropped in a box, so they are anonymous, which allows the students to ask things they may have been afraid to ask before.

The afternoon was home to the historic FOS Final Day Relay! As always, it ended with a 6 person pyramid, and you can see some of the results in the photos. After a large chunk of free time (that was consumed with a trip to white pass for some sledding), we all headed into service. I preached a first person narrative sermon in the perspective of the Apostle Paul during the stoning of Stephen and his persecution of the church that ensued. The point was that Jesus forgave Paul, and that example was shown to us so we could be absolutely certain that he could forgive us too (1 Timothy 1:15-17). The big theme of the night was confession. We are encouraging our young men and women to be completely honest and trust that FOS is a safe place to be transparent. The phrase I often use is "it's ok to not be ok." Tonight honed in on that, and the response was incredible. God has been so good to us on this mountain. A lack of snow, tired bodies, and selfish, sinful souls are not enough to stop God from doing something profound. I have been blessed to see these students respond the way they have.

Enjoy the pictures, and I believe I will be signing off for now at about 1:30! Check out fosmissions.blogspot.com and/or takethegamble.blogspot.com (sorry for the misinformation yesterday, must be the sleep depravation program!).

For the Glory of God,
Jake

Junior High Guys' Pyramid







Junior High Girls







High School Girls







High School Guys







High School Guys- The 2011 Relay Champions







Some Sunday Night Photos From Our Worship Service

FOS Winter Camp Day 2

Hello Again,
It is almost midnight here at Ghormley Meadows, and we have some excited kids. We started off the morning with devotions. Each student received a notebook that includes a camp schedule, space for notes, and devotions. It would be extremely cool for the kids to come home to parents asking about the notebooks! They will keep them with them until the trip home, and you could walk through some of their notes, and even the morning devotions they did while at camp. After devotions we hit breakfast, and then had individual devotion time (that means the kids read their BIbles on their own, rather than as a cabin). The pictures you see of groups in cabins are of our breakout sessions. We had 4 total:
1) Ally Fleming- "There's Something About Mary"- Ally is a great youth staffer, and her breakout session was for young women trying to figure out how to be a godly woman in today's world. It was an in depth look at the life and character of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Most of our girls sat through this at least once, and it would be worthwhile to ask what they learned from this one!
2) Nate Wauzynski- "When Push Comes to Love"- Nate is a former youth pastor from Yakima, and has come to FOS with an awesome energy and heart to serve. He has preached a few times, and taught this breakout session on loving people who are "unlovable." He did a great job exposing the Biblical truth that if we don't love these, then no one will. It is our responsibility to love people that are difficult to love. Another great session!
3) Rachael Brown- "Worship Through Music"- Rachael spoke to a few smaller groups (mostly musicians) about the true heart of musical worship. She did a phenomenal job bringing to light the Biblical inspiration of most music, and reminding us that all of our worship should be "Scripture-centric." Every student and leader I saw coming out of this one was processing deep truth.
4) Chase Salyers- "What is He Worth?"- Chase's breakout session was on taking risks for the gospel. Chase just moved to Washington from Ohio to finish school, and is a man of the Word. He did a great job stirring up the hearts of these young men and women to go and share the gospel all over the world.

After our breakout sessions, we had lunch and a bit of a break. At 1 pm we started our game sessions. The most popular of which is likely the infamous "grinder." You'll see pictures that invoke the competitive spirit. The structured games lasted for two hours, and at 3:30 pm the students have free time until dinner. At 6:15 pm we start pre-service prayer, and then head into our service. Tonight I spoke on "Joyful Submission." The big idea was as follows: Having a high view of Jesus allows us to serve Him joyfully. The point of the message was that if we are having a difficult time serving God, and it feels like begrudging submission to a far off God, we have lost sight of our great Savior. I listed ten attributes of Jesus from Scripture: 1) Selfless (Phil. 2:6), 2) Humble (Phil. 2:7-8), 3) Compassionate (Matt. 9:36), 4) Loving (John 15:13), 5) Courageous (Matt. 26), 6) Powerful (Matt. 9:53), 7) Gracious (Luke 23:34), 8) Sympathetic (Hebrews 4:15), 9) Just (Gen. 18:25), 10) Righteous (1 Peter 2:22). In light of all these things, we should be excited to be on Jesus' team.

I hope these emails are finding you well! We have some bumps and bruises, and some sleepy faces, but God is moving in the hearts of our young men and women, and lives are being changed for eternity on this mountain. God is good.

You can see these emails in blog form with picture captions at fosmissions.blogspot.com and foundlacking.blogspot.com

For the Glory of God,
Jake Gamble

Chase's Breakout Session- "What is He Worth"







Nate's Breakout- "When Push Comes to Love"







Rachael's breakout- "Worship Through Song"







Ally's Breakout- "There's something about Mary"







Spruce Cabin's Breakfast







Worship After The Message







"The Name Game" - (Hilarious!)







Our 6'6" 240 pound Youth Staff Man-beast vs. 4 Junior High Girls (The Girls Won!)







Jared Dziadosz Working on a Fingerblaster

Fos Winter Camp- Parents Email Day 1

First, I wanted to say thank you to all of you who are getting this email. Your interest in the lives of these Young Men and Women will spur them on to good works, to fight the good fight of faith, and to run the race with perseverance. Second, I wanted to share with you some of the things that happened today. The first day of camp is always overwhelming. Whatever can go wrong will, and things that shouldn't find a way to add to the fun. We started the day late, because of me losing my keys 2 minutes prior to departure. That means I could not bring my laptop, sermon slides, or any service orders. We were also missing a few pieces for the band, and one of the buses took the "scenic route" arriving 45 minutes later than the rest of the group. But we were determined to make it all work.

The students and leaders sat down at dinner together (I didn't get to go or I would have pictures), and then headed down for service. I spoke on Genesis 25, "A Heart For Sale." It was the story of Esau selling his birthright for a bowl of stew, and the human predisposition to settle for less than what God has called us to. The kids responded well, and you can view some of the attached photos. We also have two guest musicians from Massachusetts providing the music, and are doing a great job. Every one is now in bed and hopefully (but not likely) enjoying a good night's sleep before a full day tomorrow.

Thank you for your interest in the lives of these young men and women. The vision I have for ECC's unified church is brought to light in this verse in 1 Thessalonians: "So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us." I pray that this is the heart God is working through the generations at ECC, that the Gospel has stirred your hearts and mine to not only share the gospel, but also our lives, because our love for one another is so dear.

You can also read this email at FOS' missions blog linked below, and my blog. Thanks again,

For the Glory of God,
Jake Gamble

P.S.- Sorry the pictures are a little blurry- I'm working on it.

Some of the guys in "Cougar" hanging out for small group.

Isaiah 6

My eyes searched frantically for something familiar

They found nowhere to rest.

My gaze was stolen by the man and His throne

Captivated by His presence my spirit lifted him higher

And he ascended in my praise.

The winged beasts circled Him ominously,

Covering their eyes in fear of His beauty

They spoke nothing but I could hear their cries

They called him holy, perfectly holy,

And my heart screamed in agreement

His glory overflowed my heart and I was afraid.

The muscles in my legs pinged with adrenaline

Ready to give out from shock

I said it, no I shouted it, from the depths of my

Visceral being it came- “Woe is me! I am a man

Of unclean lips...for my eyes have seen the King,

The Lord of Hosts.” The room shifted at my feet

They must have heard me. The world must have

Heard me shout. One of the stunning creatures

Majestically swooped up a fiery stone and pressed

It hard to my lips. The freeing agony I felt

Electrified my stony heart, and I leapt.

I heard his whisper, “Behold, this has touched

Your lips, your guilt is taken away, and your sin

Atoned for.” It was gone. The winged beasts

Disappeared and all I saw was my roof.

It was real.

Meditations on Ephesians 5 Part II

Thought 2 From My Readings of Ephesians 5:22-33

The motivation of Jesus in laying down his life for the church was that "he might sanctify her...so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish." Christ died for the church so that she would be sinless and blameless before Him at the day of Christ. How would this reward Christ? If you recall in chapter 1 verse 18 Paul writes, "that you may know...the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints." Christ is preparing His heavenly inheritance. It is of indescribable importance that He die for the church because:
1) If He doesn't die for Her, she will not be with Him. Without the death of Christ, the church will not enter into eternity. The Groom will be "brideless" on that day. She cannot be righteous without the blood of the Groom. So in order for the bride to join Him she must be made clean, and the only way she can be made clean is through the Groom's laying down of His life.
2) She is His body. She is a part of Him. When He came for Her the two became one flesh (v. 31-32). If Christ did not die for her then He would have separated Himself from Himself, which we know to be impossible.

For earthly husbands, this means you are called to give up your self in order to bring your bride to yourself. If you are to be joined with her properly, she must be led the right way. If a husband is not leading in his home, his WIFE will be guilty! That is an incredible thought to me, and may bring about some reactions that are unfriendly (go ahead and send some hate mail), but as one flesh his obedience makes her sanctified.

It is important to realize this means two very important things. First, how important is it that husbands follow this instruction? If you don't, your wives will be found guilty of your sin! Second, wives should realize the importance of marrying a man who will fulfill this responsibility. Marry a leader, not a coward! Do not marry a man you can direct and manipulate. Marry a man who will die to himself for you in order to present you to himself, pure and blameless, spotless and beautiful, holy and righteous.
Sovereign Father, Your Word instructs us to do this. Give men the strength to not back down from this challenge, and do so for the sake of Your great Name. Make the marriages of Christian men and women a reflection of Your Son and His Bride, one that glorifies your greatness! In the Name of Jesus I ask these things, Amen.

Meditations on Ephesians 5

Over the next few days I am hoping to post some solid thoughts I am having on Ephesians 5:22-33.

Thought 1:
The way a husband should love his wife is the way Christ loved the church. This is a profound truth that is so often misplaced. Many preachers will say the phrase "gave himself up for her" means that he died for her, which is true, but it is so much more than that. The words "gave up" are "paredoken" in Greek. The semantic range of this word means:
1) give over from one's hand to someone or something
2) of authoritative commitment of something to someone
3) of a sacrificial love
4) as a legal technical term for passing someone along in the judicial
process- an unjustified act of handing someone over to judicial authorities

We can choose one of these working definitions, but I believe under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit Paul meant every one of them. Christ gave HimSELF up. He gave up SELF for the sake of the church, his bride. Human beings operate in the vein of "I will do whatever brings me the most amount of pleasure and the least amount of pain." It is built into us to do such a thing, and there is very little to drive us from that thought process. But for Christ, He was driven from that thought process. He abandoned heaven and equality with God, not counting it something to be grasped, made Himself a servant and took the form of nothing, and humbled Himself to death, even death on a cross. Remember- this is GOD we are talking about. The deity of Christ cannot be forgotten. If we lose the fullness of His deity we lose the fullness of His sacrifice and thus the cross does not have the same effect- namely, to draw us to it in awestruck worship.

Ultimately, the example we meet of how Christ loved the church is a brief one- He betrayed (this is the literal meaning) His SELF and handed His SELF over to her. This was all done with full knowledge (for Jesus is God and all knowing) that His bride would deny Him and shame Him for centuries until He returns. That she would turn and run at times, and do horrific things in His name. In full knowledge of this He died to Himself, and He took responsibility for His bride.

This self-sacrificing love comes from a heart that loves it's object more than itself. I cannot imagine how difficult it is for a husband to love his wife with full knowledge that she will not love him back, or submit to him as she's supposed to, or deny him to his face. I cannot imagine the pain a husband would experience when his bride finds comfort in another man. But Scripture is clear on this- it is His job to die to Himself and love His wife, no matter how she is acting. He must give up His SELF and love her. Husbands, respond to this call. Follow the example of our precious Savior! Seek His strength in being able to love your wives as you must, die to yourself for them at every moment!

Next Post- Why should we, and why would He?

Spurgeon On Daniel and Prayer

"It is no small token of God's love to a man, if the man lives in the spirit of prayer, if he delights himself in prayer, and if year after year prayer has not become a monotony to him, if it is real to him, yea, and if he so much hungers after more of it that he devotes lengthened seasons to its more intense exercise. If God privileges him to become mighty in prayer, then is he a man greatly beloved. Power in prayer is one of the most divine of the Lord's gracious gifts...Whenever I look upon a man who is powerful in prayer, who by supplication brings down blessings on his own family, and the church and his neighborhood, I know that there is to be found a man who is indeed greatly beloved." CH Spurgeon

This is taken from a sermon on Daniel 10:19. Make us people who do not find prayer monotonous or dull. Let us hunger after more prayer.

Ephesians 1:15-23

Paul's prayer for the Ephesians in this passage struck me as incredibly beautiful this morning. His prayer isn't that their lives would be easy, they would be rich, but that God would reveal Himself to them fully and completely in three ways (having the eyes of their hearts enlightened in these three ways:

1) "That you may know what is the hope to which He has called you..."- That is, namely, that the Christians in Ephesus may have an understanding of what it means to be a Christian, what the desires of our heart truly are. It is possible to be so mixed up in this life as a Christian that we hope in the wrong things. But Paul's prayer for the Ephesians is that their hope would be in the right thing, through revelation and wisdom from God they would know the Hope God has called them to- hope in Jesus Christ, hope in the future resurrection from the dead. Hope in this, for it will not fail. "Whom have I in heaven but you? There is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. Though my heart and my flesh may fail, God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalm 73:25-26

2)"That you may know...what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints..."- Know, Ephesians, that the people of God will be gathered together in eternity and this is the inheritance of God. Not only this, but Paul calls it a rich and glorious inheritance! God is looking forward to eternity with the saints in Jesus Christ and will enjoy the praises of His people for all time. It is no fluke that God has saved you, nor has He saved you without purpose. God has saved us for Himself, "In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ..." (Ephesians 1:4-5). God will wake the dead for Himself, to His glory, and it will be our pleasure and His to praise Him for all of eternity!

3) That you may know...what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe..." If you continue reading, you will see that the power this speaks of is the power that raised Christ from the dead. This greatly powerful display, put on by God, showed that there is no authority greater than Him! The very worst that this world could do to man, to take away His life, was not enough to overcome the power of the Father! He is "above all rule and authority and power and dominion..." (Ephesians 1:21). There is nothing greater than God, and He shows us this greatness in that the same power that raised Christ from the dead is working amongst all who believe in His name!

Oh how I pray this for the church today! God make it so, do this among your people. Enlighten the eyes of our heart so that we may see You, Father.

In the Middle

I am currently sitting in a recliner 6 days following a simple nasal surgery. Those six days have been spent flat on my back, eyes watering, and head feeling like it may explode. Now is no different, maybe even the worst it has been for some time. I would be optimistic, were it not for the ominous information that tomorrow I will be at a research hospital in Seattle awaiting a treatment for the small (non-cancerous) mass they found in my nose during surgery. That process will take a few more days, a few more pills, and of course a few more dollars.

I say all that not in hopes that many will look at me and feel pity. This situation is far easier than that of so many in the world, and my plight is an easy sentence for those fighting cancer or losing loved ones. However, since my life has not been characterized by suffering, this has been difficult for me. I have been withheld from activities, people, and things that I do love. I feel as if I can't carry on a coherent conversation. I can hardly read my Bible because staring at the page hurts my head! But in all this I have found sweet comfort in one thing- that my God is sovereign.

Given the thought that this were "from Satan," or "not of God," I think my temperament would be most gloomy. I would sit and think of ways that I could get better, or earn enough of God's favor and grace to get healed. But on the other side of that fence- the one where my soul rests- there are green pastures, still waters, and a rod and staff that may strike with pain at times, but will never fail to steer me away from eminent danger. I have great confidence that this whole ordeal was ordained by God for His glory and for my joy. At this point, I don't know how that will arrive. I do find some joy in trying to figure out that mystery, but I have never had a doubt that my God is here, and he is better than pain. There is an enormous difference in believing in THE Sovereign God, and believing in a god. My God is sovereign, and "even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me."

Thank you Lord, this is not easy but I trust that it is right. Help me to deal with it in a way that reflects your Glory.

Thank the Lord

In my reading today I came across this passage in the book of Judges. If you've never read it before, Judges is a fairly accurate summary of most of our lives. The people of Israel "did what was evil in the sight of the Lord" over and over again. They would serve other gods, not follow his commandments, and for the most part dishonor God in every way. Very few were faithful in this time, and at the end of it they would be in trouble. They typically ended up in oppression to people like the Philistines or the Midianites, and once they were miserable enough they would repent and call out to God. This text grabbed my heart today as I read it, thanking Him that this was never His response to me:

"And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against you, because we have forsaken our God and have served the Baals.” 11 And the Lord said to the people of Israel, “Did I not save you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites, from the Ammonites and from the Philistines? 12 The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you, and you cried out to me, and I saved you out of their hand. 13 Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods; therefore I will save you no more. 14 Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” 15 And the people of Israel said to the Lord, “We have sinned; do to us whatever seems good to you. Only please deliver us this day.” 16 So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord, and he became impatient over the misery of Israel."

I don't feel that different from the Israelites in Judges. God will often take action in convincing fashion all around me. I see lives changed at a camp, people healed, addictions cured, and hope rekindled quite often. Just like the Israelites saw deliverance from oppressors and slavery, miracles, punishment for sin, and the Red Sea parted in front of them. Most of the time we can objectify ourselves from stories, thinking, "How could they forget that easily? If I had seen what they had seen, I would never forget!" I think it almost every day. But the reality is, we would/do forget. I can't imagine if those same Israelites were alive today, would they be looking at us thinking, "How could they forget? If I had seen Jesus die on the cross like they have seen, I would never forget!"

We tend to romanticize everything but the present, and the present says this- "You have seen. You know the truth. You have heard about this Jesus. You know the price He paid for you. It is real. Follow Him." It is enough. He has done more than enough for us. I thank God that His response to me when I cried out to Him wasn't, "Did I not save you from her? Did I not save you from lust? Did I not save you from pride? You cried out to me and I delivered you from their hands. Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods; therefore I will save you no more. 14 Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.”

Oh how I thank God that He is more than patient with me! That when I have chased after idols and foolishness he never responded in that way! His response was always, "I have saved you, I have made you righteous!" The gods I pursued could never have saved me, but God did!

I finished my reading today with 2 Corinthians 5:21- "God made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."

He made the way, He solved the problem, He sent His Son, He was perfect, HE SAVES. Thank God that He saves. To Him be the glory.

Prayer

I often wonder what it is that brings people to their knees before God. Everyone has a different story, many are like mine, and others are unique or original tales of God's grace. Nevertheless, we do have a story, and at some point in there if we are a Christian we have found ourselves on our knees before God. So often Christianity is mistaken for wanting to go to heaven and escaping hell. Reality: fear of hell is not sufficient to usher you into the kingdom of God. Heaven is for those who love Him, and that doesn't stem from fear of hell in and of itself. Somewhere between falling on our knees in worship at the Cross of Jesus Christ and entering into Heaven we fall into a trap- Pride.

Pride is ever so dangerous and always lurking around the corner. It is a constant danger and appears in so many different ways. What is pride you say? Edward Payson says this:

"Pride consists in an unduly exalted opinion of one's self. It is, therefore, impatient of a rival, hates a superior, and cannot endure a master."

Paul reminds us in Romans 12 not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to, but with sober judgment examine ourselves. I love his advice, but how does this come? I am not the only person on earth blogging on pride. I am the 1,000,000th customer in this game. So many have answered the question in their minds, and yet it still plagued me. The reason- I am so proud. It is a battle for so long that I couldn't win, and eventually deemed helpless. It showed itself in subtle ways, like establishing myself as an "Alpha" in a group. It happens when I judge the conversations of others. It rears its ugly head when I hear another teach or preach. Pride leaps out when I "fish for compliments" because of my insecurities. Funny how insecurity at its core is really pride. I fought and fought for so long. I legitimately tried everything I knew, and I had an insatiable hunger for the Word of God...but nothing worked.

Recently I think I have found the solution. It is simple, but people find it so difficult. Prayer. I really think that as Christians we should lament that our prayers don't do more. But is there anything more humbling than asking God for EVERYTHING?! When you get in your car and pray for a safe trip- because you have no control over the other drivers on the road and whether or not you get there safely! When you get in the shower in the morning- because your life is so fragile you could slip and fall. When you wake up after a night's sleep- because God created the world in such a way that sleeping gives your body rest, and He doesn't need any! When you teach and preach and proclaim the gospel with great words and knowledge- and then you stand before kids crying unable to formulate a coherent thought...pray, and God acts.

Knowing that we aren't in control of anything can be frightening at first. Praying for humility, praying in everything, praying for friends and churches and missionaries- it's humbling. It shows us how big God is and how sovereign He is, and just how incredibly small we are!

Why is it comforting? Because in the end you aren't as good at controlling stuff as He is. Because God knows everything, and you only know most stuff. And because the God who created the world through spoken word is orchestrating the workings of the universe to work together for the good of the entire church (universal) instead of you working for your own good.

Pray. Humble yourself in prayer. Pray to Him for all things, through all things, and in all things. You will be surprised to find that God answers prayers and takes delight in meeting the needs of His people.

"The church will not get on its feet until it first gets on its knees." Vance Havner

The Justice of My King

I feel as if this blog has been stirring in my heart for quite some time, but it has been difficult to find the tone to write it with. I read Psalm 101 some days ago, and it has sat on my heart with the weight of a large stone. I cannot get past the first 4 lines:

I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to you, O LORD, I will make music. I will ponder the way that is blameless. Oh when will you come to me?

David wrote it. It's a song about leaders. Who leaders should be, what they should do, how they should live- it's all here in this little song the Israelites would sing. But who could fulfill such steep requirements? When they sang the song they had in mind a king in the line of David, but even more than that they had in mind a Messiah. They would sing it envisioning someone who had not been born yet, but they knew would exist. The man was faceless and shapeless, but his character was evident. He was blameless- faultless, without sin, innocent. He was steadfast in love- his love never failed, it was endless and unconditional. And His justice was perfect- he upheld the law and was the judge of the law, morally and spiritually perfect, He was life and life in the fullest.

This man was the ideal of the Hebrew people- and they waited for Him to come. And then they nailed Him to a cross, crucified Him, and to this day are waiting for the "real one" to appear.

He was here. He came for us, and he fit the mold His people were looking for. He was blameless, and steadfast in love and justice. Oh how perfect He was. He is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but in every way was tempted like us- yet was without sin! (Hebrews 4:15) We have a King who committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth (1 Peter 2:22). Steadfast in love and justice, blameless before God, and a perfect sacrifice for my sin, for your sin, and for the sins of His people.

I wonder how many today wait for a savior. Maybe it isn't a king from the line of David, but is: money, jobs, marriage, romance, children, or some other mythical satisfaction the world hurls our way. He was here already. He came for you- don't miss Him, He was everything we sing about today and more- our glorious Savior.

Dear Friends and Facebook

Most of you will probably never read this, and the few that will know me well enough to respect it, I hope. I have been thinking quite a bit about my Facebook and the attraction it has on my soul. While I am not a Facebook addict, and I have often refused to participate in the narcissistic posting about my daily routine (not too difficult since no one is interested- I'm a pretty boring dude), I have detected a bit of underlying concern with my page. I often post notes or updates pertaining to Christ, and my hope is that they glorify Him. However, there is a deep part of my heart that hopes they glorify me. I want people to visit my page, to comment on my pictures, to think of me often, to see how intelligent I am (which requires lots of slight of hand and illusions), and to be interested in my life. This portion of my heart has gone unresolved for too long. It is my arrogance that has allowed me to let it grow for even this long, and it is the grace of God that has revealed it to me now. I am far too concerned with the lives of others (including people who I have no business being concerned for), and not concerned enough with the lives of FOS students, my family, and most importantly- The Word of God. Social networking and internet has distracted me long enough, and I am absolutely humbled before God in this moment. I long for intimacy with my Savior and I don't believe Facebook is a venue that is conducive to that for me. I could use the excuse that it is networking with other pastors or old friends- but that is merely laziness on my part. I would like to say that this is a decision I am making knowing my own heart, and I do not think by any means that Facebook is the anti-Christ, demonic, Satan, Beelzubub, or worse- Hilary Clinton (sorry, I had to make a joke here and it was too easy). I do hope that one day I will return to this world because it is fun to see what is going on in the lives of people I care about, but that day is far off yet. If you would like to keep in touch I would be absolutely honored to hear from you. My email address is:

jake@ecconline.cc and/or jgamble.nchs@gmail.com

You can also have my phone number if you ask for it. Thanks for your friendship (the 3 of you who read this) and I hope that even in this note God is glorified. I will be deleting my Facebook account tomorrow evening.

In the words of Clarence (It's a Wonderful Life), "Remember George...No man is a failure who has friends."

For the Glory of God,
Jake Gamble

P.S.- I will continue writing at takethegamble.blogspot.com if you wish to follow along.

Skid Row

On Friday morning, 9 people from our team (required to be 17 and older) got the go ahead to visit "Skid Row" in downtown LA. This is an area of 12 city blocks that is "home" to about 1,000 homeless people per block. As we drove past in our vans to park, it was incredible to see every single sidewalk full of people. Some were sleeping on mats, others pushing carts, and others still standing "innocently."

We pulled over and as we were receiving our simple instructions (to invite each person to a free meal at 1:30 pm)a man decided it was time to impart some wisdom. He told us how he was a product of Skid Row, how he had grown up there and the streets made him who he was, and how he could smell the "Hills" (Beverly Hills) on everyone of us "rich white folk." The tension was high enough without this guy stirring us up, but that didn't help. Some of the kids (and leaders) were afraid, so we took time to pray and ask God for courage and protection.

As we walked the streets, I saw things that I know will never be erased from my memory. After speaking with one man, I was walking to catch up with the group when a guy stumbled around the corner. I was a bit startled, but as I went to invite him to the meal I noticed his eyes rolled back in his head and a band tied around his upper arm. He had just finished shooting up in the alley. I tried to start a coherent conversation with him, but he was not following. We passed a few more blocks when I stopped to talk with 2 more guys. They were surprisingly friendly as I made conversation, and when I had finished (about to ask them if I could pray with them since they were so nice) speaking both started to reach into their pockets. One pulled out a large wad of cash, the other a small baggie filled with white powder. I was 2 feet from them and in broad daylight, but there was no shame on their part, it was simply a part of every day life.

Then we stopped by San Julian Park. I had only seen places like this in the movies. There were probably a hundred people inside, groups of 10-15 spread out around covered tables with their music blasting from old school boom boxes. I decided to approach one table and apologize for interrupting. The conversation went something like this-

Me: "Hey, sorry to interrupt, how's it going?"
Guy: "You don't care."
Me: "Oh, I'm sorry...I just wanted to tell you we are serving a free meal..."
Guy: "Good for you."
Me: "Well, it's at 1:30 at the V.O.A..."
Guy: "Shut up."
Me: "Yes sir, well I hope to see..."
Guy: "I said SHUTUP!"

Needless to say, I shut up. I wasn't sure what it was that set him off. Maybe it was my tone, or the fact that I was interrupting. Maybe it was the fact that I was white and he thought I had no business interrupting his day. I could feel the bitterness, anger, and hatred coming from his soul.

A few blocks from there a large camper sat on the side of the street that had a bucket inside. Junkies could come drop off dirty needles and exchange them for clean ones. It was like the city had given up, saying, "Well, we can't stop them from shooting up, so we might as well keep them from getting AIDS while they do it."

I had never seen anything like Skid Row. So many people hurting, broken, desperate, and lost...and they don't want any help. Years and years of neglect have left some angry at the world; and others searching for a way out. Stepping out of the car you could feel the weight of the place you had entered. You could feel the oppression, and you could sense the hopelessness. Somehow, seeing through the anger and desperation and the high most were riding, I saw something unexpected. I saw people. There were souls in there. Some maybe hidden deeper than others, but there were real, genuine people who were made in the image of God! There were people who had never known love, who had never seen the beautiful feet mentioned in Romans 10. Sin had hidden the message from them for so long, and we tried to bring it through food.

I left unsure of what to feel. I wanted so badly to do more. All of us wanted to rush out of our van and weep, crying out to them, "It doesn't have to be this way! There is another life, a better life! There is hope and infinite joy! It's not just Chinese food we were inviting you too!"

It left me thinking this- No place on this earth is God-forsaken. No matter how dark and lost a place is, God is there. But as I looked around and saw the misery all I could think was what hell must be like. Similar in a place of torment and hopelessness, but there is no sunshine that brings light in the morning. There is no free meal on Friday afternoon to fill your belly. There is merely the tragedy of dead souls who never knew the life that was at stake. And as the thought hit me I could not help but think I will not be a part of people going to hell! If sinners go then I will do all that is in my power to stop them! I will beg and plead and weep with them to find Christ in their lives so that they must not experience hell! They mustn't go to a place worse than what I had seen! God give me beautiful feet to bring that message.

C.H. Spurgeon once said, "If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms around their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for."

Make it so, Sweet Lord. Precious Jesus, please let the people of Skid Row see that "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned."

LA Dream Center Introduction Letter

The theme of FOS Missions has taken on a new identity. The overarching theme for FOS Missions is “Let the nations be glad…” which is taken from Psalm 67:4. The point of this theme- that every FOS missions team will be sent with the express purpose of bringing the joy of God to people around the globe. This Spring, 28 people will travel to inner city Los Angeles to bring that joy to people who have never experienced it, never known it, and possibly never heard of it. There is no greater purpose on this earth, nor a greater glorification of God than reaching people with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The unique theme of this year’s trip is “Light in Darkness;” taken from Isaiah 9:2. There are a few major ways that this light will manifest itself in our lives during this trip. First, we will be carriers of light for people living in a land of darkness. The city of Los Angeles has a population of roughly 4 million people, 800,000 of which live in poverty. Twenty-five percent of those 800,000 (200,000) are children ages 11 and younger. If you would like a comparison- the total population of Thurston County (Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater, and neighbors) is 204,300. There are as many children living in poverty in the city of Los Angeles as there are people in Thurston County. The light we will be bringing to these people isn’t preaching and it isn’t discipleship- it’s things like food, water, soap, and tears. We will bring the light of the love of God as we give them basic necessities that they couldn’t have had on their own, and through that they will know the love of God and the value of every human being in God’s eyes.

I believe we will also see a light shine out of darkness in our hearts. As a community we are blessed, but we often take for granted the blessings we have when we sit down to eat dinner. There are needs we have met every day that we don’t even give thought to, and on this trip we will see people who are lacking in those needs. It is my greatest hope that your perspective will be changed before returning home. And not changed for a moment, for a few weeks, or even a year; but having your heart and mind changed for a lifetime as you see the reality that people face every day. Things we never gave a thought to will be highlighted as essential and incredible, and through this God’s grace in our lives will ring out. He will shed light on dark corners of our hearts that we did not even know existed, and we need to return home changed.

Finally, we will bring light to FOS. There is a message, an attitude, and a heart that returns from a missions trip. Many of you have seen it before. We should never forget that message. Through this trip some of us may be called to world missions for a lifetime, some for a season and others will recognize the desperate need to help in our very own town. But we can never forget what we witness, what we hear, what we do, or even what God reveals in our hearts as we serve. That is a message that has to be passed on to FOS, to Evergreen Christian Community, and to the body of Christ as a whole. It is a message of grace and compassion, a message of heartache and brokenness, but most of all a message about hope. It is a message that brings joy where there was none, and a message that brings light to those trapped in darkness- whether that is Olympia, Los Angeles, Burma, Indonesia, Mexico, or Spain- it must go on.

Take a posture of humility in this trip, and allow God to do with you as He wills- you will be surprised to find the depths of joy in serving such a caring God.

The Difficulties of Preaching

I have been thinking a great deal about teaching the Word of God (not to mention doing it 4 times a week for the last 7 months). It is draining, weighty, difficult, frustrating, joyous, adrenaline filled, and challenging. I love the Bible. I love that as I read it, it speaks to me and proves itself true. It identifies my sin, it works and moves me, it truly is living and active. One of the problems of teaching it is the guarantee from God that people will hear it in different ways- Luke 8. Some people will eat it up at first and get choked out by other concerns, some will never have it sink in, others will enjoy a message but when trial comes it will knock them down. And still- others- they will hear it and it will bring forth beautiful, deep, rich, meaningful life. That is a joyous time in any preacher's life.

I think we have missed this for too long in Christianity. We look at the three groups that don't bear fruit as "getting it." I don't think they do. I don't think they are Christians- at least not yet. It kills me to see someone in church on a Sunday morning, Tuesday or Wednesday night, and they nod their heads through the entire message. They agree, maybe cry, and receive the message in that moment. THEN- and this is huge- they go home and turn on the television. And what they don't realize is that the birds are coming in and swooping up the message that was just spoken to them. They are eating up the seeds of the Gospel that were scattered in their hearts just moments before. And it's not just TV, it can be a cell phone, Facebook, Myspace, or having friends over.

Where is the wrestle? The word of God goes out and it has to sink through the soil, it has to settle and be watered and weeded and cared for continuously. We get so distracted that we forget to wrestle with the deep truth that affected us while a pastor spoke. We put off change because there is a good movie on, or a friend is coming over. Why? Why would we risk it? Don't wait! Do what you feel God pressing you to do, don't reason it away as being too radical...don't even give yourself that chance! Change is right, it's what the Gospel does. The words of Jesus would be spoken and stir the hearts of the people around Him, and they would act! Don't allow your justifications and reasoning to take away the extreme action God is calling you to.

Why would you do it? Because there is more joy in being obedient to Christ and knowing that through that obedience you are drawing near to Him and Him to you. There is more joy in that than in a movie, a video game, a text, a girlfriend, shopping, or a party! There is so much more joy in knowing God than any of those things, so don't wait!

I hope as you read this God is revealing to you the thing you have put off for days, weeks, years, maybe for some of you decades- go do it. Turn off the electronics and go be with God! Cancel your cable. Turn your phone off. Sell your x-box. Run to the arms of Christ knowing that in obedience your time with Him will only be increased...He will bring you comfort.

A Hard Day

Today at ECC we started the "goodbye process" for Pastor Dale. He announced today that he and his family will be leaving to pastor People's Church in Fresno, California. While it was difficult news for me, I had time to process. Many, however, did not. I saw many tears, many shocked faces, and many people who experienced a great range of emotions in a flash. I was greatly encouraged to see so much maturity in the church, hugging Pastor Dale with love and releasing him to the place of his next calling.

I had a conversation with a good friend after our 12:12 service for about 20 minutes following the announcement of his departure. I wanted to affirm the sovereignty of God in all of this (nothing she hadn't heard before) and the joy of knowing that our future with God is brighter than our past or present. I do realize this though: We are human beings with hearts that feel, hurt, love, and mourn. I hope we embrace these feelings. So many people are ashamed of tears because they show vulnerability- but Jesus was never afraid to be vulnerable. He called on his friends when he needed them, He wept openly at the loss of a dear friend (John 11:35). He mourned with the sad, He wept with the hurting, and He was never afraid to share what was on His heart.

For those that are hurting and trying to find a cure for the pain- sort through the emotions. Process, wrestle, struggle, fight, and search for joy in all of this. It will grow your soul. There may not be a definitive answer to the pain, or a cure for that matter, but there can be faith that fills the gap between our pain and the promise of God that it is working for our good eternal joy.

Don't run from it. Talk with friends, cry with brothers and sisters, pray together, love each other, be all that the church is supposed to be in this moment. And when that happens we'll see that the church wasn't built on the shoulders of any one human being- it was built on the God-Man- Jesus Christ. He is the head and the foundation of the church, and as we wrestle through that my prayer is that He will meet us with loving arms, calling us to more of Him even in the midst of a difficult time as a body. I know He will do this, I know He will reveal much of Himself in this transition period, and I know that whoever comes will not be Pastor Dale, but will be exactly who God has called to this place for this moment. And for that I'm thankful.

In the mean time, we get to hear from a passionate preacher, and a very dear friend/boss of mine! And that sure ain't no hand me down. This boy can preach!

In Christ,
Jake