God of This City

These are the guys I know from Bluetree (we used to hang out and work together when I lived in Belfast) telling the story of when the song began. I was at every monthly Mannafest gathering during my Y1 year and was probably there the night they first sang this song in public. Aaron was so obedient to follow God's leading in this instance and many times after that at Mannafest. I've never seen worship leaders ask for prophetic words from God while they're in the middle of singing. May this story bless you today.

God of this City

Proverbs 5:21-23, New Living Translation

For the Lord sees clearly what a man does,
examining every path he takes.
An evil man is held captive by his own sins;
they are ropes that catch and hold him.
He will die for lack of self-control;
he will be lost because of his great foolishness.

I don't know what lead me to this proverb tonight. The previous 20 verses talk about why a man would want to waste his love on a street whore when he has a wife at home. Unfortunately, I think I often forget that love is a gift and our world has perverted and abused love to become selfish, a weapon, and an addiction. I can't help but think of the story "Redeeming Love" that Francine Rivers wrote about the man who married a prostitute. That story, based on a biblical prophet who did the same thing, is incredibly powerful. The man's struggle with God and relentless pursuit of his wife give us a glimmer of how captivated God is by us and how much He desires the return of His love. Yet, his wife is someone who is held captive by her sins. Just as with the verses I chose above, God doesn't miss a step. Whether it's an adulterous women or a child who lied or a young man of violence or an old gossip -- it's all a great foolishness that ties us down and away from our Hero who desperately wants to save us with His pure unbridled love.

The Message translation of these verses says: Mark well that God doesn't miss a move you make; he's aware of every step you take. The shadow of your sin will overtake you; you'll find yourself stumbling all over yourself in the dark. Death is the reward of an undisciplined life; your foolish decisions trap you in a dead end.

Don't stumble around in the darkness and the storm any long - run into the arms of grace that have been surrounding you the whole time.

Mark 6:1-6, The Message

He left there and returned to his hometown. His disciples came along. On the Sabbath, he gave a lecture in the meeting place. He made a real hit, impressing everyone. "We had no idea he was this good!" they said. "How did he get so wise all of a sudden, get such ability?"

But in the next breath they were cutting him down: "He's just a carpenter—Mary's boy. We've known him since he was a kid. We know his brothers, James, Justus, Jude, and Simon, and his sisters. Who does he think he is?" They tripped over what little they knew about him and fell, sprawling. And they never got any further.

Jesus told them, "A prophet has little honor in his hometown, among his relatives, on the streets he played in as a child." Jesus wasn't able to do much of anything there—he laid hands on a few sick people and healed them, that's all. He couldn't get over their stubbornness. He left and made a circuit of the other villages, teaching.

Sometimes I catch myself longing to be somewhere, anywhere but here. I have a full life, a great life, a blessed life. But it's hard to be in my "hometown" sometimes. The thrill is gone, the excitement is tamed, the shine has worn off. I don't mean any disrespect or offense -- it's just that it's nice to explore new places and people and customs and cultures. And, from the spiritual/ministry side, it's often most difficult to minister in familiar surroundings.

Jesus knows what I mean. In these verses He is attempting to share the good news and show God's glory through miracles and all he gets are scoffs, doubt, and ridicule. Their unbelief was a hindrance in His ministry. Oh it's true he healed the sick and taught, but they wouldn't hear it. Jesus knew it was obviously not going to sink in for them, not yet. So He moved on to where the harvest was ready.

This passage makes me think of a couple things. One, the struggles of speaking truth and being bold in ministry in your hometown. Several obvious disadvantages are the fact that many people will know your past, your secrets, your weaknesses. It might be hard to be taken seriously, or with any sort of credibility, if people know all that about it. When I spent a year in Ireland learning so much from God and realizing things that need to change in our world, I wanted to tell as many people as I could. I wanted to stay in Belfast and be a part of what God was doing there. But what God told me was to apply what I learned to my hometown. Go minister in Dallas. So thought a job/career in full time ministry was ahead of me. Well no jobs came up in that field. It's discouraging to realize I'm in a cubicle, not always feeling as though I'm making a big difference. But this is the challenge -- can I still take a stand and teach and preach to those who don't want to have their nice lives disrupted by new, seemingly "radical" ideas by their friend's daughter or their best friend's sister or their neighbor? It's so hard, and these verses comfort me knowing that Christ found His ministry on earth and endured the same.

Secondly, these verses make me wonder if I have been a hindrance to someones ministry here? Has someone ever done or said what I knew to be right and true but because it made me feel convicted or bad about my own actions, I chose to mock them instead of thank them for their insight? I'm humbled to admit that I have. I've become the stubborn voice of unbelief in the ministry of truth from a "neighbor," someone I should stand by and trust more than others. This is where hypocrisy creeps into our lives, and cynicism. It's an ugly thing. I don't want to be a part of it.

So I think I need to pray for more boldness and endurance to work towards the finish line of my current placement in Dallas. It could be another year, or forever, but I won't let the excuse of the opposition of those familiar faces to become my reason to give up and blend in. Also, I'll be work on becoming the friend/neighbor who is excited to hear about what God is teaching my friends. Even if I disagree or feel shamed by the words they may speak, I'll realize that sometimes God tells me the difficult things from the last person on earth you want to hear it from. We're all in this as a family and as a Body. Let's not get in each other's way and thus delay the ministry of God in our hometown.

Matthew 13:12-14, New Internation Version

Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. This is why I speak to them in parables:
"Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
" 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

I often feel as though a parable of Jesus can have many different meanings. But tonight at church my pastor said that parables only have one meaning. My pastor said this because Jesus spoke plainly to his disciples (and others) when sharing a parable because He was constantly explaining the meaning to His listeners. This side of God sometimes frustrates me because I know that my brain should be capable of understanding more and I wish for the complex puzzle to solve. I don't want an obvious interpretation, I want a journey and a revelation that would be worth writing a book about. But, because God knows my mental capacity, He wisely used parables to explain His Truth clearly. If the meaning were hidden too well, I might search but then I would inevitably become weary or discouraged. So, again, God knows best and has given me His truth in a way that I can understand it but still desire to search further and deeper on life's journey.

2 Timothy 2:19, The Message

Meanwhile, God's firm foundation is as firm as ever...

Strange as it is, this verse stuck out to me with just these 9 words. "Meanwhile" indicates that there is stuff happening and things going on. So, in spite of whatever that stuff is, the truth is that God is unchanging. In the midst of change, he doesn't move. God is firm and He is our foundation that can be trusted to weather time and elements.