Prayer/Life

As many of you know, a primary purpose for our trip to Bosnia was to pray for the city of Sarajevo, the people, and the church. This happened in many different ways: prayer walks through neighborhoods, team gatherings at Izvor or our lodgings, and even praying with the local church at their weekly prayer meetings.

One encouraging aspect of all this praying is that prayer became a regular part of life while we were there. Our team was so comfortable and accustomed to praying with one another that any time and any circumstance could become reason for prayer. For example, on Friday night, we were riding the tram back to our lodging after working at Izvor to prepare for the open house. The tram at that hour of day was filled with 20-somethings who were all dressed up and on their way to the clubs and coffee houses. As we stepped off the train, I found myself thinking about how unreached this group is in Sarajevo. They are hungry for something, and desperately seeking life in all the wrong places. A few of us were walking together, and so I simply started praying for these young adults and asking God to fill them with hope and love. When I finished, a few others in our group who were walking ahead of us turned around and said, "we just prayed the same thing!" This was a common occurrence- what we saw and experienced got translated into prayer as it was happening.

If I could bring anything back to my day to day living in the States, it would be this dynamic. How often do I get caught up in my routines and my schedule and forget to pray? More often than I'd like to admit. With our prayer focus in Sarajevo, I began to understand what it meant to "pray without ceasing." When you pray often enough, your heart starts turning to prayer without your conscious brain even putting thought to it.

I want my heart to be so connected to the Father that I act this way all the time. I want to see the line between my normal life and my prayer life begin to blur until it's just prayer/life together. In Sarajevo, we developed the sense that we were walking through each day with Christ. Could it not be the same here? I believe it could be, but I know it takes a focus and a determination to return regularly to Father. But I am encouraged to think that if I will do this often enough, prayer can and will become second nature. Prayer will become like breathing in and breathing out.

May you walk with Jesus through this day and find your journey filled with prayer-

Peace,
Nick

Back from Bosnia

Hey all-

It is so good to be home! I find myself really missing Bosnia- God did some great things and our team was so focused in on prayer that it is hard to be away from that. I am hoping to bring that "pray without ceasing" attitude back to life here in Kelso.

In case you missed it, or for all those who live out of town, we made a short video that played at our gathering last week. Check it out here! http://vimeo.com/29746474

Stay tuned for a "recap" video sometime next week. When you watch this video, take a moment and pray for Bosnia! There are 800 believers in the whole country. That represents .02% of the population. That's one out of every 5,000 people.

Journey on!

Nick

Stay the Course

Hey friends-

Thought I'd say a quick Hello here to those of you who read faithfully. Hopefully you have had the chance to follow along with our Bosnia trip on our church blog, the House. If not, you can access it by visiting www.easthillsalliance.org and checking out the networking tab. Tons of great photos and thoughts!

We are getting to the part of any international trip that can begin to feel long. I can see it and feel it in our team. The brain and the body get tired of sleeping in a different country, eating different foods, and adjusting to different rhythms. I don't think we realize how much energy we conserve on a typical day when we are in our familiar surroundings- we don't have to think much about getting up, getting ready, driving to work, etc. But in a foreign country, you have to think about everything! And you start to wear down.

If you are reading this, would you just take a moment and pray? Pray that our team would finish well. Pray that I would lead and serve the team well. Ask God to remind me that He has given the gift of encouragement for a reason- now I have to use it! We are truly experiencing remarkable things, but it is really on my heart to reach the end with full engagement and joy.

Thanks for being on this journey with me-

Nick

Why We Go

Note: For the next two weeks, I will be in Bosnia! I may post occasional updates here, but I would encourage you also check the blog for East Hills, as we aim to update daily on our trip.

Today I am in the final stages of preparing to be in Bosnia for two weeks. What an exciting adventure to partner with seven others from EHA to be on the ground in Sarajevo!

On this final day before stepping on board a plane, I thought I’d take a few moments and respond to a question I often hear about this kind of trip. People will ask me, “Why spend all that time and money to go? Why not just send the money to those who are already there?” A valid question! Two questions, actually! As this trip marchs closer and closer, I find my response to those questions growing ever clearer.

First, we go to build relationships and encourage our friends! It is a fallacy to believe that sending enough money anywhere will result in true change. Sure, money is necessary and workers cannot be sent without our support, but all too often we slip into the mindset that sending money is all God wants of us. Taking a trip like this gives our team the real opportunity to see people face to face. We get to shake hands, give hugs, share meals, laugh, cry and pray with them. As we do this with our friends in Bosnia- whether international workers, pastors or locals- God is at work. The gospel advances over relational bridges that get built one piece at a time.

Second, we go to pray on site. I don’t pretend to know all of the ins and outs of prayer. I am not certain whether some prayers matter more than others or not. But I have found in my experience that praying WITH someone is better than only praying for them. Praying at the site is somehow more significant than praying from far away. Please don’t get me wrong- I believe that prayers of any kind from any distance can be effective and powerful. But when we have the chance to see with our eyes and touch with our hands, in some way the Presence of God is given more freedom to work, move and change lives.

Third, we go to be connected. One of the amazing things for me to watch has been how this trip has naturally connected us to Bosnia and the team in Sarajevo. Because we are going, we have talked more in church about Bosnia. Because we are going, we have prayed more at our gatherings. And I have found that I am personally praying far more than I would have had we not been going. Knowing that we will be there in person has helped us “be there” already in our hearts and spirits.

Fourth, we go for the change that will occur in us. Too often, we tend to wonder what good we can do for a country or a city in two weeks. The better question is how much a country or a city can do in us! I know for a fact that our team will be profoundly impacted by what we see and experience. We will be drawn to prayer in new ways. Our eyes will be more open to spiritual realities. We will have better clarity to look at our way of life and question what is crucial and what is not. For this reason alone, I will take as many people as I can on overseas trips!

Finally, we go in order to build our church for the future. As we continue this partnership with Bosnia, I am certain that our vision for the world is growing within the church. Our horizons are being expanded, and people are being challenged to take steps of faith like never before. When we go, we send a message to our entire faith community about the nature of following Christ. We become a sending church. A going church. A praying church. Will this single trip leave a lasting mark in Bosnia? I hope so. But will it create lasting change in our gathering? I am certain of it.

In light of all this, I wonder aloud: How could we not go?

Peace-

Nick

Serving Left-Overs to God...(Malachi)

I don't know about you, but I think the book of Malachi is about as convicting as they come. I love that this little book is written in a dialogue format. The people keep interrupting the prophet (or God) to say, "Wait, wait, wait. When did we ever do that?" They protest their innocence and want to look good before God. And then God nails them with the selfish, deceitful, lazy heart of their actions.

As we read, we might be tempted to excuse ourselves from such rebukes. I mean, the people were after all bringing sick, crippled, or stolen animals to God. In a day and age where we are no longer required to bring animals as an offering, it is all too convenient to look back and say, "Who would do that?" But then God nails us with truth and says, "You do." So for all of us who protest and say "When did we ever bring you left-overs as a sacrifice?" I offer this list.

Have we ever
- Said we're too busy for church.
- Withheld a tithe or offering from God because money is tight.
- Not had time to read our Bibles or pray because we are too tired.
- Used all our best hours to make money.
- Carved out time to watch our favorite show but not to be in a small group.
- Sacrificed and saved to buy a house, car, or boat but never to give it away.
- Stopped singing or worshiping because we didn't like a song or the way it was done.
- Made our kids get up early for a game or practice but then skipped church because we slept in.

My guess is I could keep going, but I am also guessing that by now most of us are feeling like, "Stop, stop! I get the picture." Truth is, I have seen myself in most of these areas at one time or another. So what's the good news? There is none.

Ha! Just kidding. But the good news can be hard to stomach here because it really takes work. It's not a simple, do-three-things-to-make-it-all-better kind of approach. The message from Malachi is that we must learn to FEAR God. (3:16, 4:2)

In our modern language, we have a difficult time understanding how fear can be anything but negative- terror, anxiety, panic, worry, doubt- all these words play into our modern definition. But what Malachi is telling us when he says to fear God is this: "You should be a whole lot more concerned about whether or not you are listening to and obeying God than absolutely anything else in life." There, now that makes a lot more sense, doesn't it? Using the single idea "FEAR God" is good short-hand, though.

Do you fear God? Do I? And the real questions is do we arrange and rearrange our lives in such a manner that it actually shows we fear God? This my friends is where faith gets real.

Hoping you'll wrestle with this as you journey today-
Nick