I've been in a state of disbelief since Saturday, thinking about how I'll be in Paris at this time next week, done with Nantes. There are so many loose ends. So much more to be done.
I have been tossing around a couple of ideas during these last weeks, including returning for summer project '10, STINTing and other ministry ideas.
As somebody I was talking to on Friday said, "when (French people) say Bretagne (the province Nantes is in) they say rain. It's the same word." And when it rains, it pours. People aren't out and aren't willing to talk. It's not just when it rains. Sometimes, people are apathetic to anything outside of themselves and their own situations. They just don't think about life and don't care about truth. Sometimes, I just want to slam my head (or theirs) on the table.
But for every frustration I have here, I have a conversation, a meal or a rendez-vous with somebody that makes it all worthwhile. It gets to the point where during lunch or a soccer game, I realize that I could hang out with these people and really build into them if I was here for a longer time. There are so many people here who want to know, who have questions and nowhere to take them, who are too afraid to bring up tough questions to friends or family, who know their desperation and brokenness but have no answers. You can see it in them when they talk. You can see the ways the Lord has softened their hearts.
When you see it, you can't help but take the posture that Isaiah assumes in Isaiah 6. "Here am I Lord. Send me into the intellectual fog of doubt and despair in France. Send me to the untouched cities and unrepentent hearts."
It will take months of prayer and conversation with others, but my heart for ministry has grown in the past six weeks. I can't believe that the Lord could possibly use me to further His kingdom. This is going to take some time.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Rejuvenation
When I get tired of being in the hot sun and talking to people who I can barely understand, some rejuvenation is needed. Here are some good ways I've found to revitalize my body and spirit.
1) Prayer - Whether in the morning before bible study, late at night, in between conversations, or whenever, letting the Lord into my life through confession and letting in grace is an amazing feeling.
2) Walks - I'm in town all day, but people generally only gather in certain spots. It's fun to walk the streets of a city that was around before cars. It's often narrow, cobblestone and windy. The best thing to do is just to get lost, open up the Word, then meditate on scripture as I try to find some tram tracks and figure out how to get back. An iPod is always a plus.
3) Sermons - My go to pastors this summer have been D.A. Carson and John Piper. I love to gain access into the way they view the Lord. I learn something new about Christ. I get convicted of some sin in my life, or I am led to joy.
4) Discussion - Each Sunday, David "Paydirt" Pater and I have been meeting to listen to a sermon, reflect on it, and talk about our lives and our weeks. I've found this to be a great way to finish off the week. David just graduated from the University of Georgia in Athens, GA and is headed to Trinity in Chicago for seminary next year. There, he will study under D.A. Carson and other awesome men of God. It's been a blessing to get to know David and tap into his knowledge and learn about his convictions.
5) Journaling - Sometimes, I don't even realize where my own head is at until I put my thoughts on paper.
6) Napping - Whether in the ile de Versailles japanese garden or in my bed or somewhere else, some shut eye never hurts.
7) Psalms - I love psalm 73, but usually, I just flip through and read a couple. It's amazing what the Lord leads me to.
HOW DO YOU REJUVENATE?
1) Prayer - Whether in the morning before bible study, late at night, in between conversations, or whenever, letting the Lord into my life through confession and letting in grace is an amazing feeling.
2) Walks - I'm in town all day, but people generally only gather in certain spots. It's fun to walk the streets of a city that was around before cars. It's often narrow, cobblestone and windy. The best thing to do is just to get lost, open up the Word, then meditate on scripture as I try to find some tram tracks and figure out how to get back. An iPod is always a plus.
3) Sermons - My go to pastors this summer have been D.A. Carson and John Piper. I love to gain access into the way they view the Lord. I learn something new about Christ. I get convicted of some sin in my life, or I am led to joy.
4) Discussion - Each Sunday, David "Paydirt" Pater and I have been meeting to listen to a sermon, reflect on it, and talk about our lives and our weeks. I've found this to be a great way to finish off the week. David just graduated from the University of Georgia in Athens, GA and is headed to Trinity in Chicago for seminary next year. There, he will study under D.A. Carson and other awesome men of God. It's been a blessing to get to know David and tap into his knowledge and learn about his convictions.
5) Journaling - Sometimes, I don't even realize where my own head is at until I put my thoughts on paper.
6) Napping - Whether in the ile de Versailles japanese garden or in my bed or somewhere else, some shut eye never hurts.
7) Psalms - I love psalm 73, but usually, I just flip through and read a couple. It's amazing what the Lord leads me to.
HOW DO YOU REJUVENATE?
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Occipital Overload
I know that I've been talking about objective truth as a basis for faith rather than subjective opinion, but I can't help but share a song. It's woken me up morning after morning either on a run or a tram ride to the church in Nantes. It's a simple message - You're Beautiful. Your cross is beautiful. Your creation is beautiful. Your love is beautiful.
The second verse is my favorite; it's very appropriate to evangelizing a scientifically-minded western country:
I see Your power in the moonlit night
Where planets are in motion and galaxies are bright
We are amazed in the light of the stars
It’s all proclaiming who You are
You’re beautiful
Check this vid. It's aight.
The second verse is my favorite; it's very appropriate to evangelizing a scientifically-minded western country:
I see Your power in the moonlit night
Where planets are in motion and galaxies are bright
We are amazed in the light of the stars
It’s all proclaiming who You are
You’re beautiful
Check this vid. It's aight.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Why me?
In talking with non-believers about salvation, and studying salvation, and talking to people about salvation, a couple of questions are raised.
Why are we saved? What is the purpose of our redemption?
-- the answers to these questions have come from an amalgamation of scripture, wise counsel, and sermons from John Piper and Don Carson. To help me write, and help you read, I'm going to try to stay in the past when referring to gospel truths about the person of Christ and His relationship to the Father Jehovah. Feel free to replace any "was/were" with "is/are or will be" --
God does not need us. We are in total need of Him. He doesn't need my praise, my time, my money, my life, my soul. God is the creator of all things and he is not in need of anything from me.
Our salvation is linked only to the Father's love of the Son. In the gospels, Jesus is put into a position of subordination to the Father (John 5:19 ; John 14:28 ; John 6:57). Jesus did only as the Father commanded, and because of that, He lived perfectly. In living a perfect life, Jesus's will aligned perfectly with the will of the Father, and they live in a perfect relationship of love. I'm not saying that the Father and Son were behaving in a "loving" way. The Father and Son were love. They were perfect, and their relationship was perfect.
Jesus wanted us to be reconciled to Himself, as we see in his prayer in John 17. Because of the Father's love for the Son, He answered Jesus's prayer in the way that it lined up with His will (which was also Jesus's will). Therefore, we are saved only because that is a way for the Father to glorify the Son.
Our lives have value. Jesus, fully God, wouldn't give up His life and voluntarily submit Himself to the unmitigated wrath of the Father for garbage. So take heart, Jesus has put a high value on our lives.
Romans 6
We are called to live lives to glorify the Son. It's the only reason we exist, it's the only reason we've been rescued.
Why are we saved? What is the purpose of our redemption?
-- the answers to these questions have come from an amalgamation of scripture, wise counsel, and sermons from John Piper and Don Carson. To help me write, and help you read, I'm going to try to stay in the past when referring to gospel truths about the person of Christ and His relationship to the Father Jehovah. Feel free to replace any "was/were" with "is/are or will be" --
God does not need us. We are in total need of Him. He doesn't need my praise, my time, my money, my life, my soul. God is the creator of all things and he is not in need of anything from me.
Our salvation is linked only to the Father's love of the Son. In the gospels, Jesus is put into a position of subordination to the Father (John 5:19 ; John 14:28 ; John 6:57). Jesus did only as the Father commanded, and because of that, He lived perfectly. In living a perfect life, Jesus's will aligned perfectly with the will of the Father, and they live in a perfect relationship of love. I'm not saying that the Father and Son were behaving in a "loving" way. The Father and Son were love. They were perfect, and their relationship was perfect.
Jesus wanted us to be reconciled to Himself, as we see in his prayer in John 17. Because of the Father's love for the Son, He answered Jesus's prayer in the way that it lined up with His will (which was also Jesus's will). Therefore, we are saved only because that is a way for the Father to glorify the Son.
Our lives have value. Jesus, fully God, wouldn't give up His life and voluntarily submit Himself to the unmitigated wrath of the Father for garbage. So take heart, Jesus has put a high value on our lives.
Romans 6
We are called to live lives to glorify the Son. It's the only reason we exist, it's the only reason we've been rescued.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Top 5 Questions from French non-believers
So, here are some of the most frequently asked questions. I've cross-referenced my own experience with those of the other students on project to come up with this list. I am only going to list the questions. Keep in mind that the conversations that these questions come up in last about an hour, usually. So, if you want to know how I respond to the questions, email me (silverman.gregory@gmail.com) or call me when I get home, and I will be glad to meet up for a coffee and discussion. But for my fellow fans of brevity, I'm not going to answer them here.
1) How can a good God allow injustice, violence, suffering in the world?
2) Aren't all religions the same? Why can't they all just work together and believe the same thing?
3) How reliable is the Bible?
4) How can God/religion affect and influence my/your life?
5) What about evolution/the big bang/chance as arguments against religion?
Bonus question) How do you know that Jesus was God?
Sound familiar? If you are used to sharing on campus in America, they should. The point of this entry is to re-emphasize the fact that French students are just like those in the US. They have the same doubts, arguments and questions. At the end of the day, they still go home and ask themselves "is this all there is? Am I truly alone?" The difference is this: God and the gospel message have been discarded from the general mindset of the population. People don't discuss religion with friends. Faith in France, it seems, is for the uninformed, the naïve, the elder generation. In this country, God is taboo.
1) How can a good God allow injustice, violence, suffering in the world?
2) Aren't all religions the same? Why can't they all just work together and believe the same thing?
3) How reliable is the Bible?
4) How can God/religion affect and influence my/your life?
5) What about evolution/the big bang/chance as arguments against religion?
Bonus question) How do you know that Jesus was God?
Sound familiar? If you are used to sharing on campus in America, they should. The point of this entry is to re-emphasize the fact that French students are just like those in the US. They have the same doubts, arguments and questions. At the end of the day, they still go home and ask themselves "is this all there is? Am I truly alone?" The difference is this: God and the gospel message have been discarded from the general mindset of the population. People don't discuss religion with friends. Faith in France, it seems, is for the uninformed, the naïve, the elder generation. In this country, God is taboo.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Knowing
For project, we're doing an inductive study of 1 John. For those of you who don't know, an inductive study is where you take a book of the bible and study every sentence of it, testing the diction, syntax, context and weight of each word and idea.
Thus far, 1 John, for me, is about confidence. Confidence in the person of Christ. John, an apostle of Christ, has real, objective proof of Jesus. He saw Him and lived with Him for the years that Jesus was teaching. John speaks objectively of what he saw when he begins his epistle.
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:1-3)
So often we think of the subjective feelings we get as evidence for Christ in our lives. When the worship, prayer and sermon work together in such a way, we get butterflies, goosebumps, a feeling of excitement and fulfillment. We take this subjective feeling and try to turn it into objective truth. What John is saying in this passage is that we don't have to rely on subjectivity. We can believe in and have confidence in a true Christ, who he saw with his eyes and touched with his hands.
It's with this confidence that I have learned to embark on the city of Nantes each day, proclaiming objective truth and the promise of life in Christ.
Thus far, 1 John, for me, is about confidence. Confidence in the person of Christ. John, an apostle of Christ, has real, objective proof of Jesus. He saw Him and lived with Him for the years that Jesus was teaching. John speaks objectively of what he saw when he begins his epistle.
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:1-3)
So often we think of the subjective feelings we get as evidence for Christ in our lives. When the worship, prayer and sermon work together in such a way, we get butterflies, goosebumps, a feeling of excitement and fulfillment. We take this subjective feeling and try to turn it into objective truth. What John is saying in this passage is that we don't have to rely on subjectivity. We can believe in and have confidence in a true Christ, who he saw with his eyes and touched with his hands.
It's with this confidence that I have learned to embark on the city of Nantes each day, proclaiming objective truth and the promise of life in Christ.
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