Be the change.

T-minus 3 days until I go on the umpteenth trip of the summer (Not counting all the side trips in Italy, I think this is actually only the 4th...but it feels like I have been in transit for half my life at this point).

Saturday evening, I will be arriving in Costa Rica for a week-long mission trip with the youth. We are taking 95 total, around 70 of those are kids. It has been a long and pretty intense preparation journey, both spiritually and physically. I have a personal investment in the worship aspect of the trip, not only because I get paid extra to design the devotional books (cha-ching!), but because it is what I am most passionate about. This trip, our theme is "Be the change you want to see in the world." (see devo book cover above). We will be covering love, peace, renewing your mind, and having a prophetic imagination towards evil and violence. I will be talking about the last one (count on me to have some lofty and over-thought title...ha)

I will post my thoughts later, but prayers are appreciated for now. Specifically, I pray that we all remember the meaning of this trip: SERVICE. It's so easy to assume that going to a beautiful and tropical country with 75 of your favorite people is going to be the vacation of a lifetime, but we aren't going so we will have lots of fun (although I would argue that serving is WAY more fun than vacations). We are going to do work, son. So let's do it.

BE the change.

What is your name?

This week is a fun one, cause we get to talk about lots of exciting things and weird, strange, and bizarre words, like the word, “demon.” Now when I think of demon, there are several things to come to mind, most of which look something like Gollham does in the Lord of the Rings movie. I think of little wiry creatures running around and waiting to attack you or something. But that’s not really the kind of demons we’re talking about today.

Read with me in your Bibles from the gospel according to Mark, chapter 5, 1-20.

So this story takes place right after Jesus has decided to leave Galilee, and take his disciples across the Sea of Galilee into the region of the Gerasenes, which was a predominantly Gentile region. If you remember a while back when I talked about fear, this happens right after that story.

Jesus is getting out of the boat with his disciples, and a man has been running towards him and falls at his feet. The man, according to the story, was possessed with demons, and he had been accused of gashing himself and impossible to contain. Now, I don’t really know what it means by “demon-possessed.” A whole bunch of people have taken a whole lot of time to argue what this phrase means exactly, and have come to no absolute confusion. However, this phrase itself tells us what this man was struggling with.

We often talk about the resistance from external forces in our lives, the evil things that arise and challenge us in our faiths and our relationships with God. Here, this man is struggling with something that is internal. This legion of evil forces is something that lives inside of him. He is enslaved by something inside of him.

I want you to think about this for a minute. Think about how much time we waste with selfish, internal concerns. Worry, guilt, shame, lust, envy, pride, self-deprecation…I could go on for days on that one. We all have things that control us from the inside, things that are unwarranted and unexplainable, and they live inside of us and destroy us.

Look what happens to this man, Legion, who is controlled by these internal demons. He is out of control. He has lost so much of himself that he is now even physically hurting himself. It’s easy to think that this man is crazy, which he very well could be in the story, but think of the things that we do to ourselves as a result of our demons, the evil that we have allowed to live inside of us. We beat ourselves up all the time…we tell ourselves we’re not smart enough, not pretty enough, not athletic enough, not good enough for so-and-so, we even physically abuse our bodies as a result. We alter who we are to make ourselves feel better, when in reality we are just hurting ourselves over and over again and giving the demons more control in our lives.

10"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
John 10:10

Now, perhaps my favorite part of this story is how Jesus responds to this man. The man is begging Jesus to not torture him, asking him, “what do you want with me?” And Jesus, creative as always, answers, “What is your name?”

I love this. In the times of Jesus, a name was more than just something you called yourself. Your name was your history, your future, your family, and your identity. So, here, Jesus is basically asking this guy, “Who are you? Where do you come from? Where are you going? And who do you belong to?”

Whew.

This man, arguably insane, controlled completely now by his demons, is lying at Jesus’ feet, and Jesus’ response is to ask him who he is, and who he was created to be.

This is huge. Jesus commands this legion of demons (meaning at least 2,000) to exit this man’s body by the question of his identity. Put that into the context of your life. What is your name? Who are you? Where did you come from and where are you going? Most importantly, who do you belong to?

How much of our pain comes from not being able to answer this question?

In John 8, verses 31-36, Jesus tells us the importance of this answer:

31So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;
32and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."
33They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, 'You will become free'?"
34Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.
35"The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever.
36"So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

In this story, the author spends a great deal of time describing the way Jesus was teaching and speaking. It reminded me of one of the teachers that I had in Italy, Leah. Leah was my art history teacher, so she not only taught lectures, but she was the one who led us on our field trips to all of the different sites. She was phenomenal. She knew SO much about what she taught that it was absolutely impossible not to be completely enthralled with what she was saying. Sometimes, we would have class at 9 PM in a room that was over 100 degrees and she would even have the frat boys in our class completely engaged in conversations about the meaning of a painting. It was fascinating. And it was all because she was so confident, passionate, and knowledgeable.

Some of you are probably thinking of great teachers that you have had in the past. Maybe you’re thinking that about me…ha. Leah was affective in her teachings because of what she knew, and how she conveyed that.

Jesus did that and more. The scriptures talk about the authority with which Jesus taught. He commanded the attention of his audiences, because he offered a message that was completely different from everyone else, mostly because of the way he was saying it. He spoke with ownership of what he was saying, confident and passionate and knowledgeable. And he transformed the world with this method.

What would happen if we lived confidently, passionately, and knowledgeably about who we are?

We would transform the world, just as Jesus did.

When Jesus was on Earth, he had a vision. A mission statement, if you will. He imagined what it would be like for the realm of God to break into the world. What it would be like if Heaven came to earth. Sound familiar? Ha.

Jesus revolved his entire life around achieving this goal. He knew who he was, where he was from, where he was going, and who he belonged to.

I want to be clear, here, because I don’t want you to think that you need to know what you’re doing for the rest of your life (Lord knows I don’t), or your entire family history.

Who are you? What gifts were you given, and what do you struggle with? What are your demons?

Where did you come from? What parts of your past are your demons, holding you back from being who you were created to be?

Where are you going? What is your vision? What are you going to live for passionately, knowledgeably, and confidently?

Whose are you? YOU ARE GOD’S CHILD! You were created to serve and glorify him!

Ask yourself these questions. This is how Jesus responded to demons, or internal evils. How will you respond? What does that look like? What do you think will happen if and when you respond like Jesus did? What will other people’s reactions be?

As you go into your small groups, I want you to discuss the specific demons that we struggle with and specific ways that we can confront our demons. Then, discuss how confronting these demons will help us live out our vision. If you want to use HPUMC youth’s mission statement as a vision, go for it.

What is your name?

Let’s pray.

The Aftershock

I am tired, so I'll explain briefly. While I was in Italy, I took the time to write down all the things I learned. It would be selfish not to share, so here you go:

1. Starbucks is overrated. Way overrated.
2. Writing is food for my soul. (Or any type of creating for that matter)
3. My day needs to always include the following: exercise, prayer, quiet time, and Bible.
4. The disenchantment with the church started in Rome. Separation of church and state is the cure for it. Merging of the two started it all.
5. Americans have no appreciation for water at all. It is the single most valuable resource we have.
6. I am happier when I live off less.
7. Treating everyone as if they were Christ makes you a more joyful person.
8. I love the outdoors, and the fact that Europe uses windows as AC is well with my soul.
9. Americans are loud, and if I were not American, I would think that we are very self-important.
10. Don’t trust anyone’s opinion. Try everything for yourself.
11. I love incredibly deeply. I love this about myself, but I now know that it is what makes me miss people so much.
12. I deeply hate when people questioning my knowledge.
13. Doing nothing can be the best thing in the world for you.
14. Language barriers can always be broken, you just have to be creative and humble. Communicating with Italians is kind of like spreading the gospel: you try to speak their language, and they are always willing to meet you where you leave off.
15. Leaders, no matter how effective, completely dictate the overall morale of their group.
16. Excessive PDA is, more often than not, a cover-up for an unhealthy relationship.
17. The sacrament of Holy Communion is one of the most beautiful experiences that we can have, but it has been made into an exclusive ritual by churches.
18. Cathedrals, churches, and basilicas—as incredibly beautiful as they are—are disgustingly excessive.
19. Loneliness is the single most painful of all things.
20. I want a tattoo.
21. Loneliness is also the best teacher. You learn more about yourself when you are alone than you do when you are with anyone else, no matter how smart they are.
22. I am enormously affected by the people who surround me.
23. I judge people who smoke. I shouldn’t, but I do. I just can’t understand how any American young adult could willingly shorten their life.
24. Fresh air and solitude is the best remedy for the funk.
25. It is very important that I always have a strong faith community around me. I am most happy with people to help fill my cup in a deeply spiritual way.
26. It is always too good to be true.
27. The world is always smaller than you think it is. There is no such thing as being completely removed.
28. Americans are addicted to communication in a way that is both alarming and reassuring.
29. Home is where the heart is.
30. I have a strong desire to be needed/wanted. I am trying to solve that.
31. The longer I am alone, the more I can reach the core of my soul, where my deepest fears and deepest pain lies. It’s like a layer is peeled back each day, and it hurts so bad to get there.
32. I feel a calling to minister to the poor, and especially to prostitutes. I don’t know why or how to do it, but I hear it.
33. St. Francis of Assisi is my hero.
34. My dreams frighten me, especially when they are really good.
35. I feel deeply sorry for people who cannot appreciate art.
36. I feel even more sorry for people who haven’t explored the Bible.
37. God’s glory is on tour.
38. A peaceful person is the most beautiful thing in the world. A peaceful woman is even better.
39. Perfectionism is not admirable.
40. I hide behind my busy schedule.
41. I desperately want someone to share my life with. Someone to give my love and my heart to.
42. Missing home is a good thing. Being homesick is not.
43. I used to be that person who freaks out about getting the perfect grade. Now I am the person who calms that person down in disbelief.
44. Just because someone treats me unfairly does not mean that it’s because of me.
45. People will never stop surprising you.
46. The words, “I miss you,” are some of the most powerful words you can use.
47. The more I travel, the more insignificant I feel. Then I think about my God, and I realize even more how much He loves me more than I will ever know.
48. You can’t really experience the glory of God’s love until you have to physically rely on him to provide something in your life.
49. Monetary poverty is extremely frustrating to the core of my soul.
50. Doing nothing feels worse than doing evil.
51. Christians often do more harm when they mean well.
52. Rocks are really fascinating.
53. Based off of its residents, I would love living in California.
54. There are so many cooler things to do than having a career.
55. I care too much about hurting other people’s feelings.
56. I take advantage of what I have at home.
57. People will always complain, no matter how good they have it or how well things are planned.
58. Complaining vocally is both annoying and pointless. As Shane Claiborne says, cynicism is the easiest attitude to have, because it requires no energy at all.
59. The pain that you cause someone by making fun of them is not worth the laughs that you get in exchange. Most people would claim the opposite, however.
60. Whenever you think I’m not going to make it, God shows me that I am.
61. I really dislike vanity.
62. The effectiveness of a teacher is based almost completely off of their passion for what they are teaching.
63. It’s fun to know nothing about something and willingly acknowledge that fact.
64. Laughing feels like home.
65. Traveling changes you.
66. Living in Texas has made me forget how much I love the water.
67. Limoncello is awful.
68. Wine is not just a beverage, it is an experience, and I happen to really enjoy it.
69. Living with “reckless abandon” means to live in a way that leaves behind ALL past beliefs, assumptions, and expectations in an unstoppable quest for the life of abundance.
70. Life sucks sometimes, but it shouldn’t really matter.
71. The sound of running water is soothing to the soul.
72. There’s something really great about sweating.
73. I need to do something that requires faith every day of my life.
74. The best things in life are unexpected and unplanned.
75. Gelato tastes so much better after a couple glasses of wine, because you forget how bad it is for you.
76. Risks are fun, but not when they are at the expense of someone else.
77. I hate micromanagement.