Increase our faith !

Don't know how you might react to this, but last night the Lord was kind to Kristin and I in a seemingly small matter......but with huge blessings of worship and encouragement that we are His, and He cares about all things regarding His children.

Kristin and I were having a smoothie after rollerblading and it began to rain pretty hard. So we took cover under a canopy next to a building, and in not wanting to get our bibles wet I asked the Lord if He would do what he had done in changing the weather another time a couple years ago. (praying with thoughts of James 5:17 "Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.")

It kept raining, and Kristin said, "let's just make a run for it" but you know me, I wanted to wait and so I just kept talking. :)
THEN - just as I was finishing telling Kristin a story about how the Lord had granted a prayer a couple years ago and changed the weather - the rain stopped abruptly.
(from a down pour to a very light drizzle)
We ran to our cars and said goodbye, and as I began to drive away, the rain began to pour down again.

The Lord filled my heart with worship and adoration and thankfulness that we waited after praying about it. If we hadn't waited, we would have missed out on seeing what God was going to do!!! Oh, how many times have we felt like we were praying and He wasn't listening.....and then He gives a nudge of encouragement that He hears even a small request such as this, so that I wouldn't get my bible soaking wet.
"Ponder anew, what the Almighty can do, if with His love He befriend thee."

I hope that these verses will encourage your hearts as you pray without ceasing.

Ps 38:15
But for you, O LORD, do I wait; It is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.

Is 30:18
Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for him

Is 49:23
Then you will know that I am the LORD; Those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.

Lam 3:25
The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.

Micah 7:7
But as for me, I will look to the LORD;I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me.

Worship exists because...

“This is God’s design in world history—that people from all nations and tribes and languages come to worship and treasure Christ above all things. Or as Paul put it in Romans 15:9, 'that the Gentiles [all the people] might glorify God for his mercy.' There can be no weary resignation, no cowardly retreat, and no merciless contentment among Christ’s people while he is disowned among thousands of unreached peoples. Every Christian (who love people and honors Christ) must care about this.” –Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper

Ben and I read these words this evening and they cut to the quick. I have nothing that I can add that will make them more relevant to you. I think that of the three weaknesses he mentions, I err toward the “cowardly retreat” side. But no matter what side we err toward, it is not acceptable as God’s children who are supposed to “love people and honor Christ.” Pray with me that God will work solemnly in my heart to give me increased passion for the peoples. And let’s also remember to pray for our sister Michelle as we send her out.

Scott LeRoy Swenson

Thank you all for your prayers for me and my family as we grieve. For those of you who never met my dad (which is almost all of you), here's a link to his obituary.

http://crookstontimes.com/articles/2006/07/21/obituaries/13obit1.txt

I miss him a lot, but I believe the words he sang (pre-recorded) at the Celebration of Life:

NO MORE NIGHT

The time is near;
earth and heaven will pass away.

It's not a dream.
God will make all things new that day.
Gone is the curse from which I stumbled and fell.
Evil is banished to eternal hell.

No more night, no more pain!
No more tears...never crying again
Praises to the Great I AM
We will live in the Light of the Risen Lamb.

See all around, how the nations bow down to sing.
The only sound is the praises to Christ, our King.
Slowly the names from the book are read
I know the King, so there's no need to dread.

See over there, there's a mansion prepared for me
Where I can live with my Savior eternally.

No more night, no more pain !
No more tears, never crying again !
All praises to the Great I AM
We will live in the Light of the Risen Lamb.
We will live in the Light of the Risen Lamb !!!!

4th of July pics, part 2/2

I was blown away by Jordan's sermon this evening. "Apart from Jesus Christ, let nothing dazzle you."






But still, I wanted to share pictures of the fireworks at Stillwater. Thanks to Jenn Daas for organizing! (I still owe you $6 for food, Jenn!) I suppose heaven must be so glorious that fireworks would only pale in comparison!





















After the fireworks, Kurt, Kristin, Nate, and Linnea drove through the Dairy Queen in the super-secret, invisible Hanesmobile.

You read my mind, Nate!

Here are the sparkler pics. I'll follow with the actual fireworks, etc. I think Grace's family provided the sparklers. Thanks, Grace!





This sparkler ran out before I could spell "HOM." Perhaps I should have said that I wrote that for my friend Kelvin Ho, who is getting married on the 22nd!




I was trying to write an "H" or "M" here, but the sparkler got the hiccups. Isn't that cool?






These look like scenes from the next "Harry Potter."

The staring game

We were visiting Pete's grandparents, and Jenn and Meg start playing this game. The object of the game is to make the other person laugh by doing stuff to them. In this action shot, Jenn tries to make Meg laugh by lightly slapping her. It sort of worked: everytime I remember this scene, I almost fall out of my chair laughing.

Tribute to Our Friend

Geoff...a man of MANY hidden talents. It has been a privilege to know Geoff in the time that he has been living in Minnesota. From whatI understand, this will be his last Sunday. We are sad. Geoff has enlightened us and entertained us with unexpected quips and surprising successes. God's blessings and peace to you, Friend!

I believe Geoff looked just like this mid-shot as he lobbed the basketball over his head resulting in a nothing but net shot from downtown. Holding ice cream seems to be a little more exciting.  

Geoff is being awarded a Buster Bar for his outstanding performance on the Anderson's driveway basketball court. His accomplishment: A 3-point shot standing with his back to the basket. Simply Amazing. Congrats, Geoff...and we'll miss you! 

Are We Really Ready for The Return of the Bridegroom?

In thinking about Christ returning today.....I wonder often - will I shrink back? How do I know that I know Him? What condition does He expect to find us in?

Of course, the meditations that usually take me down a rabbit trail usually start with Edwards. This quote has had me spinning for weeks..... you might echo my "yikes" as you read.

"Slothfulness in the service of God in His professed servants is as damning as open rebellion; For the slothful servant is a wicked servant, and shall be cast into outer darkness among God's open enemies; For sins of omission are as much breaches of God's commands as sins of commission. Christ, in Matt 25:41 represents those on the left hand as being condemned and cursed to everlasting fire for sins of omission: "I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prision and you did not visit me." Then they also will answer, saying "Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?" Then he will answer them, saying, "Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me." And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Knowing that Christ expects to find His bride ready, watching, and wearing her "wedding clothes" I had these scripture and thoughts come to mind:
* Titus 2:11 "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works."
AND later in Titus 3:8b ..."so that those who have believe in God may be careful to devote
themselves to good works."

* In Matt 22:11, there was a man who got to the wedding feast, but was thrown out as he was found to be without his wedding garments.

I'm thinking that our "wedding clothes" are the good deeds that Christ brings about through us as evidence and assurance of our sincere faith. Should there be those deeds that we do while our heart is not engaged in the midst of doing them, we can repent and ask Jesus, our High Priest, to make our sacrifice Holy and acceptable and pleasing to the Father. What a place to be!! I'm assuming that we all know that salvation is by faith alone through God's grace alone.......but how do we gain that deep deep assurance that we are in fact - His, and so avoid the shock and pain of rejection on the Last Day??
We plead with the Father for grace to love as He loved and walk as He walked......and as Jonathan Edwards exorted His 8 year old son upon the death of a playmate "Let this be a loud call to you from God, not to give yourself any rest until you have good evidence that ye have been converted and become a new creature."

Watching & Waiting with joyful and earnest expectation of His return for us, and active in that which pleases the Father, we press on in the strength that God supplies ~
With Love from Above and In All Truth,
J2