Witness

Tim Keller is preaching through a series now called The Vision of Redeemer, and the sermon I heard was titled "Witness." The verses below are from Isaiah 55 and then I have bulleted what was most striking to me in his message.

"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander of the peoples. Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations that do not konw you will hasten to you, because the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor. Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon."

• We have been given by God a mission and a message
• Paradoxically, the wine and milk do not come without cost. It is free to us, but expensive to Jesus. This cost is satisfied by the body and blood of Jesus on the cross that we may come and partake without money.
• Conversion comes two-fold: He longs to convert (1) what your heart seeks, and (2) how your heart seeks it.
• What is your heart targeting as bread and water? What are you searching for? Your heart was not made for the things of this world.
• Every other religion is based upon labor. As our heart seeks these new things, we seek through the channels of grace, without money and without cost.
• How then can we not boldly proclaim this truth? We are unashamedly seeking the conversion of our neighbors to this Good News. Our experience with the gospel leaves us HUMBLED -- we know we have been saved through grace and we're no more worthy than the next guy. There's no room for superiority. But we're also AFFIRMED. We know whose we are, we know where our security lies, and we can leave fear aside.
• GOD NEVER CALLS YOU RADICALLY IN WITHOUT SENDING YOU RADICALLY OUT.

May you know afresh today the incredible privilege of having a redeemed heart and experience a renewed burden for the millions of lost souls who are still seeking "what is not bread and what does not satisfy."

The Big Apple!

I've just been chastised for not keeping this updated. So let me tell you about my trip to the Big Apple last weekend!

How much do I love NYC? I'm definitely a big-city-girl, no question about it. I really don't know how to explain it, but being up there and blending into city life is like a breath of fresh air to me. It reminded me a lot of Tokyo. Maybe this is one reason Japan sits so well with me.

For several years now, I've been spending time with a couple of high schoolers (Hope & Noelle) in a discipleship relationship. October 17 was Noelle's 18th birthday, so she and I flew to New York together to celebrate. We stayed with her brother in Harlem, where he just moved to take a teaching job. Can you imagine teaching inner-city like that? It's definitely a ministry. Pray for him!

In just 3 days, Noelle and I romped around the entire city seeing things like the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Square (ask me sometime about my fascination with NBC/Today Show), Statue of Liberty, Battery Park, Ground Zero, Wall Street, Court District (Law & Order!), Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park, Times Square, Little Italy, and Chinatown. Can you believe that? We sure saw a lot! It was Noelle's first time in the city, so it was fun to experience it through her eyes.

I have to admit one of my very favorite parts of this trip was worshipping with the Eastside congregation of Redeemer Presbyterian Church and hearing Tim Keller preach. My heart was truly refreshed as I joined this community before our Father. More on that later...

This was my second fall trip to NYC and I do believe it shall become an annual thing. The leaves weren't quite changing yet in Central Park, but the air was crisp and this Florida girl got to wear a few warm clothes. :) Join me next year!