To Wait

A friend posted on Facebook yesterday: "Could it be that in our excitement or sense of duty to share Christ with others or do good things that we sometimes neglect to wait first for the Holy Spirit? We seek God's will without recognizing that we will know it when we have the Spirit directing us."  So that got me thinking and I wrote the following poem:



A boy was standing, looking on
As lambs were killed that day.
“Messiah!  Could it be?” He thought,
And slowly turned away.


For eighteen years He labored on
A carpenter by trade
Awaiting timing marked by One -
The Spirit as He prayed.


Upon a hillside three years later
Men were standing still.
Their Jesus, He was leaving them
Ascending from the hill.


But as He left, He said these words,
“To Me all pow’r is giv’n.
“Go tell the news to everyone!
“But wait - My gift from heav’n.”


So could it be, that we as well,
Our eyes upon the gate,
Are not to rush out thoughtlessly
Instead, are we to wait?


We know the world is lost and dead
The hour is getting late!
But ‘till the Spirit bids us go
Our job may be to wait.

Longing

Evangelism.  Bible Work.  I seriously have the best job in the world!

To meet people who are longing to get back to God.
Who practically beg you to come and "do church" for them on Sunday afternoon.
Just to be approached in a neighborhood and get asked for a Bible study, because she knows that's why I'm there.
And was I seriously wishing nobody had ever come up with the idea of knocking on doors just last night?

"Truly the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." (Matthew 9:37, 38)

Gatlinburg

The SALT class retreat to Gatlinburg on December 2-4, 2011.  We stayed in some condos near there and went to the It Is Written Partnership Retreat on the 3rd.

Memoir

I have just finished my last final.  The semester is officially over.  SALT is done.  So many things are going through my mind right now.  Sitting here in the Prayer Garden, my thoughts are wandering back to the time I first pulled my car into Southern Adventist University.  It seems like ages ago, but in other ways it seems like just yesterday.  I knew maybe three or four people at most, and none of them very well.  I remember thinking how old everything looked.  And how small the campus was.  And wondering if I’d ever be able to fit in or make any friends here.

It’s kind of humorous remembering some of that.  Now, it’s impossible to walk on the promenade or go to the cafeteria or walk into the lobby of the dorm without seeing someone I know.  And when I try to sit on one of the benches or at one of the tables to do homework, it seems like I’m saying hi to someone I know every few minutes.  And then, of course, there’s the SALT Team.  Or rather, the SALT family.  Because that’s really what we’ve become.  We do everything together.  Even though we don’t always get along, we’re always there for each other.  And the disagreements and arguments never last too long.  We’ve laughed, we’ve cried, we’ve prayed, but most importantly, we’ve shared the gift of salvation with dozens of people in the Chattanooga area.

And then there’s the growth and change that I’ve experienced personally.  Both from Southern directly and from the outreach and evangelism that I’ve been doing with SALT.    A lot has happened in the last 14 weeks.  And now as I stand on the other side looking back, I just want to thank God for the amazing experience this has been.  I want to thank Him for helping me get through all the tests and exams and frightful moments on outreach.  But most of all, I hope and pray that I have been a friend to someone when they needed it.  That I have been the helping hand when someone was down.  And that somehow, through it all, someone has caught a glimpse of who Jesus is, because really, that’s why I’m here in the first place.

SALT

This is the video that was shown at the SALT graduation.  Many thanks to Eric and Amir for video and Matt for editing!  Go Light Your World!

Blog

I was just thinking, I don't think I've put on here that I have another blog as well.  I keep Joel's Chronicles as a way of letting people keep up with me if they feel like it.  So feel free to check that out if you ever get bored!

I Will Go

This week is Student Missions Emphasis week, so we've had quite a few mission things here at school. Convocation this morning consisted of three girls telling stories about their experiences. But the part that touched me the most was the last part of the chorus of a song we sang at the beginning:

"Who you love, I'll love
How you serve, I'll serve
If this life I lose, I will follow you"

Take that phrase by phrase and really think about it. Can you seriously promise God this? Is this really your heart's desire? Are you willing to follow God, even if it costs you your life? It's something worth pondering. And then raise your eyes to heaven and promise God, "If this life I lose, I will follow you."