Trust. What a powerful word. Trust between humans takes time to build but takes only a second to destroy. Let’s reexamine the application of this idea of trust. I apply trust hundreds of times a day. When I crack open a bottle of water, I trust it to taste like water. I trust that the water is pure and will quench my thirst, not kill me. The same trust is applied when I open a bag of M&Ms. I trust that chocolaty goodness is contained in the bag, not Advil or Skittles (even though Skittles are pretty great). I trust that I have the power in my arm and hand to open the door, preventing facial damage caused by walking straight into it. I trust the door to open. Subconsciously, I put my trust in almost everything physically around me.

How about my trust in God? Sure, I trust God to keep the Earth far enough from the sun so I’m not incinerated. When I sleep, I trust in God to sustain me. Every breath I take and every beat of my heart is because my Creator allows it. I trust in Him for this. Why, then, is it so hard to trust Him with my future? He set the universe in motion and keeps my body from floating off into space, but I seem to think He can’t handle my life. My heart beats because He wills it to beat. My story was written by His hand. My destiny, whether I like it or not, is in His hands. And what more capable hands could it be in?!?!? Mine? Sometimes I like to think my hands are capable of planning my life. I’m so wrong.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”- Psalm 139:13-14

I was knit together by the same Hands that strewn the stars in the night sky. Each moment, lived or to be lived, has been delicately woven into the fabric of my life. I need to relinquish my desperate attempt to control the needle worker and trust His quality work. Whether it be pain or happiness, I will trust in His precision and perfect planning.

For some reason many of us flaunt our success and speak of our victories in such a way that we are almost presenting ourselves as perfect and flawless. Now, even though there is definitely a time and place for encouragement and victory, if that is all we are showing to people than we will be missing out on a huge piece of the gospel as well as a huge blessing, vulnerability.

How many people walk through our church doors with legitimate struggles and pains that they are dying to work through with a body of believers, but when met with our pomp and circumstance and our false sense of put-togetherness, they too put on a fake smile and resign to talking about how great their lives are. All the while they may be suffering and struggling in silence, alone and isolated. This is exactly what Satan wants, and he is using the church to accomplish it.

The reality of this is that it is our pride that is the central culprit. We are scared to open up and talk about our struggles and failures because it would make us come across as a weak sinner, and according to scripture, Christians should always be strong and can never mess up right!? WRONG! That statement could not be any further from the truth, but tragically it is a stance that many Christians take. That statement is not according to the bible, but according to our pride. Some in today’s earthly church body believe that we must not show our flaws because truthfully with flaws comes vulnerability, and with vulnerability comes humility, and with humility comes lack of prestige and power. And to many that is unacceptable. How is it that we can draw such an attitude when we supposedly serve and live our lives for a God and King who humbled himself enough to come down to His very creation. To make himself like us, to serve us, and then die on a cross for our sins!

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!” Philippians 2: 5-8

Should we not also be taking on this same attitude? A lost world WILL NOT even give one ounce of consideration or one minute of their time to listen to a band of Christians galloping up on their high horses, screaming at them about their sins. NOBODY responds to judgment, period. Can we not humble ourselves enough to be on their level, but not of their level! Show them that we were just as lost at one point. Showing them Jesus through our service and love, rather than forcing Him upon them by not having enough patience to give their hearts enough time to soak in the truth. Our model of evangelism has become about force, judgment, and numbers. Christ’s example was of love and service, bringing His lost sheep to the kingdom of God one heart at a time. Where have we gone wrong?

“It is one of the most difficult, yet critical, disciplines of the Christian life to allow the Holy Spirit to bring us into absolute harmony with the teaching of Jesus…” -Oswald Chambers

You would think that after following hard after Jesus these past 10 months it would be easy to follow the teachings of Jesus. The truth is, in some cases, for me, its still hard. I was just looking over Matthew 6:33 where it says, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” I read this passage, and recognize it as truth, but find it hard to follow it fully. I know that God will provide all that I need, but I still wonder where my next meal with come from, where I’ll sleep next, how I’ll get to my next destination and so on, but when I look at this passage, it says that I just need to seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness and the rest will take care of itself.

The next passage then tells us not to be anxious about tomorrow. What a mind blowing passage. I mean, really, it’s mind blowing. Don’t worry about tomorrow, yeah right. How can I not worry about tomorrow, I have no idea what tomorrow holds! Then, I remember this thing I overlook in these instances…faith. Faith in God and the fact that He cares enough for me to take care of me in all situations at all times. I remember this, and then I’m able to relax for a moment, but soon I’ll forget again.

On this Race, I’ve seen God provide in so many ways that it continues to blow my mind, yet I am so fragile minded that I forget in an instant when things become rough or uncertain.

I’m just like the Israelites.

Putting those words out there is hard, and it challenges me just looking over them again to make a change. A change that says God is in control, not me, and I KNOW He has my best interest at heart. Even in the rough patches. So here goes, I’m laying myself down one more time and telling God, “I’m all yours and everything I do is for you, lead the way…”

Pray for me…10 months in and its still hard.

To read more from Mike and hear about how God is working on the World Race, visit his blog here: michaelmurphy.theworldrace.org/

Wayne Cordeiro has this cool little bit of wisdom from his book, The Divine Mentor:

“By the time you graduate from high school, statistics say you will have watched more than sixteen thousand hours of television. You will have spent fourteen thousand hours in an educational institution. And if you go to church for just two hours a week, you will have spent under two thousand hours getting spiritual help. So, to draw on, when it comes time to make a decision, you’ll have eight times as much TV and seven times as much “world and culture and education” as you’ll have of church. Can you see the problem? There’s no substitute for drawing from the well of God’s Word!”

The use of the word well really hit me. My mind could be compared to a field full of wells. There’s an Oakland University well, an Internet well, a Southfield Christian School well, and an MDCC well. There are wells for my strong characteristics, my emotional weaknesses, and each sin struggle I have. There are likely wells for each occupation I’ve had, representing my experiences on the job, as well as the people I’ve known and interacted with. There are wells for certain groups of friends, and some friends and family members definitely have their own individual wells. There’s a Cornell College well, a television/movies well, a Woodside Bible Church well, and more. And of course, there is the well of my Father, my Jesus, my Counselor, and the Word.

Imagine that I live in a house in this field of wells. Each time I make a decision, it’s as if I’m going out the back door, bucket in hand, ready to gather some water. As I walk through the fields and draw up a pint of water at this well, a quart of water at that one, which wells do I visit the most? In high school I am sure that I was visiting the Internet well much more than I am now. I spent a lot of time during my two years at Cornell College visiting the women/relationships/love well. This water that we bring up is what we use to make our decisions. Cordeiro puts it this way:

“As you weigh all those options, you’re going to draw, from some well, the information and the motivation that mobilizes your choices. Into which well will you send down your bucket? If it’s not the right well, beware. Maybe it’s hormones … or a secret fantasy … or the insistent voice of the flesh … or peer pressure … or fear … or defensiveness.”

The wells you visit the most will eventually become the easiest to draw water from. You’ll visit them over and over and continually be making improvements to them. You’ll be fixing the stone walls. You’ll have a nicely worn path to that well–maybe you’ll pave it! Eventually you may even install a pump system so that you don’t have to hand-draw the water.

But what’s it worth if the water is still dirty? If I return to my house after drawing 90% of my water from the Get-People-To-Like-Me well and 10% from the Bible well, what does that water look like? Just because the Bible well’s water is sparkling clean, it doesn’t make up for the rest of the nasty water from the G-P-T-L-M well. All the water is mixed together when you make that decision. All the bad motives come spilling out with the good ones. You drink all that water, no matter how nasty it may be!

Whether we like it or not, we’re going to draw from somewhere. So let’s fix up our Bible wells and make well-worn paths to them. Let’s get in the habit of going to our prayer wells when we make choices. I love Cordeiro’s line: THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE for drawing on the well of God’s Word! I want at least most of my water to be from His well, ya know? And the more we go there, the more those unclean wells will end up neglected and falling apart. The stones will break down, the weeds will grow up all around them, and the wood will rot away.

Read more from Mikey at: michaeljonathankimball.blogspot.com

1 Corinthians 3:11 (New International Version)–For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Christ is the only foundation we can ever have. An unshakable groundwork. What better foundation to have than the One that gave His life for us? We cannot substitute Him. No matter how hard we try, the true foundation will not let a false base stand. Anything built will not stand, unless it is from Him. As much as I try to replace my foundation, the more I discover that Christ can NEVER be replaced. Whatever I try to cover my true foundation with, Christ will move. Sometimes a violent earthquake is required; other times, a simple brushing away is all it takes. I stand on Christ alone. He is all that sustains me.

Be encouraged, because no matter if God feels far away or very close, Christ will always be what supports us.

The one thing I love about the World Race is the freedom that we have. The leadership understands that we are all adults and have the right to make some of our own decisions; however, there are a few things that the leadership will not tolerate, and I have been so thankful for their steadfast loyalty to a specific issue. It’s called defilement - in other words, gossip. Often this happens when you are offended by someone, and tell everyone about it, except the person who offended you. Or it is just talking negative about someone just because. I think we are all really familiar with the nasty thing that we all have done, and enjoyed doing it while feeling better about ourselves.

About a week ago, I was starting to get a churning feeling in my stomach followed by an anxious and heavy feeling in my chest. I asked God what was going on and he loudly spoke to me: “Defilement.”

I asked God why I felt so heavy about it because I had never had a powerful personal struggle with it.

“Exactly,” he said. “You HATE it.”

Yes, I hate it. I hate it so much. I soon made it to worship and during the songs I just started to weep because I hated defilement so much. The heaviness in my chest got heavier and I felt it hard to breath.

Why so much God?

“Because YOU will not tolerate it and YOU will break the cycle in the church.”

Okay, Okay. But the bad feeling is still not going away.

“Yes, because you and people close to you have been defiled and you are still bitter. You need to forgive those who have hurt you.”

The bible does say not to allow a root of bitterness to spring up. It can lead to vicious strongholds and a crappy attack from the enemy ready to cling onto you with a lie of unforgiveness if you give it permission. And the enemy will cling to you until you don’t give it permission to be there anymore. It’s a dark and negative place while he is there until it’s time to forgive and he cowardly leaves you, defeated.

Throughout that day I slowly allowed my heart to forgive those who have hurt and defiled me and those close to me. Jesus forgave the people who were crucifying him on the cross. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” I have no right to hold a piece of bitterness towards anyone.

I was able to forgive, but it doesn’t mean I should ignore the issue at hand. Defilement, I believe, is the major cause of division and brokenness within the body of Christ, the church. Satan knows that when he tried to persecute the church with physical attack from the outside, the Christians only became stronger and grew closer to Christ. I believe he decided a new strategy. He decided to join the church and tear it apart from the inside. He loves showing up in the form of gossip. He decided to cling to anyone who allowed gossip to enter their mouths and he refuses to leave until he is knocked on his face by a church or a person that will refuse such an offer of lies. These lies turn to broken hearts and words and acts of hate. His little scheme has worked for a while. But he has been discovered, called out, and it is time for the church to take a stand and fight it off, no matter how hard it hurts at first. Why will it hurt and what will it take to kick the devil out? It will mean for many to fall on their faces in humility and to face those that have been attacked by their words. It calls for repentance but only to end with healed hearts and unity again.

I believe that by letting go of defilement, there can be a great revival in the church. It calls for an act of bravery, courage, and unity by all who decide to take part. Gossip is division, a coward, and very weak.

Defilement is no joke and not tolerated here on the World Race. There are many practical ways we face it head on. We first like to keep each other in check. We like to call it the 24 hour rule. For example, if Lindsay decided to come and tell me how annoying it is when David laughs for 2 hours straight during church (we actually fully enjoy when David laughs for 2 hours straight during church), my response is, “Okay! You have 24 hours to go and tell him that. And if you do not go to him I will bring him to you and you WILL tell him how you feel.” So Lindsay tells David with nerves and hesitation. David tells Lindsay that he can’t help it. The joy of the Lord over takes his body. Lindsay understands. She is happy to know there will be that much laughter in heaven. Gossip went no further. Gossip is done and kicked hard in the face. Lindsay laughs with David at the next worship. The joy of the Lord is their strength. Good-bye, you old and cheap gossip. I bet you could imagine the twist it would take if she never went to David.

I believe that the church can defeat gossip. It just takes a few people to make the example and not back down to the weakness of gossip. Here are just a few things to remember.

1. I believe defilement can still happen in the heart. We may decide not to gossip about someone, but it’s still easy not to go to the person when we are offended by them. Even if we don’t talk about them, we still feel offended in our hearts and hold something against them; therefore; until we go to that person and make it right with them we are still holding something against them without them knowing. It’s time to GET RIGHT with your brother or sister.

2. When we go to confront someone, it should always be for the good of the person who is being confronted. It’s just not right to go to a person out of your own personal anger, frustration, or gain. It should always be brought in a way to help better the other person. We are told to speak the truth in love.

3. When we go to bring something tough to a person it should always be sandwiched between two compliments. We should always build each other up.

4. Apologize to people you have defiled. It will be really hard, but it is one of the most humble actions you could take.

5. If possible, confront those you that have defiled you, in love and forgiveness. Get to the root of the issue.

6. Talk to your pastor about ways to go at this whole thing. He holds authority in the church and he can make some strong actions. Remember, your pastor has probably been defiled more than anybody you know.

7. GRACE: Remember, we all make mistakes and no one is perfect. We HAVE to have grace with each other.

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ. Ephesians 4:15

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Ephesians 4:25

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fist the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. Ephesians 4:25

To speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. Titus 3:2
See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled. Hebrews 12:15

And just a side note, Lindsay has never had a problem with David laughing in church.

To read more from Denise and hear about how God is working on the World Race, visit her blog here: denisebickel.theworldrace.org/

I’m going to describe a certain group of followers that will act, speak, behave, and even dress like their leader. Try to guess who these followers are. The leader whom they are following after is well known, and this leader’s life and death was - and still is - controversial. Some say this leader is alive; others say he is dead. Some people even claim to have seen him today; this leader was even called a king. When other people see these followers in action, they immediately know exactly whom they are following. These followers certainly bewilder those on the outside, and when these people follow their leader publicly, they usually become the object of attention, jokes, and ridicule. These followers stand out in any crowd, and you can sometimes tell who they are even when they aren’t trying to be obvious. Who are these followers? If you guessed Christians, you’re wrong.

These followers are Elvis impersonators.

Although I haven’t seen anyone impersonating Elvis lately, I did see someone who looked like they could impersonate him, and this stuck with me until I suddenly realized that Elvis impersonators have a lot in common with Christians. Ironically enough, their unapologetic and even outspoken passion for imitating Elvis is motivating to me, especially when I think of how Christians are called in Ephesians 5:1 to imitate Christ.

So what does your “Jesus impression” look like? Would people even notice?

I pray that your passion for Christ grows to become more and more outspoken, unapologetic, and obvious. To be instantly recognized as someone who imitates Jesus, even when you aren’t being obvious, certainly speaks about your passion and love for Him. A life that bewilders demands explanation. I pray your explanation is Christ.

I don’t normally write about news articles. Typically I like to stick to devotions straight from The Word. I like to dive deep and find impacting messages behind God’s word. But this news article caught my eye, and I had to address it’s content.

It was really less of an article and more of a commentary. Adam Housley is a Los Angeles based correspondent for Fox, and the article is his comments from being inside a courtroom during the sentencing of John Gardner.

If you don’t know who John Gardner is or what he did, it’s far from pretty. He made national news for pleading guilty to the murder and rape of both 14-year-old Amber Dubois, and 17-year-old Chelsea King. John has no excuse for his actions. What he did was of the utmost disgusting nature. He has wreaked havoc on families and friends, he has destroyed lives, and he deserves at least the two life terms without parole that the judge levied on him.

But as I read through Adam’s article, something even more disturbing surfaced, if you can even imagine that. Adam commented on each family member and friend that went up and spoke their thoughts to the courtroom, and here is what some of them said:

Amber’s father says that Amber’s seven year old sister “hates John Gardner as much as she hates the devil.”

He also says that “eternity is a long time to burn in hell and you will not be missed.”

Chelsea’s father says “you can go straight to hell and I pray that God shows you no mercy.”

Chelsea’s mother says that what John did is “cause enough for you to burn in hell.”

Not long after this, the judge ended up sentencing John Gardner, but I have to admit by this time I had had enough of the speakers. I feel I need to take a moment and introduce myself to you reading this Lighthouse blog:

Hi, my name is Michael Cavalli. I have not murdered and raped two young girls. I have not murdered or raped anyone. I have not devastated families and friends alike with awful disgusting crimes that are hard to even swallow. But I would like you to know that I am a sinner, and most importantly, the sins I have committed, although not as disgusting to this world as John Gardner’s, are cause enough for me to burn in hell.

This blog is not about liberating John Gardner of his crimes or reducing the impact of those crimes on people. This is about the gospel of Jesus Christ. I refuse to declare myself a better, more righteous person, more deserving of forgiveness than John Gardner.

The devil is a fallen being who will never be offered forgiveness and is constantly trying to drag people away from Jesus Christ. John is a human being whom Christ forgave for his sins, and salvation is his for the taking. I cannot hate John like I hate the devil.

Eternity is a long time to burn in hell, and if John ends up there perhaps at that point he will not be missed, but I guarantee that Jesus misses him right now.

I also refuse to condemn and wish someone to hell whom Jesus does not, and I cannot imagine the arrogance of a human who would pray that God shows someone no mercy when I have received far more than my share of mercy! My share should be zero! But it’s only by the power of Christ on the cross that He shows me mercy!

From the commentary I have read, this may be blasphemous to some, but I truly hope I one day see John Gardner in heaven. I hope he finds repentance and forgiveness in Jesus. But I also pray that God would change the hearts of those affected by this man, and that He would show them what the cross of Christ truly means to all men, not just those who aren’t so bad.

I hear a war of words dancing on my tongue…whispering to my soul. They want to pierce and divide, conquer and fall!

These words from my bones don’t reach you on you’re thrones, they don’t penetrate your hearts or reach your glorious homes!

All a man’s ways seem right, and this battle could last all night, raging behind my lips beyond reason and out of sight.

To the humble please hear, we live in a world of double edge swords and minds, seek truth and know fear.

I wake up every day as me
I don’t know why, I don’t know how I came to be
I wake up every day and wonder why
When just as easily I could fall asleep and go to die
I get up and walk around
Barely noticing my feet moving across the ground
It’s a motion I’m starting to get used to
I’m probably going through these motions when I see you
I look in the mirror and stare
And wonder about the heart that I’m being forced to bear
Why is it that my heart can break
When little pieces of it people decide to take
It seems so sturdy but feels so frail
Its wounds and scars would lead you down a trail
To a place you would not know
One of the worst places you will ever have to go
It’s a place that’s hurt, alone and sometimes lost
I’d tell you it’s stable but more often than not it’s tossed
It can barely hold on to strive for the goal
But then moving on deeper you will meet with my soul
Here lies the hope this is my reason to live
I know deep inside there is much more to give
It will fly and not die and no matter what you do
You can’t take this from me it does not belong to you
So bring on your fire and brimstone and bells
You can’t scare me anymore I’ve already seen hell
What’s left of my heart you can tear it to shreds
You can beat it and break it leave it better off dead
You can break me and take me
You could even forsake me
But it’s too late I have seen my reality
I wake up everyday as me