our community

I've been recently talking with a friend about how we used to live in community, so i have been reading my old favorite book and desiring to write on this massive and important topic. The book i love is Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Life Together. This was a man who lived and taught in an underground sort of seminary with other men, during the Nazi years. He was eventually arrested and killed by the Nazis but was able to minister to those in prison with him before he died, and the letters he wrote while in prison were amazingly preserved for us! Thank You, Lord!!!

In his book, he says many great things, but one thing i am dwelling on is what brings Christians together in a community? He says our reason for coming together should only be "through Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ. No Christian community is more or less than this." Kind of reminds me of when Paul said, "I determined to know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified." Yet, how many of us fail to grasp and live out this simple way of life?! We want to be so intellectual, so spiritual, that we lose touch with the heart of our Savior.

Bonhoeffer also warns against coming into the community with "visionary dreaming." He says, "He who loves his dream of a community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter, even though his personal intentions may be ever so honest and earnest and sacrificial."

Thankfully, my husband and i read this book before ever joining the community in northern Minnesota, so we did as much as we could to not have preconceived ideas as to what we should find there. We came with only a desire to follow Jesus as He was leading. As much as i wanted things like a huge garden that everyone worked on together, i was ready and willing for that to not happen, to let that dream die if it would interfere with the work the Lord wanted to do. And i did have a huge garden, but guess what! I took care of it all by my little self, and i enjoyed every minute of it:)

We moved to Ben Israel Fellowship in Bemidji, MN on June 6, 2002 and left on June 4, 2005. So we were there for three years. I am glad to say that we left on very good terms. Looking back, if only all of us really came for the reasons described by Bonhoeffer, i believe there would have been more people leaving on good terms as we did (or more people willing to stick it out and not leave!). That isn't to say we did every single thing right, but i do think the majority of people that came to live there had more complex reasons for coming than we did. I also think that we would still be living there today if we had not seen so many people leave on not-so-good terms.

When we first moved there, we sold everything and left our high-paying jobs behind. The community we moved to was in the country on 160 acres, which had a big lodge and several other trailers or homes nearby. Those who lived in the lodge were us, an Australian family, a family from Holland, a single guy from CA, and two others from a place called "FIRE school" in Florida. Everyone else lived in their own homes. We were not from the same backgrounds in any way. We grew up secular, or from vastly different denominations, or totally different cultures. Nothing binded us together but that precious blood of the Lamb! Oh, to me, it was the most beautiful thing i'd ever been part of. That was my favorite time. Everything was new, we were all happy and got along great. But over time, day after day together, as you can imagine, we found our differences easily enough. For example, some people were watching movies or listening to music that others found completely offensive. Some people did not put away the milk and other food and just left it out for others to clean up. Some people did more playing than working. Some people had spiritual beliefs that others were passionately against. But at the end of the summer, most of us decided to stay because of all the other wonderful things that were happening around us. We actually witnessed totally lost people getting saved! We witnessed baptisms that were born in heaven and not just some religious obligation. We got to have important spiritual conversations almost every day. We got to experience wonderful revelations and times of worship that brought tears flowing down our cheeks! For me, the good definitely overcame the bad.

So we decided to stay there, as i said, and i will tell you what happened next time...to be continued...

dried up branches

Have you ever gone to prune your tree and found some dead branches still attached to the tree? They need to be cut off in order for the tree's energy to go more into the other healthy branches and make them even more fruitful. Some people are like that. They begin just as any other branch. They grow out and then get to a point where they stop receiving nourishment from the Vine. They just wither up and stay there. Sadly, you may meet a lot of Christians like that out there. They have stopped receiving teaching from Jesus, so they do not know how to produce good fruit. They are taking away strength from the church, overall, because they are claiming to be Christians and are not acting like Jesus. Don't be deceived by them. It is the church's job to first warn these people, and if they are not willing to repent, then they are to be "cut off" from the church, so as to not lead others astray in their sins.

Of course, most American churches are unwilling to do this because it seems so harsh to tell someone they are sinning, and then to tell them they can't be part of the church anymore because they are unwilling to repent. After all, we don't want to be "unloving" but accepting of people. While it's true that we should accept all people initially, for we are all sinners, we should not allow them to remain in that sin while claiming to have been transformed. When David, who loved God with all his heart, sinned the worst kind of sin (adultery and murder), it was not just brushed under the rug. It was confronted. Had David refused to confess and repent, his life would've turned out much differently. But he did repent with all his heart, and he never did such an evil thing again. What if Nathan had been too scared to confront him? Then you would have the present condition of the church. You would have undealt with sins permeating the whole place. Others would see that the sin wasn't confronted, so they would be more likely to commit horrible sins as well. Thank God for the Nathans who are out there doing what they ought!

Earthly Things

Do not set your mind on earthly things.

What are earthly things? These are things that pull us away from an eternal mindset. For example, fashion. This is one thing many women especially have a hard time steering away from. "What will i wear?" is not something Jesus wants us to be consumed with, so if you care about what He thinks, then it's very simple: it doesn't matter what you wear (as long as it's modest). He summed it up Himself: "Is not the body more important than clothes?...Why do you worry about clothes?" (Matthew 6:25-28) I'm not speaking from a holier than thou point of view; i am speaking as one who has to remind myself often not to care too much about what i wear. I like clothes that are unique, and even though i do not spend a lot of money on clothes, i still put thought and effort into it. It's not about how much money you're spending on it, but how much thought space you are giving over to it. If you are like me, you will have to deliberately fight this earthly thing!

Same thing goes for hair style. I love to style my hair in different ways--it's fun! But if i spend too much time on this sort of thing, or if i get sucked in to searching for hair styles i like, then it can so easily pull me away from an eternal mindset. I can get wrapped up in myself, especially on "bad hair days," and that is where i do NOT want to be! I want to be wrapped up in the things of God!

Another example would be an unhealthy overindulgence in food. Eating does not have to be earthly. It is intended by God to be a source for thanking and praising Him. We know food is good and from Him and given as a wonderful gift. However, we live in an age where people are obsessed with the question, "What are we going to eat?" (see Matt: 6:25-34). If you want to be heavenly minded, then get your mind off of food for a while. Make eating simple as much as it is up to you. (But don't use that as an exuse to slack off in cooking nutritious meals for your family:).

Another earthly thing is what some call "the pride of life." Caring too much about what others think of you, how successful you are, how good-looking or funny or wealthy, etc. is sinful! We should want others to think well of us in terms of being like Jesus, doing what is right, and living a holy life. But that is not so that they will admire us; it is to point them to Jesus in us. If we want to be admired by men, we are in a very bad place spiritually and should seek God to help us out of that pit. I am so amazed at how many Christians seem to admire celebrities, as though life is only about here and now, money, fame, fortune, recognition. These are not the things God esteems; these are things esteemed by man. Steer clear of these things, my friends! If you are going to spend any time at all thinking about the rich and famous, turn it into a prayer for them because it is much harder for them to sense their deep need of a Savior.

Let's be consumed with knowing and doing the will of God in these short days we have to bring Him glory. Amen!

Creamy Coffee Craving

What do you do with that extra coffee you don't want to waste in the morning? I have an ice cube tray just for that purpose. Freeze some cubes and use them for this wonderful treat:

1/2 cup milk
two big scoops vanilla ice cream
very big squeeze of hershey chocolate
tray of coffee cubes

Blend in blender until smooth and creamy--don't indulge in this too often! You might have a harder time losing those few extra pounds:)