blood & fire

Last Thursday: As I climbed the double stair case up to the room where our College & Career group meets, I noticed below me a Chinese man sitting at a table in the church foyer reading his Bible. He was of average size, dressed in a suit and appeared to be a quiet and gentle man.

Have you heard of Peter Xu?

If you've read The Heavenly Man, Peter was Brother Yun's pastor and mentor.

Perhaps you've never heard of Peter - I hadn't either.

Pastor Peter is a tried and true saint of our Lord. He has had a life of persecution, torture, and suffering. He has faced death... and had no fear.

Peter is the founder of an Evangelical Christian movement in China variously called "New Birth", "All Range", or "Born Again Movement."*  There are estimated to be 25 - 30 million believers in this Christian movement. He has been imprisoned for his faith five times (1965, 1971, 1982, 1988, 1997), tortured for hours on end, separated from friends and family for years.

I met Peter.

We all - RMC's young adult group - had the honor to hear selections of his testimony and have him encourage and pray over us. He brought us to laughter and tears... and to our knees.

American Christians have it so easy. We can freely meet with other believers, evangelize, sing worship, purchase Bibles...

I have often heard that the Church in America is a mile wide and one inch deep.

    That's not the case in China.

They have great depth of faith. They know what persecution is. They have chosen Jesus Christ and have no fear to die for Him.

God give us faith like theirs.

Pastor Peter and Brother Yun have a great vision. It's called "Back to Jerusalem". The Chinese believe the gospel traveled west from Jerusalem, into Europe, down to Africa, across to the Americas and finally reached the western coast of China. They believe it is their responsibility to take the gospel baton and continue to run with it, all throughout China and then beyond China into the Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist nations, all the way back to its source in Jerusalem.**

The Lord is calling His laborers. What have we to fear? Death is the greatest fear of all. But if you believe in the work of Christ and His resurrection - the hope of eternal life - then you have nothing to fear. 



*Wikipedia - "Peter Xu"
** China & Back to Jerusalem

a post a day

I write a blog post everyday.

    You're probably thinking, "Yeah, right, Ari... You hardly ever post."

Well... that's because I write it in my head....

while I'm in the shower each day.

So... here is my post for Wednesday, September 15, 2010.

Because this is what I was thinking about today in the shower. 

     

blazing fire, mighty flame

Jason is my best friend. I cherish spending time with him. 

I am extremely jealous for every potential minute together. Whether it's a run to the grocery store or hanging out with the guys, each moment apart lasts far too long. 

    Perhaps I'm a bit.... overly-jealous... 

The other night Jason was away and I was contemplating this jealousy of mine... How I feel sometimes that he doesn't treasure our time as much I do; that it's not a big deal to go hang out with what's-his-name and come home later than was planned, lollygag out doing errands, or put on a movie to divert his attentions.

    Thats when it hit me.

God is jealous over me.

Just like - and even more so than- my jealousy for Jason. 

He watches as I waste my time doing this and that; always busy, yet with so much spare, wasted time... 

Yes, I spend time with the Lord each day, reading and praying...

       (and yes, Jason spends time with me; eating, chatting, helping, loving...)

God wants more of me. I am His possession. He has betrothed me to Himself.

Place me like a seal over your heart,

like a seal on your arm;

for love is as strong as death,

its jealousy unyielding as the grave.

It burns like blazing fire,

like a mighty flame.

                                                       Song of Solomon 8:6

For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.     Deuteronomy 4:24

holiness

I would rather endure the mockery from obeying even the most simple promptings of God than suffer the consequences of a seared conscience because of suppression.

   Snickers.
      Eyes roll.
         Exasperated sighs.

Accusation: "You're legalistic."

Shouldn't they rather rejoice, encourage?

Oh fellow Christians, where is your heart? Where are your treasures?

it's been awhile

I've been a little MIA... life has been busy...

Acacia and I just got home this past weekend from spending two weeks back at home with my parents. I would just like to testify that absence did make the heart grow fonder. I missed Jason terribly and now that I'm back with him, I cherish every moment.

Acacia is a handful. She is sure cute, walking around, talking, learning; but, by golly, she is a little sinner! Jason and I have a parenting series that we are going to start watching this weekend - we need help!

My best friend from GJ, Danielle, is writing a book. I'm helping her edit. It's going really well, but I think I am going to start brushing up on my grammar.

While I was back home I starting working out again. It feels so good. As of this Monday I'm working from The Body Sculpting Bible for Women. For this week and next I'm on the break-in routine, then I start a six week program. Supposedly I should have some muscle... by the end of October. *Crossing fingers* Apart from the workout, my main focus is eating a lot of food. I can't afford to lose any weight - in fact, my ultimate goal is to gain 10 lbs [of muscle weight].

That is all I can really think of at the moment.

The Lord is really blessing us right now and we are very thankful.

And I'm in love with Jesus - what more could I ask for?

acacia's page

As you can see to the left of this, I have two page links.

The first page is Home - where you are now. The second page is all about Acacia.

I will be updating it as often as needed... with things that make me laugh, warm my heart, and I may even post some pictures. Ya know, all those loving-mother sort of things. 

If I have the time, I may even go back and write things in from the first year and a half.

It will be an ongoing page... meaning that I'll write in it as long as Blogger allows me the ability. 

My hope is that it will bless you, as the things written assuredly bless me, and that it will bring a smile to your face, for she never ceases to make my cheeks crease. Sorry... I didn't mean to make that sound so poetic. 

So... if you're having a bad day or a wonderful day, I share my joy with you through Acacia. 

lifeless

Having mono is quite a kick in the butt.

Though I am free of the most painful symptoms - constant headache, swollen tonsils, etc - I am plagued with tiredness.

And I just can't seem to shake it.

It is an odd virus because I don't feel sick yet it hast me dragged down. There is nothing superficially wrong with me... apart from feeling sleep deprived nearly 24/7. It makes me think I'm lazy. Lathargic. Lifeless.

And I hate it.

I'm hoping and praying to overcome this soon. 

And... *wringing hands guiltily* ... praying that Jason and Sheree' get over the tiredness as well. To add to the list, I'm also praying that Andrew and Janae' are spared from mono entierly. 

So. If you think of us, we'd greatly appreciate it if you sent up a simple little prayer too. 

I think the worst part of it all is being a mother with mono. I don't have the time or energy for both. But.. I will give thanks... because the Lord spared me from the body rash, fever, an overly enlarged spleen and inflamed liver. 

If you are between the ages of 10 and 26, I advise you to stop sharing drinks with everyone. Because mono is contagious for up to 18 months.