Idolatrous Heart

Ezekiel 14
Then certain of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. And the word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I indeed let myself be consulted by them? Therefore speak to them and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Any one of the house of Israel who takes his idols into his heart and sets the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to the prophet, I the LORD will answer him as he comes with the multitude of his idols, that I may lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel, who are all estranged from me through their idols."

I came to this text vexed and depressed. I was struggling with all sorts of idolatry, and I was letting it into my heart and setting it before my face daily. I was creating kingdoms where only I ruled, where God was not thought of. I am greatly relieved that the Lord wants to lay hold of my heart.

"Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn your faces from all your abominations. For any one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel, who separates himself from me, taking his idols into his heart and putting the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to a prophet to consult me through him, I the LORD will answer him myself. And I will set my face against that man; I will make him a sign and a byword and cut him off from the midst of my people, and you shall know that I am the LORD. And if the prophet is deceived and speaks a word, I, the LORD, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. And they shall bear their punishment - the punishment of the prophet and the punishment of the inquirer shall be alike - that the house of Israel may no more go astray from me, nor defile themselves anymore with all their transgressions, but that they may be my people and I may be their God, declares the Lord GOD."

Ah, so the punishment will not be less because I have come seeking counsel with the Lord. And yet, the punishment is in his hands, and it is not unfair. Furthermore, the purpose of his punishment is to help myself and others no longer go astray, no longer defile ourselves. His purpose is for us to be his people, and him to be our God.

Kaleo Ministry

Wow, I leave for Vancouver in just under an hour. We will be staying in a church over night, and tomorrow we are flying to Tokyo for one night before finishing our journey to New Delhi. Once in New Delhi 13 other students and 2 leaders will meet up with my good friend Nicki Parker, and we will begin our journey north into the foothills of the Himalayas.
It is frightening for me to be a representative. I am a very inadequate person to be representing a place like Canada, a school like Kaleo, or a person like Christ. This fear had made me queasy up until last night, when I realized that myself and my fellow students are in very good hands. The Lord has gone before us, preparing good works for us. He has been preparing the people we are going to meet and preparing us to meet them.
I am never going to feel prepared, but I do know in my heart that I have nothing to worry about except clothing myself in Christ.
Please remember to pray for our team. Pray that stress does not get the best of us, and that we are made into worthy ambassadors.
Thank you for your prayers!

Kaleo Ministry

This week a few students went up to Qwanoes' junk pile and moved scrap metal into a large bin. We continue to work out very often in preparation for our trek in India.

I found out that I have $50 dollars more than my tuition cost in the bank.

Levi (my pastor's son) had a birthday party which the Cobble Hill Kaleos went to. It was very fun.

My grades are terrible, but I am learning lots.

I still do not know what I am doing next September.

I could use prayer for focus, willpower, comfort, and support for India.

Thank you for reading, I will try to post some sweet stories or pictures next time!

Kaleo Ministry

Kaleo is back in session, and oh how wonderful it is!

Over the break God spoke to me through the scripture of Ephesians. Jim warned us that going back home from Kaleo could sometimes be like a battle, so I dove into the Word and tried to put on some armor. The salvation that Christ bought us has been on my mind. I have kept the Bible nearby and ready. The good news directed my steps. The truth held me up. I struggled to embody righteousness. Ephesians was my anthem and war cry. 

I say all of this not because my home-life is hard, or my family is treacherous, that would be to lie! My family and friends are wonderful people who build me up daily. But being in my old haunts, seeing the expectation of others for me to either be the same, or some creature altogether holier than when they last saw me, was a struggle. I needed God's full armor to keep my heart well protected for his use. 

Needless to say, God kept me. I loved being home. I already miss all of you!

All of my mates and I here at Qwanoes are jumping straight into the grindstone. We have already completed one course (except for all the homework!), and we are about to go snowboarding on Mt Washington for five days. We will be staying in a luxury chalet on the mountain. It has three hot-tubs! It will be just like home ;)

After that, we are starting our theology course, taught by my pastor. I would appreciate prayers, as I am sure that if I write a poor paper I will never live it down. 

Being back at Cobble Hill Church is just amazing. It felt like a family reunion. Especially with Nicki Parker there (who, for those who don't know, is an angel sent by God to bring me to Cobble Hill, who also will be co-leading my trip to India with a few other saints). 

God has been teaching me patience for a long time (or, has been trying to; I am a poor student). Recently he has reminded me to follow his leading even if conventional wisdom would point to different decisions. Praise him for his steadfastness in counsel! 

Because they sometimes forget to read this, tell my Mom and Grandma I love them dearly, whoever sees them first!

-Lovingly,

JH