Jesus gave me Ninja Skills

So here's the story...

Tonight I had a lovely evening with my new, good, friend Mandie. The evening was so much fun and so precious, but that is a different story. We were talking, sitting in a valley below the House of Prayer. It was staring to get dark and we decided to wrap it up. But then about 6 Arab boys and young men came up near us. It seemed harmless at first, but as the time went on, we really felt that we needed to leave. I had cautiously been keeping my hand on my purse and camera that was laying next to me on the grass. But in a split second, I lifted my hand to readjust and one of the young men took his opportunity. He reached down for my things and managed to grab my Cannon SLR camera. I don't really know how I did it, but in a second a just yelled "Lo!" ("no" in Hebrew) and lunged to grab the dangling neck strap of my camera as he turned to run. I pulled it back to me, and as it slipped from his hand, it came back and smacked me... but I got it! It's true, some guy tried to mug me... and I won! Some of the boys who saw what happened offered to get the police, but considering that the guy didn't get away with anything, we didn't think it was necessary. And from the way he ran away, my guess is that he's half way to Jordan by now...

Mandie and I walked home immediately, praising Jesus for His protection and for giving me the ninja fast skills to grab my stuff back! As a friend recently reminded me... Abba keeps me.

It's been a new and interesting experience living here in Israel on my own. In all honesty, I never thought I would be able to do this. Maybe it was due to watching a few too many suspense movies a few years to early, but the thought of living in a big city alone always scared me. There's probably a "healthy fear" there, (what an oxymoran, haha) causing me to be cautious. But it's been really cool to see the work that Jesus has done in my heart in this season, here in Jerusalem. I do not live in fear. Circumstances sometimes force me to walk home alone at night, but I do not fall prey to fear. I will not. I often walk home praying in the Spirit, knowing that I am encircled with the Spirit of the living God! What can touch me?! Seriously, Jesus is so good, and so big, and loves me so much, in such a perfect way, that fear is always driven out. Now, that's not to say that I don't use wisdom. I make all efforts not to walk home alone at night if I don't have to, I avoid certain neighborhoods and keep a can on pepper spray on my keychain. But I do not put my faith in those things, for they can fail me. But my Jesus never fails. I walk in the light... even at night. Listen to this story of Gladys Aylward (another woman I want to be when I grow up). She firmly put her trust in Christ, even when things looked a little scary.

When Gladys Aylward was on her way to China to fulfill the call of God on her life, the enemy must have known how powerful her minstry would be because he tried to thwart her before she even arrived. In Russia, she was detained by corrupt government officials. As she sat in a hotel room, thinking about a way to escape, an officer tried to force his way in. Boldly she told him, "You are not coming in here."
"Why not?" he smirked.
"Because this is my bedroom."
"I am the master, I can do with you what I wish!"
"Oh no, you cannot. You may not believe in God, but He is here. Touch me and see. Between you and me God has put a barrier. Go!"
The man stared at Gladys, shivered, and without a word, turned and left.

Can you see why I like her so much? This is how we as believers should be living. We must know and make it known that God is protecting us. Oh that I too would have her boldness in declaring God's protection!

So yes, someone tried to mug me. But Jesus is bigger and protected me and Mandie from any real harm. I will not live in fear. I came home and told my roommates the story. After the initial shock, they lovingly asked me if I was ok emotionally. And I can honestly say that I am. Not out of an ignorant, cavalier attitude, but from truly knowing that Abba keeps me. So I will live my life in this city. I will get on the bus, refusing to let the enemy win by keeping me off for fear of bombings. I will walk to and from my apartment in the authority of Jesus Christ. Yes, the world that we live in is fallen and full of many evils, but we must never forget that Jesus is bigger.

And when you need Him, He will provide the necessary ninja skills... trust me.

When I Grow Up...

Most of you who know me well, know that I want to be a lot of people when I grow up. That's right, not things... people. When I was little, I wanted to be a lot of things: a teacher, an astronaut, a marine biologist, I even had a deep desire to be a waitress. I think it was a fascination with getting to wear a visor. What can I say, some dreams come true.

But these days, I want to be people when I grow up - Amy Carmichael, Beverly my cubical neighbor at work (affectionately referred to as my 69 year old best friend and powerful intercessor), Ruth the Moabitess, Elizabeth Elliot, Jackie Pullenger, and Nancy the beautiful woman of wisdom who leads the watch right before mine in the mornings, here in Jerusalem. These women are those of godly character, feminine grace, and heroic love. The could all be gal pals with the Proverbs 31 woman and have all become a shining example to this 20 year old one. Whenever I meet a woman like this, who is living a life devoted to Christ and is passionately in love with Him, I normally respond with "I want to be her when I grow up!"

Today, we have built a 21st century church to fit into our 21st century world. We are hip - we have coffee shops in our churches and our churches in coffee shops. The worship music is "relevant" and the media department is cutting edge. We look cool and manage to make Jesus pretty cool too. Now, all this in and of itself is not bad. But there is a grave danger waiting just around the corner... In our efforts to make to church culturally relevant to the younger generation, we have lost the older one. Our culture is constantly dividing us on generational lines. There are senior discounts and child discounts. There's "grown-up" movies and kids movies. And now, in the church, we have "youth services" and "adult services" - where parents' and kids' only Sunday morning interaction is the car ride to and from church. Separate worship, separate messages, separate lives. Or the even more extreme, whole youth churches, where there is not even the possibility of being forced to interact with "old people." How could a young person possibly be able to learn about Jesus with a faithful man or woman there who has known Him for 50 years?! Seriously?

We have lost respect for the older generation in the church today. We have separated ourselves from our potential mentors, shepherds and spiritual parents. We are consumed with the newest Christian fluff that hits the Christian bookstore shelves, and have never even heard of spiritual giants like Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, Hudson Taylor and Smith Wigglesworth - much less read a word they wrote. May we look to those bold forerunners who have paved the way for us with gratefulness and admiration. Not to mention the shining examples of faith we have in the Bible and the early church. But to discover these treasures, we would have to actually be reading our Bibles, which is another topic for another blog.

I look to these amazing men and women and desire to live the lives of faith they did - rescuing Indian children from human trafficking, introducing Jesus to those who have yet to know His great love, laying down my life in the service of others, pure devotion to the King and becoming a warrior of intercession. That is what I want to be when I grow up. Now, I am almost 21 years old and many would debate that my time for dreaming of what I want to be when I grow up, is long past. But I hope that I will never stop desiring to do great things for Jesus. I want to walk in the well trodden path of the saints and I want to aspire to even more when I am well into my 70s and 80s. Moving from glory to glory, never relenting in abandoning my life to Him.

And so I keep dreaming. I continue to see the beautiful, virtuous work of Christ in those further on this life journey than I, and choose to follow their example. What do you want to be when you grow up?

It Happened to Me!

Last night seemed like it was going to be an ordinary, relaxing erev shabbat. I was looking forward to food, friends, and the peace of the sabbath as I was rode the elevator up to my friend's apartment... and then it happened. Just like a movie, the elevator lurched, the lights blacked out and then it died. That's right, I was stranded. I was left alone in the pitch black somewhere between floors. I immediately had visions of the elevator plummeting down the shaft with only the concrete bottom to break my fall. Than I saw myself in the dark 3 foot by 5 foot space all night while I waited for the paramedics to come save me. That was in a movie, right? Then the worst one hit me, what if no one realized I was missing? What if I had to stay in there all night? In the dark... alone... hungry. I began to bang of the doors, yelling "I'm stuck in the elevator! Hello!" My phone didn't have any service, but with the little bit of light that my blue screen gives, I was able to find the emergency button and push it vigorously. You'd be amazed how quickly panic sets in when you're in a situation like that. Now, if you can believe this, all the afore mentioned scenarios and actions happened over the course of about 30 seconds. After that, my sanity kicked in and I began to pray. Once I began to do the one thing that would help me most, a supernatural peace came over me and the fear evaporated. Now I'm not saying that I was content to live in that elevator for the rest of my life or even the rest of the night, but the panic was gone.

John's first epistle, he tells us that perfect love casts out fear. That's one of those verses that I grew up knowing, but never really beleiving. But I'll let you in on something - God means what He says and every word in that book we call the Bible is solid truth. When you realize that the Creator of the Universe, Lord of every living thing, King of Kings, Alpha and Omega, and Holy Father loves you with a perfect love that has not even a hint of selfishness in it, your fear seems to vanish. In fact, it begins to look downright silly. If the Divine loves me like that, no middle eastern elevator is going to make me tremble. My only regret about last night is that is took me 30 whole seconds to turn to Jesus. My prayer is that I would know the Father's love deeper and truer until He is the first and only place I turn in time of trouble. Imagine a life without the presence of even the slightest fear... it is a life of love. Well, for those of you who are wondering, I made it out of the elevator - hence the fact that I am able to write this for your reading pleasure. I was stranded for a very undramatic 2 minutes. The power kicked back on and I made it my appropriate floor. I later found out that this happens semi-regularly. I'll chalk it up to just another initiation into life in Israel. But for the record, I think I'm going to stick to the stairs from now on. After all, doesn't it say somewhere to not test the Lord you God? :)

How Low Can You Go?

I've realized something over that last few months - my life is very much like limbo. Not the supposed waiting place for souls... the party game. You know, it's a staple at Hawaiian luaus and roller skating parties. Somebody will turn on some music that in any other situation would be completely unbearable, and you attempt to make your way under the horizontal pole, broomstick, or whatever you have on hand with your body arched back. All the while people are chanting the limbo challenge "How low can you go?" Now you may ask what this has to do with my life. And considering that I do not live in a perpetual luau nor have I worn roller-skates since the 2nd grade, this is a very valid question.

Lately I feel like the Holy Spirit has been challenging me, "How low can you go today Chelsea? How humble will you choose to be? With what sacrificial love will you serve those around you?" These can be very convicting, yet inspiring questions! I long to go lower, that Jesus may be lifted higher. I want to decrease that He would increase. I want to consider others above myself. But I must first answer the question, how low am I willing to go? Well, in the Christian life game of limbo, the bar has been set unbelievably low... in a good way. You see, Jesus was the most humble servant to walk the earth. He is how we are to measure all of our actions and behavior. He has given us a perfect example of humility.

Sometimes we believers sing these powerful worship songs, pleading Jesus to take us where He is. We long to be lifted up to heaven and dwell in His presence. But instead of bringing us up, what if He chose to bring us down to where He is as the Suffering Servant. Are we willing to go that low? If I try to shimmy my way under the impossibly low bar of humility that Jesus has set, in my own strength, my legs will inevitably give out from under me and I will end up on my back. The only fruit of that method is discouragement, pain and failure. But if I let the Holy Spirit take me there in His strength, He will carry me under the bar, conforming me more to the image of Yeshua every step of the way.

And so my answer to Holy Spirit's question is, "Take me as low as Jesus."

How low can you go?

Ethiopia in my Heart

Check out this video that my friend David made about our time in Ethiopia. I can't watch it without crying. Enjoy!

Jesus & Jane

This morning I had humorous conversation with one of my roommates at the breakfast table. We were discussing books and movies and someone brought up Jane Austen's classic, Emma. My roommate began to tell of her complete dislike for the book which ultimately resulted in her tossing it aside after only the first 100 pages. I, being quite the Jane Austen fan ,was naturally appalled by this! How could she rob herself of such a masterpiece. For those of you who are not familiar with the story, Emma is a young woman with a affluent lifestyle in 18th century England. She is selfish, spoiled, inconsiderate and downright rude for much of the book. Now you might be siding with my roommate on that description alone, but the climax of the book is Emma's redemption. Through a series of events, Emma sees the cruel folly of her ways, repents, reforms and even manages to live happily ever after with the man of her dreams by the last page. This is what I was so intent on explaining to my roomie this morning in our playful debate. But, try as I might, she could just not get past Emma's selfishness at the beginning of the story. As she stood to take her dishes to the sink, she matter of factly called back that she just can't read stories where the main character is terrible and still manages to "get the guy at the end," even if she does change. I teasingly responded with, "Do you read your Bible?"

Although this trite conversation could be quickly forgotten as just another feminine dialogue in a house of 5 young women, it has stuck with me. I am Emma. I am prone to selfishness and sin. That's my story. But through a series of divine actions, I've come to a place of repentance, turning from my sin nature into life in the Spirit. And I even get to end up with Prince Jesus at the end of the story. Today I am struck by the simple beauty of the gospel. Although I am completely undeserving, Jesus has snatched me from the flames and called me into a life of love with Him.

Although I am a self-confessed lover of Miss Austen's work, I can not credit her with the beauty of Emma's storyline. There is nothing new under the sun and her novel is simply a lesser version of the greatest love story ever told. Set your heart on Jesus today and mediate on the beauty of your salvation story. If you want some more inspiration, you could read Emma, watch the movie, or better yet... read your Bible.

I am a Vehicle of Mercy

Well, after my last post on scripture memorization, I have decided to share with you in the next few entries some of the things Jesus showed me in Romans 11 and 12. Today, I want to talk about mercy. Now, most of my life I've been a pretty justice oriented person. Things tend to be black and white for me. I have a love for theology, politics and truth. I like absolutes and concrete thoughts. I like knowing what's right and what's wrong. That's the way I believe God made me. It is my strength, but it can also be my curse. If balanced with the mercy of God (which always triumphs over judgement, a point I constantly need reminding of) a love for justice is a great thing! The writers of the Psalms and Proverbs plead with us to love justice. But, it's when mercy is lacking, that zeal for all things just, becomes a curse to the soul. This year, God did a major overhaul on my heart and is daily increasing the gift of mercy in my life. (Side-note: mercy is a spiritual gift and Paul says to pursue the gifts. If you feel like you're lacking in the area of mercy [or any other gift] like I was, ask God to give you more of that gift! It works.) I'm learning the art of merciful justice, which in the Kingdom of God is not an oxymoron. How did this happen? Read on...

This spring, our class was traveling and ministering in Israel. One sunny afternoon, we were having our weekly Romans Bible study in a grassy park right outside the Old City. We were discussing chapter 11, what I believe to be one of the most important sections of scripture to the church today. The call of God to Israel can not be revoked or redirected to "the church." Believers in Jesus do not replace Israel, rather we join them. I could and people have written entire books on this subject, so I will not go into great depth here, but there's a few verses at the end of the chapter that are quite remarkable.

30 For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, 31 even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. 32 For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.

God has veiled the eyes of His people, so that the nations could partake in the gift of salvation. Before Yeshua, we were all missing out. When I say we, I mean the gentiles/nations - I am one, so 'we' just makes sense to me. We (gentiles) weren't of Abraham's bloodline, the end. We were disobedient to God, worshiping false idols with pagan rituals. But God, in His deep mercy and love for us, veiled the eyes of His own people, that through their disobedience to Him, we would have a chance to receive His mercy! Unbelievable! But many of us stop there. We say, "Thank you Jesus for Your mercy, now what's on TV tonight?" Some of us see error in the first response and choose to instead focus on loving the Jewish people. This is good! We should love them and have a gratefulness in our hearts that they've suffered for generations for our salvation. It's sobering, but so important to realize! Earlier in chapter 11, Paul says that Israel is blinded in part, until the fullness of the gentiles has come in. But that spring afternoon, while sitting on the grass at the base of Mt. Zion, God showed me a third response, a revelation, it might even deserve the title epiphany. It's from the end of verse 31,

31 even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy.

It all comes back to mercy. You see I, like many other believers today, had seen the suffering of Israel that I might be saved and was extremely grateful! I go to Israel to serve them and show my deep love for them. This is a great thing to do, but somewhere along the way, I got a little confused. I tend to go to extremes, my mom describes it as a pendulum on a clock that swings from one direction to the furthest possible opposite direction, thankfully the Holy Spirit is teaching me balance. But, in an effort to distance myself from the widely accepted Christian belief that Israel is unimportant and irrelevant to us today, my pendulum swung hard. I began to put the Jewish people on a bit of a pedestal, all subconsciously mind you. By focusing so much on what God has done for me through the Jewish people, I started to downplay if not totally erase the role of the gentiles in God's plan. I knew that we were important in the sense that we are to love God and each other. We are called to minister and evangelize, but in the grand scheme of things, I started to see us as tag-alongs. I'll say right now that this is not God's heart! You have to read all the way to the end of verse 31, that through the mercy shown us, they also might obtain mercy! In Romans 10, Paul says that ALL Israel will be saved. In chapter 11, he says that their acceptance will be life from the dead, and we know from what Jesus says in the book of Matthew, that when Israel turns her heart towards Yeshua as her Messiah, there will be world revival and then the end will come and our Bridegroom with it! But how is Israel going to come back? God, in His sovereignty, could simply bring them back alone - but because He loves us, He allows us gentiles to be involved in the process by becoming vehicles of mercy to the Jewish people. Isn't it beautiful? They become disobedient that we might receive merciful salvation and through that same mercy in us, they too will receive merciful salvation. This revelation is just another example of how our circular God is constantly pretzeling my linear mind. This revelation has literally changed my life, from my prayer to purpose, delights to direction. One of my favorite things about God is that He doesn't have plan B's. He is the sovereign Ancient of Days. He did not choose Israel, oh and then include the gentiles as an after thought. No, no, He choose the Jews - that they might play a part in saving the nations - that the nations would play a part in saving the Jews. Paul calls it the mystery of the Gospel. I call it beautiful.

While I was in Ethiopia, I had the opportunity to meet many Jewish people (some who have yet to know the love of Yeshua as their Messiah) who were living in complete poverty. And guess what was going through my head the whole time? Oh Jesus! Have mercy on them! You've taken care of me, loved me, provided for me and saved me. Please Jesus, do the same for them - have mercy! It was real. My eyes could not stay dry and my heart would not ease. It's because I have chosen to step into the destiny that God has for me as a carrier of mercy to His people.

I am a young woman with no Jewish blood that love Jesus, that makes me a vehicle of mercy to Israel. Living in Jerusalem everyday has caused this revelation to become reality in me. What does being a carrier of mercy look like? Is it intercession that Israel would know God's mercy? Is it working with the poor and needy Jewish people? Is it helping the Jewish woman with five little kids out to her car at the supermarket just up the road from my apartment? Is it continuously forgiving when they hurt your feelings? Is it showing the love of Yeshua in my countenance as well as in words of evangelism? And I would say that the answer it yes. If you're a Jewish person, ask God how you can fulfill your destiny to bless the nations because you've been greatly blessed (Gen. 12:3). And if you're a Gentile, ask God how He wants you to fulfill your destiny to show mercy because you've been shown such great mercy (Rom. 11). He created these roles for you in the "grand scheme of things" before the beginning of creation - walk in them.

I have hidden Thy Word in my heart

During my time in the Gateways Beyond training school this year, my class chose to memorize chapters 11 and 12 from Paul's book to the Romans. I can personally testify to the benefit of committing large sections of Scripture to memory! After we began to memorize, it seemed like those two chapters were popping up everywhere! In our teaching, morning exhortations, and personal time with Jesus. There's something beautiful in becoming more familiar with the Word of God. It goes from being words on a page, to a deep seated truth within you that you KNOW beyond a shadow of doubt. It deepens your intimacy with Yeshua and gives your life greater fullness in every area, because you've chosen to make the lIving Word alive in you! This could not be more true in my experience with Romans 11 and 12. God used Romans 11 and 12 to speak to me about my destiny, the truths they hold were instrumental in the levels of freedom and deliverance I received this year, and they ultimately became the cries of my intercession. This was all made possible because we made it a point to know these chapters inside and out - word for word. We want to be good Biblical stewards and handle rightly the Word of God. And as we memorized by flash cards, audio Bible on our ipods and meditating on the texts, something began to happen! The Holy Spirit breathed His life into it and subsequently, 7 young peoples lives will never be the same. We have a fuller knowledge of the love of God, His love for Israel, the destiny of nations, the Christian life of sacrifice and the purposes of God in our generation. Now, that was just to name a few, but trust me - the impact was priceless and I'm still getting revelation. And that was just two chapters! Imagine if we learned the whole book?! Most Christians haven't even read the whole Bible, much less memorize it. But, I want to clarify - this isn't Awanas anymore . Don't memorize verses to get a badges on your perverbial "I'm a good Christian" vest, a pat on the back from your pastor, or to wow everyone at the next church event. We need to know the word of God because it is power and life! Jesus is coming back and the gates of hell want to do whatever they can to stop it! We must take up our swords! Demons fear no Christian who lacks the power of the Holy Spirit and the skill to proclaim the word of God.

Peter Prothero is an international speaker and the pastor of Jubilee Church just outside of London, he is also a favorite around the Gateways base when it comes to guest teachers. During my first year, he said something to our class that has stuck with me. He boldly stated that "When temptation comes, it time to SAY, not pray." Unpacked, that means that we, as believers, should have an active prayer life before temptation comes, strengthening ourselves so that when it does come, we boldly proclaim the truth that we are God's children, Jesus died to redeem us, the Holy Spirit has made us new creatures and no scheme of satan will get the best of us! I like that. I wrote it, so I should. But my point is that how can you "say" in the time of trouble if you can't remember it? Really knowing the God's Word will change your life. It did mine. This blog is not to brag on myself and tell you all how great I am for memorizing two whole chapters. Oooo! I only have what.....thousands more to go. Trust me, I'm far from being there, but I want to testify that God is good, His word is powerful and it's important.

Some might say that memorizing is too hard, your mind doesn't work that way, etc. I know that this sounds hard, but Jesus had lots of "hard sayings". I'd challenge you to really examine your heart to see if there's a laziness that's keeping you from memorizing God's Word. (This can be especially clear if you seem to have lots of other things memorized like songs, movie quotes, sports statistics, etc). If you do indeed find laziness in your heart toward the Bible, repent, turn from your sin and dive into Scripture! Now this next part is important, there's a little verse in the Bible that says "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." Now I know that we all think that we're the only exception to the Bible, that God wrote that for everyone but me, I don't count. I hate to break it to you, but it doesn't work that way. There's another Scripture that says that God is "not a man that He should lie." I know that it sounds crazy to actually believe what the Bible says... but trust me on this one. God gives us the armor of God in Ephesians 6. And the one piece of offensive equipment that we're given is the sword of the Spirit. The writer of Hebrews tells us that this is the Word of God. So, God gives us His Word to wield as a sword in spiritual warfare. Now, it would be kind of a cruel trick to give us a sword that we couldn't pick up, wouldn't it? Picture this huge William Wallace sized sword that you can't get off the ground, much less do any damage with. Lot of good that would do you, huh? Just to let you know, God doesn't do stuff like that to His children. If He's going to give you a weapon, he's going to make sure that you can use it. Now, that's not to say it won't take time building to up your muscles to handle it with skill, but it was made for you and you will prevail. In the same way, God's Word was written for us - His people. He didn't make it too hard to be of any use to us. He's not that kind of God. It might take time and effort to study and know the Bible, but we will prevail. God made your mind to know His word, it just works that way - isn't He good? So, just ask God for strength, grace and discipline as you attempt to dive into His word that you might steward it well, proclaim it in the face of temptation, and wield it skillfully in battle.