by Jason Joyner | Aug 5, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
I can’t believe it’s been 4 months since I started blogging. Time flies when you’re having fun, or when a ton is happening in your life, as it has since I started this enterprise!
It has been fun, and I had the privilege of being linked by the main Calling All Nations website, which really drove up my traffic and got me a lot of hits from Germany and elsewhere in Europe.
Over these first few months I have been able to tinker and experiment with what I post here. A lot of what I’ve done was dealing with the Berlin event, which is understandable. I’m feeling now that I need to define this blog a little better, with a more focused mission. It is nice to have a little spot in the wide blogosphere to vent and express oneself, but I’d like this blog to have a little more about it as well.
I intend to define what this blog will be about over the next week or two. Now, I am interested in people’s feedback, so if you have any thoughts, I’d love to hear from you. Especially any of my German friends, if there is anything that you’d like to see to keep you coming here. My thoughts for this blog center around the Christian life as it relates to reaching the world. This comes in both the idea of classic missions, but also in using the arts to speak into culture, specifically writing.
Anyway, that’s what I’m pondering today. We’ll see how it plays out over the next couple of weeks.
by Jason Joyner | Aug 2, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
I have a summer cold. No one likes to be sick, but it is worse when it is nice out, the weather is hot, and you can’t bundle up to feel good.
I woke up in the middle of the night with my chest feeling like it was full of pudding. I staggered out of bed, fumbling for the cough syrup. I also dug around for the Vick’s Vapor Rub, figuring anything to help would be great. Through bleary eyes I saw that the Vick’s had an expiration date of 2000 on it. Vapor rub has an expiration date? Couldn’t be that bad, so I slathered it on my chest and went back to bed.
Unfortunately, not back to sleep. This was due to the growing sensation that my chest was smoldering. I know that Vick’s evaporates, giving a nice tingling sensation to help with the chest relief. But I don’t think it goes as far as wondering if my chest hair was on fire. I seriously contemplated getting up and taking a shower, but it finally subsided after about a half-hour of tossing and turning.
I checked first thing this morning, and I didn’t seem to lose any chest hair. However, you can bet I will be buying a NEW container of Vick’s before I go home tonight…
by Jason Joyner | Aug 2, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
I have a summer cold. No one likes to be sick, but it is worse when it is nice out, the weather is hot, and you can’t bundle up to feel good.
I woke up in the middle of the night with my chest feeling like it was full of pudding. I staggered out of bed, fumbling for the cough syrup. I also dug around for the Vick’s Vapor Rub, figuring anything to help would be great. Through bleary eyes I saw that the Vick’s had an expiration date of 2000 on it. Vapor rub has an expiration date? Couldn’t be that bad, so I slathered it on my chest and went back to bed.
Unfortunately, not back to sleep. This was due to the growing sensation that my chest was smoldering. I know that Vick’s evaporates, giving a nice tingling sensation to help with the chest relief. But I don’t think it goes as far as wondering if my chest hair was on fire. I seriously contemplated getting up and taking a shower, but it finally subsided after about a half-hour of tossing and turning.
I checked first thing this morning, and I didn’t seem to lose any chest hair. However, you can bet I will be buying a NEW container of Vick’s before I go home tonight…
by Jason Joyner | Aug 1, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
I was very privileged last night to hear a missionary couple from Nepal speak last night. The woman is actually Bhutanese, but was kicked out of her country for refusing to deny Jesus, and lived in refugee camps in Nepal for years before meeting her Nepali husband. What faith. I don’t know that I have that faith.
I really loved what her husband shared with us when talking about how to reach his people with the gospel and how they respond:
“You tell me that Jesus loves me. Show me Christ’s love.”
A hungry man won’t necessarily be able to hear the gospel, unless we fill his belly first. But I think this goes for Americans, Germans, and Nepali alike. Wherever you are, people want to know that the words are real, that there is true love behind the “Jesus loves you.”
If we have the leading to share Him without the opportunity to meet a person’s needs, we should definitely listen to the Spirit. But if we can serve the people we want to preach the gospel to, how much more power is in that?
by Jason Joyner | Aug 1, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
I was very privileged last night to hear a missionary couple from Nepal speak last night. The woman is actually Bhutanese, but was kicked out of her country for refusing to deny Jesus, and lived in refugee camps in Nepal for years before meeting her Nepali husband. What faith. I don’t know that I have that faith.
I really loved what her husband shared with us when talking about how to reach his people with the gospel and how they respond:
“You tell me that Jesus loves me. Show me Christ’s love.”
A hungry man won’t necessarily be able to hear the gospel, unless we fill his belly first. But I think this goes for Americans, Germans, and Nepali alike. Wherever you are, people want to know that the words are real, that there is true love behind the “Jesus loves you.”
If we have the leading to share Him without the opportunity to meet a person’s needs, we should definitely listen to the Spirit. But if we can serve the people we want to preach the gospel to, how much more power is in that?
by Jason Joyner | Jul 28, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
This is old news, but the Kanner Lake blog promoted by super suspense writer Brandilyn Collins had a post on Wednesday, July 12th from a man named Hank Detcher, pastor of First Community Church in Kanner Lake. He speaks like a true Idahoan, like someone born and raised in this fine state.
Oh, by the way, I wrote it :D.
If you missed it, check it out with this direct link. Then read some of the other fine posts on the blog. And check out the preview chapters for an awesome new suspense book, Violet Dawn, set to debut in August!
by Jason Joyner | Jul 28, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
This is old news, but the Kanner Lake blog promoted by super suspense writer Brandilyn Collins had a post on Wednesday, July 12th from a man named Hank Detcher, pastor of First Community Church in Kanner Lake. He speaks like a true Idahoan, like someone born and raised in this fine state.
Oh, by the way, I wrote it :D.
If you missed it, check it out with this direct link. Then read some of the other fine posts on the blog. And check out the preview chapters for an awesome new suspense book, Violet Dawn, set to debut in August!
by Jason Joyner | Jul 26, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
Check out this awesome photo montage from Calling All Nations.
I forgot to mention that I felt the Lord spoke this psalm before CAN. See what it speaks about worship, missions, and the harvest!
Psalm 67
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine upon us,
Selah
2 that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
3 May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you.
4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples justly
and guide the nations of the earth. Selah
5 May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you.
6 Then the land will yield its harvest,
and God, our God, will bless us.
7 God will bless us,
and all the ends of the earth will fear him.
by Jason Joyner | Jul 26, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
Check out this awesome photo montage from Calling All Nations.
I forgot to mention that I felt the Lord spoke this psalm before CAN. See what it speaks about worship, missions, and the harvest!
Psalm 67
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine upon us,
Selah
2 that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
3 May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you.
4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples justly
and guide the nations of the earth. Selah
5 May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you.
6 Then the land will yield its harvest,
and God, our God, will bless us.
7 God will bless us,
and all the ends of the earth will fear him.
by Jason Joyner | Jul 25, 2006 | Blog, Uncategorized
I’ve spent a couple of days meditating on what I felt happened at Calling All Nations on 15 July. There is a lot to ponder, and there is likely more that will come to me over time.
On one level, CAN had some very ambitious goals. They wanted 70-100,000 worshipers initially, overflowing the stadium. The last numbers I’ve heard have been from 22-25,000. From a worldly viewpoint that may be seen as a disappointment. However, that doesn’t account for the heart of the people that were there and what was accomplished in the spiritual realm. God is pleased by our hearts of praise, not necessarily big numbers. I’m not disappointed at all regarding the turnout.
I went to CAN without very strong expectations. It was hard to know what would happen with that many people coming to seek the Lord together. I mentioned before that I did have a picture of it being very easy to worship where we were all coming with a heart of worship, but that there was warfare in seeing us break through.
I did hope for 2 things, 1 corporate and 1 personal. I wanted to see a move of God manifest right there in the stadium. Personally, I wanted revelation for where God is taking me, especially in the light of losing my job in 6 more weeks!
As far as the “move of God”, I think that there was something started there, but it may not be as dramatic as one could see. I didn’t really expect people coming out with tongues of fire above all our heads (even though that would be WAY cool). I think people left there with a determination to see Jesus exalted both through worship and in bringing people to Him. As a speaker said during the event:
Worship without missions is self-indulgent. Missions without worship is self-defeating.
That message was repeated several times, especially toward the end of the day as people were ready to go out from there. There wasn’t a specific manifestation of His presence, but do we need to have some other confirmation that God is going out with us? “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” I don’t think it was wrong to look for something incredible, but God did speak to me and tell me to focus on Him, not on what I could only see physically. Why not always expect God to move when we come together?
For me, I didn’t get a map with waypoints on what to do next (wouldn’t that be so nice!). I left with healing in me though. I was healed from self-doubt, wounds in the past that kept me from really worshiping Him with my whole heart, and from the attacks I’ve been under recently. I left with a greater determination than ever to see His glory spread into all the earth, because He is worthy. He is such a great God, and He deserves all people praising Him. This has been my heart for a very long time, but it was burned even deeper into me. I don’t know exactly the steps I will take next, but I know that the One who goes with me is ever faithful, and I have no reason to doubt or fear.
Calling All Nations was a special event. It wasn’t necessarily “the” event of the year. God is delighted in a few believers worshiping Him quietly by candlelight, trying to avoid persecution, probably even more than a bunch of spoiled Westerners (for the most part) jumping up and down in a stadium. But Germany needs a move of God, and seems thirsty. I believe this event was a long-awaited drink to refresh the believers, to touch the land, and that from this there will be fruit that is harvested over a long period of time. I’m sure more will come out from the event as we get further away.
Thank you to everyone who prayed for the event or for our group, because your prayers made SUCH a difference. Blessings!
