All posts tagged Jesus

Happy Easter from the Storming Jericho crew!

Posted
April 20, 2014
Categories
Spiritual Insights

Christ is risen!Hey friends and family. We just wanted to get on and share a quick post on this beautiful Easter Sunday. With so much to be thankful for, we could probably write a 10-page post and still barely scratch the surface. But since we don’t want to keep you guys stuck inside reading all day, here are a few verses that we believe really hit home when it comes to what Easter is all about.

They may not be the typical/traditional Easter verses you’re used to, but we think they pack plenty of power nonetheless. The first is from Romans, when Paul writes in chapter 10, verse 9:

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Sometimes it seems like Easter morning sermons only focus on the fact that Jesus rose from the dead and overcame death. That’s important, but I sometimes think the why of Jesus’ resurrection can be overlooked during an Easter sermon. The important thing isn’t just that Jesus rose from the dead—the important thing is that Jesus rose from the dead to SAVE us from our sin. It’s not just knowing that Jesus died for our sins that matters. It’s believing in our hearts that God raised him from the dead. Sometimes that’s not an easy thing to believe. After all, a resurrection isn’t exactly a common occurrence we see every day. That’s why the Bible tells us to believe it in our hearts.

In case you’re wondering if it’s really that important to believe, here’s a verse from 1 Corinthians 1:18 that helps emphasize why it’s not just important, but imperative that we believe:

“The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.”

Jesus died for our sins so that we wouldn’t need to suffer destruction and death. As Paul tells us, those of us who know (and believe) that know it is the very power of God. We believe in the message of the cross and we believe in the power of God. Why? Because no other power could raise someone to life from death.

Our prayer on this Easter Sunday is that you also believe in the power of God and be saved. The story of Christ’s death on the cross to conquer sin and His resurrection from the grave to conquer death is a one-of-a-kind story that truly demonstrates just how much God cares for us. We encourage you to open up your Bible today and read that story for yourself.

We hope you have a fantastic Easter. The power of God is moving in all of us. We truly believe that, and we hope you do too.

Be blessed, and we’ll be back with another post soon.

-Mike and Lindsie (and Jaeda)

Happy Birthday to Jesus!

Posted
December 25, 2013
Categories
Updates and News
Comments
2 Comments

Lindsie and Mike at ChristmastimeHey friends and family, we’re finally back with a new blog update! What inspired this return to the blog? The birth of our Savior, of course. We wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and we also thought we’d share a little news about what’s going on with us now that our journey is complete.

We’d like to start with a reminder of how blessed we are to have a Savior that our Heavenly Father sent down to earth for us. As we go about opening our presents, spending time with family, and probably eating too much delicious food, make sure you keep in mind that the little baby born in a manger would go on to give His life on the cross for our sins. The fact that God loves us that much is worth more than any presents we could unwrap or stockings we could unstuff.

We also wanted to let everyone know that we have officially gotten ourselves settled and situated in Springfield, Missouri (for at least the next 5 months). I, Mike, took a 6-month contract with an awesomely creative marketing agency in Springfield called deep group, and we’ll be figuring out our next steps from there.

Lindsie has enjoyed getting to spend a little time getting settled and doing things that people with a normal home do. She’s also working on getting certified as a medical coder, which will provide an opportunity for her to work from home part time, which we both think is a pretty good plan.

On a final note, we’ve officially started working on our book, which will both tell the story of our journey and also share with people the amazing things God did for us and through us spiritually as we traveled across the country. There’s still a long way to go, but we’re happy to be started, and we’re already enjoying the stories and adventures we’re reminiscing about while we write.

We’ll have more updates in the near future, especially now that we’ve gotten settled, so be on the lookout for an update from the Storming Jericho crew soon. Until then, we hope you have a blessed and very Merry Christmas!

-Mike, Lindsie, and Jaeda

Jesus Is Awesome (Literally)

Posted
January 25, 2013
Categories
Spiritual Insights

Cristo Redentor by Eric LimThis past weekend while Lindsie and I were in church, I was reminded of something important.

Jesus is awesome.

Read that last sentence again, but read it a little more slowly.

Jesus is awe-some.

The definition of awesome, according to Merriam-Webster, is “expressive of awe,” or “inspiring awe.” Far too frequently, people (including myself) overuse the word awesome. They use it regularly in everyday conversation for things that they could be describing as, “neat,” or “good,” or “pretty cool.”

And as we sat in church and the pastor talked about the various things Jesus has done for us—simple things like, you know, performing miracles, dying for the sins of mankind, rising from the dead and ascending into Heaven—I realized that far too frequently, Jesus falls into the version of awesome that most people would equate to “neat” or “pretty cool.”

It’s easy to hear the words “Jesus died for your sins” and think, “Yeah, it’s awesome that He did that.” But the truth is we should be seeing what Jesus did for us as AWESOME. As in, awe-inspiring awesome. Because what He did makes things like sports accomplishments, musical performances, and blockbuster movies seem trivial by comparison.

But it seems we’re much more likely to update Facebook saying that the newest big-time basketball dunk on YouTube or the latest James Bond movie is AWESOME than it seems we ever would be likely to update Facebook saying, “Jesus is AWESOME!”

It’s not easy, but I’m challenging myself to remember that the next time I describe something relatively trivial as “awesome.” If I can get pumped about a captivating solo performance or an amazing buzzer-beating half-court shot, there’s no reason I shouldn’t get that excited (if not more) about Jesus.

Because the bottom line is that Jesus is awesome. And I mean AWESOME.

If you don’t believe me, take a glance through the New Testament. It won’t take long before you see for yourself just how awesome He really is.

-Mike

Photo by Eric Lim Photography. Thanks Eric!

Our Daily Bread

Posted
June 26, 2012
Categories
Spiritual Insights

I knew this journey would be a challenge – I just didn’t know how challenging. While I won’t say walking 22 miles in 95+ degrees to Davis or pushing a 60+ pound cart up nearly vertical hills in Berkeley is not challenging, those are nothing compared to the spiritual challenges this journey has presented.

I had no idea how hard it would be to give up all the comforts of “normal life.” I miss knowing when my next shower will come, where I will sleep at night, what food I will eat throughout the day, where the next bathroom will be or when we will be able to refill our water. I miss jumping in my car and driving to the store whenever we need anything.  I miss having constant access to internet – and constant access to my mom. I miss the security of knowing paychecks will be deposited regularly into our bank account. I miss friends and family.

With California nearly ½ way behind us and Nevada and Utah staring us in the face, I find myself looking at one of my favorite passages of scripture in a whole new way. Hosea 2:14-20 talks about God stripping Israel of her distractions, taking her into the wilderness and wooing her. He wants her to realize his love for her – his desire and ability to love and care for her better than any of her current idols. Is this what God is doing in me right now – stripping me of the comforts of life in America and teaching me to walk by faith, trusting that He can and will provide for me?

Jesus is my heart’s deepest love and yet so often, I act as if I don’t really need Him. Scripture says everything belongs to God – we are just stewards of what he ultimately owns. Even the comforts of life in a country like America do not belong to us. Everything we have is from God.

I want to learn to appreciate everything He has given me – to be a good steward of those gifts. And while I learn that, I want to learn to walk by faith, trusting that God really will provide for us – to give us this day our daily bread.

-linds

Photo by brendahallowes.

A Little Inspiration

Posted
February 9, 2012
Categories
Uncategorized

In case you’d like a little inspiration today, watch the video below and see a shining example of the fact that, while we may not always see Jesus’ presence in our lives, He’s always with us whether we see him or not.

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/23864881]

P.S. – Thanks to my mom, Paula Billeter, for passing the video along.

The Narrow Road

Posted
November 7, 2011
Categories
Uncategorized

I read an interesting passage in Matthew today while we were in church that has been stuck in my head all day today. The passage is from chapter 9, verses 13-14 and it comes from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount:

13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.”

I think what I’m most interested in with this passage is how obvious it should be, but how easily we overlook its message. Sometimes we can look around our surroundings and see an entire caravan going down the highway to hell (or, in the Greek version, destruction), and it makes me wonder why we don’t try to turn our own vehicle around. There’s this broad highway full of people traveling the wrong way, and rather than try to drive back against the flow, we just continue down this path.

Meanwhile, there are so few people in the world who take the time to find the narrow road that leads toward Heaven. We don’t see as many people alongside us, so we wonder if we’re even going the right way. Clearly, with so few people using this road, it must not be the road we thought we wanted to be on.

Think about any road trip you’ve ever been on. There’s no feeling less reassuring on a road trip than when the map or GPS says “turn right at County Road 45” and it’s an empty, gravel road with rows of corn on either side. We look down thinking, Surely, this can’t be the road we’re supposed to be on. We long for the security of the highway, where so many cars are traveling the same direction that they clearly all must know where they’re going. But everybody on a highway to nowhere doesn’t accomplish anything positive, even if we are all driving the same direction.

Every once in a while, stop and take a look at your surroundings. Are you and those around you just following along the same highway, secure in knowing that everyone else is doing the same (even if the direction you’re headed isn’t the direction God wants you to be traveling)? Or are you pushing yourself and trusting God to lead you down the narrow, difficult road that few ever find (the road to Heaven)?

It’s easy to follow the pack. But rarely is it the best way to travel.

-Mike

Photo by Dan O’Brien. Thanks Dan!

Stop. Breathe.

Posted
September 21, 2011
Categories
Uncategorized

Every once in a while, things get crazy.

Life gets a little out of control.

Panic starts to hit.

 

Stop.

Breathe.

 

And remember that God can (and will) ease your stress.

“The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.” (Psalm 9:9-10)

Remember that Jesus wants to relieve you of your burden.

“Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.’” (Matthew 11:28)

 

Sometimes all you need to do is stop.

And breathe.

And give thanks that the Lord is with you.

 

-Mike

 
 
Photo by Shawn Rozzi. Thanks Shawn!

Creating A Disturbance

Posted
February 13, 2011
Categories
Uncategorized

Once again, I’m going to refer to, and hopefully expand upon, some thoughts from Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost For His Highest. For a daily devotional, Mr. Chambers has some thoughts that go far deeper than most daily devotionals I’ve read, so I hope you get as much out of this as I did.

One of the topics Mr. Chambers discusses is creating a disturbance with your faith and asking for the Lord’s help instead of simply staying passive. Here are his thoughts on why creating a disturbance is importance (followed by my thoughts on his thoughts…lots of thoughts). Chambers refers to verses in Luke 18, in which a blind man in a crowd of people is healed by calling out and asking Jesus to give him back his sight. Chambers mentions the man’s persistence to keep calling out to the Lord even though the people in front of him in the crowd, as mentioned in verse 39, all told him to be quiet. To this point, Chambers advises us,

“Be persistent with your disturbance until you get face to face with the Lord himself… To sit calmly by, instead of creating a disturbance, serves only to deify our common sense… We think, ‘It is ridiculous to ask God to do this.’ If it is an impossibility, it is the very thing for which we have to ask… This man received his sight. But the most impossible thing for you is to be so closely identified with the Lord that there is literally nothing of your old life remaining.” (My Utmost for His Highest, Feb. 29)

The way I see it, a lot of people are afraid to make a disturbance with their faith. As Chambers mentions, we’ll find ourselves thinking “It’s ridiculous to ask God to do this.” So we let common sense tell us what to do. Common sense says God isn’t worried about this tiny facet of our lives. Common sense says there a million other people praying for something more important, so why even speak up?

Why we SHOULD speak up…

Let’s think about the man in the crowd whose sight Jesus restored. He was one of hundreds (maybe even thousands) gathered in Jericho that day as Jesus came through. And I’m willing to bet that he wasn’t the ONLY person gathered there who was suffering from an affliction of some sort. But all of the other people seemed to stay quiet, didn’t they? The only time some of them even spoke at all was to tell the blind man to shut up. Talk about approaching it all wrong.

Imagine how many other people might have been healed of their sicknesses and cleansed of their sins if they had been willing to create a disturbance like the blind man. None of them were willing to ask Jesus for what they considered to be “an impossibility.” Looking back on it, that blind man who was given back his sight doesn’t seem quite so crazy, right?

Out with the old, in with the new…

I also think the last sentiment Chambers reflects above is DEFINITELY worth noting. Can you imagine a life where we are SO closely identified with the Lord that our old life doesn’t even matter anymore? A life where you and Jesus have such a strong connection that your past actions and decisions are irrelevant, that the sins of your former life are forgotten and that everything in the world that kept you away from the Lord is lost to the past? Of course not. It seems impossible.

Which is exactly why we should be asking the Lord to get us to that point. Think about how much more enjoyable life would be if we were only concerned with God and his love for us. A little nicer than worrying about the stresses of our lives as they are now. At least, I believe that would be the case.

What do you think?

-Mike

Photo (“Stand Out”) by aeroix. Thanks!