"No you move." the New 52 #4

Its no secret that I like comics and base some of my ideas on life from the stories I read. While I haven't always been a Captain America fan one day I encountered to following panel and thought to myself that is the truest understanding of integrity I've ever heard. From then on out Cap has been my favorite Marvel super hero. While this might be a little weak as for as original entries go I just wanted to share this with you. I've come back to this over, and over again used it in lessons and tried to live it out in my own life. It has always been a challenge. Not bad from a comic book huh? Guess they're not just for kids anymore.

Amazing Spider-Man # 537 copyright Marvel comics

Imago Dei the New 52 #3

Sorry for the delay I got busy then I got sick and when I get sick I just stop caring about everything. So I guess this week I owe two post. So lets get this thing started.
Do you every think about what you are saying? Do you think about how you talk to our about people? I've noticed that we, as people, have become very at ease with speak our judgement about people. Judgements that are based solely on our personal opinions about people we don't even know. The evangelical world lit up this past weeks with the inauguration, the 40th anniversary of Roe v Wade and countless other things. I've heard sports media running off the rails about the personal struggles of a young man. I've slowly become sickened with state of how we relate to one another.
While I'm all for having and experiencing personal opinions, I think that before we share them we need to ask ourselves three questions.

1. Does this need to be shared? You can ask me on my opinion on a great number odds are I have one but that doesn't mean that it is accurate, informed or necessary. The world doesn't need to know my opinion on Manti Te'o, it doesn't need to be shared. (Yes I did have to check on how to spell his name.)
2.  Is my opinion informed? This has two parts a) is it rooted in fact b) is it rooted in a relationship. Its easy to lob shots from for away with out facts, with out knowledge, and with out a supporting relationship. I don't need to call into question the salvation or beliefs of the president because I have a twitter. I don't know the man and the evidence I do have actually speaks the opposite. When we share our uninformed opinions we are acting like lighting rods and talking heads stirring up controversy for our own gain.. Jesus was controversial because he said he was the son of God coming to take away the sins of the world not because he said Caesar was a jack-ass.
3. How do I respect the Image of God? When we answer yes to the first two questions we are left with one last thought How can I share my opinion while honoring the image of God inside me and inside the other person. We can say how so and so is the worlds biggest idiot and dumbest liar or we can say Jimmy that wasn't the wises choice you could have made no was it really in line with what you have presented as the truth. When we speak not only are we speaking about others we are revealing things about ourselves to. Especially as a Christian, I represent Christ with my thought and deed, I best be sure to speak in truth and love not ignorance and disdain.

So what are you doing with your tongue?

The Right Fit. The New 52 #2

I have often thought about life as a puzzle. In this puzzle we are the pieces, and we run around tying to find the right fit. Imagine dumping one of those 5,000 piece puzzles out and trying put it together blind fold. You couldn't start with the edge pieces because you couldn't find them. You couldn't look at the picture as a reference to make sure that things were progressing as needed. You couldn't even be able to tell if all the pieces were right side up or on the table. Sounds chaotic and difficult if you ask me, some would even say it is impossible.
No imagine talking all of those pieces and giving them to 5,000 people, one piece a person. How long would it take to but that puzzle together? No picture, no borders just pieces; how would you start? Where would you start?
This is life. This is life together lived in community with others.
We walk around with our piece. We use our desires and feelings to define our edges. We look at friends and relationships trying to find the perfect fit. We take our pieces to work placing them into the scope of the company making sure our pieces fit just right, or at least well enough that it can be managed. Sometimes we fit into a spot we find thinking its perfect but after time and close examination we see were there is a slight gap between our notch and the others groove or we see that the other is the mountain peak and we are the reflection in the lake and we move on. Yet still sometimes we find a piece and we know its spot is close at hand but we just can't make sense of it yet so we but it some where close by waiting for the picture to become more clear.
That's what happened to Melissa and I. After stepping out in faith believing that this was going to be the year that pieces fell into place. This was the year that we were going to move forward, raise support for the mission field, and figure out where we were headed for the at least the next couple years. We were told that we really like your pieces, we really want your pieces but we just can't see where they fit right now.
So here we are almost a year later. Almost a year after committing to journey to Czech , to put life a hold and explore something new, to press our pieces together and see if there was a fit. We are left with the same pieces, in the same places, with the same mismatches trying to figure out were we fit in now.

Something new...my new 52 #1

When I started this blog, I planned on it serving as a creative outlet. A place where I could write and share my thoughts. At first I was intimidated and scared. I was scared to open my ideas up to be read and critiqued by others. The thought that someone, some faceless nameless person, would have acces to this intimate thing was hard to get over. Timidly I shared on, and to my suprise people liked it. I was given feedback by others that it was good, they like my poetry, were challenged by my thoughts, and enjoyed getting to walk some of my journey with me. I was no longer afraid to share myself with others. Yet sure enough like any good narrative a new problem arose.
I became overwhelmed with the task of creating. I found the challenge. For me, it isn't to just have a thought, but to nurture it into maturity. My mind is filled with half-thought blog posts and partial stanzas of poetry. Creating wasn't difficult. Well... creating the spark wasn't difficult, but fanning that spark into flame was the part that got to me. Over time I became full of ideas but lacked the time, desire, fuel to turn them into something share-worth. That is now going to change!
It's a new year. A time when we make goals and plans to change ourselves. We accept new challenges and push ourselves to try new things. For some it is a picture a day, others seek to read a set amount of books or lose weight. Well, to borrow an idea from DC comics... I'm starting a new 52! This year my goal is to write 52 new blog post. That is one entry a week, for a full year. I'm excited, intimidated, and curious. Join me for my new 52 and we can journey together for a little bit.

Like breath like rain

Back in 2008, I was attending a church in ValMez, one of the Czech youth groups I've worked with, and one of the elders gave me a prophetic word. This was my first introduction to the more charismatic gifts of the Spirit. I've encountered some of these gifts a few more time since then, but only from the outside and as an outsider. After graduating from MBI, I'd say that I was a skeptic to this kind of working of the Spirit. I would clothe my skepticism with the phrase "God will chose to work in natural ways over supernatural ways." As I worked alongside churches like Valmez and talked more with people that believed they were given these sign gifts, my skepticism began to fade. I began to see that for some these gifts, especially that of prophecy, were in some ways a burden. Yet, I was still just an outsider.
Over the years I struggled to understand how to uses these blessings for ministry and their place in the church and my life. But to say that my struggle was just in regards to the sign gifts would be too simple. I felt an over all lack of the Spirit in my life. I looked to friends who seemed to be more in tune or sensitive to the Spirit, ones that could say they've heard God talk to them, ones that are more active in seeing, feeling, and discerning spiritual warfare. I shrugged it all off by saying that God had blessed me with just being a spiritual ditz.
Yet sometimes, in the deepest of doubt, I would wonder if there was something wrong with me. I questioned if I was doing something wrong because the only time I felt the the faintest of communication with God was about  a monumental event. I literally questioned the depth and truth of my faith because I could not point to any real activity in my life in the spiritual realm.
As Melissa and I began our journey over to Czech one of the things that I started praying was that I would be more willing to hear God. I prayed that He would speak clearly to us. I was more involved in the reading the Bible and discussing the Spirits work with others. It was as if I believed I could will a better relationship with God. Even in our journey God had to speak to me through Melissa and through the JV missionaries. As our team was given to us I noticed that all my interns come from a charismatic background. One has the gift of tongues and one the gift of interpretation. I jokingly asked if my team was given to me because I needed more of the Spirit in my life. While that wasn't the case I wondered if maybe that was God's way of saying to me I needed more of His Spirit. Over that last few days at intern training we've been talking about the Holy Spirit and we've been challenged to draw closer to him. I'm not sure what God's plan is this summer and what part His Spirit is going to play, but I'm excited for what lies ahead. I feel Him with our team in a very real way and I'm taking the challenge of drawing close to Him very real this summer. I'm excited to breathe in the breath of God.

Step two...if you haven't heard the news

For all of you who haven't heard the news, my wife and I are going to Czech...again...for the whole summer! After last summer, Melissa and I were invited out to lead an intern team. We spent a lot of time praying and thinking about what God wanted us to do this summer. We decided to step out in faith and follow Him. We are really excited to experience what God is doing there. Now we are packing up, moving and getting ready for what God has in store for our future. To get a better idea of what we are doing, you can read our support letter here. Siewert Missions Letter 2012

Christmas post

I know its a little bit late but I wanted to post my annual Christmas blog. I usually talk about how we need to make Jesus glorified with our gift giving, which is true, but this year I decided to go with another thought.
I've heard the Christmas story every year of my life. Every year it seams to become more wondrous. Instead of getting old and tired I find the story getting more amazing and enthralling. Every year something new jumps out and this year is no different. As the story was being shared in church some thing struck me for the first time. It was... yep that. The ... between Malachi 4:6 and Matthew 1:1. It was the first time I ever connected the birth of Jesus with the 400 years of silence. If you haven't read Malachi in a while stop reading this and go read that right now! Its really short! Trust me I can wait. Amazing isn't alright no go read Luke Chapters 1 and 2! Is that no incredible. The last thing God says is

⁵ See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. ⁶ He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.

That's um...great. I'm going to send Elijah and he is either going to bring delicious redemption or I'm gonna destroy everything.

400 years. Then

¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

No I know that technical this isn't the breaking of the silence but lets be honest how many people do you think heard about Zechariah's little interaction in the Holy of Holies? This is Gods first mass communication with common people and man is it amazing. Lights, sirens, all the bells and whistles. Today the savior has been born! Today! 400 years of is God every going to speak again? Is he every going to send the anointed one? Will he every deliver us? God answers that with one grand announcement.

Today it is here!

I think that is really awesome.