Today as I read through 1 John I literally shouted for joy. I felt kinda weird after it happened but anyway. Check it out yo:

1My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for[a] the sins of the whole world.

3We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. ~1 John 2:1-6 [emph. added]

That is cool stuff. That is intense stuff. Amazing! Incredible! The more I read the bible the more I know what it is to be an authentic believer. None of this lukewarm stuff! Let’s kill our lukewarm stuff!

Laying in the back of an old pick-up truck bouncing along, I stared up at the expansive night sky and the tops of trees rushing past. The stars glittered just as the tear in my eye did as it slipped out — pulling with it whatever bit of “macho” a 14 year old boy could have.

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they [mankind] are without excuse.
Romans 1:20 ESV

That night I realized, at least to a certain extent, how great our creator is. Millions of stars made this dome that seemed to impress upon that child mind of mine how eternal and divine God is, and even simply the fact that God is.  There, huddled in my sleeping bag on top of the mattress I was overwhelmed. Not only at how real and big God is but how jealous he is for his people. So big and so close. Forgive my human analogies that break down, but to me, that night, those very attributes seemed to have been in the stars, so big and expansive and unimaginable, yet so close and real, appearing every night for whoever looks up and always there. Dad sat in the cab driving us along to Eugene as I shivered, not because of the cold night air.

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
James 4:8 ESV

Now in retrospect I wish I had a journal to have written about my experience. So easily do I forget about the stars.

9 Does he who implanted the ear not hear?
Does he who formed the eye not see?

10 Does he who disciplines nations not punish?
Does he who teaches man lack knowledge?

11 The LORD knows the thoughts of man;
he knows that they are futile.

12 Blessed is the man you discipline, O LORD,
the man you teach from your law;

13 you grant him relief from days of trouble,
till a pit is dug for the wicked.

I was learning how to play football in a sandy playground not so far from our campsite. Dusk and dark fought each other when a kid a foot shorter than me asked if he could join. I answered with an affirmative. His fierce blue eyes hung under spiteful eyebrows trapped in a eternal tilt. He spoke in one strong, demanding tone which would be difficult to imitate. ‘I’m good at weaving through attacks and destroying your enemy.’ He went on.

We never got to finish our game. If a nicer side of him existed, it never revealed itself. It crossed my mind that he might just be mentally ill. He jumped on people who were down, rammed his own team mates because ‘they weren’t paying attention’, threw sand in peoples eyes to get passed them, hurt someones cheek, threw a pop can at a little girl’s head, and all in all, ruined our game. What does it feel like to live life in hate and revenge?

From this experience I learned how hard it is to turn the other cheek and love my enemy… Even when he’s on the same team.

We were honored to lead worship on our last Sabbath at Narkis Baptist in Jerusalem. This was the first time we have led as a family. Nathan finally got to play the piano instead of the drums or guitar which he had always done the last couple years in his youth group back in Spain. Renae played her flute by reading the root note of all the guitar music she had on her stand. Justin played the drum set for all but the last song when I motioned for him to come join us at the mics. Justin kicked off the the first song with a basa nova beat under “Those who Trust”, which we did as a funky blues style with harmonica. The following songs were “Beautiful One”, “Over all the Earth”, “Shout to the Lord”, “He knows my name”, “Jesus, Lover of my Soul”, and ending with “There is a Redeemer” which we sang partly a capella. The Lord blessed despite our failures, his name was glorified, and his children were encouraged. We didn’t have an offertory ready but a young friend of ours was prepared to play the piano and sing a beautiful song (The Valley) about God’s faithfulness. This fellowship has been sweet and the bible studies deep. Although I won’t be weeping on the necks of the elders like the Apostle Paul did at Ephesus, it is still sad to move away from here. Pastor Chuck and his wife Liz are amazing in their kindness, humility, knowledge, and talent.

I learned flash from looking over my brothers shoulder at age 8 or 9. This is a little something I’ve made, just for the fun of it:

Sometimes my dad hires me to make banners and stuff for his websites, and he pays me as if I was a professional.

One of several services that blessed 1000 plus people each time. This video composite merges a sample of the worship we heard. We couldn’t see the band this time, or even the empty tomb, and the video is simply from our perspective. What was amazing was to look around and see people from all over the world sharing in joyful confidence of the risen Jesus Christ.

Afterwards we visited with believers who had come from Nigeria, India, and several other places. It is profoundly supportive to see how the good news has continued to spread from two women at an empty tomb to billions around the world. Even though multitudes of followers don’t make something true, it is encouraging that over 500 people reported to have seen Jesus alive within the few days between his resurrection and his being taken up.

Just Nichols flashes back to the 2000 -2001 school year when our traveling adventure started with a Fulbright Teacher exchange to Colombia, South America. That exchange placement could have been nearly anywhere in that enormous country, but on the outskirts of Bogotá, population 8 million, Nathan and Dad were placed in a private bilingual school within a 20 minute walk from the only school for missionary kids in the country. We could not ignore the providential provision and so Karen volunteered to help teach and we enrolled Justin and Renae. The following year, Dad was granted an extended leave from public teaching and volunteered to teach at the school for MKs, where Nathan moved into the 5th grade. The amazing experience led to a career shift whereby, during a two year return to the USA, Mom got her masters in teaching Spanish and Dad eventually resigned from teaching in public schools in order to volunteer overseas. Destination unknown. Future secure.