I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

Just reading this and realizing how important it is to the Father that we bear fruit.  So what what does fruit look like for our lives?  And I wonder if bearing fruit is as important to us as it is to him?

So go for it.  Help me out – what do you think?

But if If you have, then watch this video.  These words will be much better than anything I can say right now.

Bio of Photo:

Meet Mia.  Living life trying.  Mia is 26 years old. She is a drug addict and a prostitute. In a world of crack, heroin, short term relationships, and too many dark days, she’s trying to lead a half way decent life. Trying to be there for her family and for her friends when they need her. Trying to keep her addiction from killing her. Trying to live a life other people wouldn’t deem worthy.  This picture was taken behind Copenhagens Grand Central Station. This is the area which holds the city’s red light district. It has been a tough year for Mia. She lost her boyfriend to an overdose, her own addiction got worse and she hardly ever saw her six year old daughter who is in fostercare.

It’s a shot of an old dilapidated billboard that reads, “Jesus loves you anyway.”  See how the framing on the billboard is falling off and the paint is all faded.  I love it.  But I especially love the “anyway” part of it.  It set’s it apart.  Breaks the pattern of the normal old “God loves you” phrase (although that in itself is quite profound).

Rusty ended up using this picture in his sermon yesterday at Cornerstone.  He beautifully related how many times we feel like this old crusty billboard…kinda rough, pieces torn apart, weeds growing up all around, paint chipped off, weakened from storms over time.  But the words…they are still there, written on your heart.  It became a beautiful image of how he loves and accepts us just as we are.

Praying that you believe this today.

In these last days of Lent I’ve been living in the passion story with all of my Cornerstone friends.  We’ve been taking the steps with Jesus towards the cross as seen in Matthew 26 and 27…reading the story bit by bit, day by day…totally immersing ourselves in the story and grafting ourselves into each scene.

So today is Maunday Thursday and the cross is just hours away for Jesus.  And as I woke up this morning I captivated by the how he became obedient to death.  We all know this in our head but I wonder if we ever grasp the depth of this in our hearts.  As I get closer to Friday, it seems to become more and more real to me.

Then this morning I began to be flooded with thoughts of my own Dad’s death from cancer almost two years ago.  He did not die on a cross, but in a comfortable bed surrounded by his loved ones:  my mom, my sister, Leslie and I, his sisters and a best friend.  I remember sitting on the bed next to his frail body holding his face in the palms of my hands, praying for him and telling him that it was OK to go on home…my own tears falling onto his face.  He struggled for every breath until there were no more.  Some of you reading this know this place.  You’ve been there with a loved one.  It is holy ground…but a tremendous paradox, mixed with great joy and great sorrow. Death is so hard to watch happen.

But as I reflect on these images burned into my heart I can’t but help but think of Jesus, my rescuer.  That he, the creator and keeper of all things, humbled himself to this place of death, but one so much more severe.  He gasped for air over and over for hours.  Blood ran out from all over his body.  Pain shot through his limbs.  But above all of this, he was alone.  For the first time in all of eternity, the trinity was broken apart as the son of God, full of sin, was hanging on the cross.  It was a horrible.  He wrestled with his mortality in the most raw and primal place until there was nothing left of him but death.

It must really be true that he loves me.  It must really be true that he loves you.

By the way…the picture above is of my friend Brandon Frenzel at the Abbey of Gethsemani.  I took this shot on one of our visits over while we lived in Kentucky.  He’s strolling through the graves of the Monks…just feet away from the the Sanctuary where they spent much of thier life in constant prayer.

Isn’t it crazy that Jesus did this.  Being in very nature God he goes down, down, down, down all the way to being obedient to death…taking on the fullness of humanity, even owning the effects of the fall…death.  And not just any death.  Jesus did not pass away of cancer or a heart attack…a cross.

So what does this look like for those of us who call ourselves followers of Jesus?  Many days I wake up and quickly realize that so much in me wants to go the opposite way.  I secretly want my name to be exalted and lifted up, instead of taking the hidden way of following him.  Then there’s the old trap of just looking like you are making your way down in following him…but in reality it’s just still self-exaltation but even more devious-pride in sheep’s clothing.

So what do I do about this?  What do you do about this?  We repent.  We confess our ways of self-exaltation…bring them to light with Jesus, accept his grace and look at him.  Seek his face.  Behold what he has done for us and simply gaze.

Could it be that what looks like a way down of following Jesus (becoming a servant, putting others before ourselves, allowing ourselves (egos, pride, selfish ambition) to die is actually where we find real life, real freedom, real love, real joy?

Anybody else have thoughts?  I’m going to bed now.

Much Love – josh

PEOPLE NEED TO SEE JESUS

Today was the third time our team has gone out to visit people in the town of Buloba. Some of the local church members have been taking us through the villages to meet people and share about Jesus. Basic door-to-door evangelism…African style. In this I’ve realized how much Islam has a big-time stronghold on this community. Christians are definitely in the minority. Out of my conversations I have come to the conclusion that people really need to see Jesus. What I mean by this is to see Jesus living out of the lives of those who call themselves followers of Christ. This is so much more powerful than any words that anyone can say to them. Here’s some examples.

Saturday morning my team ended up at a place we’ve nicknamed “Las Vegas”. It’s the local hut where the men get together to gamble. We somehow ended up talking to these guys and the local church member made them stop their game for me to talk to them. She put me on the spot to share the gospel with them so I went for it. Many of them were nominal Muslims and it was a mixed response. Some were laughing at me and some were intently listening…I could see in some of their faces that they were really taking it in. Then a guy blurted out “But all the people I know who say that they have accepted Jesus are no different than anyone else. Their lives are not changed like you talk about. They act the same as they did before”. True words and hard to hear. I see this all the time myself and told him so. Soon things came to a place where we needed to end but they let me pray for them…we all held hands and made a circle around their gambling table while I prayed for them.

So moving on…today I ended up in a similar conversation with a woman. She also was a Muslim and came to a point where she did not really see a difference between Christians and Muslims. It was a dead end. We prayed for her and made our way out. But on the road our translator told us that she had said in the conversation that she needed a new blanket, that hers somehow got torn up. As we walked I told the local church person with us that the woman needed a blanket. She asked if I or someone on our team could buy one for her. But I told her that someone in the church would need to go back and take her one of their own. It would not have as much meaning if the rich white guy from America (this is how most people here see us) gave her one but that if someone there locally who understands and knows the importance of a blanket, and sacrifices their own for her…that she would see Jesus.

ZARIA SAW JESUS

Zaria is a Muslim woman who lives about 20 yards away from the temporary church building in Buloba that we are partnered with. There are 10 people living in her house that is smaller than my living room. They cook by fire in her house and barely has what some call an out house. When the church first began she had many squabbles with the Pastor. When our team came down last fall she would not let her kids come over and play with the masses of kids who showed up every day. She would not even look over at our team. In February when Rusty visited Buloba he went over and visited with her. She let him into her home and they visited for a while. He made an impact on her and opened the door. Then last week (our 2nd trip) she began peering at us through her garden…watching us dig ditches for the footing of the new walls for the church. She let her kids come over and play with us and allowed them to come to our VBS on Saturday. She also saw us carrying water back from the well (the one that is ½ mile away) and was amazed. Someone relayed to us that she could not believe that we were carrying water back from the well and that we really must love the people there.

After hearing this Tony and I made a trip to the well and brought back two 8 gallon jugs for her. She was out working so we left them at her door. She showed up yesterday at church yesterday but stayed low key.

Then today I saw her on the road and she asked if she could have a Bible. I told her that I would stop by her house later on and give her one so she would not have to carry it around while she was working (she was holding on to a cow at the time).

Then after lunch I saw her standing at the edge of her property looking down at us and I remembered. I got a Bible and headed her way. She met me half way and a few others came over to visit with her. She invited us to her home and took us inside. Once we were in she immediately said that today she was going to accept the gift from Jesus. We all hugged her and celebrated.

She told us that she was at church yesterday and wanted to accept Jesus into her heart. I asked her why she wanted to do this. She was a Muslim so why would she want to become a Christian. Her response…”I see the kindness and love that you all have for each other and the people here and I want that in my life.” I told her that what she sees is Jesus living in people and that he wants to live in her now. We talked a bit more then Pastor Eva led her in a prayer…repentance for her sins, asking Jesus to come into her heart, thanking him for now living in her…sorry, please, thank you. We all celebrated and prayed for her. Andi recorded the whole thing on video…it was so beautiful…and so real. Totally made my trip. We took her outside and over to where we were working on the building to introduce her to her new church family. It was an amazing celebration. She was now a daughter of the living God. Sandra came up to her and said “I’m so happy for you and I love you”. Zariaa said, “I know you do”.

Can we believe this…”I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me.” Galatians 2:20 Can we say this aloud to ourselves so that we hear these words and begin to believe it?

See the Cornerstone Mission Blog for more pics and stories.