This Holy Spirit living in us is something much more powerful than my words can explain here.  But I begin to see the power and wonder when I look back at Scene 4 – The Law.  In this scene God chooses a band of slaves to become his holy, set apart people.  They are in bondage, and in great need of instruction of how to order life as a society. He rescues them from Pharaoh in Egypt and begins to instruct them through Moses on how to live and care for eachother in the way he designed.

But he also instructs them to build a tabernacle with a special tent where his presence will be with them again – but in a limited way.  Only the high priest can enter into the most holy place of the tent and that was only once a year to offer a sacrifice for the sin of the people.  While God’s presence was with his people they had to keep their distance.  It’s was dangerous for broken, messed up, sinful people to be in the presence of a perfect and holy God (Think of the end of Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark.) So God was there with the people but still a great separation because of sin.  This picture really captures the essence of God’s presence in relation to his people in that time…The Old Covenant.

Now compare that picture to this one below…the new tabernacle of the New Covenant made not by the blood of bulls, lambs or doves – but by the blood of Jesus, Son of God and perfect sacrifice for such great sin.  This is the dwelling place now of the Spirit of God…his people cleansed by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.  (This is my dear friend Brandon Frenzel and his daughter Ava who live in Texas…could just as well be your picture too.)

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”  1 Corinthians 6:19-20

To hear more on this, listen our Cornerstone Church podcast, The Story, Scene 7: Spirit.  And here’s more to chew on…

God’s ever-present Spirit – Psalm 139:1-16

Life found in the Spirit – Romans 8

The gifts of the Holy Spirit – 1 Corinthians 12

The fruit of the Holy Spirit – Galatians 5:22-23

The Spirit marks us as God’s people – Ephesians 1:11-14

Jesus – “who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!”  Philippians 2:6-8

Yes, Jesus – the one back there in “Scene 1” at the foundations of the earth – in the most amazing act of humility intentionally enters into the world as a man and puts himself under the penalty of death – that penalty that has destroyed every living thing on the earth since the disobedience of Adam and Eve.

In doing so he serves as the perfect sacrifice…a lamb unlike the ones the people had been sacrificing year after year in the temple.  This was a lamb provided by God, one final sacrifice that would atone for the sins of the world.

But it doesn’t end there with Jesus’ perfect death for us.  He actually comes back to life again and thus defeats death.  “Where O’ death is your victory? Where, O death is your sting?…But thanks be to God!  He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  1 Corinthians 15:54, 57

More words for us to journey through as we continue living in grace…

The Lord is Gracious:  Psalm 145

God’s grace to a wayward Israel:  Nehemiah 9:1-31

Messiah’s birth and death prophesied:  Isaiah 9:1-7, 52:13-53:12

The Coming of Jesus:  John 1:1-14

The lost son:  Luke 15

The death and resurrection of Jesus:  Luke 22-24

God’s grace in the midst of suffering:  1 Peter 1:3-12

² “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”  Genesis 12:2-3

I’m blown away with the way that God initiates contact back with humanity through Abram (and even before this with Noah).  He is coming back for us – working towards repairing what we broke – not Him – in the garden.  He is the one that the wrong was done against – yet he is the one who is initiating peace and restoration.  And then God goes even further when Abram’s faith is weak and he is questioning God’s promise.  He tells Abram, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon” Genesis 15:9.  It sounds kinda weird to us – but in these words God is speaking to Abram with imagery that he and everyone of that day clearly understood.  He’s saying – “I want to cut a covenant with you”.  But rather than the usual ceremony where the vassal party (Abram) passes through the broken halves of the animals to commit loyalty to the covenant – it is God (acting as the suzerain party) who crosses the bloody path between the animal halves in essence saying “May what has happened to these animals happen to me if I fail to keep this oath.”  What an incredible image of the gospel right here in Genesis 15 (Think of whose flesh is torn when the Children of Abraham fail to keep their faithfulness in the covenant).   Might need to listen to this week’s podcast to get more of this.

But for now – I want to offer us this image.  This is Anne Freeman, a friend of mine I graduated with from Auburn High School in 1993 who recently came to know the love that Jesus has for her.  And by accepting the gift of his sacrifice she has become a daughter of the King.  You can see it on her face can’t you.  I love this image for that.  But I see something else here.  I see the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abram nearly 4,000 years ago…”And all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” Genesis 12:3.

I’ve just gotten settled into a 8 ½ hour flight from Entebbe to Amsterdam and I’m flooded with thoughts about the last 10 days.  So here goes a few snapshots from my memory:

• The family whose home I visited that had very little to eat.  The 6 year old son was so lethargic from not eating.  They had been on school break, thus he was not getting the cup of hot porridge he usually got at school.
• How the people of Buloba Community Church received us the first day…you would have thought the President arrived.  An awesome drum reception.
• Walking around the church building by myself pondering the overwhelming complexity of poverty, disease and education in Uganda.
• The dude walking around downtown Kampala with a huge live turkey across his shoulders.  This was hilarious.  Could not get camera out fast enough.  (TIA)
• Meeting Mariam, the little girl our family sponsors and seeing with my own eyes how God is changing her life with our small gift.  Also loved playing with her…she’s a little rascal.
• Kneeling on the ground and holding the rough hands of two women who were talking to Jesus for the first time, asking him to come and live inside of them.
• Hearing Amanda on the bungee platform say, “I don’t even do roller coasters” and the dude strapping up her ankles replying, “Roller Coaster’s are @#$%ing dangerous.   Bungee jumping is perfectly safe.”
• Being overjoyed standing in the ARM (African Renewal Ministry) office in Buloba looking at the long list of children who are sponsored by people from Cornerstone Church.
• Seeing the beautiful faces of Buloba Community church (many with tears) as we drove off this afternoon.
• Watching out team say goodbye to our dear friends in Buloba.  I was especially torn by watching Jordan saying goodbye to Remie, the little boy we had all come to love that  especially captured Jordan’s heart.  Jordan took off the watch on his wrist that Remie had been playing with all week and gave it to him.

So many more visions of this week.  But all of them merge into one idea.  One word that has been with me since we first arrived.  Redemption.  This is what Christ is doing in this world…in Auburn…in your town…in Buloba, Uganda…and maybe even in your life.

The words of Isaiah speak well to the redemption that our Jesus is up to:

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance for our God, to comfort those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.  Isaiah 61:1-3

Jesus Christ.  He is the only hope for overcoming the brokenness of this world.  The only hope.  He is alive and on the move, many times in ways we don’t fully see.  But this last week it seemed like the covers were being pulled back a bit and God allowed me to catch a small glimpse.  He’s in a little 8 year old girl singing her heart out to Jesus.  He’s in the beautiful smile of a little boy who has lost his parents and is now living with grandparents.  He’s in the heart of a girl who pulls out her school uniform to try on for me, so happy that someone believes in her.  He’s in college students who have given their life away to Christ and who desire to be his co-redeemers.  He’s in the simple acts of kindness that flow from hearts full of his Spirit.  It’s been a good time for me personally.  A much needed break from my normal routine.  Thank you Jesus.

I’m going to miss the people I have come to love in the last 10 days.  I’m hopeful it’s not the last time I see them.  But now I’m turning my heart towards the 4 people I will see tomorrow.  Leslie, Benjamin, Liza and Grace. I have missed them dearly (By the way, got news from Leslie just before getting on the plane that Liza pee peed in the potty today!!!)  Can’t wait to see these most important people in my life.

So that’s it for now.  I’m sure I’ll share more about these last days in Uganda as this all unfolds in my heart.  But for now I’m going to vege out and watch movies on the plane for the next 7 or so hours.  (I’ll post this when I get to Amsterdam.)

TIA…signing out.

“…to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” Isaiah 61:1-3

Redemption is happening here. And the neat thing is that he lets us get in on the action of it…he allows us to be a part of it. Take this picture for instance. It’s a young kid named Ashilaf, 11 years old looking at a picture of my sister, Emily, who is sponsoring him. It’s a picture of two completely different worlds connected by Christ and the love that he has put into one of his followers. I’m seeing a young man now with hope and a future. Trust me, this kid is jacked up about being sponsored…as they all are. He believes that someone else in this world believes in him and loves him. It’s a completely different picture around here from my last visit a year ago. Redemption. It’s what Jesus is all about. Taking the junk of our life and making it the hallmark of his glory. Many more stories to tell and write about, but not tonight. Got to get to bed.

Amongst all this fun and great stuff, my heart is missing Leslie, Benjamin, Liza and Grace. I love you all and am praying for you.

(P.S. Main picture at the top is our team serving lunch to about 200 kids…all cooked over a fire.)