First One...

Well, I promised myself I’d never do this, but I’ve entered a new level of nerdom: the blog-o-sphere. This will serve as a sort of growth-tracking/update of Danny Thompson and myself on our journey in Israel. We’ll each post on our posts and perspectives of our time on the same blog. In this first post, I just want to reflect on my past year looking forward to the hope of Israel.
This past year has been… odd for me. While having an extreme passion to grow and experience more of God and prepare for ministry, I’ve been plagued with reoccurring, plaguing sin- not light, little sinful tendencies- but deep, penetrating, dehabilitating sin. But I’ve found hope in this from two sources. The Puritan pastor Richard Baxter says God tests a minister in one of two ways: by some sort of great external suffering, or some sort of great sin. I wish I could have been worthy enough to suffer well by circumstances, but I suffered through my own chosen circumstances. Tim Keller also has quoted somebody saying every great minister must walk with a limp. (This referring to Jacob’s wrestle with God in Genesis 32.) I’m not walking with swag, but I am aware of my God-dependence and own sinfulness. God just blew me up this year. He laid my sinful heart bare before me. And in that I mourn with hope. I can rejoice now that by God’s grace alone, He’s taken that from me temporarily.

With that background, my prayer requests in Israel:
1. That God would use this time of refreshing and renewing in the Lord. I want to spend a lot of time just alone with the Lord, reflecting on the past and looking forward to my future ministry and work.
2. To do this, I need to be in the Word and have a much better prayer life. I limited the books I took (kinda) so I hope and pray (and work for) set time apart to be away with the Lord and meditate.
3. To engage when I read the Bible and don’t just read to like a newspaper or to check it off. To spend deep time in God’s word.
4. For my baptism on April 15- that the Spirit would move powerfully
5. College Decisions (Gordon, Asuza, SES)
6. I really just want to be a more Godly man. I don't care to be nicer, or kinder, or friendlier, I want to know God better and more fully. I want to drink more deeply out of His fountain of grace. I wish to grow in Godliness and pursue the Lord with my whole being.
7. With the previous prayer request, I've really been convicted of my sinfulness: cowardness, self-righteousness, and pride. I know the first one doesn't fit in with the other two, but that's how sin works I suppose. I want to be bold and powerful and not simply appeasing like is my default response.
These are my hopes and prayers for the next 4 months, and whole life.
I will add some sporadically throughout the semester, but these are the main things on my mind.

P.S. I’ll hopefully post at least once a week on Wednesdays.

Love you guys,
Sos