Our summer interns have an amazing story to tell. We want you to be as inspired by their lives and their work as we have been this summer. This is the story of 4 people that refused to let a dream die and instead chose to fight for people in a city where so many others have chosen to walk away.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
PhotoServe
We're offering a new kind of build for anyone that loves photography, or has always wanted to learn more about photography. We are partnering with PhotoServe and world renowned photographer Mike Colón as our guest mentor for a Casas por Cristo experience like never before. Not only will you build a home for a family in need but you'll grow as a photographer as you learn from an amazing man of God that is using his talents to "travel the world teaching professional photographers the latest techniques in digital photography."
PhotoServe Deadline is August 5th. Only 9 more spots are available!!
When: September 25-30, 2011
Where: Acuna, Mexico
Cost: $650 (includes food, lodging and transportation in Mexico)
Register: Contact Tony- tony@tonyskarlatos.com - 414.617.3178
(for more details follow the PhotoServe link above)
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Jehovah Nissi
The Lord is my banner
The name Jehovah Nissi comes from two root names. “Jehovah” which means “the self existent one.” “Nissi” means “banner, raised up, exalted.” The full translation of the name with both names together means “the Lord is my banner.” This name for God is only found once in the entire Bible and was used in Exodus 17.
What does a banner do?
A banner is used to rally the troops, bestow honor, declare who is represented, calls attention to, heralds an event, unifies the company, proclaims victory, and puts flight to enemies. It goes before us, and over us.
When we say the lord is my banner what are we saying? Let’s look at the text it originally came from.
Exo 17:8 Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim.
Exo 17:9 So Moses said to Joshua, "Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand."
Exo 17:10 So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
Exo 17:11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed.
Exo 17:12 But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
Exo 17:13 And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.
Exo 17:14 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven."
Exo 17:15 And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The LORD Is My Banner,
Exo 17:16 saying, "A hand upon the throne of the LORD! The LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation."
This is a powerful scripture of victory and promise. This is the first battle Israel fought after the exodus out of their enslavement to the Egyptians and is right before they would receive the 10 commandments and the law. It is also the first scripture where God tells someone to record an event.
Why did Moses call the Lord this name through an alter?
The important thing here is that this is their first victory as a nation. They may have run from the Egyptians and succeeded but there was no empowerment from God in that. God completely, without the use of anyone, destroyed the Egyptian army. This time was different. God used his people for victory over the enemy. He used them to have victory over something attacking them.
Moses understood that with God, victory was theirs. He was reassured God’s promises are true. More than that though, I think Moses is telling God on behalf of Israel, “I will have you lead us in every battle and in every circumstance that we are going to face. You are our banner. Go before us. Cover us. We trust in you.” This deep understanding would aid Moses and Joshua for the rest of their days while leading Israel.
Here is the issue for us. We need to raise the banner of Christ to go before us and cover us in everything that we do. Are you doing this? Are you humbling yourself before him, raising a banner, and having him go before you in anything that you do? We are not fighting a physical war like Israel did, but we are fighting to have our lives completely given to and saturated with Christ.
Raising a banner for us, most of the time, applies to our decision making. Look at this scripture.
Jas 4:13 Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"--
Jas 4:14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
Jas 4:15 Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."
Jas 4:16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
Jas 4:17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
Simple decision making and simple planning. Are you raising the banner of God before you do these things? Do you come before God and have him lead you in all that you do. Before you buy a car, before you decide to go to this church, before you decide to move, before you plan a vacation, are you trusting in God as your banner to go before for you before you do all these things? Are you seeking him to find the answer? Are you allowing his will to have an impact on these decisions?
We don’t have an issue raising him up when there is trouble attacking us, but are we raising him up in everything?
Monday, July 18, 2011
First Guatemala Builds
Our first three home have been completed in Guatemala and the beginning of Casas por Cristo in a brand new country is well on it's way. Here's a first hand look at these homes being built in San Raimundo, Guatemala.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Planking For a Cause
We're losing our minds here and need your help. Help us stop this planking madness!!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Not Our Way but His Way
Mat 6:7 "And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.
Mat 6:8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Mat 6:9 Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Mat 6:10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread,
Mat 6:12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Mat 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
In everything that God has commanded us to do, there is a device in that command that reveals to us the state of our heart. For example, God told us to tithe not because he needs money, but because it reveals to us our hearts desires, either on God or on our possessions. Another example would be that God has commanded us to be honest because when we come to a situation where we could lie or be truthful, it reveals whether our heart is using the things around us for our own gain or whether we are using everything around us for Christ. The command to pray is the same way. Scripture says:
Mat 6:7 "And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.
Mat 6:8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."
When we pray to God, we aren’t giving him new information. Prayer isn’t a device to let God know what we need. He is all-knowing. He already knows what we need. So why pray?
2Ch 7:14 "If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."
Prayer requires us to humble ourselves. Humbling ourselves isn’t becoming outwardly weak but spiritually strong because we are submitting to God’s authority. The way Jesus teaches his disciples to pray reflects this perfectly.
Mat 6:7 "And when you pray…"
The Greek word here is “whenever.” So whenever we pray, in our bedroom, in the car, at church, we are to pray like this.
Mat 6:9 Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Mat 6:10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
Christ says whenever you pray, it looks like this. Holy is your name, let your name, let your reputation, let your glory, let your renown, let everything you do and everything you're worth be here and not just known in heaven.
Mat 6:8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Mat 6:9 Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Mat 6:10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread,
Mat 6:12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Mat 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
In everything that God has commanded us to do, there is a device in that command that reveals to us the state of our heart. For example, God told us to tithe not because he needs money, but because it reveals to us our hearts desires, either on God or on our possessions. Another example would be that God has commanded us to be honest because when we come to a situation where we could lie or be truthful, it reveals whether our heart is using the things around us for our own gain or whether we are using everything around us for Christ. The command to pray is the same way. Scripture says:
Mat 6:7 "And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.
Mat 6:8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."
When we pray to God, we aren’t giving him new information. Prayer isn’t a device to let God know what we need. He is all-knowing. He already knows what we need. So why pray?
2Ch 7:14 "If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."
Prayer requires us to humble ourselves. Humbling ourselves isn’t becoming outwardly weak but spiritually strong because we are submitting to God’s authority. The way Jesus teaches his disciples to pray reflects this perfectly.
Mat 6:7 "And when you pray…"
The Greek word here is “whenever.” So whenever we pray, in our bedroom, in the car, at church, we are to pray like this.
Mat 6:9 Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Mat 6:10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
Christ says whenever you pray, it looks like this. Holy is your name, let your name, let your reputation, let your glory, let your renown, let everything you do and everything you're worth be here and not just known in heaven.
This is a God-centered prayer that has nothing to do with us. Christ is teaching exactly what it says in 2Ch 7:14, “humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways”.
Jesus is teaching that we need to turn away from ourselves and focus on God in all parts of life. Jesus teaches us to pray this way because this prayer reflects a heart that is humble before the lord, submitting to God’s will and glory.
The next part of the prayer looks and feels focused on us but in truth it isn’t at all.
Mat 6:11 "Give us this day our daily bread,"
Look at what Solomon writes in proverbs about this very same concept.
Pro 30:7 "Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die:
Pro 30:8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.
Pro 30:9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD? Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God."
Solomon’s concern was the name and renown of the Lord on each end of the pendulum swing. Solomon is praying, "don’t give me too much or too little, but exactly what I need for you to be glorified in my life today." Do you see what a humble prayer this is? Solomon wants nothing to do with his wants, his desires, or his personal preferences, but only God’s way, God’s desire, God to be lifted high.
Mat 6:13 "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
This is still a humble prayer that is totally God focused when he says, “lead us not into temptation.” The statement here is simply, “help me. I can’t, you can. Cover me, lead me, and protect me with your ways." This is humbleness. This is submitting by conveying helplessness.
Jesus teaches his disciples to pray like this in Mat 6:7-13 and then prays like this in Mat 26:36-39. Look at the prayer of Jesus the night before his betrayal.
Mat 26:36 "Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, 'Sit here, while I go over there and pray.'
Mat 26:37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled."
Mat 26:38 Then he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me."
Mat 26:39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will."
What better example is there than this? Christ is about to absorb the wrath of all of mankind’s sin on the cross and he says, “not as I will, but as you will.” This displayed humbleness of Christ should break our hearts and inspire us to be humble in our own life’s circumstances. Christ paid it all for us in his perfect display of humbleness before God.
Are we humbling ourselves in prayer, or are we just kind of doing life our own way and praying out of duty? Are we praying for something to be done in line with our will or are we submitting to the will and authority of God and asking him to be glorified by doing it his way? Are we praying that God would show us where we are not humble? Let us keep ourselves from heaping up empty phrases and submit to God by bringing ourselves low and exalting him.
Pray that God would be glorified by doing things his way and not your own way. Ask him to show you what he desires and ask him to give you what you need to carry it out with nothing more or nothing less. Humble yourself and pray according to his ways and not your own.
The next part of the prayer looks and feels focused on us but in truth it isn’t at all.
Mat 6:11 "Give us this day our daily bread,"
Look at what Solomon writes in proverbs about this very same concept.
Pro 30:7 "Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die:
Pro 30:8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.
Pro 30:9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD? Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God."
Solomon’s concern was the name and renown of the Lord on each end of the pendulum swing. Solomon is praying, "don’t give me too much or too little, but exactly what I need for you to be glorified in my life today." Do you see what a humble prayer this is? Solomon wants nothing to do with his wants, his desires, or his personal preferences, but only God’s way, God’s desire, God to be lifted high.
Mat 6:13 "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
This is still a humble prayer that is totally God focused when he says, “lead us not into temptation.” The statement here is simply, “help me. I can’t, you can. Cover me, lead me, and protect me with your ways." This is humbleness. This is submitting by conveying helplessness.
Jesus teaches his disciples to pray like this in Mat 6:7-13 and then prays like this in Mat 26:36-39. Look at the prayer of Jesus the night before his betrayal.
Mat 26:36 "Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, 'Sit here, while I go over there and pray.'
Mat 26:37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled."
Mat 26:38 Then he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me."
Mat 26:39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will."
What better example is there than this? Christ is about to absorb the wrath of all of mankind’s sin on the cross and he says, “not as I will, but as you will.” This displayed humbleness of Christ should break our hearts and inspire us to be humble in our own life’s circumstances. Christ paid it all for us in his perfect display of humbleness before God.
Are we humbling ourselves in prayer, or are we just kind of doing life our own way and praying out of duty? Are we praying for something to be done in line with our will or are we submitting to the will and authority of God and asking him to be glorified by doing it his way? Are we praying that God would show us where we are not humble? Let us keep ourselves from heaping up empty phrases and submit to God by bringing ourselves low and exalting him.
Pray that God would be glorified by doing things his way and not your own way. Ask him to show you what he desires and ask him to give you what you need to carry it out with nothing more or nothing less. Humble yourself and pray according to his ways and not your own.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Whom Shall I Fear?
How can we not care? Plastered across the cover of this month's TIME magazine is the ongoing drug war in México. My first thought is, "Great, publicity is going to run rampant, the phone is going to ring off the hook at the office, and the teams that are already scheduled to come and build the rest of the summer are going to have to fight to make that happen." Then I looked at the cover. I saw the pictures of this terrible drug war, and for a moment I became just like everyone else that sees this. These pictures are terrifying. A fellow coworker said that he got the magazine at his house and never saw it because his wife threw it away. As a missionary to Juárez, México, we have to decide every second whether we will continue to serve God here or walk away. And flipping through photos of a drug war that we know is happening, usually does not make that decision much easier.
We are human. We have families. We have friends. We have a God that we love and want to serve, but we have the same real fears and decisions to make that you do. God has called us to serve Him here. Every one of our staff knows that beyond a shadow of a doubt. With this knowledge, everything else should fall to the wayside. We have been called to serve. The creator of the universe has burdened our hearts to serve the people of México, whom else shall we fear? "The Lord is my light and my salvation- whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1 This scripture sounds wonderful from a safe church pew or as we read our bible in a small group with friends. However when faced with images of a drug war and the call to go and serve in that same place, this scripture has to hold the exact same truths. What changes however, is us. Our fears, our questions, our unknown. Sitting by and flipping through pictures that will only create fear in hearts that God has called to "GO," is not the best way to handle this call on our lives. He tells us to focus on "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable. If anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things." Phil 4:8
We encourage you to do the same. We are faced with the same decisions that you are. We serve the same God you do. We are broken, weak, human beings that God has called to go and bring glory to His name. We want to walk beside you as you choose to leap out on your faith, clinging to nothing but Jesus Christ and trusting in His promises. We want to bring life to scripture and watch the words fly off of the pages. We want to fill this city with light from a risen savior rather than with the darkness that hovers so closely. We want these families to hear praises to our God and see His love and provision rather than the desperation that they struggle to live within daily. We are not asking you to walk blindly into a city that has seen a great deal of violence or ignore the realities of what is happening here. We are asking that if He has called you to go, that you will fill your mind with what is pure and holy and trust more on His promises than the pictures of fear and destruction that the media will throw your way. More than anything we are asking that you would trust your Father above all else; to let His words become flesh and life and live them out. We will cross this border together, and stand strong in God's amazing grace.
~Brittany Girle
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