I ran an errand to Blockbuster on Tuesday afternoon, but it was closed, because it had been smashed and ripped apart, inside and out...

Come Lord Jesus

There are a lot of things that I could write about the horrible and scary riots that are going on in London, and spreading across England. There are a lot of opinions that I have about it, and part of me would love to send some of these young kids to help in Somalian refugee camps in Kenya to give them a bit of perspective on how good they have it. But really, when all is said and done, my heart just cries, "Come Lord Jesus. Please come quickly." A stronger government, a more "robust" police force, firmer parenting, and a better education system is not what is going to ultimately change the darkness and selfishness and hostility in their hearts. These kids are depraved. They need to be saved from themselves. So please come, King Jesus, and bring conviction to the deep rooted seeds of sin that are in their hearts. You are the only One who can change their hearts.

The other night I was walking home from having dinner with a woman who has been coming to our Bible study. I passed a group of young teenage guys, and as I walked by them, one of them commented on my figure, and I heard him ask if I would like to have sex. My heart sank, and I felt sick inside. I kept walking on, but my head was swirling. What kind of environment have these kids grown up in that they think it's okay to treat a woman like that? They are SO young, and regardless of that, they should not be saying those things. Why do they look at a woman and immediately think that? There is so much more to me than what's on the outside. Are they growing up learning that that's what women are for? To be used and put aside? By the time I got into my apartment, I was so confused and probably kind of angry. I ended up going back outside and confronting the kids, after I had cooled off a bit and prayed. They just said the same thing that they had before, laughing and trying to impress eachother. And I walked back into my flat and immediately remembered a friend who grew up in a similar environment as them, who came from a really broken family situation, and who was really angry at the world. But when he was 16, he began to start asking questions and searching, and opened up a Bible and committed his life to Jesus. Now he's preaching and discipling his fellow Brits in London. So I began to pray that God would do a similar redeeming work in those boys' lives, and every time I look out the window and see them playing out on the pitch, I'm going to commit to praying that they grow up to be men of integrity and humility, who are like Jeremiah with hearts on fire for the Lord and His work in London. I wonder if anyone has ever prayed for them before.

In light of all the chaos and tragedy that has been going on around the world in the past 2 weeks, I've been reflecting a lot on parts of Psalm 46

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change. And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at is swelling pride.






There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy dwelling places of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.




The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted.





THE LORD OF HOSTS IS WITH US; THE GOD OF JACOB IS OUR STRONGHOLD... THE LORD OF HOSTS IS WITH US; THE GOD OF JACOB IS OUR STRONGHOLD.

Saturday nights in Camden...

Read this the other day and was really encouraged:

But to be still more practical, we are to stand fast in the faith for the sake of our own happiness. There is no other way to be happy in a world like this except by standing fast in the faith. Doubts will come for certain; the enemy will attack you and try to shake you. Paul puts it perfectly when, in writing to the church at Ephesus, he tells them to put on the Christian armour, but, above all things, he says "Take the shield of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the adversary." It is essential to "stand fast in the faith" when we are assailed by doubt. And it is essential as against feelings. If we trust to our feelings and to our moods, the time will come when we shall be feeling miserable. We shall wake up in the morning feeling tired and lethargic and the question will come to us, "Why go on with it? I do not feel like going on with it." There is only one answer when you feel like that. It is the faith, the truth! It is our only means to happiness. It is essential also against the facts of life. There come "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune". Illness comes, disappointment comes, difficult circumstances arise, a world war takes place, our profession is lost, our business is gone, sorrow knocks at the door of your home and someone dearer than life is taken away. Death comes, either in battle, or on the sea, or in the air, or quietly in a room. How can I face the facts of life? There is but one way: "Stand fast in the faith." It has envisaged all these things. It has provided for them all; it covers them all. It is the faith for life. It is the faith for death. It is the faith for all eternity. "Stand fast in the faith." -Martyn Lloyd-Jones (on 1 Corinthians 16:13-14, in "The Christian in an age of Terror")

Amy Winehouse

Amy Winehouse, a local Camdener, died on Saturday. Her security team found her dead in her house on Camden Square. Some of my teammates and I went by her house this afternoon to spend some time praying for her family and friends, and for the many other people in this area of London who struggle with drug and alcohol addictions. When a lot of people think of Amy Winehouse, they immediately think of her hit song "Rehab", which she wrote a few years ago as a response to people encouraging her to seek help for her addictions ("They tried to make me go to rehab, and I said 'No, no, no'."). We were talking today about how, in the midst of all the brokenness that we hear about from her life, she was a woman made in the image of God, and the Camden community saw pieces of that beauty in the way that she really loved and cared about this part of London. She was a hit singer with a lot of talent, who could have lived anywhere, and yet she took a firm stance in remaining in Camden, where her talent was first found. And she was often seen in the local grocery stores or pubs, hanging out with the locals here. It's really sad to hear of how she numbed herself to the pain and depression that existed in her life, though, and how she was so lost without Jesus, the only One who can heal the pain and be the ultimate Balm. Outside of her house, people have left notes that say "Heaven is rocking now. Jesus alone saves," and "Hope you have better luck in your next life", and "Amy is at peace now." It's obvious and sad that people are trying to numb their own selves to the reality of death, by glossing over this tragedy. They don't know how to respond. Amy is dead. I have been praying that she accepted Jesus into her heart before her death, but the reality is that if she didn't, she's not rocking in heaven now, and she won't have better luck in the "next life". I know that sounds really harsh, but this needs to be a wake-up call, not another numbing lotion, for people's hearts that our time can come at any time. And that there is so much pain in this world, but there is One who CAME DOWN and WALKED AMONG us to know first-hand what it's like here, and who then died for all of the brokenness here. It's also a wake-up call to us believers that we cannot be silent about Christ. We need to be hanging out with those people who are struggling and trying to numb themselves in whatever capacity and tell them the freeing news, not out of obligation, but out of compassion and love and a burden that we long for them to be rocking it out in heaven someday with Jesus too.