I’m pretty sure I would like to meet this fella. He has a great way of communicating. Spoken word…awesome.
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Resurrection Injection
So, I have never posted twice in one day…I’m not sure I’ve ever posted twice in a week, but, man oh man, I like listening to this guy. I like his heart. I like his speech. Most of all, I like his message!
Good News by Jesse Fisher
Find a way to get this on your mobile play back device and show it. Wonderful, just wonderful.
Seeing Jesus In Dan and Tim
Recently, I enjoyed the privilege of listening to a preacher who without doubt pointed his listeners to Jesus. As he spoke, I thought of my favorite hymn, “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.” His name is Dan Wolgemuth and he is the President and CEO of Youth For Christ USA.
Now I do not know him (apart from a brief introduction), so I had only those two hours or so at a YFC banquet to learn. Still, I was certain that here was a brother who leads not so much from position, but from a heart enamored by the Savior. So, I decided to look up his blog. (You know…it’s always a good thing to learn from people who love the Savior.) While visiting his site, I was impressed with some of the subjects he touches upon. However, one title jumped off the page right away. It was a recent post about another man I am learning to admire, Tim Tebow. Here is what Dan wrote:
by DAN WOLGEMUTH on MARCH 9, 2012
“And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ And Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him.’ And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.’” ~Mark 10:47-49 (ESV)
Nearly 2,000 people had hung on every word that Tim Tebow had spoken. First the focus was football, then personal, then faith.
I closed the time by praying for Tim and as soon as the “amen” was out of my mouth Tim was whisked away to travel to a middle school assembly where students sat in bleachers waiting.
We traveled in two vehicles and I was in the trailing van. As we pulled out of the parking lot at the University of Montana, the only Missoula venue large enough for the gathering, we were immediately snagged in traffic. As we sat in the congestion, I noticed a man in a wheelchair that had obviously been at the “Tebow event.” He rolled his electronic chair down a driveway and toward the sidewalk. It was then that he realized that on the road in front of him, sitting in the passenger seat, was Tim Tebow. With that reality in front of him, literally, he began to wave and to shout and to reach for a camera in his pocket so that he could shoot a picture of Tim.
But instead of shooting a picture of Tim, the tables turned, instantly. Tim Tebow had witnessed what I had witnessed… and he decided that he would do something to impact the situation. So, in an instant, he was out the passenger door; traffic jammed around him. He ran to the man, and in an instant handed the camera to someone else while he positioned himself for a picture with the man in the wheelchair.
This was not a media stunt, it wasn’t a political step… it was raw, unconstrained compassion. It was stewardship of position and status and popularity. It was as authentic and real as it was inconvenient and intrusive. Tim didn’t calculate, he responded. He didn’t measure, he stepped out. And by doing so he walked onto holy ground; into caring for the “least of these.” His powerfully strong legs carried him into the sphere of helplessness.
Just as quickly he was back in the car; moments later he was standing in front of students and parents while the cheers ricocheted off of concrete walls. But on the way, with the video cameras absent, Tim Tebow lived his mission as he made someone else’s dream come true.
In the moment; in response; from his heart… living and loving like Jesus.
This put touchdowns and trophies in perspective. This showed the character of the man, even as it lifted high Tim’s Lord and Savior. This exposed Jesus.
No fourth quarter heroics. No scrambling from the grip of onrushing defenders. But make no mistake – this was full contact. The clock was winding down. This was Tebow Time. Raw, compassionate, unconventional, effective.
Like Jesus.
Wow. I love it that Dan admires Tim. I love it more that he sees Jesus through Tim. I love it even more that he directs us past Tim to Jesus. And I really love it that Dan is a leader less dependent upon his time spent with Tim Tebow than he is upon the Savior.
I am reminded of the words of the Apostle Paul as he wrote to the Church in Philippi: “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things” (Philippians 3:7,8).
Thanks Dan for showing us Jesus.
Follow Dan Wolgemuth, President/CEO YFCYSA at http://fridayfragments.com/
A Glimpse of Heaven
A dear friend of mine sent me a slide show of the magnificent statue “Christ the Redeemer” that stands atop Mt.Corcovado overlooking Rio de Janeiro. The statue—standing 38 meters from foot to head—was designed by Brazilian Heitor da Silva Costa and created by Frenchman Paul Landowski. Their work not only stands as a testament to their genius, but to our Savior. In my friend’s email, I read, “I will hold this dream close to my heart to one day make this climb and see this in person. I can only imagine !!!!!”
I can not agree with her more. I believe I would stand in absolute awe if I ever had the privilege of visiting this monument to Jesus. The pictures she sent stirred my heart…but not simply for a visit to Rio de Janeiro. It was something else. The pictures made me wonder, so I answered my friend’s email. The words I wrote then are for everyone who calls upon the name of Jesus.
“I hope you will one day fulfill your dream. I can only imagine what standing at the base of that giant statue must be like…but how much more so walking into the out-stretched arms of our Savior Jesus in heaven. Can you imagine? He embraces you. You melt into his hug. Your eyes peer over his shoulder…and you behold the vista of heaven. Rolling on and on before you is the splendor of eternity. Inhabiting the landscape is Moses…Solomon…Deborah… Rahab… Peter…Gideon…angels, my oh my, angels… seraphim and cherubim…and look, there’s Michael.
Dotting the hills and valleys and plains and mountains are mansions prepared for each of the Savior’s followers. Almost overlooked, because you gaze upon this magnificence, are the loved ones who inhabit some of those houses of holiness. On earth, you missed them ever so greatly. Now they surround the throne of God with their hands reaching toward you. No, not you. They reach toward Jesus. And then, then—only after they have filled their eyes with the Lamb of God—they turn their eyes upon you and you glory in their welcome.
Nearly undone with the millions of sensory inputs cascading through your very soul, you glance down ever so briefly only to behold that upon which you stand. Could it be? A sea of crystal? You see into it. Down into it. Deep, deep, deep down…as if it might descend to infinity. It undulates with the rhythm of heaven. Yet it is more solid than any place you have ever before placed your feet.
Having witnessed infinity at the feet of Jesus, you think to look up. The glow of the light of Christ illuminates an expanse so vast no eye can penetrate its reach. At one and the same time you see worlds flickering in the distance as you once did on earth, but you also see them up close and personal as if you were walking upon them…and at once you realize you are no longer exercising earthly eyesight, but heavenly eyesight. Never again will you see as through a mirror darkly. All of this. All of this is yours, but not yours. It is the Lord’s—and he gives it to you without reservation. You see it. You experience it. You revel in it. You long to explore it…and then that wonder fades. You look no longer upon the vistas of heaven. You no longer peer over the shoulder of Jesus. You lift your head. You turn it ever so slightly. You lift your eyes…and they meet his…can you imagine…you look into the very eyes of love and compassion and sacrifice and wisdom and grace and peace and righteousness and mercy. Yet none of these compares to something else you see.
You see God. The eternal. The infinite. The Spirit. And you finally understand. The limits of time and space and matter have been stripped away. You observe the very mystery of creation and all that was eternal before creation. Your heart accelerates. The love you feel is overwhelming. If it were not for his hug, you would fall upon your face before him. Yet still you look into his eyes…deep into an endless gaze…and you see one more thing. You see something no other will ever see. You see into the heart of the everlasting second member of the Trinity. You see him spreading his arms out wide upon that old rugged cross. You see into his soul and mind…and you see you. There in that most important moment of history…in all of his agony…as he became a sin sacrifice for the world…you were front and center in his thoughts. As blood spilled upon his now unrecognizable face, the corners of his lips lifted, because…because he smiled.
Oh my God, my marvelous God, he smiled. He smiled for you. He did. He does. He always will.
Ricki Lee Brooks 