And off we go!!!

Ahh, I can remember it like it was yesterday. I was waking up in the middle of the night after a very real dream had just entered my head.  But this was a pretty special kind of dream, one of those that you can’t shake off.  One of those that make you start thinking what God has planned for you.  But even with all that I quietly dismissed it as figments of my imagination.  In my dreams God was moving me from my current activities into a new stage of my life, and by current I mean 2010.  In my dreams I felt the need to study a new language and that need turned into passion once I woke up.  But I prayed, left it in God's hands and continued with my every day activities.

But God wanted to make sure that I received the message, so once again I dreamt, and I woke up after going through the same dream I had a few weeks prior.  In my dreams God was also letting me know that I had to work with other folks, and he was showing me that people would support me in the journey.  I prayed again.  I asked God for a clear revelation of what I had just seen, and then I went to bed again.  But the passion in my heart was stronger every day.  Learn a new language, move to what God was telling me to do.

And then I dreamt again.  It was amazing.  I woke up after a few minutes ago I was hearing the same words from God.  He was telling me “Didn’t I give you a dream, didn’t I give you direction, what I ask of you has a purpose, follow your dream.”  And you may ask, what is that dream, what is that direction, well it’s very simple.  I year prior to these dreams God had also spoken to me in dreams telling me to learn Mandarin.  He gave no reason; he gave no other indications, just “Study Mandarin”.  So I did, but I did not do it well.  Time passed and I stopped.  And now God was telling me, don’t stop, keep on moving.

So I renewed my efforts, I started telling my dreams to my closest friends.  But not all of them understood.  Some of them pushed back and some though I was going crazy.  But once god gives you instructions, you must act.  It does not matter what people around you are saying, you have your instructions.

And weeks later one other very amazing thing happened.  God gave me a new heart!!!  Yes, it may sound funny to you, but he did.  And not that my heart was hurt or broken, my heart was in great condition.  But in a new dream, God took a heart from a chest that read “Chinese Heart”, took it in his hands and placed it inside me.  It might seem odd to you, but something did change in me.  From that day on my love for China and its people grew.  They hold a very special place in me and I know that God is who made that transformation.

So in a few hours my wife and I embark in an exciting journey, we are headed to China, we want to hear God’s word to us in the land that I hold dearly.  We want to listen to his voice, and find new direction and clearer paths for us.  I know that this trip will bring new challenges but also will bring new hope and new dreams.  With a heavy heart we leave our children behind but we know that they are very well taken care of. 

It still seems to me like yesterday that I had the first dream, but today is a day of new beginnings.

I Like Church...

OK, so in all fairness I stole this title from my Pastor Ross Parsley, but I can’t help it, it just reflects something that is completely true in my life: I like Church.

Now I have been in my share of churches in my life for many reasons.  One being that during my younger years my dad moved us from church to church for his own personal reasons so I can tell you that I have experienced church in many different presentations for say...  I have seen it all, well maybe not all, but I have seen a lot of the good, the bad and the ugly of churches.

Now to be honest, before being directed by God to join ONE Chapel, the "likeness" factor of church had diminished considerably.  This by no means is saying that I loved Jesus any less, on the contrary, he was the one that helped me keep my sanity during difficult times, but the "likeness" was not completely there.  And it was not a very good season.  

But now things are completely different.  I am in a community of believers that really live for truth and love.  I see so many different backgrounds, ages, and so many other things that humanly could cause barriers between us but  we have all decided to let Jesus be the real bond that keeps us together.  We are putting him as our foundation and letting him drive what we are and what we must represent in this community.  

Just as the bible says in Ephesians 4:5-6

⁴ There is one body and one Spirit just as you were called to one hope when you were called

⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 

⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

It’s all about ONE, and I truly believe that we are all striving to be that; to be ONE in Christ.  Now I know that ONE Chapel is not perfect, but it is a place where I know I can be loved, I can grow spiritually and I can find a family to share life with.

And you can see this all over the place.  It’s in main services, it’s in connect groups, it’s in days of service, in days of physical labor and pretty much on every occasion, Christ is bonding us each day even stronger.  I can even see it in my children, without even asking them or pushing them to be part of serving, they are eager every Sunday to help with anything they can do, from picking up trash, to tearing down, they are all into it.  And this is not me pushing them to act; this is Jesus coming alive in them with a spirit of service towards others.  I tell you this is priceless, to not only know that my wife and I like church, but to know that my kiddos are loving this Journey without having to push them towards it, makes me be even more grateful to God.

In the same way God is creating a great family environment in connect groups.  I have not been to all connect groups but the ones that I have been able to be a part of are simply amazing.  People are seeking God, seeking friendships, sharing life, food, stories and building relationships that will last a lifetime.  I am so grateful for the family that Jesus is forming in our own connect group, “Creating Bonds”.  You can already see the results of the relationships that are being built.  Folks are living life together, helping each other and sharing the great things that Jesus is doing in ONE Chapel with others.  God is truly doing great things in these groups.

I can just tell you one thing: if you have not found a place to call home, come to ONE Chapel (www.onechapel.com ) and see what Jesus is doing in his church, I know that you will also find a place that you can call home and that Jesus will do great things in your life.  We will be waiting for you.  J

Erik