“You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”
Revelation 5:9-10

“Why do the nations rage,
And the people plot a vain thing? 
Psalm 2

When Jesus arrived, He said that he brought God’s promised kingdom to earth (Luke 17:21). This is the grand story of Scripture, the restorative work of Creator God through the king of this kingdom, Jesus.

So why do nations continue to rage? Why do people of power still plot vain things?

If the human heart fails to take root in the revealed Son and Jesus kingdom ethos, scripture shows us that humanity will continue to adopt and cling to coercive, broken ways of being. The kingdoms of this earth raged before Jesus incarnation, during his life, and even still refuse to bend the knee. Power, rule, control, in a word, sin.

In God’s eternal kingdom, Jesus shows us how true power works. Power is divested, given freely, offered up  for the good of our fellow neighbor. As we approach Christmas, we’re reminded that the incarnation itself is a theology of how God considers power as he empties himself mysteriously into his own material flesh. This power, called love, upends worldly social constructs of domination.

The world doesn’t know how to handle the power of empowering love. It’s so intimidated by it, it would rather nail it to a cross, bury it out of sight. The only thing more terrifying than unwieldy power, I believe, is purposeful powerlessness. Willing sacrifice. This type of power is resurrected, and now residing in every believing heart. Those that refuse God’s perfect revelation in Jesus, continue to rage, inwardly and if given the opportunity, outwardly. This is the picture God gives us from the book of Revelation – a continuous, ongoing battle, reverberating through the ages – until Jesus comes to make things right.

What If God’s power, in God’s kingdom, is the antithesis of worldly power? Instead of gathering and protecting it, we’re to follow Jesus pattern and give our time, resources, our selves towards empowering the other? What if the church overcomes by following in Christ’s release of power, rooted in love?

What if love is God?

I take comfort in knowing this pathway, this journey toward deep surrender and sacrifice, is but a reflection of the beauty in the very heart of the Father. God is inviting us, through the Son’s perfect example, to participate in His life. Participation, a verb, an invitation to embody, to follow the pattern of the incarnation and become the virtue, not just memorize or repeat it.

Christianity, I’m convinced, is a revolution; a coming kingdom to earth as it is in heaven. This battle rages in our day, visible and invisible, one heart at a time. Jesus will return, the kingdom will be fully realized, but until then, the nations will rage, power will plot and  believers will take refuge in His love, not fear or illusions of safety.

May we become the calm that brought peace to the storm. May we become faith, hope and love as we cling to the hope of his return. Peace is coming, until then, may it illuminate our souls as a beacon to those around us.

Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

I’ve been reading Luke 6 this week.

Love, what is it, really? How do we know we love God? How do we know love?

The crowds pressed in to touch Jesus, and power came out of him and healed all of them (6:19). We have all been touched by his power, healed of our selfish pride, our sin and shame. How quickly we forget the mercy poured into our lives. Who are the blessed, the poor, hungry, weeping, excluded (6:21-22).

When we stop pressing into Jesus mercy, we become rich, filled and proud. How can we know we love God? How can we know love? “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies” (6:27). Religion looks good, it’s outward appearance is easy to copy, easy to find affirmation in it’s self-hubris. To lay down our lives, and follow the Savior, however, not so easy to mimic. To follow Jesus means we are dead to the self-life, our joy is found not in self gratification but the love’s divesting way.

Jesus command to obey is an invitation to embody, incarnate love, to become mercy, to become love. How can we do this, even to our enemies? We look to our Savior, “for he is kind to the ungrateful, and the wicked. Be merciful just as your Father is merciful” (6:36).

May the mercy of the Father fill each of our hearts today, may we become a people of mercy, sharing in His love – this is how we know we love God.

We gathered on October 2-3 for a refreshing weekend with +40 volunteer leaders from around Ukraine and Belarus. These volunteers represent over 30 villages and a visitation and food+medical care program that is now reaching 500 widows each month!

For so many of the volunteers, they give and give, but rarely if ever are served themselves. It was a joy to provide space for relaxed fellowship, intentional discussion groups, prayer and teaching on the importance of taking care of your own soul (Matthew 11:28-30). He leads us each, if we let him, to green pastures, and his hope, if we let him, to restore our souls!

Thank you World Challenge for providing us with the trust and resources to bring Jesus loving, kingdom influence into Slavic culture. We were also able to send the volunteers back with over 100 Audio Bibles in Russian and Ukrainian, chalked full of popular babushka music and sermons.

Please take a moment to visit our Widow’s Story page, for updates on incredible testimonies and difficult situations for the widow that are hard to imagine – you can join this ministry by praying for these widows, and once you read some of their stories, I believe you will be moved to do just that! Click Here to Visit

What a privilege to host a conference like this, and a joy to watch the Holy Spirit nourish, connect and breath fresh vision into our team. It was a lot of work, our team worked for many weeks planning, and preparing for this event – I believe it is the first of many future uniting weekends for missional collaboration and leadership development.

Into the world our Creator so loves, and came to restore!

Enjoy the photos 🙂 Bruce & Deb

You can give to this ministry by visiting our charity, Mir Ministries.

This summer, we’ve been blessed to get to know Babushka Galia, who lives about 10 minutes from my house, on the outskirts of town. She is 82, and loves it when I bring the girls for quick visit.. well, she doesn’t like how quick my visits are actually. She chases us to our cars, and often takes one of the kids hostage into her garden so I can’t leave.

I’m simply amazed at everything she grows, from potatoes, to cucumbers, corn, raspberries, strawberries, pears, nuts, cabbage, the list goes on. She blessed me with a sack of potatoes I couldn’t even carry. Her neighbor called her on the phone while we were visiting, she yelled at the person saying “Abbey is here, I can’t talk now”.. she loves kids. She said she took english lessons in 3rd grade, but doesn’t remember any words. We did the math, that was in 1947. We’ll give her a pass! Poor thing has my lovely Russian/Ukrainian to deal with, but all laugh a lot.

She handed me two watermelons to take this last trip. I contested her generosity and she grabbed a third and dropped it in my arms.. I said, “I can’t take your food, I’m bringing YOU food!” She sternly said, “God loves you, and I need to give you three, one for the father, the son and the spirit.” Case closed, she won that argument, and theologically impressed me! I love the Trinitarian reflections all around Slavic culture.