"O LORD, You have deceived me and I was deceived; You have overcome me and prevailed.  I have become a laughingstock all day long; Everyone mocks me."--Jeremiah 20:7

"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."--Micah 6:8

Nebuchadnezzar, the most powerful king in the world. He has conquered many nations, cities, and tribes. And now he sits atop his palace and surveys his city, Babylon. He looks at the beauty, the majesty, the richness of this empire. And then he says "Look at what I have done! Look at what I have done through my power, my might, my hand!"

Then God speaks to Nebuchadnezzar. The Bible says that while the word was still in Nebuchadnezzar's mouth God spoke. Instantly the king realized what had happened. Instantly he is consumed by fear and became like an animal, eating grass, sleeping outside, hair growing long. Seven long years he lives this way until he finally admits that God is the Most High, the ruler of the nations, the true king.

What does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. How do we walk through life? Do we see the things we have, the things we have done, and attribute the accomplishments to ourselves? Do we, like Nebuchadnezzar, claim all the accomplishments that we have done as our own, from our own hand?

Humility. To walk humbly with your God. To be able to realize that everything we have is from God, it belongs to God. We're just taking care of it. That house that you live in? Yup, that's God. That nice car you drive? That's God's too. You see, God owns everything. So what claim do we have on anything?

To be humble is to realize that God is in charge and that He has asked us to take care of things. But we aren't just proud of the things we have, we are also proud of the things we have done. Think about great achievements that you have done. Maybe you've won the lottery, maybe you've caught the biggest fish in the world, maybe you've just aced that interview. I don't know what it is, but I know that you are probably proud of that.

And that's ok. It's ok to be proud of what you have done, as long as you realize who it is that helped you get there. God is an ever present friend who is watching out for you. Don't believe me? Take a look at the life of Daniel. If God had not been with Daniel, he and his friends would have died when they refused to eat the kings food in chapter 1. But God was with them.

God is with you, remember that. So when you ace the next test, or get that brand spanking new car, remember to thank God for His blessings. Give Him the glory, because, without Him, we are nothing.

"If with heart and soul you're doing good, do you think you can be stopped? Even if you suffer for it, you're still better off. Don't give the opposition a second thought."--1 Peter 3:13-14

GoFest 2008 is officially over. And for those of you who didn't make it, you missed a very powerful weekend. Our whole theme was "Go!" We wanted youth to realize that they are able to go and serve anyone, anywhere. Service is where you are.

I read this passage for this morning's gathering. Although I have read it before, I had never read it in this version. Usually when I put a Bible text up here I am using the New International Version, however, we were using The Message version for our Bible texts at GoFest.

When I read this text in The Message I was taken aback. I had never actually understood this part. Sure, I had read it, I had seen it, but I never really looked at it in this language. I want you to scroll up and read it again.

If with your heart and soul you are doing good, do you really think you can be stopped? I mean, really, do you think you could be stopped? I don't think you could. I truly believe that if with your heart and soul you are doing good, you can't be stopped. Nothing in the world will be able to keep you from doing that good thing that your heart and soul desired to do.

Take Zach Hunter for example. He wasn't able to make GoFest, however we had someone travel to Nashville, Tennessee to interview him. Zach is an abolitionist, and he is only fifteen years old. For those of you who are saying "Whoa, there's still slavery today," yes, there is still slavery today. Zach says on his myspace page, "Modern-day slavery may be people working in brick kilns, rice mills, fishing villages or brothels." There is still slavery today, and he is doing all that he can to end it.

Zach's heart and soul is in this good thing. Nothing in the world can stop him. He plans to do this until all slavery is abolished. So if with your heart and soul you are doing good, do you think you could be stopped?

Now is the time to act. Whether it be helping your neighbor with yardwork, guiding an elderly woman across the street, heading off to Africa to dig a well, or going to India to free prostitutes, now is the time to act. You can serve, and if with heart and soul you are doing it, you cannot be stopped.

God is with us, He wants us to serve His people. Now is the time. Let's be the people God wants us to be, let's be His hands, His feet. Go!

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance. . . For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'"--Matthew 25:34-36

When was the last time you helped someone? I mean really helped someone? When was the last time you gave someone food that really needed it; gave someone water that really needed it; invited someone home you didn't know that really needed a place to sleep for the night? When was the last time you gave the shirt off your back to someone who was shirtless; took care of someone who was sick; visited someone in prison?

When was it? Do you remember? GoFest 2008, which is coming up this weekend, got me thinking, "Am I looking out for the people who need my help?" So I ask you the same question, are you looking out for the people who need your help? Are we searching and making an effort to help these people who need our help?

Here in the United States we live in such luxury, fancy cell phones, ipods, expensive cars, huge homes, and designer clothes. While in many parts of the world people are lucky to even get one meal a day. One meal a day! How can we live with ourselves? How can we go on and not think about our fellow humans that are starving everyday?

I wonder if we can even imagine what it is like to live like the majority of the world? If you have never been to a third world country, or you need another wake up call about living in a third world country like myself, this exercise will help.

From the standpoint of material wealth, Americans have difficulty realizing how rich we are. Going through a little mental exercise suggested by Robert Heilbroner can help us to count our blessings, however. Imagine doing the following, and you will see how daily life is for as many as a billion people in the world.

1. Take out all the furniture in your home except for one table and a couple of chairs. Use blanket and pads for beds.

2. Take away all of your clothing except for your oldest dress or suit, shirt or blouse. Leave only one pair of shoes.

3. Empty the pantry and the refrigerator except for a small bag of flour, some sugar and salt, a few potatoes, some onions, and a dish of dried beans.

4. Dismantle the bathroom, shut off the running water, and remove all the electrical wiring in your house.

5. Take away the house itself and move the family into the tool shed.

6. Place your "house' in a shantytown.

7. Cancel all subscriptions to newspapers, magazines, and book clubs. This is no great loss because now none of you can read anyway.

8. Leave only one radio for the whole shantytown.

9. Move the nearest hospital or clinic ten miles away and put a midwife in charge instead of a doctor.

10. Throw away your bankbooks, stock certificates, pension plans, and insurance policies. Leave the family a cash hoard of ten dollars.

11. Give the head of the family a few acres to cultivate on which he can raise a few hundred dollars of cash crops, of which one third will go to the landlord and one tenth to the money lenders.

12. Lop off twenty-five or more years in life expectancy.

By comparison how rich we are! And with our wealth comes responsibility to use it wisely, not to be wasteful, and to help others. Think on these things.

How did that make you feel? It made me feel a little sick. As I sit here in my office, looking at all the stuff that I have acquired, I think, "Why do I have that, I've never used it." Are there things around your house, apartment, or dwelling that you notice that you don't really need?

So how do we change? Jesus is definitely happy with those who helped Him when He was hungry, thirsty, needing a place to sleep, naked, sick, and in prison. The sheep on His right didn't even know that they had done those things. In verse 37 they ask "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?" They didn't even recognize Jesus, yet He was there.

We have an opportunity to help. If you live in the Portland area come to GoFest 2008 and see what others are doing to help and what you can do. If you don't live in the Portland please pray that God will show you a way to help others and that those who attend GoFest will allow God to show them as well.