Can you spare some change?

"Excuse me ma'am, can you spare some change? I'm trying to buy a ticket on the train back to LA." were the first words out of this stranger's mouth as he approached me. "How much do you need?" I replied. "Ten dollars."


I fished in my purse pulled out one dollar and handed it to him. He thanked me as I began to walk away and approached the next person on the street in his quest to gather enough train fare to get to where he was going.

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ 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, ³⁶ 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.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (Matthew 25:31-46, New International Version, ©2011)

I may have given, because I was asked, but I didn't really give. I know nothing about this man, his life situation or needs, but I failed to truly give.

I could have done so much more had I taken a moment to treat him like Jesus.

There I was ten feet from a cafe and I didn't even think to ask him if he'd like a cup of coffee and a biscotti. I could have invited him into the cafe with me and treated him like a friend. Instead I brushed him off with one nonchalantly uncaring dollar and walked away from a man who I am sure needed to be shown God's love. My eyes are filling with tears and my heart is full of shame as I reflect on this lost moment to be the hands and feet of Christ.

1 John 4: 10-12 "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."

1 John 2: 4-6 "Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did."

All this man humbly asked me for was spare change, but I think that maybe spare change was the last thing he needed. Spare change is something you nonchalantly throw in a jar. It's hardly a sacrifice or act of love to give away your spare change. God hasn't called us to a life of sparing change. My spare change, literal or figurative, pales in comparison to the life of obedience, service and love I'm called to live for Christ.

The question isn't: can you spare some change? The question is: can you sacrificially love and live as Jesus did?

Chose to love - always

Did you choose not to let Jesus love today? Yesterday? Last week?

Like seeing a new person in church all alone, but not going up to talk to them. Or inviting your friends to a church event, but not the “outcast” standing just 10 feet away from you. There are times even when we yell or snap at others when they make us angry, or irritate us. And many times we don’t tell a coworker about Jesus when the opportunity arrises. We go through many moments in each day, and encounter many people during different moments. God has put us in every one of those moments, in every situation, in every conversation. In those moments, situations, conversations, we have a choice. We can either let Christ’s love spill out of us, or keep it contained inside.

God commands us to love one another several times in the Bible. But the book that sticks out to me the most when thinking about love is 1 John. In chapter 3, John specifically talks about how we, as children of God, are to love one another. So many areas that could be pointed out, but verse 18 sums most of it up:

^“Little children, let us not love [merely] in theory or in speech but in deed and in truth (in practice and in sincerity).” (1 John 3:18 AMPLIFIED)

We can go to church and talk about loving others, we can think of the examples of how Christ loves others, we can even think of ways we could maybe help others. But how does that impact anyone else – how can Christ touch other lives through us when we don’t? But when we love in deed and truth, or in practice and sincerity, then we choose to let Jesus love others today through us.

I have had several instances where I chose not to let Christ love people. They are new to the church, Youth Group, or Kids Club, but in my selfishness, I don’t make the effort to get out of my comfort zone and love them – like saying hi, making conversation, asking them how they are doing, making them feel welcome and loved – simple things really, just showing that I care, and letting Jesus’ light and love shine through me. God hit me with that reality last night, and now I pray that He would give me another chance, and that when that time arises I would snatch it like nothing ever before, and love others by His strength and love. And He does give us strength, especially in times where we don't feel like loving others, or even know what to say or do. God is love, and He can and will show us how to love!

“This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.” (1 John 3:23)

As followers of Christ, let us follow His example, and seek others to love, rather than letting them find us. It is hard to find a light switch in a strange, dark room – let’s turn the light on for them.

invisible love...

If my arms could reach around You
I would never move
If my eyes could see You
I'd have no faith left to prove
The wonder of invisible love

When I fall I feel Your arms before I reach the ground
Lord, I know Your whisper, though I've never heard the sound
The wonder of invisible love

Some day there will be no time to mind
I will be Your long awaited bride
We will dance away the night

This is how it has to be
With You and me
The wonder of invisible love

--JJ Heller

God's love: something we will never understand, but something that we will always experience. I don't always understand why things happen, but I know that during every moment, God is with me, loving me, and that is all that I need.

Always look for God's love...it is constantly shown all around us. Don't miss the opportunities to experience the greatest love you will ever know.

"Your unfailing love is better than live itself;
how I praise you!"
-Psalm 63:3

Humility and Servant Hood

Something that has been on my heart, as of late, is the subject of humility and servant hood. You know, Christ came not to be served but to serve, and as Christian it is our duty and our privilege to serve those around us.

A scripture passage that comes to my mind even as I am writing this is Galatians 6:9-10. It says, “And let us not grow weary in doing good. For in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.” What really sticks out to me, as Paul writes this, is how he instructs us to do good, but to “especially” do good to those who are believers along with us. This is an interesting concept, as well as one of the hardest things that there is to do. Sometimes it is so much easer to love someone who is not a Christian; because you know that they have not been saved and experienced the love of God like the rest of us. For those that have though, we sometimes hold much too high of a standard for them and if they don’t act how we would like them to we treat them unkindly or make judgments toward them that we don’t have the right to make. There is no prerequisite for someone to receive good from us, especially for a fellow Christian who is a brother or sister in the faith. A song comes to my thinking process that goes well with what I am writing, it is called, “They Will Know We Are Christians by Our Love.” I think that it is fitting as we think about being humble and serving others. It ought to come with love because without love it means nothing (I Corinthians 13), but with love, that is, God’s love in us and through us, someone can be changed by one good deed towards them. The other thing that I have been thinking about in regards to servant hood and humility is the fact that we cannot do it on our own and we are in a desperate need for the Holy Spirit to give us the strength and understanding that we need in order to serve those around us in love. We cannot do it on our own. Take some time to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to work within you to make you a servant to all. “Make me a servant, humble and meek. Lord, let me lift up those who are weak, and may the prayer of my heart always be, make me a servant, make me a servant, make me a servant today.”

May that be the prayer of all of our hearts today and in the years to come.

by Justin Kantonen
originally posted August 2008

As Lovers Do

It is in the quietness that He speaks; a silent whispering in the deepest parts of our soul. This is where we meet Him; this is where He calls us by our name and speaks to us of a love so rich and deep that we cannot even begin to fathom its greatness. It is here that we find out who we are, who He has created us to be. When the noise around us becomes silent and the ambience created around us is nothing less than the Holy Spirit of God filling our presence and our very being with His love. It is here that we begin to know and to understand what we were created for. It is here in this quietness that we begin to know Him. Put aside all of the rituals, all of the religious jargon that has begun to fill your days and come aside and listen, as Christ so often did, to the words that the God of the universe longs to speak to you as a father speaks to the child that he holds in his arms. He longs to whisper to you the things that only you can hear.

Encouragement, love, rebuke at times, but coming with a desire to see you become who He created you to be and to experience life as it once was. Not filled with noise and work and seemingly endless responsibilities that He has not created us for. Instead working, and living, and experiencing life as He created it to be. So often it seems that we get caught up in the doing what we desire to do, what we so often think is even good, and forget what we were created to do and to be. It is only in the quietness, in the stilling of our hearts before Him that we can come back, that He can bring us back, to what He longs for us all to be. Loved and adored by Him. The other day I was talking to one of my roommates as he was getting ready to head out to his class that night and after we had finished talking he headed out to his vehicle and as he was walking to his car his fiancé pulled up and she jumped out of her car and leaped, literally leaped, for joy at seeing him. He went to her and he hugged her and held her close. As I was watching this take place I couldn't help but think about how glad I was for the two of them and the joy that was expressed at seeing the one that she loved. My thoughts then turned to what it would be like for me to experience that in my own life and then the Holy Spirit spoke to me, ever so quietly, and said that it already is like that. Our God rejoices over us with much love. This is what Zephaniah has to say about it, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.” How totally awesome it is to think about the fact that God looks at us that way. What joy that brings to my heart. A seemingly insignificant afternoon, according to what had already taken place on that day, at least in my estimation, had now turned into one of great blessing.

Maybe those of you who are married, engaged or have a significant other can attest to this love easier than I can, but if God's love is anything like the love that I saw that day then I am excited to continue to grow in my relationship with Him and experience more of that love each and every day. There is a song by Isa Couvertier called Pressing Into You and in this song she sings about the for forgiveness, redemption, and the healing of God, and so, because of what God has done in her life she is going to press into Him - to seek Him, to know Him more. I like the picture that gets put into my head when I think about that taking place. She has another song called My Way Is Not Hidden and in it she say that she want to be “loved as lovers should.” That's the way that I want to love God, as His bride waiting one day to become united with Him. I long to see my Lord and Savior more than anything else, but until that day I will not rest in seeking and knowing Him as intimately as lovers do and I encourage you to do the same.

by Justin Kantonen
originally posted May 2008

Grounded

Grounded. This word conjures up many images in my mind. Including one where I am sitting at home on a Friday night during high school because I have been “grounded” for disobeying my parents. This is not the type of grounding that we are talking about here as the theme for this new website and college ministry. The grounding that we are talking about is being grounded in the love of God and in His Word, the Bible. Our prayer for you comes from Ephesians 3:17-19. They say, “So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and GROUNDED in LOVE, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the LOVE of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” May this grounding cause us to serve the Lord with both joy and gladness.

Many of you, I am assuming, have grown up in a Christian home and have been grounded in the Word of God. You know that He loves you and now think that everything is great. You are off in college and doing the things that you have always wanted to do. You are involved in extra-curricular activities, taking classes you enjoy, and hanging out with people of the opposite sex. Woohoo! Big whoop, if it means that you have walked away from your grounding in God’s Word and the love of God and your faith and confidence in Him, then something is wrong. Those activities mean nothing if they are causing you to sin and you have strayed from God. Come back to that grounding. That faith that was given to you by God. Come back to it. Turn from your wicked ways and come back to Christ and seek Him first again.

There are those of you though who have not turned away from Christ and are still seeking Him. Many are like Timothy who have been given a gift and are struggling with timidity and fear. You’re not quite sure how to go about doing what God has called you to do. My encouragement to you comes from II Timothy 2:5-7. They say, “For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and you mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well (sounds like a good AFLC family). For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.” Fear has become your guide and you have forgotten what God has given to you. This is Paul speaking to Timothy, his young apprentice in the faith, who has become like a son to him. These verses have been an encouragement to me and I know that they can be to you as well. Do not think that God cannot use you because you are young. Paul also encourages Timothy to not let anyone look down on Him because he is young. He had been given a gift and a responsibility to use that gift by God and no one but God ought to tell him when to quit doing what he had been called to do. Again Paul encourages Timothy to “continue in the things you have learned and been convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” I think that many Christians struggle in their and faith, wondering what God has called them to do and what gifts He has given to them. If that is the case for you then begin to seek God about this and get involved when and where He gives you the opportunity. Growth often comes through much trial and error; so if you can’t find your place quickly do not lose heart because He must have some work to do in you as He guides you to the place He wants you to go. We cannot live our lives in fear, for fear gives Satan an opportunity to come and place doubts and disappointment in our lives causing us to live in an ineffective manner. Be confident in Christ and the Word which he has given to you. You have been given a gift by growing up
grounded in the Christian faith and in God’s Word to us. Do not be afraid to go forth and do the things that God has called you to do. This is a quote that has encouraged me time and time again in the past couple of years and I pray it will encourage you as well. I am not sure where it came from but I think that I read it in a book somewhere.

"We must never underestimate the potential of youth. Throughout history God has called young men and women to rise up and change their world through the power of the Gospel."

Go forth and serve God with everything that you have, guided by the Holy Spirit; grounded in the love of God, knowing that He will never leave you nor forsake you.

by Justin Kantonen
originally posted January 2008

Bible Study - Born Again – Are you?

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” John 3:16-17

1. Have you experienced that love?

2. Have you ever realized that God did not send the Son, Jesus, to judge us but instead to save us?

3. Do you think that it is God’s will for you to perish?

4. Do you know where you are going to spend eternity?

Scripture Reading: John 3:1-21

“Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do theses signs that You do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see he kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You mush be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you don not accept our testimony. If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

Just as Nicodemus was confused about what it meant to be born again, so too do we sometimes question and wonder don’t we? I mean, think of it, to be born again, to be given life within our lifetime? It doesn’t really make sense does it, unless one is thinking with an eternal perspective? And that is how Nicodemus and Jesus are talking, in the eternal. I love how Jesus takes the time to explain these things to Nicodemus. He takes the time to explain to Him a very odd concept, to be born again, to a man who was seeking to know the truth. The question remains the same though. “Do you know where you are going to spend eternity?” The only way to spend eternity in heaven is to believe in Jesus Christ and in so doing to be born again.

by Justin Kantonen
originally posted September 2008

Speak Out - Who Knew

This past summer is one that I know I will never forget. Going into it, I had lost the best friend I’d ever had. I was devastated from losing Amber, but made it appear as if I could care less. One day in August, while I was on my fifteen minute break at the Gap, I got a text from Amber asking me if I wanted to go to Malibu in 2 days. I was in shock! I knew there was no way it would work, it was literally 2 days before. I had no paperwork, no payment, and I’d never even been to Younglife before! God clearly had something else in mind for me, “For I know the plans I have for you, declared the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11. I ended up being given the opportunity to attend a one week trip in this paradise called Malibu. I didn’t even have a relationship with God at the time, but like it says in Romans 8:28, “In all things, God works for the good of those who love him.” And he loved me enough to send me on the 12 hour trip to one amazing Younglife camp.

Wow! Never would I have expected for it to change me as much as it did. The week I spent at Malibu was by far the most incredible and life changing week of my entire life. My 7 days there changed me for the rest of my life. I renewed a lost friendship. I made memories that I know I will never forget. I’d grown closer with people I barely knew at all before and I met people who are a ridiculously huge part of my life now, people who I can’t imagine my life without.

Above all else, I committed my life to Jesus Christ. This was hands down the best and most important decision I’ve ever made. My life has changed 1000%, for the better. I plan on living every single day of my life for Jesus Christ, and I am not afraid to tell you about it. I pray that my relationship with God gets stronger and stronger every day. The more I get to know Christ, the more I excited I am to get to know him even better. I thank him so much for pursuing me long enough, and for finally making me realize that choosing to have a relationship with him is the best choice that I could ever possibly make. I also thank him for Younglife. It honestly is an incredible organization, that completely changed my life. While at Malibu, I met my best friend Jordan. As our friendship grows stronger, our faith does as well. I know that there will be some trials along the way, I’ve already experienced a few, but I have absolutely no doubt that it is completely worth it. Like it says in Philippians 4:13, “I can do everything through him, who gives me strength.”

Going in to the summer of 2008 I was a high school girl, living through her friends, with no idea of what her plans are after graduation. Coming out of it I am a Christian, completely on fire for God, and a Younglife student leader, who is hoping to attend Bible School in the fall. My Christianity changed every aspect of my life. I’ve never been happier than I am as of now. Never have I felt so lucky, content, and blessed. I know that God has something great in store for me, and I am so eager to find out what it is.

There was a superb Christian singer, Mark Wagner, at camp, and his lyrics are a perfect summary of my testimony, “Cause I’ve never been loved, never been loved like this. It must be some kind of love, love only you can give. And now I live, for the way that you love me.”

by Jade Hoiby
originally posted February 2009

Speak Out - What Would You Do?

A friend and I went out to lunch after church with our Pastor and his family. On our way to the restaurant something happened that is challenging me to take a look at how I am living out my faith. Here is the
question: What would you do? Here is the context. We exited the freeway and sat at the red light on the off ramp, next to us stood a homeless man with a sign asking for help. Our pastor said “Oh man, what do we do?” Then he turned, looked back at us and said “Girls, what would you do?” I looked that homeless man in the eyes and was filled with shame. In that moment I didn’t have an answer. In theory the answer is to help him. The dilemma was more of how. There lies the struggle for me. How do I help? I know I need to help. God has blessed me, has compassion on me and loves me. Where is outflow of love for my God and Savior in my life? Lately I’ve been asking the Lord for two things. The first is that He would grow my love for Him and the second is that he would grow my love for people. I know that there are lost and desperate people out there. When confronted with one I was not prepared to help, to reach out, and to love that person.

Colossians 3:12-17 says “Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

When it comes to applying the Word of God to my life, the word that often comes to my mind is: Intentional. I was confronted by this man’s needs because we happened upon him, not because I was intending to help someone in need. There are two areas here in my life that I am challenged to change. I’m challenged to be prepared. I’m challenged to think ahead to what I can do and how I can help when the needs arise in the moment. What will I decide, now, to do the next time I see a homeless person on the side of the road, asking for help? What will I do the next time I have the opportunity to share Christ’s love and salvation with someone? I need to decide these things and be ready help, share and love. I’m also challenged to be intentional. I cannot wait for someone to happen along. I need to go. Where can I go to help the homeless? Where can go to I witness to people?

On the radio on the way to work today “Give Me Your Eyes” by Brandon Heath was playing. Here are the powerful lyrics:

Verse One: Looked down from a broken sky, Traced out by the city lights,
My world from a mile high, Best seat in the house tonight,
Touched down on the cold black tile, Hold on for the sudden stop,
Breath in the familiar shock, Of confusion and chaos,
All those people going somewhere?, Why have I never cared?

Chorus: Give me your eyes for just one second,
Give me your eyes so I can see,
Everything that I keep missing,
Give me your love for humanity,
Give me your arms for the broken hearted,
The ones that are far beyond my reach,
Give me your heart for the once forgotten

Verse Two: Step out on a busy street, See a girl and our eyes meet,
Does her best to smile at me, To hide what’s underneath,
There’s a man just to her right, Black suit and a bright red tie,
Too ashamed to tell his wife, He’s out of work, He’s buying time,
All those people going somewhere?, Why have I never cared?

Chorus: Give me your eyes for just one second,
Give me your eyes so I can see,
Everything that I keep missing,
Give me your love for humanity,
Give me your arms for the broken hearted,
The ones that are far beyond my reach,
Give me your heart for the once forgotten (repeat)

Verse Three: I’ve Been there a million times, A couple of million eyes,
Just move and pass me by, I swear I never thought that I was wrong,
Well I want a second glance, So give me a second chance,
To see the way you see the people all alone

Chorus: Give me your eyes for just one second,
Give me your eyes so I can see,
Everything that I keep missing,
Give me your love for humanity,
Give me your arms for the broken hearted,
The ones that are far beyond my reach,
Give me your heart for the once forgotten (repeat)

Our discussion on what to do continued. Our pastor asked us if it would be okay if he dropped us off at the restaurant and went back to bring that man some food. So he dropped us off at the restaurant and went back to bring that man some food. By the time he got there, the man was gone. Sunday as we ate lunch, Sunday night at Young Adults Bible study as we shared areas we feel the Lord is challenging us to grow, Monday as I went through my day, and now this morning as I write this, that man and this issue is heavy on my mind. It is a moment I don’t want to forget. It’s a moment that has impacted me and I pray the Lord uses to change me.

What will I do?

What Would You Do?

by Naomi Andrews
originally posted November 2008