Do I Hafta Get a Job?

I don't wanna get a job...
(No, no, no, no!)
Do I hafta get a job?
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!)
But I won't worry about tomorrow...
(No, no, no, no!)
'Cause the Lord is over me.
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!)
[It's a James & James song, for those of you who don't know: http://www.myspace.com/jamesnjames]

Yesterday afternoon I planned to go to the career fair for the Business/LAS College. Last week I went to the Social Services career fair, but it wasn't very fruitful. (It turns out that organizations who make no profit are having a difficult time creating jobs in this economy... who knew?) I'm a senior graduating in December at which point I'll be a prime candidate for a real-life, full-time job (along with the thousands of other unemployed workers and recent graduates).

At first, I was excited at the opportunity of talking to actual employers and expanding my horizons and such; but, after sitting at my computer yesterday for an hour-and-a-half scrolling through every business at the career fair, all of my excitement left. Most of the 300-or-so companies didn't have any open positions at the present time and I had already applied for the open job at the only corporation I thought would be worth talking to for me. Having a major like psychology is tough because it offers no specific direction, unless I head to grad school (which I'm not). Psych is cool, though, because it opens a broad range of opportunities and a 4-year degree is certainly valuable. My job search is further complicated by the fact that I'm heavily invested at GABC and Sam is in grad school in Ames, so we'll need to stick around here for awhile (unless God does something dramatic, which I'll try not to be opposed to). Jobs in towns surrounding Ames are definitely a possibility, but I don't like the idea of removing myself from the city where my ministry investment is high (it just isn't very logical).

After I mulled these things over yesterday, I lost a lot of faith that God could/would bless me with a full-time position that allows me to provide for my family. I even considered not going to the career fair because I felt as though it would again be fruitless (the last career fair I went to was humiliating because they are looking for people ready to join the workforce-- and obviously I wasn't one of those people as a freshman). It was about that time that Sam came home. She strongly encouraged me to go to the career fair in faith that God will open doors for me to get a job and that He will provide for our family.

I decided to go, even if it was just to talk to that one employer and build up that network (it's always good if they can meet you face to face rather than just seeing a resume). After getting to Hilton, where all the employers assemble their 5'x5' booths with their displays explaining why their the best company to work for, I had to take a few minutes to pray. I prayed that God would bless me with the confidence (in Christ) to put my best foot forward in faith that He will provide. He gave me just enough to go to that one employer. They asked some great questions and gave encouraging feedback. I'm excited to see what happens there. After that, though, I wanted to leave. I decided to sit up in the bleachers for awhile and "pray it out". That's when I overheard the girl behind me talking to her friend, "I hate this. It's pointless. It's like they see 'sophomore' on my name tag and write me off, just because I can't work full time yet. I went down to Wells Fargo and they were like, 'Sorry, we're looking for someone who is graduating to fill one of our open positions in the area.'"

Through some random girl in Hilton, God provided me with the words I needed to hear. Maybe I do stand a chance and getting a job after all. I went and talked to Wells Fargo, and they took my resume. Hopefully an interview will follow from there. After that, I got excited about the career fair and I talked to five or six more companies who took my resumes and who have open positions they are hiring for. One of the companies even gave me an interview this morning! I think it went well. The position isn't exactly ideal, because it's in downtown Des Moines, but if commuting = providing, I'll do it.

Why do I ever count God out? I've seen Him miraculously provide for me over and over and over again. I am confident that this will be no different. I don't know if He will directly use the career fair to bless me with a job, but I do know this: He is a King who blesses without end, and I am His child with whom He is well pleased because of the cleansing blood of His Son that  has washed every stain away.

Really?

So, there's this guy named Frank who lives in the apartment below us. Frank is pretty different from me-- he's a little rough around the edges, so to speak. In fact, I can't really think of any ways we're similar except that we're both humans and we live in the same apartment complex.

Here's how my story with Frank began, about 4 months ago:
When Sam and I got married and moved into this apartment, we asked God to allow us to make relationships with the people who live around us and for him to "put people in our path" who we could be a Light to. He blessed us with a cool relationship with a guy named Allen, but that's a story for another post. Other than that, we didn't really strike up any meaningful relationships with anyone. However, there were these neighbors who, quite honestly, annoyed us. They were always sitting on the stairs that lead up to our door. Almost every day they were out there swearing, drinking beer, making a mess, etc. Not to mention they were right in our way to get to our apartment. Wait... did I say they were right in our way? As in they were "in our path"? Isn't it funny how God answers prayers?

These folks weren't who we had envisioned ministering to. They weren't like the white, middle class, college-aged students we've spent hours ministering to on campus, nor were they Chinese or Indian internationals we have plenty of experience with. I didn't really know where to start, once I realized I needed to be a Light to them. I simply tried to be friendly and say hi every time they had to move to let me up the stairs.

Then, about a month ago, God presented the opportunity. Sam and I were returning from youth group at Grand Avenue Baptist Church where I had just taught about not regarding anyone from a worldly point of view (2 Cor. 5:16), when Frank (who was on our steps drinking with two of his bros) asked, "Where y'all comin' from, church?" I told him that we were just at a church down the street where I'm a part-time youth pastor. From that starting point, God allowed me to sit on the steps with them and gave me words to boldly proclaim the Gospel to Frank and his friends. It was sweet. By the end of the conversation, Frank promised me he would come to church with me and I hadn't even ask him to. "Not this week, or next week... 'cause I got stuff to do. But the week after that, I'll come," he told me.

Cool. I was really excited about that, plus the fact I was able to build a relationship with one of my neighbors. Still, though, I had my doubts about whether he'd come because I wasn't even sure if he was sober when we had our conversation. I said I'd hold him accountable to his decision to come and he told me, "You ain't gotta hold me accountable, I'll come." Over the next three weeks, my faith in that decision (and in God's ability/willingness to change his life) weakened.

I only reminded Frank once that he said he'd come to church with me on the 20th (yesterday), and he said he'd come. "You'll come get me at 10:00, right?" he asked. I told him I'd be there and we'd go together.

So, here's where it gets weird. I showed up yesterday at 10:15 (a little late, but we had a half hour of leeway) at Frank's door, admittedly with little faith that he would agree to come. When I knocked, some old guy who I'd seen around a little answered. When I asked if Frank was there he replied, "I don't know no Frank." I walked away bewildered. I wondered if he moved out of town, or if I had just imagined Frank, or if he gave me the wrong name, or if we were entertaining angels. Certainly isn't how I'd pictured angels...

Sam and I were confused about that until later that evening when Frank caught up with us as we were walking up to our door. He asked me what church I go to. I told him Grand Avenue Baptist and he said, "Aw man... I thought you went to Heartland Baptist! I woke up at 10:10 this morning and realized I was late. So, threw on a shirt and went to that church. Man, I must have spent two hours there lookin' for you. I was like, 'Anybody know Tim? He teaches Sunday school or somethin' here.' But nobody knew you. They took me to all the classrooms but I couldn't find you. And the guy who answered the door this morning... he thought you was the cops, so he said he didn't know me."

I couldn't believe it. I was touched, bummed, excited, and cracking up all at the same time! I was excited because Heartland is known for reaching out to people who are struggling to get by and I thought it might be a good fit for Frank. When I asked him how he liked it he said, "Sucked. Hated it. People always tryin' to give me coffee and stuff. I was like, 'Man, I don't drink no coffee!' Now if they give me a beer, I'll take that, you know what I'm sayin'?"

I laughed and explained that we go to Grand, so no one would know me at Heartland. He said he would go with us next week because he said he'd go with us and he would keep his word. Please pray for Frank, because now I'm convinced he will go. Pray that his eyes and heart would be open to Truth and that he would be convicted of sin and broken before Christ. Pray for me that I would be filled with the Spirit when I talk to Frank and that I would speak the words he needs to hear. Pray for the church that they would love him and that Frank would respond to that love.

How often do I sell God short? How often do I see the worst side of things when, in fact, He is moving the whole time? In what other areas of my life am I not submitting to Him because things aren't going according to my plan? I am sorry, Lord. Please forgive me, my King.

 Finally, what would a church look like that offered beer instead of coffee?

Infected?

This is my first-ever blog post. I'm wondering if it'll actually catch on and I'll get "infected" or if this blog will be like the thousands of other ones out there that just lay dormant for months after a couple of weeks of their master excitedly leaving posts (I completely forgot I had a blog called "Natural Blogarhythms" [it was a pun on natural logarithms] for the past 9 months... I never posted on it once, and when I found out today how terribly un-clever the name was, I deleted it immediately to start fresh with this one). We'll see. Hopefully I'll do better this time around.

The name for this blog, in case you're curious, comes from 1 Timothy 6:18-19. "Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life." 1&2 Timothy are my favorite books, I think, because I like to read them as Paul's letters to me, his son in the faith.

This is my final semester at ISU (graduating in December in psych) and it's turning out to be more challenging than I anticipated-- in more ways than one. Between working two other part time jobs, I wanted to kind of coast through this last semester. It's not quite happening that way with several papers I'm being forced to write. The other challenge is that three out of my five classes challenge my faith. I've dealt with one class or so every semester that tries to prove to me that I'm putting my faith in a lie, a fraud, an out-dated god, an irrelevant god, or an oppressive system of beliefs. This semester, I have three of those classes all in a row-- every Tuesday and Thursday (History of Christianity, then Social Dimensions of Religion, then Sociology of Intimate Relationships). I'm 4 weeks through it and it's been awesome. God is using all of these instructors and students who are trying to prove me wrong and, instead, has been building up my faith more and more. More than ever before, I am able to see that man's wisdom is foolishness in the eyes of God. These poor people are hungry for Him, yet they refuse to yield their lives and be filled. It breaks my heart to see, but almost every bit of the University culture pressures students and professors to look somewhere other than the Truth for their answers.

In the History of Christianity class, the teacher has been explaining to us how the Bible is not a historical book and cannot be read as such since it is biased from a faith-based perspective. I see her point, so I've decided not to read anything historical that was written from a biased perspective. I guess I won't be reading anything historical. Ever.

One of the cool ways God allowed for me to be really encouraged through that course was through learning the following about the groups of Jews that existed in Jesus' time:
1. Sadduccees- followed the Law to the "t". Extremely religious and saw sacrifice as important for obtaining righteousness (but they were probably the ones in the temple who were charging unfair prices for animals; this is where Jesus started turning tables), but did not believe a messiah would come.
2. Pharisees- saw themselves as separated from everyone else, avoided "unclean" people and things to follow the law to the "t". Keeping the law was their "righteousness".
3. Zealots- revolutionaries who struggled for self-rule and longed for messiah.
4. Essenes- Jews who took refuge in the desert and longed for messiah.
The above 4 groups make up only 10% of Jews in Jesus' day. The other 90%:
5. "People of the Land"- Craftsmen (including carpenters!), peasants, farmers, and shepherds.

As I was learning this in class I started smiling to myself and thanking God for being the God He is. He didn't reveal His Son through the elite men who didn't care about the people, many of whom were "unclean". He humbled Himself and started from the ground up. The KING, Jesus, was step-son of a lowly craftsman, not a high-up pharisee. And how many of Jesus' stories and parables could the people understand and relate to because they were farmers of the land and shepherds of their flocks?

In fact, if the story of Jesus was a man-made story, it would have necessarily been written by the top 10% of the Jews because almost none of the people of the land could even read or write. And, if it was made up by those top 10%, then it most certainly would not have used illustrations that resonate so deeply with the common man and make the religious elite look like a "brood of vipers"!

A truly awesome God, indeed.