Lifest 2019 - Last Story

A funny thing happened to me on the way to the porta-potty at Lifest. Or was it on the way back? Doesn't matter. What matters is I made it to the porta-potty!!

On my way to the blue "ovens of death" I had to pass through the line of people waiting for the Ferris wheel. Sighting an opening I said, "Wow, Moses must have been here. He parted the crowd!"

I was trying to be funny (and failing) but I think God knew how much I needed to go to the bathroom. LOL!

Anyway, after I finished my business, I opened the door and saw two friends of mine approaching. We talked and walked a bit but then it was time to go - back to my seat that is. So I waded through the Ferris wheel line once again. That's when I felt someone grab my arm.

"Do you remember me?" a lady asked.

"Umm, sure!!"

Mmm, not really. The face was familiar but the name? Nope.

As she told her he guy she was with how she knew me I remembered where I had met her - walking at work during my lunch hour - four or five years ago!

At that time this lady had stopped my friend Gayle and me as we were out walking over lunch and asked us if we were Christians. Why did she ask that of us? She had seen Gayle and I praying together a few years earlier. Wow.

"Yes," Gayle and I replied all those years ago. She then proceeded to ask for prayers for her and her husband, in tears. We prayed for her right then and there.

Fast forward to Lifest again and she said, "This is my husband," introducing me to the good-looking guy with her.

"How are things?" I carefully asked. She nodded and smiled.

"Good. We're good."

I fought back the tears.

What are the chances of a meeting like that? How awesome is it that God hears our prayers. And then answers them! This year at Lifest did not disappoint those who were seeking to be recharged in their faith, or finally finding Him. The bands, the conversations - all singing God's praises and worshiping The One who makes all these things possible. Awesome!

"19 Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." - Isaiah 43:19

Completely - Jen Ledger

Why Are You Here?

This past week I attended a Christian music festival. It was both good and bad. The goodness or badness of it, and others like it, depended upon the answer to one simple question. It is a question that mankind has been asking itself for millennia. Why are we here?

To some extent Christian music festivals are just like county fairs. There are food vendors, amusement rides and people wanting you to buy things. And there is also entertainment. Lots of county fairs, and secular events like it, need a draw. Some big headliner band to get people to come. And that's the problem for the "Christian" music festival.

"Christian" music festivals, sadly, are a representation of many churches. They provide entertainment to make "worship" more enjoyable and to draw people in. Christian music festivals are a business. The same is true for our churches.

Churches see their attendance numbers go up when they have a special musical guest and so they continue to have them. But why do we go to church? Why are we there? In God's eyes it had better not be to hear our favorite jazz or polka band playing. To paraphrase the words of one worship song, "We were made to worship. We were made to bow down."

There are many wonderful things that happen at Christian music festivals. That is why I have attended over the past twelve years. The relationships formed, the special moments of prayer and people coming to faith in Christ. God uses many things to draw us to Himself. But I get back to the main question. Why are we there?

I attended worship Saturday afternoon. There were probably 50 people there worshiping while thousands of others played basketball and ate way too much food. Another question we should be asking ourselves is, "Is this thing I am doing, is it honoring to God?"

Is riding on a Ferris wheel honoring to God? Probably not unless you are using the ride to share the Gospel with someone about the futility of living life without Jesus - going around and around.

God should be the reason we do everything. If not, then why are we doing it? For ourselves and our own enjoyment?

I'm as guilty of doing this as anyone else. But my favorite moments are the ones spent back in the campsite talking with another believer about their faith and how they came to believe. Did I worship? Yes. But not in truth and spirit. Therefore it wasn't really worship. I was just singing songs.

And that is not why we should be here or anywhere. We were made to worship. If not, why are we here?

"10Hear the word of the Lord,
you rulers of Sodom;
listen to the instruction of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!
11“The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?” says the Lord.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
12When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts?
13Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
14Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals
I hate with all my being.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
15When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
I am not listening."

- Isaiah 1:10-15

The following worship song was performed by an artist I heard this past weekend. As you watch it one can quickly tell it's not about him. It's actual worship. Why? Because the artist is not even singing for much of it. It's God's people doing what they were created to do. Worship.

Here I Am To Worship - David Crowder

The Parable of The Sticky Buns

When I was young my mom used to make sticky buns. They were so sugary and sticky that it felt like you were going to suck the fillings right out of your teeth will you were eating them. They were like glue! They were so sticky, yet so enjoyable. Well, this story is not about them, but it IS about something just as sticky and it IS about somebody's buns. LOL!

Each year at Lifest, a Christian music concert in our area, we camp out with thousands of our brothers and sisters in Christ. The music is wonderful, the conversations are wonderful but the weather is sometimes hot and humid like it was this year.

We have developed a Lifest tradition that my friend and I take our group of campers to the office where we work so we all can take showers and smell better. This year was no exception.

Saturday morning we arrived at our workplace and went upstairs to the workout area to shower. Situation normal except we were getting new carpeting in our office and there was a carpet layer there working on the stairs so we had to walk around him.

After our showers was sat in the board room, talking about our Lifest experience. Lots of laughs and tears too as we shared our hearts with one another.

We were all hungry by that point so we set off for another Lifest tradition - breakfast at Perkins. We headed downstairs, me leading the way, talking with my friend David who was right behind me. David is like a son to me, but more on that in a moment. The others followed behind.

As we neared the bottom of the stairs we hear the voice of someone calling out in the wilderness. No, it wasn't John the baptist, it was Jim the carpet guy.

"No, no no!!!!"

I looked down and I was standing in a fresh layer of carpet adhesive. Suddenly, behind me, there was a BOOM! My friend David had slipped and fallen, right in the glue. What a mess.

The carpet guy was very nice, trying to help us to get the glue off our shoes. But he wouldn't touch David's shorts. And neither would anyone else! LOL!

David changed back into his dirty shorts and my friend Gayle took them to her daughter's house for a cleaning. While she went to put David's pants in the wash the rest of us went to Perkins. On the way there I related how we were missing the example God had just provided for us. A living example of The Gospel.

"Huh?"

Yup. I explained . . .

"As we walked down the stairs, The Father (me) was leading the Son (David). The Son sacrificed Himself for those who were following him so that they would not get stick in sin (the glue that sticks to us all)."

Then Molly added from the back seat, "Yeah! And the humble servant (Jim , the carpet guy) was washing your feet!"

"Perkins Jesus" - back, right

We laughed all the way to Perkins. It really was The Gospel!

When the hostess sat us down at our table I looked across the room. There, seated at the far table, was a man . . . with long, brown hair and a beard, wearing a linen shirt. I then told Molly and David to look over to see if they saw the same thing I did. They did and broke out laughing. They guy looked just like Jesus!

"If he's wearing sandals I'm going to lose it," I said to my friends. They looked. He was! And we laughed even harder.

On almost a daily basis, God provides us with Living examples of who He is. Whether it's in the mountains or the stars, walking down the stairs at work or at Perkins - He is teaching us.

Oh, I almost forget. The glue in David's shorts. What a perfect representation of the sins in our lives. It is only when we are "washed clean" of our sins, the glue that adheres to us in this world, can we be free to enter the presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus.

My friend used Goo-Gone to get ride of the glue on David's pants. All WE have to do is place our faith and hope in Jesus and he will make everything new, and clean.

^"16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. ¹⁷ For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

¹⁸ The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, ¹⁹ since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse." - Romans 1:16-20

___________________________________________

³⁷ When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:

³⁸ “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

³⁹ Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

⁴⁰ “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” - Luke 19:37-40
Made To Worship - Chris Tomlin

The Beautiful Letdown

I knew this day would come. It was just a matter of time before reality set in and things returned to "normal" around here - whatever normal is, or was. My energy level is low. My body is tired. But I am feeling incredibly alive today! I must have just spent four days at Lifest!!

There is a definite letdown upon returning home from such an amazing, uplifting event. There is a large part of me that never wants the time we spent there to end. A LARGE part.

I have said before that Lifest is a taste of what heaven will be like. I think that still rings true. But it's not EXACTLY like heaven. There are still plenty of non-believers there. I witnessed one young man honking his horn at a disabled woman as she tried to cross the street. There's still plenty of "the world" at Lifest, but for the most part it is still an amazing place and an amazing event.

Going into Lifest week I was unsure about returning but now, after some of the conversations we had back at our campsite, as Molly put it Saturday afternoon, "We're going to keep coming back year after year after year until we are dead."

For those who don't believe it is hard to describe so I won't even try. For those who do believe, I don't have to explain at all. You already know what fellowship means. Lifest is THAT for four consecutive days.

Still, I am back in the world now. So are all my brothers and sisters. We are "in the world but not of the world." But today . . . today we are recharged in our faith, lifted up by God's Holy Spirit, and made new once again.

My friend and I sat, praying for 45 minutes Saturday night. There are so many people in need of prayer . . . including ourselves. So many people need God. We lift them up to Him in prayer because that is what we have been called to do. And it is a joy to do so.

When Lifest ended, yes, there was a letdown. But it was a beautiful letdown in that, we KNOW this world is no longer our home. Our home is in heaven - a future home with no pain, no suffering, only love. praise and worship. Jesus is our high priest. We are no longer under The Law. We are under God's grace. May we be grace-filled as while we are in this world so others may see us and praise our Father in heaven. He will NEVER let us down.

^"10 We have an altar from which the priests in the Tabernacle have no right to eat. ¹¹ Under the old system, the high priest brought the blood of animals into the Holy Place as a sacrifice for sin, and the bodies of the animals were burned outside the camp. ¹² So also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make his people holy by means of his own blood. ¹³ So let us go out to him, outside the camp, and bear the disgrace he bore. ¹⁴ For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.

¹⁵ Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name. ¹⁶ And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God." - Hebrews 13:10-16

Beautiful Letdown - Switchfoot

Reaching Out

For the past twelve years I have been attending Lifest, a Christian music festival here in Wisconsin. Lately, my ministry partner and I have been thinking about ending our run here. Neither of us are getting any younger and the allure of camping on the cold, hard ground has lost its appeal. Why are we doing this to ourselves? Well, I'll tell you why.

Last night we sat in our screen tent, talking with a mother of two that my friend had invited to the event. Somehow I ended up giving my testimony to this lady.  It was interesting watching her eyes as I told her the story of how God had reached out to me. She was soaking it in. Then I asked her about her story. Oh my.

Let me just say that, if their was ever a life filled with more hardship, I haven't heard the story. Wow. As I listened, the thoughts in my head were filled with compassion and mercy. "Where were the supporting and encouraging people in her life?" I wondered. Where was the church?

Later that evening I checked my messages on Facebook and found one from another single mom. I hadn't heard from this kid for a year and suddenly, boom, here she was reaching out for help. She, her boyfriend and young daughter are currently homeless.

I go back to the question, "Why do we keep coming to Lifest?" The answer is, "It's not for US. It was never about US. It's not about our comfort. It's for those we meet here. Those we invite here like my friend did. It's an event for us to bring people to and to encourage them in their struggling walk through this world. JESUS is why we are here. This is not about us.

All this stuff happened on Thursday, the opening day. Who knows what will happen the rest of the week. And we were wondering about coming back next year? Friday morning I ordered our tickets and campsites for 2018. God is moving in this place. How can we, His children, NOT be here . . .. moving along with him?

Lifest has as its slogan, "A Party With A Purpose". There is most definitely a purpose here. That "purpose" is loving others where they are at. It is introducing others to the God of the Universe and showing them how much he cares for them. Come back next year? Oh yeah.

There are hands reaching out to for help everywhere in this world. Many don't know who they are reaching out for - anyone who is willing to help.  My dear friends, let me tell you about Jesus.

^"25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. ²⁶ When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

²⁷ But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

²⁸ “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

²⁹ “Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
³¹ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” - Matthew 14:25-31

There is power in Peter's words as they tell us what we must do to be saved. He cried out to Jesus and was saved. Who in your life is reaching out their hand for help?

Reach Out To Jesus - Elvis Presley
Paul Washer on Evangelism

New Life

In my last story (Ten Years of Worship) I wrote about how God can answer prayer in and through our relationships with others. It's amazing how people just seem to appear in our lives and offer much needed input at just the right time. Strange? Not really. It's not strange at all for those who call themselves Christians - true Christians - who know the great God we serve.

"True" Christians are those few children of God who actually obey the comments of Jesus. That, of course, is none of us, to be brutally honest. Actually, true Christians are those who TRY to be obedient to God's commands and, even though failing, they repent, seek God's forgiveness, and try again. This process is a life-long transformation known as sanctification.

In my last post I wrote about the sanctification struggles of my friend and I. Now I am going to tell you about God's blessings towards those who fall in life but keep getting back up.

Today's story is about a young lady named Zoe. I have known Zoe for several years - a onetime youth group kid, now a young adult woman out in the real world. My young friend struggles with many of the same issues that others her age and younger struggle with - self-esteem, insecurity, doubt, fear. Hmm. Those are the same things I suffer with at age 63!

I'd like to use Zoe's amazing Saturday experience at Lifest to demonstrate how God coordinates and orchestrates situations and people for His ultimate glory. First, some background information.

Zoe had given her life to Jesus a few years ago but had never been baptized. For some reason, on our way to Lifest this year I remembered that and asked her if that was true. "Yes," she said, "but I've been thinking about it."

A couple days into the Christian music festival I noticed an amusement ride for smaller children. It was a 20-foot square pond with little boats in it - kind of a "bumper boat" thing. Knee deep. Hmm. That got me to thinking.

I sent Zoe a text and asked her if she might be interested in getting baptized at Lifest. She said yes. Then evidence of God's working in this whole amazing story began to get obvious.

My ministry partner, Gayle, and I thought it would be a good idea to get permission from the owner of the boat pond so we asked. And are you ready for this? Cuz here it comes.

The amusement ride manager said, "Sure go ahead. But would you baptize me too?"

"Uhh . . . okay."

"What is happening here?" we thought.

My friend and I went inside the merchandise building, amazed that we were going to be baptizing TWO people now. I saw another friend of mine, Bill, at one of the vendor tables (he runs Spencer Lake Christian Center in Waupaca) and told him the story of the pending baptisms. He suggested we speak to the organizer of the event, Bob Lenz, about it, telling us it was something he felt should be offered at Lifest.

So we went to the security office to ask permission and about contacting Bob. The people we talked to thought Zoe's baptism was an amazing thing to do and any would-be red tape never even appeared. Next thing you know we were talking to the event coordinator - the guy running the whole music festival!

"Sure! Great idea." he said.

Why was this going so easy? Why were there no road blocks in this? I think it's because God wanted this to happen. God parted the Red Sea. It would be a snap for Him to part the Red Sea.

One of the staff thought this baptism might be worthy of a photographer . . . so three of them showed up! Everything was arranged and coordinated, by God! He is amazing in how He does this stuff. This would NEVER have occurred at this scale if we had tried to do things on our own.

The time came to Baptize Zoe and everybody arrived at the scene. The bumper boat ride that was underway came to an end, shoes and socks were removed and we climbed into the pond.

I asked my young friend a few questions about her sin, her repentance and giving her heart to Jesus. She answered them all with confidence and she was baptized in the name of The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. The same was done with Todd, the manager of the amusement rides.

"Wet hugs" were exchanged by all. Thanks was given to all those who allowed this to happen. And praise was given to God. We thought we were done at this point . . . but God wasn't. Ha! We thought He was done impressing us. Not by a long-shot!

Later that night, with 20,000 people at Lifest that day, Zoe's baptism was seen on the Main Stage big screen!! Oh, my goodness! I shake my head in amazement. God is bigger than anything we can imagine. He does more in an instant than we could EVER do in a lifetime. As Lifest emcee, Peder Eide reminds us daily, "God is good!!! All the time!!! :)

"There is no one like our God. There is NO ONE like our God. Greater things have yet to come. Greater things have yet to be done"

This story of Zoe's baptism isn't really about her but God used her baptism to remind thousands of people just what we were at Lifest for. It's about dying to self and turning to Christ. It's about leaving our old way of life behind and embracing the new you! God was glorified and He used Zoe's baptism to do it. What an honor!!

Thanks to everyone at Life Promotions for allowing all this to happen and to the amusement ride manager, Todd, for letting God use some of his equipment. And let's not forget Zoe. Thanks to her for giving her life to Jesus and desiring to be transformed . . . from death to life. What an amazing day!


God Of This City - Chris Tomlin

The Hopeful

It is early Monday morning and I am trying to stay awake. Getting three hours of sleep each night at a Christian music festival can be quite draining. Especially with all of the walking to the various concert stages. Still, although I am back at work this morning and despite the lack of sleep this old body endured, I feel refreshed. Why?

I have been rejuvenated in my faith. There is something about spending time with family that restores the soul. It is truly amazing. I would still prefer being there at Lifest, even though it is raining today, than to be back at work. Most people say that about vacations I guess but this feeling, this desire, is something else.

Each time I go to Lifest I always encounter incredible moments of worship, I renew old friendships, the hugs, the stories, the memories . . . all precious. And so needed as we walk through this life in a world that seemingly does not believe.

This past week I was told that my "religion" is dangerous. I looked around this past weekend and all of the families, all the love walking up and down the aisles, and I thought, "Dangerous?" The word I would tend choose is . . blessed.

There will be many stories coming your way from this blog about the things that went on at Lifest. Too many to tell right now for this old, tired brain. All I know it that God is good . . . all the time. And that all the time, God is good.

The world in which we live is a "taker." It sucks life out of those of us who believe and can leave us feeling depleted, drained and depressed. But "in Christ" we are renewed, refreshed and recharged. There is not a single person who doesn't wish they were back at Lifest right now. Not because we don't like to be at work, but because we would rather be closer to God. And the definitely happens at Lifest.

So as you go through this day, be refreshed. We are a new creation when we place our faith in Jesus Christ. It is "in Him" that we can find rest for our souls. It is the ONLY place. We are the chosen ones, we are the wretched, broken and tired. But because Jesus died for our sins and because God has called us to Himself, our faith has made us brand new, redeemed and hopeful.

Make this day His. Let our lives RISE up to Him as a fragrant offering, and He will refresh us. The perfect beginning to a new life in Christ.

"I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint." - Jeremiah 31:25

Let It Rise - Big Daddy Weave

Letdown

Have you ever been some place and you have enjoyed it SO much that you never wanted to leave? Maybe you were on vacation. Some place really nice and peaceful. So amazing was that place that you forgot what day it was or even forgot what your “real” life was like back in the world. It was wonderful. It was amazingly unforgettable. But then, you had to come back home. You had to return to reality. And when you did, you had that incredible yearning to return. To go back to where you just came from. That’s where I'm at right now and that's what I’m writing about today.

I have been feeling that way for several days now, having recently returned from three days of worship and celebration of Jesus at Lifest. I am finding that the workplace is a rather dreary place to return to. It’s kind of like depression in many ways. I’m moping around, not as happy and bubbly as I usually am. I am missing being at a place with all of my brothers and sisters. I miss all the late night talks and seeing old friends who I haven’t seen in a while. I miss it. Greatly.

And it’s not just me. Several others I have talked to feel the same way. My friend here at work feels the same. We have been mentioning it in our prayers this week. My friend at the company down the street also feels this way. Here are her words:

“Let down is right. I always feel that way every year but especially this year. There at Lifest we get to witness a bit of heaven and then back to the secular world much like the disciples.”

The Disciple’s! How letdown they must have felt after Jesus had been crucified. I bet THEY had an INCREDIBLE letdown after walking with Jesus for three years. After being the very presence of God – fully man, fully God. How depressed they must have felt in the days after His death. Questioning everything, filled with doubt, wondering about the future. What a sad time for them. But guess what. Things got better. WAY better!

On the third day Jesus rose from the dead. Oh, how that changed things! The disciples transformed from a bunch of self-concerned, frightened little wimps during the crucifixion to a bunch of passionately devoted men willing to die for their King after Jesus rose from the dead. And they did! Their letdown lasted three days. But after Jesus returned to life the disciples never experienced a letdown again. And neither should we.

We should remember that. I should remember that. I should be living for Christ, not for my own fulfillment. I should be living in such a way that exemplifies  and focuses on Christ. I bet if I did, I'd never feel letdown again. Whenever we feel letdown by someone or something, we must remember Jesus and what He did for us on the cross. Our lives must BE Christ.

"Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again." - Philippians 1:18-26

Beautiful Letdown – Switchfoot

Semi-Conscious

I will pay for this later. Up early (6:00) on a Saturday morning. It's not THAT early I guess. But when you stay up until 3:00 the night before and until 2:00 last night, trust me. It's early.

Lifest 2014 has proven to be quite an amazing time. I will write more about it later when my mind is more awake than it is today and I hopefully will be able to string a few more words together without having to correct my spelling every other word!

If you sometimes doubt there is a God or wonder what heaven might be like, you should come camp with us sometime. It's amazing! Every time I come here I am witness to some of the most amazing things. We have the most amazing, Christ-centered discussions. Oh, and by the way, why do those usually happen at 2:00 in the morning? I mean, . . . really?

I am SO excited to write the stories from this years Lifest event. But right now the battery on my laptop is fading . . . and so am I.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I love all of you. But I am WAY overtired right now and in need of some serious re-chargng. So does my computer. I will write more later, I promise. :)

"18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed[f] in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” - Matthew 18:18-20