I hope that many of you were able to enter the Declare photo contest this past week! It is a great opportunity to be published, win a nice cash prize, and also to Testify of the Lord and His work through the special, personal vision He has given YOU.
I can’t wait to see the top 3 photos in the July issue of TestifyMag! (:
This past week, I found out that a friend of mine who started his first semester at college this past Fall is now questioning his faith in God. The biased, influential professors at his college are tearing down everything this guy thought he knew to be true - crashing a wrecking ball into the very foundations that have been a lifetime in the making.
And get this – my friend is attending a Christian college.
When I heard this news, I felt sick to my stomach, but then I realized that I, too, could be just a Fall semester of “educated” lectures away from denying my Lord and Savior. I think that Caleb had a very valid and Spirit-inspired thought when he asked us all to testify Why We Believe. God wants to give us a new reason, everyday, to trust and love Him, if we will only learn to LOOK and LISTEN.
So I would like to echo Caleb’s exhortation to you all and ask again – Why Do You Believe?
You have probably heard the story of Saint Augustine – this 1st century man denied the faith of his devout Christian mother and lived as a pagan intellectual – until one day, the God of the universe gently, lovingly persuaded this man to acknowledge Christ as the Lord of his life.
Let his words inspire you to give your own, God-breathed reason of Why You Believe.
Testify today – to the world, to your Lord.
~Trina
From St. Augustine’s ‘Confessions’ 'What is it that I love in loving You? You are the light that shines into my soul which no physical place can contain, where time does not snatch away the lovely sound, where no breeze disperses the sweet fragrance, where no eating diminishes the food, and where there is an embrace that can’t be torn asunder. This is what I love when I love my God.
What is this God? I asked the earth, and it answered, “I am not He.” Everything in the earth made the same confession. I asked the sea and the deeps and the creeping things, and they replied, “we are not your God; seek above us.” I asked the fleeting winds, and the entire air with its inhabitants answered, “I am not God.” I asked the heavens, the sun, moon, and stars; and they answered, “Neither are we the God whom you seek.”
I replied to all these things that surround me: “You have told me about my God, that you are not He. Tell me something about Him.” With a loud voice they all cried out, “He made us.” My question had come from observing them, and their reply came from their beauty of order.
Isn’t this beauty of form visible to all whose senses are unimpaired? Why, then, does it not say the same things to all? Animals, both great and small, see but are unable to question its meaning. Their senses are not endowed with the reason that would enable them to judge the evidence their senses report.
What is it that I love in loving You? You are the light that shines into my soul which no physical place can contain... there is an embrace that can't be torn asunder. This is what I love when I love my God.'
I interviewed Christina Dickson yesterday afternoon. For those of you who don't know her, she's a fiercely compassionate visionary who is unapologetic about the vision for her life. She wants to change the world. We met one rainy day in SW Portland on a photoshoot. When I was hiring a photographer, I didn't know that I'd be introducing myself to a friend. I didn't know that we'd be planning trips to Africa or visiting homeless drop-in shelters together. Creating a book, let alone a documentary, together didn't even cross my mind. I was just focused on that day. I never imagined that two years later we'd be sitting down for an interview.
Downstairs, more note paper covers the end of my bed. Those are notes from another interview and I know that I should put them somewhere else. I'll be the first to admit that I'm a sloppy journalist. Yesterday, I interviewed Chad Burns. He's a PhD student in Chicago who wants to change the world. He and his family made a movie on a thread-bare budget and are impacting students across the United States. Sure, it took them a few years. It won't ever get a nod from the Oscars. But that really isn't the point. There was something deeper going on.
Both Chad and Christina are unabashed about their dreams. They have callings. They follow those callings. And more importantly, they follow God, who calls them. It isn't a fame game or a money racket. It's simple Christianity in action. It's the way we all should be.
Listening to them is refining. The words that come out of their mouths are more than cliches or practiced answers for members of the media. The words flow from fearful dark nights spent crying out before God, prayers croaked when their voices have left, and days spent asking God for the strength to carry out what they are called to do.
It's easy try to canonize them or make them into lofty Christians but I don't think that is the right response. They are using their time and talent to change the world but is that a reason to put them on a pedestal? Pedestals are lonely places and world changers need community just as much as the rest of us.
I'm challenged by Chad and Christina. I think of all the people who have impacted me personally. What is it about them. I'm impressed by the doing but my soul is challenged by the being. Money and fame are cheap prizes for the games we play here on earth and for the toil we put into earning them. Lives aren't changed by programs, television specials, or even governments. Lives are changed by people being with people.
Think about it for a minute. Who has touched your life? Now think harder. Why did they touch you? What was it about that kid across the street that impacted you more than the kid who sat across from you in school? It isn't the beautiful or the educated that change the world. It isn't the jocks or the self-made gabillionaires. It isn't the beer baron or the hotel heiress. They all make headlines but rarely do they make history. The people who change lives are people who love and give without measure. They are committed to something bigger than themselves. They put aside their own preferences and comforts to pursue the higher calling. They don't pat themselves on the back. They are too busy helping another person out of a jam.
As I put away my notes and save the drafts of the articles on my laptop, I'm challenged. As I go on with my life, I'm changed. Will I become another Christina or Chad? No. My name doesn't even alliterate well with theirs. I'll be Caitlin. Just Caitlin.
Peter commands that we "be ready" (1 Pe 3:15) to give a proper answer, not evading the question, to everyone who asks. To do this, we must be adequately prepared beforehand with a sound knowledge and understanding about our hope in Christ. As Paul said, "Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2Tm 2:15).
So that's our challenge at Testify Mag, to be prepared. Now take a moment of your time and write [why YOU believe in God] with only (140 characters) - (The size of a Tweet)
Writing at his most humble and transparent, John Piper, author and pastor for preaching at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, released the book "Don't Waste Your Life" to encourage Christians to shun seeking worldly joy and instead to live lives dedicated to Christ. Inspired by the top-selling book, Memphis-based Reach Records and Piper's Desiring God Ministries have partnered to present the "Don't Waste Your Life" message to 25-plus cities through music and a message.
Last year, Reach Records' 'Unashamed Tour' jump started a widespread movement gathering and encouraging audiences in more than 20 U.S. cities, London, and Somerset, UK who were not ashamed of the gospel.
This summer, the artists will stand behind the mission to plead and challenge this generation and concertgoers not to waste their life, but to live passionately for Jesus Christ.
For ticketing information and to learn more about the "Don't Waste Your Life Tour," preview tour clips and messages, visit www.reachrecords.com/dwyl
Last night Nightline did a positive story on Christian films and talked about The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry, a film made by my friend (director Rich Christiano). I am excited to share this film with the Testify readership . It comes to theaters September 18th and needs your help in spreading the word. Get your local church involved and help bring The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry to a theater in your area.
The second issue of Testify is just around the corner. The team is working to bring you new, fun and thought-provoking content. To be honest, I'm really excited about this issue.
Summer is a magical time for me. As a kid, I used to spend countless hours daydreaming and playing with my neighbor or my cousins. We didn't spend much time in front of a television or computer screen. We were too busy using our imaginations.
I want to recapture that sense of time. To challenge people to be instead of just doing all the time. To get their hands dirty in the real world instead of being always in a virtual one. To make the most of their summer -- the brief time where multiple memories are made and school is on the backburner of the mind.
In the next issue, we're giving you some fun ideas for your summer. We'll be introducing you to some awesome people who are doing what they love...and doing it for Jesus. As time goes on, I'll be adding more articles to the blog. Interviews and columns that you won't find in the print magazine. And don't expect to find the print articles online. Get yourself a copy of the magazine!
So look for changes. Look at how to spend your summer. And most importantly, look to Jesus.
The photo above represents a short moment from my travels in Haiti. One day I was sitting in a crammed vehicle which had stopped for mechanical repairs. As we sat parked in the slums of Port-au-Prince a child came to my window and started begging. I smiled at the young little man but decided not to give him money so I wouldnt be mobbed by his gaggle of friends near-by. Before he walked away he grabbed my [Testify Wristband] and asked with gestures if he could have it, I granted his request but never contemplated how impacting the little Iphone picture above could actually be. [Testify to something Greater] is what the wristband reads, This is a message to you and I and even that little boy in Port-au-Prince.
