I came across a story about Rwanda the other day. I was both amazed and shocked. It amazed me that the government did something so radical and unreal in the area of reconciliation. The article said: In April 1994, one hundred days of killing began that left nearly one million Rwandans dead at the hands of their friends and neighbors. The Hutu majority, jealous and full of hatred, killed over a million of the Tutsi minority. They thought they were worthless cockroaches. Twelve years later, Laura Waters Hinson went to Rwanda to make a film about an extraordinary reconciliation ministry growing from the roots of horror. She filmed a documentary and in it told how there was just too many people murdering and raping and pillaging.The backlog of cases in the court was incredible. So the  Rwandan government decided to do something mind-blowing. It released 50,000 murderers back to the towns they came from.

If upi were orphaned could you be able to forgive the people who destroyed your life? One pastor had over 142 memebers of his family killed. Yet, through the mercy of God, went to the prisons to bring hope to the people who unbelievable wrecked the nation and destroyed the love and hopes of so many.

Forgiveness is indeed: DIVINE!

http://www.asweforgivethose.com/

We are doing a series called "RAW" at our church. Pain is painful! It can pull you away from where you need to be. I think I am going to speak on the scary, but needed message of forgiveness this weekend. Heart pain needs to be healed too. How many times should you forgive people? How many times in a lifetime? Can mercy and revenge live in the same heart? Most of the people who really hurt you are people who are close to you. Sometimes they know what they do too. Can you forgive?

It's so weird. I was in a Pentecostal Camp with the emphasis on the "Fire" of the Holy Spirit. Great preaching. Lots of people present. Lots of people receiving a fresh baptism of God's presence. Tears and dancing. I also did some teaching to the Young People and loved their spirit. They were so hungry. It was fantastic. So what's so weird? Um, I didn't feel a thing. I should have, right? No tears, no shakes, no nothing. Okay, I did feel joy. But I am a joyful person anyway. Then yesterday in my office, no music in the background, joyful, and there was Davy G saying hi on my screen and while message-skyping with my friend and mentor, Dave Gibbons, something did happen.

You see I have been feeling so burdened about our new church plant called NewSong. I am the site pastor and a missionary too. I have been feeling that I have not been able to give the church plant the time needed. I have been preaching a lot in other places. I am scheduled to preach in Hong Kong this weekend. Doors everywhere open for that kind of thing. It's been feeling like I am in emotional pain at times to know what to do with the doors. I have been feeling conflicted about how much time can I give, how much can I lean on the few guys that are leaders, and so many questions about how can I do my part.... Dave has a real gift called encouragement. It doesn't feel scripted. It doesn't feel fake. It is because Dave loves and is grace-filled. But as Dave and I messaged-skyped... I wanted to almost ask forgiveness about not doing a great job. But instead, Dave lifted my spirits. His simple words once again confirmed in my heart that I was in the right place. It is a process and a journey. And he left me with the phrase that made me weep. The leader's two main jobs is to bear pain and to build trust.That truth repeated mixed with the way I was feeling actually caused me to have a short weep. The Holy Spirit then and there filled my heart in my office all alone in front of a Samsung computer screen.Weird, eh?

Church: I am willing to bear some pain man!

Church: I want to build the trust!

(FYI: I am part of a growing emerging church movement around the world. We are trying to be less traditional and more welcoming to the people in our cultures who have no clue about what Christianity is really about.)

Moses almost missed out. He jabbed, counter-piunched God until God could no longer take it! It wasn't just a lack of faith anymore. Moses was not just saying He did not believe. He was saying that he did not want to follow God’s purposes for his life. "Send someone else, anyone else. I'm not going tp be part of this!" God is tired of all the excuses. He is really upset about Moses' attitude. He set everything up just right, saved Moses from the Nile River, trained him in Law and management in the courts of Egypyt, and now trained him to live in the desert. No coincidences. He’s the man!

Only God knows how many would-be-future-leaders there are who turn away from the call of God only to decide their own future destiny.

I'm going to share on the "Call of Moses" this weekend to a lot of Youth. Please pray for me. Pray that God would speak through me. Pray that God will call young people to dedicate their lives for His service. Pray for my family and NewSong Church too while I am away.