To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

Ghana Rock has a large goal this year. We want to rescue 18 child slaves and put them safely into the City of Refuge safe house for one year. Amazing, right? What continues to stress me out and be on my mind is the cost of doing that. $50,400. Seriously. I can’t even comprehend that number, or visualize that much money. I am someone who thinks I’m rich when I have a full tank of gas, and enough money for Starbucks. 

  

Then I think about how big God is. In Romans 11:33-35 Paul sings, “Oh, the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgements and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor? Or who has given a gift to Him that He might be repaid?” I say sing, because Paul wrote a doxology which basically means words of glory. I can’t even read this without some sort of melody going with it. I would like to think Paul had vocals like Kristian Stanfill's to go along with these lyrics. It is a beautiful passage because when you look closely at what Paul is saying your mind is blown by who our God is. Paul is saying, no one can tell God what He can do, no one can help God, and no one is going to understand God, because He is that big and that powerful. Crazy, right? Suddenly my riches of Starbucks and gas seem really small, and my life and my accomplishments appear itty-bitty compared to our God.

But Paul isn't even done. At the end of this passage in verse 36 he says, “For from Him, and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”  From God is where that $50,400 is going to come from, and through God is how we’re going to raise it and rescue 18 child slaves. and the glory is going to go to Him. Forever. I love how Paul ends that statement with an “amen” it’s like he is telling us, you can’t argue with this, so I am going to go ahead and stop you now. Amen. 

So with that, I am going to keep trusting Him to provide the money for those kids. 

To Him be the glory forever. Amen. 

 -Mads 

What we have to give (Easter 2012)

Behind every big mission, there is an even bigger purpose and motive.  So what really is the purpose in saving 18 boys from a life of slavery on Lake Volta, over 3,000 miles away on a continent most of us will never visit?   What do nine teenagers feel that they really have to offer those kids?

As I get wrapped up in the current state of my life, I often forget to remember the reality of my life before Christ.  However, when I consciously step outside of my bubble of daily activities, web of friends and family, and anything else that has come to constitute my safenet of security other than God, I can vividly recall a time when there was little I could think to do to escape the grasp of bondage. Whether captivity has presented itself in a physical, mental, or emotional way in our lives, we have all experienced some form of slavery. Scripture affirms this idea -

 

In the words of Paul, "Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey - whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, THOUGH YOU USED TO BE SLAVES to sin... YOU HAVE BEEN SET FREE and have become slaves to God.  The benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."  (Romans 6:20-23)

 

Before we discovered freedom in Christ, we were every bit as defenseless as a little boy sold into servitude by his parents in Ghana. Galatians 2:13 says that we were "brought near" when we "were far away". Romans 5:6 says that "when we were utterly powerless, Christ died". Clearly, we had no power of our own to escape our situation of bondage.  Aside from the physcial concept of slavery, it cannot be denied that each one of us has experienced enslavement.  That is, until God sent His perfect Son to save us from that enslavement, to "transfer us from the kingdom of darkness... purchasing our freedom with His blood and forgiving our sins" (Colossians 1:13). 

The more I think about the true mission of Ghana Rock, the more I am convinced of the necessity of this message through FAITH.  If we were on a mission merely to free children from physical slavery, would we be answering God's primary purpose and call?   If City of Refuge was an organization that rescued slaves only to "reintegrate" them back into a life filled with spiritual bondage, would they really be succeeding in their objective to "free slaves"?  The reality is this - slavery cannot be ended if ALL forms of slavery are not put to death in Christ.  Imagine the disappointment and confusion of a boy, having been rescued from Lake Volta and housed in a safe home. turned out into the world to face the unexpected trials and trauma of an unfamiliar and equally debilitating kind of slavery.  Imagine the anguish of a young man who, believing he had conquered the greatest hurdle of his life and had done away with bondage forever, finds himself susceptible to sin and in fear of death.  What kind of freedom would that be?

 

The City of Refuge Ministries is committed to introducing rescued boys to Jesus Christ and nurturing their relationships with Him.  Former child slaves rescued with the very dollars raised and the very prayers lifted to God through Ghana Rock, will not only know freedom from slavery on Lake Volta but also the incredible freedom of the Lord.  This means that at the concert in May, we will not only get the opportunity to celebrate the freedom of 18 African boys but also the freedom that we ourselves have experienced in Jesus Christ.  Until then, let us wholly rejoice in our complete release from every kind of bondage. We are no longer slaves to fear, slaves at the hands of men, slaves to our sinful nature, slaves to the inevitability of death or the brevity of life, or anything else that this life can bring. In every possible sense of the word, we can have FREEDOM in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Happy Easter, He is risen indeed!

 

- Katie Hensel

Living Sacrifices

"And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Ephesians 5:2

When Christ sacrificed himself for us, he gave us a gift. He expected nothing in return, for we have nothing to give. He gave humbly and quietly, not drawing attention to himself, but to his heavenly father.

When we give sacrifices in our lives, we should follow Christ's example. The credit that we might get from the sacrifice should be directly given to the Father. When our hearts are right for the sacrifice we are giving, the fruit from it will be all the more bountiful.

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Romans 3:23-24

While no sacrifice can ever compare to the magnitude and love of Christ's sacrifice, we can strive to be like him and sacrifice things in our lives for his sake. I challenge you, live out your faith. Sacrifice yourself for Jesus and be vulnerable. This is how faith grows in the Lord.

Romans 12:1-2 says, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will."


-John Dockery

Why worry?

Worry. So much time in my life is spent in worry. Why do we worry? We worry because we try to pin all of our problems on ourselves. What can we do about these problems? Nothing.
What about this; what if there was someone that could take all of our problems and conquer them no matter what? What if there is a creator who loves us unconditionally and shows his mercy and grace in our lives daily? What if there was a God who gave his ONLY son so that we could spend eternity with him?
Christ says in his word," Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" Matthew 6:25-26.
Stop right there. God cares about our problems? God doesn't just care about our problems, he wants to solve them and show his power in our lives.
"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30.
"Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved." Psalm 55:22.
"So we can confidently say,
"The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?" (Hebrews 13:6.
Trust in the Lord. Give up your worries to God and he will surely bring peace that passes all understanding into your life. My life is definitely not an example of this concept, but the more I give up to God, the more I find he blesses me and uses his power to show how mighty he is. I am constantly humbled by how infinite His majesty is.

"Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all." 2 Thessalonians 3:16

-John Dockery

Ghana Rock 2012: fundraising goal!

I spoke with the City of Refuge Ministries yesterday, and finalized our fundraising goal for Ghana Rock 2012. To rescue eighteen children from Lake Volta and house them at CORM for one year we will need to raise (drum roll please) $50,400. Now, if you're anything like me you probably have a big knot in your stomach wondering how on earth we are going to do that... but here is the wonderful part, we aren't. God is. 

James 1 talks about hearers vs. doers. How those who hear the word but forget are like a man who looks intently in a mirror only to walk away and forget what he looks like.  Then he switches gears to talk about the doers who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being no hearer who forgets but they do something crazy... they act. The end of verse 25 is so beautiful because it says that those doers who act and don't forget will be bless in their doing. 

Beth Moore summarizes that section of James 1 by saying, "It's not until the hearing turns into doing that believing leads to blessing." She goes on to say that the "doing" James talks about can look vastly different. For some, it can be planning a concert, for others it can be attending said concert. For Abraham the "doing" was unwavering in belief and still giving glory to God. I don't know what the "doing" looks like in your life, for Ghana Rock the doing right now is fiercely relying and believing in Jesus to bless us in our act. And believing leads to blessing, right? 

Continue to pray for Ghana Rock, we definitely appreciate it! 

See you May 18th (eep!), 

Madi 

God's Abundant Grace.

      Grace. An undeserved gift. What did we ever do to deserve the grace of Christ? Nothing. The thing is, it is all we need to be saved. No amount of good works can purify a mans sins in God's eyes. In 2 Corinthians 12:9-, Paul writes, "But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." I was spending time reading the word this week and stumbled upon this verse. It took my breath away. God uses weakness to showcase his abundant grace in our lives. 

       Lately the Ghana Rock team has been plagued by hardships in the way of funding. Were we not working hard enough to get our name out? Were we not making connections with the community well enough? No. It has nothing to do with that. We were thinking too much about what we had to do, rather than what God can do. This is our weakness. Through this weakness, God showcased his abundant grace by giving us blessings. Completely undeserved. 

       The whole idea behind the Ghana Rock organization is grace. If our Lord and Savior came and died for us, then the least we could do is show some compassion and grace in others lives, whether it be saving child slaves in Africa or helping a friend. No act of grace is too small to go unnoticed. 

“Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.” ~ Abraham Lincoln

Go forth and spread the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

-John Dockery

Salt of the earth.

This past summer a man named Louie Giglio told the story of Ghana Rock at a summer camp. Thousands of high school students heard the way God used nine teenagers to help end child slavery. Louie saw what God did through Ghana Rock and how sharing it would only enhance God’s greatness and inspire people to do something they perceive as hard to make a difference. 

The ironic thing about this is that talking about Ghana Rock makes me uncomfortable. The story of Ghana Rock is so much of who I am, that I’m afraid by telling it I’m coming across as arrogant or self glorifying. What I never realized is maybe by not sharing this story, I’m doing exactly what I was trying to not do. Putting too much emphasis on me, and not enough on the amazing thing God did. I didn’t understand that if I told the story with my heart, in the right place, it had no possibility of coming off as anything except how it was meant to; glorifying God. 

A few weeks ago I experienced how Ghana Rock’s story inspired a complete stranger. I had the opportunity to go to the Passion Conference this year. Passion focused on one cause; freedom. Their goal was to be part of the abolition of the 27 million slaves in the world. With over 44,000 college students there, it seemed like a miracle to even find the group you came with. Some how in the sea of people I managed to meet a girl who came to Passion because she heard Louie speak at a summer camp. She said he talked about a girl who planned a concert to raise money to end child slavery (seriously, this happened). She was so inspired by the story she wanted to come to Passion and be part of the freedom movement. I mean, honestly, could anything be more humbling than God using this story to begin a new one? 

I’m certain God could use the story of Ghana Rock for His glory despite if I share it or not. In fact, He already has.The question I’m asking myself though, is if we are supposed to bring glory to God... why am I not sharing it? A few weeks ago our Pastor talked about being salt and light from Matthew 5:13-16. He talked about how salt does nothing if it’s still in the salt shaker. Tim Keller put it this way, “I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand corn on the cob without salt on it. When I have eaten a piece of corn on the cob that I really like, I put it down, and what do I say? ‘That was great salt.’ No, I say, ‘That was great corn on the cob.’ Why? Because the job of the salt is not to make you think how great the salt is, but how great the thing is with which it’s involved.” 

The point of me tell the story of Ghana Rock isn’t so people think how great I am, but they think how great my God is. 

So, I will... 

Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all peoples. 1 Chronicles 16: 24 

-Madi