Zimbabwe Trip Update - May 29, 2011

As I wrote in my last post, the team gathered together here in St. Louis this weekend and had a very good planning day on Saturday.  Team members who didn't know each other had a chance to meet, hear each other's stories and heart for Africa.  It was very helpful having Craig and Teresa Pippel present to explain the larger vision of Vital Connections.  Rebecca and I having gone before "get it", but both Nathan and Lori expressed a deep gratitude for their clarification of purpose and vision.  The whole team seemed to engage the upcoming trip a step or two more intently as a result of our time together.  I am excited for this team and also for what we believe God will accomplish.

We closed out our evening with an extended time of prayer and that was a great close to the day.  It was great to pray and fellowship with Craig, Teresa, and Rebecca whom I have interacted with very little since we moved from Grand Rapids to Michigan.  They were so generous to sacrifice the time and expense to come and ensure our team was ready and commissioned for the August trip.

We still have some details to finalize so we would appreciate your prayers for the team:

• Preparing the messages for our youth leaders conference
• Planning the agendas and curriculum for our two days at an orphanage and feeding center
• That God would bring the right people in Zim to our gatherings and that He would speak into their hearts in a powerful way

Zimbabwe Planning Weekend

This weekend Craig and Teresa Pippel drove into town from Grand Rapids with Rebecca Taylor.  The Pippels lead the organization Vital Connections who we are partnering with in our August trip.  The Pippels were just there (where we are going) in April and have some updates for us as we plan for our trip in August.

Our trip is one of three trips each year that Vital Connections leads in support of the churches, communities, people, businesses, and ministries in Zimbabwe.  Rebecca went on our original trip back in 2007 and came with them because she signed up for this trip as well.

I am excited for the planning time, the chance to connect my St. Louis family and team members with my Grand Rapids family and team members.  It should be a fun weekend and hopefully a very productive and fruitful one as well.

A Long Time Coming

Tonight it has been confirmed that Osama Bin Laden was killed by the CIA in Pakistan.  His death closes the books on an almost ten year saga that has continued since the 9/11 attacks in 2001.  Terrorism is still a threat and our world will never go back to the way it was on September 10th, 2001.  And yet justice...at least earthly justice, as imperfect as it is, has been served.

Thank you to the military and intelligence personnel who have worked so hard this past decade to give the American people this gift.  Being a former military intelligence Marine I can understand and appreciate what has been accomplished and sacrificed these many years.

On a more spiritual plane, I wonder what Osama Bin Laden's encounter with the true God was like?  How surprised he must have been to not be welcomed by 72 virgins.

Good night and sleep well America.  This May 1st has been a good day.

Discipleship and Desire

We are having a great discussion and debate on the topic of discipleship at Rooftop currently.  The church leadership wants to improve the process by which Christians who are attending Rooftop and consider it their church home, actually grow spiritually and in their love for God.  A couple things to consider here:

1) This is a debate that has been taking place in the church since Pentecost in Acts 2 and I am pretty sure that we are not going to find the silver bullet after all these years.

2) I believe there are certain conditions that exist and can be created in a person's life that either help or hinder true spiritual growth.  It is very much like the parable of the seeds being thrown on the different types of soil.  Some seed dies off or never grows and other seed grows and produces a crop 10 to 100 fold.

While there are many great resources out there and a lot of things "to do", I am finding more and more that this issue boils down to DESIRE.  Do the people in our church who say they are a follower of Jesus Christ want to live like a follower of Jesus Christ lives?  If yes, are they willing to do the things they want and need to do to allow God to bring about the result and growth that He wants and that in most cases we as followers of Jesus want ourselves?

Human nature is on display here in that is our DESIRE and therein our resolve, is competing with the obstacles both internal and external that stand in our way and that we so readily accept as a wall between us and God.  How do we tap into the DESIRE of our heart, which God has placed in each redeemed heart, and help release it into every aspect of our daily lives, regardless of the obstacles?

The question is very interesting and the issues are very complex just like the heart of a person is complex.  I am thankful for the discussion, the energy being put into helping our church grow up in Christ, and to encourage one another to live the lives God desires for us.  (To be continued...)

A Zilkie Family First for Easter

As I have written about before, our family has developed some pretty involved Christmas traditions which have added much value and meaning to Christmas as well as additional enjoyment for everyone, child and adult.  This year I wanted to add in some Easter traditions as well.

So on Palm Sunday we sat down in the evening and opened to the Gospels and read the Palm Sunday/Triumphal Entry passages in each of the four gospels.  Interestingly, it is one of the few events which is covered by all four gospels.  As we discussed it we were able to teach, and give important contextual meaning to the palm branches, the donkey, the people, and the fulfillment of many Old Testament prophecies.

On Thursday evening we sat down again and opened up to the Last Supper.  We started reading in Matthew and talked a little bit about it together.  But then I stopped and went to the kitchen and came back with a dinner roll and some purple vitamin water Julie picked up at Walgreen's (I had asked for juice but at least it was the right color).  We moved from the couches down onto the floor and sat around the coffee table in the living room.  I then turned from Matthew's recording of the Last Supper to Luke's.  Now if you don't know, Luke is my favorite Last Supper passage because it is the only gospel that records Jesus saying the words, "I have desired to share this meal with you..." when speaking to his disciples.

So there I sat with my dear children who were smiling from ear to ear, and I repeated the words of Jesus from Luke, "I have desired to share this meal with you..."  Those words were true for me just as they were for Jesus when He said them.  I did not know this would happen, but all five of our children thought that acting out the Last Supper with real bread and fake wine was the coolest thing they could imagine.  Caroline especially could not stop smiling and giggling as we very seriously talked through the rest of the passage and each shared a piece of the bread and a drink from the fancy wine glass filled with purple water.  Although I didn't call it "communion" that is essentially what I led my family in together.  I can not fully describe it, but what our family experienced together, Selah included, was very, very special and a very spiritual moment.  We closed out our time and every child prayed at least a little prayer together.

The next morning Caroline comes bouncing into our room and has this hug smile on her face.  And then she says, "Papa, do you "wemember" when we "pwetended" to be the disciples last night and had bread and "dwank" out of the special glass?" (all the while giggling as she was asking).  I said "Yes, did you enjoy that?"  She replied back, "that was my favorite thing!"

Who would have known?  And who knows to what degree that shared experience together touched the hearts of one or all of our children.  The response and the spiritual "fruit" that evening produced has encouraged me greatly.  I am motivated and excited to create more opportunities for the Bible and the lives of our children to intersect, and in the process give the Holy Spirit the opportunity to do what God wants to do in each of their beautiful hearts.

As of this writing on Saturday evening, we talked through the crucifixion on Good Friday and the events on Saturday.  But that time Thursday evening has been by far the best moment of this Easter season.  Happy Easter to you and I hope you have a similar "Last Supper moment" which will mark this Easter and set it apart as special for you and your family.

An Opportunity To Partner With Us In Africa

The trip is planned and the details are being worked out.  Now the fun part, the fund raising. :-)

If you would consider partnering with me on this trip, I would be incredibly grateful.  You can do so at www.gofundme.com/zimtrip

***If you would like to receive a tax deductible receipt for your donation, you do so by making a check out to "Vital Connections" and write "Jeremy Zilkie - Africa" in the comments. 

You can mail all donation checks to:

Rooftop Africa Mission Trip

6915 Weber Rd

Affton, MO  63123

I continue to ask for your prayers as we begin assigning responsibilities and preparing for our opportunities to serve the churches in Chinhoyi.

Thank you!!!

The Africa Team Is In Place

Over the past several months I have been praying, talking with people, emailing people, and recruiting for the August trip to Zimbabwe.  As of today we have four definite team members with a possible fifth.  Three of us reside here in St. Louis and one team member lives in Grand Rapids.  I am very excited about the team and about our mission in August.  It has been exciting to see how the team and the mission have slowly morphed and come together and are aligning themselves quite nicely. 

When this process began I had no idea who would and would not be going on the trip.  Some people who I would have loved to join the trip could not or chose not to.  A couple of the people on the trip I would not have thought to ask and yet here they are. 

Please be praying for myself, Nathan, Lori and Rebecca.  Also, pray for this fifth possible team member as well.  We need to finalize exactly who will be on the team as we purchase some pricey plant tickets.  If you could, please pray for the pricing on the plane tickets as well.  Most of the trip's expenses is airfare and that is always fluctuating.  I am hoping that we get some good pricing to keep the costs down as much as possible.

Wow, life has been busy!!!

In the midst of a very busy winter and spring I had the opportunity to preach from Titus 2:11-15 yesterday at our church, Rooftop Community Church in St.Louis, MO.  The week prior our lead pastor had done a great job emphasizing the importance of teaching each other within the body of Christ. 

Yesterday I had the follow up passage on training which Paul mentions in verse 12.  Training is taking what we have been taught and applying it to our lives in a consistent and effective manner.  It was a great opportunity to encourage our church in their spiritual journeys.  I opened the message with a humorous clip from the original Karate Kid, circa 1984.  Appropriately, my closing application had to do with God wanting to grow us up or train us up.  To illustrate this point I talked about God wanting to build us each a "dojo" where he as our Sensei will direct and guide our training towards Christlikeness, which is the ultimate goal for the follower of Christ. 

In addition to giving some basic guidance on what components are necessary for God to build us each a good dojo in which to train spiritually, I offered a follow up meeting on the Tuesday night to follow.  As of this posting we have a good number of people signed up.  It is VERY exciting to see God's people want to take their "following Jesus" so seriously. 

If you are interested in listening for yourself, here is the link.

A Narrow Path...A Difficult Faith To Pursue

Being a veteran of the Marine Corps and a patriot of these United States, I am naturally inclined to defend the efforts of my country to protect our country from the threat of foreign attack and terrorist efforts while also seeking to preserve and advance freedom and democracy around the world.  I believe that self-government though not perfect is the best option going.

Initially our country's endeavors in Afganistan after 9/11 were good in their efforts to fight the Taliban and the Al-Quaida terrorist cells they were protecting.  Almost ten years later however, things ahve changed. 

Presently, the country of Afganistan is bruttaly torturing a Christian man named Said Musa.  His story can be found at this link.  Please read it!!!

Being a politically engaged citizen of this country I regularly have to check my political instincts and submit them to my greater allegiance, the Lord Jesus Christ, and to His Kingdom to which I belong presently as well as for all eternity to come.  How can I as a Christian support sending money, resources, and American lives to support an Afgan government that is actively treating my brothers and sisters in Christ in this manner? 

follow up commentary to original article.

1) Are we Christians truly sympathetic and do we desire to know what our brothers and sisters in the Muslim world are suffering for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ?

2) Have we stopped to consider what steps we "self-governing" citizens of America can take to advocate for them and against the "true injustice" measured out in parts of this world against Jesus Christ and our brothers and sisters in Christ who follow Him in these dark places?

Just some thougths to consider as we endeavor on this "narrow path" to which Jesus Christ has called ALL who would follow Him.

"let your manner of life be worthy"

This is a great statement by the Apostle Paul in the first chapter of the book of Philippians, verse 27.  It is part of the larger verse where Paul is exhorting the believers in Philippi to live their lives in such a way that their godly reputation is known, whether Paul is there in their city or away in some other place.  This is a very important aspect of the Christian life, our reputation.  We should never do things for people in order to "impress them" or to "win their favor", as Christians we are charged by God to do everything for Him and His pleasure not worrying about what others think.  However, as we seek to live our lives for the glory of God the light of God will shine in us and then out from us into to the world.  Jesus himself said in the sermon on the mount (Matt 5:16) "let your light so shine before men and women that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

The problem is that these words are easy to say and to repeat, but hard to live out.  There are so many opportunities in our lives to settle, compromise, "sin a little bit", or even do the external things that look like "light" or a "manner of life worthy" but not really be living it out in our heart.  I always struggle with the temptation to "appear worthy" but know that my heart is not fully there.  That is why this phrase in verse 27 is so encouraging, because Paul is telling us it can be done.  In Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit we can actually have a life worthy.  We don't have to pretend and we don't have to live with the inner knowledge that we are a fake or a spiritual fraud.  Rather, as Paul exhorts us to live, we can take assurance that our lives can be the testimony he is desiring from the believers in Philippi. 

These last several days I have been challenged to look within my heart and ask the honest questions, "Am I living my life in a manner worthy of Jesus?"  In some areas I am doing pretty good, but in many other areas I am settling and not really wanting or asking God to do something "spiritual" in my life day to day.  And yet, He waits...He waits for me, He waits for you, He waits for all His children to come to a point of decision wherein we will humbly ask Him, "Father, you know my sins, but in spite of them will you help me to live a life worthy of Jesus?"  Pray for me when you read this that I would stay close to God so that He can do this work in me.  I pray for you and for all the followers of Jesus that we would want God to do the same in us.