Jacob Davis
hello
so… i guess this is it… the beginning of mission year.
awesome.
If you would like to see my reasoning for joining this wonderful program, please read the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5 through 8.
Love at any cost, and be at peace.
Jacob
About Mission Year
Mission Year is a year long urban ministry program focused on Christian service and discipleship. We take teams of young people, place them in an area of need, and help them to serve people and create community. We are committed to the command of Jesus to “love God and love people,” by placing the needs of our neighbors first and developing committed disciples of Christ with a heart for the poor. Learn more about our first year program…
Jacob Davis's Blog
and again, He reminds me... / Jun 24, 02:53 PM
braxton and i pulled our bikes into the store parking lot; loretta from the mission asked if we would pick up some spoons that she was in desperate need of. immediately i can see the woman, sitting in her wheel chair, and looking at us. her eyes look in two different directions, and her knees are large knots on top of her skinny sapling legs. as we walk up to the store, i know the question is coming.
“hey, can any of you spare some change?” she asks. it’s amazing to me how much weight this question places on my heart. maybe it’s because when i tell people that i don’t have money, they roll their eyes and look at me like i’m a liar. maybe it’s because i wish i could help, but in that exact moment in time, i can’t. all i can offer her is a sad shake of my head.
“we don’t have any cash on us.” braxton explains, and i can hear the regret in his voice.
“ah, shoot,” she says, but without much conviction, “i would love some candy.”
while we’re in the store, braxton and i are debating on whether or not we should get her some candy, or something healthier. i’m on candy’s side, and my stubbornness wins out. on top of the nineteen bags of spoons we buy, we also buy a box of little debbie chocolate chip brownies. after waiting in line, we take the brownies outside to her. she’s very grateful, and braxton asks her name. he tells her to enjoy them, and gets on his bike. suddenly, there’s a little tug on my heart to tell her that God loves her.
i walk up, and lean forward, and she looks at me with one eye, the other looking in a different direction.
“no matter what happens,” i say, “God loves you.”
she looks at me like i’m an idiot, and then after a second, her face dissolves into the expression that one has when dealing with a naive child.
“oh baby,” she says in a hoarse whisper, “i know that.”
so often i want to think of myself as being a messenger of God, someone who brings spiritual sight to the blind. i keep on expecting God to make miraculous conversions happen through me. yet lately i’ve started to realize that i am not the only person that God has shown love and grace to.
so often we call ourselves the bringers of God’s good news. but more often, we are reminders, as we die to our egos and our expectations and rise to His truth.
may it be so.
Comment [1]
sunday, may 31st, 2009 / Jun 2, 11:35 AM
there’s so many noises, all blending together with the music that pulses through the sanctuary.
boom chakk! boom chakk! boom chakk! boom chakk!
hands are raised, hands of different colors, some stationary to receive the blessings, some reaching out to touch Him, some spinning as the attached body dances beneath in happiness of redemption.
the choir sways, a pink wave. their hands clap in syncopation with the beat.
all around, smiling faces, tears of joy, closed eyes, open eyes.
it’s not the building that’s important. it never was. whether or not the place is “sacred” or not isn’t the point right now. we are sacred vessels, full of the Spirit of God.
here, in the presence of God, who is present in the people around me. this is Home.
say that again / May 25, 08:43 PM
talking about what it means to be in a relationship with God, pastor berryhill leans forward across his chair to face us during men’s group.
“now let me ask you this,” he whispers in his thick-as-molasses voice, “and don’t go hollerin’… what does it mean to have an intimate relationship with your wife?”
many of us smirk, little boys we are. a couple shift uncomfortably in our chairs. but brother leo jackson is focused, his brow furrowed with thought. he looks up, suddenly making a connection that us immature pew warmers overlooked.
“it means that He’s in YOU, and you in HIM.”
berryhill’s facial features pop upwards in surprise, suddenly lighting to excitement.
he leans forward and points his index finger, his eyes burrowing into brother jackson.
“say that again!” he exclaims in a fervent whisper.
amen. say it again.
Comment [1]
made by, with, in, for, to love / Apr 30, 11:26 AM
There is nothing that can separate us from the love of our Almighty God. Nothing. It is all around us, even in the most dire of situations. It is written into the very fabric of Creation. Every tree is a testimony. Each individual blade of grass points.
Being that He created us, and that God is love, then we were made by Love. We were made by Love, with love, in love, for love, and to love. We were so loved, in fact, that Christ- that is, God incarnate- gave His life to save us from our sin. Through His resurrection, Love has defeated death.
And not only did God’s love conquer that age-old enemy, but after He lifted back into heaven, He breathed His love into us by way of the Holy Spirit. The consequences of this action are not in the least bit small. Through the Spirit, God has enabled us to channel His love! We are movable conduits of Love, able to share Him with anyone we come into contact with!
How can we not share God’s love, His Gospel, His redeeming sacrifice? How can we not give our hand- HIS hand- to help those who are in need? If we are truly filled with love, we cannot do or allow harm of any kind to those around us!
We are a fallible and fallen creation. But that will not stop our God, and that will not stop His followers from seeking Him. No matter the cost, no matter the pain, we know what will prevail in the end. As Dorothy Day once so eloquently put it, “The final word is love.”
as yourself. / Apr 30, 11:21 AM
“while our culture encourages self-reliance, individualism, and independence, these things are incompatible with the ecology of organic christianity. because God is Community, His children are designed for community. our new nature calls out for it.”- frank viola, reimagining church
these trying times in our climate and country have a certain way of devaluing us. we stand a nation humbled. people are losing jobs left and right. homes are foreclosing, companies seem to be abusing any help given to them, and a lot of families are making sacrifices and just barely scraping by financial disaster, while others plummet into that disaster. more and more during these times of economic crisis, war, and political distrust, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: we cannot do this alone.
thankfully, God never planned that we would be.
my time here in new orleans has taught me a lot; i think that one of the most important things is how to interact with a community. it’s this lesson that i have to offer when my year is over.
let’s remember, that as a church, we are a body. that body does three things: take care of its members, bring the good news of Jesus Christ to the world, and take care of the oppressed and needy. we’re here to share a message with the world: “you are loved by God. you are so special, that He would die to save you. in fact, He did. and because He loves you, i love you. you are worth something.”
people all around us are hurting. i guess the whole point of this blog is this:
how well do you know your neighbors?
