And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.
Exodus 33:11
I write to you from the 27th floor of a hotel in downtown Denver, Colorado, where I’ve spent the majority of my time over the past few days. I have been having a wonderful and productive time in Colorado, and I’ve even made some new friends! Although I am here presenting at a science and technology conference, I have logged quite a few hours in this hotel room working on homework and other class projects; and now, this blog post! I couldn’t wait any longer to write to you, since it has been so long. I should be getting ready for my flight early tomorrow…but I simply couldn’t put off writing this blog any longer.
Tomorrow, February 18, marks the twelfth year since I had my indescribable life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ! Oh yes, He showed me a small taste of how much He loves me, and it totally unravelled my life–and my life needed a lot of unravelling! But today, I look back and am overflowing with gratitude over what He has done in my life over the past 12 years. And today, I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to you and our financial and prayer partners who support us and have supported us faithfully over the years. If you have followed Unstoppable for any amount of time, you might think that, for all my life, I have always been positive and full of encouragement for others…nothing could be further from the truth! I used to be mean, selfish, and just plain grumpy. But look at what God has done. He is using this podcast, the blog, and our nonprofit Kainos Global to literally change lives all over the world. This all blows my mind. What happened? Oh yeah, I remember: I gave Him my life–like, every atom of my being. And when you go “all in” with God like I did (even if it is out of desperation, like it was for me), He can truly take your little “yes” and change the world. That is an absolute fact.
This email is supposed to be all about the new podcast we just released, entitled, Walking as a Friend of God–yes, that’s right. Notice Exodus 33:11 (see above). Doesn’t that raise some questions? I mean, God literally spoke to a person face to face, as a man speaks to his friend? This is a concept that I have explored for… oh yes, 12 years now! And there is so much depth to the intimacy of relationship with God, and I believe I will spend the rest of my life on this rich and rewarding adventure. This was a fun episode to record, since it was a live message I gave at my local church in Los Osos, California not long ago. The pastor had asked me to kick off the new year with a teaching on “building a devotional life with God”, and I gladly accepted. This is the first part of a two-part series, and I believe this topic (Walking as a Friend of God) is fundamental to virtually every aspect of our lives. (The second part is next month’s podcast.)
If you are ready, I encourage you to buckle in, grab your notebook and a pen, and let’s get started. I really think you will be encouraged by this one.
With all my love, prayers, and thanksgiving for you,