Mexico Mission Trip Video - RAV 2008

Hello y'all! I hope you enjoy this video. If you want a truly clear picture of what our mission trip at Rancho Agua Viva in Ensenada, Mexico was like, I think that this video will truly answer any questions you may have! Enjoy!

www.fpcwickenburg.com

www.igniteyouthgroup.com

www.aguaviva.com

GP

www.gphintz.com

Sin, Death and Cannibalism

Going into my study on the book of Leviticus, i must admit that i was fairly pessimistic. I have read the book before and could equate my reading time as a great high in Genesis (one of my favorite books in the Bible), a slight decline of excitement into Exodus with an incredible boring lull in Leviticus which carries me through the remainder of the Pentateuch. However, i am pleased to say that i am thoroughly enjoying my time in Leviticus and came across an incredible set of verses that i'd like to share with you.

The portion of scripture is highlighting the 'sin offering' which was the animal sacrifice that the Jewish people would make to atone (or amends for) their sin and is found in Leviticus 6:24-30. Now, i haven't made sense of every detail yet, but i find a striking resemblance here to some very common New Testament words of Jesus.

"The Lord said to Moses, 'The sin offering is to be slaughtered before the Lord ... it is most Holy... Whatever touches any of the flesh will become holy, and if any of the blood is splattered on a garment, you must wash it in a Holy Place... Any male in the priest's family may eat. It is most holy.'"

Here's a description of what Jesus did and said. "And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." Luke 22:19-20

The Sin Offering? One who takes away the sins of the world? One who washes clean? One who can be taken and eaten?

I'm reminded of my Catholic upbringing and one of the prayers that has been singed into my brain stem from weekly repetition...

"...Lord Jesus Christ, only begotten Son
Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father
You take away the sins of the world
Have mercy on us
You take away the sins of the world
Receive our prayer..."

Now I've studied about the scapegoat and the laying on of hands by the priest and sending the goat from the camp and if you're unfamiliar with this story, i'd encourage you to study it out or stay tuned and we'll cover this in the future. However, this portion of scripture in Leviticus gives us insight into the words of Jesus - 'this is my body'.

'Body' in this context is the Greek word 'soma' which simply means 'the body of a man or an animal'. Flesh. Meat. Body. So, when Jesus is saying this, He's declaring that this bread was His actual flesh. Now i'm not going to debate transubstantiation right now, but i do want you to see the word picture that the disciples are seeing. They are quite familiar with Leviticus. They've learned about offerings their entire lives. They had read Leviticus 6 many times and now Jesus is standing before them saying, 'Take and eat my body'. What a vivid picture of Jesus telling them, 'Listen up guys! I am the sin offering. I am here to take away your sins and the sins of the entire world. You guys are worthy. You guys are my priests. You guys, come on, take and eat the sin offering today. This is it guys.'

So, what we see here is the realization that Jesus has come for a greater purpose than to be a great teacher. We see that Jesus is calling them out of a life of mediocrity and telling them that they were worthy to be called priests. We see that Jesus is saying, 'Yes guys. You are priests now. You have a mission and today I'm allowing you to see yourself, not as fishermen or tax collectors, but as priests. Priests for a Holy God. Take and eat.'

Now, in this same way, we are called to take and eat. We are called to partake in the Lord's supper. We are called to 'do this in remembrance of me'. Understanding that when we do, we are taking of the sin offering. We are receiving that free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. And we are accepting the realization that we are called to be God's priests on this earth. No matter what our occupation may be. No matter what our family may see us as. No matter what our history looks like. When we take and eat, we are lining ourselves up with the will and plans of God and saying, 'Yes!'

1 Peter 2:5-6 "As you come to him, the living Stone - rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him - you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

The sin offering has been made and we are encouraged to take and eat of it. If you've not made that decision in your life, i'd encourage you to stop, find a quiet place and spend some time communicating with God. You speak, but also be quiet before Him and allow Him to minister to you. His plans for you are great - take the first step today.

GP
http://www.gphintz.com/

A Diamond Only Forms with Pressure

I forgot how much i loved Joshua until i trudged my way through the middle of Exodus to expose some truly excellent passages concerning God's interaction with man. The scriptures surrounding these Joshua sightings are very familiar - if not by actual quoting then by context. It is the giving of the 10 commandments by God to Moses. It is the construction of a golden calf and the declaration, 'Uhh. Well they there just gave me a bunch of gold and then I, uhh, threw it in the fire and out popped a golden calf!' Yeah. Great example of taking responsibility Aaron!

But now to Joshua. There's only two scriptures that i want us to look at. But these two give us an incredible insight into the heart of this man. In Exodus 24 we see God separating some individuals to come up the mountain to spend some time with Him. He picks Moses, seventy of the elders and Joshua. Then, in verse 13 we see Moses setting out with his aide Joshua. Moses leaves Aaron and Hur and the elders and the people and goes up the mountain with one man - Joshua. Joshua goes so far and then stops and waits while Moses enters into the cloud to spend time with God.

Moses spends a ton of QT with God. Now Joshua, even though it had been 40 days and 40 long nights, doesn't leave his position, doesn't crawl back down the mountain admitting defeat, doesn't build a false god with rocks and dirt and start dancing around it. No! He waits and he waits and he waits until he sees Moses coming down the mountain. You can imagine the joy that Joshua had when he saw Moses. He probably jumped to his feet and ran to Moses' side, excited to hear all about the move of God on the mountain.

However, the people had grown tired of waiting for Moses and concluded that there was a chance that he wasn't going to come back. In fact, they grew so persuaded of this that they had Aaron build an idol so that they can worship something. I don't want to get into this right now, but one day we will. What I want you to see is Joshua waits all this time for Moses, the Israelites grew tired of waiting and built an idol and then, in Exodus 32:17 it says, 'When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting he said to Moses, 'There is a sound of war in the camp'. Moses shot back, 'That's not the sound of victory or defeat, but singing that I hear.'

They go down, Moses drops the commandments and they break, a line is drawn in the sand of those who'll stand for God and those who won't, there is a mass execution and then Moses seeks the forgiveness of God for the people. Fast Forward...

In the next chapter we find Moses constructing a place which was called the 'Tent of Meeting'. It was a tent that was put a distance from the camp and whenever someone wanted to call on God they would go to this tent. Personally, the most exposing scripture that I have ever read about Joshua... the one scripture that has allowed me to looker deeper into the life of Joshua than any other verse that I've ever read can be found in Exodus 33. It reads like this...

"The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua, son of Nun, did not leave the tent." Exodus 33:11

What i see here is a beautiful picture of intimacy. I see a picture of faithfulness. I see a picture of humility and blessing and honor and commitment. I see a picture that i can learn from. I see a picture of who i want to be.

When everyone else had given up on Moses - Joshua stood strong. When everyone else had made a decision to look somewhere else for their spiritual direction - Joshua stood strong. When Moses would go to seek the face of God - Joshua would go. When Moses left - Joshua would stay. In him i see a picture of strength and valor and tenacity and faith. I see a picture of a person that i would be honored to emulate.

It is so easy to give up in our culture. It's so easy to find the next job or the next wife or the next house or the next position. It's so easy to find the "better deal" and to hop, skip and jump away. However, there are great things that come to the person who endures. There's a great blessing for the one who doesn't quit.

I have been through the fire in my life. I have had many ups and downs; many mountain top experiences and many valley times too. Most recently i remember feeling like the walls were closing in around me... feeling like i had tried hard to no avail... feeling like i was being wrongly persecuted for things that i had not even done. Those days were hard. And how did i get through them? Like Joshua - not letting go. I remember locking myself in a church sanctuary and beginning to pray with a darkness and heaviness on me. Praying even though nothing in my soul wanted to pray. Praying even though everything told me to give up and quit. Praying even though it didn't make sense. And I'd pray... and pray... and pray. Before long, the heaviness started to lift. Before long my prayers became stronger and a joy entered my soul. It was as if the clouds had parted and the sunshine shone brightly into my life.

And it was in that moment that God shared a beautiful concept with me. He encouraged me to 'give my best to what's before me'.

It sounds simple, but that statement changed my life. God worked miraculously in that season of my life, doing things that i never could've guessed. The hard days faded and i've entered into a beautiful season of blessing. However, i understand that a diamond is only formed from pressure and that God often allows immense pressure to form us into the people that He's destined us to be.

If you're going through a season of heartache or trial or trouble right now, i'd encourage you to press into God. You won't want to in the beginning. It'll be one of the hardest things that you've ever done. But understand that if you continue, the clouds will part... the sun will shine... and you will see the hand of God working in your life!

GP
www.gphintz.com

Lineages: What's the Point?

Well, when I read the Bible I am often discouraged when i come across a large portion of scripture dealing with the family tree of some famous Bible character. You start out strong, but after about five verses of sounding out names which have way too many syllables, you find yourself skipping along to the end of that portion of scripture and to the next topic. This was true until i began trying to figure out who all of these mysterious names were that i came across in the book of Matthew.

Now, i love the fact that Jesus' lineage is so perfectly ordered. I mean, you have 14 generations from Abraham to David and then 14 generations from David to Babylon and then 14 generations from Babylon to Jesus. This made digging deeper easy for me because i could cut this big pie in thirds.

Today, let's just take a peek at the first 14 generations talked about in Matthew and a few highlights from their lives:

1. Abraham - This man has an incredible story that needs to be read by all. A few highlights are: God cutting covenant with Abram, God giving him his son Isaac at the age of 100, Meeting God as He was heading into Sodom, God's provision in every area of his life, etc. (If you are unfamiliar with any of these stories, please stop reading this and open up a Bible to Genesis 12 and start reading. I promise you that you won't be disappointed!)

2. Isaac - This is God's promised son to Abraham. He was born when Abraham was 100 years old and taken to the mountain to be sacrificed at the demand of God. However, God provided a ram to be sacrificed in his place at the last moment.

3. Jacob - I have an entire blog posting on Jacob, but a few quick facts are: He was a mama's boy, he deceived his dad and stole the blessing from his brother Esau, he fell in love with Rachel and was deceived into marrying her sister Leah before her and then ended up with their slave women also, he became the father of the 12 tribes of Israel, his name was changed to 'Israel' and he was the father of Joseph and the technicolor dreamcoat.

4. Judah - This one was the greatest shocker for me. God provides an entire section in the OT about Joseph, yet uses Judah in his lineage. Not only that, but Jacob's true love was Rachel and Judah's mom was the girl that Jacob didn't even want - Leah. Here we see God using something that was entirely out of the control or plans of Jacob for His glory! Now, Judah had three sons - Er, Onan and Shelah. Er got married to Tamar and he ends up dying. Onan is ordered to impregnate her and takes advantage of the task without following through on the obligation and God kills him. Judah promises the third son's seed to Tamar when he gets older, but doesn't deliver. So Tamar dresses like a prostitute and lures Judah in after his wife's death. He sleeps with her - not knowing who she is. She takes some of his possessions and later, when she's found pregnant, he wants to have her killed until she brings out his possessions, looks at her belly and says, "Who's Your Daddy?" (not really. i added that) So Tamar has Judah's babies - twins - named Perez and Zerah.

5. Perez - not much said about him

6. Hezron - or him

7. Ram - or him

8. Amminadab - with a name like that i wish the Bible talked more about him

9. Nahshon - not much said about him

10. Salmon - or him, but i bet he was a fisherman

11. Boaz - Now Boaz is important for two reasons. The first is that the Bible says that his mother was Rahab. Rahab is an important piece of the puzzle because her story can be found in Joshua two. At that point in her life she was a harlot, or prostitute, and decides to help Joshua's army by hiding them and protecting them. She is promised protection when they come back to destroy the city and her entire family is spared. Later, she marries Salmon and enters into the lineage of the Messiah.

12. Obed - His mother was Ruth. This is very important to understand because Ruth was from the land of Moab, which was a foreign land. This is a country who did not worship the Lord Jehovah as the Jewish people did. Yet, God brings Ruth to a land and brings her and Boaz together. God shows us that the Messiah is for all people through this simple act of allowing Ruth to be part of His lineage.

13. Jesse - not much is said about Jesse except for the fact that he was a father and he ended up having a son and this son has provided some of the greatest life lessons of all time as we've witnessed God's hand on his life. And this son was...

14. David - If you don't know about David, please stop right now and read about his life. From being a boy and chopping the head of Goliath off to his infidelity with Bathsheeba to the final blessing of his family, it is a page turner. He has brought me much understanding into the heart of God and i'm sure it'll do the same for you.

Well, there it is! The first 14 generations of Jesus highlighted in the book of Matthew. I hope you enjoyed, but most of all i hope that you'll look at those long, boring lists in the Bible as nuggets of truth that will encourage us to serve God in a greater way! Be blessed.

GP

http://www.gphintz.com/

Baby News

Well, my friends, rumor has it that the GP Hintz clan will be growing by a minimum of two feet in a few months! That's right, the wife took two tests and they both screamed out "Positive"! Can you believe it? It feels like a lifetime since we have went through the joy of pregnancy seeing as our youngest is already four, but we're ready to ease back into the doctor appointments, strange cravings and multitude of dirty diapers that are sure to come! We just want to ask our entire community of friends to keep this time for our family in your prayers. We know how difficult this time can be and are relying fully on our God to sustain us as we watch his will unravel in our lives.

So, stay tuned. I'll keep you abreast of the situation and maybe, just maybe, before too long you'll be able to have a sneak peak inside! I can't wait... GP

http://www.gphintz.com/

From the Mouth of Peter

As I'm reading through my Bible I was amazed at a rapid succession of quotes that I found from Peter in the book of Matthew. Even though I understand that they weren't spoken in one fluid motion, they were put together by the author of Matthew for a reason. It looks at this disciple, Peter, and gives us an incredible insight to his faith, his temperament and his personality.

The first quote is probably one of the most famous 'Peter Quotes' around. It happens when Jesus and his disciples are in Caesarea Philippi and Jesus throws out a question to those around Him. (Matthew 16:13-20)

"Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

Now, this term - Son of Man - was used 43 times in the New Testament as a distinctive title of the Savior. And now Jesus wants to know who people are saying the Savior is. The disciples start giving their 'textbook' answers - all those things that they had been taught or have heard. 'Jeremiah' or 'Elijah' or some even said 'John the Baptist'. Jesus stops it and basically says - 'OK. That's what people are saying. Now, I want to know what YOU are saying. What about YOU?'

And you can just picture Peter jumping to his feet and saying 'You are the Christ the Son of the Living God!' This statement, in itself, took great courage. Even though he was in a safe atmosphere, others were threatened with their very life for making such a 'blasphemous' statement. But here you see Peter, unafraid of the consequences, speaking his heart. 'You are the Christ!'

Now this reckless abandon was as good as it was bad. In Philippi, Jesus ends up blessing Peter and calling him the rock that the church was going to be built on, but a short time later Peter is chastised by Jesus and called 'Satan' or the great deceiver.

This happens when Jesus begins teaching his disciples about what's going to come. He's telling them that He's going to suffer and that He's going to die and that He's going to be raised from the dead. Peter seems to space out on the last point because he grabs Jesus by the arm and takes him aside and rebukes him. Now, the word 'rebuke' can actually mean to discipline or train and you hear Peter's heart by his words:

"Never Lord! This will never happen to You!"

In Peter's mind, Jesus must've thought that he wasn't strong enough to protect him. Or maybe he thought that Jesus was just looking for some reassurance of his allegiance. And Peter communicates that 'come hell or high water' or 'over his own dead body' that he wasn't going to let anything happen to Jesus. His intentions were pure. His motivations out of love for Jesus. However, Jesus calls Him Satan, carnally minded and a personal stumbling block for him. Not quite the response that was expected for a vow of allegiance.

The Bible tells us that only six days later Jesus separates a few of his disciples and heads up the mountain. And it is at that moment that Jesus is transfigured and seen standing with Elijah and Moses. You can imagine the sight and the glory and power of the moment as these disciples, flesh and blood, fell to their knees before this heavenly vision. In this moment, one voice speaks up and it's Peter's.

"Lord, it's good for us to be here. If you want me to, I can go ahead and build three shelters. One for you. One for Moses. And one for Elijah."

Jesus doesn't say anything but I like to imagine that he had a grin and gave Moses and Elijah a wink. The moment ends and Jesus is left standing before his disciples as the man they knew so well.

When I look at Peter in these three distinct moments I see a man of passion and fire and one who was unafraid to let his voice be heard. He wasn't scared to answer the tough questions and give his ideas when they were asked (and even sometimes when they weren't). The scary part, as I read, is to understand that this freedom did bring a rebuke from Jesus.

It's important to understand that as we continue to ride the cutting edge of Christianity, we mustn't be afraid to step out and do some things which may seem unorthodox.

That we aren't scared to speak up and let our voice be heard.

However, we do have to be willing to listen to the voice of God and know that just because we're speaking... just because we're acting... just because we're doing, doesn't mean that we're always right.

I want to have the strength of Peter in my life, but I also understand that I need to have his humility to understand when I've misspoke or acted out of turn, I need to be willing to accept when I'm wrong.

It is this courage and action that will drive the church aggressively forward in these days. People are hungry for something that is real and someone who is real. We don't want perfection, but we do want action and we want hearts that are willing to move and act and shake the ground beneath our feet, even though we may sometimes fall and scrape our knees.

Thank you Peter for speaking. Thank you Peter for being so aggressive. I pray that more of us take aggressive Christianity seriously and have the strength to admit when we missed it. Let your example sear the hearts of Christians today!

GP

The Lineage of Jacob

As I read my Bible, I am so pleased with the honesty and transparancy that I find in so many of the central Bible characters who make up my faith. I am as equally disgusted as I am pleased because I begin to realize that the highlighted stories that so many people hear about often overshadow the darker, seedier stories which still shine so brightly in scripture when you read it. The purpose behind the dark side of scripture is not to tear down the central characters, but to show the humanity and the frailty and the sin and God's grace.

The character I want to look at today is Jacob. You know... Jacob's ladder (the angels ascending and descending), deceiving his hairy brother Esau so he could get the blessing, wrestles an angel, God changes his name to Israel, father of Joseph and the technicolor dreamcoat, father of the 12 tribes of Israel, etc. This guy is central. This guy is foundational. This guy was human.

My antenna was raised as I was reading in Genesis 29 and started checking out Jacob's love life. Here he was in love with Rachel, is deceived into marrying her sister Leah and eventually gets them both in a 14 year work program with their dad Laban. But here is where it gets weird - kids were important in this time because they carried the legacy and helped around the homestead. Boys were very important and a sign of great things for the mom who could produce them. Well, are you ready? Fasten your seatbelt cause here we go...

Leah is the first to get prego with Reuben and then shortly later has Simeon. She doesn't stop there - next comes Levi and Judah. She has had four kids and they're all boys! Wow, does she have to feel good about herself or what? Now, Rachel wants to produce, but can't. So, she gets the great idea of giving her slave, Bilbah, to Jacob to impregnate. So, twisting his arm, he sleeps with her and gets her prego. She has Dan. Well, Jacob must've enjoyed himself because he goes back and the next baby to come out is from Bilbah and it's Naphtali. And the saga continues.

Now, Leah can't be outdone so she ends up giving her slave, Zilpah, to Jacob to impregnate. Twisiting his arm again he ends up sleeping with her and she has a son named Gad. Again, Jacob must've enjoyed himself because she ends up pregnant again and produces another boy who they name Asher.

Now, it's time for Leah to start earning her keep so she pops out three in a row - Issachar, Zebulun and a daughter named Dinah. The first one, Issachar, actually happened when Rachel wanted some mandrake root that Leah had. Rachel tells her that if she gives her the root than she can sleep with Jacob. Rachel gets the root and Leah heads out to meet her man when he gets home from work. She goes up to him and says, "You must sleep with me. I've hired you with my son's mandrake roots." (NIV) Quite a steal! Jacob relented and slept with her, producing Issachar and then the babies keep coming!

The good news for Rachel is that even though Jacob had produced 11 children from 3 different women, he didn't give up on her. Finally, after years of trying, Rachel gets prego with Joseph and then, to her demise, brings Benjamin into the world. Four women and thirteen kids later, Jacob's sitting in the middle of a family that is absolutely huge!

Now I understand that things were different in the time of Jacob and I understand that families were different and I know that God's plans are perfect and I think that's where I want to sit for a minute. God's plans are perfect. God used Jacob who was a deceiver. God used Jacob who was a horn ball. God used Jacob who was very carnal to usher in the 12 tribes of Israel. God used him.

In our culture I believe that we are too quick on writing people off and forgetting that God can work through weaknesses and God can work through mistakes and God can incredibly impact a generation through one person - you! It's easy to not give up on God sometimes, because He's so big and so awesome. The one that we have the hardest time giving up on is ourself. Draw the truth from this scripture that even in the midst of Jacob's weaknesses, God used him. Even in the midst of his lies and deceit, God used Him. Even in the midst of his infidelity, God used him (these slave women were not his wives even if we use the case of Biblical polygamy being alright).

God has a plan for you and it's bigger than your weaknesses! Don't let these things get you down and, more than anything, don't ever give up on yourself because God sure hasn't given up on you.

GP