That Time of Year

Summer time is here again, and with it comes extra work. During this time of year I work on the weekends for the owner of our company doing things that he and his wife are too busy or unable to do. Today I cleaned part of their roof (it's a reflective metal roof that needs sweeping and scrubbing to be effective) and also gutters. It's fun work. Working during the week in an underground shop often with large amounts of paperwork can become tedious, but it is so refreshing to work outside under the sun. I absolutely love outdoor cleaning. I love taking something dirty and applying time and energy to it and then seeing a dramatic result. It is some of the most refreshing work I can think of. Next week I will clean the rest of the roof (regular shingled roof) and the rest of the gutters. There is quite a bit more they have for me and I'm excited to do it. But now, having finished my work for the day I must rush home to be with the family. I love working, but what I love even more is being with them. I woke up this morning and saw Hannah next to me and could not help but just pray and pray and thank Jesus for her. I love my Hannah Joy and our little family more than words could possibly describe. God has been so very gracious to me. Life is goooooooood.

The Journey

Life really has been such an incredible journey. I love looking back and seeing how Jesus has used my circumstances to guide me more and more into His transforming truth. Seeing how far I have come blows me away, but what gets me even more excited is the thought that if He has done this much so far, I can't imagine what all He has left to do in me over the rest of my life! Life truly is an adventure. But for the moment, I want to take a look back, to trace briefly part of my journey over the last seven or so years.

Many young Christians reach a crisis point around college age as they leave their Christian homes and are faced with the world. I know of many who at least for a time set aside their former beliefs and searched into all sorts of other non-Christian beliefs. Well, I never hit that point. But what I did hit shook me for years.

I began attending Bible college and was inundated with more perspectives on the Christian faith that I could possibly deal with. I generally followed whoever seemed smartest at the moment. But by the time my second semester was over, I was in overload. I left college to get married and though I had been an avid reader, I did not pick up a book or even the Bible for about two years. I went to church and was a "good Christian" but was confused to a huge extent.

It was in December of 2008 when I hit a crisis of conscience regarding my vote in the presidential election that I finally cracked open a book. What was wonderful was that while reading had been so difficult or impossible for the last few years, I was suddenly back where I was before college and started devouring book after book. I was looking for answers to political, economic, philosophical and moral questions, but found so much more.

As I devoured books on history and economics, I found someone within the pages that I had not expected to find--God. As I looked at the universe and studied the interactions of humanity over history, I began to see how everything was connected. Human action, natural laws, physical laws, happiness and contentment and so much more started coming together into the most incredible whole. I realized that the different aspects of life can not be separated from each other. Everything is connected and the whole beautiful web points to Jesus. I still could not bring myself to read the Bible, but began finding Jesus in everything I read. Studying economics became times of worship for me and I was utterly in awe of our omnipotent Creator.

As I grew closer to Jesus, I did begin reading His word again and absolutely fell in love with Him all over again. I was particularly blown away by John 1 and the concept of the Word becoming flesh. I was able to see how looking at flesh, or the physical universe as a whole, you could see the Word clearly displayed. This truth blew me away and drove me to see what else the Word had to say. I dove into the gospels and poured over Jesus' every word, finding that the truth in His words fit perfectly with the truth I had been learning through observing history.

But the more I pondered His words, the more I saw how far we (the church) have strayed from them. This led me to search for those in history who best represented Jesus to the people around them. Those who stood out most clearly to me were the early Anabaptists and the Quakers. They devoted their lives to being like Jesus and paid dearly for it. (Jesus wasn't kidding when He said that persecution would follow His true disciples)

Something surprised me, though, as I studyied these people. It was that even though they had a healthy respect for the scriptures, their lifeblood came from direct revelation with Holy Spirit. This mystical side of Christianity intrigued me and as I studying more into it, I realized that that was exactly the kind of relationship I wanted to have with Jesus.

So that leads me to where I am now. One might call me some sort of neo-Quaker charismatic. I could care less for the labels, but what I know for sure is that I know Jesus, I hear His voice, and I follow Him. That is my belief system in a nutshell.

It has been a wonderful journey so far and I can not wait to see what is next :-).

"Stand Up"

This song has been speaking to me so much recently.

"Stand Up"
By Bob Hartman, Performed by Petra

The Battle cry is getting louder
The countdown's close to the final hour
The enemy is on every side
Still no match for the Crucified
Victory unto victory
We are soldiers in His army

[Chorus]
Stand up, take a stand for Jesus
Stand up, so the whole world sees us
Showing the way to a world gone astray
Shining our light with all of our might
Stand up, take a stand for Jesus
Stand up, so the whole world sees us
Following Him, and serving Him
Fighting the fight that we know we will win

Out of our pews and into the streets
Making some use of our beautiful feet
Redeeming the time for the days are evil
This whole world's in such upheaval
We wrestle not with flesh and blood
But when the enemy comes in like a flood

[Chorus]

Gotta lay our lives down
And stand up for the truth we've found

Who I Am

I am Ryan Burgett, a mighty man of God. I have been redeemed and renewed by the blood and body of Jesus Christ given for me. I live in Him and through Him as a new creation, a resurrected and perfected super-human by the power of His holy name. I love Him and He loves me. My life is His life, lived on the earth. When people see me, they see Him.

I devour His Word, both day and night. I commune with Him in my spirit constantly. I am righteous and live with a completely pure heart. I do not battle with sin, but fight the enemy who wants only to steal, kill and destroy. In those cases where I do miss the mark and walk outside of love, I repent and fellowship is immediately restored.

I have given my life, my possessions, my family, my time, my energy, all that makes up my present reality to Him. Nothing do I hold as my own, but freely release to my Lord, Savior and lover. My eyes water when I think of Him, when I ponder the depth of His love. I love to spend time with Him and soak in everything He has to say.

I have opened myself up to be completely possessed by He who has always loved me. He fills me, completes me, makes me His own. My joy comes from knowing Him. I shake in His presence, laugh with joy at His touch. Life is an adventure because of Him and I am wholly and completely sold out. In Him do I find joy, rest, sustenance and shelter. I need nothing in this world and want nothing that would hinder our fellowship. His presence is LIFE to me and I am His.

That is who I am now, and that is who I will always be.

All praise and glory and honor be to Jesus my Savior, Lover, Creator, King and Friend!