It has certainly been a long time since I've written on my blog, but sometimes something occurs in a conversation, or is observed during reading, that must be shared. Last night I attended a Hindu temple for a class as part of a cross-cultural religious experience assignment. My roommate Becky came as well as my friend Rachel. We customarily removed our shoes and sat on the floor of the "sanctuary" and observed. We watched people bring offerings, pray and worship to the physical representations of the Hindu gods, and meditate while listening to their scriptures from the Bhagavad-Gita.
Though my heart was grieved to witness people offer up prayers and sacrifices to mere objects--lifeless pieces of stone, I was awed and inspired by their religious devotion. The temple is open every day of the week in the mornings and evenings for hours for people to come and go. I am not going to judge the hearts of these people and whether they just go through the motions of making their offerings, praying to their gods, and attending prayer time to check it off the list, when I myself am so guilty of just going through the motions with my faith in The God of the Universe whose Spirit dwells within me!
When we left, we had amazing conversation about the experience. Even during the service, though we didn't speak the language and our beliefs weren't aligned with that of the Hindu religion, it was a religious experience. Becky said that throughout our time there she just prayed silently, "God, somehow...may You be glorified." That is our purpose on earth; so we prayed for these kind, gentle, devoted people who Christ died for, just as He died for you and me.
This experience strengthened my faith, just as sharing The Gospel at Kaleo this summer did for my spiritual journey. The reason I titled this post "Forgotten God" is also because that is what my small group is reading this semester. Francis Chan is one of my top 5 most admired people in this world, and this book has challenged, convicted, and enlightened me on so many levels.
While we were enjoying a sandwich at Jimmy John's after leaving the temple, Rachel said something that her roommate once discussed with her that just blew my mind (sooo many things opened my eyes in that convo). She was talking with her roommate about wanting to ask Moses what it was like to live with God right there with them, showing Himself as the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, and hearing His audible voice. She thought, how could the Israelites have turned from God when He was right there obviously in front of them?! Her roommate replied how if Moses could ask one thing of us today, it would be what is it like to have God live WITHIN you? BAM. The Holy Spirit lives within us, and I'm not going to attempt to profess any theological knowledge, but He was there from the beginning too, but not in the same way as after Christ's ascension.
All this to say, marvel at the incomprehensible truth that God lives in us when we ask The Holy Spirit to make us His temple. Let's not forget that our God is right here too. Here am I asking how the Isrealites could disobey with God right there, when I do everyday with God living in me! Rest in the beauty of that truth- nothing can separate you from The Spirit because He lives in you. Our God is amazing! Pray that His light would shine throughout the world.
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?...No, in all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:35-39
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Adventure is calling!
I want to see the world. So many amazing places with millions of people and their stories, as well as the history that has built it all. Home is always calling, but the world is calling too! There is joy to be delivered, hope to be spread, and love to give. Short, sweet, and simple: Give. Discover. Embrace. Love. Look & See. Help. Dive in to the story the world has written...there's so much to learn, to see, and to do! Don't be idle, take whatever adventure comes your way daily. :)
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
A story of faith and courage
I first heard the story of William Borden during a service this summer at Kaleo. I then read about it again in Steve Shadrach's book "Brown Like Coffee." It's a little long, but I just have to share it.
In 1904 young William Borden graduated from a high school in Chicago. As heir to the Borden Dairy fortune, he was already worth millions. As a graduation present, his parents gave the 16-year-old Borden a trip to sail around the world. As he traveled through Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, he sensed a growing burden to reach the lost in nations cut off from the gospel. Finally, Borden wrote home to his parents, expressing, "I'm going to give my life to prepare for the mission field." One of his friends was completely shocked, letting Borden know he felt he was "throwing himself away as a missionary." When Borden heard that, he wrote two words in the front of his Bible:
"No reserves."
Even though Borden was fabulously wealthy, he arrived at Yale University in 1905, attempting to appear like any other freshman student. But soon, his classmates noticed something unique about Borden. One of them wrote: "He came to college far ahead, spiritually, of any of us. He had already given his heart in full surrender to Christ. We learned to lean on him and find in him a strength that was solid as a rock, just because of this settled purpose and consecration." An entry in Borden's journal explained what the other students were seeing in his life. It simply said:
"Say 'no' to self and 'yes' to Jesus every time."
During his first year at Yale, Borden started something that impacted the entire campus for Christ. He challenged a friend to pray with him before breakfast each day, and soon a second joined them, and a third, and a fourth, and others. One of the participants explained, "William would read to us from the Bible, show us something that God had promised, and then proceed to claim the promise with assurance." By the end of his first year, 150 freshmen were meeting for prayer and Bible study each week in small groups. By the time Borden was a senior, 1000 of Yale's 1,300 students were gathering every week for this purpose. He had divided the classes up into smaller groups and assigned key student leaders to reach out and witness to a certain number, with a goal of extending salvation to every student. Borden and his leaders would go over every name and ask, "Who will take this student?" When the name of a hardened or "incorrigible" student came up and no one wanted to take them on, Borden would chime in by saying, "Put him down to me." Young Borden's ministry extended beyond Yale, as he sought to help widows, orphans, cripples, and drunks in the area, forming the Yale Hope Mission.
Borden felt the missionary call to reach out to one of the hardest to reach people groups of all, the Muslim Kansu in China. Once that goal was in sight, Borden never questioned his destiny and consistently challenged his classmates to consider missionary service, even hosting a huge student missionary conference at Yale. Even thought Borden was very involved on campus and served as President of Phi Beta Kappa there at Yale, he chose not to join a fraternity. One student said, "Although he was a millionaire, William seemed to realize always that he must be about his Father's business, and not wasting time in the pursuit of amusement." He never even owned an automobile, and when others asked why, he would casually respond, "Because I can't afford one." But during his undergraduate years at Yale he gave away hundreds of thousands of dollars to Christian ministries. Once he graduated, Borden turned down several lucrative career opportunities. After one especially tempting job offer, he went home and wrote two more words in his Bible:
"No retreats."
Borden instead went on to complete a masters degree at Princeton Seminary, and then newspapers across the nation published articles about this young millionaire who raised his own support to go to China as a missionary. It was 1913 and the entire country was fascinated by this wealthy and gifted young man who turned his back on affluence and comfort in America to risk everything and go to China. On his way there, he stopped first in Cairo, Egypt to study Arabic because he was going to be reaching out to Muslims in China. While there, he contracted spinal meningitis and died a few weeks later in a hospital room--all alone.
When news was cabled back to America that 25-year-old William Whiting Borden was dead, "a wave of sorrow went round the world." His biographer later wrote, "Borden not only gave away his wealth, but himself, in a way so joyous and natural that is seemed a privilege rather than a sacrifice." Many people, though, thought that Borden had thrown his life away. He could have had everything, but instead met an untimely death, they thought, of his own doing. As his associates were packing up his belongings to ship them back to the states for his burial, they found his Bible next to his hospital bed. In the front cover, underneath the words "No reserves" and "No retreats," they were astonished to see the dying Borden has also scrawled two final words: "No regrets."
No reserves
No retreats
No regrets
Although William Borden's life appeared to end prematurely, he had accomplished everything God had planned for him. In his heart of hearts the young 25-year-old millionaire missionary must have reconciled his destiny there on his death bed, making peace with God--and himself. How about you and me? There are a hundred things we could do with our lives, a hundred pursuits for which we could exchange it. But how many of them will enable you to say at the end of your life, "No reserves, no retreats, no regrets?"
Epilogue: The story of his life and early death became a rallying cry for hundreds of college students who ended up spending their lives on the mission field because of Borden of Yale.
Amazing story right? Makes me definitely think twice about how I choose to live today, and what I choose to live for.
In 1904 young William Borden graduated from a high school in Chicago. As heir to the Borden Dairy fortune, he was already worth millions. As a graduation present, his parents gave the 16-year-old Borden a trip to sail around the world. As he traveled through Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, he sensed a growing burden to reach the lost in nations cut off from the gospel. Finally, Borden wrote home to his parents, expressing, "I'm going to give my life to prepare for the mission field." One of his friends was completely shocked, letting Borden know he felt he was "throwing himself away as a missionary." When Borden heard that, he wrote two words in the front of his Bible:
"No reserves."
Even though Borden was fabulously wealthy, he arrived at Yale University in 1905, attempting to appear like any other freshman student. But soon, his classmates noticed something unique about Borden. One of them wrote: "He came to college far ahead, spiritually, of any of us. He had already given his heart in full surrender to Christ. We learned to lean on him and find in him a strength that was solid as a rock, just because of this settled purpose and consecration." An entry in Borden's journal explained what the other students were seeing in his life. It simply said:
"Say 'no' to self and 'yes' to Jesus every time."
During his first year at Yale, Borden started something that impacted the entire campus for Christ. He challenged a friend to pray with him before breakfast each day, and soon a second joined them, and a third, and a fourth, and others. One of the participants explained, "William would read to us from the Bible, show us something that God had promised, and then proceed to claim the promise with assurance." By the end of his first year, 150 freshmen were meeting for prayer and Bible study each week in small groups. By the time Borden was a senior, 1000 of Yale's 1,300 students were gathering every week for this purpose. He had divided the classes up into smaller groups and assigned key student leaders to reach out and witness to a certain number, with a goal of extending salvation to every student. Borden and his leaders would go over every name and ask, "Who will take this student?" When the name of a hardened or "incorrigible" student came up and no one wanted to take them on, Borden would chime in by saying, "Put him down to me." Young Borden's ministry extended beyond Yale, as he sought to help widows, orphans, cripples, and drunks in the area, forming the Yale Hope Mission.
Borden felt the missionary call to reach out to one of the hardest to reach people groups of all, the Muslim Kansu in China. Once that goal was in sight, Borden never questioned his destiny and consistently challenged his classmates to consider missionary service, even hosting a huge student missionary conference at Yale. Even thought Borden was very involved on campus and served as President of Phi Beta Kappa there at Yale, he chose not to join a fraternity. One student said, "Although he was a millionaire, William seemed to realize always that he must be about his Father's business, and not wasting time in the pursuit of amusement." He never even owned an automobile, and when others asked why, he would casually respond, "Because I can't afford one." But during his undergraduate years at Yale he gave away hundreds of thousands of dollars to Christian ministries. Once he graduated, Borden turned down several lucrative career opportunities. After one especially tempting job offer, he went home and wrote two more words in his Bible:
"No retreats."
Borden instead went on to complete a masters degree at Princeton Seminary, and then newspapers across the nation published articles about this young millionaire who raised his own support to go to China as a missionary. It was 1913 and the entire country was fascinated by this wealthy and gifted young man who turned his back on affluence and comfort in America to risk everything and go to China. On his way there, he stopped first in Cairo, Egypt to study Arabic because he was going to be reaching out to Muslims in China. While there, he contracted spinal meningitis and died a few weeks later in a hospital room--all alone.
When news was cabled back to America that 25-year-old William Whiting Borden was dead, "a wave of sorrow went round the world." His biographer later wrote, "Borden not only gave away his wealth, but himself, in a way so joyous and natural that is seemed a privilege rather than a sacrifice." Many people, though, thought that Borden had thrown his life away. He could have had everything, but instead met an untimely death, they thought, of his own doing. As his associates were packing up his belongings to ship them back to the states for his burial, they found his Bible next to his hospital bed. In the front cover, underneath the words "No reserves" and "No retreats," they were astonished to see the dying Borden has also scrawled two final words: "No regrets."
No reserves
No retreats
No regrets
Although William Borden's life appeared to end prematurely, he had accomplished everything God had planned for him. In his heart of hearts the young 25-year-old millionaire missionary must have reconciled his destiny there on his death bed, making peace with God--and himself. How about you and me? There are a hundred things we could do with our lives, a hundred pursuits for which we could exchange it. But how many of them will enable you to say at the end of your life, "No reserves, no retreats, no regrets?"
Epilogue: The story of his life and early death became a rallying cry for hundreds of college students who ended up spending their lives on the mission field because of Borden of Yale.
Amazing story right? Makes me definitely think twice about how I choose to live today, and what I choose to live for.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Beautiful.
If you had the ability to pray one prayer with 100% certainty that you knew God would answer "Yes" to, what would it be? For Jacob it was to be blessed, for Solomon it was to have wisdom, for the thief on the cross it was for Jesus to remember him. Often our prayers are focused on the maintenance of our comfort, convenience and well-being.
David's answer to this question is found in Psalm 27:4, "One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple." I confess this is probably not what I would have said in response to this question. My request would have most likely been a selfish one. David's one request is to dwell in the presence of God and gaze upon His beauty!
This was the kick-off question in a sermon podcast I listened to the other day driving home. This sermon is entitled "Beauty." It is one part in a series about the characteristics of God. Beauty isn't one of the obvious things we think about God. We think of God's love, mercy, wrath, faithfulness, and sovereignty, but how often do we marvel at God's beauty? Not just the beauty of His creation and the beauty reflected in His other characteristics, but His pure, absolute beauty.
Beauty can be deceptive. Just think of Eve and the apple. Beauty is subjective. The speaker of this sermon talked about how she believes in absolute truth, so is there absolute beauty? If beauty can be deceptive, subjective, and sometimes meaningless, how can we approach it when it comes to God? God is absolute beauty. God's beauty is meant to be enjoyed and delighted in. God is innately generous; we see this in Creation. God's beauty is not subject to our filters. Like his wrath, his jealousy, we can't put Him on trial and decide. His beauty stands on its own regardless of our perceptions of it.
God makes beautiful things. But it's more than just the aesthetics. Here is a piece of contemporary modern art. Modern art is more than what you see. We have to fill in the spaces.
First looking at this piece of art I think that anyone could make that, but there is a story behind it that gives it beauty and meaning. This piece of art is called "Synecdoche" which means things fitting together. It doesn't seem that interesting, but when you find out that each one of those tiles represents the skin tones of people the artist has encountered, it takes on a whole new meaning. It causes us to marvel at the beauty of diversity and our individual uniqueness. It's 422 portraits of people and says far more about each individual than an ordinary portrait ever could. In order to see the beauty of God we have to see beyond the surface. When you see a piece of art like this you have to go beyond the surface.
God takes the mess and works it into something beautiful. That's the Bible's story. That's our story. God writes a story of hope and redemption in the midst of the mess. Hope is beautiful. Redemption is beautiful. God is faithful to his story and to His people. Goodness emerges from the mess we make only because God is beauty.
It's important to recognize we do not own God's beauty. We cannot draw boundaries on what is beauty for everyone else. We don't define God's beauty, we are simply called to reflect it. Because we were created in God's image, we were created to create! Now sadly I'm no artist, but I have come to recognize there are many ways for the unartistic people like me to still reflect God's beauty, and The Word tells us how. Love, compassion, gentleness, humility, selflessness, joy, patience, etc. When we allow the character of Christ to be formed in us we reflect God's beauty.
When did we twist beauty? And more importantly, why? Beauty was created to glorify God, but like almost everything else I think that at some point we got it wrong. What does God find beautiful? Feet that bring the Good News. Breaking our alabaster box with reckless abandon like the woman who did this for Jesus.
Seek and find God's beauty in the mess. Trust that God makes all things new and beautiful. My favorite verse is Ecclesiastes 3:11, "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." You are beautiful, and the plan God has for you is a beautiful one, even if zoomed in it appears a mess. Look around you...pure splendor from a generous, beautiful God. God's beauty isn't from what He has done or what He has made, but it is who He is.
Check out podcasts from National Community Church!
David's answer to this question is found in Psalm 27:4, "One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple." I confess this is probably not what I would have said in response to this question. My request would have most likely been a selfish one. David's one request is to dwell in the presence of God and gaze upon His beauty!
This was the kick-off question in a sermon podcast I listened to the other day driving home. This sermon is entitled "Beauty." It is one part in a series about the characteristics of God. Beauty isn't one of the obvious things we think about God. We think of God's love, mercy, wrath, faithfulness, and sovereignty, but how often do we marvel at God's beauty? Not just the beauty of His creation and the beauty reflected in His other characteristics, but His pure, absolute beauty.
Beauty can be deceptive. Just think of Eve and the apple. Beauty is subjective. The speaker of this sermon talked about how she believes in absolute truth, so is there absolute beauty? If beauty can be deceptive, subjective, and sometimes meaningless, how can we approach it when it comes to God? God is absolute beauty. God's beauty is meant to be enjoyed and delighted in. God is innately generous; we see this in Creation. God's beauty is not subject to our filters. Like his wrath, his jealousy, we can't put Him on trial and decide. His beauty stands on its own regardless of our perceptions of it.
God makes beautiful things. But it's more than just the aesthetics. Here is a piece of contemporary modern art. Modern art is more than what you see. We have to fill in the spaces.
First looking at this piece of art I think that anyone could make that, but there is a story behind it that gives it beauty and meaning. This piece of art is called "Synecdoche" which means things fitting together. It doesn't seem that interesting, but when you find out that each one of those tiles represents the skin tones of people the artist has encountered, it takes on a whole new meaning. It causes us to marvel at the beauty of diversity and our individual uniqueness. It's 422 portraits of people and says far more about each individual than an ordinary portrait ever could. In order to see the beauty of God we have to see beyond the surface. When you see a piece of art like this you have to go beyond the surface.
God takes the mess and works it into something beautiful. That's the Bible's story. That's our story. God writes a story of hope and redemption in the midst of the mess. Hope is beautiful. Redemption is beautiful. God is faithful to his story and to His people. Goodness emerges from the mess we make only because God is beauty.
It's important to recognize we do not own God's beauty. We cannot draw boundaries on what is beauty for everyone else. We don't define God's beauty, we are simply called to reflect it. Because we were created in God's image, we were created to create! Now sadly I'm no artist, but I have come to recognize there are many ways for the unartistic people like me to still reflect God's beauty, and The Word tells us how. Love, compassion, gentleness, humility, selflessness, joy, patience, etc. When we allow the character of Christ to be formed in us we reflect God's beauty.
When did we twist beauty? And more importantly, why? Beauty was created to glorify God, but like almost everything else I think that at some point we got it wrong. What does God find beautiful? Feet that bring the Good News. Breaking our alabaster box with reckless abandon like the woman who did this for Jesus.
Seek and find God's beauty in the mess. Trust that God makes all things new and beautiful. My favorite verse is Ecclesiastes 3:11, "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." You are beautiful, and the plan God has for you is a beautiful one, even if zoomed in it appears a mess. Look around you...pure splendor from a generous, beautiful God. God's beauty isn't from what He has done or what He has made, but it is who He is.
Check out podcasts from National Community Church!
Friday, July 29, 2011
Take THAT Fear!
This summer our Kaleo program studied the book of 2 Timothy. To sum it up, it is Paul commanding Timothy to preach the gospel, not be ashamed of it, be prepared in season and out of season, and to recognize the opposition he will face because of it. It is about recognizing the mission God has charged him with, and casting out the fear that creates so many obstacles in life. I imagine Paul writing this last letter to Timothy and all that he wanted to say to his beloved disciple. Paul suffered for the sake of the Gospel. He was able to say in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” My greatest hope is that at the end of my life we all can say that. Where is Paul’s fear? I’ve always convinced myself that I must just not be close enough to God or trusting in Him enough because I am still afraid of so many things. This must mean I’m not a good Christian like Paul, right? Wrong. I’m sure Paul had fears, too. He was human after all. But Paul abandoned his fear to be completely filled with the love of Christ so that the more the Holy Spirit poured into him, the more he poured out his love to others. The love of Christ and for preaching the Gospel to save the lost completely demolished the fear in Paul’s life.
Romans 8:15 says “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 1 John 4:18 says “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.” In Jesus Lives, author Sarah Young gives words straight from Jesus’ mouth so when you read it feels like he is speaking right to you—“You have a perfectly loving, infinitely strong Father, so bring your fears freely to Him…Open your heart to receive vast quantities of His Love. The more of this Love you hold in your heart, the less room there is for fear.”
Fear will never completely disappear from our lives, but with Christ we don’t have to be in bondage to it anymore. We are called to not be ashamed of what Christ has done for us: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). What did the LORD say to Isaac? “Do not be afraid, for I am with you” (Genesis 26: 24). What did Jesus tell the synagogue ruler? “Don’t be afraid; just believe” (Mark 5: 36). After Jesus calmed the storm he said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40). God wants to take our fear, and we want to be rid of it, yet we still cling to it…Why?
In Steve Shadrach’s book Brown Like Coffee, one chapter is dedicated to “Four Exit Ramps You Don’t Want to Take!” These are what we face in the real world. Shadrach says “Getting on and staying on God’s road is one of the greatest challenges we face as followers of Jesus Christ. Allowing Satan, the world, or our own flesh to get us off track might just be a temporary detour, but it could mean…total destruction!” The first exit ramp is fear. We live our lives based on fear by doing the things that are safe and comfortable for us, and running from things that frighten or intimidate us. Shadrach says “I once thought courage was the absence of fear. Not so. In fact, someone interviewed the still-living congressional medal of honor winners and asked them what their definition of courage was. All of them, in one form or another, said that courage isn’t the absence of fear—it’s doing what you’re afraid to do. Whether it’s WWII facing the Nazis at Normandy beach or trusting God with our future, we must walk toward our fears. Easy to say, hard to do, but letting the fear of what others think of us, the fear of the lordship of Christ, or the fear of earthly dangers control us can be exit ramps we don’t want to take.” The real issue is not how to escape our fears, but how to handle them.
So I encourage all of you (and myself) to not be afraid. Whether it’s fear of today, tomorrow, or even a painful past that you can’t seem to escape, trust that God is in control and because of that we are safe. He wants to fight our battles for us, he wants to give us courage to do what we’re afraid of, but we have to let Him. It’s a daily process, but the perfect love of Christ drives out our fears. There will be a day when there is no more fear, but until then Jesus tells us, “ As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” (John 15:9) Give fear a big ol’ karate chop to the jugular! ☺
Romans 8:15 says “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 1 John 4:18 says “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.” In Jesus Lives, author Sarah Young gives words straight from Jesus’ mouth so when you read it feels like he is speaking right to you—“You have a perfectly loving, infinitely strong Father, so bring your fears freely to Him…Open your heart to receive vast quantities of His Love. The more of this Love you hold in your heart, the less room there is for fear.”
Fear will never completely disappear from our lives, but with Christ we don’t have to be in bondage to it anymore. We are called to not be ashamed of what Christ has done for us: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). What did the LORD say to Isaac? “Do not be afraid, for I am with you” (Genesis 26: 24). What did Jesus tell the synagogue ruler? “Don’t be afraid; just believe” (Mark 5: 36). After Jesus calmed the storm he said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40). God wants to take our fear, and we want to be rid of it, yet we still cling to it…Why?
In Steve Shadrach’s book Brown Like Coffee, one chapter is dedicated to “Four Exit Ramps You Don’t Want to Take!” These are what we face in the real world. Shadrach says “Getting on and staying on God’s road is one of the greatest challenges we face as followers of Jesus Christ. Allowing Satan, the world, or our own flesh to get us off track might just be a temporary detour, but it could mean…total destruction!” The first exit ramp is fear. We live our lives based on fear by doing the things that are safe and comfortable for us, and running from things that frighten or intimidate us. Shadrach says “I once thought courage was the absence of fear. Not so. In fact, someone interviewed the still-living congressional medal of honor winners and asked them what their definition of courage was. All of them, in one form or another, said that courage isn’t the absence of fear—it’s doing what you’re afraid to do. Whether it’s WWII facing the Nazis at Normandy beach or trusting God with our future, we must walk toward our fears. Easy to say, hard to do, but letting the fear of what others think of us, the fear of the lordship of Christ, or the fear of earthly dangers control us can be exit ramps we don’t want to take.” The real issue is not how to escape our fears, but how to handle them.
So I encourage all of you (and myself) to not be afraid. Whether it’s fear of today, tomorrow, or even a painful past that you can’t seem to escape, trust that God is in control and because of that we are safe. He wants to fight our battles for us, he wants to give us courage to do what we’re afraid of, but we have to let Him. It’s a daily process, but the perfect love of Christ drives out our fears. There will be a day when there is no more fear, but until then Jesus tells us, “ As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” (John 15:9) Give fear a big ol’ karate chop to the jugular! ☺
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Trust.
"Though the fig tree should not blossom,
And there be no fruit on the vines,
Though the yield of the olive should fail,
And the field produce no food,
Though the flock should be cut off from the fold,
And there be no cattle in the stalls,
Yet I will exult in the LORD,
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.
The Lord GOD is my strength,
And He has made my feet like hinds' feet,
And makes me walk on my high places."
Habakkuk 3:17-19, NASB
Confess your doubts to God.
Trust Him in the darkness.
Rejoice in the waiting.
Be joyful.
This is a beautiful proclamation of faith from Habakkuk. All I can do really is meditate on it. There isn't much else left for me to say! Hope is lifts you up and gives you an example of how we can trust in God and rejoice in Him even when the harvest comes up empty, the world around us appears desolate, and when we feel all we have is nothing.
And there be no fruit on the vines,
Though the yield of the olive should fail,
And the field produce no food,
Though the flock should be cut off from the fold,
And there be no cattle in the stalls,
Yet I will exult in the LORD,
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.
The Lord GOD is my strength,
And He has made my feet like hinds' feet,
And makes me walk on my high places."
Habakkuk 3:17-19, NASB
Confess your doubts to God.
Trust Him in the darkness.
Rejoice in the waiting.
Be joyful.
This is a beautiful proclamation of faith from Habakkuk. All I can do really is meditate on it. There isn't much else left for me to say! Hope is lifts you up and gives you an example of how we can trust in God and rejoice in Him even when the harvest comes up empty, the world around us appears desolate, and when we feel all we have is nothing.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Times
Shakespeare said "Time is the justice that examines all offenders." Every human being lives within time, and we have no control over it. Isn't is incredible to then recognize that only God is outside of time and not only in control of time itself, but in control of everything?
One of my favorite authors, Henry David Thoreau said "Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in." Time can be scary, yes, and can feel defeating. It is also an incredible gift that allows us to cherish this life God has given us. Time is never guaranteed even though we all function under its rules. Time is a beautiful thing because without it there would be no seasons. No growth, rebirth, restoration, redemption, HOPE. What is behind us is already gone, but there is great hope in knowing that each second is a new one that has never happened before. Still, time is hard. With this growth there is also decline. With life there is also death. With joy there is also sorrow. There will be hard times. There have been hard times. God never said there wouldn't be hard times. But He does promise us that He will be there with us through them, deliver us from pain, and Has endured the greatest sorrow beyond all human understanding in giving His Son to suffer rejection, death, and abandonment from his father. There is no hard time that we can go through that God doesn't understand.
Here's an incredible promise from Paul:
"And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear." (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Job 36:15 says "But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction."
Psalm 119:50 says "My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life."
One of my favorite songs is by Tenth Avenue North called "Times." Listen to this song, read the lyrics, and remember that if you are in a season of life of hardship and suffering, God is there. He knows. He weeps with you. He loves you, and He will deliver you from all your pain. We can never see past where we are in time, but God does and He has PROMISED that He "will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Revelation 21:4)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRN0QPXrdR8
I know I need You
I need to love You
I love to see You, but it's been so long
I long to feel You
I feel this need for You
And I need to hear You, is that so wrong?
Oh, oh. Oh, oh. Oh, oh.
Oh, oh. Oh, oh. Oh, oh.
Now You pull me near You
When we're close, I fear You
Still I'm afraid to tell You, all that I've done
Are You done forgiving?
Oh can You look past my pretending?
Lord, I'm so tired of defending, what I've become
What have I become?
Oh, oh. Oh, oh. Oh, oh.
Oh, oh. Oh, oh. Oh, oh.
Oh, oh. Oh, oh. Oh, oh.
Oh, oh. Oh, oh. Oh, oh.
I hear You say,
"My love is over. It's underneath.
It's inside. It's in between.
The times you doubt Me, when you can't feel.
The times that you question, 'Is this for real? '
The times you're broken.
The times that you mend.
The times that you hate Me, and the times that you bend.
Well, My love is over, it's underneath.
It's inside, it's in between.
These times you're healing, and when your heart breaks.
The times that you feel like you're falling from grace.
The times you're hurting.
The times that you heal.
The times you go hungry, and are tempted to steal.
The times of confusion, in chaos and pain.
I'm there in your sorrow, under the weight of your shame.
I'm there through your heartache.
I'm there in the storm.
My love I will keep you, by My pow'r alone.
I don't care where you fall, where you have been.
I'll never forsake you, My love never ends.
It never ends."
One of my favorite authors, Henry David Thoreau said "Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in." Time can be scary, yes, and can feel defeating. It is also an incredible gift that allows us to cherish this life God has given us. Time is never guaranteed even though we all function under its rules. Time is a beautiful thing because without it there would be no seasons. No growth, rebirth, restoration, redemption, HOPE. What is behind us is already gone, but there is great hope in knowing that each second is a new one that has never happened before. Still, time is hard. With this growth there is also decline. With life there is also death. With joy there is also sorrow. There will be hard times. There have been hard times. God never said there wouldn't be hard times. But He does promise us that He will be there with us through them, deliver us from pain, and Has endured the greatest sorrow beyond all human understanding in giving His Son to suffer rejection, death, and abandonment from his father. There is no hard time that we can go through that God doesn't understand.
Here's an incredible promise from Paul:
"And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear." (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Job 36:15 says "But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction."
Psalm 119:50 says "My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life."
One of my favorite songs is by Tenth Avenue North called "Times." Listen to this song, read the lyrics, and remember that if you are in a season of life of hardship and suffering, God is there. He knows. He weeps with you. He loves you, and He will deliver you from all your pain. We can never see past where we are in time, but God does and He has PROMISED that He "will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Revelation 21:4)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRN0QPXrdR8
I know I need You
I need to love You
I love to see You, but it's been so long
I long to feel You
I feel this need for You
And I need to hear You, is that so wrong?
Oh, oh. Oh, oh. Oh, oh.
Oh, oh. Oh, oh. Oh, oh.
Now You pull me near You
When we're close, I fear You
Still I'm afraid to tell You, all that I've done
Are You done forgiving?
Oh can You look past my pretending?
Lord, I'm so tired of defending, what I've become
What have I become?
Oh, oh. Oh, oh. Oh, oh.
Oh, oh. Oh, oh. Oh, oh.
Oh, oh. Oh, oh. Oh, oh.
Oh, oh. Oh, oh. Oh, oh.
I hear You say,
"My love is over. It's underneath.
It's inside. It's in between.
The times you doubt Me, when you can't feel.
The times that you question, 'Is this for real? '
The times you're broken.
The times that you mend.
The times that you hate Me, and the times that you bend.
Well, My love is over, it's underneath.
It's inside, it's in between.
These times you're healing, and when your heart breaks.
The times that you feel like you're falling from grace.
The times you're hurting.
The times that you heal.
The times you go hungry, and are tempted to steal.
The times of confusion, in chaos and pain.
I'm there in your sorrow, under the weight of your shame.
I'm there through your heartache.
I'm there in the storm.
My love I will keep you, by My pow'r alone.
I don't care where you fall, where you have been.
I'll never forsake you, My love never ends.
It never ends."
Monday, June 20, 2011
Change: wavin' hello, wavin' goodbye
If you watch the waves long enough you can begin to freak yourself out a little bit. A million existential questions fall like an avalanche and you begin to really ponder just how many people there are in this world, how many decisions you are capable of making, what is time, and the overwhelming reality of humanity's limitations juxtaposed with its hunger for understanding. No matter what mankind can predict, how far science can go, what knowledge and intelligence man has unveiled, we CAN NOT fully know what tomorrow will bring. We know what to expect, but that is quite another thing. That's just crazy. The only security, the only assurance, the only hope we have and can trust in is in what Christ has already done and what He has promised to do.
I read this poem in high school and again this year in a literature class and I feel like it's fitting for this topic.
Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold
The sea is calm to-night.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits; on the French coast the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand;
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!
Only, from the long line of spray
Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land,
Listen! you hear the grating roar
Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
At their return, up the high strand,
Begin, and cease, and then again begin,
With tremulous cadence slow, and bring
The eternal note of sadness in.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits; on the French coast the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand;
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!
Only, from the long line of spray
Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land,
Listen! you hear the grating roar
Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
At their return, up the high strand,
Begin, and cease, and then again begin,
With tremulous cadence slow, and bring
The eternal note of sadness in.
Sophocles long ago
Heard it on the A gaean, and it brought
Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow
Of human misery; we
Find also in the sound a thought,
Hearing it by this distant northern sea.
Heard it on the A gaean, and it brought
Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow
Of human misery; we
Find also in the sound a thought,
Hearing it by this distant northern sea.
The Sea of Faith
Was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore
Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.
But now I only hear
Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,
Retreating, to the breath
Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear
And naked shingles of the world.
Was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore
Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.
But now I only hear
Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,
Retreating, to the breath
Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear
And naked shingles of the world.
Ah, love, let us be true
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.
I used to hate poetry because I didn't get it. It reminds me of 1 Corinthians 2:14, "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." We often reject what we don't understand. Pride maybe? How can we have confidence in something we don't know? We get to know that something. God is revealed through His Living Word.
The sea is more than a raging force of nature in this poem; it is a vast mystery that is unpredictable, powerful, and seemingly endless. But it is also tranquil, serene, and tonight it happens to be calm. Tomorrow it may be a raging storm, but not tonight. Men before us have stood and looked out at the ocean at night to contemplate life's complexities. Human nature hasn't changed...it is in our nature to question and wonder. The tide ebbs and flows like our sorrows, and just as a beach has no solid foundation and the waves can grab the shores and fling its pebbles, people have begun to lose hope in God, society and themselves. Still, we must be true to one another because in the tempests of life we cling to love! When we look at the ocean there is a sense of helplessness and a feeling of no control. The sea can't be trusted--it has the power to destroy, but we still admire its beauty and we bask in its restorative power. The melody of waves beating upon the shores can in one time of life a haunting chant and in the next a soothing lullaby. In a raging storm we look for the beacon of light, the glimpse of land, and we cling to hope, love, and truth. That is God.
Man is in the chaos and confusion of our culture and society. We cling to the wrong things that cannot satisfy, cannot rescue us, cannot SAVE us! We forget what we are fighting for, and see only the treachery of the waves and not their beauty or the new tide they bring in. A raging storm may come tomorrow, but tonight I will "go to the window" for the night air is sweet, and we are called to face the storms when they come. We don't have to fear change...God controls the waters and heavens, he controls our today and tomorrow, and there will come a day when the storms forever end! What a land of dreams that will be :) Love you all.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
He's The One
Hello Relationships Conference!
What an incredible weekend it's been so far. Our speakers Sean and Kim Vollendorf were so amazing, I'm so thankful they were here to talk to us about building and finding the kinds of relationships that glorify God. It's a hard subject to address because relationships are so complex, but their own story is so so sweet and encouraging in the way they trusted God through years of singleness and other relationships that you can't help but look at them and say "They've got it right!" They are an adorable, hilarious couple whose lives are centered on Christ and recognize their marriage is about furthering God's kingdom. It was such a beautiful, inspiring thing to witness and I'd like to pass on some things that I learned from them to you!
We all know how different men and women are, but it was so enlightening to actually look at what scripture says about men and women. Man was "formed" while woman was "fashioned," and though we can laugh and joke about the way men often have no clue why women don't say what they mean and women can't understand why men don't feel the need to talk about everything, God created woman for man. The most important thing to remember is that we are all created for the same purpose i.e. to be like Christ. Romans 8:29 says "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among any brothers." Man and woman are unified in the mission to be like God's Son.
God called everything He created "good," but man alone was not good. The Vollendorfs outlined these 3 steps in finding Mr. or Mrs. Right: 1. Master 2. Mission 3. Mate- When Adam was with God in the garden he was able to cultivate his relationship with God. Then God gave Adam a mission to rule over the creatures of the earth and give them names, and cultivate the garden. Only after this did God give Adam a mate in Eve. Imagine Adam waking up from this sleep God put him under to awake and find Eve! Not another beast to name, but a creature that was like him with flesh and bones and God's image in her as it was in Adam. That's incredible. God always knows what He is doing, which is why He didn't first create Adam, then Eve, then give them both a mission, then have an intimate relationship with God Himself. First we must recognize who our Master is, who we will follow and who we will serve. Only when we are walking with God can we follow Him to fulfill His mission for our lives and serve His will. If we don't know who we are, who our Master is or where we are going we can not and should not be in a relationship. Then God will bring a mate. When I think how I wanted the mate part to come around 3 years ago I am humored/embarrassed/relieved because I see now how had it been in my control I would have robbed myself of the opportunity to first fall in love with God. I am so thankful He is in control! This time with the Master is a time of singleness. This time is a gift, not a burden, not a waiting period, because in this time you can be in complete intimacy only with God. 1 Corinthians 7:35 talks about singleness in this way: "I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord."
Two foundational principles the couple presented were these: 1. Who you marry will make or break you, 2. God gives the best to those who leave the choice to Him. They asked us if we really believed God had our best interest at heart? If we believe that then why would we ever try to do it ourselves? God is trustworthy and if we want God's best for our life we must trust Him. I will be the first to admit that I have not left the choice to Him. God is writing all of our love stories and I have often shoved Him aside to say "I have a better idea!" "But this is what I want!" "Thanks but I can take it from here, I mean, I know what I want." Ha ha. I've plucked the pen from His hand too often. We forget He created each and every one of us, is out of time and space and sees our story in its entirety, not just chapters or pages like we do. He knows us and He knows what is best! So why would we ever think we know better?! Kim spent 10 years single before marrying Sean and I was completely amazed and inspired by this godly woman. One thing she said that really hit home for me was that in her time of singleness she completely surrendered to God and said, "If I end my life single or married I will not be disappointed in God's plan for me." Isaiah 49:23 says "...then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed." My hope had been in a future relationship not with God, but with a man. I have been my own enemy for so long and it is so freeing to lay every desire at God's feet and say "No matter what, I am going to trust and follow you God." Do not hope in anything but what Christ has promised you-and that is beyond what we could ever imagine or hope for.
I have read several books and bible studies on looking for the right person, waiting for the right person, if "the one" is really out there, how to be the kind of woman a godly man would want, marriage, singleness, dating, etc, etc. But through this conference I felt so driven to not ever lower my standards for a man who is a fully devoted follower of Christ, and to remember that I have already found the only ONE who can and will love and fulfill me forever. A relationship or spouse cannot fill a void that only God can fill. You all will marry someone you date, so why would you ever date someone you couldn't or wouldn't marry? It's simple, but when we let ourselves become entangled by the pursuit and idea of romance and love we can get caught in a fog of infatuation, attachment, compromise, and heartbreak. Guard your heart everyone! Give it to the Lord and He will protect it until a worthy individual comes to Him to ask for it. Relationships were made by God. Love, marriage, and sex was created by God, so honor it all and honor Him. Love is a beautiful thing!!!
What an incredible weekend it's been so far. Our speakers Sean and Kim Vollendorf were so amazing, I'm so thankful they were here to talk to us about building and finding the kinds of relationships that glorify God. It's a hard subject to address because relationships are so complex, but their own story is so so sweet and encouraging in the way they trusted God through years of singleness and other relationships that you can't help but look at them and say "They've got it right!" They are an adorable, hilarious couple whose lives are centered on Christ and recognize their marriage is about furthering God's kingdom. It was such a beautiful, inspiring thing to witness and I'd like to pass on some things that I learned from them to you!
We all know how different men and women are, but it was so enlightening to actually look at what scripture says about men and women. Man was "formed" while woman was "fashioned," and though we can laugh and joke about the way men often have no clue why women don't say what they mean and women can't understand why men don't feel the need to talk about everything, God created woman for man. The most important thing to remember is that we are all created for the same purpose i.e. to be like Christ. Romans 8:29 says "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among any brothers." Man and woman are unified in the mission to be like God's Son.
God called everything He created "good," but man alone was not good. The Vollendorfs outlined these 3 steps in finding Mr. or Mrs. Right: 1. Master 2. Mission 3. Mate- When Adam was with God in the garden he was able to cultivate his relationship with God. Then God gave Adam a mission to rule over the creatures of the earth and give them names, and cultivate the garden. Only after this did God give Adam a mate in Eve. Imagine Adam waking up from this sleep God put him under to awake and find Eve! Not another beast to name, but a creature that was like him with flesh and bones and God's image in her as it was in Adam. That's incredible. God always knows what He is doing, which is why He didn't first create Adam, then Eve, then give them both a mission, then have an intimate relationship with God Himself. First we must recognize who our Master is, who we will follow and who we will serve. Only when we are walking with God can we follow Him to fulfill His mission for our lives and serve His will. If we don't know who we are, who our Master is or where we are going we can not and should not be in a relationship. Then God will bring a mate. When I think how I wanted the mate part to come around 3 years ago I am humored/embarrassed/relieved because I see now how had it been in my control I would have robbed myself of the opportunity to first fall in love with God. I am so thankful He is in control! This time with the Master is a time of singleness. This time is a gift, not a burden, not a waiting period, because in this time you can be in complete intimacy only with God. 1 Corinthians 7:35 talks about singleness in this way: "I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord."
Two foundational principles the couple presented were these: 1. Who you marry will make or break you, 2. God gives the best to those who leave the choice to Him. They asked us if we really believed God had our best interest at heart? If we believe that then why would we ever try to do it ourselves? God is trustworthy and if we want God's best for our life we must trust Him. I will be the first to admit that I have not left the choice to Him. God is writing all of our love stories and I have often shoved Him aside to say "I have a better idea!" "But this is what I want!" "Thanks but I can take it from here, I mean, I know what I want." Ha ha. I've plucked the pen from His hand too often. We forget He created each and every one of us, is out of time and space and sees our story in its entirety, not just chapters or pages like we do. He knows us and He knows what is best! So why would we ever think we know better?! Kim spent 10 years single before marrying Sean and I was completely amazed and inspired by this godly woman. One thing she said that really hit home for me was that in her time of singleness she completely surrendered to God and said, "If I end my life single or married I will not be disappointed in God's plan for me." Isaiah 49:23 says "...then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed." My hope had been in a future relationship not with God, but with a man. I have been my own enemy for so long and it is so freeing to lay every desire at God's feet and say "No matter what, I am going to trust and follow you God." Do not hope in anything but what Christ has promised you-and that is beyond what we could ever imagine or hope for.
I have read several books and bible studies on looking for the right person, waiting for the right person, if "the one" is really out there, how to be the kind of woman a godly man would want, marriage, singleness, dating, etc, etc. But through this conference I felt so driven to not ever lower my standards for a man who is a fully devoted follower of Christ, and to remember that I have already found the only ONE who can and will love and fulfill me forever. A relationship or spouse cannot fill a void that only God can fill. You all will marry someone you date, so why would you ever date someone you couldn't or wouldn't marry? It's simple, but when we let ourselves become entangled by the pursuit and idea of romance and love we can get caught in a fog of infatuation, attachment, compromise, and heartbreak. Guard your heart everyone! Give it to the Lord and He will protect it until a worthy individual comes to Him to ask for it. Relationships were made by God. Love, marriage, and sex was created by God, so honor it all and honor Him. Love is a beautiful thing!!!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Are there any questions?
A few days back I was reading My Utmost For His Highest and was really struck by Oswald Chambers' reflection on John 16:23, "And in that day ye shall ask Me nothing." Chambers says:
"When is 'that day'? When the Ascended Lord makes you one with the Father. In that day you will be one with the Father as Jesus is, and 'in that day,' Jesus says, 'ye shall ask Me nothing.' Until the resurrection life of Jesus is manifested in you, you want to ask this and that; then after a while you find all questions gone, you do not seem to have any left to ask. You have come to the place of entire reliance on the resurrection life of Jesus which brings you into perfect contact with the purpose of God. Are you living that life now? If not, why shouldn't you? There may be any number of things dark to your understanding, but they do not come in between your heart and God. 'And in that day ye shall ask Me no question'--you do not need to, ou are so certain that God will bring things out in accordance with His will. John 14:1 has become the real state of your heart, and there are no more questions to be asked. If anything is a mystery to you and it is coming in between you and God, never look for the explanation in your intellect, look for it in your disposition, it is that which is wrong. When once your disposition is willing to submit to the life of Jesus, the understanding will be perfectly clear, and you will get to the place where there is no distance between the Father and His child because the Lord had made you one, and 'in that day ye shall ask Me no question.'
I don't know about all of you, but I ask God A LOT of questions. Sometimes subconsciously, often consciously, sometimes spoken, often not...still I ask Him questions. How? Why? When? Where? What? Who? It's like I'm a CSI agent interrogating my suspect because I want answers! The ironic things is that if all I'm looking for is truth, Jesus must just look himself up and down, arms extended, with a loving smirk back at me and say, "Daughter, here I am. Here is my Word. Here is my Spirit. This is your answer." I think it's incredible to imagine being able to ask God absolutely anything and in the moment not needing to or wanting to anymore. It's not a case of being lost for words, it is complete trust. Like Chambers said, so much is a mystery and will remain in the dark, but this shouldn't in any way separate our hearts from God. Believing that God is in control and trusting His purpose for all of us brings us to a place of "entire reliance on the resurrection life of Jesus."
This summer Kaleo groups are distributed into different churches for the 9 weeks we are here and for the first time I am attending a Southern Baptist Church. It's a change from my nondenominational church back at school, but I am glad for a look at a different method with the same truth. I don't know if any of you have ever seen The Iron Giant, but it's an amazing animated film about a metal alien robot who comes to earth, unaware that he was actually created as a great weapon, who is discovered by a boy who becomes his best friend and must protect him from himself and the government. The Iron Giant is good and sweet, but as time goes on his instincts start to control him and he must suppress the violent nature that he so desperately wishes he didn't have. Hate to ruin the movie for ya but He ends up sacrificing himself to save the boy's town, but it's okay because he has this really cool ability to be broken up into a ton of parts and a little light on top of his head signals for all the parts to come back together again. Long summary for a very simple movie, but it's so legit! How is this relevant? Well I was just thinking how if the church is all one body, then right now we are like a discombobulated iron giant with our head being our united belief in Jesus that blinks and wants to restore all the parts to be made whole again. What unites us is far more important than what divides us.
So anyway, today our pastor talked about slandering God's power. It was such a difficult subject to listen to that I admire the truth and conviction the pastor preached from in his message. It took courage to address this topic, and it helped 2 of our guys answer some really tough questions for a nonbeliever during beach evangelism today. He was looking at natural disasters from a biblical perspective and asking where is God in all this? Is God really in control? Can we trust in Him? Can God really be loving and allow these things to happen? Deep, deep, difficult, agonizing questions. The recent tragedies from tornadoes are still such fresh wounds, so I was initially taken aback when the pastor launched in to this topic. I thought to myself at first, how can he talk about this when people haven't even had time to heal? Right now people are grieving and we don't want to talk about these questions right now because we don't want to hear the answers. I thought, how dare I have any sort of perspective on this when me and my loved ones are safe at the moment? The question, if God has control over everything, why does He not step in to stop these natural disasters? What is worse, to believe God is in control and He does allow these things to happen and does not step in, or that He is really not in control of it all? We cannot hope and believe that He is in control of your life and mine and at the same time wish that He didn't have control of the weather and disasters so that we wouldn't have to blame Him for the bad things or ask why He didn't stop them. It's so hard. It's a catch-22. I do not have enough life experience to have a completely legitimate perspective, but the absolute truth that is not relative because it never changes and I can subsequently be completely confident in even at this point in my life is that GOD IS IN CONTROL. I'm so glad I'm not.
We have so many questions and always will, and God always opens up the floor for questions, but He wants us to recognize that in our human states in our time on earth we cannot comprehend His eternal perspective. His ways our not ours, but they are perfect and infinite whereas ours are flawed, ignorant and finite. There is pain, there are questions with no answers. But there is hope, always hope. Always a flicker of it and that hope is found in Jesus who unites the body and promises us eternal life. No guilt in life, no fear in death, this is the power of Christ in me!
Jesus is the peace that calms the storm. He speaks to the wind. Trust Him to carry you. Cling to Him. In these raging storms at sea He is the Rock we can hold on to.
"When is 'that day'? When the Ascended Lord makes you one with the Father. In that day you will be one with the Father as Jesus is, and 'in that day,' Jesus says, 'ye shall ask Me nothing.' Until the resurrection life of Jesus is manifested in you, you want to ask this and that; then after a while you find all questions gone, you do not seem to have any left to ask. You have come to the place of entire reliance on the resurrection life of Jesus which brings you into perfect contact with the purpose of God. Are you living that life now? If not, why shouldn't you? There may be any number of things dark to your understanding, but they do not come in between your heart and God. 'And in that day ye shall ask Me no question'--you do not need to, ou are so certain that God will bring things out in accordance with His will. John 14:1 has become the real state of your heart, and there are no more questions to be asked. If anything is a mystery to you and it is coming in between you and God, never look for the explanation in your intellect, look for it in your disposition, it is that which is wrong. When once your disposition is willing to submit to the life of Jesus, the understanding will be perfectly clear, and you will get to the place where there is no distance between the Father and His child because the Lord had made you one, and 'in that day ye shall ask Me no question.'
I don't know about all of you, but I ask God A LOT of questions. Sometimes subconsciously, often consciously, sometimes spoken, often not...still I ask Him questions. How? Why? When? Where? What? Who? It's like I'm a CSI agent interrogating my suspect because I want answers! The ironic things is that if all I'm looking for is truth, Jesus must just look himself up and down, arms extended, with a loving smirk back at me and say, "Daughter, here I am. Here is my Word. Here is my Spirit. This is your answer." I think it's incredible to imagine being able to ask God absolutely anything and in the moment not needing to or wanting to anymore. It's not a case of being lost for words, it is complete trust. Like Chambers said, so much is a mystery and will remain in the dark, but this shouldn't in any way separate our hearts from God. Believing that God is in control and trusting His purpose for all of us brings us to a place of "entire reliance on the resurrection life of Jesus."
This summer Kaleo groups are distributed into different churches for the 9 weeks we are here and for the first time I am attending a Southern Baptist Church. It's a change from my nondenominational church back at school, but I am glad for a look at a different method with the same truth. I don't know if any of you have ever seen The Iron Giant, but it's an amazing animated film about a metal alien robot who comes to earth, unaware that he was actually created as a great weapon, who is discovered by a boy who becomes his best friend and must protect him from himself and the government. The Iron Giant is good and sweet, but as time goes on his instincts start to control him and he must suppress the violent nature that he so desperately wishes he didn't have. Hate to ruin the movie for ya but He ends up sacrificing himself to save the boy's town, but it's okay because he has this really cool ability to be broken up into a ton of parts and a little light on top of his head signals for all the parts to come back together again. Long summary for a very simple movie, but it's so legit! How is this relevant? Well I was just thinking how if the church is all one body, then right now we are like a discombobulated iron giant with our head being our united belief in Jesus that blinks and wants to restore all the parts to be made whole again. What unites us is far more important than what divides us.
So anyway, today our pastor talked about slandering God's power. It was such a difficult subject to listen to that I admire the truth and conviction the pastor preached from in his message. It took courage to address this topic, and it helped 2 of our guys answer some really tough questions for a nonbeliever during beach evangelism today. He was looking at natural disasters from a biblical perspective and asking where is God in all this? Is God really in control? Can we trust in Him? Can God really be loving and allow these things to happen? Deep, deep, difficult, agonizing questions. The recent tragedies from tornadoes are still such fresh wounds, so I was initially taken aback when the pastor launched in to this topic. I thought to myself at first, how can he talk about this when people haven't even had time to heal? Right now people are grieving and we don't want to talk about these questions right now because we don't want to hear the answers. I thought, how dare I have any sort of perspective on this when me and my loved ones are safe at the moment? The question, if God has control over everything, why does He not step in to stop these natural disasters? What is worse, to believe God is in control and He does allow these things to happen and does not step in, or that He is really not in control of it all? We cannot hope and believe that He is in control of your life and mine and at the same time wish that He didn't have control of the weather and disasters so that we wouldn't have to blame Him for the bad things or ask why He didn't stop them. It's so hard. It's a catch-22. I do not have enough life experience to have a completely legitimate perspective, but the absolute truth that is not relative because it never changes and I can subsequently be completely confident in even at this point in my life is that GOD IS IN CONTROL. I'm so glad I'm not.
We have so many questions and always will, and God always opens up the floor for questions, but He wants us to recognize that in our human states in our time on earth we cannot comprehend His eternal perspective. His ways our not ours, but they are perfect and infinite whereas ours are flawed, ignorant and finite. There is pain, there are questions with no answers. But there is hope, always hope. Always a flicker of it and that hope is found in Jesus who unites the body and promises us eternal life. No guilt in life, no fear in death, this is the power of Christ in me!
Jesus is the peace that calms the storm. He speaks to the wind. Trust Him to carry you. Cling to Him. In these raging storms at sea He is the Rock we can hold on to.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Come on get happy!
"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday ordinary life--your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life--and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him." Romans 12:1 (MSG)
The daily grind began Monday. The real world. Work from 8 am until 4 pm. Completely normal. Well, I hate to admit that coming into this program I had an understanding that we would be working full-time jobs during the course of the 9 weeks are here, BUT I hadn't quite grasped that the job we get may not live up to our expectations. If there was an ashamed face here I would put it, but I will readily confess that I did not respond well at first to my new job at a beach department store. Sounds fun and simple right? That's not how I felt after being on my feet 8 hours on Monday with no one to talk to. I am the only one from my project at my job and I was beginning to come up with all these negative thoughts about how this wasn't how I wanted to spend my summer and how I had it worse than everyone else and I didn't know how I was going to show any sort of joy to witness about Christ in this environment. Wah wah waaah. I am now embarrassed by my initial reaction. I was so emotional after my first few days (sorry mom and to everyone else who had to hear about it) because I didn't understand how I ended up where I did. I had to ask myself, what is the real issue here? I began to pray for God to renew my mindset and trust that He had placed me there for a purpose. I have been meditating on Isaiah 26:3, "You will keep perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you." I would repeat this again and again in my mind and pray for a steadfast mind. My group leader provided me with the Colossians 3:23 which says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." I thank God for His Word, His Spirit, and people. Those three things are what we carry in this life to draw us closer to Him, bring us back to truth, and be thankful. I had to let go of my pride and realize:
1. I was thankful to have a job
2. This is only for 8 weeks
3. I am dishonoring and disrespecting my coworkers who make it their career to work at this store by disliking it
4. It's not about me and my comfort, in fact I prayed that God would stretch me this summer and put me out of my comfort zone
5. I am here to plant seeds in the hearts of the people I work with and encounter so they may come to know the one true God and His Son Jesus Christ
6. Everyday I have the opportunity to work and be happy, some don't have this luxury
7. Attitude is a choice
8. How dare I compare my lot with another's? I am so undeservedly blessed
9. I wake up everyday with health, love, and hope for my future...many don't
10. God gave us a spirit of self-discipline
I have taken for granted so much in the past and even after just a few days at this job I have a fuller appreciation for my Learning Center job at home (best job in the whole world/my second home), and a newfound respect for anyone in retail. I greatly admire the way many of my coworkers work so diligently and I realized that I can learn from them just as much as I hope they can learn from me.
I am reading a book called Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow and in the very first chapter she introduces the wisdom of a woman named Ella, who was a missionary with the pygmies in Africa for 52 years. In her diary they found this prescription for contentment:
My day may not be spent doing anything extraordinarily significant, but it is important that I do it. I have a place and purpose at this job that I know God can use me in if I allow Him to work through it. I am so thankful that God changes my anxious, wavering, irrational heart and brings me back to the truth in Him. I want to make the most of every moment I am here, and I am so excited for everyone at Kaleo who has this opportunity to be working in the real world in real jobs with real people. I pray we can all be the change we want to see in the world.
Forgive my initial brattiness (that's the only word I can use to describe it) and boohooing about a new kind of work that everyone out there must eventually do!
I am praying for all of you. Thank you for encouraging and supporting me and this program. Keep praying and reading God's Word...I never knew what power it really has. Life is good not because everything is peachy but because God is good, He loves us and He wants us to give Him everything. Offer up your everyday lives to Him!
The daily grind began Monday. The real world. Work from 8 am until 4 pm. Completely normal. Well, I hate to admit that coming into this program I had an understanding that we would be working full-time jobs during the course of the 9 weeks are here, BUT I hadn't quite grasped that the job we get may not live up to our expectations. If there was an ashamed face here I would put it, but I will readily confess that I did not respond well at first to my new job at a beach department store. Sounds fun and simple right? That's not how I felt after being on my feet 8 hours on Monday with no one to talk to. I am the only one from my project at my job and I was beginning to come up with all these negative thoughts about how this wasn't how I wanted to spend my summer and how I had it worse than everyone else and I didn't know how I was going to show any sort of joy to witness about Christ in this environment. Wah wah waaah. I am now embarrassed by my initial reaction. I was so emotional after my first few days (sorry mom and to everyone else who had to hear about it) because I didn't understand how I ended up where I did. I had to ask myself, what is the real issue here? I began to pray for God to renew my mindset and trust that He had placed me there for a purpose. I have been meditating on Isaiah 26:3, "You will keep perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you." I would repeat this again and again in my mind and pray for a steadfast mind. My group leader provided me with the Colossians 3:23 which says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." I thank God for His Word, His Spirit, and people. Those three things are what we carry in this life to draw us closer to Him, bring us back to truth, and be thankful. I had to let go of my pride and realize:
1. I was thankful to have a job
2. This is only for 8 weeks
3. I am dishonoring and disrespecting my coworkers who make it their career to work at this store by disliking it
4. It's not about me and my comfort, in fact I prayed that God would stretch me this summer and put me out of my comfort zone
5. I am here to plant seeds in the hearts of the people I work with and encounter so they may come to know the one true God and His Son Jesus Christ
6. Everyday I have the opportunity to work and be happy, some don't have this luxury
7. Attitude is a choice
8. How dare I compare my lot with another's? I am so undeservedly blessed
9. I wake up everyday with health, love, and hope for my future...many don't
10. God gave us a spirit of self-discipline
I have taken for granted so much in the past and even after just a few days at this job I have a fuller appreciation for my Learning Center job at home (best job in the whole world/my second home), and a newfound respect for anyone in retail. I greatly admire the way many of my coworkers work so diligently and I realized that I can learn from them just as much as I hope they can learn from me.
I am reading a book called Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow and in the very first chapter she introduces the wisdom of a woman named Ella, who was a missionary with the pygmies in Africa for 52 years. In her diary they found this prescription for contentment:
- Never allow yourself to complain about anything--not even the weather
- Never picture yourself in any other circumstances or someplace else
- Never compare your lot with another's
- Never allow yourself to wish this or that had been otherwise
- Never dwell on tomorrow--remember that tomorrow is God's, not ours.
My day may not be spent doing anything extraordinarily significant, but it is important that I do it. I have a place and purpose at this job that I know God can use me in if I allow Him to work through it. I am so thankful that God changes my anxious, wavering, irrational heart and brings me back to the truth in Him. I want to make the most of every moment I am here, and I am so excited for everyone at Kaleo who has this opportunity to be working in the real world in real jobs with real people. I pray we can all be the change we want to see in the world.
Forgive my initial brattiness (that's the only word I can use to describe it) and boohooing about a new kind of work that everyone out there must eventually do!
I am praying for all of you. Thank you for encouraging and supporting me and this program. Keep praying and reading God's Word...I never knew what power it really has. Life is good not because everything is peachy but because God is good, He loves us and He wants us to give Him everything. Offer up your everyday lives to Him!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
A faith like that!
"We have around us so many people whose lives tell us what faith means. So let us run the race that is before us and never give up. We should remove from our lives anything that would get in the way and the sin that so easily holds us back. Let us look only to Jesus, the One who began our faith and who makes it perfect." Hebrews 12:1-2
In Max Lucado's book God's Inspirational Promises, there is a note titled "Strength" which says:
"An example of faith was found on the wall of a concentration camp. On it a prisoner had carved the words: I believe in the sun, even though it doesn't shine, I believe in love, even when it isn't shown, I believe in God, even when he doesn't speak." I try to imagine the person who etched those words. I try to envision his skeletal hand gripping the broken glass or stone that cut into the wall. I try to imagine his eyes squinting through the darkness as he carved each letter. What and could have cut such a conviction? What eyes could have seen good in such horror? There is only one answer: Eyes that chose to see the unseen."
Wowza. I cannot even fathom my own self possessing the kind of strength of trust displayed from the prisoner in this story. I get overwhelmed even when things are going good and I often fear for how I will react when bad times come, and indeed they will. I have had my own struggles and dark times in my young life, but I have not suffered. Sometimes I feel like God is preparing me now to trust in Him in the good and bad.
I pray we can all have a disposition like Job's. God knew his heart and that he was "blameless and upright." God protected Job's very life even though Satan robbed him of everything else. Satan mocked God saying that the only reason Job was a faithful, God-fearing man was because he had everything at his disposal but that through the loss of his family, home, health and possessions he would reject the God he once loved. Everyone around Job viewed him as an ignorant, manipulated fool, but he remained steadfast. In the third chapter of the book of Job, he laments. He is utterly grief stricken and overwhelmed by sorrow and suffering. He is human and still must ask, "What strength do I have, that I should still hope?" (6:11) He cries out to God, what have I done to deserve this? Why have you not interceded on my behalf? Everyone will ask this question at some point. We often don't understand what or why we are forced to struggle and endure, but looking back we can see God's handiwork. It's all about perspective.
God always answers. Not in the way we may expect or understand, but He does. God finally says to Job, "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundations? Tell me, if you understand." (38:4) God asks him are you the one with the power over heaven and earth? Is it you who brings the dawn? Have you been shown the gates of death? Where is light and where is darkness? Job cannot answer these questions because God is God and we are not. Look at God's power. He is in control, not us and therefore we do not always need to understand. We certainly want to, but we can't and shouldn't. That is trust.
I want a faith like Job's. I want a faith like the prisoner in Lucado's story. In the last chapter, Job replies to God "I know that you can do all things...Surely I spoke of things I did not understand...My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you." Job repents and is restored. I pray that we can all humbly come before God and admit we were wrong and weak, but our Lord is strong and just. Wake up to the sunrise and recognize you did not put it there, therefore you cannot know all there is to know or understand all the ways of the Creator. My best friend's blog is titled "Embracing the Mystery." This is so fitting for our daily journey with God. It's a beautiful mystery, but not a maze we are meant to feel trapped or lost in. Jesus directs our paths and His Word reveals the truth that provides a solid path to walk on. A faith like that changes everything.
In Max Lucado's book God's Inspirational Promises, there is a note titled "Strength" which says:
"An example of faith was found on the wall of a concentration camp. On it a prisoner had carved the words: I believe in the sun, even though it doesn't shine, I believe in love, even when it isn't shown, I believe in God, even when he doesn't speak." I try to imagine the person who etched those words. I try to envision his skeletal hand gripping the broken glass or stone that cut into the wall. I try to imagine his eyes squinting through the darkness as he carved each letter. What and could have cut such a conviction? What eyes could have seen good in such horror? There is only one answer: Eyes that chose to see the unseen."
Wowza. I cannot even fathom my own self possessing the kind of strength of trust displayed from the prisoner in this story. I get overwhelmed even when things are going good and I often fear for how I will react when bad times come, and indeed they will. I have had my own struggles and dark times in my young life, but I have not suffered. Sometimes I feel like God is preparing me now to trust in Him in the good and bad.
I pray we can all have a disposition like Job's. God knew his heart and that he was "blameless and upright." God protected Job's very life even though Satan robbed him of everything else. Satan mocked God saying that the only reason Job was a faithful, God-fearing man was because he had everything at his disposal but that through the loss of his family, home, health and possessions he would reject the God he once loved. Everyone around Job viewed him as an ignorant, manipulated fool, but he remained steadfast. In the third chapter of the book of Job, he laments. He is utterly grief stricken and overwhelmed by sorrow and suffering. He is human and still must ask, "What strength do I have, that I should still hope?" (6:11) He cries out to God, what have I done to deserve this? Why have you not interceded on my behalf? Everyone will ask this question at some point. We often don't understand what or why we are forced to struggle and endure, but looking back we can see God's handiwork. It's all about perspective.
God always answers. Not in the way we may expect or understand, but He does. God finally says to Job, "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundations? Tell me, if you understand." (38:4) God asks him are you the one with the power over heaven and earth? Is it you who brings the dawn? Have you been shown the gates of death? Where is light and where is darkness? Job cannot answer these questions because God is God and we are not. Look at God's power. He is in control, not us and therefore we do not always need to understand. We certainly want to, but we can't and shouldn't. That is trust.
I want a faith like Job's. I want a faith like the prisoner in Lucado's story. In the last chapter, Job replies to God "I know that you can do all things...Surely I spoke of things I did not understand...My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you." Job repents and is restored. I pray that we can all humbly come before God and admit we were wrong and weak, but our Lord is strong and just. Wake up to the sunrise and recognize you did not put it there, therefore you cannot know all there is to know or understand all the ways of the Creator. My best friend's blog is titled "Embracing the Mystery." This is so fitting for our daily journey with God. It's a beautiful mystery, but not a maze we are meant to feel trapped or lost in. Jesus directs our paths and His Word reveals the truth that provides a solid path to walk on. A faith like that changes everything.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Be bold!
I have arrived at Kaleo in Panama City Beach, Florida and the summer is already off to an amazing start. I don't do well with endings, but I love new beginnings. I have already learned so much and I can tell how I will be stretched and challenged this summer and experience profound growth in my walk with God. I am so thankful for my best friend Kayla Conant for challenging me to step out of my comfort zone, appeal to my convictions, and follow God with reckless abandon. My fear and timidity often stifles me and my reactions to situations, but this opportunity has already shown me how to step up and step out in faith.
This summer we are studying the book of 2 Timothy. As I was reading today, the verse that most struck me was 2 Timothy 1:6-7 which says, "I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God...For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." I had to recognize that my fear, lack of confidence, and insecurities are not only my own faults and weaknesses but devices of the enemy. God did not give us a spirit of timidity; we obtain it from fear and doubt. The first chapter of 2 Timothy goes on to say in verse 12, "Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed..." We are learning in this program how to disciple and witness the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. There is no place for fear or shame in God's great commission for us to share the Good News. There is no place for timidity in proclaiming the glory of God! Why is it that we are so apt to avidly proclaim good news in any other situation in life, but many of us shake in our boots in the thought of directly relaying the GREATEST NEWS EVER to people.
Galatians 1:10 asks "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men?" There verse goes on to assert, "If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." I am so guilty of trying to please men over God. I have been kept from sharing my faith out of fear of offending someone, or from fear of coming off as judgmental, condescending, or self-righteous. But I would much rather "offend" someone through universal absolute truth than comfort them with sugar-coated falsehood. That's hard for me as a people-pleaser and as someone who cares so much for the feelings of others, but I know in the grand scheme of things it is the right thing. Jesus' parables and teachings call in to question the way we are living and the way we think, act and believe. Many of the words he spoke would have offended his disciples, followers and strangers. I pray we can all speak truth in love and do it without fear or timidity.
Be bold. Cast off your fears. Embrace your call as a servant of Christ entrusted with the gift of His message of salvation for ALL. Amen and amen.
This summer we are studying the book of 2 Timothy. As I was reading today, the verse that most struck me was 2 Timothy 1:6-7 which says, "I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God...For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." I had to recognize that my fear, lack of confidence, and insecurities are not only my own faults and weaknesses but devices of the enemy. God did not give us a spirit of timidity; we obtain it from fear and doubt. The first chapter of 2 Timothy goes on to say in verse 12, "Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed..." We are learning in this program how to disciple and witness the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. There is no place for fear or shame in God's great commission for us to share the Good News. There is no place for timidity in proclaiming the glory of God! Why is it that we are so apt to avidly proclaim good news in any other situation in life, but many of us shake in our boots in the thought of directly relaying the GREATEST NEWS EVER to people.
Galatians 1:10 asks "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men?" There verse goes on to assert, "If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." I am so guilty of trying to please men over God. I have been kept from sharing my faith out of fear of offending someone, or from fear of coming off as judgmental, condescending, or self-righteous. But I would much rather "offend" someone through universal absolute truth than comfort them with sugar-coated falsehood. That's hard for me as a people-pleaser and as someone who cares so much for the feelings of others, but I know in the grand scheme of things it is the right thing. Jesus' parables and teachings call in to question the way we are living and the way we think, act and believe. Many of the words he spoke would have offended his disciples, followers and strangers. I pray we can all speak truth in love and do it without fear or timidity.
Be bold. Cast off your fears. Embrace your call as a servant of Christ entrusted with the gift of His message of salvation for ALL. Amen and amen.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Listen...
"Then Jesus explained: 'My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. Do you think the work of harvesting will not begin until the summer ends four months from now? Look around you! Vast fields are ripening all around us and are ready now for harvest." John 4: 34-35 (NLT)
Every follower of Christ has struggled with discerning God's will for their lives. We get caught up in the idea of our futures and what we can and will do, but too often we can't figure out what to do. So we have the best of intentions right? God honors that right? Well, yes, He does honor when our hearts desire to fulfill that which He has planned for us, but I imagine Him lovingly chuckling when we beg of Him to reveal what that is! Often I have prayed that if God would just TELL me, give me some sort of visual "sign," some clear indication of what He wants me to do, that I would do it! No questions asked. But the beautiful thing about Him knowing us backwards and forwards is that He knows even then we would have questions. Even then, we would be dissatisfied. He has given us His Word and in it He begs of us to "listen!" and "look!" and "believe." It's all right there in front of us, but the hard part is faith and trust. The easier road is not the better one, and the true fulfillment comes from following Christ through doubt and uncertainty. This requires us to listen, look, and sense. His presence is all around if we seek Him, and we can't expect God to appear to us to say, "I want you to go to medical school. I want you to move to Finland. I want you to marry this person. I want you to do this for your summer. I want you to..." He wants us to choose! The beauty is that whatever we choose, if our lives are centered on Him and we are earnestly and eagerly seeking His face, we will find ourselves fulfilling and "doing the will of God" which will bring us true fulfillment. Listen and look for today. Do it tomorrow too. Just don't do it with the intention of getting all that you want. That's not what we are called to as Christ's followers. When we follow Christ, we lead others, and if we look around we will certainly see a world hungry for nourishment that food alone cannot provide. So look...listen..."vast fields are ripening all around us and are ready now for harvest."
Every follower of Christ has struggled with discerning God's will for their lives. We get caught up in the idea of our futures and what we can and will do, but too often we can't figure out what to do. So we have the best of intentions right? God honors that right? Well, yes, He does honor when our hearts desire to fulfill that which He has planned for us, but I imagine Him lovingly chuckling when we beg of Him to reveal what that is! Often I have prayed that if God would just TELL me, give me some sort of visual "sign," some clear indication of what He wants me to do, that I would do it! No questions asked. But the beautiful thing about Him knowing us backwards and forwards is that He knows even then we would have questions. Even then, we would be dissatisfied. He has given us His Word and in it He begs of us to "listen!" and "look!" and "believe." It's all right there in front of us, but the hard part is faith and trust. The easier road is not the better one, and the true fulfillment comes from following Christ through doubt and uncertainty. This requires us to listen, look, and sense. His presence is all around if we seek Him, and we can't expect God to appear to us to say, "I want you to go to medical school. I want you to move to Finland. I want you to marry this person. I want you to do this for your summer. I want you to..." He wants us to choose! The beauty is that whatever we choose, if our lives are centered on Him and we are earnestly and eagerly seeking His face, we will find ourselves fulfilling and "doing the will of God" which will bring us true fulfillment. Listen and look for today. Do it tomorrow too. Just don't do it with the intention of getting all that you want. That's not what we are called to as Christ's followers. When we follow Christ, we lead others, and if we look around we will certainly see a world hungry for nourishment that food alone cannot provide. So look...listen..."vast fields are ripening all around us and are ready now for harvest."
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