Do you ever feel like your brain is so full of information that you can't contain any more? And then one of your professors oh-so-gently reminds you that you have a 10 page paper due in 2 days?
What do you do? Do you flip out and dive right into the enormous mountain of work that is looming over you? Do you just curl up in bed and watch a movie to escape it all? Do you call your mom for sympathy and then just end up getting an attitude when she says that it's just part of life? Do you run to a friend and cry as if this is the worst thing that has ever happened to anyone in the entire world in all of human history?
Wrong responses.
God has you where you are right now for a reason. And that reason may not be the most obvious. He has you in those particular classes with those particular people in those particular groups because that is how He can get the most glory. Even when professors begin to sound more like Charlie Brown's teacher than any intelligible human beings, God is teaching us something. His ways are higher than our ways...Isaiah 55:8-9.
I get so tired of hearing people complain about this and that, only to realize that I complain just as much, even if it is only inside my own head. How backwards. We need to realize that every single person on this earth has been created by God, so we need to respect them like we would respect Our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ if He were standing right in front of us. (Personally, I would be face-down on the ground at my LORD's feet, but that's beside the point.) So...stop judging...stop gossipping...stop thinking you are better than everyone else around you...stop feeling sorry for yourself...stop going around thinking that everyone should thank you for allowing them to be a part of your life. And when the LORD points something out in you that needs to be changed...CHANGE IT! Stop sitting around waiting for God to swoop down and point His finger in your face to discipline you. He very well may do that, but He has given us the power to live godly lives through the sacrifice of His Son...so make war!
"By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him, the One who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence." --2 Peter 1:3.
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take." --Proverbs 3:5-6.
Pay attention to that last one. We see and hear it all the time, but we do not realize what it means. Read it over again until it starts to sink in...then go hard.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Readily Unprepared.
As each day that God gives to me passes, I become more ready for the abrupt and startling changes that will occur in my life in the next 100 or so days. And this is big for me, because I absolutely despise change. But as I have written before, when God plants that holy discontent in your heart, it's nearly impossible to stay where God has you for now...but that passion for the purpose He created you for fuels whatever determination is necessary to get through the preliminary steps. These are probably the hardest steps we will have to take, because they take the most faith. Even if it is a difficult calling, it is easier to trust God and have faith that He will take care of you once you've actually started the journey than it is to take the blind steps of faith before you even know your calling.
But I am ready for this adventure. Whatever step I'm on. Knowing that I am completely incapable of doing anything at all. Knowing that if I do anything out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, I may jeopardize the life that God has called me to. Knowing that I am totally unprepared for whatever comes my way. But, my God is more than enough. My God invented "capable". My God does not accept self-seeking servants. My God is all I need.
To sum up...I'm ready to face the uncertainty of tomorrow despite my insufficiency today.
But I am ready for this adventure. Whatever step I'm on. Knowing that I am completely incapable of doing anything at all. Knowing that if I do anything out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, I may jeopardize the life that God has called me to. Knowing that I am totally unprepared for whatever comes my way. But, my God is more than enough. My God invented "capable". My God does not accept self-seeking servants. My God is all I need.
To sum up...I'm ready to face the uncertainty of tomorrow despite my insufficiency today.
Monday, February 14, 2011
The Great Love Story.
How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory
Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished
I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
"When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, He will certainly save us from God's condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of His Son while were were still His enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of His Son." --Romans 5:6-10.
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory
Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished
I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
"When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, He will certainly save us from God's condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of His Son while were were still His enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of His Son." --Romans 5:6-10.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Korean Tea.
That title has absolutely nothing to do with the content of this blog post, but it is what I am consuming while writing it.
I've had this on my heart for at least a week now, but I haven't had a chance to actually sit down and collect my thoughts until just now. I was sitting in DeMoss reading The Ragamuffin Gospel while I was waiting for church to start, when I overheard a conversation going on right across the hall from me. Oh, yes, I am an eavesdropper...especially when people are talking about what is going on in their lives and how God is working.
There was a 30-something guy interviewing a girl my age...I could tell it was an interview because there was a recorder on the table and he was taking notes. I wasn't there when the conversation began, but the first part of the conversation that I caught was the girl talking about her CF (cystic fibrosis) and all of the different doctors and hospitals and treatments that she has tried throughout her life. This made my ear(s) perk up because at one time, I was being tested for CF because they just had no idea what was wrong with me...but it came back negative. She then began describing what a normal day entailed for her and what a sick day looked like. Oh my goodness...she has to take dozens of pills and do hours of treatments before she is even ready to get to class in the morning, and that's on a good day. How many times do we wake up an early before class and complain that we have to take a shower or pick out what to wear? How many times do we whine because we have to take one vitamin in the morning, when other people have to take dozens?
The next part was what got me. She said that people with her condition live on average to their late 20s or early 30s, but because of this experimental treatment she is on, she will probably live until she is about 35. This girl is 20 and she is going through school knowing that her life is more than halfway over. Then she just started pouring her heart out about why she is in school and what she wants to do with her Health Promotions degree. She wants to be a researcher for conditions like CF, so that she can improve the lives of the people that come after her.
She was talking about how most people say that they will serve the LORD once they get married, or after they graduate, but she says that she has to serve the LORD now and as diligently as she can, because she doesn't know how much time she has left. Most girls go through school focused on finding a husband so that they can start a family shortly after graduation, but she has already dealt with the fact that she will probably not get married, and if she does, she will not have children because she said it would be cruel to bring them into the world and then have to leave them a few short years later. Wow. I am not afraid of death whatsoever, but to hear her talk so openly about knowing she will not live much past college really struck me. I almost couldn't focus on church that night because I was thinking about her faith and the sovereignty of the LORD.
"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." --Philippians 1:21.
I've had this on my heart for at least a week now, but I haven't had a chance to actually sit down and collect my thoughts until just now. I was sitting in DeMoss reading The Ragamuffin Gospel while I was waiting for church to start, when I overheard a conversation going on right across the hall from me. Oh, yes, I am an eavesdropper...especially when people are talking about what is going on in their lives and how God is working.
There was a 30-something guy interviewing a girl my age...I could tell it was an interview because there was a recorder on the table and he was taking notes. I wasn't there when the conversation began, but the first part of the conversation that I caught was the girl talking about her CF (cystic fibrosis) and all of the different doctors and hospitals and treatments that she has tried throughout her life. This made my ear(s) perk up because at one time, I was being tested for CF because they just had no idea what was wrong with me...but it came back negative. She then began describing what a normal day entailed for her and what a sick day looked like. Oh my goodness...she has to take dozens of pills and do hours of treatments before she is even ready to get to class in the morning, and that's on a good day. How many times do we wake up an early before class and complain that we have to take a shower or pick out what to wear? How many times do we whine because we have to take one vitamin in the morning, when other people have to take dozens?
The next part was what got me. She said that people with her condition live on average to their late 20s or early 30s, but because of this experimental treatment she is on, she will probably live until she is about 35. This girl is 20 and she is going through school knowing that her life is more than halfway over. Then she just started pouring her heart out about why she is in school and what she wants to do with her Health Promotions degree. She wants to be a researcher for conditions like CF, so that she can improve the lives of the people that come after her.
She was talking about how most people say that they will serve the LORD once they get married, or after they graduate, but she says that she has to serve the LORD now and as diligently as she can, because she doesn't know how much time she has left. Most girls go through school focused on finding a husband so that they can start a family shortly after graduation, but she has already dealt with the fact that she will probably not get married, and if she does, she will not have children because she said it would be cruel to bring them into the world and then have to leave them a few short years later. Wow. I am not afraid of death whatsoever, but to hear her talk so openly about knowing she will not live much past college really struck me. I almost couldn't focus on church that night because I was thinking about her faith and the sovereignty of the LORD.
"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." --Philippians 1:21.
The Samaritans.
I learned this today in class and I just want to pass it along...
I know that we have all heard about how much the Jews hated the Samaritans and the Samaritans hated the Jews, but do we understand why? It all goes back to a misunderstanding that occurred in the time of Nehemiah. When the temple was being rebuilt again at the end of the Old Testament, there were Jews living in Samaria and Jews living in Jerusalem. The Samaritan Jews thought that when Nehemiah built the wall around the Temple in Jerusalem, he was telling them that they were not allowed to come and worship there. You see, back in the time of the kings of the Old Testament and the Babylonian exile, all of the Jews lived in Samaria/Babylon. The Jews that stayed there and intermarried when the exile was over became the Samaritan Jews of the New Testament; they were looked down upon for intermarrying, but they were still Jews. So after Nehemiah built the wall around the Temple, the Samaritan Jews built their own Temple on Mount Gerizim (John 4:20).
This is why it was so significant in John 4 when Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman...not only because it was a man talking to a woman, but because they were supposed to hate each other with a hundreds-of-years old hatred. I just think that is significant.
I know that we have all heard about how much the Jews hated the Samaritans and the Samaritans hated the Jews, but do we understand why? It all goes back to a misunderstanding that occurred in the time of Nehemiah. When the temple was being rebuilt again at the end of the Old Testament, there were Jews living in Samaria and Jews living in Jerusalem. The Samaritan Jews thought that when Nehemiah built the wall around the Temple in Jerusalem, he was telling them that they were not allowed to come and worship there. You see, back in the time of the kings of the Old Testament and the Babylonian exile, all of the Jews lived in Samaria/Babylon. The Jews that stayed there and intermarried when the exile was over became the Samaritan Jews of the New Testament; they were looked down upon for intermarrying, but they were still Jews. So after Nehemiah built the wall around the Temple, the Samaritan Jews built their own Temple on Mount Gerizim (John 4:20).
This is why it was so significant in John 4 when Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman...not only because it was a man talking to a woman, but because they were supposed to hate each other with a hundreds-of-years old hatred. I just think that is significant.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Galatians 4.
First of all, go read Galatians 4. Yes...now.
Ok, thank you. Isn't it great?! I'm mainly talking about verses 21-31, Abraham's two children. Way back in Genesis, God promised Abraham that He would make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky...Abraham believed God, but when he starting thinking about it, he realized that he and his wife Sarah were much too old to have children, so he took matters into his own hands. He tried to have a child with another woman, in hopes that this would fulfill God's promise. Wrong. If God promises something, He doesn't need us silly little powerless humans to do anything to make it happen. So Abraham's concubine, Hagar, had Ishmael...and Abraham thought that this was the son that would carry on Abraham's name and cause him to have countless descendants. Wrong again.
Nothing is impossible with God, so He allowed Abraham and Sarah to have a son, Isaac, who was indeed the one who would carry on the family line. Isaac was the son born to the free wife, signifying that we are free to submit to God's plan and have the marvelous things that He has planned come true. Ishmael was not the child of promise, as it appeared to Abraham and the others around at the time. (As a side note, this is the separation point between Islam and Christianity. It carries on to this day that Muslims are bound to their law, the Koran...while Christians are free from slavery to the law because of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross 2,000 years ago.)
And another thing...have we ever truly considered the intense faith it took for Abraham to obey God when he was commanded to take Isaac up on a mountain and sacrifice him to the LORD? After Isaac was born and Abraham realized that through Isaac God's promise was going to be fulfilled, I'm sure Abraham thought that God would sovereignly protect Isaac with a huge cloud of angels or something...so when Abraham was commanded to kill his own son, I can only imagine the turmoil going on inside of him. Paul tells us that Abraham was considered righteous because of his faith...Abraham learned through the birth of Isaac as the child of promise that if God wants to do something, He will do it...Abraham believed that if Isaac was going to be killed, God had another way of fulfilling His promise. Mmm.
Abraham got it.
Ok, thank you. Isn't it great?! I'm mainly talking about verses 21-31, Abraham's two children. Way back in Genesis, God promised Abraham that He would make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky...Abraham believed God, but when he starting thinking about it, he realized that he and his wife Sarah were much too old to have children, so he took matters into his own hands. He tried to have a child with another woman, in hopes that this would fulfill God's promise. Wrong. If God promises something, He doesn't need us silly little powerless humans to do anything to make it happen. So Abraham's concubine, Hagar, had Ishmael...and Abraham thought that this was the son that would carry on Abraham's name and cause him to have countless descendants. Wrong again.
Nothing is impossible with God, so He allowed Abraham and Sarah to have a son, Isaac, who was indeed the one who would carry on the family line. Isaac was the son born to the free wife, signifying that we are free to submit to God's plan and have the marvelous things that He has planned come true. Ishmael was not the child of promise, as it appeared to Abraham and the others around at the time. (As a side note, this is the separation point between Islam and Christianity. It carries on to this day that Muslims are bound to their law, the Koran...while Christians are free from slavery to the law because of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross 2,000 years ago.)
And another thing...have we ever truly considered the intense faith it took for Abraham to obey God when he was commanded to take Isaac up on a mountain and sacrifice him to the LORD? After Isaac was born and Abraham realized that through Isaac God's promise was going to be fulfilled, I'm sure Abraham thought that God would sovereignly protect Isaac with a huge cloud of angels or something...so when Abraham was commanded to kill his own son, I can only imagine the turmoil going on inside of him. Paul tells us that Abraham was considered righteous because of his faith...Abraham learned through the birth of Isaac as the child of promise that if God wants to do something, He will do it...Abraham believed that if Isaac was going to be killed, God had another way of fulfilling His promise. Mmm.
Abraham got it.
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