Standing outside in the cold. Bundled up, coat zipped. Hands in the pockets pushed as far in as possible to keep any breeze from seeping in the cracks. Moccasins on feet. Short breaths.
When we are out in the cold, it's really hard to not focus on getting and staying as warm as possible. When you're hit with it head on, literally, you can't turn your eye from the cold. It's right in front of you and it's all you feel.
Sometimes the cold is so breathtaking that in those moments you forget that warmth even exists. The cold is all you can know in those moments and you don't even think about what you're doing but your instincts kick in to find the warmth.
Then it happens. The breeze pauses for a moment in perfect time for the rays of sunlight to break through the clouds and hit your face with the momentarily forgotten hope of warmth. It exists. There's no better feeling then that.
What's your cold? What is the thing that is all you can think about? What situation do you feel stuck in and momentarily unable to see the hope?
Some times our "cold" lasts all winter and the sun doesn't shine at all. Sometimes the sun is shining but we are still stuck on the cold. But the good news is, it exists. He exists.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
I've fallen and I can't get back up... Or so it seems
Just like you are right now is all, all that I need. Let's start over. Don't be afraid cause I won't keep track. Let's climb to the top. If you won't look down, I won't look back.
Those words may be what gets me to sleep tonight. For months I've been lying to myself and they are truth echoing through the lies.
I've been giving in to my desires and letting satan rule over my mind. He's convinced me that I am paralyzed by my situation. He's convinced me that I have control of my problems, I just can't overcome them yet. These convictions have led me to believe that I'm not good enough to be with God yet. I'm not good enough to get closer. I'm not good enough to deserve the top.
I've never really grasped the seriousness of sin. I've seen it in the lives of others. I've witnessed how sin can destroy families, including my own. I've seen it ruin people and relationships. Despite it all, for some reason I find myself continually numb or immune to the power of sin. That's not to say I've never sinned, but more to say I've brushed off the consequences. I've taken advantage of grace.
That numbness has stolen from me the depth of God's love.
Tonight, I refuse to be numb. I refuse to listen to satan's lies. The things I do hurt me. My sin outwardly effects me but inwardly effects others. It effects who I am and how I treat my relationships. I've mistreated Jesus.
Tonight, I rebuke the lie that I have fallen and I can't get back up. I take back control of my mind from satan and return it to Papa. I'm starting over. He's not keeping track, He's not looking back, and I'm not looking down.
God wants me just as I am. He wants me. Broken. Messed up. Covered in mud. He wants me.
And the good news is... He wants you too.
Those words may be what gets me to sleep tonight. For months I've been lying to myself and they are truth echoing through the lies.
I've been giving in to my desires and letting satan rule over my mind. He's convinced me that I am paralyzed by my situation. He's convinced me that I have control of my problems, I just can't overcome them yet. These convictions have led me to believe that I'm not good enough to be with God yet. I'm not good enough to get closer. I'm not good enough to deserve the top.
I've never really grasped the seriousness of sin. I've seen it in the lives of others. I've witnessed how sin can destroy families, including my own. I've seen it ruin people and relationships. Despite it all, for some reason I find myself continually numb or immune to the power of sin. That's not to say I've never sinned, but more to say I've brushed off the consequences. I've taken advantage of grace.
That numbness has stolen from me the depth of God's love.
Tonight, I refuse to be numb. I refuse to listen to satan's lies. The things I do hurt me. My sin outwardly effects me but inwardly effects others. It effects who I am and how I treat my relationships. I've mistreated Jesus.
Tonight, I rebuke the lie that I have fallen and I can't get back up. I take back control of my mind from satan and return it to Papa. I'm starting over. He's not keeping track, He's not looking back, and I'm not looking down.
God wants me just as I am. He wants me. Broken. Messed up. Covered in mud. He wants me.
And the good news is... He wants you too.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Cold and Broken
My senses were heightened as a brisk wind hit me the short block and a half walk to get a sandwich on my lunch break. My ears were opened to the cries of angry people. My eyes were opened to the eyes of lonely people. My heart was opened to a homeless man who finds better love from a dog than the people passing him every day.
Despite the sirens and the chatter, the car engines and the wind, what echoed in my mind were the lyrics "it's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah." Those words finally hit me and rang so true with a hurting world surrounding me.
We're all just beggars at His door crying out, and it's a cold and broken hallelujah.
I try to be kind and smile at as many people as possible. I hold a short conversation with the woman serving me in the lunch line. I hope and pray that those things are enough because right now I feel as if that's all I can do. Give a little kindness. Show a little love. Remind someone to be thankful for a warm work place.
But really, my heart breaks. My cold and broken hallelujah is that one that cries out for other people to wake up. My hallelujah praises in the hope that there is more. Be thankful for what you have. Give away what you don't need. Because your hallelujah may be for your family or your friends, your hallelujah might be for a new jacket or food for your pet, your hallelujah might be cold and broken, but it's not any more cold and broken than anyone elses. We're all crying out. We're all praising with a hallelujah. We're all cold and broken.
The only way to make those hallelujahs warm and whole is by being Jesus, by bringing Jesus into the cold and broken, by sharing love and smiles with those who need it just as much as you do. Because we're all drastically different, but we're all simply the same. We're all in need of a Savior.
Be more. Do more.
Despite the sirens and the chatter, the car engines and the wind, what echoed in my mind were the lyrics "it's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah." Those words finally hit me and rang so true with a hurting world surrounding me.
We're all just beggars at His door crying out, and it's a cold and broken hallelujah.
I try to be kind and smile at as many people as possible. I hold a short conversation with the woman serving me in the lunch line. I hope and pray that those things are enough because right now I feel as if that's all I can do. Give a little kindness. Show a little love. Remind someone to be thankful for a warm work place.
But really, my heart breaks. My cold and broken hallelujah is that one that cries out for other people to wake up. My hallelujah praises in the hope that there is more. Be thankful for what you have. Give away what you don't need. Because your hallelujah may be for your family or your friends, your hallelujah might be for a new jacket or food for your pet, your hallelujah might be cold and broken, but it's not any more cold and broken than anyone elses. We're all crying out. We're all praising with a hallelujah. We're all cold and broken.
The only way to make those hallelujahs warm and whole is by being Jesus, by bringing Jesus into the cold and broken, by sharing love and smiles with those who need it just as much as you do. Because we're all drastically different, but we're all simply the same. We're all in need of a Savior.
Be more. Do more.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Freedom isn't free.
Free adj /frē/ 2 a: not determined by anything beyond its own nature or being: choosing or capable of choosing for itself
Miriam Webster online has 15 different definitions for free as an adjective with each also having sub definitions. It seems like such a simple word, such a simple concept. It's not. And it's a lot harder to actually be free than one might assume.
What am you talking about? We're in America. We are free. We have our rights and our liberties and the pursuit of happiness. Yeah... About that. There's these things called humans. They mess stuff up.
I had to touch on the obvious political side, but truth is, I hate politics.
The freedom I'm seeking is a spiritual freedom, a way of life. The freedom I desire cannot be found in Webster's dictionary. It can't be defined. It lies deep with my soul and aches to be achieved. Every minute of every day.
Everything in me cries out to be more and have more. I don't want to be defined or confined by traditions or belief systems or parental consent or peer approval. I want to be capable of choosing for myself.
It's easy for us to let our lives get bogged down by all of these things. We carry the weight of the world on our shoulders, putting things aside to figure out later, repressing emotions because the time isn't right to deal with them, picking up other people's burdens because it breaks our heart to see them carry it on their own. That is not freedom.
Everyone has a belief system. We are a part of a faith community. These communities develop a norm and find comfort in this norm. We have this need to define things so that they are not beyond our understanding. When we don't understand something, we don't have control of it and that scares us. Where there is control, there is comfort. That is not freedom.
We don't get to choose our family. Well, in a way we do. We choose our friends and they often become our second family, or sometimes our first family. But you don't pick your bloodline and most of the time you can't get away from them. With family comes more expectations and burdens and traditions. That is not freedom.
My heart desires more because the Holy Spirit lives in me. The Holy Spirit lives in you and I and He cannot be defined or confined. I'm keeping Him locked up and in line with the rules and He can't take it any more. The lion wants to be set free.
Jesus said his yoke is easy and his burden is light. I want to reclaim that.
What is your cage? How are you keeping the Holy Spirit tucked away? How can we set Him free? What would it look like if we did?
Stop trying to breathe under water. Break the surface. Fill your lungs with fresh air. See what it feels like to be free. I bet you won't turn back.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Do it for Jesus
I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him. (Romans 12:3 MSG)
It's not about us. It's not about us at all. Every day we need to leave ourselves in the grave and put on Christ. Nothing good that we do is of us but it's him living in us. We are not good so we could never be good enough to earn or be worthy of the great gift that we have been given. We could never be worthy on our own. So give it up. Stop trying to meet the mark of the law. You can't do it. You are setting yourselves up for failure. Instead take all of that list checking, rule keeping energy and throw yourselves into the lives of the poor and needy.
No one is perfect. No one knows everything and no one is going to ever do everything right. Likewise is no body or congregation of people perfect. Getting it as close to perfect as possible still isn't perfect and doesn't make any body better or more right than another body. All have fallen short. So stop fighting. Stop picking eachother apart and bringing eachother down. Instead use all of that fighting and picking energy to band together for a greater cause. For the cause of Christ. The real cause of Christ. To serve in love. That's what the gospel is about.
Do it all in the name of God. He is who makes you capable. He is the one who gives you your very existence and breathes life into you. Breathe life into others. Lift eachother up. Give where there is need. Grow roots into eachothers lives that run deep.
I really want to see what it would look like. I don't want to just talk about it. I want to do something about it. I want to make it happen. I don't know how but I know God will show me. Start the revolution with me. Please. For Jesus.
It's not about us. It's not about us at all. Every day we need to leave ourselves in the grave and put on Christ. Nothing good that we do is of us but it's him living in us. We are not good so we could never be good enough to earn or be worthy of the great gift that we have been given. We could never be worthy on our own. So give it up. Stop trying to meet the mark of the law. You can't do it. You are setting yourselves up for failure. Instead take all of that list checking, rule keeping energy and throw yourselves into the lives of the poor and needy.
No one is perfect. No one knows everything and no one is going to ever do everything right. Likewise is no body or congregation of people perfect. Getting it as close to perfect as possible still isn't perfect and doesn't make any body better or more right than another body. All have fallen short. So stop fighting. Stop picking eachother apart and bringing eachother down. Instead use all of that fighting and picking energy to band together for a greater cause. For the cause of Christ. The real cause of Christ. To serve in love. That's what the gospel is about.
Do it all in the name of God. He is who makes you capable. He is the one who gives you your very existence and breathes life into you. Breathe life into others. Lift eachother up. Give where there is need. Grow roots into eachothers lives that run deep.
I really want to see what it would look like. I don't want to just talk about it. I want to do something about it. I want to make it happen. I don't know how but I know God will show me. Start the revolution with me. Please. For Jesus.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Death and New Life.
There's a chill in the air and in my bones.
Leaves fall from the trees, lay among the stones.
They're dying but you can't tell.
From the beautiful colors, they look well.
Everything falls apart as the seasons change.
All different, yet all the same.
A cycle of death and resurrection,
Leads life in a new direction.
Love is present through it all.
Hope rising, even in the fall.
There's something about this season, about fall, that makes my heart glad. The cold makes me appreciate my comforter and my unnecessary six pillows on my bed. It makes me appreciate my kitty and his warm coat that I can cuddle up with. The cold air feels refreshing in my lungs. Something about a cool breeze and a deep breath in tells me that everything is going to be okay. The beauty of fall makes me stop and stare.
When I think about it, that may be contrary to what most other people think of and feel in the fall. Fall is a time when most of nature is dying and preparing for the coldest time of year. Animals stock up on food and hide. Leaves fall and all other kinds of plants die. The ground gets hard. It gets dark earlier.
Some people get depressed in the fall and winter. I find hope.
If God can find a way for animals and plants to survive through their coldest and darkest time, of course he will do the same for me. If the leaves fall off the trees so their limbs can be coated in a beautiful blanket of white, then maybe God is doing the same with me. He's stripping away the old, to bring in the new. He is making me new.
Leaves fall from the trees, lay among the stones.
They're dying but you can't tell.
From the beautiful colors, they look well.
Everything falls apart as the seasons change.
All different, yet all the same.
A cycle of death and resurrection,
Leads life in a new direction.
Love is present through it all.
Hope rising, even in the fall.
There's something about this season, about fall, that makes my heart glad. The cold makes me appreciate my comforter and my unnecessary six pillows on my bed. It makes me appreciate my kitty and his warm coat that I can cuddle up with. The cold air feels refreshing in my lungs. Something about a cool breeze and a deep breath in tells me that everything is going to be okay. The beauty of fall makes me stop and stare.
When I think about it, that may be contrary to what most other people think of and feel in the fall. Fall is a time when most of nature is dying and preparing for the coldest time of year. Animals stock up on food and hide. Leaves fall and all other kinds of plants die. The ground gets hard. It gets dark earlier.
Some people get depressed in the fall and winter. I find hope.
If God can find a way for animals and plants to survive through their coldest and darkest time, of course he will do the same for me. If the leaves fall off the trees so their limbs can be coated in a beautiful blanket of white, then maybe God is doing the same with me. He's stripping away the old, to bring in the new. He is making me new.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Symphony
Three people were baptized into the body of Christ this weekend at OVU. I knew two of them. It's very encouraging to hear and it really makes my heart glad to know that God is moving in a place I've called home. I will rejoice in these new brothers.
On the other hand, my heart aches. My heart aches in knowing that great things are happening there and I'm not a part of it. My heart aches in knowing that so many people I love are growing closer and I am not. God is present on a campus when I am not there. Home became more home once I left.
Where is home anyway? I've thought that home was a place but not a physical place. Rather a place of emotional state because of the people and comfort and love. Now I'm realizing that it's not the people but the Christ in the people. It is God that is home.
So for many reasons, it makes sense to me that when I leave a place that didn't feel like home anymore, to come to my first home and find God again, that He now be at school when I'm gone. He's showing me. Maybe I've learned my lesson. It's not about me and what I can do. Or anyone else and what they can do. It's about Him.
For this I have one word. Bittersweet. It's hard to trust God in a time when I don't see him working in my life. It's hard to trust God when I'm at an in between and I'm giving it all up to him. It's scary because I'm taking a step but I don't know where I'm putting my foot yet. Right now might be bittersweet, but it's all part of the symphony.
Sometimes you have to rest for a few measures in order to give the full effect. The music is beautiful and you always want to be a part of making that beautiful music, but it's not always your time to play. Sometimes you have to sit and take in the melody while you wait to come in for the chorus. You didn't write the song. You don't know what's going to happen. I have to trust the one who did write it, and know that my part is perfect just the way he wrote it, especially if I've never heard the song before.
It's a bittersweet symphony. But something tells me that in the end, it will be more sweet than bitter.
On the other hand, my heart aches. My heart aches in knowing that great things are happening there and I'm not a part of it. My heart aches in knowing that so many people I love are growing closer and I am not. God is present on a campus when I am not there. Home became more home once I left.
Where is home anyway? I've thought that home was a place but not a physical place. Rather a place of emotional state because of the people and comfort and love. Now I'm realizing that it's not the people but the Christ in the people. It is God that is home.
So for many reasons, it makes sense to me that when I leave a place that didn't feel like home anymore, to come to my first home and find God again, that He now be at school when I'm gone. He's showing me. Maybe I've learned my lesson. It's not about me and what I can do. Or anyone else and what they can do. It's about Him.
For this I have one word. Bittersweet. It's hard to trust God in a time when I don't see him working in my life. It's hard to trust God when I'm at an in between and I'm giving it all up to him. It's scary because I'm taking a step but I don't know where I'm putting my foot yet. Right now might be bittersweet, but it's all part of the symphony.
Sometimes you have to rest for a few measures in order to give the full effect. The music is beautiful and you always want to be a part of making that beautiful music, but it's not always your time to play. Sometimes you have to sit and take in the melody while you wait to come in for the chorus. You didn't write the song. You don't know what's going to happen. I have to trust the one who did write it, and know that my part is perfect just the way he wrote it, especially if I've never heard the song before.
It's a bittersweet symphony. But something tells me that in the end, it will be more sweet than bitter.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Brother Jesus
Earlier today I was thinking about the different names that I personally refer to God as.
I've always called him Father God in my prayers. I don't even know if I think about that or where it really came from. I guess it shows how I feel. Like God is my father but still my God. We're not close enough that I can just call him father.
Of course I call him God. I say I love God or I love the Lord. I actually really like the phrase "love the Lord." I use it a lot, or at least I used to. "Does so and so love the Lord?" "You don't love the Lord." "I don't think you love the Lord." It's usually in a joking manner but sometimes it's serious.
When I first realized that Christianity was about a personal relationship with God, I liked to refer to him as my redeemer, or my counselor. More recently I've liked to think of him as my comforter and my healer, because those are the things I'm needing most right now.
But when I think of the times that I'm not okay with God recently, the times that I'm upset or hurting or feel like I need to get right, it's not with God or Father or my comforter or healer. My "problem" is with Jesus. I've told some of my friends that I need Jesus back or I need to love Jesus again. When I thought about that more in depth, I realized that I think in a small measure, I'm mad at Jesus. I hate to admit that because it sounds so awful. I mean he did so much for me, and I'm mad at him? but I'm just being real.
I'm mad at Jesus as my brother, like a sibling rivalry type thing. I'm mad at him for being so perfect and doing everything right, so now Dad just pays attention to what he did, and nothing I do could measure up. I feel like I have to fill Jesus' shoes and some how one up him. I know that that's not possible. I feel like God loves me but Jesus was just being obedient to God and doesn't care about me. Jesus was just being a show off. Jesus set me up for failure.
But the truth of the matter is...
1. I am a co-heir with Jesus. Co, as in equal, as in God loves me just as much because I am in Jesus. I participated with him in what he did when I participated in baptism.
2. Well, honestly, I'm still trying to figure out the Jesus loves me part. I know the song and that it says "the bible tells me so," but I'm just not getting it right now. I mean obviously Jesus is one with God so he loves me and did everything he did for me, not just to be obedient to God or because it was why he was born, but I just gotta work through it.
Maybe I just need to grow up a little bit and get over the sibling rivalry thing.
I've always called him Father God in my prayers. I don't even know if I think about that or where it really came from. I guess it shows how I feel. Like God is my father but still my God. We're not close enough that I can just call him father.
Of course I call him God. I say I love God or I love the Lord. I actually really like the phrase "love the Lord." I use it a lot, or at least I used to. "Does so and so love the Lord?" "You don't love the Lord." "I don't think you love the Lord." It's usually in a joking manner but sometimes it's serious.
When I first realized that Christianity was about a personal relationship with God, I liked to refer to him as my redeemer, or my counselor. More recently I've liked to think of him as my comforter and my healer, because those are the things I'm needing most right now.
But when I think of the times that I'm not okay with God recently, the times that I'm upset or hurting or feel like I need to get right, it's not with God or Father or my comforter or healer. My "problem" is with Jesus. I've told some of my friends that I need Jesus back or I need to love Jesus again. When I thought about that more in depth, I realized that I think in a small measure, I'm mad at Jesus. I hate to admit that because it sounds so awful. I mean he did so much for me, and I'm mad at him? but I'm just being real.
I'm mad at Jesus as my brother, like a sibling rivalry type thing. I'm mad at him for being so perfect and doing everything right, so now Dad just pays attention to what he did, and nothing I do could measure up. I feel like I have to fill Jesus' shoes and some how one up him. I know that that's not possible. I feel like God loves me but Jesus was just being obedient to God and doesn't care about me. Jesus was just being a show off. Jesus set me up for failure.
But the truth of the matter is...
1. I am a co-heir with Jesus. Co, as in equal, as in God loves me just as much because I am in Jesus. I participated with him in what he did when I participated in baptism.
2. Well, honestly, I'm still trying to figure out the Jesus loves me part. I know the song and that it says "the bible tells me so," but I'm just not getting it right now. I mean obviously Jesus is one with God so he loves me and did everything he did for me, not just to be obedient to God or because it was why he was born, but I just gotta work through it.
Maybe I just need to grow up a little bit and get over the sibling rivalry thing.
Monday, September 19, 2011
From the Foot of the Mountain
This is something I have wanted to do, and known that I've needed to do for a while now but I just can't seem to. Life is full of distractions. I can't seem to find the time. I depend on my friends too much. So many voices speak into my life and I don't know who to listen to. So I want to turn down the noise, shut out the other voices, have nothing else to lean on and be one with God. I want to run back to Him and be whole again.
That is part of a note I wrote to some of my closest friends to let them know of a journey I'm taking. I'm currently on what I'm calling a "friend fast" and tonight, I miss my friends. I kind of feel like writing here is cheating because my friends can read this but that's not the point. When I write, I'm sharing my thoughts and ideas with anyone and everyone... That's weird to think about. But it's true. Sometimes I share my cries and my prayers.
I miss my friends dearly, because they are my support system. They are my sisters just as much as my real sisters are. They know me and they still love me. They know when I'm being stupid or selfish. They have held me as I cried. They have laughed with me until we all cried.
Tonight, as I wrestle through what I means to be radically obedient and give up my life to live for God, I don't know where the balance is of friendship. Jesus had twelve close friends whom he loved. Whom he knew all about and still love. Whom he laughed and cried with. So I can too, right?
Right. But we can't get too comfortable. Our friendships need to push each other. We need to be the ones who will call each other out and say "get behind me satan." We need to be the ones who break down the walls and keep pushing until the darkness is brought into the light. If we can't be real with each other, who will we be real with?
But still, at the end of the night, I realize that that's not where I am yet. I don't know myself, because I don't know God. I am made in his image and who we are, Him and I, is tied together. While I can learn more about God through my friends and see Jesus through their lives, I must go to God first.
Today I started reading Radical by David Platt. It's great so far. He tells a story about a discussion with some Buddhist's in India. He shares with them how their idea of religion is that God is up on some mountain and there are many paths which lead to him and we can choose whichever path we want. But David asks them "What if that God could come down to you instead of you going up to him?" And they responded with, "That would be great." And he told them about Jesus.
We are not worthy to climb the mountain to see God, but he sent Jesus to come be with us and make us worthy. So what I've learned about God, and myself today. Is that I need to make myself less, for the bigger picture. I need to meet people where they are. I need to love people enough to come to them and give up everything I have to make sure that they have the chance to know God.
That is part of a note I wrote to some of my closest friends to let them know of a journey I'm taking. I'm currently on what I'm calling a "friend fast" and tonight, I miss my friends. I kind of feel like writing here is cheating because my friends can read this but that's not the point. When I write, I'm sharing my thoughts and ideas with anyone and everyone... That's weird to think about. But it's true. Sometimes I share my cries and my prayers.
I miss my friends dearly, because they are my support system. They are my sisters just as much as my real sisters are. They know me and they still love me. They know when I'm being stupid or selfish. They have held me as I cried. They have laughed with me until we all cried.
Tonight, as I wrestle through what I means to be radically obedient and give up my life to live for God, I don't know where the balance is of friendship. Jesus had twelve close friends whom he loved. Whom he knew all about and still love. Whom he laughed and cried with. So I can too, right?
Right. But we can't get too comfortable. Our friendships need to push each other. We need to be the ones who will call each other out and say "get behind me satan." We need to be the ones who break down the walls and keep pushing until the darkness is brought into the light. If we can't be real with each other, who will we be real with?
But still, at the end of the night, I realize that that's not where I am yet. I don't know myself, because I don't know God. I am made in his image and who we are, Him and I, is tied together. While I can learn more about God through my friends and see Jesus through their lives, I must go to God first.
Today I started reading Radical by David Platt. It's great so far. He tells a story about a discussion with some Buddhist's in India. He shares with them how their idea of religion is that God is up on some mountain and there are many paths which lead to him and we can choose whichever path we want. But David asks them "What if that God could come down to you instead of you going up to him?" And they responded with, "That would be great." And he told them about Jesus.
We are not worthy to climb the mountain to see God, but he sent Jesus to come be with us and make us worthy. So what I've learned about God, and myself today. Is that I need to make myself less, for the bigger picture. I need to meet people where they are. I need to love people enough to come to them and give up everything I have to make sure that they have the chance to know God.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Love Conquers All
There's a whole bunch going on in my head right now. I'm sorting through all kinds of ideas about God and Jesus, grace and love, the law and salvation. Lots of things. My brain hurts. What's even worse is that I don't know how to articulate any of it to anyone. I wouldn't even know where to begin to share with you my thoughts. There's so much and it's all intertwined. It's messy and it's real... Kind of like Christianity, or at least what I think Christianity should be.
None of that really matters because that's all about me. What really matters is love... because that's all about Him.
God is love. Love covers a multitude of sins. The penalty of sin is death. Jesus conquered death.
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.
Fear is from Satan. We are afraid of death because that is the penalty of our sins. But none of it matters because God is love and Jesus is God and Jesus beat death. Love covers it all. Jesus covered it all. We have nothing to be afraid of. Jesus was perfect love and He cast out fear for us.
For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
Let Him perfect you in His love.
None of that really matters because that's all about me. What really matters is love... because that's all about Him.
God is love. Love covers a multitude of sins. The penalty of sin is death. Jesus conquered death.
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.
Fear is from Satan. We are afraid of death because that is the penalty of our sins. But none of it matters because God is love and Jesus is God and Jesus beat death. Love covers it all. Jesus covered it all. We have nothing to be afraid of. Jesus was perfect love and He cast out fear for us.
For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
Let Him perfect you in His love.
Crazy Beautiful
Last night I walked out of Walmart, in a fairly chipper mood, definitely thankful for God and the things He's doing in my life and just kind of happy to be alive. I looked up and there was a bright full rainbow in the sky. It was kind of weird because it was kind of late at night, like 7. I had never seen a rainbow that late at night. The other cool thing was that the sky was pretty cloudy and it wasn't really blue but rather orange, because as I found when I turned around, the sun was setting. So on one side there was a crazy beautiful rainbow and on the other, a crazy beautiful sunset full of vibrant oranges, pinks, reds, and purples. Needless to say, I was in awe of God.
Today I finished a book called Fall to Grace by Jay Bakker. It was a crazy beautiful book. Obviously it was about grace, which isn't something I've really thought about a whole lot, and frankly I've taken for granted. This book really made me think about it and it made me want to get out my bible and see what grace really is all about. Is this guy for real? because if he is, that's a God I want to know. That's a God I want to tell my friends about. That's the God I've been looking for. There were a handful of things in the book that I didn't care for so much, and towards the end he really pulled out one particular topic in which he sees grace to be necessary and that kind of bugged me because it wasn't really needed. As a whole though, the book was great and exactly what I needed to read right now.
I've begun an adventure. I'm soul searching. I'm diving into some ideas that have been swirling around in my head and I want to pin them down. I want to make them concrete and be confident in them.
Last night's sky pictures were crazy beautiful. Those are the best words to describe it. Sometimes God just touches. He speaks. He says, "I'm right here, with you always." When I think about it He does that a lot. He does it through some other things in my life that are crazy beautiful...
The innocent laughter of my niece as she falls to her face and drops her cookie...
Crazy Beautiful.
A conversation about anything and everything between a mother and a daughter... Organic and healing...
Crazy Beautiful.
Shoes and shirts. Glasses and bracelets. People who come up with ideas to provide for those who are in need. People who give a voice to those who cannot speak up...
Crazy Beautiful.
A man crucified on a cross, the penalty of sins that he did not commit... Love unconditional, pure, and perfect... Grace unending...
Crazy. Beautiful.
Tonight I am thankful for so much. I am blessed and I pray that I can embrace grace and serve. I pray that it changes me from the inside out.
Today I finished a book called Fall to Grace by Jay Bakker. It was a crazy beautiful book. Obviously it was about grace, which isn't something I've really thought about a whole lot, and frankly I've taken for granted. This book really made me think about it and it made me want to get out my bible and see what grace really is all about. Is this guy for real? because if he is, that's a God I want to know. That's a God I want to tell my friends about. That's the God I've been looking for. There were a handful of things in the book that I didn't care for so much, and towards the end he really pulled out one particular topic in which he sees grace to be necessary and that kind of bugged me because it wasn't really needed. As a whole though, the book was great and exactly what I needed to read right now.
I've begun an adventure. I'm soul searching. I'm diving into some ideas that have been swirling around in my head and I want to pin them down. I want to make them concrete and be confident in them.
Last night's sky pictures were crazy beautiful. Those are the best words to describe it. Sometimes God just touches. He speaks. He says, "I'm right here, with you always." When I think about it He does that a lot. He does it through some other things in my life that are crazy beautiful...
Friends who love me and encourage me to be the best version of myself, push me to be better... They are crazy beautiful. Each and every one of them, of you...
Crazy Beautiful.The innocent laughter of my niece as she falls to her face and drops her cookie...
Crazy Beautiful.
A conversation about anything and everything between a mother and a daughter... Organic and healing...
Crazy Beautiful.
Shoes and shirts. Glasses and bracelets. People who come up with ideas to provide for those who are in need. People who give a voice to those who cannot speak up...
Crazy Beautiful.
A man crucified on a cross, the penalty of sins that he did not commit... Love unconditional, pure, and perfect... Grace unending...
Crazy. Beautiful.
Peace, blessings, and amazing grace be with you.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Today, I want to be in heaven.
There are some days that I just don't want to get out of bed in the morning. Most days actually. I like to blame it on this thing they call "depression." You've never heard of it, I'm sure. Many people have probably been there. You've got a test and you didn't study, so you would rather stay in bed. You're fighting with your best friend and you couldn't stand to see her face, so you just want to close your eyes and go back to sleep. Every day at work is the same, so what's the point... just. go. back. to. bed.
With all of this, I think there is a deeper struggle. A struggle that involves forces and desires that are beyond us. Because when I think about it, my issue isn't with my job, or my co-workers, or the dreaded train commute. I don't hate copying and pasting numbers and watching Charmed all day. What I hate is that I'm not a part of something bigger. Yes, I am a part of a huge cable company that brings smiles and tears and laughter and all these wonderful things to the people who watch TV. But who cares? What I hate is that I'm conforming to this world and going through my day to day life without doing anything that shouts Jesus died for you!
I want to be a part of something real. I want to be the voice for a people who don't have a voice. I want to do something that matters. I want to be the hands and feet of Jesus. And if I can't do that today, then I would rather stay in bed.
The struggle between my flesh and my soul is too strong. I'm tired of fighting. I want easy. So on days like today, easy would be to stop trying to make it in this world, and just be with Jesus. I could say I would like to die... which sounds dramatic and makes some people scared for my sanity or whatever, but I mean really, wouldn't you rather just be done and see Jesus? Yeah we all would, but that doesn't mean I should waste this life away wishing I were in heaven.
Even if all I do is smile at someone, it's something. It's a start. Being in this world makes not being of this world awfully difficult. So while I have a plan and a hope for my future, one that paints a picture of life spent in worship, I'm not there yet. Rip away the emotion and just take this for what it is, on days like today, I find no meaning in my life.
I could go on some rant about how everything we do matters, and we can take Jesus wherever we go and blah blah blah. That just doesn't seem real and today, in my doubts, it doesn't true. It's not enough. But I will leave with this... For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
We can't push through life trying to get to heaven, we need to bring heaven here. We need to be Christ. I need to bring heaven here. I need to be Christ.
With all of this, I think there is a deeper struggle. A struggle that involves forces and desires that are beyond us. Because when I think about it, my issue isn't with my job, or my co-workers, or the dreaded train commute. I don't hate copying and pasting numbers and watching Charmed all day. What I hate is that I'm not a part of something bigger. Yes, I am a part of a huge cable company that brings smiles and tears and laughter and all these wonderful things to the people who watch TV. But who cares? What I hate is that I'm conforming to this world and going through my day to day life without doing anything that shouts Jesus died for you!
I want to be a part of something real. I want to be the voice for a people who don't have a voice. I want to do something that matters. I want to be the hands and feet of Jesus. And if I can't do that today, then I would rather stay in bed.
The struggle between my flesh and my soul is too strong. I'm tired of fighting. I want easy. So on days like today, easy would be to stop trying to make it in this world, and just be with Jesus. I could say I would like to die... which sounds dramatic and makes some people scared for my sanity or whatever, but I mean really, wouldn't you rather just be done and see Jesus? Yeah we all would, but that doesn't mean I should waste this life away wishing I were in heaven.
Even if all I do is smile at someone, it's something. It's a start. Being in this world makes not being of this world awfully difficult. So while I have a plan and a hope for my future, one that paints a picture of life spent in worship, I'm not there yet. Rip away the emotion and just take this for what it is, on days like today, I find no meaning in my life.
I could go on some rant about how everything we do matters, and we can take Jesus wherever we go and blah blah blah. That just doesn't seem real and today, in my doubts, it doesn't true. It's not enough. But I will leave with this... For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
We can't push through life trying to get to heaven, we need to bring heaven here. We need to be Christ. I need to bring heaven here. I need to be Christ.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Love Wins. Pt. 1
We don't need fear, condemnation, or rules.
I know quite a few people who are stuck on this idea of balance. Let me tell you, I think balance is absolutely necessary. I think that everything is about balance. My problem is with pushing so hard for balance that you're completely negating the very thing you are stating.
There have been several times that I have posted a facebook status about something to do with God's love, our faith, or more recently grace, and it has quickly been attacked with something like "there has to be balance. See scripture so and so." With love there must be a balance of discipline. Faith and works. With grace there must be a balance of obedience. While I agree with these things, when stating of the beauty of love, the importance of faith, or the power of grace, that does not mean that I find love, faith, or grace more important than discipline, works, or obedience. It does not throw off the balance and require someone to bring things back to the center. So when it is commented that with grace there must be a balance of obedience, you are just pushing the pendulum the other way. You take the focus off of grace, to bring it to obedience, which doesn't create balance but just moves the focus. Why can't a statement be made about grace without making comment to obedience? They don't always go hand in hand. We should know, learn, and understand each of these things individually.
Really, I think that part of the problem is that we are born into a world and born into a predisposition. Whether it comes from the world or our families, our experiences or our lack there of. We are born into a family with parents who have their beliefs and those get pushed onto us. This situation looks different with every child, but seems to ultimately go one of two ways. Those beliefs are accepted and the disposition continues, or the boat gets rocked to the other side. Parents push their children so hard that they swing to the other side. Traditional parents raise children who become progressive. Free living parents raise children who seek structure and rules. Or in some cases people are born into situations without family or parents and those experiences shape them toward a direction. It all makes sense when you think about it. This isn't a new concept. The same thing happened with our parents and their parents. The generations are fighting each other but all seeking balance.
You see it's a matter of maturity. Fear, condemnation, and rules.
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 1 John 4:18
For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Proverbs 1:7
A growing, mature relationship, with our Father, would confide in that perfect love rather than fear. A child fears their parents, while an adult grows into a loving bond with their parents.
Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. Romans 5:18
If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God! 2 Corinthians 3:9
We don't need condemnation because we are justified in Christ Jesus. We don't need a ministry of condemnation, correcting one another and pointing out flaws, because there is a new way, a new ministry, which is much, much greater. Besides, we've all got logs in our eyes.
For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world— our faith. 1 John 5:4
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1
It is in our faith that victory is found, and that victory has overcome the world.
Is not our faith in Christ Jesus and what he did for us? What he did for us by dying on the cross to take on and eliminate the sins of all people past, present, and future, and rising again three days later, to defeat the evil one. So our faith isn't only in Jesus, but in what he did. A faith in the elimination of our sins. A faith that believes there is no condemnation because we are in Christ Jesus.
To be continued...
I know quite a few people who are stuck on this idea of balance. Let me tell you, I think balance is absolutely necessary. I think that everything is about balance. My problem is with pushing so hard for balance that you're completely negating the very thing you are stating.
There have been several times that I have posted a facebook status about something to do with God's love, our faith, or more recently grace, and it has quickly been attacked with something like "there has to be balance. See scripture so and so." With love there must be a balance of discipline. Faith and works. With grace there must be a balance of obedience. While I agree with these things, when stating of the beauty of love, the importance of faith, or the power of grace, that does not mean that I find love, faith, or grace more important than discipline, works, or obedience. It does not throw off the balance and require someone to bring things back to the center. So when it is commented that with grace there must be a balance of obedience, you are just pushing the pendulum the other way. You take the focus off of grace, to bring it to obedience, which doesn't create balance but just moves the focus. Why can't a statement be made about grace without making comment to obedience? They don't always go hand in hand. We should know, learn, and understand each of these things individually.
Really, I think that part of the problem is that we are born into a world and born into a predisposition. Whether it comes from the world or our families, our experiences or our lack there of. We are born into a family with parents who have their beliefs and those get pushed onto us. This situation looks different with every child, but seems to ultimately go one of two ways. Those beliefs are accepted and the disposition continues, or the boat gets rocked to the other side. Parents push their children so hard that they swing to the other side. Traditional parents raise children who become progressive. Free living parents raise children who seek structure and rules. Or in some cases people are born into situations without family or parents and those experiences shape them toward a direction. It all makes sense when you think about it. This isn't a new concept. The same thing happened with our parents and their parents. The generations are fighting each other but all seeking balance.
You see it's a matter of maturity. Fear, condemnation, and rules.
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 1 John 4:18
For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Proverbs 1:7
A growing, mature relationship, with our Father, would confide in that perfect love rather than fear. A child fears their parents, while an adult grows into a loving bond with their parents.
Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. Romans 5:18
If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God! 2 Corinthians 3:9
We don't need condemnation because we are justified in Christ Jesus. We don't need a ministry of condemnation, correcting one another and pointing out flaws, because there is a new way, a new ministry, which is much, much greater. Besides, we've all got logs in our eyes.
For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world— our faith. 1 John 5:4
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1
It is in our faith that victory is found, and that victory has overcome the world.
Is not our faith in Christ Jesus and what he did for us? What he did for us by dying on the cross to take on and eliminate the sins of all people past, present, and future, and rising again three days later, to defeat the evil one. So our faith isn't only in Jesus, but in what he did. A faith in the elimination of our sins. A faith that believes there is no condemnation because we are in Christ Jesus.
To be continued...
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Crazy Busy Life
Well on a personal note, working a full-time job and commuting is much more exhausting then one would think. For this reason, I have barely enough time to breath let alone write. I need to better utilize my time. We'll see how that goes.
Several topics and ideas have gone through this brain of mine and are still marinating. I'm not going to go into detail about any of them because I don't have it all thought out enough but I'll give some teasers ;)
One thought that has been on my mind for a couple weeks now has to do with truth and how we tend to prove the truth. Something that bothers me more than anything else is when someone puts down another church from the pulpit... There's a lot of thoughts that spur from that thought. See where your mind takes you.
I also wonder sometimes what God thinks about us using the phrase "That's not biblical." Can something really be biblical or not biblical? That's a tough one to dive into. I guess I just wonder what God meant the bible to be for us. Something tells me it isn't a handbook, even though people tend to refer to it as so.
More recently I've been thinking about how when things or people are different from us, we automatically jump to saying they are wrong. If you love God differently then I do and I'm doing it the right way, the way I read and understood it in the bible, then you are wrong. It couldn't be that there is more than one way to love God or that there are different ways to show your love to God, different acts of service and worship.
What it all comes down to, is that God is turning my world upside down these days.
I'm seeking more. I'm questioning. I'm learning.
What remains?
God is love.
Love serves.
Love forgives.
God lives in us.
So what should we look like?
Several topics and ideas have gone through this brain of mine and are still marinating. I'm not going to go into detail about any of them because I don't have it all thought out enough but I'll give some teasers ;)
One thought that has been on my mind for a couple weeks now has to do with truth and how we tend to prove the truth. Something that bothers me more than anything else is when someone puts down another church from the pulpit... There's a lot of thoughts that spur from that thought. See where your mind takes you.
I also wonder sometimes what God thinks about us using the phrase "That's not biblical." Can something really be biblical or not biblical? That's a tough one to dive into. I guess I just wonder what God meant the bible to be for us. Something tells me it isn't a handbook, even though people tend to refer to it as so.
More recently I've been thinking about how when things or people are different from us, we automatically jump to saying they are wrong. If you love God differently then I do and I'm doing it the right way, the way I read and understood it in the bible, then you are wrong. It couldn't be that there is more than one way to love God or that there are different ways to show your love to God, different acts of service and worship.
What it all comes down to, is that God is turning my world upside down these days.
I'm seeking more. I'm questioning. I'm learning.
What remains?
God is love.
Love serves.
Love forgives.
God lives in us.
So what should we look like?
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Fill the world.
Creepy caterpillar, climbing up a tree, he wiggles long, he wiggles short, he wiggles back at me. I put him in a box, don't go away I said! but when I opened up that box, a butterfly instead. I could never make one, even if I tried, for only God in heaven, can make a butterfly!
That's a cute little song I learned during VBS at some point in my childhood, or maybe I just heard it from my mom in sunday school, but I've always loved it. Today I was thinking about faith and how it seems we do the same thing with our faith that we do with our caterpillars.
How often do we put God, and our faith in a box? You stay here with these nicely defined edges and straight black and white lines and I'll just come check on you when I want you or I need a friend. We like God to have limits and we want to know what those limits are and understand everything. We want to keep him in a box so we know where he is at all times and that he's not going to go anywhere.
I would love to see what would happen if we all opened our boxes and let God out. Can we uncage the lion? Let God roam free and do things that are beyond our understanding. Let God be bigger than your bedside box. Just because we can't understand it or don't know how it works, doesn't mean God couldn't or didn't do it. We don't have to always understand. We're not going to always understand. But we have to let the unknown be liberating and embrace it. We can't let it terrify us and run us into a corner.
Only God can turn our faith caterpillars into beautiful butterflies. Let him mold and shape you. Be courageous and let go of the caterpillar so that you can get something so much greater. Each of our butterflies are different. They have different colors and sizes and patterns. Embrace the differences. See the beauty. They're all different, but they're all butterflies. Butterflies made and grown and tested and loved by the same God. If we keep our faith in a box, we are not giving it room to continue to grow. Let it free. Let's fill the world with beautiful butterflies.
That's a cute little song I learned during VBS at some point in my childhood, or maybe I just heard it from my mom in sunday school, but I've always loved it. Today I was thinking about faith and how it seems we do the same thing with our faith that we do with our caterpillars.
How often do we put God, and our faith in a box? You stay here with these nicely defined edges and straight black and white lines and I'll just come check on you when I want you or I need a friend. We like God to have limits and we want to know what those limits are and understand everything. We want to keep him in a box so we know where he is at all times and that he's not going to go anywhere.
I would love to see what would happen if we all opened our boxes and let God out. Can we uncage the lion? Let God roam free and do things that are beyond our understanding. Let God be bigger than your bedside box. Just because we can't understand it or don't know how it works, doesn't mean God couldn't or didn't do it. We don't have to always understand. We're not going to always understand. But we have to let the unknown be liberating and embrace it. We can't let it terrify us and run us into a corner.
Only God can turn our faith caterpillars into beautiful butterflies. Let him mold and shape you. Be courageous and let go of the caterpillar so that you can get something so much greater. Each of our butterflies are different. They have different colors and sizes and patterns. Embrace the differences. See the beauty. They're all different, but they're all butterflies. Butterflies made and grown and tested and loved by the same God. If we keep our faith in a box, we are not giving it room to continue to grow. Let it free. Let's fill the world with beautiful butterflies.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
It's all in our heads.
It never ceases to amaze me how complex and powerful our minds are. I guess really it's not our minds that are powerful but rather, it's the spirit of Christ in us that gives us that power.
"For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us... The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ." -1 Corinthians 2:11-12, 15-16
And yet with all of this power we have, the power that rose Christ from the dead is living in us, we still manage to deem ourselves powerless against such things as sin. It's all in our heads. All of it.
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but a spirit of power and love and a sound mind." -2 Timothy 1:7
We can't live our lives in fear of what may be but we need to live our lives in the power of what has already been done. Yes, there are grey areas, but it doesn't matter because grace covers it all. We are not supposed to live in fear of sin, but in the freedom of grace. That's what the new covenant is all about.
The beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair...
And the thing I find most amazing in amazing grace is the chance to give it out. Maybe thats what love is all about...
"For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us... The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ." -1 Corinthians 2:11-12, 15-16
And yet with all of this power we have, the power that rose Christ from the dead is living in us, we still manage to deem ourselves powerless against such things as sin. It's all in our heads. All of it.
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but a spirit of power and love and a sound mind." -2 Timothy 1:7
We can't live our lives in fear of what may be but we need to live our lives in the power of what has already been done. Yes, there are grey areas, but it doesn't matter because grace covers it all. We are not supposed to live in fear of sin, but in the freedom of grace. That's what the new covenant is all about.
The beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair...
And the thing I find most amazing in amazing grace is the chance to give it out. Maybe thats what love is all about...
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
A Window to the World
This past weekend I got to be a part of an amazing start of a new journey. My good friend Katey married her journey mate Ben and I have been blessed to be there from the start.
After the rehearsal dinner, Scott shared some thoughts with us about marriage and the ministry that it is. In a world where the covenant of marriage is seen as outdated and not part of our culture, it's just one more way for Christians to be the salt and light of the earth.
Something as simple as keeping a pure and unconditional promise with the love of your life, can make all the difference in the world. When everyone in this world is losing hope in love, Christians can hold onto hope and know that love can be so much more. You can wake up every morning and decide to continue loving your husband or wife instead of taking the easy way out.
Marriage is so often used to show the relationship between God and the church. Love your wife. Respect your husband. Give up your life for him. Die to her daily. These concepts are so loaded.
It breaks my heart that love is so misunderstood these days. Something so strong and so pure. Someone who gave his life for all of us. But at the same time, it makes sense.
To the world, love would be misunderstood.
It's something that sounds so simple, but it's so, so, so much more.
Don't fall victim to that misunderstanding. Be the window that let's light shine into this dark world. Let love shine.
I leave you with the lyrics of Warren Barfield's song, Love is not a fight.
After the rehearsal dinner, Scott shared some thoughts with us about marriage and the ministry that it is. In a world where the covenant of marriage is seen as outdated and not part of our culture, it's just one more way for Christians to be the salt and light of the earth.
Something as simple as keeping a pure and unconditional promise with the love of your life, can make all the difference in the world. When everyone in this world is losing hope in love, Christians can hold onto hope and know that love can be so much more. You can wake up every morning and decide to continue loving your husband or wife instead of taking the easy way out.
Marriage is so often used to show the relationship between God and the church. Love your wife. Respect your husband. Give up your life for him. Die to her daily. These concepts are so loaded.
It breaks my heart that love is so misunderstood these days. Something so strong and so pure. Someone who gave his life for all of us. But at the same time, it makes sense.
To the world, love would be misunderstood.
It's something that sounds so simple, but it's so, so, so much more.
Don't fall victim to that misunderstanding. Be the window that let's light shine into this dark world. Let love shine.
I leave you with the lyrics of Warren Barfield's song, Love is not a fight.
Love is not a place
To come and go as we please
It's a house we enter in
Then commit to never leave
So lock the door behind you
Throw away the key
We'll work it out together
Let it bring us to our knees
...
To some, love is a word
That they can fall into
But when they're falling out
Keeping that word is hard to do
...
Love will come to save us
If we'll only call
He will ask nothing from us
But demand we give our all
Love is a shelter in a raging storm
Love is peace in the middle of a war
And if we try to leave, may God send angels to guard the door
No, love is not a fight but it's something worth fighting for
I will fight for you
Would you fight for me?
It's worth fighting for
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Four Pointing Back.
"What makes Jesus angry is religious people who are so worried about themselves, that they don't care about you."
Joe Spivy said that at church the other night. He talked about Jesus in the flesh and it was a lesson that I think everyone needs to hear, so I'm going to share his main points with you, as well as some of my own thoughts.
Thinking about Jesus in the flesh isn't something we do often. Jesus was a real baby who pooped, a teenage boy with acne, a young adult man who got angry. That's right. He got angry. Some people refuse to believe that he did because that would mean he sinned and Jesus didn't sin so there's no way he was ever angry. It couldn't be that we're the ones who are wrong and being angry just isn't a sin.
Jesus got angry and what made him angry was when people were so worried about religion and being right and all the other crap, that they didn't care about anyone else. Their minds are focused on the wrong things. They're completely missing the point.
I was really glad that this was the lesson that night. At the same time, I thought how can this group of people be hearing this message but be the congregation that they are today? Writing that and then reading it makes me feel judgmental and I don't want to come off that way. I just don't understand how we can hear a message like that and then continue to miss the point and remain under our church building bushels.
Then it hit me. How often to we hear a lesson or a sermon and analyze how it applies to us? How often are we turning the message around and looking at ourselves through those glasses?
It seems to me like, if we do anything with the lessons we're hearing, we put the glasses on and look at everyone else instead. We see everyone else so much clearer once we understand Jesus better and we stick our fingers up to point and correct. Then I remembered that phrase that I was told a time or two when I was younger, that I thought was so stupid... When you point the finger at someone else, four fingers are pointing back at you.
We need to listen to a lesson, adjust our prescription, put the glasses on and look in the mirror to see ourselves clearer. A better understanding of Jesus, will help us better understand ourselves first. We need to work on ourselves and let God do the work in the lives of others. If we continue to let Jesus perfect us, then maybe our lives will better change the lives of those around us who we are pointing our finger at.
Joe Spivy said that at church the other night. He talked about Jesus in the flesh and it was a lesson that I think everyone needs to hear, so I'm going to share his main points with you, as well as some of my own thoughts.
Thinking about Jesus in the flesh isn't something we do often. Jesus was a real baby who pooped, a teenage boy with acne, a young adult man who got angry. That's right. He got angry. Some people refuse to believe that he did because that would mean he sinned and Jesus didn't sin so there's no way he was ever angry. It couldn't be that we're the ones who are wrong and being angry just isn't a sin.
Jesus got angry and what made him angry was when people were so worried about religion and being right and all the other crap, that they didn't care about anyone else. Their minds are focused on the wrong things. They're completely missing the point.
Mark 3:1 Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2 Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”
4 Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.
5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.
I was really glad that this was the lesson that night. At the same time, I thought how can this group of people be hearing this message but be the congregation that they are today? Writing that and then reading it makes me feel judgmental and I don't want to come off that way. I just don't understand how we can hear a message like that and then continue to miss the point and remain under our church building bushels.
Then it hit me. How often to we hear a lesson or a sermon and analyze how it applies to us? How often are we turning the message around and looking at ourselves through those glasses?
It seems to me like, if we do anything with the lessons we're hearing, we put the glasses on and look at everyone else instead. We see everyone else so much clearer once we understand Jesus better and we stick our fingers up to point and correct. Then I remembered that phrase that I was told a time or two when I was younger, that I thought was so stupid... When you point the finger at someone else, four fingers are pointing back at you.
We need to listen to a lesson, adjust our prescription, put the glasses on and look in the mirror to see ourselves clearer. A better understanding of Jesus, will help us better understand ourselves first. We need to work on ourselves and let God do the work in the lives of others. If we continue to let Jesus perfect us, then maybe our lives will better change the lives of those around us who we are pointing our finger at.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Out with the old. In with the new.
Light's been blinding me from what I thought I'd see
Is there clarity in this insanity?
What do you want from me?
Roads in front of me, taking me astray
Are you leaving me? or are you leading the way?
Can you hear what I'm saying?
I need to know. I need to know. I need to know. I need to know.
Feel like I'm trying to breath under water
Trying to climb but I keep falling farther
Will you take my hand?
Feel so far away
wanna see your face
are you even there?
Can you show me?
Can you make me believe?
I need to know. I need to know. I need to know. I need to know.
I need to know. I need to know.
-Kris Allen, I need to know
It's been a long year... a long three years actually. I've been through several different places, spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and I guess even physically. I never would have thought that I could travel to and from such extremes to places that, one year ago, I told myself I would never be, or I guess more accurately, places I told myself I would never leave. I don't know what I what anymore.
It seems more often than not, I'm surrounded by unknowns. I've moved from this place where I've felt like I know everything; what the future holds, where I want to go with my life, how God is working, who matters most to me. Now it's just all up in the air. I guess that's what happens when you claim to have faith. Of course I had faith when everything was simple and everyone was where I needed them to be. So it only makes sense that God take some of that away... right?
Why is it that sometimes the thing that is farthest from what I want to do, is the thing I feel God calling me to?
As I get older and grow in all aspects of my life, while many things become more unknown, and the horizon just gets more and more open, there are those things that just begin to get crystal clear.
God is faithful.
Everything really works, upside down.
Love wins.
The only way to move forward and to grow is to get rid of the old, and bring in the new. For a child to get their adult teeth, the baby ones must come out. For a snake to get a newer, tougher skin, the old one has to shed. When a bird is getting in new feathers, they pluck the old ones out. Chew on that
God is the only one who can make me new, and He is doing just that.
My soul cries out. My soul cries out for you.
These bones cry out. These dry bones cry for you, to live and move
'Cause only You can raise the dead, can lift my head up.
Jesus, You're the one who saves us, constantly creates us into something new
Jesus, surely you will find us.
Surely our Messiah will make all things new.
Will make all things new.
Life is breaking out, it's breaking out
Life is breaking out, it's breaking out, it's breaking out
And life is breaking out, it's breaking out, it's breaking out
Jesus, You're the one who saves us
Constantly creates us into something new
Jesus, surely you will finds us
Surely our Messiah will make all things new
Will make all things new
-Gungor, Dry Bones
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