Occasionally a couple of my friends and myself will have controversial conversations about current events or "trending" topics. Today one of them started off with the following link (click here). To understand this post you must first read the link, if you just read this with out reading that... well you might be confused.
A Christian university that has an LGBT group, how does that translate according to biblical standards/principles? Here is my take on it, and a few quotes of theirs.
Biblically homosexuality is a sin, so is sex before marriage, taking God's name in vain, dishonoring one's parents, and the list keeps going. These things are "normal" and accepted in our world today. Scripture says we are born into sin (Psalm 51:5 "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me."). We are not born Christians. We are born with a desire to be sinful. We want to rebel against our parents and other authority; we want to swear and drink and have premarital sex... Everything we aren't supposed to do is what we want to do. It literally takes an act of God to change us. People are tempted in different ways. Jesus, for example, fasted for 40 days. Satan tempted Him with turning a rock into bread to meet His physical needs (Matthew 4:1-11). Satan tempted Him in His weakest moment. When we are hungry or desperate for something we will do almost anything to get that thing, whatever "it" is. In 1991 a woman hired a hit man to kill her daughter's cheerleading rival to insure her own daughter would be on the cheerleading squad. Not all people's sin is that open, but when God comes in and truly changes someone's life, they are changed forever.
Think about it this way, if your co-worker/friend/spouse/etc runs in and says, "I'm so sorry I am late! I just got hit by a semi-truck and it took forever to get out of there." You would not believe him. Why is that? Because that person would look drastically different, and would possibly be dead. When someone is changed by God he will not appear the same. The physical appearance may not change but everything else about the person begins to change. If someone has homosexual tendencies and then comes to know the Lord that person will be changed. It may not be immediate, but change takes place in that person's life. The more this person spends time with the Lord the more the person sees that it is not spiritually natural to have that desire. Then the person will begin to seek God even more for Him to transform his heart. The person begins to want to desire what God desires. Christ's purpose was to spread the gospel and make His name known throughout the world. His second command to Adam and Eve was to be fruitful and multiply and fill the Earth. Why were they to do this? What was the point? It was to spread the name of the Lord. They knew what was good and evil. There were only two options, good and evil. It was not good and bad, rather good and evil.
Sin is evil. When we lie, that is evil. When we get drunk, that is evil. When we... do anything that goes against God's law, it is evil. God is perfectly forgiving. God is also perfectly just. Think about it this way, if a convicted murderer was called in by a judge and was told he was being set free. He was forgiven of his charges and was free to go. Everyone (and they mama) would be in an uproar. We would call that judge all sorts of crazy things. So why should we expect the same from God? God sent His Son to die for each of us so that we might have hope in Him. As a Christian/Follower of Christ we are to look different than the world. We are not to go out of our way to look different, but we are not to be of this world. We are just living in it temporarily until we are allowed to go "home". We are citizens of heaven, if we are followers of Christ. As a citizen of heaven our citizenship looks much different than those of the world. Homosexuality, sexual immorality, etc. fit into that category as well. Although we are not to participate in such, we are called to love them. There is a time to rebuke and a time to love. We can still love others while recognizing their actions are sinful. Many people believe that by thinking something is wrong we have to push our own agenda on others, even if we think that agenda is "the right one". Christ did not do that. He loved others and shared truth with them. He was the harshest on the religious people (read the New Testament to see more on this and what He said to the Pharisees).
I, like everyone else, am very sinful. Do people treat me like a leper or stand outside my house with signs and shouting things at me? No. Why should we be doing that to people who claim homosexuality? Shouldn't we show them love and respect? John 8:2-11 talks about the woman caught in adultery.
"Early in the morning He came again to the temple. All the people came to Him, and He sat down and tuaght them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to Him, 'Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do You say?' This they said to test Him, that they might have some charge to bring against Him. Jesus bent down and wrote with His finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask Him, He stood up and said to them, 'Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.' And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before Him. Jesus stood up and said to her, 'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?' She Said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said, 'Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.'"
He did not condemn her, He loved her. In His love for her He let her go and told her to "sin no more". We do not have the authority to tell others "go and sin no more" but we have the ability to love and respect. I was not there so I cannot tell you the level of His compassion or the depth of His kindness. I can tell you that scripture shows that He loved her enough to protect her from the harm of others and the harm of herself. If we are called to be like Christ (Christian means little Christ), aren't we called to love like Christ? Aren't we called to respect? Aren't we called to tell others about Christ? Yes.
Recently there was an article published about a pastor in North Carolina. This particular pastor told his congregation if their children start showing signs of homosexuality they should "beat" them. This is not what God has called us to. Christ washed the feet of the man who would betray Him. He ate with tax collectors and prostitutes. When was the last time you spoke to someone who was highly hated in your community? When was the last time you offered to eat a meal with a prostitute or someone society looks down upon?
In the community group I attend we spoke about lepers. Not just leprous people but people we consider outcasts in society. Think about who you consider an outcast and pray for them. Not just pray for them but take actions that show Christ love to them. Our community group leader asked us what do those around us begin to believe about us when we start reaching out to the "lepers" of our society? After thinking about it I said, "we become the lepers". We really do, it is not common practice to treat others with love and respect when we do not like what they are doing or when they are not doing what society approves of.
I dare you, reach out to your local leper. We are sinful, we are born into sin. So why not love the other sinners and treat them the way Christ did?
Showing posts with label God's Love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God's Love. Show all posts
Friday, May 25, 2012
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Islamophobia?
This week Arkansas State University had Zahra Billoo, J.D. speak two nights in their Lecture-Concert series. She gave two talks; the first was titled "Know Your Rights," and the second "Islamophobia." I was only able to attend the second lecture, however, I walked away feeling more knowledgeable. So I want to share some of that with you, whoever you may be. I wish I would have been able to attend Zahra's first lecture, however, I am only able to report on what I have heard and the research I have done.
So what is Islamophobia? Islamophobia is the closed minded hatred toward Muslims/Islam. Pre-9/11 Muslims did not scare most Americans the way there mere presence seemed to frighten us post-9/11. I have come to realize, after having worked with students from over 70 countries and various backgrounds, that just because someone's skin color or religion or birth place is different from my own I should not fear them. Many of my friends are from different parts of the world. Some of my friends are from different parts of the U.S, yet I am not afraid of them because they are like me ... they have had similar experiences with religion and education and family dynamics. For some reason when it comes to people from other countries we tense up and begin to worry. They are different from us, yes this is true; they are not to be feared, just like they should not fear us either.
Think back, way back. Think about the treatment of immigrants when they started coming to the U.S. Think about the treatment of blacks. They were treated differently by whites based on the color of their skin. There is so much to be learned from people of different backgrounds and they have so much they can learn from us as well. The U.S. is a cultural melting pot, we have people from every country, background, and religion you can think of (and some you probably didn't know existed). We discriminate because of a difference that internationals, immigrants, blacks (and anyone else I have forgotten) cannot control. They cannot control their skin color or heritage or culture just like you are not able to control those things. This is how they were born and what they were born into. You were born the same way, yet somehow we have come to the conclusion that one race is better than another.
Zahra reminded us, "Muslims have been in the U.S. since the slave trade." When we go back and look at the history of slavery and the history of the slaves in the U.S. it is easy to see that Muslims were brought over just like everyone else. Islam is very common in Africa, so having slaves from Africa we were bound to have Muslims in the mix. This should come as no shock to me, but for some reason I had to sit and soak this in and remind myself of the truth behind her words. Islam is not a new concept, however "the most talked about religion in the U.S. media is Islam" (Zahra Billoo, J.D.). Islam is seen in a very negative light in the U.S. As a Christian I have read about and have been taught Jesus' ministry. Jesus loved people and had compassion on them. One of the worst things we can do as Christians is treat people as though they are not worth existing. For example: children were walking to the Mosque one Sunday, people lined the sidewalk and stood across the street (some brought their dogs to bark at the children) shouting "Jesus hates you." Zahra said from her studies she has not seen where Christ said he hated anyone. I, too, agree with her statement. Christ had compassion on the crowds. He saw their sin and He knew they were lost. He did not shout obscenities at them as they walked to the Mosque.
Zahra made a very powerful statement, "No matter your religious belief or skin color, we have to get to know each other." Christ has commissioned those who follow Him to "go into all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that He has commanded us," (Matthew 28:16-19). The nations have come to us, yet we are afraid of them and telling others to fear them. This does not show them love or respect in anyway shape or form. There are several things going on in our government right now that do attack religion, Zahra commented on this saying "An attack on anyone's religion and rights to practice that religion is an attack on all of us." She is right, if an American Muslim has their religious freedoms threatened it means a tighter reign on all religions. We may be praying to different gods but they still deserve to be treated with respect.
We are only doing ourselves a disservice by choosing to be ignorant and push such people away. They have so much to teach us about the world and we have so much to teach them. Make friends with internationals, ask them questions, find out about their background ... I dare you. This is something I have been doing for 3 1/2 years and it is nothing less than rewarding. If you never step out and take the chance you will miss out on something truly great, knowledge.
So I dare you to change your ignorance into intelligence. Learn something new today, tomorrow, and everyday after. What do you have to lose?
So what is Islamophobia? Islamophobia is the closed minded hatred toward Muslims/Islam. Pre-9/11 Muslims did not scare most Americans the way there mere presence seemed to frighten us post-9/11. I have come to realize, after having worked with students from over 70 countries and various backgrounds, that just because someone's skin color or religion or birth place is different from my own I should not fear them. Many of my friends are from different parts of the world. Some of my friends are from different parts of the U.S, yet I am not afraid of them because they are like me ... they have had similar experiences with religion and education and family dynamics. For some reason when it comes to people from other countries we tense up and begin to worry. They are different from us, yes this is true; they are not to be feared, just like they should not fear us either.
Think back, way back. Think about the treatment of immigrants when they started coming to the U.S. Think about the treatment of blacks. They were treated differently by whites based on the color of their skin. There is so much to be learned from people of different backgrounds and they have so much they can learn from us as well. The U.S. is a cultural melting pot, we have people from every country, background, and religion you can think of (and some you probably didn't know existed). We discriminate because of a difference that internationals, immigrants, blacks (and anyone else I have forgotten) cannot control. They cannot control their skin color or heritage or culture just like you are not able to control those things. This is how they were born and what they were born into. You were born the same way, yet somehow we have come to the conclusion that one race is better than another.
Zahra reminded us, "Muslims have been in the U.S. since the slave trade." When we go back and look at the history of slavery and the history of the slaves in the U.S. it is easy to see that Muslims were brought over just like everyone else. Islam is very common in Africa, so having slaves from Africa we were bound to have Muslims in the mix. This should come as no shock to me, but for some reason I had to sit and soak this in and remind myself of the truth behind her words. Islam is not a new concept, however "the most talked about religion in the U.S. media is Islam" (Zahra Billoo, J.D.). Islam is seen in a very negative light in the U.S. As a Christian I have read about and have been taught Jesus' ministry. Jesus loved people and had compassion on them. One of the worst things we can do as Christians is treat people as though they are not worth existing. For example: children were walking to the Mosque one Sunday, people lined the sidewalk and stood across the street (some brought their dogs to bark at the children) shouting "Jesus hates you." Zahra said from her studies she has not seen where Christ said he hated anyone. I, too, agree with her statement. Christ had compassion on the crowds. He saw their sin and He knew they were lost. He did not shout obscenities at them as they walked to the Mosque.
Zahra made a very powerful statement, "No matter your religious belief or skin color, we have to get to know each other." Christ has commissioned those who follow Him to "go into all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that He has commanded us," (Matthew 28:16-19). The nations have come to us, yet we are afraid of them and telling others to fear them. This does not show them love or respect in anyway shape or form. There are several things going on in our government right now that do attack religion, Zahra commented on this saying "An attack on anyone's religion and rights to practice that religion is an attack on all of us." She is right, if an American Muslim has their religious freedoms threatened it means a tighter reign on all religions. We may be praying to different gods but they still deserve to be treated with respect.
We are only doing ourselves a disservice by choosing to be ignorant and push such people away. They have so much to teach us about the world and we have so much to teach them. Make friends with internationals, ask them questions, find out about their background ... I dare you. This is something I have been doing for 3 1/2 years and it is nothing less than rewarding. If you never step out and take the chance you will miss out on something truly great, knowledge.
So I dare you to change your ignorance into intelligence. Learn something new today, tomorrow, and everyday after. What do you have to lose?
Thursday, February 16, 2012
My Heart Belongs to a Stranger
It has been over a month since I have written anything not work or school related and it is hard to know where to start. My mind has been in overdrive the past couple of weeks and has caused me to be extremely exhausted about 85% of the time. Not fun, let me tell you! However, God has laid some things on my heart and putting pen to paper is a bit slower than typing. Currently my brain cannot handle slow; like I said it is in overdrive. The Lord has reminded me today that although I have not been spending as much time alone with Him as I would like, my heart still belongs to Him.
The Lord
My heart belongs to the Lord, first and foremost, yet it is the relationship I seem to be working at the least. The Lord is sadly becoming a stranger to me because I am slowly but surely lusting after the world (material things I don't need, laziness, etc.). He has given me a heart to work with women from other countries and share the Gospel with them, but in order to be useful I need to be spending time with Him. I have allowed myself to be extremely bogged down with school and work. Rather than take things at a slow pace I am rushing through to finish faster in order to be on a foreign mission field (tell you more about that in the next little segment). I have put my wants and desires ahead of those of the Lover of my soul. The one who paid a price so high I could never repay, He is the one I have neglected. My heart belongs to a stranger named Christ. He holds my heart no matter how close to Him or how far away from Him I make myself. He continues to show love and grace and mercy everyday, even though I do not deserve a single serving. He also reminds me of His love and promises in His own unique way; whether it be waking up to a much needed encouraging text from a sweet girl friend or through the rain (I <3 rain ... I really do).
I heard lyrics from a country song once that say, "she wants to love a stranger, but not the one at home." This song really has nothing to do with anything other than illustrating my point. My heart, I claim, belongs to Christ first; however, I have not been doing a very good job tending to this relationship. The relationship with the Lord is growing distant and cold, which is of no fault of my Lord. It is of my own fault that I have allowed this to happen. I have to fight my selfish desire to be lazy or do what I want to do (which currently means eating, sleeping, or completely vegging out in front of American Idol). If this were a relationship with a physical man of even a normal amount of patience ... I would be out of a relationship really fast! God has been merciful with me and is pulling me back into sweet fellowship with Him. This is not an easy road but definitely one worth taking. My prayer is to fall back into love/fellowship with the Stranger I call Lord, Savior, and Father.
The Mission Field
There is something about the unknown that allures my heart and deepens my desires. Working in another country with women from non-Christian, non-westernized backgrounds has been my desire since coming to know Christ in 2007. Almost instantly after coming to know the Lord, He made it very clear to me that this is what He wants me to do with the time He has alloted. Foreign missions is just that to me, foreign. Working with internationals all day Monday through Friday for the past 3 to 3 1/2 years has fed into the passion and desire I have to see them come to know the Lord. Yet, working with internationals in America is far different than that of working with them in their home countries. My heart belongs to a stranger I call Lord and to that of the mission field. I know and understand not what it takes to work day-in and day-out in another country loving and serving them and learning new ways to die to self (also learning I am not good at dying to self).
Since I love this and day dream of this and often look at jobs in which I can do this, I have put my education in rush mode. I have also increased the amount of debt I have by taking on more loans to pay for this rushed education. Along with the Lord telling me to do foreign missions, He also let me know He wants me to go overseas debt free. This came a year or two after coming to know Christ. When I was spending TAWG (Time Alone With God ... cheesy but it works, just saying) I came across a couple of passages that basically put me in pause mode for quite sometime (Proverbs 22:26-27 and Romans 13:8). After reading these I did not feel the least bit comfortable with going overseas with debt. The Lord has been kind enough to give me a job that allows me to "put my money where my mouth is" and labor daily with the students until He calls me abroad. My heart belongs to a stranger ... the mission field (this I day dream and wish for about as much as young girls dream and wish for husbands and weddings).
These are the two largest areas built up in my heart. There are others but time does not allow to write about them this evening. My goal or wish or whatever for 2012 is to travel as much as I can. Which, as I see it, is traveling outside the US at least twice. In March, I will be going to Rome, Italy and I am almost certain everyone and "they mama" in my life knows I am going. Excited much? Why heck yes I am! A few other goals include growing closer to the Lord (spending TAWG daily), graduating (currently looks like December), and learning how to use chopsticks (this is silly but true ... ask my friend Nakeli, she tried to teach me and it is harder than it looks).
The Lord
My heart belongs to the Lord, first and foremost, yet it is the relationship I seem to be working at the least. The Lord is sadly becoming a stranger to me because I am slowly but surely lusting after the world (material things I don't need, laziness, etc.). He has given me a heart to work with women from other countries and share the Gospel with them, but in order to be useful I need to be spending time with Him. I have allowed myself to be extremely bogged down with school and work. Rather than take things at a slow pace I am rushing through to finish faster in order to be on a foreign mission field (tell you more about that in the next little segment). I have put my wants and desires ahead of those of the Lover of my soul. The one who paid a price so high I could never repay, He is the one I have neglected. My heart belongs to a stranger named Christ. He holds my heart no matter how close to Him or how far away from Him I make myself. He continues to show love and grace and mercy everyday, even though I do not deserve a single serving. He also reminds me of His love and promises in His own unique way; whether it be waking up to a much needed encouraging text from a sweet girl friend or through the rain (I <3 rain ... I really do).
I heard lyrics from a country song once that say, "she wants to love a stranger, but not the one at home." This song really has nothing to do with anything other than illustrating my point. My heart, I claim, belongs to Christ first; however, I have not been doing a very good job tending to this relationship. The relationship with the Lord is growing distant and cold, which is of no fault of my Lord. It is of my own fault that I have allowed this to happen. I have to fight my selfish desire to be lazy or do what I want to do (which currently means eating, sleeping, or completely vegging out in front of American Idol). If this were a relationship with a physical man of even a normal amount of patience ... I would be out of a relationship really fast! God has been merciful with me and is pulling me back into sweet fellowship with Him. This is not an easy road but definitely one worth taking. My prayer is to fall back into love/fellowship with the Stranger I call Lord, Savior, and Father.
The Mission Field
There is something about the unknown that allures my heart and deepens my desires. Working in another country with women from non-Christian, non-westernized backgrounds has been my desire since coming to know Christ in 2007. Almost instantly after coming to know the Lord, He made it very clear to me that this is what He wants me to do with the time He has alloted. Foreign missions is just that to me, foreign. Working with internationals all day Monday through Friday for the past 3 to 3 1/2 years has fed into the passion and desire I have to see them come to know the Lord. Yet, working with internationals in America is far different than that of working with them in their home countries. My heart belongs to a stranger I call Lord and to that of the mission field. I know and understand not what it takes to work day-in and day-out in another country loving and serving them and learning new ways to die to self (also learning I am not good at dying to self).
Since I love this and day dream of this and often look at jobs in which I can do this, I have put my education in rush mode. I have also increased the amount of debt I have by taking on more loans to pay for this rushed education. Along with the Lord telling me to do foreign missions, He also let me know He wants me to go overseas debt free. This came a year or two after coming to know Christ. When I was spending TAWG (Time Alone With God ... cheesy but it works, just saying) I came across a couple of passages that basically put me in pause mode for quite sometime (Proverbs 22:26-27 and Romans 13:8). After reading these I did not feel the least bit comfortable with going overseas with debt. The Lord has been kind enough to give me a job that allows me to "put my money where my mouth is" and labor daily with the students until He calls me abroad. My heart belongs to a stranger ... the mission field (this I day dream and wish for about as much as young girls dream and wish for husbands and weddings).
These are the two largest areas built up in my heart. There are others but time does not allow to write about them this evening. My goal or wish or whatever for 2012 is to travel as much as I can. Which, as I see it, is traveling outside the US at least twice. In March, I will be going to Rome, Italy and I am almost certain everyone and "they mama" in my life knows I am going. Excited much? Why heck yes I am! A few other goals include growing closer to the Lord (spending TAWG daily), graduating (currently looks like December), and learning how to use chopsticks (this is silly but true ... ask my friend Nakeli, she tried to teach me and it is harder than it looks).
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Faithful Obedience
God’s word never ceases to teach me something new. No matter how many times I read over a particular section there is always something new to learn. In August of this year I decided I wanted to go through and re-read the Bible. It took me a year and a half (ish … maybe longer) to do it the last time so I decided to do it again. Well I finally made it to Numbers and if you have ever tried to read Numbers you know it is not necessarily the easiest to read. Yet, something about the Old Testament pulls me in and makes me excited to read more and to know more about what is being presented. My pastor calls himself a Old Testament nerd and I have come to find that I too love it dearly. I love the whole Bible but I really like knowing how everything came to be.
There are many cases in Numbers where the Israelites are obedient and show this in various ways, however, this is one of my favorite ways in which it is shown. In Numbers 9 I have seen what it truly looks like to trust God. I mean to really trust God. God told Moses when he and the people were to camp and when they were to travel. The people did exactly what they were told. We are not told if the people complained or if they drug their feet on hitting the road, all we are told is that they obeyed. So I take it like it is, the Israelites obeyed what God told them to do. If there was a cloud covering the Tabernacle they were to camp and stay where they were, they knew they would eventually be moving but they did not know how long they were going to be camped where they where or where they were going. They knew they were called to obedience. If the cloud was lifted from the Tabernacle they knew they were to pack up and head out.
“At the command of the Lord the people of Israel set out, and at the command of the Lord they camped. As long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, they camped.”
~Numbers 9:18
The second half of verse 18 really gets me, “As long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, they camped.” They really had no idea how long they were going to be there. That is amazing to me! I have a hard time waiting when I know how long I am going to be waiting, it is especially hard to wait on things when I have no idea when they are going to happen. From chapter 9 verse 15-23 it continues to repeat that the people were called to obedience and they obeyed. In scripture, as in other books (such as textbooks), repetition means REMEMBER THIS or KNOW THIS! Numbers 9 is no different. The repetition here tells me that we may not know how long God has us “camping” out in a certain area but we are called to obedience. We are to be where He has us, even if we do not like it very much. God has us where we are for a reason.
Here is a personal example of this whole idea of being where He has us even if I do not like what He has me doing. I love working with and ministering to international students. God has given me a very unique opportunity to work directly with over 1,000 students from other countries. My hearts desire is to live and work directly with them in their own countries. However, God has me camping out in the US for a while. I have no idea how long He is going to have me here. Yet I know He has a plan for my life and He knows far better than I. So as much as I want to be a bazillion miles away in another country I remain here doing what He has called me to do here. He has called me to obedience. Obedience in this situation means seeking Him daily and growing closer to Him. That when He does lift the cloud and have me move from this camp to the next I cannot say I have wasted my time wishing I was somewhere else.
The Israelites were obedient beyond my comprehension. They did exactly what God told them to do. It was like the endurance version of the game Red Light, Green Light. They couldn’t really look to what was ahead because they had no specifics. God continued giving them reason to trust Him. We live in a society that teaches us to be independent and to look to ourselves only for everything we need. So as a Christian in this day and age a common struggle seems to be that of putting our full trust and obedience in Christ. God shows His faithfulness throughout His word but also everyday. He reminds us of the promise to take care of our needs with the rain. He reminds us of the promise He will not destroy the Earth again with floods by the rainbow after the rain. He reminds us of His love by giving us another chance everyday. He also promises to return someday and reminds us of this by death of people, plants, and animals. He reminds us daily of His promises and of our role. It is up to us to trust and obey. (Yes, I just used an old hymn reference … good luck getting that out of your head).
Friday, November 11, 2011
Unique Childlike Faith
Tonight was a very interesting night, one that I hope doesn't leave my memory. God has reminded me that children are such a precious gift. Each child is different. They are creative in their own ways, communicate in their own ways, talented in their own ways, show love and affection in their own ways, and have unique needs. I also continue to notice that children are drawn to me like a magnet to a refrigerator door. There are two children in particular that I absolutely adore and cherish. They brighten up my day (or night) by simply seeing them. For being four and two years old they are both very bright and very ... very funny!
The local home school group put on a Thanksgiving feast and talent show tonight. My mentor or disciple leader or personal Yoda or whatever you would like to call her invited me to tag along with her and the fam. Two of her children were performing as well as other children from the church. Her two daughters and a friend from church sang a song written by the eldest of the two daughters. The song, you might be wondering is titled "Me and My Bunnies." It is hilarious! (If you would like to view the hilarity please click here ... I highly recommend watching). Earlier in the show one of the classes performed. It was the Hands Praise Class (could have butcherd the name, if so I apologize), this class teaches children sign language to praise songs. One of the little boys in the class is autistic. He is in the Sunday school class I help with and so I am particularly biased to things that he does. As I sat and watched him go through this song I cried. No idea why, but I did. Like a big baby I cried as I watched him with the biggest smile do the motions to a song praising Christ our King.
Watching him and thinking back to him with that big ole' smile makes me think of the verse encouraging us to have the faith of a child. There is nothing like watching an autistic child who trusts his parents fully and locks eyes with his mother the entire time he is on stage. He grinned from ear to ear, more so than anyone I have ever seen. He watched her wanting to make sure he was doing what she was reminding him to do. He didn't want to lose sight of what she was showing him, he was trying to mimic her exact motions. That is child-like faith, trusting everything your Father shows you and wanting to mimic everything He does. Just like this little boy and his mother, she knew that he would not be able to get everything 100% correct but he gave it all he had and he smiled the entire time. God, our Father, has a purpose for us and gives us instruction. He made us, therefore He knows we are going to screw up. He does not expect us to do things 100% accurate, He loves us and wants us to trust Him. He wants us to have faith like a child trusting his mother to provide instruction. He wants us to be happy where He has us. He loves us enough to provide instruction and to give us grace when we fail. I will be the first to admit I am a failure, but I am a failure for Jesus. At the end of the day I can say, "at least I tried." Even if I fail, I can look back and ask myself if I have done all things for the glory of God. If I failed but did it trying to glorify God, I am going to go out on a limb here and say that He was glorified. This little boy was giving all he had trusting his mother and reminded me just how much I need to follow his example. I want to be so reliant upon God that I am looking only to Him for instruction, not caring if I get everything right but just trying to do what He wants with a big silly grin on my face.
He made me cry, but not in a bad way. He made me cry in a way that makes me thank God. This little boy is "near and dear to my heart," as we say here in the South. One of his favorite things to shout during Sunday school for an answer (to any question really) is "obey God!" He says it with such gusto and excitement I can't help but smile when he says it, he is such a Jesus lover! He shows such unique childlike faith. Usually when you see kids who trust their parents it is encouraging but when I watch him I see who I want to be as a child of the King. So I thank God for little Zeke and his trusting heart. It makes me want to get down on my knees and beg God to someday make me a parent that is worth trusting and worth looking up to in Him. I want to be so focused on the Lord that when my children lean on me and look to me and follow me they are leaning on, looking to, and following Christ ... not me. Zeke makes me want to be a better parent to children I don't even have. I truly thank God for Zeke and his ability as 1st/2nd grader to push others to Christ. His family is truly blessed with such a great example of childlike faith.
The local home school group put on a Thanksgiving feast and talent show tonight. My mentor or disciple leader or personal Yoda or whatever you would like to call her invited me to tag along with her and the fam. Two of her children were performing as well as other children from the church. Her two daughters and a friend from church sang a song written by the eldest of the two daughters. The song, you might be wondering is titled "Me and My Bunnies." It is hilarious! (If you would like to view the hilarity please click here ... I highly recommend watching). Earlier in the show one of the classes performed. It was the Hands Praise Class (could have butcherd the name, if so I apologize), this class teaches children sign language to praise songs. One of the little boys in the class is autistic. He is in the Sunday school class I help with and so I am particularly biased to things that he does. As I sat and watched him go through this song I cried. No idea why, but I did. Like a big baby I cried as I watched him with the biggest smile do the motions to a song praising Christ our King.
Watching him and thinking back to him with that big ole' smile makes me think of the verse encouraging us to have the faith of a child. There is nothing like watching an autistic child who trusts his parents fully and locks eyes with his mother the entire time he is on stage. He grinned from ear to ear, more so than anyone I have ever seen. He watched her wanting to make sure he was doing what she was reminding him to do. He didn't want to lose sight of what she was showing him, he was trying to mimic her exact motions. That is child-like faith, trusting everything your Father shows you and wanting to mimic everything He does. Just like this little boy and his mother, she knew that he would not be able to get everything 100% correct but he gave it all he had and he smiled the entire time. God, our Father, has a purpose for us and gives us instruction. He made us, therefore He knows we are going to screw up. He does not expect us to do things 100% accurate, He loves us and wants us to trust Him. He wants us to have faith like a child trusting his mother to provide instruction. He wants us to be happy where He has us. He loves us enough to provide instruction and to give us grace when we fail. I will be the first to admit I am a failure, but I am a failure for Jesus. At the end of the day I can say, "at least I tried." Even if I fail, I can look back and ask myself if I have done all things for the glory of God. If I failed but did it trying to glorify God, I am going to go out on a limb here and say that He was glorified. This little boy was giving all he had trusting his mother and reminded me just how much I need to follow his example. I want to be so reliant upon God that I am looking only to Him for instruction, not caring if I get everything right but just trying to do what He wants with a big silly grin on my face.
He made me cry, but not in a bad way. He made me cry in a way that makes me thank God. This little boy is "near and dear to my heart," as we say here in the South. One of his favorite things to shout during Sunday school for an answer (to any question really) is "obey God!" He says it with such gusto and excitement I can't help but smile when he says it, he is such a Jesus lover! He shows such unique childlike faith. Usually when you see kids who trust their parents it is encouraging but when I watch him I see who I want to be as a child of the King. So I thank God for little Zeke and his trusting heart. It makes me want to get down on my knees and beg God to someday make me a parent that is worth trusting and worth looking up to in Him. I want to be so focused on the Lord that when my children lean on me and look to me and follow me they are leaning on, looking to, and following Christ ... not me. Zeke makes me want to be a better parent to children I don't even have. I truly thank God for Zeke and his ability as 1st/2nd grader to push others to Christ. His family is truly blessed with such a great example of childlike faith.
Monday, October 3, 2011
When Beauty Shines Through
Most people who know me are typically shocked when I have on make up or have my hair fixed up a little more than usual. To be honest, it slightly offended me when I realized how shocked most people are when they see me dressed up. Then I realized they were seeing a completely different side of me. I heard a pastor say once or twice, “It never hurts to put fresh paint on an old barn.” And yes, he was talking about women wearing makeup. Since I became a Christian in 2007 I have always kind of felt like beauty was a passing pleasure. To me it did not seem important.
I listened to a sermon today by Mary Kassian, titled The Feminist Mistake. She told about her website in her sermon so I looked it up. When I got to the website I was immediately pulled into a particular article called Female Beauty Matters. Reading through it as well as thinking through some other things I have heard from my pastor, mentor, and friends from church made me look back and re-evaluate why I do not wear make up often. It caused me to look at the way I dress and the very way I conduct myself. For the most part guys see me as “one of the guys” which, as a girl, is super difficult because it seems to be a losing battle of trying to break that mold.
Men find beauty in women valuable. Women feel valuable when we feel that we look good. Even now as a single woman I feel valued when a guy finds me attractive or thinks I am pretty. It is one of those things that in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t really matter. But I know whoever I marry will want me to look nice. He will want me dress up for him, because looking good for him makes him feel valued. I am willing to spend the time to get dressed and all “dolled up” for him. Guys appreciate that and until recently I did not realize that, silly … I know, it is a pretty simple concept.
Within this very simple concept is a much deeper issue. God made men to admire beauty and women to desire beauty. I honestly think it all stems from God making us to admire and desire His beauty just as much as He made us to want to be beautiful to Him. We are made by Him, for Him. We are for His glory and His pleasure. He has a purpose for each and every one of us. That is sooo exciting! Our beauty may fade but through our prettiest and our ugliest days we get to point to a God far more beautiful than ourselves. There is nothing that can out shine His beauty. He chooses to let His beauty shine through us in the form of physical beauty and with internal beauty.
God has made each one of us exactly the way He wants us. He gave you the freckles on your face, your eye color, skin color, hair color … you name it, He gave it to you. Women tend to get really caught up in our looks. Then again, there are women like me who care very little and then when we do it shocks people. In trying to look attractive for your boyfriend, fiancé, spouse don’t lose sight of who God has made you. Someone jokingly said this to me the other day, “you are the only you there is.” Guess what, that is no lie. He was spot on. Don’t let our culture define you. Let Christ be what defines you. Give everything over to Him, including your beauty. Do not, let me repeat that a little louder DO NOT feel like you have to compare yourself to other women. Women on magazines, guess what… they are airbrushed. Your super hot neighbor that seems to always look great, guess what … she feels the same way you do. God does not intend for us to sit around wishing we looked like someone else or had that girls nose, her eyes, that hair, no! He made you, you. So dress according to what is modestly flattering on you. If it makes you feel more attractive to wear makeup, don’t feel bad about it either. Sheesh, I am pretty much talking to myself right now because that is exactly what I do. When I think about putting makeup on or dressing a little nicer I feel like a poser. Don’t feel like a poser, don’t be like me. Remember that God has made you beautiful and wearing make up is not a bad thing (don’t put so much on that you look like a clown though, that is sad and reminds me of the lady from the Drew Carey show … yeah, don’t be like her either). Let God’s beauty shine through you. When you let God’s beauty shine through, that is when everyone sees you as the prettiest. When you let yourself be beautiful to the King, others see that beauty. They may not realize it at the time but they are in the very presence of royalty. You are a child of the King.
Monday, May 30, 2011
There are so many things I want to write about, yet I do not know where to begin or how to write them. God has been laying much on my heart lately. For many years I have had a heart ... or desire would be a more accurate word, every living person has a heart ... to actively participate in overseas missions. My desire is to move halfway around the world and share Christ with people who would love to kill me for that very thing.
This morning representatives from the Pregnancy Resource Center spoke at church. My immediate thought was, "I could volunteer with them and work with them here for awhile and then move overseas and start a clinic as my ministry to reach women in other countries." But the countries I have been longing to go to do not have need of that. When looking for abortion statistics it is nearly impossible to find any abortions from the middle east. (Well that may not be true, I may not be looking in the right places). But the whole time these women were talking about the P.R.C. all I wanted to do was cry. Every 24 seconds a baby is aborted. So if you multiply that out for one day, everyday an average of 4,000 unborn babies are aborted. That is 1.4 million a year. During the first five weeks of a pregnancy, although the baby is not fully formed it has a heart beat.
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you ...
~ Jeremiah 1:5
God has planned every human life before it has ever begun. He has formed each person. Thinking about this makes me realize how little respect and love I show to God. He, the creator of the universe planned out my life and thought I was important enough to create. Every issue and triumph and thing that has come into my life is a result of the Almighty God. He knew about it all before I was ever even a thought. All God has asked me to do, my whole purpose of being is to know God and make God known. That is all He has asked. In doing those two things all else will fall into place. I am realizing the things I tend to live for are for selfish gain and have absolutely nothing to do with the task the Lord Most High has given me. "Vanities of vanities, 'says the preacher,' all is vanity." Ecclesiastes 1:1. Solomon hit the nail on the head with that one. Think about your day to day. Is what you live for really worth it? I mean seriously look at your life and the things that you do and ask yourself how it helps you accomplish the task that God has given you (to know God and make God known). Yes, there is opportunity with everything: grocery shopping, college classes, jobs, sports, clubs, etc. But are we taking the opportunity to make the most of each opportunity?
For the first 6 months - year of my job I was not afraid to share the gospel in the office. We then had some things happen where all spiritual everything was pulled from our office. Then a few months later it was all allowed back in. I was still skiddish about sharing with the lost in the office and the people that would be coming in and out of the doors each day, week, semester, and year. As time went on God put a more bold spirit in me. He continued to increase that spirit and currently still is. There have been several students that have heard the gospel because of the fire Christ lit in my heart, all because I began to count the cost of discipleship and began looking at what it meant to know Him and make Him known. So my day-to-day life ... am I doing things that matter and that advance me toward my purpose of knowing God and making Him known? Or am I too afraid or ashamed of the gospel to step outside of my comfort zone and do things that may be slightly uncomfortable so that others may know Him? God thought I was important enough to create, but do I think God is important enough to serve?
Friday, April 22, 2011
Unmasked Blessings
To be honest, I just love blessings in disguise … well when I can unmask them that is. Today the co-worker I usually go eat with couldn’t do lunch as usual so I went to lunch alone. But the great thing was I spent some unexpected time with God. Something that was much needed seeing as how I didn’t get a chance to spend time with Him this morning. Anyway, done rambling about that, when I was eating I started to read the Proverb of the day and was blessed by that and brought light to some things in my own life. Then I wanted to read a Psalm, so I went to Psalm 100. When I was there I saw that I had made a note in my Bible that sent me to Ezekiel 34. It was like a little treasure map, but a treasure that I didn’t know I was looking for. It turned out to be exactly what I needed to read. As soon as I read it I wanted to share it with anyone reading this.
For thus says the Lord God:
How often do we just stop and realize that these are the words of God? We recognize the red letters in the New Testament as coming from the mouth of Christ, but here… here it says “Thus says the Lord God.” Wow, how I miss that far too often. It makes me think of earlier in Ezekiel 33:30 “Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord”. We are invited to hear and examine the words of the Lord. How precious!
Behold, I, I Myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out My sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.
God has sought us out. If we are His He searched for us. He pursued us and sought us out as a shepherd searches for one of his sheep when they wander out. It says that He will rescue us from the places we have been scattered. The day of clouds and thick darkness… that is a scary place to be, but He is there to rescue us. Ezekiel 33:30 sounds a whole lot better now, does it not. The Lord Himself has just told us that when we are scattered about, in the midst of a trial or a hard time, He is there. “I, I Myself…” The Lord Himself seeks us out. That excites me to no end and just makes me want to jump for joy. But there is more.
And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I Myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I Myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.
Our God, the God of the universe is going to bring His people out of other countries and into His land (our land). God promises to feed us. He promises to take care of us. More than any man could even take care of us. He is the ultimate provider. We, as girls, desire to have a man take care of us and provide for our needs. God promises to do that. Philippians 4:19 says “And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Oh my gosh, that makes me excited! God. The God of the universe, you know, the One who created all things … He WANTS to take care of us and provide for us. In Ezekiel He tells us that He will provide food for us by the ravines and the mountains. He will give us a place to lie down. So we get to eat and sleep at peace with Him. He does not go back on His promises. Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” That says it all. He is our Shepherd, the good Shepherd. The more you read in Psalm 23 the more encouraging it gets. He tells us that we get to rest, He leads us, He restores us, we have no fear with Him, He comforts us, He provides for us, He anoints us, He overflows what we need; He is such a good Shepherd. He again reminds us in vs 15 of Ezekiel 34 that He will make us lie down. He will make us rest in Him. Sometimes we run ourselves ragged, He didn’t tell us to do that, we did that on our own. But He makes us lie down and rest in Him. He wants good things for His children. Just like we read in Matthew 7 and Luke 11 we are reminded that our own fathers give us good things, but our heavenly Father gives us so much more and such better gifts than even our earthly fathers do. Our heavenly Father knows what we need before we ever ask, He just wants us to ask for it. He provides in times we do not know what we need. He is such a good God!
I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy.
He seeks out the lost. People come to Christ all the time, but our Lord and Savior is seeking out the lost and He is drawing them into Himself. It is nothing we could have ever done. Our salvation is not merely based on what we do, it is Him working in us and through us and through our brothers and sisters. We can do nothing without Him. He is going to bring the strayed back to himself. He is going to bind up the wounded. Psalm 34:18 says “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” Psalm 147:3 “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” He wants to bind up the injured. He wants to heal us when our hearts are broken. He wants to draw us into Himself. He says He is going to strengthen the weak. II Corinthians 12:9 says, “But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’” Ok, so there is so much to unpack in that verse but I want to just look at the last half, “My power is made perfect in weakness.” He is our strength. There are a ton of verses that tell us how powerful our God is and a ton of verses that tell us He uses the weak to do crazy awesome things. But here is the thing, Moses didn’t think he was doing anything crazy awesome at the time. Neither did Noah or Paul or Abraham. Even the women that we look at as being great women of the faith: Ruth, Ester, Abigail, Mary … These women knew they were working for the King, yet they did not know that in their state of imperfection and weakness God was making them into strong women that we would be looking up to. His power is made perfect in our weakness. It is ok to be weak, God is the biggest, badest, strongest being ever! He cannot be defeated and cannot be shaken. He is the supreme ruler of the universe. He formed you in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13). He chose you before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). He loves the weak and comforts them and gives them strength but the fat and the strong He will destroy. They do not seek Him for provisions or for strength. God wants us to rely on Him. He wants us to look to Him for all of our needs, wants, and desires. He is the greatest thing since sliced bread (well, He is way better)!
Our God loves us and wants us to find our satisfaction in Him. “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost,” (Luke 19:10). He wants to bring us to Himself, He is drawing us closer and asking us to let Him be everything we want and need. He can fill us up to overflowing; “because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5b). We cannot fill ourselves up with love, He pours His love into our hearts using the Holy Spirit whom He gave to us. It is not about us at all. It is all about Him, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the unglodly.” (Romans 5:6) … “but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8). Did you catch that? We were sought out by God because we were lost. If we are saved we were once sought out. But here is the kicker, Ezekiel 34:11-16 tells us He continues to seek us out when we mess up or when we stray or when we lose our way. He at the right time sent Christ to die for our sin. Not just your sin but mine and everyone you know and don’t know and everyone in between … yes, even the person you cannot stand to be in the same room with, Christ died for their sin because they have just as much importance and value as you do in His eyes. Christ loves us so much He died for us and then rose again to prove to the world that nothing is too much for God to deal with. Our God is a powerful God.
“For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I Myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out My sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I Myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I Myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy.”One thing I used to do when I would send encouraging notes to my friends was take a section of scripture and just use it as a guide to encourage them. I want to do that because it is such a sweet passage of scripture.
- Ezekiel 34:11-16
For thus says the Lord God:
How often do we just stop and realize that these are the words of God? We recognize the red letters in the New Testament as coming from the mouth of Christ, but here… here it says “Thus says the Lord God.” Wow, how I miss that far too often. It makes me think of earlier in Ezekiel 33:30 “Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord”. We are invited to hear and examine the words of the Lord. How precious!
Behold, I, I Myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out My sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.
God has sought us out. If we are His He searched for us. He pursued us and sought us out as a shepherd searches for one of his sheep when they wander out. It says that He will rescue us from the places we have been scattered. The day of clouds and thick darkness… that is a scary place to be, but He is there to rescue us. Ezekiel 33:30 sounds a whole lot better now, does it not. The Lord Himself has just told us that when we are scattered about, in the midst of a trial or a hard time, He is there. “I, I Myself…” The Lord Himself seeks us out. That excites me to no end and just makes me want to jump for joy. But there is more.
And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I Myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I Myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.
Our God, the God of the universe is going to bring His people out of other countries and into His land (our land). God promises to feed us. He promises to take care of us. More than any man could even take care of us. He is the ultimate provider. We, as girls, desire to have a man take care of us and provide for our needs. God promises to do that. Philippians 4:19 says “And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Oh my gosh, that makes me excited! God. The God of the universe, you know, the One who created all things … He WANTS to take care of us and provide for us. In Ezekiel He tells us that He will provide food for us by the ravines and the mountains. He will give us a place to lie down. So we get to eat and sleep at peace with Him. He does not go back on His promises. Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” That says it all. He is our Shepherd, the good Shepherd. The more you read in Psalm 23 the more encouraging it gets. He tells us that we get to rest, He leads us, He restores us, we have no fear with Him, He comforts us, He provides for us, He anoints us, He overflows what we need; He is such a good Shepherd. He again reminds us in vs 15 of Ezekiel 34 that He will make us lie down. He will make us rest in Him. Sometimes we run ourselves ragged, He didn’t tell us to do that, we did that on our own. But He makes us lie down and rest in Him. He wants good things for His children. Just like we read in Matthew 7 and Luke 11 we are reminded that our own fathers give us good things, but our heavenly Father gives us so much more and such better gifts than even our earthly fathers do. Our heavenly Father knows what we need before we ever ask, He just wants us to ask for it. He provides in times we do not know what we need. He is such a good God!
I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy.
He seeks out the lost. People come to Christ all the time, but our Lord and Savior is seeking out the lost and He is drawing them into Himself. It is nothing we could have ever done. Our salvation is not merely based on what we do, it is Him working in us and through us and through our brothers and sisters. We can do nothing without Him. He is going to bring the strayed back to himself. He is going to bind up the wounded. Psalm 34:18 says “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” Psalm 147:3 “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” He wants to bind up the injured. He wants to heal us when our hearts are broken. He wants to draw us into Himself. He says He is going to strengthen the weak. II Corinthians 12:9 says, “But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’” Ok, so there is so much to unpack in that verse but I want to just look at the last half, “My power is made perfect in weakness.” He is our strength. There are a ton of verses that tell us how powerful our God is and a ton of verses that tell us He uses the weak to do crazy awesome things. But here is the thing, Moses didn’t think he was doing anything crazy awesome at the time. Neither did Noah or Paul or Abraham. Even the women that we look at as being great women of the faith: Ruth, Ester, Abigail, Mary … These women knew they were working for the King, yet they did not know that in their state of imperfection and weakness God was making them into strong women that we would be looking up to. His power is made perfect in our weakness. It is ok to be weak, God is the biggest, badest, strongest being ever! He cannot be defeated and cannot be shaken. He is the supreme ruler of the universe. He formed you in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13). He chose you before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). He loves the weak and comforts them and gives them strength but the fat and the strong He will destroy. They do not seek Him for provisions or for strength. God wants us to rely on Him. He wants us to look to Him for all of our needs, wants, and desires. He is the greatest thing since sliced bread (well, He is way better)!
Our God loves us and wants us to find our satisfaction in Him. “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost,” (Luke 19:10). He wants to bring us to Himself, He is drawing us closer and asking us to let Him be everything we want and need. He can fill us up to overflowing; “because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5b). We cannot fill ourselves up with love, He pours His love into our hearts using the Holy Spirit whom He gave to us. It is not about us at all. It is all about Him, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the unglodly.” (Romans 5:6) … “but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8). Did you catch that? We were sought out by God because we were lost. If we are saved we were once sought out. But here is the kicker, Ezekiel 34:11-16 tells us He continues to seek us out when we mess up or when we stray or when we lose our way. He at the right time sent Christ to die for our sin. Not just your sin but mine and everyone you know and don’t know and everyone in between … yes, even the person you cannot stand to be in the same room with, Christ died for their sin because they have just as much importance and value as you do in His eyes. Christ loves us so much He died for us and then rose again to prove to the world that nothing is too much for God to deal with. Our God is a powerful God.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Sand Paper People
Everyone of us have our "sandpaper" people. You know what I mean, the kind of person that no matter how nice they are or what they do they rub you the wrong way. To be honest, and I hate to admit it, but I have a sandpaper person and come to think of it, I am probably someone's sandpaper person. There is this girl who is super sweet but she just rubs me the wrong way. I hear her name and cringe at the thought of a conversation with her. But the thing is God's word tells me to love people. That is it, that is the command: to love.
God's command to love has no criteria. Wait, I take that back. He says, "love your neighbor as yourself." That is a pretty hefty command. Sadly, I love myself alot. I would do anything to keep myself safe and comfortable. But then I read how I am called to love people. And then I read how if I am only loving those who love me I am doing nothing. It matters not if I love those who love me. That is easy. Since when is walking with God known as easy.
What does it look like to live that out? It may look different for everyone. For me, with my sand paper girl it was a little different than what even I expected. This particular person is planning to do a summer mission. She sent out letters for support and I was one of the ones who received her letter. When I received the letter I wasn't quite sure what to do. My first thought was sadly, "oh crap, this means I have to meet with her." Then it was as if God Himself spoke to me and said, "Yes, yes you will have to meet with her. Not just that but I want you to financially and prayerfully supoort her. It is not about you or your comfort, it is about Me and getting My name to the nations. Did I not say that others will know you are My disciple by your love for one another? Why do you not love her?" Talk about instant conviction. I need to buy a can of that and carry it around with me every where I go. (Bad joke, I know!) God laid it on my heart to support her financially. He laid it on my heart to pray for her. He even laid it on my heart to meet with her. So I met with, gave to, and am still praying for her. To be honest, it didn't even give me the warm fuzzies. It just reminded me that this world will try to convince me that doing what I want and living how I want will make everything better. But that is such a lie! Living for myself will utterly destroy me. Loving my sand paper people is one of the many ways I can show Christ my true love for Him.
When I love people that are not well put together and people that are dirty and smell bad or people that just plain rub me the wrong way I am showing them, Christ, myself, everyone around me that it doesn't matter a person's outward or even their inward appearance. Christ has called us to know Him and make Him known. How did He call us to do that? Through love. If I loved my sand paper the way I loved myself... wow. Could you imagine that? Seriously, just once show your sand paper person the same amount of love that you show your most beloved best friend who you would do absolutely anything for.
I dare you.
Please do not think I am boasting about supporting others or even suggesting that this is the way everyone should do things. This is one particular case in my life. This honestly only reflects how God has delt with me in this particular way.
For if you love those who love you what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
- Matthew 5:46
God's command to love has no criteria. Wait, I take that back. He says, "love your neighbor as yourself." That is a pretty hefty command. Sadly, I love myself alot. I would do anything to keep myself safe and comfortable. But then I read how I am called to love people. And then I read how if I am only loving those who love me I am doing nothing. It matters not if I love those who love me. That is easy. Since when is walking with God known as easy.
For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?
Basically God's word tells me that if I love those that look good on the outside and who are easy to love, I am just sticking to what is easy. Seriously, since when is following Christ a breeze? He makes claims that He was hated first so we know that if we are following Him, we will be hated too. That doesn't sound like puppies and rainbows to me. We are called to live at peace with others.-James 2:2-7
If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
-Romans 12:18
What does it look like to live that out? It may look different for everyone. For me, with my sand paper girl it was a little different than what even I expected. This particular person is planning to do a summer mission. She sent out letters for support and I was one of the ones who received her letter. When I received the letter I wasn't quite sure what to do. My first thought was sadly, "oh crap, this means I have to meet with her." Then it was as if God Himself spoke to me and said, "Yes, yes you will have to meet with her. Not just that but I want you to financially and prayerfully supoort her. It is not about you or your comfort, it is about Me and getting My name to the nations. Did I not say that others will know you are My disciple by your love for one another? Why do you not love her?" Talk about instant conviction. I need to buy a can of that and carry it around with me every where I go. (Bad joke, I know!) God laid it on my heart to support her financially. He laid it on my heart to pray for her. He even laid it on my heart to meet with her. So I met with, gave to, and am still praying for her. To be honest, it didn't even give me the warm fuzzies. It just reminded me that this world will try to convince me that doing what I want and living how I want will make everything better. But that is such a lie! Living for myself will utterly destroy me. Loving my sand paper people is one of the many ways I can show Christ my true love for Him.
When I love people that are not well put together and people that are dirty and smell bad or people that just plain rub me the wrong way I am showing them, Christ, myself, everyone around me that it doesn't matter a person's outward or even their inward appearance. Christ has called us to know Him and make Him known. How did He call us to do that? Through love. If I loved my sand paper the way I loved myself... wow. Could you imagine that? Seriously, just once show your sand paper person the same amount of love that you show your most beloved best friend who you would do absolutely anything for.
I dare you.
Please do not think I am boasting about supporting others or even suggesting that this is the way everyone should do things. This is one particular case in my life. This honestly only reflects how God has delt with me in this particular way.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
To Be Called Beautiful
Almost every little girl I know wants to be called beautiful by their daddy. As little girls we want to be our daddy’s little princess. We will put on our cutest dress and play make-up and add our little crown. “Daddy, don’t I look pretty?” little girls will say. At such a young age we may not clearly know what beauty is defined as but we want to be it to our daddy. Then as we enter into our teenage years and beyond we want to be beautiful to those around us. We want others to see us not just pretty but something to be desired by men. We want to be wanted. Even in my walk with God I have found myself wanting to be called beautiful by my Daddy. Reading through scripture has brought me hope of becoming beautiful in the sight of my Father.
Now, do not get me wrong… I do not expect you to find a husband being dirty and filthy all the time so if that is what you are looking for, know that I am no match maker. But, what I am saying is if we are looking to the Lord and seeing His beauty and He sees ours, we are far better off than spending bunches of money on beauty products and new clothes and such. God is perfect and has perfect timing. He will provide a significant other in right timing if He so desires. He may have you single for the rest of your life, who knows… well, He does but you know what I mean. Sisters, I urge you to keep on pressing closer to Christ. Trust in Him and know He is good. He is faithful. You are beautiful!!
”...let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.” I Peter 3:4As women we will do whatever it takes to be beautiful by worldly standards. Within the extremes we starve ourselves to be thin, then once we are thin we need new clothes so we buy new clothes to fit in with what is hot and young, once we have the clothes we need the haircut, after the haircut we realize we need the phone and the car and the shoes to match the clothes. We realize that keeping up with the beautiful people around us is almost a full-time job. We will end up spending our energy, money, and time on being beautiful. But here is the kicker, God’s word which is holy and perfect says we are to “let (our) adorning be the hidden person (in) the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious”. Did you catch that? Our beauty is what is within us. So all the old ladies at church were right… it is not what is outside but what is on the inside. Not only that but it is “very precious” in the sight of God. So we have let the world tell us a big fat lie! Yes, I just called the world and it is no joke! Our beauty is not merely skin deep, it goes much deeper than that.
“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” Romans 10:15Scripture also tells us that we are beautiful when we take the gospel to the lost. Right before this verse it says “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’” (verses 14-15). God finds us beautiful when we are working for Him. When we are laboring in the fields, with sweat dripping, no make-up on, in our dirty work clothes, God finds us beautiful. Our Father finds us the prettiest when we do not try to be this outwardly beautiful person yet when we are working hard for Him with our beauty hidden within our gentle and quiet spirit, we are His beautiful daughters.
Now, do not get me wrong… I do not expect you to find a husband being dirty and filthy all the time so if that is what you are looking for, know that I am no match maker. But, what I am saying is if we are looking to the Lord and seeing His beauty and He sees ours, we are far better off than spending bunches of money on beauty products and new clothes and such. God is perfect and has perfect timing. He will provide a significant other in right timing if He so desires. He may have you single for the rest of your life, who knows… well, He does but you know what I mean. Sisters, I urge you to keep on pressing closer to Christ. Trust in Him and know He is good. He is faithful. You are beautiful!!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
I Am Who God Says I Am
Often times we forget who God says we are, this is such a good reminder that we are not only His but we are forever His.
Here is a sweet article about who He says we are if we are in Him. Also, here is the weblink if you would like to find more helpful articles from this author:
I am a child of God John 1: 12
I am a joint-heir with Christ Romans 8: 17
I am the righteousness of God in Christ. 2 Cor.5: 21
I am the temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 Cor. 6: 19
I am the apple of His eye. Zec.2: 8
I am an ambassador for Christ. 2 Cor.5: 20
I am free from condemnation Romans 8: 1
I am more than a conqueror Romans 8: 17
I am the salt of the earth. Mathew 5: 13
I am the light of the world Mathew 5: 14 & Eph. 5: 8
I am a member of the household of faith Gal.6 :10
I am a branch of the True Vine John 15: 5
I am the will of God James 1: 8
I am in the palm of the Lord’s Hand Isa. 49: 16
I am covered by the shadow of His Hand Isa. 51: 6
I am loved by God as much as He loves Jesus John 17:23
I am in God’s Hand and none can pluck me out John10:28
I am delivered from sin Romans 6: 7
I am free from weaknesses and diseases. Matt.8: 17
I am complete in Him. Col.2: 10
I am translated into the kingdom of God’s Son.Col.1:13 I am delivered from the power of darkness Col. 1: 13
I am accepted in Him Eph. 1: 6
I am dead to sin and alive to God in Christ.Rom.6:11
I am seated in heavenly places in Christ. Eph. 2: 6
I am redeemed from the curse of the law. Gal. 3: 13
I am in Christ. 1 Cor. 1: 30
I am hidden with Christ in God. Col. 3: 3
This revelation of God concerning me is found in His Holy Word. Sense knowledge (the knowledge gained through seeing, hearing, smelling, touching and tasting) and my varying circumstances may not reveal the same and in reality contradict this revelation, but when I stand on the naked Word of God alone, God confirms His Word.
I am the daughter of the Almighty God through Jesus Christ, His Son. Chosen before the foundation of the world to be His witness in this world and to do His will for His glory. My Heavenly Father promised to lead, guide and provide all the days of my life.
I am the Lord’s ambassador in this world. God by His Spirit indwells me and now I am His Temple. My relationship with the Lord is real and it is a privilege to know Him, love Him and serve Him!! Praise His wonderful Name!
Here is a sweet article about who He says we are if we are in Him. Also, here is the weblink if you would like to find more helpful articles from this author:
I am a child of God John 1: 12
I am a joint-heir with Christ Romans 8: 17
I am the righteousness of God in Christ. 2 Cor.5: 21
I am the temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 Cor. 6: 19
I am the apple of His eye. Zec.2: 8
I am an ambassador for Christ. 2 Cor.5: 20
I am free from condemnation Romans 8: 1
I am more than a conqueror Romans 8: 17
I am the salt of the earth. Mathew 5: 13
I am the light of the world Mathew 5: 14 & Eph. 5: 8
I am a member of the household of faith Gal.6 :10
I am a branch of the True Vine John 15: 5
I am the will of God James 1: 8
I am in the palm of the Lord’s Hand Isa. 49: 16
I am covered by the shadow of His Hand Isa. 51: 6
I am loved by God as much as He loves Jesus John 17:23
I am in God’s Hand and none can pluck me out John10:28
I am delivered from sin Romans 6: 7
I am free from weaknesses and diseases. Matt.8: 17
I am complete in Him. Col.2: 10
I am translated into the kingdom of God’s Son.Col.1:13 I am delivered from the power of darkness Col. 1: 13
I am accepted in Him Eph. 1: 6
I am dead to sin and alive to God in Christ.Rom.6:11
I am seated in heavenly places in Christ. Eph. 2: 6
I am redeemed from the curse of the law. Gal. 3: 13
I am in Christ. 1 Cor. 1: 30
I am hidden with Christ in God. Col. 3: 3
This revelation of God concerning me is found in His Holy Word. Sense knowledge (the knowledge gained through seeing, hearing, smelling, touching and tasting) and my varying circumstances may not reveal the same and in reality contradict this revelation, but when I stand on the naked Word of God alone, God confirms His Word.
I am the daughter of the Almighty God through Jesus Christ, His Son. Chosen before the foundation of the world to be His witness in this world and to do His will for His glory. My Heavenly Father promised to lead, guide and provide all the days of my life.
I am the Lord’s ambassador in this world. God by His Spirit indwells me and now I am His Temple. My relationship with the Lord is real and it is a privilege to know Him, love Him and serve Him!! Praise His wonderful Name!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
The Power Behind Dry Bones
The Valley of Dry Bones would not have been the most ideal place to visit in the world. Yet God sent Ezekiel there. God's hand was on Ezekiel and He took him to a valley that was filled with dry bones. I can almost picture an extremely sandy, dry, desert like valley filled with bones scattered about God, told Ezekiel to prophesy and He would cause the bones to come together, the He would allow sinews (tendons) to form on the bones, then He would cover the bodies in flesh, and then He would give them breath to breathe. (That would make a sweeeeeet movie! I am just saying, come on hollywood!) So Ezekiel did what God told him to do. God made the bones come together. He put tendons on the bones and covered them with flesh. Then He put breath in the bodies so that they could breathe. God made these dry bones come together and make living things. Dry bones, do you get that... DRY BONES! This is not like Juliet who drank potion that would make her appear dead temporarily. This is not like something you see on CSI where a person was buried because they were thought to be dead. These were dry bones. God's power is never ending. He can do anything. Romans 8:38-39 says nothing can come between us and God. He is too powerful for anything to separate His people from Him. He can not be defeated.
Just a chapter before God makes a beautiful promise to Ezekiel for Israel. "I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to obey My rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be My people, and I will be your God..." The promise keeps on going. God has so much power and shows it in the best of ways, by loving His people. Even when His people were in the midst of sin to the point they had completely turned away from their Father and worshipped statues made of the very things God had given them. Although He disciplined them, He did it out of His love for them. He told Ezekiel that He was going to bring His people back together. Not only that He was going to that, but He was going to give them a new heart and a new spirit. He was going to give them a piece of Him.
God has the power to change dead people who have become dry bones into living breathing people. That means God also has the power to move mountains, the power to bring you through whatever tough time you are in, the power to save the souls of those you are praying for, the power to bring in support for foreign missions. God loves showing His power to His children. All we have to do is have faith in Him that He can do it. Ezekiel was obedient and faithful to God. God told him to prophesy and he did. There does not seem to be a break between God telling him to do it and him doing it, which leads me to believe that it was an immediate reaction. We are sinful and may not immediately be obedient when God commands us to do something, but your act of obedience and faith can show you just how powerful God really is.
CHALLENGE: Seek God on an area of your life to be obedient and faithful in. See God shine His glorious power into your life this week. (It is Wednesday so let's say from Wednesday-Wednesday). Try it, I double dog dare you to. See what God will do in your life this week as you are obedient and faithful to His call in your life.
God bless!!
Just a chapter before God makes a beautiful promise to Ezekiel for Israel. "I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to obey My rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be My people, and I will be your God..." The promise keeps on going. God has so much power and shows it in the best of ways, by loving His people. Even when His people were in the midst of sin to the point they had completely turned away from their Father and worshipped statues made of the very things God had given them. Although He disciplined them, He did it out of His love for them. He told Ezekiel that He was going to bring His people back together. Not only that He was going to that, but He was going to give them a new heart and a new spirit. He was going to give them a piece of Him.
God has the power to change dead people who have become dry bones into living breathing people. That means God also has the power to move mountains, the power to bring you through whatever tough time you are in, the power to save the souls of those you are praying for, the power to bring in support for foreign missions. God loves showing His power to His children. All we have to do is have faith in Him that He can do it. Ezekiel was obedient and faithful to God. God told him to prophesy and he did. There does not seem to be a break between God telling him to do it and him doing it, which leads me to believe that it was an immediate reaction. We are sinful and may not immediately be obedient when God commands us to do something, but your act of obedience and faith can show you just how powerful God really is.
CHALLENGE: Seek God on an area of your life to be obedient and faithful in. See God shine His glorious power into your life this week. (It is Wednesday so let's say from Wednesday-Wednesday). Try it, I double dog dare you to. See what God will do in your life this week as you are obedient and faithful to His call in your life.
God bless!!
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