On pages 84-85 of Paul David Tripp's book "Broken Down House," he speaks of the skilled builder that we can trust in as we live in the broken down house of our world. He concludes this section by saying,
"You are never in a better place than when you give up on you and begin to trust what is sure: the life-shaping wisdom of the One who built the house in the first place."
I am at a place where I need to continue to remember this. I can't fix the mess of this "house." But God is redeeming it and I can trust in what He is doing.
What a wonderful, freeing truth.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
to love God and hate sin
I am reading More Precious than Gold by Sam Storms. It’s a book of meditations on the Psalms. This weekend what I read focused on the imprecation Psalms, those are the ones where David shows his anger at sinners and desire for God to “sic ‘em.”
We as Christians struggle with the anger in these Psalms, it seems to go against the message of the NT to love our enemies, turn the cheek, etc. And yet Jesus showed real anger at the Pharisee’s, I’m sure when He was welding the whip in the temple He was a bit fierce about it.
How does this all fit together?
Peter C. Craigie says, of these Psalms,:
“these passages are the real and natural reactions to the experience of evil and pain and thought the sentiments are in themselves evil, they are a part of the life of the soul which is bared before God in worship and prayer.”
“The psalmist may hate his oppressor; God hates the oppression. Thus the words of the psalmist are often natural and spontaneous, not always pure and good.”
He sums up by saying, “ these Psalms are not the oracles of God.” I would add that they are the true cry of the soul.
Same points out that, “They are calculate petitions, not spontaneous explosions of a bad temper. Certainly there are examples in Old Testament history and prose narrative of actions and attitudes that are sinful and not to be emulated. But the Psalms are expressions of public worship to be modeled.”
Sam made a statement that has challenged me and given me much to ponder:
“Imprecations are expressions provoked by the horror or sin. David prayed this way because of his deep sensitivity to the ugliness of evil. Perhaps the chief reason why he wasn’t bothered by prayers of imprecation, and we are, is that he was bothered by sin, and we aren’t! It is frightening to think that we can stand in the presence of evil and not be moved to pray as David did.”
I am pleased to say that the next meditation deals with what it means to delight yourself in the Lord, which is all part of this amazing thing of loving God and hating sin.
We as Christians struggle with the anger in these Psalms, it seems to go against the message of the NT to love our enemies, turn the cheek, etc. And yet Jesus showed real anger at the Pharisee’s, I’m sure when He was welding the whip in the temple He was a bit fierce about it.
How does this all fit together?
Peter C. Craigie says, of these Psalms,:
“these passages are the real and natural reactions to the experience of evil and pain and thought the sentiments are in themselves evil, they are a part of the life of the soul which is bared before God in worship and prayer.”
“The psalmist may hate his oppressor; God hates the oppression. Thus the words of the psalmist are often natural and spontaneous, not always pure and good.”
He sums up by saying, “ these Psalms are not the oracles of God.” I would add that they are the true cry of the soul.
Same points out that, “They are calculate petitions, not spontaneous explosions of a bad temper. Certainly there are examples in Old Testament history and prose narrative of actions and attitudes that are sinful and not to be emulated. But the Psalms are expressions of public worship to be modeled.”
Sam made a statement that has challenged me and given me much to ponder:
“Imprecations are expressions provoked by the horror or sin. David prayed this way because of his deep sensitivity to the ugliness of evil. Perhaps the chief reason why he wasn’t bothered by prayers of imprecation, and we are, is that he was bothered by sin, and we aren’t! It is frightening to think that we can stand in the presence of evil and not be moved to pray as David did.”
I am pleased to say that the next meditation deals with what it means to delight yourself in the Lord, which is all part of this amazing thing of loving God and hating sin.
Monday, September 21, 2009
God's love
Sam Storms has a book of devotionals on the Psalms. "More Precious than Gold."
In his words on Psalm 32, after talking about the total forgiveness of confessed, sin he says:
"God's love is the bulwark of our lives, the bodyguard of our souls, the atmosphere of immutable affection in which we move and live and breathe."
As I am learning to enjoy God's love more I found this a beautiful picture to hold on to.
In his words on Psalm 32, after talking about the total forgiveness of confessed, sin he says:
"God's love is the bulwark of our lives, the bodyguard of our souls, the atmosphere of immutable affection in which we move and live and breathe."
As I am learning to enjoy God's love more I found this a beautiful picture to hold on to.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
He Sees the Downcast
I found a new book that is going to be one of my favorites. The Sheep of His Hand by Suzanne Davenport Tietjen.
She and her family are modern day shepherds in Illinois and she uses their sheep as examples of following, or sometimes not following too well, our Shepherd.
One of the sheep is Deborah, very heavy with child and stuck on her back. That position is called being cast down and this gave me a new understanding of David's words in Psalm 42 "why are you downcast O my soul." This poor sheep was stuck and would have died in that position if the shepherd hadn't driven by and seen her. He tenderly and gently helped her on to her side and then on her feet, holding her the whole time. He held on to her until she was sturdy on her feet again and OK. What a wonderful picture of God tenderly and gently holding on to us while He uprights us when we are "downcast."
And we don't have to wonder if He will drive by and see us, His eyes are always on us!
She and her family are modern day shepherds in Illinois and she uses their sheep as examples of following, or sometimes not following too well, our Shepherd.
One of the sheep is Deborah, very heavy with child and stuck on her back. That position is called being cast down and this gave me a new understanding of David's words in Psalm 42 "why are you downcast O my soul." This poor sheep was stuck and would have died in that position if the shepherd hadn't driven by and seen her. He tenderly and gently helped her on to her side and then on her feet, holding her the whole time. He held on to her until she was sturdy on her feet again and OK. What a wonderful picture of God tenderly and gently holding on to us while He uprights us when we are "downcast."
And we don't have to wonder if He will drive by and see us, His eyes are always on us!
Monday, September 07, 2009
Sacrificial Love
From Meet Me at the Well by Virelle Kidder:
"I soon learned that sacrificial love isn't fun. It's like standing still and getting beaten up. I wanted to defend myself. How did Jesus keep doing that? He loved us with supernatural power, especially when He got beaten up. Could ordinary people love like that?"
"Nowhere is perfect love more clearly seen than in Christ's love at the cross. He showed a spiritually dead world what love really is when He died on our behalf.
Has anyone ever loved you more?"
We have His Spirit within us and thus can love the same way, when we rely on Him, not our own ability. I'm so thankful for this because my love quotient is quite limited.
"I soon learned that sacrificial love isn't fun. It's like standing still and getting beaten up. I wanted to defend myself. How did Jesus keep doing that? He loved us with supernatural power, especially when He got beaten up. Could ordinary people love like that?"
"Nowhere is perfect love more clearly seen than in Christ's love at the cross. He showed a spiritually dead world what love really is when He died on our behalf.
Has anyone ever loved you more?"
We have His Spirit within us and thus can love the same way, when we rely on Him, not our own ability. I'm so thankful for this because my love quotient is quite limited.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
The Unfinished Soul
I've been enjoying Calvin Miller lately. I read his memoir and then the Unfinished Soul. It's a collection of allegories and poems for believers today. Some I didn't get, but that's not unusual, most were good hit the mark.
I enjoy his writing and his honesty about faith.
In his preface he said:
“..life is rarely an orderly architecture built from large blocks of time. Rather, it is more often a jumbled blueprint: a collage of little events, a composite of small scrapes and brushes, a day-to-day gathering of our significant collisions with ideas.”
And:
“Jesus stands over all of life reminding me that He has ordained the course to take the “happen” out of my happenstance. He stuffs His great purposes in the haphazard, which is always as much a hazard as a happening.”
And last:
“…true pilgrims always understand each other. All of them know that the pilgrimage will always be the main thing, and that every apparent tumble is a tutor whose lessons are free but never cheap.”
I liked the reminders that we can't always make sense of things and are often surprised at the things that turn out to be major and those that don't, mostly that God is in the midst of it all and He is working out His plan for each of us, His masterpieces.
Praise to our amazingly creative and sovereignly detailed God.
I enjoy his writing and his honesty about faith.
In his preface he said:
“..life is rarely an orderly architecture built from large blocks of time. Rather, it is more often a jumbled blueprint: a collage of little events, a composite of small scrapes and brushes, a day-to-day gathering of our significant collisions with ideas.”
And:
“Jesus stands over all of life reminding me that He has ordained the course to take the “happen” out of my happenstance. He stuffs His great purposes in the haphazard, which is always as much a hazard as a happening.”
And last:
“…true pilgrims always understand each other. All of them know that the pilgrimage will always be the main thing, and that every apparent tumble is a tutor whose lessons are free but never cheap.”
I liked the reminders that we can't always make sense of things and are often surprised at the things that turn out to be major and those that don't, mostly that God is in the midst of it all and He is working out His plan for each of us, His masterpieces.
Praise to our amazingly creative and sovereignly detailed God.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
In Spirit of the Disciplines," Dallas Willard asks, "Why is it that we look upon our salvation as a moment that began our religious life instead of the daily life we receive from God?" pg. 29
Christ learned obedience and we must too. This implies it won't just happen, we have to be attentive and make choices to obey.
...we can become like Christ by doing one thing--by following Him in the overall style of life He chose for Himself. pg. IX
The secret of the easy yoke, then, is to learn from Christ how to live our total lives, how to invest all our time and our energies of mind and body as he did. pg. 9
...spiritual growth and vitality stem from what we actually do with our lives, from the habits we form, and from the character that results. pg. 21
So what am I doing to learn to live daily as He did?
Christ learned obedience and we must too. This implies it won't just happen, we have to be attentive and make choices to obey.
...we can become like Christ by doing one thing--by following Him in the overall style of life He chose for Himself. pg. IX
The secret of the easy yoke, then, is to learn from Christ how to live our total lives, how to invest all our time and our energies of mind and body as he did. pg. 9
...spiritual growth and vitality stem from what we actually do with our lives, from the habits we form, and from the character that results. pg. 21
So what am I doing to learn to live daily as He did?
Saturday, June 20, 2009
On Killing Sin
To effectively protect our inner sanctuary, we must not wait until sin has already begun to take over, but instead, learn to immediately and aggressively respond to every hint of temptation with what I like to call the “sudden death” technique.
Sudden Death
The only effective way to deal with temptation toward sin is to immediately and completely kill it, giving it absolutely no opportunity to take hold of our mind or heart in the first place.
…temptation quickly suffocates and dies the moment we refuse to give it life within us.
Sin must be cut off at the source. There always comes that crucial moment of decision—and that’s when we must choose whether to allow temptation to live or die. Pg. 134-5
Sudden Death
The only effective way to deal with temptation toward sin is to immediately and completely kill it, giving it absolutely no opportunity to take hold of our mind or heart in the first place.
…temptation quickly suffocates and dies the moment we refuse to give it life within us.
Sin must be cut off at the source. There always comes that crucial moment of decision—and that’s when we must choose whether to allow temptation to live or die. Pg. 134-5
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Feminine Mystique
I've read several things lately that give definitions of the feminine mystique from a Christian perspective, but this one is the best. It comes from the book Authentic Beauty by Leslie Ludy.
Feminine Mystique—the steady, unyielding strength and confidence that flows from knowing our Prince intimately and protecting our relationship with Him at all costs. Pg. 161
Some of her insights are:
We must learn to walk through our days with Him, not merely trying to represent Him. Pg. 206
To understand our Prince in His fullness, we must learn to meditate on His Word and make His Truth an inseparable part of who we are as we study it, carefully examine it on multiple levels, mull it over in our minds and hearts, diligently pray about it, and practically apply it to our lives. Pg. 214
Primary focus of life can be determined by the thoughts we have each night as we drift off to sleep. Pg. 203
Feminine Mystique—the steady, unyielding strength and confidence that flows from knowing our Prince intimately and protecting our relationship with Him at all costs. Pg. 161
Some of her insights are:
We must learn to walk through our days with Him, not merely trying to represent Him. Pg. 206
To understand our Prince in His fullness, we must learn to meditate on His Word and make His Truth an inseparable part of who we are as we study it, carefully examine it on multiple levels, mull it over in our minds and hearts, diligently pray about it, and practically apply it to our lives. Pg. 214
Primary focus of life can be determined by the thoughts we have each night as we drift off to sleep. Pg. 203
Sunday, June 14, 2009
God is in control:)
I found a wonderful book a few weeks ago called Whisper of His Grace by David L. McKenna, (you can get it on Amazon used books for .08 plus postage).
Not everyone loves Job as I do, but any that have struggled with questions and pain usually find their way to this book and find truth, encouragement, and comfort in our amazing God.
On page 36 of McKenna's book he says:
"Evil may appear to be having its day, but God sets the time and draws the boundaries."
"Whether in riches or poverty, sickness of health, calm of stress, comfort or persecution, it is absolutely essential to remember that we live under the protection of God and are never abandoned by the presence of God."
Not everyone loves Job as I do, but any that have struggled with questions and pain usually find their way to this book and find truth, encouragement, and comfort in our amazing God.
On page 36 of McKenna's book he says:
"Evil may appear to be having its day, but God sets the time and draws the boundaries."
"Whether in riches or poverty, sickness of health, calm of stress, comfort or persecution, it is absolutely essential to remember that we live under the protection of God and are never abandoned by the presence of God."
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Who am I following?
More from "the Bravehearted Gospel"
They call us Christians; and all that really means is that we are supposed to follow Christ.
The question is...are we? pg. 97
He goes on the say that the more beautiful and stunning we are to this world the more disagreeable we are in the eyes of Heaven,or, the more lovely we are to heaven, the more disagreeable we will be in the eyes of the world.
I wonder sometimes which set of eyes I am seeking to please.
They call us Christians; and all that really means is that we are supposed to follow Christ.
The question is...are we? pg. 97
He goes on the say that the more beautiful and stunning we are to this world the more disagreeable we are in the eyes of Heaven,or, the more lovely we are to heaven, the more disagreeable we will be in the eyes of the world.
I wonder sometimes which set of eyes I am seeking to please.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Braveheartedness
I am being challenged by Eric Ludy in his book "The Bravehearted Gospel."
On page 100 he says,
"For instance, the gospel has been reduced to a message merely about forgiveness while the idea of regeneration and transformation seems almost totally forgotten.
Grace has become simple a gigantic hug from God and is no longer the muscle of God brought to earth to aid the weakness of men and to give them strength.
Faith has morphed into this bizarre idea of "honest doubt" and has lost its essence of rock-solid unwavering confidence in the ability of God to perform that which He promises.
He speaks of our need to remember that we are called to live for Christ and to should be fighting for the truth of the Gospel. I was reminded of a little friend of mine, Sydney, one day while wearing one of her many princess dresses, she picked up her play sword and said "I'm a princess fighter!" I think this is who we, well at least the female of us, should remember that we are.
On page 100 he says,
"For instance, the gospel has been reduced to a message merely about forgiveness while the idea of regeneration and transformation seems almost totally forgotten.
Grace has become simple a gigantic hug from God and is no longer the muscle of God brought to earth to aid the weakness of men and to give them strength.
Faith has morphed into this bizarre idea of "honest doubt" and has lost its essence of rock-solid unwavering confidence in the ability of God to perform that which He promises.
He speaks of our need to remember that we are called to live for Christ and to should be fighting for the truth of the Gospel. I was reminded of a little friend of mine, Sydney, one day while wearing one of her many princess dresses, she picked up her play sword and said "I'm a princess fighter!" I think this is who we, well at least the female of us, should remember that we are.
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Grace
I picked up a new book at the library recently, not sure what I'd think of it, and found I really enjoyed it.
It's called "Finding Grace, a Memoir" by Donna VanLiere.
She was molested before she started Kindergarten and never told anyone until she married. She couldn't understand why God didn't protect her and felt shame over it. The story is of her discovery of God's grace through her life and realizing that we can't earn and don't deserve His grace, it's a free gift from Him.
Some things I found thought provoking or encouraging were:
"God sometimes does His work with gentle drizzle, not storms." Spoken by John Newton in the film Amazing Grace.
God was busy carving out and arranging things in my life but I was too frustrated to detect any of His work. pg. 69
I was exhausted from roaming the desert ... and each day I opened the Bible with a heated attitude that said, "Show me something." pg. 91
A quote on the same page from Charles Dickens said, "Nothing is discovered without God's intention and assistance."
On page 92 she realizes that she was looking for the "Cliff Notes" version of Faith and that just won't work. She talked about Jacob's wrestling match and gives a very descriptive image of what it must have been like. I'd never visualized it quite so realistically before.
The emptiness says: Come to me. I'll never betray you. I know you by name. I know the plans I have for you. I ignored that restlessness, and unconvinced that God really did have a purpose for me, I continued to drive my own plan. After all, isn't that easier and more manageable than discerning the mystery of the soul? pg. 115
At some point we throw up our hands but then what? It seems that we either continue to fight and wrestle, or we relinquish the plan as we've always known it in order to discover the Creator's dream for our life. When we admit our helplessness in driving our own dream and acknowledge God's divine power and goodness, we open the door to grace. pg. 120
"The great act of faith is when man decides that he is not God." Supreme Court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes.
In the disappointment and frustration of infertility I was beginning to comprehend a God that shattered my childish perceptions. pg. 135
...I wonder why we deny ourselves the grace of God? For the first time in years I began to doubt my thirty-plus years of self-made reasoning. pg. 142
It's called "Finding Grace, a Memoir" by Donna VanLiere.
She was molested before she started Kindergarten and never told anyone until she married. She couldn't understand why God didn't protect her and felt shame over it. The story is of her discovery of God's grace through her life and realizing that we can't earn and don't deserve His grace, it's a free gift from Him.
Some things I found thought provoking or encouraging were:
"God sometimes does His work with gentle drizzle, not storms." Spoken by John Newton in the film Amazing Grace.
God was busy carving out and arranging things in my life but I was too frustrated to detect any of His work. pg. 69
I was exhausted from roaming the desert ... and each day I opened the Bible with a heated attitude that said, "Show me something." pg. 91
A quote on the same page from Charles Dickens said, "Nothing is discovered without God's intention and assistance."
On page 92 she realizes that she was looking for the "Cliff Notes" version of Faith and that just won't work. She talked about Jacob's wrestling match and gives a very descriptive image of what it must have been like. I'd never visualized it quite so realistically before.
The emptiness says: Come to me. I'll never betray you. I know you by name. I know the plans I have for you. I ignored that restlessness, and unconvinced that God really did have a purpose for me, I continued to drive my own plan. After all, isn't that easier and more manageable than discerning the mystery of the soul? pg. 115
At some point we throw up our hands but then what? It seems that we either continue to fight and wrestle, or we relinquish the plan as we've always known it in order to discover the Creator's dream for our life. When we admit our helplessness in driving our own dream and acknowledge God's divine power and goodness, we open the door to grace. pg. 120
"The great act of faith is when man decides that he is not God." Supreme Court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes.
In the disappointment and frustration of infertility I was beginning to comprehend a God that shattered my childish perceptions. pg. 135
...I wonder why we deny ourselves the grace of God? For the first time in years I began to doubt my thirty-plus years of self-made reasoning. pg. 142
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Lessons in the Struggle
I recently read Losing God by Matt Rogers. It is a book about his four year struggle with depression and he did a good job of sharing the reality of the struggle. Having recently spent so much time in Romans I found it interesting that much of his struggle was with Romans nine and the doctrine of predestination. He found some good friends who came along side of him in the struggle and he is now a pastor with a very real understanding of the struggles of his people.
He shared a couple of pretty profound thoughts:
"...one of the most important lessons of the dark night, that peace with God, as with love for Him, is more than a feeling...it is a condition that we who have believed find ourselves in: the war is over."
"Emotions are a gift, but I learned in the dark night that we must be careful of the conclusions we let them draw for us."
"You have no idea five or ten years down the road how you will view the circumstances you are under right now. Hang in there! Do not give up. god is able to walk you through the darkness, and He is worth going through it."
and he included a great quote from Tozer on the mystery of election:
"God will not hold us responsible to understand the mysteries of election, predestination and the divine sovereignty. the best and safest way to deal with these truths is to raise our eyes to God and in deepest reverence say, 'O Lord, Thou knowest.' Those things belong to the deep and mysterious profound of God's omniscience. Prying into them may make theologians, but it will never make saints.
He shared a couple of pretty profound thoughts:
"...one of the most important lessons of the dark night, that peace with God, as with love for Him, is more than a feeling...it is a condition that we who have believed find ourselves in: the war is over."
"Emotions are a gift, but I learned in the dark night that we must be careful of the conclusions we let them draw for us."
"You have no idea five or ten years down the road how you will view the circumstances you are under right now. Hang in there! Do not give up. god is able to walk you through the darkness, and He is worth going through it."
and he included a great quote from Tozer on the mystery of election:
"God will not hold us responsible to understand the mysteries of election, predestination and the divine sovereignty. the best and safest way to deal with these truths is to raise our eyes to God and in deepest reverence say, 'O Lord, Thou knowest.' Those things belong to the deep and mysterious profound of God's omniscience. Prying into them may make theologians, but it will never make saints.
Monday, December 29, 2008
My Beloved
Today, in my reading through the Bible, I came to the Song of Solomon. I know there is controversy about this book--is it picturing an actual love relationship between a man and woman or is it a picture of God's love for us. I think it's both and has much to teach us about both. It is a wonderful picture of love. Today I read it as a picture of God's love for me and was so blessed.
"I am my Beloved's and He is mine." What a wonderful encouragement this is. he loves me/us with an intensity that I can't relate to, I can just be in awe of it. He thinks of me as beautiful, because of what Christ did for me at the cross. Me, beautiful! Amazing!
And the picture of my beloved is awesome.
My reading in the New Testament was Jude today and how encouraging the final verses of that little book were, in light of the picture of His love.
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
and to make you stand in His presence of His glory blameless with great joy,
to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord,
be glory, Majesty, dominion, and authority
before all time, and now, and forever.
Amen and Amen.
Oh how I long for the day when we will be presented to Jesus as His beloved bride.
Even so come Lord Jesus!
"I am my Beloved's and He is mine." What a wonderful encouragement this is. he loves me/us with an intensity that I can't relate to, I can just be in awe of it. He thinks of me as beautiful, because of what Christ did for me at the cross. Me, beautiful! Amazing!
And the picture of my beloved is awesome.
My reading in the New Testament was Jude today and how encouraging the final verses of that little book were, in light of the picture of His love.
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
and to make you stand in His presence of His glory blameless with great joy,
to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord,
be glory, Majesty, dominion, and authority
before all time, and now, and forever.
Amen and Amen.
Oh how I long for the day when we will be presented to Jesus as His beloved bride.
Even so come Lord Jesus!
Saturday, December 27, 2008
My Hero
I recently attended a "celebration of life" for my dad who died in August. I knew that it would be a bit awkward as I would be meeting many people who had my dad involved in their lives for the 25 years that he chose to not be involved with my brother, sister, and me. It was hard to hear of what a wonderful grandpa he was and not grieve over the fact that he wasn't that grandpa to my kids. It was a reminder of all of the special events of my life that he chose to not be part of.
He was described as their "hero." Can a hero be so good and so bad at the same time? In reality isn't that all of us? He had been my hero as a small child, I was a daddy's girl. But that changed when I turned 13 and he walked out of my life. I had to face the reality then that he didn't love me as I thought he had and it was a hard reality. The last 22 years he has been part of my life again and I am very thankful for that. I have gotten to know who he really was. He was a man who did the best that he was able to do with how he was prepared for life.
God drew me to Himself that year and became my Father and Mother and I am so grateful for that. He is and will always truly be my hero. He promised to never leave me or forsake me, that I have an eternal home with Him, life as He designed it. His Son willingly set aside His glory and took on flesh to reveal God, the Father, to us and to die to free us from our slavery to our sin, and He rose again in victory. He chose this sacrifice out of His great love and justice.
This is what a true hero is and why only Jesus can fit the discription. Men will fail us, they will leave us but God never will and He proved it at the cross.
Who is your hero? Who do you look up to? I pray that it will be Jesus, my Savior. If you haven't read the book of John lately I'd encourage you to read it. I guarentee that you will be encouraged and humbled.
He was described as their "hero." Can a hero be so good and so bad at the same time? In reality isn't that all of us? He had been my hero as a small child, I was a daddy's girl. But that changed when I turned 13 and he walked out of my life. I had to face the reality then that he didn't love me as I thought he had and it was a hard reality. The last 22 years he has been part of my life again and I am very thankful for that. I have gotten to know who he really was. He was a man who did the best that he was able to do with how he was prepared for life.
God drew me to Himself that year and became my Father and Mother and I am so grateful for that. He is and will always truly be my hero. He promised to never leave me or forsake me, that I have an eternal home with Him, life as He designed it. His Son willingly set aside His glory and took on flesh to reveal God, the Father, to us and to die to free us from our slavery to our sin, and He rose again in victory. He chose this sacrifice out of His great love and justice.
This is what a true hero is and why only Jesus can fit the discription. Men will fail us, they will leave us but God never will and He proved it at the cross.
Who is your hero? Who do you look up to? I pray that it will be Jesus, my Savior. If you haven't read the book of John lately I'd encourage you to read it. I guarentee that you will be encouraged and humbled.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Crazy Thinking
Edward Welch in When People are Big and God is Small says that when our interpretation of our past takes precedence over God's interpretation of it we are open to crazy thoughts that lead to sinful actions.
I don't think this applies only to our past. How often am I responding to my interpretation of my present instead of seeking God's interpretation of it? Am I looking for what He is doing and how He sees things, or just trying to make life work?
Am I standing on Christ, the mighty rock, or the other ground that is really sinking sand?
I don't think this applies only to our past. How often am I responding to my interpretation of my present instead of seeking God's interpretation of it? Am I looking for what He is doing and how He sees things, or just trying to make life work?
Am I standing on Christ, the mighty rock, or the other ground that is really sinking sand?
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Blessing
I recently read "The Truth Comes Out" the story of my hearts transformation, but Nancy Heche. It's a well written and thought provoking book that will make you look at the way you see others, and even see our own self-righteousness, ugly as it is.
She came to a wonderful understanding of what it means to bless others after reading Acts 3:26
God, having raised up His servant (Jesus), sent Him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.
Upon looking up the meaning of "to bless," she found this definition:
To ask God to interfere, to take action in ones life to bring them to the desired relationship with Him so that they are fully satisfied.
This blessing became a small obsession with her, and I am praying that it will be with me also. What a difference it would make in our relationships if we chose to bless in this way those we love and those we have less than love for.
She came to a wonderful understanding of what it means to bless others after reading Acts 3:26
God, having raised up His servant (Jesus), sent Him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.
Upon looking up the meaning of "to bless," she found this definition:
To ask God to interfere, to take action in ones life to bring them to the desired relationship with Him so that they are fully satisfied.
This blessing became a small obsession with her, and I am praying that it will be with me also. What a difference it would make in our relationships if we chose to bless in this way those we love and those we have less than love for.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Imprisoned in Iran
How would I respond to being imprisoned without knowing why? With being verbally and physically abused and left in a cell by myself, still without knowing why? This is so foreign to us in America. We have rights after all. This couldn't happen here. But in another country our rights mean nothing. Dan Baumann found this out in January 1997.
He and a South African friend were living Turkmenistan and, with YWAM, working with the Turkman people. They had prayed about an opportunity to go into Iran and connect with the Trukman people there, some of them being believers, and see how they could help them and work with them. the Lord opened the doors and gave them some good contacts so they left for a two week "checking it out" trip.
Dan had duel citizenship with the US and Switzerland and always traveled with his Swiss passport in that area, since they weren't too fond of Americans.
As they were leaving the country they ran the Iranian officials confiscated their passports and told them they would have to go to Tehran to recover them. They took someone from the South Africa Embassy with them to recover the passports, however the embassy representative had to return to the embassy and the Iranians interrogated and arrested them.
Most of the book is about his experience in prison. He is very honest about his frustration, anger, fear, lack of faith, despair and of God's faithfulness and grace to him.
This book will remind us that God is in control, even when we don't get it, and that His plan is much bigger than we can ever imagine. He experienced comfort, peace, and encouragement when these things didn't seem possible. He saw how he was used by God as the waterer of seeds that had been planted 20 years before by Christians imprisoned during the overthrow of the government of the Shaw. He heard one of the guards telling the other guards the truth of the gospel that he had heard and witnessed from those prisoners and was now seeing in "this American."
This book blessed and encouraged me. I think it had more impact because it was someone from "my world" (he even grew up in So. Cal like I did) facing things that we think we will never face
and seeing a faithful and mighty God in action.
He and a South African friend were living Turkmenistan and, with YWAM, working with the Turkman people. They had prayed about an opportunity to go into Iran and connect with the Trukman people there, some of them being believers, and see how they could help them and work with them. the Lord opened the doors and gave them some good contacts so they left for a two week "checking it out" trip.
Dan had duel citizenship with the US and Switzerland and always traveled with his Swiss passport in that area, since they weren't too fond of Americans.
As they were leaving the country they ran the Iranian officials confiscated their passports and told them they would have to go to Tehran to recover them. They took someone from the South Africa Embassy with them to recover the passports, however the embassy representative had to return to the embassy and the Iranians interrogated and arrested them.
Most of the book is about his experience in prison. He is very honest about his frustration, anger, fear, lack of faith, despair and of God's faithfulness and grace to him.
This book will remind us that God is in control, even when we don't get it, and that His plan is much bigger than we can ever imagine. He experienced comfort, peace, and encouragement when these things didn't seem possible. He saw how he was used by God as the waterer of seeds that had been planted 20 years before by Christians imprisoned during the overthrow of the government of the Shaw. He heard one of the guards telling the other guards the truth of the gospel that he had heard and witnessed from those prisoners and was now seeing in "this American."
This book blessed and encouraged me. I think it had more impact because it was someone from "my world" (he even grew up in So. Cal like I did) facing things that we think we will never face
and seeing a faithful and mighty God in action.
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Soul Connection
A friend recently gave me Gordon MacDonald's book, "The Life God Blesses." I haven't read much of his work, I always thought he wrote mostly to pastors and church leaders, but I am enjoying this book. He is an honest, wise and godly man.
He shares some reflections from Bertrand Russell as his wife was dying and I find the thoughts lingering in my mind.
"... the sense of the solitude of each human soul suddenly overwhelmed me...the loneliness of the human soul is unendurable; nothing can penetrate it except the highest intensity of the sort of love that religious teachers have preached; whatever does not spring from this motive is harmful, or at best useless...in human relations one should penetrate to the core of loneliness in each person and speak to that."
What a difference it would make in our lives and relationships if we related to others like this.
I had breakfast with a friend recently and she started out by asking me how I was doing. Not with the usual casualness associated with this question. I could tell she wanted to know how I was truly doing. I felt encouraged by her interest and humbled by how often I get together just to talk and don't take time to see how my friend is truly doing.
Since God, the highest intensity of love available, has poured out His love in my heart, through the Holy Spirit I have this love to offer others, and yet so often just don't.
I pray that this truth will change me and the way I relate to all that I come in contact with.
He shares some reflections from Bertrand Russell as his wife was dying and I find the thoughts lingering in my mind.
"... the sense of the solitude of each human soul suddenly overwhelmed me...the loneliness of the human soul is unendurable; nothing can penetrate it except the highest intensity of the sort of love that religious teachers have preached; whatever does not spring from this motive is harmful, or at best useless...in human relations one should penetrate to the core of loneliness in each person and speak to that."
What a difference it would make in our lives and relationships if we related to others like this.
I had breakfast with a friend recently and she started out by asking me how I was doing. Not with the usual casualness associated with this question. I could tell she wanted to know how I was truly doing. I felt encouraged by her interest and humbled by how often I get together just to talk and don't take time to see how my friend is truly doing.
Since God, the highest intensity of love available, has poured out His love in my heart, through the Holy Spirit I have this love to offer others, and yet so often just don't.
I pray that this truth will change me and the way I relate to all that I come in contact with.
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