less of me

APOLOGETICS: What right do we have to say what is right or wrong for anyone? Doesn't God say not to judge others?

2011-10-27T23:36:00.001-07:00

True, God is the judge. And we have NO authority to decide what is right or wrong for anyone. But we do have authority, standing solely on the Word of God, to proclaim the truth of His Word (in fact, we are commanded to). And we let His Word be the final and absolute authority on what is right and wrong, in ALL matters, and in ALL lives.

THE GOSPEL CHANGES HOW WE PRAY FOR OTHERS

2011-10-17T20:37:00.000-07:00

Because we know that any knowledge of the truth, or revelation of Christ, resulting in a transformed heart and a transformed life, comes from God, starts with God, and can only happen through the grace of God and work of the Holy Spirit, and because we know this is the ONLY thing that matters in life, we pray THAT for the people we love. Because we know Christ, and Christ alone, is better than anything this life has to offer, we pray that those we love would get Christ, NOT Christ AND _____. CHRIST. PERIOD. We pray they would know Christ, would WANT Christ, and would see such worth and treasure in Christ that any other dreams, goals, plans or pleasures in this world would seem worthless in light of Christ.

the best day of my life

2011-06-30T22:33:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been thinking about how the best day of my life will certainly be the day that I die. Not because I have some morbid fascination with death, but because for me, dying is ALL gain. Sometimes I think about that day. I think about how I will surely feel bestowed with much grace on that day. Yes, grace that covered my sins and sealed my fate for eternity. But also the graciousness of God on that very day... to decide to end my struggle here, so I can start living the glorious life I was intended for and that was planned for me before the beginning of time. To think that at some point, God will say, "Ok, enough here. Today you get to come home." What grace!

let not this treasure lie by you neglected

2011-03-04T21:52:00.000-08:00

Reading about the life of Jonathan Edwards. His grandson writes of him: "He studied theology, not chiefly in systems or commentaries, but in the Bible." I believe today we have such a tendency to read a commentary about scripture, rather than digesting it ourselves. We are lazy, and it's just too much work to actually study something, ponder it, think of it, and meditate on it. Perhaps this is one of the great blind spots of our generation: that we are satisfied to read someone else's interpretation... someone else's meditation, instead of dwelling on the very words of God, and letting His Spirit teach us. As well thought out as another's words may be, I think we may be missing something completely when we dismiss the study of God's words themselves. As Edward's advised "Be assiduous in reading the Holy Scriptures. This is the fountain whence all knowledge in divinity must be derived. Therefore let not this treasure lie by you neglected." Could it be that we are gaining a head knowledge of Scripture, without the God-inspired revelation that comes from dwelling on His words alone, and for that matter, simply spending time with Him. To put it practically, I wouldn't read an email from my mom about my sister, and feel like I had just conversed with my sister.

the gospel and me

2011-02-19T22:35:00.000-08:00

I'm currently going through the membership class at Brook Hills. Homework this week was an amazing exercise that guides you through writing out the gospel in your own words, and your testimony.

The Gospel Is:

God created everything to glorify himself. In his justice he must judge sin. In his grace, he has provided a way for us to glorify him despite our sin. Instead of submitting to the will of the God who intimately created us, we think we know what is best for us. Anytime we choose something other than God, we defy the authority of God in our lives and sin. Christ, completely without sin, died in our place and paid the penalty that was due us for our sins. His sacrifice satisfied the requirement of the law, so that we could be righteous before a holy God. We are completely unable to reconcile ourselves to a Holy God on our own. Our only hope is faith in Christ. One day we will stand before a holy God who will look on us and either see sin worthy of eternal punishment, or the blood of Christ making us worthy of eternal life.

My Story:

I had a difficult family life growing up. I desperately wanted to break free from that, and make a better life for myself despite it all. I was very independent, and driven to make the life I wanted for myself. I wanted a great family, a successful career, and security in my finances. I wanted my kids to grow up doing everything a normal all-american kid gets to do... something I never got. Basically, I wanted the American dream. I grew up in church. But I was completely blind. I saw Jesus as a means to an end...heaven, blessings on earth, etc. I tacked Jesus onto my existing life to make it better. I invited him to join ME, and thought this made me a christian. God began working in my heart about 2 years ago through some extremely difficult family circumstances. I started seeking him truly for the first time. Then in the last year, as I read many books, God began opening my eyes. I realized how blind I was. That I had been incapable of understanding anything on my own. And that it was only by the grace of God that I didn't stay that way. He began revealing himself to me, and for the first time, I could see. I realized how precious it was that HE had chosen to be gracious to ME. That he had chosen to reveal himself to me, and had chose me to be one of his children. I knew I did nothing to warrant it. It was all his grace. I discovered a God who is worth everything. And that to have Him, he asks from me just that: everything. I decided that he was worth it. I realized I could never be righteous on my own before a holy God. I realized that I desperately needed a savior, and I found that in Christ. Everything changed. I knew following Christ meant drastically changing my life and the path I was on, and FOLLOWING him instead. I knew my goals and dreams and desires had died, and were replaced with his. My desire is to spend my life for Christ. For his will and purposes in this world. And ultimately, my desire is for Christ himself. I want to use my life for the glory of God. Whatever that means for my life, by God's grace that's what I want to do. How this looks right now in my life is radically changing how I spend my life and my resources. My husband and I sold our dream house in San Diego, 2 months ago, and moved to Birmingham, AL to become a member at Brook Hills. We felt God calling us here to be taught and equipped, and become part of the ministry Brook Hills is doing throughout the world.

??

2010-12-25T22:34:00.001-08:00

God why do i look for joy and peace and happiness and comfort in anything but you?

thought of praise

2010-08-31T09:07:00.000-07:00

How precious it is that You have chosen to be gracious to me.

my prayer

2010-08-24T13:02:00.000-07:00

Psalm 51:10-12
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

it's been awhile

2010-08-19T10:53:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a little over a month since I've written a post on here. I have found myself so overwhelmed in my walk with God, that I have had a hard time even considering how I might put it into words. My heart is in a state of beholding an Almighty, Sovereign God, as if for the first time, and I have found no words that even begin to express it adequately. I find myself often pausing to love God, as a realization of His character overwhelms me. I feel like a slave who was sold, and just met his new master, only to find that this master just happened to be the epitome of everything good, gracious and wonderful, and who considers his slaves to be his own children. How does one respond to such a thing?

my daily bread

2010-07-02T13:53:00.001-07:00

A prayer we don't dare to pray...

Proverbs 30:8-9 "Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you, and say 'Who is the Lord.'"

Solomon is saying: God I want to be in a place of dependence. I don't want to forget about you, and if I have too much, I won't have to depend on you anymore.

But isn't this the American dream? And isn't this how we live our lives? We set ourselves up in such a way that we don't have to depend on God for our daily bread... we have plenty stored up for today, and for many days to come. And that's how we can get through an entire day without even thinking of Him. (notes from a sermon by Francis Chan)

Have you ever thought that the prayers we don't dare to pray are likely to be the ones God would eagerly answer? The prayers of a heart that are turned towards Him?

a quote by Francis Chan

2010-07-01T16:14:00.000-07:00

A quote by Francis Chan -

"Someone asked me recently why I don't save money for emergencies, or retirement. My answer was how can I justify saving for myself "just in case" something happens to me when something IS happening to so many already. 29,000 kids will die today of preventable causes. If I'm to love my neighbor AS myself, why spend so much time worrying about me?"

Amen.

thought of the day

2010-06-23T16:42:00.000-07:00

"If we do not extend mercy, we demonstrate that we have not received mercy." - David Platt -

a new heart

2010-06-21T13:13:00.000-07:00

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17

God is changing my heart. He has put in me a new heart, a heart for him. Therefore, what is close to God's heart, is now close to mine. What is dear to God, is now dear to me. What God cares about, I care about.

what do I really have to complain about?

2010-06-21T11:30:00.001-07:00

I have a lot to complain about today. A lot of little things in my life that I am unhappy with, that are upsetting me and putting me in a bad mood. But I'm stopping to think how can any of these things actually have enough weight to effect my emotions and ruin my day?

In light of the God I have come to know, and in light of the condition of billions of people in the world today, I still find reason to complain even though I have everything I need for today... plenty of food, water, a home, a job, health care... a state of being that for BILLIONS of people will never be a reality. They will live and die without ever having their basic needs met. They will never have the opportunity to have the kinds of stresses I have.... to have their day ruined because of things at work, or be frustrated because of their schedule, or any of the other countless things I have to deal with in my life.... Those things will never be problems for them, because to have those problems you have to be privileged enough to have the things in your life necessary to have those problems.

What do I really have to complain about? And how can I complain to my God, who is also their God?

the grace of God

2010-06-17T14:29:00.000-07:00

"No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother." 1 John 3:6-10

I am continually amazed at how clear Scripture is, yet I somehow couldn't see it's truth until so recently. How do we convince ourselves that we can continue living our life as we did before Christ was in us, when the Bible is so clear that we cannot? That if we do, our faith isn't real. I am slapped in the face with this absolute truth over and over again, every time I open the Bible. And every time I see it I am shocked all over again at my own blindness. I know how incapable I was of seeing this myself. Which proves as evidence that the meaning of God's words are hidden to us unless He reveals their meaning. And the truth that no man can come to God unless God chooses him, is ever so real to me. This is the true grace of God.

As Jesus said:

"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him..." John 6:44.

And:

"...No one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him" John 6:65.

thought of the day

2010-06-17T09:37:00.000-07:00

"We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did." 1 John 2:3-6

who is our master?

2010-06-14T10:20:00.001-07:00

"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." Luke 16:13

I am considering how we spend our lives, use our resources and what that says about who we are, who our master is. Most of us have honorable goals for our lives, we work hard to get an education, that leads us to a good career, so we can provide a comfortable life and a good lifestyle for us and our family. If we work hard, we move up, and our lifestyle reflects this. Every decision you make for your life, you consider a goal. Is this going to get me closer to what I am after? SO WHAT ARE YOU AFTER? WHAT IS YOUR MASTER? If we use our lives and our resources to further our lifestyles in this world- to further the kind of lifestyle we want, to further our security, to further our ability to have a nicer home, have nicer cars, nicer things, to further our financial security, to further our future financial security (retirement plan) etc etc etc.... we spend our time, our resources, our money, to further these goals. Those goals are our master. We make our decisions with those goals in mind. We decide what we do or don't spend our money on based on the result it will have on those goals...on our financial security, on our retirement plan, if I do this, will it allow me to keep living the lifestyle I want to live? Will it further my goals?

But as a Christian, God is our master.

As a Christian, we have to rethink what is the goal of our life. The life that has been born again. That is now dead to ourselves, our goals and our dreams. For we have died, and now Christ is the one who lives in us. His goals, His priorities, His purposes have taken over. And every decision we make, we make considering, is this helping attain His goal in this world, and in my life?

It's a crazy mind shift to stop looking at what makes sense for your financial future in light of your goals. To stop considering how something will affect your lifestyle. When the goal becomes to reach people for God, and to bring glory to God in the world, you realize you can't serve those other goals as well as God's goals. Because they go two opposite directions.

And when we make our decisions and spend our resources on other things, we aren't using our resources and spending our resources for God. We aren't doing those things with God's goals in mind. With God's goals in mind, we forsake our goal to better our life, and use all of our resources for Him. We don't make decisions because it will make us more financially secure, we spend our resources on Him.

"And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." 2 Corinthians 5:15

What is faith?

2010-06-11T20:48:00.001-07:00

Maybe having faith is about believing what Christ says about my life here on earth, and how I am to spend it, and use it and give it up, and actually choosing to believe Him. To decide that I so firmly believe what Christ said, that I am going to live as though it were true. As though giving up my life, my resources, my hopes, my dreams, my direction, my decisions, my finances.... as though giving all that up and spending my life on Christ, really will be worth it. Believing it when Jesus said it would be worth it, it would be better, he was better, he is all I need. That in fact, I so firmly believe it, that I am going to live my life as though it were true. Maybe that's what faith is.

thought of the day

2010-06-11T20:41:00.001-07:00

"Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God."
1 Peter 4:1-2

no servant is greater than his master

2010-06-02T14:12:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about how Jesus says if we are to be his disciples, we must follow him, do as he did. But follow him where? Where did he go? What did he do? What lengths did he go to to love us, to meet us, to find us, to draw us, to help us? To save a lost world.

The answer is stunning. A God who had everything, who enjoys endless riches, pleasures, wealth and power, who needed nothing, came into a world that is poor, wretched, full of pain, and decided to live here. He became one of us, like us, and related to us by being one of us. A King, decided to lower himself into our situation, to give up all he was entitled to, and become a lowly servant not just to humankind, but to the least of us: the sick, the poor, the sinners. He did this as an ultimate effort to love us. How more could he love us than to actually come and live with us in our wretched condition and touch us and experience life as we live it?

"When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." John 13:12-17

Consider the extent Jesus went to to reach a lost world, to serve us, and to love us, and then consider that he says we are to go to the same extent in our own lives to reach a lost world, to serve and to love. But are we willing to make the sacrifice for others that he made for us? Are we willing to sacrifice our status, our resources, our quality of life, our comfort, our very lives?

it doesn't matter

2010-06-02T14:04:00.000-07:00

We judge people and determine who is worthy of our love. Who is worthy of our help. The reason someone is in the state they are in is not our concern. It just doesn't matter. Until we realize this, we can't love the way Jesus loves.

A man who discovered this truth said, "When Jesus met a blind man, he was not concerned with how the man became blind."

His story here:

http://virb.com/chronicleproject/videos/1750915

A life changing sermon series by a guy named David Platt

2010-06-02T11:12:00.000-07:00

http://www.brookhills.org/media/series/radical/

the wisdom of the world; foolishness to God

2010-06-02T10:26:00.001-07:00

And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'
"Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '
"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'
"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God." (Luke 12:16-21)

The world might call this man a good businessperson; the church might call him a good steward. Jesus said to him, "You Fool." (from sub-merge by john b. hayes)

better to not know the truth, than to know it and ignore it

2010-05-20T15:57:00.000-07:00

It is by God's grace that I have come to know Him, and he has revealed His Word to me in a new light. I read verses I have read over and over again, but now it's like I am now reading them for the first time. Understanding them in a completely different way. I wonder how I read them before and did not see. And I know it is because God has opened my eyes and my heart to his truth. I am extremely aware of the responsibility this gift bears. I now know what God requires of my life, and I am fully responsible for whether or not I choose to give Him what he requires. We are all responsible for our sin, whether we know it is wrong or not. But I can no longer plead ignorance or hide behind lack of understanding. Jesus' words are clear:

"That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." Luke 12:47-48

Today, I'm reading 2 Peter and find this again, as I'm sure I will find it many more places...

"If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them." 2 Peter 2:20-21

thought of the day

2010-05-18T17:31:00.000-07:00

When is dying really gain? When the only thing we are living for is Christ.

"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Phillipians 1:21

When you get to the point that you are no longer living life for you own agenda, when your life is spent only on Him, you realize you have nothing to gain from this life. Dying is then gain for you. Living, is simply Christ.

the reality of my life, in light of Christ

2010-05-18T14:34:00.001-07:00

There is a story of a town in Maine that was bought out, and was going to become the site of a great hydroelectric plant. A dam would be built across the river and the town submerged under water. When the project was announced, the people were given many months to arrange their affairs and relocate. During those months, a curious thing happened. All improvements ceased. No painting was done. No repairs were made on the buildings, roads, or sidewalks. People knew how pointless investing in their current lives within that town would be. For in a few short months, the town would be destroyed and everything in it would be gone. What a terrible investment to invest anything at all into their current life in that town. How pointless to spend anything making their short time there more comfortable. Instead, suddenly everything they invest in is for their future life in the new place they will move.

I also think how suddenly all the stresses of anything that has to do with life within that town, suddenly vanishes. The little stresses that are wrapped up in a life in that town can no longer exist, because the reality is, none of it matters anymore. The weight of things that people were worried about for their lives there, no longer have any weight. Likewise, you are no longer concerned with the concerns you had about your life in this town. Instead, you look ahead and begin thinking of things that will affect your future life.

This is the reality overtaking my new life in Christ.

better to be poor

2010-05-16T09:54:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking about how Jesus said the the gospel is good news to the poor. In contrast, the rich man, walks away sad when he hears the gospel. Isn't this a revealing comparison?

What is the difference between a rich man and a poor man? Worldly goods, things, stuff. The rich man, hindered by the way he clings to his riches, cannot accept the gospel of Jesus, because this gospel requires a man to sell everything he has... to devote all he is and all of his resources to proclaiming the gospel. The rich man, has a lot of worldly goods to lose for himself. But to a poor man, who has nothing in this life, and has nothing to lose, the gospel is purely good news. Wouldn't it then be better to be the poor man? I would think so... and Jesus does say, "blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Consider the poor man... it is only gain to have a God who promises to provide your needs when you have no hope of having your needs provided. It is only gain to go from hopeless with nothing to look forward to in your life, to hope in the coming Kingdom of God. And it is only gain to go from a child of this world, where you have nothing, to a child of God where you are promised the greatest inheritance. In this world where you had no ability to attain for yourself any worldly treasures, you now have the opportunity to invest in heavenly treasure.

When you become a new creation in God, the Bible says the old has passed away. You have died to yourself, your ambitions and goals and dreams for your life. You lay those down, and you take up Christ. And Christ in you will use your life for a drastically different purpose than you would have.

thought of the day

2010-05-14T11:51:00.000-07:00

"Why are we saving for potential future need when we are surrounded by present dire need?" -David Platt-

I believe Jesus meant what he said, and it's breaking my heart

2010-05-06T10:33:00.000-07:00

Letting yourself believe that Jesus meant what he said is devastating... it's devastating to your way of life, but also to the reality of the lost. As you begin to realize what a life truly given to Christ looks like, you are faced with the heartbreaking reality that many professing "christians" lives don't look like this. I know in my heart being a follower of Christ isn't just calling Him Lord, but making Him Lord of my life. But how many "christians" are doing just that: calling him Lord, making a profession of faith, and then basically doing what they want with their lives. Continuing with their plans and dreams and goals for their life, instead of dying to themselves, and taking on new dreams, new goals....God's dreams, God's goals. And I know in my heart when we fail to do this, we have missed it. And it's a crushing reality because I know in my heart "christian" people I know and I love dearly, still need to be saved. In Luke, Jesus says:

"Not everyone who says to me "Lord Lord" will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only He who does the will of my father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?" Then I will tell them plainly, "I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!"

As I read this verse, I can't help but picture these people on that day. People who called him their Lord, but never made him Lord of their lives. Jesus isn't talking about atheists and muslims here. He is talking about people who called Jesus their Lord. Who called themselves Christians. Who did things in His name. Who thought they were on the right path. Who will be shocked to find out that they weren't. And Jesus said they will be many. What a sick, dreadful feeling when they realize they missed it. That this God required their lives, required that they lose their own dreams, goals, and direction in life, and do the will of the father. It isn't enough just to acknowledge that he is Lord, and slap a label on our current lives. I think about people I love experiencing this despair and it breaks my heart. I want to tell myself it will be ok. Surely it will be. These people love God, go to church, serve in their churches, and are just really good people. But I know in my heart the truth. And I don't know what to do about it.

time in perspective

2010-05-05T09:05:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about time. It's interesting how we view time. For instance, I was thinking how people will sacrifice for a time, if the result is life changing. Like working a job you hate for a year or two, because you know it will lead you to a better job or get you where you want to go in life... So however unhappy, or however crappy the situation is for that year or two, it makes sense. Because in the long run, you will be so much better off. If you were offered the most luxurious, dream house to live for the rest of your life, and all you had to do was spend 1 week living in a tent, wouldn't you joyfully give up your current living condition, and spend a week in a tent?

It's interesting when you think about our lives here on earth compared to eternity. We don't truly look at it the same way, but perhaps we should. Think about the longest distance you can wrap your brain around, like 900 million miles. And then think of an inch. If you had to sacrifice for an inch of time, knowing it would lead you to 900 million miles of a better life, wouldn't you do it? Eternity is 900 million miles plus neverending, and our time here on earth is an inch in comparison. Doesn't it just make sense to use our time here as a stepping stone? To make our lives here a sacrifice that will put us in a better place for eternity? I think of Jesus' parable...

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field." Matthew 13:44

for THEY will be shown mercy

2010-05-04T09:06:00.000-07:00

"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:3-12)

The poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, the merciful, the pure in heart, those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted for righteousness. These are the people that God says are His people. Those who will inherit His kingdom. Those who will see God, be called His children. This is what His people look like. His followers. Those who choose Him and give their lives over to Him. Those who do life His way: their lives look like this. Today, I'm thinking about the merciful....

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

In order for us to enter heaven, we will have to be shown mercy by God. God has to look at our sinful lives, and give us not what we deserve. What we deserve is death, but those He shows mercy to, he will give life instead. But we know He will give some exactly what they deserve. So who will He show mercy to and give eternal life? Here, God tells us: the merciful. Those who in their own lives, were merciful. Those who didn't give people what they deserved to be given. Those who have enemies, but instead of giving them what they deserve, they love them. The one who repays evil with good. When someone mistreats you, you do good to them in return. People who treat other people this way, God will also treat them this way.

More and more I'm realizing what a big circle this whole thing is. That it all comes back to the same things, but God is just reinforcing His message over and over. Knowing that we would try to reinterpret His words to make them work the way we wanted, He reiterates them over and over in different scenarios that all come back to the same basic truth. So that we could not help but know exactly what He meant, if we dare allow ourselves to see it. Because when we see God's truth for what it really is, it's the most beautiful and assuring thing we will ever find, and the most devastating thing we will ever find. Because when we discover it, we find a treasure, and realize it can be ours. But we also find that to have it, it will be devastating to our lives. We find that the cost is great. We now realize exactly what it will cost to be one of His. We know exactly who God considers to be His followers, His people, His heirs. And we are faced with the reality of what that will do to our lives. And the only question left becomes, is He worth it? Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

a song

2010-04-28T12:45:00.000-07:00

You are changing me from the inside out

Something deep within is welling up in praise
You're compelling me with unfailing love
Oh to lose my life in You that I might live.
Oh You loved me and love me
And You gave Yourself for me.
You have resurrected my heart from the grave
I'm alive.
You are telling me who I really am-
I've been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but He lives in me

And the life I live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God.
Oh Who loved me and loves me
and Who gave Himself for me.
Amazing grace how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now I'm found
Was blind but now I see.

("I'm Alive" by Shane and Shane)

He IS the best things in life

2010-04-28T10:10:00.001-07:00

(I'm not sure how to write about the huge idea I am trying to express here, in a way that explains it and brings to light a concept I am just starting to wrap my head around. Here's my best attempt for now...)

Sometimes i think we have this idea in our heads that if we let God have our lives, that he'd take us up on the offer, (which he will) and then drain us of everything we love in our lives, and ask us to sacrifice it all for Him. But I really think thats because the picture of God we have in our heads is so sadly wrong. This is a God who not only made us, but gave us all of those things we love to begin with, because he wanted us to enjoy them.

I don't think we can comprehend what God is actually like. The Bible says God is good. God IS good. He is goodness, he is the definition of good. All that he is, is good. Where does good come from? God. Our world would have nothing good if God wasn't good. Anything that we can think of in our lives that we think is good, is just a glimpse of God Himself, the source of goodness. Nothing on this earth has the full goodness that God has. There is good in the world, but it's nothing compared to the complete goodness that God is. There is beauty in the world, but it's only a peek into God's total beauty. There is love in the world, but there is no love more perfect and complete than God Himself. And any love, beauty and goodness in the world is there because God exists. Because those things exist in him, and through him. Romans 11:35-36 says

"Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?"
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen."

I have come to realize that He IS the best things in life. It's not that he can give the best things, but rather he actually IS those things. And He does give the best things when He gives us Himself. The good things he gives us here on earth are glimpses of Himself, parts of Him, but found in Him are those things in full. He gives us gifts that give us a peek of Him, but the full gift IS HIM. (which is what he promises us in heaven) We know he created the world, and the beauty in it, but i don't think we comprehend that the reason his creation is beautiful is because he is beautiful. That he is the definition of beauty. And therefore, anything he creates must be beautiful because it comes out of Him. The beauty in this world he has given us to enjoy is just a glimpse into beauty. Just a little part of himself he is sharing with us here on earth. The beauty in the world IS HIM, but it's not all of him. I think we have a hard time understanding this. That God IS those things that we find most beautiful in life. Those are little pieces of God. That we will find all of that but so much more when are know him in full someday.

I think sometimes we feel like we are losing things that we love in our lives, and sacrificing them for God. Because God may ask us to give up some things we love when we serve Him. But what we are doing is failing to realize that we are loving the things, and failing to see that if we only loved the Source, we would find the fullness of all the things we love, in Him. We think that we are giving up the things that we love and find most fulfilling in our lives for God, but we don't realize that we will find those things fuller in God. And in the truest form, because we now realize that it's not the things themselves our heart's desire, it's Him. Maybe God asks us to give up those things so we can find out what those things really are. We experience our favorite things, and then we attribute the satisfaction we get as coming from those things, which makes us go after those things in our lives. But when we come to realize that the beauty and pleasure and satisfaction in those things comes not from the actual things, but from God, we start going after God instead, as the source that all things beautiful, perfect, good and satisfying come from.

God, what are we doing?

2010-04-27T15:07:00.000-07:00

Today, I'm going about a typical day. And throughout all the mundane details of the day, I find myself bothered by the question: God, what am I doing? What am I really doing with this life that I have supposedly given to you? We say we have given our lives to you, but I ask this: If Jesus actually possessed my body, and were actually walking around and living in my body today, what would my day look like? Or better said, what would His day look like? Would our lives match up? Is what I'm doing this very day what You would do with it? Is that not what you meant when you said to follow you I must give up my life? I must deny myself. That my life is no longer mine. That I have died, so that YOU may live in me? God, I think we've missed it. We call ourselves "christians" but our actual lives look nothing like yours. I can no longer fool myself into thinking that I can live a life that looks little different from my unsaved neighbor's, yet consider myself saved. If I am living a life that looks successful and "on the right track" to this world, then I simply can't be living the life Jesus outlined for us. He assurred us that His way of life would make no sense to the world. His way does everything backwards, goes against our "take care of ourselves" instincts, and doesn't put us on the track pointing to success in this world. So if my life isn't causing people to turn their heads and ask what the hec I'm doing, then I'm probably not on that narrow road Jesus was talking about.

As true followers of Christ, we can't just let God reign in areas of our lives that make sense, or that allow us to stay on the path of the life we want to build for ourselves. He wants to control the whole thing. He wants us to literally do our lives according to His way, according to what He said. But instead of taking what Jesus said literally, we live life re-interpretting what what He must have meant when something he said would mess up our lives. Well you said this God, and I believe that, and it's wrong in some areas of my life, but this is business. Yes, I know you said not to store up treasure on earth, but this is my savings, or my retirement fund, I have to plan for my financial future; Yes, I believe we should love our enemies, but this is war, and they are really my enemy, I have to protect my family; Yes, you said to turn the other cheek, but that'll get me hurt. Isn't this where faith comes in? God, this doesn't make sense, and this isn't the safest choice, but hey it's what you said to do, so I'll do it anyway, and trust that you know what you're talking about, and that in the end, no matter what happens, you'll take care of me. (maybe it is the safest choice after all) Maybe that's what God meant when he told us to have faith. To live by faith. That without faith it is impossible to please God.

And this leads me to think that we aren't actually living by faith in God. We are positioning our lives in a way that requires very little faith in God. We have savings accounts and retirement plans, that we have stored up for ourselves to secure us on a "rainy day". When maybe we should trust God to get us through that "rainy day." and only take what we need for today, and let go of the rest. And think how that would free up resources that we could use to do the things God has commanded us to do like give freely to the poor. To think that if I have more than I need for today, I should give it away to someone who doesn't have enough for today. And then tomorrow if a surprise need comes up, pray to God for my daily bread for that day. And give him the opportunity to be the Provider in my life. We read in the Bible that God is these things like Provider, but we don't make him OUR PROVIDER. We provide for ourselves. Maybe God wants to be our provider. The one who takes care of us, who gives us what we need, who determines our portion. Maybe he wants control of that.

Maybe God wants to be our Protector too. Maybe God wants to protect our families and our kids. Maybe God wants control of that too, and instead of us trying to protect ourselves using the tactics of this world, like war, maybe he wants us to love our enemies, just like He said. (not kill them)

What fraction of our life does actually belongs to God? And when did God ever say he would accept just a fraction?