Practicing what we preach

I grew up in the church. It's the only thing I've ever known. Anybody else looking at my life would think that I'm a squeaky clean goody-two-shoes. I've never done drugs, I don't drink, I don't mess around with boys, I don't cuss, blah blah blah. But sometimes I wonder if that's a good thing or not. Of course I am grateful that I have never had to live with the pain of an addiction, or anything of those other things I mentioned. But I've also never known the exhilarating freedom of being rescued by God from the things that were holding me captive. I've never seen the "other side of the coin," which sometimes makes it difficult to remember how truly great my God is.

It's so easy for born-and-bred Christians to take Christ for granted. They bring their Bibles to church on Sunday mornings, they go to Wednesday night services, they know all the right answers in Sunday school...but their religion is worthless.  God wants us to practice what we preach.  He wants us to live out our faith.  Not just on Sunday mornings, and not just in what we say, but in what we say AND do, every day of the week.  James 1:22 sums it up nicely: "do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says."  I challenge you today: read God's Word.  Know what it says.  And do what it says.

James 1:19-26

 ¹⁹ My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, ²⁰ because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. ²¹ Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.  ²² Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³ Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴ and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵ But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
 ²⁶ Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. ²⁷ Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

The bride of Christ

So I decided, since marriage seems to be the current theme, to look at the marriage that God describes between Jesus and His bride, the Church.  Have you ever thought about what a strange, unbalance marriage that truly makes? 

Jesus is our bridegroom.  He will make His bride’s righteousness “shine like the dawn,” her salvation “like a blazing torch.”  He will redeem us, and bless us, and prosper us, and provide for us. 

What do we have to offer in return, as the bride of Christ?  We truly have nothing to offer Him.  He gives us everything, while all He expects from us is our nothingness.  Honestly, it’s not really the type of marriage that I would want to emulate with my earthly husband.  A marriage should be based on mutual assistance, love, and support, not something where one party gives everything and the other partly just receives it.

But Jesus has married us not because He wants something from us, but so that we can have the ability to give to others.  He completes us and makes us whole, so that we can pour into other people in our lives.  It is a marriage to Christ that enables us to be good spouses, parents, children, siblings, and friends.  We cannot love without knowing the Author of love.  So now, all I can say is, thank you God, for not expecting equality in my relationship with Jesus.  Because of His grace and mercy, I can be like Mary, and simply sit at Jesus’ feet and soak in all He has to offer.   

Isaiah 62
 ¹ For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
   for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet,
till her vindication shines out like the dawn,
   her salvation like a blazing torch.
² The nations will see your vindication,
   and all kings your glory;
you will be called by a new name
   that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.
³ You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD’s hand,
   a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
⁴ No longer will they call you Deserted,
   or name your land Desolate.
But you will be called Hephzibah,^[a]
   and your land Beulah^[b];
for the LORD will take delight in you,
   and your land will be married.
⁵ As a young man marries a young woman,
   so will your Builder marry you;
as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride,
   so will your God rejoice over you.
 ⁶ I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem;
   they will never be silent day or night.
You who call on the LORD,
   give yourselves no rest,
⁷ and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem
   and makes her the praise of the earth.
 ⁸ The LORD has sworn by his right hand
   and by his mighty arm:
“Never again will I give your grain
   as food for your enemies,
and never again will foreigners drink the new wine
   for which you have toiled;
⁹ but those who harvest it will eat it
   and praise the LORD,
and those who gather the grapes will drink it
   in the courts of my sanctuary.”
 ¹⁰ Pass through, pass through the gates!
   Prepare the way for the people.
Build up, build up the highway!
   Remove the stones.
Raise a banner for the nations.
 ¹¹ The LORD has made proclamation
   to the ends of the earth:
“Say to Daughter Zion,
   ‘See, your Savior comes!
See, his reward is with him,
   and his recompense accompanies him.’”
¹² They will be called the Holy People,
   the Redeemed of the LORD;
and you will be called Sought After,
   the City No Longer Deserted.

Keep watch

I saw part of a wedding party yesterday.  And it got me thinking about how much effort and hope we put into weddings.  I'm in the middle of the biggest wedding season of the year, at a time in my life that is when most people get married.  EVERYONE is getting married right now.  Not a month goes by that another one of my friends ties the knot, and it's often more than one.

But weddings aren't the magic elixir of happiness.  They won't cure all of your problems.  They won't guarantee a perfect life.  There is only 1 wedding that can truly make you happy, and that's the wedding as the bridegroom of Christ.

But just like we would never have our own wedding here on Earth without planning it first, God expects us to put some preparation and effort into the wedding with Christ.  We cannot just sit around and wait for Jesus to come back, hoping that we'll be ready when He does.  "Keep watch," He says, "because we do not know the day or the hour of His return."  We can't just sit around and wait for life to happen, wait for opportunities to experience new things and serve others to just happen.  We have to take life by the horns.  We have to choose to look for them.  I pray that when the Lord comes back, I will not be caught unawares.  I want to be ready. 

Matthew 25:1-13

 ¹ “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Five of them were foolish and five were wise. ³ The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. ⁴ The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. ⁵ The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
   ⁶ “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
   ⁷ “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
   ⁹ “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
   ¹⁰ “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
   ¹¹ “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’
   ¹² “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
   ¹³ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

A test you can't cram for

School is almost out for the summer, and even for me, having been finished for 3 weeks already, the memories of projects and tests and final assignments rings fresh in my mind.  Life is full of tests, and we are expected to complete them nearly every day of our lives.

But Christ has called us to a different kind of test.  In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a parable about the sheep and the goats.  On Judgement day, he will separate all of the peoples of the earth into sheep and goats.  The sheep, who had taken care of Jesus by taking care of those around them, will be welcomed into Heaven, while the goats, who had ignored Jesus because they ignored the people around them, will be sent to eternal death.  Kind of a harsh test, isn't it?  It's rather scary to me to think that every needy person I meet could actually be a test of my love for Jesus.  That's not a test that you can cram for, is it?

But, luckily for us, God doesn't give us tests without a study guide.  His Word is our guide, a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.  The more we seek Him, the more His love for others will be infused into our hearts and minds.  With God on our side, any test that we encounter will be a cinch.

Matthew 25:31-46

    ³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
   ³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
   ³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
   ⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
   ⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
   ⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
   ⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
   ⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

His eye is on the sparrow

This weekend has been crazy and unbelievably hectic for me.  I've been running running running, from one thing to the next, staying with different friends in different cities every night 4 nights running.  I've gone from Albany, to Atlanta, to Rome, back to Atlanta, and tomorrow I'll be going to New York.

The most amazing thing to me is that, through all of the details and hustle and bustle of these past few days, God is still looking out for me.  None of my plans have gone awry or been delayed.  A raging storm did not keep me from getting to the dance in Atlanta on Thursday night on time.  Horrible traffic did not hold me up on my way to Rome the next day.  Everything has worked out perfectly, down to the last detail.


Now I know that that doesn't always happen.  Sometimes life throws us curve balls, and our best-made plans fall short.  But Matthew 6:26 says that we can be assured of God looking out for us - we can easily see that He looks out for the birds of the air, and how much more important are we to God than birds!  God is in control, and God is looking out for us - even when it may not look like that.  In the end, He WILL take care of us - He WILL work out the details of our lives.  What a comfort that is to know.

He renews our minds

I had a difficult day controlling my temper.  The waitress, the cashier, my friends and family, they all got the short end of my temper today.  As I sat today reading my Bible and repenting, I was reminded that God is the One who makes us new.  As we trust in Him, He will renew our minds and hearts and make us more and more like Him.

Today I was reminded of how far I have to go.  I can understand why Paul, whom we all look up to as a hero of the faith, considered himself "the least" of the early Christians.  Not that I am in any way trying to compare myself to Paul; but he understood that the better we know Jesus, the more we realize how far we have to go.

I thank God every day - especially today - that His mercies are new every morning, and that we can wake up renewed and refreshed in Him every day - no matter what's happened the day before.  Now that's something worth celebrating :).

Romans 12:2 

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Ephesians 3:17-19

Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. (NLT)

Bigger than the signs of the times

Matthew 24 is an oft-cited chapter about the end of times.  Many people have attempted to interpret its prophecies to predict the end of the world.  And it's difficult sometimes, with killer tornadoes and tsunamis and nuclear meltdowns and terrorism and war ripping through our planet, to not pay heed to the signs that the Bible mentions about the end times.

But what if we are not really supposed to be looking for the signs?  What if what He really wants us to look for is Him?  Dear friends of my family lost their home during the tornadoes that ripped through Georgia and Alabama last month.  Some of their neighbors, who also lost their homes, have been questioning God, asking what they have done to deserve such horrible things happening to them?  But our friends have a different outlook.  They say that God has not punished them; rather, in His great mercy He has spared them, and they can't wait to see the testimony that will come as a result of all of this.

When tragedy rocks my universe, when all of the signs point to the end of the world, I want, like my friends, to be focused on God.  To be so wrapped up in Who He is that it doesn't matter what's going on around you.  God loves me, and that's all that matters.  I want to look for Him, not the signs of the times.  He is my Comforter, my All in All, my firm foundation and my Rock.  No matter what you're going through, He'll get you through it if you put your faith in Him.

Make the most of every opportunity

I have heard over and over again, countless times, what a wonderful opportunity I have been given to be able to go to South Korea for a year.  And it's very true - I know that I am richly blessed.  I have also been told, equally frequently, that I should make the most of my time over there - make lots of friends, do lots of things, immerse myself in the culture and have a blast....this is likely not something that I'll be able to do again!

And again, that is true, and I intend to take advantage of the opportunities that come my way.  But when Christ tells us in Ephesians to make the most of every opportunity, I don't think that's what He meant.  We were made to make an eternal difference in His kingdom.  As a graduation gift, my brother interviewed all of my family and put it together in a little video.  In the interview with my mother, she says something that I find very poignant: "Although you've received alot of honors and accolades, if you hadn't done any of it, I'd still be proud of you... because you have a relationship with the Lord."  That, I believe, is what God wants us to keep in mind when we consider our opportunities.  We can scale Mount Everest, we can become the president of the United States of America, we can break all the records in the Olympic games....but if we don't filter our actions and decisions through the lens of eternity, they will, in the end, be worthless.


I don't want to be a "sleeper".  I don't want to live unwisely.  Although I know I have wonderful opportunities both in my past and future, the biggest ones are the ones that God will send me to further His kingdom, to develop a relationship with Him, and to tell others about Him.  I pray that I take advantage of every single opportunity.

Ephesians 5:14-16

   “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”  ¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
 

If my people...

There's alot of blame going around in this world nowadays.  We blame our problems on our parents, the school system, the drug dealers and prostitutes, the democrats, the republicans, the atheists, the terrorists, the hispanics, muslims, or blacks, even on occasion the weather.  But God is much more straightforward than that.  1 Chronicles 7:14 says, "if my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven, and I will forgive their sins and heal their land."

God doesn't accept excuses.  The responsibility for the problems in our nation today lie squarely on our shoulders.  We cannot always be placing the blame on other people - we must first remove the log from our own eyes, before we remove the splinter from our neighbors' eyes (Matthew 7:5).  We are little Christs, and God expects up to act like that - loving and praying for others instead of accusing them, admitting our wrongs instead of ignoring them.

That sure sounds like a tall order to me!  But the best part is that God does not expect us to do that alone.  That's what Jesus is for!  Jesus has given us a new lease on life.  If we seek Him, He will align our priorities to where they need to be.  So my prayer today is this: I pray that God would break my heart with what breaks His heart.  I figure I can't go wrong if I care about the same things that the Creator of the Universe cares about! :)

Potential

I had a conversation today with a remarkable young man.  Five years ago, doctors found a brain tumor in his head.  They operated on him to remove the mass, but after the surgery he slipped into a coma for several months.  Long story short, after a long long struggle and many years, he lived to stand before me today.  But there was one part of his incredible testimony that just about knocked the breath out of me.  "I found Jesus because of that surgery," he said.  "I would never change a thing of that period of my life, and if going through it again could bring me more of Jesus, I would do it all again in a heartbeat."

We are all full of all sorts of potential.  No matter what our talents, gifts, abilities, or passions, I firmly believe that God has blessed every single person on this planet with the potential to be spectacular, the potential to make an eternal difference in God's kingdom.  But potential is not the same as achievement.  How many people do you know in your life who had such great potential, such wonderful opportunities, and they've done nothing with them?  I know more than my fair share.  Similarly, how many people do you know whom you would have never expected to do anything with their life, and by God's grace they have succeeded above and beyond anyone's expectations?

God is the developer of our potential.  He is the One who knows us best - our weaknesses, strengths, opportunities and failures.  And He is the only One who can make something of everything that we are - weaknesses and failures included.  My friend has every reason to be angry at God and bitter at the world.  I can't imagine going what he's gone through.  But instead of running from God, he ran to Him, the Author and Perfector of his faith.  And God has made more out of him than he could ever have been by himself.  I pray that someday I can have a faith like his.  Let God develop your potential.  He's the only One who can make your life beautiful - even the ashes.

John 1:35-42

³⁵ The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. ³⁶ When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” ³⁷ When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. ³⁸ Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”  They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”³⁹ “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”
   So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.⁴⁰ Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. ⁴¹ The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). ⁴² And he brought him to Jesus.  Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).

Inevitable slavery

Freedom is a concept that permeates our society.  We talk about freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, and freedom of choice.  There is equality of pay, equality of opportunity, and racial and sexual equality.  However, in our unending search for freedom, there is something very important that we have forgotten.

No one can ever be truly free.  Now don't misunderstand me.  The Bible says that "whom the Son sets free is free indeed" (John 8:36), and I'm not arguing with that.  I suppose a more accurate term would be to say that no one can ever be independent - we can never depend on and be subject to nothing.  The Bible is equally clear that everyone will serve a master - no matter how independent they think they are.

So the question is, who do you want to serve?  Do you want to be a slave of sin, or a slave of righteousness?  The consequence of sin is death, plain and simple.  There's no other way to say that.  Let's choose life, and life more abundantly.  Become a slave of righteousness - that's the only way you can truly be free.

Romans 6:12-18

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. ¹³ Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. ¹⁴ For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. ¹⁵ What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! ¹⁶ Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? ¹⁷ But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. ¹⁸ You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

Choosing what's best

When you hear the word "discernment", what do you think of?  I used to think that it was choosing between good and evil.  But the Bible says that we all know the difference between good and evil (Genesis 3:22).  We all know when we're doing something wrong, even if we do it anyway.  But yet I know that not all of us have discernment.  So what if discernment is not choosing between the good and the bad, but choosing between the good and the best?


Merriam-Webster defines discernment as "the power to distinguish or select what is true or appropriate or excellent."  We all know what we should not do.  But do we all know what we SHOULD do?  I know I don't always.  College, career paths, marriage, areas of ministry...sometimes I'm faced with so many options my head starts spinning.  And the thing is, all of them are good options!  What makes working in a non-profit organization in Atlanta better than working in the government sector in D.C.?  Why should I choose volunteering in a soup kitchen over working in the church nursery?  Out of a plethora of good options, God wants us to choose the best.  And the thing is, His best is probably not the same for every person.  Which is great....but it also means that we can't piggy-back off of someone else's decisions.  God wants us to seek Him and to seek His best in our lives.  Tune into what He's saying to you.  That's discernment - that's the task of a Christian life.

Philippians 1:9-11

 ⁹ And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰ so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ...to the glory and praise of God.

The more enduring story

Growing up in the church, it's interesting to see the importance that "good", church-going people place on certain things.  Most churches believe that it is important that they teach their kids about modesty, to stay away from drugs, to not have sex until they're married, to honor and respect their parents, to give to the poor, yada yada yada...  But it seems to me that many people have forgotten the reason churches exist in the first place.

When it boils down to it, the only reason that the Church is here is to honor and worship Jesus, and to teach others to do the same.  Next to Jesus, everything else fades in comparison.  Jesus is the only story that will stand the test of time.  Cultural issues, norms, and values will change and shift with the passing years.

But Jesus never changes.  He is the same yesterday, today and forever.  The story of Jesus is eternal, and it is really the only news worth hearing.  It's not that all of those things mentioned above aren't important.  But the longer you live inside the most important story of all - God's story - the less influence things of this world have over you.  The longer you marinate in the flavor of Christ, the more He becomes who you are.  The fluctuating culture that you find yourself surrounded by will matter to you less and less, as Jesus becomes your All in all.  So find yourself in the more enduring story of Jesus Christ - and, in time, you will have the impact on your culture that He wants you to have.

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

 ¹ And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. ² For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. ⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

Plan B

The past few months I've been inundated by schizophrenic feelings of going to South Korea.  It's exciting, but at the same time, completely overwhelming.  It's on the other side of the world....how will I communicate and learn the language?....I won't know anyone over there....I will miss so much back here at home....I want to settle down....blah, blah, blah.  But God has truly given me such wonderful confirmation since I got that life-changing acceptance letter back at the end of March.  People I've never even met have called me or emailed me, offering help and the succor of their own personal experiences to calm my nerves.  I was invited, rather out of the blue, to a dinner of the Korea-America friendship society.  Everything has been falling into place so perfectly.  And, most of all, I've got a peace about it.

Well today I found out that someone I know from Berry - let's call this person Taylor; it's a nice gender neutral name :) - will be traveling to South Korea on the exact same mission that I will be doing.  And my stomach is doing flip-flops.  There has been infinitely more than the usual amount of drama between Taylor and myself over the last four years.  If I had to choose between knowing no one in South Korea when I go over there, and knowing only Taylor, I would choose knowing no one any day of the week.

I was really hoping to leave all of this drama behind me when I graduated - it would be one of the few positive things about leaving Berry College :(.  But that does not seem to be an option.  So I must move on to plan B.

Isaiah 26 is my plan B.  My soul with find peace and rest in God alone.  He is the Author and Perfector of my faith, and His opinion is the only one that matters.  That's such a relief to me!  It doesn't matter what other people think about you, say to you, or do to you.  The only thing that matters is your Heavenly Father.  Whew!  I love that.  I've put just a few of my favorite verse from Isaiah 26 below.  To God be all the glory!

Isaiah 26

³ You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.
⁴ Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD himself, is the Rock eternal. 

 ⁷ The path of the righteous is level; you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth.
⁸ Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you;
your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.
⁹ My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. 

¹² LORD, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us. 

Can I pray for you?

How many times have you heard someone say, "how can I pray for you?," or "I'm keeping you in my prayers!" or some other variation of that?  How many times have you said it?  I know I've said it countless times.  But how often does it really happen?

I was reading in Matthew 5 today, and was doubly convicted.  First of all, it is so easy to pray for our friends, to pray for Christians whose paths we cross.  But how often do we offer to pray for non-Christians?  How often do we ask our enemies how we can pray for them?  It's relatively easy for me to be a witness by example.  I don't drink, don't smoke, don't curse, try to exude Jesus through my actions, but when it comes to offering prayer to people I know don't believe in God, I am much more hesitant to do so.  "Christian" means "little Christ"; Christ did not skirt around the issue in His dealings with unbelievers, and neither should we.  That includes offering to pray for those whom you know don't share your beliefs.

Second of all, I was forced to ask myself, when I offer to pray for people do I really do it?  How often to we say, "oh yeah, I'll pray for you," and then forget about it as soon as we turn the corner?  I know I've been guilty of that on more than one occasion.  God says we should let our yes be yes and our no be no.  That means that when we say we're going to do something, we do it!  There is power in prayer.  So today, this is my prayer: I pray that God would give me the courage and conviction ask those in my life how I can pray for them - whether they be Christian or not - and that He would give me the diligence to follow through on those needs. 

Matthew 5:43-48

    ⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

1 Corinthians 13

First Corinthians 13 - the "love chapter" - is one of the most famous chapters in the entire Bible.  It has been endlessly quoted by pastors, congregates, secularists, and anyone else you can think of.  It's so easy for us to use the word "love" - I love my parents, I love my church, I love my dogs, I love hamburgers....  We use it with everything.  Love has got to be one of the most misused words in the English language.  But what is love, really?  First Corinthians 13 gives us an intimidating list of what it means to truly love someone.  I want to talk about 4 things from that we must lay down that stick out in my mind:

1) "Love is patient and not easily angered" - we must lay down our expectations and demands of others.  This is a tough one for me.  I live my life expecting alot - not only of others, but of myself, as well.  That is how I, with God's help, have been able to do so much in my short life.  But true love does not expect people to act a certain way or do certain things, nor does it get upset when they don't fulfill those expectations.  It meets them right where they are and loves them anyway.

2) "Love keeps no record of wrongs" - Love requires that we lay down our record keeping of past hurts.  How many times do we hold onto things that people have done to us in the past, and throw it back in their faces at the opportune moment?  That, dear friends, is not love - it's vengeful and vindictive.  And not only is it not beneficial, but it will destroy you.  I know from experience - bitterness nearly destroyed me before I learned how to handle it.

3) "Love does not boast; it is not proud or self-seeking" - we must lay down our self-promotion.  Whew, that's a biggie!  Everyone wants the accolade of others - that's an innate part of human nature!  But love requires that we lay down our human nature, and put others first.

4) "Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth - true love means that we must lay down resentment and jealousy of others.  Not only should we not look for praise and recognition of others, but we must be happy for other people when THEY receive recognition.  How backwards is that to our normal nature!

True love, it seems, is an impossible feat to achieve.  That's where Jesus comes in.  The great miracle worker specializes in achieving the impossible.  Let Him into your life, let Him rule your thoughts and actions, and you will be astonished by the work He does in you. 

1 Corinthians 13

 ¹ If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

 ⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

 ⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

 ¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

The wind in my sails

I read an analogy today about sailing and the Holy Spirit (from "The One Year Daily Grind," by Sarah Arthur).  She was describing how, when at a summer camp one year, her team practiced team-building by getting into a canoe and paddling around Lake Michigan.  They paddled for hours, made little progress, and by the end of it were exhausted.  But then a breeze came up, and they hoisted a makeshift sail by tying a length of canvas to an oar and standing it up in the boat.  As the wind caught them up, they rested from rowing and drank in the details, reveling in the glorious speed that they now had.

What a wonderful picture of a healthy spiritual life!  Sometimes I feel like I'm paddling my canoe upstream along the river of life - always working, without a moments' relief, exhausted, hurting, and numb.  But I want to be a sailboat.  I want to speed along in life, propelled by the breathe of the Holy Spirit, not constantly struggling to succeed.  Sure, the wind may be unpredictable sometimes - it may storm, and howl, and perhaps take me somewhere that I don't want to go.  But in the end, it's better to be propelled into unfamiliar territory by Someone who knows what He's doing, than to struggle in the same place on my own.  What a wonderful not-so-coincidental coincidence that the Hebrew word for Spirit is also translated as wind and breath :).  Don't struggle paddling uphill.  Let Him breath into your sails.

John 6:61-65

 ⁶¹ Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? ⁶² Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! ⁶³ The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit^[e] and life. ⁶⁴ Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. ⁶⁵ He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”
 

Finding our righteousness in Him

God does not expect us to do everything ourselves.  Indeed, He already knows that no matter how hard we try, we will fail.  But that is what is so beautiful, so freeing about being a Christian.  Our righteousness and salvation does not come from our works, lest any man should boast (Ephesians 2:9).  But rather, it comes from Christ alone.

We don't have to stress about being a Christian superhero, able to leap tall expectations in a single bound.  Daily Bible reading, prayer, going to church, tithing, volunteering....all of it is worthless unless God is in it.

Some people find that rather depressing.  "If nothing I do matters," they say, "what's the point of even trying??"  But the wonderful thing is that when God rules our lives, when He is our righteousness, all those things will flow out of us naturally, without us having to try.  Now that's a life worth living.

Romans 9:30-32

 ³⁰ What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; ³¹ but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. ³² Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone.

The failure of our best-laid plans

So, starting yesterday morning, blogspot.com was down for over a day.  And it occurred to me, as I obsessively checked the website to see if it was up again so that I could post my blog for yesterday (Alive in Christ, which I finally got up this morning) that sometimes our best-laid plans fail.  I had studied the Word, written my blog, and was all ready to put it online.  Unfortunately, online was not ready for it.  It was very upsetting to me at first - I did not want to miss another day of blogging; I felt like it would be a black stain on my record, or something silly like that.

But then I remembered that the reason I'm writing this blog is not so that other people will be impressed with my diligence, or spirituality, or any such rot.  It is to honor the LORD Almighty.  One thing that I am ever grateful for is that God's best-laid plans are never frustrated.  He is never surprised.  Indeed, unless He blesses our endeavors, they will eventually fail, no matter how detailed or thorough the plans may be.

This was a sorely needed reminder today.  I was busy getting things ready for Korea - trying to sort out finances, find a short-term job, handle car and phone bills, make plans for what I'm going to do / where I'm going to be when I get there, ecetera.  But God gently reminded me that, no matter how overwhelmed I may be, He's got it all in His hands.  What a great thing to remember.

Psalm 127

 ¹ Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.
² In vain you rise early and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep to those he loves.

Alive in Christ

A friend of mine told me today about a neighbor of hers who committed suicide a few weeks ago.  The story just about broke my heart.  I truly cannot imagine the depths of despair that a human being must come to, for them to be unable to find anything in this life worth living for.

But then I thought to myself…how many of us are simply walking corpses?  The first few verses of Ephesians 2 talk about how our sins have killed us, and how God’s grace is what makes us alive again, through Christ Jesus. 

What powerful imagery!!  I’m not one for frightening horror movies, but when I read these verses I picture entire cities full of zombies, with God’s redeemed fighting valiantly among them.  The scariest thing to me, is that most people can’t tell who are the zombies and who are the people. 

But I suppose, in the end, it doesn’t really matter.  We have been called to save the lost; but when our hourglass runs out, the only person whose destination we will know for sure is our own.  So here’s the question for today: have you been made alive in Christ?  Or are you still a walking dead?  I pray with every fiber of my being that you are the former.  Life is too precious a thing to experience it as a dead man.

Loving those you don't know

So it's easy for singles, myself included, to be flirty and mess around with people of the opposite sex.  "I'm not attached to anyone," we tell ourselves, "so it's just harmless fun, right?"  Wrong.  Isaiah 54:5 says that "the LORD Almighty is your husband."  Ya, but that's figurative, right?  That doesn't mean that we're supposed to act like we're married, even when we're single, does it??  Well, in a way, I think that it does.  I does not mean that guys should never talk to girls, or vice-versa.  But it does mean that we begin now to cultivate a lifestyle that will honor our spouse in our marriage. 

Fidelity does not spring up overnight.  How do we learn to love our husbands or wives with a Christ-like love?  Start loving them now.  Start living your life in a way that will honor them.  Filter your actions by what they would think if they saw you doing it.  For some, this may mean getting rid of some slinky or too-tight clothing.  For others, it may mean limiting the amount of time you spend with people of the opposite sex.  Some people connect with their future spouses by writing them periodic letters.  I have a promise ring that I've worn on my finger every day since my 16th birthday.  It is my promise to my husband, my promise that I will wait for him.

The thing we've got to understand is that, if you are a Christian, you are never single.  You are, at the very least, married to the Lord.  But the great thing about that is that, as the Author of love, He can teach us, His bride, to truly love sacrificially.  And then, when Mr. or Mrs. Right comes along, we will be prepared to love them the way they were meant to love, the way we were created to love.

A life of faith

The shock from Saturday is starting to wear off.  And so I'm left wondering..."now what?"  Berry has been my life for the last four years.  I have worked, lived, laughed, cried, bled and sweat on that campus.  I've made wonderful friends - and lost a few of them - grown in the Lord, and experienced things I never thought possible.  When nothing in life seemed to be going right, I could always sneak away with my Bible to some hidden corner in the 26,000 acres of the Berry College campus and spend some time reading and praying and relaxing, and then I knew that everything would be ok.

But now I feel lost.  What do I do now??  Sure, I know that I'll be going to South Korea in 7 weeks.  But what do I do until then?  And even after I get there?  I was impressed this morning in my quiet time about the importance of faith.  Faith has always been sort of a "catch-phrase" for me - I say I know it's important, but only because I know that's what I'm supposed to say.  But what does that really mean, to live by faith?

Faith is trusting in what we cannot see.  It is not hoping that things will work out.  It should not be having faith in faith itself.  Faith is only as good as its object.  So what should a life based on faith in God look like?  Faith calls us to walk in the power of the Spirit.  It calls us to stand on the truth of God's word.  And it causes us to kneel in humility before the Lord.  In the end, there are only three people we can be living to please - ourselves, others, or God.

Seeking God's face and developing a faith-led life will undoubtedly take me my entire lifetime, not just the next seven weeks.  But now's as good a time as ever to start!! :)  Job 5:8-9 says, "But as for me, I would seek God, and I would place my cause before God; who does great things, wonders without number."  Psalm 9:10 - "And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You."  Psalm 24:6 - "This is the generation of those seek Him, who seek Your face, O God of Jacob."  Matthew 6:33 - "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."  He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.  My goal in these next few weeks is to be among those people who do just that.

Laminin

I got a biology lesson in Sunday School today.  The teacher was talking about the wonders of the human body, and how God's glory is reflected in it.  The final punch, the culminating masterpiece, was Laminin.  I'm sure that probably is just about as earth-shaking a revelation to you as it was to me when I just heard it.  So let me give you a little bit of background.  Laminin is a protein that is instrumental to the functioning of the body.  Laminin is basically, to put it in words that are easily understood, a binding protein that is responsible for holding your body's tissues together.  It is vital to their maintenance and survival.  So ok, that's cool, but what's the big deal, right?  SOME protein has got to do that, why can't it be Laminin?  Well, the best part comes when you look at the structure of Laminin.  Here it is below, a picture of the structure of Laminin, followed by a picture of an actual strand of said protein.

Is our God not great??  He has so intricately designed His creation, and His hand and presence is visible throughout all of it - even on a microscopic level.  I love what it says about Jesus in Colossians, starting in chapter 1 verse 15 - "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation; because by Him everything was created, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through Him and for Him.  He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together."  God is the One in control of my life; Jesus is the One who holds all things together - both figuratively AND literally.  What a wonderful comfort.

Now what??

I graduated from college today.  It was all very surreal.  There was the early morning bustle to get the last of my things packed into the car, the class picture before the ceremony, the friendly teasing about the abnormally large amount of honor cords strung around my neck.  Then the pomp and circumstance...caps, gowns, regalia and speeches.  Baking in the sun under my fashion-backwards cap and gown, listening to the speakers and just waiting for my big moment.  Finally it was my turn, and I walked across the stage, hoping with all my might that I wouldn't trip while on stage, rehearsing in my head all of the instructions we'd been given - handshake low, diploma hand high, tassel goes from right to left, stop for the photographer.  I barely even heard the Provost speaking, but I'm pretty sure she got all of my information right.  After we filed out, I was bombarded by friends, went to lunch, strapped my bike to my car, and headed home.  And that's that.

The hardest part was the goodbyes.  So many of my dear friends were there today.  Caroline, who taught me to love life and introduced me to a whole new world - and even a bit of French while she was at it, too!  The thought of her wonderful little self being on the other side of the world from me almost breaks my heart.  Kerrie and Barry Touchstone, who opened their home to me every week this semester, and their hearts to me every day.  William Souder, my old boss who would and still will do almost anything for me.  The Leslies, who welcomed me into their lives like a daughter, and Rachel, who has become like a sister to me.  David Price, who never ceases to bring entertainment and laughter wherever he goes.  So many more people came to show their support for me - people that I love dearly, and will miss sorely.  The pain of so many goodbyes in one day almost breaks my heart in two.

And so now I'm here, wondering "what next?"  The wreckage of the past fours years of my life lies scattered around my room in boxes, bags, and suitcases.  The memory of my empty dorm room haunts me.  And the thought that it will likely be years, if ever, before I see these wonderful people, visit these wonderful places, see this wonderful campus again, is excruciating.  I'm in a fog, a daze.  I don't quite know how to move on, what I'm supposed to do now that this stage of my life has ended.  I do know, however, that "my God will meet all of my needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19).  But I think for now, that what I need is sleep.  That seems to be the only way to stop the tears.  Until tomorrow....

Spiritual blessings

Ephesians 1:3 says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ."  When I look at my life, I am overwhelmed by the amount of physical blessings that I have.  I have an incredible life - family, friends, opportunities, and passion.  And then I think to myself...God's word says that this life is but a vapor (James 4:14).  So I can't help but wonder....if this physical life is so fleeting and ultimately insignificant in the grand scheme of things, then how much greater are His spiritual blessings that His physical ones!  That thought staggers my imagination.  Sometimes I can't imagine life getting any better.  But then I come to my senses and realize just how big, how unfathomable, how all-powerful God truly is.

I'm a C.S. Lewis nut, and I think that his series The Chronicles of Narnia illustrates this point very well.  Throughout the entire first seven books, the characters experience incredible adventures in some of the most amazing, beautiful places you could ever even conceive of, in a land called Narnia.  But then (spoiler warning!) in the last book the main characters die, and they go back to Narnia - but this time it's the REAL Narnia.  The colors are so much more vibrant, the scents so much sweeter, the sounds so much more beautiful than they were before.  C.S. Lewis was a strong Christian, and there are many who say that his representation of Narnia vs. the "real" Narnia is an illustration of earth and heaven.  So when you get a moment, stop and think.  Make a list of all of the physical blessings that God has so graciously given you.  And then praise Him all the more for the spiritual ones, which are so much more incredible than what we can see.

If He is for me, who can be against me?

My heart is overflowing right now with God's goodness.  Two nights ago I had dinner with some very dear friends, Kerrie and Barry touchstone.  She was the one who had led the Bible study on David that I went to this semester, and I grew very close to her over the course of these last few months.  Then today, I went to the airport and picked up my best friend Rachel, and spent the afternoon with her.  Then, in the evening, I had dinner and played games and watched a movie and just overall had a very grand time with Rachel and two other dear friends from college, Caroline and Emily.

As I sat this morning pondering God's goodness and praising Him for His steadfast mercy, I stumbled upon Psalm 91, which really hit home for me.  There are a few verses in particular that I want to point out.  "He who dwells in the shadow of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the LORD, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust" (vs 1-2).  "He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.  You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday" (vs 4-5).  "If you make the Most High your dwelling - even the LORD, who is my Refuge - then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.  For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways" (vs 9-11). 

Oh, what power does the word of the Lord have!!  These verses were such a comfort to me this morning.  I am still sad about leaving Berry.  I am still nervous about the future.  I will still miss my life here in Rome, and the dear, dear friends that I have made.  But through the companionship that I enjoyed these past few days, and the truth that I read in His word this morning, God is really showing me that He truly DOES have my life in His hands...and that He truly DOES care about me more than I could ever imagine.  He has given me the most amazing friends I could ever ask for, a rock-solid family, opportunities that most people could only dream of getting, and the courage (although sometimes I may call it stupidity :]) to take advantage of those opportunities.  He is in control.  He will never let me down.  I was really reminded this morning that everything truly IS going to be ok.  Through the thick and the thin, He has been there and He will be there.  My God is so great....if He is for me, who can be against me???

Finish the race strong

In Acts 21, Paul bids farewell to the church in Ephesus.  Verses 22, 24 say, "and now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there...however, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace."  Verse 22 is me right now.  I'm going to a faraway place, not having a clue as to what will happen to me there.  It's scary, overwhelming, and intimidating.

But then I go on to read verse 24.  Although I cannot say that verse 24 is exactly who I am, it IS who I want to be.  God has called us to spread His word into every corner of the earth - for me, that seems to have been a quite literal commandment.  I want nothing more than, when I die and go to meet my Maker, to be greeted with the words "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

We must remember that we are constantly in a battle.  Satan is not neutral, and neither should we be.  As I'm ending this chapter of my life and embarking on a new one, I cannot forget that.  But God also doesn't expect us to do it by ourselves.  He is there for us - even to the end of the age.  I pray that I remember that.  I pray that I finish my race strong. 

The constancy of God's love

After tossing and turning all night, I finally woke up for good this morning at 5:00 am.  The finality of today was really weighing heavy on me.  Today is my absolute last day of undergrad.  Sure, I don't graduate until Saturday, but my last final is this morning; after that, all I have to do is wait.  I've had an agonizing mental countdown going on for the past several weeks.  Sometimes I wanted the end to come; most often I did not.  It's been especially difficult these past few weeks and days, as I've grown very close to some people here on campus and at my church, and seen how this wonderful campus comes together and helps each other out in our times of need.  But every day, I could console myself with the fact that it wasn't quite over; I still had a few days left!  But today, I can't do that.  This is the end.  I came across a poem written by Sarah Arthur about her senior year in college that I thought would fit the mood perfectly.  I have typed it out below:

Suddenly there are only a few more days of this school year

Less than a week within this community that I've grown to love

I won't miss the schedules, or the stress of deadlines

But I will miss the playfulness of pretending to be grown-ups, 

The sisterhood of silliness

Now I AM grown up.

I'm twenty-one and I march down the sidewalk thinking,

"I'm twenty-one and I'm awake,

And all this grown up life is no longer a game.

Back when I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned like a child

But now that I'm a grown up....I'm scared.

My stomach has been roiling all morning.  Not necessarily because of fear of the future - although Korea DOES scare, I get the feeling that the real fear will not come until later - but more so dread of the finality of the present.  But it's interesting to me that the verse Sarah Arthur quotes in her poem in the last two lines is from 1 Corinthians 13 - the "love chapter."  I am growing up and life is changing; but the one constant I can rest in in God's love.  Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails (vs. 7-8).  What a great promise!  No matter what I'm going through, no matter how scary the future looks or how bright the past looks, He will always love me.  That's awesome :).  Alright, I'm off now to end my undergraduate career...**deep breath**

Beginnings and endings

The month of May heralds many beginnings, and many endings as well.  It it the messenger that brings news of both the start of a new life, and the death of an old one.  I am on the verge of starting a brand-new life in Korea - but I am also leaving my home here in Rome.  Yesterday at church they prayed over me in Sunday School, and then gave me a farewell gift during the service.  And I couldn't stop crying.  A friend of mine assured me that it is ok to cry - although I have good things coming in my life, this is also a season of mourning.  I am leaving these people and places that I've grown to know and love, possibly forever, and definitely for a very long time.  The destruction of my campus kind of accentuates the finality of my departure from Berry - the campus where I've lived, worked, and laughed for the last 4 years of my life will never be the same again, and neither will my life.  It's very hard to swallow, very hard to accept that it's time to move on.  I love Berry - I love the classes, the students, the professors, the beauty, the clubs, my job, the sense of community...I love everything about Berry.  I feel the same way about my church, Cornerstone.  Seeing how the campus has pulled together these last few days in our time of need has only increased my love for it.  Quite frankly, I...don't...want...to...leave.  Equally frankly, nor do I want to go to Korea.  I know that that's where I'm meant to go, and I am going...but I don't want to.  The fear of the unknown is crippling me.

So reading in the thirteenth chapter of Hebrews today was a welcome relief.  Verses 5-6 say, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.  So we say with confidence, the LORD is my helper; I will not be afraid.  What can mere mortals do to me?"  And a bit later, in verse 8, it assures me that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."  Whew!  What power the word of the LORD has!!  I haven't a clue what my future holds.  I am very certain that I will miss my past.  But I can rest in the knowledge that the same God who orchestrated my past also holds my future in His hands.  I may not know what will happen to me, but I know that God loves me and has good things planned for me.

God is bigger

Psalm 104 is a beautiful Psalm.  The entire Psalm is dedicated to singing the Lord's praises, and showing how He takes care of what is His.  I know I've been harping on this theme for several days now, but this is my life right now, so you'll have to excuse me :).

He makes springs pour from the mountains, giving water to all the beasts of the field (vs. 11).  He gives homes to the birds of the air (vs. 12).  He feeds both men and cattle (vs. 14, 17).  He gives "wine that gladdens the heart, oil to make his face shine, and bread that sustains his heart" (vs. 15).  He is the Provider for all things living (vs. 27-30).

What a wonderful comfort!  Throughout everything, I can know that my Jehovah Jireh will provide.  He cares for us, and will never let us go.  The Psalmist ends the chapter with these words: "I will sing praise to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to God as long as I live.  May my meditation be pleasing to Him, as I rejoice in the LORD" (vs. 33-34).  David had his fair share of hardships.  What a comfort to know that even when hard times come, God is big enough that we can praise Him anyway.  God is bigger than the troubles, no matter what they are.