Relying on God Alone

I'm a little rusty as far as blogging goes.  Its been a few months!  Here's a passage from John 5 that struck me recently.  This is Jesus speaking:

30 “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. 31 If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not deemed true. 32 There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. 33 You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36 But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, 38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. 41 I do not receive glory from people. 42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 43 I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

This struck me because it helps me to understand and know what it means to be a Christian.  Here Jesus even states, "I can do nothing on my own."  Jesus Christ, the Son of God can do nothing without the will and help of the Father.  He follows that statement with, "I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me."  Throughout the gospels we see Jesus heal the sick, feed thousands of people with just 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, he raises people from the dead and if that's not enough he walks on water and calms the storms.  And here in John, Jesus admits, "I can do nothing on my own."  The miracles we see done by Jesus are not done alone by the man Jesus, they are done by the will of the Father.  So how can we humans sit and think we can save ourselves?  If the Son of God is nothing without the Father, how are we anything without the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?

I believe Jesus answers this for us here in verse 38, "And you do not have his word abiding in you." And in verse 42, "But I know that you do not have the love of God within you." There are so many times we say we are Christian because we believe in the story of Jesus.  But the question we have to ask ourselves is this: does the Word of God abide in our hearts, souls and minds?  Does the Word and Love of God radiate from our being?  We are so quick to trust in our own human abilities.  We think 'I give to the church, I'm a good person, I've done my good deeds' but none of that gets us God.  The simple but crazy thing to wrap our human brains around is that we need God to get God.  Living and breathing the Word of God gives God glory.  But of course there is a twist to this as well.   

In verse 41 Jesus states, "I do not receive glory from people," I have to admit I chuckle at this a little bit because we forget that God doesn't need us.  God gets glory out of his own will and purposes. Our good deeds are not our own.   Ephesians 2:8-10 states, "8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."  Here Paul is stating that even our faith in God is given to us by God, we cannot boast in our faith or our works because even our good works are prepared by the hand of God.

So going back to how this reminds me of what is means to be a Christian: And I need the love and Word of God to consume my life, without God I am nothing.  I don't think it gets any easier than that.  I thank and praise God for his abundance of mercy and grace that he bestows on my life daily.

The Most Important Commandment

We recently attended the Desiring God National Conference entitled "Think: the life of the mind and the love of God."  The messages we heard throughout the weekend encouraged us to think about our relationship with God, with fellow believers, with non-believers, and with believers of different religions.  John Piper's ultimate goal of the conference was "thinking for the sake of loving God and people."

And here is how God has been working in my heart since.  One of the verses Piper focused on during the weekend just so happens to be to a catchy tune by Lincoln Brewster, "Love the lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with your mind and with all your strength."  So inevitably the song has been in my head since leaving Minneapolis and to make matters worse stuck in my head this afternoon.  Today, I could feel God pressing me to dig into Mark as well.  We are taking our youth through the book of Mark this semester and I've been journaling through it.  Well what do you know, tonight in Mark 12 I came across this:

28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. 33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Yes Lincoln Brewster is still ringing through my head, but I almost have more appreciation for the song.  For one it is taken directly out of Scripture and Jesus is telling us this is the most important thing for us to do. When we become Christians we ask what can we do?  This is it, "Love.  Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself."  That's it!  There is no prayer to pray, no card to sign, no amount of works or efforts to be put forth.  Just love!

Let's focus on the first and most important commandment given to us by God himself.  What does it mean or look like to love the Lord our God?  I'm excited because we can look in Mark where Jesus says in chapter 8 verse 34 "let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me".  Loving seems so easy, but to deny myself?  That is a challenge.  This is a very tricky thing.  We know that God made us all in particular ways that individualize each of us, but we also need to remember why we're created.  

We are all created in the image of God.  We see this in Genesis 1, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them" (vs. 27).  The image of God. That is a big deal.  Too big to fully grasp. But the way I best understand it is that I am created to glorify God. God challenges us to put him before ourselves, our spouses, our boyfriends, our girlfriends, our kids in order to glorify him.  I like how Psalm 37:4 puts it, "Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart."  We read that and think God is happy with what makes us happy.  But ultimately we will find happiness in delighting in Him alone and then he will give us the desires that glorify him. (What's your fruit?)

By denying our self we are showing God our love, but how do we not make Christianity a list of do's and don'ts?  In the movie 'Meet the Robinsons', the character Wilbur always states, "That.. is an excellent question" when he simply wants to avoid answering any question asked to him, but I think I can give you an answer.  Look at what Galatians 6:14 states, "But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."

We turn to the Son of God.  There is nothing else we can offer but our love, because Jesus Christ was the ultimate sacrifice for our sinful, unloving hearts.  We can't make a check list or do/don't list because we would fail no matter how perfect we try to be.  Jesus was fully human and yet fully perfect because he was fully God.  We are not god of anything, not even our own lives.  So surrendering our hearts to Jesus Christ is what shows God our ultimate love.  We build our relationship with our mediator by knowing him, by loving him.  Praise to the Lord our God whose never-ending love is poured out in the blood of Jesus Christ!  

**check out the Desiring God link, they do have the messages we heard posted to watch or listen to!

The Bible says WHAT?

Have you ever had a 'holy crap moment' when reading scripture? Yes, I, a pastor's wife used the word crap, but that's really the only way to explain these moments (Thank you Paul Veal). My husband is a Calvinist. It was something he warned me about before we started dating. So I researched what Calvinism is and didn't have any issues with the five points of Calvinism. And really I believed they were true to what I read in scripture. I especially felt as though I understood predestination because of a personal experience I had with a medical mission trip. However, about 6-7 months into our marriage we were reading 1 Samuel together and in the second chapter we came across this:

22 Now Eli was very old, and he kept hearing all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who were serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 23 And he said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. 24 No, my sons; it is no good report that I hear the people of the LORD spreading abroad. 25 If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the LORD to put them to death.

I remember my jaw dropping a bit, looking at my husband and stating, "What? It was the will of the LORD to put them to death? I don't know about that." Cory let me ponder for a bit but then we got into one of our 45 minute conversations in which he led me to Romans. We had read this book a few months prior but the verses that I'm pointing out now just didn't click like they did once I read 1 Samuel.

In Romans 8 there's a favorite verse that I know people turn to for comfort:

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

"All things work together for good", yes it's comforting especially in times when life just doesn't seem to make sense. We like to think that God is putting us through trials that will eventually end with our good. We expect the pain to go away, the money to flood in, and our marriages to be happy. But verse 29 gives an explanation of what the good is that God has intended for us, "he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son". Christ followers are called by the Father to be conformed into Christ, or called by God to be similar in the nature and character of God.

Romans 9 will help to explain a little more:

15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

As humans with human nature, we are deserving of wrath. We are not deserving of forgiveness or being saved. But we have a merciful, gracious and loving Father who gives us the desire to know Him and love Him and want Him. He calls us to be his followers, to conform to his image, and to be joyful in living for his glory.

This is good news people! First, when we speak the gospel into people's lives we are doing what God calls us to do, but it's his job to soften the heart of the individual who we are speaking to. God's grace does the hard work, we just have to know his word and speak truth into those who are placed on our hearts. Secondly, it helps me to forgive myself. God knows my weakness and it's his intention to use my mistakes and faults to show me his grace. This isn't an excuse to continue in sin, when God reveals a sin in our life we are to run from the sin and straight to him.

There is a mystery to this as well, which I feel does need to be addressed. Just as Eli's sons would not listen because of the will of the Lord, there are people in our lives that will suffer the same ending. It's a hard thing to grasp. I know 1 Samuel is addressing God's justice and he is just for punishing those who do not repent and turn from their sin. But the question remains: is it truly justice if God's will is to keep them from fully hearing and knowing the gospel? I do firmly believe that God is just in all he does but I know I will not completely understand this until I am in the presence of my Savior

Thank you to our Father in heaven who has given us his Word in order to know him more and has revealed himself to us through his Son, Jesus Christ!

*Please share any "holy crap moments" you can remember...

Worldly Scars

Junior high was rough for me. There are times when I still can feel the scars that were left by those few short years of turmoil. As a teenage girl I wanted to fit it, to be cool, to hang with the 'in crew'. But there was also this desire in me to be different. And I know that it's what got me into trouble with the group I so desired to be a part of. At the time I claimed to be Christian but wasn't living the lifestyle, but I feel as though the urges to be different were put upon me by God. Christians are called to stand out from the world, but the world doesn't like those who differ.

I am currently in 1 John in my Journible and in chapter 3 John states, "Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you." This harsh blurb in the section of chapter 3, titled "Love One Another", had a cross reference that took me to the gospel of John chapter 15 where Jesus spoke:

18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’ 

Christ was rejected.  He was betrayed, beaten, the crowds mocked him and tore his clothes.  He was hated by a world of people who didn't get what they wanted out of his life on earth.  The crowd was filled with religious folks who wanted redemption from the Romans not from their own sin.  They didn't want to know or acknowledge their evil ways.  They lived obedient lives, they were elder brothers who lived the way they did to earn their 'get out of hell free card'.  Christ was persecuted.  Christ was nailed to a cross by a world that hated him.

So we are not to be surprised if we too are hated by the world.  Jesus states in verse 20, "If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you."  The world follows fleshly desires that we are called to turn from, and not just turn our head away but to run far from.  And so we when talk about saving sex for marriage or avoiding drunkenness for the sake of living for Christ, we look different.  Most of the time the ones who love indulging in the temptations of the flesh don't want to hear that they are living sinful lives, so we are rejected.

"But it sounds awful to live a life that keeps me isolated from being cool, from fitting in, from all the fun."  Once again I'm reminded of my middle school years which were temporary, just as this world.  When we leave earth and are placed in the presence of God, being cool according to worldly standards isn't going to matter.  Having a heart that is fully devoted to Christ will.

Psalm 37:4 states, "Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart."  Many will read this and think, "God wants me to be happy with what makes me happy."  Or an excuse for us to keep living our sinful ways.  But when Christ takes hold of our hearts he changes our hearts.  We are chosen out of this world, as John states in verse 19, chosen to be different than the rest of the world and we delight in that.  God gives us the desires of our hearts by changing our hearts and our desires that will glorify Christ which in turns gives us ultimate joy in Christ.  Praise to God almighty who chose me out of this world in order to joyfully live for his kingdom alone!

The Real Jesus

Sometimes I have a difficult time imaging the life that Jesus lived.  I am a very logical thinker, its a gift that my husband is quite fond of but there are moments when that thinking needs to be pushed out of the way in order for my love and passion for Christ to reign in my being.  I honestly love having my own personal pastor, because he gave me this reminder: to find that love and passion it takes study and devotion in the word for it to become true in your heart.  How else can I respond to that but by diving into scripture to re-read the words I know well in my mind to make them true in my heart.

I'll start with defining who Jesus is through the gospel of John in chapter 1 verses 1-5:

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Yes I realize the words "Jesus Christ" are not physically found in this passage but Christ is referred to as the "Word". "The Word was with God, and the Word was God." Jesus Christ is fully God in human form. It is astonishing, I know quite well how conception works and God made his Son through his Spirit in the womb of a virgin girl. Jesus Christ was at the beginning of time when he created this earth and the creatures of it, as verse 3 states, "all things were made through him." Nothing that was made lacked the hand of the Son of God. He is our life and light in the darkness and evil of this world as stated in verse 5.

The gospel of John teaches us that Jesus Christ is our light in the darkness or evil, but how does that work? I'll go to 1 John 2:1-6 to define this:

1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

Jesus Christ is righteous and he is our advocate to the Father.  "He is the propitiation for our sins," the word propitiation means "a sacrifice that bears God's wrath and turns it to favor" (ESV Study Bible).  Christ lived the perfect life but then was betrayed, beaten and crucified on a cross. He died the death that we deserve for the debt of our sin.  Christ's death is what finds our favor in the eyes of the Father.  We can do nothing to earn that favor.  All we can do is turn to the cross.

We must be careful when we read "for the sins of the whole world".  As John continues into verses 3-6 that we must keep God's word and his commandments.  We are called to repent of our sinful ways as Luke 13:3 states "but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish".  We are to follow the ways of the Lord as verse 6 states "whoever abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked."  As humans we will constantly fail to live the life that Jesus did but I like how the ESV Study Bible expresses how we can follow in Christ's ways: we "can mirror his faith, love, piety, obedience and self sacrifice".  We are to be a shadow of Christ as marriage is a shadow of Christ's love for his bride the church.

It is so easy to get caught up in the self pity of our daily lives, I know I've been there for the past week.  I can make all the excuses I want but nothing gives me a better perspective than turning to the cross.   Where Christ breathed his last painful breath in order to bring God glory and to give us non-deserving humans favor in the eyes of the Father.  I thank you Jesus for your life, for your teaching, for your example, and for your death!

What's your fruit?

I'm continuing my discussion on living "for the praise of his glorious grace" (Ephesians 1:6).  What does this look like?  In my last post I addressed my concern for living for ourselves verses for God.  But now the question is: How do we know we are living for Christ?  You will know by our fruit.

I will admit the first time I heard this I was a little confused.  Because not understanding most spiritual things, I of course starting thinking apples, bananas... really is a tomato a fruit?  Eventually I discovered Galatians 5:22-23, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."  So the fruit we bear isn't something we can hold in our hands or eat.  Our fruit is evidenced in how we react and respond to our world around us.  Let's take a closer look at Galatians 5: 16-26:

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.


22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.


25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

As Christians our ultimate desire is to live for Christ.  In order to do this we have to deny our self and our desires of the flesh.  As verse 17 states, desires of the flesh are at war with the desires of the Spirit and vice-versa, making it impossible to live for Christ if we are succumbing to worldly and flesh desires.  These are listed very nicely for us in verses 19-21, "sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies."  These are all a result of the fallen human world.

So how do we overcome them? We see in verses 22-23 how we are supposed to react, with "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control".  Is it possible to simply wake up one day with impure sexual desires gone, alcoholism defeated, all relationships restored, and contentment with what you have? No, no, no and... no.  We need Christ who was crucified for our sins, its through him we "have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (verse 24).  Meaning that we died with Christ to sin.  But we cannot overcome the flesh on our own, it will take a mighty act of God to truly change our hearts.

So what can we do?
1.) Pray.  We need to ask God to do the work and to make the changes of our hearts.
2.) Read.  Dig into scripture, learn more about our Savior Christ Jesus through whom all things are possible (Philipians 4:13).   
3.) Submit.  To Christ and to the church.  We Christians were not placed in this world to do things on our own.  In Christ, we have fellow believers we can turn to keep us accountable, for encouragement, and to share our lives.
4.) Repeat.  It is a never ending cycle of learning, praying and submitting.


In November of 2006 my life didn't completely turn around.  It was a very gradual shift which continues today.  There were sins in my life that were stronger to overcome than others.  I learned the hard way that the fruit ("love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control") isn't natural. I was like many who tried and tried to be a better person, it took awhile for me to realize all I need is Christ.  I needed to give up my sin to Him because he already paid the ultimate price, he took the wrath that I so deserve.  In giving up that control fully to Christ I was able to start seeing the fruit in my life.  Praise to our Father God in Heaven for his glorious grace!

The "elder brother" mentality

"What does it look like to live for 'the praise of his glory'?" I think one of the first things we need to address is, "Who are we living this life for?" When thinking of this I am reminded of the book The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller. In this book Keller discusses the Parable of the Prodigal Son from the book of Luke. Jesus tells his audience this parable about 2 brothers who in their own ways rebel against their father. For the sake of context, here is the whole parable starting in Luke 15:11:

11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ 20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

25 “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ 28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29 but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ 31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

Many times people just end at verse 24 by expressing how God graciously forgives and loves us no matter how sinful and undeserving we are. But this parable is teaching that there are 2 kinds of rebellion against our Father so stopping at verse 24 is a disservice to the audience.  Jesus' original audience contained many Pharisees who were the religious gurus at the time of Jesus' life and also were opposed to Jesus' teachings. In taking a closer look at the final verses (25-32) we see that the Pharisees would not have been appeased by this parable.

The elder son knew there was a party going on and when discovering what and who the party was for we see his true feelings in verse 28, "But he was angry and refused to go in." But the father came out and pleaded with his son to be in celebration and join in his joy because of his brother's return. But the elder son refuses in verse 29, "Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends."

Here are a few points that Keller observes in The Prodigal God.  First of all the elder son shows disrespect to the father as he states "Look," without acknowledging him as father. Second we see his rebellion by stating "I have served you and I never disobeyed,"and is saying what have I gotten in return?  The father's response is, "All that is mine is yours."  The first son is after his father's things but just simply asks for them.  The elder son we see is after his father's things as well but is obedient in order to earn them.  Neither son truly loves the father just the stuff his father can give.  There is so much more this parable offers (so check out the book) but this was the point I wanted to address: What are you after?  God or God's things?

I have to ask myself that a lot.  I find myself pleading with God that I have repented, I remain faithful, I'm a pastor's wife, I sing in praise team and help with youth group so I've earned my spot and deserve the grace that God provides.  But with this mentality I'm striving to earn the stuff God gives verses straining to know and love God for being God.  We get God, that is enough. Nothing we receive from God is a result of our efforts to be obedient.  It is a result of God's own will.

In the parable of the prodigal son the father is loving and gracious towards both of his rebellious sons.  We see the younger son's response of celebration but the story ends before the elder son can respond to his father's love.  What is our response?

I give praise and thanksgiving for the Lord our God who sees my rebellious heart and yet sent his Son to die on the cross in order for my rebellion to be forgiven!

"To the praise of his glorious grace"

My next question: What is the plan and purpose for our life? I'd like to go back to where this adventure all began in Ephesians, this time I'm looking at Ephesians 1:

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.


11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

"To the praise of his glory," this is our purpose. The phrase is repeated, meaning Paul is stressing the importance of this phrase.  In the original Greek language there was no upper or lower case lettering, no punctuation, no bold or italics; in order to stress certain points the authors would repeat words or phrases. I believe this is definitely the case with Ephesians 1:3-14. In verse 6 we see, "to the praise of his glorious grace," and then "to the praise of his glory," in verses 12 and 14. When trying to determine our purpose this verse stresses the importance of all things being for God's glory.

The other phrase we see approximately 8 times throughout this verse is, "In him" or "In Christ." "In him" we are chosen or predestined to be "holy and blameless" by being adopted as sons through his Son Jesus Christ. "In him" we are released from and forgiven of sins by his grace. "In Christ" we discover God's mystery plan as verse 10 states, "to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth."  He will accomplish this "in him" by sealing us with the Holy Spirit, "who is the guarantee of our inheritance."

So what do I think about this?  I'm filled with joy and peace, not because I live the "holy and blameless" life that is worthy to bring God glory but because through Christ I am presented as "holy and blameless".  This is cliche but I do have a past that I am not proud of.  I lived for my own satisfaction and my own glory by giving into temptation and living of this world.  But God revealed himself to me, he called me to repentance, he adopted me as his own and filled me with the Holy Spirit in order for my life to praise his glory.  My life isn't perfect.  I still have days where I want to live for me or I get stuck on worldly things, but God is faithful in reminding me in whom my faith needs to remain.  Through prayer and scripture my hope is that my heart continues to point towards Christ and all of his glory.

Our purpose, isn't really "ours" at all. Its God's purpose, God's plan. All things are done "in him" for "the praise of his glory". AMEN! Thanks to God our Father who works all things "to the praise of his glorious grace"!

"For I know the plans I have for you"

Its been awhile since my last blog. I don't think its ironic that my last post was titled "As we make plans, life happens". My 'plan' was to blog at least once every 1-2 weeks, but as I said life happens. Then I am reminded of Jeremiah 29:11.  Its a favorite verse to many. I actually have a bracelet with the words quoted,

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

The point of this post is to express my concern about the absence of context. Many times we hear a verse that stands out as encouraging and leave out the words that are before and after or what is known as context. The context is what gives us the meaning of the verse. Its very easy to read Jeremiah 29:11 and think God wants us to have the "good" life that we all dream to have, but when we read the context of chapter 29 we realize that perfect life is a few years off for the original audience. Jeremiah 29:1-23 states,

1 These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders of the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2 This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had departed from Jerusalem. 3 The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. It said: 4 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. 8 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, 9 for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the Lord.

10 “For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

15 “Because you have said, ‘The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,’ 16 thus says the Lord concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your kinsmen who did not go out with you into exile: 17 ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, behold, I am sending on them sword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like vile figs that are so rotten they cannot be eaten. 18 I will pursue them with sword, famine, and pestilence, hand will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, a terror, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them, 19 because they did not pay attention to my words, declares the Lord, that I persistently sent to you by my servants the prophets, but you would not listen, declares the Lord.’ 20 Hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles whom I sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon: 21 ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying a lie to you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall strike them down before your eyes. 22 Because of them this curse shall be used by all the exiles from Judah in Babylon: “The Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire,” 23 because they have done an outrageous thing in Israel, they have committed adultery with their neighbors' wives, and they have spoken in my name lying words that I did not command them. I am the one who knows, and I am witness, declares the Lord.’”

The people of Israel were exiled from Jerusalem by God. Verse 19 explains why they were sent away, "Because they did not pay attention to my words, declares the Lord, that I persistently sent to you by my servants the prophets, but you would not listen, declares the Lord."  God tells his people to make themselves at home in verses 5, "Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce." They are called to "multiply there, and do not decrease" by taking wives and having children in verse 6. God tells them find peace in Babylon in verse 7, "But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare." God is telling his people to get comfortable because his plan was to keep them in exile for 70 years. God's promise is found in verse 10-11, "For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." And of course when it comes to Scripture it doesn't just end there. We learn in verses 12-13 what it will take for God to fulfill his promise, "Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart." This is the call to all Christians to seek God full heartily, to pray earnestly with faith knowing that God keeps his promise. 

There is more in this Scripture that could be unwrapped but I think I have made my point as far as seeking the true meaning of a single verse.
Here's my last point I want to make looking at Jeremiah 29:11: God's promise is fulfilled in his Son Jesus Christ who was sent to be a sacrifice for our sins in order to bring God glory. Our welfare or peace is not found in worldly things but in relationship with Christ our Lord who is our only hope in a broken world. I thank God for his plan for his people to humble us through suffering, for the cross that will ultimately restore his kingdom and for his unending love and mercy he bestows daily. Praise to God our Father who is the almighty creator and 'planner' of his universe!

As we make plans, life happens...

The title of this post comes from our senior pastor, Chris, who said these words this past Sunday in light of the week our church had. On Tuesday morning, one of our younger members passed away at the age of 9. Young Raymond had a heart condition that was diagnosed when he was an infant. His parents were told he wouldn't live to his 1st birthday nor many birthdays following, but he made it 5 months past his 9th birthday. The funeral was scheduled for Saturday.

Our women's ministry team had planned to have a retreat this weekend which had to be canceled, again.  This was the 3rd time it had been scheduled.  I don't think it is any coincidence that the main subject and title of this particular Beth Moore study was Loving Well because once again the people in our church did just that.  They loved well by praying for the family, by bringing chips because Raymond was not a salad person, by making desserts, by setting up tables and serving food, by directing traffic and shuttling people to the building door.  The weekend quickly changed from a setting of learning to love well to actually having to love well and needless to say many others had to change their plans as well. 

All week I found myself quoting James 4 to fellow nurses at the hospital, to patient families regarding their special situations and when thinking about our women's ministry team.  James 4 says,

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life?  For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

We make plans.  We look to the future and say this day we will do this and that day we will do that.  But James is very clear, we do not know what tomorrow holds.  For Raymond's family, they were unsure when his last day would truely be his last.  For our women's team the question remains if this retreat will ever go as planned.  But our lives are so momentary, or as James states a mist that soon vanishes.  Just a couple weeks prior to Raymond's funeral we had the funeral of the eldest member of our church and for her those 95 years were as quick as the snap of a finger.  Whether we live to be 9 or 95 we do not know what God has instore for our lives.  That's why James states in verse 15, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."  When making plans or life decisions we need to remember that we are not in control of the final say but it is the will of the Lord that shall be done.  Praise to our soverign Lord whose will is to be done on earth as is it is Heaven.  

Who or what is your God?

I believe there is one Holy God who created the universe. One God who with a word said, "Let there be light," and there was light. I also find it difficult to keep our Mighty Creator at the forefront as the only god of my life. Our lives present us with opportunities to be very easily distracted by things that are much less Holy than God. In our culture, we have the internet at our finger tips that helps to fill longing desires of loneliness or lust. We turn to our spouses, friends, or kids to fill the aching void but expect perfection that we can't get from imperfect humans.

I'm looking at 1 Chronicles 16 as a reference that expresses the mightiness of God in comparison to the gods that we humans look to as a replacement for the Almighty.

25 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and he is to be held in awe above all gods.


26 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.


27 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and joy are in his place.

Idols are things we worship, meaning our time is consumed with admiring or exalting the thing that seems to dominate our heart and mind. So to expose our idols we can ask, what do we look to keep us happy and fulfilled?

Its a hard thing to admit but I know there are times when my husband is an idol of my life. And some would say that's okay, but I know its not. Its simply not fair to my spouse to hold him at such a high regard to fill my every need and desire while expecting perfection. I am married to an amazing man but he's still a man, he's human. "For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be held in awe above all gods (vs. 25)." God is worthy of awe and praise over any earthly thing or being. Even those we hold dearest to our hearts are not superior to the greatness that God deserves.

Psalm 96:5 states, "For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols." Think of what consumes your mind in a day on top of those we love. We hunger and thirst for perishable food or we anticipate the coming episode of our favorite TV show to be entertained. Our minds are consumed by things that are not worthy of our praise.

My husband has posed these questions (adapted from John Piper) in a recent sermon that I think are appropriate for this post when thinking about "What is your God?"

• Is there something I could have in Heaven that could make me happy forever if Jesus wasn’t there?
• Or is there something here on earth that if I found out wouldn’t be in heaven would I still want to go there?

These questions help to expose our idolatry, or our love for something more than God.  When we leave this world and are in the presence of our Almighty Creator we will see in full circle what 1 Chronicles is claiming in verse 27, "Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his place."  Our eartly idols cannot give us the splendor, majesty, strength or joy that is found only in our eternal King.  My prayer is that God exposes our idols and changes our hearts to be fully satisfied in Him alone.  All glory and praise to God our Father who radiates strength and joy from his heavenly throne!

What's in it for me?

In our culture we are self indulgent. We do things with the mindset of "what can I get out of this" or "what good is this going to do for me". So when asking "What does it mean to be a Christian", I'm sure some people ponder the same self indulgent question, "What's in it for me"?

There is a very simple answer that I struggled to wrap my head around. The answer: We get God. When this life ends we get to be in the presence of our Almighty Creator with the absence of pain, suffering, and tears. I do need to clarify that I didn't struggle with this answer because I wanted more, it was the complete opposite actually. I simply wanted nothing. A few times in my life I wanted to not exist, I wanted the absence of everything. The thought of eternal life was daunting. Thankfully God's mercy has saved me from those thoughts. The absence of everything was not the answer because the few times I wanted nothing it was the presence of something that actually ended my desire for nothingness.

Psalm 16 reminds me of the strength and courage we receive from God:

7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your a holy one see corruption.

11 You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

"I shall not be shaken... my flesh dwells secure," verse 8 and 9 of Psalm 16 rings in my head as I recall one of the nights I needed a verse such as this. I needed peace and comfort and there it was in the written word of God. The presence of God led to the absence of my fear.

So... "What's in in for me?" Psalm 16 gives us the answer in verse 11 "In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." With eternal life comes the presence of Jesus Christ, which simply should be enough. But because of His presence we also receive full joy and pleasure with the absence of all suffering. I praise the Lord for His Word which comforts in time of suffering and gives us insight to His kingdom.

Pointing the finger...

As Christians we are called to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ or what many call the "Good News". As a fairly new Christian my husband would say I am in the "cage stage"* the point where I feel as though what I hold to be true is the only way and I want everyone I come into contact with to know it and believe it.

With that said I want to reflect on Matthew 7:1-5

Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. (ESV)

I've been called a hypocrite before and was very offended. At the time it was probably rightfully fitting but now in this light, as I attempt to spread the gospel, my prayer is that I don't take that "hypocrite" title again.

For my second post I had originally planned to discuss what it means or looks like to be a Christian or follower of Christ. When reading through the scripture I stumbled upon Matthew and was convicted to address my own personal struggle with judging others. When thinking of how one is to live the Christian life I am very quick to point my finger and say someone else is wrong. But as Jesus says,

You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

I need to judge and examine my own life as a Christian. As I continue this process of defining my faith I am pointing the finger back at myself to help chisel out the hypocrisy in my life. My standard or measure of judgement is not my own, I did not create it, it is the written word of God.

Final Note:
Thankfully we humans are not the final judges of who lives and dies. I'm sure that those who I have wronged would have me condemned for eternity, I know because I once felt the same for those who wronged me. As James 4:12 states,

There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and destroy- But who are you to judge your neighbor?

We cannot save ourselves. We need the God of grace and mercy to be in control of our final judgement. Praise to our Lord and Savior for his judgements are fair and just.

*The cage stage is a term to jokingly describe how new found Calvinists react when they discover other believers don't share the same beliefs. They should be put in a cage until the initial excitement wears off. Unfortunately for you, the reader, my husband let me out of the cage to start a blog :-)

Where it started for me...

I was saved, or came to Christ in November of 2006. I believe that was the time when God removed the veil (2 Cor. 3:16) from my eyes in order to fully see his glory.

I had claimed to be Christian many years prior to that, I even directed children's choir in my home town church for 5 years. I went to church every Sunday, I was involved with the youth group but for me, at the time, church was just an extracurricular activity like cheer-leading and golf. I was "doing" Christianity but not "living" Christianity. I do want to talk about what being a Christian truly is but I'm going to save that for a later date. With this post I want to discuss the verse that had a great impact on my life as a new Christian.

And I'll just lay it out there:

Ephesians 2:1-10
Made Alive in Christ

1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

I don't remember how I came across this verse when I started digging into scripture, but when I did I couldn't get enough of it. After reading it over and over and writing it in different journals and on note cards I eventually had it memorized. Scripture is not always straight forward, sometimes it's very difficult to figure out what God is really trying to tell us. This is one verse I find to be very straight forward. My husband uses a 3 question method when discerning what scripture says: "What does this verse say about us?" "What does this verse say about God?" and "How should I respond?"

What Does Ephesians 2 say about us?

Take a closer look at verses 1-3

1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

We are dead in sin. We follow the ways of this Earthly world. We are like those who are disobedient. We are objects of wrath. The first time I understood these verses I was relieved. When I had accepted Christ and sought after his forgiveness I was struck with guilt because I thought to be a true follower of Christ he expected my personal slate to be completely clean: no lying, no cheating, no sexual activity. But Ephesians helps us to understand that we all fall short, "we all lived among them at one time". When we live in this world and of this world we are under the control of "the ruler of the kingdom of the air" or we know him better as Satan.

What does Ephesians 2 say about God?

4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

God is love. God is mercy. God is grace. God is what we need to overcome the "ruler of the kingdom of the air." "Even when we were dead in transgressions" God loved us, he showed grace and mercy on us. We are worthy of wrath but because of his love God sent his Son to live the sinless life and then to sacrifice it all not to simply wipe my "slate clean" but to replace my slate with Christ's spotless slate. God is kind and gentle when all we humans deserve is hell.

Finally, what does Ephesians say about how we are to respond, or what are we to do with this information?

Verses 8-10 will help finish this discussion.

8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

We are saved by grace. By God's love, mercy and grace we are saved. We must have faith which is also one of the many gifts we receive from God. We cannot earn his favor, there is nothing we can do that will impress the mighty God who created the entire universe.

I was dead in transgressions, I lived the ways of this world. I gave into the constant temptation that is dangled by the spirit of the disobedient. But I was awakened by God who revealed his love and grace; he had mercy on my life. I was saved by grace and given faith in order to boast in that faith, not by own doing but to boast in the One who gave me life. This does not make me perfect, my life is still challenged by the ways of our world but God has given me the defense to overcome the temptations provoked by Satan. Thanks be to God our Father who has revealed himself to me and has given me grace and love when I deserved wrath.