I can't believe it's been more than 1 year since my last post. All I can say is this past year has been hectic, busy, hard, crazy. When I mentioned this to a brother of mine to seek some kind of affirmation of how hard the year was, his reply was, "well from here on out, it's only gonna get harder." Not exactly the words I was looking for, but I guess the words I needed to hear. It really was a tough year, lots of ups and downs, often times more downs than up if that makes sense. Somehow the prophetic words of my brother are playing out, life is really is only getting tougher. More things to do, more places to go to, more responsibilities, hustle, bustle, go go go. One thing I really needed was a break, not only a physical break but a mental break, I needed R-E-S-T. Remember Jerry, God rested on the 7th day to set an example for you. Rest. Such a foreign concept when school is in session. Even now that I'm out on "break" it's easy to get back in the go-mode.
This past weekend I was able to attend a youth retreat which I haven't attended for a while. Something inside of me told me to go. So at the last minute, the Sunday before the retreat, I picked up a pen and signed my name up on the "attending" list and registered *spontaneity points*. Once I arrived, I couldn't help but be in awe of the scenery around me. Every corner of the camp ground showcased God's creation in a brilliant manner. I couldn't help but sing a verse of the familiar song:
"When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art."
On day 1 of the retreat, I was able to attend a workshop and boy I was blown away. The task given to the attendees was to go out onto the campgrounds pick a random place and just rest, mediate and/or pray. But this idea of rest stood out to me. Had I ever done some serious resting? What was it? How do I even do it? So I went off, Bible, notebook and pen in hand. I found a playground. As I sat down on a bench, I stared up at the canopy of trees. Rest. I started singing the familiar song mentioned above. Rest Jerry, think about resting. I see trees, lots of trees, swaying, leaves scattering the sunlight. They're resting. But they're moving with the wind, but they're at rest. Long branches reaching up towards the heavens, more importantly, reaching up towards the sun that gives them the energy to work. As they reach towards the sun they grow more towards the sun, they bear fruit, and they are able to move as the wind blows them. I'm bored. I get up off the bench and walk towards the sound of rushing water. Rumbling water. I see a stream. I walk towards a bridge and stand on the bridge, staring into the tumbling water that is passing over the stream bed full of rocks of all shapes and sizes. Over to the side of the stream I see big rocks, at rest. Not moving, but being changed ever so slowly. The water shaping each rock, smoothing out its rough edges as the rock sits at rest by the stream.
I'd never realized how much gets done while objects rest. Especially in the case of people taking time to resting by meditating on the Word, or praying. Time devoted to resting is not a time of idleness where nothing gets done but it's almost like those trees, resting, reaching up towards the sun, and as a consequence we start growing, maturing, being able to move according to the direction the Spirit is leading. Those rocks, resting by the stream side, being changed by the rushing water. In that moment, I realized I had seen a glimpse of what real rest could do and I realized I needed more of it. My resting times shouldn't consist solely of sitting down to watch an episode of Chopped but having a time where I can stretch out my hands towards the Son and as a result, grow, mature, bear fruit. One things for sure, those changes may indeed come as slowly as the rocks by the stream but they will come surely.
Lord, help me to have the discipline rest more.
"Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he
is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My
salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for
God is our refuge." Psalm 62:5-8
Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:5-8
Showing posts with label Encouragement and Advice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Encouragement and Advice. Show all posts
Friday, May 30, 2014
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Friday, February 22, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Sunday, December 23, 2012
"Bad habits are like a comfortable bed, easy to get into, but hard to get out of."
So, it's almost Christmas. Which means I'm on winter break. For the most part, my family doesn't go all out for Christmas. We usually put up lights outside and I'm sitting here staring at a tiny lit up Christmas tree on our window sill and that's about the extent of our Christmas celebration. We do get each other presents...sometimes....and I know better than to ask for presents because the last time I did, I ended up getting a lamp....haha true story. But luckily it was a very nice lamp given to me out of love and it currently sits on a desk in my room- the perfect accent piece. <--that's a little bit of the interior designer in me coming out. The only other thing other than gift giving is Christmas gives me the perfect excuse to eat cookies like a monster. Have I shared too much? I think so.
I'm on winter break now. Reflecting back, this past semester was a roller coaster ride. I felt like I went from 0 to 60 in the amount of exams and material to study. With each exam the amount of time to study for it felt shorter and shorter. Let's just say I'm glad this semester is over with. I'll say this year I am learning how to study. As this semester started I had ventured my way into 1 Chronicles. During this time, I was able to read through the life of David and his victories and shortcomings. He thought big and had big aspirations- 1 Chronicles 17:1 being just one out of many examples. Dwelling upon that idea of shortcomings, One thing that I started praying for was humility and God answered that prayer real quickly. I haven't even reached scratched the surface of true humility but God sure did show me in a matter of a weeks, throughout the course of one semester actually just how weak I am and just how BIG He is. One of my friends blogged a couple months ago about the same prayer request for humility he had and how God answered in a big way. One thing he wrote was he learned that "when you ask God to do something be ready for it to happen." Although for my friend, humility was a lesson learned while being on crutches, God decided to take me on a ride down Weakness Avenue. In the following weeks after that prayer, I was constantly reminded of my weaknesses and it was constant. Whether it was not doing well in school or realizing a lack of discipline in waking up early to study I realized how I constantly fell short of goals I set for myself. let alone how far short I fell while comparing myself to the God's standards If there's one thing that would keep me humble, it's that. I mean it's granted that no one is perfect but every so often I need the reminder that I had to be made perfect in the sight of God through the work of Christ. It's so easy for me to be critical of others but when God started reminding me of the "plank in my own eye" I'm realizing that how far short I fall when it comes to following even my own advice. So this post is not like my others in where I remind myself of what God has been telling me through His word, but it's more about what God has been teaching me through life these past weeks. One song that constantly replayed in my mind the weeks leading up to and following my request to God to show me His heart of humility was What Do I know of Holy by Addison Road. The words are so true, I really don't know anything about God or His holiness. I have only stood on the shore of the sea that He made let alone learn the depths of His love. So I know during this winter break I know God will continue to remind me of how weak I am and how frail my life really is to think I can figure it all out on my own. Because when things go wrong, I come running back to God knowing He is the only one that can fix it. The other day I hurt my back and although I found it comical that the words of Paul resounded in my head, "there was given me a thorn in the flesh" but as that phrase kept resonating in my head, I realized how true the rest of that chapter is.
Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
- 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
This past semester, I fell asleep early and woke up late, I missed important quizzes, I did poorly on exams after studying hard (or so I thought)...there were a great number of other weaknesses I discovered which all served as instruments in letting me learn just slightly how big God really is. Even after messing up badly in school this semester, God truly made a miracle for me when I brought my weaknesses to Him and asked Him to be my strength and carry me through. I honestly just don't understand what God would see in a piece of dust to help me dig myself out of the hole I so often put myself into. It's really these moments when I see how weak I am that I realize who exactly God is and how big He is. So yeah, my last post of the year and it's basically me saying I don't know squat about anything except that God is big. How big exactly? I hope to learn more about that in the coming year.
A few sidebars of non-pharmacy related lessons learned on campus:
1. For a few months after arriving early most mornings at my school's cafeteria, I started thanking to a cleaning lady. I had hoped that I would be able to encourage her by letting her know that what she does is noticed and appreciated. I also started praying that God would open up an opportunity for me to share the Gospel to her. And so one morning as I arrived early, I proceeded to mention what God had been teaching me to her and she exclaimed, "Oh! My husband and I read a verse about that at our Bible study last week!" I was stunned. (Although I probably shouldn't have been) But God certainly taught me that if I take the time out to just talk to people, those people may even serve as sources of encouragement to me in a school where a majority aren't believers. It was still pretty cool, expecting to have to search for a way to share the good news of Christ while this lady already believed it! I met a new sister in Christ who encourages me and is the first person I see on campus every morning!
2. Tell the Truth.
As I stated earlier, this semester I started to learn all about my weaknesses. One of those said weaknesses caused me to actually contemplate lying to the teacher about a situation I had gotten myself into in the hopes of getting a quick fix. The major battle I had to face was deciding to fess up and admit to my weakness or lie about it and cover it all up. But God was faithful in reminding me every moment I contemplated sinning of what happened when David tried to cover up his own mistakes with lies and how it snowballed into many more sins. I felt like I was in a free-fall after deciding to tell the truth about the situation but God reminded me to obey Him no matter what the cost and trust Him with the consequences. After I saw how beautifully He delivered me when I told the truth, I realized how silly it was of me to even consider lying about it in the first place- weakness noted Jerry, so when stuck in a rut, even if you yourself created the rut, it's better to just be honest.
This year has been a roller coaster ride but to sum it up in a few lines:
I guess I thought that I had figured You out
I knew all the stories and I learned to talk about
How You were mighty to save
Those were only empty words on a page
Then I caught a glimpse of who You might be
The slightest hint of You brought me down to my knees.
What do I know of You
Who spoke me into motion?
Where have I even stood
But the shore along Your ocean?
Are You fire? Are You fury?
Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?
What do I know? What do I know of Holy?
Friday, September 21, 2012
You Can Lead A Horse To Water But.............
1) "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink."
2) "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.....but you give him salt to make him thirsty!"
For the past couple of weeks, I have been thinking a lot about this quote and for the past couple of weeks, I have also been getting bombarded with reoccurring thoughts about salt. I read the second quote a couple months ago and a few weeks later, I heard a message at a wedding about salt and just how important salt is in life whether it be the perfect spice to add to food or a great preservative or a valuable tool for trade and covenant making (Numbers 18:19). The importance of salt isn't too hard to understand and it has been important even in Old Testament times as seen in God's first instructions on how to prepare certain offerings whether it did or did not included salt. (Leviticus 2:13, Ezekiel 43:24 etc.) Basically salt, though its small and common, is truly fascinating. I'm sure a study of salt's history and uses wouldn't be a short one. The Bible itself has MANY references to salt...and I mean many. You can google something like "bible verses with salt" and you'll see the list- for such a small thing, it's pretty important.
I have always often just heard the first version of the quote which says, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink." And I'll admit, I've thought of this quote in relation to evangelism before...and it is a bit discouraging. Sometimes one can feel like there is no point in continually leading the horse to water if he/she isn't gonna drink but this is where the Wisdom of God is revealed in my foolishness!
In Matthew 5:13, God says "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men."
Here is where I was reminded of the second version of the quote: "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.....but you give him salt to make him thirsty!"
My life is supposed to be that salt that causes the world to thirst for God- a relationship with Him and a knowledge of Him.
Being salt doesn't mean I can make or should make someone drink. That was never the point. My job is simply to be salt!....To add salt to that person's every day life so that he/she would THIRST for God! It sounds so simple yet how easily I forget this.
Call me a fanciful thinker but sometimes I wonder if God had this quote in mind when saying that the believers were to be the salt of the world. It's very true that you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink- and that's okay because that's not my job! I wanna be salty. (<-- that's my lame pun on the phrase "salty".) I'm also learning that being salt really requires a step of faith in trusting God to carry out HIS purpose. It's not about how salty I am, it's about how good God is.
Just give the people salt so the people will THIRST for LIVING water! I've heard the first quote many times without the additional ending and I gotta say the addition, though it is so simple, has made a great difference. Isn't God's wisdom so marvelous that He (purposefully and knowingly) uses simple things like salt as a picture of the believer's role in the world?
"Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" 1 Corinthians 1:20
"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 1 Corinthians 1:18
2) "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.....but you give him salt to make him thirsty!"
For the past couple of weeks, I have been thinking a lot about this quote and for the past couple of weeks, I have also been getting bombarded with reoccurring thoughts about salt. I read the second quote a couple months ago and a few weeks later, I heard a message at a wedding about salt and just how important salt is in life whether it be the perfect spice to add to food or a great preservative or a valuable tool for trade and covenant making (Numbers 18:19). The importance of salt isn't too hard to understand and it has been important even in Old Testament times as seen in God's first instructions on how to prepare certain offerings whether it did or did not included salt. (Leviticus 2:13, Ezekiel 43:24 etc.) Basically salt, though its small and common, is truly fascinating. I'm sure a study of salt's history and uses wouldn't be a short one. The Bible itself has MANY references to salt...and I mean many. You can google something like "bible verses with salt" and you'll see the list- for such a small thing, it's pretty important.
I have always often just heard the first version of the quote which says, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink." And I'll admit, I've thought of this quote in relation to evangelism before...and it is a bit discouraging. Sometimes one can feel like there is no point in continually leading the horse to water if he/she isn't gonna drink but this is where the Wisdom of God is revealed in my foolishness!
In Matthew 5:13, God says "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men."
Here is where I was reminded of the second version of the quote: "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.....but you give him salt to make him thirsty!"
My life is supposed to be that salt that causes the world to thirst for God- a relationship with Him and a knowledge of Him.
Being salt doesn't mean I can make or should make someone drink. That was never the point. My job is simply to be salt!....To add salt to that person's every day life so that he/she would THIRST for God! It sounds so simple yet how easily I forget this.
Call me a fanciful thinker but sometimes I wonder if God had this quote in mind when saying that the believers were to be the salt of the world. It's very true that you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink- and that's okay because that's not my job! I wanna be salty. (<-- that's my lame pun on the phrase "salty".) I'm also learning that being salt really requires a step of faith in trusting God to carry out HIS purpose. It's not about how salty I am, it's about how good God is.
Just give the people salt so the people will THIRST for LIVING water! I've heard the first quote many times without the additional ending and I gotta say the addition, though it is so simple, has made a great difference. Isn't God's wisdom so marvelous that He (purposefully and knowingly) uses simple things like salt as a picture of the believer's role in the world?
"Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" 1 Corinthians 1:20
"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 1 Corinthians 1:18
Friday, August 03, 2012
Gotta roll up the sleeves and get a little dirty
Thunderstorms used to scare me. I would be terrified of the loud noise and hope that when I came up out of the covers the noise would be gone. Right now as I look outside my living room window, the sun is brightly shining in all its glory. But I also see rain drops falling and I hear thunder... but its completely sunny outside! How pretty.
I've been trying to gather all the things floating around in my head from messages heard within the past month and Bible verses or chapters read from certain books to make some kinda sense out of them. Sometimes there's just so much going on in my head I need a couple weeks to figure out exactly what I've been reading or studying. Over the past month and a half, I've walked into the book of Jeremiah in the Bible. In the midst of this I've also placed aside my usual reading book and started a separate book titled One Thing You Can't Do In Heaven by Mark Cahill (which I highly recommend). I feel like I have reading ADHD! I don't usually put aside one book to start another but for some reason I did this time. Throw into it the mix of messages I heard at a Christian conference in July and it all starts to get a little confusing and a bit jumbled up in my mind, well, until I started thinking about it all. These past couple of weeks following the conference, I've been thinking about these questions that someone posed: "What if Jesus really meant what He said? What if God is serious about what He says in the Bible? And what are we gonna do about it?" Now of course, the obvious answer is certainly God is very serious about every single word He authored in His Word, the Bible!! But even knowing that, I know I don't live as if I know this oh-so-obvious truth.
Now with constantly having that in the back of my mind, I've been reading Jeremiah. I've come across this repetitive situation (literally from chapters 34 to 47 so far) between God and the people of Judah. God tells them that if they do a certain thing, there will be bad consequences such as being conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar. But the people of Judah, knowing this obvious truth spoken from the mouth of God himself through the prophet Jeremiah, refuse to believe God's words and instead, they regard God's truth as a lie. They do exactly what God told them would bring them bad consequences (like being conquered) and then they blame God for the consequences! Reading this has made me really think about the fact that- what God says He will do, He does.
When God says He's going to do something, He does it!
Now with constantly having that in the back of my mind, I've been reading the book One Thing You Can't Do In Heaven. Mark goes through various practical ways to witness and actually do what we Christians are commanded to do-spread the Good News! The way he uses real life witnessing examples are very encouraging to someone like me who rarely witnesses to strangers. I mean if what God means what He says about His ability to make us fishers of men, then I should be letting out my net for a catch right? Sometimes reading Cahill's encounters make me wonder why I am so timid when it comes to sharing my faith. Even last week at work a coworker asked me about my belief on a certain faith based issue and I felt timid sharing my Christian view fearing rejection or being rebutted so hard I wouldn't be able to answer. But I was really being scared of nothing-I feared a lie the devil uses constantly to keep us Christians afraid and shy away from boldly stating what God says as truth. But something Cahill said about witnessing made me think in a way that I never did before:
[start of excerpt from Cahill's book]
"What are the only three possible things that can happen when we share our faith?
1) the person can accept Jesus Christ
2) the person can reject Jesus Christ
3) we can plant a seed
After we talked about these possibilities we came up with a chart that looked like this:
We determined that accepting Jesus was a good situation, planting a seed was a good situation and someone rejecting Jesus was a bad situation. Another way to look at it was that accepting Jesus was a winning situation, planting a seed was a winning situation and being rejected was a losing situation. We concluded that 66% of the time that we share our faith it is a winning situation. Aren't those pretty good odds? Two-thirds of the time that we share our faith, we literally can't lose! But the next day, God spoke to my heart like never before. I was reading 1 Peter 4:14 which says, "If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye: On their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified." Just think about that for a moment. If we ever got rejected in the name of Jesus, we will be blessed and the glory of God will rest upon us. If you could have the glory of God shine in your life and be reflected onto others, would you want that? We all would as much as possible! One way that will happen is if we are rejected in the name of Jesus. God wasn't done with me yet. Luke 6:22-23 says, "Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in Heaven: for in the like manner did their forefathers unto the prophets." After God showed me these two verses, I realized I had been mistaken about my previous chart. I'd said we had a 66% chance of a winning situation when we share our faith. Now that we know those two verses, let's see how the chart changes,
." [end excerpt from the book]
Wow right??! Every time I share my faith, it's a winning situation! I never thought about it like that before.
I've actually never thought this intensely on these three things before: the fact that God regards what He says in His Word seriously (things heard from conference) so I should do the same also. I'm also thinking about the fact that when God says He will do something, He does it (things seen in book of Jeremiah). I'm also considering the things God has been convicting my heart of as I've been reading Cahill's book.
As I got ready this morning to go for a hair cut appointment, I decided to bring my One Thing You Can't Do In Heaven book along with me to read while I got my hair cut. While driving in the car, I prayed that God would give me a spirit of courage and not timidity (2 Timothy 1:7) to either place tracts on the cars parked in the parking lot of the mall or even be able to bodly share Christ in a conversation with the hairstylist who would cut my hair. I remember thinking in my head, Lord I'm not really sure how I would even start a conversation about you...I don't want her to be freaked out if the first thing I asked her when I sat down in the chair was, "If God-forbid you were to die today, where do you think you would be?" So God, it would be pretty cool if the hair lady started a conversation with me about my book, that would actually give me a way to talk about you and share my faith. As I arrived in the parking lot five minutes late to my hair cutting appointment, I ran from my car to the mall, past all the other cars that I had hoped to put tracts on. I sat down in the waiting area where I saw the hair dresser working on another client. So I thought why not read my book? Ten minutes later, a young woman came up to me and told me she would be washing my hair today. I remember praying God, help me. So I followed her to the chair and sat down with my purse and book in hand. We talked about hair products and how the business for the day was going. Before I knew it, the wash was done and she said another lady would be over to cut my hair. I remember thinking, well way to blow it Jerry, you didn't say a word to her! The hairstylist came over and asked me what I wanted done to my hair. So I focused my attention the next couple of minutes on explaining to her exactly what I wanted done to my hairs. She started separating my hair and started cutting and I resumed my attention to reading more of my book. Moments later...
"So uh, what kinda book ya reading there? Any good stuff in there??"
I was stunned and as I had a smile on my face I lost words for a second while praying Oh dear God please help me...and oh boy, Lord, are you good!
I replied, "It's a great book! It's making me think a lot about heaven. Especially after the whole Colorado incident- crazy right?"
She agreed "I know right, even scarier thinking how that could happen just about anywhere." After looking for a way to start, I decided to take the dive, so I asked, "Hey, lemme ask you something, let's say you and I were in that theater that night, and if we weren't one of the survivors, where do you think you would be?" She stopped to think for a while and said, "Hmm, well I don't really believe in a hell but I would hope I would be somewhere like heaven!" So I asked her, well you believe in God right? She replied, "Yes, I mean did you see the huge cross tattooed on my arm? And I went to catholic school when I was younger but with all the different religions out there like Catholicism and Christianity even though they're similar they're very different, so how can ya really know which one is right?" I remember thinking wow God, you're really opening doors here! So I asked her, "Well, let's say you weren't a survivor and now you're facing God and he's asking you, "Why should I let you into my heaven?" That made her think for a while and she replied, "well I would hope to say I've done the best with the life I was given." So I asked her if she was familiar with the Ten Commandments and she said "ofcourse!" So I asked her, well let's see if by God's standards if you and I would be good enough to get into heaven. "Have you ever lied?"
"Well, yeah of course I have." She replied.
So I asked, "Well what does that make you and me?"
"Sinners" She said
"Well, let's not go that far, we're liars right?" I said
"Yeah, we're liars" She replied.
"Well have you ever stolen, even if it's a small pen?"
She replied, "Well yeah! TD bank has some awesome pens and I take a couple every time I go in there!" We laughed and I got back to the next question, "Jesus said that if we lust after a person in our hearts we are committing adultery with them, have you ever lusted after a person?"
She replied, "Yeah of course I have done that, who hasn't!"
So I said, "Well, by you and I right now by our own...(here is where I lost the right word and she actually finished the sentence for me!)
"By our own admission...." she said
I replied, "Yeah! By our own admission, we just said we're lying, thieving, adulterers. Now when God looks at you after you die where do you think you'll be going?" She stopped cutting my hair and said, "Wow, I guess I wouldn't have much to say."
We had a wonderful conversation about what the Lord did for the both of us on the cross of Calvary 2000 years ago when Christ divided history! (B.C. and A.D hehe) I could tell she was really listening because every once in a while I would lose my train of thought and she would remind me what I was saying! After my hair cut, I handed the her a tract and the lady said she really enjoyed the conversation! She had even told me that her roommate in college was a believer who had been converted from being a Jehovah's witness and she remembers her roommate not being persuaded to do wrong things! What a great testimony her roommate left even before I was able to mention Christ to her!! I'm not sure what she will do with the words that were spoken to her but I am comforted by knowing that whatever happens, seeds have been planted- it is a winning situation!
Boy, what a wake up call. I'm reminded to stop sitting around and to roll up my sleeves and get in the ring. I remember thinking wow that was truly something! But I shouldn't have been surprised- it really was proof that God is serious about His word and when God says He'll do something, He really does it! He supplied me with words and an opportunity today to do what I should be seeking to do everyday. Praise God! He really backs up His Words with His mighty deeds!
I've been trying to gather all the things floating around in my head from messages heard within the past month and Bible verses or chapters read from certain books to make some kinda sense out of them. Sometimes there's just so much going on in my head I need a couple weeks to figure out exactly what I've been reading or studying. Over the past month and a half, I've walked into the book of Jeremiah in the Bible. In the midst of this I've also placed aside my usual reading book and started a separate book titled One Thing You Can't Do In Heaven by Mark Cahill (which I highly recommend). I feel like I have reading ADHD! I don't usually put aside one book to start another but for some reason I did this time. Throw into it the mix of messages I heard at a Christian conference in July and it all starts to get a little confusing and a bit jumbled up in my mind, well, until I started thinking about it all. These past couple of weeks following the conference, I've been thinking about these questions that someone posed: "What if Jesus really meant what He said? What if God is serious about what He says in the Bible? And what are we gonna do about it?" Now of course, the obvious answer is certainly God is very serious about every single word He authored in His Word, the Bible!! But even knowing that, I know I don't live as if I know this oh-so-obvious truth.
Now with constantly having that in the back of my mind, I've been reading Jeremiah. I've come across this repetitive situation (literally from chapters 34 to 47 so far) between God and the people of Judah. God tells them that if they do a certain thing, there will be bad consequences such as being conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar. But the people of Judah, knowing this obvious truth spoken from the mouth of God himself through the prophet Jeremiah, refuse to believe God's words and instead, they regard God's truth as a lie. They do exactly what God told them would bring them bad consequences (like being conquered) and then they blame God for the consequences! Reading this has made me really think about the fact that- what God says He will do, He does.
When God says He's going to do something, He does it!
Now with constantly having that in the back of my mind, I've been reading the book One Thing You Can't Do In Heaven. Mark goes through various practical ways to witness and actually do what we Christians are commanded to do-spread the Good News! The way he uses real life witnessing examples are very encouraging to someone like me who rarely witnesses to strangers. I mean if what God means what He says about His ability to make us fishers of men, then I should be letting out my net for a catch right? Sometimes reading Cahill's encounters make me wonder why I am so timid when it comes to sharing my faith. Even last week at work a coworker asked me about my belief on a certain faith based issue and I felt timid sharing my Christian view fearing rejection or being rebutted so hard I wouldn't be able to answer. But I was really being scared of nothing-I feared a lie the devil uses constantly to keep us Christians afraid and shy away from boldly stating what God says as truth. But something Cahill said about witnessing made me think in a way that I never did before:
[start of excerpt from Cahill's book]
"What are the only three possible things that can happen when we share our faith?
1) the person can accept Jesus Christ
2) the person can reject Jesus Christ
3) we can plant a seed
After we talked about these possibilities we came up with a chart that looked like this:
ACCEPT
|
PLANT SEED
|
REJECT
|
Good
|
Good
|
Bad
|
Winning
|
Winning
|
Losing
|
ACCEPT
|
PLANT SEED
|
REJECT
|
Good
|
Good
|
Good
|
Winning
|
Winning
|
Winning
|
Wow right??! Every time I share my faith, it's a winning situation! I never thought about it like that before.
I've actually never thought this intensely on these three things before: the fact that God regards what He says in His Word seriously (things heard from conference) so I should do the same also. I'm also thinking about the fact that when God says He will do something, He does it (things seen in book of Jeremiah). I'm also considering the things God has been convicting my heart of as I've been reading Cahill's book.
As I got ready this morning to go for a hair cut appointment, I decided to bring my One Thing You Can't Do In Heaven book along with me to read while I got my hair cut. While driving in the car, I prayed that God would give me a spirit of courage and not timidity (2 Timothy 1:7) to either place tracts on the cars parked in the parking lot of the mall or even be able to bodly share Christ in a conversation with the hairstylist who would cut my hair. I remember thinking in my head, Lord I'm not really sure how I would even start a conversation about you...I don't want her to be freaked out if the first thing I asked her when I sat down in the chair was, "If God-forbid you were to die today, where do you think you would be?" So God, it would be pretty cool if the hair lady started a conversation with me about my book, that would actually give me a way to talk about you and share my faith. As I arrived in the parking lot five minutes late to my hair cutting appointment, I ran from my car to the mall, past all the other cars that I had hoped to put tracts on. I sat down in the waiting area where I saw the hair dresser working on another client. So I thought why not read my book? Ten minutes later, a young woman came up to me and told me she would be washing my hair today. I remember praying God, help me. So I followed her to the chair and sat down with my purse and book in hand. We talked about hair products and how the business for the day was going. Before I knew it, the wash was done and she said another lady would be over to cut my hair. I remember thinking, well way to blow it Jerry, you didn't say a word to her! The hairstylist came over and asked me what I wanted done to my hair. So I focused my attention the next couple of minutes on explaining to her exactly what I wanted done to my hairs. She started separating my hair and started cutting and I resumed my attention to reading more of my book. Moments later...
"So uh, what kinda book ya reading there? Any good stuff in there??"
I was stunned and as I had a smile on my face I lost words for a second while praying Oh dear God please help me...and oh boy, Lord, are you good!
I replied, "It's a great book! It's making me think a lot about heaven. Especially after the whole Colorado incident- crazy right?"
She agreed "I know right, even scarier thinking how that could happen just about anywhere." After looking for a way to start, I decided to take the dive, so I asked, "Hey, lemme ask you something, let's say you and I were in that theater that night, and if we weren't one of the survivors, where do you think you would be?" She stopped to think for a while and said, "Hmm, well I don't really believe in a hell but I would hope I would be somewhere like heaven!" So I asked her, well you believe in God right? She replied, "Yes, I mean did you see the huge cross tattooed on my arm? And I went to catholic school when I was younger but with all the different religions out there like Catholicism and Christianity even though they're similar they're very different, so how can ya really know which one is right?" I remember thinking wow God, you're really opening doors here! So I asked her, "Well, let's say you weren't a survivor and now you're facing God and he's asking you, "Why should I let you into my heaven?" That made her think for a while and she replied, "well I would hope to say I've done the best with the life I was given." So I asked her if she was familiar with the Ten Commandments and she said "ofcourse!" So I asked her, well let's see if by God's standards if you and I would be good enough to get into heaven. "Have you ever lied?"
"Well, yeah of course I have." She replied.
So I asked, "Well what does that make you and me?"
"Sinners" She said
"Well, let's not go that far, we're liars right?" I said
"Yeah, we're liars" She replied.
"Well have you ever stolen, even if it's a small pen?"
She replied, "Well yeah! TD bank has some awesome pens and I take a couple every time I go in there!" We laughed and I got back to the next question, "Jesus said that if we lust after a person in our hearts we are committing adultery with them, have you ever lusted after a person?"
She replied, "Yeah of course I have done that, who hasn't!"
So I said, "Well, by you and I right now by our own...(here is where I lost the right word and she actually finished the sentence for me!)
"By our own admission...." she said
I replied, "Yeah! By our own admission, we just said we're lying, thieving, adulterers. Now when God looks at you after you die where do you think you'll be going?" She stopped cutting my hair and said, "Wow, I guess I wouldn't have much to say."
We had a wonderful conversation about what the Lord did for the both of us on the cross of Calvary 2000 years ago when Christ divided history! (B.C. and A.D hehe) I could tell she was really listening because every once in a while I would lose my train of thought and she would remind me what I was saying! After my hair cut, I handed the her a tract and the lady said she really enjoyed the conversation! She had even told me that her roommate in college was a believer who had been converted from being a Jehovah's witness and she remembers her roommate not being persuaded to do wrong things! What a great testimony her roommate left even before I was able to mention Christ to her!! I'm not sure what she will do with the words that were spoken to her but I am comforted by knowing that whatever happens, seeds have been planted- it is a winning situation!
Boy, what a wake up call. I'm reminded to stop sitting around and to roll up my sleeves and get in the ring. I remember thinking wow that was truly something! But I shouldn't have been surprised- it really was proof that God is serious about His word and when God says He'll do something, He really does it! He supplied me with words and an opportunity today to do what I should be seeking to do everyday. Praise God! He really backs up His Words with His mighty deeds!
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
When Christianity becomes hereditary...
Over the past few weeks I've made great leaps in my effort in reading the Bible chronologically or at best according to a reading plan I found. Sadly, these great leaps only came in the form of covering much ground but not really understanding or comprehending what I was reading...(books like Amos, Obadiah, or Micah). It didn't really even help that these books were at best four or five chapters long...so when I say that I've made great leaps, I've really made no leaps at all- not even large steps. I seemed to have walked fast so long in the woods through these books that when I look back, I can't even see any of my footprints. I definitely have to take a walk through those books again. But nonetheless, I am pressing onward, and my walk has landed me in the book of Isaiah.
My heart pained as I read this account of a people who God heroically brought out, ransomed, healed, and loved but had no reverence, love or even appreciation towards God. As I continued reading, I noticed that this pain I felt was not solely from the passage but also from the realization that this same problem is present today- this wasn't just a phenomenon locked away in the ancient pages of Isaiah. Ironically (or not so ironically), what I was reading was exactly what had been true in my own life.
These Israelites were second or third generation Isrealites...people of God. Look what the Lord says of them:
2 Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth!
For the LORD has spoken:
“I reared children and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against me.
3 The ox knows its master,
the donkey its owner’s manger,
but Israel does not know,
my people do not understand.”
While reading, I was reminded of the charge against the church in Ephesis
"But I have this against you, that you have left your first love." (Revelation 2:4)
The people of Isreal had lost their first love, and look what resulted-
I remember a couple years ago, while thinking in retrospect upon many things, there was one idea that stuck out like a sore thumb (and thankfully may I add) was the thought of WHY. Why did the Isrealites act this way? Why did they have the audacity to value these things so lightly? Wait, Why have I also acted this way for so long?
I remember thinking, why. Sadly, (and yet by God's grace I can say thankfully) I asked myself, why am I going to church every week? Why am I reminded to read the bible every day? What could possibly be so important that I have to remember these verses? And sadly, I hear the hearts of many asking the same questions-WHY do we do the things we do so routinely?
I remember asking the same questions many "second generation church goers" may ask: Why I was doing it? Was I a Christian simply because my parents told me that I must go to church? Was I a Christian because I had known in my head about what Jesus did for me?
I remember stopping one night and just thinking it through. How is it that so many people around me were enthusiastic about praying and singing while I just didn't get it? Had they heard a different story than what I'd heard? Did they hear it longer?
Revelation 2:4 hit me and it hit me hard. What was common about who they all loved? I looked at Abraham's life, who did he love? He certainly loved God more than his own son. Who did Joseph love? He certainly loved the LORD more than a woman or any earthly position.
I believe that finding the spark in a story that you've heard over and over is very hard but that's sometimes what happens when Christianity becomes hereditary....simply passed on...handed down the family line to the next generation... to carry on...pick up the reigns- and it surprises me how widely spread this detrimental misconception is! The thought that "oh my kid's know I am Christian so they will automatically just follow after." Well I guess it shouldn't be too surprising as even the children of Israel had the same problem. The rules about the sacrifices and feasts had been simply passed down for them to carry out- it wasn't a reality in their lives- they felt no need for it or for God. But what I came to realize as someone who grew up hearing the gospel, and I hope will help you realize, is that until or unless you want to love this God who is reaching out to you, Christianity will be just a story that is told and retold in your head.
Don't take my word for it, let's look at what God says in that same passage in Isaiah:
16 Wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
stop doing wrong.
17 Learn to do right; seek justice. - Isaiah 1:16 and the beginning of 17.
How can someone make themselves clean unless they determine to do so? and WHY (the oh so important question) would someone determine to wash themselves? Only after he has determined that he is in need of cleaning of course- or in easier terms, someone will consciously determine to make themselves clean when they realize they are dirty. But this question goes deeper, WHY would someone take their evil deeds out of the Lord's sight? Because they know it is something He hates. Who that is trying to love someone will want to do what that person hates? Sometimes, the only way to make something not a motion or routine is to rediscover it, to renew a love for it.
Remember when I said reading through books like Amos and Micah etc. were hard to reflect upon since I couldn't understand much? Well it's hard to believe... but one thing did stick- God is speaking to His beloved children of Isreal and it's found in the book of Micah:
"Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?"- Amos 3:3
Let me end off by reminding you of when "AN EXPERT IN THE LAW" spoke up to ask Jesus something. It is seen in Luke 10:
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[c]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[d]”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
We may sometimes think we are experts at something when hearing it constantly and repeatedly but as the Bible so often reminds us and warns us, even experts can be blinded by mere head knowledge- in order to truly act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God, one must want to love Him or rediscover their first love for Him.
My heart pained as I read this account of a people who God heroically brought out, ransomed, healed, and loved but had no reverence, love or even appreciation towards God. As I continued reading, I noticed that this pain I felt was not solely from the passage but also from the realization that this same problem is present today- this wasn't just a phenomenon locked away in the ancient pages of Isaiah. Ironically (or not so ironically), what I was reading was exactly what had been true in my own life.
These Israelites were second or third generation Isrealites...people of God. Look what the Lord says of them:
2 Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth!
For the LORD has spoken:
“I reared children and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against me.
3 The ox knows its master,
the donkey its owner’s manger,
but Israel does not know,
my people do not understand.”
4 Woe to the sinful nation,
a people whose guilt is great,
a brood of evildoers,
children given to corruption!
They have forsaken the LORD;
they have spurned the Holy One of Israel
and turned their backs on him. - Isaiah 1: 2-4
11 “The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?” says the LORD.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
12 When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts?
13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
14 Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals
I hate with all my being.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
I am not listening.- Isaiah 1:11-15
a people whose guilt is great,
a brood of evildoers,
children given to corruption!
They have forsaken the LORD;
they have spurned the Holy One of Israel
and turned their backs on him. - Isaiah 1: 2-4
11 “The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?” says the LORD.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
12 When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts?
13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
14 Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals
I hate with all my being.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
I am not listening.- Isaiah 1:11-15
There certainly wasn't an attitude of love or reverence when these people came before the Redeemer, the Deliverer, the LORD. It must have stemmed from such a familiarity of hearing these same deliverance stories, seeing the same sacrifices being brought as a result of reoccurring sins...these guys were "going through the motions." They lost the joy their forefathers like Abraham and Joseph had in walking with and living for the LORD. They had gotten all of this passed down to them...hereditary.They had heard the stories from their parents- "sure, God saved our fathers from a mean and nasty Pharoah. Yesss we know, we were once slaves...but Godddd delivvverred us" The amazing accounts of God's love became like a broken record that was replayed over and over till it became stuck as merely head knowledge and there, in the head, it made it's dwelling. It refused to move down into their hearts where it could transform their lives.
While reading, I was reminded of the charge against the church in Ephesis
"But I have this against you, that you have left your first love." (Revelation 2:4)
The people of Isreal had lost their first love, and look what resulted-
there was no true obedience..they had no true knowledge or understanding of the LORD and because they thought they knew Him, but really didn't, they turned their backs on Him. But wait, they knew what they should be doing! Of course! It had been told to them for ages now, generations have passed on exactly what they needed be done to obtain favor from the God they thought they knew! Wanna lie? Just offer so and so number of animals. Wanna cheat? Here's the recipe for that sacrifice. They multiplied offerings to the LORD and look at His response- He. Hated. It. But Jerry, they even prayed to God!! God's response? He. Didn't. Listen.
I remember a couple years ago, while thinking in retrospect upon many things, there was one idea that stuck out like a sore thumb (and thankfully may I add) was the thought of WHY. Why did the Isrealites act this way? Why did they have the audacity to value these things so lightly? Wait, Why have I also acted this way for so long?
I remember thinking, why. Sadly, (and yet by God's grace I can say thankfully) I asked myself, why am I going to church every week? Why am I reminded to read the bible every day? What could possibly be so important that I have to remember these verses? And sadly, I hear the hearts of many asking the same questions-WHY do we do the things we do so routinely?
I remember asking the same questions many "second generation church goers" may ask: Why I was doing it? Was I a Christian simply because my parents told me that I must go to church? Was I a Christian because I had known in my head about what Jesus did for me?
I remember stopping one night and just thinking it through. How is it that so many people around me were enthusiastic about praying and singing while I just didn't get it? Had they heard a different story than what I'd heard? Did they hear it longer?
Revelation 2:4 hit me and it hit me hard. What was common about who they all loved? I looked at Abraham's life, who did he love? He certainly loved God more than his own son. Who did Joseph love? He certainly loved the LORD more than a woman or any earthly position.
I believe that finding the spark in a story that you've heard over and over is very hard but that's sometimes what happens when Christianity becomes hereditary....simply passed on...handed down the family line to the next generation... to carry on...pick up the reigns- and it surprises me how widely spread this detrimental misconception is! The thought that "oh my kid's know I am Christian so they will automatically just follow after." Well I guess it shouldn't be too surprising as even the children of Israel had the same problem. The rules about the sacrifices and feasts had been simply passed down for them to carry out- it wasn't a reality in their lives- they felt no need for it or for God. But what I came to realize as someone who grew up hearing the gospel, and I hope will help you realize, is that until or unless you want to love this God who is reaching out to you, Christianity will be just a story that is told and retold in your head.
Don't take my word for it, let's look at what God says in that same passage in Isaiah:
16 Wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
stop doing wrong.
17 Learn to do right; seek justice. - Isaiah 1:16 and the beginning of 17.
How can someone make themselves clean unless they determine to do so? and WHY (the oh so important question) would someone determine to wash themselves? Only after he has determined that he is in need of cleaning of course- or in easier terms, someone will consciously determine to make themselves clean when they realize they are dirty. But this question goes deeper, WHY would someone take their evil deeds out of the Lord's sight? Because they know it is something He hates. Who that is trying to love someone will want to do what that person hates? Sometimes, the only way to make something not a motion or routine is to rediscover it, to renew a love for it.
Remember when I said reading through books like Amos and Micah etc. were hard to reflect upon since I couldn't understand much? Well it's hard to believe... but one thing did stick- God is speaking to His beloved children of Isreal and it's found in the book of Micah:
3 “My people, what have I done to you?
How have I burdened you? Answer me.
4 I brought you up out of Egypt
and redeemed you from the land of slavery.
I sent Moses to lead you,
also Aaron and Miriam.
8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly[a] with your God.- Micah 6:3-4, 8
How have I burdened you? Answer me.
4 I brought you up out of Egypt
and redeemed you from the land of slavery.
I sent Moses to lead you,
also Aaron and Miriam.
8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly[a] with your God.- Micah 6:3-4, 8
"Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?"- Amos 3:3
God did the same exact thing for us through the cross. He brought us up out of death, gave us life. He redeemed us from the land of slavery to sin. He gave His word, the Bible, to lead us through the wilderness of life. God doesn't want burnt sacrifices anymore, He abolished that with the perfect sacrifice of Christ Jesus on the cross! He wants us to accept His sacrifice that He did on our behalf once and for all! He wants us to walk humbly with Him.
Let me end off by reminding you of when "AN EXPERT IN THE LAW" spoke up to ask Jesus something. It is seen in Luke 10:
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
[Jesus replies:]
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”[Jesus replies:]
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[c]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[d]”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
We may sometimes think we are experts at something when hearing it constantly and repeatedly but as the Bible so often reminds us and warns us, even experts can be blinded by mere head knowledge- in order to truly act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God, one must want to love Him or rediscover their first love for Him.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
It's a Friday night, and I'm relaxing...no really, I'm listening to cello music.
Woooo what a week! First exam of the second semester came with a roarrr and washed over me like a tidal wave! The waves haven't ceased yet but I'm slowly but surely learning how to keep my head above water.
Today, I took advantage of the beautiful day and went on another one of those walks...that led me right up to Green line. This time, I got a chance to actually sit down with my drink and just scan the faces there. (Yes I may have looked creepy or just very interested in the scenery around me) I did get a chance to taste their hot chocolate...I made an unwise decision to make it a macadamia nut hot chocolate because even for me, it was just too sweet. I should have gotten straight up hot chocolate with no extras. So after my purchase, I sat down and did some observing. As my eyes moved about the cafe, my gaze soon rested on a display case that showcased a batch of freshly baked ginger and apple scones with orange icing.
I fell like the walls of Jericho.
Now that I've felt content with my chatter about my day, I should get into a thought that made its way into one corner of my mind the other night.
On my journey, I've slowly walked through 1 Samuel and have taken a few steps into 2 Samuel where I met David. And whatta guy! He seems like a guy's guy. Sensitive in all the right ways and manly enough to slay the enemy and rule a kingdom. And please don't get me started on his whole friendship with Jonathan- talk about a bromance! If that ain't a bromance, I don't know what is. What really took it over the top was when I saw God's own testimony of the guy- that he's a guy after His own heart. I was like well there ya go! What more can you need! Bottom line, this guy David, he's awesome.
Well like waking up from a lovely dream to the horrible buzz of your alarm, I was hit hard with the reality of who David really was- a sinner..just like me. Well wait, where's the David I know? The awesome David. where'd he go? He fell. Fell hard for a woman, and not just any woman, Bathsheba, and not just any Bathsheba, he fell for the Bathsheba who was THE WIFE OF Uriah. He fell to the point where he got her pregnant. He fell so hard that each sin he committed blinded him from the depravity of each successive sin he committed as a result of the first. (How true in my life also). Hmm, maybe this guy after God's own heart is not so different than a girl who is trying to discern what things in her life would help her be someone after God's own heart.
In the midst of my sadness at David's actions, I took notice of another man who was also very deeply affected by David's sins. This man was named Uriah. It's a given that David's behavior of staying behind during time of battle was strange enough in itself...but even after being told that Bathsheba was THE WIFE OF...David still decided to commit sin by taking her and laying with her. This just seemed outside of David's "normal, typical character" up till this point. And now look when exactly does he choose to take Bathsheba? While her husband is out fighting for his life, fighting to protect King David's very life, fighting to protect his wife's life and the people back home. He's a loyal soldier whose being betrayed by the king he's fighting for. Disgusting. Tragic. I almost felt like crying for Uriah. He had no clue. David calls Uriah to come back from the battle. King David tries to get Uriah drunk so he can go home and lay with his wife and be able to hide up the fact that David got Bathsheba pregnant. But what does Uriah do? He, even in his drunkenness knows the troop is lying out in some field with the enemies threat looming over their heads, so he also sleeps outside the king's house. He knows that those soldiers out there don't have the luxury of going back home to their wives, he knows those guys don't have a comfy bed to sleep in, so he refuses to sleep in comfort. What a brave soldier, what a guy! Loyal, self controlled, and purely innocent. As I sat there reading of such a guy, I was smacked in the face with King David's next ingenious idea- he plans Uriah's death by making him fight on the front lines. What's more? David uses Uriah to carry his own death sentence to the army commander. The whole time, Uriah had absolutely no clue. What happens? The loyal, self controlled, innocent, Uriah dies or more truthfully murdered. He may have died a soldier's death, honorably- while fighting in battle. The fact that David puts Uriah in the front line where the bible says is where the "valiant men fought" (2 Sam 11:16) showed me that Uriah may have not been the strongest fighter in the pack but he was a little guy purposely put in dangers way at the front line.
Uriah was completely innocent! He died thinking that he was fighting on behalf of a loyal king who respected him. He had no clue that the king stole his wife, planned his death and used him to carry out his own death warrant. David's sin didn't stop after one, his sin snowballed into successive sins- each numbed him even more than the previous- to the point that he was so blind about his sin that he even didn't recognize he was sinning!
our sins affect the people around us and they affect the relationship we have with the people around us negatively.
The sins I commit today are not only hurting my relationship with God, but it's hurting the relationship I have with my mother, my father, my sister, my friend, or even you who is reading this. I hope this serves as a reminder to you and to me in the constant struggle to overcome certain sins in life. I know that God is not pleased with the sins I commit but my sins affect others who are on the outside just about the same as it affects me on the inside. That's a sobering thought. I need to remember this the next time I'm tempted to sin. Is my sin going to lead to other sins that snowball into more sins? (more likely, yes) and like icy snow- will these sins create a numbness around my soul that prevents me from feeling the sting of sinning? (most likely, yes) How is this sin going to affect my relationship to others around me? (think about it.) I pray I can truly turn away from a sin when I ask for forgiveness for my sins by thinking about the consequences of my sin the next time I'm presented with the temptation.
I'll leave you with David's cry once he realized exactly what happened as a result of his sin and who he hurt while sinning.
Psalm 51(NASB)
Now that I've felt content with my chatter about my day, I should get into a thought that made its way into one corner of my mind the other night.
On my journey, I've slowly walked through 1 Samuel and have taken a few steps into 2 Samuel where I met David. And whatta guy! He seems like a guy's guy. Sensitive in all the right ways and manly enough to slay the enemy and rule a kingdom. And please don't get me started on his whole friendship with Jonathan- talk about a bromance! If that ain't a bromance, I don't know what is. What really took it over the top was when I saw God's own testimony of the guy- that he's a guy after His own heart. I was like well there ya go! What more can you need! Bottom line, this guy David, he's awesome.
Well like waking up from a lovely dream to the horrible buzz of your alarm, I was hit hard with the reality of who David really was- a sinner..just like me. Well wait, where's the David I know? The awesome David. where'd he go? He fell. Fell hard for a woman, and not just any woman, Bathsheba, and not just any Bathsheba, he fell for the Bathsheba who was THE WIFE OF Uriah. He fell to the point where he got her pregnant. He fell so hard that each sin he committed blinded him from the depravity of each successive sin he committed as a result of the first. (How true in my life also). Hmm, maybe this guy after God's own heart is not so different than a girl who is trying to discern what things in her life would help her be someone after God's own heart.
In the midst of my sadness at David's actions, I took notice of another man who was also very deeply affected by David's sins. This man was named Uriah. It's a given that David's behavior of staying behind during time of battle was strange enough in itself...but even after being told that Bathsheba was THE WIFE OF...David still decided to commit sin by taking her and laying with her. This just seemed outside of David's "normal, typical character" up till this point. And now look when exactly does he choose to take Bathsheba? While her husband is out fighting for his life, fighting to protect King David's very life, fighting to protect his wife's life and the people back home. He's a loyal soldier whose being betrayed by the king he's fighting for. Disgusting. Tragic. I almost felt like crying for Uriah. He had no clue. David calls Uriah to come back from the battle. King David tries to get Uriah drunk so he can go home and lay with his wife and be able to hide up the fact that David got Bathsheba pregnant. But what does Uriah do? He, even in his drunkenness knows the troop is lying out in some field with the enemies threat looming over their heads, so he also sleeps outside the king's house. He knows that those soldiers out there don't have the luxury of going back home to their wives, he knows those guys don't have a comfy bed to sleep in, so he refuses to sleep in comfort. What a brave soldier, what a guy! Loyal, self controlled, and purely innocent. As I sat there reading of such a guy, I was smacked in the face with King David's next ingenious idea- he plans Uriah's death by making him fight on the front lines. What's more? David uses Uriah to carry his own death sentence to the army commander. The whole time, Uriah had absolutely no clue. What happens? The loyal, self controlled, innocent, Uriah dies or more truthfully murdered. He may have died a soldier's death, honorably- while fighting in battle. The fact that David puts Uriah in the front line where the bible says is where the "valiant men fought" (2 Sam 11:16) showed me that Uriah may have not been the strongest fighter in the pack but he was a little guy purposely put in dangers way at the front line.
Uriah was completely innocent! He died thinking that he was fighting on behalf of a loyal king who respected him. He had no clue that the king stole his wife, planned his death and used him to carry out his own death warrant. David's sin didn't stop after one, his sin snowballed into successive sins- each numbed him even more than the previous- to the point that he was so blind about his sin that he even didn't recognize he was sinning!
our sins affect the people around us and they affect the relationship we have with the people around us negatively.
The sins I commit today are not only hurting my relationship with God, but it's hurting the relationship I have with my mother, my father, my sister, my friend, or even you who is reading this. I hope this serves as a reminder to you and to me in the constant struggle to overcome certain sins in life. I know that God is not pleased with the sins I commit but my sins affect others who are on the outside just about the same as it affects me on the inside. That's a sobering thought. I need to remember this the next time I'm tempted to sin. Is my sin going to lead to other sins that snowball into more sins? (more likely, yes) and like icy snow- will these sins create a numbness around my soul that prevents me from feeling the sting of sinning? (most likely, yes) How is this sin going to affect my relationship to others around me? (think about it.) I pray I can truly turn away from a sin when I ask for forgiveness for my sins by thinking about the consequences of my sin the next time I'm presented with the temptation.
I'll leave you with David's cry once he realized exactly what happened as a result of his sin and who he hurt while sinning.
Psalm 51(NASB)
1 Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
And cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
And my sin is ever before me.
4 Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is evil in Your sight,
So that You are justified when You speak
And blameless when You judge.
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
And cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
And my sin is ever before me.
4 Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is evil in Your sight,
So that You are justified when You speak
And blameless when You judge.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
6 Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,
And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Make me to hear joy and gladness,
Let the bones which You have broken rejoice.
9 Hide Your face from my sins
And blot out all my iniquities.
And in sin my mother conceived me.
6 Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,
And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Make me to hear joy and gladness,
Let the bones which You have broken rejoice.
9 Hide Your face from my sins
And blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will be converted to You.
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will be converted to You.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation;
Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
That my mouth may declare Your praise.
16 For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
You are not pleased with burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
That my mouth may declare Your praise.
16 For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
You are not pleased with burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
18 By Your favor do good to Zion;
Build the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices,
In burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
Then young bulls will be offered on Your altar.
There's the David I'm familiar with! The sinner who is still a man after God's own heart. Find the whole story in 2 Samuel 11!
Take care.
Build the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices,
In burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
Then young bulls will be offered on Your altar.
There's the David I'm familiar with! The sinner who is still a man after God's own heart. Find the whole story in 2 Samuel 11!
Take care.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
How to read the Bible and How to eat an Orange
"What is the proper way to eat an orange?
A wise old man from Florida once said the only way to eat an orange was to cut a hole through the top of the orange. Once the top part of the orange had a hole in it, you had to squeeze or suck all the juice out of the orange. Once the orange had been drained of all its juice, then the orange can be peeled and the actual fruit can be eaten.
Just like the proper peeling of this orange, the Bible has to be properly peeled in order to get the most juice out. If the Word of God is being read or studied, one must try to squeeze the juice out of each and every single verse, not quickly try to peel it apart. The verses must be savored, each sip of the juice must be enjoyed thoroughly and to its fullest. Then one can move on to further peel back all its goodness and digest the fruit of the matter."
When I heard this I thought, wow how true! Each verse has so many nuggets of gold within it that to simply skim through a verse doesn't allow one to squeeze all the juice out of it. What's amazing is that no matter how many times you sit down to eat this orange, it will never ever run out of juice! Praise God for His ability to reveal something new to us each time we sit down to read a verse no matter if it is the 50th time reading that same verse.
Thank you Lord, for providing us with an instruction manual for life and the instructions for how to read the manual itself.
Psalm 119:105-
Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.
Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.
Thursday, March 03, 2011
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