Faith.Grace.Prayer.Repentance.Forgiveness.Bible.Justification.
I'm assuming a number of you reading this blog have been Christians for quite some time. Some of you might not be, but I encourage you to continue reading anyway. What comes to mind when you see the seven words at the beginning of this post? Can you remember who told you what those words mean or where Scripture talks about them? Can you cohesively explain them to someone who's new in Christ?
After we've been a part of the Family for awhile, we tend to move on to 'more advanced' subjects like Free Will vs Predestination or Pedo vs Believers baptism or 'Do you receive the Spirit at birth or when you become saved?' All these subjects are important, but when it comes to courses in Christian basics, we tend to think we don't need them. 'Those classes are for infants in Christ.' Are they? When was the last time you thought about what the Bible basis for prayer was? Why prayer? How does prayer work? Who is prayer about? Even professional basketball players routinely practice basic skills (dribbling?).
For the past few weeks, I've been in a Sunday School class called Spiritual Bootcamp. The class has been a wonderful refresher for me. I've also learned a number of things about the subjects above and others. It doesn't mean I didn't know the fundamentals. It doesn't mean I didn't have a biblical foundation. But I've discovered there were places my biblical foundation needed to be refortified.
We can so easily discard the basics and fundamentals as 'easy' and 'no-brainers.' But how easy are the fundamentals? Is it easy to deal with the reality that you are a filthy sinner who deserves enduring the eternal wrath of God? Is it easy to believe a righteous God sent His ONLY Son to endure that wrath so you didn't have to? Is it easy to praise God in the storm of reality? Is it easy to leave the future of a loved one living in rebellion to God? Is it always easy to pray?
Brothers and sisters, we live in a broken, fall world. We are attacked on all sides and if we do not perform maintenance on our foundation, it will begin to rot. I encourage you to get back to basics. Talk about the concept of grace or faith or love with a pastor or spiritual leader. Take a course of Spiritual Bootcamp. When have you ever regretted strengthening the most important relationship you'll ever have? It may give you the tools you need to share your faith with someone. You may come to find out that you were not who you thought you were. Anyway you slice it, it's worth it.
<3
Showing posts with label Relationship with God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Relationship with God. Show all posts
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Sunday, July 14, 2013
If the Lord wills.....
James 4:7-8, 13-17
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
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.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
Psalm 37:4-5
4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.
I've been chewing over James 4:13-14 & 17 in my mind for a couple days now. In children Sunday Schools or youth groups, this passage is usually tied with making money or getting rich. The message is so much deeper than that.
I've been writing letters to some friends I have who are graduating from high school and trying to figure out what advice or wisdom I should give them that I didn't have when I graduated from high school. Looking back, I've realized that I was viewing my future as a compromise between me and God. I wanted to major in Elementary Education so I could be a light to kids in public schools. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely people who are called to do that and it is not an easy calling, but the problem was with my mindset. "Today or tomorrow I will go and become a teacher for awhile and after I've worked enough I'll get married, have children and be a stay-at-home mom" (again, nothing wrong with that if that is your calling). Notice how I critiqued James 4:13 for myself. My motives were pure and admired by lots of people. I love children and legitimately wanted to help them. It was going to be my ministry. I was sure God understood that and would bless it. This is the double-mindedness James 4:8 above is referring to.
This is the interesting part, I hadn't picked my major initially for the purpose of ministry. It was a degree, it was a guaranteed profession, a job I knew I would enjoy, and I'd get summers off to travel and teach English or something, very me oriented things. Around this time was when Brandon Heath's "Give Me Your Eyes" was popular and I seriously considered the message of the song:
It wasn't until I started thinking of it as a ministry that my heart began to change. I prayed and asked God to give me His eyes and to show me how He felt about those around me. When I began to see with His eyes and reached out to those around me, I realized a school was not my ministry. This was about the time I took my first linguistics class.
This was a period of intense growth in my spiritual walk. I was mourning a failed relationship and hurting when I came across Psalm 37. The whole chapter is about trusting God, delighting in His character, and giving Him everything. I began to draw near to Him and find healing in the character of God and committing myself to Him. Yes, I had already been saved, but "committing your way to the Lord" is a daily act. When we commit our way to Him daily and delight in His character He fulfills our desires because He gives us those desires. I desired to serve Him no matter what that looked like. I discovered that God was calling me to something far greater than what I had thought He would bless. He was calling me to a life of service and sacrifice for His glory.
If the Lord wills, I will finish my application with Wycliffe and leave for the field in about a year. I will serve Him as much as I can wherever I am until then. My life has been radically changed. I never thought I would do missions. I never imagined how God would change me over the last four years. I never imagined how much He would shape my desires to His desires. I never imagined how simultaneously difficult and wonderful it would be. I trusted Him, and He acted. In my life and in the lives of the people He's helped me see.
I encourage you, brothers and sisters, to pray for God's eyes. I encourage you to delight yourself in Him and trust Him. Know what your true calling is and do it.
He just might radically change you.
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
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.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
Psalm 37:4-5
4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.
I've been chewing over James 4:13-14 & 17 in my mind for a couple days now. In children Sunday Schools or youth groups, this passage is usually tied with making money or getting rich. The message is so much deeper than that.
I've been writing letters to some friends I have who are graduating from high school and trying to figure out what advice or wisdom I should give them that I didn't have when I graduated from high school. Looking back, I've realized that I was viewing my future as a compromise between me and God. I wanted to major in Elementary Education so I could be a light to kids in public schools. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely people who are called to do that and it is not an easy calling, but the problem was with my mindset. "Today or tomorrow I will go and become a teacher for awhile and after I've worked enough I'll get married, have children and be a stay-at-home mom" (again, nothing wrong with that if that is your calling). Notice how I critiqued James 4:13 for myself. My motives were pure and admired by lots of people. I love children and legitimately wanted to help them. It was going to be my ministry. I was sure God understood that and would bless it. This is the double-mindedness James 4:8 above is referring to.
This is the interesting part, I hadn't picked my major initially for the purpose of ministry. It was a degree, it was a guaranteed profession, a job I knew I would enjoy, and I'd get summers off to travel and teach English or something, very me oriented things. Around this time was when Brandon Heath's "Give Me Your Eyes" was popular and I seriously considered the message of the song:
"Give me Your eyes for just one second.
Give me Your eyes so I can see everything I keep on missing.
Give me Your love for humanity.
Give me Your arms for the brokenhearted, the ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your eyes for the ones forgotten.
Give me Your eyes so I can see."
It wasn't until I started thinking of it as a ministry that my heart began to change. I prayed and asked God to give me His eyes and to show me how He felt about those around me. When I began to see with His eyes and reached out to those around me, I realized a school was not my ministry. This was about the time I took my first linguistics class.
This was a period of intense growth in my spiritual walk. I was mourning a failed relationship and hurting when I came across Psalm 37. The whole chapter is about trusting God, delighting in His character, and giving Him everything. I began to draw near to Him and find healing in the character of God and committing myself to Him. Yes, I had already been saved, but "committing your way to the Lord" is a daily act. When we commit our way to Him daily and delight in His character He fulfills our desires because He gives us those desires. I desired to serve Him no matter what that looked like. I discovered that God was calling me to something far greater than what I had thought He would bless. He was calling me to a life of service and sacrifice for His glory.
If the Lord wills, I will finish my application with Wycliffe and leave for the field in about a year. I will serve Him as much as I can wherever I am until then. My life has been radically changed. I never thought I would do missions. I never imagined how God would change me over the last four years. I never imagined how much He would shape my desires to His desires. I never imagined how simultaneously difficult and wonderful it would be. I trusted Him, and He acted. In my life and in the lives of the people He's helped me see.
I encourage you, brothers and sisters, to pray for God's eyes. I encourage you to delight yourself in Him and trust Him. Know what your true calling is and do it.
He just might radically change you.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
2 Corinthians 4
4 Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God,[a] we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice[b] cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants[c] for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 For
we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so
that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you.13 Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, 14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. 15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self[d] is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
--- 2 Corinthians 4
In chapel yesterday, a woman spoke of her struggle with not being able to conceive a baby and depression. The message of her talk was that we will face hard times. Or at least, that's what stuck out to me. Most people left chapel either red-eyed or in tears. She didn't share this passage in her talk, but her talk pushed me to the Scriptures. I read a chapter from my normal devotional time, but was yearning for more instruction so I started flipping to Paul. I landed on 2 Corinthians because I had the second page dog-eared and wanted to rediscover whatever it was that caught my special attention however long ago. This whole chapter spoke to me.
We like to think that following Christ is easy. We get eternal life, a wealth of community and family, God provides, and we grow. But sometimes, the community or family we have hurts us more than our enemies, God provides less or differently than we anticipate, growth is painful, and according to this passage, having eternal life is, well, hard in our mortal bodies. This passage guarantees physical, emotional, and spiritual troubles.
Have you ever considered your body or heart to be a representation of Christ crucified? "For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh" (v11). We are not alone in this battle, this fight, or struggle. Jesus has gone before, shared our humanness, and has already felt our heavy heart, the tears that roll down our cheeks, the anxiety, the pain, the isolation.
The Father promises resurrection. "Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison" (v16-17). Notice the word light. 'This light affliction.' Whatever taxing experience we go through, it certainly never feels like a light affliction. A miscarriage, a broken relationship, joblessness. It is a light load we bare in comparison with Christ. He bore God's wrath so this affliction would be light, bearable. Yet, we will still see a glory we cannot even wrap our brains around when all our afflictions cease.
"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us" (v7). 'Jars of clay.' The perishable. The mortal. Anything and everything that is not eternal. I used to think that 'jars of clay' were material possessions. Now I believe the connotation is broader than that. I've discovered my treasures are specific people or the relationships I have with them. For the chapel speaker, her treasure was to be a mother, a dream she'd had since childhood. When things go wrong in my relationships or friends fall away, I can't control them. I have to surrender them to God. We're simple and powerless for a purpose. That purpose is to magnify God's character. If we were powerful, where would God be? Forgotten. Neglected. Not glorified. Our work would be of ourselves which is directly contradicted by this passage.
The phrase "we do not lose heart" is used twice in this chapter. In case Paul's message isn't clear, he tells us in Ephesians and Galatians to 'not lose heart.'
Galatians 6:8-9 --- "For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not lose heart."
Ephesians 3:11-13 ---"This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory."
Do not lose heart, brothers and sisters. God will sustain you. "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;" (v8-9). God sustains, renews, carries the situation for us. He sustains us through his Body. One of the things the speaker at chapel pointed out, is that God uses the body of Christ to help us carry our burdens. When we need to hear Biblical truth and have an example of God's love to remind us of who He is. Community with the Body is important. The Body prays for us and with us when we cannot. The Body lifts our burdens when it is too heavy for us to carry on our own.
"For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God" (15). The affliction and suffering are for your sake. How often we plead for God to take away our affliction and not consider what He wants to teach us through it. As God gives grace to you, he also passes it to others through you. This reminds me of a family back home where the daughter has been incredibly sick for two years now. (At least, I think it's two years.) She's been in and out of the hospital constantly, has had numerous trips to Cleveland to see specialists, and was in a nursing home for two or three months. Talk about affliction! But God. I want you to think about that for a second. But God. Their family has become strong as a unit and as individuals. They give me hope. They give friends and family hope. The grace God has given them has poured out to other who know them. If this family can pull through this affliction with God's grace, maybe I can too. I'm confident that this family would not be such a strong example of Christ without this affliction in their lives. It has not been easy for them or anyone who knows them, but the reward they are reaping is significantly greater. God is given glory in this affliction.
Do not lose heart during your light afflicted, brothers and sisters. He's got a plan and He will carry you through it. If you are afflicted, burdened, I encourage you to read this passage and ask the Spirit to comfort you. <3
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen. --- Ephesians 3:20-21
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Two is Better than One... Unless They're Wives.
For my hour of contribution to the lovely SIL program, every day I spend a little over an hour with the five-year-olds (The Get-Along-Gang). There are nine of them this year and they're from all over the world. Very few of them were even born on the North American continent (if at all).
Whenever I go to the Get-Along-Gang classroom, they're usually eating snack or returning from playing outside. After their snack, it's time for a Bible story. Miss Aubrey (the childcare staff for the 5s) must think I do a good job because she frequently asks me to read it to them. Last week, one of our stories was about Jacob, Rachel, and Leah. I'd never read the story of Jacob quite like it was in this particular child's Bible Story book before. In fact, none of the stories are written in your 'usual' children's Bible Storybook way. A number of the stories point straight to Christ or to the deep message that the story symbolizes.
The story mentioned that Leah was ugly and Jacob loved Rachel, not Leah. Ok, we're normal so far, but then the it said something like, "But God loved Leah, even though Jacob didn't. People thought Leah was ugly, but she was not ugly to God. She was His beautiful daughter, His princess. So God gave her lots of children to show her how much He loved her." There was a picture of a happy looking Leah with five or six little boys clustered around her and she was looking toward heaven with a smile.
I'd never really thought about it that way before. Yes, God blessed Leah with children since Jacob didn't love her, but I hadn't thought of it as God showing how much He loved her. I guess I only ever really thought about it as a pity thing.
In my personal Bible time today, I read the real story (Gen 29-30). Leah acknowledges the Lord in the naming of her first four sons. I think there's a difference between the first three and fourth, however.
Reuben- "the LORD sees my affliction; therefore my husband will love me"
Simeon- "Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also"
Levi- "Now this time my husband will become attached to me"
These three are yearning for the attention of her husband. Notice the third time, she does not mention the LORD. It could be she was growing in desperation for his affection. Any normal woman would.
Judah- "This time I will praise the LORD"
I looked through a couple of online commentaries to see if they had anything to say about this particular difference. It's not talked about much. The family drama between the sisters throughout the rest of the story and comparing Rachel to Hannah (1 Sam) is a more common topic. The only commentary that talked about said this: "Her fourth she called Judah, praise, saying, Now will I praise the Lord. And this was he, of whom, as concerning the flesh Christ came. Whatever is the matter of our rejoicing, ought to be the matter of our thanksgiving. And all our praises must center in Christ, both as the matter of them, and as the Mediator of them. He descended from him whose name was praise, for he is our praise. Is Christ formed in my heart? Now will I praise the Lord." (Wesley's Explanatory Notes)
Did Leah know the Promised One would come from Judah? I don't know. But I like to think that the children's Bible Story was right. I think Leah did find comfort in the LORD. Not only in His gift of fertility, but in who He is. Yes, Leah had her bad days. Wouldn't anybody related to someone like contentious Rachel have bad days? Her life, whether she agreed in deceiving Jacob or not, was hard. But she was still chosen and used by God. His promise was for her too. And He loved her.
It's hard to remember that the stories we read our children are for our benefit, too. We can never be reminded too often of God's care. We can never be reminded too frequently of His sovereignty.
"Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her." --Hosea 2:14
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." --Matthew 5:8
Whenever I go to the Get-Along-Gang classroom, they're usually eating snack or returning from playing outside. After their snack, it's time for a Bible story. Miss Aubrey (the childcare staff for the 5s) must think I do a good job because she frequently asks me to read it to them. Last week, one of our stories was about Jacob, Rachel, and Leah. I'd never read the story of Jacob quite like it was in this particular child's Bible Story book before. In fact, none of the stories are written in your 'usual' children's Bible Storybook way. A number of the stories point straight to Christ or to the deep message that the story symbolizes.
The story mentioned that Leah was ugly and Jacob loved Rachel, not Leah. Ok, we're normal so far, but then the it said something like, "But God loved Leah, even though Jacob didn't. People thought Leah was ugly, but she was not ugly to God. She was His beautiful daughter, His princess. So God gave her lots of children to show her how much He loved her." There was a picture of a happy looking Leah with five or six little boys clustered around her and she was looking toward heaven with a smile.
I'd never really thought about it that way before. Yes, God blessed Leah with children since Jacob didn't love her, but I hadn't thought of it as God showing how much He loved her. I guess I only ever really thought about it as a pity thing.
In my personal Bible time today, I read the real story (Gen 29-30). Leah acknowledges the Lord in the naming of her first four sons. I think there's a difference between the first three and fourth, however.
Reuben- "the LORD sees my affliction; therefore my husband will love me"
Simeon- "Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also"
Levi- "Now this time my husband will become attached to me"
These three are yearning for the attention of her husband. Notice the third time, she does not mention the LORD. It could be she was growing in desperation for his affection. Any normal woman would.
Judah- "This time I will praise the LORD"
I looked through a couple of online commentaries to see if they had anything to say about this particular difference. It's not talked about much. The family drama between the sisters throughout the rest of the story and comparing Rachel to Hannah (1 Sam) is a more common topic. The only commentary that talked about said this: "Her fourth she called Judah, praise, saying, Now will I praise the Lord. And this was he, of whom, as concerning the flesh Christ came. Whatever is the matter of our rejoicing, ought to be the matter of our thanksgiving. And all our praises must center in Christ, both as the matter of them, and as the Mediator of them. He descended from him whose name was praise, for he is our praise. Is Christ formed in my heart? Now will I praise the Lord." (Wesley's Explanatory Notes)
Did Leah know the Promised One would come from Judah? I don't know. But I like to think that the children's Bible Story was right. I think Leah did find comfort in the LORD. Not only in His gift of fertility, but in who He is. Yes, Leah had her bad days. Wouldn't anybody related to someone like contentious Rachel have bad days? Her life, whether she agreed in deceiving Jacob or not, was hard. But she was still chosen and used by God. His promise was for her too. And He loved her.
It's hard to remember that the stories we read our children are for our benefit, too. We can never be reminded too often of God's care. We can never be reminded too frequently of His sovereignty.
"Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her." --Hosea 2:14
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." --Matthew 5:8
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Teach it to your children
In Sunday School yesterday we talked a lot about the authority of Scripture and why it's important. I thought of how I had grown up and how important the Bible was to my own walk with Christ and what that was founded upon.
I never doubted the validity of the Bible. Why was that? Because my parents showed in their words and actions that the Bible had authority and power. To question the Bible or say something in it was untrue was blasphemous. The Bible is how we communicate with God. The Bible gives spiritual food and shows us the way to everlasting life. It is complete. It is good. It endures throughout the generations. It reveals God's character and the Spirit helps us to understand its teachings.
Sitting in Sunday School, I realized that if it wasn't for its stressed importance in my growing-up life, the authority and respect it was given, I never would have pursued Bible translation.
I remembered talking with a friend who told me she felt like passages she read were the same old same old Bible story and that she didn't feel like she was really being spiritually fed. She said she needed a supplement. In horror, I prayed and thought about our conversation on the way home. I asked God to prove to me that His Word was sufficient, that each time I read it, I would find something new every time I spent time in it. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm happy to say that was about four years ago and God is still granting that request.
Without my parents' influence, the Bible would never have been very influential in my life. No, my parents are not 'missionaries' or Bible translators. But they paved the way for me.
Without the Bible, where would YOU be?
I would be lost, scared, and would be lost in sin.
Millions of people around the world don't have God's Word.
This is what pierced my heart for missions. The Gospel is for all.
And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation- Revelation 5:9
Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. - Revelation 14:6
Who will YOU tell about it?
I never doubted the validity of the Bible. Why was that? Because my parents showed in their words and actions that the Bible had authority and power. To question the Bible or say something in it was untrue was blasphemous. The Bible is how we communicate with God. The Bible gives spiritual food and shows us the way to everlasting life. It is complete. It is good. It endures throughout the generations. It reveals God's character and the Spirit helps us to understand its teachings.
Sitting in Sunday School, I realized that if it wasn't for its stressed importance in my growing-up life, the authority and respect it was given, I never would have pursued Bible translation.
I remembered talking with a friend who told me she felt like passages she read were the same old same old Bible story and that she didn't feel like she was really being spiritually fed. She said she needed a supplement. In horror, I prayed and thought about our conversation on the way home. I asked God to prove to me that His Word was sufficient, that each time I read it, I would find something new every time I spent time in it. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm happy to say that was about four years ago and God is still granting that request.
Without my parents' influence, the Bible would never have been very influential in my life. No, my parents are not 'missionaries' or Bible translators. But they paved the way for me.
Without the Bible, where would YOU be?
I would be lost, scared, and would be lost in sin.
Millions of people around the world don't have God's Word.
This is what pierced my heart for missions. The Gospel is for all.
And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation- Revelation 5:9
Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. - Revelation 14:6
Who will YOU tell about it?
Friday, April 26, 2013
I'm Adopted
A homeschool family I know recently adopted two little girls from China. I mean they're still in China, recently. You can find their blog here. The joy of the parents, the siblings, and even the families of the siblings (since there's such an age range) is incredible. I started to cry when I saw the pictures of the little girls and how much they already love their new parents and sister but also how scared and confused they are.
It made me think about a conversation I heard between a couple gentlemen from my home church. One of them adopted a baby about five months ago and the other is considering adoption.
"Our society really looks down on adoption," said the latter. "It really stresses blood relation even if those blood relations aren't healthy." The men continued to talk about particular instances where the home situation or extended family home situation weren't safe or those family members weren't as close to the child as a foster family that loved and wanted to adopt the child. They continued to talk about why adoption's stigma is wrong.
"I mean, God has adopted us," said the first gentleman. "We were in that bad situation and God took us out of it to His perfect family. He's made us brothers and co-heirs with Christ *[Romans 8:16-17]. That's profound. He doesn't love us less. I'm not going to love my adopted child any less because he's not biologically my kid."
That's roughly how the conversation went. I began to ponder and turn their words over in my mind. I also chewed on a comment one of the ladies in the church had made during Sunday School. We were reading in **Mark 1 when she spoke up about a verse that really touched her.
"Untying sandals was a job for the lowliest and filthiest of servants," she began. "John's a prophet and a blood relation to Jesus, but he says he's not even worthy to undo his shoes. We put people in the Bible on a pedestal and think they're so great at obeying God, but then what does that make me? If John isn't worthy to undo sandals, where does that leave me? No where near His presence, at the very least. Instead, He bends down and washes my feet."
How is that possible, my friends? Adoption. God has removed you from your sinful situation and given you a new family. A perfect family. Brothers and sisters who have also been adopted, a Brother and friend of Jesus, and, my favorite, a Father. A perfect Father who knows your every need and holds your every tear. You give Him joy.
Seeing pictures of the Chinese little girls who are being adopted makes me think of what God has done for me. A representation of my adoption. He chose me and picked me up even when I was confused and scared. The family rejoiced when all the papers were signed and I was officially His. He loves me as His own Son.
I'm adopted.
*Romans 8:16-17 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
**Mark 1:7 And he preached, saying, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.
It made me think about a conversation I heard between a couple gentlemen from my home church. One of them adopted a baby about five months ago and the other is considering adoption.
"Our society really looks down on adoption," said the latter. "It really stresses blood relation even if those blood relations aren't healthy." The men continued to talk about particular instances where the home situation or extended family home situation weren't safe or those family members weren't as close to the child as a foster family that loved and wanted to adopt the child. They continued to talk about why adoption's stigma is wrong.
"I mean, God has adopted us," said the first gentleman. "We were in that bad situation and God took us out of it to His perfect family. He's made us brothers and co-heirs with Christ *[Romans 8:16-17]. That's profound. He doesn't love us less. I'm not going to love my adopted child any less because he's not biologically my kid."
That's roughly how the conversation went. I began to ponder and turn their words over in my mind. I also chewed on a comment one of the ladies in the church had made during Sunday School. We were reading in **Mark 1 when she spoke up about a verse that really touched her.
"Untying sandals was a job for the lowliest and filthiest of servants," she began. "John's a prophet and a blood relation to Jesus, but he says he's not even worthy to undo his shoes. We put people in the Bible on a pedestal and think they're so great at obeying God, but then what does that make me? If John isn't worthy to undo sandals, where does that leave me? No where near His presence, at the very least. Instead, He bends down and washes my feet."
How is that possible, my friends? Adoption. God has removed you from your sinful situation and given you a new family. A perfect family. Brothers and sisters who have also been adopted, a Brother and friend of Jesus, and, my favorite, a Father. A perfect Father who knows your every need and holds your every tear. You give Him joy.
Seeing pictures of the Chinese little girls who are being adopted makes me think of what God has done for me. A representation of my adoption. He chose me and picked me up even when I was confused and scared. The family rejoiced when all the papers were signed and I was officially His. He loves me as His own Son.
I'm adopted.
*Romans 8:16-17 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
**Mark 1:7 And he preached, saying, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.
Monday, March 11, 2013
The Land Between
Northview, my church in Lafayette, is going through The Story. This was week/chapter 6 which is about the spies going into Israel, the Israelites sentenced to 40yrs in the desert, and Moses dying. David Choutka was preaching in Steve Poe's absence and began the message something like this (bear in mind that this is purely from my memory):
"My wife is a great packer. I'm banned from packing because she's just so good at it and I've screwed it up so many times. My job is to set up the GPS and do the driving. The first thing I look at is the ETA: Estimated Time of Arrival. My goal on every trip is to beat the ETA. If the GPS tells me I wont get there until 8:05, I do what I can to bring that down to 8:00, then 7:55, then 7:50. Then I hear the dreaded words, 'I gotta go to the bathroom.' After using the restroom or getting gas we get back on the road again and now the ETA is 8:20. AAAHH! It's so frustrating!"
I'm raising my hand in my heart. That's me. I've said or thought all of these things: How much over the speed limit can I go without getting caught? How long can I go without food before I have to stop for something to eat? We ONLY stop for gas!
What's my rush? Well, it's not that I don't love traveling. I love to travel, but I like being there even more. Is it a surprise to you that the primary reason I've actually finished reading a number of books I started reading was purely because I wanted to know how it ended? In my own life I've seen this desire to be at the destination or finish line, as it were, and wanting to skip what's in between the start and the finish.
I felt pretty convicted while I heard the Sunday message continue. "My wife asked me why I was in such a hurry. I said I wanted to just get there. 'And do what?' was her response. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that some of the best times I've had with my own family has been in-transit to the destination... The journey is what's called the Land Between."
The Land Between is where the real growth, the real story, happens. This is Moses' second round of 40yrs in a desert. God did amazing things in his heart the first time. Can you imagine what happened in the hearts of the Israelites in 40yrs?
I began to think about this in other contexts. I tried to imagine Cinderella without the Land Between: "This girl named Cindy met Prince Charming and they lived happily ever after." Lame story. Anything that makes the story of Cinderella unique or interesting happens in the journey. I also had a flashback to English 409: Introduction to Writing Fiction: "Only conflict is interesting. Literature revolves around conflict. The better your conflict, the better your story."
I'm currently in the Land Between. Yes, I'm close to completing my initial application for Wycliffe (woot woot!) and pretty much everything is looking up for me now, I'm nearing the end of it, but this is one of the most difficult Land Betweens I've ever been in. Pretty much all I've wanted from the beginning is to escape it. No joke.
It's not just my Land Betweens either. As a kid, all I've ever wanted was to be a grown-up. I never wanted to go to Neverland or never age with Peter Pan. When I was younger I wished I could fast forward to the part of my life when I would be married and having children. That was really living.
False. I mean, those things are great, I'm sure, but if there's so much more to life.
Being an adult is lame. Unfortunately, looking back, I wished away my childhood. I made myself grow up too fast because I was in a rush to get to the end of my journey. It wasn't until I was nearly graduated from high school that I realized I needed to enjoy where I was. I needed to cherish the time I currently had or I would regret it later.
I had the same realization again today. Yeah, it's the Land Between, but God is there in all seasons of life and in all circumstances. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. This Land Between is another chapter in making me more like Him (even if it doesn't feel that way).
God will provide for me in my 40yrs in the desert. He's put me there to prepare me for inhabiting the Promise Land. How much more I'll appreciate my destination after a long and weary journey. How many memories I can create and lessons I can learn in the Land Between.
~Christina
If you want to watch/listen to the sermon I've mentioned in this post, you can visit the Northview Church website and click "watch messages." This message was from March 10th.
"My wife is a great packer. I'm banned from packing because she's just so good at it and I've screwed it up so many times. My job is to set up the GPS and do the driving. The first thing I look at is the ETA: Estimated Time of Arrival. My goal on every trip is to beat the ETA. If the GPS tells me I wont get there until 8:05, I do what I can to bring that down to 8:00, then 7:55, then 7:50. Then I hear the dreaded words, 'I gotta go to the bathroom.' After using the restroom or getting gas we get back on the road again and now the ETA is 8:20. AAAHH! It's so frustrating!"
I'm raising my hand in my heart. That's me. I've said or thought all of these things: How much over the speed limit can I go without getting caught? How long can I go without food before I have to stop for something to eat? We ONLY stop for gas!
What's my rush? Well, it's not that I don't love traveling. I love to travel, but I like being there even more. Is it a surprise to you that the primary reason I've actually finished reading a number of books I started reading was purely because I wanted to know how it ended? In my own life I've seen this desire to be at the destination or finish line, as it were, and wanting to skip what's in between the start and the finish.
I felt pretty convicted while I heard the Sunday message continue. "My wife asked me why I was in such a hurry. I said I wanted to just get there. 'And do what?' was her response. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that some of the best times I've had with my own family has been in-transit to the destination... The journey is what's called the Land Between."
The Land Between is where the real growth, the real story, happens. This is Moses' second round of 40yrs in a desert. God did amazing things in his heart the first time. Can you imagine what happened in the hearts of the Israelites in 40yrs?
I began to think about this in other contexts. I tried to imagine Cinderella without the Land Between: "This girl named Cindy met Prince Charming and they lived happily ever after." Lame story. Anything that makes the story of Cinderella unique or interesting happens in the journey. I also had a flashback to English 409: Introduction to Writing Fiction: "Only conflict is interesting. Literature revolves around conflict. The better your conflict, the better your story."
I'm currently in the Land Between. Yes, I'm close to completing my initial application for Wycliffe (woot woot!) and pretty much everything is looking up for me now, I'm nearing the end of it, but this is one of the most difficult Land Betweens I've ever been in. Pretty much all I've wanted from the beginning is to escape it. No joke.
It's not just my Land Betweens either. As a kid, all I've ever wanted was to be a grown-up. I never wanted to go to Neverland or never age with Peter Pan. When I was younger I wished I could fast forward to the part of my life when I would be married and having children. That was really living.
False. I mean, those things are great, I'm sure, but if there's so much more to life.
Being an adult is lame. Unfortunately, looking back, I wished away my childhood. I made myself grow up too fast because I was in a rush to get to the end of my journey. It wasn't until I was nearly graduated from high school that I realized I needed to enjoy where I was. I needed to cherish the time I currently had or I would regret it later.
I had the same realization again today. Yeah, it's the Land Between, but God is there in all seasons of life and in all circumstances. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. This Land Between is another chapter in making me more like Him (even if it doesn't feel that way).
God will provide for me in my 40yrs in the desert. He's put me there to prepare me for inhabiting the Promise Land. How much more I'll appreciate my destination after a long and weary journey. How many memories I can create and lessons I can learn in the Land Between.
~Christina
If you want to watch/listen to the sermon I've mentioned in this post, you can visit the Northview Church website and click "watch messages." This message was from March 10th.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Hosea 2
Before reading this post, please read Hosea 2 [found here]
Particularly pay attention to 2:14-20
“Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
and bring her into the wilderness,
and speak tenderly to her.
15 And there I will give her her vineyards
and make the Valley of Achor [trouble] a door of hope.
And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth,
as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.
Particularly pay attention to 2:14-20
“Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
and bring her into the wilderness,
and speak tenderly to her.
15 And there I will give her her vineyards
and make the Valley of Achor [trouble] a door of hope.
And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth,
as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.
16 “And in that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’ 17 For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more. 18 And I
will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field,
the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety. 19 And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. 20 I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord.
I've been chewing on this passage for awhile. I've read Hosea before, but I don't remember the deep message or the power of the words in it. Maybe it was a little advanced for a 15ish-year-old girl with no life experience. Now that I'm older, I can't believe how profound it is. Until verse 14, the whole chapter talks about her. The truth about her is displayed for us: sin, adultery, whoring, and complete disregard for her Husband [God].
Conviction struck my heart as I read it. I am her. The detestable, the unlovable, the ugly, the stupid girl. God was angry with me. Righteously angry and hurt. Astounding. Mercy, grace, and love are more frequently associated with God in our every day lives. In our worship, in our talk about Him, in our Bible time, and in most times generally. But before He showed me that, He was angry. Furious. He was hurt. Why? Because I hated Him.
But God, even though I hurt Him, reached out to me. When I had gotten myself into a mess and landed in a desert with absolutely nothing, He wooed me. He gave me an understanding of Him I didn't have before. Verse 14 and 15 remind me of what Steve Poe said in a message recently about Moses living in the desert for 40yrs: "Sometimes God puts us in the backside of a desert to change and grow us." He shows us who He really is. He is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5). He wants my devotion, my affection, my time, my heart, my praise, my life, my everything. He wants all of me and He wants me to want all of Him. He wants you to want all of Him too.
Why do we get bent out of shape when something doesn't go right? We don't deserve anything He's given us. It's all Him. He should smite us, leave us, divorce us, never forgive us for what we've done to Him. But He doesn't. When our foundations crumble, He humbles us and reveals Himself.
"And you shall know the Lord."
Thursday, February 7, 2013
The Message Is Already Built In
I stole this from my lovely friend, London Cline. She got it from a friend who got it from a friend in a newsletter from a member of Wycliffe.
Translator Lee Bramlett was confident that God had left His mark on the Hdi culture somewhere, but though he searched, he could not find it. Where was the footprint of God in the history or daily life of these Cameroonian people? What clue had He planted to let the Hdi know Who He was and how He wanted to relate to them?
Then one night in a dream, God prompted Lee to look again at the Hdi word for love. Lee and his wife, Tammi, had learned that verbs in Hdi consistently end in one of three vowels. For almost every verb, they could find forms ending in i, a, and u. But when it came to the word for love, they could only find i and a. Why no u?
Lee asked the Hdi translation committee, which included the most influential leaders in the community, “Could you ‘dvi’ your wife?” “Yes,” they said. That would mean that the wife had been loved but the love was gone.
“Could you ‘dva’ your wife?” “Yes,” they said. That kind of love depended on the wife’s actions. She would be loved as long as she remained faithful and cared for her husband well.
“Could you ‘dvu’ your wife?” Everyone laughed. “Of course not! If you said that, you would have to keep loving your wife no matter what she did, even if she never got you water, never made you meals. Even if she committed adultery, you would be compelled to just keep on loving her. No, we would never say ‘dvu.’ It just doesn’t exist.”
Lee sat quietly for a while, thinking about John 3:16, and then he asked, “Could God ‘dvu’ people?”
There was complete silence for three or four minutes; then tears started to trickle down the weathered faces of these elderly men. Finally they responded. “Do you know what this would mean? This would mean that God kept loving us over and over, millennia after millennia, while all that time we rejected His great love. He is compelled to love us, even though we have sinned more than any people.”
One simple vowel and the meaning was changed from “I love you based on what you do and who you are,” to “I love you, based on Who I am. I love you because of Me and NOT because of you.”
God had encoded the story of His unconditional love right into their language. For centuries, the little word was there—unused but available, grammatically correct and quite understandable. When the word was finally spoken, it called into question their entire belief system. If God was like that, and not a mean and scary spirit, did they need the spirits of the ancestors to intercede for them? Did they need sorcery to relate to the spirits? Many decided the answer was no, and the number of Christ-followers quickly grew from a few hundred to several thousand.
The New Testament in Hdi is ready to be printed now, and 29,000 speakers will soon be able to feel the impact of passages like Ephesians 5:25: “Husbands, ‘dvu’ your wives, just as Christ ‘dvu’-d the church…” I invite you to pray for them as they absorb and seek to model the amazing, unconditional love they have received.
Around the world, community by community, as God’s Word is translated, people are gaining access to this great love story about how God ‘dvu’-d us enough to sacrifice his unique Son for us, so that our relationship with Him can be ordered and oriented correctly. The cross changes everything! Someday, the last word of the last bit of Scripture for the last community will be done, and everyone will be able to understand the story of God’s unconditional love.
-Story directly quoted from Bob Creson’s July 2012 letter to Wycliffe USA staff, entitled “One Little Vowel”
Translator Lee Bramlett was confident that God had left His mark on the Hdi culture somewhere, but though he searched, he could not find it. Where was the footprint of God in the history or daily life of these Cameroonian people? What clue had He planted to let the Hdi know Who He was and how He wanted to relate to them?
Then one night in a dream, God prompted Lee to look again at the Hdi word for love. Lee and his wife, Tammi, had learned that verbs in Hdi consistently end in one of three vowels. For almost every verb, they could find forms ending in i, a, and u. But when it came to the word for love, they could only find i and a. Why no u?
Lee asked the Hdi translation committee, which included the most influential leaders in the community, “Could you ‘dvi’ your wife?” “Yes,” they said. That would mean that the wife had been loved but the love was gone.
“Could you ‘dva’ your wife?” “Yes,” they said. That kind of love depended on the wife’s actions. She would be loved as long as she remained faithful and cared for her husband well.
“Could you ‘dvu’ your wife?” Everyone laughed. “Of course not! If you said that, you would have to keep loving your wife no matter what she did, even if she never got you water, never made you meals. Even if she committed adultery, you would be compelled to just keep on loving her. No, we would never say ‘dvu.’ It just doesn’t exist.”
Lee sat quietly for a while, thinking about John 3:16, and then he asked, “Could God ‘dvu’ people?”
There was complete silence for three or four minutes; then tears started to trickle down the weathered faces of these elderly men. Finally they responded. “Do you know what this would mean? This would mean that God kept loving us over and over, millennia after millennia, while all that time we rejected His great love. He is compelled to love us, even though we have sinned more than any people.”
One simple vowel and the meaning was changed from “I love you based on what you do and who you are,” to “I love you, based on Who I am. I love you because of Me and NOT because of you.”
God had encoded the story of His unconditional love right into their language. For centuries, the little word was there—unused but available, grammatically correct and quite understandable. When the word was finally spoken, it called into question their entire belief system. If God was like that, and not a mean and scary spirit, did they need the spirits of the ancestors to intercede for them? Did they need sorcery to relate to the spirits? Many decided the answer was no, and the number of Christ-followers quickly grew from a few hundred to several thousand.
The New Testament in Hdi is ready to be printed now, and 29,000 speakers will soon be able to feel the impact of passages like Ephesians 5:25: “Husbands, ‘dvu’ your wives, just as Christ ‘dvu’-d the church…” I invite you to pray for them as they absorb and seek to model the amazing, unconditional love they have received.
Around the world, community by community, as God’s Word is translated, people are gaining access to this great love story about how God ‘dvu’-d us enough to sacrifice his unique Son for us, so that our relationship with Him can be ordered and oriented correctly. The cross changes everything! Someday, the last word of the last bit of Scripture for the last community will be done, and everyone will be able to understand the story of God’s unconditional love.
-Story directly quoted from Bob Creson’s July 2012 letter to Wycliffe USA staff, entitled “One Little Vowel”
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
How He Loves
Cheater. Deceptive. Liar. Coward. Adulterer. Deceitful. Hateful.
These are all words I've either heard or used frequently in the past few months to describe a person who doesn't remain true to their significant other. It was in the midst of pain that I carelessly threw these words around and used them to bring down particular people. Not to affirm truth. Not to build up. The main reason I used them was to tarnish the name of the one who hurt me. For my sake.
Then I realized, I am all those things as well. I've cheated. I've deceived. I've lied. I've been a coward. I've committed adultery. I've been deceitful. I've been hateful. You might be thinking, "What on earth is she getting at?" We're all these things. We've done all these things to God. When was the last time you had a great time in God's Word and sought comfort eating that piece of chocolate cake instead of falling in His arms? I'm consistently bad at just ignoring what's bothering me or running to work, school, friend time, cooking, and other distractions to get over it. That's cheating on God.
In Mark 8:38, we're called an 'adulterous and sinful generation.' Our relationship with God is THE move important than any other relationship we will ever have. What kind of spouse have you been? You may say, "But Christina, that's not my relationship with God works." If this is you, you are missing out on something extraordinary.
Isaiah 54:4-8
Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more. For you Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. For the Lord has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God. For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you.
This is an amazing relationship.
As I've continued to think about this, the more awe I have for God. The pain I'm experiencing is experienced by God. every. time. I cheat on him.
Let's be modest and admit that happens at least five times a day.
That's a lot of hurt.
I'm 21 years old, and Scripture teaches our nature is sinful, so 5 x 7665 (days I've been sinning and cheating on Him) = 38,325 minimum times in my life that I've cheated on God.
That's an awful lot of hurt.
And that's just me! Multiply that by the number of people who have ever lived or ever will live. People who live longer than I have or will. People who don't know the name of Jesus.
The amount of hurt that God feels from us cheating is astronomical.
Yet, he says 'I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.' (Jeremiah 31:3)
This is amazing love. God calls us to this relationship and he KNEW we would be unfaithful to him. For all the hurt we cause him, he continues to give us love.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7)
This post has mostly become about cheating. It's a problem we need to think about. Our society has a tendency to blacklist carnal cheaters. But we're all spiritual and emotional cheaters on God. He the only one who deserves our affection, our hearts, our bodies, our minds, our very beings and yet we claim them for our own.
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? (I Corinthians 6:19)
We're an adulterous generation. But if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9).
Stop being a cheater. Learn from the Lover. He wants your heart.
~Christina
These are all words I've either heard or used frequently in the past few months to describe a person who doesn't remain true to their significant other. It was in the midst of pain that I carelessly threw these words around and used them to bring down particular people. Not to affirm truth. Not to build up. The main reason I used them was to tarnish the name of the one who hurt me. For my sake.
Then I realized, I am all those things as well. I've cheated. I've deceived. I've lied. I've been a coward. I've committed adultery. I've been deceitful. I've been hateful. You might be thinking, "What on earth is she getting at?" We're all these things. We've done all these things to God. When was the last time you had a great time in God's Word and sought comfort eating that piece of chocolate cake instead of falling in His arms? I'm consistently bad at just ignoring what's bothering me or running to work, school, friend time, cooking, and other distractions to get over it. That's cheating on God.
In Mark 8:38, we're called an 'adulterous and sinful generation.' Our relationship with God is THE move important than any other relationship we will ever have. What kind of spouse have you been? You may say, "But Christina, that's not my relationship with God works." If this is you, you are missing out on something extraordinary.
Isaiah 54:4-8
Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more. For you Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. For the Lord has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God. For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you.
This is an amazing relationship.
As I've continued to think about this, the more awe I have for God. The pain I'm experiencing is experienced by God. every. time. I cheat on him.
Let's be modest and admit that happens at least five times a day.
That's a lot of hurt.
I'm 21 years old, and Scripture teaches our nature is sinful, so 5 x 7665 (days I've been sinning and cheating on Him) = 38,325 minimum times in my life that I've cheated on God.
That's an awful lot of hurt.
And that's just me! Multiply that by the number of people who have ever lived or ever will live. People who live longer than I have or will. People who don't know the name of Jesus.
The amount of hurt that God feels from us cheating is astronomical.
Yet, he says 'I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.' (Jeremiah 31:3)
This is amazing love. God calls us to this relationship and he KNEW we would be unfaithful to him. For all the hurt we cause him, he continues to give us love.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7)
This post has mostly become about cheating. It's a problem we need to think about. Our society has a tendency to blacklist carnal cheaters. But we're all spiritual and emotional cheaters on God. He the only one who deserves our affection, our hearts, our bodies, our minds, our very beings and yet we claim them for our own.
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? (I Corinthians 6:19)
We're an adulterous generation. But if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9).
Stop being a cheater. Learn from the Lover. He wants your heart.
~Christina
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