Category — faith

Yep, I admit it.  I’ve apparently gone awol.  Missing In Action.

Yeah – sorry about that.

It’s been a kinda busy month or so around these parts… ya know with taking 3- classes, having sick kids, Easter, family in town – twice, and me being stupid & throwing my back out (tends to make sitting nearly impossible!)

BUT – I think I’m back!  Yay!

Of course, along with the list above, there has been the spiritual aspect as well.  Personally I’ve been arguing with God (yes, again) and – as usual – He’s winning.  Don’t you just hate that?  He ALWAYS wins!  (thank goodness!)

I’ve finally determined that my personal lesson for 2010 (at least the first half) is just how much of a wimp I really am… and I mean in just about every way.  I can’t do this thing called life on my own, or in my own strength.  DUH!  I have to do this thing called life in HIS strength.

Living life in His strength just isn’t the easiest thing in the world to do because that requires you to turn over control.  Something that within our humanity we tend to find just a little bit difficult.  Sure, we say that we will lay our troubles at His feet, that He is in control… but as soon as we start to feel like we aren’t in control we try to take it all back again.

You see, it’s the leaving it there that’s the hard part.  Sure, we will turn it over to God when it starts to get hard.  When we start to feel overwhelmed.  But as soon as those feelings pass we start to justify why we really should take control again.  After all, we aren’t feeling overwhelmed anymore, so we can handle it… right?

WRONG!

Our lives are so far beyond our control, so far beyond what we can handle in our humanity that it’s nearly insane to even try.  We have a threat of losing our job – quick!  Send up a prayer.  We get bad news from the Dr. and quick!  Send up another prayer.  We have tried to put God in a little brass lamp that we can rub whenever we think we need something.  God is not a genie in a bottle.  God is not our personal “get me out of this jam quick” savior.  He is the God of the universe!

And once we get a glimpse of how great He really is, well, it should change us.

Jesus calls us to live out a life in submission to Him.  He calls us to take up our cross and follow Him – not to say a few words and expect Him to follow us around like a pet dog!  That’s the wrong kind of unconditional love.  In that scenario, well, we would be the dog.  We should be the one looking at our Master with adoring eyes and willing to do whatever He asks us to do – NOT the other way around!

Yes, Jesus Christ is our Savior.  But He is not going to save us from the trials of life.  He is going to save us from our sin.  The bible never promised that choosing to follow Jesus would be easy – in fact, it promises exactly the opposite!  To take up our cross and follow Jesus is to choose a life of persecution.  Is to choose a life of discomfort, of possible loneliness.  To choose to give up everything and follow His leading, no matter the cost.

I recently began reading the book “Radical – Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream” by David Platt, and I must say that he brings out some pretty hard truths in just the first chapter!  so far the line that got me the most was this:

And the danger now is that when we gather in our church buildings to sing and lift up our hands in worship, we may not actually be worshiping the Jesus of the Bible. Instead we may be worshiping ourselves.

As Platt brings out in his book, we have begun to change who Jesus is to us.  We don’t want to believe that He would actually call us to walk away from our job or sell something that we like to help someone else – or even to choose not to buy something we want and give that money to missions.  We don’t want to think that he might actually ask us to leave our family of birth and risk our lives to tell people about Him!  No, that’s not what Jesus would ask us to do!

Um… folks, re-read the gospels and you will see… that is exactly what He asked His disciples to do.  To walk away from their livelihoods, their families and everything they knew, and follow Him wherever He would lead to – even unto death.

Wow…

And to think, I struggle with setting aside time each day to work on the bible study that I’m leading!  Here I am, an American Christian living in a 1500 sq. ft. house with 2 cars in the driveway and junk that I really need to figure out how to get rid of.  HEre I am with plenty of food in the fridge and pantry that my family can have something to eat whenever they feel a twinge of hunger.  I have fresh, clean water piped into my warm, dry house – so much that I don’t think twice about using it to take a longer-than-normal shower occasionally, and re-wash that load of clothes that got left in the washer a bit too long.

We are so full of ourselves!

We are so comfortable!  Proclaiming that we believe in Jesus Christ doesn’t bring any stronger persecution to us than perhaps some laughter around the water cooler.  We have good jobs, and so far no one can fire us for professing to be a Christian.  Our country is slowly losing it’s Judeo-Christian morals and values, but we are too afraid to rock the boat to say anything about it.

People in Asia are being killed because they profess faith in Jesus Christ.

They are being thrown in jail.  They are being tortured.

and they are glad to suffer for the sake of Christ.

I’m preaching to me here… I can’t think of any time that I truly suffered because of my belief in Jesus Christ.  Being teased at school doesn’t quite make that cut – especially when you grew up in a fairly “Christian” part of the country.  I do find myself wondering if I would have the strength to suffer for His sake.

I know that on my own, I would fail.  On my own, I couldn’t do it.

But I’m slowly learning that I’m not called to do anything on my own.

I am called to live out the life that He places before me… and to live it by and in His strength.

After all, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

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And for those interested in “Radical” – you can download and read the first chapter here.  And while supplies last you can get a free copy of the companion book “The Radical Question” by going to WaterBrookMultnomah.com/RadicalQuestion

And no, I haven’t received a free copy of the book – I followed the same steps I just told you about and downloaded the first chapter… I’m still processing what I’ve already read, and I’m only halfway through chapter one.  I am very much looking forward to reading the rest of the book… and a little frightened!  I know that God is calling me to go deeper with Him… but being the comfortable American that I am, that is a scary thing.

But is it worth it?

Absolutely.

Yep, this post is going up before our services this weekend.  Seems a little backwards, doesn’t it!

I wish I could take credit for the idea, but I can’t.  I came across this post over at Kretzu.com/blog today, and it just makes sense, so I’m going to try it.

We will have two services this weekend – one on Friday night at 7, and our regular Sunday morning service at 10.  Both will be held at the Old Arlington High School (or Highland Christian School, for those that prefer that) in the auditorium.

Here are the songs that we will be singing for Good Friday…

• Jesus Messiah (Chris Tomlin)
• The Wonderful Cross (Chris Tomlin)
• Blessed Redeemer (Casting Crowns)
• Lead Me to the Cross  (Brooke Fraser/Hillsong United)
• Nothing But The Blood  (Matt Redman)
• Jesus’ Blood  (Martin Smith/Delirious?)
• The Love of God  (Mercy Me)
• You Gave Your Life Away  (Kathryn Scott/Paul Baloche)

And these are the songs for Resurrection Sunday morning…

• Today Is The Day (Lincoln Brewster/Paul Baloche)
• All Because Of Jesus (Steve Fee)
• Glorious (Paul Baloche/Brenton Brown)
• Revelation Song (Kari Jobe – written by Jennie Lee Riddle)
• Glorious Day (Casting Crowns)
• Happy Day (Tim Hughes-sung by Steve Fee/Kim Walker)
• Marvelous Light (Charlie Hall – as sung by Christy Nockles)

These can all be found on iTunes, YouTube.com and other places.  I’m sure you can even find them on a Pandora station.  If you have them, I encourage you to listen to them before our services this weekend!

What is the reason behind posting this early?  It’s simple… worship is not something that just happens on a Sunday morning for 20 minutes or so.  Worship is what we do each day with our lives.  Worship is giving our lives over to God each minute.  Music is just a small part of that, but it is a part that can be very powerful.

If you have the time to listen through these songs – even just a few of them – you will be preparing your heart and mind for more fully bringing your worship before God when we gather together this weekend!  Personal worship is a vital part of our Christian walk, but corporate worship is also very important.  We need to gather together with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we need to pray together, to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with one another.  We need to worship God together.

By listening to the songs in advance, you will also be more familiar with them – some of them are still newer songs to our body.  Some of them are also planned as special music, but I would love for the words to really sink into your hearts and minds – they are very powerful.  I pray that you will allow the truths that are being sung to wash over you, to seep in, and to be real in your hearts and lives.

I am really looking forward to worshiping with you this weekend.  We had such a fun rehearsal last night, and it is my hope that some of that joy that we felt will be passed along to each person that joins us this weekend.

Worshiping God through music is fun!  It brings us joy and allows us to relax into God’s presence more easily.  It is my prayer that our times of corporate worship do that for you as well.

Happy Easter!

I’m taking a class right now, and one of the required texts for reading is “Ancient-Future Time” by Robert E. Webber.

As I was reading today, I came across a sentance that caused me to stop and ponder it for a while – and I wanted to share those thoughts.

Mr. Webber made the following statement:

When we turn away from something, we turn towards something new.

Of course he was applying it to our turning towards God through Jesus and turning away from sin, however this concept (unfortunately) works in the other direction as well.

When we turn away from God, we are turning towards sin.  Or, if you prefer, when we turn towards sin, we are quite seriously turning away from God.

In our lives when we choose to turn away from some part of our lives, there will be something there that is different – and not always better for us.  Alternatevely, when we turn towards something new, we are making a choice to turn away from something that is presently a part of our lives.

The ideal is, of course, to turn towards God and away from sin, to turn towards truth and away from a lie.  The unfortunate thing is that we can also choose to turn towards sin – effectively turning away from God.

So what do we do when this has happened in our lives?  The correct choice is to make a course correction when we realize that it has happened.  We must then repent and turn back to God – and away from the path that sin is leading us down.  A path that leads to destruction and death.

How do we know that we have turned away from God?

The bible says that the Holy Spirit will whisper to us when we turn to the right or to the left to help us stay on the correct path, however we can condition our spirit to ignore His promptings – and the more we ignore them, well, the less we hear them in the first place.

THIS IS DANGEROUS!

Once we have conditioned ourselves to ignore Him, just think of how much harder it is once we desire to hear His voice again!  We must take the time and put in the effort to re-cultivate our spiritual ears to listen to Him, and while we are cleaning out our ears we must make the concious choice to die to the flesh in regards to the temptations of that path of sin!

Fortunately we serve a God who is a God of Love… a God that offers grace and forgiveness to us no matter how far we have strayed from Him.  We don’t deserve His love, grace and forgiveness, and there is no way we could ever work our way back to Him on our own.  BUT… He so desires us that He created a way for us to “get back into His good graces” as it were.

We must cry out to Him in repentance and ask for His forgiveness.  Until we are broken by our sin and cry out to Him we will continue down that same side road over and over again.

The choice of turning away from the sin and towards God MUST be a willful decision.  We can’t just float along through life and try not to ripple the waters around us.  It’s either walk-by-faith… or sink.

If we don’t place our faith in Jesus we will sink.  If we turn away from Jesus and look to the world, we will sink.  If, however, we will keep our hearts focused on Jesus, we will be able to walk on the water towards Him.  He has promised to give us whatever we need to get through the storms that we find ourselves in – but He never promised to take us out of the storms.

There’s a great new song out by Carlos Whittaker called “Rain It Down” that describes what we should be doing.  Here are the lyrics:

There’s a storm coming in the distance
Some will run to it and some will resist it
Our eyes will turn to the sky
With desert hearts looking to the heavens
Desperate for Your holy fountain
Our eyes will turn to the sky

Rain down on us Father
Rain down on us Spirit
Rain down on us Jesus
Rain down on us

There’s nothing like Your healing water
Pour it out on Your sons and daughters
Our eyes are lifted high
We are here and we are waiting
Flood our hearts ’til they’re overflowing
Our hands are lifted high

Come Lord we’re thirsty now
Come Lord and rain it down
Come Lord we’re thirsty now
Come Lord and rain it down

When we find ourselves in the midst of a storm we need to embrace it.  We need to cry out for God to rain down His healing waters upon our dry & thirsty souls – not cry out for it to be over.

We need to turn towards God.

Lent…

Growing up (in the church, I might add) I had never heard of this season.  Not once.  I remember the first time I ever heard of it – and of someone giving something up for it.  I was a sophmore in college – yeah, like I said, I had never heard of it.

So what is the big deal about this thing called Lent?

Well, recent study has shown me that there actually is a big deal about it… and it all comes down to the heart.

The season of Lent is a season of preparation – preparing your heart and mind for Easter.  The 40 day period was chosen (in part) due to the 40 day period that Jesus spent in the desert before beginning His earthly ministry.  There are also other periods of preperation lasting 40 days in the Bible – it rained for 40 days & 40 nights and created a flood to cleanse the world, Moses stayed on the mountain of God 40 days, the spies were sent into the promised land for 40 days, and Elijah travelled 40 days to reach the cave where he had his vision, just to name a few.

So how do we use this time?  We pray – or we should.  It is a time to truly look at our lives and see if there is anything holding us back from the best that God has for us.  The things that people “give up for Lent” are (usually) not bad things – they are good things, however they may find that these things hold them back from the better and best that God wants for them.  De-cluttering our lives and minds from these things and devoting extra time to prayer helps us to see this.

So why fasting?

Well, fasting is very biblical.  Jesus said “When you fast…” not “if”.  God calls us to fast on occasion to draw our focus to Him.  Again, removing something from our lives can help us have a greater appreciation for it when it returns.  Ash Wednesday is traditionally a day of fasting, as are the 6 Fridays in Lent.  Sundays, however, are excluded from Lent, as they are a day of celebration for what God has done, namely conquering the grave and bringing us salvation.

This season helps re-align our focus – feeling the pangs of hunger and not allowing yourself to partake of something you enjoy for a short season helps us to focus in on our need – our need for God’s grace and the salvation that Jesus brought through the cross.

Taking the time that you would usually spend eating or watching tv or whatever your “thing” is that you give up for a season is beneficial in that you will draw closer to God – and that is never a bad thing!

I have never taken part in Lent before, however this year I will be.  I will have days that I fast, days that I spend that extra time in prayer, and I will be giving up something that is fun – but not a necessity to life.  And I will be spending that 20-30 minutes a day (or longer) that I used to spend on that and giving it to God.  After all, I’m sure He has a better use for it that I was putting it to!

I’m looking forward to this time – to the opportunity to walk through a period of suffering with Jesus, to draw closer to Him, and to more deeply appreciate the celebration of Easter.

How about you?  Is Lent a part of your life?  If not, is it something you have ever considered?

I recently received a book in the mail to read.  It’s called Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity.

Wow.

If you are looking for something that will help pull you out of that spiritual funk that you have found yourself in, check it out.  While Primal may not be the answer, it will point you back to the answer.

What does that mean?  It means that Mark Batterson has written a book about getting back into that relationship with God that we need to have.  He has included ideas and personal anecdotes that will help spur you onto good things and remind you of many of the ways you can build – or re-build – your relationship with Jesus Christ.  He focuses on compassion, wonder, curiosity, and power in our relationship with God, and reminds us of why these are important.

It’s that time of year when we have been going, going, going with a slow-down that hits right after Christmas and a time for looking at our lives and re-evaluating things.  Is there a better time for a refresher course on getting in touch with our Creator?

If you are floundering out there somewhere feeling like you need to draw closer to God, I recommend picking up Primal – it will show you a way back into that relationship.  It will remind you why we need a Savior and how to take part in that Great Commandment that Jesus gave us – to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind & strength, and to love others.  After all, is there a better way to share God with others than through relationships?  Our lives should proclaim Him, but if we aren’t strengthening our relationship with Him, our lives won’t be talking very loudly.

So, where can you pick up your copy of Primal?

It is available at booksellers nationwide on Dec 22, 2009, just in time to be the first book you read in 2010 – or perhaps that quieter week after Christmas.

Personally, I like to get books through Amazon.com.  Other places that I often shop for books are CBD,  Borders.com and BarnesandNoble.com

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Oh, and the legal stuff – I received this book for free to read and review.

I have two beautiful daughters.  They are still young, and thankfully they are still enjoying the protection and shelter of our home.

However…

They are getting to the age where they are wanting to go to friends houses, being invited to sleep-overs and are beginning to test the limits of their boundaries and enjoying some tastes of independence.

These are good things – don’t get me wrong – but as a mom of two beautiful girls I have concerns.

• How can I protect them when I am not around?
• Have we taught them and guided them enough that they will stay within the boundries that we have set up?
• Will they remember the rules that we have set for them when they are not at home?
• Will they truly understand that they need to guard their eyes to protect their hearts?
• Will they come to me if they have questions?
• Will they come to me if they chose to break a rule and need help?
• Will they come to me of someone else breaks those rules for them?

These are a few of the concerns that I have as I send them out each day.  I have to trust God for these things (among so very many others!) and know that He is in control.

However, some girls were not so lucky.  Some were not protected and taught to guard their eyes to protect their hearts.  Some chose to disregard those lessons.  Some chose to just take a peek – after all, what harm can just a peek do?

Just a peek.

Just a peek can start us down a path that is tangled and hard to find your way out of.  If you or someone you know has started down this tangled and crooked path I have good news for you.

You are not alone.

And I have better news…

Help is available

A friend of mine has been there.  She has lived on that tangled and crooked road, and she has found the path that well bring you back off of it.  The best part?  She is sharing that with the world.

Yes, if you or someone you know has ever struggled or is currently struggling with porn, Crystal and DirtyGirlMinistries.com is here to help.

If you need help, it is there.

This day has foerever been changed for American’s… at least we can hope that it will be forever remembered.

Where were you 8 years ago?

Most of the world knew what was going on before I did.  You see, I was a stay-at-home mom of an almost 1 year old and we didn’t have cable.  Live streaming on the web wasn’t quite there yet, and all I had was a cell phone.

That phone rang.

On the other end of the line was my mom in Colorado, calling to let me know that an airplane had just struck a tower of the world trade center.  All of the sudden she stopped talking – then in a ruch she said “Oh my Goodness!  Another plane JUST HIT THE SECOND TOWER!!!!  I can’t believe this is happening?  What is going on?”

Many people lost their lives that day.  Many more people lost loved ones.  Many were afraid that they had lost someone, and the stories that came out over the next weeks and months of people who were running late to work or had to stay home with sick children came out.  Women whose husbands had given their lives to save others became heroes overnight.  Books were written, and America was united… for a while.

But now we look back through a filter of 8 years.

Can it truly have happened?  Was it real?

I had a cousin working at a hospital in NYC.  A cousin who had arrived home from a night shift and was in the shower when it happened.  A cousin who turned around and went back to work that morning to help however she could.  She sent out an email to her family letting us know that she was OK, and that she was heading back.

I have a friend who has made a ministry around caring for those firefighters who were impacted.  She takes teams of people to NYC a few times a year to minister to the firehouses.  They take coffee and cocoa and Jesus to these men and women.  They pray for them DAILY.  They listen to the stories.  The bring back the stories to Washongton State and share them with others who can pray more specifically.

We should all be praying for those who lost someone.  It’s the least we can do.

I went to NYC a couple of years ago.  Manhatten.  As we were walking, there was suddenly an empty space ahead in the sky – no buildings were there.  Yes, it sounds odd, but I was wondering why there was so much sky there.

Then I turned the corner.

and I remembered.

Twisted metal in a deep hole, a deep pile of rubble.  A huge expanse of sky above it with no tall buildings to block it.  A fire station directly across the street with a memorial set up to those that responded first… and lost their lives in the attempt to save others.

There is a memorial set up across the street with “found objects” a womans black pump, a spoon from the restaurant at the top, notes and photos of those who were and are missing.  Video from 9/11/01.  Teddy bears.

That is the hardest for me as a mom.  Knowing that children lost their lives, that children lost their parents.  Their grandparents, aunts and uncles.  Babies were orphaned overnight.  I look at my almost-9-eao-old daughter and know that it could just as easily have happened to her.  She could have lost Mommy or Daddy to an act of terror.  We could have lost her.

And it still could happen to any of us.

BUT

That is a powerful word, but I know another one that when added to it is so much more…

But GOD

That is the most powerful word in any language… GOD

GOD is the reason that we don’t need to live in fear.

GOD is the reason that we can have hope – hope for today and tomorrow.  Hope for our children and their children.

GOD is the one that brings peace to our hearts and minds and lives.

Yes, we should remember what happened 8 years ago.  Yes, we should keep those who were directly affected in our prayers.  Yes, we should be united as a country.  Yes, we need to teach our children about the ugly reality that this world is…

But GOD needs to be shared and taught even more so.  We need to live our lives in such a way that Jesus shines through us, that Jesus can use us to make an impact on the world around us.  That Jesus can impact the lives of our children and their children.  That Jesus can bring unity and love and kindness and justice and mercy and forgiveness and acceptance and peace and hope.

For without Him, there is no hope.

Lest I forget, lest we all forget.  Lives were sacrificed 8 years ago.  Lives were stolen away.  But there is a life that was freely given that can save us all, and those of us who know Him need to share Him with those who are hurting and fearful.  Those who are in need and those who have too much.  Those that need a Comforter and a Friend.

Remember those who were affected, and choose to be an effect on our world.

Recent events have brought a thought to my mind…

…Namely the murder of a doctor while he was attending church…

…and a simple verse in the Bible.

“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35

It seems that The Church has gotten a little off of the narrow path as of late (and by late I mean over the past 1500 years or so).  We are supposed to love one another.  We are supposed to love those whom God has created – even if we don’t like the sin that they are committing.

There is another verse that these events brought to mind…

“Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written,
“VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord.”  Romans 12:19

… which is at the end of a passage on how we are to serve one another.  I highly recommend reading through Romans 12 if you have the time – if only for the reminder of how we are to treat one another within the body of Christ.

Then, of course, there is that short little verse in Exodus 20:13 (and Deuternonomy 5:17) which has just 4 little words:

Thou Shalt Not Kill.

Um… yeah.

So far I’ve been staying pretty high-level, common knowledge with these references, and yet so much of the Church at large seems to forget that they exist!  Why is God so often used as an excuse to show cruelty?  Just a few examples:

• The Crusades (it was really all about the wealth of the area… Europeans had never seen anything like Byzantium!)
• Hitler’s oppression of the Jews (and let’s face it, he’s not the only one!  Many “Christians” show heavy anti-symatism)
• the Religious Right using their bibles to bash anyone who gets in their way.
• The Pharisees & Sadducees who were the earthly force God used to hang Jesus on the cross… and who then persecuted His followers, forcing them to the ends of the known earth.

I said it was just a few examples… that list could go on and on and on.  We have all experienced it – someone using God or their faith as an excuse to put someone else down.  I daresay we have even done it once or twice ourselves.

But what does Jesus call us to?  Does he tell us to go out and sin against God in His name?  Does He send us out to steal, kill and destroy?  It seems to me that description was reserved for a different kind of roaring lion.

No, He called us to love.  To build relationships with those that we meet on a day to day basis, to share Jesus with them – and occasionally to use words.

Folks, our actions should show them Jesus!  We should be living our lives in such a way that people see HIM when they look at us.  We are called to be salt and light to a lost and dying world – something that is hard to do when our lives are no different than theirs, and is especially hard when we are behaving with less self control or morality.

Here’s a crazy thought…

What if we took the energy that we normally would use to cut down others or vent our frustrations and instead spent it on reaching out in love to a lost and dying world?

What if we focused our attention on taking a meal to the neighbor who lost a loved one or who recently had a child or lost their job?

What if we offered to watch the kids down the street for an afternoon or evening so their mom could have some down time or go out on a date with her husband?

What if we baked a double or triple batch of cookies and took the time to walk around the neighborhood and share the extras with those who live around us?

What if the next time we wanted to say something negative or derogatory about someone we reigned in our tongue and prayed for them instead?

What if instead of watching 3 hours of TV with your kids tonight, you played a game with them?  Or spent 10 minutes each night memorizing a scripture verse as a family?

What if we allowed the love that is God so fill our lives that it overflowed into everything that we did?

Somehow I think that if The Church would focus on Love, we could change the world.

They will know us by our love and be changed, or they will see us through our hate and turn away.

01-we-are-one-in-the-spirit-_-by-our-love

One last reminder… revival starts in the heart – yours and mine.

I think I need to go bake some cookies.

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