this old gentleman who's been around YWAM since it's crazy beginnings a handfull of decades ago spoke to us a couple weeks ago.
he's one of those people that when you look him in the eyes, you know you've just caught a tiny glimpse of God. he swallows you in with the constant joy and rest he's been given in God's presence; and this countenance despite going into some of the most scary places on this entire planet. repeatedly.
i found myself litterally sitting on the very edge of my seat as he spoke. i'm starving hungry to know God as He really is, not as a second-hand God; and this man has grasped on to quite a chunk of my Husband.
He spoke about how God longs for 3 things in His kids as we TRUST Him-
*deliverness
*relaxation
*happiness
this is how this watching world all around us sees a difference in us; how they see and want what Jesus has put deeply in them to want.
He isn't a nagging, assuming the worst, pessimistic God at all. He grins and full-on shouts about you. He really gets a kick out of you coming to the end of your resources, connections, and strength. He enjoys you. tons. more than you ever thought He'd care to. and it must grieve Him so much when we don't honestly, passionately, repeatedly, and innocently enjoy Him in return.
did a greek study on faith this week. a couple passages in mt. 8 & 9 about faith in greek say
"as you have trusted, let it become to you."
how do you trust someone? spending time with them often and deeply in order to continually get to know them inside and out & by also letting them prove to you that they'll come through and they're for you, on your side- not against you- out for your highest good always.
how do you let them prove to you they'll come through? by being willing to LET them take care of you instead of trying to take care of yourself all the time.
thinking about God's grace this morn., too.
grace = "unmerited, unearnable favor of God"
definition of grace =
To perform a kindness or service for; oblige.
To treat or regard with friendship, approval, or support.
To be partial to; indulge a liking for
To be in support of.
To make easier or more possible; facilitate
To treat with care; be gentle with
favor. of God. God favors us. favor. God of creation, redemption, all knowledge, source of all love and everything good and grand- that God - His favor- resting on you and i.
wait, so does that mean i work really hard and then pray and ask Him to show up? no sir.
wait, so does that mean i consult flesh and blood and don't really include God because i don't wanna bother some distant big thing in the sky? oh no no sir.
so does that mean i run around like mad trying to prove my heart to humans and work really hard @ becoming something or someone? nopey.
How about the possibility that the raining down of God's provision, ease, support, friendship, & approval is seeing us through a life of impossible struggle, of hardship and confusion for sure- but we won't have to carry that dark, heavy feeling of doing it alone. of never adding up.
Go and enjoy God deeply and unencumbered this week guys. He sure is nuts about and enjoys you.
"we're as close to God as we choose to be. He never witholds His love and presence from us, we alone hold ourselves back from Him."
Thursday, July 27, 2006
been going through the deepest soul-surgery i've ever been through. spiritual gift surveys, personality profiles, etc. come nowhere near as close to the depth and resultant healing with God's Truth like this study "The Divine Plumbline" by Dr. Bruce Thompson. yikers. do it. go-now- please do it and be much more aware of God's healing and lifting of burdens you didn't haven't the slightest clue you even had.
cold sweet coffee is such a blessing.
walks in the rain pretty much make my week.
as do walks on starry, breezy texas evenings.
communal living is pretty sweet.
people comfortable enough to just be themselves-laid back, then quiet, then crazy hilarious, then observative, then goofy and fake falling.....ahhhhh it's so great. love it.
God asking you to get on your hands and knees and dig up all the dreams you buried in an effort to protect yourself from pain and confusion again...amazing.
God actually caring more about your dreams than you do...priceless.
cold sweet coffee is such a blessing.
walks in the rain pretty much make my week.
as do walks on starry, breezy texas evenings.
communal living is pretty sweet.
people comfortable enough to just be themselves-laid back, then quiet, then crazy hilarious, then observative, then goofy and fake falling.....ahhhhh it's so great. love it.
God asking you to get on your hands and knees and dig up all the dreams you buried in an effort to protect yourself from pain and confusion again...amazing.
God actually caring more about your dreams than you do...priceless.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Some Spots In Me That Truth Has Taken Over
from class wednesday, 7/5/06-
we access the cross and salvation through:
1. repentence
2. faith
then, as a believer in Christ- we access daily victory and power through God and over satan through:
1. repentence
2. faith
i was this past month down here of how i don't enjoy God and "us"enough- my Daddy and Best Friend and Savior. i spend too much time clamoring to like "fix" our relationship and somehow get it "perfect" or somethin; as if i'm gonna like beat God to ultimate sanctification or some rediculousness like that. it's wacky wrong. all the while disregarding spending enough of my days just resting in His lap enjoying Him.
why why why, do so many Christians live like the rest of the world- stressed, worried, heavy w/ burdens? this shouldn't be friends. Jesus was so excited in John 14 i think when He was telling the disciples to get pumped up because after He left they'd be even more blessed b/c of the help of the ultimate Helper; Someone to lean fully on and on Who's steam and energy we'd work in. He didn't say to run around "doing" for me and then maybe ask the Spirit for some help 10% of the time. It's silly folks. Think of the magnitude of the Messiah Himself saying "you are blessed that I'm leaving...b/c it signifies the arrival of Another..."
and accessing more of God's presence, blessing, and pleasure is not JUST granted through our repentence. if the Spirit has convicted us of something we admit, confess, and ask 4 forgiveness made possible through the Lamb's blood and we turn a different way and MOVE ON.
walking around having a downcast, repentent spirit all the time when there's nada that's been revealed right then to repent of IS NOT HUMILITY. it is condemnation and if "therefore there is now NO condemnation" for us in Christ then all condemnation is from satan.
so, we move to step two - faith.
"without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God." not kinda sortta still maybe possible sometimes. IMPOSSIBLE.
i have wasted so much time trying to "fix" myself apart from the Spirit's power and have failed to just step into part two: faith ("confidence in Christ"). ah what release and peace. Jesus got angry with sin, no doubt. but He got upset so many times with believers b/c of "their lack of faith". and when you study the greek texts, "trust" and "faith are often interchangeable!
A couple passages in Mt. 8 & 9 about faith in greek say "as you have trusted, let it become to you." how do you trust someone? spending time with them often and deeply in order to continually get to know them inside and out & by also letting them prove to you that they'll come through and they're for you, on your side- not against you- out for your highest good always. how do you let them prove to you they'll come through? by being willing to LET them take care of you instead of trying to take care of yourself all the time. oh friends, study God's loving character, provision and power. then act on it. have faith in God. don't let unbelief have a foothold. Take stock this week of how well you know God as revealed in the Word and in your life now., and how well you therefore trust Him with everything. everything.
oh how i wish the "year of jubilee" was still practiced like in the O.T. : a time of forgiving financial debts, rest from work, and celebrating all the good that God brought in the previous years. or even if a weekly sabbath was truly lived out- how much more effective as Chrsitians would we all be? it deserves some serious thought.
Nehemiah 8:10
"Nehemiah said, 'Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.'
we access the cross and salvation through:
1. repentence
2. faith
then, as a believer in Christ- we access daily victory and power through God and over satan through:
1. repentence
2. faith
i was this past month down here of how i don't enjoy God and "us"enough- my Daddy and Best Friend and Savior. i spend too much time clamoring to like "fix" our relationship and somehow get it "perfect" or somethin; as if i'm gonna like beat God to ultimate sanctification or some rediculousness like that. it's wacky wrong. all the while disregarding spending enough of my days just resting in His lap enjoying Him.
why why why, do so many Christians live like the rest of the world- stressed, worried, heavy w/ burdens? this shouldn't be friends. Jesus was so excited in John 14 i think when He was telling the disciples to get pumped up because after He left they'd be even more blessed b/c of the help of the ultimate Helper; Someone to lean fully on and on Who's steam and energy we'd work in. He didn't say to run around "doing" for me and then maybe ask the Spirit for some help 10% of the time. It's silly folks. Think of the magnitude of the Messiah Himself saying "you are blessed that I'm leaving...b/c it signifies the arrival of Another..."
and accessing more of God's presence, blessing, and pleasure is not JUST granted through our repentence. if the Spirit has convicted us of something we admit, confess, and ask 4 forgiveness made possible through the Lamb's blood and we turn a different way and MOVE ON.
walking around having a downcast, repentent spirit all the time when there's nada that's been revealed right then to repent of IS NOT HUMILITY. it is condemnation and if "therefore there is now NO condemnation" for us in Christ then all condemnation is from satan.
so, we move to step two - faith.
"without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God." not kinda sortta still maybe possible sometimes. IMPOSSIBLE.
i have wasted so much time trying to "fix" myself apart from the Spirit's power and have failed to just step into part two: faith ("confidence in Christ"). ah what release and peace. Jesus got angry with sin, no doubt. but He got upset so many times with believers b/c of "their lack of faith". and when you study the greek texts, "trust" and "faith are often interchangeable!
A couple passages in Mt. 8 & 9 about faith in greek say "as you have trusted, let it become to you." how do you trust someone? spending time with them often and deeply in order to continually get to know them inside and out & by also letting them prove to you that they'll come through and they're for you, on your side- not against you- out for your highest good always. how do you let them prove to you they'll come through? by being willing to LET them take care of you instead of trying to take care of yourself all the time. oh friends, study God's loving character, provision and power. then act on it. have faith in God. don't let unbelief have a foothold. Take stock this week of how well you know God as revealed in the Word and in your life now., and how well you therefore trust Him with everything. everything.
oh how i wish the "year of jubilee" was still practiced like in the O.T. : a time of forgiving financial debts, rest from work, and celebrating all the good that God brought in the previous years. or even if a weekly sabbath was truly lived out- how much more effective as Chrsitians would we all be? it deserves some serious thought.
Nehemiah 8:10
"Nehemiah said, 'Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.'
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
ummmmm...whoever is praying for me to see myself as God sees me....oh snap- puleeeze keep it up! this is stud-o-rama.
i'm seriously learning that when i am critical and short-sighted, staring @ myself and other people (humanism stinksssss!) i am pretty much always dealing with some sort of insecurity.
this trend is rampant in Christ's Body right now i think. and i'm being taught by God that insecurity = lack of faith, unbelief, grievous to God.
straight-up. seriously, insecurity does not warrant babying but a study of God and who He tells me i am. based on Who He is. it hurts Him guys. it blocks the flow of His Spirit through the pipes that are you and me.
satan gets a smile on his face, we look down in shame and self-abasement, and God must wonder when the way we think of ourselves and others will match up with what He died to give us-
worth beyond a set value - infinite value is placed on our infinite souls by the infinite God. and you possess, right this second as you read this, an identity that can be shared with no other person ever stitched together in their mom's belly.
do you see the horror of comparison? it is a hamster wheel we let ourselves jump on that will never work. satan loves how much it steals of our souls and wastes our time on this temporary earth. loves it.
i wanna see with God's view. i want to live my life lined up with Truth. i wanna put a smile on Daddy's face.
i'm seriously learning that when i am critical and short-sighted, staring @ myself and other people (humanism stinksssss!) i am pretty much always dealing with some sort of insecurity.
this trend is rampant in Christ's Body right now i think. and i'm being taught by God that insecurity = lack of faith, unbelief, grievous to God.
straight-up. seriously, insecurity does not warrant babying but a study of God and who He tells me i am. based on Who He is. it hurts Him guys. it blocks the flow of His Spirit through the pipes that are you and me.
satan gets a smile on his face, we look down in shame and self-abasement, and God must wonder when the way we think of ourselves and others will match up with what He died to give us-
worth beyond a set value - infinite value is placed on our infinite souls by the infinite God. and you possess, right this second as you read this, an identity that can be shared with no other person ever stitched together in their mom's belly.
do you see the horror of comparison? it is a hamster wheel we let ourselves jump on that will never work. satan loves how much it steals of our souls and wastes our time on this temporary earth. loves it.
i wanna see with God's view. i want to live my life lined up with Truth. i wanna put a smile on Daddy's face.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
persecution.org :
this website sends out a weekly email and shares very specific people, nations, and situations to interceed for. reality can be tough but it's still truth and as our brothers and sisters suffer, we should stand between them and God and feel what they feel regularly. being @ this missionary base has taught me this vital and non-negotiable area of following Jesus and truly loving His Body and feeling pain when they feel pain; screaming in joy when they are blessed and delivered by God's strength working through the powerful and effective prayers that go up to Him.
onestory.org :
just learned about this ministry that's rising up for all the oral learners of the world (what what!). it's main theme is to better reach more people groups around the world. approx. 2/3 of all people in the world either can't or won't learn through reading. they want to learn through stories, drama, music, parables, etc. it is a great effort @ "being all things to all men that we may by all means reach some for Christ." it's simply doing what Jesus did- meeting each individual where they're @ and loving them by communicating with them in ways they're more comfortable with. this is so important in all evangelism endeavors!
the idea is to do what Jesus did-
mark 4:33-34 :
"He used many such stories and illustrations to teach the people as much as they were able to understand. In fact, in his public teaching he taught only with parables, but afterward when he was alone with his disciples, he explained the meaning to them."
we got to watch a sample oral story about Cain & Abel.
sarah got major goosebumps. this whole concept it mad cool. seems there's something to all this if Jesus leaned so heavily on it in His 3 year public ministry.
i pray ya'll are pressing in, finding God is all you ever wanted and way beyond. please pray for me specifically that God would have His way. one of the possible outreach locations for my particular school is litterally the one place i always dreaded going to. so just pray that God would truly have His way in all areas of me, that He'd break through any clouds, any fog that's keeping me from feeling His presence, guidance, delight in and love for me. learning to hear His voice is nuts. but man is it ever on His heart for all of us who love and follow Him. we must persevere in this particular area in life. "the Spirit said...", "the Spirit compelled us..." time in prayer and listening to Him is simply vital. challenging and a constant learning process that must be undertaken in humility and deep trust in the fact that He wants to speak and guide us even more than we want Him to- amen!
He is on the move in every nation right this minute. we are so blessed to follow such a King.
this website sends out a weekly email and shares very specific people, nations, and situations to interceed for. reality can be tough but it's still truth and as our brothers and sisters suffer, we should stand between them and God and feel what they feel regularly. being @ this missionary base has taught me this vital and non-negotiable area of following Jesus and truly loving His Body and feeling pain when they feel pain; screaming in joy when they are blessed and delivered by God's strength working through the powerful and effective prayers that go up to Him.
onestory.org :
just learned about this ministry that's rising up for all the oral learners of the world (what what!). it's main theme is to better reach more people groups around the world. approx. 2/3 of all people in the world either can't or won't learn through reading. they want to learn through stories, drama, music, parables, etc. it is a great effort @ "being all things to all men that we may by all means reach some for Christ." it's simply doing what Jesus did- meeting each individual where they're @ and loving them by communicating with them in ways they're more comfortable with. this is so important in all evangelism endeavors!
the idea is to do what Jesus did-
mark 4:33-34 :
"He used many such stories and illustrations to teach the people as much as they were able to understand. In fact, in his public teaching he taught only with parables, but afterward when he was alone with his disciples, he explained the meaning to them."
we got to watch a sample oral story about Cain & Abel.
sarah got major goosebumps. this whole concept it mad cool. seems there's something to all this if Jesus leaned so heavily on it in His 3 year public ministry.
i pray ya'll are pressing in, finding God is all you ever wanted and way beyond. please pray for me specifically that God would have His way. one of the possible outreach locations for my particular school is litterally the one place i always dreaded going to. so just pray that God would truly have His way in all areas of me, that He'd break through any clouds, any fog that's keeping me from feeling His presence, guidance, delight in and love for me. learning to hear His voice is nuts. but man is it ever on His heart for all of us who love and follow Him. we must persevere in this particular area in life. "the Spirit said...", "the Spirit compelled us..." time in prayer and listening to Him is simply vital. challenging and a constant learning process that must be undertaken in humility and deep trust in the fact that He wants to speak and guide us even more than we want Him to- amen!
He is on the move in every nation right this minute. we are so blessed to follow such a King.
Thursday, July 13, 2006
hoping, wishing, waiting, thanking
having 3 roommates and 20 housemates is actually pretty fun. i have offically found a couple places to get alone with God, though- which is challenging to say the least on a base where approx. 200 peeps live. both quiet spaces may or may not involve small rooms commonly referred to as "bathrooms"...but, hey - there's a lock and it is a space for just me and God...it works.
the ants continue to assault with a fierceness unparalled to most wild beasts, seriously what's that about? 2 out of 3 of my daily meals here are salads. they have stuff to accompany salads and sometimes it's pretty good. the other night i was stoked to get steamed broccoli and chicken tetrazinni (not as good as yours Ma), but it was the first time i got seconds. it was yummy.
i am so happy and feel so poured into by the seasoned, refined and experienced Christ-followers here. dang. they're so cool. we're supposed to find out today where my group of 20 or so will go on outreach in october and november!
and all my peers rock too. it seems to be pretty close to the Church written about in Acts. everyone sharing stuff, eating together, sleeping together, praying together a lot and thinking about other's longings before our own. crying together. laughing together. playing frisbee together. and praying for the ants to be utterly destroyed in a very painful way.
uh, i mean, all of God's creatures are valuable.
o.k., some thoughts:
"The proper rewards are not simply tacked on to the activity for which they are given, but are the activity itself in consummation." C.S. Lewis
Oh the trying yet amazing experience of anticipation. God's beautiful delays add such excitement, strain, and glow to our lives. in the same way i get all bottled up inside if i haven't played my guitar for a while or how i daydream about how to escape & get some time in silence & solitude with just God, or how my body screams out when it hasn't gone walkin or joggin for a while...our souls are built up, encouraged, challenged, matured, and excited when God asks us to put strong longings on the backburner and just wait and focus on other things with 100% passion for now.
wait = trust. and it's good for us.
greek for "hope" = patient expection. the Message version of the word calls it "passionate patience", how sweet is that? the laborious efforts towards waiting cause us to finally see and in turn admit our needs and wants. they force us to stop running from desires and start embracing. they are so often God's avenue to true delight and ecstasy. and every day is part of a whole. no experience in and of itself is disconnected from God's full view.
praise Him over and over, continually for His love towards us, His kiddos.
i am so happy to have a God who loves us and values us above all creation. even those super cool plants that eat bugs or over the always-moving ocean and the never-the-same sunsets He paints. we get to be married to the Being who created the human eyeball with over 1 million parts.
yet, your God sees you as more valuable than all that combined.
and, like my earthly pops taught me- boy o boy does He ever love for His kids to have fun with Him. laugh with Him. including Him in it all. inside jokes and thoughts, our struggles and victories- do we always go to Him first, the closest to us evvver or do we run to another human with nowhere near the same amount of deep knowledge and love for us?
He gets a kick out of us when we ask, look for, and continually knock on His door for things He truly longs to give us. but He'll always give us the best, which can sometimes look differently than our pea-brain, temporal idea of "best"! He ALWAYS has the highest good in mind for you.
What a good Daddy we have in Him.
thanks for the opportunity to wait. thanks that You whet my appetite for things before you bless me with them. and then smile and giggle when you see how i smile & giggle.
guys - i am getting a blessed revelation lately that i wasted so much of my life. i subconsciously ran around trying to prove my value to myself and other humans.
come to find my value has already been settled.
and my Hero has even been slayed because He alone can see it in its entirety.
i truly love the movie "Braveheart". seems that all this time our Jesus and us are actually living it out. He fought and fights for the value that He placed in each of us uniquely.
live everyday in light of this truth.
because if anything is reality, this is it my brothers and sisters.
the ants continue to assault with a fierceness unparalled to most wild beasts, seriously what's that about? 2 out of 3 of my daily meals here are salads. they have stuff to accompany salads and sometimes it's pretty good. the other night i was stoked to get steamed broccoli and chicken tetrazinni (not as good as yours Ma), but it was the first time i got seconds. it was yummy.
i am so happy and feel so poured into by the seasoned, refined and experienced Christ-followers here. dang. they're so cool. we're supposed to find out today where my group of 20 or so will go on outreach in october and november!
and all my peers rock too. it seems to be pretty close to the Church written about in Acts. everyone sharing stuff, eating together, sleeping together, praying together a lot and thinking about other's longings before our own. crying together. laughing together. playing frisbee together. and praying for the ants to be utterly destroyed in a very painful way.
uh, i mean, all of God's creatures are valuable.
o.k., some thoughts:
"The proper rewards are not simply tacked on to the activity for which they are given, but are the activity itself in consummation." C.S. Lewis
Oh the trying yet amazing experience of anticipation. God's beautiful delays add such excitement, strain, and glow to our lives. in the same way i get all bottled up inside if i haven't played my guitar for a while or how i daydream about how to escape & get some time in silence & solitude with just God, or how my body screams out when it hasn't gone walkin or joggin for a while...our souls are built up, encouraged, challenged, matured, and excited when God asks us to put strong longings on the backburner and just wait and focus on other things with 100% passion for now.
wait = trust. and it's good for us.
greek for "hope" = patient expection. the Message version of the word calls it "passionate patience", how sweet is that? the laborious efforts towards waiting cause us to finally see and in turn admit our needs and wants. they force us to stop running from desires and start embracing. they are so often God's avenue to true delight and ecstasy. and every day is part of a whole. no experience in and of itself is disconnected from God's full view.
praise Him over and over, continually for His love towards us, His kiddos.
i am so happy to have a God who loves us and values us above all creation. even those super cool plants that eat bugs or over the always-moving ocean and the never-the-same sunsets He paints. we get to be married to the Being who created the human eyeball with over 1 million parts.
yet, your God sees you as more valuable than all that combined.
and, like my earthly pops taught me- boy o boy does He ever love for His kids to have fun with Him. laugh with Him. including Him in it all. inside jokes and thoughts, our struggles and victories- do we always go to Him first, the closest to us evvver or do we run to another human with nowhere near the same amount of deep knowledge and love for us?
He gets a kick out of us when we ask, look for, and continually knock on His door for things He truly longs to give us. but He'll always give us the best, which can sometimes look differently than our pea-brain, temporal idea of "best"! He ALWAYS has the highest good in mind for you.
What a good Daddy we have in Him.
thanks for the opportunity to wait. thanks that You whet my appetite for things before you bless me with them. and then smile and giggle when you see how i smile & giggle.
guys - i am getting a blessed revelation lately that i wasted so much of my life. i subconsciously ran around trying to prove my value to myself and other humans.
come to find my value has already been settled.
and my Hero has even been slayed because He alone can see it in its entirety.
i truly love the movie "Braveheart". seems that all this time our Jesus and us are actually living it out. He fought and fights for the value that He placed in each of us uniquely.
live everyday in light of this truth.
because if anything is reality, this is it my brothers and sisters.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
What's Valuable?
"the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." gal. 5:6
whoppers. all this week in class we have had one of the most amazing, kind, compassionate, saoked in truth and God's presence men speaking. he has been given a revelation of God and His love and it has honestly saturated everything this man is. he's talking to us all this week about God's true character and His actions & love towards us.
and it's already changing my life.
the essence of all relationships: friendship
marriage should be the closest friendship possible on this planet. (how exciting and fun is that!)
a relationship will never get any closer than it is pure in motive.
it's not always about how our actions are perceived but it IS always about the heart's motivation behind it.
Why are you significant?
really, think about this.
whay are you significant?
because of your ability? - what if you jack up royally and don't perform well some days, does God still love you? you betcha.
because you are a child of God? - what about all the other millions upon millions of humans walking this planet who are not covered in Chrsit's blood yet? does God still love them and did He still lay Himself on the alter for them? yeppers. yes He did.
because you are made in the image of God and He has placed value on you and said you are good and pleasing to Him from the first day His eyes saw you being stitched together in your mom's stomach? - ding ding ding! that's the answer my pals. it is first and foremost based on the fact that i am valuable to God. period. all human beings are worth something b/c they are valuable to their Maker.
we are commanded to love.
hebrew for command = "divine prescription" it heals, frees, and soothes like nothing else- they don't weigh down they release into deeper freedom to the extent you follow them (no american pharmacist can hook ya up with what the Good Doc can, ey?)
love is a choice.
love is connected to value.
we will always choose the most highly valuable to us.
so what we spend the hours of each of our days on = what is most valuable. period. even if you think you hate what you do with your life, you have made a choice to value your activities or relationships, your time alone with God or your television or drugs.
love is a special way of choosing.
love is not a special way of feeling.
emotions are easy to get. they are simply a reaction to a perception of a person and a perception of being in a relationship with them.
love is based on trust - will you trust God to give your life value, purpose, and joy? or will you trust yourself more? others more?
b/c you're believing either God, satan, yourself or others. it's that cut & dry folks. someone is pleased with who you believe and trust.
i have to value myself b/c when i don't i am saying God is a liar and when He tells me i'm valuable i am believing what i "feel", a lie, over Him.
sex is not unholy within God's confines. the bible is not shy nor does it tiptoe around the fact that this is one of the greatest pleasures God's beautiful mind conjured up. satan has trashed its beauty and worth. this is such a shame, esp. within Christ's Body. seriously, who is satan to give advice on sex? he is a fallen angel and the letter to the corinthians is plain about the fact that angels are nuetered beings who haven't the first idea about sex anyway! (from the book "Relationships"- one of our 5 required readings...i highly recommend it ya'll!)
in order to love others properly i must love myself: whatever i want for me, i will want for my neighbor, whether judgemental, perfection-striving and scrutinizingly harsh, or prosperous accepted, and valued.
if you are insecure and worried about looking perfect to other faulty, insecure human beings, chances are you will judge and despise your neighbor as well.
instead, make a pact with your heart to focus primarilly on God's grace, His kindness that leads us to repentence... not some false view of Him as a slave-driver instead of loving Friend, Husband, and Sheperd.
love = a commitment to follow the highest good.
i will not own happiness knowingly @ the expense of God or my neighbor.
i will believe God has placed value on me and every single human because He, as the Ultimate in Value has stated each of us as valuable.
"After making us, God said 'it is good' and that is good enough for me." C.S. Lewis
=)
whoppers. all this week in class we have had one of the most amazing, kind, compassionate, saoked in truth and God's presence men speaking. he has been given a revelation of God and His love and it has honestly saturated everything this man is. he's talking to us all this week about God's true character and His actions & love towards us.
and it's already changing my life.
the essence of all relationships: friendship
marriage should be the closest friendship possible on this planet. (how exciting and fun is that!)
a relationship will never get any closer than it is pure in motive.
it's not always about how our actions are perceived but it IS always about the heart's motivation behind it.
Why are you significant?
really, think about this.
whay are you significant?
because of your ability? - what if you jack up royally and don't perform well some days, does God still love you? you betcha.
because you are a child of God? - what about all the other millions upon millions of humans walking this planet who are not covered in Chrsit's blood yet? does God still love them and did He still lay Himself on the alter for them? yeppers. yes He did.
because you are made in the image of God and He has placed value on you and said you are good and pleasing to Him from the first day His eyes saw you being stitched together in your mom's stomach? - ding ding ding! that's the answer my pals. it is first and foremost based on the fact that i am valuable to God. period. all human beings are worth something b/c they are valuable to their Maker.
we are commanded to love.
hebrew for command = "divine prescription" it heals, frees, and soothes like nothing else- they don't weigh down they release into deeper freedom to the extent you follow them (no american pharmacist can hook ya up with what the Good Doc can, ey?)
love is a choice.
love is connected to value.
we will always choose the most highly valuable to us.
so what we spend the hours of each of our days on = what is most valuable. period. even if you think you hate what you do with your life, you have made a choice to value your activities or relationships, your time alone with God or your television or drugs.
love is a special way of choosing.
love is not a special way of feeling.
emotions are easy to get. they are simply a reaction to a perception of a person and a perception of being in a relationship with them.
love is based on trust - will you trust God to give your life value, purpose, and joy? or will you trust yourself more? others more?
b/c you're believing either God, satan, yourself or others. it's that cut & dry folks. someone is pleased with who you believe and trust.
i have to value myself b/c when i don't i am saying God is a liar and when He tells me i'm valuable i am believing what i "feel", a lie, over Him.
sex is not unholy within God's confines. the bible is not shy nor does it tiptoe around the fact that this is one of the greatest pleasures God's beautiful mind conjured up. satan has trashed its beauty and worth. this is such a shame, esp. within Christ's Body. seriously, who is satan to give advice on sex? he is a fallen angel and the letter to the corinthians is plain about the fact that angels are nuetered beings who haven't the first idea about sex anyway! (from the book "Relationships"- one of our 5 required readings...i highly recommend it ya'll!)
in order to love others properly i must love myself: whatever i want for me, i will want for my neighbor, whether judgemental, perfection-striving and scrutinizingly harsh, or prosperous accepted, and valued.
if you are insecure and worried about looking perfect to other faulty, insecure human beings, chances are you will judge and despise your neighbor as well.
instead, make a pact with your heart to focus primarilly on God's grace, His kindness that leads us to repentence... not some false view of Him as a slave-driver instead of loving Friend, Husband, and Sheperd.
love = a commitment to follow the highest good.
i will not own happiness knowingly @ the expense of God or my neighbor.
i will believe God has placed value on me and every single human because He, as the Ultimate in Value has stated each of us as valuable.
"After making us, God said 'it is good' and that is good enough for me." C.S. Lewis
=)
Saturday, July 08, 2006
"They Will Know Us By Our Love..." or will they...
this author and preacher dude spoke in class yesterday a.m. and will be speaking to us all week. the guy's amazing. he's totally stepped aside and has let the Spirit preach through him. and not in a stiff, un-real, holier than thou fakey way. the guy's a hilarious dork.
picture with me if you will david letterman as a christian speaker. not kidding. the same gestures, laugh, and all around absurd goofiness.
i've come to learn that i think another reason child-like antics and humor light up my life is that i can concentrate and actually learn so much better if the teacher isn't all concerned with looking stoic and worldly wise. (p.s. i've also been doing this study on not only grace but on pride. do we all for real remember that everything we know is b/c someone took the time to teach us...that we know nada, absolutely nothin in and of just ourselves. like how is pride so rampant- it's just such a ridiculous lie to believe. there's nothing we know that we learned apart from God and others...anyways)
anyhoo... onward soldier... dean sherman spoke on Kingdom living vs. worldly living. both are invisible systems. one is based on unalterable Truth. the other has no base, just floating out there- governed by bondage to selfishness, deception, and the temporary.
then he started on a topic that God has been swallowing me up in off and on recently: God being so much bigger than a religion. so much more huge and all-consuming than the confines of man can contain.
Truth is Truth is Truth. any successful marriage or wise business tactics automatically come from living Kingdom principles. EVERY good and perfect thing flows from God alone. now there is only one Way into the Kingdom. jessh - our Lord couldn't have been more straight-forward about that ya'll. but what if all that is good, pure, wise, noble, loving, and eternal flows from One Source and One Source only? what if Truth isn't so much a structure or denomination or organization so much as it is an invisible system of unchangeableness anchored in God alone? is our wonderful God perhaps sooo much bigger than we have previously believed and previously lived out in everyday life?! is our God un-boxable? uncontainable? oh my. yes o yes. we are all members of one Body. One. denominations can be o.k. but sectarianism is not so good-- claiming that one group is the best or the most holy or like a better part of the Body or somethin. just doesn't seem biblical to me. we are either alive in Christ or dead in our trespasses. period.
dean also spoke about how we are all, ALL of us, clamoring around for someone or Someone to tell us we belong and are a treasure. and that's exactly what our Jesus tells us. "we are no longer illegimate..." we are not an unwanted pregnancy. we can all so easily be independent and avoid community and strive for self-sufficiency then wonder why we get lonely. he's been a pastor before i think and spoke about how many pastors and just ministry people in general he knows who were simply not backed up and supported by their congregations. the members would get so wrapped up in anything but Jesus. they lost sight of the ultimate Commonality. it's so tragic. we so easily settle and trade in the eternal and abundant for temporary and shallow. life is a vapor; why do it. why?
do we truly see what satan's done to attack the Body- to split us up "divide and conquer" if you will. can we just spend most of our energies on the big 4: who's God, what's the bible, who's Christ, and how is salvation for eternity gained?
we are wanted and belong to God. and to one another. we all got the same Jesus DNA in us if we are in Christ. doctrine shouldn't be our big commonality. Christ already is the only commonality worth spendin much time focusing on. may all of our identity be so wrapped up in Christ that lessar things fade. that we focus on His saving power for every tribe, tongue and nation that has yet to hear about true Life. it's awesome. by this all men will know that you are my disciples: your love for one another.
religioned out. may we all sort through what is really of God as revealed in the Word and what is unnecessarily weighing down. His grace is enough. His calling on our life is "easy and light and well-suited" for each of us.
just more Jesus. a real living, breathing God-man who walked this earth and is now seated in His Home. matthew 11:28 in greek = "come to me if you are overloaded with ceremony and spiritual anxiety." please God, no more striving and pushing and piling up works. we're not serving some faceless, distant object.
as oswald chambers says: i don't wanna just be doing some lifestyle or be devoted to a cause, we gotta be devoted to a Person.
Our Jesus Christ. Our Saving One. Our Master.
picture with me if you will david letterman as a christian speaker. not kidding. the same gestures, laugh, and all around absurd goofiness.
i've come to learn that i think another reason child-like antics and humor light up my life is that i can concentrate and actually learn so much better if the teacher isn't all concerned with looking stoic and worldly wise. (p.s. i've also been doing this study on not only grace but on pride. do we all for real remember that everything we know is b/c someone took the time to teach us...that we know nada, absolutely nothin in and of just ourselves. like how is pride so rampant- it's just such a ridiculous lie to believe. there's nothing we know that we learned apart from God and others...anyways)
anyhoo... onward soldier... dean sherman spoke on Kingdom living vs. worldly living. both are invisible systems. one is based on unalterable Truth. the other has no base, just floating out there- governed by bondage to selfishness, deception, and the temporary.
then he started on a topic that God has been swallowing me up in off and on recently: God being so much bigger than a religion. so much more huge and all-consuming than the confines of man can contain.
Truth is Truth is Truth. any successful marriage or wise business tactics automatically come from living Kingdom principles. EVERY good and perfect thing flows from God alone. now there is only one Way into the Kingdom. jessh - our Lord couldn't have been more straight-forward about that ya'll. but what if all that is good, pure, wise, noble, loving, and eternal flows from One Source and One Source only? what if Truth isn't so much a structure or denomination or organization so much as it is an invisible system of unchangeableness anchored in God alone? is our wonderful God perhaps sooo much bigger than we have previously believed and previously lived out in everyday life?! is our God un-boxable? uncontainable? oh my. yes o yes. we are all members of one Body. One. denominations can be o.k. but sectarianism is not so good-- claiming that one group is the best or the most holy or like a better part of the Body or somethin. just doesn't seem biblical to me. we are either alive in Christ or dead in our trespasses. period.
dean also spoke about how we are all, ALL of us, clamoring around for someone or Someone to tell us we belong and are a treasure. and that's exactly what our Jesus tells us. "we are no longer illegimate..." we are not an unwanted pregnancy. we can all so easily be independent and avoid community and strive for self-sufficiency then wonder why we get lonely. he's been a pastor before i think and spoke about how many pastors and just ministry people in general he knows who were simply not backed up and supported by their congregations. the members would get so wrapped up in anything but Jesus. they lost sight of the ultimate Commonality. it's so tragic. we so easily settle and trade in the eternal and abundant for temporary and shallow. life is a vapor; why do it. why?
do we truly see what satan's done to attack the Body- to split us up "divide and conquer" if you will. can we just spend most of our energies on the big 4: who's God, what's the bible, who's Christ, and how is salvation for eternity gained?
we are wanted and belong to God. and to one another. we all got the same Jesus DNA in us if we are in Christ. doctrine shouldn't be our big commonality. Christ already is the only commonality worth spendin much time focusing on. may all of our identity be so wrapped up in Christ that lessar things fade. that we focus on His saving power for every tribe, tongue and nation that has yet to hear about true Life. it's awesome. by this all men will know that you are my disciples: your love for one another.
religioned out. may we all sort through what is really of God as revealed in the Word and what is unnecessarily weighing down. His grace is enough. His calling on our life is "easy and light and well-suited" for each of us.
just more Jesus. a real living, breathing God-man who walked this earth and is now seated in His Home. matthew 11:28 in greek = "come to me if you are overloaded with ceremony and spiritual anxiety." please God, no more striving and pushing and piling up works. we're not serving some faceless, distant object.
as oswald chambers says: i don't wanna just be doing some lifestyle or be devoted to a cause, we gotta be devoted to a Person.
Our Jesus Christ. Our Saving One. Our Master.
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
the ants down in these parts are a brute rebel force.
frankly, they frighten me a bit.
a lot a bit.
even if you come within a 1oo meter radius of their village you are automatically an enemy to be evacuated and must be bitten. repeatedly. their primary aim in life is to hunt and gather.
and make humans cry.
it's putting a bit of a cramp in my outdoors enjoyment.
i will overcome.
frankly, they frighten me a bit.
a lot a bit.
even if you come within a 1oo meter radius of their village you are automatically an enemy to be evacuated and must be bitten. repeatedly. their primary aim in life is to hunt and gather.
and make humans cry.
it's putting a bit of a cramp in my outdoors enjoyment.
i will overcome.
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Random Frivolities
i like being a temporary texan. it's a lot like missouri here and has shown me that i really do like
missouri as a whole pretty stinkin well.
loving people is a daily challenge to do it with all our hearts, not w/ our own might but with our Jesus' might.
is there any pattern to the waiting on God/being in silence with God and how sometimes He seems distant while other times He's seems closer to me than me. suppose in marriage with the King as well as with the hubbs, we will have seasons where we will have to choose to love them and be committed regardless of feeling. i find it freeing to know that all humans go through these seasons. it's nothing to fear or freak out about. what a sigh of relief.
hammocks= muy, muy bueno.
adults acting like kids, also = muy bueno.
was blessed with the opportunity to help lead worship the other afternoon. i'm still beggin for peace and Him to do His thing through a stutterin' moses, and i'm not near as nervous anymore!
been doing a study on grace lately. pretty much it's changing my life.
i'll post it all soon hopefully.
o.k. fine - here's a sampling of the riches:
grace = "unmerited gift" , undeserved, unearnable. "Divine favor".
wages are given to workers.
gifts are given as a result of the generosity of the Giver.
it's simply impossible for the wages earned from our petty works to add up to enough to pay our way into Heaven and to enter into the rest and peace and hope that Christ alone can afford to buy. (romans 5)
more to come.
we went to this rockin church right down the road this morn. the worship's led by paul baloche who apparently wrote the song "open the eyes of my heart". the pastor is really passionate about anti-religion, pro-Christ and modeling Him alone, not man's doctrines and short-sightedness. it's good stuff.
definitely had some alone time reading in the dorm room last night. when, hark, doth mine eyes deceive me- is there something scurrying across mine wall?
oh. o.k. just a COCKROACH THE SIZE OF MISSISSIPPI!
ahhh the joys communal living/missions training
missouri as a whole pretty stinkin well.
loving people is a daily challenge to do it with all our hearts, not w/ our own might but with our Jesus' might.
is there any pattern to the waiting on God/being in silence with God and how sometimes He seems distant while other times He's seems closer to me than me. suppose in marriage with the King as well as with the hubbs, we will have seasons where we will have to choose to love them and be committed regardless of feeling. i find it freeing to know that all humans go through these seasons. it's nothing to fear or freak out about. what a sigh of relief.
hammocks= muy, muy bueno.
adults acting like kids, also = muy bueno.
was blessed with the opportunity to help lead worship the other afternoon. i'm still beggin for peace and Him to do His thing through a stutterin' moses, and i'm not near as nervous anymore!
been doing a study on grace lately. pretty much it's changing my life.
i'll post it all soon hopefully.
o.k. fine - here's a sampling of the riches:
grace = "unmerited gift" , undeserved, unearnable. "Divine favor".
wages are given to workers.
gifts are given as a result of the generosity of the Giver.
it's simply impossible for the wages earned from our petty works to add up to enough to pay our way into Heaven and to enter into the rest and peace and hope that Christ alone can afford to buy. (romans 5)
more to come.
we went to this rockin church right down the road this morn. the worship's led by paul baloche who apparently wrote the song "open the eyes of my heart". the pastor is really passionate about anti-religion, pro-Christ and modeling Him alone, not man's doctrines and short-sightedness. it's good stuff.
definitely had some alone time reading in the dorm room last night. when, hark, doth mine eyes deceive me- is there something scurrying across mine wall?
oh. o.k. just a COCKROACH THE SIZE OF MISSISSIPPI!
ahhh the joys communal living/missions training
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