Monday, September 29, 2008
Harvest
"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 give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." - Galatians 6:9-10"Sit down and let me tell you a story…" my Mom and Grandma were eager to share memories; memories sometimes difficult for me to envision, since I never lived them. They feature a spunky schoolmarm (my grandma) and a little girl (my mom) as main characters in a world of outdoor movie theaters, flare-leg men's pants, and an America I hardly recognize.
It was appropriate that they pulled me into their conversation at that moment, just as I had wandered away from my computer screen. You wonder why I bring up my computer? Well, the screen held a certain news article.
The headline will probably be the subject of local conversation for some time to come. In my one-stoplight town, the one thing that travels fast is news of a scandal; and there's nothing more mortifying than seeing a former pastor's name printed on the front page alongside the word 'Pornography.' Although I don't attend his church, I'd met him a few times myself.
It was in the middle of this disturbing revelation that my grandma sat me down to share a story. She spoke of a family she had known years before, who had perviously owned the second biggest ranch in Texas. The kids—a couple of boys—were educated by a private tutor and drove the nicest cars available in the 1920's. At least until '29, when they lost it all in the Greatly Depressing section of American History.
Time passed and each son found a wife. Before long, there were nearly a dozen children and hungry stomachs to fill. But the Gospel always came first. Thriving on little, the family became prominent in their small West Texas town--not for having money, but for the contagiousness of their love.
Somewhere in this equation entered my grandparents. They had slowly become sick of the Biblelessness of their old denomination, but were afraid of worshiping elsewhere. At that time, they somehow bumped into the family who ran the local filling station. The family’s vibrant, Gospel-with-abandon approach deeply impacted my grandparents. For the first time, my grandparents saw Christians living with the Bible at the center of their existence.
My grandma then paused her story. She tipped her head back on the couch, as if trying to find sufficient words. "They really changed our lives."
And I suppose they changed mine, too. If I ever met a member of that family who changed my grandparents' lives it was before I was old enough to remember them; but my grandmother is now a Lover of God, and my mom takes after her. Their legacy will never stop influencing me.
I left the conversation with much to think about. There are Christians and Christian wannabes whose names get pasted on newspaper headlines for doing despicable things. Take, for instance, that article on my computer screen. But it isn’t just pastors who leave legacies. It isn’t just the horrible actions that leave fingerprints on the world (though they might be the only ones to make the paper). Three generations were changed because of one family’s faithfulness.
In Galatians it says "...And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." I can't wait to tell that family about their harvest.
Labels: devotion
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Jesus Is Just Alright With Me
And yet, how often do I apply this very same principle to my personal relationship with God? Realistically, it is of no consequence if someone fails to produce what I deem is the "proper response" to one of my earthly affections. What should I care if my friend gives a favorite book only three stars? It’s small beans. On the other hand, my opinion of God is an unbendable issue. He’s the only One worthy of total devotion. But with a nod of acknowledgement, I'm saying, “Umm…God, You’re alright”-- as if He were a choice dessert or hit song. I wade in apathy where I should dance with zeal.
Missionary-martyr Jim Elliot cried to God for passion:
“God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life and may I burn for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. God, deliver me from the dread asbestos of 'other things.' Saturate me with the oil of the Spirit that I may be aflame. Make me thy fuel, Flame of God.”
“Apathy is impossible in the presence of the Son of God. Ineffable beauty compels a response: either passionate devotion or hatred. Middle-of-the-road,straddle-the-fence, you-do-your-thing-and-I’ll-do-mine indifference dies when Jesus draws near. Love Him or despise Him, but abandon the myth that He can be tolerated. Sing for joy or spit in His face. Apathy simply isn’t an option.”
Labels: apathy, devotion, gospel, musings
Monday, January 15, 2007
An Unsaved Princess
Once upon a time, a girl named Rapunzel was held captive in a tall stone tower. She then lived happily ever after. The end.Yes, it is a pathetic story. I doubt you will ever find it on the New York Times Bestsellers list. Honestly, who cares about Rapunzel without rescuer? Who would be interested in a Cinderella with no prince to find her glass slipper? No one ever cares about stories involving princesses and frogs, unless of course the frog turns into a prince…now that story has possibilities.
An article from the Seattle Weekly reported that the “Unsaved Princess” syndrome has slipped into real life as well:
“I did a careful reading of the fall issues of the following publications: Cosmo Girl, Jump, Seventeen, and YM (Young and Modern.) The conclusion I came to was this: The boy-crazy American Girl is alive and well. She's never felt better….Girls need boys, boys are the be-all and end-all, and mind-numbing boy craziness is a natural state….Throughout these pages girls engage in the old game of he-loves-me, he-loves-me-not. They moon around about prom night. They crave Prince Charming so deeply it's making them psycho. A headline in Cosmo Girl reads 'No Guys Ever Like Me, So Now What?'"
Even in circles in which dating is not the focus, often unless the ring finger is no longer bare, life has not yet begun. A girl does not live until Prince Charming sweeps her off her feet. But as the clock ticks on, one must wonder if God has something in mind for modern day Rapunzels besides twiddling their thumbs.
Ephesians 5:25-30, 32 lets us in on a secret:
"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word, so that He might present the Church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it....This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the Church."Husbands and wives are but echoes of Jesus' love for the Church. As a husband is commanded to love his wife as his own body, Jesus loved us by giving His body over to death for us.
Marriage reflects love. Jesus defined it.
As the modern Rapunzel's thoughts dwell around her coming prince, she may miss the One, True King of her soul. He stands at this moment, beckoning for her to come away with Him. He cares for her with a unconditional, selfless love that no other prince could rival.
Days pass to months, and the clock ticks on. Rapunzel is still in her tower, but she is no longer wasting time. She is falling in love, not with the prince who has yet to save her, but with the King who has already saved her soul. She is living today, not waiting for "someday."
May it be the same for us. As C.H. Spurgeon wrote, "The truest lengthening of life is to live while we live, wasting no time but using every hour for the highest ends. So be it this day."
Sources:
Article. Emily White, "Girls who love boys," Seattle Weekly, August 23, 2000
Spurgeon quote from Faith's Checkbook entry for June 22
Labels: Biblical Girlhood, devotion, waiting
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Love is Nails
They say that pictures speak a thousand words. It's true.There's a photo on our countertop of a foreign pastor and his family. His little children stare at the camera, unsure whether to smile or be frightened. The pastor himself does not satisfy the popular image of a pastor. He does not pose. He emanates no suave charisma or toothy grin. In reading the article alongside the photo, I find that the pastor's teeth were knocked out by persecutors in his village, who wanted the pastor to leave and take his Christ with him.
Such are the Christ followers—those who bear Christ's image on their hearts. A few, such as the pastor, bear His image outwardly as well. The village pastor's face reminds me of Him who was also beaten and lived His life in humble circumstances as well.
Yet His coming was heralded by the stars.
He was openly criticized, hated, and betrayed by a friend's kiss. Then He was crucified, beaten until so bloody that He no longer appeared human.
Because He loves you.
There can be but one explanation for his decision to stay. This pastor became a missionary because God placed a great love in his heart for his countrymen. This love has not faded, despite mistreatment at their hands. In a small way, this pastor’s story is a reflection of what God has done for us. The very Son of God suffered so much more. His actions were confusing—even a paradox. The All Powerful God surrendered Himself into the violent hands of those whom He came to save. Such is the nature of God's love.
Blunt, thick, hammered through
The medial nerves of One
Who, having made us, knew
The thing He had done,
Seeing (what all that is)
Our cross, and His.
by Hannah and Lindsey
Labels: Christmas, devotion, servanthood
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Like Broken Bread
“When the Galilean boy brought his bread to the Lord, what did the Lord do with it? He broke it. God will always break what is offered to Him. He breaks what He takes, but after breaking it He blesses and uses it to meet the needs of others. After you give yourself to the Lord, He begins to break what was offered to Him. Everything seems to go wrong, and you protest and find fault with the ways of God. But to stay there is to be no more than just a broken vessel—no good for the world because you have gone too far for the world to use you, and no good for God either because you have not gone far enough from Him to use you. You are out of gear with the world, and you have a controversy with God. This is the tragedy of many a Christian.
My giving of myself to the Lord must be an initial fundamental act. Then, day by day, I must go on giving to Him, not finding fault with His use of me, but accepting with praise even what the flesh finds hard. That ways lies true enrichment.
I am the Lord’s and now no longer reckon myself to be on my own, but acknowledge in everything His ownership and authority. That is the attitude God delights in, and to maintain it is true consecration. I do not consecrate myself to be a missionary or a preacher; I consecrate myself to God to do His will where I am, be it in school, office or kitchen or wherever He may, in His wisdom, send me. Whatever He ordains for me is sure to be the very best, for nothing but good can come to those who are wholly His. May we always be possessed by the consciousness that we are not our own.”
-Watchman Nee, from his book, The Normal Christian Life, Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Copyright 1977, pages 106-107
Labels: devotion
Thursday, August 17, 2006
God Speaks Chinese
Never had I felt so much like an infant. An announcement sounded over the airplane speakers, an unintelligible string of Chinese. I understood two words from the entire broadcast, and it was a discomforting reminder of how little of my surroundings I understood. If the sky was falling, I wouldn't know.I shifted in my seat as the rest of the passengers continued boarding the plane, fully conscious of the hundred eyes watching me. I could hardly blame them. Foreigners were rare in that part of
The last time I boarded a Chinese domestic flight, there had been a delay and a problem with the airplane’s air conditioning. Several passengers had stood in their seats, waving their hands in frustration and engaging themselves in a energetic yelling contest with the flight attendant. It was chaos and anarchy. And worst of all, since I have little knowledge of the Chinese language, there was nothing I could do. I felt helpless.
I desperately wished to shrink to the size of an insect or even a bacterium. Could I ever feel comfortable in these alien surroundings? Could I depend on God to take care of every detail?
In Proverbs 30: 2-5, Agur mourned over his ignorance and vulnerability as well:
“‘I am the most ignorant of men;
I do not have a man's understanding.I have not learned wisdom,
nor have I knowledge of the Holy One.Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of His hands?
Who has wrapped up the waters in His cloak?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is His name, and the name of His Son?
Tell me if you know!‘Every word of God is flawless;
He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.”
God’s competence in controlling situations is a great deal more than our own; yet maybe you are like me, and still tremble at the thought of handing Him the reins. We gave Him our life, but we struggle to handle individual, daily situations alone.
One of my favorite authors and speakers, John Piper, wrote, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.” When we satisfy ourselves with the knowledge that He is in control, He is glorified. His strength is most visible when we have no chance to succeed on our own. When we are incapable, and feel like infants, we should rejoice at the opportunity to lean on Him and make His power known. Paul explained this in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
“But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
As I waited for take off, I heard a soft, familiar melody. Strangely out of place, it sounded like Heaven playing over the airplane speaker. The song was instrumental, but I knew the words from church:
Mercy, mercy
Goodness and kindness,
Love and forgiveness.
Mercy, mercy.
It’s been mercy all the way.
A comforting song in the middle of China? Yes, God does speak Chinese.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Wait
by Russell KelferDesperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate...
and the Master so gently said,"Wait."
"Wait? you say wait?" my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word.
My future and all to which I relate
hangs in the balance and you tell me to Wait?
I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign.
Or even a 'no,' to which I'll resign.
You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply."
Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate
as my Master replied again, "Wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
and grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting...for what?"
He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine...
and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.
I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.
You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint.
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.
You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;
you'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
when darkness and silence are all you can see.
You'd never experience the fullness of love
when the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.
The glow of My comfort late into the night,
the faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask
From an infinite God who makes what you have last.
You'd never know should your pain quickly flee,
what it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
but oh, the loss if I lost what I'm doing in you.
So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see
that the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.
And though oft My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still "WAIT".
Labels: devotion, purity, trust
Monday, June 19, 2006
Every Day Death: Becoming Teachable
"Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching. They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck."-Proverbs 1:8-9
Have you ever tried to debate with someone who is convinced that they are right? You try and you try to reason with them, but they refuse to consider the possibility that they are wrong. As frustrated as I often am by stubborness, I confess that I can be extremely stubborn myself. I tend to want to teach---not be taught!
Proverbs 15:32 says,
"He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding."
We all want to be wise and have understanding, but do we take the steps required to become wise? Do we listen and accept rebuke? We cannot make any steps toward wisdom without being willing to surrender and be taught. Surrender.
Jim Elliot once wrote,
"'He makes His ministers a flame of fire.' Am I ignitible? God deliver me from the dread asbestos of 'other things.' Saturate me with the oil of the Spirit that I may be a flame. But flame is transient, often short-lived. Canst thou bear this, my soul--short life? In me there dwells the Spirit of the Great Short-Lived, whose zeal for God's house consumed Him. 'Make me Thy Fuel, Flame of God.'"
Not long after writing the above quote, Jim Elliot left with his young wife for the mission field in Ecuador. There, he and four other missionaries attempted to reach a previously unreached Indian tribe--the Aucas--with the Word of God. On January 8, 1956, they were attacked by a group of Auca tribesmen. Though each of the missionaries had brought rifles with them for protection, they all refused to use them in self defense. Every one of the missionaries was killed.
All five of the missionaries who died were young, newly married, and seemed to have their entire lives ahead of them. Yet, conscious of the danger of trying to reach the Aucas, they sacrificed their own interests for the purpose of obeying God. What does this have to do with us? It is most likely that we will not all have to die for our faith as Jim Elliot did, but each of us must die to ourselves.
"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." Matthew 16:24
It has been said before that it is easier for us to surrender our bodies to death than it is to surrender our will to God. This death to ourselves is not one that we only die once, but it is a continual, every day death to our own selfish desires. This surrender includes giving up our own stubborness and willfulness and laying it at Christ's feet, giving it up so that we might become teachable and pliable in His hands.
Charles Spurgeon said,
"Jesus is to believers the one pearl of great price, for whom we are willing to part with all that we have. He has so completely won our love, that it beats alone for him; to his glory we would live, and in defence of his gospel we would die; he is the pattern of our life, and the model after which we would sculpture our character. Paul’s words mean more than most men think; they imply that the aim and end of his life was Christ—nay, his life itself was Jesus. In the words of an ancient saint, he did eat, and drink, and sleep eternal life. Jesus was his very breath, the soul of his soul, the heart of his heart, the life of his life. Can you say, as a professing Christian, that you live up to this idea? Can you honestly say that for you to live is Christ? Your business—are you doing it for Christ? Is it not done for self- aggrandizement and for family advantage? Do you ask, “Is that a mean reason?” For the Christian it is. He professes to live for Christ; how can he live for another object without committing a spiritual adultery? Many there are who carry out this principle in some measure; but who is there that dare say that he hath lived wholly for Christ as the apostle did? Yet, this alone is the true life of a Christian—its source, its sustenance, its fashion, its end, all gathered up in one word—Christ Jesus. Lord, accept me; I here present myself, praying to live only in thee and to thee. Let me be as the bullock which stands between the plough and the altar, to work or to be sacrificed; and let my motto be, 'Ready for either.'”
_____________________________________
- Jim Elliot quote taken from Through the Gates of Splendor, by Elisabeth Elliot, page 18
- Charles Spurgeon quote from Christian Classics Ethereal Library
Labels: devotion
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Spurgeon: Living to Christ
Philippians 1:21
The believer did not always live to Christ. He began to do so when God the Holy Spirit convinced him of sin, and when by grace he was brought to see the dying Saviour making a propitiation for his guilt. From the moment of the new and celestial birth the man begins to live to Christ. Jesus is to believers the one pearl of great price, for whom we are willing to part with all that we have. He has so completely won our love, that it beats alone for him; to his glory we would live, and in defence of his gospel we would die; he is the pattern of our life, and the model after which we would sculpture our character. Paul's words mean more than most men think; they imply that the aim and end of his life was Christ-nay, his life itself was Jesus. In the words of an ancient saint, he did eat, and drink, and sleep eternal life. Jesus was his very breath, the soul of his soul, the heart of his heart, the life of his life. Can you say, as a professing Christian, that you live up to this idea? Can you honestly say that for you to live is Christ? Your business-are you doing it for Christ? Is it not done for self- aggrandizement and for family advantage? Do you ask, "Is that a mean reason?" For the Christian it is. He professes to live for Christ; how can he live for another object without committing a spiritual adultery? Many there are who carry out this principle in some measure; but who is there that dare say that he hath lived wholly for Christ as the apostle did? Yet, this alone is the true life of a Christian-its source, its sustenance, its fashion, its end, all gathered up in one word-Christ Jesus. Lord, accept me; I here present myself, praying to live only in thee and to thee. Let me be as the bullock which stands between the plough and the altar, to work or to be sacrificed; and let my motto be, "Ready for either."
--An excerpt from the devotional book, Morning And Evening, by C. H. Spurgeon.
Labels: devotion
Monday, April 03, 2006
Waiting for the Wedding
One day, when I was a little girl, I was playing pretend "school" with two girls who lived down the street from me. The girl who played "teacher" handed each of her "students" a slip of paper which she called our "attention span." At one point during the game, much to the dismay of the little teacher, I lost my paper. I ran home, greatly distressed, and announced to my mother that I had "lost my attention span" and did not know where to find it.While I look back and laugh at my childish ignorance, times have not changed much. I still struggle with losing my real attention span in a much more serious matter; I struggle with keeping my attention on God. Anything and everything can distract my focus from God if I give too much attention to it.
Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. - Matthew 25:13I have been reading Leslie Ludy's book, Authentic Beauty. First and foremost, I recommend this book to every young lady. I would, however, advise mothers to look over before letting their younger daughters read this because there are some topics that Leslie covers that are a bit descriptive.
As I read this book, the way Leslie describes what our relationship with Jesus struck me as odd.
Leslie uses the term "Prince" for God. When I think of a prince, I think of Prince Charming of the fairytales. He rides in on a white horses and gallantly rescues the damsel in distress from an evil foe. I wondered How can this possibly be a picture of our relationship with God? The whole idea sounded rather irreverent, but now I see Leslie's point.When a person is in love, they think constantly of their beloved (or so other people tell me.) They count the minutes until they can see their beloved again. Is our love for Christ to be very different from this? Is He not supposed to be on our minds, in our thoughts, and His law written upon our very hearts? 1 Corinthians 7:34 says that "An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord's affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit." The Lord has declared His intentions toward us in return in Hosea 2:16-20,
"In that day, declares the LORD, you will call me my husband; you will no longer call me my master. I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will their names be invoked...I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD."Imagine that you are engaged to be married. You have met and fallen in love with the one who God has planned you for all along. You can hardly wait for the wedding day, but you have one problem. Your groom promised to bring the entire wedding party to your doorstep, but following old Jewish tradition, has refused to tell you the wedding date. It is a secret possessed only by him and his father. Every morning you wake up and question yourself, 'Is this the day of my marriage?' Each day you must prepare as though the wedding were just about to take place.
This may seem like a surreal situation, but it was reality for Jewish women during the time of Christ. After the initial betrothal, about twelve months would pass. Toward the end of the twelve months or soon after, the groom would arrive at the bride's home with the wedding party and the marriage ceremony could begin. The bride was never sure of the exact time that her husband-to-be was coming; she only knew that it was soon.
Yet this is also reality for us as followers of Christ. We are that bride. Our hearts should be completely turned toward our Savior that He is who we wake up thinking about and that our days are dedicated to the hope of His return.
How are you doing on this?
Labels: beauty, devotion, purity, trust
Friday, March 31, 2006
Unashamed
(The last words of an African martyr)
"I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The descision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.
I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure.
I'm finished and done with low living, sight-walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals. My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear.
I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ.
I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes. And when He comes, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear. "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ."
--Extreme Devotion, Voice of the Martyrs, page 150
"My Lord was pleased to die for my sins; why should I not be glad to give up my poor life for Him?"
--Girolamo Savanarola, martyred in Florence, Italy, 1498
Labels: devotion
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