Blessed Days

Tonight was a sweet night. This whole week so far has been a sweet week, day by day. Perhaps it's the Lord's way of saying "Happy Birthday!" Which will be this weekend, and no doubt being surrounded by friends will only bless me more. 

Monday was the first official Shadow Mountain Young Life club since 2005. God is faithful. "Baby" club...hilarious. What's not to love about 25 or so full grown humans walking around with diapers over their outfits? So awkward. Glorious. We've been working hard with hopeful eyes to see what the Lord wants to do at Shadow. It's tiresome, yes, but so fulfilling.

{Isaiah 40:28-31}

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Tuesday held our weekly RC (redemption community) with our church family. I love them all - it was a time of laughter and sharing and learning. We spoke of men and women and how they are created. Although it wasn't necessarily relevant to the conversation - the Lord cast my vision and thoughts to think about the present...and there is contentment in the now, rather than the past or the future.

{Proverbs 27:1}

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.”

Wednesday. There were many joys of today, including conversing with my dad about spiritual things and spending time talking about life over a DQ Blizzard with the most adorable, spunky Young Life girl I've ever met. The most joyous part of my day though was this: a night hike with a couple Young Life girls who recently graduated and have moved into the "college-age" phase of their life. They are best friends and make me laugh a ton. During our hike, which really entailed walking for 5 minutes and plopping on a mountain top for an hour (hehe) the wind was blowing beautifully.

{John 3:5-7}

Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

The Holy Spirit was very present in our time together, leading. I could sense the Lord strongly both in my heart as well as physically on our pathway. One of these girls (women, now!) accepted Christ last month and the other re-dedicated her life to Him this past Sunday. I was even overcome at times with tears, a surprised emotional response...I think just to God! I may have imagined it, but I thought I saw one of the girls wiping a tear from her face at the same time my eyes watered during our conversation about this newness.

{Colossians 3:1-16}

Living as Those Made Alive in Christ

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

The world and all of us people in it have many ideas about who Jesus was and is. When we meet again next week - here was my challenge to them and to myself - the same question Jesus asked Peter, "Who do you say I am?" Who do they believe Jesus really is in their life?

{Mark 8: 27-29}

Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” 

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” 

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”

Why I Believe In God

A friend asked me this week, "Why do you believe in God?" Here are some of the most honest answers I have to that sweet question:

-          Because people whose lives I watched that believed in God were unlike others I met. Because when I didn’t believe, the people I knew that really believed in God (not just God, but JESUS as God) thought, talked, and acted differently than others. They loved more, laughed more, and cared for each other and for me better. And they didn’t do it to only seem “good,” they did it because they actually wanted to. They were able to find meaning in life without pursuing things that leave you feeling empty afterwards. I couldn’t grasp it. They seemed like more “complete” and “whole” humans. I always thought that they knew something that I didn’t, but I couldn’t quite figure it out. They always told me it was all to do with God, Jesus specifically – but I didn’t believe it for myself at the time. These people didn’t give up on me or stop being my friend over things that tore other friendships apart. They always loved me (Nikki, my brother, Justine). Although they were the ones showing me love, my mind and heart eventually gave credit to the source that they claimed for being the loving people they were. I stopped assuming the goodness that I experienced from their lives came from them and began to seek the direct source.

-          Because believing in myself wasn’t working. The main “way to live” philosophy I was taught through parenting and culture was the “believe in yourself and you can do anything” concept. But what about me, I would ask, was there to believe in? I loved hanging with friends, getting drunk, hooking up with guys à what about me and my life did I have to believe in, did I want to believe in? I knew that whatever my little self was coming up with to believe in and live by was just not it and I wanted to go outside of myself to know what was really good! (I Praise God now) that I was smart enough to know that I wasn’t the key to my own life or others J.

-          Because believing in a good God was the most logical thing I’d ever heard. During a season of utter emptiness and loss of meaning in my life through my own vain attempts for happiness and fun, I strived to find meaning by asking questions about things that really seemed to have meaning – like God, how the world was created, what was really the purpose of humans? It seems strange to think of such big concepts when we’re practically dying inside, but thinking about and pondering on such meaningful things was really the only thing that kept my spirit fed and full at the time. Learning about the meaning of life was the only thing I wanted to know more about, it was the only thing that kept me curious and kept me satisfied all at once. I started asking questions like, “Does God exist?” “If God does exist, what is God like?” and “If God exists, is this way or that, how does that apply to my life?” The answers started pouring in – and they all made so much sense, in a really logical way. As humans, and what I found in myself, is that – most of the things we believe, we believe rather inconsistently – as in, I might think this way for this or that reason (most of which weren’t very good reasons anyway), speak another way, and neither the way I thought or spoke computed to the way I acted. My whole self and how I functioned was entirely inconsistent. Inconsistency isn’t logical. So I logically began to explore the God I was discovering EXISTED! And He was GOOD! So I explored that! I believed in God, because I explored ideas about God à and the God of the bible made the most sense!

-          Because I couldn’t help it. After not knowing God for so long and starting to realize who He really was/is – I tried to fight admitting that I believed in Him and trusted Him for awhile. I thought believing in God was a huge jump to make, like it wasn’t actually possible for me to do it anyway. I thought if it were to ever happen, I would wake up one day and just officially “believe.” But what I realized as I studied more, asked more questions, and was surrounded by people who believed in God who loved me well, was that…I had believed in God for awhile and trusted Him too! I just had never realized it really. So I “officially” one day told God that I trusted in Him, although He already knew this – but apart from confessing this trust, took “ownership” of it in a way, and made a promise back to Him one day that no matter what, I would keep trusting in Him and would follow Him with my life. I had no other option. Once you see and understand who God is, how true, how good, how gracious…there is no way you could not believe again or ever want to not believe. Sure, you go through days when it seems more real than others, but with even the small assurance of seeing the difference of who I am and my motivations for daily life…I could never turn back.

Strife: BEWARE

I am officially a Joyce Meyer fan after getting the opportunity to go to one of her conferences this weekend. WOW - she speaks pretty practically, yet almost everything she says is truthful and deep. I wrote down a lot of 1-liners and wanted to just put them here so that I won't forget them one day. And the message being on "Strife"? Pure destiny. I needed to hear it. Thank You Lord.

STRIFE 

The opposite of peace, perhaps you could say, is strife. It is dangerous and should be treated like poison. Strife is the unpeace in relationships, the bitterness, the angry undercurrents, and the thing that causes us to afford criticism to others. It is neither anointed nor does it allow for the Word to work. Strife can originate from a multitude of things, but perhaps most prevalent is pride. Humble yourself. Do not open the door for the devil or go to bed mad, for it is literally dangerous (Ephesians 4:25-27).

1) There is power in agreement.

“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."

Matthew 18:19-20

Agreement can only be maintained with grace and forgiveness.

2) Live in a peaceful place.

If you don't dwell in a place of peace, it's going to affect the work you have to do (Matthew 10:11-14).

3) Prayer is not effective while in the midst of strife.

"I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing."

1 Timothy 2:8

4) To not seek peace...is evil.

For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. They must turn from evil and do good; they must SEEK peace and PURSUE it."

1 Peter 3:10-11

5) How can we receive correction without condemnation?

• God only corrects those He loves (Revelation 3:19-20)
• We should be grateful for the correction of Christ
• "If God is correcting me in this (His child who is of no business to the devil), then I am going to take it joyfully, grow and keep on going."
• When God shows you something wrong with you - AGREE with Him! Ask HIM to change you, to not leave your side until you can do it. 

6) Do not be OFFENDED.

• Offense derives from the Hebrew word that describes the part of a trap that the bait hangs on to tempt the animal into the trap.
• Satan wants us to be offended...and where we are offended, love cannot flow.
• Faith and prayer do not work without love.

7) It's okay to admit that you are a wretch.

"What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

Paul in Romans 7:24-25

8) Peace starts with you and God.

• You have to have peace with God.
• You have to have peace with yourself.
• THEN you can have peace with people.

If you can't get along with yourself, you can't get along with others.

9) People are created for freedom. 

So say to them out loud and in your heart, "I love you the way you are and I commit to not trying to change you. Pride is the problem in this area. My interests are not more important than the interests of others. What I have to say is not more important than what another has to say." (Romans 12:3)

When it comes to loving and treating others well, we don't start by controlling our behavior, we start by controlling our thoughts.

10) Nine things that will help you have peace in your relationships:

• Be courteous and respectful of others opinions even if you don't agree with them.
• Listen with an open mind. Consider that they might be right.
• Don't be touchy and sensitive.
• Be willing to pray about what people say.
• Keep looking for a place to agree instead of looking for things to grumble about.
• Look for good things in people.
• Be very careful with body language and the tone with which you say things.
• Pray and pick your timing. Ask God to anoint it.
• Don't put your friends & loved ones under pressure making them feel like they need to prove their love to you everyday. BELIEVE they love you.
• QUIT being selfish.

 11) My own personal notes to remember:

• When offended by someone who has hurt you, instead of asking, "Lord, how can I get rid of this pain?" ask, "How can I address this pain?" Don't be afraid to address it with the Lord. He IS your healer.
• Pray for a shield of faith that you would never be personally offended by someone. And that also, if it exists, with the protection of the shield, you can actually begin to see the deep pain within the person who has offended (Ephesians 6:16).
• Remember that God affords us strength and that even in our weakness, He is strong.
• Battle the hopelessness of strife with thankfulness.

Remember this about yourself and remember it in regards to others.

Hope Defined

HOPE:  

It's a thing. It's an action. We can possess it and be possessed by it. We can be without it and in search of it. It's contagious and it's good. We can hope in true things and in false things. We can have hope in things and for things. We can have unfulfilled hope and hope deferred.

The moral of the story? As people, we hope. All I know it that this thing called HOPE is important. It shows up in scripture 180 times in the NIV translation. I wanted to know more about "hope," so I did a word study on it from the Bible. I hope it makes sense :)

Possession: 

• Hope is something we can possess or not possess, be with or be without (1). You can do something wrong, screw up in the past, and still have hope (2). There are times when you no longer have hope, times when you actively hope, and times when you don't have hope yet, but will have in the future (3). If you forget God, your hope is destined to perish (4). Not only can you possess hope, but hope can possess you (5). You can possess hope as an individual as well as mutually possess the same hope as someone other than yourself (6). Having hope is closely tied to praise and prayer (7,8). 

Hope In: 

• We can hope in good things and in bad things. When I think of hoping in something, I like to even think of myself physically walking into that something - going inside of it to do the hoping I will do.

• Things that are good for us to hope in: God, the Word (9), His unfailing love (10), His teachings (11), the resurrection of the dead and eternal life (12, 13), His promises including Jesus (14, 15), the glory of God (16), and the salvation of others (17).

• Things that are bad for us to hope in: That which is stolen (18), the failure of others (19), created things including other humans and money (20-22), and the law given through Moses (23).

Stages: 

• Hope has a process to it, just like anything. It helps me to think of hope in stages, such as:  

• Cause for hope --> actively hoping --> hope's fulfillment. 

• It's important that hope be fulfilled, or else our hearts grow sick (24). God is the one who fulfills hope and keeps us flourishing (25).

Source: 

• Well, that's all easy enough, but from where does that cause for hope originally come? There's many answers to that question. The first source of hope is always God (26-28). He calls us to it and sets it in front of us (29, 30). Any cause for it comes from Him first, for example: doing what is right (31), endurance and encouragement (32), joy and peace (33), love (34), and wisdom (35). And because God is the source of hope and gives it, He can also take it away and does when it does not glorify Him (36, 37).

Action: 

• Hope is a verb. We do it. We hope. We can choose to hope by purposefully thinking of things that will evoke it in us (38).

Thing: 

• Hope is a noun. It's not just something we do, but can actually be something. This is my favorite part about hope, because to think of it as a thing physically outside of myself helps me to realize it's something I need and don't always have. If you were to describe hope, how would you do it? If you were to place your hope somewhere, which you possess, where would you put it?

• We can put hope places (39-41) and put it on things (42). We can raise and lower hope (43, 44) and literally give it up (45). We can firmly hold onto hope (46, 47) and set it on top of grace (48).

• Hope can be an anchor (49), a door (50), and an outfit (51). Hope can be our lens, something we actually look out of (52-54), and by doing so, our hope becomes closely connected to our patience.

Hope is quite a contagious thing (55) !

Along With Hope Comes:

• Suffering (56-58), rest (59, 60), boldness (61), never disappointment (62), purity (63), confidence (64), security (65), never shame (66), guidance and learning from truth (67), inheritance (68), protection (69), discipline (70), strength (71), belief (72), patience (73) and endurance (74).

Find it in the Word 1. Ruth 1.12 2. Ezra 10.2 3. Proverbs 23.18 4. Job 8.13 5. Jeremiah 23.16 6. 2 Corinthians 10.15 7. Psalm 71.14 8. 1 Timothy 5.5 9. Psalm 119.74 10. Psalm 33.18 11. Isaiah 42.4 12. Acts 23.6 13. Titus 1.2 14. Acts 26.7 15. Romans 15.12 16. Colossians 1.27 17. 2 Timothy 2.25 18. Psalm 62.10 19. Luke 20.20 20. Psalm 33.17 21. Proverbs 11.7 22. Acts 16.19 23. John 5.45 24. Proverbs 13.12 25. Job 6.8 26. Jeremiah 29.11 27. Psalm 119.49 28. Psalm 62.5 29. Ephesians 1.18 30. Hebrews 6.18 31. Job 4.6 32. Romans 15.4 33. Romans 15.13 34. 1 Corinthians 13.7 35. Proverbs 24.14 36. Job 19.10 37. Jeremiah 13.16 38. Lamentations 3.21 39. Matthew 12.21 40. Psalm 33.22 41. Psalm 42.5 42. 2 Corinthians 1.10 43. Ephesians 1.12 44. 2 Kings 4.28 45. Acts 27.20 46. Hebrews 3.6 47. Hebrews 10.23 48. 1 Peter 1.13 49. Hebrews 6.19 50. Hosea 2.15 51. 1 Peter 3.5 52. Micah 7.7 53. Job 6.19 54. Psalm 39.7 55. Romans 15.13 56. Job 13.15 57. Acts 26.6 58. Acts 28.20 59. Acts 2.26 60. Psalm 62.5 61. 2 Corinthians 3.12 62. Isaiah 49.23 63. 1 John 3.3 64. Job 4.6 65. Job 11.18 66. Psalm 25.3 67. Psalm 25.5 68. Psalm 37.9 69. Psalm 119.114 70. Proverbs 19.18 71. Isaiah 40.31 72. Romans 4.18 73. Romans 8.25 74. 1 Thessalonians 1.3