Posted by: Anna What is faith? I've been reading through Hebrews, and I came to chapter 11 the other day. The entire chapter is about faith. Faith is a big part of Christianity, after all. It kind of is Christianity. And yet, it's not always so easy. So today, we're going to answer two primary questions: What is faith, and What can it do? What is faith? The very first verse of Hebrews 11 gives us the foundation of what faith is: "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Let's break it down. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for. Take the two primary words in that: assurance, and hope. Those are both primary aspects of faith. The conviction of things not seen. Conviction. Another big part of faith. To make it easier, let's take the next part as "belief in things we can't see." With all those things in mind, what is faith? At its core, it is assurance, hope, conviction, and belief. With faith, we are assured--absolutely confident--in God. We're assured in the hope He has given us. We are convicted of His existence, even if we can't see Him. We're convicted--convinced--of Who He is. Notice that these are all 'strong' words being used. It's not the "consideration of things hoped for," it's the assurance. It's not the "acceptance of what we can't see," it's the conviction of things not seen. That's because faith is powerful. Our faith should be conviction and assurance, not timid aspiration. There you have the foundation of what faith is. Let's dive deeper. "By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible." -11:3 Faith wouldn't be faith if we could see God as clearly as we see each other. It wouldn't be faith if all of creation came with a stamp saying "MADE BY GOD" on it. Faith is what allows us to understand that God created the universe. It allows us to believe in what we can't see- God, His love and grace. After all, we can't really see His love and grace, can we? Nope. Truly believing in those require faith. After that, the rest of the chapter is examples of famous biblical characters and their faith. It goes from Abel to Abraham to Rahab. I won't go through those. Instead, I'm going to take bits and pieces from those examples, to look at more ways faith takes form. "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him." -11:6 This brings it back to my last point- faith allows us to believe in God's grace, or that "He rewards those who seek Him". If we can't believe in that, we can't draw near to Him. That's why faith is so, so important. "And he went out, not knowing where he was going." -11:8 This is referring to Abraham, following God's calling to leave his home and just go. God didn't tell him where to go, just to go. What does it take to leave your home like that, and trust that God will take you somewhere better, without knowing where that is? That's exactly what it takes- trust. Trust and courage. To have faith is to be courageous, trusting in God. "But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one." -11:16 Out of all the people given as examples of faith here, what was their reason for the acts of faith they committed? Desire for the end goal- eternity in Paradise with God. Faith allows us to truly believe in that goal, and gives us the focus and drive to pursue it. ". . . choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward." -11:25-26 Again. It takes faith to have assurance in the greatness of our end reward in Heaven. That faith allowed Moses to consider that reward greater than the wealth and power he could have had. Faith allows us, even requires us, to find a relationship with Christ more fulfilling than any fleeting pleasures of sin. It gives us far greater joy than wealth or popularity or security. Along the same lines, faith is what gives us endurance, patience, and even joy in the midst of suffering. It's what strengthens and encourages us when we face persecution. With faith, we can consider the reproach of Christ far greater than the treasures of this world, for how great is the reward! Now. What can faith do? "By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets--who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight." -11:33-34 And what more shall I say? Because that is what faith can do. Faith is what makes this verse true: "I can do all things through Him Who strengthens me." -Philippians 4:13 "Let us lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, an let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." -Hebrews 12:1-2
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Posted by: Anna The Olympics are coming up! My family isn't all that into them, but we do enjoy watching some of the events on TV now and again. Probably the most notable thing when you're watching the competitors perform is how impressive their abilities are. That's kind of the point, right? For example, when we watch the running events, I'm always kind of awed by how those people can run. Goodness. I can barely run a mile, and it takes me quite a while too. And here they are running such extreme distances, or at such grueling speeds. But how did they get so good? The answer is pretty obvious. No one is born that good at running. Some people may be naturally better at it than others, but the fact is still that the athletes train. They train long and hard to get the results they do. Reading through 1 Timothy, I came across a verse I've never noticed before. Here it is: "Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way," -1 Timothy 4:7-8 Let me repeat: the people competing in the Olympics had to train to get as good as they are. It didn't happen by itself, and it didn't happen overnight. Neither does godliness. It's a commitment. It takes training. Some days, I wake up and the sun is shining. I get out of bed, ready to change the world. I put on my favorite smile, I grab my favorite piece of joy to take with me through the day. It's easy to be loving and kind to the world. It's easy to be humble and gentle, to trust God and to encourage others. Other days, I wake up like a Gollum whose ring has been stolen. (Sorry, I couldn't help using a LotR reference.) The world is a stupid place where everybody is annoying, everybody has failed me, or everybody is just a jerk. Me though, I've got it under control. What's everyone else's problem? Can't they just figure this out? Come on, people. And on other days, I wake up with my own personal storm cloud spitting rain on my head. And unlike Olaf's little cloud with its pretty snowflakes (and now a Frozen reference), this one doesn't give cause for a smile. I drag myself through the day, miserable and sad. How could I be such a terrible person? Why would anyone ever love me? I never do anything right. And this world of ours. . . man it's messed up. It's just a terrible place. I don't have it in me to extend love and kindness. I don't have it in me to find my peace in God. On those days where the sun is shining, sure- godliness isn't too big a problem. I'm rip-roaring ready to go and love people. But on those other days. . . it sure doesn't come natural. It sure isn't my first inclination. It isn't what I feel like doing. In fact, it's miserable and I might want to quit. What do you think- do athletes have days like that? Where running is just not enjoyable. It hurts and it's hard- what's the point? And if they haven't trained for it, if they haven't strengthened themselves for the trying days. . . they won't make it. But if they have, they'll be able to endure. They'll know how to keep going, how to keep it up even when it's not working out. "Fight the good fight of faith." -1 Timothy 6:12 What does 'fight' imply? A struggle, right? So what we can assume based off that verse. . . faith will be a struggle. It'll be a battle. But it's a good fight. It's worth the struggle. And, it's worth the training. Because the training sure comes in handy when you're in the middle of a battle. Let's step forward to look at this another way, to look at how we apply it, basically. "Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness." -1 Timothy 6:11 Take a look at that verse word, that verb. Pursue. Paul could have said permit righteousness and godliness and all that. He could have said "If it's easy, take righteousness. . ." Or "Accept it when it comes." Nope. Pursue it. We've been watching the Bourne movies, in preparation of the new one that's coming out. And in each one, there's at least one "high-speed pursuit". Basically, five minutes of shaky filming, honking cars, dramatic close-ups of drivers, and close-calls. In these scenes, Bourne is either pursuing or being pursued. And why the drama? Why make it such a big deal? It could just be him driving along, playing it safe. He'll get the bad guy if he can, but he isn't about to put in too much effort for it. That's not how it goes. He wants to catch that person. (Or those police want to catch him) It is his goal, and it's a goal he's willing to fight for. Willing to pursue. To pursue is to "follow something in order to catch it", or to "strive to gain; seek to attain or accomplish". It implies endeavor. We aren't to only practice righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness when it's easy. When it 'comes naturally'. When the mood strikes. We are to pursue it. To strive for it. We want to catch it- we want it. So we fight for it. That's where training comes in. On the days when godliness isn't coming naturally, you can't rely on 'instinct', so to speak, to do it. You need to know how. You need to be able to enact those beliefs and practices, even if it's not easy. Since you've conditioned yourself for it, you can. What does it mean to train for godliness? Well, I think that first and foremost, it's as simple as striving for it. Sometimes these things are hard to do, because they're such ambiguous concepts. But we won't get anywhere if we don't try. One of the ways we can try is to educate ourselves in what success looks like. The Bible is the best source when it comes to finding out what godliness looks like. Study it, imitate it. Training takes sacrifice. You might (okay, so will) have to set aside your desire to just be cranky in order to be gentle and loving. You might (okay, so will) have to not give in to a certain temptation in order to be righteous and godly. Here's the summary. You have to be willing to train for godliness. You have to be willing to practice it--so that you can get better at it--even when you don't feel like it. You have to be willing to do it, whether you're in a spiritual high or a spiritual low. You have to be willing to get in your Bible and discover what godliness implies, and how you can attain it. You have to be willing to do hard things. You have to be willing be kind when it would be easier to be mean, and to love when it would be easier to hate, and to forgive when it would be easier to hold onto your anger- because by so doing, you will build yourself up to godliness. You have to be willing to pursue. "Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress." -1 Timothy 4:15 Posted by: Anna All the sarcastic people in the room, raise your hands! Don't know about you, but I've got both hands in the air. In my family, sarcasm is pretty much as natural as breathing. We don't tell jokes so much, but you can bet we tease and make sarcastic remarks, many of which are also cynical or scornful. That's just a personality trait we all share. Now, I can imagine the sarcastics in the room eyeing what I just wrote and the title warily, with their mouse hovering over the red X in the corner. "Is she about to tell me sarcasm is bad and I shouldn't do it? Cause I'm outta here." No worries! I won't be telling you that. Please stay. :) Instead, I'd just like to look at how, maybe, sarcasm and other 'styles' of speech aren't reflecting us as Christians well when they're taken too far. Can you, at least some times, recognize a Christian from a non-Christian by their speech? In some cases, it's pretty obvious. My brother works with other older men, who aren't Christian, and do a lot of swearing and such. It's probably safe to assume that they've noticed that my brother doesn't swear. I know that if I hear someone cussing, the chances are quite slim I'll think they're a Christian. Are you with me? Alright, so swearing/cussing, or the lack thereof, sets Christians apart. What else? Let's say you could hear/see the conversation of a random American family at the dinner table, without any previous knowledge of what the family's like or how they act otherwise. Pretend they get into a discussion about some relatives or friends of theirs, and just about everything they have to say is harsh and sardonic. They're critiquing the relative or friend's beliefs, or maybe they're scoffing at their looks/personality, maybe they're pointing out their faults and mistakes. Now none of the family members are using any swear words. Their language is completely clean, they just have a sarcastic, degrading tone and what they're saying is quite demeaning. Would you go away thinking, "Man, they've got to be Christians! And some of the most inspirational and true Christians I've seen at that!" Didn't think so. (Unless you're a non-Christian who thinks Christians are hypocritical. Which is going to be my end point anyway. . . so forget I said that for now.) :) Let's have a less dramatic example. If you walk by a group of people who are picking on an individual, and the individual seems hurt by it and they won't stop, is your first thought "Christian"? If you see someone bragging about their skills, or mocking someone else's skills, then is your first thought "Christian"? Or what about a few teens who are whispering about how they don't like so-and-so for such-and-such reason? Maybe a group talking about some of their mutual acquaintances/friends, with lots of remarks about 'how annoying they are' thrown in? Can you honestly say you never do any of those things? I can't. I already admitted to say things that are sarcastic or cynical. So am I saying that sarcasm is bad? Or you're a terrible person if you occasionally tease your friend, or that you shouldn't ever have a single bad thing to say about anyone? No, not necessarily. But I do believe that both our actions and words should reflect Christ, and I think that most of the time, that's not what's happening. So where's the line? When is a little teasing okay? I don't think there's a rule-book. But, I think it should be easy enough for you to tell if you've crossed the invisible line, if you're honest with yourself. Is that teasing joke you're about to make nothing more than that, or are you actually annoyed with your friend and are saying so in such a way that they won't know? Is that sarcastic joke just some humor and personality on your part, or does it have the potential to be harsh or hurtful? When you're playfully calling your sibling names, is there a chance you're actually hurting his feelings? Are you complaining about so-and-so's flaws to someone because you're looking for wisdom and advice on how to gently tell so-and-so they need to change such-and-such, or because you're just bitter and want to whine about it? Do you have a reason to be talking about how good you are at such-and-such, or are you just bragging? Here's what I'm saying: Watch what you say. Because people do hear, and people do form opinions about you based off what you say. We can all think of a time where we were disappointed to hear our friend/etc. talking in such a way that made it impossible for us to respect them as much as we used to, or where something our friend said hurt our feelings. And the fact is, other people are watching us. When you swear, or say mean things, or gossip, you just prove to non-Christians that Christians are hypocritical. You prove it to Christians, too. I have a hard time not being upset by seeing how frequent it is for my fellow Christians not to shine Christ's light with their words. And just as often, I'm realizing that neither do I. I'm not saying I'm going to stop being sarcastic. I have a sarcastic humor, and that's just who I am. I am saying that, with God's help, I'm going to try and not let my sarcastic humor become sarcastic mockery or sarcastic malice. I'm going to try to not let teasing be a genuine but discreet stab at someone's annoying trait or weakness. I'm going to try to avoid downtalking others, when I know that I as a Christian am supposed to be known by my love, not my ability to analyze and condemn. I'm going to try to be known by just that--the love of God that is in me--instead of by my sarcastic remarks that make most people in the room laugh, but hurt one person. I'm going to do my best at talking the talk as well as walking the walk- to speak with love, patience, kindness, compassion, truth, and grace. I hope you'll join me. "Let your speech always be gracious," -Colossians 4:6 Posted by: Anna “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” We’ve all heard that verse from 1 Corinthians. And probably thought about it some too, maybe heard a speech on it or read an article about it. I know I have. It wasn’t until recently it took on a whole new meaning to me, however. I’m currently reading the book Start Here by Alex and Brett Harris. It’s certainly been a really good read. And the thing that, thus far, has stuck out the most to me from it goes along with that verse in Corinthians. Putting God at the center of our lives. It’s something we all talk about, and maybe even strive for. . . but that’s just it. How do you strive for it? Just like, how do you glorify God in your body? There’s the obvious stuff, like obeying the Ten Commandments. ‘Following the rule book,’ you could even say. And I think that all too often, we leave it at that. Follow the rules (at least follow them according to human standards) and you’ll be doing a fine job of glorifying God in your body and putting Him at the center of your life. Yet I think it means more than that. In their book, Alex and Brent answer the how question like this. First, realize that God is a person. Not a concept or, as they put it, cosmic riddle, instead, a person. He’s definitely not like any person we know here on earth, but He’s a person all the same- a perfect person. Now think of a person you know, say your best friend. Imagine what it would be like if you made that friend the center of your life. What would you do? Well, you’d want to figure out their likes and dislikes, and what they like to do, what their life circumstances are. You’d get to know their family and friends, and familiarize yourself with their lifestyle. Then, you’d spend as much time as you could with them. You’d want to please them, and fit your schedule around them. And even when you weren’t with them, you’d be thinking about them. Get where I’m going? That’s what it means to put God at the center of everything we do. It’s really rather confusing. . . it’s such a simple concept, yet so seemingly impossible. To put God at the center of your life, is to include Him in everything you do, think, and say. It’s to spend as much time with Him as possible, getting to know Him. It’s striving to please Him in all you do, it’s always having Him on your mind and heart. So. . . how many of us can say we’ve got that one down? Let’s go back to that verse in 1 Corinthians. The Holy Spirit lives in us, therefore our bodies are the temple of God, right? We are not our own, but are to glorify God in our bodies. . . What does that mean? My pastor talked about this in his sermon last Sunday, and really put it in a way that hit me. Think of it like this. So Jesus is inside of you, right? And, because of that, you’re supposed to take the concept of Him working through you--through your body--very literally. In that case, we should go through the day with a mindset of: “Is this what Jesus would have my body be doing? Is this where He would have my body at? Is this what He’d have it looking at? Are these the people He’d have it spending time with?” Basically, put God at the steering wheel instead of you. Just imagine if we all really did that! Do you think we’d ever find ourselves wasting time, or skimping out on Bible study and prayer, or neglecting others, or in the middle of some sin, or giving in to temptation? Obviously, we all don’t do it, because we all find ourselves doing those things. All the same, I think that really puts it into perspective. I think it’s time ‘glorifying God in your body’ stops being a neat phrase or stereotype challenge at the end of a speech, but starts being a lifestyle. Put the two ideas together. “Doing all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31) is to put God at the center of our lives--spending time with Him, learning about Him, thinking about Him, striving to serve and please Him--and to truly let Christ work through our bodies- letting Him control both our physical activities and our spiritual and mental. That is what we are called to do, as the temple of God. And why is it so hard? Because we’re rebellious! Because we want to be able to do whatever we want, whenever we want. We don’t want God dictating our lives. And yet, He is our Savior, Creator, Protector, Provider, and King. Where would we be without Him? Exactly- we wouldn’t exist. Everything we have is from God, including our lives. Because of our sinfulness, we still are the rebellious, stiff-necked people that don’t want God ‘messing with’ our lives. But if we want to live for God, we’ve got to let Him mess with our lives! We’ve got to want Him to mess with it! We should want Him to saturate our lives with Him. Glorifying God with our bodies and putting Him first is so much more than fleeing sexual immorality and not worshipping idols and not committing murder. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: it’s a lifestyle. It’s a daily choice, an hourly choice, a choice we have to make every minute sometimes. It may be something we can never do perfectly as sinful humans, but it’s something we should never stop endeavoring for. Because the Maker of the Universe, the LORD God Almighty, our Redeemer, lives in us. "For it is God Who works in you, both to will and to work His good pleasure." -Philippians 2:13 Posted by: Abby
Sometimes it's hard to be content amongst all the hubbub that goes on around us. After all, sometimes when it rains it pours, but then, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Okay, so that being said, I've personally been going through a tough time in my own life. Things just aren't going the way I expected or wanted them to right now. First, our house flooded. The entire basement accumulated two inches while we were at church. Now, before this I would have been like, "Well, it's not that big of a deal, I guess, if someone gets their basement flooded. It can't be that much trouble." Yeah, well I would have been wrong. A flooded basement entails things like: moving pretty much all furniture upstairs, tearing out carpet, shop-vaccing water, and living in close and cluttered quarters with the rest of your family for a few weeks. Now, I'm not trying to incite you pity with this, I'm just telling you what's been happening. Needless to say, it's been a learning experience. Thins like this can cause stress. But on top of this, I myself am dealing with a situation that I never thought I'd have to. I won't go into details, but it's been another big learning experience for me, and it entails an amount of confrontation, which I'm struggling with. So that said, these last few weeks have been hard. At first, I sort of ignored all my stress and hid it away. In fact, I hid it away so well that I didn't even know I had any until one night when everything came together and I had a release. I thought some things through about my circumstances and I realized some things. "Joshua 1:9- Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid nor dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." I understand that as human beings and sinful creatures, we get stressed and worried about things, even if we don't realize it at first, but I think a big problem is that after we realize we're stressed and hand it over to God, we actually still hang onto it. I mean, how many times have you been worried about something, or there was something bugging you and you decided that you should probably give it over to God, only to find that after you prayed, it still wouldn't leave you alone and was dragging you lower and lower. I know I've done that. The Bible is full of verses that tell us that in God, we can have peace. We just need to really let go of our troubles and hand them over to Him. God promises us that He'll give us peace, all we have to do is accept it. I encourage you today to not only hand over your doubts, worries, and troubles to God, but to ask him to give you the strength to be free of them and to truly give them up. All things are possible with God. Posted by: Anna Don't know about you, but I'm generally doing good if I can make myself genuinely forgive someone that I'm mad at. And personally, when I do manage to, I think I've done my duty and all that's left is for me to not allow myself back into the grudge or into giving them the silent treatment, etc. The other day though, as I was reading Isaiah, it hit me. There's a step 2 to forgiveness. Only a couple weeks before, I'd read 2 Corinthians 2:5-7 "So if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure--not to put it too severely--to all of you. For such a one, this punishment by majority is enough, so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him." I kind of just glossed over it. Like "Okay, cool- forgive the sinner, don't be too harsh on him, got it." It kind of seemed more applicable to a church situation, where someone in a church family caused the problem, then the rest of the congregation is to forgive and comfort them. I didn't really register it as meaning much more. Now to what I read in Isaiah. "Comfort, comfort My people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins." Isaiah 40:1-2 I'm sure you've all read enough of Isaiah to know that a lot of it talks about how God's people have messed up and were continuing to do so. . . and that a decent portion of it is also about how He chooses to forgive them, and loves them anyway. First I'd just like to point out: what a beautiful picture that is. I've been going through the entire book of Isaiah over the last few weeks, I'm nearing the end now, and seeing God's redemption and unending love despite Israel's sin and wandering is pretty awesome. But this verse really struck me. Comfort, comfort My people, God says. Speak tenderly to them. Does that sound like He begrudgingly forgave them to you? Like a "Allll-riiight, if I have to. . . I forgive you. Now get it right next time." Uh, no. That's not the message I'm getting here. Instead, what I see is God willing to look completely past Jerusalem's sin and betrayal, to forgive them freely, to the point that His first thought it to comfort them. To reassure them, make sure they know He still loves them. Is that how we forgive? Here's a general break-down of my forgiveness process: Someone ticks me off. I might not snap or yell back at them, or any such revenge, but I huff and puff in my bedroom and stew over it for a while, sometimes a long while if I'm really upset. Gradually I mutter to myself that I promised to try and be more forgiving and loving, so I should probably get over it. So I take a deep breath. "Fine. I forgive them." Then I waltz out of my room, and don't allow myself to be curt or silent to them, but instead pretend nothing happened. So. . . does that match up with God wanting to comfort and encourage us? With His concern being whether or not we recover from our own mistake? Nope, I'm afraid it doesn't. I'm not necessarily saying that when you forgive someone, you need to fawn over them and gush out reassurances that you still love them and it's all in the past. Personally, I could never manage something that emotional and dramatic. But I think we far too often take forgiveness only to the very first level- that we get back onto civil terms with our offender, and mentally check them off on our list of forgiven people. Deep down, we may still be angry, or still wanting to 'give them a piece of our mind', that sort of thing. I can't claim to be better than anyone else about that. I may not instigate or continue direct conflict with someone, but I can sure spend an hour in my room throwing a teenage temper-tantrum and/or a pity party, or just fuming about the person I'm mad at. Yet is that how God treats us? We totally deserve it. We sin against God far more often than other people sin against us. God has every right to give us the silent treatment, or to not forgive us at all. How amazing, then, that He chose to die for us on a cross, because He loves us so much that He wants to and does forgive us. How amazing that even when we mess up, His desire is to have us return to Him, to know that He still loves us. Perhaps we should remember our own faults, and focus a bit more on how we can love others rather than how we can show our displeasure to them. I don't think any of us can ever get nearly as loving and forgiving as we should be, so I think it needs to be a constant effort. After all, God is definitely constantly forgiving and loving us, isn't He? "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." -Mahatma Grandhi Posted by: Anna Ever been told you have a servant's heart? Do you like serving and helping others? I do, oftentimes. As the introvert I am, I enjoy those behind-the-scenes tasks such as stacking chairs or cleaning to help out our church, and that sort of thing. I won't and can't claim to have a servant's heart, necessarily, but I did always consider myself 'okay' at serving others. Until the other day. Randomly, I was hit by a sudden thought. Okay, so it wasn't randomly. I was thinking about someone I know, and how I felt like that person wasn't necessarily being a very good friend to me. It was as I was thinking that that I suddenly realized something. . . Shouldn't I be more concerned with whether or not I'm being a good friend to that person, than if they're being a good friend to me? Shouldn't their needs be first in my mind? The more I thought about it, the more I realized I do not have a servant's heart, and that most likely, few do. I think that just about everything we do has an underlying motive of me. Our culture and society is so I-focused. Everything is supposed to be about my accomplishments, my looks, my qualities, my abilities. Who are the celebrities in the world? Are they the ones serving, or the ones being served? Who are the esteemed in the world? The ones with wealth and skill, or the ones with humility and meekness? Who are the ones we look to? Those that are 'cool', and those that we can gain something from, or those that are weak, and need our help? Pretty soon, it became clear to me that just about everything I do has a secret, even subconscious, aim of personal gain. Asking if I can help with something? Or doing something unexpected for my mom? How often do I do that with the goal of getting praise or attention? I'm sure I'm not alone. We all crave recognition, and we know that oftentimes, the way to get it is service. Which is why it's not so surprising that our 'servant's heart' has a limit. . . nobody's around, or nobody's going to ever know you took the time to do something for them? Then why bother. Or, let's say the service will actually get you scorn. Then will you do it? Or is that were someone else can play humble? In light of this realization, I spent half an hour the next morning flipping through the New Testament. What I found was a noticeable focus on serving others. I'm sure I don't need to tell you we are called to be humble, and to put others first. I'm sure you know that we're told to serve others multiple times in the Bible. But has it ever struck you just how many times? Or how it's actually a theme throughout? Here's a few verses I found that very clearly pointed toward serving others. "For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity to serve the flesh, but through love serve one another." -Galatians 5:13 "Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor." -1 Corinthians 10:24 "Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." -Philippians 2:3-4 To me, those pretty obviously say that serving one another shouldn't be for our own exaltation. . . it should be done out of love and humility. And that's a hard one! Easier said than done, I totally agree! Yet why is it so hard? Pride. Everyone has pride. Even the shy, insecure kid or that friend of yours that is simply as sweet and kind and gentle as they come. Though there are certainly those that are more so than others, everyone struggles with pride. Really though. . . none of us have a single thing worth being proud of. Stuff? Money? What's that worth? As soon as you die, it's gone. And even while you're here, what does it gain you? Some fun, some luxury, some fame maybe? Most of that just leads to less joy and contentment than if you didn't have it. And how about skills and personality qualities? Aren't those gifts from God? How can we boast of that? Or our faith? Definitely God's doing, not ours! Only by His grace are we saved, so that none may boast. And think about it. . . Jesus totally had a great reason for pride, yet is the perfect example of humility, and of serving others. His entire life was spent serving others. His life was for us, His death was for us. He served us. Which is why it really is a theme in the New Testament- serve one another. Not just because of the verses you find that specifically say it. . . so much of what we're told in Paul and the other apostle's letters can be summed up as: love and serve! Check out these verses, which I'm guessing all of you will be familiar with. "Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection, Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; . . . Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly." -Romans 12:9-16 "Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony." -Colossians 3:12-14 Can't a lot of that be described as loving and serving one another? Loving with brotherly affection, outdoing in showing honor, contribute to the needs and show hospitality, bless others, associate with the lowly, have kindness and patience, forgive, love, and more. Doesn't that sound like putting others first? Like caring for others, above yourself? And those aren't the only examples I have. Seriously. Flip through the New Testament, particularly Paul's letters. Almost whenever he's talking about what life as a Christian should look like, you can find the theme of love and serve. That, I think, is such a big part of our faith and our walk with God, yet easily and even accidentally overlooked! Which isn't that surprising, in a culture of "I" and "Me", like I said. And the other thing is, I think sometimes Christians have plenty of a go-get-em attitude, but not enough of the servant's heart thing. There's a lot of emphasis on evangelism, but less on serving others. Yet really, I think serving others is evangelism. All that said, I've had to take a hard look at my motives and priorities in a lot of areas, and my focus: how often it's on me instead of God and others. I need to work on it as much as anyone, perhaps more. I get caught up in my own problems, and I'm not always very good at being the friend I should. Like I said earlier, am I more interested in what I can do for my friends, or what my friends can do for me? How about a Dr. Martin Luther King quote to end? "Everybody can be great. . . because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love." "Walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love." -Ephesians 4:1-3 Posted by: Anna In my post on grace, I went over the fact that we are saved by grace through faith, not by what we do. And I believe that. If you believe your Bible, you pretty much have to- it’s made quite clear! However. I do not find it easy to believe it, at least not easy to truly believe it. To trust it. Our legalistic mindset is what makes it tough. We judge people (and ourselves) by what we do, by what we say, by who we are. All of us do. Let’s say you meet a missionary who has be serving in Africa for the last five years. But a few minutes before that, you met a person that’s only been a Christian for a year. They’re still struggling to get out of all the sin they were enslaved to before accepting Christ. Who are you more likely to be impressed by, to admire, to think of as a ‘good Christian’? Well, if you don’t feel like answering, I will: the missionary! It’s just our natural instinct. Wrong, but natural. The fact that we are saved by grace through faith, not through works, means that the struggling new Christian is loved and accepted by God just as much as the missionary. Which is, let’s see. . . AWESOME. I’ve been a Christian my whole life, but I still probably fall closer on the scale to the new Christian than the missionary. So, to know that I really am just as loved by God as the missionary, despite my shortcomings and failings, because I have been saved by grace through faith, is really pretty great. And that’s what it comes down to. Salvation is not the list of do’s and don’ts, it is not who you are, but Who He is. It’s not what you did, it’s what He did. Alright, post over? Not quite. Ever read James? I’m sure you have. I’m going to assume you haven’t memorized it though, so check these verses out. “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” James 2:14-17 Whoa! Contradiction! “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 Now, I do not claim in any way to have all this figured out. I’ve been spending the last few days collecting verses on whether or not we are judged by what we do, and ever since I read (and actually understood) that verse in James a year or two ago, I’ve been muddling through how to make both work on and off. And sometimes I still find other aspects of this topic confusing, but here's what I've got on the seeming contradiction between James and Paul. I think what James was pointing to is the genuineness of our faith. Did you know that three-quarters of Americans claim to be Christians? Okay, well now you know that, so let me ask you another question. . . by looking at our society and culture today, would you make the same estimate? Would you think that three-quarters of the people you meet are devoted followers of Jesus Christ? I wouldn’t. Honestly, the more I learn of the world and the people in it, the more the fallenness of mankind leaves me dumbfounded and ashamed. I don’t know about you, but my experience is that more than a quarter of the people out there don’t quite act like Christians. Now I’m not necessary excluding myself from that. I hope I wouldn’t qualify as one of those non-Christian Christians, and I’m striving to not be one, but I’m all too aware of how short I fall. Don't we all? Which is why it’s really, really great that we’re saved by grace and not by works! Okay, but back to it. By grace through faith. The faith is a biggy. If it were only by grace, everyone would be saved, which wouldn’t work because God is perfect and can’t tolerate sin as such, but that’s not what I’m on for this post, so back to it once more! The fact that we are saved by grace through faith is what Paul teaches us in Romans. Think of what James teaches us is as what faith is. But really, I think Paul talks about it too, just in more subtle way. “. . . present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.” Romans 6:13 This verse is in the midst of Paul’s by-grace-through-faith message, and I think it pretty well says that, as those saved by grace through faith, we are to present ourselves to God as instruments for righteousness. Wouldn’t that mean serving him, which would mean good works? Or later on in Romans. . . “. . . present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Romans 12:1 That says basically the same thing- to present ourselves to God as a living sacrifices, to let Him use us. To let him work through us. And of course, after that, Paul goes into the section that is basically a how-to of Christianity. “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, but be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.” Romans 12:9-13 And even after that, he talks about blessing those who persecute you, submission to the authorities, fulfilling the law through love, not judging one another, not causing one another to stumble. If all that isn’t telling us to live our faith and not just speak it, then I don’t know what is. Back to James. “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without given them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” James 2:14-18 Let’s break that down. The gist of it: how can you claim to have faith, if there is no proof of that faith through works? By works, James means the things Paul talks about. I don’t think repeating a certain prayer so many times, or touching a holy artifact, is going to ‘prove’ your faith. But loving your brothers and sisters in Christ genuinely, showing honor, serving the Lord, showing hospitality, not judging one another. . . those are all works. Or as James says, giving a brother or sister clothes and food when they are lacking. As he says, what’s the point of smiling and saying with great confidence: “Go, be warmed and filled, hunger no more.” if you don’t make it so that they can be warm and can be filled? Perhaps the most powerful is the last verse- “But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works’. Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” What does that mean? Well let’s say Billy-Bob tells me he's a Christian. I look at him a second, and say, “Prove it.” Suddenly he's either a smidge nervous, glancing around and shuffling his feet, or he smiles and nods. “Well,” he says, “I have faith.” “Okay, show me your faith.” I reply. That’s where Billy-Bob hopefully will point to how he serves God with his life. Otherwise, how can he sincerely claim to have faith? If someone you’re talking to is swearing, stealing something, and being an all-around jerk, and turns and says to you they’re a Christian, would you believe it? Okay, time for another clarification. I’m not saying anyone who doesn’t have a certain amount of stuff they do to serve God doesn’t have faith. And I’m not saying everyone who is a bit rough around the edges doesn’t have faith. I’m saying that genuine faith leads us to obedience and service to God. That when we’re truly on fire for Christ, we want to serve Him. We want to be living sacrifices, we want to be instruments for righteousness. We want our faith to shine through our works. We want to be the lights in the world. That’s why we are saved by grace through faith, but also why our faith is evident through our works. We are not saved by works, we are saved by faith, which leads us to service to God- or works. I really don’t want to give the impression that we’re saved by works; that’s not true. If we were, then Jesus’ death and resurrection was purposeless, since we wouldn’t need it. We are saved by grace through faith, not by works. Simple. However, we’ve got to walk the walk, not just talk the talk! (is that even how that phrase goes?) We are called to be living sacrifices to God, which means that true faith means we desire--above all else, even--to glorify Him, and strive for it. Our faith isn’t a life motto, it’s a lifestyle. So how about we start living that faith? "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ . . . For by grace you have been saved through faith." ~Ephesians 2:4-8 ~Posted by: Anna I recently decided I needed to work on humility. (really, who doesn't?) When I went to do so, I discovered that meekness was just as important. So, I spent a few days studying those two traits both with online resources and the Bible each morning. Here's my findings! The thing about meekness is that it's not overly understood. It doesn't have a perfect translation. It's kind of been given the connotation of 'meekness is weakness', since we understand being meek as being too submissive and tame. Not so. Jesus was sinless, and He was meek. He also pronounced a blessing on those that were meek, so obviously, meekness is a strength. "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." -Matthew 5:5 Or in Matthew 11:29, Jesus refers to Himself as meek. (some translations say gentle, or humble.) And I probably don't need to convince you that humility is good! Once again, Jesus was the perfect display of humility, and throughout the Bible we're told that the servant is the greatest, that he who exalts himself shall be brought low, that the humble and contrite in spirit is the one God esteems. So humility and meekness are two traits we should strive for. I won't spend any more time on that point. Instead. . . why don't we look at how to strive for those traits, at what they look like in action? When I think of humility, I think of not boasting, of being quiet and gentle, maybe of letting others go first. Meekness, in my mind, would probably be submitting to what other people want and being soft-spoken, etc. It wasn't until I started studying these two words that I realized it's more complicated than that. Since they go hand in hand, we're going to look at them at the same time. First, we'll see how we are to practice humility and meekness toward God. Then, toward other people. First and foremost: we admit just how fallen we are! To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” ~Luke 18:9-14 We far too easily forget just how pathetic and helpless we are. Things are going right, we've got it under control- we aren't dependent on God! But that's not true. We very much are dependent on God, as I'm hoping we all already know or are learning. Admitting to and acknowledging that is a basic but important step toward humility. He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. -Matthew 18:2-4 Children are totally dependent on their parents. We, like children, are to completely admit our weakness, sinfulness, and helplessness before God, realizing that we need Him. In the example of the child, we come to another point- that we submit to God. Parents know what is best for the children, better than the children do. Likewise, God knows better than us what's best. In humility and meekness, having realized that we are dependent on Him and why, we submit. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death-- even death on a cross! ~Philippians 2:8 Perhaps a true definition for meekness is to deny self. Instead of looking out for our interests, we lay those aside to serve God. Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me. ~Matthew 16:24 Selfishness is being focused on our wants, right? Then meekness and humility is being focused on what God wants. This leads us to accept God's will without bitterness or defiance. The fact is, sometimes we find ourselves in circumstances that aren't fun! Sometimes we face hardship, persecution, and grief. When we do, do we blame God, rejecting and resenting Him? No! Because if we are humble, if we are meek, we've already acknowledged our sin. We've acknowledge that we need God. We've acknowledge that He knows what's best. . . how then can we turn around and say "He's doing it wrong!", leaving to try and figure things out on our own? And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. ~Hebrews 12:2-3 When we are truly humble and meek, we've accepted that God really does know what's best. We allow Him to work as He wills in our lives, realizing how great the reward is. Now here's where things get a bit tricky! So Jesus was the perfect example of humility and meekness, right? Well let's look at Matthew 15. . . Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!” Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’” Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.” Then the disciples came to Him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” ~Matthew 15:1-13 That's a long one, but here's what I want you to glean from it: Jesus rebukes the Pharisees, pointing out their error. When the disciples say "Hey, Jesus! You kind of offended these guys. . .", does He back down, submitting in meekness and humility and apologizing? No! He says "leave them be". Does that mean Jesus isn't actually humble and meek? Of course not. What it means, is that to be meek isn't to submit to wrong. This isn't the only example like this in the New Testament. How about the time Jesus cleanses the temple by chasing those who sold out? What about all the nice descriptions He had for the Pharisees, such as hypocrites, blind fools, whitewashed tombs? We know Jesus can't contradict Himself, He can't lie. So if we're told He's meek and humble, He's meek and humble. He is perfect, after all. Thus, these things were done in meekness and humility. What does that tell us? That even as humble and meek Christians, we're to resist error and false teaching. If anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of meekness. (or gentleness) ~Galatians 6:1 If meekness leads us to ultimate submission to God, than our first priority is His will. That's why it makes sense that we would resist what goes against Him, as Jesus did. Which leads us to part two, meekness and humility toward other people! So we've seen that we're to restore those that are caught in sin, and to do it in meekness. Thus, though humility and meekness in no way stops us from correcting others, it does affect the way we go about it. When we point out wrong to someone, it should never be to belittle them or exalt ourselves. We should never gloat, having found a way in which we're 'better than so-and-so'. Our reason for approaching someone on the topic of a sin we see in their life, etc., should be to restore them, to help them. And that we should do in meekness, gentleness, and humility. And that takes us to: admitting to our own error! That's one we all struggle with. I know I do! How often will we be debating something with someone, only to become aware that we are wrong, yet continue arguing because we aren't willing to be wrong? Does that sound humble? No, it's not humble. That's pride. And I'm as guilty of it as anyone. But humility and meekness requires us to put aside our ego, and admit to being wrong when we are. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. ~2 Timothy 2:24-25 Yet again, this ties in with another aspect of practicing humility and meekness toward other people. What I just said about putting aside our ego? And earlier, when we saw that meekness is to deny self? Well, humility and meekness leads us to honor others over ourselves. I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment. ~Romans 12:3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ~Philippians 2:3 Ever been in a group where someone else gets credit that perhaps you deserved as well? Where you were overlooked? That's a tough situation to be in. Let's face it- we all like to be recognized, complimented, admired. But the fact is, humility is being willing to let others have the glory. It's being willing to do the job that needs done, but won't get any applause. What's another thing we can get from that? It's our nature to notice faults in other people, and strengths in ourselves. We all do it. It's far easier to see the flaw in that person's character rather than that in your own. But, once again, that certainly isn't humility. To be humble and meek is to not exalt yourself, and to put others first. That's why we're to appreciate the good qualities in others, and acknowledge our own downfalls, not the other way around. Remember how we're to submit to God's will, placing that above our own desires? That goes for people, too. The greatest among you shall be your servant. ~Matthew 23:11 Though it's hard, we are called to be servants, not have them. In a way, this sounds easy. It's not. It implies an entire attitude of putting others before yourself. Your wants, your needs, your interests, you in general; all come second to the wants, needs, and interests of others. Jesus could have been a king, royalty when He came to earth as a man. He could have had servants and expensive stuff and whatever else He wanted. But He served. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. ~Mark 10:45 This also kind of goes with submission to authority. Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. ~Romans 13:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ~Ephesians 6:1 Here are two examples of where we are told to submit to authority ordained by God. Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. ~Titus 3:1-2 Finally, humility and meekness leads us to work for peace and harmony, in two primary ways. First, that we submit for the good of the group. Once again, this ties back to honoring others, that sort of thing. For the sake of peace and unity, because of the love and grace we have in Christ, and in humility and meekness, we set aside our own interests for the good of the group. Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. ~Philippians 2:2-4 Secondly, that we forgive. The humble person doesn't retaliate, they aren't after revenge. We remember our own sins and wrongs, instead of presuming ourselves better than so-and-so and holding something over them. Pride and grudges go hand in hand, as do humility/meekness and forgiveness. Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ~Colossians 3:12-13 Alright, I won't make this any longer with a drawn out conclusion. :) Instead, I'd like to just end with two final thoughts on what humility and meekness are. The rule for the truly humble and meek person is: God first, others second, self last. Posted by: Anna Abby already started on this topic. But as I mentioned on a Facebook post, it turns out I was actually planning on writing on it, too! And it sounds like she might write on it again after me, too. So between the two of us, hopefully we can get it covered. :) Alright, how about some stats? We have us roughly 7,405,126,000 people on this earth today. In just the U.S., 323,332,016. That's a lot of people. And what are the odds of you? I just googled 'what are the chances of me'. One website goes step by step in pointing out how unlikely it is that my mom met my dad, that they married, that they had kids, that I was one of those kids. Then how unlikely it is that all of my ancestors lived to marrying and having kids, and that they had the kids they did, so forth and onward. I couldn't even follow all the math. But by the end, I think the chances of me existing were a 1 in 10^2,685,000 chance. That's quite the number. Really, think about it. What are the chances of you? Of you with your smile, your voice, with your likes and dislikes, with your hair, with your interests? Now let's take it further. What are the chances of you here? So you've defied the odds and have come into existence. But what are the chances that you would have the family you do? That it would be your parents that have you, and your siblings? What are the chances you would live where you do? That you know the people you know? Here's a wild thought for you. Seriously, think about this. Every person you know? Every friend, every relative, every acquaintance? You don't have to know them. You could have had an entirely different crop of family and friends. So why is it that they're the ones you got? Or why are you the one they got? No, it's not bad luck, good luck, or random happenstance. It was planned. Let that sink in. You don't have Cousin George, Aunt Berta, and Grandma Margaret out of complete random chance, or Friend Joe, Billy, and Bob. No. I believe God puts people in your life for a reason. Perhaps, that reason is for them to influence and encourage you. Or, for you to influence and encourage them. Think about this. So all the famous Bible characters? Who seemed to 'have it together', and that God used in awesome ways? Moses, Paul, Peter, David, Esther, etc.? God could have put one of them in your place. He could have put someone with top-notch speaking skills, with courage and strength, with good looks or with multiple talents, in your place. Instead of making you, He could have made someone else. As in: God didn't have to choose you! He could have made anyone. He could have given them any personality, any looks, any skills, any downfalls. But He didn't just make anyone. He made you. He chose to make you. Do you get how amazing that is??? And what it means? Here's what it means. You are part of God's perfect plan. It's not like He just ends up with a random set of people each generation. "Well, I guess this as good as I'm gonna get. What can I do with these. . . at-hem. . . helpless little people strutting about down there?" No! It doesn't work like that! He designs, creates, each and every one of us. Which means He decides what we'll be like, and where we'll be, with who. Which then means He chooses each of those little details for a reason. Because? You are part of His plan! I am part of His plan! Abby is part of His plan! Your family is part of His plan, your friends are part of it, every single person is someone God chose to make. And, God put you where you are for a reason. He must have plans for you right here. Even if those plans are for you to be motivated to go somewhere else, it's part of the plan. The aspect of this that I got from TeenPact was that that week? It would never happen again. Going back and back and back through all eternity, before the creation of the world, you wouldn't find it. Going forward and forward and forward for all eternity, to wherever that finds us, you wouldn't find it. That little four day period, even in the broad expanse of eternity, was unique. The people there, the experiences had, the opportunities given, the relationships made, the growth achieved- none of it would ever quite be the same again. There will be other TeenPact state classes. Abby is at hers right now. But none of them would ever be just like mine. I would never be at a TeenPact event, with all the exact same people, learning all the same things, growing in all the same ways, ever again. We are all planned. Everything is planned. I said in my last post that the way God works is a mystery. Well, this is certainly one of those mysteries! That an all-sovereign God, with the ability to make as mighty or as great of people as He chose, would instead choose to make me. Me in all my shortcomings, in all my failings. And in all my potential, and all my goodness. Everything about me, and everything about you, both good and bad, is what God has chosen. We are His tools. We are the tools He's chosen. For whatever He's going to do in this generation, in the twenty-first century, in our lifetimes- we are the people He has chosen to do it with. So never feel like you are worthless. Like God could never use you. Like He never would use you. Because the God of the universe? The Creator of the world? The one and only Redeemer? The King of Kings? The Great I AM? Your Savior? He chose you. "My grace is sufficient in you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." ~2 Corinthians 12:9 |
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July 2017
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