tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56929118837053941162024-03-12T16:04:03.469-06:00foolish things to shame the wise"Christ is building His kingdom with earth's broken things. Men want only the strong, the successful, the victorious, the unbroken, in building their kingdoms; but God is the God of the unsuccessful, of those who have failed. Heaven is filling with earth's broken lives, and there is no bruised reed that Christ cannot take and restore to glorious blessedness and beauty." --J.R. MillerAbbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044288382419025680noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692911883705394116.post-91292401298306945612016-03-05T18:22:00.003-06:002016-03-06T23:12:17.634-06:00You Have the Very Breath of God in Your Lungs!!!<div class="MsoNormal">
On Thursday night, someone
challenged me not to cut people off or jump into every conversation, because my
words have power! But the enemy of our souls would like to use the quantity of my
words to distort that power. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What this person spoke
was hard to hear, because I know talking too much and interrupting actually
hurts him and others—and that is the last thing I want to do. But it was wonderful
to hear, too, because they love me enough to partner with Jesus Christ in
washing me and cleansing me for every good work! And their words were EXACTLY
lined up with what God has been teaching me! <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This person approached
this “iron sharpens iron” moment with gentleness, and told me not to let it
weigh me down, but trust God to change me. Earlier that same night, another
friend said she saw a picture of people getting things passed out to them at
church, and when it came to me I thought they had run out, but actually I
needed to know that I should ask God, and He would give me “a double portion”! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On Friday morning I
prayed and told God I wanted my “double portion” to be wisdom! Wisdom is
knowledge applied appropriately to the situation! Coupled with the love He
fills me with, I can truly LISTEN to others—and bless them far more when He
does call me to speak. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">During
worship at my church several months ago, we asked God what name He had for us.
God told me I am His "Pure Mouthpiece". That sounded great, but the
very next day I felt condemned and terrible for, yet again, sinning with my
tongue. But He brought me to Jeremiah 15:19, where God tells Jeremiah after he
was complaining, “If you return, Then I will bring you back; You shall stand
before Me; If you take out the precious from the vile, You shall be as My
mouth." I didn't ever remember seeing that Scripture before, that a human
was called "as My mouth", as the very mouth of God--IF he returned to
God! Reading that Scripture on that day was confirmation that God had really
spoken "Pure Mouthpiece" over me, even when I felt dejected and awful
and like a totally impure mouthpiece! And He was right there, inviting me out
of it! Return to Me, my dear! He is so good! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Father
doesn't turn away from us when we sin. Sometimes we feel like He does, but He
doesn't. He turned away from Jesus for that terrible moment as He hung on the
cross, so that He would NEVER have to turn away from us. Now, He's looking at
us when we sin with eyes of love to pull us out. Even when we are right there,
even when I'm cutting someone off in conversation or not listening well or dwelling
in fear--He's actually extending His hand in that moment and saying, "Come
on, my child. You're better than that sin. Come away with Me!"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Father
doesn't identify us with our sins, either! He laid our sins on Jesus for that
brief moment so that they don't have to be laid on us! "For He made Him
who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God
in Him" (2nd Corinthians 5:21). He actually BECAME sin for us! Crazy,
right? SO THAT we might become the righteousness of God in Him. I know it
doesn't make sense, but even when we feel absolutely horrible and full of <b><u>shame</u></b>,
God still says we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus! We don't have
to understand, Jesus finished it! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This morning at the
Fountain of Hope in Phoenix as we dropped A. off for a hot breakfast and went
off to give out the rest of our gifts, Saturday morning breakfast invites, and “You
are God’s Princess!” cards in 85017, the center of prostitution and sex
trafficking in the state of Arizona, I heard a voice yelling at me from the bus
stop:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“God BLESS you!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I looked up to see a
man yelling fervently, on his knees, rocking back and forth. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“God bless YOU, too!”
I shouted. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He wasn’t done. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>“You have the BREATH
of GOD in you!”</b> he shouted. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Thank you!” I said,
before stepping into the car again. I had only ever seen people get on and off
the bus there, and girls wait to be picked up. One day I had actually seen a
young teen get in an old pickup truck with a big, burly man because “he would
give her a ride”. Today was the first day I had seen someone praying. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You have the BREATH
of GOD in you!” He had said. It could not have been a more timely moment to hear from this prophet of God, interceding right in front of the ministry. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of the girls we
saw walking along 27<sup>th</sup> Avenue in a red tank top and leggings, crossed
the street when she saw us park the SUV and start walking towards her. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I looked at Renee and
said, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Do you think she’s
avoiding us?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I don’t know!” Renee
answered.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We crossed 5 lanes of
traffic and started running to catch up with her. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Hey, good morning! We
have a gift for you!” we shouted.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She jumped, looked
unsure, but then broke down. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I was scared of y’all,
coming towards me!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We apologized for
scaring, introduced ourselves and asked her name (I will call her “C”) , and
invited her to breakfast. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Thank you so much. I
will tell the ladies around here who need help,” she answered—but said she didn’t
need it herself. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I felt led to speak,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“God is love, and
there is no fear in love… and just as we walked across the street and ran after
you, many times in my life I have seen God running after me and pursuing me
with His love! And I believe He is doing that now for you, too!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Thank you,” she said,
and walked off confidently, shoulders back and head held high. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We crossed back across
the street and got back in Renee’s SUV. Just as we were shutting the doors to
drive off, I saw C. had also crossed the street back to our side, and was
walking her original path before we had scared her into crossing. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This time, she had the
knuckles from both hands, next to her eyes. I’m pretty sure she was wiping
them. Her self-protective exterior had softened a bit. I believe God really is pursuing her with His love and this is just one among many encounters she is having with Him. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of the ladies we
invited understood our invitation, but I could tell she spoke Spanish, so I
offered to pray for her in Spanish. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“What should we pray
for?” I asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That everything will
be OK, and that God will take care of me,” she answered. In my experience, Hispanics
have a cultural awareness of God and His protection, although not all have an
intensely personal relationship with Him. But as I prayed for B., I prayed that
she would know that He is her perfect Father and He takes care of her well, and
that He won’t let her down. I saw some tears as we walked away. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One woman, another C.,
didn’t let us pray for her, and wouldn’t shake our hands because she was
bruised and swollen. But she thanked us for coming and looked touched. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Today was the first
day we gave out all 15 of the small lotions with the breakfast invitation and “You
are God’s Princess” tags—and we even had to go back and fetch 4 more for young
ladies we saw right out front of The Fountain! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Only 3 of the ladies
we invited came back for breakfast this time, but when we finished handing out
everything, we saw A. had finished her breakfast and was still there in the Fountain, and had made 5 bracelets for her 10
year-old daughter. We got to pray with her, and God gave me a picture of a hot
air balloon that He was repairing holes in and filling with his Spirit again so
that it could soar to the heights again. I told A. anytime she sees hot air
balloons in the horizon, to think of this picture. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On the way home, I
listened to the Bible on tape, and God blasted me with this encouragement:
"If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of
God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so
that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory
and the power forever and ever. Amen." 1 Peter 4:11<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I want to be swift to
hear, and slow to speak! When I speak may I be conscious that my words have
meaning and power, may I speak knowing that I am God's Pure Mouthpiece! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
May I speak nothing
more or less than what God Himself is speaking through me! Amen.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044288382419025680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692911883705394116.post-4185866059901215172014-10-29T12:40:00.002-06:002014-11-23T20:44:06.828-06:00The Necessity of Beauty<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It was that
late-afternoon time where it’s dinner time in the United States, but not in the
Dominican Republic, but my stomach still hasn’t agreed to leave me <i>tranquila</i> long enough to sit through a
church service on empty. The women’s ministry meeting had ended, along with a
serious private conversation with another missionary, and I still had twenty
minutes before church started. Just enough time to slip away to buy some egg
rolls from the nearest Chinese restaurant. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I paid 80
pesos for my food, and began to wait. Just in between the Chinese restaurant
and the river, a small triangular park of sorts divided the road into a fork. Orange,
red, and fuchsia flowering shrubs surrounded the steps leading up to the little
island park, where motorcycle taxi drivers reclined on concrete benches, and a
couple embraced each other in the shade. But it was the whole panorama that
caught my eye as I looked out the tall doors of the Chinese restaurant, through
the park, and out onto the river, where the sun was scattering rays of golden and
rose-colored fire as it lowered onto the horizon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/36/95043765_4f5cf9027b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/36/95043765_4f5cf9027b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">With one
egg roll down and one in my hand, I wandered across the street to take in the
view. If I hadn’t been on my way to enjoy something just as beautiful—worshiping
the Creator of all this beauty, with my fellow beautiful creatures—I would have
stayed until the river swallowed up the sun, and its many-hued clouds gave way
to darkness. But I would at least take some of the beauty with me, I reasoned
as I plucked a few of the melon-toned flowers and secured them in my </span>topknot.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US">Smile when you see the flowers</span></i><span lang="EN-US">. My friend Jasmine’s words echoed
in my head. Surrounded by so much beauty, how could I help but smile?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Jasmine had
sent those words to me in a text message nearly three months before. I had been
visiting Arizona for the first time in my life.
Ever since I can remember, my dad has told me stories about how it was
to grow up there. He said, sometimes he would be out exploring barefoot, and he
would step on sticker cacti. That, apparently, hurt a lot. So he would lift up
his foot, take out the stickers, and then take another step, and lift up that foot, take out the
stickers, and so on. After Dad had told this story enough times, we finally
thought to ask him, “Daddy, why didn’t you just go backwards, if you were just
starting the sticker patch?” I never understood that story. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But what I
did understand, is that Arizona was a desert—extremely hot and dry, full of
sand dunes, cactus and rattle snakes. Not so many years ago, my grandma shot a
rattle snake in her backyard, and sent us the picture. This served to confirm
my suspicions. Clearly, Arizona couldn’t support much life beyond desert plants
and animals, and well-hydrated humans with air-conditioning. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Or at
least, that’s what I thought about Arizona. Imagine my surprise when I
arrived in Phoenix in the beginning of
August, and saw flowers everywhere! Every office building, every intersection,
and at least half of the houses seemed to be bursting with flowers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“They’re
not natural,” my friend explained. “They are artificially irrigated, with hose
underneath the ground.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I couldn’t
take my eyes off the flowers. I had already been staring out the window and
smiling during the whole trip, when Jasmine texted me: “Smile when you see the
flowers.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Back in the
Dominican Republic, a tropical climate
where one can expect to see a wide variety of flowers all year long, I
haven’t stopped smiling when I see the flowers. Sometimes I come home from a
difficult day in the women’s ministry, weighed down by my own mistakes as I try
to navigate cross-cultural servanthood. Then I see the flowers, and I smile. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://img0.etsystatic.com/010/0/6824467/il_fullxfull.435497778_esn2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://img0.etsystatic.com/010/0/6824467/il_fullxfull.435497778_esn2.jpg" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-US">Last week,
I sat on my bed and got out my box of pastels for the first time since arriving
here again in August. I drew a blonde head of hair, drawn into a low bun,
arrayed with orange-red flowers at the base, and in a wreath around the crown.
I wrote above and below the portrait, “Let the beauty of YHWH be upon us.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It was in
the middle of a week of whirlwind warfare. In the warfare, God repeatedly
encouraged me with beautiful things… The flowers are just an outward sign of
His beauty, which is my real joy and strength. Besides flowers, He gives me beautiful
promises from His Word, times of beautiful prayer alone and with other
believers, beautiful coincidences reminding me that He never forgets me,<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">beautiful
faces that have chosen hope in the midst of desperation,</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span>and chances
to offer beauty back to Him as I dance in worship.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US">I echo
the words of David in Psalm 27:4, “<span style="background: white;">One</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">thing</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I have desired of YHWH,
That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of YHWH</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">All the days of my
life, To behold the</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">beauty</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">of YHWH, And to inquire in His temple.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US">This <i>one thing</i> keeps me going… the beauty of
YHWH, the great I AM, my Father, my Lover, my Savior, and Friend! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">1
Chronicles 16:29 says, “Oh, worship YHWH in the beauty of His holiness!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I am
convinced that beauty is an absolute necessity in the healthy Christian life. It’s
not a luxury for artists, for musicians, or for retired people. It’s the
lifeline for those in the battle trenches, covered in mud and wounds. We need
beauty to survive in this battle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">We must
recognize beauty, we must seek it out, we must enjoy it, we must dwell on it.
We don’t recognize beauty and ignore ugliness and pain. Rather, exactly because
we can’t ignore the pain, we must seek out the good. Exactly because are
surrounded by ugliness, we must fight to dwell on the beauty of our King. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Good old Philippians 4:8 is not just a memory verse…it’s the only way to
survive the mess we’re in, without becoming part of it. The Message says it
this way: </span><span lang="EN-US">“Summing it
all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on
things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not
the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.<span class="apple-converted-space">” <span style="background: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The New King James says, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true,
whatever things</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">are</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">noble, whatever things</span> are</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">just, whatever
things</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">are</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">pure, whatever things</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">are</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">lovely, whatever
things</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">are</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">of good report, if</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">there is</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">any virtue and if</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">there is</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">anything
praiseworthy—</span><span lang="EN-US">meditate
on these things.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US">Beauty
is not an escape from pain. It’s the only antidote. As we offer God our pain
and shed tears for the broken lives all around us, He offers us His beauty for
our ashes, the only kind of beauty that can satisfy our souls, and offer some
hope for us. It’s that beauty and hope that we carry back to the very ones we
cry for. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwx9ewT9kVP6A4ZPNKAXoYOt11r_MYNoRcFowRQyTFDWZLKDJIXE-Di6ExRS81G9DlbUulbeBno8AdZmI1m6tMAZ5EY61R0pzr0pfdOhWGLJHcXJGLja54ffucuGCjfs5RlNgq1emPt-w/s1600/1604635_667881706602648_1580336245_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwx9ewT9kVP6A4ZPNKAXoYOt11r_MYNoRcFowRQyTFDWZLKDJIXE-Di6ExRS81G9DlbUulbeBno8AdZmI1m6tMAZ5EY61R0pzr0pfdOhWGLJHcXJGLja54ffucuGCjfs5RlNgq1emPt-w/s1600/1604635_667881706602648_1580336245_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US">Whether
you are in a dry land where you didn’t expect to see flowers, or fighting
spiritual battles in a tropical land, somewhere, somehow, God has put beauty in
front of you. Take time for it. Find it and enjoy it. Or rather, find <i>Him</i> and enjoy <i>Him, </i> because He is beauty! Take time for Him! Come behold the beauty
of YHWH!</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">"</span>I came to love you late, O Beauty, so ancient and new; I came to love you late. You were within me and I was outside where I rushed about wildly searching for you like some monster loose in your beautiful world. You were with me, but I was not with you. You called me, you shouted to me. You broke past my deafness. You bathed me in your light, you wrapped me in your splendor, you sent my blindness reeling. You gave out such a delightful fragrance, and I drew it in and came breathing hard after you. I tasted, and it made me hunger and thirst, you touched me, and I burned to know your peace." --St. Augustine<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044288382419025680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692911883705394116.post-16320885916566576672014-08-15T21:45:00.001-05:002014-08-15T22:34:27.294-05:00To the mis-informed, mis-taught, and distraught: Purity is not what you think<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">A friend recently shared an article called, </span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><a href="http://www.styleite.com/first-person/i-waited-until-my-wedding-night-to-lose-my-virginity-and-i-wish-i-hadnt/" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-US">I Waited Until My Wedding Night to Lose My Virginity, and I Wish I Hadn't</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">It's been awhile since I've formed a rebuttal or even considered engaging in any kind of semi-intellectual, semi-theological debate of sorts on any article posted on Facebook or elsewhere. While I do read thoughtfully, I don't usually care to win the argument. </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But this title grabbed my attention. What a sad title! As I browsed the first few paragraphs, my grief and frustration only grew. </span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 15.359999656677246px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I am so sorry for the author. While it's good to think about how you were raised, and try to find the Truth, this author's search unfortunately left her without any faith in God, because "I couldn't figure out how to be religious and sexual at the same time."</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">How sad.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sad, because God wants a relationship with us--but the lies Samantha Pugsley grew up believing were religion devoid of relationship. Religion always destroys relationships with God and others. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But God is so much more than that! </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And, dare I say, sex as God designed it is so much more than what Samantha was taught. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">God says to have no other idols before Him, and that includes purity. This author is right to recognize that purity has become an idol for many in the Church. Any time we lift up a standard of holiness above the Holy God, we risk creating an idol. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">As someone still on the purity side of the fence, though, purity is not an idol for me. I struggle with my share of idols and could write long books about them, but first, let's talk about this article. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4e5665; line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$0:0">Purity certainly is an idol for some, and that can be very damaging, as Samantha lets on. My head hurts and my heart cries a little to read the first couple paragraphs of this article. This is surely not purity as God, or His Word conceived it, or as many solid churches preach it. I am sorry to hear that some churches teach stuff like this, or are perceived to teach stuff like this. A Biblical, [truly] liberating, and joyful celebration of sex as God created it is not like the distorted teachings she describes.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4e5665; line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="color: #4e5665; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"><br data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$1:0" /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$2:0">Lie #1: "I would go to Hell if I did it" The woman caught in adultery didn't go to Hell, as far as we know. Jesus said that the one who is without sin could be the first to stone her--so, of course, she wasn't stoned. Then He told her to turn from her sin and walk free. That's because </span></span></span></span>we all deserve Hell, no matter what kind of sin we commit--be it lying, lustful thoughts, coveting someone else's stuff, slander, of course the list goes on. The list does NOT go on because God wants to make our lives miserable. On the contrary, the list goes on because He is Holy and can't look on sin. Little do we know, until we turn to God for help, His holiness is actually our eternal happiness. That's because even though our sin separates us from Him, our source of true and lasting joy, He is a God of relationship. (I mean, duh, He created sex for one thing!) He couldn't bear to be separated from us, so He sent someone else to take the separation.... Jesus. Jesus' sacrifice and victory over sin and death, in our place, is the reason NOTHING can separate us from the love of Christ, not sexual sin or hate or murder or anything....anyone who has taught anything differently is lying. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0" style="background-color: white;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$12:0"><br /></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$4:0" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$4:0" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lie #2: "[A]s a girl, I had a responsibility to my future husband to remain pure for him. It was entirely possible that my future husband wouldn’t remain pure for me, because he didn’t have that same responsibility, according to the Bible." Whoa, just whoa. I have NEVER read that in the Bible. Shame on anyone who ever taught anything like that. I just did a search for the word "sexual" in the Bible and really can't see how anyone would get a one-sided message from any of the verses that appear. Does the Church sometimes, especially historically, put an undue burden on the women involved, more than the men? Yes. It goes way farther back than just Christianity, though. Does God teach this in His Word? Absolutely not. In fact, it was Jesus Himself who stopped the Pharisees from stoning the woman caught in adultery. </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$4:0" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$4:0" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But there's something more subtle at work here than the obvious inequality Samantha claims she was taught. She says she was taught to remain pure "for him". Really, really wrong motivation! What if there is no future husband? Does that mean all our "saving ourselves" is for nothing? More on this later. </span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$6:0" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$6:0">Half]-Lie #3: "[I]t would be my duty to fulfill my husband’s sexual needs" Anyone teaching this to women alone, is twisting God's Word again.... 1 Corinthians 7 clearly states that the man should serve his wife's sexual needs. Every time it mentions the expectations for the man or the woman, it mentions the same expectations for the other, "in the same way". This is because a committed, monogamous relationship will have issues that will require BOTH sides "submitting to one another in love" (also a Biblical mandate) for the good of the man, the woman, and the relationship in the short and long term.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4e5665; line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"> </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$8:0" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$8:0">Lie #4: "[I]f I remained pure, my marriage would be blessed by God and if I didn’t that it would fall apart " Works-based theology didn't work for Job, or Stephen, or a lot of people throughout the Bible, so I see no reason anyone would think it does now. Except that all of us, even teachers, are "prone to wander"--and unfortunately lead others astray when we do.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4e5665; line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$9:0" /></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4e5665; line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$10:0">Major result of all the lies, #1: "It became my entire identity by the time I hit my teen years". Purity should never be an identity.... our identity is that we belong to Christ! Not just our sexual thoughts and actions.... but our whole beings! We are <i>sons and daughters</i> of a loving Father God!</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4e5665; line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><br data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$11:0" /></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4e5665; line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$12:0">Major result of all the lies, #2: "[S]ex felt dirty and wrong and sinful even though I was married" God help us!</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4e5665; line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">So sad! The Bible doesn't say this, and churches don't usually say it, either! But we need to speak up more about why this is not true! I myself am convinced that sex is a gift from God. He gives good gifts to His children! While it might not always be perfect, He created it to be fun, and life-giving both literally and figuratively, when within the bounds of a committed monogamous relationship between a man and woman. Maybe it's easy for me to see this because I am so sure of God's goodness and love for me! Not just love far removed or distant.... but a personal love--the love of a wonderful Daddy for His little girl. </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, outside of God's design I do believe that sex, which exposes our deepest vulnerabilities as humans physically, emotionally, and spiritually--brings some of the deepest pain we can know as humans. <i>That</i> is why God forbids it--because He loves us and wants to spare us that pain. But if we've experienced it, and we turn to Him for help, He will not turn His back on us. He didn't turn His back on David after he repented for his adultery. He will forgive, heal, make beauty out of ashes, and help us to live pure lives before Him. That's the beauty of grace!</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">For my part, I ask for God's strength and grace to be pure in my thoughts and actions, not <i>in order to </i>have a great marriage, earn God's favor, or gain anything at all.... but rather<i> because</i> obedience is God's love language! </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">I can only love Him, because He first loved me. There truly is nothing sweeter than walking closely with Him--not even extra-marital sex or other habits of the mind and eyes that will ultimately harm me and grieve my Creator, who I delight to honor. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$16:0">That said, am I pure? Well, purity is not a box to check or a line we either have crossed or not--it's a lifestyle of submission to Christ, who alone can keep us pure. Without Him, even if we don't check that box or cross that line, we are powerless against the sins of the mind. Jesus said if we even look at another to lust after them, we have already committed adultery with them in our hearts. God, help us! (And, He does!)</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$14:0"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$14:0"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is Christ who purifies me. It is "Christ [who] also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless" (Ephesians 5:25b-27)</span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4e5665; line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4e5665; line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="color: black; line-height: normal;">I am not pure <u>for </u>my future husband, but instead I am pure <u>for and through Christ</u>.</i><span style="color: black; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4e5665; line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"><span style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4e5665; line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"><span style="color: black; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If my purity were to please the Church, or my future husband (who may or may not actually exist), it would just be another false hope, another foundation of shifting sand, another idol. The only sure foundation is Christ! </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$16:0" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$16:0">Again, am I pure? Not always, and certainly never on my own strength. </span></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$16:0">Proverbs 22:9 says, "</span></span></span></span>Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart, <span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$16:0">I am pure from my sin”?" Not I. But, in the words of a wise friend, "yoked to Jesus, I am free to walk in righteousness."</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4e5665; line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0" style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span data-reactid=".n.1:3:1:$comment10152306528622828_10152307259132828:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.1:$comment-body.0.3.0.$end:0:$18:0">Grace and peace to you.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4e5665; line-height: 13.800000190734863px;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044288382419025680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692911883705394116.post-26736266835011575062014-02-05T04:10:00.002-06:002014-02-05T23:00:26.926-06:00Cast your net!<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
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<a href="http://www.yellowbrickroad.com/follow/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/net-fishing-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.yellowbrickroad.com/follow/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/net-fishing-1.jpg" height="263" width="320" /></a></div>
At the international student Bible Study on Friday night, we studied the <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+21%3A1-8&version=NKJV" target="_blank">story</a> of Jesus telling His (future) disciples to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. These were simple fishermen who had been working all day without any luck. To their surprise, they caught a huge amount of fish. Astonished, Peter recognized Jesus' lordship. Jesus responded by telling them to follow Him, and He would make them fishers of men. </div>
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We asked how Peter probably felt when God told him to just cast the net on the other side.</div>
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"Frustrated," was a common answer. </div>
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After all, he had been fishing <i>all day</i>. Come on. There's no reason the fish would just magically appear and flock to the other side of the boat. It was unreasonable, but Jesus said it, they did it, and the results were more than they ever could have imagined--let alone caught on their own.</div>
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I felt like God spoke directly to me through that. </div>
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If I do ministry my way, I can fish all day and catch nothing. That's frustrating. The Spirit's instructions to "cast my net on the other side" can seem unreasonable and ridiculous. But if I will just obey, if I will just take Him at His Word, I will truly bear fruit---more than ever before! </div>
Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044288382419025680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692911883705394116.post-51925592364543739802013-12-14T20:52:00.004-06:002013-12-23T22:24:39.176-06:00The "L" WordA lot of times we think of "lust" as simply something we do when we look twice, or for too long, and our thoughts start crossing boundaries.<br />
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But the greater issue behind lust is objectifying people--seeing them as minions to serve our own ends. Thinking of ourselves as deserving something from them. It takes place in our minds first, but it doesn't stay there. Objectifying people means taking advantage of them in the moment without considering the consequences of our actions. Assuming we know all we need to know about them, instead of stopping to listen and get to know them. Manipulating them to do what we want them to do, for our purposes.<br />
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Objectifying people sabotages our calling as children of God, to proclaim salvation and show the love of the Father. If we are in the habit of lusting after or objectifying people, we can't simultaneously walk in our calling to be ministers of reconciliation. We need to first be reconciled to God! If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all wickedness (1 John 1:9).<br />
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Oh, my God YHWH, help us. We can only stop objectifying and start loving, through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit You have given us. So come, Lord, come. Enter into our lust, into our objectifying of others. Redeem our thoughts and our actions. Help us to see our fellow humans as they are--made in Your image, not ours. Because of that alone, they are worthy of dignity and respect. May You help us see that others are made for Your purposes and glory, not ours.<br />
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May we no longer see any man according to the flesh (2 Corinthians 5:16). May we follow the radical example of Jesus with the woman at the well, who surprised her with His pure intentions of simply speaking truth and showing love, after so many men had sought her out to serve their own ends. We deserve nothing from You God, but You lavish Your love on us. May we do the same to others, expecting nothing in return except the smile of our Heavenly Father.<br />
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Amen! <i>Asi sea.</i>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044288382419025680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692911883705394116.post-2108153681803803972013-10-31T19:39:00.001-06:002013-11-01T19:33:12.191-06:00the best battle plan: fighting to rest<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Back in August, God was teaching me about trusting in Him for a certain situation out of my control. Well, actually, several situations. (They always seem to abound! Because I never have control! News flash!) </div>
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I just randomly opened up to 2 Chroncles 20 and God started speaking to me. As you intercede for your the lost, for reconciliation, for healing, for justice, for the church, for anything at all you are going through, follow this battle plan.</div>
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It's the battle plan of a people who don't actually have a plan. The threat is too big. It's out of their control. So their lack of a plan turns into the following response. It's a pretty amazing story. </div>
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vs. 1-2 <u>the threat arises</u></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat. Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar” (which is En Gedi).</span></div>
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vs. 3-4: <u>choosing to seek YHWH earnestly as a people gathered together</u></div>
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And Jehoshaphat feared, and<b><u> set himself </u></b>to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.</div>
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vs. 5-9: <u>remembering God's power, promises, and faithfulness</u></div>
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Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, and said: “O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, ‘If disaster comes upon us—sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine—we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.’</div>
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vs. 10-12a: <u>making a bold request for salvation</u></div>
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And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir—whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them— here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit. <u>O our God, will You not judge them? </u></div>
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vs 12b: <u>admitting our total dependence on God (so beautiful)</u></div>
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For we have <u>no power</u> against this great multitude that is coming against us; <u>nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.</u><br />
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vs. 13: <u>waiting on God! </u></div>
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Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the Lord.</div>
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vs 14-15a: <u>God speaks</u> </div>
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Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! </div>
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vs. 15b: <u>God instructs us not to fear--to look at Him instead of the circumstances</u> </div>
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Thus says YHWH to you: <b>‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the <span style="background-color: #ffffcc;">battle</span> is not yours, but God’s.</b></div>
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vs 16-17: <u>Special instructions</u></div>
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Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. You will not need to fight in this <span style="background-color: #ffffcc;">battle</span>. <u><b>Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of YHWH,</b> </u>who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’<b> Do not fear or be dismayed;</b> tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.”</div>
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vs. 18-19: <u>Humble worship and loud praise</u></div>
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And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high.</div>
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vs. 20a: <u>The people rise up early to obey God's instructions</u></div>
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So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; </div>
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vs. 20b: <u>Faith in God precedes the success of the mission from God:</u></div>
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and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: <b>Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.</b>” </div>
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vs. 21: <u>Sing praise as you go out to fight the <span style="background-color: #ffffcc;">battle</span></u></div>
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And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise the Lord, For His mercy endures forever.”</div>
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vs. 22-25: <u>God moves during the praises of His people to fulfill His promises</u></div>
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Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another. So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped. When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, they found among them an abundance of valuables on the dead bodies, and precious jewelry, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away; and they were three days gathering the spoil because there was so much. </div>
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vs. 26: <u>The people gather to<b><i> bless God in the valley (bless God in the valleys where He has given you victory!)</i></b></u></div>
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And on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berachah, for there they <b>blessed YHWH;</b> therefore the name of that place was called The Valley of Berachah [<i>blessing</i>] until this day. </div>
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vs. 27-28: <u>The people praise God with joy and music </u></div>
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Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat in front of them, to go back to Jerusalem with joy, <b>for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies.</b> So they came to Jerusalem, with stringed instruments and harps and trumpets, to the house of YHWH. </div>
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vs. 29: <u>The fame of YHWH's Name and His glory spread throughout the territory</u></div>
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And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. </div>
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vs. 30: <u>The people who had waited quietly in spite and in the midst of turmoil, now enjoy the blessing and rest and peace of God:</u></div>
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Then the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for <b><u><i>his God gave him rest all around.</i></u></b></div>
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God gave him rest all around! I could use some of that rest all around. Not rest because nothing ever happens to me, or I'm never in any "impossible" battles... but rest in knowing that God is on His throne. Rest in knowing that I am His child. Rest in knowing that He has overcome the world. Rest in what I cannot see. FAITH.<br />
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Arriving at this kind of rest is not something you work up or meditate on until it pops up on your radar. That's not what Jehoshaphat and his people did. They did what the people did in 2 Chronicles 15:15, where the same phrase is used. They sought Him with all their soul: "And all Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and sought Him with all their soul; and He was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around." </div>
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True "rest all around" doesn't mean you don't fight. It means you stop fighting on your own strength. ("Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?" --Galatians 3:3). <span style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">By faith and in the power of the Holy Spirit, you fight to seek God with everything you are. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">I have so much still to learn about rest! It all starts with admitting my insufficiency and seeking God.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">"</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me." (John 15:3-4)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">What has God taught you about rest?</span></span><br />
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Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044288382419025680noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692911883705394116.post-18938976272556119912013-10-18T23:48:00.002-05:002013-10-18T23:51:30.617-05:00on the frustrations and graces in serving <div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">
If we back up to 7 years ago, I remember when I first realized I had to act on the compassion God had given me. That I was anointed to preach good tidings to the least of these.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In the weeks after my church youth group's inner city mission trip in Charlotte, North Carolina, it was clear we were impacted by what God had shown us. We compiled our testimonies into a book, printed and bound, with home grown artwork of Jesus' hands holding the world. We called it "I See Yo' Hand!", after the loud observation we had heard during the puppet show Bible story we performed for the kids.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">After that trip, I started volunteering every Sunday afternoon with the 10 - 18 year old girls in an inner city ministry center. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">A couple of memories stand out above the rest. The first is of Desirae, the defiant little girl with the matted hair who smelled like no one had cared to wash her or her clothes for weeks. She had lice crawling in her hair and mud caked on her knees, and she spoke with a raspy, hardened voice. In spite of everything, Desirae was a beautiful child. But her brown eyes were full of too much pain for her four years of life. She was fiercely independent, and, at the same time, just as fiercely loyal to her sister and brother. Something inside me told me evil had taken advantage of that beauty. During rare moments, something inside of her would snap, and she would cling to me or sit in my lap. Her tears became mine as I cried out to God to for healing and justice</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I also remember the time someone I ministered with blew up at a homeless man. I only vaguely remember the reason why--I think he had shown up at the wrong time for the meal or the food pantry. But it didn't seem anything which merited disturbing the whole block with angry shouts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Afterwards, the person I was ministering with explained that the man should have known when to come, and this kind of behavior couldn't be tolerated anymore.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">To me, all I saw were moving lips, saying a lot of things, but never apologizing or expressing regret for the outburst. How could you preach the Gospel to the same people you scream at? I wondered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It doesn't make any sense to minister full-time to people you don't really love, I reasoned. What a terrible, meaningless, way to live. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Although I didn't put it into words, I felt that I was the compassionate one. I was the one that really cared about that homeless person's feelings, and about little girls like Desirae.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I couldn’t relate to the leader’s anger or weariness. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span><span lang="EN-US">But for me, the superiority I felt to my co-laborer meant that I was ultimately serving myself in the name of serving God and others. I was feeling good about myself, and critiquing others--on the inside, anyway. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Now I’m a “grown-up.” I’m a <i>missionary</i>, actually, even though the word still sounds strange on my tongue. I’m not a 16-year-old volunteer anymore, or a college kid masquerading as a social critic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Now, I am daily <i>fighting</i> the <i>battle</i> against spiritual and physical poverty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But I’m not so different from you. You have jobs that are minefields of spiritual warfare. You have ministries, families, marriages. You have relationships that need restoration. We’re all soldiers at war, battling against the powers of d</span>arkness. And we can all get weary, just like the woman who yelled at the homeless man.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">At least, I get weary. It's a good thing Jesus has a special invitation for people who are weary: Come to Me! That's exactly what I'm doing... coming to Him with my questions.<br /><br />Questions I never asked myself so many years ago, now run through my head often--even though I don't work face-to-face with the microloan associates. . Usually, I am in the office supporting those who work face-to-face with those in poverty--like the loan officers who sometimes must work long hours in the scorching sun, going from house to house to collect payments from associates who are behind in their payments--but who still take time to visit and pray for sick group members. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The point is, I'm asking questions I wasn't before. And God is answering. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Questions and answers like:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US">Q: How do you both hold yourself to unattainable standards and love others without any standards at all?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>A:</b> This is the crux of the religious spirit, approval addiction, and a host of emotional and spiritual sicknesses—and it brings with it a world of weariness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">You don’t. You don’t measure up to your own standards or to anyone else’s—let alone, God’s. But that’s convenient, because neither do the people you serve!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US">That’s where Jesus comes in.</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> He’s the Only One that measures up, and the grace He lavishes on us in spite of all our failures extends to the most wretched creature willing to accept it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US">Q: How do you have patience with those who refuse to learn what you sacrifice so much to teach? You know, the ones who nonchalantly disregard you and all the work you’ve done?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>A: </b>That’s kind of what we do to Jesus every time we gossip, complain, or lust. We disregard all He came to teach us, and yet He keeps having patience on us. We choose to walk in the dead works of the flesh instead of in the abundant life <i>He died</i> for us to have. That’s gotta hurt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But He doesn’t turn His back on us. If we return to Him, He will return to us. He is always ready to receive truly repentant hearts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">His love is not bound by our feeble incapacity to forgive ourselves or others. He never stops loving us. He always lives to<i> intercede</i> for us. He<i> stood in the firing line</i> for us, and now He’s come back to defend our cause before a righteous Judge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><i>That’s amazing grace and riches of mercy.</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><u>And as we accept it, we pour it out on others.</u><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US">Q: How do you keep loving someone you exist to tirelessly serve, but who betrays you?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>A: </b>In John 13:2, we read that the devil had already put it in Judas’ heart to betray Jesus. In the very next sentence, Jesus stands up and begins to wash the feet of His disciples.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US">“And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.’” –John 13:2-5</span></i><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I have to wonder, what was running through His head as he immersed the filthy feet of Judas into the washbasin, and later wiped them with the towel? How did it feel to so humbly serve the one who would soon ensure your own murder?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I’m sure it hurt like hell. Rejection hurts. Rejection by those you love and trust hurts even more. But betrayal hurts most of all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But in the midst of all that pain, <b><i>Jesus loved.</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">For me, this brings new meaning to Jesus’ words at the end of the episode: “For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jesus serves people who don’t measure up, people who disregard Him, and people who betray Him. <i>People like me—and you.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Once we get that kind of <i>crazy love</i> into our heads, we will never be able to complain about those we serve. Instead, we will identify with them on a deep level.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I’m not the one who measures up, expecting others to measure up.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I don’t measure up. Only Jesus’ blood washes me clean from all sin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I’m not the one being ignored or rejected.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I have ignored and rejected Christ. Only the Father’s grace allows me to accept and obey Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I’m not the one who is betrayed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I was a betrayer. Only in the Holy Spirit am I empowered to be faithful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Maybe if we all pause and let Jesus wash our feet, it will help us remember that what’s really important is not the distinction between the servants and the served, or who serves the best, or whether the people we serve conform to our expectations—but just that as Christ loved us, so we love others.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><i>That in all things He might have preeminence!</i></b></span></div>
Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044288382419025680noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692911883705394116.post-65615723557560388672013-10-11T22:01:00.002-05:002013-11-01T23:22:55.310-06:00You will always be the little girl of God!This is the decal on the windshield of a guagua in the north part of Santo Domingo. I walked by it parked on the side of the street several times during the first few months of this year. The English words kind of catch you off guard in a part of the city with so few tourists. Every time I saw it, it made me smile.<br />
<br />
In Santiago, another city I lived in for 2 months this summer, a good-looking guy told me after church that I should get married so I can have children, since I love them so much. I told him, well, God always surrounds me with wonderful friends and sisters who have children. He said, that's not the same you know! I replied, well, no it's not. But I'm not in any hurry.<br />
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"Si porque tu eres muy niña todavía," he retorted with a grin. "You're still very much a little girl." It's true. I am. And I like it that way. =)<br />
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My ministry doesn't give me more or less favor in His eyes. I'm still just His little child, the one He longs to take up on His lap and tell stories to and dream together, the one He wants to dream with and comfort and sing over.<br />
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It makes me think of this picture:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii2BRL-NDoOd6IloLlkmcj-OmW7tnl1PnRnfcIjZbtS2jouPCvthf2jQIq8lXZqKBadNBiJ2cT10BBIuQ8sD1B9ATUjfo5uvSuN7xioftcZdlLeAW8fi0uAnAwq_jeG4btiLXoIDfUuQE/s1600/250267_172382862835295_171125509627697_413893_4012125_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii2BRL-NDoOd6IloLlkmcj-OmW7tnl1PnRnfcIjZbtS2jouPCvthf2jQIq8lXZqKBadNBiJ2cT10BBIuQ8sD1B9ATUjfo5uvSuN7xioftcZdlLeAW8fi0uAnAwq_jeG4btiLXoIDfUuQE/s400/250267_172382862835295_171125509627697_413893_4012125_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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And, this song (again!): <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXV6TY-YWe4">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXV6TY-YWe4</a><br /><br />Then tonight, I read this:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">WE ARE ADDICTED TO AND OBSESSED WITH THE WORK OF THE KINGDOM, WITH LITTLE TO NO IDEA ON HOW TO BE WITH THE KING. - MIKE BREEN - </span><br />
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My heart aches inside when I'm away from my Father for too long. And ministering with people who don't take joy and comfort in His presence makes me sad for them. It makes me long for them to have the same revelation that they, too, are just little boys and little girls of God.<br />
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We are His children. Children secure in the love and care and provision of our Father. We don't operate out of fear, or obligation. We can admit when we're tired, and He lets us rest. He wants us to rest. We can admit when we're broken, and He will bandage up our wounds. We can suffer and cry and blubber everywhere and He will sit and cry with us. We can talk and talk and talk to Him about all our problems and He loves to listen. We can fall asleep in His arms and forget about our troubles and He won't always wave a magic wand and fix them, but He will help us learn from them. And He will never, ever leave us. No good parent leaves their little kids all alone! And God isn't just a good parent!<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together." </i>--Romans 8:14-17</blockquote>
"You will always be the little girl of God."<br />
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May we never forget to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn from Him. I count everything as loss--even getting busy doing more things "for God"--- in light of knowing Christ.Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044288382419025680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692911883705394116.post-26861998253547192512013-10-08T23:41:00.000-05:002013-10-11T23:12:04.730-05:00open this closed heart<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">On October
27, 2012, I sat in the Student House of Prayer in Beavercreek, OH, during
Saturday night prayer and worship. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Jen, the
director’s wife, came and prayed for me: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“The wall
is coming down—the door will open,” she said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I had my
own idea of what doors I wanted open in my life at that moment. I had been
without a job for 3 weeks, and I was not happy with that or with certain other
situations in my life, that seemed like they were at a standstill. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I left that
night hoping beyond hope I had heard what I had wanted to hear—even while
wondering if that was what God really wanted to tell me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">A month
later, on November 30, I wrote in my journal:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US">The revelation I had just <u>today</u> as I
read back through that entry, is that literally just before Jen prayed for me,
I had written, <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US">“I need You to show me how to love You tonight.
And <u>open</u> this closed heart.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US">And <u>that</u> was when Jen prayed,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US">“The wall is coming down, the door will open.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US">I never made the connection before now. What if
the wall is this fortress I’ve built around my heart, closing it off to pain,
to compassion, to <u>love</u>—deep, true love for God and fellow humans. And
all these revelations God has been giving me—the stars, the pastel drawings,
the Ugandan woman’s prayer for me, the deer on my run, Psalm 115 written on the
crossbeam in the prayer room—they’re bringing down the wall, reestablishing
communion between God and I, without any idols in the way. <u>That’s </u>what I
had just asked God to open, and that’s what He <u>is</u> doing. </span></i><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">[He’s
opening the heart I’ve closed off to him and to the least of these by surrounding it with my goals, my
relationships, my performance orientation. ]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US">“It’s not about the job I have. It’s about me
and you, we’re building a relationship again”—lyrics from a Jason Upton song, </span></i><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqFCJ4ma0vA"><i><span lang="EN-US">Faith</span></i></a><i><span lang="EN-US">.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I concluded
the journal entry with 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, in Spanish. Here’s how it
translates: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-US">“And this same God of peace will sanctify <u>me
</u>completely, and all of my being, spirit, soul, and body will be preserved
blameless for the coming of <u>my </u>Lord, Jesus Christ! Faithful is He who
calls <u>me</u>, who will also do it!”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I closed my
journal and headed to a Bible Study and dinner for international students. I
didn’t get home until 12:30AM. When I did, I decided to check my email. That
afternoon, I had received an email that began, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">It is with pleasure and anticipation that I send you the attached letter
offering you the position of DR Operations Fellow with HOPE International.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I wanted to scream, to cry, to tell
everyone. But it was too late for any of that. I told my dad, because he was
the only one still awake. Then I went to bed, with a grateful heart and a busy
head. I had just been offered my dream job—working in microfinance in a
Spanish-speaking country. But it would mean leaving home—again—and starting a
new life—again—in a place I didn’t know. It was something I had wanted so much,
but when I finally had it in my hands, I was surprised. My heart was weary and
fearful. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7r_lLRBfGLtYP-uoAyxoFG73oowCeioLSZX9gN_ngEs08y14MHg_zWKsas6DKPA2j16ZquJMkqIPaBrBXgPy4tp9RBLdu9jgSqcGYsY4465w03bPvdqvIoup4oEH1BI4xfP4VMmW9i2g/s1600/523124_10151432669521718_1168945764_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7r_lLRBfGLtYP-uoAyxoFG73oowCeioLSZX9gN_ngEs08y14MHg_zWKsas6DKPA2j16ZquJMkqIPaBrBXgPy4tp9RBLdu9jgSqcGYsY4465w03bPvdqvIoup4oEH1BI4xfP4VMmW9i2g/s320/523124_10151432669521718_1168945764_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">A year later, here in the Dominican
Republic, I can testify that many times my heart and my flesh have failed, but God has always been the strength of my heart and my portion. He has poured out His Spirit on
me in times of loneliness and fear. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Here, I have learned the meaning of
Scriptures that never before stood out to me. Scriptures like, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“I will <u>fear no evil,</u> for You
are with me, Your rod and your staff they comfort me.” (Psalm 23)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“you <u>joyfully accepted the
plundering of your goods</u>, knowing that you have a better and an enduring
possession for yourselves in heaven” (Hebrews 10:34)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“those who cling to worthless idols
forfeit the grace that could be theirs” (Jonah 2:8)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white;">The farther He takes me from what was comfortable and safe, the more I have to trust in Him--and the more faithful He proves Himself. And as I let go of the worthless idols and choose to set my love on Christ, I begin to experience the grace "that could be mine." </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That grace lets me see the least of these with His eyes, not mine. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Please God, keep that grace coming! Keep opening this heart of mine! Pour water on me, because I am thirsty! And my heart feels like dry ground. Thank You, dear Father. </i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“</span><span style="background-color: white;">For I will pour water on him who is thirsty,</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><b>And floods on the dry ground;</b></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">(Isaiah 44:3)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044288382419025680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692911883705394116.post-29887605445896839852013-09-29T21:19:00.001-05:002013-10-11T22:33:04.367-05:00MasqueradeDo you ever just want to get a few people together in the same room, and have everyone be totally honest and humble about something that has been going on for months or years? To let your walls down and have everyone else let theirs down too? To say what has been too long unsaid? To cry together? And to leave the room better for it?<br />
<br />
You want to. You say you do, anyway!<br />
<br />
But you don't.<br />
<br />
You don't let your own walls down because you're afraid the others won't let theirs budge.<br />
<br />
You don't say the unsaid because you're afraid you'll be the only one.<br />
<br />
The risk of being misunderstood keeps you from trying to understand.<br />
<br />
And you try to hold back the tears, at least in public, because you're too proud to admit things matter so much to you.<br />
<br />
Why are we like this? Why do we keep guessing what the others feel without asking? What if we all misjudged each other? What if our fear and pride are keeping us from experiencing true community and sincerity?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3aJoLU8olUKJ0vrfOoQixneg3roVtydMwjOwI9u_xg4Dt8HadJ3qFYqWS1Ckadfy6Lcpzy4U6a-ipgRhxwoALjaBZlZ9f9NtOXJrEzTyXy-iVnG3y9hgni5LO_hjdmu8xJ6PcmRVWugs/s1600/528008_10151493946236718_2008146923_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3aJoLU8olUKJ0vrfOoQixneg3roVtydMwjOwI9u_xg4Dt8HadJ3qFYqWS1Ckadfy6Lcpzy4U6a-ipgRhxwoALjaBZlZ9f9NtOXJrEzTyXy-iVnG3y9hgni5LO_hjdmu8xJ6PcmRVWugs/s400/528008_10151493946236718_2008146923_n.jpg" width="282" /></a></div>
<br />
What if silence isn't keeping others from being hurt, but actually hurting them?<br />
<br />
What if our good intentions of not hurting others are just fear and avoidance all dressed up?<br />
<br />
Where do you draw the line between self control and healthy expression of your emotions and opinions?<br />
<br />
The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it? --Jeremiah 17:9<br />
<br />
Search me, O God, and know my heart;<br />
Try me, and know my anxieties;<br />
And see if there is any wicked way in me,<br />
And lead me in the way everlasting.<br />
--Psalm 139:23-24Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044288382419025680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692911883705394116.post-41351309695832007792013-08-25T22:01:00.004-05:002014-01-21T01:23:17.253-06:00there isn't time<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Yaneilis
has a beautiful smile and sweet spirit. Her gentleness could melt ice cold
hearts. She is a teacher by nature, and loves to laugh—which is fortunate,
because she has a high-stress job.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
I worked at a desk caddy-cornered to Yaneilis 4 days a week, from January to May. She is the administrator of the branch office
in northern Santo Domingo. She is always answering calls, typing up contracts,
or welcoming guests. She works under tight schedules, and she rarely leaves the
office before 7PM. But she doesn’t complain. Instead, she serves with a love,
joy, and peace that could only come from the Holy Spirit.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixPU4OpnpFtS9g7cXiTle9znsoikpHNKV09QHzWdNKcltVpppeUc11KvDmyupC9lZHG5_LQitIzMRlf-duVSmZo5e29U6vBMlvAZLnTQ4ggdsNCh2bMttQAuyKGcNzV95S7omtsnVNbfA/s1600/IMG_0037-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixPU4OpnpFtS9g7cXiTle9znsoikpHNKV09QHzWdNKcltVpppeUc11KvDmyupC9lZHG5_LQitIzMRlf-duVSmZo5e29U6vBMlvAZLnTQ4ggdsNCh2bMttQAuyKGcNzV95S7omtsnVNbfA/s1600/IMG_0037-001.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">At 7:30AM
on Tuesday, March 12, at 7:30AM, I was still in my apartment way on the other
side of the city. I had just grabbed my lunch and put it in my backpack. I was
all set. Then, my phone rang. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“Si?”</span><span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">It was
Ramona, one of the loan officers at the branch office. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“Abby, did
you hear?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“Hear what?
I’m on my way,” I said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“No,”
Ramona answered. “Don’t come. No one is in the office. You haven’t heard, have
you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“Heard
what???” Her voice sounded heavy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“Yaneilis’
brother was shot and killed last night. No one knows who did it, or why.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“Was he a
believer?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“No, we don't think so. He
hadn’t been walking with God for a long time.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I walked
about in a daze at the central office that morning. I called my family. I
called my brother David, even though he was at work and it went to his
voicemail. Then, I took a motorcycle down to the metro station. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In the metro station, a metalwork sculpture
hung on both sides of the tracks. On one side, blue and silver shapes seemed to
depict a paradise in the clouds. On the other side, flames licked towards the
ceiling, several stories high. I stared at the bright shards hanging on the
station walls as I waited for the train. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1qDsLQ7FsVLWJHdfIprXT9vlX_y3uDORvNGBOkR4dMZS_XRnnyHjl1hnQ5WRFZI6UOBXq7mjKnoLlQ6g-hDxuzhSwTpzKyexdGH5Cuf_tNjKPImU_FjJLHGD-s9vsRtsK247NRHhhJ5w/s1600/armando.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1qDsLQ7FsVLWJHdfIprXT9vlX_y3uDORvNGBOkR4dMZS_XRnnyHjl1hnQ5WRFZI6UOBXq7mjKnoLlQ6g-hDxuzhSwTpzKyexdGH5Cuf_tNjKPImU_FjJLHGD-s9vsRtsK247NRHhhJ5w/s1600/armando.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Armando </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
Over the
course of the next few days, I found out that Armando was a bus driver who
would leave for work at 5AM every day. Everyone knew him as a hard worker, and
a loving father to his two little girls, ages 3 years and 3 months old. On
Monday, March 11, at 8PM, he was headed to the Syndicate of Transportation to
turn in a portion of the fares he had earned throughout the day. The only other
person in the bus was the <i>cobrador</i>,
or the kid who calls out the route, and collects fares from the passengers. But
he left the scene running after someone else jumped on the bus, fired 8 shots
at Armando, and fled on foot—leaving Armando’s bleeding body and all his money
in the bus. <o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As I stood
on the platform waiting for the metro car, all I remember thinking was that the
split second between a finger pulling a trigger and a bullet entering someone’s
chest is not too short a time to cry for mercy. But who knew if he had cried
out in that moment, like the thief on the cross? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Who knew if
he had called on Jesus, as my very own blood brother, David, cried out after he
was hit by a car and suffered severe head injuries? In that moment, David
screamed, “Jesus, help me! Jesus, help me! Jesus, help me!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Jesus did
help my brother, David—both then, and again when he threatened suicide. Because
I had suffered the pain and fear of the possibility of someone so close to me
nearly dying so suddenly, and without the assurance of their acceptance of
Jesus’ forgiveness of sins—because of that, my heart had already imagined the
pain Yaneilis was actually facing right now. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">As I rode
the metro car, my heart ached. I cried, for the first time in too long, for
those beyond the hope of Christ. My soul echoed Paul’s words of desperation: <b><i>“I
could wish I were lost, that they might be found in Him.” </i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">When I
arrived at Yaneilis’ house, there were a couple hundred people sitting in
plastic chairs on the street, under a makeshift tent which consisted of a big
tarp stretched from rooftop to rooftop. Neighbors, the church family, my
coworkers, and friends had all gathered to be with the family. Many had stayed
awake all night in a tradition called the <i>vigilia</i>,
and would keep staying with the family until after the body was embalmed and
brought to the house for one night. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I edged my
way through the crowd, into the house. I saw a couple of women who looked
almost identical to Yaneilis, so I guessed they were her sisters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I made it
into Yaneilis’ bedroom. There were my coworkers, sitting on the bed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I
approached cautiously, wanting to show love but knowing I couldn’t fix
anything. I will never forget the words Yaneilis said to me as we hugged for
longer than 5 minutes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“<i>Yo no voy a volver a
sonreir.</i> <span lang="EN-US">I will never
smile again, Abby. How can I ever smile again?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Yaneilis’
smile was famous in the office. It lit up her whole face with a tranquil joy
and mature peace, imparting a soft beauty to her features. I couldn’t bear the
thought that the pain would erase that smile. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">But as I saw Yaneilis’ mother engulfed in sobs, my heart ached. <i>It
isn’t fair. It isn’t right. Why should someone’s whole life be at the mercy of irrational, angry hands holding a gun?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">All I knew
to do was pray for strength. As we drove to the funeral the next day, no one in
Yaneilis’ family had eaten or slept for
more than 60 hours. Her mom was struggling with high blood pressure, and
Armando’s girlfriend’s sobs ripped through the air: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">“<i>Por qué lo mataron? </i>Why did they kill
him? <i>Por qu</i></span><i>é lo mataron?</i>”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In the
midst of the wild grief of those around her, Yaneilis had a strange peace. She
was the one who was strengthening her two sisters and her mom. It was exactly
what we had prayed for her, but it had seemed improbable that God would grant
her this peace that passes all understanding, even now. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The next
days and weeks at work were difficult for Yaneilis. Her eyes were often wet
with tears, and shone with a determination to go forward with life, however
changed it might be. She was more serious, more quiet. We all knew she was
suffering. But she did <i>volver a sonreir. </i> Her smile lit up the office again. We know
that she has hope that her brother believed in God for mercy and salvation, in
spite of the problems he had in his marriage and how he left church. She has
hope that he cried out and God heard his cry. And beyond that, she has hope
that there is eternal life, and no matter what we lose here on this earth, even
in our own family, we ourselves have still gained Christ. It brings
immeasurable pain to lose a family member, but knowing Christ really does bring
immeasurable joy. And it´s a joy only people like Yaneilis might ever
experience so deeply on this earth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">In the week
after Armando’s death, two people told
me they would get right with God another day—that they are young, and they have
time. I wanted to scream at them: ¨<i>You
don´t have time! You don´t have time! Don´t you get it, you don´t have time!¨ <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">My heart
had awakened again to the necessity of making Christ known. Of living each
moment to make Him known. Of redeeming my time. Of preaching the true Gospel,
the very Words of God that truly cut to through hard hearts and change lives—before
it’s too late. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Every
moment lost is somebody’s too late. Somebody’s daughter, husband, sister,
lover. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">How is the
way I am living <i>today</i> serving to know
Christ and make Him known, while there is still time?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044288382419025680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692911883705394116.post-33662127241628837462013-07-25T22:33:00.001-05:002013-10-11T23:12:21.447-05:00the kindness of our GodWe always talk about God's grace, His mercy, love, truth, and justice. But for some reason, I don't often hear the word <i>kind</i> spoken to describe God.<br />
<br />
That's a mistake. The Bible uses this word for God, and so should we: "For His merciful kindness is great toward us" (Psalm 117:2a). "For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness;" (Joel 2:13b).<br />
<br />
What do you think of when you hear the word <i>kindness</i>?<br />
<br />
I think of unexpected, undeserved goodness. <br />
<br />
I think of a microloan associate who invites you to sit down on a chair, even if they have to remain standing--and offers you a glass of water and a snack. I think of the random person on the street in Santo Domingo who warned my roommate to let the stranger who was following pass on ahead, because he was probably a thief. I think of the girl at the retreat last weekend in Sosua, who found me sitting alone and introduced me to all of her friends, thus guaranteeing that I would have a wonderful time. I think of a coworker sharing their lunch with another loan officer who is short on money.<br />
<br />
The women in these experiences in the Dominican Republic showed unexpected, undeserved goodness to a stranger. In a way, it came out of nowhere--but in another way, it came out of hearts willing to sacrifice to serve others.<br />
<br />
If you think about it, we were all strangers to God: "that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:13)<br />
<br />
But the next verse tells how God showed His goodness to perfect strangers: "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ" (Ephesians 2:14).<br />
<br />
But now <i>in Christ Jesus</i> the verse says. God's kindness is first and foremost shown in sending Jesus to save us from our wretched lives of sin. Jesus is the ultimate expression of God's kindness to humankind.<br />
<br />
Ephesians 2:4-7 "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His<span style="background-color: #d0e0e3;"> <b><u>kindness </u></b></span>toward us <b><i>in Christ Jesus.</i></b>"<br />
<br />
The word "kindness" makes me think of a smiling father, looking down on His children. The greatest kindness God has shown His children, is not any material gift. It's Jesus Christ--because it's through Jesus Christ that we are His children, and He Himself is our greatest treasure. Enjoying a Father like YHWH is what Jesus died for us to be able to do.We are His precious children, and there's nothing more comforting. If you don't know quite what I'm talking about, close your eyes and listen to this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXV6TY-YWe4">song</a>.<br />
<br />
I'll close with one of my favorite passages, Isaiah 54:6-10:<br />
<br />
<i>For the Lord has called you</i><br />
<i>Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit,</i><br />
<i>Like a youthful wife when you were refused,”</i><br />
<i>Says your God.</i><br />
<i>“For a mere moment I have forsaken you,</i><br />
<i>But with great mercies I will gather you.</i><br />
<i>With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment;</i><br />
<i>But with <b>everlasting <span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; text-decoration: underline;">kindness</span></b> I will have mercy on you,”</i><br />
<i>Says the Lord, your Redeemer.</i><br />
<i>“For this is like the waters of Noah to Me;</i><br />
<i>For as I have sworn</i><br />
<i>That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth,</i><br />
<i>So have I sworn</i><br />
<i>That I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.</i><br />
<i>For the mountains shall depart</i><br />
<i>And the hills be removed,</i><br />
<i>But My<b> <span style="background-color: #cfe2f3; text-decoration: underline;">kindness</span> shall not depart</b> from you,</i><br />
<i>Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,”</i><br />
<i>Says the Lord, who has mercy on you.</i>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044288382419025680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692911883705394116.post-80004740584725053632013-07-22T22:52:00.001-05:002013-10-11T23:17:27.540-05:00falling: what really happened<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibPt5O_6fsMR6luYeC_B8NBhdMLVMbC4PJwqZ2gYnLATjuS6qxyaMe_Fmxi6NOChl3GXSLAey2-x2ikK-S1JeQ_J4IDRh2VULWX5QvnhgNW2nIRtBAMZM5wLPm97jNuB_XAW3Yo4kd6Hk/s1600/269545_10151427667561718_1283906197_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibPt5O_6fsMR6luYeC_B8NBhdMLVMbC4PJwqZ2gYnLATjuS6qxyaMe_Fmxi6NOChl3GXSLAey2-x2ikK-S1JeQ_J4IDRh2VULWX5QvnhgNW2nIRtBAMZM5wLPm97jNuB_XAW3Yo4kd6Hk/s320/269545_10151427667561718_1283906197_n.jpg" width="208" /></a><br />
<br />
After work on July 2, in Santiago, Dominican Republic, I went on a run. It was getting dark, and I was worrying about being out alone in a neighborhood that was still new to me, even though my host family's house was right in front of the park. I was looking at the street, not at the path in front of me. All of a sudden, I slipped on gravel and ended up on the ground.<br />
<br />
Like every good runner, I know you can't stop in the middle--it's bad for your heart rate! There was only a little blood, on my right knee and hand. So, I got up and kept going. I would be okay.<br />
<br />
After another kilometer, I skipped a step so I could catch a glimpse of my knee. There was blood running halfway down my leg. I wiped it with my hand and kept going.<br />
<br />
I haven't skinned my knee like that in at least 8 years. Over the next 10 days, I would walk out onto the roof of the house I am staying in, and cut off an aloe stalk to "anoint" my knee and my hand twice a day. That stuff really smells, but it works! And hey, 23-year-old skin doesn't heal as fast as 15-year-old skin!<br />
<br />
I resisted the urge to cover up my battle scars, preferring to wear skirts to stay cool--even if it did mean telling the story to everyone I saw.<br />
<br />
On July 12, just 10 days later, I was running in the same park. But now, I had already run there several times, so even though it was getting dark again, I felt more comfortable. I distracted myself with thoughts about the past few days, and the meaning of the song I was listening to.<br />
<br />
Suddenly, <i>skiiiiiiiidddd bam!</i> I was on the ground again--<b>in the exact same spot.</b> This time, I landed halfway on my right side, so I had a lighter scrape on the side of my right knee, and the wound on my hand had reopened.<br />
<br />
Well, I know what to do, I told myself. Keep running. After a bit I checked for blood, and there was none, on my leg at least. But my hand was throbbing with pain for the rest of the run.<br />
<br />
After 3 and a half kilometers, I stretched and went inside to wash my cuts. At first, I didn't tell anyone. How stupid! I thought. It wasn't so much that I had fallen. What got me the most was that I fell in the exact same spot as before, at the same time of the evening. I should have known.<br />
<br />
That night, as I climbed into bed, I carefully positioned my hand palm-up so I could sleep comfortably--but to no avail. I woke up 3 times before the sun came up, each time with a throbbing pain in my hand.<br />
<br />
The next day, we went to a clinic to get it checked and cleaned out. It hurt a <b>lot,</b> but I think they got some gravel out of there.<br />
<br />
I felt stupid, again, this time because I was in the hospital for something so small.<br />
<br />
<b>But, God works all things out for the good. I really, truly believe that. I see it all the time.</b><br />
<br />
In this story, I saw it in two ways--one tangible, and one intangible.<br />
<br />
<u>The tangible:</u> In the clinic, my host brother and co-worker made 2 contacts with potential volunteer doctors for development work here. And, the receptionist decided not to charge me a single dime, even though he had said it would be $25 (which my insurance would have paid anyway.... but that's still nice).<br />
<br />
<u>The intangible:</u> As I climbed up the stairs to the house after that second fall, I couldn't help but think I was being warned, in the most loving but obvious way possible.<br />
<br />
I fell at first because I was <b>afraid</b>, and fear kept me from looking at the path I was on and focusing on the race I was running.<br />
<br />
I fell the second time because I was <b>distracted</b>. I wasn't afraid, and I didn't need to be. But I should have been <b>alert</b>. I had fallen before, in that same spot, at that same time of night. I should have been watching.<br />
<br />
<b>In my life, too, I fall because I am afraid and distracted.</b> In spite of the pain, with God's help, I get up and keep running, in reckless determination to lay hold of the One who laid hold of me. I also go to see the Great Physician who heals the sick and binds up my wounds. He has some kind of crazy spiritual aloe (aka the blood of the Lamb, Jesus) which He covers our wounds with. It brings deep, lasting healing.<br />
<br />
<b>The fall happens in the blink of an eye. But deep, true healing takes time.</b><br />
<br />
Sometimes, <b>even before the healing is complete, I forget </b>what I just learned. I disregard the grace of God, and I let distractions take my eyes off of Christ and the race He has called me to run. And I fall hard--in the exact same sin as before. I'm not always alert as I should be, because my adversary, the devil is roaming about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. I let my eyes slip off of the goal again, and the exact same stones cause me to stumble, once again.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Just like the cuts on my hand, my emotional and spiritual wounds hurt, but re-opened wounds hurt like heck! And the healing process of <b>digging all of that junk out of my life</b> can hurt like heck, too. But that momentary pain in the clinic of YHWH Yireh, the God who restores, is worth it to<b> relieve the pain that would result from trying to keep that junk</b> inside the wound. The work He's doing in me can hurt like heck, but the healing He brings is more than worth it. As the wounds heal, if I don't try to hide them, I have plenty of chances to share how I messed up, but God corrected me and is healing me.<br />
<br />
As I look at my hand now--another 10 days later--soft, pink skin has appeared where there used to be cuts so ugly no one wanted to shake my hand or give me a high-five. And no one has asked me about my knee in at least a week.<br />
<br />
The healing is almost done, and if the skin that comes in it's place isn't exactly 100% as good as new, it will be a reminder of God's faithfulness to me in spite of my unfaithfulness.<br />
<br />
I smile when I think of how God used such a situation to correct me in the face of very real struggles. He never ceases to amaze me with His gentle, creative, loving, and merciful correction!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibb3Ff8GubuFP8Eu-bslG7RvsxcnjGMVKgbWpAzHQWgW2Di7OWp8KhcVfltPGNg9A8zCjsDkCLNelrGhFHIrCyOf1I3Iq1btAQDeEa_xSE92v9aLJMH0jTdqt-eGfsD_cOYsHqBE6ay9U/s1600/547720_10151481713111718_1176554305_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibb3Ff8GubuFP8Eu-bslG7RvsxcnjGMVKgbWpAzHQWgW2Di7OWp8KhcVfltPGNg9A8zCjsDkCLNelrGhFHIrCyOf1I3Iq1btAQDeEa_xSE92v9aLJMH0jTdqt-eGfsD_cOYsHqBE6ay9U/s320/547720_10151481713111718_1176554305_n.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
Jeremiah 3:22<br />
<i>Return, you backsliding children, And I will heal your backslidings.</i><br />
<br />
1 Corinthians 10:12-13<br />
<i>Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Jude 1:24-25<br />
<i>Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,</i><br />
<i>And to present you faultless</i><br />
<i>Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,</i><br />
<i>To God our Savior,</i><br />
<i>Who alone is wise,</i><br />
<i>Be glory and majesty,</i><br />
<i>Dominion and power,</i><br />
<i>Both now and forever.</i><br />
<i>Amen.</i>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044288382419025680noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692911883705394116.post-73077612553449174582013-02-15T18:51:00.001-06:002014-02-05T03:26:10.736-06:00Red Lights<div class="MsoNormal">
From a journal entry written on January 25<sup>th</sup>, 2013<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tonight, on the way back from a walk around the Colonial
Zone with Omar and Rachel, Rachel asked Omar about all the white men with
Dominican women. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“They’re paying for them,” he said. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Well, some of them could be actual couples, right?” Rachel
asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“80 to 90 percent are paying for it.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“That’s sad.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just ahead of us, a tall, skinny hipster guy in his
twenties, wearing a v-neck, salmon-colored shorts and Keds shoes, stopped in
front of a pasta shop. He exchanged some brief parting words with a
dark-skinned, curvy Dominican woman in bleached jeggings and a bright yellow
shirt. Then, he turned left to continue his consumption—this time with pizza
instead of human flesh. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The woman continued straight, her pace quickening with each
step. I saw the light of a cigarette hit the ground in a sudden, angry movement.
She was clutching her purse.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rachel was asking Omar about Duarte and Trujillo, the forefathers
of the Dominican Republic. But my own eyes followed the figure in yellow until
she left the pedestrian street of the colonial zone, and turned right. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Cruzamos.” Omar signaled for us to cross the street to the
Parque de Independencia.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On the other side, we paused in front of the historical
exhibitions for another Dominican history lesson. But my eyes wandered across
the street, and settled on a public car driver, supporting himself with one
foot against a wall. A woman wrapped her arms around his neck, and his hands
rested on her backside. It was the same yellow shirt. She pulled away, dragging
him by his hand for a few feet.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I looked back at the park and the exhibitions, but my mind
couldn’t settle on old time heroes. I glanced across the street again. The
driver had returned to his post next to his car, and the woman had resumed her
brisk walk. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No deal.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Disappearing into La Mella (the poor neighborhood up the
hill), she left me with a heavy heart.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmLNs6zQIHo">People, Help the People</a>” is one of the songs I had on repeat
that night in my apartment, just a few blocks away.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>God knows what is
hiding in those weak and sunken eyes<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>fiery throngs of
muted angels<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>giving love but
getting nothing back<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>People, help the
people! <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>And if you’re
homesick, give me your hand and I’ll hold it. . . <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>God knows what is
hiding, in that world of little consequence<br />
Behind the tears, inside the lies<br />
A thousand slowly dying sunsets<br />
God knows what is hiding in those weak and drunken hearts<br />
I guess the loneliness came knocking<br />
No one needs to be alone, oh save me<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I asked God that night to never let my heart be
indifferent to the suffering around me. The worst possible thing is that I can
see the sex trade happening in front of my eyes, and look the other way. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Years ago, God opened my heart to the tragedy of human
trafficking. It’s the most nefarious, grimy, terrible corruption known to
humans. And it happens in your cities and states, wherever you live. There are
27 million modern day slaves in the world. <span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">The National Human Trafficking Resource
Center <a href="http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2012-01-22-us-human-trafficking_N.htm">estimates</a>
it's a $32 billion industry, with half coming from industrialized countries.</span>
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">God answered my prayer within a week with an email from
Exodus Cry, a Christian organization dedicated to the abolition of slavery
through prevention, restoration, awareness, and prayer. As I read their monthly
prayer update, <a href="http://exoduscry.com/prayer/red-light-prayer-initiative/">one thing</a> stuck out to me:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://exoduscry.com/prevention/prayer/red-light-prayer-initiative/" target="_blank"><img src="http://exoduscry.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/red_stop_pray.png" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What you pray for on a regular basis, you will not stop
caring about. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am in traffic in Santo Domingo every single day, on the
way to my mission work with HOPE International. And although red lights are
frequently not observed here, there is plenty of commuter time to pray for this
city, and the world. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
This is my prayer for women and children trapped in the
sex trade: <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="background: white; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">When
I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of
everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited
resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then
Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will
grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to
understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how
deep his love is. --Ephesians 3:14-18, NLT</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044288382419025680noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692911883705394116.post-40182470165308471882012-12-09T00:12:00.005-06:002013-02-14T21:17:30.312-06:00God gave me my dream job!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear Friends,
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am so
thankful for all of you! I love you all and I love seeing God work in us! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ZZJLX3QLwS3gV-XIuSrOdhRgMB_Hu9zZC-cdVeA8QndmQT8DKBQkGWl7Azyj92umMJe2rrWKLAq6ymhMsyZ8AU8vmWDQf6SM8vM2upwWN6dQS3_aIIANfTv15TCLu34U3b-nJAYvaaQ/s1600/DSC09442.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ZZJLX3QLwS3gV-XIuSrOdhRgMB_Hu9zZC-cdVeA8QndmQT8DKBQkGWl7Azyj92umMJe2rrWKLAq6ymhMsyZ8AU8vmWDQf6SM8vM2upwWN6dQS3_aIIANfTv15TCLu34U3b-nJAYvaaQ/s320/DSC09442.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> 3 ½ years ago, I boarded a plane for the Dominican
Republic. During that trip, we mixed concrete to lay floors for two women who
had successfully paid off microloans<span class="apple-style-span"> to start their businesses and provide food, clothing, and
education for their children. One of the clients we mixed for, Damaris,
(center-right), travels to the capital to buy clothes, and then sells them to
her neighbors. This was her first concrete floor, laid over bare earth and
within aluminum walls. Microfinance has changed Damaris’ life and given her
dignity! The clients we met had a very real sense of gratitude to God for the
work He is doing through His servants. In the loan meetings, they often read
Scriptures, sing praises, and share the Gospel! </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ZZJLX3QLwS3gV-XIuSrOdhRgMB_Hu9zZC-cdVeA8QndmQT8DKBQkGWl7Azyj92umMJe2rrWKLAq6ymhMsyZ8AU8vmWDQf6SM8vM2upwWN6dQS3_aIIANfTv15TCLu34U3b-nJAYvaaQ/s1600/DSC09442.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUaVvC7o6_KCHpSdvBP6GmMEA0s3OPjEscAnI30aWyEGdVDaORnHbXVTyFqd52woe9556apO_jXBeBlrwPW1-W-RGI2Xpe6vJH14oFlc2jEZAUYZwx6jSDFqpqxjvKtWv2XmJbsktGozI/s1600/hopedescription.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUaVvC7o6_KCHpSdvBP6GmMEA0s3OPjEscAnI30aWyEGdVDaORnHbXVTyFqd52woe9556apO_jXBeBlrwPW1-W-RGI2Xpe6vJH14oFlc2jEZAUYZwx6jSDFqpqxjvKtWv2XmJbsktGozI/s320/hopedescription.jpg" width="231" /></span></a><span style="height: 35px; margin-left: 372px; margin-top: 173px; mso-ignore: vglayout; position: absolute; width: 83px; z-index: 251675648;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since
that trip, God has been so faithful to me! He has miraculously provided for
summers spent sharing the Gospel in inner city Dayton and Indianapolis; a year
off of college working in the country of Panama working as an accounting intern
for a Christian organization; a semester studying abroad in Spain; and a degree
in International Business at Cedarville University. He never ceases to amaze
me! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now, God
has been preparing me to leave for the mission field again—<b>on January 4<sup>th</sup></b>! Through a period of only part-time
employment, I had more time than ever to seek His face, and I had to trust Him
when doors closed. But I didn’t realize I would be going back to HOPE in the
Dominican Republic, as an Operations Fellow! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The
fellowship is a <b>1-2 year position </b>where
I will be providing financial analysis, planning, and other business support in
the central office in Santo Domingo, as well as traveling throughout the
country to visit microloan clients and analyze their businesses. My dream is to
one day use my business skills and experience in missions to teach women
rescued from sex trafficking how to start and operate their own small
businesses—so this is an incredible opportunity for me!</span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Please pray for me!</b> Pray that God would prepare the
hearts of those who will hear the Gospel and receive loans. Pray for an
astounding harvest and revival in the local churches! Pray that God would unify
the team. Pray that He would direct me to a church where I can grow and
contribute. Pray that He would give me boldness to speak the Gospel clearly!
Pray that my heart would be hidden in God! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">HOPE will provide my housing expenses while I am
there, but I will need about <b>$540/month</b>
to cover food, necessities, insurance, work-related travel within the country,
and airfare. I will be living as simply as possible. God told me to give away
my 1999 Corolla (Acts 2) instead of sell it to help with the expenses, so I
did, with a mustard seed of faith! I know that my God will supply all of my
needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus! Please consider partnering with
HOPE’s work by making a tax-deductible gift. Any amount helps, however small!
To give monthly or just one time, go to <a href="http://www.hopeinternational.org/">www.hopeinternational.org</a>,
click DONATE on the upper right, enter the amount, designate it for “General – Other (please specify below)”, and type in my
name (Abigail Eustace) on the line below. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You
will all be in my prayers as well, and I will do my best to stay in contact
with you! If you want to receive <b>email
updates</b> from me, just send me an email at <a href="mailto:abigaileustace90@gmail.com">abigaileustace90@gmail.com</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank
you so much for your prayers and support, and for your friendship! May God
bless us all this Christmas, and show us how to live like the One whose birth
we celebrate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> For His Glory,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Abigail </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWEQ8lHDCFaG67JfG19tDgcAUpAyej4ABVzW2o8FWeJKEEhcX0aeEXyyX9H77cbvP5GEAAVMMTrlT3ttbYms9w-70K1EFxwcbbn6ztzVQJ62L0n7osANsGNnb-SC9sE2qvubaOU_80j48/s1600/Milan_description.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWEQ8lHDCFaG67JfG19tDgcAUpAyej4ABVzW2o8FWeJKEEhcX0aeEXyyX9H77cbvP5GEAAVMMTrlT3ttbYms9w-70K1EFxwcbbn6ztzVQJ62L0n7osANsGNnb-SC9sE2qvubaOU_80j48/s400/Milan_description.jpg" width="365" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwlq59OGREu6euQPHM3LVWNo1K9jJa5C6SNC_iKReJAe2Jcv0nrGH4tHdPBYKG39iBcna1DLld4jI3Mso1nTuYVMZjyquaIKXbK6G3I5tLDJVfLGy2LcLthg6u7xhTa-NwRKvy-lrhdd0/s1600/milan_laughs_picnik.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwlq59OGREu6euQPHM3LVWNo1K9jJa5C6SNC_iKReJAe2Jcv0nrGH4tHdPBYKG39iBcna1DLld4jI3Mso1nTuYVMZjyquaIKXbK6G3I5tLDJVfLGy2LcLthg6u7xhTa-NwRKvy-lrhdd0/s200/milan_laughs_picnik.jpg" width="150" /></a></span></div>
Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044288382419025680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692911883705394116.post-44903181873522438762012-08-11T00:55:00.001-05:002013-11-01T23:30:29.208-06:00Submission, Part I<br />
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Submission. <o:p></o:p></div>
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“I don’t even know what that is,” I confessed to God. Not
really, truly, and deeply. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I had just spent four months in a city with no curfew, free
to come and go and immerse myself in Andalusian culture at all hours of the day
and night, anywhere my feet or bicycle could take me. With my nostrils still
full of the aroma of orange blossoms, my eyes still wet from tearful farewells,
and my tongue still finding my way around the English language all over again,
I prayed,<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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“God, teach me submission.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I unpacked my bags just long enough to empty the souvenirs,
and pack them again for 10 weeks of inner city ministry in Indianapolis. <o:p></o:p></div>
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That first weekend in Indiana we spent at a beautiful
campsite with all the interns and staff. Everything started with a prayer
walk—and one of the “stops” was to pick up and read a letter written to us by
our mentors. The “mentor” I had chosen was a woman from my church I loved
dearly, yet barely knew. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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“God is going to prune you,” she wrote. It was a long
letter. He does this because He loves me, so I can bear more fruit. And when
the pain seems too much to bear, wrap your face in His robes and cry, there at
His feet. He will heal you in those moments, she said. Everyone had finished
the prayer walk, but I was re-reading the pages of my letter, my eyes brimming
with tears. My spirit bore witness with her spirit that this prophecy would
come true. It moved me to think of God’s love for me as His precious daughter.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Soon, the summer had taken off and we were sweating hours in
the sun, leading eager 12 year-olds in demolishing old houses down to the
frames, to rebuild them as dwelling places for the poor. I was also teaching
English to immigrants and interpreting at a women’s center. I was always busy,
but as a friend warned—being busy is not what really matters. What matters is
that we sit at the feet of Jesus, and learn from Him. We learn wait for Him, to
rejoice in His presence, to drink from the cup in His hand. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I wanted that. God wanted that for me, He INVITED me. But I was so busy. Busy looking back: back to Spain, back to the college I would leave for a year, back to Dayton where my family was. Facebook "helped" me do all this looking, instead of looking to God, and delighting myself in His abundance (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=is%2055:2&version=NKJV">Isaiah 55:2</a>).<o:p></o:p></div>
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The ache in my heart for Seville, <i>mi querida ciudad</i>, grew with each day. Suddenly, my upcoming trip
to Panama seemed a horrible idea. How could I keep going like this, leaving
behind my family and my church people I love to make new friends in a new culture
and a new host family, and then leave them behind, too? <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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“God, I’m not made for this. I’m not strong enough. It hurts
too much, God!” I cried.<br />
<br />
God just listened, and waited. “Therefore YHWH will wait, that
He may be gracious to you” (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2030:18a&version=NKJV">Isaiah 30:18a</a>).
<o:p></o:p></div>
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One day after interpreting at the women’s center for an
abortion-minded client from Guatemala, my heart ached with a mix of compassion,
inadequacy, and discouragement. I had never felt what this women felt, who had
her first child at age 14. Now she was 21, but hadn’t seem her son since age
17. Now she was in a new land, alone and pregnant. <i>Imagínate</i>. Just imagine. <o:p></o:p></div>
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“No, I can’t imagine,” I said. In my heart I knew God had called me to minister to women rescued from sex trafficking, and this was just a step in that direction, but in my fear I heard and accepted the lie that I was unworthy and uncapable of doing what God had called me to.<br />
<br />
“I can’t do this. I don’t
know how that feels. I can repeat what the interpreter says but I can never do
this myself--training or no training. I don’t have the words to say, not for that. If I do business as mission, I can teach the business. Someone else can sort through all the heartache--someone with a counseling degree."<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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That weekend, I went to Richmond, Indiana for a youth worship
service. My brother David came from Dayton, and Richmond was the halfway point. It
was also the location of the boarding school where God transformed David, and took him from a
life of addiction and desperate, unfulfilled pursuit—to a vibrant, free life in
the Holy Spirit. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As I worshiped, I was surrounded by strange and beautiful
expressions of praise, but these were intermingled with manifestations of other
spirits. Girls whipped around wildly or yelled haphazardly. There was a battle between truth and lies, light
and darkness, right in that moment. I
knew we were worshiping God, but I could smell the battle. It was a familiar
scent, of a battle I did not want to—and even said I could not—fight. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Inadequacy swept over me again. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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“God, show me a sign for good. If You’re here in this place,
if You care—really care—about me! Little old me! Then I will be selfish enough
to ask You to show up here. Because I need You. I need to know we are somehow
reaching a feeling, caring, live, listening, seeing, breathing God with our
praises, and that You overcome evil. I need to see it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I began to weep. “God, You only know how much I need you. I
am dry, weary, alone, and sad. Unequipped and inadequate. How can anyone see
Jesus in me? How can I do the work You called me to do?”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I stopped. I waited. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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“You are called to minister to the nations!”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I looked up. The director of the girls’ dorm was praying for
me. I recognized her, but we had never spoken.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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“The same God who called you is willing and able to take you
through it. Do not doubt His calling on your life! He will do what He has promised!"<br />
<br />
Tears gathered beneath my closed lids. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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She continued: “You are NOT destined to make the same
mistakes your mother has made, or other people in your family! The buck stops
here! You will walk in God’s steps! You will be a woman who nurtures the heart
of her husband and lovingly cares for her children!”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I wept.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If a perfect stranger can be so connected to the Holy Spirit
that their words go directly to my heart without having ever spoken a word,
exactly after I had desperately pleaded for God’s help—why couldn’t I do the
same? <o:p></o:p></div>
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I could! I can! I do! The same Spirit lives in me! <o:p></o:p></div>
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I am not a counselor, I am not a nurse, I am not an expert. But I have the Holy Spirit. “My grace is sufficient for you.
. . My power is made perfect in
weakness.”</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The summer passed quickly, but not without moments of
testing. I had to humble myself, ask for forgiveness, and keep going. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Soon, it was time for Panama. I bought the ticket at last
because God said, <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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“Tarshish, the belly of the fish, or the dry tree of complaining? Which
one do you want? Or will you just take My way? The way that goes straight to
Panama, your Ninevah filled with blessings—because it is the way I have chosen
for you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I couldn’t really argue with that, so I decided not to. I was Abigail, a wise a pure woman, a Father's pure joy--not Jonah. I wouldn't be Jonah, I said. But
in my heart, I still doubted God’s goodness in leading me there, away from
everyone I loved, all over again. <o:p></o:p></div>
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That's why our hearts are called "<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%2017:9&version=NKJV">deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked</a>". He knew what He was doing. It all went back to that one
word, that solitary request for <i>submission</i> which I had nearly forgotten. . . .<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044288382419025680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692911883705394116.post-15094560444162823032012-08-10T21:47:00.000-05:002012-08-10T21:48:11.790-05:00Theology, Grace, and Things Too Wonderful to Understand<br />
I have considered and read a lot on the various sides of the Calvinism/Open Theism debate, but I have not arrived at any systematic theological conclusion.<br />
<br />
Last Saturday, somewhere in the second volume of Jesus Freaks, a kind of modern-day Foxe's Book of Martyr's, I read something like this (paraphrased as I remember it): "God is Truth. The Bible is the truth about Truth. And Theology is the truth about the truth about Truth. Most Christians spend their time entirely in the last two. But it is us (speaking of persecuted Christians), who have known, in those prison cells and moments of torture and despair, without a Bible or a sermon or anything tangible to comfort us--- it us who have known such ecstasy and peace and joy through the presence of Christ--- that we would not trade it for anything."<br />
<br />
Knowledge can puff up, whereas only the Spirit of God can awaken our hearts to Truth. This does not devalue the pursuit of the knowledge of God, which is necessary, but how much we would miss if in our pursuit of the knowledge of God, we forgot to pursue God Himself. The Bible and Theology help, but a miracle of God is absolutely necessary if we are to experience <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=eph%201:15-23&version=NKJV">Ephesians 1:15-23</a>.<br />
<br />
So, in my sometimes waning pursuing of God Himself, and His relentless pursuit of me, I am seeing the character of a God who is completely loving, completely just, completely knowing of everything past and present and future, and yet still somehow, someway, allows the weak mutterings we call prayers, to reach the throne room of God. Just as the prophet declared to Hezekiah that he was going to die, but Hezekiah humbled himself and wept bitterly before God and repented, and God relented and gave him 15 more years to live---that same God actually listens and acts according to our prayers. It is one of the most amazing and mysterious things, and it is all because of Jesus' blood. Now we can come boldly before the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.<br />
<br />
Someone said to me recently, all of our prayers are weak. We get discouraged to even pray, because our words seem so inadequate and empty to express what is on our hearts, or what we want to feel but don't always feel. But God chose the foolish and weak things to shame the wise and the strong. He chose something as simple as opening your mouth and asking an invisible God to act, even when we don't know what to say and we feel like He is not listening. . . . He chose that to move mountains. He chose that to heal wounds. He chose our weak expressions of dependence on Him to set the captives free.<br />
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Here is a song about the Gospel I listened to over and over again at work on Monday. It brought me to tears again to think of how Jesus chose the cross for us. His humility,majesty, love, and grace astound me:<br />
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<br />Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044288382419025680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692911883705394116.post-15305582342205465792012-03-11T22:55:00.003-06:002012-03-14T16:38:17.425-06:00The Politically Incorrect Human Rights TragedyIf you’re caught driving on empty in an average American town, you may well find yourself wishing every church was a gas station. Eighty-four percent of Americans view themselves as Christians (Barna); and at times Christians are seen as intolerant of minority faiths. Indeed, some U.S. troops have earned this unfortunate reputation through “blasphemous” acts against Islam. By publicly apologizing for the recent Q’uran burnings in Afghanistan, President Obama has joined Secretary of State Clinton and other leaders in advancing the perception of a more diverse and tolerant nation. In the so-called “clash of civilizations,” this is an important work. But one major infringement of religious freedom is largely left out of the media and political advocacy: modern-day Christian martyrdom.<br />
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Although seemingly ubiquitous at home, Christianity faces horrific repression in much of the world. Somalian refugee, former Dutch Parliament member, and self-described atheist Ayaan Hirsi Ali wrote “The War on Christians,” The article ran as the cover story of a February issue of Newsweek, breaking the media’s general silence on the issue. In it, she argues that “the severity of Islamophobia pales in comparison with the bloody Christophobia currently coursing through Muslim-majority nations from one end of the globe to the other.” While the media reports on isolated incidents of Christian persecution like the Christmas-day church bombings in Nigeria, Hirsi contends, they often ignore the larger worldwide trend.<br />
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In 2009, the nonpartisan Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life reported 7 out of 10 people live where they could face government restrictions or societal hostilities based on religious beliefs. Christians faced persecution in more countries (130 out of 198) than any other religious group. For tens of millions, this means torture, rape, murder, imprisonment, and execution. (See Silenced: How Apostasy and Blasphemy Codes are Choking Freedom Worldwide.)<br />
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In Silenced, authors Marshall and Shea write that blasphemy is a crime in most Muslim nations, punishable by persecution or death. In Pakistan’s legal code, Section 295-C calls for death of those who “defil[e] the name of Muhammad.”<br />
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Of course, not all Muslims adhere to coercion as a fundamental of their faith. The former prime minister of Indonesia, Abdurrahman Wahid, argues such blasphemy codes actually defile Islam. In the forward to Silenced, he writes, “Those who would punish others in God's name are guilty, of the Muslim equivalent of mortal sin—taking on the role of God.”<br />
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In spite of this, even Wahid’s “liberal” country of Indonesia has seen a nearly 40% rise in violence against religious minorities in 2011. Although the constitution guarantees religious freedom, Persecution.com reports, “In the last two years, at least 59 churches have been attacked, burned or vandalized.”<br />
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These brutal strikes against Christians are not purely Islamic phenomena. The FARC rebel group in Colombia often murders those considered a threat to their agenda, including pastors and evangelists. In 2007 and 2008, Hindus in the eastern Indian state of Orissa attacked Christians—killing 3,000, destroying 4,000 homes, displacing 50,000, and forcing thousands more to convert to Hinduism or be attacked at water sources.<br />
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Using what influence we have left, American media and political leaders must continue to advocate for human rights. That means condemning not just Islamophobia, but also Christophobia.<br />
President Obama is not unconscious of this responsibility. In response to a Twitter campaign and extensive lobbying, the White House on February 23 released a statement which “condemns in the strongest possible terms” Iran’s reaffirmation of the death sentence for pastor Youcef Nadarkhani.<br />
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But what is desperately needed is a broader denunciation of religious persecution as a catastrophe for human rights. Last October, Georgetown University professor Thomas Farr called global persecution “a parade of horrors” and suggested how the federal government can improve its response: by mandating training on protecting religious freedom for Foreign Service officers, and “making explicit connections between freedom and counterterrorism…[since] religiously tolerant societies make poor breeding ground for terrorists” (emphasis mine). This kind of rhetoric is essential, he says, since “humanitarian appeals for the oppressed have failed.”<br />
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The very mention of “tolerant societies” bespeaks political correctness. Yet, when applied to a taboo topic, these words could be revolutionary. Let’s spread this message through powerful grassroots, and share it with our elected officials and the media. A White House statement in defense of one Iranian pastor is one thing, but what about the 70% of the world’s population facing government restrictions and social hostilities simply based on what they believe? They cannot be ignored any longer. What will our next Twitter campaign be? #toleranceoverterrorism or #stopChristophobia?<br />
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© Abigail R. Eustace, 2012</div><div>____________________________________________________________________<br />
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</div><div>Please pray with me that this gets published as an Op-Ed in the Dayton Daily News or another paper! I wrote it for school, but if it's published it's an automatic 100%! Plus, I really think it's a message that needs to be heard!</div>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044288382419025680noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692911883705394116.post-67215295364301287052012-03-09T13:27:00.003-06:002014-05-17T00:44:56.289-05:00PART II - I have a testimony! Take that!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In December, David and I went to a huge international conference called One Thing, with the theme “Jesus: Our Magnificent Obsession.” As I focused on Jesus through worship, prayer, teaching, and conversation with women from my church who were also at the conference, Jesus delivered me from a negative body image that was still allowing the scars of the past to affect me in the present. It wasn’t because I hadn’t forgiven; it was because I still hated my body and had not come into agreement with how God sees me as His beautiful daughter. (See Psalm 139). The feeling of being unwanted and unworthy—or basically believing lies from Satan about my body—had opened the door to a lot of spiritual attacks and struggles over the past few months. I thought I had already forgiven the one who had molested me, and that God had “healed and sealed” that wound. But the devil kept reminding me of the pain, along with bringing various struggles and temptations at the same time. I had been feeling depressed without really knowing why.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But at One Thing, as I wholeheartedly sought God and looked to Jesus in the fullness of His character as a Humble Servant, Suffering Savior, Righteous Judge, Loving Father, and Glorious King, the blinders came off. As Psalm 28:5 says, “<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">Evil men do not understand justice, But those who seek the LORD understand all.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">As we watched the <a href="http://nefariousdocumentary.com/">Nefarious film</a> about sex trafficking, I identified on a deep level with the victims of human trafficking—not because I have been in that situation, but because I am vulnerable and I was believing lies. The world of human trafficking and prostitution is governed by Satan, and he is a liar and the father of lies. Almost everyone in the United States who ends up in prostitution has been molested or sexually abused as a child. They grow up believing they are worthless. Believing one lie makes them feel vulnerable to the next and the next, until they are desperate for a way out, but completely trapped. As some former prostitutes gave their testimonies, I saw my tears in their tears. As they spoke of the total deliverance in Jesus Christ alone, and how He is such a loving Father, I saw myself as their sister. </span>I finally saw clearly that Satan’s lies were exactly that, and were meant to kept me in bondage. But I was free in Jesus Christ, who came to set the captives free and deliver our souls from Sheol!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I knew I had to go talk to Karen and Karissa, two friends from church who were at the conference. But when the emotionalism of the movie had died down and we stood up to leave, I had my doubts. Maybe now wasn’t the time. Maybe I wasn’t ready to let go of all this. Maybe it wouldn’t even help. That’s when Karen turned to me, as if reading my mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Wanna go talk to Karissa?” Karissa had been sitting on the other side of the auditorium with her baby and stroller. When we got there, she just looked at me. We were both profoundly impacted by the film. Karissa knew some of the struggles I had been going through; so did Karen. Karissa just looked at me with tears in her eyes and a compassionate smile.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Come here.” She said. She reached out her arms and hugged me. She’s shorter than me, so I just leaned on her. For nearly ten minutes we stood there embracing each other. My chest began to heave with sobs as I laid it all down. Karissa just hugged me tighter, and Karen joined her and they both prayed over me. The presence of the Holy Spirit rushed in and through and over us. Karen started speaking in tongues softly. I had an impression that the weeping would last for the night, but joy would come in the morning. That all this time at the conference I had been so moved by the worship that I would cry and cry as I lifted my hands or kneeled down on my knees—but tomorrow I would not be able to wipe the smile off my face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That’s exactly what happened. As we praised in the New Year, dancing and singing in ecstatic awe, I felt unspeakable joy and supernatural peace. I knew I would never, ever be the same. I had seen God’s love in a more personal and powerful way than ever before—a way I thought was reserved for a select few.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I faced some very real attacks and battles immediately after this deliverance. But I had been too close to the Warrior King to let this defeat me now. Now I know that every time I resist the devil, he will flee. I know that when I resist temptation, I am choosing Jesus. I know that, “<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">the sufferings of this present time are not worthy </span>to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). I close my eyes and imagine Jesus looking at me with His eyes of fire, burning away all my impurities and desiring to make me wholly and completely His. Or I think of the cross, when Jesus gave up His life to save us wretched sinners— enduring such physical agony and emotional pain in order to secure eternal and abundant life for us. At that moment, everything else fades away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">I haven’t reached sinless perfection—that’s reserved for Jesus Christ alone. But I know He is at work in me because I feel greater sorrow for how my sins wound Jesus’ heart, and greater joy in loving and following Jesus that ever before. He has not only washed me from my sin and shame, He is creating a new, clean heart in me—and renewing a right spirit in me (Psalm 51:7-10).</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have had the habit of doing a daily personal devotions for several years. I basically read my Bible and pray. In recent years, that has grown as I pray in the car, as I walk, and wherever I am. I have been convicted recently to stop listening to secular music, since it does not draw me closer to Jesus, who truly is my Magnificent Obsession. At OneThing we were challenged by a former Harvard graduate and Yale graduate student to start tithing my time, or spending 2.5 hours a day in communion with Jesus Christ. I did that for the first 10 days of the New Year. My hunger for Jesus has not waned but actually grown, and I am seeing so much fruit in my life. I believe God has spoken to me clearly about several things, including: that He is going to restore my parents’ broken marriage relationship; <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">not to worry at all about my future or who I will marry; and many other things.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the first time in over a year I am actually hungry, every day. For the longest time I would feel as if I was forcing myself to eat because I should be hungry, but I would rarely actually feel hungry. The hunger is a physical sign of my deliverance from depression.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is another example of how much God loves me: I prayed during OneThing that if it wasn't God's will for me to teach English in Spain this summer, I didn't want to do it. There are a lot of things I could do this summer, like an internship, get a full time job (since I graduate in May), etc. etc. I wanted to go and see my friends from studying abroad there. But I told God I wanted to be where He wanted me to be, and I didn't want to make plans without His counsel. Well, I stopped worrying and thinking about it until something happened. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On my birthday, January 3rd, my Panamanian friend Rebeca* called me. She prophesied a few things over me that God has already confirmed to me through His word and the testimony of other witnesses, about my future and not worrying about getting married, and about my parents’ marriage relationship (that God restores all things). Then out of the blue, she said she wanted to pay for half of my ticket to Spain! And yes, she is serious! That was the best birthday present I've ever gotten! I am overwhelmed by God's goodness! The just shall live by faith!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> To be continued, as God just keeps on being awesome! . . . <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*Not really Rebeca, in order to protect anonymity. =)</span></span><br />
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Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044288382419025680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692911883705394116.post-49709047508680492092012-03-08T22:18:00.003-06:002014-01-21T01:13:17.360-06:00I have a testimony! Take that! (PART I)<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have a testimony.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ha! I always thought testimonies were for people who didn’t grow up in the church! Guess I was wrong! Take that, devil!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s long, it’s brazenly bold and bare-faced and open, but it’s all true. And it’s a story of God’s victory over my failure, God’s healing of my pain, and God’s glory for my shame. I wrote it in January of this year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, But to Your name give glory, Because of Your mercy, Because of Your truth.” –Psalm 115:1</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My parents led me in the sinner’s prayer as a very young child (approximately 4 years of age). They raised us with a love for God and a vision for the Gospel. My mom used to lead family devotions every day while we were very young, and later my dad took over. When I was 5 or 6 I learned Colossians 3, complete with hand signals, with my 4 siblings. I was home schooled, so the Bible was integrated into all my subjects. By 4<sup>th</sup> grade I was in Bible Quizzing and memorized Philippians and Colossians in one year. My dad would read us missionary stories before bed, and invite Indian and Chinese and other international students into our home to share special holidays—and, of course, the Gospel. So we were raised with an interest in and understanding of other cultures—and showing love and hospitality to people from different backgrounds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I really began to make my faith my own around age 15, when the youth pastor at the new church we had started to attend began to teach a radical discipleship. We went on an inner-city mission trip/kids camp in Charlotte, N.C. for a week. During that week, a lot of students “got it.” We started to pray together more and we started to see God act as we ministered to the kids and sought His face. During the trip I realized I had been doing a lot of “Christian things” through my own strength and not really through God’s strength. I broke down in the middle of the trip and had to stop taking care of my VBS small group. Someone else took over and I went to a room and just cried out to God and prayed. I read a Bible and ended up in the Psalms. I just kept reading, “The LORD is my strength.” That was the moment that I really “got it” and started to realize the same Jesus who paid for my sins is also the only One who empowers me to do anything of value. “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for <u>without Me you can do nothing</u>” (John 15:4-5). The rest of the week, we saw God pour out His spirit even more, delivering the camp kids from a lot of pain and drawing them to Himself. A lot of kids accepted Christ that week. When we got back, I shared this testimony at my church, and got baptized with my younger brother David.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unfortunately David’s baptism did not mark a true heart decision to follow God at that age. The next few years were really difficult for the whole family as he got involved in wrong relationships, drugs, fights, alcohol, and smoking. I was often upset with him and tried to keep bossing him around as I had during a lot of our preteen years. He was not taking it, and was angry at everyone in our home. Since I have 5 siblings, this made for a lot of strife. I knew I loved David, but I didn’t know how to show it. I was saddened that he was making so many wrong choices.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Around the same time, halfway through my senior year in highschool, my grandmother died. I had been very close to her my entire life, and though I knew she was in heaven dancing and singing with Jesus after a long battle with Lou Gehrig’s Disease, I felt I had lost a very close friend.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Over the next several months I was inappropriately touched various times. I couldn't understand that someone I had known and trusted since childhood would ever do something like that to me, so my mind just blocked out what was happening. When I finally faced the truth of what was going on, I didn’t want to even see the abuser. I was now a freshman at Cedarville, and I poured everything into getting good grades. A former Cedarville student shared her story in chapel about how she had been sexually abused growing up, but Jesus had freed her and given her a ministry to other women. 1 out of 3 women, even at my Christian college, had experienced something like that. We must come to Jesus for healing, she said. I reached out to God and told Him I needed healing. I wrote a lot in my journals in those days, but didn’t tell anyone what was going on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But with some unexpected stress from my extra-curricular activities, everything started to cave in. I told my family what had happened. It was really hard to tell them and see their mixed reactions, but even harder to deal with the pain as I tried to wrench the thorn out of my own heart. I started crying a lot. I got sick with a urinary tract infection that didn’t show up on the tests until it turned into an extremely painful kidney infection. The pain was so bad it would bring me to tears. As if I didn’t have enough to cry about already! As I cried, though, healing came. Slowly, but surely, God began the process.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During my sophomore year, David threatened suicide with a gun to his head. When I heard the news, my heart sunk. I spent the next few days walking around my college campus in a haze, not ashamed to be crying in public. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I knew I needed to mend my relationship with my brother.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> God told me to stop judging David all the time, and to wake up and love him, no matter what. I wrote him a letter apologizing for being his “Second Mommy,” as my family had nicknamed me. I hated what he did, but I loved HIM and I wanted him to know that. I didn’t tell him to his face, because he wouldn’t have listened to me. We didn’t have enough of a relationship to talk for more than 10 seconds. So I wrote it down and left it in his room, on one of the nights when he was out ‘til 3 or 4 in the morning.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He thanked me. He didn’t change right away, but my attitude towards him changed. I asked God to start loving him through me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The months during David’s house arrest were pretty difficult. He was going through substance withdrawal and was stuck inside a house with people he resented, and who resented him. It was hard to love him, but we pleaded for grace. But he needed something more. So, my parents sent him to boarding school, in January 2009. He swore he would leave on his 18th birthday in October, whether or not he had earned his diploma. He broke the rules and hated his life there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But we just waited. We prayed and wrote him letters. I cried over every letter I wrote. I felt the Holy Spirit urging me to pour out my heart into those letters. I didn’t know if it made a difference to David, but I loved him so much it hurt. It wasn’t coming from inside me. It was something God had done in me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In May, I felt God told me to go to a different church. I prayed about it and talked to my parents about it, but it didn’t seem too exciting to me. I was afraid of rejection--afraid of not knowing what to look for. But I felt I couldn’t ignore God’s voice. So one Sunday I picked a church out of the phone book—one that started late, since I had slept in. Several warm smiles, hugs, a solid message, and a moving altar call later, I had made up my mind. That was easier than I thought, I told God. He knew what He was doing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I learned so much with my church that summer. We studied the book<i> Crazy Love</i><i> </i>together with all ages. The people there became my brothers, sisters, mothers, and fathers in the faith. I grew so much deeper in my faith.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Suddenly, in July, we got news from the boarding school. David had just got back from a spiritual retreat. When they passed the offering plate, he put a piece of paper inside. On it, he had written, “MY LIFE.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On that day, everything changed. The passion in David was so evident. He decided to stay and finish high school. He started to actually listen to all his mentors at the boarding school. He wanted to be a missionary. He was in love with Jesus, and he couldn’t shut up about it. He started learning about reconciliation and love and authority.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I visited him at the school during fall break, with my sister Vicki. We rode horses. I told him about guys and he gave me some solid advice. It was surreal. We talked about Jesus and miracles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few days after the visit, I was feeling sick. I decided to drive home early to get some rest. As I turned on a curve on a country road, the setting sun shone directly into my eyes. With one hand on the wheel, I frantically searched for my sunglasses. The car swerved slightly to the right. I was going about 60 mph, and just a slight movement caused the car to scrape along the guard rail, sending it jerking wildly out of control. The next few seconds were a nightmare. I gripped the wheel and tried to straighten it, but it veered to the left towards the woods. I have never been more scared in my life. I closed my eyes and held my breath for the impact. BOOM! The airbags had gone off. I was conscious. I was in pain but nothing too severe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Within a few hours, I was at home. The ER had not found any injuries, but my car was totaled. I was “fine,” but I had a newfound respect for the life God had spared. God told me to once and for all forgive and forget the abuse, and not waste the time I had left. A few days later, I sat in my sister’s car singing and writing and praying to God. I hadn’t even wanted to see the man who had molested me for several months. But I stayed up and wrote a tear-stained letter that I would read aloud to him, begging him to make this right while he still could—before God and before me. Thankfully, he did. I felt like a huge burden had come off of me. Two months later, he died.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">David doubled up to graduate a semester early. I picked him up in December, in the old car my friend Amy had let me borrow after I wrecked my own. She was one of three people from church that offered to let me use their car in the weeks before I studied in Spain. I was floored by their Acts-church type generosity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">David and I talked the whole way home. He started coming to my church. We treasured those 6 weeks or so together at home, before I left to study in Spain. One night after church, with snow falling from the starry sky, we stayed in Amy’s old white car and sung “Oh, How He Loves Us” at the top of our lungs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since then, David has been to India twice and Peru once on mission trips. I have been to Spain, Panama, and Costa Rica on mission trips (all experiences God used to stretch and deepen my faith a lot!) Now David works in Indianapolis and I go to college in Cedarville, OH. But we are still close. Thank God for technology!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few months ago, David told someone I am his best friend. I was pretty flattered. God sure knows how to turn rags into riches. <i>“Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, But to Your name give glory, Because of Your mercy, Because of Your truth” --Psalm 115:1</i> <i> </i>It's nice to have a "big-little" brother (tall, but younger) to talk to about anything and everything. He challenges me to follow God no matter what, and I try to do the same for him, "as iron sharpens iron" (Proverbs 27:17). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Part II coming soon...</span><br />
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Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044288382419025680noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692911883705394116.post-22797726640359818152011-12-15T22:02:00.004-06:002012-01-03T00:47:10.648-06:00Between sleep and the snooze button...<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">This morning, I had a dream.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"> I walked into someone’s house, which was filled with herbs and flowers and candles and crafts. It was unclear whether it was really an artsy little shop, or a house. I was wearing a second-hand wedding dress with puffy 80’s sleeves. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">I looked out at the parking lot, but no one had arrived. So I went back to the bedroom to fix my hair, but without success. It stubbornly refused to take any form other than a vague, poofy mass. I remember growing frustrated and asking for help, but no one could get it right. I decided to let it be. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">I walked around the house wondering why no one was there. It was all supposed to start a couple of hours ago. Oh well, they’re just late, that’s all. Only two or three people were there. They helped decorate by tying up small bunches of dried flowers--a rather lousy, dried, dead looking decoration if you ask me.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">Finally, people started to arrive. They were mostly from my church, arriving in vans and cars, returning from a long trip. They came in their jeans, old t-shirts, tousled hair, and tired eyes. They filed in and out haphazardly to use the bathroom, sit on the couch, or get a glass of water. They didn’t seem to remember what the occasion was. Or, as it turned out, they knew something I didn't. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">Finally a friend said, Hey, your fiancé should really tell you this himself, but he asked me to do it, so here goes: he’s calling it all off. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">The friend paused to see my reaction. Oh, okay. I said. It’s okay, I said matter-of-factly—completely emotionless. I didn’t feel any tinge of disappointment. It’s better that way, I thought, no one was really ready anyway. I looked back at my friend. Where is he? I’m not mad at him, and I don’t want him to change his mind, but I just want to talk to him. So he knows it’s alright. I don’t want him to feel bad.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">OK, find him, she said. I did. He was tired from the trip. I told him it was okay. He said he was glad he hadn’t broken my heart. He hadn’t. We both agreed it was better this way. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">I changed out of the dress, that ugly last-minute thrift-store find. Next time I would take the time to find something better. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">Then I woke up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044288382419025680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692911883705394116.post-14049057266610519882011-11-28T17:33:00.002-06:002011-11-28T22:23:40.984-06:00Do you know what I mean when I say I don't wanna be alone?!!!<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></div><blockquote style="background-color: white; border-left-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 5px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="line-height: 1.5em;"><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In every man there is a loneliness, an inner chamber of peculiar life into which God only can enter.</span></em></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em;"><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> –George MacDonald</span></em></div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I learned that if you TEACH what you just learned, you retain 90% of it, as opposed to only 5% from just hearing a lecture, or 50% from a discussion group. Since a biblical response to my own LONELINESS is something I really need to learn & retain right now, I wanted to teach you all what I just studied. I hope it’s a blessing.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><span class="fbUnderline" style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What NOT to do when you feel alone:</span></strong></span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><span class="fbUnderline" style="text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><strong></strong></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><strong>1) Keep it to yourself. </strong>The devil might trick you into pretending you’re okay. When you hide, you’re feeding your own pride, trying to protect yourself, and only feeling more and more miserable by the minute.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><strong>2) Listen to love songs/watch romantic movies/read romance novels/WHATEVER you do to distract yourself or fill up the void.</strong> This creates what my friend Karissa calls “false saviors” (little “s” because, like U2, you won’t find what you’re looking for). I have a few songs I really like to listen to, but I know they don’t make me look to God.</span></div><ul style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 25px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, And rely on horses, Who trust in chariots because they are many, And in horsemen because they are very strong, But who do not look to the Holy One of Israel, Nor seek YHWH!” (Isa. 31:1)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“Promise me, O women of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and wild deer, not to awaken love until the time is right.” (Song of Solomon 2:7)</span></li>
</ul><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><strong>3) Surf the internet </strong>so you can see how everyone else’s life is more interesting/ happier/ busier/ more fulfilling than your own. (Preaching to myself here…)</span></div><ul style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 25px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“I who am Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If I live in the Spirit, let me also walk in the Spirit. Let me not be conceited, provoking others, envying others” (Gal. 5:24-26).</span></li>
</ul><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">4) Complain.</span></strong></div><ul style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 25px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“And don’t grumble as some of them did, and then were destroyed by the angel of death. These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age”(1 Cor. 10:20-11).</span></li>
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</div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><span class="fbUnderline" style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What TO DO when you feel alone:</span></strong></span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><span class="fbUnderline" style="text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><strong></strong></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1) Tell God!</span></strong></div><ul style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 25px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all <em>points</em> tempted as <em>we are, yet </em>without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:15-16).</span></li>
</ul><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><strong>2) Ask God to keep you company. </strong>Ask Him to make His presence very real to you. He will! I started praying this recently; and He is definitely coming through. Just ask in faith and God WILL come.</span></div><ul style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 25px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“Look, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and will eat with him and he with Me” (Rev. 3:20).</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe” (Prov. 18:10).</span></li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Kqj5U8hSfSc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Your presence is all I'm longing for here in the secret place. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Your nearness is all I'm waiting for here in the quiet place. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Here in the secret place...</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">Here in Your presence God, I find my rest." </span></span></span></blockquote><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><strong>3) Praise Him!</strong> He inhabits the praises of His people! (Psalm 22:3, KJV) Praise --> God’s presence --> You’re not alone anymore! And you’re not thinking about your pitiful little lonely self anymore!</span></div><ul style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 25px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"The real test of being in the presence of God is, that you either forget about yourself altogether or see yourself as a small, dirty object. It is better to forget about yourself altogether." –C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity</span></li>
</ul><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">4) Get a Bible and read it!</span></strong></div><ul style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 25px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“ For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Heb. 4:12).</span></li>
</ul><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><em><span class="fbUnderline" style="text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You gotta replace those lies with some Truth!</span></span></em></div><ul style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 25px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You are not alone: Jesus says, “I am with you always, even until the end of the world” (Mat. 28:30).</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You are not forsaken—God will never leave you nor forsake you! (Heb. 13:5)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You DO have what you need! “Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust” (2 Pet. 1:3-4, The Message).</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You are not rejected—you are CHOSEN! “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Pet. 2:9-10, also see Isaiah 43!!!)</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You are not weak, you are strong in YHWH! “And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” . . . For when I am weak, then I am strong” (1 Cor. 12:9-10). </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You will never be fulfilled with more approval, respect, affection, money, or success. You will only be fulfilled in God. “Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You…My soul will be satisfied as with the best foods; and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips” (Psa. 63:3,5).</span></li>
</ul><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><strong>5) Find families who are living for God. </strong>You can learn so much by being around them.</span></div><ul style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 25px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“You set the solitary in families” (Psa. 68:5-6).</span></li>
</ul><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">6) Seek God with other people.</span></strong></div><ul style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 25px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“Where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Mat. 18:20).</span></li>
</ul><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><strong>7) Find someone else who feels alone or sad,</strong> and spend time with them. Tell them about how God has helped you and will help them! Let them picture God’s love for you in the way you show it to them!</span></div><ul style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; list-style-type: square; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 25px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">God’s cosmic plan expressed through Abrahamic promise was to bless the whole world through God’s chosen people! We fulfill that now, since we are His chosen people, grafted in by the blood of Christ in the New Covenant. “This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise” (Isa. 43:21).</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We (the Church) are the body of Christ, so we have the same mission (bringing reconciliation between God and man) that Jesus did! He accomplished it on the cross, but we have to spread the news and do what Jesus did! The Messiah was anointed “to preach good tidings to the poor, … to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to <em>those who are</em> bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion,To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified”(Isa. 61:1-3). </span></li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMJ_Up-T6315JxE4IlosP9ko86uUzhVIsIhAKg8nlbD_Dt5SL6JUCiGwMjCy8rPnB73dTOFTE5ucsMW2P-WbpKSkXf0bDQ3UXHT3Wvq-1BP0Pq4DKYdVi8pmX5-BOVURr-kXMbSm6P7NQ/s1600/IMG_1496.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMJ_Up-T6315JxE4IlosP9ko86uUzhVIsIhAKg8nlbD_Dt5SL6JUCiGwMjCy8rPnB73dTOFTE5ucsMW2P-WbpKSkXf0bDQ3UXHT3Wvq-1BP0Pq4DKYdVi8pmX5-BOVURr-kXMbSm6P7NQ/s400/IMG_1496.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;">"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit." --Jeremiah 17:17-8</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><br />
</span></span></div>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044288382419025680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692911883705394116.post-23259508649770175642011-11-24T19:37:00.000-06:002011-11-24T19:37:57.534-06:00My cup runneth over.<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="ES">This Thanksgiving, <i>tengo muchos motivos para agradecer a Dios…</i> </span>I have a lot of reasons to thank God. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am thankful to be home, after being away from my family for two Easters, two Fourths of July, one Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years Day, and birthday.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPwHBv5-3tfWfA7zZ0OUxSSB9agufl1VF5zHEJJGqviQuc0c9ve3YaSchr3by9DINTojDQDBYhr9wgeYBkFIaf92KkEzRRp8YYHUe68uGRiyKvsv72VVj8M2-mrJ_4V0dDhBfYxLYaMes/s1600/IMG_2630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPwHBv5-3tfWfA7zZ0OUxSSB9agufl1VF5zHEJJGqviQuc0c9ve3YaSchr3by9DINTojDQDBYhr9wgeYBkFIaf92KkEzRRp8YYHUe68uGRiyKvsv72VVj8M2-mrJ_4V0dDhBfYxLYaMes/s400/IMG_2630.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am thankful for all the awesome friends that celebrated those days with me. Who am I to complain that I spent January 1, 2011 relaxing on a tiny island in the Pacific? Or that I celebrated my birthday with Spanish food in a restaurant in Panama, surrounded by good friends from my Bible Study? Or that I visited the mountains in Chiriqui, Panama on the Fourth of July? Or that I got to share our mashed potato recipe with my coworkers on Thanksgiving? Or that I got a glimpse of Jesus’ suffering and love for humanity, portrayed through the Holy Week <i>pasos</i> on the streets of Seville, Spain? If you were one of those people God put in my path while so far from everything I knew, <i>“Bendito Dios por encontrarnos en el mismo camino…”</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz9K7Sb4sxIiOU3S05QDMJLfbTihfp6A0dQ7pvPVzHvvtRbkl1Kv_0vhNbPghRxiKDe-rbeD1r0S-GSIR9bXwjXHqCY9wSpQAnAWWSlD71lYsY_IjB0EVjfM1plp8MglayIdIpG5CIUuc/s1600/IMG_2015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz9K7Sb4sxIiOU3S05QDMJLfbTihfp6A0dQ7pvPVzHvvtRbkl1Kv_0vhNbPghRxiKDe-rbeD1r0S-GSIR9bXwjXHqCY9wSpQAnAWWSlD71lYsY_IjB0EVjfM1plp8MglayIdIpG5CIUuc/s320/IMG_2015.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">“Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"> </span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy,</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"> </span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now.</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"> </span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Philippians 1:3-6).</span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><br />
</span></i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAZtuX4-zkgDeAI7EDFQcNAFka8e3Ydl4s2ZFEYceTBO0mq5xQHg3K9JeFG7H5JtJVr7Q-6pD-nHLH1zdhzUycu8mGAEMbcOroMLLqJUE9IfsCDQ2C-jO9X7IeAxCG4JY6Ei1XVHuguIM/s1600/IMG_2171.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAZtuX4-zkgDeAI7EDFQcNAFka8e3Ydl4s2ZFEYceTBO0mq5xQHg3K9JeFG7H5JtJVr7Q-6pD-nHLH1zdhzUycu8mGAEMbcOroMLLqJUE9IfsCDQ2C-jO9X7IeAxCG4JY6Ei1XVHuguIM/s320/IMG_2171.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am thankful for my church. Where else could you go for 8 months, disappear for 7, come back for 2, and then disappear for another 11… and still be welcomed with open arms when you come back? Where else do you hear the Word of God clearly spoken, praise God and pray with your brothers and sisters, and get a lifetime’s worth of hugs in one morning? (Hopefully a lot of places! But this one is God’s gift to me so I think it’s pretty special!)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">“Behold, how good and how pleasant</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"> </span></i></span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">it is</span></i><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white;">For brethren to dwell together in unity!</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white;">” </span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white;">(Psalm 133:1)</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white;"><br />
</span></span></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ1u-UCEBZGAEmi-F5ANnzDVtKbYjrUoI_56GuCrP1rto_5JDlR1sDC7dWmxTBoN8D5-Tl8nHvAVgsfNvhGsJIONV-xbrefDyiEKc6YLxhyQjvZrb_Ap6_kLcLl3PI8_EWN5uGKTtLDZY/s1600/188209_10150169874311002_579946001_8679379_6990448_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ1u-UCEBZGAEmi-F5ANnzDVtKbYjrUoI_56GuCrP1rto_5JDlR1sDC7dWmxTBoN8D5-Tl8nHvAVgsfNvhGsJIONV-xbrefDyiEKc6YLxhyQjvZrb_Ap6_kLcLl3PI8_EWN5uGKTtLDZY/s400/188209_10150169874311002_579946001_8679379_6990448_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigjiXVDEQu_EFAN8U5AYt02RktG_vdqOYUJKaUlk-X6JYpaX-PqVcH-3gKlya-llKd3-NVSvCszT9FppxMmA2u8lj4UUeyaCjHd4r_iw4DqsYujcWTIqZdUt23ZIZRvgYsf5xFAf2PkMk/s1600/IMG_1423.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigjiXVDEQu_EFAN8U5AYt02RktG_vdqOYUJKaUlk-X6JYpaX-PqVcH-3gKlya-llKd3-NVSvCszT9FppxMmA2u8lj4UUeyaCjHd4r_iw4DqsYujcWTIqZdUt23ZIZRvgYsf5xFAf2PkMk/s320/IMG_1423.JPG" width="240" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am thankful for my family. They are 7 people + 2 brothers –in-law who have to love me no matter what…and they do a pretty good job at it. We are broken, but still held together by a love greater than ours. We make mistakes, but grace covers all. We fall down, He gets us up. We are a testimony to what Jesus can do. And we are a work in progress. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">“And the Lord said,</span></i></span><b><i><sup value="[<a href="#fen-NKJV-25892a" title="See footnote a">a</a>]"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 115%;"> </span></sup></i></b><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">“Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift</span> </i></span><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">you</span></i><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span style="float: none;"> </span></span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">as wheat.</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"> </span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"> </span></i></span><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">Me,</span></i><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span style="float: none;"> </span></span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">strengthen your brethren” (Luke 20:31-32). </span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><br />
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</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am thankful for God. He keeps me company when I feel lonely. He is my Sustainer. He surrounds me with songs of deliverance. He is my Savior. I know that He is for me—and if God is for us, who can be against us? I am His child, and He delights in me! He also protects me from my own stupidity. He does not lead me into temptation, but delivers me from evil. He knows exactly what I need—which is not always what I want—and He always gives it to me. He answers prayers in some pretty nifty, specific, and jaw-dropping ways. Try Him. He is my Provider—my Jehovah Jireh.</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>“</i><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">YHWH is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"> </span></i></span><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">thank</span></i><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span style="float: none;">sgiving” (Psalm 28:7).<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span style="float: none;"><br />
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</i></span></div>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044288382419025680noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692911883705394116.post-52883778081763700942011-11-20T22:28:00.004-06:002011-11-21T09:57:24.771-06:00Women in the church?<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">The complementarian view of women in church ministry states that women can teach men <i>unofficially</i>. They cannot teach men as ordained leaders, or have <i>official</i> authority over men. This is my own explanation of my views on the subject, written for my Christian Worldview Development class at Cedarville University.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">The most-disputed Scripture references on this topic are <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Timothy%202:11-12&version=NASB">1 Timothy 2:11-12</a> and <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2014:34-35&version=NKJV">1 Corinthians 14:34-35.</a> While these both seem to say women cannot teach in the Church, Paul elsewhere recommends that women cover their heads <i>when</i> they pray or prophesy in the church (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Cor%2011:5-13&version=NKJV">1 Cor 11:5, 13</a>), and <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians%203:26-29&version=NKJV">Galatians 3:26-29</a> says “there is neither…male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2012&version=NASB">1 Corinthians 12</a> speaks of spiritual gifts and notes that “the same God works all things in all persons” (NASB, vs 6). The historical context of <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2014:34-35&version=NASB">1 Corinthians 14:34-35</a> could be that there was chaotic worship and a need for organization and order within the Church. <b><o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">In the 1 Timothy <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Timothy%202:11-12&version=NASB">passage</a>, the original Greek words used for man and woman are <i>aner </i>and <i>gune.</i> <i>Aner</i> is found in the New Testament around 150 times, and is translated as “husband” 40 times. Whenever “it wasn't absolutely clear that the woman with the man in the context was his wife, it is almost always translated "husband" and "wife." <span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">If this translation is applied 1 Timothy, it could be concluded this is talking about marriage roles—“</span></span>the woman is actually under the teaching authority of her husband. He is the head of the household, spiritually speaking” <span style="font-size: 10pt;">(<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">from<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_101199435"> </a></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><a href="http://www.str.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5718">transcript </a>of the</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> radio show</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-size: 10pt;">"Stand to Reason," with Gregory Koukl</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-size: 10pt;">). </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">Further difficulties with verses 9-15 make this passage’s interpretation highly debatable. </span></span><b><o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Traditionally, women have not been allowed to hold official authority in the Church—and their service has at times been restricted to a mere presence in the Church. But Jesus’ radical ministry to women—and the examples of women in both the Old and New testament who served and taught the people of God—should be the standard—not fallen cultural norms. Examples include the judge and ruler Deborah (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Judges%204-5&version=NKJV">Judges 4-5</a>); Phoebe, the female servant or deacon (diakon) and patron (prosta = protector, helper, patron) of the church (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rom%2016:1-2&version=NKJV">Rom 16:1-2</a>); Priscilla, who taught another man alongside her husband (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2018:24-26&version=NKJV">Acts 18:24-26</a>), and Junia, who is called “notable among the apostles” (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rom.%2016:7&version=NKJV">Rom. 16:7</a>).</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">If women can and do serve in the Church, the passages left include those which give qualifications for church leaders: <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Titus%201:5-9&version=NKJV">Titus 1:5-9</a>, and <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Timothy%203:1-13&version=NKJV">1 Timothy 3:1-13</a>. The first uses masculine language for the elders and bishops, which implies women do not fulfill those roles. This is one reason why I do not believe churches should advocate women serving as <i>ordained</i> pastors or official teachers over adult men. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">But the latter <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Timothy%203:1-13&version=NKJV">passage</a> describes the office of <i>episkopo </i>or bishop/overseer and then that of <i>diakono </i>or deacon. Both leaders must be the husband of one wife. But women are introduced in verse 11, using “likewise”—the same word used in verse 8 to transition from speaking about bishops to deacons. Rather than merely referring to the wives of deacons,<span class="apple-style-span"> “this Greek preposition refers the women to the deacons in 3:11, just as it refers the deacons to the elders in 3:8… [and] in <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rom.%2016:1&version=NKJV">Rom. 16:1</a>, Phoebe is referred to as a "deacon", in the masculine (technical) sense” (<a href="http://www.codrington.biz/papers/w1tim3.htm">1996, Graeme Codrington</a></span>). John MacArthur posits that since qualifications parallel those of male deacons, gender is the only distinction—and “t<span class="apple-style-span">hey are thus equal in their status, function and authority. If Paul had intended these women to be distinguished, would he not have specifically stated this fact at this point in his instructions regarding qualifications for service?</span><span class="apple-converted-space">” (<i>ibid</i>). <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"> In the church, women may serve as deacons, and official teachers over children and youth. We can encourage them in this by public teaching and prayerfully approaching women who seem to fit biblical qualifications for these positions. Women can also be encouraged to work with and under the spiritual leadership of their husbands, where applicable, to teach both men and women in a God-honoring, orderly way. Women who are unmarried or with unbelieving husbands should be permitted to teach from time to time. In all of these positions and opportunities, women are held to the same standards as all believers—they must exercise their gifts of the Holy Spirit (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Cor%2012:11&version=NKJV">1 Cor 12:11</a>), study and prepare diligently (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Tim%202:15&version=NKJV">2 Tim 2:15</a>), and be led by God (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Cor%2012:4-6&version=NKJV">1 Cor 12:4-6</a>). (<span class="apple-style-span"><a href="http://ichthys.com/mail-women%20preachers.htm">Dr. Robert D. Luginbill</a>). Opportunities for women to teach include writing devotionals and books, occasional Sunday morning messages from missionaries, evangelists, authors, or teachers; adult and older youth Sunday school teachers in husband-wife teams; and teachers for younger youth and children. “</span>Yet the distinction remains: those not called as authoritative teachers of the church, men or women, serve the church in a different capacity from those who are so called. Rule in the church always aims at encouraging all Christians to grow in the use of the gifts the Lord provides” (Clowney, <i>The Church</i>, ch. 15 p. 230). <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044288382419025680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5692911883705394116.post-17034651481348410842011-05-22T22:39:00.004-05:002011-05-22T22:39:49.898-05:00Saturday: He makes all things new<div class="MsoNormal">Today I saw a friend I haven’t seen in 4 months, due to a less than desirable “break up” of our relationship. It’s a long story, but the separation was her choice, and pretty unexpected on my part. Not hearing from her for 4 months was hard, because we are close friends, and have talked about some really deep struggles she has been through. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Seeing her today was one of those surreal moments when you realize God really does answer prayers. During all the times I asked God to change the situation, I really, really believed He would. God just gave me a kind of secure, inexplicable faith—so it wasn’t exactly surprising when He came through. But it still makes me want to cry for joy. It’s like I’m the little girl that never really doubted her daddy would keep his promise and take her to the park, but when he does it does something to strengthen that daughter-father intimacy. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But it gets better than that—because when the little girl is crying about little girl troubles and about how her own naughtiness that has gotten her into a mess—there really couldn’t be a better time for Daddy to wipe her tears away and make good on his promise, right then and there.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My Daddy did make good on His promise. I waited so long for this moment. Not only did my friend and I see each other again, but we had a great time. She has changed, learned, and matured so much. She has reconciled with the person I prayed for her to reconcile with. Her attitude is completely different than it was four months ago. In place of her former desperation and negativity, she had only good things to say about the situations she has been through and what God has taught her. God has expanded her ministry and she is teaching a Bible Study in her house. In essence, one after another of my prayers for restoration and transformation have been answered. It seems almost too good to be true. But it is. He is SO faithful. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Before I met with her, I was sitting around wondering how I was going to give her some word of encouragement or exhortation like I always did before. I didn’t feel up to it, because I’ve had a weird kind of week. But I prayed for God to give me peace in all my relationships—even though I feel so undeserving of His grace right now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(That’s what makes it grace—it’s undeserved favor.)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">What actually happened, though, is that my friend was the one who encouraged me. I think it happened that way to remind me that I can’t take credit for what God has done in her. He’s just given me the privilege of an inside look in His work. The Word of God is the living water that fills me and pours out of me into the lives of others, but only when I am receiving from the fountain of life. That stuff doesn’t return void—but the vessel itself is not the important part. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">What has happened now is not my doing. That’s God. Only God paints masterpieces like that. He’s the one that gives beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. It’s just breathtaking and humbling to see Him work like that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>Abbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16044288382419025680noreply@blogger.com0