Let us consider…

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching. –Hebrews 10:19-25

While working through the above Scripture, I did a study of the key words in the passage. When I got to verse 24, “Let us consider how we may spur one another on to love and good deeds,” I looked up the Greek word that had been translated consider, and I read the following definition: “to perceive, remark, observe, understand, to consider attentively, fix one’s eyes or mind upon.” In this verse, the writer is telling his audience of fellow believers that they should take time and carefully contemplate ways in which they can move each other to find deeper and better ways of loving and serving Christ and one another. We are to literally spend our time thinking of ways to agitate one another to love more and work better for the cause and glory of Christ. When I originally read the full definition of the word translated as consider, I was convicted, because I know that I do not spend much intentional time contemplating ways to help my fellow believers have a closer walk with Christ.

I then searched consider to see where else this word was used in Scripture. I found that it has been translated in different ways in different parts of the New Testament, but the meaning is the same. In Matthew 7:3, Jesus uttered this word in a very different context: 3 ”Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Jesus is speaking here during the Sermon on the Mount, and He tells His listeners that they are spending their time attentively considering and fixing their eyes on the sin in the lives of those around them while ignoring the sin in their own lives.

The comparison of this word in these two passages further proved to me the sharpness of the double edged sword that is the Word of God, because it pierced me, dividing bone and marrow. Just from these two verses, I have a lifetime’s worth of work before me. I realized immediately that most of the time, I have these instructions completely backwards. Not only am I not attentively considering ways that I can spur on my brothers and sisters in Christ to love and good deeds, but I spend a lot of my time attentively considering their sin while ignoring my own.

This week, I am praying that the Lord will break me of my habit of considering the specks in the eyes of my friends and family and will replace that sin with the God-glorifying habit of considering how to spur them on to love and good deeds. I am also praying that I will be more willing to consider the planks in my own eyes so that He is able to remove them and make me a more able servant for Him.

What will you consider this week?

Thank you!

A big thank you to the Couples classes at Morris Hill for helping us bless the ladies who will be heading to Africa for missionary placements! Your gifts allowed us to make bags for 11 ladies who will deploy this year in many different countries, doing many different jobs. These ladies and their families will be doing jobs ranging from church planting to being dorm parents to sports evangelism using basketball as a platform to speak to people about Christ.

I pray that you will all know that you are now have a personal stake in the work of the Kingdom in Africa. Please pray for these ladies as they and their families go and serve. I also pray that this involvement in overseas missions will get you thinking about the possibility of serving as well. These families are just like you and me; one of them made the point today that the only thing that makes them different from other believers is that they heard the call to serve and they obeyed. If you have never done so, please pray and tell the Lord that even if He never calls you to serve Him in another city or country that you would be willing to do so. Sometimes we don’t even know God is calling us until we take the time to listen for that call.

Thanks again for your faithfulness in this project. It makes me proud to be able to tell people here at school that my home church is so faithful to help with things like this! Your gifts were greatly appreciated by everyone!

I have attached some pictures from the event so that you can see some faces to go with your prayers.

Love to you all,

Bekah

Christians and Culture

I recently was assigned an essay in which I was to answer the question, “How ought Christians react to the shifting moral values of culture?” Here’s my answer…

I have read the assigned book, Reforming the Morality of Usury, in its entirety.

Much like the time of the Reformers, today’s culture is in the midst of a massive shift in moral thinking. As secular culture becomes more permissive concerning topics like abortion, homosexuality, euthanasia, genetic research, and even financial responsibility, it is the responsibility of the church to determine the absolute morality of such issues in light of the absolute truth of the Word of God. Often concessions are made in issues of morality by claiming that, since the culture has changed, many laws of the Bible are now outdated. For example, the Old Testament prohibition on tattooing is used to support this argument because tattooing is currently a culturally accepted art form in America. Issues of capital punishment are also used by some to decry the Bible as a moral authority. Because our current culture does not solicit the use of capital punishment for behaviors such as homosexuality, adultery, or dishonoring parents, then it is reasoned that none of the moral laws or consequences should apply any longer. With this view of law in the Bible, the proverbial baby of moral law is thrown out with the bathwater of time bound, theocratic law.

If believers hold to the presupposition that the “all or nothing” view of law in Scripture is incorrect, how should Christians view and apply Scripture to daily life? The ever-changing nature of the world is further proof that the world is diametrically opposed to the immutable God, Creator of the universe. Secular culture is constantly shifting the boundaries of right and wrong, but Scripture contains God’s statement concerning Himself: “I the Lord do not change” (Mal 3:6). While God was speaking of His covenant promise to Israel, this concept of God’s immutability carries through His entire being. Regardless of the behavior of His chosen people Israel, God’s covenant with them was never changing, and neither was His response to them; when they obeyed He blessed them and when they strayed He disciplined them. The Psalmist praises God that His love and faithfulness endures forever (cf. 100:5; 107:1; 117:2; 118:1-4, 29; 136:1-5).

Just as God is unchanging, we are told that His word is unchanging as well. Throughout Scripture, God’s words never change. From Genesis to Revelation, each author, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, traces the consistent story of redemption and salvation. The Lord tells Isaiah to proclaim to the people in Isaiah 40:7-8, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” Though men will rise and fall and be blown away like the grass in the wind, the unchanging Word of God will remain forever.

According to these very brief glimpses into the nature of God and of His Word, one can surmise that God is unchanging in His very nature. Just as the Scripture sheds light on the nature of God, it also reveals the nature of man. As mentioned above, God told Isaiah that people are like grass and they fade in glory and fall. The prophet Jeremiah was told that the heart of man is wicked (17:9). Samuel told King Saul that “He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind” (1 Sam 15:29). When Paul describes weak-willed women to Timothy, part of that description includes that they are “swayed by all kinds of evil desires” (2 Tim 3:6). Though man is always changing in thought and deed and conviction, God never changes

So according to the Scriptures, which have been shown to be unchanging, God is unchanging, trustworthy, and loving in His eternal nature, but man is changing, swaying, untrustworthy, and wicked. If the story stopped there, it would seem hopeless for the church to react to the changing culture in any other way than to mirror culture itself. There are, however, commands given to the church specifically concerning how we as believers are to interact with the changing culture of the current society. In Romans 12:2, the apostle Paul instructs the believers in Rome: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.” As believers, we are not to conform to the changing winds of culture. We are instead to renew our minds so that we are able to test and approve God’s will. By renewing our minds through studying Scripture, we will be able to rightly discern the world around us. Peter also addresses this topic in 1 Pet 1:13-16: “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’”

Succinctly written in the very words of God, the church is told that as the culture around us changes, we are to nevertheless be holy as God is holy. We are to remain steadfast and unwavering in the beliefs that the precepts in Scripture are right, true, beautiful, restorative, and refreshing. The only way that Scripture will be seen in such a light is for believers to uphold it regardless of the culture around us. Scripture tells us that God is calling unto himself a people from every tongue, tribe, and nation, which assumes that His Gospel supersedes the fluctuating tides of culture. The church’s responsibility is to continue living in such a way that we are not only hearers of the never changing word, but we are also doers of the same.

“You Complete Me” and other myths of relationships

Great quote from JD Greear’s blog… I’m definitely going to check out this book…

From JD Greear’s blog…

from Angela Thomas in her excellent book, Am I Beautiful: Questions Every Woman Asks:

Here is one thing I can say with great confidence: the man that you love is just a man. He may be your soul mate. He is possibly your best friend. He may be hunky and funny and surprising and strong, but he will never - not in a million years, not if he goes to relationship therapy twice a week and keeps every promise written - be enough to fill your soul…he will never make you whole. He wasn’t made to be enough. He could not be even if he tried. He is just a man, and he can give only as a man and interact as a man and love as a man. He wasn’t designed to fill the depth of a woman’s longings, anticipate every need, and jump through every hoop. He can’t. Those deep places inside you were made for God.

The man is simply a vessel. God uses him to give you a part of the filling of His holy love. But he is not the only vessel, not is he able to fill you from his own strength, nor is he the only thing you will ever need. Are you hearing this? There will never be a man on the face of the earth who can make you whole. Being filled in the depths of your soul is only about the love of God…knowing him…hearing His voice…believing that He’s wild about you…dancing in His arms.

The man’s responsibility is to be the vessel and to be a good one. He is called to listen to God. To obey as the Holy Spirit leads. To love you in the ways God prompts his heart. If he loves you as a man who walks with God and if you realize that the vessel is just a man, there can be an amazing exchange of healthy love. Through the man you can taste a part of the love that God has for you.

Your responsibility with the man is to let him be just that. He is not your girlfriend. He is not perfect and never will be. He is not your Savior. He is not your filling, nor is he the answer to all your longings. You must let him be fallen and forgiven and in process. You must learn the difference between men who are healthy and those who are not. You must not mistake his opinions for the opinions of God. He may have never called you beautiful or smart or witty. No matter what the man says or doesn’t say, God is still wild about you.

How have you overcome the “idolatry” of romance?

Freedom in Christ or Boredom in Christ?

The assumption is this: One of the main reasons that the world and the church are awash in lust and pornography (by men and women—30% of internet pornography is now viewed by women), fornication, adultery, masturbation, exhibitionism, homosexuality, bestiality, rape, and endless sexual innuendo in all media—one of the reasons we are awash in all this is that our lives are intellectually and emotionally disconnected from infinite, soul-staggering grandeur. Inside and outside the church we are drowning in a sea of triviality, pettiness, banality, and silliness. Television is trivial. Radio is trivial. Conversation is trivial. Education is trivial. Christian books are trivial. Worship styles are trivial. It is inevitable that the human heart, which was made to be staggered with terrifyingly joyous dread and peace by an infinitely untouchable, embracing God—it is inevitable that such a heart, drowning in the all-pervasive, blurry boredom of banal entertainment, will reach for the best buzz that life can give: sex.

The deepest cure to our pitiful addictions is not any mental strategies—and I believe in them and have my own. The deepest cure is to be intellectually and emotionally staggered by the infinite, everlasting, unchanging sovereignty, holiness, wrath, justice, wisdom, truth, and mercy of God. And sex is just one of the hundreds of day-to-day issues you face that will overwhelm you and debase your life without this kind of encounter with the living God.

http://www.desiringgod.org/resourcelibrary/sermons/bydate/2004/166_Gods_Design_for_History_The_Glory_of_His_Mercy/

The above quote is from John Piper, and is along the same line as Beth Moore’s teachings in “When Godly People do Ungodly Things,” which I know several of us have read and greatly appreciated.

So often we fall into sin simply out of boredom—we have forgotten the amazing adventure to which we are called when we become children of the King! Instead of searching for ways to “make it through the day,” let’s find new ways to forsake the trivial and dig into the unsearchable riches of Christ. Reading this short quote challenged and reminded me that our walk with the Lord is not a journey set on auto-pilot or even cruise control—it takes work on our part to not be bored. When I read Piper’s take on boredom, I was reminded of one my kids in my After School Program. One afternoon Sarah and I were blessed to witness a living illustration of the culture in which we live: As this young girl spun in circles in the middle of the room, she declared, “I’m bored! Someone entertain me!”

How many times do we make similar declarations to the God of the Universe? I know I am guilty of desiring to be cosmically entertained on a regular basis. Our culture has become one of passive entertainment; and this notion is sneaking into our spiritual lives. The emphasis on emotion and experience in worship has led to a generation of God worshipers who think they are not getting from God all that is theirs if they are not “feelin’ it.” Many more have given up completely on a life of freedom through Christ because they are in such bondage to the sins of this world. So many have bought into Satan’s lie that sex is the ultimate pleasure and fulfillment. When they indulge in any of the above mentioned sexual sins and experience nothing but shame and heartache, they think, “if this is the best there is, what hope do I have for happiness in this life?” What we do not understand is that the Creator of the experience is so much more fulfilling than the experience itself! This applies to anything, not just sex. As much as I love hiking and enjoying creation, that experience is not to be worshiped in and of itself. Rather, any experience we enjoy should direct our attention to the Creator of that experience and draw us into a deeper amazement and appreciation of Him.

Just like I sat down with my little friend at After School and explained that it’s more valuable to learn how to entertain yourself instead of waiting to be passively entertained by another, God desires that we learn to grow and be amazed by Him through our own work and not just through the spoon feeding of others. Maturity means moving past passivity and taking an active role in your growth and “entertainment.”

I have learned the last couple of years that the cure for the common bore is not more television or music or internet. In fact, I have become culturally illiterate (I failed my friend Salida last week in a moment of urgent need when I couldn’t tell her who was voted off of American Idol the previous night!). But while I couldn’t tell you the winners of American Idol or Survivor or Dancing with the Stars, I am certainly far from bored. And my lack of boredom comes mainly from ridding myself of the trivial entertainment of this world and devoting my time to the infinitely endless task of growing in the knowledge of my infinitely endless Saviour. In fact, boredom usually occurs when I am in a rut spiritually and I find myself watching more TV or spending more time surfing the internet. We are bored when we turn our brains off and demand that someone entertain us. This quote reminded me that I am accountable for my own boredom—and my own enjoyment of the Saviour. It challenged me to find ways this week to be staggered and overwhelmed by a new understanding of our heavenly Father.

An Open Letter to Sinners

I wrote this letter for a friend going through a time of struggle and restoration with the Lord, but with so much being written these days about the experiential, emotionally driven church, I wanted to share it with more people. The church today has been deceived by the feel-good Gospel and with a simple glance at the world around us, we can see that getting people to feel good about themselves is not improving the state of the world around us. Please read this letter prayerfully, and feel free to copy it and pass it along.

Dear Friend,

I am so excited to hear that the Lord has provided a time of solitude for you this weekend. Often times when we have been faced with a crisis of sin in our lives we want to fill our time up with people and noise and work and chaos, with the thinking that being busy will keep us out of trouble. We don’t trust ourselves; and rightly so. Jeremiah 17:5-18 talks about our wicked, untrustworthy hearts and how they can get us into trouble so many times. But in verse 14, Jeremiah remembers who should be trusted—not us, but the Lord: “Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; Save me and I will be saved, for you are my praise.”

The amazing thing for believers is that He has already healed and saved us! Romans 6 is an amazing testimony to us about our relationship with both Christ and with sin. Paul tells us that we are already dead to sin! There is no battle to fight because Christ has already won the battle. Before we are believers, we have no choice but sin; we think we are free to do what we want, but we really have no choice but to sin. But once we are filled with the Spirit of God, the victory over sin has been won and we now have the choice to live in freedom!

I know from personal experience that we do not always make the right choice. But simply knowing in those deepest, darkest times of temptation that I do not have to give in because Christ has already won the battle for me is enough sometimes to see me through. Peter talks about this when he tells us in 1 Peter that we have everything we need for life and godliness. Paul backs that up in 1 Corinthians when he told the church at Corinth—a group of people familiar with their own sinfulness—that God will never tempt us beyond what we can bear. That is a promise you can take to the bank! Our hearts and our flesh may scream that we must give in to temptation, and that we have no choice, but God has promised that through the Spirit and the Word we have everything we need to resist, even when we feel like we can’t.

When I went through my time of brokenness and restoration with the Lord, I read Mere Christianity by CS Lewis, and in that book there is a paragraph that has become dear to me and I return to it often:

“On the whole, God’s love for us is a much safer topic than our love for Him. Nobody can always have devout feelings: and even if we could, feelings are not what God principally cares about. Christian Love, either towards God or towards man, is an affair of the will. If we are trying to do His will we are obeying the commandment, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God.” … But the great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not. It is not wearied by our sins, or our indifference; and, therefore, it is quite relentless in it determination that we shall be cured of those sins, at whatever cost to us, at whatever cost to Him.”

What an amazing God we serve! And the even more amazing thing is that we already know the cost of that love—for us, we must die to self, no matter how painful the process may be. And for God, the cost was His very Son. He died for us; the very least we can do is die for Him.

But how do we do that? Dig into the Word! The Spirit can only work with the tools we give Him. The Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God, so you must arm Him in order for Him to be able to protect you. God told the Israelites through Hosea, “My people die for lack of knowledge.” We stay in a defeated state when we do not arm ourselves with the Scripture. Too often we trust our own love, our own warm fuzzy feelings about God to keep us safe, but that is such a dangerously prideful place to be because it gives us too much credit and doesn’t give our enemy enough credit. If we are in battle against a roaring lion who is seeking whom he may devour, I’m not going to approach him thinking I’m untouchable—I’m going to want a weapon! The Scripture is our weapon—begin this weekend arming yourself with the Word and never let up. The more you know, the more you want to know.

I will be praying for you this weekend as you begin this journey with the Lord. Do not be afraid of the process of brokenness and solitude with the Father. It is gut wrenching, painful, and agonizing at times to really see your sin and deal with it. But the freedom found on the other side is worth it every time. Pray for the Lord to show you the weightiness of your sin and how it impacts your relationship with Him and with those around you. It’s an honest prayer. It’s a painfully humbling prayer. It’s a prayer He will answer every time. And it’s a prayer you will never regret once you reap the fruit of your obedience to Him.

When God allows us to go through times in which we must face our own sinfulness head-on, it’s usually because He has great things in store for us to do for His kingdom. Much like Jesus allowed Peter to be sifted like wheat by Satan, he allows us to be sifted so that the sins we cling to so desperately can be removed from our lives for His glory. Do not be afraid of the sifting process—being a useful weapon for the Father is a blessing I will never understand. That He chooses weak, sinful people like us to do His work will always amaze me.

For His Glory,

Bekah Mason

bekahmae.wordpress.com

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~~ 1 Cor. 10:31 …whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. ~~

How I Go to Church Without Getting Mad

I have never read Blue Like Jazz. But I understand from my friend Dave that there is a chapter in the book entitled, “Church: How I Go Without Getting Mad.” That short thought got me thinking. So called holy wars are rife within the historical path of mankind. We’ve been getting mad at church since church was invented; just check the Scriptures if you don’t believe me. The office of deacon was created because the Greek Christians were mad that their widows were being overlooked in the distribution of food. Paul wrote to the church in Corinth to reprimand them because they were so mad they were filing lawsuits against one another. Before their was a Christian church, there were “religious” people. Jesus’ disciples fought over who was the greatest among them. Cain killed Abel because he was mad that God preferred Abel’s sacrifice. As long as there have been people, those people have been mad.

But the idea of being mad at church struck me, because church seems to be a pretty common place for otherwise calm Christians to lose their cool. People who would never say a cross thing to their boss at work seem to feel it appropriate to scream at their brothers and sisters in Christ during Wednesday night business meetings. People’s feelings get hurt because their house is not chosen for the next Sunday School class party. Women leave small groups if someone doesn’t check on them when they miss one Sunday and men move their families elsewhere if they are overlooked for a position on a committee. Seeing that I was raised in a pastor’s home, I have been eyewitness to enough selfish and unjust activity in the church that there was a time I wrote the church off completely. Falling into the postmodern idea that my religion was a matter between me and God and no one else, I left the church for a while to find my own way. 

That didn’t work, though, because we were not designed to operate alone. God established the family and the church because we were created to be in fellowship—with both Him and with our fellow believers. So if the church is full of fighting sinners, but I have to be a part of the church, I asked myself this morning, “How do I go to church without getting mad?” And this is my answer… 

I go to church without getting mad because I remember that some of the most respected evangelists and theologians on the planet conservatively estimate that 50%-75% of current members of evangelical churches are not, in fact, regenerate members of the body of Christ. When you work in the mindset that all of your church members are born again believers, it’s easy to get mad when you go to church. When you approach church with the assumption that the majority of people around you are actually lost, your attitude shifts from anger to pity.

The people sitting around you have placed their faith in the prayer they said at the alter, in the fact that they cried, that they were baptized, that everyone said “Amen!” when the pastor voted on their membership, that their mom and dad and grandparents were members of the same church. They have never experienced the godly sorrow that leads to repentance without regret, leading to salvation that Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 7:10. Instead, they have experienced “the sorrow of the world” that “produces death” (2 Cor. 7:10b). The ideas of counting the cost of their salvation, of dying to self, of becoming less so Christ can become more, of submitting to the Lordship of Christ in their life, they’ve never considered their sin and been completely shattered by it. They’ve relied on themselves for their salvation and they are so deceived.

When you look at the church in such a harshly realistic light, the in-fighting and anger make much more sense. The church is full of people who are still bound without choice to the destruction of their sins! They have no choice but to behave in a way that it is un-Christian. Like my mom always says, “You can’t expect lost people to act like they are saved.” This can be frustrating for the 25-50% of people in the church who are truly regenerate members of the body of Christ. But the next time you get frustrated with the people in church who make decisions and show themselves to only be interested in themselves, remember that Jesus once said, “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit” (Mt. 12:33). If that person is not showing godly sorrow for sins committed against God, chances are that person really doesn’t care, and a lack of sorrow is indication for lack of relationship.

So how do keep from getting mad at church? I prepare myself in much prayer by asking the Lord to humble me—sometimes I’m mad because I’m wanting to get my own way, which makes me just as wrong as everyone else. I ask Him to search my heart, to show me my shortcomings and transgressions against Him. I ask Him to give me His eyes so that I can see the people around me as Christ sees them—as people made in the image of God, people that He loved so much He died for them. And I keep in mind the deep words for a rap CD. That’s right, rap. On Grits album Grammatical Revolution, there is a track entitled “A Reading from Count Bass D.” He offers some wise words for our walk towards maturity in Christ.

A servant of God must stand so much alone that he does not realize he is alone. In the early stages of Christian life, disappointments will come. People who used to be lights will flicker out, and those who used to stand with us turn away. We have to get so used to it that we will not even realize that we are standing alone. Paul said, “No one is still with me, for all forsook me. But the Lord is with me and strengthens me.” We must build our hope not on the fading light, but on the Light that never fades. When it is important, people go away. We are sad until we see that they are meant to go so that there is only one thing left to do, and that is to look in the face of God for ourselves.

If I consider myself more mature spiritually than the people around me causing the trouble, then it is my moral and biblical responsibility not to get mad at them, but instead to humbly come alongside them and show them the more excellent way. I try not to brood, to mope, to get down on those people. That would only make me just like them, and then we would all just stay right where we are—mad at church.

Singleness Wears Steel-Toed Boots

When I arrived in Raleigh Sunday night, it was after 20 hours of travel over 4,000 miles, an ocean, and two continents. Those who know me well understand that when I am tired I tend to revert to my toddler self: weepy temper tantrums are not rare when I am fatigued. So I was not surprised when I arrived in baggage claim and was suddenly overwhelmed with the desire to plop down on the floor, throw my backpack, and cry.

What did surprise me, however, was my physical, emotional, and spiritual response to seeing that the baggage claim was full of the wives, children, mothers and fathers of some of my team members. There was an instantaneous feeling like I had literally kicked in the stomach– the physical side effect of loneliness. My first, self-pitying thought was, “Singleness not only kicks you when you’re down, it wears steel-toed boots.” Aloneness is never more glaringly obvious than when you realize that you have no one to go home to.

When I lived in Chattanooga, homecomings from mission trips were a big deal. We would arrive from Honduras to a baggage claim full of friends and family. I’ve now come “home” to Wake Forest from two mission trips, and my immediate response has been the same both times– I’ve experienced the physical emptiness of being kicked by the army boot-wearing enemy, Alone. Being that I tend to be a people person to a fault, this never sits well with me. The last two years I have truly made peace with my singleness; I enjoy being able to serve the Lord however He sees fit to use me. But contentment does not always mean steady, unfailing joy in the situation. Paul may have been content in the Lord while in jail, but I’m certain that he still would have preferred his freedom.

But while I was standing at the baggage carousel waiting for my bags, I couldn’t shake the image of my singleness treading on me in steel-toed boots. I instantly shut down and isolated myself in my thoughts, desperately crying out to the Lord to perform a miracle and ensure that I not cry in front of all of these people. And in that moment of solitude amidst the chaos, the Lord gently expanded my understanding of those work boots I felt were walking all over me.

I thought about Emily, who spent a couple of days in tears because it was the first time she had been away from her son for more than a night. I remembered how much Jason missed his son while we were in Amsterdam. I thought of Rob and Nick and Mitch and Bill and Dr. James, who had all made comments about wanting to get back to their wives and families. And then I thought about how I hadn’t really missed anyone the 15 days we were out of the country. Living in Wake Forest is a discipline in missing my family; I didn’t miss them in Amsterdam any more or less than I would any other day.  And then I thought of the words of the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 7 when he addressed singleness and ministry: “But I say to the unmarried and the widows that it is good for them if they remain even as I…. Only, as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this manner let him walk….But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but one who is married is concerned about the things of this world, how he may please his wife, and his interests are divided. The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of this world, how she may please her husband. This I say not for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord” (1 Cor. 7: 8,17,32-35).

We are encouraged to serve the Lord in whatever circumstance we are in when He calls us into His service. For me, I was and, at the moment remain, single. That is how I am to serve Him, and when I am focused on Him, His kingdom, His glory, and not myself, I find no greater joy than giving Him my undivided attention. Even in my weary state, I recognized the still small voice of the Holy Spirit convicting me to a closer relationship with Himself, calling me away from me and back to Him and His all-sufficient grace and mercy.

I still think my singleness wears steel-toed boots. But now I think of them as the footwear essential for wearing the full armor of God at this time in my life. And the only time I am going to get kicked by them is when I get in the way of the work the Lord is doing in and through me.

City of Angels

So good ol’ Darc-face finally made me watch the movie “City of Angels” tonight. I’ve never seen it, because back a million years ago when it first came out, my silly little brother told me how it ended and I thought it was a ridiculous way to end a movie. I refused to watch it for the principle of the matter– love stories end “And they lived happily ever after,” otherwise, they are too much like real life. I have enough real life everyday without getting it in my movies, too. That and the “angel gives up eternity for a girl that dies the next day” was just pitiful irony to me.

Anyway, so I’m going into this knowing where it’s going that thinking in my haughty, judgmental mind, “Why would any angel in his right mind give up the glories of heaven and eternity for the fleeting, human pleasures of this temporal life?” But then my very next thought was, “I bypass the glory of an almighty God everyday for the fleeting, human pleasures of this temporal world.”

Suddenly, it wasn’t pitiful irony any more. It really was real life, my real life. And it convicted me like few things have in a long time.

You Say You Search for His Greatness

My friend Jamie wrote this, and I don’t know that she’ll ever do anything with it other than share it with those closest to her, but I have her permission to use it as a I wish, and I can’t think of a better way to use such an incredible piece of writing besides posting it so that many people can be encouraged by it.

You Say You Search for His Greatness

By Jamie Ellington

 

You say you search for His greatness? His greatness can be found in the vastness of His love. His love is broader than the horizon and deeper than the sea. Just think of the splendor, the majestic beauty that can be found in the horizon and the sea. While they are truly remarkable sights, He wanted something more. He created you in His likeness. You believe a lie if you believe everything about you is wretched. The psalmist said you are fearfully and wonderfully made. God said I knew you in your mothers womb. He made something in you that He desired to fellowship with. As a Father His heart delights in watching that special part grow, as you become the person He saw from the very beginning. He saw all the bad stuff in between but knew what you would become was worth it. He began a good work in you and will see it to completion. He uses the bad for His good. He has to, because we are all bad so thats what He has to work with.

 

His greatness that you seek can be found in the face of a child, in too many ways to name in nature, people healed from sickness, and I could go on with His greatness that can be seen, but those are just fleeting, tangible things. His true greatness, His true splendor, His majestic beauty cannot be seen it can only be felt. That is why it is so hard to recapture what you no longer feel. It seems as though it slips from our grasp as grains of sand. You cannot see true love. It is felt in a place that is not physical. It cannot be photographed to pull out later as proof it existed. Love can certainly be demonstrated but that is only a physical act, not a picture of what is felt by the person doing the act or the person receiving it. There are so many things that cannot be captured or held peace, joy, hope I believe these are felt so deeply, so completely, so real, words are a disservice to them because there are no words for them. Theres no way left to pull them out for viewing. I believe this phenomenon is by Gods design. If we could keep things or moments felt we would not continue to follow Him to the next one. He wants us to experience fresh ones each time, not stale old ones. Each time we feel one that bears the same title it is not the same. Even if it is for the same reason we felt it and we call it the same feeling, it is still not the same. Its intensity grows. It is built on the one before, making it deeper, stronger. Like the servants that were each given money while the king was away. The one who buried his had only that to give back to the king. The other two who wisely invested it had double to give when the king returned.

 

That is how we are to live out the things He lets us feel. Whatever it may be love, peace, hope, mercy, hurt, sufferingwe are to use it for Him so when He returns we can say we have been good stewards of what we felt. We invested them in His kingdom and even the bad feelings did not go to waste. We used them to gain compassion for others, to be less inclined to judge, and to increase our desire to avoid not only feeling like that ourselves but also assuring that we not be the cause of someone else feeling it.

 

Somehow, in a way only God understands, the truly great feelings that seem to slip so quickly away are brought back when we feel them again to join with the new one. The pleasure of them ever increases. In the same way is His love for us. Just like the prodigal son when he says he is no longer worthy of being called son; you never were worthy, but He calls you that anyway. He loves you so much. Psalm 18:16-19 is all good but really let the last verse sink in to every fiber of your being: he rescued me because he delighted in me. When you thank Him and praise Him for rescuing you, He doesnt say, Youre welcome. He says, It was My pleasure. Your past is for Him to work out, your only responsibility is to accept that He will, for His glory. 1 Sam 12:22 says, For the sake of His great name, the Lord will not reject His people. Did you notice why He will not forsake you? For the sake of His great name! The Lord will not reject you, no matter what youve done to your great name. His faithfulness to you is based on His great name.  He is not leaving or accusing.

 

There is no accuser as dreadful as the conscience that dwells in the heart of every human. Our conscience is like an old tape recording of all the terrible things we have done. Every time we get tired or weak it is like we hit play and sit back to hear for the thousandth time why we dont deserve grace. Salvation does not erase the tape; it just gives you the record option, to renew your mind or, in this case, to renew the tape. We must record over the old recording with the Truth of Gods word. He says He loves you, and He does. He says youre forgiven, and you are. He says you dont deserve mercy, and you dont; but He lavishes it on you anyway. He says He has a purpose for you, and He does.  He says you are family and you are, but this one He commands His children to share in because He knows how it makes us feel when we can say you are my brother or sister, and you are!