"...for such a time as this..."

I don’t know about you but I have always wished I was born in another time. If you knew me, you would agree. I love old things, like music and fashions from the 30s & 40s. I love hand-written letters, linens, china and homes from the Victorian era. So why then, was I born in 1987? Why do I live during this age of instantaneous information, where a world of information is in my phone and events in Japan can be reported here in minutes? I asked myself this the other day and God reminded me of Esther. Esther found herself in some seriously tough situations. When she was considering keeping her real identity a quiet, her uncle had these words for her… words each of us should consider in these troubling times. “For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" Esther 4:14

Love Written Across the Skies

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

            This profoundly beautiful verse paints an extravagant picture of love. Stop and consider what these words actually say. They say that God’s love for His people is deeper than the deepest ocean and wider than the widest sky. They say there is no way, even if we dedicated our entire lives to it, that we could express the fullness of God’s love to others.

            On this day, Valentines Day, many people feel their lack of love because they do not have a spouse, boyfriend, family or other loved one with which to share it. Some people, myself included, have taken to writing L-O-V-E on their arms to remind them to pray for people who struggle with depression because of the emphasis of the day. Join us and pray that people who struggle with depression will experience the freedom and power of God’s love. Share the love of God to someone in need of it.

Caution!

(Warning: Read at your own risk… The following thoughts/observations/opinions/ convictions/questions spring from a desire to better understand what scriptures says on certain issues and how to discuss the truths of scripture with lost people.)

             So I was talking to a friend the other day and she was having an interesting discussion with a co-worker on gay rights, the Bible & US law on the same subject. The thought occurred to me that I, and others like me, do not know how to witness to or converse with a person who is entrenched in a worldview opposite to scripture. Many “gay Christians” believe that God loves them and accepts them the way they are. This is true but only in part. Paul goes into great detail in Romans about the fallacy of this belief. God loves us but not our sin. He accepts us as we are at the point of salvation but to remain in sin thereafter is to deny the power of Christ’s death on the cross. So how to do you express this to someone who is convinced they are right and you are wrong? This is a perplexing question and I don’t know that I have the answer. Scripture is a strongest and truest weapon but what if they don’t believe scripture? Do we give those people up for lost and choose to not even try to reach them? Or do we persist? These are the questions that trouble my mind. Persistance is the best way but is there a way to persist without being redundant? Any thoughts, comments, rebuttals?

Cracked Teacups, Plastic Candlesticks & Plated Gold

            Have you ever been fooled by a masterful forgery? For instance, have you seen a beautiful bouquet of flowers and bent down to smell them only to discover they were wax? Or seen a friendly smile only to discover the person behind it was spreading rumors about you? When you fall prey to these cleaver imitations, how do you feel? Do you laugh that you were fooled? Do you feel sickened? Do you yield to cynicism? Do you turn away, disappointed and sad?

            There is a point to this questioning. I have found a truth that we, as Christians, often overlook. Everything that is good in this world is created by God, correct? So where does that leave the evil? I have a theory. You see, I believe that Satan, more than anything, wants to be like God (Isaiah 14:13-14). He wants to so much, that he will work to “create” as God has created. All that God made was good, including Satan who was an angel at one time. Satan is now a twisted, mangled version of what was once good. Does it not stand to reason that all that he “creates” will be merely perverted copies of God’s perfect creation? This concept is highly important when witnessing because many people believe a half-truth or part of a truth concerning God. They believe Him to be all loving and would never hurt a fly. They believe Him to be mean and calculating, waiting to strike down the most innocent of persons at the slightest provocation. Neither are completely true but both are based in a measure of truth. God is loving, mercifully overlooking our imperfections. He is holy, however, requiring that we shed our sin like so much dead skin and not live in it. As you witness, think. Find the lie or the half truth that the person is believing and expose it with the light of the truth. Otherwise their salvation will be a masterful forgery because it is based on fallacy.

Fireflies

            One of the sweetest pictures of Christians in nature is a firefly. I love fireflies. In the summer, one of my favorite things to do is to drive out to the countryside around my hometown at dusk. As the sunsets and the night awakens into a cacophony of sound, the fireflies rise out of the fields and meadows. They are numerous but completely invisible until they light their little “fires.” The evenings is the speckled with tiny flickers of light, on then off, on then off. They are so beautiful and as I child, I tried to capture them and keep them in a jar in my room overnight. But alas, they never survived until morning.

            Christians are these tiny beams of light in a dark world. We seem to multiply during the dark times of life. We rise from places that seem to have no such life and then shine our little lights. If you try to put us in a jar to keep us overnight, it doesn’t take. You have to be one of us to enjoy our light and can’t just keep us to look at and enjoy. So how is your light doing? Are you in the darkness and feel alone? Look around at the fireflies around you that you have not noticed or had forgotten were there. Take courage that we are all fireflies in a dark world. Don’t let your light burn out… even if you get put into a jar.

*picture from found on Google Images from another blog.

Not a Cookie Cutter

I love to cook and bake. Its how I de-stress. Its so relaxing to come home after a long hard day and experiment with food. My friends and family reap the benefits because I’m really a very good cook, if I do say so myself. So one night a couple weeks ago, I found myself making gingerbread cookies. As I rolled out the dough, I started thinking about cookie cutters. Every time you use one, the cookies come out perfect. They fit in well with the other cookies around them because they fit the mold. They look alike. As I meditated on the symmetry of cookies and their shapers, the subject of my life bubbled to the surface of my mind. I started moping because my life doesn’t fit the cookie cutter of what a fresh out of college career person’s life should look like. It made me regret some things, until my best friend, Pamela told me something. She said, “you will never live a cookie cutter life so stop trying. God has made you different and called you to be different so that you can do more for Him. That’s why you feel like a misfit.” Her wisdom is staggering. Imagine how many heroes of our faith would not exist if they had fit into the cookie cutter. Cookie cutters aren’t all bad. God has created this universe with pattern and order and if everyone didn’t “fit the mold” it would be chaotic. Don’t forget, God is creative and slightly eccentric. He enjoys uniqueness as much as pattern. In some ways, I am distinctive… living an American life when I would feel best in an African hut. So why am I here? I’m here to help other “misfits” realize that they were made to not fit into the cookie cutter. How will you not fit in?

I will go... only if its fun.

"Take up thy cross and follow Me," I heard my Master say;
"I gave My life to ransom thee, Surrender your all today."
Wherever He leads I'll go, Wherever He leads I'll go,
I'll follow my Christ who loves me so, Wherever He leads I'll go.

He drew me closer to His side, I sought His will to know,
And in that will I now abide, Wherever He leads I'll go.
Wherever He leads I'll go, Wherever He leads I'll go,
I'll follow my Christ who loves me so, Wherever He leads I'll go.

It may be thru' the shadows dim, Or o'er the stormy sea,
I take my cross and follow Him, Wherever He leadeth me.
Wherever He leads I'll go, Wherever He leads I'll go,
I'll follow my Christ who loves me so, Wherever He leads I'll go.

My heart, my life, my all I bring To Christ who loves me so;
he is my Master, Lord, and King, Wherever He leads I'll go.
Wherever He leads I'll go, Wherever He leads I'll go,
I'll follow my Christ who loves me so, Wherever He leads I'll go.

I was called to be a missionary when I was 8. For several years, I have considered this to be the anthem of my life. I have never been afraid of where God would send me. I have dreamed of sleeping in a hut in Africa, walking the streets of a European town, enjoying the hospitality of Latin church members or standing agog at the pagodas of East Asia. In the past, as I have sung songs like these, it has been with dreams in my mind of where “wherever” might be. I never dreamed God would NOT send me somewhere...exciting. I never thought He would tell me to simply go home. As I sat in church on Sunday, we sang this song as part of the invitation (the focus was international missions). At first I sang, unmoved, the lyrics I knew so well… but as I sang, I heard a still small voice speak softly in my ear “My love, you know this is not true. You have fought me about the one place I wanted you most. You have not followed me ANYWHERE. You have not been willing to follow me home.” I felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water on my head. I was humbled by my own arrogance to strut around like I had no issues with obedience or surrender or following God. I had no issues so long as it came on my terms and in my way. My goodness I am self-absorbed. And yet, God does not give up. He keeps working His will in my life, no matter how disgruntled I am. That just goes to show you what a loving, faithful God He is!