MoT: a Sunday inside #7

*Oops!  This was supposed to be posted a week ago...but at least it's still March...:)  

We got some snow over the weekend.  It started on Saturday, blew around for a while, and finally decided to accumulate over-night.  By this morning, we had about 10 inches of beautiful white all over the ground.  Needless to say, most everyone in the dorm was snowed in.

I really do like snow (even though it is officially Spring, and it normally rains here).  There is something so pure and clean about snow.  And it reminds me of home.  

Winter Wonderland?

As I come to the end of Spring Break, it is nice to spend a day inside, away from the hustle and bustle, without work, just to think, pray, read my Bible, fellowship with others, and journal.  This is often just the prescription for getting back into the "swing of things" after a time away (or not away...tehee).  

Doing/Being Church

This morning I wasn't able to go to church because of the aforementioned snow.  So I stayed inside and listened to my Daddy!  (Oh, the wonders of technology!!!)  

• 30-Second Commercial Break:  I love my Dad so much!  As I have gotten older and have been away from home for a while, I have come to see more and more of what a godly man he is.  It is so cool to see him ministering daily to everyone around him, and showing them the gospel of Christ.  He exemplifies a shepherd's heart and has a love and compassion for people that comes from God.  He does so much in the strength of the Lord for my family and our church family!  I am blessed to have him as my Dad!  Love you, Dad!   

Thanks to a podcast, I was able to listen to last weeks sermon from my home church.  In lieu of several conversations that I have had with different people, the message was very challenging and encouraging!

Here!  Check it out...:)  

http://www.harrisonbiblechurch.com/apps/podcast/podcast/293939

But the jist of the sermon was to encourage believers to get out of the rut of "playing church".  Where you go on Sunday to hear a good sermon, to see some of your friends, and to eat a great meal.  We are not called to be the Body of Christ to pretend that our fellowship is just another thing that we do each week.  

As God's children, bought with a price, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and set apart for His glory, we are called to more! 

1 Thessalonians 5:14-15 says, 

"And we urge you, brothers, 

admonish the idle, 

encourage the fainthearted, 

help the weak,

be patient with them all.  

See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, 

but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone." 

We are exhorted (strong challenge) to do these things for one another.  Why?  Look at what we have through our Lord Jesus Christ!  Ephesians 1 shows us that we have been blessed with "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus."  That's a lot!  Why should we not want to do for others as Christ has blessed us and loved us and done for us!?  

We are to admonish (warn) the idle.  Carefully, yet without fear.  Sin should make us sad, especially when our brothers and sisters in Christ are caught in it.  

"Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, 

you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.  

Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted."  

Galatians 6:1

"My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth,

and someone brings him back, 

let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering

will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins." 

James 5:19-20

We are to encourage (come alongside, support) the fainthearted.  One of the unique things about the church is that we are a group of individuals that are able to come together in the name of Christ for the mutual encouragement of everyone.  You don't find this is some kind of club or organization!  

"By this we know love,

that He laid down his life for us, 

and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers...

Little children, let us not love in word or talk,

but in deed and in truth."

1 John 3:16,18 

We are to help the weak, and be patient with everyone.

The point is that we can't do any of these things on our own.  We try.  And sometimes it "looks" like we are doing well, but really all we amount to is "...righteousness like filthy rags..."  Doing anything in our own strength is just that.

Christ calls us to rely on Him.  Completely.  Fully.

Because we need Him!  Our brothers and sisters in Christ need Him.  We have nothing good apart from Him.  We do nothing eternally good apart from Him.

Stop playing; just be!  

March of Things: the unexpected #6

I'll admit, today (Wednesday) was not "ordinary", which is fine.  It is nice to have a day, just a random day, that keeps you on your toes, so to speak!  For most people, randomness is okay; and for me a general attitude of spontaneity is great.  (Then there are times when we all just need Normal, Logical, Routine, Ordinary...)

When I went to youth group tonight, I was expecting just that, normal, routine and ordinary.  Funny how God changes your plans...:)  So what happened?  God gave me the opportunity to talk for a long time to a unbeliever, who has some different views about God, the Bible, and Christianity.  It was good.  To my shame, it has been too long since I've had a conversation like that!  It was a blessing to just listen, show the love of Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to speak through me!  Especially when we are not expecting such an experience...God is faithful.  And I must remember 1 Peter 3:15, to "...always be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks a reason for the hope that is in you with gentleness and respect."

Thursday:: Brother Sam's 21st Birthday...:)  It was so wonderful to get to talk to him on the phone for a while!  I am so thankful for my family, and can't wait to see them in a week!!!

Friday and Saturday:  The days are a blur....

folding brochures for work

                                                                    listening to my Pandora stations on shuffle

                 reading "Bondage of the Will" by Martin Luther for class

                                                                                                    practicing the piano and violin

    working on a little crafty/recycle project

                                                                                              loads and loads of laundry

                                         cooking yummy food

                    sleeping

Here are some random pictures of some of my favorite people...:)

The Parker family...(*tune "Adam's Family" theme music)

My hall (some of us...)  

       

MoT: Tuesday came with a flurry #5

Some days come and go without any fanfare.  They are the "normal" days.  Tuesday came today with the prediction of rain.  And it snowed instead!  It was a beautiful snow with huge fluffy flakes.  They didn't stick to the ground, but it certainly made the word moist and lovely!

Today at work, I had a special project to work on.  We are making a large sign and needed to trace the image on to the board.  After finding a antique projection machine (picture a grenade launcher/laser shooter), from the library, we set to work.  

Here's Bertha!  

It was a fun task!  I enjoy the change from the ordinary, and doing some kind of physical labor/art project are always enjoyable.  We completed the first few steps, like tracing the image and then outlining the words. Though going into professional sign-making is a tempting offer, I think I'll just stick with my job and do things like that at random times!  

Do you enjoy doing random or out of the ordinary things?   

MoT: Monday...#4

Monday dawned gray.  Like yesterday.  

The world felt like a Monday.  Don't ask me how to explain, but each day has it's own feel to it.  

Mondays seem to have a touch of expectation, like a new week is starting.  

There is also a lagging feeling that follows a busy weekend.  

On this Monday, I have been thinking about how God is working in my life.  

It is so incredible to contemplate!  

It has been a year since I was encouraged by my family and friends to apply for the RD position at Calvary.  We didn't know what God was going to do, but I was accepted.
That began one of the best and most challenging years of my life (so far!), and it's not over yet!

This is what brings hope for the future!  Because we serve a God who has shown His faithfulness in the past. There isn't a reason to doubt the future!

"And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.  For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?  But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience."  ~ Romans 8:23-25

How often does the future look grim, and nothing seems to make sense?  

Yet, what does God continually say?

Trust Me!    

God is good!
How have you seen God's goodness in your life?  

March of Things: laughter with Rach!

Sunday's are great chill days.  It is so wonderful to get up in the morning, go to church, fellowship with believers, be challenged with the word and plan for a relaxing afternoon.  Today was particularly restful, in that it was a gray/rainy/cloudy/cold day!  All the better reason to stay inside!

Here is Rachel and I.  Last night/early this morning, we were manning the desk shifts in the dorm.  Let's just say that it got a little crazy between the iced coffee and Tim Hawkins you-tube videos!  Oh, so much fun!!!

Rach and I with Bob and Percival 

This is one of the videos that we watched last night!  We were laughing so hard...  This a country song written for people who are technically challenged.  I don't know what it was (it might have been the caffeine, or the combination of over 30 minutes of Tim Hawkins videos), but we were crying by the end of this song!

March of Things: Saturday

On this, the second day of break, I had the privilege to spend the morning with some of the ladies from my church for a ladies retreat.  What a blessing!  The best thing was just the time to spend in the word, quietly meditating on what God is doing in my life.

Seeking the Lord 

When we think about seeking the Lord, what do we do with the things that we can't do anything about?  What is our response?  How do we think?  Act?  Feel?  Who do we look for help?

The speaker shared from the passage in John 21, where the Lord is speaking to the apostle Peter.  It is after Christ's death and resurrection from the dead.  During these last 40 days our Lord was on earth, He taught the disciples many things concerning the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3).  It was here that the Lord spoke to Peter and asked him, "Peter, do you love Me more than these?"  In His grace, Christ was giving Peter a chance to publicly announce his love for the Lord after previously denying Him three times.  As the people heard Peter's testimony, Christ then revealed to him the future--something Peter could do nothing about.  He showed him what sort of death he would die.  Now, we are thinking, "this is not the most encouraging message to hear, come on, Jesus; tell him something happy!"  But Jesus did command him to a great hope: following Him!

Peter's undesirable circumstance: dying a death like Christ's
What could he change?  Nothing
How did he respond?  He begins to compare himself with the apostle John.  He turned away from the Lord to point at John and ask what was going to happen to him.  He was probably wondering if John was also going to suffer the same pain that he was going to have to endure.  Instead of trusting in the Lord, he compared his circumstances to someone else's.

Jesus responds:  "What is that to you?  In other words, John's future is none of your business!  You follow Me!"

Christ showed Peter grace by only telling him his story.  He did not want Peter to wallow in self-pity, selfishness, and pride, but in love, He convicted him of his sin, and challenged him to a higher goal: following Jesus.
Following Jesus is the only thing that can provide strength to us when we are called to go through things that we have no control over.  In other words, they are unpleasant circumstances.  We are called to glorify God in all that we do!  In the good and the bad, the promise remains that God is good, and He only does things that are good.  He allows things in our lives for our good and His glory!

Luke 9:23, "And He said to all, 'If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.'"  

1. Salvation: "deny yourself", in Christ by grace through faith, we are dead to sin and alive to God!
2. Service/Sacrifice/Surrender/Suffering: "take up your cross daily", we are called to joyfully take up the "thing/circumstance" God has called us to for our good and His glory!
3. Seeking: "follow Me", we come to know God through His word so that we can walk with Jesus daily!    Following Jesus starts with knowing God!  As you come to know Him through scripture, prayer, and fellowship, you begin to see more clearly how to walk in His paths.  His ways won't confuse you if you know Him!  He will might not be pleasant, but you trust Him because you know and have seen His faithfulness.  

Seek the Lord!  Follow Jesus!  He is good and forgiving, and abounds toward you with love.  All good things you receive are gifts off grace from His hand.  For, "...every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." (James 1:17)  Walk with Jesus!  Get to know Him better.  Preach the gospel to yourself daily to have perspective on who you are in and because of Christ!  

Do not let the cares of this world drag you down.  Don't give in to the temptation to complain or compare yourself with others.  Do not only seek pity for your burden, but listen to Truth!  Don't let you emotions control you mind, but follow God's truth alone!  

Follow Jesus!  

March of Things: spring break #1

So, I had great intentions of blogging everyday for the month of March.  However, the first of March came, went; I blinked and it was the 15th!  As a consolation, I am going to "try" to chronicle my adventures over spring break (which consequently, started today...) :) 
I don't know how interesting this will be (though I have high aspirations of doing fun and random things over break), I hope it's at least slightly entertaining! 

All of the important people say that a good day starts off with a good breakfast.  Well, mine did.  All of the Calvary dorm students (and even the president and first lady) were welcomed into the lobby with the wonderful aroma of freshly made waffles!  It's a Waffle-palooza!!!  There was quite the group of people lined up in the lobby for a chance at the fluffy waffles.  Even after the syrup ran out, the loyal breakfast fans stayed around.  It might have had something to do with it being the first day of Spring Break!

Stephen (the waffle maker), Jess, Fluffy Waffle, and me!  

It was a beautiful day!  The sun was super warm and there was a cool breeze!  It was a perfect day.  Some folks took advantage to do a little sun-tanning.  Later on in the afternoon, a group of us played a little softball.  Oh, the joys of having no school and a great day to be outside!  

All right, enough about waffles and sunny days...:)  

March 15 is also known as "True Confessions Day".  

So, here's Bekah's true confession...:)  

I can be very paranoid.  Or rather, I like to say that I am very observant of my surroundings, all the time, especially at night!  Don't get me wrong.  There is nothing wrong with being observant, but like everything else it should be kept in balance with reality!  No, I don't think that scary monsters will be jumping out of the bushes.  Oh, and one more thing...always keep your blinds closed at night...:)  

What is your "true confession"?  

(thus ends the super random first installment of my spring break blogging efforts...)  

The Mask Wearing Crowd

She stood there with a mask.  Her face all a picture of calm, serene, godly, joyful.  The plastic smile ready to greet me.  He stood there too.  His mask looked the same.  Together, they made a formidable pair.  They were talking to each other, with their masks held on tight, but neither seemed to notice me.

I was broken, sitting alone.  I watched the charade.

What little conversation passed between them was unimportant to me.  It looked normal, but then, so did the fake faces.  Of course, there was his gentle compliment, her smiling acknowledgement; followed by the "spiritual" question.  This begged a "spiritual" answer.  After a few minutes of stimulating conversation, they both smiled at each other, adjusted their masks and walked away.

I was broken, sitting alone.  I watched the charade, empty and full of false pretense.

The charade

It was a charade.  As a child, I loved this game.  My friends and I would play for hours, acting out and guessing one another's clues.  The moderator would give us a person, place, or thing, and we would have to act it out without words.  It was a game of mime.  Yet it was fun, and we all knew that we were just acting.  It wasn't serious.
Or do you remember those childhood masks of zoo animals or super-hero's?  They would come out every  once in a while, usually just for play.  Whatever game had been going on before, as soon as the lion mask was donned, we were running for our lives on an African safari hunt.  What changed our game of playing house?  The mask.

The mask wearing crowd

We all wear masks, everyone of us.  We put them on when we're with other people.  They are nice looking, professional, friendly, and spiritual.  The mask protects us (or so we think).  It keeps up the reputation of "good person".  Our masks are formed when who we think we are (or should be) does not match who we really are.  These ideas are fueled by our natural inclination

to perform to be accepted,

to keep our good name,

to pretend everything's okay, 

to serve others for ourselves, 

to look spiritual, 

to be strong and responsible, and 

to be comfortable and indifferent.

We are so good at wearing masks.  It is almost so natural, that many times, we are never seen without them. We are afraid of others opinions.  Or afraid of ourselves.  We know our hearts, the deepest secrets, desires, and sinful habits.  And so does God, and even more so.  We who wear the masks are the hypocrites.  We look one way, while on the inside we are something else.  We play the Pharisee.  

The gospel accounts are filled with times when Jesus confronted the Pharisee crowd.  These men were more concerned about tradition, religion, personal spirituality, and appearance than their own soul.  They were not looking for a Messiah, because they believed that God would accept them based on what they did.  They were professional mask-wearers.  "So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.  You hypocrite!  'This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me; in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of me.'"  (Matt. 15:6-9)  

Romans 7

The apostle Paul wrestled with who he was and who he wanted to be in Romans 7.  He said, "For I do not understand my own actions.  For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate...For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh.  For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.  For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.  Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me." (vs. 15-20)

As believers in Jesus Christ for salvation, we are not dealing with the power or penalty of sin.  The sin in our world today, though still present, does not have a hold on us because of Christ.  By faith, we have been accepted in Him as His children--new creations--to walk before Him holy and blameless in love.  The mask of sin has no power, I am new in Christ!!!   

Showing my face

Oh, the joy that comes from knowing our identity is not found in who we think we are or should be!  See the freedom that comes from resting in Christ!  Gone is the mask of performance, doing things for others to be accepted.  Gone is the mask of reputation, risking everything to keep up my good name.  Gone is the mask of indifference, pretending I don't care.  Gone is the mask of spirituality, acting like a Pharisee.  They are gone.  I am free!

Where does reality come in?  How can I live as one free in Christ?
It's not rocket science.

Truth/Trusting:
It starts with the fundamental knowledge of being a child of God.  By faith, we take Him at His word and trust His promises.  We look in His word for truths about our new identity, and go forward in the strength of His indwelling Holy Spirit.

Remain/Time:
As we move forward everyday, we make little choices on whom we will follow.  Scripture says to let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.  To dwell means to make residence or to remain.  The tendency to put on the old familiar mask won't have any charm as we see the reality of who we are in Christ.  There is no fear in His love.

Respond/Worship:
All of this goes back to the truth that God is working all things according to His will for His own glory.  We are living a life of worship, not putting on the Sunday-morning-worship-mask.  We live and breathe to give glory to God.

Set your Mind:  
It's a choice.  "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God."  (Col. 3:2-3)

Don't be afraid to show your face.  There is freedom in vulnerability, showing the face that God has redeemed and made new.  There is no fear in His love, but joy comes from resting and being held by His hands.  Your story is no longer one of shame, but one of redemption, pointing to the grace of God.