Those still small moments of parenting...I find myself smiling at those still small moments so often. Yesterday, we were putting away laundry. Kenson did not obey and had to do extra chores instead of just putting away the laundry. After the consequence, he laid on his bed for a moment and I crawled up next to him. I gently reminded him of why he had a consequence. Kenson then wanted to know if God loved him best when he obeyed. Oh how thankful I am I stopped and took in that still small moment because in that moment I shared one of the biggest truths of all: God does not love us better because we do certain things. God loves us because He made us. His love for us does not change based on what we do or don't do. May the words spoken in that still small moment be ever present on my son's heart. And may you be reminded of that truth today: that you belong to God and nothing can separate you from His love.
Showing posts with label The Gospel Truth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Gospel Truth. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Saturday, November 1, 2008
The Gospel Truth-November
I recently read a blog where someone was describing their nine year old's reaction to the idea of Jesus living in her heart. The question the child posed was "When Jesus comes into your heart, does your heart explode?" The literal answer is "no." But one can see how a child could easily think that Jesus in your heart is a confusing topic that means Jesus is a man trying to fit into that small organ in your chest.
I don't think its just kids who are confused by that idea. I think adults get confused as well. For me, the idea of having Jesus in my heart has been an odd idea, an idea that kind of combines a warm fuzzy and that creepy hair standing up on my neck feeling. I just think the wording is a bit wierd.
But I do believe that once you ask God to take over your life, once you surrender your heart to Him, your heart of stone is softened and in some ways, just like the little girl's idea, your heart is exploded. God smashes our old hearts; we start seeing things through His perspective and choosing to listen to His words.
And the real truth should be that our lives are never the same again. Having Jesus in our lives should completely destroy our lives. Gloriously ruined are the words Rick Warren's wife uses. Unfortunately, for too many Christians, nothing really changes. Their words might change; they might sound really holy. Or actions might change; they might attend church a bit more. But the reality is their hearts have not been blown to smitherens by God's love. They live instead carefully planning out their next moves, crafting a life that involves small bits of convenient obedience rather than foolish amounts of love based faith.
So the truth about what it means for Jesus to live in your heart? It's complete and utter destruction where your heart is changed into something that is totally unrecognizable. It's a heart that rests in God's presence, listens to His voice, and is then compelled into action. May your heart wrestle with such change.
I don't think its just kids who are confused by that idea. I think adults get confused as well. For me, the idea of having Jesus in my heart has been an odd idea, an idea that kind of combines a warm fuzzy and that creepy hair standing up on my neck feeling. I just think the wording is a bit wierd.
But I do believe that once you ask God to take over your life, once you surrender your heart to Him, your heart of stone is softened and in some ways, just like the little girl's idea, your heart is exploded. God smashes our old hearts; we start seeing things through His perspective and choosing to listen to His words.
And the real truth should be that our lives are never the same again. Having Jesus in our lives should completely destroy our lives. Gloriously ruined are the words Rick Warren's wife uses. Unfortunately, for too many Christians, nothing really changes. Their words might change; they might sound really holy. Or actions might change; they might attend church a bit more. But the reality is their hearts have not been blown to smitherens by God's love. They live instead carefully planning out their next moves, crafting a life that involves small bits of convenient obedience rather than foolish amounts of love based faith.
So the truth about what it means for Jesus to live in your heart? It's complete and utter destruction where your heart is changed into something that is totally unrecognizable. It's a heart that rests in God's presence, listens to His voice, and is then compelled into action. May your heart wrestle with such change.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
The Gospel Truth-September
Sometimes I think people, myself included, come to God because of what He does for us. We ask ourselves how fitting God into our lives will somehow benefit our cirumstances. Usually, I think this type of thinking is flawed and provides us, with at best, a limited view of Who God is and what His character is like. It causes us to get caught up wanting God to behave like a white haired grandpa who smells faintly like Ben Gay and peppermint candy while giving us whatever we think will make us happy.
But today I read something that made me think that sometimes, it is okay to think about my faith in terms of what God does for me. What I read sums up one of the real benefits of faith. Without faith, too much of life looks bleak and hopeless. Without faith, things like orphans and hurricanes and poverty and cancer look like deep pits of dispair. Without faith, even small circumstances like broken cars and messy houses can feel like crazy bad, want to cry to my mom things. But because of the Gospel, there is hope. And that hope is a benefit of my relationship with God. I'm not choosing to be with God because I believe He will remove the terrible things from my life; I'm choosing to be with God because I believe He will redeem those terrible things.
"More than anything else I could ever do, the gospel enables me to embrace my tribulations and thereby position myself to gain full benefit from them. For the gospel is the one great permanent circumstance in which I live and move;and every hardship in my life is allowed by God only because it serves His gospel purpose in me. When I view my circumstances in this light, I realize that the gospel is not just one piece of good news that fits into my life somewhere among all the bad. I realize instead that the gospel makes genuinely good news out of every other aspect of my life, including my severest trials. The good news about my trials is that God is forcing them to bow to His gospel purposes and to do good unto me by improving my character and making me more conformed to the image of Christ."
Milton Vincent's Gospel Primer
But today I read something that made me think that sometimes, it is okay to think about my faith in terms of what God does for me. What I read sums up one of the real benefits of faith. Without faith, too much of life looks bleak and hopeless. Without faith, things like orphans and hurricanes and poverty and cancer look like deep pits of dispair. Without faith, even small circumstances like broken cars and messy houses can feel like crazy bad, want to cry to my mom things. But because of the Gospel, there is hope. And that hope is a benefit of my relationship with God. I'm not choosing to be with God because I believe He will remove the terrible things from my life; I'm choosing to be with God because I believe He will redeem those terrible things.
"More than anything else I could ever do, the gospel enables me to embrace my tribulations and thereby position myself to gain full benefit from them. For the gospel is the one great permanent circumstance in which I live and move;and every hardship in my life is allowed by God only because it serves His gospel purpose in me. When I view my circumstances in this light, I realize that the gospel is not just one piece of good news that fits into my life somewhere among all the bad. I realize instead that the gospel makes genuinely good news out of every other aspect of my life, including my severest trials. The good news about my trials is that God is forcing them to bow to His gospel purposes and to do good unto me by improving my character and making me more conformed to the image of Christ."
Milton Vincent's Gospel Primer
Thursday, July 31, 2008
The Gospel Truth-Beautiful Feet
I just finished reading Evidence Not Seen, a book chronicling the experiences Darlene Diebler Rose and her first husband had while serving on various islands in the Pacific prior to and during World War II. She and her husband were taken as POW's when the Japanese began invading all the small island countries in the Pacific. She was held for three years and liberated when the Allies won the war. Her husband and many of her missionary friends died while in captivity. The book was an excellent reminder of the way many people live life and live their faith in the middle of truly awful circumstances.
But to the point...beautiful feet...
Darlene and her husband were anticipating working as missionaries in Papau New Guinea. Up until 1937, the "civilized" world considered this island nation mainly uninhabited. But in 1937, a pilot discovered hundreds of thousands of people living in the mountains. Darlene and her husband desired to go and share God with these people. Because of the remoteness of the location, the first trips made by their sponsoring organization were made only by men. They trekked through jungles and over mountains, through swamps and down rivers.
When Darlene's husband returned from his first trip to visit the mountain tribespeople, he returned 60 pounds lighter and with no skin on the instep of his foot nor on the balls of his feet or his toes. Darlene was advised by a doctor on how to care for her husband's feet including how to drain the infection out and how to redress the wounds. A fellow missionary penned this words as he watched Darlene care for her husband's raw feet. "This morning I looked at the bleeding feet of a missionary, saw his wife tending to them, saw the blood and pus running from them and thought to myself, "What a nauseating sight that is! But as I walked from the room, the Lord said to me "Oh but to me they are beautiful feet!" Then I remembered "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bring good news"...good news to men and women like those in New Guinea who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death."
What a powerful reminder of how precious God believes His message of forgiviness and redemption to be. Our own mess ups, mistakes, and short comings separate us from God and unless we make known our desire for God to fix those things, we remain separated from God. We remain lost, like a lost set of keys that are useless unless they are placed in the hands of the person who created them or owns them, the person who knows what they are made to unlock. God wants no one to go through that lostness so He passionately implores with the hearts of men to change, to cast off the "I'm just fine" attitude and to come into a relationship with Him. His passion is so great that He finds beauty in ruining temporary things like feet in order to secure eternal things like souls.
This passion should run like blood through the veins of every person who claims a relationship with Jesus. Every Christian should have the attitude of "Come Hell or high water, I am going to do what I can to share Jesus with the people I come across." Too often, we don't. But that doesn't dilute the potency of the message. God's a life boat, a life jacket, a life guard, a light house. He's your rope when you're over the cliff. He's the water to quench the fire, the bandage for the gaping wound, the strong arm of the law when you're threatened. It's life or death. My prayer is that you would feel the urgency pumping through your body and let it settle in your heart and mind. Decide what you will do with beautiful feet and God's good news.
But to the point...beautiful feet...
Darlene and her husband were anticipating working as missionaries in Papau New Guinea. Up until 1937, the "civilized" world considered this island nation mainly uninhabited. But in 1937, a pilot discovered hundreds of thousands of people living in the mountains. Darlene and her husband desired to go and share God with these people. Because of the remoteness of the location, the first trips made by their sponsoring organization were made only by men. They trekked through jungles and over mountains, through swamps and down rivers.
When Darlene's husband returned from his first trip to visit the mountain tribespeople, he returned 60 pounds lighter and with no skin on the instep of his foot nor on the balls of his feet or his toes. Darlene was advised by a doctor on how to care for her husband's feet including how to drain the infection out and how to redress the wounds. A fellow missionary penned this words as he watched Darlene care for her husband's raw feet. "This morning I looked at the bleeding feet of a missionary, saw his wife tending to them, saw the blood and pus running from them and thought to myself, "What a nauseating sight that is! But as I walked from the room, the Lord said to me "Oh but to me they are beautiful feet!" Then I remembered "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bring good news"...good news to men and women like those in New Guinea who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death."
What a powerful reminder of how precious God believes His message of forgiviness and redemption to be. Our own mess ups, mistakes, and short comings separate us from God and unless we make known our desire for God to fix those things, we remain separated from God. We remain lost, like a lost set of keys that are useless unless they are placed in the hands of the person who created them or owns them, the person who knows what they are made to unlock. God wants no one to go through that lostness so He passionately implores with the hearts of men to change, to cast off the "I'm just fine" attitude and to come into a relationship with Him. His passion is so great that He finds beauty in ruining temporary things like feet in order to secure eternal things like souls.
This passion should run like blood through the veins of every person who claims a relationship with Jesus. Every Christian should have the attitude of "Come Hell or high water, I am going to do what I can to share Jesus with the people I come across." Too often, we don't. But that doesn't dilute the potency of the message. God's a life boat, a life jacket, a life guard, a light house. He's your rope when you're over the cliff. He's the water to quench the fire, the bandage for the gaping wound, the strong arm of the law when you're threatened. It's life or death. My prayer is that you would feel the urgency pumping through your body and let it settle in your heart and mind. Decide what you will do with beautiful feet and God's good news.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Kirk Cameron and the Gospel Truth
As I thought about what I wanted this blog to look like, one of the things I wanted my blog to include was access to the best story I've ever heard, the story of Jesus. Telling that story should be my life mission, although I have to say it often receives only 1-2% of my attention. Anyway, I'm committing to sharing the story of Jesus once a month on my blog through posts catagorized as The Gospel Truth.
The other night I witnessed a magical moment. One of my favorite political pundits and a childhood crush were on the same tv show together!!!! (I know it's difficult to hold back your excitement.) On Glen Beck's television show, Kirk Cameron aka Mike Seavers was a guest. Those of you who are women and who grew up in the eighties loved Kirk too, just about as much as you loved your hairsprayed bangs and leg warmers. Don't even try to deny it.
Anyway, Kirk Cameron now is mostly known for being a guest speaker, starring in the Left Behind movies, and marrying his on screen love interest from Growing Pains. As a 20 something adult, he followed a girl into church, mostly as a way to impress her. But his time there lead him to think "What if I'm wrong?" I would urge you to consider any views you hold on Jesus, God, the church, etc. in light of that question. "What if I'm wrong?"
On Glenn Beck, Kirk doesn't really discuss what his specific viewpoints on religion were but there are a lot of commonly held ideas out there that he might have been holding onto. Like "I'm basically a good person. I haven't killed anyone or committed any real atrocities." Or "Heaven seems like a nice thought and maybe I'd like to go there but only because Hell seems like a really rotten place." Or even "I'm pretty sure there's no such place as Hell. Maybe heaven doesn't even exist. I mean dead is dead, isn't it?" Those are all pretty common thoughts and ones even Christians have had or still have. In all honesty, knowing the story of Jesus isn't about having all the answers. But it is about couple of things: an intimate relationship with a pursuing God who loves you enough to cover up your ickiness with His son's goodness and believing in some things including Hell and Heaven as unchanging Truth.
If you have questions or don't have a really good answer for "What if I'm wrong", please talk to somebody about it. You can certainly talk to me. I won't promise to have the answers. But I will listen and share with you the whole Jesus story.
The other night I witnessed a magical moment. One of my favorite political pundits and a childhood crush were on the same tv show together!!!! (I know it's difficult to hold back your excitement.) On Glen Beck's television show, Kirk Cameron aka Mike Seavers was a guest. Those of you who are women and who grew up in the eighties loved Kirk too, just about as much as you loved your hairsprayed bangs and leg warmers. Don't even try to deny it.
Anyway, Kirk Cameron now is mostly known for being a guest speaker, starring in the Left Behind movies, and marrying his on screen love interest from Growing Pains. As a 20 something adult, he followed a girl into church, mostly as a way to impress her. But his time there lead him to think "What if I'm wrong?" I would urge you to consider any views you hold on Jesus, God, the church, etc. in light of that question. "What if I'm wrong?"
On Glenn Beck, Kirk doesn't really discuss what his specific viewpoints on religion were but there are a lot of commonly held ideas out there that he might have been holding onto. Like "I'm basically a good person. I haven't killed anyone or committed any real atrocities." Or "Heaven seems like a nice thought and maybe I'd like to go there but only because Hell seems like a really rotten place." Or even "I'm pretty sure there's no such place as Hell. Maybe heaven doesn't even exist. I mean dead is dead, isn't it?" Those are all pretty common thoughts and ones even Christians have had or still have. In all honesty, knowing the story of Jesus isn't about having all the answers. But it is about couple of things: an intimate relationship with a pursuing God who loves you enough to cover up your ickiness with His son's goodness and believing in some things including Hell and Heaven as unchanging Truth.
If you have questions or don't have a really good answer for "What if I'm wrong", please talk to somebody about it. You can certainly talk to me. I won't promise to have the answers. But I will listen and share with you the whole Jesus story.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)