"So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall."
This sounds like It could be the line of a great song... one that I would love to write, but it's not. It's the inspired word of God through His servant Paul to the church in Corinth. (1 Cor 10:12) And it's what God was telling me last week, and this week. That I need to watch myself. Watch my actions, my words, my thoughts, my heart. I am here to draw close to God, and to share Him with the world, but that won't happen if I think I have it figured out already. I didn't even realize that I was about to fall.
So, let me share some of my week with you. Sundays here are always amazing. But last Sunday, there was an especially amazing concert at the church... Awesome!
The rest of my free time was mostly spent reading Fox's Book of Martyrs, which I totally recommend to someone who has countless hours of free time and a stomach for unmentionable torture to those who bravely and proudly bore the name of Christ. And, thankfully, all the reading and studying paid off with an 'A' in Church History.
On Wednesday night, I talked with my dear little niece... She gave my teachers and roommates nicknames which I will never forget. But otherwise my week was rather uneventful until Friday.
I guess we all just decided that it was time to celebrate the end of Church History. I went shopping with Ivy, our Dean of Women. And bought some gummy worms and tape. Then I went to "the cliffs" with a bunch of other students. Basically, it's a really high cliff above the highway where you can see the ocean. It's pretty cool.
Then, on Saturday, I just had a bad day, from the moment I woke up, everything seemed to bother me. I am not sure why. Then, lunch was late. This was an issue not only because I was hungry but because Saturday is the day most of us have afternoon ministries right after lunch. So those of us with Saturday dishes want lunch to be on time so we can go on ministry.... Needless to say, I was less than thrilled with the situation. Not to mention, we are short two hands in the kitchen because one student went home, and the other person helping me was terribly ill and should have been in bed. So I walked by myself, an hour late, to an orphanage I had never been to with less than perfect directions... But I made it. Then, we were kicked out early, only to be informed that mornings really are more ideal. So, next Saturday, will be better! :)
All this to show you that this week, I was tempted to complain, to judge others, to hate, to ask Why?, to give up and give in. And many times I did one or another of theses. I am NOT perfect. But thanks be to God that He does not expect Perfection. In fact, David in Psalm 26 claims to have lived a life blameless before God, and we know He sinned. So what is this blameless life? According to this Psalm, it is to trust in the Lord "without wavering", to "walk continually" in His truth. And David pleaded that God would be merciful and redeem Him on behalf of His blamelessness.
1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." If we have a relationship with God, and offer ourselves to Him, we are made blameless in Him. And through that blamelessness, we can plead for redemption. We can confess and restore that blamelessness each time we sin.
But even in this blameless state, we must be careful not to think we have somehow "arrived" at perfection. That we have excelled in this process we call "Christianity". But we must be on guard and look for a way out when we are tempted. Because in the next verse, Paul also says, "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
Do not be fulled, there is always an escape for sin, and there are always open arms waiting to forgive you when you fail to access that escape.
So, now, I will end this week's entry with a prayer and a challenge.
The challenge is for you to seek the escape, and be open to confession in order to live that blameless life.
Dear Lord, Please break me so I am worthless in the eyes of man. Then, build me up with Your Word, fill me with Your Spirit, and bind me with Your love. Hold me close to You to You so that I am surrounded by Your presence. Then, teach me to be like You, as I go before man. Do this so they may glorify You. In all this help me to love the way I can't and the way I don't want to. To even love those whom the world expects me to hate. Thank you for choosing me, unworthy and ugly as I am in comparison to Your holy perfection. I love You because You have shown me what love is. Thank You for shoeing me Your delight in me. Use me, Lord. Here I am. Use me.
This sounds like It could be the line of a great song... one that I would love to write, but it's not. It's the inspired word of God through His servant Paul to the church in Corinth. (1 Cor 10:12) And it's what God was telling me last week, and this week. That I need to watch myself. Watch my actions, my words, my thoughts, my heart. I am here to draw close to God, and to share Him with the world, but that won't happen if I think I have it figured out already. I didn't even realize that I was about to fall.
So, let me share some of my week with you. Sundays here are always amazing. But last Sunday, there was an especially amazing concert at the church... Awesome!
The rest of my free time was mostly spent reading Fox's Book of Martyrs, which I totally recommend to someone who has countless hours of free time and a stomach for unmentionable torture to those who bravely and proudly bore the name of Christ. And, thankfully, all the reading and studying paid off with an 'A' in Church History.
On Wednesday night, I talked with my dear little niece... She gave my teachers and roommates nicknames which I will never forget. But otherwise my week was rather uneventful until Friday.
I guess we all just decided that it was time to celebrate the end of Church History. I went shopping with Ivy, our Dean of Women. And bought some gummy worms and tape. Then I went to "the cliffs" with a bunch of other students. Basically, it's a really high cliff above the highway where you can see the ocean. It's pretty cool.
Then, on Saturday, I just had a bad day, from the moment I woke up, everything seemed to bother me. I am not sure why. Then, lunch was late. This was an issue not only because I was hungry but because Saturday is the day most of us have afternoon ministries right after lunch. So those of us with Saturday dishes want lunch to be on time so we can go on ministry.... Needless to say, I was less than thrilled with the situation. Not to mention, we are short two hands in the kitchen because one student went home, and the other person helping me was terribly ill and should have been in bed. So I walked by myself, an hour late, to an orphanage I had never been to with less than perfect directions... But I made it. Then, we were kicked out early, only to be informed that mornings really are more ideal. So, next Saturday, will be better! :)
All this to show you that this week, I was tempted to complain, to judge others, to hate, to ask Why?, to give up and give in. And many times I did one or another of theses. I am NOT perfect. But thanks be to God that He does not expect Perfection. In fact, David in Psalm 26 claims to have lived a life blameless before God, and we know He sinned. So what is this blameless life? According to this Psalm, it is to trust in the Lord "without wavering", to "walk continually" in His truth. And David pleaded that God would be merciful and redeem Him on behalf of His blamelessness.
1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." If we have a relationship with God, and offer ourselves to Him, we are made blameless in Him. And through that blamelessness, we can plead for redemption. We can confess and restore that blamelessness each time we sin.
But even in this blameless state, we must be careful not to think we have somehow "arrived" at perfection. That we have excelled in this process we call "Christianity". But we must be on guard and look for a way out when we are tempted. Because in the next verse, Paul also says, "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
Do not be fulled, there is always an escape for sin, and there are always open arms waiting to forgive you when you fail to access that escape.
So, now, I will end this week's entry with a prayer and a challenge.
The challenge is for you to seek the escape, and be open to confession in order to live that blameless life.
Dear Lord, Please break me so I am worthless in the eyes of man. Then, build me up with Your Word, fill me with Your Spirit, and bind me with Your love. Hold me close to You to You so that I am surrounded by Your presence. Then, teach me to be like You, as I go before man. Do this so they may glorify You. In all this help me to love the way I can't and the way I don't want to. To even love those whom the world expects me to hate. Thank you for choosing me, unworthy and ugly as I am in comparison to Your holy perfection. I love You because You have shown me what love is. Thank You for shoeing me Your delight in me. Use me, Lord. Here I am. Use me.
1 comment:
Thanks for keeping us up to date!! I love the picture of your new friends. Keep them coming. Praying for you today.
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