Happy Thanksgiving! ( and Black Friday :)

Give thanks to God - he is good and his love never quits! Say, "Save us, Savior God, round us up and get us out of these godless places, So we can give thanks to your holy Name, and bask in your life of praise." Blessed be God, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Then everybody said, "Yes! Amen!" and "Praise God!" 1 Chronicles 16:34-36

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Wherever you were, whatever you did, my prayer is the Lord blessed your time with friends and family! I hope you enjoyed good food, laughter, and love; a time of much relaxing and peace. I know we did here at my house. To be away from the stress of school and surrounded by those who truly love you is, needless to say wonderful!

I've heard a lot of Black Friday conversations on controversy.. so, my thoughts:

"Actually, I don't have a sense of needing anything personally. I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. " Philippians 4:11

Personally.. I think the good old King James version packs a stronger punch here:

"Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."

Guys.. I have a confession to make. I'm not content in, "whatsoever state I am". I think I can say like the Lorax, "I speak for the people". (Ok.. ok.. I know. The Lorax speaks for the trees. Pardon my alteration of an original classic.) When we forget to be content in what God has given us that could be a problem.

So why even talk about Black Friday? Because I find it ironic that we go out, and spend all that money right after we have been thankful, "in everything". Am I against Black Friday shopping? Absolutely not. I love the hustle and bustle and craziness of the day. But I think that we all could use a motive check. Why are we going shopping? Is it for things we already needed; will we be a better steward of God's blessings by going? If we are being a good steward of God's gifts, then I say, go and get 'em ol' boy. I will say though, it is hard to be content with all that advertisement out there!

Will you find me out there in the future years on Black Friday? Yep. I'm not against Black Friday shopping, just the "un-contented" type. :)

So, I leave myself, and hopefully you all with a challenge. Be quite content in whatever state God has you. If you remember our chit-chat on Proverbs 10, you'll recall that His life is indeed better than anything in this world.

Have a wonderful weekend in Christ!

Rest.

Latin...

While writing an essay, we were using some Latin. So, I played around. My new phrase for my blog is:

Christus Rex, rex meus

I also like this one.... 

Christus, caput vitae s!

I'll leave it up to you to find out what they mean. :)

Beautiful Mystery

"When I'm dressed to the nines, I'm just a shirt and tie
With a taste for prestige, and beautiful mystery.
Well, clever girls dressed to kill are pretty bittersweet,
And better-suited for grief than beautiful mystery."

There is a topic that has been heavy on my heart, and my mind over the past couple weeks, months, and maybe even a year. We live in a day and age where relationships are a confusing, and messed-up tangle of mis-understood mess.

Single-hood. Marriage. Sound scary, don't they? 

 

Have no idea about anything in between, now that's really scary.

What is God's will for my life in regards to relationships? Is there a will? How do I know? 

These are some of my thoughts, and questions that I've asked myself over the past few weeks especially. The quote at the top of the post is something that I feel expresses some of what God has been showing me. Particularly the words, beautiful mystery. 

Before we delve into the deep, I just want to say how important it is to remember that whatever God has planned for you is indeed, a beautiful mystery. If you remember nothing from this rambler's blog, please remember this. No matter where He leads, it will be beautiful. Whether that is single or married, broken-hearted or whole. He will redeem all, and use them for your benefit. He loves you, and looks out for your best. All of the following, deep and maybe confusing things are irrelevant if you don't understand Christ's love for you. 

Another quick note, when I started writing this, I thought it would be a relatively short post but.. I got a little carried away. In this post I want to set the background and stage. Then, at a later date I hope actually look at the "play" itself. However, back to topic

First, when looking at relationships it is so important to come back to Scripture. What does God say about all of this? Does he say anything? Absolutely. Here is something:

"Reverently honor an older woman as you would your mother, and the younger women as sisters." (1 Timothy 5:2)

Another: 

"Sometimes I wish everyone were single like me - a simpler life in many ways! But celibacy is not for everyone any more than marriage is. God gives the gift of single life to some, the gift of married life to others." (1 Corinthians 7:7)

So, Paul tells us here in Corinthians that it is a blessing to be single! There have been many messages preached on this topic. But, I think we can introduce key point 1. 

Key point #1: No matter what state of our lives, we are called to serve Christ. 

If you don't know Paul's story, it is a phenomenal one. This man went through some of the most dire of all circumstances. ( See 2 Corinthians 11 if you have any doubt. ) Here is a sample:

"Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned..." (2 Corinthians 11:24-25)

He didn't see the what we would call beautiful side of life. Yet, at the end of his life he was still able to say:

"The saying is trustworthy, for:

If we have died with him, we will also live with him; 

if we endure, we will also reign with him;

if we deny him, he also will deny us; 

If we are faithless, he remains faithful-

for he cannot deny himself." ( 2 Timothy 2:11-13)

Paul suffered. He later in 2 Timothy says that he is ready to go! He fought the good fight, he kept the faith. It was worth it. God was faithful because He cannot deny Himself. It amazes me that this man of faith would say, "...when we are faithless". We all struggle and doubt, but so did this amazing saint. Still, he reminds us that there is nothing more rewarding than the stepping into glory and hear, "well done thou good and faithful servant." 

In our singleness, we are called to serve, just like Paul. Those of us who are single do not have the weight and burden of a mate. We can do amazing things for God, and serve him in profound ways. But unfortunately, we've settled down into our couches, next to the warm fireplace with a warm cup of coco, and dozed off, dreaming about the... "future". Guys. We have a calling. A calling to be out in the world, not of the world, and reaching the lost. How long will we sit and fantasize over a "future relationship"? I can only say this so bluntly because I have been there. I've dozed. But it is time to wake up. It's time to worship, and serve the Lord. Because ultimately, that's the only thing that matters. 

So, how do we go about handling relationships? People vary on opinions on this. I think scripture is pretty clear. 

God says that guys, you are to treat girls as your sisters. Girls, the flip side inverse of that means you treat us guys as brothers. 

"Reverently honor an older woman as you would your mother, and the younger women as sisters." (1 Timothy 5:2)

We see in this verse Key Point #2: Be respectful.

Some practical, not drawn from scripture directly per-say thoughts,

a. Girls.. please respect us guys. Dress in such a way that you are not better-suited for grief. This doesn't mean wrapping yourself up in a flour sack and rolling around everywhere you need to go. But I don't think you need to reminded when something is just too much. 

b. Guys. Respect girls. If you are like me, and don't have any biological sisters, I understand how hard it is to think of how you treat sisters. Another way I like to think of it is, remember that while they are your sisters-in-christ, they are also God's daughter. Just as we ask the biological father what is appropriate, we should ask the Heavenly Father what He thinks is appropriate for His daughter. That thought rocked, and changed my life.

c. We've often heard: "Enjoy your singleness" or, "Take pleasure in being single". I was thinking over this on my way to school this morning, and God spoke through my radio, and my shivers. He said, "Jacob.. Don't take pleasure in your singleness. Take pleasure in Me. If you take pleasure in Me, no matter what stage of life you will find pleasure." 

 So, we've seen Key point #1: No matter what state of our lives, we are called to serve Christ. Also Key point #2: Be respectful. After more study, and more time to think, I hope to write a post focusing on the part that you were all hoping I'd talk about. The actual "beautiful mystery" part. But don't count on it.. because of two things. One, I found out when I started writing that this was a way deeper topic than I thought. I'm not even sure this is blog content. :) And two, I'm not there yet. When I get there, I'll let you guys know. :)

Enjoy your holiday and rest in Christ! May we truly be a thankful people.

Rest.

God's Amazing Life/Post-election thoughts

"God's blessing makes life rich; nothing we do can improve on God." Proverbs 10:22

It is now two days after the election. Some people are disappointed in the results. Perhaps you aren't. As I consider the events of the past few days, I can't help but be amazed at what America is becoming. People are losing their sense of right, justice, and well being, all for the sake of comfort. Unbelievable, but undoubtably a typical fallen-nature human move. Well, at least typical in the lives of myself and my bothers. :) 

The purpose of my post is not to talk about the candidates, who won, or anything else like that. The past, even though only two days past, is the past. Nothing we say or do will change that. What I do know is what God tells us:

"God's blessing makes life rich; nothing we do can improve on God." Proverbs 10:22

No matter what we see going on, God is ultimately the one who we should be turning towards. Not our presidents, or the people. What we should be most consumed with getting is God's blessing. Nothing in this world can improve on God. Not our presidents, or our senators, or our congressmen. We are to be consumed with searching for God/wisdom, "I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me." (Proverbs 8:17)

If we are to be consumed with this search, how do we find God? How do we find His blessing? The simple answer is, we can't. God's love, and blessing does not revolve around us. We can't "find" it. It revolves around who God is, and He "gives" it. John tells us. "So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. *God is love*, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him." (1 John 4:16) Notice the language. We come to know God's love. God abides in him. God is love. His love is shown based on Himself. Not us. We simply reflect. We can't earn or deserve His love. So we get God's love only by who He is, not who we are.

When we trust Christ with our life, we become God's child. God has accepted Christ's work, sacrifice, and has blessed His son. Multiple times in the Gospel's God says words along these lines, "and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, *"You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."* (Luke 3:22) God is pleased with His son. When we accept the free gift of salvation, we become God's children:

For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. (Romans 8:15-17)

God was pleased with Christ. He also gave His blessing to Christ. Wen we are born again, we become joint heirs with Christ, the Spirit bearing witness. Thus, getting God's blessing.

Back to our starter verse, "God's blessing makes life rich; nothing we do can improve on God." (Proverbs 10:22) How do we find this blessing that leads to life that nothing can improve on? By trust in Christ. Despite what happens with our country, as believers, we can rest in the fact that God's way of life is beyond everything in this world. We don't need to fear. We need to rest.
 
Rest.

Wisdom's Call

This gets a little lengthy but stick with it. I promise the end is worth the backlog.

"Simpletons! How long will you wallow in ignorance? Cynics! How long will you feed your cynicism? Idiots! How long will you refuse to learn? About face! I can revise your life. Look, I'm ready to pour out my spirit on you; I'm ready to tell you all I know." Proverbs 1:22-23

Read this today in between classes. What a challenge Solomon gives in Proverbs. How long will we resist, and be simpletons, cynics, and idiots? How long will I refuse to learn? Turn around. God wants to revise my life. He wants to pour His spirit out on us. The purpose is presented later in the chapter. "Carelessness kills; complacency is murder. First pay attention to me, and then relax. Now you can take it easy - you're in good hands." Proverbs 1:32-33 Why should we listen to God? Because we are in His good hands and that is how we have rest. Complicated things suddenly become simple. Stress becomes peace. All by us resting in His good hands.

Today in Chapel a girl here shared her testimony. She had struggled with sickness all her life but no doctor could tell her what was wrong. She would run a 101-102 degree fever everyday, faint at random times, and could not keep her food down. It wasn't until her first year here, that a doctor finally found out what was wrong. She had a tumor on her liver, which they later found out was cancerous, and it was the size of a football. They told her, "she would only live 6-12 months if they didn't remove the tumor and by the way, we can't remove it." No doctor would take her case. It was too risky. This turned her world upside down which is understandable! She trusted in the Lord to work in her benefit Thankfully her cancer was treatable by chemo. God gave strength. She made it through the chemo and soon they were able to do surgery to remove the tumor. 6 months later, she found out that the cancer had returned. Not only was it in the liver again, it was now in the lungs. They were out of options. She is still living and sharing her testimony of trusting in God even in the tough times in her life. It is amazing to see her faith.

There is one thing I want to focus on from Allie's story. While she had chemo, there was one point that she couldn't get out of the hospital bed for 2 weeks. The first time after two weeks she got out of bed, and into the hallway of the hospital, she heard a little girl screaming. This wasn't just crying. This was agony. Allie said she could hear and feel the pain of this little girl. The little girl was walking in the hall with a walker, her dad behind her. The little girl had surgery on her legs and was just learning how to walk again. She was about 4. She would take a few steps with the walker and stop and cry out, "Daddy, I can't take anymore. It hurts." Her dad had a choice. He could end her trial and sweep her up in his arms, or he could help her keep walking. He would hold her hands, and help her a few steps, and the girl would then keep on going. Allie said you could see the pain in the dad's eyes at the pain his daughter had to go through. But he kept her going, because otherwise his daughter would never walk again. Then it hit Allie. Just as much as the earthly dad had to keep his daughter going, despite how hard, her heavenly father was there, helping her to keep going. He was holding her hand, helping her walk. If God just removed the trial from her life, she would be spiritually dead, spiritually couldn't walk. This trial was teaching her to walk in God's grace and in this life. So, what is God using in your life to teach you to walk? Whatever it is remember:

"Now you can take it easy[rest] - you're in good hands."Proverbs 1:33

Rest in God's hands today!

Voices Without A Vote

Much needed truth without blaming names, or calling political affiliations. Reminds us to think beyond ourselves when considering our vote this coming election. PLEASE watch.. it's only 3 minutes.

Rest

"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of Jehovah, He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in whom I trust." Psalm 91:1-2

I saw a shirt on campus today that read on the front: "Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." On the back it said, ""Be still, and know that I am God..." Psalm 46:10" The rest of that verse is worth chewing on:

"Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalm 46:10

Rest.