The Look

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I have been blessed enough to have the opportunity these past two weeks to work with kiddos at a hospital in Little Rock for my last rotation of my internship. It is really special working with kids because there is this sense of hope throughout the halls and various units. One unit that I have been able to work in is the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit or the NICU. All week I have been looking after premature babies, calculating calorie, protein and fluid needs as well as tracking growth. It is crazy how after a while, you begin to see numbers and charts and forget that this is an actual child, a human being with a need. Today however, I had one of those moments that stopped me in my tracks. It wasn't a cute nose, an adorable cry or a tiny little hand that attracted my attention: it was the look of a special needs baby. I was with my preceptor and she was explaining to me the condition of the child and the little baby opened up his eyes for a brief moment and it hit me like a ton of bricks. His eyes were so deep and his face so freshly made and flawless. Even as I write this, I get the chills and it has been etched into my mind.

As I was walking tonight, I thought about the significance of that look and how it relates to God's purpose and will for life. So often people think that if a child is marked with a mental or physical disability that their little life is worthless and ruined. I don't completely understand why conditions and disabilities occur and why God "allows" them to occur but I reverse that mentality and thank God for creating a life to begin with! None of us deserve to live in the first place. Not only that, but creating a life like that--that is different, unique and special. I feel that hidden behind those deep blue eyes of a special needs baby is a child that God has created with a plan and purpose to reveal an aspect of our amazing Creator. He is helpless; dependent upon his caregiver completely. Similarly, we are helpless; unable to eat, drink or even breath on our own without our Creator granting us another minute to live on this earth. There is truly something about that little guy and I am thankful for his look today to remind me of how precious this life is that we have all been given. It is my heart's prayer that you too take a moment and look into the eyes of a baby and see your need to become like a little child before your Father; humbling and surrendering yourself to our blessed Savior Jesus Christ as your provider both for Salvation and your very life!





John 3:2-4 (English Standard Version)


2This man came to Jesus[a](A) by night and said to him,(B) "Rabbi,(C) we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do(D) unless God is with him." 3Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is(E) born(F) again[b] he cannot(G) see the kingdom of God." 4Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?"

www.biblegateway.com


Psalm 127:3-5


3Behold,(F) children are a heritage from the LORD,
(G) the fruit of the womb a reward.
4Like arrows in the hand of(H) a warrior
are the children[a] of one’s youth.
5Blessed is the man
who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies(I) in the gate.


www.biblegateway.com ESV

What is Your Isaac?

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The Sacrifice of Isaac

1After these things(A) God tested Abraham and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I." 2He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to(B) the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you." 3So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy[a] will go over there and worship and come again to you." 6And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and(C) laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7And Isaac said to his father Abraham, "My father!" And he said, "Here am I, my son." He said, "Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" 8Abraham said,(D) "God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together.
9When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and(E) laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I." 12He said,(F) "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for(G) now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me."

www.biblegateway.com (ESV)

This story of obedience has always fascinated me. Abraham lived with a sense of reckless abandonment that we are to also apply to our own lives. What is interesting about this story is that prior to this event, God had promised Abraham this for years upon years upon years. When he finally got Issac as his son, God asks him to sacrifice him---notice Abraham did not even question the Lord in all of this. Abraham simply replied, "Here I am Lord." Now all this is to not glorify Abraham as some super-human but to recognize the true definition of "fearing the Lord." Verse 12 says this after Abraham had the knife prepared to slaughter his son: "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you FEAR GOD, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me."
In those days, having a son was a HUGE deal. Huge. Because the son carried on the family into the next generation, the family's inheritance was passed onto him by this father. So everything that the family accomplished or did in the span of time they were given on this earth, was passed onto the son. Isaac was not just one of many sons of Abraham---he was his only son--the son that God himself had promised, yet he surrendered him wholeheartedly to the Lord. I love the point of this passage where Isaac asks, "Hey dad, where is the lamb to be sacrificed ?" And Abraham replies, "The Lord will provide the lamb." AH! Does this not sound so familiar to what is to come in the New Testament? "Behold the lamb that comes to take away the sins of the world?" Christ fulfilled this sacrifice: He too was God's only Son.

Even though we may not have children or understand the totality of offering your own child as a sacrifice, we too can relate and are called to fear the Lord as Abraham did. Christ has become our ultimate sacrifice through his death and resurrection. So although we may not "need" to sacrifice anything to obtain our salvation (other than total surrender of our lives) we are still called to fear the Lord--to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul mind and strength.

What is your "Isaac" in life? Is it your future? Is it your education? Your body? Your job? Your money? Your mom? Your dad? One area that God has GREATLY transformed in my life is the concept of marriage. As I am preparing to be married, I cannot help but think back to years prior to becoming engaged--I prayed and prayed for my spouse. I remember just before I met Kory, I had come to this realization that my life did not begin with marriage--my mission and ministry did not commence at the alter. Funny how all of a sudden I met Kory and now am engaged to be married. But even now, as I look forward to so much of a marriage with him, I find myself continually taking our marriage to the top of the mountain, knife in hand prepared to sacrifice it---not because I want to destroy it, nor do I want to lose it---but because even though marriage between a man and woman is sacred, and a wonderful example of our relationship with Christ----the Lord is to be feared above all else. The Lord is to be Lord over all. Do we need to live in fear of God taking things away from us that he has given? No, of course not---God is not out to give us something and just take it away because he can: but he does have the authority in our lives as Lord, to do whatever it is that will bring him the most glory--because He is God.

So the point in all of this is to not say to you, "What would be the hardest thing to sacrifice to God?" But rather make the point that God actually is the one who sacrificed the most in all of this---yes he called Abraham to surrender his son as a sacrifice, but God surrendered his very self, in the form of Jesus Christ, the Son, as an atonement for our sins. Would that not compel you to sacrifice anything and everything in your life---including your own? I pray that we would not cling to the gifts we've been given; education, family, a spouse, our bodies, our very lives---but that we would cling to the Giver.

Joyful Reconciliation

Psalm 32 1(A) Blessed is the one whose(B) transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2Blessed is the man against whom the LORD(C) counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit(D) there is no deceit. 3For when I kept silent, my(E) bones wasted away through my(F) groaning all day long. 4For day and night your(G) hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up[b] as by the heat of summer. Selah 5I(H) acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, "I(I) will confess my transgressions to the LORD," and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah 6Therefore let everyone who is(J) godly offer prayer to you at a time when you(K) may be found; surely in the rush of(L) great waters, they shall not reach him. 7You are a(M) hiding place for me; you preserve me from(N) trouble; you surround me with(O) shouts of deliverance. Selah 8I will(P) instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will(Q) counsel you with my eye upon you. 9(R) Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with(S) bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you. 10(T) Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who(U) trusts in the LORD. 11(V) Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and(W) shout for joy, all you(X) upright in heart! Footnotes: a.Psalm 32:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term b.Psalm 32:4 Hebrew my vitality was changed Cross references: A.Psalm 32:1 : Cited Rom 4:7, 8; Psalm 85:2 B.Psalm 32:1 : Exodus 34:7; John 1:29 C.Psalm 32:2 : 2 Cor 5:19 D.Psalm 32:2 : John 1:47 E.Psalm 32:3 : Psalm 31:10 F.Psalm 32:3 : Psalm 22:1 G.Psalm 32:4 : 1 Sam 5:6, 11; Psalm 38:2 H.Psalm 32:5 : Psalm 51:3 I.Psalm 32:5 : Psalm 38:18; Job 33:27; Prov 28:13; Luke 15:18, 21; 1 John 1:9 J.Psalm 32:6 : Psalm 30:4 K.Psalm 32:6 : Psalm 69:13 L.Psalm 32:6 : Psalm 18:4, 16; 42:7; 69:1; 144:7; Job 22:11 M.Psalm 32:7 : Psalm 91:1; 119:114; Psalm 27:5; 31:20 N.Psalm 32:7 : Psalm 9:9 O.Psalm 32:7 : Psalm 18, title; Exodus 15:1-18; Judg 5:1-31 P.Psalm 32:8 : Psalm 25:8, 12 Q.Psalm 32:8 : Psalm 73:24 R.Psalm 32:9 : Prov 26:3; Job 35:11 S.Psalm 32:9 : James 3:3 T.Psalm 32:10 : Prov 13:21; Rom 2:9 U.Psalm 32:10 : Psalm 34:8; 84:12; Prov 16:20; Jer 17:7 V.Psalm 32:11 : Psalm 64:10; 68:3; 97:12; Psalm 33:1 W.Psalm 32:11 : Deut 32:43 X.Psalm 32:11 : Psalm 7:10 http://www.biblegateway.com/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I came across this passage this morning while reading and I couldn't help but find such joy in it and share it! I included the cross references as well in case you were wanting to explore into more detail about certain verses. I can totally relate to the Psalmist in verses 1-4 where he is trudging along with this heaviness of the Lord's hand upon him. Have you had to carry the dead weight of someone? Hopefully not like a body-bag-dead-weight, but you know, when you are just playing around and you collapse and someone has to drag you or you have to drag someone? It's horrible! It's so tough! That's what I feel like when I am convicted of something, like this huge person's dead weight has just collapsed upon my back. The Psalmist says, "For when I kept silence, my bones wasted away..." Not only does that conviction of the Holy Spirit weigh a ton, but your insides ache and groan for relief. What a wonderful thing, Amen? What a glorious thing to have the convictions of sin, because I believe it proves all the more of the work of the Lord in our lives! Reread verse 5. Ah! So great! Such a wonderful example of God's faithfulness in forgiving our sins---and this is in the Old Testament, before Christ--so here is somewhat of a glimpse of the grace-giving God that we serve providing forgiveness for one's iniquity. The Psalmist urges those of us who are godly, to offer prayer in time that God is near. Now God is present both in times of living obediently and times of disobedience, but this verse urges us to offer prayer in that moment to reconcile our hearts to God. I used the cross-reference on this verse in Psalm 69:13 which states: "But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness." Offering that prayer of reconciliation with God is so important! We should praise the Lord for his abundance of steadfast love and his saving faithfulness! What a wonderful Father. I love the description of God when the Psalmist says, "You are my hiding place, you preserve me and surround me with shouts of deliverance!" When you look at forgiveness that way, we should rejoice so much more than how we normally react to sin. I don't know about you, but I often find myself continuing to bury my head in the sand when I sin. I hold onto that and continue to beat myself up. I acknowledge that I am forgiven, but I fail to surrender it completely. I understand that we have consequences that may go beyond our prayer of confession, depending upon the authority over us---but why give yourself lashes when it's already been done? Why crucify yourself when Christ has already taken your place. You can recognize the horrific act of Christ dying for you, but also remember, that He is the perfect sacrifice, the perfect Lamb, Atonement for our sins and you trying to make yourself into a mini sacrifice, won't cut it! He's done it! Relate to him, but ultimately see his sacrifice as sufficient, and REJOICE in your forgiveness! I like the promise of verses 7-8 which are from God. They say that he will instruct us in the way we should go and his eye will be upon us. At times, I am one to not like observance of someone. In my internship, we will often have our preceptor go with us and observe our charting or consulting of a patient and you get pretty insecure with her eyes watching you. But there is also rest in it because you know that if you make a mistake, she is there to counsel you, to help you and make sure that you do it right. There is security within the insecurity: dependence upon God to help you. In addition, the verse makes reference to a mule or a horse with a bit. We are to be obedient in those moments of counsel or direction---to not doubt the instructions from God. This is just like when my preceptor says that I need to make this statement in the chart or visit with the patient about this ---if I don't do it, then not only is my preceptor in shock of my disobedience, and that patient may not be getting the best care possible. There is something to be said about being obedient in the moment you are asked to do something: a trust is immediately created and in that trust, God is glorified in your life. Ending this passage, the Psalmist makes the statement that 'many are the sorrows of the wicked.' Do you live in constant sorrow? Is your heart continually troubled? Perhaps you have good reason! Perhaps you are wicked and are in need of surrendering your life to God. But if you have surrendered your life to Christ, maybe you're like me in the sense that you continue to live in light of the sin rather than living in light of the sacrifice. The passage ends with the command to rejoice in God's steadfast love that surrounds those who trust God. Do you trust God? Do you truly believe that He will forgive you? Do you fear yourself more than God? I do sometimes. I have standards set-up in my mind that force me to fear myself more than God: and that's wrong! It's wrong! I am all about recognizing your sin and experiencing that dead weight that is caused by the Spirit's convictions. I think of Luther who use to sleep on the cold, damp floor and roll around in ashes because he recognized his unworthiness before our Righteous and Holy God. Go ahead and recognize your unworthiness, but then rejoice and be glad and shout for joy with an upright heart! You have been forgiven a mighty fine: eternal separation from our loving God. That is something to take joy in!

Taking Candy From Strangers

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Can you all remember your first “Stranger Danger” education wave in elementary school? I remember having Officer Savvy and Officer Christiansen come into my Kindergarten classroom to talk with our class on how to stay away from strangers. The said things like “Hey! How many of you kids like candy? (My classmates and myself: “Me! Me! Me!”); that’s great! Who do you normally get candy from? (“Mom! Dad! Grandma!” Etc…) That’s great! It’s fun getting candy from your parents or grandparents, especially if it’s your favorite kind. But what about from someone you don’t know? Is it safe to get candy from someone you don’t know?(“No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” With the Classroom clown still screaming when we’re done….yup! We had a few of those) That’s good class! No, it is not safe to get candy from strangers, do you know why? Gabe (he knew everything!), the smartest boy in the class says, “It isn’t safe, they could take you away from your mom and your dad or hurt you, or even poison you with the candy!” Ok, so you get the picture!

I was sitting in church this morning listening to Pastor Williams share about a passage in Matthew 7 on false prophets. The passage uses another analogy of “false prophets are like wolves in sheepskin.”

True and False Prophets

15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. True and False Disciples 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ www.biblegateway.com NIV

Just for some comical relief, I am going to let out a “Ha!” Because I know I have just picked probably one of the “Top Ten Controversial Verses of the Bible,” (right up there with the Predestination verses….yup, I said it! :) ) But seriously. When looking at this passage of scripture, I think that we can glean some very simple information: How can we serve a God who spits out lukewarm individuals for him to turn around and give us a gray passage of scripture? This passage is very black and white to me when approaching it. Jesus is warning people to ‘watch out for false prophets,” people, who are, like Pastor Williams said, are ‘adding’ or ‘changing’ what has been said in the Word. I will give you five ‘Mississippi’s’ to guess how relevant this is to the recent news on certain pastors with skewed biblical teachings are sweeping the nation. It was happening back in Jesus’ day as well! Just like a stranger offers you candy, these false prophets are presenting you with a ‘sweet Gospel,’ something that appeals to your taste and your liking. The “drive-thru pray the prayer technique” is a hot concept among churches claiming to present the Gospel. You may even get a little feeling in your stomach and get teary-eyed as you go on your way, ‘pay your bill,’ and back out to the freeway. This is a great example as to how false prophets are approaching people: tailoring the Gospel to your needs; one-size-fits-all approach. When sadly, thousands maybe millions of people are being lied to! Am I saying that you cannot initiate a relationship by praying to God? Of course not! How else does one talk to God but through prayer? I wish sometimes I could look inside another man’s heart and discern his sincerity level to Christ, but then I’d be Christ…and I am not (thankfully!). No, I may not be able to read the person’s heart, but the passage does say that he or she will ‘bear good fruit.’

I grew up on a farm in South Dakota and we had a few apple trees in our grove that I would go and pick from at the end of summer, early fall. I was able to identify which tree was doing well, was healthy and full of life based upon the size of apples it produced. If it look like the worms had gotten to most of the apples or the tree appeared as though it had wilted; I didn’t bother messing with that tree. Now, so often people see this analogy and say, “But what if I am struggling and I am unable to produce fruit, does that mean I have to be perfect? Someone who is always on top of things, always sharing the Gospel and always producing, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control?” Ha, no. Once you become a Christian, you are not perfect---your salvation was perfected through Christ, but you yourself, may still sin and struggle for the rest of your life. But the point made here, is that a good tree, is going to produce good fruit, regardless of type of weathering that takes place on it. If the Spirit of God is within you, and you believe that God is a perfect, sinless, holy God, then shouldn’t you reflect those same attributes?

Hmm. The next passage is one that my youth pastor, Dave Moe, challenged us with my senior year of high school. I remember sitting there and he approaching this verse with no sugar-coating: he wouldn’t allow us to give him the Sunday-school answer. In fact, I remember him almost being down-right angry, a righteous fury that came because he knew that some of us had been lied to, even though they may have grown up in his church. I love that quality in Dave and I was so blessed to have him challenge me on this. In my mind as an 18 year old, a grown girl with roots dug well deep into scripture, I was thinking, “How is it possible God? Don’t you want everyone to enter the Kingdom? If they say they know you, and do things for you, shouldn’t they be allowed to come in?” Dave emphasized the last portion of the passage to us, “You who practice lawlessness.” Dave wasn’t coming down on us for not being perfect: He wasn’t trying to point out our flaws and weaknesses: He was saying, if you have not made a lifestyle change, one that has completely surrendered and repented of his or her sins, then you cannot help but practice lawlessness, or bad fruit. Just like the trees in our grove that were bad trees to begin with, there’s no way that all of a sudden they would have the ability to produce good fruit. A new seed would need to be planted and it would have to grow up to become a good tree.

Do you get the difference? There is one. A big difference. So often we as Christians get approached by other people or mocked for obvious things we may or may not do. I am one who has strong convictions on several things that people would look at and say, “Why? Are you too good? Other Christians do it! You’re too much of a goody-goody; I don’t think God would send you to hell for…. (Fill in whatever you want).” I get frustrated with these assumptions because to me, a relationship with Christ is not a matter of getting to go to heaven or hell, its saying, “I want to be with God! Where God is, I want to be. I want to be in a relationship with Him, I want to experience who He is and what He’s created me for.”

When you find someone you love and desire to spend your life with, you don’t just get married, to get married: you marry so you can do life together, to become one. Similarly, you don’t just accept Christ with this expectation that the only thing you desire is for you to not have to go to hell.

My heart aches for people to realize this before they come to the point of their life that it’s too late and you are the one saying verse 21. How a loving God say can verse 22, you may ask: a God that is not only loving, but just, righteous, and holy. Think of your biggest pet peeve and multiply it times a thousand, or imagine the angriest you have ever been, similarly God has a fury against sin, it is everything He is not and He lost his son over it. Sin is hostile to everyone involved. But He has given us a means of approaching His throne out His great love, grace and mercy.

You see, we serve an amazingly mysterious God! One that deserves to have a committed child, not one who just wants to “sneak into his kingdom” (which doesn’t happen). Do you get it? Does it make sense? Don’t take candy from strangers! Don’t believe the lies that you can ‘get salvation,’ based upon the lies of false prophets. Recognize the true Gospel: that Salvation comes to those who surrender their lives, take up their cross and follow Christ daily. Or maybe I will just let the scripture speak for itself!

Mark 8

The Way of the Cross

34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life[b] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” www.biblegateway.com NIV

Illegal U-Turns of Life

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I was lost. I was north of Dallas trying to find my cousin’s house at 12:30 pm at night after driving from Little Rock and I was lost! Now, in South Dakota, we have a system with our roads: the numbers either increase or decrease as you go east, west, north or south on country roads with the exception for a few random road names like “Greenfield” or “University.” Texas, on the other hand, must like to see out-of-staters squirm because there was no way I was going to be able to locate the road I needed to turn on due to the sporadic numbering system! I couldn’t tell which direction was east, west, north or south and to top it off, my dear boyfriend was indeed food poisoned just prior to our departure and needed me to pull over frequently. Can you imagine the scene? It’s somewhat comical now but I recall those moments as being nothing shy of miserable! I sensed that we were going in the wrong direction and so what do I do? I go through the intersection, look ahead and behind to see if traffic is coming from either direction and do a U-turn. As I am returning to the same intersection I was driving through moments before, Kory, bless his patient heart, says “Ah, Joni, not trying to freak you out but you may get pulled over, there’s a cop ahead of us that just pulled into the parking lot to turn around.” I immediately went into that panic mode: you know the “OH NO!” I feel like no matter how many tickets you get or how old you are, you get that 14-year-old-driver fear of, I am going to get my freedom taking away! They’re going to take my license! My palms got sweaty, my heart raced for a few moments and sure enough, the Cop switched on the blue lights and I pulled over. He came over and asked the standard question, “Ma’m, do you know why I pulled you over? Back on that last road you were on, you performed an illegal U-Turn, did you see the sign” I honestly had not seen the sign and replied with a “No, sir, I didn’t, I’m sorry.” He proceeded to see my license and registration. (Meanwhile, Kory is turning all shades of green).

The officer went back to his car ran my license and came back a few minutes later. “Well ma’m I am only going to give you a warning tonight, here’s a copy, just be careful.” I was so relieved and then I proceeded to ask, “Sir, I am so lost, is there any way you could give me directions to the golf course?” Ha, oh goodness, we finally got to my cousin’s but what a night!

My reasoning behind sharing this story is that, I was listening to a message on the topic of obedience to the law from a passage of scripture found in Romans 7 and 8 and I immediately was drawn back to that night and saw some correlation between the Laws related to driving and the Law of scripture.

Let’s read it together:

14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature[d] a slave to the law of sin.

(continuing into chapter 8)

Life Through the Spirit 1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you[a] free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh,[b] God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.[c] And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life[d] because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of[e] his Spirit who lives in you. 12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. 14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[f] And by him we cry, “Abba,[g] Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." www.biblegateway.com NIV

What an amazing passage of scripture, amen? As I was just rereading it, I was able to draw a few parallels with real life story of getting pulled over. Typically, if you break the law—knowingly or unknowingly, you deserve a ticket for breaking that particular law. With that ticket comes a fine. This maybe a stretch, but try and use the story as an analogy with this passage: imagine that when you got pulled over, you were guaranteed to never have to pay the fine with the violation completely removed from your record.

You may still get pulled over for breaking the law, but the violation was immediately forgiven and paid by another person: Christ. Now, you could go through life, let’s say, not a believer and work really hard at not getting pulled over but what if you came to a different state, like me, and unknowingly broke the law? You’re still guilty of breaking the law! Whether you know it or not, you’re guilty. Similarly, no matter how wonderful our ‘driving skills’ in life maybe, we are still guilty of sin! And there is no way that we have what it takes to pay the debt of that sin in our lives, but through Christ, we have been set free from the fines of the law and have been forgiven. Now Paul will go on an describe the concept of “having the license to sin?” By no means! No we should desire to abide by the law even more because we know that Christ is going to have to pay for that sin each and every time we ‘get pulled over.’ But when we do, we can rest assure and say, “I am free!” And we praise God for his grace through our faith in Christ Jesus.

Although it may seem somewhat an elementary analogy to the magnificent mystery of salvation through Jesus Christ, I hope that you can approach today in light of knowing that you are free from condemnation through faith in Christ Jesus, and that when you’ve established a committed relationship with Him, he will forgive both your intentional and ‘unintentional’ sins---paying for your ticket on the Cross of Calvary.

Inexpressible Joy

I Peter 1:3-9

3(A) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!(B) According to his great mercy,(C) he has caused us to be born again to a living hope(D) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4to(E) an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and(F) unfading,(G) kept in heaven for you, 5who by God’s power are being guarded(H) through faith for a salvation(I) ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by(J) various trials, 7so that(K) the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes(L) though it is tested by(M) fire—may be found to result in(N) praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8(O) Though you have not seen him, you love him.(P) Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9obtaining(Q) the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Do you realize that you have inherited something that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading: your salvation through Jesus Christ. In fact, it is guarded in heaven by GOD!

Are you rejoicing today in your fiery trial? Do you see how it is testing your genuineness in the faith?

Your response to trials is to be 'praise and glory and honor' at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ---no, you don't have to put on a fake smile and act like your trial does not bother you: you are to look at it in the perspective that Christ matters more and that no matter what is taken away from you in this life---Christ remains!

Marks of Jesus

Image from: http://brucefong.wordpress.com/2008/08/14/breath-taking-pacific-sunrise/

I myself don’t have a tattoo nor do I plan on getting one anytime soon but for those of you who do have one, I am 99% that you selected that tattoo with the intentions of sharing a message. Even if the tattoo was somewhat a spontaneous rebellion, it was done with the intention of proclaiming some aspect of yourself and maybe, even a subliminal declaration of your independence. What about scars? Do you have scars from when you first started riding a bike? Getting burned by a sparkler at the 4th of July? Or slipping on a grain cart and bumping your chin? Ok, that last one is totally mine. But even though we didn’t voluntarily receive those scars, they are on our skin with a message or a story of some point in our life. Maybe some of those scars were voluntary during a discouraging and dark time in your life. Perhaps those scars are ones that you didn’t do to yourself and that others did to you both externally and internally. Marks on our bodies, regardless of how they got there, are visible signs of an instance in time that is permanently displayed on or in them.
In Galatians 6, Paul is closing out his letter to the church of Galatia starting in verse 11:
“Not Circumcision but the New Creation
11 See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!
12 Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh. 14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which[a] the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. 16 Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to[b] the Israel of God.
17 From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen. “ NIV www.biblegateway.com

In this text, Paul begins by addressing outward impressions and how often the church would do things simply to appear as though they are religious and doing good works. Circumcision was a big deal and therefore the religious leaders of the day desired for you to be circumcised so that you could boast in your flesh and your own good works. Paul goes against these teachings and says: ‘No! I won’t boast in anything but Jesus Christ through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.’ He, Paul, was not going to be controlled by ritualistic marks of the flesh; Paul desired the mark of a new creation that comes through Christ and the crucifixion to this world. Verse 16 describes Paul’s desire for people to follow peace and mercy who indeed are people of God, the Israel of God.

ESV commentary says that this ‘Israel of God,’ is equal with the church. “ Which sense is best here must be decided with reference to the larger context of Paul’s thought, both in Galatians and in his other epistles, Israel of God. That is, in contrast to the children of the ‘present Jersusalem’ (4:25), the true people of God are the believing children of Abraham (3:7,29), who belong to ‘Jerusalem above’ (4:26-27).”
In verse 17, Paul says, something significant to our discussion: “From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.” Paul was persecuted on numerous accounts throughout his life and ultimately, died for the sake of the Gospel. 2 Corinithains addresses these marks of persecution that Paul received as well;

“23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. “

Ha, our short list of injuries at the beginning of this devo is nothing in comparison to Paul’s list of persecution is it? Yet, notice that Paul didn’t say, “I bear the marks of persecution for Christ,” but rather “I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.” On one level he was indeed using his marks to prove his commitment to the Lord, displaying the persecution, however, His marks also refer to the ‘new creation’ component of his life. We may or may not ever have scars from persecution or physical abuse for what we believe in: even though that may make you appear ‘more Christian,’ and is actually very honorable to endure through sufferings like Christ, it still doesn’t make you ‘a new creation.’ You are a new creation when you are crucified to the world and the world to you. When you surrender your life to Christ, you bear his mark! You are no longer marked by the world nor do you have the need to have religious rituals as signs that you are committed to Christ. Now, signs and displays of your inward commitment to the Lord may surface, but again, Paul tells us not to boast within those things but only boast in Christ!

“2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. 3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

4 Such confidence we have through Christ before God. “

2 Corinthians 3:2-4 www.biblegateway.com NIV

Outside the Camp

Image from:

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3490/3822910450_52602c7bca_o.jpg&imgrefurl=http://flickr.com/photos/40450405%40N08/3822910450/&usg=__dz9_ioa_CUZDBeHLvJRIGaJPT5o=&h=864&w=1152&sz=391&hl=en&start=325&zoom=1&tbnid=mUQRDMvQ76StPM:&tbnh=115&tbnw=156&ei=DW1zTea_JoSitgfL8-z_BQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcity%2Bwalls%252Bimages%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26nfpr%3D1%26biw%3D1345%26bih%3D561%26tbs%3Disch:11%2C6649&chk=sbg&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=929&vpy=198&dur=399&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=190&ty=112&oei=-WxzTcLqGcq4tgebvbyGDw&page=16&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:19,s:325&biw=1345&bih=561

I don’t know about you, but I am so thankful that we as Christians do not have to present animal sacrifices anymore! Can you imagine trying to sacrifice an animal in your Sunday best? Yikes! I say this half-joking and half-serious. Maybe in a way, it would be good because we’d relate with the true sacrifice of Christ a little better. I don’t normally find gory things such as sacrifices as something of greatest interest until I was reading in Hebrews and came across this passage:

“ 9 Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so. 10 We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.

11 The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. 12 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. 13 Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. 14 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.
15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”

So technically it was the priest that did the sacrificing on the behalf of the people—but still: imagine your pastor carrying into your church, blood from an animal that was just thrown in the parking lot: so different isn’t it? So different, yet I sense this strange similarity in the way we live our lives. This portion of scripture starts off in verse 9 and presents the point for us not to become swayed with false doctrine and teachings. I am not a Bible scholar, but it sounds like the author was addressing a topic of accepting grace rather than following rituals. It goes on in verse 11 to describe the process of offering sacrifices and then draws a parallel to Christ himself and his sacrifice, outside the gate. Outside the gate. Throughout all of the Old Testament and history of the Israelites, the Tabernacle is the Holiest of Holies where priests would present sacrifices. Yet, when Christ came, the sacrifice was not even in the realms of the temple, but outside the city gate. Verse 13 calls us to go outside the camp and bear the disgrace he bore. Does this mean we are to sacrifice ourselves? Of course not, well, not physically---the ESV commentary makes a good point with this passage:

“Go to him outside the camp speaks metaphorically of leaving behind the love of this world and desire for its approval, and embracing the reproach of Christ, emulating Jesus’ response to his shameful sufferings (see 12:2-3). Moreover, such Christian endurance is founded on a realization that this world is a mere temporary dwelling (no lasting city) en route to an eternal abode (cf 11:14-16; 12:22-24).”
There: Does that make sense? It’s a metaphor: asking us to leave the concept of ritualistic religion and go to a place of understanding the sacrifice and nastiness of our sin. Not that we cannot worship in a temple and fellowship with other believers, but we shouldn’t emphasize that as our ‘enduring city,’ or what will save us in the end.
15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
“Through Jesus,” not through “going to church x-number of times,” or even “praying the prayer,” do we find salvation. It says that we are to “continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise,” THROUGH JESUS. Aka, the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. The fruit of lips refers to the good things that come from our mouths: praise, gratitude, encouragement and words of love for something or someone. When you’re in love with someone, there is something special about saying his/her name. They say that saying a person’s name in an endearing way is equal to professing a kind of love towards that person. In the same way, we can glorify God just by merely professing his name to everyone. Verse 16 does mention that we are to do good and to share with others—not to earn salvation, but as a way to please God. In the Old Testament, scripture talks about the aroma of sacrifices pleased God and in the same way, when we give and share with others in Jesus’ name, we too have a sweet aroma that is emitted. Not just giving out of wealth, but out of need too! So often we give when it doesn’t cost us anything, but there are countless examples of Biblical characters giving EVERYTHING they own. Ha—you have no idea how nervous I get writing on the topic of sacrifice because I know that the LORD will very shortly, ask me to do what I am challenging others: rightfully so! But again, we do it out love for the Lord THROUGH Jesus. So although you don’t have to necessarily get your Sunday best dirty, maybe focus more on how to present yourself, your devotion, your words, and your gifts, as a form of sacrifice both in your place of worship and outside the walls of church: go to Christ outside the city gate.

Just Do Something!

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Have you found yourself combing the pages or skimming the index in the back of the Bible for a topic relating to your ‘big decision,’ you’re currently facing? I find myself doing this from time to time. It’s not bad that we are going to God’s Word to look for direction on things we don’t know but have you ever thought that the answer may not be spelled-out word for word in the Bible but rather the answer lies in the transformation of one’s mindset and hear? I was visiting the other morning with a middle-aged man about my generation and my season of life. He spoke of his desire to influence my age group through mentoring and serving the body of believers by dispelling some underlying pressures that are often applied to young adults. These pressures involve making the right decisions on careers, schooling, marriage and relationships. In general, he said something along the lines of this:
“ It’s ok if you don’t ‘have it all together,’ if you end up going to school and discovering you don’t like what you’re doing, it’s ok that you spent the money because now you know you’re not going to go that direction: move forward and find where your passion truly lies. And if you happen to meet someone who is seeking the Lord while you’re seeking the Lord and you feel that you are supposed to be together: go for it—don’t sit there hemming and hawing over ‘Is this the one?’ Of course you need to be wise in the way you pursue relationships but we so often put so much pressure on making decisions that we waste precious time on something the Lord desires for us to step out in faith on. If I would have sought that or was encouraged to pursue my gifting at that age, who knows where I would be now: but regardless of what happened, I am where I am and the Lord is using me. I don’t regret the decisions I made, but I do wish that the church would encourage young adults to ‘Just Do Something’.” (Just Do Something is the name of a book he recommended me to read!)
Wise words? I agree! What is interesting, I have felt this pressure lifted in my own life, over the past few months. I feel like the Lord has been transforming my ideas and concepts of what ‘pursuing God’s will for my life’ and what it looks like. The transformation has not been a matter of revelation in some miraculous sign or wonder, but rather learning about WHO God is and living in the light of knowing Him more. There’s a passage in Ecclesiastes that Solomon wrote on the topic of the “Purpose of Life.” The entire book is somewhat depressing is it not? Ha, he talks about how meaningless pursuing pleasures and desires are much like chasing the wind; but at the end of the book, his remark is this :
“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of man.”
Notice the wisest man to ever live did not say, “Make sure you comb the Bible as carefully as possible to find the answer to who you’re supposed to marry, where you’re supposed to live, what you’re supposed to do or if you’re supposed to be a full-time missionary in Antarctica (thank heavens he didn’t say that! Eeek! South Dakota is cold enough thank you very much!). He said that we are to “fear God and keep his commandments.” That’s your purpose! That’s your will! Fear God. I know, you’re rolling your eyes—I can see it, but I’m serious! Shoot me your earth-shattering question and I will say this: Fear God and keep his commands. Why? Why does it have to feel like my answer to your question is another question? Because it is not supposed to be complicated! God desires to be sovereign in control: yes he does give us an element of choice within his sovereignty but we need to understand He will accomplish Another verse instructs on this topic in a similar fashion. It’s found in Philippians 4 verse 8 which states:
“8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
So simple, yet so difficult to get through our thick heads! Try not to get so hung up on “What do I do about this? Where do I go? Who am I?” (I am getting a headache just thinking about it!) The answer is not God’s revelation: IT’S HIM. It’s Him. Seek to know your creator and He will reveal to his creation the who’s, what’s and why’s that you’re facing. When in doubt, focus on whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy.” Start there. Fear God and follow what his word says.
I am a big fan of this song by the band “Deluge,” and writer Jonathan Stockstill, called “Open Up the Skys,” here are the lyrics. It reminds you of how we should pray and consult the Lord on matters: not seeking blessings or answers but rather seeking HIM.

“Our beloved Father please come down and meet us
We are waiting on Your touch
Open up the heavens, shower down Your presence
We respond to Your great love

pre-chorus
We won't be satisfied with anything ordinary
We won't be satisfied at all

chorus
Open up the sky, fall down like rain
We don't want blessings, we want You
Open up the sky, fall down like fire,
We don't want anything but You

verse 2
Our beloved Jesus we just want to see You
in the glory of Your light
Earthly things don't matter
They just fade and shatter
When we're touched by love divine

chorus
Open up the sky, fall down like rain
We don't want blessings, we want You
Open up the sky, fall down like fire,
We don't want anything but You

Bridge
Here we go lets go to the throne
The place that we belong Right into His arms.”
Lyrics from:
http://www.gugalyrics.com/JONATHAN-STOCKSTILL-OPEN-UP-THE-SKY-LYRICS/345131/

But You Remain

Think of everything that changes from day-to-day in your world: what you eat, what you wear, gas prices, daily routines and routes; your work environment, your MOOD (Don't you dare deny it! We all have a moody gene in us--some of us express it more than others--just sayin); your overall health, your plans and on, and on! Change is inevitable and for those of us that like things to remain constant---it can be a rough world to live in! Everyday I feel like I am having to surrender my natural tendency to desire things to be the same or within a realm of control. There's a verse in Hebrews that stood out to me this morning, let's read it together:

"And, You, Lord, laid the foundation of the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end." Hebrews 1: 10-12

The passage prior to these verses is addressing the supremacy of Christ. I was originally reading through Colossians 1 and then cross referenced to this passage and found a similar theme of defining Christ's role in creation and His supremacy. We often see Christ as coming in around the Christmas story, when in reality, Christ laid the foundation of the earth! He was there with Adam and Eve...and before! This passage of scripture also addresses Christ supremacy over angels. I feel like we put angels on a to tum pole within our society as supreme beings when God created them to serve us--to serve the Church and worship Him (vs. 7,14). But that's another topic to discuss--let's get back to this passage.

So the author or Hebrews uses the analogy of the changing of a garment in comparison to the heavens. Do you have a favorite pair of jeans? A favorite baseball cap? Don't you just wish the fabric fibers would just hang-on for a little longer? I have jeans and running clothes that I have had for years -that should probably be thrown away a while ago (this is not an excuse for you to tell me to get rid of them--haha, "Perfect timing to tell Joni she really does need to get rid of those jeans!) Now, the passage says that the heavens are like garments that become worn-out. Archaeologists could testify that this world is pretty old and there are some things on this earth that have been around forever! My mind immediately goes to those big, beautiful redwood trees in California. I LOVE pictures of these trees: they're massive and just tower over people. These trees have been around what seems like forever---but this passage says that they too, will wear-out.

Well gracious! What does that mean for those of us who struggle with change? Are we always going to have a furrowed-brow of fear or chronic crankiness because things are always changing? If you choose to focus on things that are constantly changing or will eventually change--yes but if you choose to focus on the one thing that remains, your brow can relax a little. I am not belittling your fears of change, in fact, if anyone understands the fears that come with change, it's me! But we can take a passage like this one and meditate on it; accepting the message and react by praising God for NOT changing! Praise God that he has had the salvation of man in His plan since the beginning of time. It was not a surprise to him when man fell into sin. I find so much comfort in that! I could be stripped of everything like Job and still have all that I need in Christ clinging to his constant presence. So don't panic-- it's ok if your garments wear out, if your route changes on your way to work, even if friendships come and go--continue to keep your focus on the one who will remain!

Worshipful Communication

The modern day church enjoys worship music. Think about how worship music is not only used within the four walls of your church but how it has been carried-out into another sector of the music industry. Worship leaders now lead services and actually go on tour. Worship music available to listen to on the radio, on CDs, Itunes, and Pandora (which in fact, I am listening to right now). It’s great! It’s wonderful: just wonderful that worship music is at the tips of our fingers whenever we need to reconnect with the LORD, be encouraged by a set of lyrics, or simply enjoy listening to some music. I am a Christian music-junky. I grew up with a mother as a Choir director and voice teacher in both school and church so since birth I have head thousands of songs, mostly traditional hymn, worship or classical. I listen to it a lot and have music constantly playing---except when I am praying, I shut it off otherwise I get distracted. My friends will ask “ What’s the title of this song?” or “Who sings this?” and more than likely I will have an answer shortly thereafter or I will squirm like crazy until I know it. Ha. “My name is Joni and I am addicted to worship music (Hi Joni).”

With all that being said, there is a side of singing songs about God that I feel like we’re still missing. I say this because after reading this passage in Colossians, I thought about the context of the words “psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit,” and there’s a different feel to it than just your average worship song. Don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to minimize the importance of our praise and worship choruses that we currently sing---but do you ever sing of God’s faithfulness to one another? Or admonish one another with all wisdom through song? Read the passage first and allow me to explain this better.


“12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” Colossians 3:12-16 ESV


Prior to verse 12, Paul addresses the topic of “Living as Those Made Alive in Christ,” challenging the church to recognize that they are alive in Christ and to rid themselves of their fleshly desires and nature. He says just before verse 12 that we are “being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator,” And that there is now “neither Jew nor Gentile.” Therefore….clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” Ok, so you understand as a Christ-follower, you are God’s chosen people---made holy and dearly loved. Other things we do because we have been made alive in Christ is (1) bear with each other (2) forgive one another (3) put on love and (4) let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. The last portion says that we are to (1) teach, and (2) admonish. I love looking up new words so I went ahead and found the definition for the word admonish and found that this verb means “ to caution, advise, or counsel against something. to reprove or scold, especially in a mild and good-willed manner: The teacher admonished him about excessive noise. to urge to a duty; remind: to admonish them about their obligations.” www.dictionary.com


That definition makes sense with the context of the verse doesn’t it? How do you teach someone? How do you correct someone when they say something wrong or give advice? The way I teach is usually through explaining, with an eventual limit on patience if the person is not listening or understanding me. If I am correcting someone, it’s usually ridden with pride or I may avoid conflict all together. The avenues to teach and admonish in this passage however seem a little different than the ways we normally teach and admonish. The verse calls us to use avenues through “psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.”

Now, you may be asking yourself: “Self, are we supposed to take this literally? Am I really supposed to sing at someone when I am telling them something or when I am telling them what they need to do differently?” HA! Wouldn’t that be fun to have your life as a musical where you just break-out into song at random times? I don’t think we need to carry it to that extreme, but yes, it would be fun. No, I think that what Paul is getting at is that the means that we communicate with one another should be done in such a way that we are worshipful: worshipping God as we communicate with one another. When we simply talk to someone or command someone to do something, it often has a domineering-element to it: “You are doing this wrong.” Or “This is how you need to do this.” Instead of a loving, compassionate, song-like encouragement and urgency from the heart. Are songs not a wonderful gift from God? In the Old Testament and just history in general, song has been a means of teaching one another and telling a story. We often remember better through song. The Psalmists wrote hundreds of songs praising and worshipping God. This verse from Isaiah talks about a singing that will take place in the future (Isaiah 33:20): 20 The LORD will save me, and we will sing with stringed instruments all the days of our lives in the temple of the LORD.

I know you may be thinking, “Well it makes sense to sing to the Lord and worship but singing to one another is different and kind of weird.” I understand, and I completely see your perspective on that and I recognize that our praise and worship is reserved for the LORD and He alone; but do you see how we communicate with one another should have a sense of ‘sing-ability,’ to it. We should sing from a grateful heart and sing from a heart overflowing with love for our Savior, Jesus Christ. When we communicate with one another, we should remind one another through song or in a melody-like manner which stems from the bottom of our hearts with convictions from the Spirit: not from a commanding, self-righteous dominance. There is a difference in our modern-day worship and this singing that is described. It is my hope that God transforms our hearts in such a way that we teach and admonish one another in worshipful communication.

You Want Me to Do What?

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Do you ever feel like something tugs at your heart: a God-sized tug, asking you to do something difficult but your immediate reactions is, how? I was running the other day with things rolling around in my head about the future, and I felt this nudge from God asking me to do something that is way out-of-the ordinary and my reaction was surprisingly, “Yes Lord! I will do it.” But shortly thereafter, about ½ a mile down, I was like “Wait a second, do what? Me? How!?!?” I feel like this is often God’s way of working through his children: telling them something he wants them to do but not always going into great detail on how it’s going to be done. That night while I was running, I was immediately reminded of the story of Moses and his conversation with the angel of the Lord who was revealed through the burning of the bush. I giggle at Exodus 4. I so wish that I could have been a little bird on the ledge watching and listening-in on their conversation:

Signs for Moses

1 Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?”
2 Then the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?”
“A staff,” he replied.
3 The LORD said, “Throw it on the ground.”
Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4 Then the LORD said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. 5 “This,” said the LORD, “is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”
6 Then the LORD said, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, the skin was leprous[a]—it had become as white as snow.
7 “Now put it back into your cloak,” he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh.
8 Then the LORD said, “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second. 9 But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.”
10 Moses said to the LORD, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”
11 The LORD said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the LORD? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”
13 But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”
14 Then the LORD’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you. 15 You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. 17 But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it.”

NIV http://www.biblegateway.com/

Do you feel the sense of God’s anger burn, literally, when he replies to Moses in verse 11 (paraphrased) “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes the deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now Go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

‘Now go, and I help you speak and will teach you what to say.’ Man. If that isn’t the best pre-game coaching pep talk. Ha! God would run circles around the all-time best football coach in pep-talk: ‘Just go, I will do everything for you.’ I like the transition into verse 14 as well where the Lord is like “Ok, ok, you have a brother, Aaron—I know he can speak well (ha! I created him, of course I know he can speak well!), will you go if you put the words into his mouth like I would into yours? All God needed to do is say, ‘Please’ and you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between a parent and his or her child being instructed on cleaning a room. God: ‘But you have still have to do the miracles—sorry Charlie.’ Sorry, I am not trying to make light of the situation or paraphrase in disrespect but once you read through this text, you cannot help but see yourself as the sputtering, excuse-ridden Moses mustering up every reason to not go and be used by God. God told him what, but Moses simply does not know HOW it’s going to all happen. The horrifying two-letter word continues to pop up in the conversation: what IF they don’t listen; what IF they don’t believe me.

God replies with a simple three-letter phrase, “I AM”

Moses: “but…but…”

God: “ I AM.”

So God is asking you to do what? Do it. Just do it! Be honest, obviously God was patient with Moses and didn’t have the bush smack him over the side of the head like I would have it: maybe just burn his big toe a little. Express your concern to the LORD, but trust Him with it too. Don’t miss the opportunity to see water turn into blood, to lead a group of people out of captivity, to see a mighty sea part ways ---being lead in the wilderness by a cloud by day and a flame at night. And you realize, all those miracles are secondary to being so close to God and experiencing His holiness, grace, mercy, love and power. You may not know how but He does and that’s all that matters!

Eternity Resolutions

New Year’s Resolutions 2011 -So often we find ourselves striving for physical improvements and financial gain when planning our New Year's Resolutions---I somewhat felt compelled to reflect on areas of my heart that truly need changing and found scripture that I hope to memorize throughout the year. I encourage you to make resolutions for yourself---they can deal with weight-loss and being a better steward, but my prayer is that you also reflect on resolutions that will not only impact 2011, but eternity.

Oh Lord, I am a woman of unclean lips! I am a sinful woman that is unworthy of even being within the realms of your creation. Oh Lord, forgive me for my wretched heart---my pride, my fears, my disobedience, my lack of faith and trust in you as my God. Lord, as I embark on this New Year—I desire something far greater to occur in my earthly life than I can or would be able to imagine. I know that is a risky thing to ask, but God, I desire to be continually transformed in my mind, in my emotions, in my physical body and ultimately my heart. Lord there are several areas of my life that are in desparate need of your redemption. I hold on and grasp thinking that I can fix them or I can handle them when in reality Lord, I am nothing without you. Lord I pray these things knowing you will be faithful!!

1)I want to obtain a better grasp of what it means to fear you. The beginning of all wisdom is to fear the Lord. Lord, I feel like it would not only give me a better picture of you, but it would grant me a better picture of myself in light of who you are. I desire that Lord. (Isaiah 6)

2)I desire Lord to feel burdened for lost souls. I know it’s horrible to be weighed down with the heaviness of lost souls but it is a true sign of genuine faith when a person is so overwhelmed and concerned for the needs of others. I pray for a burdened heart that is not just sad within, but is compelled to do something about it. (Matthew 9:36-38)

3)Lord I pray that I would meditate on your word daily and memorize what it says word-for-word, text-for-text so that I may forever encourage others while I delight in it myself. (Psalm 1:1-3)

4)I pray for an increased level of communication: a balance between me praying continually and seeking you moment-by-moment but also being still and allowing your hand to work in my life. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17; Psalm 37:7)

5)I pray for my influence on others to be one that draws others to you: I pray to decrease mightily as you increase mightily. (John 3:29-30)

6)I pray and ask for boldness in these hard times. I trust Lord that you will grant me the confidence to stand firm in my faith and fully rely on the HOPE I have in your son and my sweet savior and friend, Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:57-58)

7)Lord may I command Satan in his place by the power of the Holy Spirit’s work of redemption in my life. May I cling to the power that is presented in the resurrection of Jesus and may my life be an example of the resurrected Christ.
(1 Peter 5:8-10)

8)I ask that I would bear fruit---souls, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness and self-control. May jealousy or envy not litter my soul but may I find my life hidden in Christ and my identity a beautiful thing only because of Christ’s work in my life. (Galatians 5: 16-26)

9)I desire to lead others Lord. I desire to demonstrate and to serve—both within the family of God and my immediate family. Forgive me in my selfishness, pity and pride. All I am is yours Lord and all I have is yours. (John 13:14)

10)God I love you and I desire to learn more about you. Teach me your ways and lead me into a closer relationship with you. I desire contentment in you and you alone! (Psalm 119:33-40)

The Big Catch

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I have no cute stories or analogies to this devotional. I feel like the scripture speaks for itself and I felt compelled to share with you this sense of urgency and challenge God has somewhat laid upon my heart. It stems from the passage found in Luke 5:

“Jesus Calls His First Disciples
1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,[a] the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. 2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”
5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. “
www.biblegateway.com NIV

I feel like this passage of scripture has this continuum created within it. You can portion the passage, separating it sequentially, which leads up to an unexpected climax. One minute Christ is on shore with a group of people; then he moves to a boat just off the shore. Shortly after, he asks for the boat to be moved into a deeper area of the Lake and asks his disciples to cast their nets. Somewhat reluctantly, they obey and discover that they have just captured an unbelievable amount of fish—so much that the two boats begin to sink! Then they just leave it: leave it all and follow Christ. Curtain closes. Ha! My interest is not so much the miracle performed in capturing fish but rather the process that Christ took to call his disciples and how Luke described the experience differently than the other four gospel authors.

First. Christ was preaching by the Sea of Galilee and then he gets into Simon’s boat and preaches from there just beyond where he was standing before. Why? Why couldn’t Christ have just stayed on shore? Why Simon’s boat? I am not claiming to be a scholar at this portion of scripture but I do find the symbolism fascinating! There are other passages of scripture dealing with boats and faith: walking on water and the encounters of storms. I love it! I don’t even know what Christ preached on that day but just the fact that he positioned himself on a boat makes me think that he was preaching on a subject of faith, trust and dependence on the Lord. Maybe it was symbolizing “going” or “working” too since it was a mode of transportation and a form of trade. I feel like Christ was also preparing their hearts for a revelation, a miracle and even a test of obedience to what he spoke on. Are you in a season where Christ is preaching to you? Think about where you are at in life: you may not be encountering challenges or high risk involvement in advancing the Gospel, but rather sitting and listening to the Lord and growing in knowledge of his Word. It says that he was preaching to the crowd on “the word of God.” So maybe you’re at this point in life.

Second. Christ proceeds to ask Simon to move the boat further out into a deeper area. Again, I can’t help but be completely fascinated with the symbolizing represented just in the movement of the boat. He also asks Simon to cast out his net. Notice how hesitant Simon is in casting out his net because earlier in that same day, they had attempted and failed to catch anything. Eventually, he obeys and BAM! He witnesses a miracle in catching probably the largest amount of fish ever on record for the Sea of Galilee. He totally would have won an award, maybe a trophy or a life time supply of tarter sauce—who knows! The amount of fish filled two boats causing them both to sink. Simon recognizes how his slow response to Christ made him realize how sinful of a man he really was! He feels so incredibly unworthy of being in Christ’s presence. Miracles whether large or small reciprocate change and impact a life in so many different ways!
Ok, stop for a second and look at this point of the passage. Are you in this place? Has God now called you into a deeper area of life. “Deeper” may be to a different location, a new job, a new school, a new church, or area of mission. You’re not totally comfortable with the position you’re in but you know you’re suppose to be there and Christ is asking you to go even a step further by casting out a net: your net maybe starting a conversation; participating in some event; giving time, energy, resources to something or someone or maybe even sacrificing something so dear to your heart. You may look at Christ with exhausted or fearful eyes because you just do not see how anything good could come of you following through with what he has asked you to do. But because of what God’s Word says and the Holy Spirit’s nudge upon your heart, you follow through and discover a miracle has just taken place! Although it may have been considered a huge risk for failure, you are pleasantly surprised when a blessing comes from it! Are you floating in deep water with Christ right now? Do you recognize who you are in the presence of thee most Holy God?


Third. After this miracle has occurred it seems like our story has come to it’s ultimate climax but then it is cut short with a bit of a “cliff hanger.” Christ asks these men to walk away from it! To leave the fish and follow him. I was visiting with a dear friend of mine about this passage and he said “Think of the wealth those men could have had from that catch!” Or the lifetime supply of free tarter sauce right? Haha, Ok. Lame. But really! They would have been taken care of for a long time with that amount of fish. But I think they realized that there was more to obtain than the miracle---the miracle giver himself. So often we pray and pray for a miracle in life and discover when that prayer is answered or the miracle does occur, there is still this sense of wanting more. Not only that, but I think these disciples saw first hand the kind of Rabbi they were invited to join was unlike any other Rabbi they had ever seen or heard of and so when the opportunity came—they couldn’t help but follow him. These men knew that there was something different about Christ and that he was going to accomplish more than any other man. They may have also had some background knowledge on a coming Messiah and realized---this is what we have been waiting for and we need to go.

Are you at this point of the passage? Have you just been blessed immensely or witnessed a miracle but now have been challenged further to surrender it all and leave it at the foot of the cross? Maybe Christ isn’t asking you to totally get up and walk away from what you’re doing but is still asking for a form of surrender. Maybe Christ is asking you to walk away from a high-paying job for a job that will allow you to reach more people; maybe God is asking you to walk away from a relationship that is not glorifying Him; maybe God is asking you to totally change course in your life and calling you to a radically different life---whatever is going on, I suggest you apply what the disciples did and follow. It’s scary—but you cannot help but follow Christ.


I just want to pray through this scripture for you and myself. I am so, so challenged by it and don’t completely understand it and feel like it’s a passage that a lot of people can glean from. Let’s pray:
“Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so so much for this passage of scripture and the calling of your disciples. Wow! God we stand back in amazement as to how you orchestrated in your Word, the calling of your disciples. Lord we recognize your unique ability to see exactly where your children are at and how you draw them closer to you. God we thank you for the miracles you perform in our lives whether large or small and we recognize that a miracle or a blessing runs so much deeper than answering a prayer or fulfilling a need. We discover Lord that we desire you: the Miracle Giver. Lord I pray for those that are on the shore listening to you preach the Word; these people may not completely understand who you are or maybe they do but they don’t understand an aspect of who you are and so they are simply learning more about you—almost in a season of waiting and direction. Second, Lord we pray for those who you have called into deeper waters. Lord we pray that they would be quick to cast their nets. You have prepared them well for whatever task you desire them to do. God we pray that they would respond to the answer to prayer or the miracle in such a way that it brings recognition to your holiness, your faithfulness and your deep love and desire for them to know you more. And God, we pray for those who have been challenged to walk away from an opportunity whether relationally, financially, or an advancement in a career and to follow you to another place of mission: to be your disciple. Although it may appear that we are losing everything to follow you Lord, I pray that you would stir within our hearts a sense of peace that our surrender is not in vain but rather a simple response to something far greater than ourselves which leads to spending eternity basking in your glory. Continue to teach us what this passage looks like in each of our lives and apply what your Word says. We love you and desire you desperately Lord. Amen.”

Made Known

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Do you ever feel like you’re nothing but a face in the crowd; just a spectator? All the college bowl games are fast approaching with the super bowl coming not too far behind and it always amazes me when you’re watching those games on TV and see you see these walls of people encircling the field. My brother recently went to a Vikings game and he was describing what he was wearing and said, “I’ll try and wave if the camera comes on me!” HA! You can imagine how difficult that would have been to see him in such a large crowd of purple-clothed people with the chance of a camera never coming even remotely close to his seating section.

In life, we may feel like just a spectator amongst the mass universe we live in. Louie Giglio is well known for his amazing sermons pointing out how our sun is just one among millions of other stars that are brighter, bigger and even more spectacular. With that being said, It’s easy to associate a feeling of insignificance, and rightfully so! We are but mere humans created to roam the earth for 80-90 years (if that); working and toiling at whatever jobs are available for us to do and matches our giftings, forming relationships with other humans and living for but a breath of span in time—right? To a degree yes! We’re nothing special—depending on what we are compared to: in comparison to a rock, we are complex and magnificently-made creatures but in comparison to God we are the lowest of lows, not worthy


Throughout all of the Old Testament God revealed and made himself known to various people in a variety of different ways. I thought it would be neat to give a highlight of each book in the Old Testament relating to God’s revelation to people. I hope you get the point by the end that God did not just show up in the New Testament but that he most certainly revealed himself to many different people throughout all scripture. If you don’t see it, I’m sorry—come see me because not going to lie, this is a tedious feat to pull off going through each Book---yet absolutely fascinating! I also ask for patience and grace as I attempt to do this because I am most certainly not an Old Testament scholar: there are several, ok many books that I just have a brief understanding but hopefully this is will help me review them and spur me (us) onto further studies! Enjoy:

In Genesis, God obviously made himself known to Adam and Eve as well as all creation when he formed the earth from “formless, empty, darkness.” In Exodus, God made himself known particularly to Moses as well as the Israelites by delivering them from captivity: he spoke to Moses in a burning bush, parted the red sea and performed many significant miracles. In Leviticus, God continued to make himself known to the Israelites as they were in route to the Promise Land. He also created several laws and regulations for different offerings. The Book of Numbers describes how God made himself known still to Moses and Aaron and at one point, through a consuming fire that removes part of the outskirts of their camp (Num.11). In Deuteronomy, God continues to reveal himself to Moses, Aaron and other leaders of the Israelites. Even in their disobedience, the Israelites are fully aware of God’s presence whether in the form of discipline or in deliverance from His anger. God reveals to Moses the Ten Commandments and makes promises to the Israelites of victory over the inhabitants of the Promise Land. Moses passes on and Joshua takes the position as leader of the Israelites. Joshua describes God being made known through the victory over many Kings. In Judges, God makes himself known through continual deliverance in battles with other tribes. God reveals himself in the book of Ruth by taking a widowed, godly-woman, Ruth (go figure!) and Boaz, an upright man of God and together in marriage established the beginning genealogies of David (Obed, was the son of Jesse). First and Second Samuel God makes himself known to people such as Hannah, Samuel, and eventually, David. We all know that David was known to be a “man after God’s own heart.” We read countless passages of David interacting with God throughout this book as well as the main author of the book of Psalm. First and Second Kings share stories of remarkable encounters people, particularly Kings have with God whether they recognize Him or not—He makes himself known. The story of the Prophet Elijah outrunning a chariot in 1 Kings 18 is one of my favorite passages of scripture: how do you suppose he managed to do that? The verse says that “the power of the Lord came upon Elijah,” so he just tucked his cloak and off he went! Just think how much damage I could have done running for SDSU if I would have had the Lord come upon me during track! HA! Ok—bringing it back.

Moving into the First and Second Chronicles; 1 Chronicles is loaded with names upon names of individuals with specific lineages: It’s somewhat overwhelming to look at these lists of people and realize that each of them had a role, big or small, in accomplishing God’s purpose and will. After the genealogies, we get into the story of King David’s reign—again, his story is well-known and saturated with stories of God’s revelations to David personally or regarding Him as a King of Israel. Solomon’s story begins at the tailend of 1 Chronicles and into 2 Chronicles. As David’s son, Solomon was said to be “highly exalted by the Lord” above any other king Israel had up to this point in time. We also are aware that Solomon was blessed immensely with immeasurable wisdom from the Lord: He also wrote the Book of Ecclesiastes describing how even though wisdom is a wonderful gift to possess, that it is meaningless!

A highlight in the Book of Ezra is a passage that describes the priest’s desire and his leading role in having the Exiles confess of their unfaithfulness to the Lord by marrying women from other tribes. In a prayer he describes how the Lord has been gracious to them by not punishing more than what they had been because of the wrongful act. Much of Nehemiah deals with the rebuilding of a wall in Jerusalem. The wall has opposition but eventually is built and it says that people surrounding the area were astounded and realized that no one would be able to complete such a task without the help of the LORD. The story of Queen Esther is described in none other than the book of Esther. She along with Mordecai end up being true heroes for their people by saving them from being destroyed by Haman. God chose to use and reveal his power through Esther by giving her such a highly esteemed position.

The book of Job is one that makes your heart sink: it starts out great but by the end your heart just aches for the relief of trials that Job encounters. The book however, is a crucial story describing God’s sovereignty amidst great adversity in a man’s life and how God gave Job the ability to remain faithful even when everything was taken away from him! Are you still with me? We are getting there! Is it not great though to just take a few moments and go through these great passages of scripture? As described earlier, much of the book of Psalms is written by David and his passionate pursuit for His own heart! David writes very beautifully and extensively about God’s character throughout the Psalms. God reveals himself in Proverbs through very simple and basic commands of everyday living. It gives guidance on how to walk upright before the Lord and how to recognize folly when you see it. Touching just briefly on Ecclesiasties, as described earlier in relation to King Solomon, this book truly proves the point that so much of our humanly lives are littered with obtaining vanities. God revealed to Solomon that there is more to life than all that this earthly life has to offer.

Song of Solomon, to me, is considered nothing shy of a glimpse into the love God has for his people. Although the entire book is basically poems written back and forth between a man and a women, you cannot help but see God’s unbelievable passion for those he loves and his desire to be a part of their lives. The book of Isaiah has quickly become a book that I reference quite often because it is FULL of passages of scripture describing God’s faithfulness to his people as well as the foundational promises of the coming of Christ. Similarly, God uses the prophet Jeremiah to proclaim the need of Israel’s repentance and glimpses of the coming Messiah. Lamentations is a lot like Job; your heart somewhat drops to the floor after reading it because it is a book about great sorrow. However, amidst the sorrow, God uses the author to proclaim his mercy and faithfulness: “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases his mercies never come to an end, they are new every morning, great is your faithfulness!” (3:22-23)

God used the book of Ezekiel to describe how the prophet Ezekiel worked with people in the middle of a crisis; spurring them onto pursuing holiness even in trial. Daniel is a remarkable book in the sense that God reveals himself BIG time through Daniel. Whether Daniel is in the Lions den, refusing to eat the King’s meat or discerning dreams, God revealed himself greatly through such a simple man. I feel like Hosea is somewhat of a sequal to Song of Solomon in the sense that it reveals greatly God’s concern and love for his bride even though she is incredibly unfaithful. God chooses to reveal himself through Hosea by giving him the ability to love an unfaithful woman. Joel is another book involving a prophet that lives during difficult times in leading people to repentance and endurance of waiting for an “outpouring of the spirit,” (2:28-32). In Amos, the Israelites are really looking for some relief from their eniemies and are waiting for the day of the Lord to bring justice. Amos describes judgment that will come to much of the disobedient people of Israel but also the hope of restoration of those who have ‘fallen.’ Obadiah, although brief describes what is to come with judgment as well as his future reign after restoring his people. Oh Jonah! ( Can you tell I am starting to get a little loopy—just a few more books left, pace yourself!) The book of Jonah is a remarkable story of a man who is disobedient yet God shows remarkable mercy in the most unusual way possible! It is truly a story of the revealation of God’s compassion on people even when they are disobedient. Micah is a book that cannot describe the coming of Christ any better as a “Shepherd-King,” Nahum relates to Jonah in describing the destruction of Nineveh which could easily represent God’s immense power and judgement that has, is currently and even more so, will take place in the future. God and Habakkuk (either said Hab-a-cook, or Habab-kuk—whatever most easily rolls of your tongue) dialogue throughout the entire book. God confirms his sovereignty to him and his desire for the righteousness to live by faith. Zephaniah deals greatly with the coming of the Day of the Lord. The ESV commentary on the theme of Haggai describes the theme of “The restoration of the Lord’s house by the people of God will meditate God’s presence.” Zechariah is a book revealing more prophecy of what is to come and God continues to give snapshots into the coming of the good shepherd. DRUMROLL PLEASE! Malachi is a book on a “wake-up call to renew the covenant of fidelity” (ESV commentary) and is indeed the last book in the Old Testament (not necessarily chronologically leading up to Christ but a conclusion to the books of prophecy).

HA, now what? Well, the entire purpose behind this ginormous review of the Old Testament was to build the crescendo of the coming of Christ. As you can see, God made himself known throughout all of scripture but it wasn’t until He revealed Himself through Christ that WE could be made known because of the opportunity to “hide our lives with Christ.” God knew that although he had revealed himself very plainly and deliberately throughout Old Testament times, with many of those people he described obtaining righteousness through faith (they had faith and hope in the coming Messiah). However God knew that he needed to make himself known by being made into flesh; dwelling among people to form a much deeper relationship than ever before. John 1:18 describes this : No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.” And later on in John 15:15, Christ says this about being made known: “15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” And even more so, Christ describes how he will make US KNOWN to his Father through him in John 17:25- 26

“25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you[a] known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

Isn’t that a beautiful piece of scripture? It’s a portion of scripture when Jesus is praying for various groups of believers. Passages in Ephesians touch on this as well in explaining how the Law and prophetic word of the Old Testament maybe mysterious at first but is finally made known through the coming of Christ, his death and resurrection.

Lastly, 1 John 3 describes what is to come in Christ’s second coming:

“1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,[a] we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.”

Cling to the truth that those of us who have surrendered our lives to Christ and claim him to be both Lord and Savior, are currently known as children of God---however, when Christ returns we will be known as something else—something like Christ because we will see him as he truly is! How wonderful it is to be made known! We are not just faces in the crowd, rather distinctly made known by our God through our faith in Jesus Christ. Live in the light of being made known!