Let them throw stones...We smell good

Forgive those who trespass against others

“If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely.” Sin affects the community not just the individual. Likewise, it is up to the community to forgive the individual. As if forgiveness for other’s transgressions against us wasn't hard enough, forgiveness for those who hurt our loved ones is even harder. Very often, we are willing to forgive those that hurt us, but we struggle forgiving those that hurt others. We think “Yeah, I’ll forgive you because Jesus forgave me.” Yet turn around and say “I will never forgive them for what they did to them.” The punishment of guilt is sufficient for those who sin. It is our role to forgive and comfort them so that they will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. We are to reaffirm our love for those who have wronged us.

O give us hearts to love like Thee

     Like Thee, O Lord, to grieve

Far more for others’ sins than all

    The wrongs that we receive

-Author Unknown-

Let em throw stones

For those who merely like to throw stones at us, let them. "Jesus’ greatest miracle is that he did not retaliate." The stones usually come when we least need them; the critics usually come when we least deserve them; the criticism usually comes from those least qualified to give it. The best in life can be swallowed up by the worst, and sometimes the worst comes in the form of mean-spirited attacks on our character. But the wisest of souls have always informed us not to expect too much of people. I live in a broken world with broken people who will frequently break my heart. Nevertheless, I am deeply loved by God. It is up to Him to give me what I need, when He thinks I need it. In the meantime, I am steadfastly kept in his care.

But God uses the worst that men can say about us to shape our character and strengthen us.  There may be more truth in your enemy’s words than in the counsel of your friends. We should expect every hostile comment to bring us closer to God. And remember, a calm man is more macho than an angry man.

Besides, why do we care so much about what other people say about of us? It is because we place too much value on our own reputations and the favor and appreciation of people.

“Get your friend to tell you your faults, or better still, welcome an enemy who will watch you keenly and sting you savagely. What a blessing such an irritating critic will be to a wise man. What an intolerable nuisance to a fool.” –Spurgeon-

“If your ambition is to avoid the troubles in life, the recipe is simple: shed your ambitions in every direction, cut the wings of every soaring purpose, and seek a little life with the fewest contacts and relations… Tiny souls can dodge through life; bigger souls are blocked on every side. As soon as men and women begin to enlarge their lives, their resistance is multiplied.” –Charles Briggs-

“This must be your retaliation—

Love and truth for hatred and lies”

—Rudolph Stier

We are a pleasing aroma

“For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.”

We are the light of the world, the salt of the earth, and the potpourri of the land. Our very presence as Christians eases the tensest of situations and the darkest of places. A great example of this is the Christians in the Middle East who create a human barrier around Muslims who are praying.  The Holy Spirit in us works through us to shine, to liven up, to smell sweet. I am convinced that where we go, God’s power works even stronger. We are catalysts to His power and love. Likewise, we need to make sure we are rooted in good community bet spread throughout dark territory. Our homefront and our battlefront should be different places, but our time spent in each should be balanced. It is a constant motion of being filled up and poured out, filled up and poured out again. Rest is important. Service is important. Make sure you are living in a community that challenges and encourages you as well as a community that you bring life and light to.

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The God of All Comfort

The God of All Comfort

Praise be to the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort. He is the One who understand comfort and supplies it generously when asked. For Jesus does not promise Christians a comfortable life, but comfort itself. In this life, we will have trouble; Jesus promises it. But we know the One who is comfort, so we can face any pain or tragedy know that His grace is sufficient for us. When we are weak, then He is strong. When we are mourning (something we as Christians should learn to do), only the Lord know how to comfort. But don’t misunderstand comfort for numbness. The pain may not change, but how we use it will. Christ did not die so that his children wouldn’t suffer, but so that their sufferings would be like his. We have the opportunity for our suffering to be used to glorify the Father, to bring peace to others, to demonstrate God’s power and so on. God does not ultimately will for us to be in pain, but he does will for one more beneficial result over another where the process may include suffering. Satan on the other hand would delight to solve our problem by giving us a larger one in its place. All that we go through is designed to teach us holiness, pain included. Those who do not know God seek comfort through material things, but we know the God of all comfort. They seek alleviation from pain and maximization of pleasure, but we see the maximization of glory in pain and alleviation for unsatisfying, illusive pleasure.

Robinson Crusoe

But let’s not ignore the fact that the Lord richly blesses those who ask, according to will and with the right motives (material blessings included). If you’re reading this, you have so much to be thankful for. Think of it like this: simply look around you. How much more thankful would you be for the items in the room that you are sitting if they had been rescued from a ship wreck and washed up on the sure for your use on a stranded island like Robinson Crusoe? That cabinet over there becomes far more valuable when you see it as being saved from destruction and at your immediate use in a strange place. It seems the recognition of any blessing immediately makes one more thankful. And if you can be thankful for drink in your hand or the chair you’re sitting in, how much more thankful will you be for the richer blessings around you? We may have several things that can cause stress and instill pain or fear, but these affliction are certain to fall short of our many blessings. Instead of asking why asking why certain things are going wrong, let’s be thankful that anything at all is going right.

“Gratitude is the twin sister of contentment.” –Gary Black

We are comforted to comfort others

God comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. If you are comfortable, comfort others. If you are blessed, bless others. If you are loved, love others. But really I am just saying “comfort, bless and love others” because God has richly comforted, blessed, and loved us. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for others’ comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for others’ comfort, which produces in them a patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. Our hope is firm because we know that just as people share in our sufferings, so also they share in our comfort. Some of the most joyful people in this world have been through the most tragic and unjust situations. They have gone through the fire and come out, not even smelling of smoke. On Him we set our hope that he will continue to deliver us.

So let’s be thankful. Let’s be content. Let us comfort, bless and love others with the comfort blessings and love we ourselves have received.

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An Important Reminder

A reminder

Christ has risen! I need to remind myself of the gospel every day. By this gospel, I am saved if I hold firmly to the word. Otherwise I have believed in vain. For what I receive I pass on to others: Christ died for our sins in exact prediction to the scriptures and has risen. He appeared to more than five hundred people, most of whom were alive at the time the gospels were written. Moreover, he appeared to Paul, the greatest enemy of the gospel itself. We should remind ourselves that Christ is victorious; we are simply taking a part in his victory. The battle has already been won.

No fear in death

“Death has been swallowed up in victory! Where, O death, is your victory? Where O death, is you sting?” For to live is to enjoy Christ and make Him know, and to die is gain! When we die, we get to be with Christ, we get to see his face, we get to look upon the one we long for. Our life here is but two seconds long in the view of eternity. All pain is just a momentary affliction. I am invincible here until Christ is done with me.

What can I fear? Will it be death? But you know the Christ is my life, and that I shall gain by death. Will it be exile? But the earth and all it's fullness is the Lord's. Will it be the loss of wealth? But we have brought nothing into this world and we can take nothing out. Thus all the terrors in the world are contemptible in my eyes; and I smile at all it's good things. Poverty I do not fear; riches I do not sigh for. Death I do not shrink from." -Chrysostom-

So whatever you are going through, whatever affliction you are facing, know that Christ is risen. Our lives should be based around this sole event. Bad grades? Christ is risen! Death of a loved one? Christ is risen! Immense pain? Merely momentary affliction because Christ is risen! We have an unstoppable hope and an untamable joy!

The resurrection is to be the foundation of our life

If it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of us say that there is no resurrection of the dead? Or even miracles for that matter? If only by my experiences alone, believe that Christ still works supernatural miracles here and now. If Christ did not rise from the grave, then everything we do is futile. We cannot live in this shadow between “He has Risen” and “He hasn’t risen”. Either we base our sole existence of the joy the glorifying of Christ and the advancement of His kingdom or we remove all of it from our lives. There should be no in between.

“We cannot worship the suffering God today and ignore him tomorrow. We cannot eat and drink the body and blood of the passionate and compassionate God today, and then refuse to live passionately and compassionately tomorrow. If we say or sing, as we so often do, 'Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit', we thereby commit ourselves, in love, to the work of making his love known to the world that still stands so sorely in need of it. This is not the god the world wants. This is the God the world needs.” N.T. Wright

But Christ has been resurrected. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;  it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.

You have never met an ordinary person

 Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. You do not have a soul. You are a soul; you have a body. We are eternal beings in Christ. Kingdoms, governments and this earth will pass away, but we will remain. Therefore, each individual is far more important than any civilization. Treat each other as it is so.

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my dear blog readers (if anyone at all), stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

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Do nothing without love

Do nothing without love

Anything done without love as the foundation is worth nothing. If I speak elegantly and with more power than angels, but do not have love, I am just noise. Without love, I just get in the way. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I have to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

I want to help change other’s lives, but I must know my intentions. If I am working and serving and speaking for the sake of feeling good, or taking pride in the results, or having others think well of me, I am not doing anything worthwhile. Love must be the foundation. When I walk into a room, I want my first thought to be “What does God want to do in each and every person in this room and how can I be used to accomplish that?” I want every person I come in contact with to come in contact with the Jesus in me, not just me. I want all who come near to feel God’s love. I want to be a fire burning bright, such that others can come close and light their candles.

What does love look like?

 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Replace “love” with your name. Does it still hold true? We need love to become a part of everything we do. Every person we come in contact with should see this love, not just the ones who love us. Very often we find ourselves thinking: “well they don’t like me, they haven’t done anything for me, and they keep taking and taking and taking. They don’t deserve my love”. But we should have the mindset of Jesus. We shouldn’t hold our love from others. None of us deserve love. But we have been overflowed with it by The One Who Is Love.

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. I began to love myself and others as God loves me. Little boys and girls are selfish and un-sacrificial. Real men and women know how to love, for while knowledge may make a man look large, it is love that makes him grow to his full stature. Today we have too many “boys who can shave” and “little girls in makeup”. They look like adults but inwardly they are selfish and self-centered. We must grow up. We must love with an unfailing love; a love that is not self-seeking, a love that understand sacrifice and discipline.

As we come to declare our love for God, we must face the unlovely and the lovely fellow sinners whom God loves and commands us to love. It requires very little of you to love a person who is pulled together and happy. Anybody can love someone who loves them back.

 Love never fails. Trust me. The only reason we can fail is because we are lacking love. I have seen love break down walls ever so thick. Love is the great conqueror. Where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

In the second Century AD, the Romans would take anyone who was contagious with a plague and hurl them outside the city. But there were Christians going and gathering up all the sick to take care of them. They were dying in other people’s places; For them, to live was Christ and to die was gain. Do you know what happened? The Faith exploded. Why? Because they were loving people, they were saving people, they were giving up themselves fully, knowing that they are loved by God and they are secure in the kingdom. In fact, there is documentation of a governor that tried to outlaw Christians because of how they were taking care of the poor; it made him angry. “They are loving their poor and our poor, and it’s growing like wildfire.” It revealed the evil and ineffectiveness of man. If we latch back on to loving people, evangelism in America will explode again.

Love is eternal

God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in perfect loving community. These three persons are in a constant state of loving, serving, and glorifying each other. This love has always existed and will always exist. God has infinite happiness not through self-centeredness, but through self-giving, other-centered love. And the only way we, who have been created in his image, can have the same joy, is if we center our entire lives around him instead of ourselves. Within God is a community of persons pouring glorifying, joyful love into one another. We were made in the image of God; we were made to be in a community, for God is community Himself. When we refuse to love others and be a part of community, we are refusing who God made us to be.

In this world, we only see love as a faint glimpse of what it truly is. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. Once all things are renewed, we will no longer need faith or hope. But we will still continue to love. Might as well practice now, since we will be doing it for eternity.

Father, who do you want for me to love for you today? Let’s make it a habit to let love permeate everything we do.

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Doorways and Disciplines

Doorways and Disciplines

Spiritual Doorway: A way that you connect with God that comes natural, easy and with power. Your spiritual doorways are the methods that allow you to feel the heart of God, to delight in his goodness, to rejoice in his presence, etc.

Spiritual Discipline: A way in which you connect with God that may not come easy, but is still necessary. Spiritual disciplines don’t necessarily “feel” as good as doorways and require more work, but pay off in ways that doorways cannot.

Everyone has different doorways and disciplines.

-Relationships: Fellowship brings you close to God’s heart for those people. You feel God’s love through loving and being loved by others. You heart breaks for those closest to you. If you don’t get fellowship, you feel disconnected from the spirit. Regardless of whether this is a doorway or a discipline, every relationship you have is meant to make them more like Christ. Every relationship you have is meant to make you more like Christ.

-Intellectual: You find God through studying. Intellectual pursuit allows you to see God clearer, to hear his voice, to observe his actions. Whether you are studying how flowers are pollinated or the ancient Jewish texts or simply the bible itself, studying allows you to investigate who God is. Studying challenges both who you are and your conception of who God is. Your thoughts of how great God is expand through study.

-Worship: You come closest to God in corporate worship. You feel his presence when you are immersed in the body, singing as one voice. You feel connected to God and others when you are surrounded by a great host of praise. You catch a glimpse of heaven when you are singing, dancing, praising or what have you.

-Activist: You come closest to God in confrontation. You long for justice. You are most energized when you challenge church. You feel God’s heart when you are challenging and pushing others. In teaching and challenging, your own relationship with Christ is taken to a new level. You yearn to feed the hungry. You desire to comfort the heart-broken. You fight for the lost. You feel God’s heart when you fight for those he longs for. The Church of Jesus Christ should be passionate about the poor. God’s name is dishonored, if we let Christians go hungry. We live in a community with the blood of Christ poured on it; we have the responsibility to care for others.

 -Contemplative: You come close to God when you are alone, when you are silent, when you are in solitude. You seek God in deep and intimate prayer, where there are no distractions. It is just you and God. You sit in meditation and contemplate the greatness of God. You feel his presence and peace in being still and know He is God, He will fight for you.

-Service: You come close to God in helping others. You are energized just by setting up chairs in a room. You feel God’s delight when you are in the background and unseen. It brings you joy to bless others. By giving your love to others, God is pouring out even more love into you. It is a cycle that continues to grow and grow. Service identifies you with Jesus, the great servant.

-Creation: You are closest to God in nature, walking, reading. You see is power in the storms. You see his peace in the meadow. You feel his delight in the sunlight. You admire his creativity. You rejoice with all of his creatures.

*Prayer is not a doorway or discipline, because it should be practiced all the time. Why Pray? Communication. Lifeline. Requests. Thankfulness. Mourning. Raw Emotion. Community. Coming before the throne. Reconciliation. Shows dependence. Teaches us. Weapon. But this is a topic for another day.

We should all seek to know God, and the methods above are simple ways to understand how to do it. All of these can be abused. The one’s you’re the most comfortable with are the ones you’re going to judge others with. Just because someone else relates with God differently, doesn’t mean they are more or less connected with Christ. We are all different. You don’t need to do every discipline all the time. It should not be a burden.

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

Spiritual gifts are not given for our sake, but for the sake of others. I think many of us do not use or even know about our gifts because we are simply trying to please ourselves with them. When the apostles prayed for healing and miracles and blessing, it was for the advancement of the kingdom.

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.

Be you (as cliché as it sounds)

So often we can be envious of other’s roles in the kingdom. We can get so wrapped up in advancing the kingdom a certain way. But you cannot be anything you want to be. However, you can be everything God wants you to be. You are the only you God made. When we don’t get you, the world misses out, the kingdom misses out, the Body of Christ misses out. You need to be you. You can't be your hero, your parent, or your big brother. All you have to give is what you have been given to give. Your Father is too gracious to assign you to a life of misery.

You are a brand new idea

When you use the gifts and passions God gave you, you discover an uncommon joy. Rerelish your moments of success and satisfaction. Concentrate in who you are and what you have. At your best, who are you? When you do the most what you do best, you pop the pride buttons on the vest of God. When do you feel God's pleasure? If you am me, how can you mess you up? You were made for the part, so speak your lines with confidence. How you relate to God and his kingdom affects everything. Dread him and hate your work. Trust him and love it. Remember, no one else has your talents. No one. God elevates you from commonhood by matching your unique abilities to custom-made assignments. Don't see yourself as a product of your parents' DNA, but rather a brand new idea from heaven. 

So let’s seek God uniquely. Let’s use our gifts uniquely. Let’s be the brand new idea that God created us to be. 

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Rejoice!

 Don't Trip

If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! Be on your guard always. Any temptation can creep up if you let it, and any sin can become a part of your life. An unguarded strength is perhaps your greatest weakness. All the water in all the oceans cannot sink a ship unless it gets inside. Nor can all the trouble in the world harm us unless it gets within us. That is the promise of the psalm: "God guards you from every evil." None of the trouble you encounter has any power to get between you and God, dilute his grace in you, or divert his will for you. Perseverance is not the result of our determination; it is the result of God's faithfulness. We survive in the way of faith not because we have extraordinary stamina but because God is righteous, because God sticks with us.

God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. God does not abandon us. It is as false as it is irreverent to accuse God of forgetting, overlooking or losing interest in the state and needs of his own people. Christians are not fatigued outcasts who carry righteousness as a burden in a world where the wicked flourish; Christians are people who sing "Oh, blessed be God!... He didn't abandon us defenseless." Christians are not fussy moralists who cluck their tongues over a world going to Hell; Christians are people who praise God who is on our side. I refuse to believe in my depressions; I choose to believe in God.

JOY!

Joy, which was the small publicity of the pagan, is the gigantic secret of the Christian. -G. K. Chesterton-

Joy cannot be commanded, purchased or arranged. But there is something we can do. We can decide to live in response to the abundance of God and not under the dictatorship of our own poor needs. We can decide to live in the environment of a living God an not our own dying selves. We can decide to center ourselves in the God who generously gives and not our own egos which greedily grab. "A Christian," wrote Augustine, "should be an alleluia from head to foot." That is the reality that is the truth of our lives. God made us, redeems us, provides for us. The natural, honest, healthy, logical response to that is praise to God.

Rejoice always! Joy is in spite of circumstances whereas happiness is merely because of circumstances. There is great emphasis on the fact that Christians worship because they want to, not because they are forced to. But it should not be said that we worship because we feel like it. Feelings are great liars. If Christians worshiped only when we felt like it, there would be precious little worship. Feelings are important in many areas but completely unreliable in matters of faith. The bible wastes very little time on the way we feel.

I’m not feelin it…

We think that if we don't feel something there can be no authenticity in doing it. But the wisdom of God says something different: that we can act ourselves into a new way of feeling much quicker than we can feel ourselves into a new way of acting. Worship is an act that develops feelings for God, not a feeling for God that is expressed in worship. When we obey the command to praise God in worship, our deep, essential need to be in a relationship with God is nurtured. God does not reduce us to a set of Pavlovian reflexes so that we mindlessly worship and pray and obey on signal; he establishes us with a dignity in which we are free to receive his word, his gifts, his grace. One of the delightful discoveries along the way of Christian discipleship is how much enjoyment there is, how much laughter you hear, how much sheer fun you find. Gratitude will move anyone who has truly received grace to do as God requires, and daily to cry out His praises.

The emotional side of knowing God is often played down these days for fear of encouraging a maudlin self-absorption. It is true that there is nothing more irreligious than self-absorbed religion, and that it is constantly needful to stress that God does not exist for our comfort or happiness or satisfaction, or to provide us with "religious experiences," as if these were the most interesting and important things in life. But we must not lose sight of the fact that knowing God is an emotional relationship, as well as an intellectual and volitional one, and could not indeed be a deep relation between persons were it not so. The believer is, and must be, emotionally involved in the victories and vicissitudes of God's cause in the world.

Artificiality is one curse that will drop away the moment we kneel at Jesus' feet and surrender ourselves to His meekness. Then we will not care what people think of us so long as God is pleased. Then what we are will be everything; what we appear will take it's place far down the scale of interest for us. Apart from sin we have nothing of which to be ashamed. Only an evil desire to shine makes us want to appear other than we are.

The joy that develops in the Christian way of discipleship is an overflow of spirits that comes from feeling good not about yourself but about God. We find that his ways are dependable, his promises sure. This joy is not dependent on our good luck in escaping hardship. It is not dependent on our good health and avoidance of pain. Christian joy is actually in the midst of pain, suffering, loneliness and misfortune. As Christians do the jobs and tasks assigned to them in what the world calls work, we learn to pay attention to and practice what God is doing in love and justice, in helping and healing, in liberating and cheering.

But what about suffering?

God's wisdom is not, and never was, pledged to keep a fallen world happy, or to make ungodliness comfortable. Not even Christians has he promised a trouble-free life; rather the reverse. He has other ends in view for life in this world than simply to make it easy for everyone. We should not be too taken aback when unexpected and upsetting and discouraging things happen to us now. What do they mean? Simply that God in his wisdom means to make something of us which we have not attained yet, and he is dealing with us accordingly. We may be frankly bewildered at things that happen to us, but God knows exactly what he is doing, and what he is after, in his handling of our affairs. We ought not to hesitate to trust his wisdom, even when he leaves us in the dark.  Even when we cannot see the why and the wherefore of God's dealings, we know that there is love in and behind them, and so we can rejoice always even when humanly speaking, things are going wrong. We know that the true story of our life, when known, will probe to be "mercy from first to last"-- and we are content.

The Son of God suffered unto the death, not that men might not suffer, but that their sufferings might be like His. Those who work well in the depths of life more easily understand the heights, for indeed in their true nature they are one in the same.  -George MacDonald-

When people know God, losses and "crosses" cease to matter to them; what they have gained simply banishes these things from their minds. Our God is faithful and He is constant. We should remember that God does not change. We are in a relationship with the same Being as the apostles, Moses, Noah, David, and so on. God is personal but He is not a person the same sort as us who are weak, inadequate, ineffective, and a little pathetic. He is eternal, infinite in all his qualities and almighty!

How may we form a right idea of God's greatness? The Bible teaches us two steps that we must take. The first is to remove from our thoughts of God limits that would make him small. The second is to compare him with powers and forces which we regard as great. You don’t go to the grand canyon and exclaim “Look how big I am!”

Let the words of Paul soak in your mind (Phillippians 4:4-20). Paul wrote these words while in one the the worst prisons of his life. Paul was in the inner cell, where he was put in an awkward position after having his back ripped open by flogging. Not only that, but the inner cell was at the bottom of all the prison, so it is said that the excrement from all the prisoners would funnel down and lands in this cell. Talk about poop in the wounds!

^"4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 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. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Thanks for Their Gifts

 ¹⁰ I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. ¹¹ I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³ I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

 ¹⁴ Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. ¹⁵Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; ¹⁶ for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. ¹⁷ Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. ¹⁸ I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. ¹⁹And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

 ²⁰ To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

No one should seek their own good, but the good of others

What do we do with this joy? What do we do with this perserverence? We bless others! We ourselves have everything we could possibly want. To have everything you need and to have Jesus are one in the same. God is first, others are second… but you are not third. You aren’t even in the picture.

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God, for we are not seeking our own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.

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The List

I was hesitant about putting this up here, but I shared it to some group mates and they really enjoyed it.

The following is part of an assignment that I had to do for COM 252: Interpersonal Communication. I was asked to make a list of 50 qualities that are "must have's" and cant stand's in a mate. This is what I came up with. Really we shouldn't look at people as something to be graded, but nevertheless, it is good to set yourself up for success. So here it is:

She should be/have:

1.      She is consistently striving to be more Christ-like.

2.      A relationship with her would make me more effective in life and my ministry than I would be if I were single. She would make me more like Christ. Someone I can give my whole life as a gift to and someone willing to give her whole life to me.

3.      She practices self-sacrificial love.

4.      Her relationship with God is the priority in her life. She loves Jesus more than she could ever love me. I am not the primary relationship in her life.

5.      She is humble. Willing to lay down pride. Not Conceited. Willing to be lead.

6.      She is a leader and a follower. She has people she is pouring into and she has people that are leading her.

7.      She is joyous. She knows what is important in life and does not let minor afflictions (or major afflictions) steal her hope and joy. She smiles at the future.

8.      She is a peace maker. She brings peace to me and others when needed.

9.      She is patient.

10.  She is kind and empathetic.

11.  She is generous. Money is not something she desires. She sees her blessing as a resource to bless others.

12.  She is gentle. Not aiming to hurt or offend.

13.  She is faithful.

14.  She has self-control.

15.  Her actions are filled with good deeds; good deeds are the default

16.  She is consistently helping others grow in Christ-likeness

17.  She is servant hearted.

18.  She is sexually pure. Doesn’t mean she hasn’t made mistakes, but she has been redeemed and is living in a season of purity.

19.  Her motives for a relationship are pure.

20.  She is wise. She seeks to gain more wisdom.

21.  She sees people with God’s perspective. She loves others and herself as God loves her.

22.  She is a good steward of her time and money.

23.  She is consistently making good decisions and following through with them.

24.  She has learned to submissively respond to the authority in her life.

25.  She is immersed in authentic, transparent, and dependent community.

26.  Moving at the same pace as me. Seeking the Kingdom of God at the same pace.

27.  We have great mutual friends. We can love and serve our friends together.

28.  Would make a great mother.

29.  Always seeking to become less so that God and other people can be blessed.

30.  Has the same heart for poor, the helpless, the broken-hearted.

31. Sense of humor is always good too. I would hate my puns and my ridiculousness to be received with a straight face...

It's not good if:

1.      She's concerned with moving up in society. If anything, she should be striving to live simpler.

2.      She’s consumed with materialism, fashion, or having fancy things.

3.      She looks to tear people down.

4.      She takes pleasure in gossip, malice or deceit. Doesn’t talk bad about her friends or anyone for that matter.

5.      Not willing to make sacrifices.

6.      She puts herself before others.

7.      She is obsessed with looking pretty, wearing make-up, being tan, etc.

8.      She doesn’t have a heart for the needy.

9.      She doesn’t walk with the Spirit. She doesn’t submit to authority.

10.  Looks for drama.

11.  She doesn’t worship with all her heart.

12.  She lets other’s impressions define who she is.

13.  She relies on alcohol or any substance to make her happy, more social, more confident, etc.

14.  She doesn’t take care of her body.

15.  She expects others to be like her.

16.  She judges and condemns.

17.  She is racist, elitist, or anything of the sort.

18.  Isn’t kind and patient with her family.

19.  She has more the 30 pairs of shoes…

20.  Afraid to live adventurous. Not willing to travel or try new things. Afraid of change. Stubborn in her ways.

21.  Hypocritical.

And here is the reflection that followed it:

Reflection

My list illustrates that I am looking for someone to be with me in the long run. I am looking for someone to be along my side, to be a helper in everything I do, to challenge me to improve, to make me more like Christ, etc. I would only want a relationship if we would glorify God more together than individually. What I’m looking for is a helpmate and a best friend, someone I can give my whole life to as a gift, someone I can love as Jesus loved the Church.

            This list has almost everything to do with who she is and nothing to do about her body, where she came from, her possessions or anything of that sort. I would hope to be physically attracted to her, but even that is not what I truly care about because beauty fades. I care more about who she is and who she’s becoming. I want a daughter of God who is becoming more loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. I want someone who compliments who I am in both similarities and differences.

            The relationship I desire is bound to be counter-cultural. Society focuses so much on the beauty of the individual and what you can receive from them. We treat marriage like real-estate: get the best piece of land for the cheapest price and settle. But it shouldn’t be like that at all. I know there are a hundred girls in my community who I could marry and be just fine with it, because Christian marriage isn’t about marrying the right spouse; it’s about becoming the right spouse. I am not looking for someone to receive all I can from, but someone that I can give all I am. Indeed, a relationship should be more about holiness than about happiness, for it is when one forgets about their self completely that they find joy. My relationship will be against the norm, because the norm doesn’t seem to be working these days. 

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