Christianity 101 | Ain't Complicated

A Divine Masterpiece

I am so grateful to have read this…and to believe the reality of it…and its applicability to me:

He looks on us
and sees the voids and imperfections in our lives,
yet lovingly and patiently does His work
in us
to make us His masterpiece . . . .
–Bill Crowder

This morning I read a print version of that. Here’s the online version: Making A Masterpiece.

Grab and Hang On!

In case you don’t know, I really like Daily Light on the Daily Path.

Last night upon my bed, the day’s selections I read. Here they be, a testimony for thee from me….

Morning

He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich. . . . As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.–When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.–I am the LORD thy God, . . . open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.

Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.–I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.Read it all

Let Me Tell You About My Funk?

I just read Andrée Seu’s post-for-today over at WorldMagBlog: Battling fear and doubt.

I haven’t read any of her stuff in a long time. I’m glad I read this one:

God keeps showing me the moment-by-momentness of the Christian life, and the inauthenticity of anything else. Recently it happened when I was planning to share a few fears and doubts with a friend in a letter that I was planning to write later in the day. I knew my friend to be a good counselor, and I expected that he would talk me out of my funk and back to sanity.

It was then that it struck me: In order to share those fears and doubts with my friend, I would have to hold on to them until the evening when I had time to sit down with a pad and pen. That means I would have to refuse to allow any other thoughts to intrude on my funk, if the Spirit should want to try to wedge in there with a little light or a redirection of thought.

This, I think, also points out a potential problem in the Christian counseling enterprise. Counseling, at its best, is great. But if we are not careful it can foster a kind of spiritual laziness as we, the counselee, take on the role of a waiter waiting around for rescue by a human custodian of wisdom, rather than doing our own rebuking of doubts and fears and all things contrary to the truth of God.

“That means I would have to refuse to allow any other thoughts to intrude on my funk, if the Spirit should want to try to wedge in there with a little light or a redirection of thought.”

I don’t know if I ever thought of it that way before.

I Used to Be Twenty-Six

a lesson learned in the second batch of twenty-six years

I look back twenty-six years to when I was twenty-six years old. I was mature for my age then. As I close in on the end of my second batch of twenty-six, I think I’m now less mature for my age. But now I got sidetracked from the purpose of this post.

When I reached my twenty-sixth birthday…

I had been a husband for five years.
We had two children — LaVay (3) and Russell (close to 1).
I was just into my fifth year of teaching high school at our church school.
I had just begun my second year as principal at that school.
It had been about 2.5 years since we had temporarily “retired” as Mexico missionaries.
I didn’t own a house, because I was trying to lay up treasures in heaven.

Over the next eight years, I added more to My Accomplishments.

Alas, I also added to My Pride, at least on the inside.

But inside or out, that affliction portends bad things to come. Always.

“…God resisteth the proud…” (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5).

“When pride cometh, then cometh shame…” (Proverbs 11:2).

Since the bad harvest of pride often doesn’t come right away, we get careless and carefree with pride.

Then we pay the price.

Now, twenty-six years later and having tasted its bitter fruit, do I still struggle with pride?

Sure. But now I recognize the struggle (most of the time). And I engage the battle (more of the time).

I loathe pride. And in a healthy way (I think), I fear pride.

When I find myself embracing it, I try to come to my senses and push it away in repentance.

I have experienced pride’s wrecking ball.

“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).

“Before destruction the heart of man is haughty…” (Proverbs 18:12).

“A man’s pride shall bring him low…” (Proverbs 29:23).

The proud He knoweth afar off (Psalm 138:6)

So many of My Accomplishments have gone to nothing. And so many of My Opportunities have evaporated.

What a waste!

Yup, I have paid dearly, though not yet fully.

Would I like a do-over? In a sense, my answer really doesn’t matter. The stark reality is that I don’t get to try again. That part of my life is gone, gone, gone.

Maybe God will give me an opportunity to do better tomorrow.

I hope so.

If He does, may I allow His Spirit to continue to craft in me in the mind of Christ so that the Father may see in me at least a faint image of His Son.

Abandoned?

I just read Always There over at Our Daily Bread:

I suspect that sometimes when we pray, we think something similar has happened to God—that for some reason He isn’t there. But the Bible offers us comfort with the assurance that God hasn’t “fallen from the sky.” He is always available to us. He hears and He cares.

In a time of desperation, David wrote, “Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice” (Ps. 55:17). No matter when we call on God, He hears the cries of His children. That should encourage our hearts. What was David’s response to having a God who hears prayer? “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you” (v.22). Although God may not answer as we would like or when we would like, we know that at “evening and morning and at noon” He is always there.

That’s good timing for me.

I believe what that says.

Because the Bible tells me so.

But I still find myself grasping for faith while kicking at the grasping claws of unbelief.

Do you understand what I mean?

“The Years They Have Wasted”

“People who do not know the Lord
ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries.
They forget that they too are expending their lives …
and when the bubble has burst,
they will have nothing of eternal significance to show
for the years they have wasted.”
–Nate Saint

Nate Saint (missionary pilot), Jim Elliot, Ed McCully, Roger Youderian, and Pete Fleming were martyred in 1956 at the hand of Waorani (Auca) tribesmen they sought to reach with the Gospel. In 1958 Jim’s widow Elisabeth, along with Rachel Saint (sister of Nate Saint), went to live with the same Waorani tribe.

HT: The Berean Call

Through Gates of Splendor, Elisabeth Elliot

100K+ in Zambia

For when you think your life isn’t fair:

The government of Zambia says over 100,000 children die every year before reaching their fifth birthday. Poverty, starvation, abuse, and AIDS are the most likely culprits to steal their lives.

Kids Alive International began a project in Zambia in 1999, with a visit by members of the Kids Alive Canada Board who were aware of the devastating impact of the AIDS crisis on the children of the country.

Today, Kids Alive Vice President of Operations Matt Parker says their ministry is helping to provide hope and a future for these kids. They have six children’s homes, three community schools, and care center programs in other parts of Zambia. There's always room for more. “We were recently given land in Mongu, in western Zambia, by the government. We’ve just opened our first children’s home on this piece of land.”

The dedication of the home took place just six weeks ago, and it provides a safe refuge for 18 children who were on the streets before being rescued.

Source: The light of God’s Word changes community

And here am I, having had over ten times that much life.

With well over ten times fewer problems.

God bless those who serve these little ones!