There is a man..

There is a man who is honorable. A man who guards his mind and the mind of others. Who will stop a conversation and redirect it when it gets anywhere near a topic in which sons and daughters of God should not be engaging.

There is man who is humorous. A man who isn't afraid to be a tad goofy and who always can induce chuckles. Whose humor spans from geeky jokes about Star Wars to clever jokes about theology.

There is a man who is chivalrous. A man who still opens doors, pulls out chairs, removes his hat inside,  and delights in treating a lady to dinner. A man who does this genuinely and not just because he knows he should.

There is a man who is gentle. A man who can simultaneously cheer up and comfort a lady, with kind words, practical advice, and sincere empathy. A man who can do nothing more than simply hold a lady's hand and somehow offer so much peace.

There is a man who is protector. A man who will draw his verbal sword to defend a lady when someone has hurt her. Who I reckon would draw his actual sword if it came to it, and if he had a sword. ;)
There is a man who is thoughtful. A man who will buy a stuffed lamb for a lady so she can hug it when she's missing him.

There is a man who is humble. A man who will probably feel a bit uncomfortable reading this, and not because it's mushy. A man who knows who he is, but also Whose he is.

There is a man who is godly. A man who will toss aside his own opinions, beliefs, and ways  the minute he learns what God says. A man who is more than willing and more than happy to sit and talk about Scripture for hours on end. A man who is as studious as Jonathan Edwards, that he might have a ready defense for his faith. A man of prayer and of truth. A man who will share the gospel through words and his life.  A man who will point a lady's focus back to where it should be with a question like, "Are you trying to impress Christ or me?" A man who will leave you thinking more about Christ than himself.

There is a man whom I am blessed to know, whom I thank God for daily, and whom I love very much.

Happy Birthday, wonderful man! Te adoro!

On my mind...

On My Mind - how much we acknowledge truths, but let it stop there. We remember and even esteem truths (and those who do let the truth affect their lives). But why do we so often (indeed, more often than not) back away from living truth out in our lives? Especially since part of the truth is that we are meant to live the truths....

.."we think grand thoughts and live horrible lives"..

we read His Word and think that because we've read it and perhaps acknowledged it in our minds, that we've got it. Then when push comes to shove, we want to put blame on God because things aren't as they should be. But really, it's us. Seeking and loving Him with all our hearts, soul, mind, strength does not stop with simple acknowledgement.

And why is it that so often, when we do let our acknowledgement go farther than our heads, we have a limit to it? Like there's some point where we can stop yielding to Him...there's some line where everything becomes too extreme to change anything for God.

Like His goal isn't to make us holy like Him...like the perfection and completion He wants to bring us to according to His Word is actually our happiness and comfort...



Oh Lord, get rid of this limit in me wherever there is one...I passionately hate this limit, line, whatever would be best to describe it. I hate it, loathe it, despise it...in everyone....especially in myself. Please, rip it out of me if You need to. I don't care how much it takes or how much it hurts. Get. Rid. Of. It.

My thoughts on To Save a Life

I recently watched this movie..and actually, I enjoyed it. Having known more than one person who committed suicide, the message it sent resonated with me.

I so appreciated that they didn't just stop with the "it's not your fault" speech most suicide survivors get from some well meaning person. I really appreciated and liked that it addressed that our words and actions can and do have a large impact on others' lives.

I enjoyed how powerful it was as a movie. It was dramatic. It was thought provoking. It was inspiring.

However, as probably many who know me would say, I can be very critical of movies. Especially movies that come with a Christian label. As much I enjoyed this movie and would recommend it, it doesn't escape my critical thoughts either.

This movie shows the main character (Jake) going through radical transformation after the suicide of his friend. At the beginning of the movie he cares mostly about sports, his reputation, and partying. He goes from being a guy who dreams of playing basketball to a guy who is willing to give up that dream for another one. He goes from being a popular guy to not caring if he's liked by everyone. He goes from being a guy who thinks of himself over his friends to one who puts his friends before himself. It's a radical transformation....but my fear is that those who watch it will walk away thinking how great the main character is. My fear is that people walk away from the movie saying, "we should be more like Jake".

This is my main complaint about this movie. It has a Christian label. It involves church and a youth pastor. It has a baptism. It has some prayer. It even shows a transformation of a life...But not once does this movie give credit to the true reason for that transformation. Watching the movie, I got the sense that out of guilt, Jake wanted to change how he interacted with people. He felt the guilt so strongly that it led to him feeling the need to redeem himself. I know because I've even there. I've tried that, and even in a fictional character in a movie, I recognized it.

Not once does Jake get told that he has a Redeemer and he is not Him. Not once does anyone tell him that he is a sinner and can do no good on his own. Not once does someone tell him that Christ died for his sins. Not once is he told that Jesus Christ is the One that forgives us, makes us new, and gives the grace that enables us to change and do His good work.

I've walked through the heartbreak of a loved one killing themselves. And like Jake, it was this experience that eventually led me to transformation. But not because I was disgusted and guilty about the way things were (which I was) and I changed them. But because He drew me to Him, He showed me the truth and power of His Gospel...because He transformed me.


It so saddens me that even a Christian movie eliminates that. It's not just this movie, but so much of the Christian entertainment industry, really. Books, movies, music, talks, etc. It seems that we try so hard to woo people to Christianity through sugar coated, feel good, therapeutic, politically correct entertainment. People don't need that kind of wooing. Truthfully, they don't need our wooing at all. They need the Gospel. They need Him.

Komen and Planned Parenthood

Pardon me, I'm feeling ranty...

So, I saw the article on The Komen Foundation cutting ties with Planned Parenthood, and since then, I've seen everyone's opinions on it as well. I'll admit, I'm not one-hundred percent behind the Komen Foundation. I support what they are trying to do, but I think it's become more of a market than anything, and to be honest, that part makes me ill. But I thanked God when I saw that they cut ties with Planned Parenthood...

And I honestly couldn't help but chuckle when I read comments complaining that the fund for cancer screening was taken away. Perhaps they'd have funds for cancer screening if they redistributed the money they use for abortion costs.

And then I saw on facebook a group called "De-Fund the Komen Foundation" and I was appalled. Their info section includes this : "How is it possible that an organization claiming to support saving women's lives also turns its back on an organization that is PROVEN to save women's lives?"

...Proven to save women's lives maybe....but how many others are they proven to TAKE?

Most of their funding might not be for abortion costs, but 1 out of every 10 clients receive an abortion...

and that's too many




It still amazes me that the same people (from a lot of what I see) who support equal rights for all in every area of life are the same ones to support taking the lives of so many precious little ones.

Edited to add - I would make another post ranting about the Komen Foundation's reverse decision, but I'll just say that it sickens me...

If You're willing

Lately I've become so saddened by the lack of faith I see. It seems it's increasing, or perhaps I just am becoming more aware of it, no matter how subtle it may seem. I hear people request prayer, express their desire for whatever it is, and then attach a "God's will be done" to it. Which, at first seems perfectly reasonable and so "spiritual". What bothers me about this is that more often than not, the spirit with which it's said is not one of surrender, but one of doubt.

I know because I've been guilty of this same doubt in my own life far too often. I have prayed about situations and added my own, "If it's Your will" to the prayer. More often than not, when I've added that, it had simply been a security blanket.

I was reading in Matthew this morning, and read this...

Matthew 8:1-3
¹ When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. ² And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” ³ And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

Something about this struck me as sincere and true. This man was fully aware that Jesus COULD do it. He had the faith and confidence, he simply had the surrender as well. That's where our "if it's Your will" should come from...but it doesn't. We add it too often so that later, when He doesn't answer our prayer the way we want Him to, we can fall back on the fact we have included that, lest we become disillusioned with God.

I've heard so many people say that it's just because they've been disappointed by God so many times; they can't help but pray this way. (Which, at the risk of sounding judgmental, makes me wonder just how surrendered we are if this is the case...)

Oh that we as His children wouldn't approach prayer with the attitude of being afraid of being disappointed. For what's fear but lack of knowing who our God is?

Oh that we wouldn't pray expecting to be disappointed! As James says, "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord" (1:6-7).

And oh, that we wouldn't blame God for such disappointment, but instead ourselves!

Holiness

This morning, I cannot stop thinking, and inwardly weep, about the lack of reverence for our God. What tragedy that the church of Jesus Christ hardly recognizes this character of our God. Why..how... have we lost sight of the God who is Holy, Holy, Holy?

I remember hearing Eric read this bit from Jewish Literacy in the lesson, "Consecration" and it gripped me then and still does now. Ohh how I wish Christians would hold such an understanding and view of holiness..


God's world is great and holy. The holiest land in the world is the land of Israel. In the land of Israel the holiest city of Jerusalem. In Jerusalem the holiest place was the Temple, and in the Temple the holiest spot was the Holy of Holies...There are seventy peoples in the world. The holiest among these is the people of Israel. The holiest of the people of Israel is the tribe of Levi. In the tribe of Levi the holiest are the priests. Among the priests, the holiest was the High Priest...There are 354 days in the [lunar] year. Among these, the holidays are holy. Higher than these is the holiness of the Sabbath. Among Sabbaths, the holiest is the Day of Atonement, the Sabbath of Sabbaths...There are seventy languages in the world. The holiest is Hebrew. Holier than all else in this language is the holy Torah, and in the Torah the holiest part is the Ten Commandments. In the Ten Commandments the holiest of all words is the name of God...And once during the year, at a certain hour, these four supreme sanctities of the world were joined with one another. That was on the Day of Atonement, when the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies and there utter the name of God. And because this hour was beyond measure holy and awesome, it was the time of utmost peril not only for the High Priest but for the whole of Israel. For if in this hour there had, God forbid, entered the mind of the High Priest a false or sinful thought, the entire world would have been destroyed.


Oh, Lord, give us the correct view of You. May we tremble in fear of Your complete and otherly Holiness... and yet still long to be intimately close to you.

Ohh, may we not take lightly verses like 1 Corinthians 6:19 - "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own"

Saturday morning ponderings

I was reading and meditating on this verse this morning, and these are just some of the thoughts that ended up flowing out of that eventually.

Romans 16:17 - Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.

It's verses like this that make me shake my head, for they put too many Christians to shame. I'm not entirely sure what "avoiding them" would look like yet, but Christians don't try to in any sense, it seems. We just take anything remotely under the label of Christian and think it's wonderful. We don't test it against the Scripture, and only then declare it's value.

This is what is sad: that cults and sects like the Jehovah's Witnesses have more diligence about this (and many other commands/rules/etc.) than we who have the real truth do. Some Christians keep away from such verses just to not look like them (not just Jehovah's Witnesses). But in doing so, we lose our God. For we must take all of Him or none at all. If we think we have Him and follow Him because we have pieces of Him (usually only the comfortable pieces)we fool ourselves.

It also is heartbreaking because as much as this world pokes at Christianity, they want to see it truly lived out. What Christianity are we displaying? When sects, cults, etc. show more devotion in following what they believe, it takes from our credibility. We don't, and seemingly can't, live what we teach. Those in sects and cults are not going to believe we have the truth, and those who don't believe at all have nothing to draw them in. This world is looking for and aching to see that the Bible is true and God Is. May we prove to this world the Bible is not just another book, but the Word of God!

Oh may we, His children, be rightfully diligent. May we count all things as loss compared to knowing Him. May we leave the past right where it is and pursue Him and the calling He has for our lives. (Phil 3 ;)) For out of that flows holiness and not just legalism. And true holiness is what this world is longing to see. And true holiness is what will make the difference for His glory.