Monday, May 19, 2008

Coming Before The Lord

I am finishing up a month-long period out at sea this week and there were several Sundays that passed by during that time. Whereas in the past I found myself wishing I was back at my home church, this time I was amazed by the Lord each Sunday on the ship. I have been leading a Bible study/discussion time each Sunday with whoever shows up and the focus of each of the times has been how we come before the Lord. I'm sure there is some doctrine that lists out the key points in how and in what mindset we come before the Lord but I merely wanted to spark discussion and get people talking practically about how they come before the Lord on the ship. The Lord was gracious just to give me ideas and verses to talk about each week. Each Sunday I was left humbled and amazed by things the Lord gave me to share and things that He gave others to share as well. Everyone left so encouraged each week by the Spirit and the Word. It was so wonderful as well to see these people around the ship during the week and be able to encourage and be encouraged by them. I am going to write a series of posts about stuff we talked about each week. I hope it is encouraging. This past week we talked about coming boldly to the throne of grace. It made me think of this hymn that I love! I love that verse from Hebrews 4! "Let us then with confidence draw near..." :)

Come boldly to a throne of grace,
Ye wretched sinners come;
And lay your load at Jesus' feet,
And plead what he has done.
"How can I come?" Some soul may
"I'm lame and cannot walk;
My guilt and sin have stopped my mouth;
I sigh, but dare not talk."

Come boldly to the throne of grace,
Though lost, and blind, and lame;
Jehovah is the sinner's Friend,
And ever was the same.
He makes the dead to hear his voice;
He makes the blind to see;
The sinner lost he came to save,
And set the prisoner free.

Come boldly to the throne of grace,
For Jesus fills the throne;
And those he kills he makes alive;
He hears the sigh or groan.
Poor bankrupt souls, who feel and know
The hell of sin within,
Come boldly to the throne of grace;
The Lord will take you in.

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Firstfruits

"The best of the first fruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God."
Exodus 23:19


I just finished reading what some would call the boring parts of Exodus where the specifics of the law were laid out. Some things that really stuck out to me were God's heart behind certain laws. The Sabbath is so beautiful and a precious gift from the Lord. A day to trust God. A day to trust God together with your family. A day to lay down the worries and anxieties of this life and place them on the altar before God.
Another beautiful part was the part about giving God your firstfruits. I see the wickedness in my own heart that resists giving God the firstfruits of my day. I resist spending time in His Word and when I finally do, I find that it is the sweetest thing ever! There are so many ways that I can offer the firstfruits of my day to God and what a joy that is when I actually see it through God's eyes. It is a gift from the Lord. It is a chance for my heart to be changed as it is attached more and more firmly as a vine to the branch. My Father didn't hesitate to give his firstfruits in sending Jesus for me. No, instead He gave freely and fully and graciously found this undeserving child. Thank you Lord! Teach me please to give of my firstfruits just like you did!

Thursday, May 15, 2008

The Hiding Place

This is one of the most amazing true stories I have ever read! Corrie Ten Boom tells the story of her time spent in prison and concentration camps during World War II for helping in the anti-Nazi underground. She was arrested along with her sister Betsie and she tells of how they learned of the power of Christ's love in the midst of intense hatred and suffering. Christ's love shines from the book and there were so many quotes that I underlined! I will share a few that especially affected me.

Her father talking to her:
And our wise Father knows exactly when we're going to need things, too. Don't run out ahead of Him, Corrie. When the time comes that some of us will have to die, you will look into your heart and find the strength you need--just in time.

They would read the Bible to the other prisoners in the concentration camp and the love of Christ spread among the women there:
The blacker the night around us grew, the brighter and truer more beautiful burned the word of God.

One of the most powerful parts of the book is seeing her sister Betsie show love and pray for the very guards who are persecuting them:
"Betsie, what can we do for these people? Afterward I mean. Can't we make a home for them and care for them and love them?"
"Corrie, I pray every day that we will be allowed to do this! To show them that love is greater!"
And it wasn't until I was fathering twigs later in the morning that I realized that I had been thinking of the feeble-minded, and Betsie of their persecutors.


And then finally at the end of the book, once the war is over, Corrie is faced with talking with one of the former guards at her concentration camp who came to hear her speak. It such a powerful scene:
He came up to me as the church was emptying, beaming and bowing. "How grateful I am for your message, Fraulein." he said. "To think that, as you say, He has washed my wins away!"
His hand was thrust out to shake mine. And I, who had preached so often to the people in Bloemendaal the need to forgive, kept my hand at my side.
Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him.
I tried to smile, I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth of charity. And so again I breathed a silent prayer. Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me your forgiveness.
As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me.
And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world's healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Light in Darkness

Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."
John 1:46


This past week I was driving to visit my godfamily and minutes after I got off the exit to go to their house, the car in front of me slowed down suddenly to make a u-turn. I slammed on the brakes and tried to change lanes but it was all too late. The next thing I knew the man was walking up to my car and scolding me. I apologized and told him I would pull over and call the police to write up a report. When he pulled over next to me I saw his wife in the passenger seat. They were an elderly couple and she had blood on her nose and a scrape on her arm. They had a small dog in between them that was shaking. I made the sure woman was alright and everything felt like I blur. Later the man came up to me and apologized for his previous words of anger. I apologized to him again and offered to help anyway I could. I kept wishing over and over that I could go back and maybe have paid better attention or slammed on the brakes harder or done something! One of my first thoughts was, Lord, why did this have to happen? I felt like Nathanael from John 1 as I thought, Can anything good come out of this? This made me think of the plethora of situations where I have called God's sovereignty into question. Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Yes, in fact unmeasured good came out of Nazareth and how amazing that thousands of years later we are experiencing the answer to Nathanael's question in our own lives in such real and personal ways.
I love the words of Corrie Ten Boom in her book, The Hiding Place, as she writes about her time in prison in Nazi-occupied Holland:

As my health returned, I was able to use my eyes longer. I had been sustaining myself from my Scripture a verse at a time; now like a starving man I gulped entire Gospels at a reading, seeing the whole magnificent drama of salvation.
As I did, an incredible thought prickled the back of my neck. Was it possible that this-all that this that seemed so wasteful and needless-this war, Schevingen prison, this very cell, none of it was unforeseen or accidental? Could be be part of the pattern first revealed in the Gospels? Hadn't Jesus-and here my reading became intent indeed-hadn't Jesus been defeated as utterly and unarguably as our little group and small plans had been?
But...if the Gospel were truly the pattern of God's activity, then defeat was only the beginning. I would look around at the bare little cell and wonder what conceivable victory could come from a place like this.


How often have I been in the midst of situations such as car accidents or sickness or anything that defies my control and I look around in my "bare little cell" and wonder how this could possibly reside within God's sovereignty? The thought is often inconceivable to me apart from the little faith I have at that moment. I was encouraged though as the beautiful imagery earlier in John 1 came alive to me.

All things were made through him, and without him was not anything that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:3-5

The true light, which enlightens everyone was coming into the world.
John 1:9


As I thought about these verses, I was driving and was staring out the window at the landscape. An obvious thought suddenly came into focus. I realized that without light I couldn't see anything at all. I wouldn't be able to conceive of this landscape or any of the millions of objects or people that surround me on a given day. Without light, I was unable to see beauty. This thought was so profound to me all of the sudden! I then thought of God as light and pictured his light falling on every area of my life, giving it beauty and purpose. Amazing! And isn't it in the darkest, gloomiest, most confusing times that the single beam of light that shines through the clouds is the most beautiful and displays its' glory most brightly? That is so true and how wonderful to be reminded of this through the truth of scripture.

Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Yes! Come and see! Come and see the beam of light shining through all of creation. It is Jesus Christ! He is "the true light, which enlightens everyone." There is not a patch or crevice in the landscape of our lives that the light of His sovereignty does not touch. And not only does his sovereignty touch our lives but it is full of unfailing, unwavering love.
Is it possible that none of the circumstances which surround us are unforeseen or accidental? Could it be part of the pattern first revealed in the Gospels? A beam of light shines. Come and see. And I think we will all find as we hear his voice that he is already beginning to open our eyes to the light of His glory.

Thursday, May 01, 2008

My Fairy Godmother and Lucy


I'm down in Thomasville, Georgia sitting in the living room with my beloved godfamily! I had so much fun playing Wii golf with my fairy godmother Teal and my godsister Lucy. Aunt Teal is a pro and killed us both!! We had a wonderful dinner together on the back patio. Lucy marinated the steak wonderfully with her special recipe and Dr. Dan cooked it perfectly on the grill. Aunt Teal made wonderful potatoes with basil and sour cream. For dessert we had Lucy's brownies with vanilla ice cream...it was so good!! I only got to visit them for a night but it was so worth it...they are my favorite and me, Aunt Teal, and Lucy always have so much fun together. :)