After I watched that Loui Giglio video that everyone has been talking about lately (here's the link to it if you haven't seen it, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e4zgJXPpI4), I got on google and typed in "laminin" just to find out more about it. Somehow I ended up on a random guy's blog. He was upset because his family kept sending him an email about this sermon that Giglio had given. This guy isn't a Christian, and he was really offended that people kept trying to witness to him through spam (understandable). He was naming off other proteins in the body that represented symbols of pagan religions to mock the idea that laminin's structure was intentionally designed by God. At first his response to this sermon really offended me, but as I continued reading his rant I was really convicted by his challenge to people who claim to be followers of Christ. Obviously a lot of what he said discredited the sovereignty of God and I didn't agree with it, but when I read this part of his entry it broke my heart and overwhelmed me with conviction. He said:
"Do you pray for my soul? Are you saddened to know that I will burn in Hell, or do you think God has a special miraculous plan for me? And what of the billions on Earth who do not believe in the salvation through Christ? Do their damned souls make you weep at night?"
He's exactly right. When is the last time I wept for people like this guy? On most days, I probably spend more time wondering what I'm going to have from lunch than I do pleading for people's salvation. I feel like Christians are really guilty of sharing with each other how good God has been in their lives but then not being intentional about sharing that with nonbelievers. It's like having the cure for cancer and only giving it to healthy people. It doesn't make any sense. I've had a revelation lately that I spend too much time focusing on my intimacy with the Lord...before you think I'm crazy, let me explain. What I mean by that is that everyday my goal is to get to a place where I know the Lord more deeply than I did the day before. The problem with that is that it's the goal...when the real goal should be furthering God's kingdom and my intimacy with him is simply a tool for accomplishing that. If the only reason I'm here is to draw closer to the Lord's heart, then take my home, Jesus. The reason we're here is to be a testimony and a reflection of the grace and mercy of Christ. I can't take the credit for the challenge I'm about to give you, because really it came from a guy who has never experienced the heart of God...and just to prove his sovereignty, the Lord used him, a frustrated Christian-hating atheist, to minister to my heart, and hopefully to yours. So the challenge is to weigh the time you spend meditating on meaningless matters compared to the time you spend battling for souls. I know for me it was an embarassing and convicting comparison.
Love you guys! Have a great week :)!
Dec 4, 2008
Dec 2, 2008
God In A Box
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. Psalm 63:3
왜냐하면 당신의 사랑이 생명보다 낫다, 내 입술을 영광스럽게 하리라. 시편 63:3
Parce que votre amour est mieux que la vie, mes lèvres glorifierai vous. Psaume 63:3
Weil Ihre Liebe ist besser als das Leben, meine Lippen verherrlichen sie. Psalm 63:3
Perché il suo amore è migliore della vita, le mie labbra glorificherà voi. Il Salmo 63: 3
Até Porque o seu amor é melhor do que a vida, meus lábios Glorificarei. Salmo 63:3
Поскольку вашей любви лучше, чем жизнь, мои губы будут прославлять вы. Псалтирь 63: 3
Debido a que su amor es mejor que la vida, mis labios te alabarán. Salmos 63:3
Çünkü sevgisinden daha iyi yaşam, dudaklarımla yüceltsin olacak. Mezmur 63:3
あなたの愛があるよりよい生命、唇は神に栄光をささげます。 賛美歌63:3
This weekend Dan and I went to the Korean church in Stillwater. I was supposed to write a paper about a cultural experience that was out of my comfort zone for one of my classes...the thing about God is that He is so huge that he can even use a school assignment to reveal His sovereignty to us. Dan and I were the only two Caucasian people in the entire building. In fact, they were so shocked to see us there they had us stand up and introduce ourselves before the the pastor began his sermon. I had a lot of time to think during his explanation of Acts 1, considering I didn't understand a word that was coming out of his mouth. I think the reason that we hate stillness so much is that God usually takes advantage of those opportunities to reveal areas of our hearts that we would rather not see...the revelation I had in that 30 minute span was that I have limited God by making him an idea that was comfortable to me. I limited Him based on my shallow, American view of what I thought He should be. How naive do you have to be to think that God is a middle class Caucasian man with a white beard and a robe? That's how I've seen him my entire life. While I was sitting there listening to a whole room of people sing in a language I couldn't understand, I realized that their praises were just as sweet or sweeter to the Lord as anything that has ever been offered in an English worship service I've been too. I don't even know what they were singing, but I know it was blessing the Lord's spirit. It was really neat to just sit in a place where I knew God's presence was welcome...and that's the only thing I knew. I wasn't concerned about the words of the songs or getting the tune right, I was simply able to sit there and rest in the presence of the Lord while my brothers and sisters in Christ ushered Him in through their praises.
If you haven't read The Shack yet, you really really need to! It's probably the best book I've ever read. It's basically just a really sweet picture of how desperately the Lord desires an intimate relationship with us regardless of where we are in life. It was really hard for me to get used to at first, though, because God is depicted as an African American woman (not to give anything away, sorry). I never realized how limited my view of God was until I started reading that and my immediate reaction was "Yeah right, that's so weird." The point the author was trying to make was exactly what the Lord revealed to me this weekend, that we can't limit God based on what we think He should be. God isn't confined to same cultural, religious boundaries that we place on Him a lot of times. He is bigger than what we can comprehend, and by making Him something He's not, we limit the power He has through us. So I encourage you to ask the Lord to reveal to you areas where you have limited Him and not even known it. You might be surprised to find that you make Him a lot smaller than He really is...I know I was! Have a blessed week :)!
왜냐하면 당신의 사랑이 생명보다 낫다, 내 입술을 영광스럽게 하리라. 시편 63:3
Parce que votre amour est mieux que la vie, mes lèvres glorifierai vous. Psaume 63:3
Weil Ihre Liebe ist besser als das Leben, meine Lippen verherrlichen sie. Psalm 63:3
Perché il suo amore è migliore della vita, le mie labbra glorificherà voi. Il Salmo 63: 3
Até Porque o seu amor é melhor do que a vida, meus lábios Glorificarei. Salmo 63:3
Поскольку вашей любви лучше, чем жизнь, мои губы будут прославлять вы. Псалтирь 63: 3
Debido a que su amor es mejor que la vida, mis labios te alabarán. Salmos 63:3
Çünkü sevgisinden daha iyi yaşam, dudaklarımla yüceltsin olacak. Mezmur 63:3
あなたの愛があるよりよい生命、唇は神に栄光をささげます。 賛美歌63:3
This weekend Dan and I went to the Korean church in Stillwater. I was supposed to write a paper about a cultural experience that was out of my comfort zone for one of my classes...the thing about God is that He is so huge that he can even use a school assignment to reveal His sovereignty to us. Dan and I were the only two Caucasian people in the entire building. In fact, they were so shocked to see us there they had us stand up and introduce ourselves before the the pastor began his sermon. I had a lot of time to think during his explanation of Acts 1, considering I didn't understand a word that was coming out of his mouth. I think the reason that we hate stillness so much is that God usually takes advantage of those opportunities to reveal areas of our hearts that we would rather not see...the revelation I had in that 30 minute span was that I have limited God by making him an idea that was comfortable to me. I limited Him based on my shallow, American view of what I thought He should be. How naive do you have to be to think that God is a middle class Caucasian man with a white beard and a robe? That's how I've seen him my entire life. While I was sitting there listening to a whole room of people sing in a language I couldn't understand, I realized that their praises were just as sweet or sweeter to the Lord as anything that has ever been offered in an English worship service I've been too. I don't even know what they were singing, but I know it was blessing the Lord's spirit. It was really neat to just sit in a place where I knew God's presence was welcome...and that's the only thing I knew. I wasn't concerned about the words of the songs or getting the tune right, I was simply able to sit there and rest in the presence of the Lord while my brothers and sisters in Christ ushered Him in through their praises.
If you haven't read The Shack yet, you really really need to! It's probably the best book I've ever read. It's basically just a really sweet picture of how desperately the Lord desires an intimate relationship with us regardless of where we are in life. It was really hard for me to get used to at first, though, because God is depicted as an African American woman (not to give anything away, sorry). I never realized how limited my view of God was until I started reading that and my immediate reaction was "Yeah right, that's so weird." The point the author was trying to make was exactly what the Lord revealed to me this weekend, that we can't limit God based on what we think He should be. God isn't confined to same cultural, religious boundaries that we place on Him a lot of times. He is bigger than what we can comprehend, and by making Him something He's not, we limit the power He has through us. So I encourage you to ask the Lord to reveal to you areas where you have limited Him and not even known it. You might be surprised to find that you make Him a lot smaller than He really is...I know I was! Have a blessed week :)!
Nov 24, 2008
Nov 23, 2008
Identity
"The value of identity, of course, is that it so often comes with purpose."
-Richard Grant
I love this quote! I think the only problem with it is that identity doesn't just come with purpose most of the time. The two are so intertwined, they can't be separated. The sad reality, though, is that a lot of people are not living out of their true identity.
I helped lead a disciple now group this weekend, and I talked to so many girls who were living under false identities that people had spoken over them for years. Instead of living as chosen daughters of the king, they had been labeled as worthless, invaluable, tainted failures. The enemy is smarter than we give him credit for I think. He knows that if he can confuse us about our identity, he disarms us from being able to live out the purpose the Lord designed for us. If we don't know who we are, or more importantly whose we are, we don't know the extent of our authority. As children of God, our identity is found in Him. He sees us as completely healed and blameless reflections of Christ. Anything that is spoken over us that doesn't agree with that identity is a lie from the enemy. So let your true identity determine your actions because "...you were designed for such a time as this" (Esther 4:14).
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