Gimme' that Old Time Religion

A think lot of people now-days have this idea of past Christians as being stuffy, legalistic, and hypocritical; considering the outward show of religion, as more important than true salvation. But as I have been reading some writings for young women, on outward conduct and the workings of Christian religion; I would have to challenge that long held belief. These people got it! Their religion (yes, I said the "R" word!) was more than pithy sayings and raising hands because of an emotional high. It was more than, empty words and time wasted on self. These people, allowed religion to change their lives! They carefully ordered their lives around the pursuit of God, and guarded their time against idleness and self-gratification. They regularly came before Christ, whether they felt like it or not. And they came to him with a (horror of horrors) righteous fear of Him. They recognized Him as their Lord and King, and didn't brush Him off as a causual 'buddy' or 'best friend' as we are apt to do today. Of course there were some who took it too far and became fake, but unless you can look around today and say that some people haven't taken this "relationship, not religion" thing too far, then there is no question that we have something to learn from our elders.
   Now I have some questions. What if we, today, took our que from the great Christians of the past and lived out our belief's instead of hiding behind our Christian freedom? (Which, by the way, is a valid belief, as long as it is kept within the proper bounds.) What if we chose prayer and Bible study, over fleeting amusement? And what if we did this all, in the spirit of loving Christ and honoring Him? I think that we could make a huge difference!!!

I shall yet praise Him

 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.

                                                                     - Psalm 42:5

   There isn't a lot I have to say on this verse. It has just been on my heart alot lately, and I wanted to share it.

   It seems like alot of times, when I want something from God, (Not like new clothes or a new phone or anything 'surfacy' like that, but truly legitimate requests, as in seeking His will or His strength), I come to Him with a demanding attitude. Not a persevering attitude, but a demanding, impatient attitude. I believe that we are to come boldly before God and present our requests with an audacious spirit, but I sometimes forget, in my desire to be bold and audacious, that I must have faith. I can't storm God's throne room and lay out my petitions, if I don't believe that He can fulfill them. And I think that's been my mindset for far too long. I've been crying out to God in desperation, without remembering that "I shall yet praise Him". 

   I hope this verse speaks to your heart, as it did to mine, in a different way, of course. In fact, I would really encourage you to read the entire chapter and even the next one, as they go together and lay out the idea in even broader terms. Have a wonderful day, and don't forget to praise God!

   

My Defender

" You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."  -1 John 4:4


   I have heard, for most of my teen-age career, that Satan is a roaring lion, and is bent on destroying me. That he will stop at nothing because he hates me, and I can never be too sure of myself lest I fall. I'm sure that this advice has come out of a genuine desire to warn and prepare me for the trials to come, but I believe that this is only half of what needs to be said. The other half, the better half, is that though Satan hates me and is bent on destroying me, my God loves me and is bent on keeping me. Think about that for a minute. Isn't it common knowledge that love is stronger than hate? Isn't it true that Jesus died? Satan will stop at nothing to destroy us, but my God didn't stop at anything to gain me, and I don't believe that He will give me over to Satan's fiery darts without a fight. A fight, which, I believe that we can all guess the outcome to. (check Revelation if you are unsure) I think that instead of morbidly waiting around for Satan to strike, so we can go ahead and fall already, we should be fortifying ourselves with God's love and power, so that when He does strike, we can hold out our shield of faith and say boldly, "My God is greater, stronger, and higher than anything that you can throw my way, and He is my defender. Whom shall I fear?"

The god of Emotions

   Now, if you are a guy trying to read this post, it may not make alot of sense to you since you operate on a more 'rational' level (at least that's what I've heard), but you are welcome to persevere and see what you can get out of this.

   I have never thought of myself as an overly emotional person. I mean, sure I tear up at the end of a sad movies, and funerals, and end of camp speeches like any self respecting girl. Sometimes I even get a little misty when I have been provoked and frustrated beyond the call of duty, but I never fly off the handle. (I leave that to my sister! hehe!) I don't become irrevocably depressed when things don't go my way, I don't have frequent and dramatic mood swings, and I don't fall to pieces when the guy I like gets a girlfriend. (which of course rarely happens!) So, I must not be an overly emotional person! Right? Ya, well, I was wrong. I am just as much of a slave to my emotions, as the girl that goes through Kleenexes like a smoker through cigarettes, except I think I'm worse. The worship of my emotions is causing me to pay a higher price than any Kleenex box, it is causing me to sacrifice a growing knowledge of and love for my Savior! 

   You see, I've been nursing a cold, since Friday (courtesy of Mrs. Amy Smith), and when I get sick, even just a little, it wipes me out! I am not one of those who can bravely march through illness without complaint. Nope, when I get sick, I need: my bed, my medicine, my mommy and some old movies, along with lots of rest and possibly my own drink refiller. Through this, I have been neglecting God. But I'm soooo tired, and I'm  sure God want's me to get my rest so I can feel better instead of waking up early to spend time with Him. He really couldn't expect me to be able to concentrate on prayer and reading the Bible with my head hurting so bad. Well, you know, I'm sure He wouldn't mind if I skipped my devotions, since I really need to catch up on something else, just this once won't hurt! Sound familiar? But the thing is, these excuses aren't just reserved for when I'm sick. If I'm tired in the morning, I turn off my alarm. If there is a really good movie on or I'm behind on laundry I postpone my quiet time. If I am reading a good book.... you get the point. Then God tapped on my shoulder and showed me how I was allowing my emotions to dictate what I did and did not do. He showed me that it is possible to control them, not in my strength but in His. As I was mulling all this over, He showed me once more how my emotions were taking over, by leading me to todays Revive Our Hearts which was on, guess what? Exactly, emotions! Is He good or what? I can only praise Him for His faithfulness in taking situations that have to potential to draw me away from Him, and turning them into learning moments that can propel me farther into my walk with Him. How great is our God!

Abide in Me

⁴ Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. ⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

                                                                   -John 15:4-5


   This year, instead of making a list of resolutions that I won't keep, I decided to choose a word that correlates with a verse to use as my 'word of the year'. Can you guess what it is? Yes, it's 'Abide'! God really laid this concept on my heart last month, as He took me through a cleansing process. He brought me to a place where I saw myself as I am, and showed me that as long as I tried to make myself holy, I would fail, but if I let Him mold me, then I could gain even greater ground. At first it was hard for me to understand how doing nothing could accomplish anything, but then He showed me that I could do something, I could simply abide in Him. So this is my goal this year: to learn to abide in Christ every moment of every day. I have found that listening to an audio bible as I clean my room or do laundry is a very practical way to accomplish this. (here is the one I listen to online) There are a lot of verses that come to life when you hear them compared to simply reading them. Another way that I'm working on, is choosing a verse or quote to meditate on if I have some mental down time, such as while I'm doing laundry or sweeping the floor, and you can't beat prayer as a way to stay close to God. I would love to hear some of your thoughts on this, and if you have any ideas for practically living out the call to abide in Christ I would love for you to share them!

Dead Prayers

   There are no possibilities, no necessity, for prayerless praying; a heartless performance, a senseless routine, a dead habit, a hasty, careless performance - it justifies nothing. Prayerless praying has no life, gives no life; is dead, breathes out death. Not a battle-axe, but a child's toy, for play, not for service. Prayerless praying does not come up to the importance and aims of a recreation. Prayerless praying is only a weight, an impediment in the hour of struggle, of intense conflict, a call to retreat in the moment of battle and victory...
   The process of hindering prayer by crowding [it] out is simple and goes by advancing stages. First, prayer is hurried through. Unrest and agitation, fatal to all devout exercises, come in. Then the time is shortened, [and] relish for the exercise palls. Then it is crowded into a corner and depends on the fragments of time for its exercise. Its value depreciates. The duty has lost its importance. It no longer commands respect nor brings benefit. It has fallen out of estimate, out of heart, out of the habits, out of the life. We cease to pray, and cease to live spiritually.

                                            - E.M.Bounds in Purpose in Prayer

Beautiful Dreamer

   The crescendo and diminuendo rise and fall within me as if a part of me. The lilting melodies lift my feet and spin me around the room, while the haunting strains expand until I think that I will burst. Through this all, a picture is forming in my minds eye; I see it as if through a fog, always taunting, always just out of reach, always perfect. It creates in my chest an ache. If I could only get past this mist that is clouding my view, if I could only find myself in this breathtaking, unearthly, land. I chide myself for my discontent spirit, and then I wonder. I wonder if it is wrong to dream of this place that will never be. 'Or perhaps', the whisper comes, 'perhaps it will.' What if, this is how I am to long for my true home, what if, it is my true home. I am a pilgrim after all, and as such, is it wrong to dream of going home? Can I be called discontent for fixing my eyes on what is ahead as I have been commanded? No, I won't thrust this to the side. I will instead embrace it, and allow it to renew my world-worn soul. I will allow it to lift my heart and mind to higher and nobler things, as I look to that which is ahead. Yes, this is a beautiful dream, one to be kept guarded and sacred. Kept until the day that my Father makes it come true and I live happily ever after!

In the Wilderness

 Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness
                                                         -Mark 1:12

   There is an important principle that is mentioned in three of the gospels, but is often overlooked by many of us today, and that is the principle of preparation. In our society today we can cook a meal in 5 minutes or order one in two. Unless the battery is dead, our cars start when we turn the key (no more of this hand cranking business). And instead of having to "prime the pump" water comes out of the faucet with the slightest push on the knob. This mindset seems to have crept into our walk with Christ, and we expect to become 'fully equipped' Christians within minutes of our salvation. We discard seasons of waiting on God's direction as "wasting time", and we jump headlong into Christian ministry without the slightest particle of preparation. Jesus Christ, the son of God, perfect, sinless, and "fully equipped unto every good work", spent forty days in the wilderness in preparation for His ministry. It wasn't because He was second guessing God's call, or postponing the inevitable, it was that He understood the importance of spiritual, physical, and mental preparation.
   I like to think of this in relation to the Sabbath. Did God really need to rest on the seventh day, or was He setting a precedent for us? Likewise, how much of Jesus' time in the wilderness was necessary and how much was for our benefit?
   Our world has changed in the last 100-200 years. We no longer live the simple, slow paced life that our ancestors did, and we expect God to adapt to this. In reality, He is the same "yesterday, today and forever" and He is calling us to adapt to Him. He is to be found not in the hustle and bustle of every day life (though He is most certainly there) He is instead to be communed with in the quiet place. Are we listening to His direction, and allowing Him to sanctify and prepare us each and every day?
   Yes, that idea for an orphanage in Zimbabwe is a wonderful and God given idea, but have you spent time allowing God to prepare you and to give you His directions? Yes, that is a wonderful, godly person, and you feel God wants you marry them, but have you spent a season in prayer, waiting on His timing? Yes, going to church on Sunday is an excellent thing to do, but have you prepared your heart for the sermon?
   God sanctifies and refines us through the little things He places in front of us, the small daily tasks or steps of faith. But if we are too busy  jumping into the next big thing, then we may miss the simple yet essential lessons, or the small but beautiful truths that come to us in the wilderness. Do you have a wilderness where you can retreat for quiet and rest, or do you only know the bustle of the city? Christ is calling us to "come away" with Him. Will we listen, will we respond?

The Case for Hymns

O God, our help in ages past, 
 our hope for years to come, 
 our shelter from the stormy blast, 
 and our eternal home. 

I have a thing for hymns. Not that I don't like contemporary Christian music, because I do. I just don't think that anything can top a good hymn! Now, most of my generation would disagreewith me on this point, and I'm fine with that, in fact, I'm used to getting strange looks when I admit that I don't listen to theradio. But,I'd like to speak to my generation anyway, and make a case for hymns.It's common knowledge that the best way to learn about a culture is to read it's literature, and I would venture to say that the same is true about hymns. Alot of times we look at the past generations and sigh, because they seemed to have so much victory in their lives and were always so strong, and we despairof ever being like them. We grow discouraged because we will neverknow how to live such full,beautiful lives. I would disagree with that! The great Christians of old have left behind them, the 'secret' to unlocking the victorious life,in the form of hymns. If you really look at the words you are singing, instead of dwelling on the (to your mind) boring tune, you would realize the incredible power and glory that the hymns attribute to God, and the wondrous things that the writers have witnessed through that power! You would learnof the rewards of complete sacrifice and acceptance. You would hearfirst hand accounts of the joys of following Jesus! I truly believe that if more of my generation would realize the treasure trove that is the hymnal, we might see more of the spirit of the great men of old here again.And that would be an incredible sight!

His Mercy; Our Gratefulness

 4.)For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness,Nor shall evil dwell with You.
 5.)But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy;In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple.
                                        - Psalm 5: 4,7


   I read these verses in my quiet time this morning, intending to use this chapter only as a prayer. But, as I prayed these words, God used them for something else. At first I thought it was really random, that in the middle of this chapter that deals primarily with seeking God's guidance, there would be this big thing about how God hates wickedness. Then after reading verse 5, I realized that the point is not just how God hates wickedness, but it is really telling about His mercy! 
   How often do you think about His mercy? Now, you all are probably better than me at this, but I hardly ever think about it. Having lived my whole life in a Christian family, I have this sort of entitlement mindset, and I never really think about mercy. I never really take time to properly praise and worship Him for the things He has done, because it never really seems like that big of a deal to me. I'm kind of like the debtor that owed the least, in one of the parables that Jesus told: I'm not as grateful as I should be, because I don't have this horrible life of sin that He saved me from. Except this is an excuse, He deserves every bit of my praise as much as He deserves the former drug dealers, or the prostitutes, or the murder's. We are told to bring God sacrifices of praise, all of us. He doesn't tell the adulterers to bring more, or the good little church girls that they only need to bring so much. We are all told to bring Him praise, because no matter who we are, or what we have or have not done, we have all been saved from the same fate, by the same man, and the same means. And God calls it Mercy.