True Religion

I don't think of myself as an admirable person. I am very aware of my many flaws, very aware of my sinful tendencies, and very aware of that I am not nearly as spiritual as those around me. In the community in which I live, I go day in and day out with great Christian people. I feel very uncomfortable most of time.

Everyday I wonder if what I'm doing is what God wants. I still don't know. Everyday I fight with myself to make sure I'm not taking the easy way out, everyday I fight not to be selfish, everyday I fight myself to love other people, to not feel forgotten, to draw from the Word and somehow, in this, become more spiritual. I fail everyday.

Once upon a time I met a man named G.Q. G.Q. was an honest man- very bright, honest man, he knew a lot about a lot of things, and he especially liked learning about old, religious guys. They were his specialty. He studied these old, religious guys a lot. He studied their family, their schooling, anyone who interacted with them, and....their writings. As a matter of fact, he made me study their writing too. And boy, have I been thankful...

What is true religion? Is it having a grip on yourself and what you're doing with your life? Is it the spiritual aura that one lets off (or doesn't) when they walk into a room? Is it having Bible verses come to mind? Is it being jazzed up for Jesus, having peace before God, having your hair catch on fire? Is it being able to praise or having an appearance of love? Yes? No. No. No....No.

We cannot rightfully judge our spiritual standing based on these things. All of these can be manipulated [by us!] and we cannot really base this judgment on it. It can't be certain...I know I don't trust myself.

True religion is God's work. It's out of our capacity to control and manipulate. It can't be self-generated. It must be in God and towards God. It's one that sees God as He is-God centered-ness. True religion is loving God and neighbor. Only he can initiate that in us.

Hypocrites love to glory in themselves- in their experiences- loving to talk about themselves rather than God. Martin Luther call this the curve of the self into the self. Christianity is and inside out, theocentric kind of deal.

Our job is to read the word and wait. Assurance comes from practice. Over time we will be more sure that we really do love God. The thorn in the flesh will be there right along with us. Giving an increasing awareness of our sinfulness- humbling us, but the elect will persevere.

You're not a Christian because you feel like one. You don't always.

Thoughts on Colossians

Colossians 1:3-14, "We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints because of the hope you have laid up in heaven.............and so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.....He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. "

Phew...

Paul, ol Paul, he is just so darn godly and ....sets such a good example...all the time. Come on, Paul! He never leaves any room to wiggle. He's generally pretty cut and dry. Doesn't leave you hangin'. Doesn't leave you in suspense. Just lays it out there.

One of my favorite doctrines in all of Protestant doctrinal land is the doctrine of adoption. I looooove adoption. I love all the comes along with adoption. Not that I don't love justification and sanctification and the others just as much, it's just that adoption makes me feel all warm and happy on the inside and I'm a girl, so I'm allowed to do that. :-) I love knowing that God views me as his daughter. I love knowing that his love is unconditional. I love knowing that he's never going to toss me out on the curb like he should everyday. And I love knowing that I have brothers and sisters that he loves just the same and who I get to be with on earth and fellowship and grow with and serve with and love. I love that I'm able to make friends with people who I have nothing in this whole wide world in common with besides Jesus and can have wonderful, deep, sincere, lasting, real relationships with. I love it. There's nothing like it.

In this passage, Paul is getting a little into this stuff. When I think about this passage, I picture Paul, hanging out where ever he happens to be at the time, writing letters to churches in different cities, being faithful to the job that God gave him, and someone coming up to him one day and saying, "Hey Paul. You hear about the Colossians?" Then Paul replies, "Nah. What happened?" "It's great news! It's amazing! The Colossians received Jesus' Gospel! They've come to faith! And you know what? They really have a love for the saints. It's awesome." Now Paul, extatic about all he just heard, jumps up and down, raises the roof, lets out some "woo hoos" and praises God for the Colossians' faith. Then he commits to praying for them. He prays that they'll grow in spiritual understanding, increase in their knowledge of God, bear good fruit, walk worthy of the calling for which they were called and be thanking God for what he did for them.

This is family at it's best. This is love. This is an example that we can follow and it is very practical. When I think of the people that God has put me with in this phase of life, there are a select few things that I deep down wish for them. 1. That they'll grow in spiritual understand and knowledge for God. 2. That they'll bear good fruit. 3. That they'll walk worthy of the calling they were given. 4. That they'll love God, be passionate about Him, and live in gratitute. I hope that they wish the same for me too. These are the essentials. Cut and dry, this is what life's all about. What better service can we do for our brothers in sisters than to ask for this things for them? Scripture affirms that prayers are answered only after they've been asked.

We can follow in the footstep of ol' Paul and commit to praying for the growth of our family. We can be committed to investing in our brothers and sisters and being a part of these things coming out. We can watch the beauty unfold and there's few things greater.

In for the long haul

Have you ever thought about how many people you have been in relationship with during your life? A lot. Every time I come home I run into someone who I hadn't even thought of in years. This weekend was Lucas Davilla. While walking out of the store Thanksgiving morning, a big tattooed kid jumped out of the drivers seat of a car in the parking lot. After a warm greeting of "Hey! I know this (fill in with choice words :-) ). Give a brotha some love!!" and I did a little catching up with him. I worked with him for 2 years in high. During those two years I spent more time with him than my family and any of my friends. He was a punk, but I liked him. We spent many evenings discussing how awful it would be if your body happened to get sent through the pizza oven and many evenings watching him see what different kinds of kitchen utensils he could stick through his gauged earlobes-among other things. Two years was spent building a relationship with Lucas and then one day it was all gone and not thought of for years.

He was just one. Most relationships are like ...grass. They are there one day, then wither away. New ones come. We don't notice it and most times, it's no big deal. Relationships are in a constant flux as we go through different phases of life. I have noticed, however, that there is one kind of relationship that just does not work like this. If there is a flop in the bond somewhere, the relationship just doesn't end. It can't be replaced by another person. It cannot just be left in the dark. It's different.

When God created each individual person, he placed them in this inescapable, relational unit with people who have an unbreakable attachment to them. The Fam. There is nothing like it. I have never met a person who has not gone an extended period of time without thought of their mom or without though of their dad or their brothers and sister. My dad's mom died 30 years ago and he still thinks about her all the time. My little guy that I've been watching for 3 yrs will grow up, having never met his birth parents and having a one in a billion chance of coming across them some day, and wonder why they left him dumpster when he was born. We can't get out of them. We can't get rid of them. We can't forget them. They're our family. They're a blessing. Make the most of them. If they're a good one- praise God and enjoy. If they aren't so much, make the most of it. It's hard. It takes time. It takes work. It's worth the work. It's worth the time. It's the only one you'll get.

"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty who was, and is, and is to come. With all creation I sing praise to the King of Kings. You are my everything and I will adore you."

As the words of Isaiah 6 are reflected in the song above and as the song proceeds in exalting God almighty and leading the singer into an area of vertical worship perse..... a sense of purpose fills in. The authors choice of words in the creation of this song encompass the entirety of man's purpose in life. Saying that the ENTIRETY of man's purpose in life are reflected in these words seems a bit risky, right? Nope. It's all there. Whoever can sing this song with a genuine heart and live it...has it all together. God is the definition of holy. God is worthy of all our praise and adoration. We must adore and worship God. That's really all there is to it. Infatuation with the King of the universe. Not to say that other things don't play out as a result, because they do, but this is the essence of it all.

It is beautiful to see how this plays out. The diversity of the body of Christ is so huge and the means by which God's children worship and adore is simply beautiful. Song, art, writing, living, preaching, many more, but all worship. All as equally glorifying.

This is really all that matters. Other things we may think are important and deserve attention and fuss really aren't. Nothing is as big of a deal as we make it. Worship is what's truly important. Are we worshipping? Are we leading others to worship and adore? Hmm?

So...

I dont think the blogging is going to work this summer. I was hoping to be able to upload pictures and stuff, but alas, there is no wifi and the computer wont read my jump drive. So...to make up for it...if you would like updates, I will be emailing them at the end of every week. So just leave me your email address in a comment and I will send them to you.

Thanks!

27 hours...

... and we'll be on our way.

Well, I lied...

...the next post Isn't going to be from Japan. It's made from Moody. I'm sitting here on my bed in my packed dorm room, roommateless, and thinking "wow, this is the first time that I'm going to be away from Moody for more than a week or so since the summer of my freshman year." The work has always been here so this is where I've been. My good friend and summer RA just inspected my room (and it is clean enough to eat off of may I add!), signed my departure slip and we said our goodbyes...and I was sad. I do love her a lot and I'm going to miss her. Then I thought back to my summer roommate of two short weeks and thought of all fun we had during our time together, all the great conversations we had before we went to bed and I was thinking of how I miss her too. This got me thinking to two phone conversations that I had earlier in the week with two people who I love and who are very special to me and a hard goodbye that I had to make on Saturday and I thought of how much I've missed these people since I saw them last. I really do miss them deeply.

I'm fascinated with the doctrine of adoption. To think that God not only make provision for our sin, has declared us as righteous in His eyes, gives us the promise of eternal life in Heaven, loves us with an unending love, but also has adopted us into His family.

Galatian 4:4-6 "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God."

Looking into the concept of adoption in Bible times and even today brings light to this topic. When one is adopted, they are specifically chosen by their new parents and are made like these parents' own child. They received all the rights and benefits of being in this family on a legal standpoint and a love one as well. It's really a beautiful picture.

Then to think this is what we have with God. He has chosen His children specifically and brought them into His family. Children of God received the love and affection of the Father, the Father's inheritance, the discipline of the Father, and many brothers and sisters as well.

Why do I want to be with all these people and others you ask? All the girls that I mentioned above are part of my family. We have the most important thing in the world in common and this is what our relationship consists of. Ephesians 4:15-16 says that when the body of Christ is functioning properly it builds itself up in love. I am blessed to be a part of this body and this family; to have been built up by some many different people in love. I'm thankful that this family confronts me on my character, challenges me to think deeply, has forgiven me quickly, stretches me, and has been a means that God has used to grow me up in Him. I love it.

I also think it's cool how when you meet another Christian you automatically have an instant connection with them. You have the family feel right from the start.

I'm excited to see this in Japan. I'm looking forward to meeting my family there, serving alongside them, and seeing Eph. 4:15-16. Family, one of God's many blessings.

6 days.