A special installment for a special day. Yesterday was Christmas Day and I feel for the first time I was able to really appreicate and understand 'the reason for the season'. Never before have I felt so blessed to be surrounded by family and friends -- really understanding that this blessing comes from God.
I was fortunate enough to spend this Christmas with my Dad, step-mom and little brother in St. Louis. We went to church at Manchester United Methodist Church for the 7:00p.m. Christmas Eve service. The service was beautiful -- wonderful music by the choir (in which my dad sings), handbells, and organ. Dr. Carl Schenck gave a wonderful sermon about the Christmas story, reminding us all that this is a day that is for everyone -- reminding us that the birth of Jesus was something that came about for every single person in this world.
The most awesome point in the night for me, though, came by the power of sitting between my two brothers, and seeing my Dad sit ahead of me up in the choir loft. "Oh Little Town of Bethleham" was one of the carols that we sang, and one of the verses they just had the women sing, and the other just the men. Hearing my little brother Evan and older brother Ryan sing next to me was enough to bring me to tears. How blessed was I to be sitting between these two awesome people - also participating, remembering and rejoycing the birth of our savior Jesus Christ. This is a memory that I will cherish forever.
I would like to share the Christmas Creed that was spoken together at the end of the worship service. Let this be a reminder of what and why we believe in the power of Jesus Christ and let us never forget that He is the Light of the World.
"I believe in Jesus Christ and in the beatuy of the Gospel that began in Bethlehem.
I believe in Him whose spirit glorified a little town;
of whose coming only sheperds saw the sign,
but for whom the crowded inn could find no room.
I believe in Him whom kings of the earth ignored and the proud could never understand;
whose welcome came from them of hungry hearts.
I believe in Him who proclaimed the love of God to be invincible.
I confess our everlasting need of God;
the need of forgiveness for our greed and selfishness,
the need of life for empty souls, the need of love for hearts grown cold.
I acknowledge the glory of all that is like Christ;
the steadfastness of friends, the blessedness of homes,
the beauty of compassion, the courage of those who dare to resist all hate and war.
I believe that only by love expressed shall the earth at length be purified."
My prayer is that we will all confess and understand our everlasting need of God, and continue to praise and worship him with as much focus and intention as we have during this blessed time of year.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
The Shack - Part 3
This has been an exciting past few days in my life, and I have not been faithful to writing in the blog. This past Saturday I graduated from the University of Missouri - Columbia and had one of the most inspiring and grace-filled days of my life. Not only was it my graduation day, but also my best friend of 15 years left for Europe and will be gone for the next 6 months.
The day began with an open house for my family and friends in honor of my graduation. Nearly 40 people came in and out throughout the day, and I had to keep on excusing myself, as I became overwhelmed at the sight of all of these important people in my life all sharing in one place together. It was truley an amazing time, and I just kept on telling everyone how blessed I felt. That feeling is still inside of me. I told my best friend as we were driving to Kansas City in preperation for his flight to Europe that I hoped to remember the feeling I had that day, and be able to feel fulfilled in the love and support that I have from my family and friends.
The quote that I am pulling from The Shack in this post is Jesus talking about the church - his "bride". Jesus says “It’s all about relationships and simply sharing life. What we are doing right now – just doing this – and being open and available to others around us. My church is all about people and life is all about relationships" (pg. 178).
SIMPLY SHARING LIFE
BE OPEN AND AVAILABLE TO OTHERS
These are the two big ideas I can pull from this quote that I think everyone - Christians and non-Christians can realte to. I have friends who have found a relationship with God through their relationships with other people. This is the community of faith that is so important to our development and sustaining ourselves as Christians.
I have fallen the past few days into some old habits and circumstances that I wish I could have avoided. It amazes me how quick and easy it is to fall away from what we are searching for in our lives. My God, what a fight it must be to stay faithful, strong, and convicted! My prayer is that God continues to work in my life so I can be open and available to others and enjoy simply sharing life with those closest to me.
The day began with an open house for my family and friends in honor of my graduation. Nearly 40 people came in and out throughout the day, and I had to keep on excusing myself, as I became overwhelmed at the sight of all of these important people in my life all sharing in one place together. It was truley an amazing time, and I just kept on telling everyone how blessed I felt. That feeling is still inside of me. I told my best friend as we were driving to Kansas City in preperation for his flight to Europe that I hoped to remember the feeling I had that day, and be able to feel fulfilled in the love and support that I have from my family and friends.
The quote that I am pulling from The Shack in this post is Jesus talking about the church - his "bride". Jesus says “It’s all about relationships and simply sharing life. What we are doing right now – just doing this – and being open and available to others around us. My church is all about people and life is all about relationships" (pg. 178).
SIMPLY SHARING LIFE
BE OPEN AND AVAILABLE TO OTHERS
These are the two big ideas I can pull from this quote that I think everyone - Christians and non-Christians can realte to. I have friends who have found a relationship with God through their relationships with other people. This is the community of faith that is so important to our development and sustaining ourselves as Christians.
I have fallen the past few days into some old habits and circumstances that I wish I could have avoided. It amazes me how quick and easy it is to fall away from what we are searching for in our lives. My God, what a fight it must be to stay faithful, strong, and convicted! My prayer is that God continues to work in my life so I can be open and available to others and enjoy simply sharing life with those closest to me.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
The Shack - Part 2
For those of you chosing to read "The Shack", let me please encourage you to READ THE FOREWARD! And maybe not even just once, but revisit it throghout the book. It may help you get through some of the parts that seem a little 'out there'.
The two portions of text that I have chosen to focus this post on involve a discussion about our limitations as humans, and how although our souls may be broken and messy, they are still seen as beautiful to God.
I have a lot of Christian friends, and have been fortuante enough to get a lot of wonderful advice from them throughout the years. My youth group in high school was such an amazing group of support, and helped to build the foundation of my faith. As I entered college, I seemed to lose that community of faith. Now, I am finally beginign to gain that again through attending the Crossing Church, and chosing to spend more time with my Christian friends.
One thing to note, though. Christian or not Christian -- we all fall. None of our lives are perfect, and we are all in a constant battle, fighting to keep our heads above water and turned towards heaven. Right now I'm making a concious effort -- through this blog, through reading Christian focused books, and talking about my faith daily with my family and friends -- to keep God on my mind EVERY SINGLE DAY. I pray that through this obediance I will be able to grow in my faith, and hopefully encourage those around me to do the same.
In this first quote, Papa (God) is talking to Mack (the main character) at the Shack. Papa says to Mack, "A bird’s not defined by being grounded but by his ability to fly. Remember this, humans are not defined by their limitations, but by the intentions that I have for them; not by what they seem to be, but by everything it means to be created in my image," (pg. 100). There are a few other quotes later on that discuss the nature of sin and how God may see sin through his eyes, but this one is so foundational. Think about it -- we are not defiend by our limitations (our sinful nature) but by what Gods intentions are for us (which are so much greater than we will ever know)!
The second quote comes from when Mack is talking with Sarayu (the Holy Spirit) in 'Sarayu's' garden. Young describes this portion of the book with immacualte detail - a beauitful garden with wonderful things in it, but everything seems to be unorderly and tangled in a mess.
Mack: “I mean, look at this mess. … But it really is beautiful, and full of you, Sarayu. Even though it seems like lots of work still needs to be done, I feel strangely at home and comfortable here.”
Sarayu: “And well you should, Mackenzie, because this garden is your soul. This mess is you! Together, you and I, we have been working with a purpose in your heart. And it is wild and beautiful and perfectly in process. To you it seems like a mess, but to me, I see a perfect pattern emerging and growing and alive – a living fractal," (pg. 138).
The definition of fractal accoring to an online dictionary is "a complex geometric pattern exhibiting self-similarity in that small details of its structure viewed at any scale repeat elements of the overall pattern." Something a little hilarious and ironic...after this definition it says "see also...chaos". haha!
The mess that Mack is seeing in the garden is his own soul. But what I think creates wonderful imagrey is when Sarayu tells Mack that "together, you and I, we have been working on a purpose in your heart". We must remember that our journey through faith is not something we can do on our own. In fact, it is taking ourselves out of the equation and just giving everything up to God. Although our lives may seem like they are a mess, we must remember that God and the Holy Spirit are at work within us. Our souls may be messy, but they are a work in progress and it is our responsibility to continue opening ourselves up to Christ.
The two portions of text that I have chosen to focus this post on involve a discussion about our limitations as humans, and how although our souls may be broken and messy, they are still seen as beautiful to God.
I have a lot of Christian friends, and have been fortuante enough to get a lot of wonderful advice from them throughout the years. My youth group in high school was such an amazing group of support, and helped to build the foundation of my faith. As I entered college, I seemed to lose that community of faith. Now, I am finally beginign to gain that again through attending the Crossing Church, and chosing to spend more time with my Christian friends.
One thing to note, though. Christian or not Christian -- we all fall. None of our lives are perfect, and we are all in a constant battle, fighting to keep our heads above water and turned towards heaven. Right now I'm making a concious effort -- through this blog, through reading Christian focused books, and talking about my faith daily with my family and friends -- to keep God on my mind EVERY SINGLE DAY. I pray that through this obediance I will be able to grow in my faith, and hopefully encourage those around me to do the same.
In this first quote, Papa (God) is talking to Mack (the main character) at the Shack. Papa says to Mack, "A bird’s not defined by being grounded but by his ability to fly. Remember this, humans are not defined by their limitations, but by the intentions that I have for them; not by what they seem to be, but by everything it means to be created in my image," (pg. 100). There are a few other quotes later on that discuss the nature of sin and how God may see sin through his eyes, but this one is so foundational. Think about it -- we are not defiend by our limitations (our sinful nature) but by what Gods intentions are for us (which are so much greater than we will ever know)!
The second quote comes from when Mack is talking with Sarayu (the Holy Spirit) in 'Sarayu's' garden. Young describes this portion of the book with immacualte detail - a beauitful garden with wonderful things in it, but everything seems to be unorderly and tangled in a mess.
Mack: “I mean, look at this mess. … But it really is beautiful, and full of you, Sarayu. Even though it seems like lots of work still needs to be done, I feel strangely at home and comfortable here.”
Sarayu: “And well you should, Mackenzie, because this garden is your soul. This mess is you! Together, you and I, we have been working with a purpose in your heart. And it is wild and beautiful and perfectly in process. To you it seems like a mess, but to me, I see a perfect pattern emerging and growing and alive – a living fractal," (pg. 138).
The definition of fractal accoring to an online dictionary is "a complex geometric pattern exhibiting self-similarity in that small details of its structure viewed at any scale repeat elements of the overall pattern." Something a little hilarious and ironic...after this definition it says "see also...chaos". haha!
The mess that Mack is seeing in the garden is his own soul. But what I think creates wonderful imagrey is when Sarayu tells Mack that "together, you and I, we have been working on a purpose in your heart". We must remember that our journey through faith is not something we can do on our own. In fact, it is taking ourselves out of the equation and just giving everything up to God. Although our lives may seem like they are a mess, we must remember that God and the Holy Spirit are at work within us. Our souls may be messy, but they are a work in progress and it is our responsibility to continue opening ourselves up to Christ.
Friday, December 19, 2008
The Shack - Part 1
I have just finished reading "The Shack" by William P. Young. I chose to read this book after Dave Cover mentioned it in one of his sermons a few months ago. Finally I was able to sit down and read the short book in a few days, and I encourage everyone to read it. It is nearly 250 pages long - a quick read, but one that will certainly make you think!
While reading, I kept track of places where something stood out that particularly touched me. Because I am loaning the book to my parents to read, I just went through and typed up all of these touching passages, and have decided to make them the topic of my next few days worth of posts. Trust me...there is plenty to discuss!
I'd like to start by saying that this book is somewhat controversial and by no means am I trying to say that what I believe Young writes is the ultimate truth as seen through Mack's eyes (or remembered through his memories). I don't want to give too much away for those of you who might end up reading it one day, so I will stay away from the big plot points. I will just be focusing on a few passages that I think can be used to explain or shed light on some important issues that Christians today face.
For "Part 1" of this multi-part installment, I just want to bring up the idea of calling God "Papa", which is how God is referred to by Mack's wife, Jesus, the Holy Spirit (Sarayu), and then finally Mack himself. Initially Mack is hesitant to call God this, thinking that it is far too personal to be calling something as BIG as God by a name that is so intimate.
In thinking about the term "papa", and the idea of a kind, wonderful, and loving father, I am forced to wonder..how many of us really know what that is? My relationship with my father has been nothing but tumultuous throughout my childhood and just now as I am becoming an adult is becoming more loving and full of trust and understanding. Part of why my father and I didn’t get along was because we are so much alike. For some reason I don’t feel like this is the case with God and humanity. Perhaps it is our stark difference from Him that make us drawn to God...
While reading, I kept track of places where something stood out that particularly touched me. Because I am loaning the book to my parents to read, I just went through and typed up all of these touching passages, and have decided to make them the topic of my next few days worth of posts. Trust me...there is plenty to discuss!
I'd like to start by saying that this book is somewhat controversial and by no means am I trying to say that what I believe Young writes is the ultimate truth as seen through Mack's eyes (or remembered through his memories). I don't want to give too much away for those of you who might end up reading it one day, so I will stay away from the big plot points. I will just be focusing on a few passages that I think can be used to explain or shed light on some important issues that Christians today face.
For "Part 1" of this multi-part installment, I just want to bring up the idea of calling God "Papa", which is how God is referred to by Mack's wife, Jesus, the Holy Spirit (Sarayu), and then finally Mack himself. Initially Mack is hesitant to call God this, thinking that it is far too personal to be calling something as BIG as God by a name that is so intimate.
In thinking about the term "papa", and the idea of a kind, wonderful, and loving father, I am forced to wonder..how many of us really know what that is? My relationship with my father has been nothing but tumultuous throughout my childhood and just now as I am becoming an adult is becoming more loving and full of trust and understanding. Part of why my father and I didn’t get along was because we are so much alike. For some reason I don’t feel like this is the case with God and humanity. Perhaps it is our stark difference from Him that make us drawn to God...
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Patience is a Virtue
I am struggling right now with patience. Patience with feeling better from being ill, with my parents, with my friends, with my relationship with God. I am learning that not everything happends on my time, or the way in which I want it to.
So...in hopes of trying to releive some of this stress and anxiety - I'm blogging about Jesus!
This entry will focus a little on the sermon by my brothers good friend Luke Miedema at the Crossing Church on November 30, 2008.
Luke preached an amazing sermon -- partly I would like to believe because he had the support of a ton of his friends there! My brother and his girlfriend went to church at the Crossing for the first time ever, (and probably the first time being at church in a long time too) as well as about 5 or 6 other of Luke's good friends.
In any case, he talked about the "funcitonal gospel" or what we actually use to determine our daily behavior. Come to find out what we use as our functional gospel is entirely different from the gospel we should be living. The Christian life is a fight to believe the promises of God. Man I love that statement -- it inspired the name of this blog! Luke says we can do this in three ways
1. know yourself and know the top contenders for your heart
2. spot false gospels when they fail (because God will NEVER fail you)
3. preach the gospel to eachother daily
The question was raised "What is the most threatening thing to our faith?" I think this really responds to #1 on the aforementioned list. We have to know what the top contenders for our heart are so we can block those out and make sure we don't start looking to them as our gospels instead of Christ. We as humans always try and make our faith "grace + something". This takes away our precious energy from God -- all we need is grace, nothing more! Furthermore, this "grace + something" attitude towards life is ultimately sinful, which is a broken connection with God.
A good verse to end with:
"Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
-Ephesians 6:14-17
So...in hopes of trying to releive some of this stress and anxiety - I'm blogging about Jesus!
This entry will focus a little on the sermon by my brothers good friend Luke Miedema at the Crossing Church on November 30, 2008.
Luke preached an amazing sermon -- partly I would like to believe because he had the support of a ton of his friends there! My brother and his girlfriend went to church at the Crossing for the first time ever, (and probably the first time being at church in a long time too) as well as about 5 or 6 other of Luke's good friends.
In any case, he talked about the "funcitonal gospel" or what we actually use to determine our daily behavior. Come to find out what we use as our functional gospel is entirely different from the gospel we should be living. The Christian life is a fight to believe the promises of God. Man I love that statement -- it inspired the name of this blog! Luke says we can do this in three ways
1. know yourself and know the top contenders for your heart
2. spot false gospels when they fail (because God will NEVER fail you)
3. preach the gospel to eachother daily
The question was raised "What is the most threatening thing to our faith?" I think this really responds to #1 on the aforementioned list. We have to know what the top contenders for our heart are so we can block those out and make sure we don't start looking to them as our gospels instead of Christ. We as humans always try and make our faith "grace + something". This takes away our precious energy from God -- all we need is grace, nothing more! Furthermore, this "grace + something" attitude towards life is ultimately sinful, which is a broken connection with God.
A good verse to end with:
"Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
-Ephesians 6:14-17
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
The Peace of Mary
This post is in reference to the sermon at The Crossing Church on Sunday December 14 by Shay Roush entitled "The Surprise of Mary".
This sermon touched me in many ways, as I have never stopped to really think about the Christmas story, or the 'characters' in it. Mary is such a remarkable woman, and someone I wish I would have started studying sooner. Most notably, this passage from Luke, right after the angel Gabriel was sent to Nazareth to visit Mary and tell her that she will conceive the son of God, really shows the strength and commitment to God in Mary:
"Then Mary said, 'Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.'" Luke 1:38
Mary, although scared and uncertain how this miracle can even occur, bows before the Lord and says "here I am!" What amazing faith!
Shay noted in the sermon how Mary has PEACE about the things that God chose for her to go through. This brings up interesting points about free will, and what God "chooses" for us to go through, or what we ourselves choose to put ourselves through. Regardless of who is really the one making the decisions, a powerful scripture was presented that I feel every Christian can identify with.
"But as for me, I will look to the Lord,
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
my God will hear me.
Do not rejoyce over me, O my enemy;
when I fall, I shall rise;
when I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be a light to me.
I must bear the indignation of the Lord,
because I have sinned against him,
until he takes my side and executes judgement for me.
He will bring me out to the light;
I shall see his vindication."
-Micah 7:7-9
God I know that I have sinned against you, but I also have faith that when I fall, you will be my light and help me rise! We have all fallen, and will fall again, but it is the redeeming power of the Lord that makes all of this so amazing!
My prayer for today is that I continue to look to Christ for my salvation, and know that God will be my light.
THINGS I WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT: The Root/Rod of Jesse, Elizabeth - the mother of John the Baptist and her relationship with Mary
BOOKS TO READ: "The Real Mary" by Scott McKnight
This sermon touched me in many ways, as I have never stopped to really think about the Christmas story, or the 'characters' in it. Mary is such a remarkable woman, and someone I wish I would have started studying sooner. Most notably, this passage from Luke, right after the angel Gabriel was sent to Nazareth to visit Mary and tell her that she will conceive the son of God, really shows the strength and commitment to God in Mary:
"Then Mary said, 'Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.'" Luke 1:38
Mary, although scared and uncertain how this miracle can even occur, bows before the Lord and says "here I am!" What amazing faith!
Shay noted in the sermon how Mary has PEACE about the things that God chose for her to go through. This brings up interesting points about free will, and what God "chooses" for us to go through, or what we ourselves choose to put ourselves through. Regardless of who is really the one making the decisions, a powerful scripture was presented that I feel every Christian can identify with.
"But as for me, I will look to the Lord,
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
my God will hear me.
Do not rejoyce over me, O my enemy;
when I fall, I shall rise;
when I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be a light to me.
I must bear the indignation of the Lord,
because I have sinned against him,
until he takes my side and executes judgement for me.
He will bring me out to the light;
I shall see his vindication."
-Micah 7:7-9
God I know that I have sinned against you, but I also have faith that when I fall, you will be my light and help me rise! We have all fallen, and will fall again, but it is the redeeming power of the Lord that makes all of this so amazing!
My prayer for today is that I continue to look to Christ for my salvation, and know that God will be my light.
THINGS I WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT: The Root/Rod of Jesse, Elizabeth - the mother of John the Baptist and her relationship with Mary
BOOKS TO READ: "The Real Mary" by Scott McKnight
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Welcome to my Blog!
I have decided to begin a blog documenting my journey of faith in Jesus Christ. I feel that I am at a point in my life where I am ready to give myself to God. This is no easy task (as every Christian knows), and so I am hoping to document my triumphs and failures in this journey through this blog.
I am going to do my best to update everyday - as my journey with Christ must be something that I put before my life every day that I wake. Without this constant attention it will too easily slip out of sight and out of my mind.
Through posting about current books I'm reading, especially touching sermons at church, and other inspirational or touching moments that happen throughout my life, I am hoping that others as well as myself are able to grow in our relationship with God.
I am going to do my best to update everyday - as my journey with Christ must be something that I put before my life every day that I wake. Without this constant attention it will too easily slip out of sight and out of my mind.
Through posting about current books I'm reading, especially touching sermons at church, and other inspirational or touching moments that happen throughout my life, I am hoping that others as well as myself are able to grow in our relationship with God.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg)