Encouragement in Ephesians

8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Ephesians 2:8-10, NLT

Oftentimes, I forget my purpose.  I forget why God put me here.  The title of my blog is to remind me--to bring him glory.  

I don't know why you chose to make yourself known to me, God, but I pray that it wouldn't be in vain.  I pray that you are the prize and reward of any effort I put forth today.  I revel in the fact that you are enough.  YOU are sufficient.  

I had a rough day yesterday because I lost sight of my purpose.  I've lost sight of the prize--eternity with you.  

Help me to be productive today.  I pray that I would feel accomplished in my lessons, but even if I don't, I pray I would give you glory all day today.  Remind me of yourself today, God, all throughout the day.   

Tuesday's Thoughts

My heart is saddened this morning.  For some unknown reason, I decided to watch the news and check out the top stories on Hawaii News Now.  It's SO depressing.  Tragedy happens everywhere, and it happens often.  My heart goes out to the Hot Shot Firefighters; I'm deeply saddened by the death of the 23 year old hiker from Kapolei, and I tear up thinking of the 13 year-old step brother who killed his 5 year old sister by trying wrestling moves on her.  I can't watch anymore.  Ignorance truly is bliss is the case of tragedy.  

Thankfully, our God is the God of redemption and comfort.  He is our shelter in time of need; our refuge and sanctuary; our HOPE.  I feel so incredibly blessed by God.  My personality, however, has the default setting of guilt.  When others around me struggle, how can I be happy and enjoy what I've been blessed with?  I tend to mourn with those who mourn and rejoice with those who rejoice.  The problem these days with social media is that you could mourn all day and night for your entire life with people and there would still be mourning left to do.  I think I'm going to stay away from the news for now.  I don't want to be informed.

I used to view blessings as ME doing something right, as if I were being rewarded for my good behavior.  But what about those people who follow God their entire life and still have to endure trials and hardships that are unmatched.  Is God punishing them for their behavior?  I don't think so.  The rain falls on the just and the unjust.  It's a really hard pill to swallow.

44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  Matthew 5:44-45

I feel so incredibly blessed that it's almost like tragedy is waiting for me.  I can't keep up this streak.  I pray that it isn't the case.  If it is, however, I want to be so rooted in Christ that all I can see in the midst of hardship is his face.

This is what the Lord says:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh    and whose heart turns away from the Lord. 

That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;  they will not see prosperity when it comes. 

They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.

But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,    whose confidence is in him. 

They will be like a tree planted by the water    that sends out its roots by the stream. 

It does not fear when heat comes;  its leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought  and never fails to bear fruit. 

 The heart is deceitful above all things    and beyond cure, who can understand it?"   Jeremiah 17:5-9 

I'm confident that the heat will come; the drought will come; the rain will come, and the sun will rise.  My hope is in the LORD; my joy is in the LORD; my strength is in the LORD.

Do you not know?    Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,    the Creator of the ends of the earth. 

He will not grow tired or weary,    and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary    and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary,    and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord    will renew their strength. 

They will soar on wings like eagles;    they will run and not grow weary,    they will walk and not be faint.  Isaiah 40:28-31

A Restless Yet Lazy Summer Day

Summer is weird as an adult with no kids.  Most of my friends I'd hang out with, including my husband, are all working.  I do have a lot of church friends I could call, but they all have kids and it's not as easy to coordinate with them.  

I miss having someone to hang out with all the time.  In college (and after), it always seemed like there was someone at home when I got out of class or off work.  There was always someone to do something with.  Growing up, I had a house full of people to keep me entertained.  In college, I had roommates.  At camp Timberline, I had interns.  Now, I think I'm just bored.  How can a person be "bored" at 28 years old, seriously?  This is only the case in the summer of course.  I don't have time to be bored during the school year.

I could easily fill the time today.  I actually have a lot of school stuff to look over.  I could go hiking, surfing, biking or swimming; I could read, work on the house, or go shopping.  I do love Ross, TJ Maxx, Target, Costco, and Walmart.  Ahhhhhhh.  I think the real problem is apathy and lethargy.  I don't really feel like doing anything, but I'll feel bad about myself if I just sit around and watch Netflix.  I did take Rusty on a long run/walk this morning though.  That made me feel a little better.  I should read the Bible.  It's been too long.

7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others,as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Maybe if I get up off this chair, I'll be motivated to do something productive.  On days like this I miss Florida.  I would go to a little cafe on Neptune or Atlantic Beach and roam the coast.  Again, I'd need a partner in crime.  Leaving the computer now to eat some food.  I'll let you know what I make of my day :)

Remembering an Old Friend

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.  When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.  All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

So many thoughts have been swirling around in my head these past few days:  Life on earth is short.  Things are things.  Time passes quickly.  God transcends time and space.

My childhood neighbor, Christopher Harris, died on Monday afternoon.  He was sitting in his car outside his home when a large oak tree from the other neighbor's house fell and crushed both cars.  My cousin's daughter saw it happen.  She was playing on the porch across the street from my old house.

I received this news just minutes before I went to sign all the paperwork to close on our new house in Hawaii.  It was a very bitter-sweet day for me.  That home on 10th Ct was the only home in Ocala I ever knew.  Chris was a huge part of those memories.

For the longest time growing up, we had an empty lot next to us.  In fact, my cousins and I played there fairly often; it was like a hidden jungle.  I remember once we tried to camp in the lot.  We started a campfire and had our tents up, but it just happened to be the same night someone attempted to break into our van in the front yard.  Needless to say, I didn't sleep outside that night.

In late elementary school, we met this family at our church, Abundant Life.  Jo, the mom, and her four sons: Steve, Chris, Dylan, and Derek.  I was in between the older boys, but in the same grade as Chris.  Steve's birthday was a day after mine.

I don't remember all the details because I was so young, but I remember that Jo was a single mom at the time.  She had been working hard and also had her name in the Habitat for Humanity pool to have a house built for her.  She had already volunteered hundreds of hours on other home projects with Habitat.  All she needed was the land to have her home built upon.  Someone in my family owned the lot next to us... not sure if it was my parents or my grandpa who actually had the deed.

Needless to say, we gave away the lot, but we gained some wonderful neighbors.  We all helped build the house, too.  It went up pretty fast, actually.  Everyone who helped was a volunteer, except for the construction foreman I'm sure.  The house was up in no time and now our family had new friends to help combat boredom.

We'd always find something to keep up occupied outside.  I remember playing football behind my dad's fence yard in the back lot.  I was a tomboy back then, so I loved "hanging out with the guys."  When we bought a used trampoline, I'd jump with Chris and Steve all the time.  We made up these goofy routines, gymnastics style, and had our younger siblings serve as judges.  Looking back, it was really silly, but that's what we did... I remember once Steve and I double-bounced Chris so high that he came down and did a butt buster on the bar and flipped off the tramp.  We were all a little more careful after that.

This one time, I think it was Christmas or something, Chris and Steve got a laser tag set as a gift.  We spent all night outside shooting at each other and hiding behind trees in the front yard.  It never got boring when you had neighborhood friends to hang out with.

Another thing I remember was meeting this guy Zac.  He was around our age, so we all decided to make this secret club.  Behind Chris and Steve's house was a giant pile of cinder block.  It was in stacks, just waiting to be used.  So, we fashioned some type of fortress out of it and created a secret password to enter--typical.  I, being the girl, even made member passes for everyone.  We were official.  I don't remember going there much, but we had member cards.

Then there was basketball.  We didn't play all the time, but when we did it wasn't pretty.  The outside porch light wasn't very bright in front of my house, so we had to improvise.  We found a broken lamp in my mom's shed, took the shade off, and set it on the roof of the house.  We coined this action and called it "ghetto basketball."  It stuck.  After all, my dad's bench seat from his work van sat in the front of our house.  So technically, we might have been playing "ghetto basketball" without the lamp even on the roof!  When I went back to Ocala to visit my family and ran into Chris still living next door to my childhood home, we always joked about it.

I didn't know Chris much as an adult.  Although we went to high school together, we didn't interact a ton.  Even after high school, we had some mutual friends, but mostly went our separate ways.  But that doesn't erase them memories we created together as kids.  We'll always have that, or at least I will.  I don't know where Chris is right now.  At one point, I know he professed to be an atheist, but I don't know the intricacies of our God.  I am not the judge.  I am praying peace and comfort over the entire family during this hard time.

God Did

God has been reminding me over and over lately that the work of my salvation is done.  Our pastor has been hammering this point home every week.  I'm reminded of the quote by Derek Webb on "The House Show" CD that talks about hearing the gospel over and over again:  

"There’s a great quote by Martin Luther in the sixteenth century. He had a church that he was the pastor of and some came to him and said, 'Pastor, why is it that week after week after week all you ever preach to us is the gospel?' – implying that 'we’re ready to move on to something else. Certainly we know this by now.' Luther’s response was, “Well, because week after week you forget it, because week after week you walk in here looking like a people who don’t believe the gospel. And until you walk in looking like people who are truly liberated by the truth of the gospel, I’m going to continue to preach it to you.” And, until his dying day, he did."

I was sitting in church yesterday, and during one of the last songs it was as if God was right there next to me, reminding me that it's not my good effort that makes me right with him.  I know this already.  I do.  But I don't live like it.  I need to be reminded of this everyday it seems.  Our pastor's wife shared in service, too, about being released from performance.  So many times our identity is caught up in how much we do or how successful we are.  Thank you for the reminder, O Lord, that our identity is in You.  Thank you for doing the work on the cross.

I woke up this morning with the Shane and Shane song lingering in my head.  Listen here if you get a chance:  "God Did" by Shane & Shane.  This song is very powerful.  I love the line, for what the law could not do, God did.

God Did

Growin’ up I overheard

All the grown ups sayin’

You better be prayin’

And sayin’

All the right little things

At the right little times

And I had it down

At least on the outside

I’d put my best side forward

I could smile with the best

And dress like the rest

Of the messed up church folk singin’ a song

Are you sitting down

With all your sin and shame all stored up

Are you ready to live

For what the law could not do

God did

Could it be that morality 

Got the best of you and me 

Got us thinking

That we’re on the brink 

Of a drink of the cup that’s all filled up

With the cross havin’ even a little to do with us

It was His day

It was His way

To the glory of His grace

Took our disease

Enough to please

The Father of lights

To bruise Jesus

Maybe do’s and don’ts 

Were made to show

How much we do 

And don’t ever make it

Pray With Your Eyes Open

Lately, I've been skipping around and reading different books on different days during my quiet time with God.  The problem is that I still struggle to actually be "quiet" before the Lord.  I struggle to "be still" and know he is God.

Last week, I grabbed this book off the shelf that I read in college.  My college roommate, Mandy, and I held a Bible study at our apartment for a couple semesters.  This is one of the books we read:  Pray With Your Eyes Open by Richard Pratt.

Here's a quote nugget that I've gained from reading the first chapter again.  And yes, I just used the term Quote Nugget :)

"When we view prayer primarily as a duty, our failure to pray leads to guilt.  This guilt, in turn, makes talking with God even more difficult.  To avoid this downward spiral, we should stop viewing prayer solely as an obligation and see it also as essential for life."

I thought I'd do one of the exercises to get my mind in the right frame this morning as I head back to work.  

List three areas in your life in which you find it easy to forget how much you need God's help.  Describe why you need God in these areas.  

Marriage

• I need God's help in my marriage because it is an earthly picture of Christ's relationship with us; because when left to my own devices, I act in selfish ways.  I need his help to be encouraging to my husband. I also need help loving someone else more than myself; it's not a natural inclination.  With God's help I know I will have a much better attitude toward Mike which in turn will point him to Christ as well.

Finances

• I need God's help with my finances because I have to know that every monetary thing we have is ultimately HIS.  It's so easy to forget that he's given us all we have--our jobs, our intelligence to obtain and maintain those jobs, our current living situation. Even when we think about buying this house, it's all in his hands.  I need his help to I need help remembering not to be selfish with money.  I need help remembering not to be frivolous with money.  I need help trusting that God is in control no matter what the bank account looks like.  I need help remembering that it's ALL HIS.

Relationships

• I need God's help in my relationships because it's easy for me to be selfish.  I can often neglect people to do petty things  like watching Netflix. Often times it takes so much effort to reach out and be the one to plan something or make that phone call.  I get tired and complacent.  I need his help to be confident in who he created me to be, and reach out to others beyond my comfort zone.  I need God's help because relationships take a of energy and commitment.  Real relationships mean give and take; sacrifice as well as fun.  I need help caring for and maintaining the relationships in my life. 

All in all, God has not forgotten about me.  His spirit is here to comfort me.  The Holy Spirit is there to remind me over and over that I am in Christ.  Pastor Mike talked yesterday about how the Accuser (Satan) is constantly trying to make us feel unworthy and  not good enough to receive God's grace.  He's right; we aren't.  That's why what JESUS did for us is so incredibly overwhelming!  God now sees us through the lens of what Christ did.  He sees us as redeemed and covered by the blood of the perfect lamb and sacrifice.  So when I view prayer as a duty, I've got it ALL wrong!  

"Therefore, there is now NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, ² because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you^[a] free from the law of sin and death. ³ For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh,^[b] God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.^[c] And so he condemned sin in the flesh,⁴ in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." Romans 8:1-4

Diagnosis vs. Remedy

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."  -Romans 8:1-4

I am so thankful that I am free from condemnation, yet why do I still feel guilty from a lack of connection with God in prayer?

Pastor Mike gave a good message on Sunday about Christ our Redeemer.  One of the main things that stuck with me was the recollection of Paul's words in Romans--the fact that through the law we are made conscious of sin.  I've always known that, but I'm also a rule follower.  Most of the time, I like to do things by the book.  So naturally, I tend to view life through the lens of obedience and reward.  

The gospel presented this weekend reminded me that the law merely shows us our imperfections.  The law is a mirror held up to our life to show us our flaws.  The law is not a remedy; it is simply a diagnosis.  Through the law, we are reminded of our helplessness and our need for a Savior.

"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us..."  -Galatians 3:13a

I still struggle to "work out my salvation with fear and trembling..." as Paul said in Philippians, but it's an ongoing process.  I'm thankful for these reminders of what Christ did for us in taking on the wrath of God.  

Each new day, I can walk in the light and live free from condemnation and guilt.  I'm so thankful that Christ didn't leave us in our helpless state.  He doesn't leave us crushed and broken.  He didn't show us the law and flaunt our grim diagnosis in our face.  He bridged the gap in order that we could measure up.  He provided the remedy.  He is our remedy.  Praise be to God!   

On being faithful in prayer...

Praise God it's Saturday!  I'm enjoying a cup of (warm) Joe and feeling very satisfied.  I'm trying to read Tozer, but the words are a silver ball that keeps getting 'pinged' around in my head.  I'm convinced I have a some form of adult A.D.D.  I truly feel like an arcade game.    

Sometimes I feel like I'm walking through life like a zombie -- going through motions that look normal to everyone around me.  I turn off my radar to other because I have "so much" I need to get done.  This, to me, is a tragedy.

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."  Romans 12:12

This verse sums up life.  No matter what our circumstances, we can always find joy in the hope and promise of salvation and our future glory seated at God's right hand.  During the trials and affliction that this life brings--whatever they may be--God calls us to be patient and to endure.  And through it all, whether in a season of hope or affliction, let us be faithful to God in prayer. This is the one I struggle with the most. Be FAITHFUL in prayer.

Faithful:  steadfast in affection or allegiance; a firm                     adherence to promises; given with strong assurance; true to the   facts, to a standard, or to an original.

Be FAITHFUL in prayer.  

Lord, I want to be faithful in prayer.  My spirit is willing, but my flesh is weak.  I want to turn to you in any and every situation.  I want to approach your throne of grace with confidence.  Give me the strength and discipline to call on you first.  Ready my heart this day for whatever it may bring.


  

New Mercies

"Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins."  James 4:17

Another week, another opportunity.  

I've been telling my students that they all have a clean slate this semester.  They have a fresh start in all of their classes, and the chance to be the best they can be.  Leave what happened last semester in the past, and strive to do their best NOW!  

I could probably benefit from those same words.  I mess up just about everyday.  I snap, get frustrated, ignore people on purpose, and miss opportunities to build relationships all the time.  

One of the beautiful things about God's mercy is that it's new EVERY day.  Every morning, I can collect from the infinite well of God's love, patience, and forgiveness.  Sometimes I don't believe that for myself.  I smash God into a box that will fit inside my prayer closet (which isn't very big).  

Help me, Lord, to extend grace to those around me.  Help me to see people through your eyes, not my earthly lenses.  Give me the courage to get involved, to help people... even when I want to stay out of their problems and far away from conflict.