Deuteronomy 8:1-5 - Keep and live out the entire commandment that I'm commanding you today so that you'll live and prosper and enter and own the land that God promised to your ancestors. Remember every road that God led you on for those forty years in the wilderness, pushing you to your limits, testing you so that he would know what you were made of, whether you would keep his commandments or not. He put you through hard times. He made you go hungry. Then he fed you with manna, something neither you nor your parents knew anything about, so you would learn that men and women don't live by bread only; we live by every word that comes from God's mouth. Your clothes didn't wear out and your feet didn't blister those forty years. You learned deep in your heart that God disciplines you in the same ways a father disciplines his child.
I read this passage last night and it really jumped out at me. I was struck with the thought of just how relevant the Old Testament is. Not just for knowing our history and the prophecies about the Messiah to affirm our faith, but to instruct us how to live.
Look at this passage. We never entered a land promised to our ancestors. We weren't literally led through a wilderness for forty years. God never gave us manna to eat when we were hungry. But we know all about wandering through a foreign place without any clear directions, without any foreknowledge. We know about going spiritually hungry with only God to satisfy us. We have felt God discipline us the way our earthly parents punish us and set us back on the right track.
As Moses said, God tests us to see how we react. He wants to know where our true loyalties are, if we walk the walk or not. It reminds me of when Jason and Kim left First Pres. It was so tempting to curse at God and never speak to Him again for taking them away from me. But somewhere, in the back of my head or deep in my heart, I knew that the only One I could go to was God. And He was the One to comfort me and lead me out of that unfamiliar "wilderness". I think that that moment really solidified my trust in God and the way that I love Him. It's unconditional. I know that sometimes, well, a lot of times, I don't hold up my end of the deal. But if the Old Testament is as relevant as God says it is, then He's been carrying out both sides of the bargain since He put Abraham in a deep sleep and performed the covenant ceremony alone.
I'm glad that I can rely on God like that, and that He put Himself in such a vulnerable position for me. I know that we are all undeserving, but the fact that He would do this for us so early in the salvation process gives me hope. And now I know what God wants me to do: love Him; keep His commands; love others. Bear good fruit. I can't do it alone, but thank God for staying by my side while I try. :)
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Expectations
A bar sits on a pedestal in the center of the room. You are alone. The objective is to make it to the other side of the room. Something must be done about that bar. You have a few choices:
1. Ignore the bar and smack right into it;
2. Step around the bar;
3. Duck under the bar; or
4. Jump over the bar.
Well, ignoring it does no good unless you want a bruised forehead. You are forced to face the challenge before you in another way.
Stepping around it is perfectly fine, if you prefer evasiveness. You can avoid the problem all you want but it’s still there. Your sense of accomplishment won’t be very high, either.
How about ducking under the bar? Whew, that was a close one! You took a risk, putting yourself in such a vulnerable position. What if the bar had fallen off of the pedestal? But you made it without a scratch. You didn’t even touch the bar. Still, the thrill isn’t as high as it could have been.
The only other option is to jump over it. You back up to the wall, breathe in deeply, and then pump your legs as fast as you possibly can. Faster, faster, until you throw your body into an arch, tuck your legs in, and clear the bar with two inches to spare. You land firmly on your feet and exit the room with well-earned pride.
What is the point, though? If all you have to do is walk across the room, why bother jumping?
Imagine that the bar represents the standards that you are striving for in life. You still have the same choices for meeting those expectations. So let us review the merits of each one.
Ignoring what is expected of you can be dangerous and harmful to your one and only experience of life. If you continually treat life as a joke without its challenges, you will be stuck in one place, bumping your head.
Avoiding the challenges is acceptable if you want to lead a boring life. Taking risks will enrich your life further if that is what you desire, but there is nothing necessarily wrong with living safely. Consider it carefully before you make that decision, because there’s no way to make it through life alive.
Playing limbo with those expectations is the best option thus far. That is the equivalent of almost reaching it, getting as close as you can without actually touching it. You will feel satisfied with taking the plunge and attempting it, but unless you actually reach your goals and your full potential, you will be missing out on some of the opportunities life has to offer. Yes, it is risky, making it to the top, but it is worth the risk.
That leaves treating the expectations like a high jump bar. This is the most dangerous of all. By making the leap, you are letting go of your fears and self-consciousness and just going for it. It is only fair to warn you that you may fail the first few times. It takes practice to successfully clear the bar. But the practice is worth it, because when your life is over, you will be able to stand tall and say, “I made the jump. I took the risk, and I made it over.”
See, if that bar represents the expectations placed on you, there is still a lot of space between the bar and the ceiling. There is plenty of open sky waiting for you to reach out and try to grasp. Don’t ignore it, step around it, or duck under it. Reach for the stars. Take a running start and launch yourself into all of life’s possibilities. Live until the day you die. Challenge those expectations.
1. Ignore the bar and smack right into it;
2. Step around the bar;
3. Duck under the bar; or
4. Jump over the bar.
Well, ignoring it does no good unless you want a bruised forehead. You are forced to face the challenge before you in another way.
Stepping around it is perfectly fine, if you prefer evasiveness. You can avoid the problem all you want but it’s still there. Your sense of accomplishment won’t be very high, either.
How about ducking under the bar? Whew, that was a close one! You took a risk, putting yourself in such a vulnerable position. What if the bar had fallen off of the pedestal? But you made it without a scratch. You didn’t even touch the bar. Still, the thrill isn’t as high as it could have been.
The only other option is to jump over it. You back up to the wall, breathe in deeply, and then pump your legs as fast as you possibly can. Faster, faster, until you throw your body into an arch, tuck your legs in, and clear the bar with two inches to spare. You land firmly on your feet and exit the room with well-earned pride.
What is the point, though? If all you have to do is walk across the room, why bother jumping?
Imagine that the bar represents the standards that you are striving for in life. You still have the same choices for meeting those expectations. So let us review the merits of each one.
Ignoring what is expected of you can be dangerous and harmful to your one and only experience of life. If you continually treat life as a joke without its challenges, you will be stuck in one place, bumping your head.
Avoiding the challenges is acceptable if you want to lead a boring life. Taking risks will enrich your life further if that is what you desire, but there is nothing necessarily wrong with living safely. Consider it carefully before you make that decision, because there’s no way to make it through life alive.
Playing limbo with those expectations is the best option thus far. That is the equivalent of almost reaching it, getting as close as you can without actually touching it. You will feel satisfied with taking the plunge and attempting it, but unless you actually reach your goals and your full potential, you will be missing out on some of the opportunities life has to offer. Yes, it is risky, making it to the top, but it is worth the risk.
That leaves treating the expectations like a high jump bar. This is the most dangerous of all. By making the leap, you are letting go of your fears and self-consciousness and just going for it. It is only fair to warn you that you may fail the first few times. It takes practice to successfully clear the bar. But the practice is worth it, because when your life is over, you will be able to stand tall and say, “I made the jump. I took the risk, and I made it over.”
See, if that bar represents the expectations placed on you, there is still a lot of space between the bar and the ceiling. There is plenty of open sky waiting for you to reach out and try to grasp. Don’t ignore it, step around it, or duck under it. Reach for the stars. Take a running start and launch yourself into all of life’s possibilities. Live until the day you die. Challenge those expectations.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Lessons from Nature
Here I am to worship
Here I am to bow down
Here I am to say that you're my God
You're altogether lovely
Altogether worthy
Altogether wonderful to me
God took the opportunity to teach me something this morning. My day hadn't started out well, and since Greg was riding with Mom, I determined that I would rant to God on the way to school, you know, let off some steam. I stepped outside and instinctively glanced over to Eddie and Melissa's yard. I stopped. The sun was shining through the trees and reflecting off the dew on the grass and highlighting the flowers. I dropped my stuff off in my car and ran back inside to grab my camera. I knew that it wouldn't completely capture the beauty, but I wanted to try. After that I walked around the front yard and took more shots of God's creation. I was enjoying myself basking in God's beautiful glory.
When I got into the car I didn't rant. I was ready for a worship experience. This is the first song that came on. I just kept singing and pouring my heart out to God, and at one point I was so into the worship experience that I almost forgot to move forward! I think that God showed me that I have nothing to complain about and everything to praise him about. And I found that I let off all the tension of my bad start through worshipping my Creator. What a way to start my day, huh?
Here I am to bow down
Here I am to say that you're my God
You're altogether lovely
Altogether worthy
Altogether wonderful to me
God took the opportunity to teach me something this morning. My day hadn't started out well, and since Greg was riding with Mom, I determined that I would rant to God on the way to school, you know, let off some steam. I stepped outside and instinctively glanced over to Eddie and Melissa's yard. I stopped. The sun was shining through the trees and reflecting off the dew on the grass and highlighting the flowers. I dropped my stuff off in my car and ran back inside to grab my camera. I knew that it wouldn't completely capture the beauty, but I wanted to try. After that I walked around the front yard and took more shots of God's creation. I was enjoying myself basking in God's beautiful glory.
When I got into the car I didn't rant. I was ready for a worship experience. This is the first song that came on. I just kept singing and pouring my heart out to God, and at one point I was so into the worship experience that I almost forgot to move forward! I think that God showed me that I have nothing to complain about and everything to praise him about. And I found that I let off all the tension of my bad start through worshipping my Creator. What a way to start my day, huh?
Sunday, April 12, 2009
College Essays
Yes, it's that time of my life. I need to come up with an essay topic for my college applications. Here are the choices:
1. Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, a risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
2. Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you.
3. Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.
4. Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence.
5. A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community, or an encounter that illustrated the importance of diversity to you.
6. Topic of your choice.
So, to begin my essay process, I thought that I would make a list of potential topics under each topic and leave them to your criticism. I may add to this list later.
1. Speaking out for my faith in Spanish class
Initiating a petition for the eighth grade day/dance
2.
3. Kim and her influence on living my faith outwardly
4. Jane Eyre (book or character)
Left Behind series
5.
6. Favorite meal--tomato soup and grilled cheese tied in to family reunions
My love for sunrises--description of beauty outside tied in with breakfast and my family
I'll post more when I'm not so exhausted after Spring Break.
1. Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, a risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
2. Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you.
3. Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.
4. Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence.
5. A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community, or an encounter that illustrated the importance of diversity to you.
6. Topic of your choice.
So, to begin my essay process, I thought that I would make a list of potential topics under each topic and leave them to your criticism. I may add to this list later.
1. Speaking out for my faith in Spanish class
Initiating a petition for the eighth grade day/dance
2.
3. Kim and her influence on living my faith outwardly
4. Jane Eyre (book or character)
Left Behind series
5.
6. Favorite meal--tomato soup and grilled cheese tied in to family reunions
My love for sunrises--description of beauty outside tied in with breakfast and my family
I'll post more when I'm not so exhausted after Spring Break.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
David
There was once a boy named David. The youngest of eight boys, he was often overlooked and ignored. His job was to tend sheep, because he was too young to be a soldier and, though an undesirable job, someone had to do it. He worked hard in the fields, and earned a little fame from killing a lion and a bear to protect his little flock.
One day, while he was shepherding, one of his brothers called him inside. He glanced swiftly about the surroundings to make sure no harm would befall his sheep while he was gone, and then followed his brother inside. His father and older brothers were sitting at their table watching him gravely, and a prophet of whom David had only heard about stood before him. Samuel!
Samuel surveyed him and nodded. "Yes, he's the one." He pulled a horn of oil out of his belt and annointed David, proclaiming him the next king of Israel.
Wait...what? A young, insignificant shepherd boy was just chosen as a country's next king?
It seems unbelievable, doesn't it? And from here, we know the rest of the story. But when we started a series on the life of David in church this morning, I was struck by David's life before that day that his life turned about face. No one was expecting this to happen, least of all David. After all, he was a shepherd. He spent day after day protecting sheep, rescuing sheep, checking sheep for disease and parasites...not exactly a fulfilling life.
But David was satisfied. He didn't see shepherding as a temporary annoyance that he would deal with until he came of age. He didn't dream of becoming a great soldier or taking over his father's business. Instead he praised God and faithfully performed his duty, living for the day.
This sort of lifestyle seems almost impossible in America. Our society is so fast-paced that we don't even have time to think about tomorrow. We have to fill our planners weeks in advance so we can get things done. Students are constantly dreaming or stressing about the next test, the next school, the first job. Adults have to anticipate every moment or else fall behind.
But what if we don't have to? What if we could live like one little boy named David who knew that God had a purpose for his life, so he patiently and faithfully lived his life in the present. It's worth a shot.
One day, while he was shepherding, one of his brothers called him inside. He glanced swiftly about the surroundings to make sure no harm would befall his sheep while he was gone, and then followed his brother inside. His father and older brothers were sitting at their table watching him gravely, and a prophet of whom David had only heard about stood before him. Samuel!
Samuel surveyed him and nodded. "Yes, he's the one." He pulled a horn of oil out of his belt and annointed David, proclaiming him the next king of Israel.
Wait...what? A young, insignificant shepherd boy was just chosen as a country's next king?
It seems unbelievable, doesn't it? And from here, we know the rest of the story. But when we started a series on the life of David in church this morning, I was struck by David's life before that day that his life turned about face. No one was expecting this to happen, least of all David. After all, he was a shepherd. He spent day after day protecting sheep, rescuing sheep, checking sheep for disease and parasites...not exactly a fulfilling life.
But David was satisfied. He didn't see shepherding as a temporary annoyance that he would deal with until he came of age. He didn't dream of becoming a great soldier or taking over his father's business. Instead he praised God and faithfully performed his duty, living for the day.
This sort of lifestyle seems almost impossible in America. Our society is so fast-paced that we don't even have time to think about tomorrow. We have to fill our planners weeks in advance so we can get things done. Students are constantly dreaming or stressing about the next test, the next school, the first job. Adults have to anticipate every moment or else fall behind.
But what if we don't have to? What if we could live like one little boy named David who knew that God had a purpose for his life, so he patiently and faithfully lived his life in the present. It's worth a shot.
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