11.11.09
collections
I am not a collector. Mostly, this is because I don’t like junk or clutter, things that are useless, or things that aren’t beneficial.
I collect Polish dishes which are inherently useful (um, I eat on them every day) and meaningful.
But the other thing that I collect is infinitely useful and infinitely meaningful and infinitely beneficial.
I collect Bible verses that share the gospel in one verse.
My favorite is 2 Corinthians 5:21 “God made Him who knew no sin to become sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
1 John 4:10 “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
Romans 8:2 “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.”
Ephesians 2:5 “Even when we were dead in our tresspasses, God made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved.”
From death to life. These were the first ones that came as I started writing this post. I come across more all the time, and want to be better about writing them down. Do you have any to add?
11.10.09
James 1
I am in a Bible study, and we are using the inductive Bible study method to learn about James.
I have really enjoyed it – it is all women, half are college-age, and half are young mothers, and a few in between.
So today at work I learned about Wordle which makes word clouds, so I made one for James 1. Look!
The more a word is used, the larger it appears. Isn’t that neat? You can really get a sense for key words and ideas. It’s magical.
And it’s pretty.
03.23.09
Scripture Memory 3/15/09
I know…I am late posting this.
Ephesians 4:29
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
Far too often I find myself telling “white” lies, and I justify it in my head.
For example, I think, “This story is too complicated, so if I just change a few small details, it will be easier to explain.” But then it is not the truth!
Far too often I find myself boasting and promoting myself.
I really want people to like me, so I tell them things that I think will impress them. I think this stems from a deep-seated insecurity that most women have. So this requires a change in heart. First, I must beg the Lord for humility. Second, I must remember that my value is found in the Lord, not in others’ estimation of me.
Far too often I find myself exaggerating because it sounds better or more sincere.
For example, I will say, “I LOVE Survivor!” Well…it is my favorite TV show, but LOVE? I really overuse this word. It kind of loses its meaning after being associated with a TV show or food or clothing. I have recently started trying to reserve this word to describe only people and God. This has been really hard for me, and most times I don’t even catch myself doing it. But I know that with God’s grace and diligent re-training, my exaggerating tongue can be tamed.
Other less prevalent (but still lurking) sins of the tongue include gossip, criticism, and angry outbursts.
Instead of this “corrupting talk”, I am asking God to train my words to be beneficial to OTHERS (“building up”, “grace to the hearer”) rather than focused on myself.
02.17.09
Scripture Memory – 2/15/09
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21
We are NOT saved by works. We cannot earn salvation by doing good things, living a righteous life, or trying really hard. Because no matter how much we do, how good we are, or how hard we try, we are still sinners. We still miss the mark of perfection that God requires.
We are saved by God’s grace. He did the work that we are UNABLE to do. Jesus lived a sinless life. So, when God reveals Himself to us, and we pray for God to save us (to look on Jesus’ sinless life in place of our sinful lives), THEN and only then are we saved.
AFTER salvation, God changes us. The RESULT of salvation is doing good works and living a righteous life. It doesn’t happen immediately, but when God saves us, He promises to sanctify us. It is a process, and a promise.
If you are saved, there WILL be works that result. So if someone is claiming to be a follower of Jesus, but has no evidence of a changed life…we can only conclude that he is not saved.
Faith without works is dead.
If you acknowledge God as your Father, but you are not doing His will…you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Sometimes this is a hard truth to swallow.
Are you a wolf in sheep’s clothing, or truly one of His flock?
Follow Him, and He will change you!
02.01.09
Scripture Memory – 2/1/09
It’s the first of the month, so that means time for a new memory verse!
“For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?” 1 Corinthians 5:12
This seems like a weird verse to memorize, I know, but it is a verse that I can use to combat some sin habits in my life. First of all, it is easy for me to think that I am somehow better than other people simply because I know Jesus. It is easy for me to judge their actions and their hearts, as if I had that right. I forget that if it weren’t for Jesus’ grace, I WOULD BE THEM. If Jesus hadn’t changed me, my actions and my heart would look just like them. This verse reminds me that I should have NOTHING to do with judging those who don’t know Jesus.
Another sin with which I struggle is excusing MY sins or the sins of my friends who do know and love Jesus. But as Christians, we are commanded to flee from sin (because we can – we are MORE THAN conquerers through Christ), and we are commanded to hold other believers to the same standard. FLEE from sin. A lot of times I will stand just this side of the line, but I should be running away from the line at top speed, pursuing holiness. It is really easy and convenient to ignore sin in my life and in the lives of other believers, but this verse reminds me that I am to hold them and myself accountable to the standard set by our sinless Savior.
Of course, we rebuke in love. Because we are the image-bearers of Christ to a fallen world. When we sin, we bear a false image. We rebuke other believers because we love the Lord, love one another, and love those who do not know Him.
So…HOLD ME ACCOUNTABLE for memorizing this verse! Rebuke me when I make excuses! And I will do the same for you because I love Him, and I love you, and I love the precious souls who might see Jesus in you.
01.24.09
Scripture Memory
I love the staff at my school.
Most of all, I love the number of Christian women who truly love and follow the Lord and encourage others to do the same.
Several of us meet weekly in the school library to study and discuss God’s Word. It is such a blessing!
Our sweet leader, “JAM”, teaches in the classroom next door to me, and knows everything about our school. Seriously. If I have a question about anything, even something really stupid, I just go ask her, and she knows.
She is also a reader of this blog 
. Everyone say, “Hi, JAM!”
At the beginning of the semester JAM made each Bible study attendee a notecard spiral with a beautiful cover (mine is pictured above), but it came with a condition.
The 1st and 15th of every month, we must write a Bible verse in the spiral and commit it to memory. I think she got this idea from Beth Moore.
Scripture memory…I have quite a hot and cold history with scripture memory. I know that it is important, and therefore would feel guilty for not doing it, so then I would set a goal – usually a super lofty goal that was unattainable, like memorizing a whole book of the Bible within a given timeline. Then I would get behind, feel overwhelmed, and give up. And then I would feel guilty again…
But this goal that she has encouraged us to set has been the perfect pace for me. 15 days is a perfect amount of time for me to memorize a verse, like really memorize it, and know it, and use it in everyday situations. I am so thankful!
So, for an extra measure of accountability, I am adding these verses to my sidebar. See it up there?
I recently learned in seminary about “covenant and steadfast love”. There is a special Hebrew word for this, “hesed”. It is usually translated as “loving-kindness”, but my ESV Bible has a more accurate translation. This is the love that compels an Almighty God to keep a covenant with people who turn from him again and again. He chose them, adopted them, blesses them regardless of their response to him.
They are his.
Hesed.
Love that inspires covenant faithfulness.
Finally, scripture memory that is a blessing instead of making me feel guilty or overwhelmed!
12.06.08
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free thine own from Satan’s tyranny
From depths of Hell, Thy people save, and give them victory o’er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer our spirits by Thine advent here.
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Key of David, come, and open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, O come, Thou Lord of might, who to Thy tribes, on Sinai’s height,
In ancient times did’st give the Law, in cloud, and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
This is my favorite Christmas carol. It is the epitome of advent – expectation.
The advent season parallels the expectation of the Messiah (Jesus), with the expectation we experience today of His return.
Look at all the examples of expectation of the long-awaited Messiah:
In the first stanza Israel is mourning in exile, waiting for God’s son to come and ransom them. I have debated whether this is the Egyptian captivity or the Babylonian exile, and finally decided that it doesn’t matter. Both were times when Israel greatly anticipated the coming Messiah.
In the second stanza, Israel is expecting the Rod of Jesse. Jesse was David’s father. God had made a covenant with David, promising a king from the line of David to rule over Israel. Jesus’ lineage can be traced back to David – he is the long-awaited Davidic King! He came to give us victory over the grave – “God made Him who knew no sin to become sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God.”
The “DaySpring” comes from Zechariah’s prophecy. He was the father of John the Baptist. Shortly after John was born, Zechariah prophesied that John would be a prophet of the Most High, the “DaySpring that visits from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.” John the Baptist actively advented (yes, I just verbed that) – anticipated the coming Messiah!
The fourth stanza refers to the Messiah as the Davidic King again.
In the fifth stanza, we see Israel waiting at the bottom of Mt. Sinai, where God gave Moses the Law. Moses went up into the mountain, God came down in a cloud. Someone recently pointed out to me how this looks ahead to the second coming of Christ, when He will come down, and believers will be lifted up.
But most notable in this song is the use of Emmanuel – God with us. Isaiah 7:14 says, “A virgin shall bring forth a son and call his name Emmanuel.” Long before His birth, an Old Testament prophet declared the birth of “Emmanuel” to a virgin. Emmanuel – God with us. God put on skin, and walked around with us. GOD. With US. Incredible. Why would God himself leave the glory of heaven to come to earth? For God SO loved the world.
This Christmas carol is so rich. It tells the story of the anticipation of God with us.
11.21.08
dish convert
It seems like people generally use their dishwasher in one of two ways:
1) Wash the dishes, then load them into the dishwasher gunk-free.
2) Eat, then load the dishes into the dishwasher, gunk and all.
I used to be a staunch supporter of #2.
Now I always scrub all the gunk off of the dishes before putting them in the dish washer. It is a compulsion that I cannot stop. How did this happen???
I am a #1 convert. I have seen the light! It may take more time up front, but it is totally worth it in the end when the dishes come out of the dishwasher without the faintest speck of dried-on food particles.
Perhaps the switch happened this summer in Poland. Hmm… this reminds me of an email I sent to my prayer supporters:
As I was doing the dishes for the 3rd time today, I realized that I have become almost obsessive about cleaning, drying, and putting away my dishes after every single meal or snack. I thought this was strange, because I do not typically do this at my house. Like the good special ed teacher that I am, I decided to do a functional behavior analysis and figure out the reason for my new behavior. After some thought I realized that I never know when Bozena will come home, and as a guest in her home, I want to keep things as I find them. I decided that as I become more comfortable, and this apartment feels more like home, the behavior is likely to weaken.
This whole scenario reminded me of Mark 13, where Jesus shares a parable about His return. He says that no one knows the day or hour of His return, and encourages us to live like servants whose Master is out and might return at any moment, always working and waiting so that we are ready. Being in a different country, I am ever-reminded that I am not at home, and it is easier to live a “missionally risky” lifestyle. When I am in College Station or Spring, it is easy to feel like I am “home” and become complacent about serving others or taking missional risks. Just like it is easy to let the dishes pile up – I can always do them later, right? But my true citizenship is heaven, I am not home yet! So whether I am in Poland, College Station, India, or wherever else the Lord might send me, I need to remember not to let those proverbial dishes pile up…get them done now while before it is too late!
What a sweet summer I spent with the Lord. Only He could send me half-way around the world for a retreat into His Word.
And, yes, I do realize that I am turning into my mother.
11.19.08
a day in the life
Most days when I get home from teaching I am exhausted. Most days I still have things to do once I get home, like seminary, discipleship, small group, international ministry, etc. On my busiest days, I usually go to bed later than I would like, which makes waking up in the morning really difficult. Most days I lay in bed telling God my excuses for not getting up to spend time with Him before I start my day. Some days my flesh wins and I sleep in, and some days He wins and I spend sweet time with Him. Every day it is a struggle.
This morning I remembered a talk I heard about a day in the life of Jesus, as recorded in Mark 1. This is a paraphrase. Better yet, go read the Bible, it tells it a lot better than I do.
On the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching…immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit…but Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit came out of him…And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew. Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them. That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons.
Okay…please notice that all of this happened over the course of ONE DAY. Sunday, the Sabbath day, the day of REST! If this was Jesus’ day of rest, I can’t even begin to imagine what his typical weekday looked like.
He taught in the synagogue, he cast out a demon, he healed Simon’s mother-in-law, then the WHOLE CITY came to his house and he healed diseases and cast out demons. Okay, some days I stop after teaching, and although some days my kids are wild, I wouldn’t say they are demon-posessed. But teaching was just the very tip of the iceberg for Jesus.
But what is most astounding to me is what comes in the very next verse:
And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.
After that day, he woke up while it was still dark to pray. Okay, if anyone has an excuse NOT to spend time with God, it was Jesus. He IS God. He and the Father have perfect unity. But still, this is how Jesus chose to begin his day. And look what happens next:
And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said, “Everyone is looking for you.” And he said to them, “Let us go to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.”
And it all started over the very next day in another city. This was daily life for Jesus. Teaching and ministry. All day, every day. I realize now how blessed I am that my life looks so similar. Teaching and ministry, all day, nearly every day. How can I make excuses for sleeping in? How can I neglect to spend time with my Father? Sometimes all I need is a little perspective.
11.05.08
a call to LOVE
When I logged onto Facebook this morning, I was greeted by a host of not-so-sweet statuses regarding our new president-elect. Most of these were from Christians. I thought to myself, “You don’t have to love him, but there is no need to be jerks.” Then I caught myself. I remembered something I learned recently: As Christians, we forfeit the right to choose who we will love.
You don’t have to agree with Obama’s political platform.
But if you are a Christian, you do have to agree with God’s Word.
And if you agree with it, you must obey it.
According to God’s Word,
Disobedience looks like this:
- Speaking slander against Obama. It is never okay for Christians to tear down others with our words.
- Fearing Obama. If your trust is in God, you have nothing to fear. Worry and fear are sinful, time-wasting, joy killers. What can Obama do to you that God is unable to use for good? Nothing.
According to God’s Word,
Obedience looks like this:
- Submit to Obama’s authority. All authority was instituted by God. God chose Obama to be the president of our nation. We must respect him.
- Love Obama. Love is a choice, not an emotion. How can we choose love? 1 Corinthians 13 lays it all out.
Love is patient – be patient with Obama as he leads our country. As a first year teacher, I am still learning the ropes. As a first year president, he will be too. Give him some grace.
Love is kind – let words of kindness be on your lips regarding Obama.
Love does not envy – do not be jealous if the candidate you supported did not win.
Love does not boast – don’t gloat if the candidate you supported did win.
Love is not proud – don’t be too proud to admit that God instituted Obama as the next leader of our country. Don’t be too proud to be respectful.
Love is not rude – there is no excuse for rudeness towards Obama or people who voted for him.
Love is not self-seeking – how can we consider Obama’s needs at this time? Pray for him and his family! Pray God’s blessing and protection over them. Pray for the decisions he will be making. Pray for comfort and peace as they plan his grandmother’s funeral. Pray for strong relationships with his wife and daughters.
Love is not easily angered – does he make you mad? Choose love instead.
Love does not keep record of wrongs – If you have a record of Obama’s “wrongs”, choose forgiveness instead.
Love does not delight in evil – do NOT wish evil against him. Jokes about assassinations or hate crimes are just not funny.
Love rejoices with the truth – think of reasons you like Obama, ways he upholds Scriptural truth, and rejoice! Thank God for those things!
Love protects – stand up for him when others slander his name.
Love trusts – God chose Obama to lead this country. Do you trust God?
Love hopes – I am sick of the “I’m moving to Canada!” “Our nation is in serious trouble” talk. We have clean water and religious freedom – our situation is far from hopeless.
Love perseveres – Obama may do things while in office that you disagree with. Love him anyways. This may happen a lot. Still, choose love. Love is a choice, not an emotion. It is not a once in a lifetime choice, but a daily and hourly choice. Remind yourself often that you have forfeited the right to choose who you will love. Keep loving him. And loving him. And loving him.
I did not vote for Barak Obama, but I love Barak Obama.
And she never blogged about politics again.
