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?
03.03.09
I’m baaaack!
And I have lots of posts in my head just waiting to jump out if only I can find the time!
But today…this just couldn’t wait.
Today was TAKS test day at school, which could have been easy to gripe about, but instead turned out to be a great day!
I have a final to take tomorrow, for which I am VERY behind in reading, so after my students had finished the test and they could only read or sleep, I got lots of reading done.
After a few hours, I let them do a few more quiet things like paint or draw or work a puzzle, etc.
One of my kids has quite a back story that I won’t share here, but suffice it to say, his life is sad and hard, and as a result he is very shy and angry. I have spent lots of time praying for and crying over this kid. He came over to my desk and asked what I was reading…well, I’ll just copy the conversation here, his words in italics:
What are you doing?
I’m studying for my test.
What book is that?
It’s about the Bible. Have you ever read the Bible?
No.
Do you go to church?
No.
Have you ever been to church?
Yes.
What did you learn there?
I don’t know.
Did you learn about Jesus?
Yes.
What did you learn about him?
That they killed him.
Do you know why that happened?
No.
Can I tell you?
Okay.
Put out your hands.
(He put out his hands, palm side up.)
Did you know that God is perfect? He is so perfect He can’t even be around anything that is bad. In the Bible it says that every single person has done bad stuff. I have. You have. The Bible calls bad stuff that people do “sin”.
(I put my hand over his right hand.)
When God sees you, you are covered in sin, just like my hand is covering your hand. So God can’t be with you. But He loves you, so He made a way. He sent Jesus. Jesus was a person, but he was also God. And he never ever did anything bad. He never sinned. He was perfect.
(I put my other hand over his left hand.)
When God sees Jesus, he is covered in perfection, just like my hand is covering your hand. But guess what? When Jesus died, this happened.
(I swapped the position of my two hands.)
So Jesus was covered with your sin, and you can be covered with Jesus’ perfection. And all you have to do is ask God to see your sin on Jesus, and Jesus’ perfection on you, and (snap!) it’s done! So then God can be with you, and He comes and lives inside of you, and promises that you will be together forever and ever. Have you ever asked God to do that?
No.
I have. I sinned a lot. But I talked to God and said, “God, I am covered in sin. When you look at me instead of seeing my sin, will you see Jesus’ perfection?” And guess what? He does! And you can tell that to God anytime you want.
——————————————–
The rest of the day, I would look up and catch him looking at me with a spark in his eye and a smile playing on his lips. There would be a moment of mutual understanding, and then he would glance away. Something is cooking in that little heart of his.
The gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.
