This is another repeat from Come Fill Your Cup. Someday when I have time again, I will write new things. I promise. :)
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How many of us have ever been in a war zone? If we were all in a room together, maybe a couple of hands would go up, or maybe none. I think it’s safe to say that as a modern day American, if you haven’t served in the military, you’ve never been in the thick of a battle, or at least you’ve never seen bullets flying through the air or bombs going off. But guess what? We all walk into a war zone every time we leave our Christian homes, or part from our Christian family in the church. It’s not a physical war zone… it’s a spiritual one.
I want to look at a passage that’s probably pretty familiar to you: Ephesians 6:10-17, which talks about the armor of God. Let’s look at verse 10—
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.”
What’s that? Be strong in yourself and the strength of your own might? Of course not. Our power comes from the Lord. If we’re going to be successful soldiers, we have to give the credit to our Commander.
Verses 11-13: “ Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”
We’d already established that this battle we’re fighting is a spiritual one, but look at the language the apostle Paul uses to describe our enemy. “The world forces of this darkness” and “spiritual forces of wickedness” sounds pretty intimidating, doesn’t it? Not only this, but verse 11 mentions the “schemes of the devil.” Satan doesn’t usually make a straightforward attack… he deceives us with his tricks. We can’t take on this enemy on our own; THEREFORE we must put on the armor of God to be strong against it. Another point: does it say “some of the armor of God” or “most of the armor of God”? No, it says “the FULL armor of God.” Keep that in mind as we go on.
The next verse begins, “Stand firm, therefore, having girded your loins with truth.” Wait… what on earth does that mean? In the culture of the time “gird up your loins” basically meant “get ready.” (see 2 Kings 4:29, Job 38:3, Jeremiah 1:17) Men in Biblical times wore long tunics that limited their movement. Girding up their loins meant pulling the tunic between their legs and tucking it into their belt to prepare for a journey or, particularly in this context, a battle. So what does it mean to gird up our spiritual loins with truth? Well, in order to be ready to fight in this spiritual battle, we must know the truth and be able to utilize it. If we’re misunderstanding the Bible or just not applying it in our lives, we’re not ready to fight.
The next part says, “Having put on the breastplate of righteousness.” Just like a Roman soldier’s breastplate protected his heart, righteousness protects ours from the schemes of the devil. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart; for it is the wellspring of life.” Whatever we let into our hearts is what’s going to come through in our lives, but if we guard ourselves with righteousness, our hearts will stay pure and ready for a spiritual fight.
The next verse says, “and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” Let’s think—what good is a shoe that doesn’t go anyplace? None at all, of course. So we have to take the gospel places! We have to spread it! Otherwise it will do us no good in this battle.
Next: “In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” What are some of these arrows? A few I thought of were doubt, worry, and uncertainty. However, if we have faith, all of these arrows Satan uses are powerless. God will take care of us, so we needn’t worry about life or doubt His power and care.
“And take the helmet of salvation.” The brain, like the heart, is one of the most vital organs in the human body; excessive damage to it is almost always fatal. We can understand the truth, have righteousness and faith, and understand the gospel, but if we’re not wearing the helmet of salvation, we’re going to die in this battle. No question. Just being a good person isn’t enough—we must hear, believe, repent, confess, and be baptized in order to wear the helmet of salvation. However, if we’re ONLY wearing a helmet, without any other armor, we’re definitely going to die there too. Go back to verse 11: the FULL armor of God. We need it all if we’re going to succeed.
“And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” The Bible is our only offensive weapon, but it’s the best weapon we could possibly have. With it we can deflect the blows of Satan (as Jesus did in Matthew 4) and bring others into our camp. (See Hebrews 4:12).
Well, that’s it: God’s instructions for a Christian soldier’s attire. Paul gives us one more tip in 2 Timothy 2:4—“No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.” Our lives need to revolve around God, such that our Christian walk IS our life, and everything else is just extra. If we do all these things, together we can be an effective army for the Lord.
~green eyes :)
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Friday, September 10, 2010
Secret Keeping
This is another repeat from Come Fill Your Cup... Sorry, I'm REALLY busy lately. It's also mostly applicable to women, just so you know. Enjoy! :)
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As girls, we can appreciate the pleasure found in knowing a secret that nobody else knows. We like knowing that our friend trusts us enough to allow us to be the one person she tells her secret to. Not only does it make us feel special, but it also strengthens our friendship. Whether we’re married or waiting for our future husbands, as Christian women, we have a secret that is only for our husbands, a secret that is only to be revealed after marriage, and only to the men we marry. We want our husbands someday to appreciate that we thought enough of them to keep ourselves a secret for them, and that this secret-keeping will strengthen our bonds with them. So how do we keep this secret a secret? With modesty.
Why is modesty important? The virtuous woman of Proverbs 31 is said to “do her husband good and not evil ALL the days of her life.” I don’t know about you, but I don’t know anyone who’s been married all the days she’s been alive. This can only mean one thing: I’m supposed to do my husband good before I’m married to him, and before I even know his name. This means not sharing my secret and keeping it safe by being modest. Needless to say, if you’re married, this includes you too; you just have the blessing of knowing the man you’re secret-keeping for. Not only this, but modesty keeps us from causing our brothers in Christ to stumble. Guys need to stay pure for their wives just as much as we need to stay pure for our husbands. Matthew 5:28 says that any man who lusts after a woman has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Too often we write off lust as “the guy’s problem.” We think that if guys are lusting after us, they’re being pigs and need to control themselves. However, if we’re dressing in a lust-provoking way, we’re not helping them out! Look at Romans 14:13. We need to quit judging the guys as pigs and start removing the stumbling blocks! Let’s keep in mind, too, that our physical appearance isn’t modesty’s only factor. A woman can be completely covered from head to toe and still betray her secret by talking suggestively and provocatively. Our speech and actions play into our purity just as much as our dress does.
How do we stay modest? In this day and age, it’s hard to find modest clothes, especially if you’re a teenager. Sometimes it’s even hard to tell if something is modest or not. If you’re having trouble, here are a few tips:
1. Ask your sisters in Christ for help in deciding if something is modest. Multiple opinions from good, God-fearing women who care about your purity usually do a lot of good.
2. As women, it’s not always easy for us to tell what’s going to cause guys to stumble, because we’re not guys! If you’re not sure, always ask your dad. If you’re married, ask your husband. He’s a guy, and he knows what’s a problem for them and what’s not. This way you can get a man’s perspective without causing any stumbling.
3. I’ve found the Modesty Survey to be helpful. It contains the collected opinions of over 1,600 religious guys about whether certain types of clothing or actions cause them to stumble or not. It can come in very handy.
4. Lots of otherwise immodest clothes can be “fixed” with layering. A low-cut top can be fixed with a camisole (provided the cami comes up high enough to help). A jacket easily fixes a strapless dress. I’m sure you get the picture.
Modesty doesn’t mean we have to hide the fact that we’re women. The objective is not to dress like men and/ or to dress in a way that isn’t flattering. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being physically beautiful and feeling beautiful as long as we are doing so in a God-glorifying way. However, no matter how we look on the outside, it is important to realize that our true beauty comes from within. Read through Psalm 45:9-13. These gorgeous descriptions are how God sees those who follow Him. If we’re emulating Christ and setting His example, we’re TRULY beautiful.
“Your adornment must not be merely external—braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.” 1 Peter 3:3-4
~green eyes :)
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As girls, we can appreciate the pleasure found in knowing a secret that nobody else knows. We like knowing that our friend trusts us enough to allow us to be the one person she tells her secret to. Not only does it make us feel special, but it also strengthens our friendship. Whether we’re married or waiting for our future husbands, as Christian women, we have a secret that is only for our husbands, a secret that is only to be revealed after marriage, and only to the men we marry. We want our husbands someday to appreciate that we thought enough of them to keep ourselves a secret for them, and that this secret-keeping will strengthen our bonds with them. So how do we keep this secret a secret? With modesty.
Why is modesty important? The virtuous woman of Proverbs 31 is said to “do her husband good and not evil ALL the days of her life.” I don’t know about you, but I don’t know anyone who’s been married all the days she’s been alive. This can only mean one thing: I’m supposed to do my husband good before I’m married to him, and before I even know his name. This means not sharing my secret and keeping it safe by being modest. Needless to say, if you’re married, this includes you too; you just have the blessing of knowing the man you’re secret-keeping for. Not only this, but modesty keeps us from causing our brothers in Christ to stumble. Guys need to stay pure for their wives just as much as we need to stay pure for our husbands. Matthew 5:28 says that any man who lusts after a woman has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Too often we write off lust as “the guy’s problem.” We think that if guys are lusting after us, they’re being pigs and need to control themselves. However, if we’re dressing in a lust-provoking way, we’re not helping them out! Look at Romans 14:13. We need to quit judging the guys as pigs and start removing the stumbling blocks! Let’s keep in mind, too, that our physical appearance isn’t modesty’s only factor. A woman can be completely covered from head to toe and still betray her secret by talking suggestively and provocatively. Our speech and actions play into our purity just as much as our dress does.
How do we stay modest? In this day and age, it’s hard to find modest clothes, especially if you’re a teenager. Sometimes it’s even hard to tell if something is modest or not. If you’re having trouble, here are a few tips:
1. Ask your sisters in Christ for help in deciding if something is modest. Multiple opinions from good, God-fearing women who care about your purity usually do a lot of good.
2. As women, it’s not always easy for us to tell what’s going to cause guys to stumble, because we’re not guys! If you’re not sure, always ask your dad. If you’re married, ask your husband. He’s a guy, and he knows what’s a problem for them and what’s not. This way you can get a man’s perspective without causing any stumbling.
3. I’ve found the Modesty Survey to be helpful. It contains the collected opinions of over 1,600 religious guys about whether certain types of clothing or actions cause them to stumble or not. It can come in very handy.
4. Lots of otherwise immodest clothes can be “fixed” with layering. A low-cut top can be fixed with a camisole (provided the cami comes up high enough to help). A jacket easily fixes a strapless dress. I’m sure you get the picture.
Modesty doesn’t mean we have to hide the fact that we’re women. The objective is not to dress like men and/ or to dress in a way that isn’t flattering. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being physically beautiful and feeling beautiful as long as we are doing so in a God-glorifying way. However, no matter how we look on the outside, it is important to realize that our true beauty comes from within. Read through Psalm 45:9-13. These gorgeous descriptions are how God sees those who follow Him. If we’re emulating Christ and setting His example, we’re TRULY beautiful.
“Your adornment must not be merely external—braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.” 1 Peter 3:3-4
~green eyes :)
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Five Easy Steps to a Beautiful Soul
This article first appeared on Come Fill Your Cup (a Christian women's blog I write for sometimes), so there's a good chance you've read it before. However, I revamped it a bit, so it may be worth a reread. Enjoy! :)
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“Inner beauty is important… but not as important as outer beauty.”
That was the first line of a commercial I saw the other day. Seriously. Of course, we all know the world’s standards of beauty, but I’d never heard them put so blatantly before. Apparently, all I have to do is buy some cream, some lash-lengthening mascara, some long-lasting lip color, and I’ll be an “easy, breezy, BEAUTIFUL Covergirl.” My personality isn’t important, nor is my character. As long as I’m pretty, I’ll be successful, I’ll attract men, I’ll be popular with my peers… you name it. Makeup companies will happily feed us these lies to get us to buy their products.
Don’t get me wrong… there’s nothing wrong with makeup. There’s nothing wrong with trying to look pretty physically—in fact, I think it’s one of the most fun things we get to do as girls. We enjoy dressing ourselves up and looking beautiful, and that’s absolutely fine. The problem comes when we start focusing much on our physical beauty, and ignoring the “appearance” of our souls. How’s our spiritual “makeup” holding up? Here are God’s five easy tips for achieving and maintaining stunning inner beauty:
1. Choose the right foundation. Before we put on any other makeup, we have to put on foundation. Our souls are the same way; as Christians, the foundation for our souls should always be our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Check out 1 Corinthians 3:11: “For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” In this context, the apostle Paul is using the analogy of a building, but I think the concept applies for our spiritual “makeup” as well. Even if we are basically “good” people, if Christ isn’t our foundation, our good deeds are useless.
2. Make good use of your blush. To see what I mean, take a look at the first part of Jeremiah 6:15: “Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done? They were not even ashamed at all; They did not even know how to blush.” During the writing of Jeremiah, Israel had fallen away from God, turning to sin, especially idolatry. Blushing was at that time an expression of downright shame at one’s transgressions. This passage tells us that Israel’s conscience was worn down, that they could hardly separate right from wrong. Are we as Christians ashamed of our sins, or do we justify them, or brush them off completely? In Jesus’ parable about the Pharisee and the taxcollector, the latter, when he prays, is “even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’” Which am I like: the people of Israel or the taxcollector?
3. Give yourself pure eyes. Most people consider a woman’s eyes to be her most beautiful feature. For spiritually beautiful eyes, however, we need to be careful what we see. Philippians 4:8 tells us to dwell on those things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy. How do ideas enter our mind in order for us to dwell on them? Through our senses! Through our eyes and ears! In kindergarten Bible class, we used to sing, “Be careful, little eyes, what you see.” Do we keep that principle alive in our teen and adult lives? Are we careful about our entertainment choices, or do we allow unwholesome books, movies, etc. to clutter our minds, to “blur our vision”? If so, we need to get rid of those impurities. On the other hand, fixing our eyes on Jesus will lead us to “lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us” (Hebrews 12:1).
4. Take good care of your lips. Our lips can be the greatest detriment to our spiritual appearance; however, they can also be our greatest asset. We can use them to lie to a brother or sister, but we can also use them to kiss a crying child’s forehead. We can use them to fight with a friend or family member, but we can also use them to encourage and support others. Makeup commercials are always advertising “fuller lips”—as Christians, our lips should be full of encouragement and evangelism, full of concern for a brother or sister who is spiritually faltering, full of thankfulness and praise to God. If they’re full of harsh words, spite, negativity, or lies, we need to keep it to ourselves.
5. Check a mirror regularly. Most girls check a mirror throughout the day to make sure their makeup has stayed through the wear of the day. We know we looked all right that morning when we left for school, work, etc., but we know that no one is perfect and we all need touchups every now and then. Look at James 1:22-25:
“But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.”
See? Our spiritual mirror is the Bible, and by studying it, we can find out where we need “touchups.” Of course, just looking in the mirror will do us no good. Would we ever go right outside after looking in a mirror to see our hair messed up, or our mascara smudged? Of course not! We’d stop to fix it first. In the same way, simply reading the Bible does us no good—we have to apply it in our lives and fix our areas of weakness.
Here’s the bottom line: outer beauty fades. Makeup comes off. Do we really want to rely on things that are so transient, so beyond our control? We can, however, control the longevity of our inner beauty, and that sort of beauty is worth infinitely more.
“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.” –Proverbs 31:30
~green eyes :)
~~~~~~~
“Inner beauty is important… but not as important as outer beauty.”
That was the first line of a commercial I saw the other day. Seriously. Of course, we all know the world’s standards of beauty, but I’d never heard them put so blatantly before. Apparently, all I have to do is buy some cream, some lash-lengthening mascara, some long-lasting lip color, and I’ll be an “easy, breezy, BEAUTIFUL Covergirl.” My personality isn’t important, nor is my character. As long as I’m pretty, I’ll be successful, I’ll attract men, I’ll be popular with my peers… you name it. Makeup companies will happily feed us these lies to get us to buy their products.
Don’t get me wrong… there’s nothing wrong with makeup. There’s nothing wrong with trying to look pretty physically—in fact, I think it’s one of the most fun things we get to do as girls. We enjoy dressing ourselves up and looking beautiful, and that’s absolutely fine. The problem comes when we start focusing much on our physical beauty, and ignoring the “appearance” of our souls. How’s our spiritual “makeup” holding up? Here are God’s five easy tips for achieving and maintaining stunning inner beauty:
1. Choose the right foundation. Before we put on any other makeup, we have to put on foundation. Our souls are the same way; as Christians, the foundation for our souls should always be our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Check out 1 Corinthians 3:11: “For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” In this context, the apostle Paul is using the analogy of a building, but I think the concept applies for our spiritual “makeup” as well. Even if we are basically “good” people, if Christ isn’t our foundation, our good deeds are useless.
2. Make good use of your blush. To see what I mean, take a look at the first part of Jeremiah 6:15: “Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done? They were not even ashamed at all; They did not even know how to blush.” During the writing of Jeremiah, Israel had fallen away from God, turning to sin, especially idolatry. Blushing was at that time an expression of downright shame at one’s transgressions. This passage tells us that Israel’s conscience was worn down, that they could hardly separate right from wrong. Are we as Christians ashamed of our sins, or do we justify them, or brush them off completely? In Jesus’ parable about the Pharisee and the taxcollector, the latter, when he prays, is “even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’” Which am I like: the people of Israel or the taxcollector?
3. Give yourself pure eyes. Most people consider a woman’s eyes to be her most beautiful feature. For spiritually beautiful eyes, however, we need to be careful what we see. Philippians 4:8 tells us to dwell on those things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy. How do ideas enter our mind in order for us to dwell on them? Through our senses! Through our eyes and ears! In kindergarten Bible class, we used to sing, “Be careful, little eyes, what you see.” Do we keep that principle alive in our teen and adult lives? Are we careful about our entertainment choices, or do we allow unwholesome books, movies, etc. to clutter our minds, to “blur our vision”? If so, we need to get rid of those impurities. On the other hand, fixing our eyes on Jesus will lead us to “lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us” (Hebrews 12:1).
4. Take good care of your lips. Our lips can be the greatest detriment to our spiritual appearance; however, they can also be our greatest asset. We can use them to lie to a brother or sister, but we can also use them to kiss a crying child’s forehead. We can use them to fight with a friend or family member, but we can also use them to encourage and support others. Makeup commercials are always advertising “fuller lips”—as Christians, our lips should be full of encouragement and evangelism, full of concern for a brother or sister who is spiritually faltering, full of thankfulness and praise to God. If they’re full of harsh words, spite, negativity, or lies, we need to keep it to ourselves.
5. Check a mirror regularly. Most girls check a mirror throughout the day to make sure their makeup has stayed through the wear of the day. We know we looked all right that morning when we left for school, work, etc., but we know that no one is perfect and we all need touchups every now and then. Look at James 1:22-25:
“But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.”
See? Our spiritual mirror is the Bible, and by studying it, we can find out where we need “touchups.” Of course, just looking in the mirror will do us no good. Would we ever go right outside after looking in a mirror to see our hair messed up, or our mascara smudged? Of course not! We’d stop to fix it first. In the same way, simply reading the Bible does us no good—we have to apply it in our lives and fix our areas of weakness.
Here’s the bottom line: outer beauty fades. Makeup comes off. Do we really want to rely on things that are so transient, so beyond our control? We can, however, control the longevity of our inner beauty, and that sort of beauty is worth infinitely more.
“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.” –Proverbs 31:30
~green eyes :)
Friday, August 13, 2010
Passport to Heaven
This was written by my little brother. He's eleven and did this as a devo for the entire Wednesday night attendance at my congregation. It was so good I had to share it here (with his permission, of course). Enjoy!
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Imagine you're in an airport, ready to go to a foreign country. At the gate, the guard stops you-- you never went to get a passport! Here is something even worse. Imagine you're in an airport and you drop your passport. When you drop your passport, you don't go looking for it. Are they going to let you get on the plane? Of course not! Are you going to be able to get where you're going? No! Think of the passport as Christianity and when you drop it, you fall away. Our foreign country is Heaven. As Christians we need to keep hold of our passports. If we drop it, we need to go find it. In Matthew 6:33 it says, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." What it means is that we need to seek His kingdom to go to it. Some people drop their passport and do not go looking for it. Most people don't even have their passport. But the plane is going to take off soon and leave without them if they do not find it. Matthew 25:44 says, "For this reason you must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will." The "plane" is piloted by Jesus, and it could be earlier or later than we expect. So how do we get a passport? Hear, believe, repent, confess, and be baptized. To keep it, we remain faithful. So here is the question I will leave you with... do you have a tight grip on your passport?
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Imagine you're in an airport, ready to go to a foreign country. At the gate, the guard stops you-- you never went to get a passport! Here is something even worse. Imagine you're in an airport and you drop your passport. When you drop your passport, you don't go looking for it. Are they going to let you get on the plane? Of course not! Are you going to be able to get where you're going? No! Think of the passport as Christianity and when you drop it, you fall away. Our foreign country is Heaven. As Christians we need to keep hold of our passports. If we drop it, we need to go find it. In Matthew 6:33 it says, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." What it means is that we need to seek His kingdom to go to it. Some people drop their passport and do not go looking for it. Most people don't even have their passport. But the plane is going to take off soon and leave without them if they do not find it. Matthew 25:44 says, "For this reason you must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will." The "plane" is piloted by Jesus, and it could be earlier or later than we expect. So how do we get a passport? Hear, believe, repent, confess, and be baptized. To keep it, we remain faithful. So here is the question I will leave you with... do you have a tight grip on your passport?
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Worthless to Work of Art
Whether you're into art or not, I dare say you've heard of Michaelangelo. Many people know him for painting the magnificent ceiling at the Sistine Chapel; however, the great artist often preferred sculpture to painting. The David, the Moses, and several of Michaelangelo's other sculptures are today considered some of the finest artistic masterpieces of all time. When asked about his artistic philosophy, he once said, "Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it."
Michaelangelo, like any other sculptor, started out with a rock. Just a rock. Rocks aren't generally worth much, and even the ones that are, like marble, don't do a thing in the world by themselves. In their original state, they're not much to look at, and they certainly don't take any kind of action or get anything done. They can't preserve themselves or even make themselves any better than they are. They're just rocks. Plain and simple.
So what on earth does this have to do with anything? Well, dear readers... by ourselves, we're just rocks. Think about it. Are we worth anything by ourselves? Do we have any true power in and of ourselves? Nope. We really don't. Without God, without our Master Sculptor working on us, we're just worthless lumps of earth with no eternal value. Now that's kind of dark. But don't worry, there's hope. As I mentioned, there is a Master Sculptor, and He can work on us if we'll let Him.
The first thing a sculptor has to do when crafting a statue is pick out a good rock. In our Christian lives, however, it's flip-flopped; we as rocks have to pick out THE good Sculptor. We can turn to several things to try to change ourselves into the kind of people we want to be. Some people turn to money, others to relationships, others to drugs and alcohol, others to themselves. However, the only thing that can TRULY help us to shape our lives is a strong relationship with Jesus Christ. Part two is perhaps harder-- the process of sculpting. Like Michaelangelo said, every rock has a statue inside of it, has the potential to become something beautiful-- we just have to find that potential and allow the sculptor to pull it out. Lucky for rocks, they have no willpower fighting against that of the sculptor. Can you imagine a rock telling its craftsman, "Nah, I don't think I'll be a horse. I want to be a human. Thanks for working on me, though, I still want to be friends..." No! That's ridiculous! However, we do this all the time (or at least I know I do). We decide we want to follow our own plans instead of what the Lord has planned for us. We know that a rock ultimately gets no say in what it becomes, and our lives are similar. Proverbs 127:1 says, "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain." If our plans for ourselves do not coincide with God's plans, they will ultimately fail no matter what we do. According to James 4:10, if we humble ourselves in the presence of the Lord, He will exalt us. If we humble our will to God's will, then He can make us into the beautiful statues we were meant to be.
Of course, this is easier said than done. I looked up some information on how marble sculpture actually works, and it doesn't sound too fun for the rock. First, the carver knocks off the impure pieces of the marble that he knows he doesn't want in the sculpture. Our spiritual lives, too, require this "pitching", as it is called. 1 Peter 2:1 tells us that we ought to be "putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander"; these are only a few of the sinful qualities that we must "pitch" to be good "statues". Next, the sculptor uses a hammer and mallet to shatter some of the stone in order to get the correct shape. We, too, must sometimes be "shattered" in order to achieve God's will in our lives, but in the end we become a stronger sculpture. James the Lord's brother tells us to "consider it all joy when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance" (James 1:2-3). Sometimes when we feel like God is breaking us, He's actually making us. Finally, the sculptor uses various tools to refine the look of the statue. God has given us two such tools to make us stronger-- the Bible, and prayer. Through the Bible, we can look closer at ourselves to see our weaknesses, as if in a mirror (James 1:22-25); and through prayer, we can grow closer to our Maker, give Him the glory that is due Him, confess our weaknesses, and ask for strength.
However, any artist can tell you that an artist's work is never truly done. No piece of art is ever completely perfect, and in the same way, neither are we. No matter how much we improve, there will always be room for more improvement. We still sin, we still make mistakes, we still fall short-- but if we follow God, "pitch" the sin out of our lives, and submit to His will, we'll be pleasing, beautiful "statues" in His sight.
"On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, 'Why did you make me like this,' will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory." -Romans 9:20-23
~green eyes :)
Michaelangelo, like any other sculptor, started out with a rock. Just a rock. Rocks aren't generally worth much, and even the ones that are, like marble, don't do a thing in the world by themselves. In their original state, they're not much to look at, and they certainly don't take any kind of action or get anything done. They can't preserve themselves or even make themselves any better than they are. They're just rocks. Plain and simple.
So what on earth does this have to do with anything? Well, dear readers... by ourselves, we're just rocks. Think about it. Are we worth anything by ourselves? Do we have any true power in and of ourselves? Nope. We really don't. Without God, without our Master Sculptor working on us, we're just worthless lumps of earth with no eternal value. Now that's kind of dark. But don't worry, there's hope. As I mentioned, there is a Master Sculptor, and He can work on us if we'll let Him.
The first thing a sculptor has to do when crafting a statue is pick out a good rock. In our Christian lives, however, it's flip-flopped; we as rocks have to pick out THE good Sculptor. We can turn to several things to try to change ourselves into the kind of people we want to be. Some people turn to money, others to relationships, others to drugs and alcohol, others to themselves. However, the only thing that can TRULY help us to shape our lives is a strong relationship with Jesus Christ. Part two is perhaps harder-- the process of sculpting. Like Michaelangelo said, every rock has a statue inside of it, has the potential to become something beautiful-- we just have to find that potential and allow the sculptor to pull it out. Lucky for rocks, they have no willpower fighting against that of the sculptor. Can you imagine a rock telling its craftsman, "Nah, I don't think I'll be a horse. I want to be a human. Thanks for working on me, though, I still want to be friends..." No! That's ridiculous! However, we do this all the time (or at least I know I do). We decide we want to follow our own plans instead of what the Lord has planned for us. We know that a rock ultimately gets no say in what it becomes, and our lives are similar. Proverbs 127:1 says, "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain." If our plans for ourselves do not coincide with God's plans, they will ultimately fail no matter what we do. According to James 4:10, if we humble ourselves in the presence of the Lord, He will exalt us. If we humble our will to God's will, then He can make us into the beautiful statues we were meant to be.
Of course, this is easier said than done. I looked up some information on how marble sculpture actually works, and it doesn't sound too fun for the rock. First, the carver knocks off the impure pieces of the marble that he knows he doesn't want in the sculpture. Our spiritual lives, too, require this "pitching", as it is called. 1 Peter 2:1 tells us that we ought to be "putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander"; these are only a few of the sinful qualities that we must "pitch" to be good "statues". Next, the sculptor uses a hammer and mallet to shatter some of the stone in order to get the correct shape. We, too, must sometimes be "shattered" in order to achieve God's will in our lives, but in the end we become a stronger sculpture. James the Lord's brother tells us to "consider it all joy when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance" (James 1:2-3). Sometimes when we feel like God is breaking us, He's actually making us. Finally, the sculptor uses various tools to refine the look of the statue. God has given us two such tools to make us stronger-- the Bible, and prayer. Through the Bible, we can look closer at ourselves to see our weaknesses, as if in a mirror (James 1:22-25); and through prayer, we can grow closer to our Maker, give Him the glory that is due Him, confess our weaknesses, and ask for strength.
However, any artist can tell you that an artist's work is never truly done. No piece of art is ever completely perfect, and in the same way, neither are we. No matter how much we improve, there will always be room for more improvement. We still sin, we still make mistakes, we still fall short-- but if we follow God, "pitch" the sin out of our lives, and submit to His will, we'll be pleasing, beautiful "statues" in His sight.
"On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, 'Why did you make me like this,' will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory." -Romans 9:20-23
~green eyes :)
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Friendship... or Force of Habit?
This is mostly just my thoughts again... but I ended up getting a lot of feedback on the last post, so I'll go with it and post anyway. I think the more real I am here, the more people can relate to it and maybe get something out of it... we'll see.
Recently I lost touch with a really close friend of mine. I say "lost touch" because I don't have a better phrase the situation-- it's a long story, and honestly, I don't care to relate it, so please don't ask-- but I think you have to know that for this thought to really hit home. It hurts a lot to lose a friendship. If you ever have, you know what I mean, and if you never have, I hope you never experience it. The worst part is the silence, the not talking to someone you really, REALLY want to talk to. That's how it is with this friend of mine. But you know, it's got me to thinking... how long can I go without talking to God and not really notice or care? I could tell you almost exactly how long it's been since I talked to this earthly friend, but the One who should be my BEST friend, the One who loved me so much He DIED for me even as I rejected Him, the One who created me, sustains me, gives me salvation... how long has it been since I talked to Him? Am I desperate to tell Him what's going on in my life? What my problems are? My triumphs? Do I miss talking to Him when I don't? And do I care what He has to say to me? Do I bother to study to see what His message to me is?
I wish I could answer "yes" to all of these questions, but the truth is... I can't. Yes, I pray. Yes, I read my Bible. But I think I kind of treat it like a checklist, and not a relationship. It's more force of habit and expectation than that I actually WANT to do the things I should do. Shouldn't my relationship with God be to the point where He literally is my Best Friend? Like if something good happens, my first thought should be to thank God for it. If something bad happens, my first thought should be to tell God about it. If I need help, my first thought should be to ask God for it. If I need advice, my first thought should be to go to His Word. I mean, really, my friends are utterly fantastic. I love them more than I can say. You guys reading this, you know who you are... HP, AV, RA, NA, MM, KB... I could go on until the Lord comes back. As close as I am to you guys though, I need to be closer to God. If I'm not even as close to Him as I am to the earthly friends that He's blessed me with, no matter how awesome and amazing and Christlike they may be... that's a problem. The truth is, I'm not there yet. That's where I want to be, and where I should be, and I'm trying to get there. I'd greatly appreciate your prayers in getting there.
Here's what I've learned: God never leaves. No matter what, God is there. He's the one Friend that is always there to talk to, no matter what time of the day or night. God loves you unconditionally, even though you hurt Him by sinning, even though you don't even begin to deserve His love. God is a rock. You can lean on Him when there's no one else to lean on. And no matter what happens, as long as you walk with God and stick with Him, He'll make everything work out for the best.
Thanks for listening, everyone... this was Green Eyes at her core.
"I love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." -Psalm 18:1-2
"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you.
No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you." -John 15:13-15
~green eyes
Recently I lost touch with a really close friend of mine. I say "lost touch" because I don't have a better phrase the situation-- it's a long story, and honestly, I don't care to relate it, so please don't ask-- but I think you have to know that for this thought to really hit home. It hurts a lot to lose a friendship. If you ever have, you know what I mean, and if you never have, I hope you never experience it. The worst part is the silence, the not talking to someone you really, REALLY want to talk to. That's how it is with this friend of mine. But you know, it's got me to thinking... how long can I go without talking to God and not really notice or care? I could tell you almost exactly how long it's been since I talked to this earthly friend, but the One who should be my BEST friend, the One who loved me so much He DIED for me even as I rejected Him, the One who created me, sustains me, gives me salvation... how long has it been since I talked to Him? Am I desperate to tell Him what's going on in my life? What my problems are? My triumphs? Do I miss talking to Him when I don't? And do I care what He has to say to me? Do I bother to study to see what His message to me is?
I wish I could answer "yes" to all of these questions, but the truth is... I can't. Yes, I pray. Yes, I read my Bible. But I think I kind of treat it like a checklist, and not a relationship. It's more force of habit and expectation than that I actually WANT to do the things I should do. Shouldn't my relationship with God be to the point where He literally is my Best Friend? Like if something good happens, my first thought should be to thank God for it. If something bad happens, my first thought should be to tell God about it. If I need help, my first thought should be to ask God for it. If I need advice, my first thought should be to go to His Word. I mean, really, my friends are utterly fantastic. I love them more than I can say. You guys reading this, you know who you are... HP, AV, RA, NA, MM, KB... I could go on until the Lord comes back. As close as I am to you guys though, I need to be closer to God. If I'm not even as close to Him as I am to the earthly friends that He's blessed me with, no matter how awesome and amazing and Christlike they may be... that's a problem. The truth is, I'm not there yet. That's where I want to be, and where I should be, and I'm trying to get there. I'd greatly appreciate your prayers in getting there.
Here's what I've learned: God never leaves. No matter what, God is there. He's the one Friend that is always there to talk to, no matter what time of the day or night. God loves you unconditionally, even though you hurt Him by sinning, even though you don't even begin to deserve His love. God is a rock. You can lean on Him when there's no one else to lean on. And no matter what happens, as long as you walk with God and stick with Him, He'll make everything work out for the best.
Thanks for listening, everyone... this was Green Eyes at her core.
"I love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." -Psalm 18:1-2
"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you.
No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you." -John 15:13-15
~green eyes
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Who Am I?
This post isn't so much an article as just thoughts... so bear with me. :)
Lately I've kind of been wondering who people think I am. To some people, I'm the brain from school. To others, I'm the girl at church with the really long hair. Maybe I'm the girl who sings really loud. Maybe I'm the girl with glasses. To some of you, I might just be a green and black computer screen, because all you know of me is what you see on this blog. Maybe I'm the girl you see at church or at school but don't really talk to. Maybe I'm one of your best friends. I hope some people (okay, I hope LOTS of people) think I'm a nice girl who's got her head on straight. I might have hurt some of you. Maybe some people think I'm annoying. Maybe some people can't stand me.
Just a couple of thoughts:
1) No matter what my reputation is, no matter who you think I am, whether good or bad, God knows exactly who I am. In fact, He knows me better than I know myself. He knows if I'm a "pew sitter" or if I'm truly worshipping. He knows what I do when I'm by myself. He knows if I'm sincere or not in my love for the people around me.
"For God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." -1 Samuel 16:7
Doesn't my outward appearance include my actions as well as how I physically look? Sure, some people might stereotype me based simply on my outward appearance, but more than likely people judge me based on what they see me do and say. It's very possible to look like a great, spiritual person when you are, in fact, not. I think I struggle with this more than I should. I feel like a lot of people think I'm this great person (not to be full of myself or anything), but in reality, I struggle a lot. My faith falters way more than it should. I'm real good at talking the talk, but can I walk the walk? I'd appreciate your prayers for that.
2) There's one thing I want to be to all of you, no matter who else I am to you. Whether I'm the girl with the long hair or the nerd or whatever else to you, I want people's first thought when they hear my name to be: "Oh, that's the Christian girl." I want it to be *that* obvious what I believe and how I live. I want my name to be inseparably linked to the Lord and his church. And if I'm resented or disliked, as weird as it sounds, I want to be resented or disliked BECAUSE I'm a Christian. Not that I want anyone to resent Christianity, but I want that to be the only fault people can find with me, because that's not an actual fault, if that makes any sense... it makes sense in my head. Even if you're my best friend in the whole world and you have millions of other connotations with my name, I want you to be able to honestly think, "Oh, her. That's the friend I can look up to spiritually, that will always give me good spiritual advice and bring me closer to God."
Now, don't get me wrong, none of this is on any of you. I'm not telling you this is how you're supposed to think of me. I have to EARN that. I have to get to the point where you can't help but think of me that way. That's my goal.
"I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me; and the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." -Gal. 2:20
Thanks for reading my ramblings... ~green eyes :)
Lately I've kind of been wondering who people think I am. To some people, I'm the brain from school. To others, I'm the girl at church with the really long hair. Maybe I'm the girl who sings really loud. Maybe I'm the girl with glasses. To some of you, I might just be a green and black computer screen, because all you know of me is what you see on this blog. Maybe I'm the girl you see at church or at school but don't really talk to. Maybe I'm one of your best friends. I hope some people (okay, I hope LOTS of people) think I'm a nice girl who's got her head on straight. I might have hurt some of you. Maybe some people think I'm annoying. Maybe some people can't stand me.
Just a couple of thoughts:
1) No matter what my reputation is, no matter who you think I am, whether good or bad, God knows exactly who I am. In fact, He knows me better than I know myself. He knows if I'm a "pew sitter" or if I'm truly worshipping. He knows what I do when I'm by myself. He knows if I'm sincere or not in my love for the people around me.
"For God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." -1 Samuel 16:7
Doesn't my outward appearance include my actions as well as how I physically look? Sure, some people might stereotype me based simply on my outward appearance, but more than likely people judge me based on what they see me do and say. It's very possible to look like a great, spiritual person when you are, in fact, not. I think I struggle with this more than I should. I feel like a lot of people think I'm this great person (not to be full of myself or anything), but in reality, I struggle a lot. My faith falters way more than it should. I'm real good at talking the talk, but can I walk the walk? I'd appreciate your prayers for that.
2) There's one thing I want to be to all of you, no matter who else I am to you. Whether I'm the girl with the long hair or the nerd or whatever else to you, I want people's first thought when they hear my name to be: "Oh, that's the Christian girl." I want it to be *that* obvious what I believe and how I live. I want my name to be inseparably linked to the Lord and his church. And if I'm resented or disliked, as weird as it sounds, I want to be resented or disliked BECAUSE I'm a Christian. Not that I want anyone to resent Christianity, but I want that to be the only fault people can find with me, because that's not an actual fault, if that makes any sense... it makes sense in my head. Even if you're my best friend in the whole world and you have millions of other connotations with my name, I want you to be able to honestly think, "Oh, her. That's the friend I can look up to spiritually, that will always give me good spiritual advice and bring me closer to God."
Now, don't get me wrong, none of this is on any of you. I'm not telling you this is how you're supposed to think of me. I have to EARN that. I have to get to the point where you can't help but think of me that way. That's my goal.
"I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me; and the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." -Gal. 2:20
Thanks for reading my ramblings... ~green eyes :)
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