Today my life changed and, no matter where I go from here, things will never be the same. I was accepted to seminary today. The official letter is coming in the mail but I got the email today. And now I must admit that I am terrified. Not of God and His purposes but of the unknown. I am forced to admit that I don’t have it all together, I don’t have it all figured out. And that terrifies me. It forces me to face both myself and my Saviour and tell Him to His face that I’m afraid.
I would ask this of all my friends and family. Please pray with me now (I know you have been). There are still decisions to make and some things to do. I have some options, of course, as far as seminary goes. I can do some on-line classes if I want or I can, of course, move to North Carolina. I will not, however, need to move immediately as I’m late for the fall semester so would not start until spring; if seminary is indeed what He has for me.
I have no means to move, no vehicle to move with etc. etc. It’s funny in an ironic way that God knows how much I hate uncertainty. I’ve spent my entire adult life keeping things around me as safe as possible. The irony of this whole thing is that everything about this is uncertain. Weird, right?
There’s so much more I could say but I’ll leave it at this for now. Thanks for coming on this journey with me and praying with me.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
The right thing
I find great personal comfort in the fact that all the dudes in the Bible that we now look up to were seriously jacked up. Take Abram (before he was Abraham). He starts out so good, right? Genesis chapter 12 (read it). God tells Abram, “Go to a land I will show you.” God’s obviously not into details very often, I see. But He tells Abram, ‘Hey, pack your stuff and take your family and start walking. I’ll let you know when you get there.’ So, Abram does what he’s asked.
What faith!
What courage!
I wish I had Abram’s faith and courage sometimes; the faith to obey without question, the courage to act without hesitation. To pick up and go when God says go and to be unafraid to obey even when all those details that I love so much are missing.
Then, a little while later in Abram’s story, he steps on his crank. I’ll explain…probably should after saying it that way (somewhere my dad just cringed). So Abram and his wife, Sarai, are going to Egypt because there is apparently a famine going on everywhere else. So as they’re headed in to Egypt, Abram says to his wife, ‘Honey, you’re pretty hot and these Egyptians like their women hot. So let’s do this. If anybody asks, you’re my sister. We have to tell them that or they’ll take me out to get the hot chick. Cool?’ (my translation of the original Hebrew). And, inexplicably, she agrees to this. So that’s what happens. By the way, Abram probably would have gotten murdered for his wife. Apparently, she was really hot and the Egyptians were really evil.
So, here’s where I don’t get it. Abram has done so well up to this point. He has been obedient, faithful and courageous. And then this. What a cowardly and selfish act on Abram’s part. He totally failed. I mean, if you’re gonna bomb something, go all out…and he certainly did. He whiffed on this one. And then what really boggles my mind is that God doesn’t punish Abram for his lies; He punishes Pharaoh for getting’ it on with Abram’s wife. Did I miss something? I read this and was like, ‘Hold on, if I was God, I’d smack Abram.’
Then, God reminded me that I’m a coward as well sometimes. I sometimes keep my mouth shut when I should speak up for Him. I sometimes fail to act because it’s uncomfortable. I sometimes fail to trust Him, follow Him and have courage. Sometimes doing the right thing might get me whacked…and who wants to get whacked, right?
See, even in our worst moments, our monumental collapses, He is still there. He still waits to be merciful and forgiving to His children. That doesn’t mean we won’t be punished but His mercy is always right and His ways are always just, even when it hurts. So, I guess we have to learn to stand on His promises and trust His provision even in the land of uncomfortableness and sacrifice. Hey, I’m not crazy about the idea either but doing the right thing, the thing He commands us to do, might be hard but it’s always right. And He will reward our faithfulness.
What faith!
What courage!
I wish I had Abram’s faith and courage sometimes; the faith to obey without question, the courage to act without hesitation. To pick up and go when God says go and to be unafraid to obey even when all those details that I love so much are missing.
Then, a little while later in Abram’s story, he steps on his crank. I’ll explain…probably should after saying it that way (somewhere my dad just cringed). So Abram and his wife, Sarai, are going to Egypt because there is apparently a famine going on everywhere else. So as they’re headed in to Egypt, Abram says to his wife, ‘Honey, you’re pretty hot and these Egyptians like their women hot. So let’s do this. If anybody asks, you’re my sister. We have to tell them that or they’ll take me out to get the hot chick. Cool?’ (my translation of the original Hebrew). And, inexplicably, she agrees to this. So that’s what happens. By the way, Abram probably would have gotten murdered for his wife. Apparently, she was really hot and the Egyptians were really evil.
So, here’s where I don’t get it. Abram has done so well up to this point. He has been obedient, faithful and courageous. And then this. What a cowardly and selfish act on Abram’s part. He totally failed. I mean, if you’re gonna bomb something, go all out…and he certainly did. He whiffed on this one. And then what really boggles my mind is that God doesn’t punish Abram for his lies; He punishes Pharaoh for getting’ it on with Abram’s wife. Did I miss something? I read this and was like, ‘Hold on, if I was God, I’d smack Abram.’
Then, God reminded me that I’m a coward as well sometimes. I sometimes keep my mouth shut when I should speak up for Him. I sometimes fail to act because it’s uncomfortable. I sometimes fail to trust Him, follow Him and have courage. Sometimes doing the right thing might get me whacked…and who wants to get whacked, right?
See, even in our worst moments, our monumental collapses, He is still there. He still waits to be merciful and forgiving to His children. That doesn’t mean we won’t be punished but His mercy is always right and His ways are always just, even when it hurts. So, I guess we have to learn to stand on His promises and trust His provision even in the land of uncomfortableness and sacrifice. Hey, I’m not crazy about the idea either but doing the right thing, the thing He commands us to do, might be hard but it’s always right. And He will reward our faithfulness.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
The beginning
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
- Genesis 1:1
I recently went back to the beginning. I think it’s good to go back to the beginning sometimes. If we never go back to the beginning, we might forget. We might forget where we came from, where we began, where He has brought us from; we might forget His sovereignty. So, I went back to the beginning. Genesis.
If you have time right now and a Bible is close to you, read Genesis 1. Let it soak in, take your time and devour this passage. Close your eyes and imagine what it must have been like to be there at the beginning.
The power you would have witnessed.
The care He took to make all the little details just right.
Imagine the first sunset and sunrise and the angels weeping at the beauty of seeing this for the first time.
The thing that struck me when I read this, aside from the unfathomable power of it, was the personal nature of The Creator. This is the Being who spoke the universe into existence. Spoke it. Spoke. It. His word, His very nature has that much incomprehensible power, that much majesty, that much authority.
And this Being, The Creator wants you. And me. He wants to have a relationship with us. Just as He did with Adam and Eve, He wants to walk with you in the garden in the cool of the evening. He wants a relationship with you and me. Stop and think about that for a second, a minute, an hour..the rest of the day.
Unfathomable, incomprehensible Love.
- Genesis 1:1
I recently went back to the beginning. I think it’s good to go back to the beginning sometimes. If we never go back to the beginning, we might forget. We might forget where we came from, where we began, where He has brought us from; we might forget His sovereignty. So, I went back to the beginning. Genesis.
If you have time right now and a Bible is close to you, read Genesis 1. Let it soak in, take your time and devour this passage. Close your eyes and imagine what it must have been like to be there at the beginning.
The power you would have witnessed.
The care He took to make all the little details just right.
Imagine the first sunset and sunrise and the angels weeping at the beauty of seeing this for the first time.
The thing that struck me when I read this, aside from the unfathomable power of it, was the personal nature of The Creator. This is the Being who spoke the universe into existence. Spoke it. Spoke. It. His word, His very nature has that much incomprehensible power, that much majesty, that much authority.
And this Being, The Creator wants you. And me. He wants to have a relationship with us. Just as He did with Adam and Eve, He wants to walk with you in the garden in the cool of the evening. He wants a relationship with you and me. Stop and think about that for a second, a minute, an hour..the rest of the day.
Unfathomable, incomprehensible Love.
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