God makes beautiful things

"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed..."

Sat, 01 Sep 2012 16:46:27 -0400

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”

- 2 Timothy 2:15

SAVED BY GRACE: David Bowden: “The Number”

Sun, 26 Aug 2012 18:27:32 -0400

SAVED BY GRACE: David Bowden: “The Number” :

How many times have you prayed in your life?

Now I’m not asking

How many lists you’ve made

            Or

How many religious instructions you’ve obeyed

            Or

How many games of ‘Guilty Christian’ you’ve played

            Or

How many public speeches you’ve relayed

            Or

How many recitations you’ve portrayed

I’m asking how many times have you prayed?

How many times have you:

Cried, whimpered

Sighed, whispered

Tried to listen

Died and risen

How many times have you approached God honestly?

Asking for nothing, but got everything

Had everything to hide, but hid nothing

Said not a word, but spoke endlessly

Never opened your eyes, but saw eternity

How many times

Have you reached inside

Yourself so deeply that you pulled out something you didn’t recognize

How many times have you approached your maker

Not as who you want to be

Not as who you wish you were

Not as who you think you are

Not as who you ought to be

But just as you are

With all that dirt

That covered you

When God first fell in love with you

How many times have you run to your

Lover for passion, your

Provider for rations, your

Father for lessons, your

Instructor for lashings

Oh, how many times have you prayed?

For your God’s ear it waits

For one drop of confession

One honest expression

One wild connection

Don’t approach the living God with dead prayers

But come to him when your lifeless prayers are dead

And the spirit on your tongue is dripping with life

Then every syllable you speak will be a divine trade

Your mouth will leak with the flood of praise you’ve made

The number you seek will be far too high to be weighed

And you’ll never be able to answer my question of

“How many times have you prayed?”

Standing in the power of God’s love

Fri, 03 Aug 2012 20:16:35 -0400

Standing in the power of God’s love

"Ruby Wives: “The tragedy in our generation is that ladies would rather have a man of God than..."

Sat, 14 Jul 2012 08:35:12 -0400

“Ruby Wives: “The tragedy in our generation is that ladies would rather have a man of God than God himself… Don’t aim so low sisters.” ♥”

"I agree, but I’m not sure if I believe it. It makes sense, but the more important question is..."

Sat, 14 Jul 2012 08:27:25 -0400

“I agree, but I’m not sure if I believe it. It makes sense, but the more important question is does it make faith?”

"The church should be the only club… that exists for the benefit for its non-members."

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 17:27:45 -0400

“The church should be the only club… that exists for the benefit for its non-members.”

- Tony Campolo

"I find that the most beautiful moments are those times when I fall on my knees, overcome with an..."

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 14:56:06 -0400

“I find that the most beautiful moments are those times when I fall on my knees, overcome with an awareness of how great God is and how much I need Him.”

everlastingjesus: You Wont Relent

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 12:35:25 -0400

everlastingjesus:

You Wont Relent

Photo

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 17:20:26 -0400

"The only time that failure is unprofitable is when we refuse to learn from the experience."

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 17:05:47 -0400

“The only time that failure is unprofitable is when we refuse to learn from the experience.”

Peace, please!

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 16:48:58 -0400

There will come a time when I have to decide which I want more: the peace Jesus promises me or having my own way. Issues of movies, music, celebrities, copyright, even what to do with my day, arise in my heart and often I find myself doing something I’m not too sure about.

“Look, it’s not that big a deal I say to my spirit”. I negotiate, reason, rationalize and search relentlessly for a loophole. “But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.” Romans 14:23. In the end, I feel as guilty as if I had sinned. One commentary (from bible.cc) on the above verse says the person who violates his conscience in this way “would incur guilt”. God has graced me with a conscience and the fact that I would seek to suppress and suffocate it shows bad stewardship.

The problem is the age-old nature that always asks “how far can I go without sinning?” It attempts to build a home on that fine line between right and wrong, content that it’s not actually crossing the line. But that question is the wrong one to ask. The question should rather be “how far can I go for the glory of God?” (I got this idea from something Leslie Ludy said). If that was the question I would know that no sacrifice is too big. If that’s what I asked instead of “how far is too far?” I would never wonder whether or not to do something I’m doubtful about.

Not only that, but my peace would also stay intact since I wouldn’t always find myself flooded with guilt. “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3. But ‘“There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.”’ Isaiah 48:22.

I like my peace, please! One probably shouldn’t wait until they find it gone before they determine whether an action is wrong or not.

"God’s glory is the beauty of His manifold perfections"

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 15:57:50 -0400

“God’s glory is the beauty of His manifold perfections”

- in “Desiring God” by John Piper

So true. So beautiful.

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 13:21:47 -0400

So true. So beautiful.

"A word on regret: Don’t. God has more than once turned my blunders into blessings."

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 12:47:32 -0400

“A word on regret: Don’t. God has more than once turned my blunders into blessings.”

Dream On.

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 12:32:48 -0400

It was an odd feeling. I read and re-read the text before me trying to understand the strange phenomenon. I was reading the book When Dreams Come True by Eric and Leslie Ludy. The true story spoke of how Eric and Leslie committed to honoring God through their friendship, before they even knew that God was calling them to marriage. “I want to honor your future husband, and my future wife,” Eric would often say to Leslie. I incredulously read how he spent years praying for his future wife and was encouraged to live a life of purity by living as though she were watching. I always did consider myself a dreamer but, as I read their story, it slowly hit me that somewhere along the line I had stopped believing. That was the odd feeling. Realizing I had lost faith, not in God, but rather, in what he could and would do in my life.

I have read many Christian books on relationships, dating etc. and the message that seems to have stuck with me (stated or not) is that there is no Mr. or Miss. Right. Rather, there are several people who would be well-suited to any individual and it’s our job to choose— reasonable enough, right? Well, many years ago I had read When God Writes Your Love Story (also by Eric and Leslie Ludy) and I remember being fiercely inspired by the book. Just as the book encouraged, I began praying for my future spouse and writing him letters (It almost feels embarrassing writing that. *shrug*). The book When Dreams Come True reminded me of the passion of my youth and caused me to wonder what happened. Suddenly I realized I couldn’t both believe that God was writing my love story, (i.e. He already knew who he wanted to fill the role of my husband) and that I was the one doing the choosing (i.e. No such thing as Mr. Right).

I found myself in a mini crisis as I realized this dilemma. Another reason I stopped believing was the thought that maybe marriage isn’t even in God’s plan for my life. I am completely content with that situation, knowing then that I would have the perfect prince, Jesus. Still, it was the wise words of my beautiful sister that helped resolve the dilemma that remained in my mind. She told me about what Nicole Parker once said speaking about her relationship with her husband—I’ll paraphrase. She (Nicole) had said that while there were many men who would be well-suited to her (that she would get on very well with and who would be ‘best’ for her), she knew that only God knew who was ‘most best’; the one person in the world with whom, if the two got together, the largest number of people would come to know Christ. “Most best”, my sister repeated with a smile “that’s what you want”. The words have stuck with me ever since.

I realized then that while I can choose from the best only God can bring about the most best; that there is a dream and a plan the likes of which only God can bring about. Contrary to what I had started believing, I saw I really did need God’s help! I stopped believing in fairy tales a long time ago, but it was a sad moment when I realized I stopped believing in what God can do too. I gladly re-surrendered the pen to my Heavenly Father, thankful that I could believe him for this rather than having to depend on my volatile preferences. God rekindled my faith in Him in this area and I am thankful to the God who has taught me that I can dream on.

“[Love] always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres”. -1 Corinthians 13:7

I blogged this because this is the something that God recently put on my heart and I was really amazed by it. I know there are a lot of things that go before and after such a topic, lots of important steps like making sure you are seeking God rather than what he can do for you, but this is where I’m at and I thought it was the best place to start. Hope it has blessed you as much as it blessed me.

Image: http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2010/sep/18/disneys-princesses-come-life-germain-arena/?suntimes=1

Photo

Mon, 14 May 2012 20:04:32 -0400

Photo

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 21:23:47 -0400