Consider...

Consider. Ponder. Think about. Meditate on. Reflect upon.

Hebrews 12:3 starts by saying "Consider Him."

I could potentially end this blog post right there: Consider, ponder, think about, meditate on, reflect upon HIM.

But the author of Hebrews goes on: "Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself."

Again, such an adequate amount to soak in here. He endured and embodied pain and hostility from sinners- like you and me. And for what? Hebrews 12:3 actually lets us know what for!

"Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself SO THAT we may not grow weary or fainthearted."

That's why He went through this brutal, undeserving death! So you and I would have an outlet for all of our weary, fainthearted days. Consider this! Consider Him!

Wow. That verse was more than enough for me today. May we consider Him. Consider what He did, and consider why he did it. To take our overwhelming burdens and weaknesses upon himself.

Amen!

LOVE

On Fairness

"That's not fair!" "She's not treating me fairly!" "That ball wasn't foul! It was fair!"

Okay, maybe I threw in that last one as an homage to the end of the baseball season. But, who hasn't heard, or said, these last few phrases? God has placed in us an innate sense of fairness. We know when we aren't being treated fairly - and we feel the sting of it painfully. But, God never promised this life would be fair. In fact, when he sent Christ to earth to die painfully on a cross for our sins, that was the utmost example of unfairness. What was it? A gift - grace.

We are sometimes treated unfairly. Skipped over for a promotion, laid off, cut from the team, graded unfairly for a project we worked hard on...these can all be classified as unfair. Yet, God asks us to offer grace to those mistreating us, just as he offers us grace every day. Don't seek to avenge the wrong - leave that to him. He even insists that we forgive the person who treated us unfairly. What?? That's impossible!

Forgive others as God, in Christ, forgives us. Oh.

So, I'm going to try to live today as God sees me (clothed in radiant garments!) practicing -- no perfecting! -- forgiveness & granting grace unbegrudgingly.

Lord, help me in this. AMEN!

October 17 - The Future

What a great entry for this Sunday! Jaymee and I were just talking about this topic on Wednesday. We were wondering how in depth this 'don't plan' and 'stay in the present' topic would go in our Jesus Calling book. We both agreed that it is important to stay in the present time to enjoy where you are in life and not to worry about things in the very distant future, but we figured it isn't a sin to plan what your plans are for the weekend.

This entry is the answer to our many questions!

It even gives rules to follow if we *have* to look to the future. They are:

1. to remember not to linger in the future, and

2. to remember to include God in all of our plans, because he knows where we're headed and has been there already.

I loved this entry for many reasons but this was one of them! How beautiful for God to know we would be wondering about this then have it be the next entry I got to write about on our blog. He's a genius, as I have discovered so much lately.

Now, I have to take a moment to celebrate the love that has an anniversary today. Kristin and Austin Stockfisch have officially been married a year. They have been on quite an adventure so far, to say the least. However, I am convinced that because of that, they both have a stronger and more beautiful understanding of how much our Father loves them. So, congrats to Austin and Kristin! Here's to a love that inspires more people every day than they could ever know.

Amen!

Surely, I am with you always.

In movies, or maybe even in real life sometimes, we put such emphasis on one's 'last words.' In a moment of such heightened importance and value, Jesus had the chance to speak words to his loved ones for the last time as he ascended into heaven. He could've said, 'make sure to follow my rules', 'love each other', 'fear God', or 'read the Bible.' But he chose to say:

"Surely, I am with you always."

The last thing Jesus wanted us to know before he joined the Father in heaven was a confident promise in his never-changing, potent presence. I think of that song, 'Air I Breathe' when I think of this promise. Air is vital for us to survive. We can't physically see it, but we were created to long for it... every moment of every day. Nothing can replace it, no man can run from it, and a few moments without it would ruin us. There are times when days pass without me noticing the air I breathe in and exhale out, yet my body still is constantly surrounded by it.

Surely, I am with you ALWAYS.

Jesus wanted me to know today that even in the darkest, most life-suffocating places in this world... he is with me. Always. But- what if I totally mess up and I've run from him and I feel like there's no way he'll still want to be around me? Always. But- what happens when I've forgotten what the true presence of God feels like? Always. But- what if this world brings me down constantly and I'm overwhelmed by the amount of sin and godlessness around me? Always.

To be sure.

He is with you always.

So the next time you take a yoga class, have to take a deep breath at the doctor, or you're so completely content that you let out a great, big sigh... think of the Air We Breathe. The HOLY presence of Jesus that quenches our sinful thirst with each passing breath. He is here. He is there. He is with us. Always.

One Thing...

"The one thing you absolutely need is the one thing you can never lose..."

How amazing are those words! What would it be like to walk through life every day with this thought at the front of our minds and calming our hearts: I cannot lose the only thing I really need- and that is Jesus.

Some of you may have heard of this prayer by Soren Kierkegaard, but it is one of my favorites and rather than write my own thoughts and words I thought I would share this with you girls today- and it is kind of long but SO GOOD! Love you all!

Father in Heaven! What is a man without Thee! What is all that he knows, vast accumulation though it be, but a chipped fragment if he does not know Thee! What is all his striving, could it even encompass the world, but a half-finished work if he does not know Thee: Thee the One, who art one thing and who art all! So may Thou give to the intellect, wisdom to comprehend that one thing; to the heart, sincerity to receive this understanding; to the will, purity that wills only one thing. In prosperity may Thou grant perseverance to will one thing; amid distractions, collectedness to will one thing; in suffering, patience to will one thing. Oh, Thou that giveth both the beginning and the completion, may Thou early, at the dawn of day, give to the young man the resolution to will one thing. As the day wanes, may Thou give to the old man a renewed remembrance of his first resolution, that the first may be like the last, the last like the first, in possession of a life that has willed only one thing. Alas, but this has indeed not come to pass. Something has come in between. The separation of sin lies in between. Each day, and day after day something is being placed in between: delay, blockage, interruption, delusion, corruption. So in this time of repentance may Thou give the courage once again to will one thing. True, it is an interruption of our daily tasks; we do lay down our work as though it were a day of rest, when the penitent (and it is only in a time of repentance that the heavy-laden worker may be quiet in the confession of sin) is alone before Thee in self-accusation. This is indeed an interruption. But it is an interruption that searches back into its very beginnings that it might bind up anew that which sin has separated, that in its grief it might atone for lost time, that in its anxiety it might bring to completion that which lies before it. Oh, Thou that givest both the beginning and the completion, give Thou victory in the day of need so that what neither a man’s burning wish nor his determined resolution may attain to, may be granted unto him in the sorrowing of repentance: to will only one thing.

Trust Me Enough (10/10/10)

Trust Me enough to let things happen without striving to predict or control them.

What gorgeous first words to this entry. When I ponder over the word striving I think of straining or purposefully putting all your effort into reaching a goal - we shouldn't be doing that with our futures or plans. God has everything figured out and under control. It may seem sometimes that things are going out of control and all we can really do is hold on to one thing that might make our heads stop spinning. Let's have God be that one thing.

I'd like to believe that I would be the first to admit that things aren't absolutely perfect in my life. I'd like to think they are! I hope they are. Sometimes I wish they were, but I know that I will never reach perfection. What troubles me, though, is that I physically try to put out the illusion that things are perfect for me. Sometimes I feel like if I don't display a never-changing-always-smiling persona then people are going to look at me and God accusingly. I don't want those close enough to me to know that I love Jesus but not close enough that I can't disclose my troubles with them to think that these hurts are because of our Savior. What I think I need to start believing is that God loves me. He loves my heart and my insecurities and my tears and I need to start believing that if He loves me, nobody else has to. I don't have to strive to please co-workers or friends because their love can't and didn't save me. God's love did.

Lord, thank you for loving me. Thank you for blessing my circumstances and my life. Please help me to remember that Your love is sufficient; it's enough to keep me breathing and healthy forever. Lord, thank you for saving us and calling us your children. We could not have a better gift than that. We love you, amen.

Love you all - happy 10.10.10 :)

Follow

"walk by faith not by sight...it means subordinating the visible world to the invisible Shepard of our soul."

The thought of surrendering everything and following "blindly" is scary but also so freeing. It means giving God everything and following His ways, completely trusting that He knows best. In those moments that I feel completely lost, doubting that I am where He wants me I can hear Jesus whispering "walk by faith, I've got you in the palm of my hand".

Lord I pray that this week each one of us will walk by faith, letting you guide the path you have set before us. I you will lead each of us a high mountain, where you are our only support, and we will bask in the glory of being in your presence.