So Proud

and excited for Shannon.  The girls home she's spent months working on and praying for, opened yesterday.  Take a look at Puerta de Esperanza (Door of Hope):

Partial v. Perfection

I read 1 Corinthians 13 today.  So much of it took me back to my first email to Todd where I asked if love can exist apart from God.

Speaking in beautiful languages, being the most gifted prophet or most knowledgeable, having a great amount of faith, giving away all that you have, even sacrificing your body...these are all good gifts or good things to glorify the Lord...under one condition: that love is in their midst.  Without love, these things are mere rubbish.  They only have meaning when they are done in and out of and through love.  That love comes from God as God is love.  

Love is patient and kind and all of the things you hear at weddings and wonder if you could ever live up to those attributes.  We can only exude those attributes through the Lord, who is love.  Which is helpful and encouraging considering I can't be any of those things on my own.

We live in the tension of the already and the not yet.  But there will be a day when the Lord will come back and it will be perfect.  What we live now, the partial, will be nothing in comparison to what is in store, the perfect.  I've no idea if this description is or will be correct at all, but I envision a second flood of sorts...where anything not of God is purged and all that is left standing is the Lord and His people.  There will be no more need for prophesy because we will be living in full revelation.  With the entire heaven and earth worshiping the Lord, rejoicing together, and living in the midst of perfection. 

And I think that is what the glimpses of perfection are today on earth...when you are rejoicing and worshiping the Lord, focused on Him, knowing love.

You've probably already seen it

but I love this; reminds me of what the Lord is teaching me:

Prayer, Part 3

Follow up to my friend:


We're not promised to be spared from suffering.  The opposite, in fact.  So our prayers won't always be answered in ways that alleviate our pain.
...

thought about you last night.  have i told you about this guy simon?  he's been living in burundi, africa for a decade but has been in mt. pleasant for the past year.  i heard him speak last night -- telling stories of what's going on, what he's seen, and how he was called to the mission field -- incredible.  he's doing a bike across america to raise money for burundi for 35 days starting in march with a few other guys.  goal is to raise 1/2 to $1M!  will be speaking places along the way.  but his knees have been so messed up he can't train, as in hasn't ridden a bike in months.

after he talked, we prayed for his knees to be healed for at least 30 minutes i'd say.  it was a sweet time of worship and asking the lord to heal him.  so far, he hasn't.  

made me think about our conversation yesterday...not sure why god hasn't healed him yet.  but believing he will.  

Prayer, Part 2

My response to my friend:


1. yes!  if you've got an hour and a half or so, i think this is amazing to watch.  i could recommend books, and gladly will, but i think this will be shorter time and require less of you but will give you an amazing glimpse at what the lord is doing.  i was BLOWN away by what goes on!  some things seem silly to me, but obviously aren't to the lord!  you can watch for free on you tube in 10 sections.  totally worth your time.  here's the link to the first part: 

2. yes, i think this is the hard thing.  i would toss a few things out there to chew on.  we know that god is in control and is capable of doing whatever he wants and sees as best.  we know that god loves to heal people and is certainly capable of it.

(assuming we're talking about medical miracles...though i think western thought/culture hinders us from any miracle)  what i think is harder is that we, in the west, tend to put more faith in science and medicine and doctors than the lord.  this may not be the case always, but i think often times we "ask for a miracle" but here's the thing: do we REALLY believe god will do it?  believe it or not, but god is raising people from the dead.  today.  i have seen him heal someone's back problems -- totally take them away.  my friend rennie, he grew her leg longer so they would match up.  i had an AWFUL headache one day like meds didn't help and was about to help; i asked beth to pray for me and it was gone in an instant.  again, for me, these things can be hard to swallow/believe, but HE IS doing them!  

so i say, let's look at scripture...

matthew 7:^7 (H)“Ask, ^(I)and it will be given to you; ^(J)seek, and you will find; ^(K)knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Or which one of you, if his son asks him for ^(L)bread, will give him ^(M)a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? ¹¹ If you then, ^(N)who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will ^(O)your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

luke 11: ⁹And I tell you, ^(L)ask, and ^(M)it will be given to you; ^(N)seek, and you will find; ^(O)knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ¹¹ What father among you, if his son asks for^[d] a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; ¹² or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?¹³ If you then, ^(P)who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father ^(Q)give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

those are things that easily come to mind i think.  here we see that the Father, our Father wants to give good things to his children -- like our earthly parents but even more so!  we also see that we have to actually ask for them.

matthew 21: ²⁰ When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” ²¹ And Jesus answered them,^(AF)“Truly, I say to you, ^(AG)if you have faith and ^(AH)do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ^(AI)‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. ²² And ^(AJ)whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, ^(AK)if you have faith.”

mark 11: Therefore I tell you,^(AJ)whatever you ask in prayer, ^(AK)believe that you ^(AL)have received^[c] it, and it will be yours.

these two passages show us that not only do we need to ask in prayer, but we have to BELIEVE that god will do what we ask.  personally, i think this is the hardest part. 

john 16:^23(AR)In that day you will ^(AS)ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(AT)whatever you ask of the Father in my name, ^(AU)he will give it to you. ²⁴ Until now you have asked nothing in my name. ^(AV)Ask, and you will receive, ^(AW)that your joy may be full.

ok, here we see that we have to ask in jesus' name.  

we easily see three things: we have to (1) ask (2) in the name of jesus and (3) believe jesus can and will heal.  i'm slowly reading a book right now (here) about bringing heaven to earth and he touches on this a lot, too.  

personally, i know intellectually that god can do anything.  i know god wants his children to be healed and restored.  but too often i lack faith.  but there are moments (and want there to me so many more!) when the intellect and faith collide and god does amazing things.  i think this is how we were created to live.  

also reminded of the missionary i heard that said: you won't see jesus heal if you have an abundance of doctors.

Prayer, part 1

I got this email from a friend yesterday:

remember when we were talking about dr. F praying for his friend who was about to die and how he said "may you do according to your good pleasure" and i was talking to you about how sweet it was? and you didnt disagree with him but then noted the point about asking for and expecting miracles and praying towards those ends?

 

ok so here's a question...

 

1. i totally get what you're saying and i do believe we should have more faith in the power of prayer and in the work of the holy spirit than we actually do...

2. that being said, when the rubber meets the road, after you have prayed fervently and expectantly for a miracle to happen and "it doesn't happen" then what? OBVIOUSLY the answer is...God chose not to do "so and so" although he's capable, but how do you process that time and time again if "prayers dont get answered the way you'd like them or have asked them to"

Not a matter of rules.

I started thinking about rules and freedom today.  Lately, I've been feeling a freedom with and in the Lord that I'm not sure I've ever known before.  It feels like the Lord is showing me things for the first time...or it is the first time that they are actually making sense.  Thinking about freedom had me ponder bondage of rules.  And how, when I was placed under a bunch of rules, I loathed them and wanted to fight against them.  

As I'm thinking through these things today, I happened to read Romans 14 and was struck by verse 17:

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Let's go back to when I first met Jesus.  I was in high school and those years were filled with amazing mentors and learning about God and what it meant to be a believer.  Then I went to college; as I look back on my college years in regard to the Lord, the thing that stands out to me most is RULES.

1. I, by nature, like rules.  (Even when I choose to break them.)
2. The majority of Christians I was around in college loved rules.

This meant that often times God felt like a rule book.  You are good and holy if you abide by our rules...you are the best kind of Christian if you attend church, attend our weekly meeting, our discipled by our people, disciple our people yourself, spend time with and share the gospel with non-believers, study the Bible for an hour a day, spend as much time in prayer as you can, hang out with us over Christmas break and the summers, etc.  Other people knew the knew the Lord, but the people abiding by these rules...they were ones that really, REALLY knew the Lord and loved God.

Before I continue, I'd like to say a few things:

1. This may only be my perception of college and the ministry I was involved with.  I don't think that's (fully) the case, but it is a possibility.
2. The issue isn't whether or not these things are good because all of those things are good.  

BUT those things are food and drink.  They are rules.  And God cares about much more than the rules...He cares about righteousness, peace, and joy...in the Holy Spirit.

For me, post college time has been about sorting through the rules -- which ones are legit and which ones cause more harm in me than good because I am more wrapped up in the rule than the glorifying the Lord?  This past year or so, I've met the Holy Spirit and the thing I've most learned from Him is that there are no rules.  He does anything but fit into a box.  He blows me away with His ways and abilities!

When we pursue righteousness, peace, and joy.  And when we pursue those things through the Holy Spirit, we get to know the Lord on such a deep and intimate level.  Personally, I find when I'm seeking the Lord, rather than obeying rules, I am much more likely to serve others, to tell others about Jesus, to pray for people, to praise the Lord, etc.  There is a joy that can only come from God, a true peace that surpasses all understanding, and before you even have time to think about it, you are more righteous than you once were.  

It shouldn't surprise me, but it still does: that the Lord already has all of this figured out!  And His ways are always best!

Switching Gears

At this point, my emails back and forth with Todd are a bit tricky to post -- they are starting to look like a five year old's coloring book.  If anyone is interested in reading more of them, leave a comment with your email address and I'll send them on.


Otherwise, I think I'm going to be moving on...though don't be surprised if they come back up.

A Reminder

As I was about to spend some time in the word, I was reminded that God is who he is (Ex. 3:14).  God doesn’t make any apologies for that.  Why, then, do I/we make apologies for Him?

The words in the Bible aren't nice pleasantries.  God is really doing these things.  He isn’t nice.  He isn’t safe (Aslan).  But He is good.  This is always the case, even when I don’t like what He does. 

I’ve been listening to some of the Passion 2012 conference, and Francis Chan touched on this using a few examples.  The one I loved the most: Noah and the ark have been reduced to nursery décor.  But, where are the pictures of all the people drowning?

More to think about

(Todd to me): This is the study note from Malachi from my ESV translation...

In a classic text, which Paul quotes in Rom. 9:13, Malachi appeals to God’s elective and unconditional love of Jacob and corresponding hatred of Esau. In this context loved refers to choice rather than affection, and hated refers to rejection rather than animosity (which was explicitly prohibited against Edomites, Esau’s descendants, in Deut. 23:7). For a similar use of these terms, see Prov. 29:24; Luke 14:26; 16:13. Although Jacob and Esau were brothers, Jacob experienced God’s sovereign favor by which he was granted a privileged role in redemptive history as a bearer of the messianic promise, while Esau experienced God’s rejection in terms of this same role. Malachi’s concern, however, is primarily with the nations of Israel and Edom, of which Jacob and Esau were the representatives and progenitors. To Malachi’s contemporaries, it must have seemed that the prophet had committed a terrible blunder by citing the contrasting national fates of Israel and Edom as proof of Israel’s favored status. If God had chosen Jacob/Israel over Esau/Edom, why did he allow his people to suffer the total devastation of their country in 586 b.c. by Nebuchadnezzar and 70 years of Babylonian captivity, while Edom remained intact and seemed only to benefit from Israel’s loss? Malachi makes his point, however, by alluding to Jer. 9:11. Two centuries earlier Jeremiah announced the Lord’s impending judgment against Judah: “I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a lair of jackals, and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.” By applying this same threat to Edom, Malachi makes clear that, like Judah, Edom would not escape God’s judgment. It is likely that this judgment came through the agency of Nabatean Arabs, who gradually forced the Edomites from their homeland between 550 and 400 b.c., causing them to resettle in an area later called Idumea. Being semi-nomadic, the Nabateans allowed the cities of Edom to go to ruin while their herds overgrazed and destroyed previously arable land. Whereas Judah was graciously restored after her punishment, reflecting the Lord’s love for his people, Edom’s judgment was to be permanent and irreversible (Mal. 1:4). There would continue to be individual Edomites (implied by 1:4; cf. Mark 3:8), but they had forfeited their national identity.

In lieu of our conversation about whether we’re willing to accept God for the reality of who He is or whether we sugarcoat things to make them a bit more tasty, how much do we accept the author’s take on love = choice and hatred = rejection. I like that because it fits my perspective...but is that the reality?

The pursuit of Truth continues

As I respond with the following to my friend:

(Me to Todd) It seems as though we Westerners are far too guilty of making God and the gospel into what we want, rather than what God says.  Even in believing that God doesn't save all, we (myself included) still find ways to sugar coat it as best we can.  I've been listening to David Platt's radical sermon series (1/2 way through) and a resounding theme is: do we count the cost of following Christ?  Do we really believe the Bible?  Because if we do, we have to actually live it out.  (Which is quite convicting!)

Regarding Paul's words on Jacob and Esau: 

(As you found) Mal. 1:2-3

 ^2 (A)“I have loved you,” says the LORD. ^(B)But you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau ^(C)Jacob's brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet ^(D)I have loved Jacob ³ but Esau I have hated.^(E)I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.”

Gen. 25:23

And the LORD said to her,

   ^(AB)“Two nations are in your womb,
   and two peoples from within you^[c] shall be divided;
^(AC)the one shall be stronger than the other,
   ^(AD)the older shall serve the younger.”

God isn't directly saying he'll love Jacob and hate Esau, but from the beginning it was clear that the two brothers would be at odds.  And it seems natural that God would take one side over the other.  

It is cool/challenging to look at the world through the lens of favoritism.  To the unfavored, retaliation seems so right, so normal.  We see it in your examples below, throughout the world, and even within myself.  I can think of a few examples where I felt like my brother was favored over me and so I retaliated against him.  

Genesis 4:¹ Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten^[a] a man with the help of the LORD.” ² And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. ³ In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of ^(A)the fruit of the ground, ⁴ and Abel also brought of ^(B)the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD ^(C)had regard for Abel and his offering, ⁵ but ^(D)for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. ⁶ The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? ^7 (E)If you do well, will you not be accepted?^[b]And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. ^(F)Its desire is for^[c] you, but you must rule over it.”

{As I read this passage, I thought back to Jacob and Esau.  Cain was the elder brother and yet the younger was favored.  Also reminds me of of Adam and Jesus, with Jesus being the "second Adam."  And the first serving the second.  And then I'm reminded that God chooses the lowly and discarded. 

1 Cor.1

²⁷ But ^(AO)God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; ^(AP)God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; ²⁸ God chose what is low and despised in the world, even ^(AQ)things that are not, to ^(AR)bring to nothing things that are, ²⁹ so ^(AS)that no human being^[d] might boast in the presence of God. ³⁰ And because of him^[e] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us^(AT)wisdom from God, ^(AU)righteousness and ^(AV)sanctification and ^(AW)redemption, ³¹ so that, as it is written, ^(AX)“Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

So, I think we see a constant theme throughout the Bible of the Lord choosing the underdogs.  One of the best sermons I've heard and that stuck with me was at City Church by your counterpart -- on David being chosen and his father overlooking him.  He was considered the weak one by his family, yet look what the Lord did through him!  Which, ultimately gives us a great sense of hope and excitement -- think what the Lord could do through us, though we are but weak and messy ones!  This concludes my tangent.}

My first thought: Abel gave the Lord the firstborn -- so rather than what he gave, it was the meaning/heart behind it.  The Lord cares more about our hearts than the actual action.

Psalm 51:

^16 (AD)For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; 
   you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 
¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are ^(AE)a broken spirit; 
   a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

The Beattitudes

Jesus 21:

 ^1 (A)Jesus^[a] looked up and saw the rich ^(B)putting their gifts into ^(C)the offering box, ² and he saw a poor widow put in two^(D)small copper coins.^[b] 3 And he said, “Truly, I tell you, ^(E)this poor widow has put in more than all of them. ⁴ For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her^(F)poverty put in all ^(G)she had to live on.”

Which is not to say that our actions don't matter; they do.  However, they're not the basis of our salvation.  Abel wasn't saved because of his offering; however, because he was favored, perhaps his offering was greater.  You could get yourself into a chicken and egg conundrum here -- is one saved because of their actions OR are one's actions a result of their salvation (or lack there of).  Being the good Calvinist I am, I go with the latter.  

If God's not partial (a big theme of Romans) then He predestines whom He predestines.  So I don't think He choose (meaning salvation) Abel over Cain because of his sacrifice.  Yet, perhaps the Lord was more pleased with Abel over Cain because Abel gave the Lord something meaningful and important...assuming that was an overflow of how he felt for the Lord.  And, as you know better than I, the Law dictates that we give our first fruits, our best, to the Lord.  

I think we can relate to this in our own lives: I believe the Lord has chosen/predestined me.  Yet, do I always please Him?  No.  Which, in a way, brings us back to the original question of love.  If God has chosen me, then He always loves me, unconditionally.  Though being in a relationship, there are times when He is more or less pleased with me than other times.  Subsequently, there are times when I am not pleased with Him -- at least for a time because I don't like what He's doing, but that doesn't change the definition of our relationship: Him being my God.  

Another challenging response

(Todd to me) You are starting to poke at some really important (and somewhat dangerous) aspects of where Christian theology doesn't match up with much of what we’re taught about God in the West.


I’ve been spending A LOT of time in Genesis and I’ve been struck by how it’s essentially the same story over and over...

Abel favored over Cain (Cain retaliates).
Jacob favored over Esau (Esau retaliates)
Joseph favored over his brothers (brothers retaliate)

Here’s one you’ll lose sleep over. Why did God favor Abel over Cain? Be careful...if you say it’s because he brought him the better offering (meat over vegetables), then are you saying that God’s favor/elect is ascribed by God for those who DO certain things?

Does that mean we can earn God’s love?

I think one of the best places we can be in (in terms of growing in the Lord) is when we’re forced to believe something theologically that we don’t want to believe. Sometimes we can create a God we want (I think that’s called ‘idolatry’)...so the process you’re going through is true repentance. As in, “think again.”

My Response: we don't always like what we find

(Me to Todd) Conversations I've had, sermons I've listened to, and scripture I've read over the past few weeks have pointed to the vast differences between believers and not.  Though I know and believe it to be true, at times it is such a large pill to swallow.

As I read through Romans 8 just now, I made two columns: those with Christ & those without Christ.  It is abundantly clear that there are immense privileges to knowing the Lord. As I read Romans 8, I was reminded of Romans 9.  My favorite passage to grasp double predestination, summed up in v 13, "As it is written, " Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."  So, God hates.  And you cannot hate and love something -- so much of what I think the Lord's been teaching me -- you are either all in or all out.  For me, it is in the context of loving the Lord.  Yet, I think it must work for how He loves as well.  Otherwise, His love would be lukewarm and we know He's not a fan of that.

I almost don't like my conclusion...not the first time I've disliked what I believe to be true.  But I think I was mistaken before in thinking that God's love is always unconditional.  Yes, it is absolutely unconditional for those He loves...  But there are those that He doesn't love.  I tried to find a way around that -- in thinking God could love someone unconditionally, yet still send them to hell (in agreement in my belief of predestination and God's just character).  But I don't think it works like that.  I still think God is just, which is why He's still GOOD and GRACIOUS, even in sending some to hell.  Because we ALL deserve hell and so saving even one would be gracious.

So, my beef with all of this is people telling others, "God loves you."  Mainly done in the course of evangelism.  I know I've done it.  And I've heard it said countless times...