Break Me Down

He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

-Micah 6:8

Upon attending the INSPIRE Bonner conference, I left with an inspirational message from the President of Bonner.

(Almost direct quote--rearranged a couple words due to lack of writing utensil/recording device)

"If your site is a soup kitchen, and you tell people what you're doing, you typically say 'I'm serving at a soup kitchen, or I'm helping to cook and prepare meals for the homeless.' How many of us actually say that we're helping to end hunger?"

If people ask about your faith or service habits, we typically talk to them about the very small, limited spectrum of what we're doing, rather than what we're actually doing.

When a kid drops his books, and you help him by picking them up, you're not just collecting a kid's educational materials, you're dying to yourself and picking up His cross.

When you say thank you to the janitor for cleaning the school's floors, you aren't just acknowledging a necessary completed task, you're recognizing Jesus in the eyes of a person, and loving them through Christ.

When you give everything you have to the poor, you're not just giving away goods-- you're acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with your God (Micah 6:8--Siena's 2010 Bonner theme).

How did Christ truly live?

What are you doing to promote justice, mercy, and humbleness through Christ's Counsel?

Believe

And let us consider to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Hebrews 10:24-25

So I found myself at the hospital, again, today.

One of the nurses who would be with me during my procedure looked at me while I was hooked in (heart monitor, oxygen, etc.), and asked me if I went to school. I told her I went to Siena College, in preparation for missionary work in Egypt with orphans. We carried on that conversation for several more minutes. After a slight pause in the conversation, she saw my discouraged face and told me, "God can even get you through this."

It's nice to be reminded of God's promise and power, even if it is by a stranger. We are told by God to encourage one another. Even though the woman gave me one simple line of encouragement, it reminded me of His Providence, enough so to hush the Enemy as I lay there waiting for the anesthesia to kick in.

But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.

-Hebrews 3:13

Earth Outside of Ghost Will Only Be Quicksand.

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD.

He is like a tree planted by water,

and sends out its roots by the stream,

and does not fear when heat comes,

for its leaves remain green,

and is not anxious in the year of drought,

for it does not cease to bear fruit."

-Jeremiah 17:7-8

I love the way that ESV has translated this verse.

Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD.

trust (n): confident expectation of something; hope. reliance on the integrity, strength, surety, etc. of a person or thing; confidence. (provided by Dictionary.com)

Blessed is the man who hopes in the LORD, whose hope is the LORD.

Blessed is the man who relies on the surety of the LORD, whose surety is in the LORD.

Blessed is the man who has confidence in the LORD, whose confidence is the LORD.

Blessed is the man who has strength in the LORD, whose strength is the LORD.

How incredible is that one line of verse seven when it's broken down like that?

...[he] does not fear when heat comes...and [he] is not anxious in the year of drought...

He who has confidence, surety, hope, strength--trust--in the LORD will not waver in any heat that Satan throws at us. Instead, we remain rooted in Him--continuing to bear fruit in a seemingly impossible environment.

When we choose Him, we choose His strength, hope, confidence and surety. We choose life.

Eternal life. Unregulated by lowly humans, but crafted and empowered by the Great, Almighty Creator.

Carelessness

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

-1 Corinthians 13

God wasn't kidding when He wrote this.

He meant every word.

I got to see a little of what that looks like tonight.

It's beautiful.

God Bless.

Pause

How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

-John 5:44

Just to get you thinking:

Why is it that we seek after what people think about us?

Why do we sometimes take someone else's judgment above Christ's?

God says:

Do not judge, or you too will be judged.

-Matthew 7:1

Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgement.

-Ecclesiastes 11:9

You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.

-Leviticus 20:26

Why is it that we desire to follow after the heart, mind, and opinion of someone else,

rather than the most perfect, Divine Being to ever exist?

God says:

Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

-Matthew 16:24

Let their lying lips be silenced, for with pride and contempt they speak arrogantly against the righteous.

-Psalm 31:18

"Come follow me," Jesus said...

-Matthew 4:19

We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness.We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else.

-1 Thessalonians 2:4-6

Marianne Williamson once said, "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be. We were born to make manifest of the glory of God that is within us. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same."

Don't let anyone stand in the way of the glory of God, His beauty.

You are His masterpiece, and becoming more like Christ will only make you even more beautiful.

From Zion, in perfect beauty, God shines forth.

-Psalm 50:2

Give Me Your Eyes

Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying,

"Rabbi, eat."

But he said to them, I have food to eat that you do not know about."

So the disciples said to one another,

"Has anyone brought him something to eat?"

Jesus said to them,

"My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.

Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'?

Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes and see that the fields are white for harvest.

-John 4:31-35

How absolutely incredible is this passage? Many a time I have read through this and just accepted it, ("Yeah, I get it, the Bread of Life, ...that's cool."). I have completely failed at actually reading what Christ has scripted here.

31: Disciples: Rabbi eat....implying the need for Christ to eat. I assume he was looking "overworked" and possibly gaunt (as he appears in most pictures now-a-days).

32: Jesus: You just don't get it, I have life. More life that can be found in a piece of bread.

33: Disciples: Has anyone been thoughtful and hospitable towards our God?

34: Jesus: (Hitting it out of the ballpark)--I have more life and more energy living the only life that I am called to--the life in which God gave me to live. Don't set time limits (Example of folly: I'll be a missionary in this many months..when I'm financially ready and God has made it FULLY clear to me what I'm to do, by showing me multiple signs in which I've previously neglected...or...I'll talk to those people that God has put on my heart when I have less homework...) Open up your eyes!! I provide opportunities for every single second of your life to live out My work!

Holy smokes.

How riveting and empowering is verse 34?

Every single second, if we "lift up our eyes," we will see that Jesus can be served in some way.

Let's start living that way.

As Christ calls us to.

Blessed Assurance

After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized (for John had not yet been put in prison).

Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification. And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him." John answered,"A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.' The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease."

-John 3:23-30

April 11, 2010, I will be baptized.

God has been working in my heart to understand what it truly means when I say that Christ is my husband.

Yes, baptism is a symbolic representation of the cleansing and redeeming powers of my Father and is symbolic of being born again in Him. But, there are other aspects of baptism that seem to be left out.

I look at my baptism as more or less than a ceremony of my commitment.

My love for Christ goes above and beyond. My baptism will ultimately be a ceremony of how much I love and adore Christ. He is the Husband of my soul, and it will be wonderful to share that moment with my church home. It's almost as if my baptism will be symbolic of my marriage/wedding ceremony with Christ.

This is a picture of my school ring from Loudonville Christian,

LCS being the place where I first fell in love with my Husband.

God Will Take Care of You

Defend my cause and redeem me; preserve my life according to your promise.

Psalm 119:154

So my roommate (and best friend!) and I were talking last night.

God has worked so very hard with the both of us in so many ways, and we are incredibly blessed (Thank you Dad!).

One word that really caught my ear during said discussion was preservation.

Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter,

but the advantage of knowledge is this:

that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.

Ecclesiastes 7:12

Preserve (verb): To keep up, out of harm, to spare, to protect, to maintain

Preserve (noun): That which protects, that which is protected

My comfort in my suffering is this:

Your promise preserves my life.

Psalm 119:50

God guides us on a path to keep us holy---to keep us preserved.

He is the Preserve(r).

He gave us one another to help encourage and love one another in Him,

and thus we become the preserve(rs) of His Will.

Preserve my life according to your love...

Psalm 119:88

What does God call you to preserve?

How will you go about preserving yourself while on your walk with Christ?

Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.

Luke 17:33

We're Very Greatly Loved

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,

for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

-Psalm 23:4

Quote from a Friend:

"It's not the sinning I have a problem with,

It's stopping."

I think we all know how that feels.

We need to encourage each other in remembering that

Satan's existence is just one breath away from being

destroyed by Christ.

He is that powerful.

He can be that powerful in our lives, if we choose to let Him be that strong.

What's more exhilarating than laying down our lives, denying

the Enemy, and proclaiming our love for Christ while doing so?

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

-2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Praise Awaits You.

For the joy of the Lord is your strength.

-Nehemiah 8:10

Isn't it funny that when we pray for God to do good and incredible things,

He's hoping that we are the ones who are going to do the good and incredible things through His Joy?

He knows that He's got this.

For what is our hope, our joy

or the crown in which we will glory

in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes?

Is it not you?

-1 Thessalonians 2:19

The precepts of the LORD are right,

giving joy to the heart.

The commandments of the LORD are radiant,

giving light to the eyes.

-Psalm 19:8

Halleluiah

But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to obey his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and all your soul."

-Joshua 22:5

Another rugby training moment:

As I was running, I remembered one of the "verses of the month" that I am memorizing.

The joy of the Lord is your strength.
Nehemiah 8:10

Simple and commonly used--at least that's what I thought.

While running, I became exhausted quite quickly (still working on getting back in shape!). However, with truly understanding and experiencing Christ's joy in rugby training, I was able to see that this verse is not simple, yet complex.

Understanding "The joy of the Lord":

God rejoices when we stay close to Him and away from sin.

Let those who love the LORD hate evil,
for he guards the lives of his faithful ones
and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
Psalm 97:10

God is glorified through worship.

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to his name;
worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
Psalm 29:2

The Lord delights in the faithfulness of His children.

May those who delight in my vindication
shout for joy and gladness;
may they always say,
"The LORD be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant."


Understanding through training how "the joy" can become our "strength":

The Lord rejoices in the fact that we desire to follow after Him. He rejoices in every decision we make to end our relationship with Satan, and deepen our relationship with Him. He rejoices in our worship.
Rugby, for me, is physical preparation for missions later on in life. More than that, the opportunity to play rugby is a missions field in itself. I am able to connect with all kinds of young women from all over the Northeast. Being a missionary on the rugby pitch is a huge task. Not only does practice last between 2.5 hours to 5 hours a day, but games on Saturdays require us to get up around 6 am-7am, and return anytime between 3 and 7 pm. Social activities extend the days and nights even further. This huge commitment allows a large amount of time for the Lord to be celebrated and shared! However, if the focus of Christ's joy does not remain prominent, than it leaves room for Satan to wiggle his way into my life.

Part of loving Christ means that I must love all of His creations, and push away that which Satan uses against Love.

How can we all go about discovering more about God's love that we don't understand already?

Show the wonder of your great love,

you who save by your right hand

those who take refuge in your from their foes.

-Psalm 17:7

His love endures forever.

-Psalm 136

If My Heart Was A House

Is this the kind of fasting I have chosen,

only a day for a man to humble himself?

Is it only for blowing one's head like a reed

and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?

Is that what you call a fast,

a day acceptable to the LORD?

"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:

to loose the chains of injustice

and untie the chords of the yoke,

to set the oppressed free

and break every yoke?

Is it not to share your food with the hungry

and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter--

when you see him naked, to clothe him,

and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

Then your light will break forth like the dawn,

and your healing will quickly appear;

then your righteousness will go before you,

and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

-Isaiah 58:5-8

A thought on Lent:

Fasting is such a beautiful act of love and worship to participate in.

Forty days of fasting is riveting, and draws one closer to God on a level that they previously couldn't even fathom.

What would it be like to fast from something for a year?

For your whole life?

How much more of ourselves would we surrender to Christ?

What does it truly mean to love Him with everything we have?

What does it mean to give everything to God?

Things to pray about.

"Even now," declares the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, "with fasting and weeping and mourning."

-Joel 2:12

This Place is Painted Red

But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

-2 Timothy 4:5

From Father Jack's homily:

Ministry is not about you.

Ministry is when you set a table for God and someone else to come together at.

When God wants to, He can use a hand anywhere.

There is so much truth in the above illustration. Anything and everything that God leads one to do is an act to get someone to join together with Christ in fellowship. How simple, how beautiful.

You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure.

-1 Thessalonians 2:1