…

…

No, I’m not dead but this site seems to be.

An Open Door

I haven’t posted anything in a while.  Last Wednesday, I was accepted to be an RA in the sophomore dorm East next year.  Being an RA next year will stretch me to initiate relationships that I normally wouldn’t.  I am looking forward to what God has in store.  Pray that God would strengthen my rest in His grace and prepare me to lead the Sophomores in my stairwell next year closer to Him.

2 Timothy 2:1-2

Century

This week I left the Bethel bubble again to start classes at Century.  I will be there Tuesday and Thursdays taking Principles of Marketing, Fundamentals of Music, and Financial Accounting.  All these classes transfer into Bethel.  My Bethel classes (Principles of Economics and Statistical Analysis) will start in February.

Century Community College:

Also, happy birthday to Torri (January 8th) and Dad (January 10th)!:

Fellowship on Common (Solid) Ground

Christmas conference went well this year.  Thank you for your prayers.  As we worshiped the One who shepherds us, I was  reminded of how wonderful authentic community is…I often take it for granted.  Community isn’t ultimate, the object that it pushes us to is.  Community can be formed anywhere, all it needs are people who understand and are gripped by the Gospel: “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes form the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (Philippians 3:8-9).  I got to room with three guys who I didn’t know that well, but we were able to have fellowship with each other because we shared the common ground of the Gospel.

The group from Bethel at Christmas Conference

Milwaukee Christmas Conference 2008/09

Tomorrow morning Justin and I are leaving for Milwaukee to attend a Campus Outreach conference.  We will be gone Monday the 29th through Friday the 2nd with a bunch of people from Bethel, Northwestern, the U, and some Indianapolis schools.

Pray that God would give everyone who attends head knowledge about His revelation that would be followed joyfully by the emotions of our hearts and the actions of our hands.  Pray that lasting effects would grow (pray that God would make our hearts like the good soil–Matthew 13:23).

Ultimately pray that God would strenghten our relationship with Him and make it more intimate.

I’ve lived on the boarder of Wisconsin for 15 years but have never made it to Milwaukee.  I am sure it will be an adventure like no other.

12-25

“Good Christians, fear, for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.

Nails, spear shall pierce Him through,
The cross be borne for me, for you.
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.”

Merry Christmas everyone!

Divine Personality

Blogging is interesting.  I haven’t posted on here for a while.  I usually don’t share most of what I am learning/thinking unless I see a need to share it with someone to address a situation they are going through.  I don’t think that is necessarily good…it is good to share thoughts that bring inspiration so that others can be inspired, conviction so that others can be convicted, etc. I am an introvert, but that doesn’t mean I should be content with not sharing some of what is going through my head.  May this blog help push me to express what I am thinking.

I’ve found a helpful technique for breaking apart and understanding scripture passages.  It’s called arcing.  This website helps you do it: http://biblearc.com/index.php. I finally finished the corny tutorial.  I am sure I will post more about this as I do it more.

I’ve been listening to sermons by Tim Keller lately. He continually blows my mind away with showing the uniqueness/holiness of Jesus Christ and how He relates to and loves His creation.  I just listened to “The Furious Love of Jesus”.  This incredible sermon shows how Jesus is able to compassionately weep with us (as a human), and confidently save and lead us (as our God).  He explains that God created the current world to act according to this principle: the more we love, the more we suffer (but that suffering is full of hope).  I thank God for His furious love.  May my eyes continue to see how it is better than life (Psalms 63:3). Listening to this sermon reminded me of this quote:

“When I think of Jesus, I think of the mystery of divine personality; the startling coalescence of contrarieties that I see in him.  He was the meekest and lowliest of all the sons of men. Yet he spoke of coming on the clouds of heaven with the glory of God. He was so austere that evil spirits and demons cried out in terror at his coming, yet he was so genial and winsome and approachable, that the children loved to play with him and the little ones nestled in his arms. His presence at the innocent gaiety of a village wedding, was like the presence of sunshine. No one was half so kind or compassionate to sinners, yet no one ever spoke such red-hot scorching words about sin.  A bruised reed he would not break. His whole life was love. Yet on one occasion he demanded of the Pharisees, how they were expected to escape the damnation of hell.
He was a dreamer of dreams and a seer of visions, yet for sheer stark realism, he has all of us self-styled realists soundly beaten. He was the servant of all, washing the disciples’ feet, yet masterfully he strode into the temple, and the hucksters and moneychangers fell over one another to get away in their mad rush from the fire they saw blazing in his eyes. He saved others, yet at the last, he himself did not save. There is nothing in history like the union of contrasts which confronts us in the gospels; the mystery of Jesus is the mystery of divine personality.”  -James Stewart

I will gladly follow this Incarnate Deity for the thousands upon thousands of ages to come.

May God lessen the times when I lose site of Him.

A Part of my Youth

My mom called me today to say that she had to have our beloved dog, Sawyer, put down.  This Australian Shepherd had been by our side since my sister was born 15 years ago.  It reminded me that death comes suddenly.  I knew she was getting old and weak, but the moment she ceased to exist was a reality reminder…this life is short. The dog of my youth is gone.  She was a good dog: curious and crazy while she was young, energetic but controlled while she was in her prime, faithful and calm while she was old. When she was a puppy, I remember her chewing on whatever she could and running around with my siblings and I when we got wild.  As she got older she showed off her ability to jump up and catch Frisbees in the air and chase deer and turkeys out of our yard. I remember when we would play in the yard (especially soccer) she would want to join in really bad!…but we had to keep her out since she obviously didn’t know how to follow rules.   She always gave us an excited greeting whenever we walked in the door, and loved having our attention (except she never barked for it) and being pet.  I know that a dog is just an animal, but Sawyer was a part of my youth.  I thank God for the animals he gives us dominion over.  He gives dogs and takes them away; he gives youth and takes it away; he gives life and takes it away; blessed be His never-ending name.

The mist that was Sawyer has vanished.

James 4:14

Fighting Pride

Jeremiah 9:23-24

“Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom,
Let not the mighty man boast in his might,
Let not the rich man boast in his riches,
But let him who boasts boast in this,
That he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth.
For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”

The cross takes away the punishment of our deeply entrenched pride.  It humbles us by showing us what our lives deserve and it prides God by displaying His steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth.  May we only boast in what is worth boasting about.

Gospel Reminder

The theme for this past summer’s Beach Project was upside-down.  In an article titled, “Preaching Morality in an Amoral Age”, Tim Keller explains how the Gospel shows an upside-down, but correct view on why we should say “no” to ungodliness:
“At the end of The Abolition of Man, C.S. Lewis demonstrates how the major religions agree on certain moral absolutes. Christians find that in today’s culture wars, they often are on the same side with believing Jews, Muslims, and Hindus. The Christian preacher seems to be saying, “Be moral,” along with exponents of other philosophies. But when we ask, “Why be moral?” the other systems say, “In order to find God,” while Christianity says, “Because God has found you.” The Christian gospel is that we are not saved by moral living, we are saved for it. We are saved by grace alone, but that grace will inevitably issue in a moral life. Many sermons tell people to say no to immorality. Often the reasons are “it is against the Bible” or “it will hurt your self-esteem” or “it’s against our Christian principles,” or “your sins will find you out.” Those things are true, but they are inadequate and secondary motives. Only the grace of God, Titus says, “teaches” us to say no. It argues with us: “You are not living as though you are loved! As his child! It is not because he will abandon you that you should be holy, but because at inestimable cost he has said he won’t ever abandon you! How can you live in the very sin that he was ripped to pieces to deliver you from?”