Diamond Column #4

You may have gathered by now that I read a lot of books. And all those books out there about loving others, living radically for Jesus, etc. are great, but we can't do any of that without the Holy Spirit.
I realized this partly from reading Forgotten God by Francis Chan. Basically, I was blown away by how little that I actually acknowledged the daily, even constant, work of God’s Holy Spirit in my life. He really was forgotten. What about you? Do you have any idea what the Spirit is truly capable of doing in your life? We have the exact same Spirit living in us as Jesus Christ did when He walked this earth.

Let that sink in for a minute: Jesus Christ gave us His Spirit.

When Jesus told His disciples that "Anyone who has faith in me, will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these," He meant it! Have you ever read through the Gospels and truly believed you could do even greater things than the miracles listed there? Further yet, read Acts--that's Jesus' promise fulfilled first time around. Those disciples were doing some crazy stuff. Stuff that could never be explained in human terms. Stuff that points straight to the glory of God because there's absolutely no other way that we could explain it.

Just like Jesus' life while on earth, the things He did couldn't be explained on human terms. They were "out of this world." And that's how He brought glory to His Father with every fiber of His being—every moment of His life. The cool thing is that role isn't just reserved for Jesus anymore. Sure, He'll always be the only One who did it perfectly, without any mistakes, but is that going to keep us from at least trying the same thing?

Now think about your life. What happens during your daily life that points directly to the Father--that there's no other explanation for what you're doing besides that you have God's own Holy Spirit dwelling in you? Don't just think of a few “grander” moments that have happened over the years, think about your daily routine. After all, according to Annie Dillard, "How you live your days is how you live your life."

I'm sure (or at least I hope) that everyone could answer that they have the Fruit of the Holy Spirit manifested in their life. But think of this: do you know non-Christians who are loving, joyful, patient, gentle, or self-controlled? I know I do. So how are we supposed to tell a difference?

Well, Francis Chan answers that question by encouraging the readers to ask the Holy Spirit to manifest His Fruit to a supernatural degree. That they be so loving, so joyful, so self-controlled, that there's no other explanation besides that the Holy Spirit is dwelling in them and shining through His temple. I say give it a shot yourself—after all, what have you got to lose? :-)

Diamond Column #3

So here's Diamond Column #3...If you recognize it, it's because I've posted this already earlier this summer. But I guess that's the great thing about writing the few blog posts that I did this summer-- I can pass them on again for my Diamond Column. Maybe I should be more original...but at the same time, I passed them on the first time because I wanted to benefit others. So I might as well again, right? :)

“Shall Not Perish…”

If I asked you to paraphrase John 3:16 what would you say? Maybe something like “That Jesus is God’s gift to us because He loves us so much. If we accept this gift through faith, we receive everlasting life in heaven rather than perishing in hell.” That was always my summary of the verse, but after reading a book this summer, my summary totally widened. I wanted to share some of the main points of that book with you. I cannot take any credit for these words, but hopefully you can still take something away from them like I did.

When we say "should not perish," we automatically think of eternal destruction in hell. Yes, it's true that Jesus proclaimed a message that could deliver mankind from perishing in actual hell. But Jesus' words "should not perish" also mean that He wants to keep us from another kind of perishing--from wasting and throwing our lives away now, here on earth. God created mankind with tremendous capacities and abilities. God intends marvelous things for the redeemed. He desires that we be transformed into the image of His Son and that we make an impact for Him on the lives of others during our brief stay on the earth.

Your life won't be wasted in eternity. But that doesn't stop Satan from trying to get you to waste the life you're living now on earth. He wants you to fail and fall short of your potential in God. Jesus never intended believers to perish in any dimension of the word--in this life or in the one to come. If Jesus said whoever believes in Him should not perish, why then do we see so many Christians perishing in this life by squandering their earthly time and talents?

We must understand that the word believe means much more than a one-time reach to God in a desperate moment. The word believe implies a continual process of reaching out to God in faith and obedience, not only to avoid eternal destruction in hell, but also to avoid wasting our lives on earth by experiencing God's purpose now.

I want to do the extravagant thing for God. Out of love and gratitude I want to do that which is not required. I want Him to reap His full inheritance from my life. How tragic, how grievous, how totally unnecessary to be wasted in this age through carelessness, passivity, and desire for other things.

You and I must be watchful. We must stay spiritually wide awake. We must not lose our focus or become trapped in wrong relationships. The kingdom of God is worthy of our watchfulness. We must not cultivate any desires that would hinder or quench our spiritual lives, lest on that day we suffer loss, and our lives be judged unfruitful and wasted--perished. (–Passion for Jesus by Mike Bickle)

Arlene

This morning I got to catch up with Arlene after almost a month apart. I forgot how much I missed her. She's pretty special. Who is Arlene? Why is she special? I'm so glad you asked! :)
Arlene is an 87 (and a half) year old woman of God living here in Sioux Center. We got connected through my internship with ATLAS. She needed someone to help her scrapbook about her adventures in Africa. I had no idea who she was, but I can be a little crafty when necessary, and I love Africa, so I took up the offer!
This is what I wrote in our Intern Summer Journal back on June 24th . . .

This week Tuesday & Friday mornings, I got to spend a couple hours each with Arlene Schuiteman. I could tell within my first few minutes of talking with her that she was going to be a huge blessing in my life. She is 87 years old and still completely on fire for God, which is definitely refreshing and encouraging to see! In telling me a fairly short summary of her life as a  missionary nurse in Africa for 35+ years, I could already see much of myself in her as far as her calling and what she desired to do for God’s Kingdom. It’s hard to explain what I was feeling, but I was just overcome with this feeling that God definitely knew what He was doing when He put Arlene in my life. I am super excited to see what God has in store for this new relationship. As I was leaving her house Tuesday morning, Arlene gave me a hug and commented that it was like having another little sister again. I can’t wait to find out what this older Sister in Christ has to teach me.  :)

So today, we got to talk again. She just got back last week from a 3 week trip to Africa! Yep. You read that right--an 87 1/2 year old is still a world-traveler. (And she's planning on going again over Christmas break.) As she was telling me about all her adventures, I was just thinking back over all the conversations we've had in the past 4 months. In a lot of ways, she knows me better than almost anyone, and we share so many of the same ideas/experiences. Crazy, huh? Who could have guessed that a 20 year old and 87 year old could be such good friends? Crazy, but awesome. That's the kind of God we serve.

Here's to thanking God for every good and perfect gift and looking forward to what crazy packages He has in store for me next.

better than a dozen roses

As if Sundays weren't already my favorite day of the week, God gave me yet another reason to absolutely love today. :)
     I woke up around 7:20 on my own and had plenty of time for a run in the perfect running weather. Right as I turned the corner to run along the east side of town, I see the bright red tip of the sun just coming up. That whole stretch, I got to watch the sunrise as I ran and talked with my Beloved. Amazing :) God knows how infatuated I am with the sun, and He loves to romance my heart with special sunrises or sunsets just for me. I'll take that over a dozen roses any day. I know--I'm so spoiled. :)

But just wait--it gets better :)
     I ran through Dordt's Prairie next, and it seriously looked like a picture right out of a calendar. The yellow flowers and tall grass were peeking through low fog and in the background the golden sun shown through the trees. I wish I had my camera....Meanwhile, my mp3 player has Kari Jobe singing "You are holy, holy" in my ears, and all I can do is stop, stare, and soak it all in.

I can't think of a better start to my day...and the rest of the day followed in suit.
*Sunday School was canceled at Christ Community today, but five us didn't get the memo. Our own little God-talk outside on the front lawn of church? Check.
*Wonderful church service with a good sermon about Jesus being the Resurrection and the Life right now in the present--not the future? Check.
*Meal with roommates and other friends? Check.
*Some really, really good conversations with special people in my life? Check.
*First time (of hopefully many) at LeMar's Asylum Middle School Group? Check.
*Relaxation before another full week? Check.

"If you know the Lord has been good to you then sing! jump! dance!"
Check, check check.

Finally!! :)

We won a pretty huge game tonight, and it feels sooo good. Midland was 6-1 in the conference--definitely the team to beat. So make that 6-2. Our team has had more ups and downs this season than I thought possible. It seemed right when we reach a high, we were sure that was the end of it, and it would only get better. But we couldn't be more wrong--that roller coaster would just take another dip. Well, this time feels different. I know we blocked better than we have yet this season, but I think there's more to it. I don't know how to describe it--but it's good. So good. I'm ready to see where our team goes from here. Anyone else up for a Cinderella Story?? :)

Only To Be Yours by Meredith Andrews

Only To Be Yours (click here to listen to the song)
Abba, may this be the prayer of our hearts.


Undivided, strip everything else away,
Burn the idols, the things in my life that have replaced You,
I lay my life down here on Your alter,
Empty my hands of all I've been holding back

Captivated, You've stolen my heart away,
I've been liberated, the chains of this world forever broken.
You laid Your life down,
Now I surrender, lifting my hands,
I'm holding nothing back

So take everything I have,
only to be Yours, Lord, Yours Lord.
Take it from my hands until I'm holding on to only You.

For every need I want is found in You;
Every breath in me a gift from You.
I have nothing here apart from You;
I am Yours, Lord, only Yours

Take everything I have, 
only to be Yours, Lord, Yours Lord.
Take it from my hands until I'm holding on to only You.

Diamond Column #2

Did you know that however big of a tree’s trunk and branches you see, there’s that much of the tree’s roots underground? So if a tree is 10 feet tall, its roots go 10 feet deep. 100 feet tall, 100 feet deep. You get the idea. Well, going off that, I learned a pretty neat analogy this summer that I’d like to share with you.

Tree #1- You’re not feeling over-stressed or anything. You’re actually probably feeling pretty content with your life. You’re pretty busy with studying, friends, and other stuff, but at least you go on your annual serve trip and help out in church nursery. That’s your branches. That’s what others see of you. But now let’s take a look at your root system. You go to church on Sunday, you try to catch some chapel or Praise & Worship at least every once in a while, and you try to read a quick devotional every night. See a correlation? Small root system; small tree.

Tree #2-  You’ve read the Bible and other books about being “radical” so you’re stretching yourself as much as possible to do great things for Christ. You try to get involved in as many things as possible. You really do enjoy loving God through loving others, but sometimes you wonder if you’re doing something wrong. Is life always going to be this stressful or am I eventually going to get it figured out and settle down? The disciples never had any time to rest, did they? Well, now let’s look at the root system. You’re not really spending a whole lot of quality time with just you and God because you’re so busy doing stuff for Him. You know there’s importance in daily prayer and Bible times, but maybe sometimes you find yourself rationalizing that as long as you’re doing “Christian” things, that counts as your God-time for the day.

Tree #3- Small tree, big root system. You don’t have a whole lot of extra stuff goin’ on right now. You’re feeling pretty good about maintaining academics, extracurricular, and other relationships, but because your root system is so deep in God’s love, you find yourself consistently wishing there was more you could do. You know that God has filled you with His love and power to do great things in His name, but you can’t seem to find any open doors.

Can you all guess what the final tree would look like? Firmly rooted in God’s love, spending quality and consistent time with Him, and as a result, you find you have even more time and desire to be Jesus to others. As you spend more time with Him, He gives you more of His heart and His desire to do great things for His kingdom above other things. I know what tree I’d like to be. How about you? Let’s try praying the words of Paul in Ephesians 3:16-20. (Look it up J) and see where that takes us.