From Proverbs 25 --
25 Like a cool drink of water when you're worn out and weary
is a letter from a long-lost friend.
Do you use Facebook? I've found so many friends, from high school, college, places I used to work and live. Hearing from them is just like that -- a cool drink when you're worn out.
God sure knew how to sum up concisely.
xoxox
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
11-12"The person who lives in right relationship with God does it by embracing what God arranges for him. . . Rule-keeping does not naturally evolve into living by faith, but only perpetuates itself in more and more rule-keeping, a fact observed in Scripture: "The one who does these things [rule-keeping] continues to live by them."
Galatians 3:11-1
That just about says it, doesn't it?
You just can't work your way into God's good graces.
Amen!
xoxox
Monday, November 9, 2009
Spies
Ever heard that song "Be Careful Little Eyes What You See?" It's an old Sunday school song taught to children.
Honestly, I've always hated that song. It communicates so much pressure to be perfect. No wonder kids are neurotic sometimes.
But then again -- it is important to remember that people are looking to us Christians as an example. They judge God by the way we behave --
From 2 Corinthians 6:1-10 --
Our work as God's servants gets validated—or not—in the details. People are watching us as we stay at our post, alertly, unswervingly . . . in hard times, tough times, bad times; when we're beaten up, jailed, and mobbed; working hard, working late, working without eating; with pure heart, clear head, steady hand; in gentleness, holiness, and honest love; when we're telling the truth, and when God's showing his power; when we're doing our best setting things right; when we're praised, and when we're blamed; slandered, and honored; true to our word, though distrusted; ignored by the world, but recognized by God; terrifically alive, though rumored to be dead; beaten within an inch of our lives, but refusing to die; immersed in tears, yet always filled with deep joy; living on handouts, yet enriching many; having nothing, having it all.
So no matter what we do, or when, or how -- we must take care. It's a lot to handle and a high standard -- but then again, the One who set the standard is the one who enables us to do it. And not only that, but even gives us our next breath.
In, and out. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Aaah. And the next one comes from the God that loves us more than anything in the world, and more than anyone else ever could.
xoxox
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Pending Disaster
I was just watching a special on Discovery tonight. It was all about 2012 and the possible disasters that may follow. Then I went to catch up on my bible reading and I came across this:
2 Cor 4 --
16-18So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever.
It certainly is nice to know who's in charge of the world!
xoxoxox
Thursday, November 5, 2009
The Weight of Glory
From I Corinthians 18:
35-38
Some skeptic is sure to ask, "Show me how resurrection works. Give me a diagram; draw me a picture. What does this 'resurrection body' look like?" If you look at this question closely, you realize how absurd it is. There are no diagrams for this kind of thing. We do have a parallel experience in gardening. You plant a "dead" seed; soon there is a flourishing plant. There is no visual likeness between seed and plant. You could never guess what a tomato would look like by looking at a tomato seed. What we plant in the soil and what grows out of it don't look anything alike. The dead body that we bury in the ground and the resurrection body that comes from it will be dramatically different.
51 But let me tell you something wonderful, a mystery I'll probably never fully understand. We're not all going to die—but we are all going to be changed.
I read this today, and thought of the other night when I was up late. I'd been working, and I got hot. So I went outside to cool off.
It was a gorgeous night, very clear and cool although not really cold. The breeze was wonderful; very refreshing. I looked up, and the stars were shining like Christmas ornaments. Not the usual brightness that just shines, but a twinkling light that was blue, then red, then green, then white, then blue -- in no particular pattern, just always different. It seems like all the "big" stars did that, while others just shone white. I kept saying "diamonds, they're diamonds in the sky" over and over, marvelling.
I stood there and thanked God for his beautiful creation. Along with the stars was all the green in my yard -- the grass, the trees, the flowers, the herbs. It's just a regular yard, nothing special or even terribly organised. But does it really have to be? God's creation is at its most beautiful when it is at its wildest. Perfect landscaping is wonderful for a yard, but it can't hold a candle to an entire field full of lavender that just volunteered.
As I stood there thanking God for this, I remembered that C.S. Lewis was always reminding of what Paul told us: that this world, this life, is just a poor reflection of the life and world that is to come. Easy to say -- difficult to imagine. The key is to remember that we're not talking about some fictional idea. It's a real place, in a real location, where real beings live. And I'm looking forward to being there as I have never longed for a place in my life.
I'll leave you today with another favourite quote from C.S. Lewis in "The Weight of Glory:
"It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you may talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and corruption such as you now meet if at all only in a nightmare. . . There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations--these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit--immortal horrors or everlasting splendours."
xoxox
35-38
Some skeptic is sure to ask, "Show me how resurrection works. Give me a diagram; draw me a picture. What does this 'resurrection body' look like?" If you look at this question closely, you realize how absurd it is. There are no diagrams for this kind of thing. We do have a parallel experience in gardening. You plant a "dead" seed; soon there is a flourishing plant. There is no visual likeness between seed and plant. You could never guess what a tomato would look like by looking at a tomato seed. What we plant in the soil and what grows out of it don't look anything alike. The dead body that we bury in the ground and the resurrection body that comes from it will be dramatically different.
51 But let me tell you something wonderful, a mystery I'll probably never fully understand. We're not all going to die—but we are all going to be changed.
I read this today, and thought of the other night when I was up late. I'd been working, and I got hot. So I went outside to cool off.
It was a gorgeous night, very clear and cool although not really cold. The breeze was wonderful; very refreshing. I looked up, and the stars were shining like Christmas ornaments. Not the usual brightness that just shines, but a twinkling light that was blue, then red, then green, then white, then blue -- in no particular pattern, just always different. It seems like all the "big" stars did that, while others just shone white. I kept saying "diamonds, they're diamonds in the sky" over and over, marvelling.
I stood there and thanked God for his beautiful creation. Along with the stars was all the green in my yard -- the grass, the trees, the flowers, the herbs. It's just a regular yard, nothing special or even terribly organised. But does it really have to be? God's creation is at its most beautiful when it is at its wildest. Perfect landscaping is wonderful for a yard, but it can't hold a candle to an entire field full of lavender that just volunteered.
As I stood there thanking God for this, I remembered that C.S. Lewis was always reminding of what Paul told us: that this world, this life, is just a poor reflection of the life and world that is to come. Easy to say -- difficult to imagine. The key is to remember that we're not talking about some fictional idea. It's a real place, in a real location, where real beings live. And I'm looking forward to being there as I have never longed for a place in my life.
I'll leave you today with another favourite quote from C.S. Lewis in "The Weight of Glory:
"It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you may talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and corruption such as you now meet if at all only in a nightmare. . . There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations--these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit--immortal horrors or everlasting splendours."
xoxox
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Patterns and Fractals
As most of you who regularly read this know, I'm a full-time student now. One of my classes is Biology I.
This class has nearly killed me. But, I'm getting pretty close to an A, so I suppose death by Biology has its rewards. Hunk O Man is fond of saying "there's no one more motivated than a 50-year old college student."
This Bio class is a "hybrid," meaning simply this: you have to teach yourself. Most of it is offered online; we only meet once a month to take exams and hand in homework. If I didn't meet with a study group and do the labs, I'd be completely lost. This is not the kind of stuff you can always figure out on your own.
One of the assignments we regularly have is to go to the computer lab and either watch a DVD or a powerpoint presentation that addresses the current chapter. So yesterday, I decided to get all of them done for this particular set of chapters. And one was a DVD, about 30 minutes long, about cancer. We've learned all about cells -- now we're onto how the cells divide and grow, and why.
So I'm sitting in this tiny little room, alone, watching this DVD about cancer. There's a guy on it who's an expert, and who is also expert at putting everything into very plain language. He was talking about cancer cells, and how they work.
So he brought up some natural defenses we have in our bodies, called tumor-suppressor genes, which act like an emergency brake on the cancer cells. He also talked about how the cells in our body work together to accomplish a task, like building and maintaining a tissue, or organ. There's no central government telling them how to build, but each has DNA -- a copy of the blueprint -- and each one does their job.
Cancer cells, however, don't work according to the blueprint. They go off and do their own thing, running rampant in a chaotic way.
And something kind of ding went off in my mind --
Interesting thought: when sin came into the world, it may have been environmental. Adam and Eve were created sinless, and we know that sin is "passed down," i.e., we are born into sin, as Paul states. But what if sin was introduced into the world as something in our environment -- at a cellular or molecular level (or even smaller, probably) -- which got into us when we had to eat, or touch something? Once we did that, some cells broke off and did their own thing. We began to die, because death is the result of sin. We slowly break down and crumble back into the stuff of which we're made -- and maybe sooner if we get cancer.
Are you seeing the pattern here that I saw? God creates the world, then people mess it up. God creates our cells, then cancer screws them up. The bad stuff was always there, but it wasn't allowed in until we invited it, foolish folk that we all are.
In the end, it's all just the effects of sin, and going against God. But I love the way He reveals these little things everywhere. I like to play seek-and-find games on my computer. But it's even better when I'm playing them with God, and He shows me a pattern like this.
xoxox
This class has nearly killed me. But, I'm getting pretty close to an A, so I suppose death by Biology has its rewards. Hunk O Man is fond of saying "there's no one more motivated than a 50-year old college student."
This Bio class is a "hybrid," meaning simply this: you have to teach yourself. Most of it is offered online; we only meet once a month to take exams and hand in homework. If I didn't meet with a study group and do the labs, I'd be completely lost. This is not the kind of stuff you can always figure out on your own.
One of the assignments we regularly have is to go to the computer lab and either watch a DVD or a powerpoint presentation that addresses the current chapter. So yesterday, I decided to get all of them done for this particular set of chapters. And one was a DVD, about 30 minutes long, about cancer. We've learned all about cells -- now we're onto how the cells divide and grow, and why.
So I'm sitting in this tiny little room, alone, watching this DVD about cancer. There's a guy on it who's an expert, and who is also expert at putting everything into very plain language. He was talking about cancer cells, and how they work.
So he brought up some natural defenses we have in our bodies, called tumor-suppressor genes, which act like an emergency brake on the cancer cells. He also talked about how the cells in our body work together to accomplish a task, like building and maintaining a tissue, or organ. There's no central government telling them how to build, but each has DNA -- a copy of the blueprint -- and each one does their job.
Cancer cells, however, don't work according to the blueprint. They go off and do their own thing, running rampant in a chaotic way.
And something kind of ding went off in my mind --
Interesting thought: when sin came into the world, it may have been environmental. Adam and Eve were created sinless, and we know that sin is "passed down," i.e., we are born into sin, as Paul states. But what if sin was introduced into the world as something in our environment -- at a cellular or molecular level (or even smaller, probably) -- which got into us when we had to eat, or touch something? Once we did that, some cells broke off and did their own thing. We began to die, because death is the result of sin. We slowly break down and crumble back into the stuff of which we're made -- and maybe sooner if we get cancer.
Are you seeing the pattern here that I saw? God creates the world, then people mess it up. God creates our cells, then cancer screws them up. The bad stuff was always there, but it wasn't allowed in until we invited it, foolish folk that we all are.
In the end, it's all just the effects of sin, and going against God. But I love the way He reveals these little things everywhere. I like to play seek-and-find games on my computer. But it's even better when I'm playing them with God, and He shows me a pattern like this.
xoxox
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
It's Not a Contest
From Romans 12:
9-10Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.
11-13Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.
14-16Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy; share tears when they're down. Get along with each other; don't be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don't be the great somebody.
17-19Don't hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you've got it in you, get along with everybody. Don't insist on getting even; that's not for you to do. "I'll do the judging," says God. "I'll take care of it."
20-21Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he's thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don't let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.Yesterday, I missed reading my bible because I slept all day -- jetlag. My mini-vacation in California caught up with me. This happens a lot (not the jetlag); I'll miss a day and then pick up reading the next day.
However, As Hunk O Man puts it, "It's not a competition, Hon. Nobody's keeping track." I tend to become so OCD that I think I have to go back and read it all -- but he's right, it's not a competition. The idea is to spend some time in the Word each day, not make some kind of requirement to read it all no matter what.
So I noticed that today was Romans 14 & 15. I pulled it up, and realized that I'd missed Romans 12 from yesterday. Romans 12 is one of my favourite passages. So, I went to yesterday and pulled that up.
What a treat. I got what you read above -- and what encouragement it is!
I have this emailed to me each day. I never read my bible when I had to pick it up and do it. But this makes it so easy!
Here's a link if you'd like to do the same: BiblePlan
The moral of this story, today, for me -- once in awhile, it's good to go back and catch what you missed, if possible. It might be a blessing you could use.
xoxoxox
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