There are so many reasons to be extremely grateful to live in the New Testament times. Last night while watching the Veggie Tales Jonah movie with my nephew and his parents, I saw another reason. In the Old Testament, once you made the decision to live a life very separate from God, there you stayed. Not that God did not believe in second chances but the Israelites were very judgmental. You can see that attitude in Jonah. A sinner was a sinner. But now, Christians love testimonies. They love to hear about how God changes lives. Don't get me wrong, I am very aware of how judgmental some Christians are. But in general, a changed life is much more received now. I am so glad. I stumble. I fall. I break God's heart over and over. Yet, I know he loves me and I have been extremely blessed with friends who love me just the same. No judging, just love.
Maybe I am just super lucky. Maybe my assumptions about life being different now then it was in Jonah's time is wrong. But personally, I will be grateful for grace and I will be grateful to live now and not back then.
Just a thought.
April 13, 2012
April 7, 2012
Waiting: Even Jesus Did It
Seems like Spring is always a period of waiting for me. This week I have heard that word a lot. Sometimes I really don't like that answer. But currently, I am much happier to hear "wait" and not "no." There are several situations which my waiting is involved: job, relationships, future, etc.
While at our monthly "family dinner" (code for my group of friends who gather at least once a month at a friend's apt for dinner, fellowship, and movies), we did a devotion mainly because it is Good Friday. I really liked having the devotion first before we began the other activities and I hope I can encourage us to continue beginning with one. Anyway, during the devotion, I heard the word wait again but in a way I had never before. Have you ever stopped and thought about how many times God has waited throughout the Bible. Some of it was because he knew best and some because of human error. Granted some of these I have thought about before but tonight it all just hit in a new way. He waited so many years before even bringing Jesus to Earth. He waited until Jesus was 30 to start his ministry. He waited before sending Jesus back to Jerusalem. And what hit me most tonight...he waited three days before raising Jesus from the dead. Not because he did not have the power to snap his fingers and be done with it. But the all powerful God waited three days before overcoming sin. God waited! God is a God of waiting, or at least that is how it looks from our perspective. In reality, God is not waiting per say but his time is just much different from our own.
Here are two questions to think about: Why then does it surprise us when God asks us to wait? Why does it surprise us when sin takes us even longer to overcome? (this last question did not even hit me until I was writing just now).
Good Friday reminds us not only of the perfect Jesus taking our sins on the cross and dying for us but also another reminder of how different God's timing is compared to our own. Along with how much we need to trust his timing because he knows much more than we do. He is the author of time.
Just Wait!
While at our monthly "family dinner" (code for my group of friends who gather at least once a month at a friend's apt for dinner, fellowship, and movies), we did a devotion mainly because it is Good Friday. I really liked having the devotion first before we began the other activities and I hope I can encourage us to continue beginning with one. Anyway, during the devotion, I heard the word wait again but in a way I had never before. Have you ever stopped and thought about how many times God has waited throughout the Bible. Some of it was because he knew best and some because of human error. Granted some of these I have thought about before but tonight it all just hit in a new way. He waited so many years before even bringing Jesus to Earth. He waited until Jesus was 30 to start his ministry. He waited before sending Jesus back to Jerusalem. And what hit me most tonight...he waited three days before raising Jesus from the dead. Not because he did not have the power to snap his fingers and be done with it. But the all powerful God waited three days before overcoming sin. God waited! God is a God of waiting, or at least that is how it looks from our perspective. In reality, God is not waiting per say but his time is just much different from our own.
Here are two questions to think about: Why then does it surprise us when God asks us to wait? Why does it surprise us when sin takes us even longer to overcome? (this last question did not even hit me until I was writing just now).
Good Friday reminds us not only of the perfect Jesus taking our sins on the cross and dying for us but also another reminder of how different God's timing is compared to our own. Along with how much we need to trust his timing because he knows much more than we do. He is the author of time.
Just Wait!
April 1, 2012
Just Cry
Sometimes you just need a good cry. I know I do. Sometimes you don't realize it until something makes you cry uncontrollably. Last night was one of those nights for me. I went and saw October Baby. If you haven't heard about this movie, I will give you a quick summary. A college age girl finds out she was adopted after her biological mother tried aborting her. Needless to say I cried a lot during the movie but once I got home, I couldn't stop. Well thank goodness for cooking as a distraction otherwise I might still be crying ;) Anyway, I apparently really needed that cry. But if anyone else is like me, sometimes I feel like I shouldn't cry. I feel like if I get upset and cry over something, that means one of many things: I am overreacting, I am not trusting God, or I am a failure. Then this morning God reminded me of a Mandisa song I heard recently. I turned it on and this part of the song jumped out at me:
Just cry
Just cry
It doesn't mean you don't trust him
It doesn't mean you don't believe
It doesn't mean you don't know
He's redeeming everything.
-A section from Just Cry by Mandisa
I think that song says everything. I have nothing else to add but this: Just Cry...it's okay. God will hold you while you do and won't get upset either.
Just cry
Just cry
It doesn't mean you don't trust him
It doesn't mean you don't believe
It doesn't mean you don't know
He's redeeming everything.
-A section from Just Cry by Mandisa
I think that song says everything. I have nothing else to add but this: Just Cry...it's okay. God will hold you while you do and won't get upset either.
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