Here Comes The Bride...

It is June and the wedding month is drawing to a close. I have really enjoyed seeing all of the wedding pictures on Facebook, especially of young men and woman that I have taught in the past! The happiness that I see on their faces is contagious...seriously, I can't look at them without smiling myself!
                            
All of the bridal and wedding pictures make me think of the Church as well. Scripture calls the Church the Bride of Christ. When I think about this, I wonder how He feels about the way we are preparing ourselves for the sweet day when the bride has made herself ready and it is time for the marriage of the Lamb.

As I look at the pictures of the beautiful brides having their hair and make-up done and as they slip into the beautiful gowns, I wonder if our sweet Lamb of God sees beauty in our preparation.Sometimes I wonder if instead of a smile, we bring Him sorrow.

So I have been praying and thinking about what I can do to bring beauty to the Church as we prepare for our Lord. And my mind keeps coming back to all of the scripture that says the desire of the Lord is that the Church is unified.

                                      

Sometimes as I look around, I don't feel like we are very unified. One of the main reasons God wants us unified is that through our unification the world can see Him and how much He loves them. 

That is not how the world sees us right now.

So in my ramblings of confusions and confessions, I have come up with a list that I am going to use for myself. A list of things to think about and do with the intent of working towards making myself a more unified part of the body of Christ.

Social Media: I love Facebook! I love the pictures, the ideas, the people I am able to stay in contact with...I just love it! But I also see danger prowling around. So I have made some guidelines for myself when using social media

•  I will not begin or participate in any type of religious debate, no matter how right I think I am. No argument is ever won on Facebook. All we do when we argue religion on Facebook or Twitter or whatever is feed into discord. If there is an issue that needs to be confronted, I will follow the Biblical model for going to my brother or sister (Matt. 5:23-24, 18:15-17). And I will always keep in mind Mark 9:38-41.
• I will not post anything political. I have candidates that I support and issues I feel passionately about, but again, nothing is ever won by arguing on social media. If I believe strongly in a candidate or issue, I will support them with my time and/or money where it is most likely I will make a difference. If I have a friend and we enjoy political debating, I will invite them over for dinner!
• I will never...never purposefully say anything derogatory about any other person, group of people, nation, etc. 

Let me explain just a little bit of why I believe this is such an important step to take. When I have been in situations where I am blessed to be able to evangelize, at times I have been asked the question of which Bible is correct. Being thrown off  by this question at first, I figured out that the confusion was with Christians on Facebook arguing over "hot topics." The assumption was that since Christians could not agree on Biblical issues, they must have different Bibles. 

Though we will always have issues we disagree over we need to be mindful that sometimes people read our posts and they don't know all of the religious jargon we have made up and our conflicting opinions can certainly give the appearance of disunity. 

                             

My Mouth: Boy howdy does this get me into trouble!! For some reason it tends to follow me everywhere! :)

• When I speak of other Christian denominations, I will not speak negatively. So much is revealed in scripture that we clearly agree on and that unites us, why should I dwell on the differences of opinion we have for all of the other stuff! I have been reading a book called "The Imitation of Christ" and there is a quote in there that I love.... "What good is much discussion of involved and obscure matters when our ignorance of them will not be held against us on Judgment Day?"  
• Sometimes there are time when we must deal with teachings that are against scripture. Those can't be ignored. I will deal with it using the Biblical model and go to the leadership in that denomination or local church. What I won't do is complain about it to others when I have not done what I am called to do by going to their leadership.
• Instead of my mouth being known for what I am against, I want it to be used to tell people what I am for! I should evangelize more than I argue or disagree. Unfortunately, right now, I am not able to say I do that.
• If I won't back my mouth up with my resources (time and/or money) I will keep it shut.

                                      

Involvement: The Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ, needs each of us in order to function in the way we were intended. 

• I will pick a local church and get involved...and stay involved! Unless the Lord calls me somewhere else, they are stuck with me! :)
• Realize that the local church where I meet is not about a certain pastor or worship leader...it is about being a part of the body of Christ. Pastors and worship leaders, though great, may come and go, our dedication is to the body of Christ.
• Building my local church up will be my calling, not bringing it down. Most complaints I will keep to myself and pray for God to give me a spirit of contentedness. If there are complaints that need to be expressed I will follow the Biblical model for bringing that before the correct person and I will also proceed with a heart of love, not a heart that just wants to be heard or be right.

                               

Heart: God has a heart for the lost... the Church has a heart for the lost...therefore I must have a heart for the lost.

• Remember that my battle is not against flesh and blood, but it is against the rulers and principalities of this dark age (Eph 6:12). 
• I have found that the Lord softens my heart for the lost when I spend time reading His Word. That is also where He fills me up so that He can use me to pour into others!
• True love only comes through the Father, because He is love. It is easy to confuse other emotions and feelings I have with love, but it only comes from being one with God. When I am not sure if I have a loving heart I just compare it to the Biblical definition of Love...is it patient, kind, humble, etc. ? (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

       

There is a final thing that I try to keep in mind...most people don't really care about my opinion, and most of the time they shouldn't! Kinda a weird statement to have on my opinion blog isn't it??!! Ha!!

But seriously, my opinion is not worth very much. I'm not really going to make a difference to most people just by sharing it. So what I try to do is take the things that I do feel are important and put my resources into them.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, "Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings."

My goal here on earth is not to win political arguments and governments, these will all pass and fade. I need to focus on the eternal as opposed to the temporal, the works prepared for me as opposed to the works I create. 

Kinda like what we talked about before, as opposed to feeding into brokenness and disagreement by just spouting out words, I will try to take my time, my resources, and my money and put them into the things that matter. I want to be a Kingdom builder, not just a Kingdom announcer!

At the end of the day, I have a deep desire to be a part of bringing the body before Christ and presenting it as a beautiful, unified bride. One that has waited with anticipation for the day when we are presented in full splendor to the one we adore. One that He will look upon and say "well done my good and faithful servant!" (Matt 25:21)

                              

I know that the Lord wants His church unified and I know that I want to please Him...I want that with every fiber of my being. I truly believe that if we all join together, even just taking little steps, we can follow the heart of our Lord and draw all tribes, tongues, and nations to Him!

"He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus" (Rev 22:20)

Oh yes!!  Come Lord Jesus and find your Bride beautifully waiting for You!!

Racist America?

I use to think race was not really an issue. 

I would watch things on the news and my gut reaction was that people were creating an issue that was not there.  I found beauty in the differences we all have.  Our God is a god of splendor and creativity and that is expressed in the way he created us and all of our differences be it skin color or hair color, personality or even the ways we worship. 

But I have learned a few things over the past few months in light of several racially charged issues that have come to pass.

First, racism still exists in America.  You might not be a racist and I might not be a racist, but some people are.  

Second, it only takes a few people with racism in their hearts to do a lot of damage.  This damage can be done with their words, their body language, and sometimes even with weapons intended for physical harm.

The best way I can try to understand it is imagining that there is an evil person in my city that is targeting little girls the same age as my daughter.  Even if I am not directly impacted by that, I will be fearful for my daughter and I will live on edge until the person is caught.  

And what if they catch one person just to have another step up and carry on the evil?  Eventually I will spend my life always looking over my shoulder and watching for someone to come and try to harm my daughter. I think that must be a small taste of what it is like to live in America and have dark skin.

The last thing I have learned is though I might be able to come up with a situation that I can draw a comparison to, I will never truly understand the strain that racism puts on the shoulders of my brothers and sisters with darker skin than mine.  I just never will.

   

                           

With this I think there are some things that I can do to help. When I hear people tell racial jokes or make racial comments, stop them.  It is not okay even if they think they are just being funny. 

I can stop trying to minimize the issue.  The best way I can do this is to listen.  I might not completely understand how the issue effects each person, but I can listen and really hear what my brothers and sisters are saying.  I can have empathy for the strain that this must put on their day to day lives and I can lift them up in prayer.

I can raise my children in a way that I don't try to hide our differences or make us all out to be the same, but in a way where they see the beauty in it! And I can teach them that they are no better and no less than any other person.  We are all sinners saved only by grace and any good we do is a direct result of the Father.

Lately I tend to swing from anger regarding this issue to sadness. Anger at myself, my government, my media, for spending so much time trying to gloss over a nasty, dirty part of who we are. And sadness over the fact that so many people bear a pain in their hearts regarding this issue that I can't even begin to understand. 

We need to move into a time of clarity and acknowledgement.  

We need to move away from denial and step into revival! 

Stop denying we have differences...we do and they are beautiful! Appreciate them!

Stop denying that those differences cause some people to hate....they do and those people cause harm!

But most of all stop thinking that there is nothing we can do....we can combat the hate...we can combat the evil...

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:21

Remember we are all valuable to God. There is not one person that did not cross the mind of the Creator as he/she came into being. 

The differences in nature are to enrich our lives!  

The differences in people are to enrich our lives and relationships!

There is not one group of people that is put over another. In the end we will all stand before the Lord and worship Him.

"After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands." Revelation 7:9

Stand together as the Church, the bride of Christ and let the world know who sent us and how much they are loved and pursued by Him. 

"The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one.  I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me." John 17:22-23

This is how we kill hate.

Move

Move....

Anyone else feel dread in their heart when they hear this word??!!  Me too!!

I did not move too much growing up.  We lived in three-ish houses from 1st grade until I graduated high school and all of the moves were still within the same school district so I never had to change schools or friends. But fast forward several years and I learned to dread it!!

You see, my mom loves to move!  I think she likes the excitement of having a different house to decorate and it could be the thrill of getting the postal welcome packet in the mail, but either way, she likes to move. 

Now I have no problem with her moving cuz I like to decorate and rearrange probably more than she does, but for some reason she always picks the hottest day of the year to move on!!  I'm totally not kidding and if ever my brother were to read my blog and comment, this would be the one time he would agree with me!!

William and I moved a few times right after we married because of the military, but about 15 years ago we finally found a forever home and set up shop there!!  About 2.5 years ago the Lord called us from that forever home to a farm and we have been moving ever since!!

It's not because I like to move....I don't!  I really, REALLY don't!!  You see, I can find my decorating joy by just rearranging everything!  William joked in the beginning years of our marriage that he needed a map of the house when he walked in from work because he never knew what I was going to change! True statement...totally!

I don't know if it is because of where the Lord has our family right now, or he has been slowly revealing it to me over the years, but we are learning that moving is just part of being a Kingdom builder.

Not necessarily moving houses, but moving around in life. I have learned that God teaches us through moving us and He uses us through moving us! He wants us to live a life of flexibility.  He might not call all of us to make changes frequently in our lives, but He does call all of us to be open and willing to.  

I've learned some life lessons through all this moving.

1. Every time we move, I become aware of things that we have around but don't need. (You know who I'm talking to!)

2. With each move I see more of what works for us and what doesn't.

3. Moving helps illuminate certain things that I might be holding on too tightly to! (Preach it!...me ;)

4. Each move brings new people/neighbors into our lives! Sometimes those neighbors are there to nourish our lives and sometimes we are there to nourish theirs and some you are blessed with both! (Best part about moving, except you also leave those people too) :(  

5. No matter where we are, I see a new aspect of creation and the Creator.

6. Moving takes away predictability.......that's a good thing!

Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)

18 “Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland"

So where are we now?  We are waiting.  Waiting to see what the Lord has in store, where He is going to move us be it a physical address, a ministry, or just a life focus.  

But we are also moving! We are looking each and every day for the plan of the day. Who does God want us to pour into? Where does He need us working? When does He call us to rest?

Flexible, yet stable in His hands.

Moving, yet permanently His.

Moving brings us to places yet unseen and to rewards yet imagined.  

Moving takes away the things we depend on most and thrusts us into a loving, and dependable Father's hands.

Moving opens our eyes to the harvest around us!

Whether you are called to move countries, states, neighborhoods, houses, or just move around where you are at, learn from it, soak in it, and wait with anticipation! He'll make a way in your wilderness and make streams in your wasteland.  Just move!

Crossing the Red Sea

I was baptized this past Sunday at my church.  I had been baptized before, but after studying it a bit more in-depth I learned so much that I did not know that I decided to do it again.

This might sound a little strange to some of you and I understand!  Though I really believe that my original baptism was done in complete obedience for the external reasons the Bible mentions, I wanted to have the experience again with the knowledge of the internal reasons God calls us to the water.

After several days trying to come up with the words to express what an incredible experience it was, the Lord and I wrote a poem about it!!

My Holy Father, I heard Your voice,

You were calling to me, giving me a choice.

I accepted Your call with the faith of a child.

You grabbed a hold, but my spirit was wild.

Over years You taught me when I took time to hear,

I head Your direction, which way I should steer.

But as the years wore on, a flame lit in my soul.

A flame that led me to realize that You can make me whole.

My brain knew the steps that You wanted me to take,

But my wild spirit teetered, threatening to break.

Then You fanned the flame that You planted in my heart,

And it began to burn for You and for Your Word to impart.

You entered my thoughts at a more frequent pace.

Instead of just drinking I began to taste.

To learn who You are, and not just Your name,

To live life for You, not just play the game.

I know that You have been here all along,

But there's a difference between just listening and singing the song.

Now I look to the time where we sit down together

And You tell me stories that speak to forever.

Time I can just listen and learn about You,

How Your voice sounds, Your movements, responses, what You do.

And the more I get to know You, the more I want to know.

You are so faithful to reveal and willing to show.

I heard You call me to that precious water once more,

But I hesitated because I've been there before.

But as we met together you helped me to see,

That you were calling me back for You and for me.

"The external symbol to show people your choice,

Is also something more personal" said my Father's voice.

So, though I was nervous, I went to obey

Because in His presence I wanted to stay.

Sunday morning we met as we sang about grace,

As I met Him I had tears covering my face.

Never have I been so anxious to go

And get in the water, it was moving too slow!

When finally my turn came and I stepped in the trough

I stopped trying to wipe all of the tears off.

Though the hands that lowered me had human appear,

It was my sweet Lord that pulled me up from there.

And as I crossed the Red Sea dry as a bone,

My Jesus was waiting to welcome me home.

Dry as I entered, now coming up wet,

I opened my soul and the Father I met.

Something supernatural happened as I was buried alive.

In an instant there, a part of me died.

But as I broke the water's surface and I came through

There was a resurrection of life and all things were made new.

Now that flame is consuming my heart and my soul,

And though I died in the water, I came up whole.

God is GOOD!!!