Joy, Simplicity, the Gospel...and a car accident

This is what God has been highlighting in my life recently:
Joy, and the value of fighting for it each day.
Simplicity, and how my life and relationship with God is really more simple than I can often make it out to be.
The gospel, and how it is powerful each day. It is why I can fight for and have joy. It is why my life and relationship with God is "simple." It is why I no longer need to live under condemnation, even with the reality of sin and circumstance.

This evening, while driving home, I ran into a deer less than 3 miles from my house. Full force. The deer caution sign further up the road did as much good as someone saying "watch your step!" right after you stub your toe. This shook me up pretty good, and my neck is pretty sore.
I learned much from my accident last summer. Yes, this is my third car accident - I was hoping that my new car being red would help keep people from running into me, but apparently I need to cover all bases and guard against animals running into me as well! Back to what I learned - even "simple" car accidents have long lasting effects. This was discouraging to remember at first, because it means I have work ahead of me, physically and spiritually. Just when I'm trying to see life as simple and focus on joy, a "wet blanket" is dropped on me. But I realized something as I was taking a whirl pool, reading Oswald Chambers, and planning to call for a chiropractor adjustment. I realized that it's God's grace that has equipped me with knowing what I need to do to address my body and soul. Last year I did not know what I was in for after my accident and somewhat shrugged it off - ignorance is bliss (for a time). Tonight I was not as ignorant, and my heart was tempted to discouragement. However, immediately following the discouragement was the remembrance that God grew me and drew me to himself. And get this - expectation and anticipation trumped the discouragement! Those very things that God has been highlighting to me recently may be given fuel from this circumstance, instead of being smothered out by a wet blanket. I am thankful for the Spirit's work in me. I have such a good Father.

Here are some excerpts from what I read in My Utmost for His Highest tonight (I picked it up, but haven't read it for years). It was very timely.

August 31

My Joy . . . Your Joy

"That my joy may remain in you, and that your joy might be full." John 15:11

...The joy of Jesus was the absolute self-surrender and self-sacrifice of Himself to His Father, the joy of doing that which the Father sent Him to do. "I delight to do Thy will." Jesus prayed that our joy might go on fulfilling itself until it was the same joy as His. Have I allowed Jesus Christ to introduce His joy to me?

The full flood of my life is not in bodily health, not in external happenings, not in seeing God's work succeed, but in the perfect understanding of God, and in the communion with Him that Jesus Himself had. The first thing that will hinder this joy is the captious irritation of thinking out circumstances. The cares of this world, said Jesus, will choke God's word. Before we know where we are, we are caught up in the show of things.

...Stop being self-conscious, stop being a sanctified prig, and live the life hid with Christ. The life that is rightly related to God is as natural as breathing where it goes. The lives that have been of most blessing to you are those who were unconscious of it.

O God, increase my sense of Thee and my sensible understanding of Thy Son, my Lord and Master. Grant that I may more and more realize Thy dominance and rule, and more and more rejoice in simple joy in Thee.

photo: The Fulton Opera House, 2007

Jesus, My Only Hope

What a happy song! What power and joy is in the gospel.

Jesus, My Only Hope

I come into Your presence

With nothing in my hands

I only bring thanksgiving

For Jesus, God and Man

I cast myself on mercy

I cast myself on love

I trust Your gracious promise

To wash me with Your blood

I will not fear Your judgement

For me no wrath I dread

For it was spent on Jesus

Poured out upon His head

When Satan's accusations

Make my poor heart afraid

I hear my King declaring

"Father, that debt is paid!"

Jesus my only hope

My only plea

My righteousness

My Great High Priest

Who intercedes for me

Before the throne

Jesus, I trust in You alone

(c) 2002 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI)

photo: Potter County, PA 2008

The Glories of Calvary

The Glories of Calvary

Lord, You're calling me to come
And behold the wondrous cross
To explore the depth of grace
That came to me at such a cost
Where Your boundless love
Conquered my boundless sin
And mercy's arms were opened wide

My heart is filled with a thousand songs
Procaiming the glories of Calvary
With every breath, Lord how I long
To sing of Jesus who died for me
Lord, take me deeper
Into the glories of Calvary

Sinners find eternal joy
In the triumph of Your wounds
By our Savior's crimson flow
Holy wrath has been removed
And Your saints below
Join with your saints above
Rejoicing in the Risen Lamb
(c) Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP)

Música Española

I have been enjoying Sovereign Grace Music's new Spanish worship CD. If you enjoy Spanish, check it out. They also have a free song: Somos Tus Hijos.

Sovereign Grace has other Spanish resources, including La Vida Cruzcentrica/The Cross Centered Life, which is only $5 online (pardon my lack the appropriate accent over the "e"; I forget how to type that).

Hebrews 10:23

glories of plodding

I love Crossway Church. Below is a photo my dad took at the baptism this afternoon. Because of the weather we were in the stuffy and humid barn, but at least it emphasized a sense of unity and made for a good picture! Baptisms often seem to surprise me with how meaningful they are. I was impacted particularly with several "kids" (teens) being baptized that I've known for their whole lives. Our families have grown up together, and I still often think of them as 6 year olds running around and making lots of noise. It's wonderfully encouraging to see and hear of what God has done and is doing in their hearts and lives.

Then this evening I spent some time with a large group of young adults from church who came over to our place. I love these people. I love how they are engaging transition and are supporting one another through prayer and fellowship. Young Adults/Sola feels like it keeps getting younger and younger (to me!), but the reality is that young people are maturing in Christ. And that is wonderful to witness.

Events like these remind me of the worth of being rooted in one place and living life together with (relatively) the same people for years and years. We are building and growing together in Christ for the long haul. As I step into another week, I thank God for a bit of refreshment in my local church, and I ask him for the grace I need to be a plodding visionary in the days ahead.

He gives sleep

Unless the LORD builds the house,

those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the LORD watches over the city,

the watchman stays awake in vain.

It is in vain that you rise up early

and go late to rest,

eating the bread of anxious toil;

for he gives to his beloved sleep.

Psalm 127:1-2

Good night. Sleep well.

photo: Burano, Italy 2007

Gaining from inefficiency

Inefficiency. When you obviously see it, and you succeed in a task despite it, you can laugh about it afterwards and are greatly relieved that the roller coaster is over and has not killed you in the process. You appreciate the fact of the task being done even more than if you were expecting it to go smoothly and it met your expectations. In the second case it's "nothing special" in your mind.

I think the issue is what your expectations represent. Do they represent dependence on yourself or on God? Do I presume on God's grace, even to the point of not seeing it altogether and instead trusting in my own efforts for even the smallest things in life?

What does that laugh or sigh represent when the task is complete and over? Is it a contentedness in yourself, or a gratefulness to God for his grace that got you through?

~~~~

These thoughts came to me while driving home today, reflecting on the day and week. My thoughts also tied in to many experiences working at the Creation festival, east and west.

P.S. I'm excited that I found a good opportunity to use the above photo! It represents much to me and I just like it.

photo: Creation West 2007 at the Gorge in George, WA

Self-analysis

I just listened to a message that Steve recommended to me today by David Powlison called In the Last Analysis.

Biblical self-knowledge, however, is not an end in itself. Self-knowledge is only a doorway to grace and obedience. In this message for pastors and leaders, David Powlison warns of the dangers of excessive introspection and shows how Scripture turns our attention away from ourselves toward God (from Sovereign Grace's description of the message).

I listened to it while doing nothing else, whereas I'd usually multitask. I so easily analyze (or over analyze) everything. This is nothing new I'm learning about myself either, although it's being drawn out again and in new ways this past year. I need to see self-analysis as "a doorway to God's revelation of grace leading to intelligent action" rather than as "leading to a paralysis of faith and love." Powlison uses a Robert Murray M'Cheyne quote that is really helpful to be reminded of - "For every one look at your sins, take ten looks at Christ." The whole message was great. I'm sure I'll be re-listening, and I'd recommend it to others.
"but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more" - Romans 5:20

photo: Joy in Potter County, PA 2008

victory and labor

I read the following this morning, and it stood out to me and was/is so sweet to my soul.

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. - 1 Corinthians 15:56-58

God gives us the victory through Christ. What freedom, rest, and joy. And I can work in life knowing my labors are not in vain because He has already won the victory and is fighting on my side - Christ has me and Christ is continuing to intercede for me. Great is his faithfulness.

photo: Conestoga House and Gardens, 2010

He prays for me!

I am so thankful that Christ prayed for me and is interceding for me. I spent some time reflecting on the following verses early this week.

Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died - more than that, who was raised - who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. - Romans 8:34

"I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them [come again? He is glorified in us? how amazing!]. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth [wow, how amazing to hear Christ specifically and directly pray for my sanctification in these precise words!]. And for their sake, I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

"I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word [that is me! and you!] , that they may all be one, just you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me [a-maz-ing]. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world [oh my heart melts and eyes fill with tears, to hear that it is not only I who long to be with Him and know Him in his glory but that he desires the same (in fact, I would not desire it if he did not desire it first)- come Lord Jesus, come!]. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known [He is not finished with us!], that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them." John 17:9-26

This passage is beautiful beyond description. I love revisiting it, and do periodically. What an amazing prayer! What amazing love! What an amazing Savior!

photo: Conestoga House and Gardens, 2010

Vacation Highlights

During our family vacation last week, I kept a list of my highlights as they happened. I think it's good for me to recount God's blessings, and this was one of the ways to do so. My mind and heart can be easily distracted and take God's goodness for granted, so I want to hone in on evidences of his kindness to me. I hope that sharing these highlights with others will spur us on to seek out evidences of God's hand at work in even the simple things in our lives and praise him for how wonderfully and intricately he cares for us.

• Reading two chapters of Randy Alcorn's book Heaven out loud with Erin, Joy, and Margaret late Monday night (to the point where my throat was too "dusty" to speak anymore and Erin took over).
• Working out at 6:30 am with my sisters on Tuesday. Highlights of this include trying not to laugh while teaching Margaret the work out and Mom being sentimental about her daughters exercising together to the point of taking photos of us.
• Driving back in our van from pitch and putt golf and a Five Guys meal with our entire family calling out acronyms and answering what they stand for.
• Cooking for my family.
• Mom and Dad's water battle.
• The mental picture I took of Margaret driving Dad's van (on a non-public road) with Dad in the passenger seat and Kallie (our dog) looking out the side window.
• My annual vacation walk with Dad and his intentionality in our conversation.
• Just being together.

I took some photos during the week, not many but some. These are from the Conestoga River and the Conestoga House and Gardens. Hey, look at that, there is a Conestoga theme for our local trips. Nobody would suspect that we live in Conestoga Valley School District. :)

A Biblical Understanding of Leisure, pt 3

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11
Point Three: The purposeful pursuit of leisure

• Be intentional in your use of leisure time.
• Evaluate your present leisure pursuits. It's easy to let leisure escape the Biblical scrutiny we apply to other areas of our lives. Evaluate:
• Our time
• Given my responsibilities, am I spending too much time pursuing leisure?
• Am I spending too little time pursuing God-given leisure?
• The activities and their effects (this will look different in different season of life)
• Am I refreshed by this activity? (this will vary from person to person; don't judge others by what is effective for you.)
• Am I more ready to resume my labors having done this activity?
• Can I do this activity with a clear conscience?
• Does this activity unduly isolate me from my family and friends?
• Does this activity increase my awareness of or gratitude to God?
• Our motive - Am I pursuing leisure for Godly purposes?

Conclusion:

Keep a transcendent perspective of your leisure. Let your view of leisure be "over the sun," and not merely "under the sun." Leisure and pleasure are not our goals. They are not ends in themselves. They are meant to point to something (Matthew 11:28-30).

Labor is hard and wearisome because we are sinful. God gives us leisure to point our eyes above, to Him and the peace in Christ. I have physical rest because I have spiritual rest. Let your pursuit of rest here point your eyes to the ultimate rest you will have when the Kingdom is consummated. The restless soul is an unforgiven soul, but a soul that receives forgiveness receives rest.

Let our leisure be a reminder of the forgiveness and rest for our souls that Christ has accomplished on the cross.

photo: Joy, by the Conestoga River, 2010

A Biblical Understanding of Leisure, pt 2

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11
Point Two: The sinful temptation of leisure

• To idolize leisure - leisure and pleasure become ends in themselves
• Ecclesiastes 2:1-2
• Leisure becomes idolatry when it absorbs the time, affections, and resources that belong to God and his purposes.
• To neglect leisure - for the pursuit of work and acquisition
• A root is self-sufficiency; "my success depends solely on myself." God is completely left out of the equation. To leave nothing to chance is actually to leave nothing to God.
• Rest reflects a trust in God. This can be a particular temptation to mothers who incessantly serve their families but can neglect rest and refreshment. It's a particular temptation when what you are doing is commanded by God. Nothing is more noble, but you must be alert to the dangers of self-sufficiency. When everything is on your shoulders so you neglect rest, you are sinning - depending on yourself and not receiving the grace of God.
• To waste it.
• Laziness is a sin. Leisure is not a sin.
• Empty, sinful pursuits can disguise themselves as leisure.
• Leisure is not "vegging out."

photo: Conestoga House and Gardens, 2010

A Biblical Understanding of Leisure, pt 1

I came across a sermon called A Biblical Understanding of Leisure, preached by Jeff Purswell at Covenant Life Church a while back (CJ was still senior pastor). I listened to it near the end of our family vacation this week and took over two pages of typed notes. It was a very good reminder to me, so I'm going to put notes up from his three main points in three separate blog posts. This sermon was the fourth in a series they did called Sanctifying the Ordinary: Sleep, work, food, leisure; Behind all that appears ordinary is an extraordinary God. I am interested in finding the other sermons as well.

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11
Point One: The divine intention of leisure

• Components of leisure
• Rest and relaxation from the toils of life
• We are creatures; God is creator. We need rest. God doesn't need to rest. We need more than just sleep. We need rest from our toils and obligations of life that vie for our attention.
• Exodus 20:8
• God prescribes times where people halt productive activities. Life is not meant to consist of duties solely to produce. God provides us leisure as a gift, as a break from our work. He's created life to be a rhythm between work and leisure.
• Psalm 23:1-3 - "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want...He restores my soul." Does that describe your life on Tuesday at 2:45 - green pastures, still waters, soul restored? Is your soul regularly restored or frenzied? Work is a gift and calling, but work in a fallen world is hard.
• It takes faith to rest, sometimes more than to work. It requires us to trust that when I'm not working, God is working. God remains at work. It's really an expression of humility and faith in God. We make a statement when we rest - "God, I refuse to trust in my labors. I know that my work is important, but ultimately all my labor comes from you anyway. I am dependent upon you, and I'm grateful for this rest." When you stop, you draw a circle around your creatureness. That kind of faith will bring rest to your souls.
• Enjoyment and celebration
• God commands us to be happy (Psalm 37:4, Psalm 16:11). God centered pleasure is not just available, but commanded. This is not just limited to "spiritual" activities. God's entire creation is given to us to enjoy.
• Deepening our awareness of and gratitude towards God
• The pause of leisure clears our minds. It allows for a realignment of our perspective. Severed from God, leisure is a mirage. It becomes empty and trivial. It only leaves someone with a craving for more leisure. But our awareness of God and enjoyment of our leisure is enhanced when centered on God.
• Especially in a culture like our's, leisure (like every other area) is not immune to our sinful tendencies.
• The Church has had really very little to say about leisure. And whenever the Church refuses to think about an area, it will inevitably end up imitating the culture in that area.

photo: Conestoga House and Gardens, 2010

vacation

Ever struggle to trust God because you are going on vacation for a week? yeah, me too. This coming week is the first time I'll be away from the office for that long since I started working over a year ago. And yesterday it was a particular struggle to not be anxious about all the things left undone and all the potential build up that will happen while I am gone. I think it uncovers a reality that I do not completely trust God in my work when I am doing it. So it is good to step back and see that my work really is not about me and my efforts, but God. He will handle things when I'm gone and be my strength and helper when I return, no matter how overwhelming a flooded email inbox or office bin is. This life is all about my Lord, and vacation can be a good reminder of that.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. - Colossians 1:15-20.

I am looking forward to enjoying this week and praising God for his many blessings. I get to celebrate the wedding of two good friends today, which my brother is in; sit under God's Word, worship, fellowship at a picnic, and just enjoy my church family tomorrow; and soak in some long awaited time focused on my family for an entire week. "Indeed, for such blessings He should be adored and honored supremely as eminent Lord" (Milton Vincent; A Gospel Primer).

photo: Vernazza, Italy 2007

Consider, and Boast in Christ

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." - 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future - all are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's. - 1 Corinthians 3:21-22

photo: Tuscany, Italy 2007

Sin or Sickness?

This past winter, I took a Vital Life class at church called Counseling for Everyday Life. Bill loaded us up with plenty of reading material and messages, including Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands. One of the articles was by Ed Welch, called Sin or Sickness? Biblical Counseling and the Medical Model. The last paragraph of this article has been extremely helpful to me, and I've referenced it in multiple conversations since reading it. It's come up twice within this past week, and I thought I would share it here.

The resulting model, which includes the medical evidence without sacrificing a biblical view of personal responsibility, shows the heart and body in a dynamic interaction (Figure 1) and allows for various possibilities. For example, sin (from the heart) can make some people feel depressed (body), e.g. Psalm 32. The physical experience of depression can then influence the heart in such a way that the heart chooses hopelessness over faith, and the cycle might become a downward spiral. Another possibility is that a person may have had a disease that feels like depression (fatigue, feeling blue, concentration problems). The physical feelings then can influence the heart in such a way that the heart is more susceptible to forsaking biblical hope. Of course, the cycle can be stopped through repentance, faith, and obedience, in which case the physical symptoms may persist but no longer have the same power over the heart. The cycle also can be affected by treating the physical symptoms with available medical treatments.

I have found much help in this clear description of the interplay between sin, suffering, and repentance. It has helped me to acknowledge physical realities and see that my hope is not in the end of suffering, but in the power of God's grace to keep me from sin and at peace in the midst of the "heated" circumstances of discomfort and suffering. Although temptation to sin may increase from a physical reality, I am no longer a slave to sin but Christ's power is at work in me to lead me to repentance and faith - to freedom even if my body is still experiencing the effects of decay because of the fall.

And on top of that, as if that weren't enough, oh how sweet it is if/when God chooses to grant relief from that suffering. I no longer see it as something I "deserve" (to be perfectly healthy and without the "heat"/temptation to sin), but as an outpouring of His lavishly rich and kind grace on me. Our God is a loving Father!

You keep him in perfect peace

whose mind is stayed on you,

because he trusts in you.

Isaiah 26:3

Today

This is the day that the LORD has made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it.

- Psalm 118:24

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

- Lamentations 3:22-23

photo: Adele & Friedemann Wegert, Thanksgiving 2007

Take Another Look

Today's message at church was on John 12:20-37 and was called "Take Another Look." I typed out some of the notes that stood out to me, and I'm putting some of them up here.

1. Seeing Jesus will cost everything in this life
2. Unbelief sees what it wants to see

So these came to Phillip... and asked him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." ... And Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life (parts of John 12:21-26).

You can see Jesus Christ glorified, but it will cost you your life. When you see him crucified, it will make you hate this life. It's costly, but it's well worth it. What have we given up for Christ that will not be given to us many times over?

Christ is strong, and that is what makes his death amazing. See his suffering and death as his glorification.

Do we have the vision of Christ crucified and see it as glorious?

One clear look at the glorified Christ and this life should be ruined for us. Our hopes and dreams are not here.

Where are you struggling and discouraged? Here is the answer for you - take another clear look at Christ crucified and glorified.

I was encouraged and reminded that following Christ is following him in his death but also seeing his glory. It's not only about dying, but it's about dying so that I might gain abundant life in Christ.

Only Jesus! Only Jesus!

Give us Jesus, we cry

Only Jesus! Only Jesus!

The Pearl of greatest price

(c) 2005 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP)

Only Jesus