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My life this week...

Wordless Wednesday

Love = Me??

An exercise in my bible study this past week was on 1 Corinthians 13, focusing on the well-known verses 4-8:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

The bible tells that God is love (1 John 4:8), therefore, we could substitute God or Jesus for the word love in these verses. This is a pretty neat word picture. Do it and be encouraged! Then, as we are to become like Christ and to have his attitude, we were to insert our name for the word love. And then to consider which of those phrases made us shudder. Try it.

I am patient, I am kind. I do not envy, I do not boast, I am not proud. I am not rude, I am not self-seeking, I am not easily angered, I keep no record of wrongs. I do not delight in evil, but rejoice with the truth. I always protect, always trust, always hope, always perseveres.

I honestly felt so humbled realizing this is what God would have me to be, and how far I am from it. But this illustration gives me a tangible goal to work toward. And pointed out some specific areas where I am sorely falling short and not bringing honor to God. I will be praying this scripture molds me to his glory!

Here is our King

I am completely overwhelmed by God's grace and love this week. Despite it all (by that I mean car wreaks, flat tires, keys locked in the car, tough leadership meetings), God's protection and love have been so tangible. We had our church's missions night this weekend. After a brief worship time, they had several people lift prayers to God, none of which were in English. The amazing thing was we had the people within our own church to do this. I am always awed by how God is working in our church community. I'm not even sure what a couple languages were, but I recognized Spanish, Tagalog, and Romanian. When the Romanian man prayed, I was blown away by the powerful memories and feelings it provoked. It has been just at a year since my trip there and my heart broke again for the people of Romania who do not yet know the freedom that is in Christ. Yesterday, God brought Psalm 33 to me in a study I'm doing. It reminds me that His plans "stand firm forever." So though I don't know what's next on the horizon or even how to handle today's problems, I will rejoice, wait on the Lord, and trust in His unfailing love. It seems God is always finding new ways to bring me back to him. How appropriate that our youth band did this song in closing that night...

From wherever spring arrives to heal the ground
From wherever searching comes
The look itself a trace of what we’re looking for
So be quiet now and wait

The ocean is growing
The tide is coming in
Here it is

Here is our King
Here is our Love
Here is our God Who’s come to bring us back to Him
He is the One
He is Jesus, Jesus
And what was said to the rose to make it unfold
Was said to me here in my chest
So be quiet now and rest

The ocean is growing
The tide is coming
Here it is

Here is our King
Here is our Love
Here is our God Who’s come to bring us back to Him
He is the One
He is Jesus

And Here is our King
Here is our Love
Here is our God Who’s come to bring us back to Him
He is the One
He is Jesus, Jesus
Majesty Finally

Lifting Gratitude and Praises

Wordless Wednesday

Forgiveness

I recently heard a couple of radio DJ's discussing a Virginia Tech memorial, one with a marked stone for the each person killed. One of the students added a 33rd stone for the shooter. The sentiment behind it was not to honor his actions, but to remember the life that was lost even if by his own choices. Regardless of his horrifying actions, he will never have the chance to pay for his actions or learn from his mistakes. I cannot imagine how I would feel about this if my family or friends had been among those killed, but from a distance I can see the sentiment. We are called to forgive. Eventually, somehow, with the grace of God, we are compelled to forgive as we have been forgiven. One of the DJ's could not, would not, even attempt to understand. In fact, he added amongst laughter (though with some hesitation only for the trouble he would get in) that his reaction to that 33rd stone was that the shooter "missed one." My heart literally ached at that comment. I may not have chosen to place a stone, I'll hopefully never personally be in a situation to make that decision. But I hope that I will never be so crass as to indicate that anyone deserves what happened to those at Virginia Tech. May I never be ashamed of God's calling to forgive. And may I take this story to heart, increasing my willingness to offer forgiveness whether it is deserved or not. Because I know I have done nothing to deserve my forgiveness.

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged.
Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.
Forgive, and you will be forgiven." Luke 6:37

Going here Saturday!!