Foolishness

Oh, how it's been too long since my last post.  I have to admit that I havent felt the need, the urge, the attraction to blog. It's like I've been waiting for something special to come along, something truly meaningful. Or just until my emotions stir up too wildly to hold back. For this post, however, it is merely random thoughts :P.

First of all, I've been realizing more and more the lack of moral intelligence and ingenuity. Maybe it's because I work with a wide variety of people and deal with numerous customers on a daily basis and can easily observe their behaviors. I must repeat this question in my head a bajillion times in a single 8.5 hour shift...."why would they do that?". If there is no good outcome out to any certain action, I fail to understand the point of it. Which leads me to my second random thought...

"Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise" -Ephesians 5:15. This passage (5:15-17) has been the theme to this day. Chapter 5 was the assignment we gave to our youth group to complete (and thoroughly study) in a week. I know it had stuck with husband too when I saw he posted it on Facebook. And after work I went for my quick speed walking (since I was still too sore from yesterday's run) and had streamed Mark Driscoll's sermon Filled With Wisdom & the Spirit. He covered the whole chapter very well but it was what he had to say about this particular passage that convicted me. So you can understand, here is the passage...

¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

-Ephesians 5:15-17 (NIV)

Wisdom is putting knowledge to practice. Most people would agree that living wisely would be the right idea, yet they don't choose to live that way. How you use your time, what you choose to commit to over all, how hard you work, how you spend your money, the people you associate yourself with, how you behave around others.... All of these you have a choice as to whether you live wisely or unwisely. "Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is." Key point: HIS will, not yours.

Making the most of every opportunity....

I can't think of how many times I might have missed some opportunity because of some selfish (unwise) thing that was hindering me. I grieve those missed moments. That wasted time, that opportunity I will never gain back.


Third thought...



Therefore, do not be foolish.

Winter Blues

It seems like it has been so long since my last post, but really it was two weeks ago. Time drags on in the winter and I never have any motivation, I feel numb. It's a challenge for me. But I found encouragement last night. We meet up at Dairy Queen for youth group yesterday and we ate our Blizzards and talked. But when it got to be Bible time, we didnt just talk...we discussed; we studied. I heard their personal trials and how they applied scripture to their lives. But through this, a passage was shared, one I had read over and over but never thought deep about it. One that didn't have meaning to me until now...

²⁷ Why do you complain, Jacob?
   Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD;
   my cause is disregarded by my God”?
²⁸ Do you not know?
   Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
   the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
   and his understanding no one can fathom.
²⁹ He gives strength to the weary
   and increases the power of the weak.
³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,
   and young men stumble and fall;
³¹ but those who hope in the LORD
   will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
   they will run and not grow weary,
   they will walk and not be faint.

                                                           -Isaiah 40:27-31 (NIV)

My cause is not disregarded by God. He has not lost track of me. Don't you know? He is everlasting, never tired or weary. Why do I put up this fight? Why do I think I am losing strength? I can't depend on myself. I can't supply for myself. Even though I go through these times, I pray God will use them for something. I know He is at work, He is still there. I am wholly Yours, Lord.

Food for Thought

Working on a new book now, (well not new, just finishing it) The Tangible Kingdom. It was recommended to me by a friend and I started reading but I have this habit of not finishing books. Anyway, I picked it up again and now I am hooked on this one. Stumbling across this chart in the book, I was amazed at how true it was. Here it is comparing the western, eastern, and postmodern civilization to what our Gospel response should be. 

So there's a little food for thought. My prayer is that we can have this Gospel response. From valuing eternity over security or legacy, to measuring success by transformation, it leaves quite the example of how we don't have the right response. Think on this a while. I will keep updating here and there as I read more. I'm quite intrigued :)

Romans 12

I don't usually quote out of The Message but I had stumbled upon a verse in chapter 12 while working on another bible study/blog post. I kept reading and reading and really just felt like this was worth sharing. It puts it into a perspective easily understandable to us. Though I don't recommend using this version all the time.

Just take a moment and read this..


"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life-your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life-and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him. In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't. If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don't get bossy; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face. Love 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. Don'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. Bless 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. Don'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." Our 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."

(Romans 12:1-21 MSG)

When You Believe in God but Not in His Church

Once again, The Christian Atheist strikes again. I love the authors thoughts. There's a chapter later in his book titles When You Believe in God but Not in His Church. Immediately I was hooked. He put into words exactly what has been on my mind as of late.

Here are a few examples from the chapter (some are direct quotes, other I shortened to my version)...


The problem thinking "we go to church" is that it gives us a consumer mindset: I'm looking for a church that meets my needs. I need a good church that will help me. The church is actually Gods chosen vehicle to meet - through other human beings - peoples true needs (including our own).

In the first church described in Acts 2, "church" wasn't something people added to their lives. Church was the center of their lives. Church was not a physical building; it was the community of people who shared a belief and faith in Christ. "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer" (Acts 2:42). They didn't go to church; they were the church, devoted to God's Word, God's people, and God's mission.

"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:36-39 ESV)
....Church allows you to do both.

According to Hebrews 10:24, we're responsible both to hold each other accountable and to encourage one another: "Spur one another on toward love and good deeds." Verse 25 tells us how: "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing."

When we hit relational bumps with others, instead of walking away and leaving the church, we can stay and work through our problems, which can help us grow spiritually as we learn to forgive.

In addition to belonging, church gives us a place to grow. Romans 10:17 says, "Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ". Our faith grows as we hear the message taught and proclaimed. Living it out solidifies it for us. James 1:22 says, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."

God is not calling us to go to church, He is calling us to be the church.

12 Reasons for Christmas

I stole this from John Piper's Desiring God blog. I thought it was worth sharing...

12 Reasons for Christmas

by Jonathan Parnell | December 7, 2011

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Pastor John:

1. “For this I was born and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth” (John 18:37).
2. “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8; cf. Hebrews 2:14–15).
3. “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17).
4. “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).
5. “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
6. “God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:5).
7. “For God so loved the world that whoever believes on him shall not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:16).
8. “God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him” (1 John 4:9).
9. “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).
10. “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against . . . that the thoughts of many may be revealed” (Luke 2:34ff).
11. “He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed” (Luke 4:18).
12. “Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarches, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy” (Romans 15:7–8; cf. John 12:27ff).

Adapted from the article, "12 Reasons for Christmas" (1991).

The Awesomeness of Paul

 ²² “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. ²³ I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. ²⁴ However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace."

Acts 20:22-24

 ¹⁰ After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. ¹¹ Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’”
 ¹² When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. ¹³ Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” ¹⁴ When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”

Acts 21:10-14

This is among the passages we read in our youth small group tonight. It gave me goosebumps reading this. Paul being in a strong relationship with God, that he was so compelled by the Holy Spirit to do the Lord's will even to the point of death. His only goal was to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus had given him. Which was? Testifying the good news of God's grace!

I love reading Acts, I love Paul's letters, I love the example he leaves for us. We've been studying this in our Antioch class and it has revealed so much to me! The way the Holy Spirit uses him to advance the gospel and the confidence he has in the Lord says so much. Compare him to the Saul he was to the transformation after being saved....completely different! It is amazing what God can do.

Now dont get me wrong, Paul isnt God, he's just a man (not to sound like I'm worshiping him). What struck me into blogging about this, is that we talked about this in our youth small group tonight and I always find encouragement in hearing their words, witnessing the Holy Spirit work in their lives. I know the struggles they face in their daily lives, as teenagers and as followers of Christ but they understood this passage and saw the boldness of Paul and immediately applied it to their lives. I can see they are striving for God and to reach out to others. As Christians, we're given the command to go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of Lord. We're supposed to be sharing the good news to everyone! Whatever hardships may come, (which we know they will), we should have Paul's attitude..."to live is Christ, and to die is gain" as long as I am able to finish the race and complete the task the Lord has given me.

This is my prayer.. that we can have the confidence in God and be moved by the Holy Spirit in such a way that others will see God through us. That we can share the good news to everyone. That we can strengthen and encourage eachother along in God's will. That we can be the church...

Living Out Scripture

^"12We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, ¹³and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. ¹⁴And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak,¹⁵See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. ¹⁶Rejoice always, ¹⁷pray without ceasing, ¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ¹⁹Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰Do not despise prophecies, ²¹but test everything; hold fast what is good. ²²Abstain from every form of evil. be patient with them all.
 ²³Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

-1 Thessalonians 5:12-24 (ESV)

I love this passage. Every time I read it I am always convicted of something new. But the thing about this scripture is it nails a variety of issues and commands...

1. Respect those among you AND over you AND who admonish you in the Lord. AND to esteem them highly in love because of their work. This verse makes me laugh in a doubting way but I find it so humbling.

2. Be at peace among yourselves. Do not stir up trouble but show God's love for one another.

3. Warn the freeloaders to get a move on. Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs. And be careful that when you get on each other's nerves you don't snap at each other. Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out. (according to The Message).

4. Rejoice ALWAYS. Not when you feel like it. Not when something exciting just happened. Try rejoicing always, even when times are hard. Even when all you want to do is complain.

5. Pray without ceasing. I discovered what this meant a few years ago. Before all I could think of was Buddist or various other religions that spend the majority of their day on their knees in prayer. But it means AS you go through your day, thank God, praise God, lift up requests, etc.

6. Give thanks in ALL circumstances. Heh....ALL. It's the will of God.

7.  Do not quench the Spirit. Don't suppress the Spirit. And do not stifle those who are lead by the Spirit. Does that also mean we should be fluid instead of flexible and allowing the Holy Spirit to move rather than trying to have all control ourselves? I think yes.

8. Give ear to what others have said, but do not be gullible but test it out and throw out only what is evil. And trust what is good.

9. Be patient and do what is holy. Keep yourself free from every form of evil.

10. May God make you holy and whole. May your spirit, soul, and body be blameless when the Lord God returns. God is FAITHFUL, he WILL accomplish what he said he would.

Like I said, I love this passage. Imagine what the church (us, the body of Christ) would look like if we faithfully lived this out? For James 1:22 says, "Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." I pray that God will work this attitude in my life, that I can better be a witness for Him. Thank you Lord.

Forgotten God

“I believe that this missing something is actually a missing someone—namely the Holy Spirit.  Without Him, people operate in their own strength and only accomplish human-size results.  The world is not moved by love or actions that are of human creation.  And the church is not empowered to live differently from any other gathering of people without the Holy Spirit.  But when believers live in the power of the Spirit, the evidence in their lives is supernatural.  The church cannot help but be different, and the world cannot help but notice.”           — Francis Chan, Forgotten God

I have to start this post out with mentioning how hard it is to write when you have NyQuil running through your system. But this has been on my mind all day so I'll keep it quick and get to the point...

How often do we forget the Holy Spirit? Hmm? Too often. Everything I have to say, Francis Chan stated it for me. Without the Holy Spirit, people operate in their own strength and only accomplish human-sized results. But when believers live in the power of the Spirit the evidence in their lives is supernatural. The church cannot help but be different. He later states in his book that "We are not all we were made to be when everything in our lives and churches can be explained apart from the work and presence of the Spirit of God." Think about that. We reason things of humanly, take credit for work thats not ours, confuse OUR emotions for that of the leading of the Holy Spirit, we plan, we strategize, but we do not keep our lives fluid enough for the Holy Spirit to work. Theres not enough room for my ego, pride and You, Lord.  This book hits hard for me.


I said I would keep this short, but if you have the time, read this book. It'll open your eyes.





"Nowhere in scripture do I see “balanced life with a little bit of God added in” as an ideal for us to emulate.   Yet when I look at our churches this is exactly what I see:  a lot of people who have added Jesus to their lives.   People who have in a sense asked Him to join them on their life journey and follow them wherever they feel they should go, rather than following Him as we are commanded. The God of the universe is not something we can just add to our lives and keep on as we did before.   The Spirit who raised Christ from the dead is not someone we can just call on when we want a little extra power in our lives.  Jesus Christ did not die in order to follow us, He died and rose again so that we could forget everything else and follow Him to the cross, to true Life."   - Francis Chan, Forgotten God

Stuck in a Rut

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end."

-Ecclesiastes 3:11

There are times in our lives when we endure various trials and stuggles. Sometimes it seems like thats all life is about. It's funny, because growing up I've never been the person to think when I hear a sermon about persevering that it applies to me. I've always been a patient person, perhaps its from waiting on my dad talking all these years (I like to think so). And being a pastor's daughter I've always seen what others have to go through and the day to day troubles that wear them down, which has been a humbling experience on my part. With that said, I rarely get convicted about persevering and enduring hardships because I've never considered my troubles worthy of worrying about.

But that's not what this post is all about. This past week has been physically, mentally, and spiritually exhausting. With both my husband and I working full time and having conflicting schedules along with our daily routine of things, it has been....well.....desensitizing to our excitement and enthusiasm. And when that comes along it affects us in a variety of ways. The word we use to describe this feeling is "blah". Usually, we've learned over the past, when one of us is feeling blah the other one is always quite the opposite and we're able to help and encourage one another. But this time we were both blah. We were both stuck.

At first we're completely clueless of why it is we feel "blah", but then its hits us. For a while we've been talking about possible locations where God is calling us. We know we are supposed to be doing something more in our ministry, and we've been praying earnestly for quite some time but no actions have been made. So with this burdened feeling and not a clue what we're supposed to be doing exactly, we're stuck in a rut.

One thing that I'm constantly convicted of, is that its not all about my marriage, my family, my friends, my job, my appearance, etc. Dont get me wrong, God put me and Ash together for a reason. We're joined together to do His work as one and bring Him glory. But its so much more than that. It's about God and our eagerness to do His work. Its about ministry. Its about the Gospel. Its about the Church. It's about missions. It's about humbleness. It's not about me. This is the part where I tell you my struggle... Since I first felt God's call in my life, my desire has been to live for Him, to do what He wants me to do and to share His word with everyone. I want to be totally dedicated to ministry. Constantly immersed in the Bible. Unceasingly caring for others. I WANT to grow. I NEED to grow. Who will mentor me? Who will teach me? This is my struggle. Knowing that we're meant to be doing something else but stuck in where we're currently at.

Yesterday, as I was doing my daily reading, one of the readings was Ecclesiastes 3. I've read it before but it was like I was looking at it for the first time. God has made everything beautiful in its time. Everything beautiful. When I think about that, I think of all those walks I take and just stopping to take a moment to appreciate creation, admire all that God has given us. Even in all the chaos and uphill battles there is still beauty if you look for it. Now this is the part that really gets me.... "He has set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end." We dont always see the big picture. We're left with what we can see at the present time with no idea whats to come. The fact that we understand there is eternity, that God is omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, and that that's only some of what God has revealed to us baffles me. I know we're going through this time for a purpose. I know God is using it to prepare us for what is next, yet I do not know what it is. But I know that this momentary struggle does not compare to what is to come. My only prayer is that my life and how I serve Him will bring Him glory.

Lesson from Grudem: Purposes of the Church

There's not much I can add to this other than how much I loved how Wayne Grudem put it in his book Systematic Theology. He lists the purpose of the Church in three catagories. Here it goes....



1. Ministry to God: Worship. In relationship to God the church's purpose is to worship Him. Paul directs the church at Colossae to "sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God" (Col. 3:16).  God has destined us and appointed us in Christ "to live for the praise of his glory" (Eph. 1:12). Worship in the church is not merely a preparation for something else: it is in itself fulfilling the major purpose of the church with reference to its Lord.


2. Ministry to Believers: Nurture. According to Scripture, the church has an obligation to nurture those who are already believers and build them up to maturity in the faith. Paul said that his own goal was not simply to bring people to initial saving faith but to "present every man mature in Christ" (Col. 1:28). And he told the church at Ephesus that God gave the church gifted persons "to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:12-13). It is clearly contrary to the New Testament pattern to think that our only goal with people is to bring them to initial saving faith. Our goal as a church must be to present to God every Christian "mature in Christ" (Col. 1:28).

^ I love this, because so very often we lose sight of what were suppose to be doing....strengthening, encouraging, and building up Christians and equipping them to do the will of God. There is always more to learn about God and His Word.  


3. Ministry to the World: Evangelism and Mercy.  Jesus told his disciples that they should "make disciples of all nations" (Matt. 28:19). This evangelistic work of declaring the gospel is the primary ministry that the church has toward the world. Yet accompanying the work of evangelism is also a ministry of mercy, a ministry that includes caring for the poor and needy in the name of the Lord. Although the emphasis of the New Testament is on giving material help to those who are part of the church (Acts 11:29; 2 Cor. 8:4; 1 John 3:17), there is still an affirmation that it is right to help unbelievers even if they do not respond with gratitude or acceptance of the gospel message.

^ Jesus last command was His greatest, make disciples. There are so many opportunities in our everyday life and so many ways to witness, its exciting! I know whenever I think about this I also think of the day when we see Christ and I know that my work will not have been in vain. How much it will mean to hear Him say "well done" or "good job, my faithful servant".



Grudem goes on to say alot more but this is what spoke to me today. He lists first the greatest, ministry to God. After worshiping God comes ministry to believers and nurturing others. Then after that and believers are being nurtured, you minister to unbelievers helping them and sharing what God has done. All three of these ministries goes hand-in-hand, you cannot have one without the others. Very often churches place priority on one the purposes over the other three. Grudem says "all three purposes must be emphasized continually in a healthy church".

So to sum it up,
-Love God and give Him all the praise
-Strengthen other Christians
-Share God's love with unbelievers

Created to Give God Glory: Characteristics of a Dying Church

 I stumbled upon this blog this morning and was stunned when I read this post. It was a very eye-opening and sobering thought. Give it a look....


Created to Give God Glory: Characteristics of a Dying Church: "We look for vital signs when a person is dying. Usually something like the kidneys or one of the other major organs begins to fail. Death is..."


We are responsible for keeping the church from dying, we are called to be witness and preach the gospel. (Matt. 28:16-20) That was Jesus last command, the last thing which he said to his disciples. I think it deserves great emphasis. But let us not forget, while we do have a responsibility to the church, that doesnt make the church ours. It is the Lord's. We the believers make up the body, the church. We plant seeds and the Holy Spirit makes them grow. And because of that seed that was once planted in me which grew, I have this passionate desire to plant those seeds unto others praying that the Holy Spirit will work in them. I do this for the glory of God and for the day when the church as a whole will be united with Christ. I love God and am thankful for what He has and will reveal to me and bless me with.