imperfect

Matthew 11:28-30

New International Version (NIV)

 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Fun fact:
I actually didn't start writing this blog because I think that I'm holier than everyone else. In fact, I don't think I have any authority to tell others what they should think or believe. I probably cannot give any lessons that have not been given before, or share any insight that has not yet been shared. I'm sorry to disappoint anyone who is under the illusion that I'm perfect, but I'm not. Quite frankly, I started this blog for more of my benefit than that of anyone else.

Since moving to Ohio this past summer, I have struggled with finding a church home. Although I know that a person can agree with the theology of Christianity, regardless of whether or not that person attends church regularly, I felt that I could not personally better myself as a follower of Christ without having people to help me keep my focus on my relationship with God. Because I was not finding a church here in Ohio that could do that for me, I created a website. This way, I could be more intentional about spending time with God regularly, while also receiving input from those who decide to read my entries.

Unfortunately, however, I have lost sight of the reason why I wanted to start writing these entries in the first place. I've gone over two months without writing a single "vesper," because I haven't felt all that close to God lately. Sometimes, I think that Christians think that we have to be good people before we can spend time with God. It's as if we know that He deserves the best, and it would be unfair to Him if we went to Him as anything less than the best we can be. The trouble with that, however, is that we sometimes feel like we cannot talk to Him when we aren't our best, which is what I have been struggling with over the past two months.

This is not how God wants it to be. God doesn't just want us when we have our stuff together. He wants us when we are broken and doubtful and stubborn and sinful and crazy and angry and happy and sad. He wants us when we feel His presence; He wants us when we feel like He's a million miles away. We don't have to be perfect and pristine when we go to God. In fact, if we are waiting to go to God until after we feel perfect enough, we'll be waiting forever. Instead, God wants us to come to Him with all of our flaws and failures, so he can remove those burdens from our shoulders.

Every day, we face situations that are too hard to handle alone. We make mistakes that we cannot undo by ourselves. We face decisions that are too important to decide without help. Unless we bring all of that baggage with us when we go to Christ, we're going to grow weary. God wants more for us than that. Amazingly enough, this all-powerful, holy, righteous, beautiful being actually loves us more than we love ourselves. He wants to take our burdens from us and give us rest. He wants us to spend time with Him, even in the midst of our failures.

Although I have been avoiding God these past two months, ashamed of my flaws like Adam and Eve after eating the forbidden fruit, it's time for me to stop running. Instead of trying to hide my imperfections from Him, I'm going to bring them to Him and ask for His help. Tonight, I'd like to take a second and invite you all to do the same. Let's go to God with all of our fears and failures and let Him lighten our load. For He is gentle and humble in heart, and through Him, we will find rest for our souls.

Thanks.

1 Chronicles 16:34

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

I got out of work an hour late tonight. It's been a long day. I have a test coming up in my hardest class. I'm not prepared. Work. School. Homework. Work. Homework. School. That is my life these days. Teachers, coworkers, classmates are asking me if I'm okay because I'm so tired...all the time. My family reluctantly listens to me complain almost everyday. And in those moments, I'm not feeling all that grateful.

But you know what?

God has blessed me with a job, which is more than a lot of people can say. He has blessed me with a somewhat steady income, with which I can sponsor a beautiful child in Burkina Faso. Although class is rough, I'm getting an education. An education! A 14-year-old Pakistani girl was recently shot in the head for promoting that very idea! I live in a country where I have the opportunity to be somebody. I have a family. I am blessed. There's no denying it. I. Am. Blessed.

In 1 Chronicles 16:34, we are told to give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, and His love endures forever. This God of ours doesn't just love us for the time being; His love endures forever. He is always good, and He proves it to us every single day. Even something as simple as letting us watch the sun rise in the morning or set in the evening demonstrates how good He is to us. He provides us with air in our lungs and and a beating heart in our chest. We all have so much to be thankful for!

Unfortunately, we often take these little gifts for granted. It is human nature to focus on our problems rather than on everything that is going well for us. I know I can't be the only one. Maybe the "be thankful" speech is overused and a bit cliche, but there's a reason for that. We often only want to thank the Lord when life is going our way. When we experience struggles, however, the "be thankful" message goes in one ear and out the other. It's hard to remember all the good that He does for us when we're stretched more than we'd like.

Nonetheless, even when we are drained emotionally, mentally, and physically, God is there for us. Matthew 11:28 states, "Then Jesus said, 'come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.'" Even when we are exhausted and struggling and barely hanging on, Jesus is providing for us. If nothing else, this right here is an amazing reason to be thankful.

Therefore, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. Really, He is. Even when we are feeling weak and broken, God is there for us, loving us. We have so many reasons to thank Him, so show Him your appreciation. He more than deserves it.

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Trust

Proverbs 3:5-6

New International Version (NIV)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

This past weekend, I had the wonderful opportunity to celebrate my birthday with some old friends and family up in Michigan. Not only was I able to meet my brand new nephew and see my niece again, but I also was able to see how my old friends were doing and how college is treating them. After the weekend was over, however, something really dawned on me. For once in my life, I actually felt like I was getting older, and it didn't feel good. This is pretty much what dawned on me:

I'm a young adult over here, and yet my life is in a state of limbo. I'm getting older, but I'm still not even sure what I want to do with my degree when I get it. My friends are all moving forward with the next stage of their lives, and I'm still between stages. Heck, I'm still living with my parents! So this morning, I climbed into my car, all stuck in a rut, and turn on my radio. It's set to KLove, and the first song I heard started like this:

"At twenty years of age

I'm still looking for a dream

A war's already waged for my destiny

But You've already won the battle

And You've got great plans for me

Though I can't always see"

Ironically, my high school youth pastor used to tell me that this song reminded her of me. I listened to the song all the way through and remembered, "Hey, I don't have to have it all figured out. That's God's job, and I trust that He's going to take care of me." What a great feeling!

In Proverbs 3:5-6, we hear that, if we genuinely trust in the Lord with everything in us, He'll make sure our paths are straight. All we have to do is lean on Him and seek His will; He'll take care of the rest. Furthermore, we are not to "lean on [our] own understanding," because that's not what real trust in God looks like. I have no idea where I've heard it before, but I remember a phrase goes something like this: "Nothing ruins life like our perception of how it should be." If we keep limiting ourselves to our own little thoughts of how our life should be, we're going to miss out on the big plans that God has for us. We need to stop leaning on our own understanding and start trusting in the Lord, so He can make our paths straight.

Of course, this is all easier said than done. The fact that I know in my head that God will take care of me does not completely remove the feeling in my heart that I should have it all figured out by now. However, it is a step. After being reminded that my future is in His hands, I can learn to trust it in my heart. God is going to take care of me. I just have to trust Him.

Therefore, trust in the Lord completely, with all your heart. Don't let your perception of how you thought your life would be blur the reality of His goodness. He will not forget about you. If your plans differ from His plans, it's because He has something better in store for you. Just be patient and let Him guide you. He will not lead you wrong.

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The World

Romans 5:8

New International Version (NIV)
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

The other day, my little sister and I were listening to a popular song that we both enjoy. The song is called "I Won't Give Up" by Jason Mraz. Anyway, my little sister and I are singing along to this song in this kitchen, and she asked me if I watched the music video yet. I informed her that I hadn't, and she told me I should. Then, she said something like, "I don't mind if other people interpret it differently, but Bree, I don't think he's just singing about a girl. He's singing about the world."

Naturally, I watched the video (above) and looked up the lyrics, and I'd have to say that I agree with her. The three choruses of this song are listed below:

"'Cause even the stars they burn

Some even fall to the earth

We've got a lot to learn

God knows we're worth it

No: I won't give up"

"I won't give up on us

Even if the skies get rough

I'm giving you all my love

I'm still looking up, still looking up."

"I won't give up on us (no I'm not giving up)

God knows I'm tough enough (I am tough, I am loved)

We've got a lot to learn (we're alive, we are loved)

God knows we're worth it (and we're worth it)"

Take a minute to really digest those words. Let them sink in for a minute.

Maybe this song is just talking about a guy who really doesn't want to give up on his girl, but for the sake of this vesper, let's just pretend that my little sister is right here. Even the stars -- they burn. Some even fall to the earth. We've got a lot to learn, but God knows we're worth it. Even the best of us mess up. Some of us completely fall apart. We are not perfect by any stretch; none of us are. But God knows we're worth it.

In Romans 5:8, we are told that, before any person in the world was free from sin, God loved us. Before anyone was truly forgiven for all of the mistakes they made, God was on our team, rooting for us. He sacrificed His only child -- let His son die -- because God thought we're worth it. He knows we're worth it. We mess up every day, we have failed him over and over again, but He still has faith in us. C.S. Lewis once said, "He died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man made, He would have done no less." He cares about every single person in this world, and wants to have a relationship with all of us.

When God tells us to love one another, this is the love He means. He wants us to believe in each other. Pray for our enemies. Sacrifice our own wants for our neighbor's needs. When we understand that God believes in us, we can start believing in ourselves. We can believe in each other. Anyone can read a newspaper and know that the world is a rough place. Sometimes, it's easier to become cold and apathetic than to feel the pain of empathy. However, if we continuously try to pour out our love into all who cross our paths, including complete strangers, we can make an impact on this little world of ours. Maybe not a huge impact, or one that we will see right away, but an impact nonetheless.

Although Christians are not meant to give into the desires off this world, they are not to hate the people who do.  Christians are not meant to feel like they belong to this world; their treasure lies in a different place. Let there be no misunderstanding, though; just because we are called to avoid the sin of this world does not mean we are to give up on the people in it. Striving for a holier life does not equate to turning your back on humanity. People are worth our love and attention. Even sinners. How do we know? Because while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

He did not give up on us. We will give up on them.

Therefore, love one another. Have faith in each other. Pray for those in your life. Show kindness to a stranger and forgiveness to an enemy. God knows we're worth it. This world has a lot to learn, but if we continue to look up and give it all of our love, we can make it a better place.

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Family

John 13:34-35

English Standard Version (ESV)

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

 

The more I pray, read my Bible, go to church, and center my life on Christ, the closer I feel to him.  Some days, I feel like I'm making so much progress in my faith walk that God is practically shining through everything that I say and do.  Then, they come along and ruin it all. I can be feeling perfectly kind all day, but when I have to be kind to them, I completely regress back to my mean and selfish ways.  I'm sure many of you can relate; after all, no one can really get under our skin in the same way they can.

 

If you already guessed that when I'm referring to "they," I'm referring to our families, you have guessed correctly. In the book, When God Writes Your Love Story by Eric and Leslie Ludy, Eric Ludy explains that, although our family has the power to drive us up a wall, they are the perfect training ground for marriage. Well, I'd like to take this concept one step further and declare that family is not only the training ground for future romantic relationships, but for all human interactions we will face throughout our lifetime.

 

Hear me out here for a moment. Most people have probably lived with somebody, whether it is a sibling, parent, grandparent, friend, or guardian, who truly cares for them. Most people have probably hated living with that person at some point, even if only for a moment. Most people probably have, unfortunately, done or said something hurtful to this person in a moment of weakness that shouldn't have been done or said.

 

This picture below shows how you were probably feeling when you did or said whatever it is that hurt the person.

 

 

The picture is funny, but it's also true in some regards. The people closest to us can be the people who can best drive us insane. Inconveniently, however, God commands us to have a forgiving, unconditional love for strangers and family members alike and actually display that love on a regular bases. This can be so hard. Nonetheless, if we cannot even show kindness for those closest to us, how can we expect to show unconditional love for total strangers who come and go throughout our lives?

 

As I stated earlier, family is the training ground for future relationships. Once we master loving and respecting our family members, being kind to everyone else is a breeze. The habits we put into place concerning how we treat our family will follow us in our future friendships, marriages, and acquaintanceships. Eric Ludy, the author mentioned earlier, had a pastor who once said, "You are only as holy as you are in your home." Thus, if we want to be like Christ and have healthy, loving relationships now and forever, we have to start practicing at home.

 

Although I have been writing in generalizations throughout this passage, I understand that some of you may not have the typical family environment that others are blessed with. Perhaps you come from a broken home with silenced hurts and a family that is less than supportive. Even in that situation, however, you can use "family" as a training ground. Pray for your parents or siblings, even if they say or do hurtful things. Pray for God to grant you the forgiveness you need to make amends with past pains and move forward. I'm not pretending it will be easy; trust me; I know from experience that it can be hard, but it's worth it.

 

When you accept the family that God has given you, and embrace the lessons that they teach you, you will be able to maintain healthier relationships in the future and obey God's command to love one another.  Even if they aren't blood related to you, your family is there to love and support you; we should cherish them, rather than get annoyed or frustrated with them. When you get discouraged, go to Him for help, and allow His spirit to work through you.

 

"May He equip you with all you need for doing His will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to Him. All glory to Him forever and ever! Amen." -Hebrews 13:21

 

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Bones

Ezekiel 37:1-14

New International Version (NIV)

The Valley of Dry Bones

37 The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. ² He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. ³ He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know. ”

⁴ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! ⁵ This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath^[a] enter you, and you will come to life. ⁶ I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord. ’”

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

⁹ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

¹¹ Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ ¹² Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. ¹³ Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. ¹⁴ I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord. ’”

Footnotes:

1. Ezekiel 37:5 The Hebrew for this word can also mean wind or spirit (see verses 6-14).

In this prophesy, God tells Ezekiel that he will perform the miracle of bringing the remnants of Israel back together, and then He will perform an even greater miracle of giving Israel a new Spirit, breathed by God.  Jesus' followers believed that this process began when the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost.

Acts 2:1-4 says, "When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues^[a] as the Spirit enabled them."

We were once nothing more than dry bones, merely existing, but not living.  Many people believe that Jesus came to make bad people good, but that's not the case at all; he came to make dead people alive.  Jesus paved the way for the Holy Spirit to come into our lives.  If we trust in God, we will not only have eternal live in Heaven, but we will be capable of actually living, rather then just existing, during our time spent on Earth.

With this new life, we will be able to do great things that are completely impossible without it.  In John 14:12, Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."  God has made it possible for us to have new life on Earth that will last after death by sending Jesus to die for our sins and giving us the Holy Spirit to bring us new life.  These days, a popular phrase among young people is YOLO, meaning "you only live once." In reality, most people aren't even living once; they are just existing without true life. Life doesn't happen until God happens.  When God happens in your life, then you can truly live now and forever.

Therefore, embrace the Holy Spirit and the miracles it allows us to have in our lives.  Be grateful that we have a God who can and did bring us to life, and show your appreciation by using this new life to glorify Him.

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Clean

Psalm 51:10

King James Version (KJV)

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Lately, I've been pretty busy with my new job, so I have been getting a little bit behind on house work. For the most part, the house hadn't been looking very messy, aside from unpacked boxes, but just because I didn't notice the mess doesn't mean it wasn't there.  Today, while I was talking on the phone in the kitchen, I saw a HUGE bug with lots of legs and long antennae appear out of nowhere and scamper across the floor.  I was so freaked out; I cleaned the house top to bottom just to make sure that there weren't any other creepy crawlies hiding out anywhere. It was an exhausting experience.

I know that the reason there was a bug in my house was because I had been letting it go.  Instead of vacuuming regularly and cleaning up messes as soon as they happened, I justified procrastination with, "It doesn't look that bad."  Some of you may not know how much I hate bugs, but it's safe for you to assume that it's a lot.  Seeing that bug in my home today was a total wake up call for me, but I can't believe it took something as extreme as that ugly bug to get me to scrub down my house!

A lot of the time, I think that people are the same way with their spiritual lives. They get so caught up in the current world that they are simply to busy to spend time with God, clean their hearts, and renew their spirits.  We tell ourselves that missing one day of reading our Bibles can't do that much damage. Prayer gets pushed to the back burner, and we forget about exercising our faith.  After all, God can wait, but work can't. Just like my little bits of food crumbs on the kitchen floor didn't seem like a big deal to me, our little days of blowing off God doesn't seem like anything to worry about. Nevertheless, it eventually adds up, leaving us thinking to ourselves, "How did I let it get this bad?"

C.S. Lewis, who is quite obviously one of my favorite authors, wrote a book called The Screwtape Letters. In this book, Screwtape is a clever old demon who is teaching his younger apprentice Wormwood how to effectively guide a man to their "Father Below," also known as the devil. To them, "the Enemy" is God.  At one point, Screwtape tells Wormwood this:

“You will say that these are very small sins; and doubtless, like all young tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness. But do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy. It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one –the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”

Now, the point is that the little things add up.  Not that forgetting to pray every day will get you thrown into hell or anything, but every day you blow off God will make it harder to follow Him.  The longer I went without cleaning, the harder it was when I eventually got to it; the longer we go without spending time with God, the harder it will be to follow Him.  If we put aside a little bit of time every day, though, to pray and read our Bibles and devotionals, following God becomes second nature to us.

Realizing that the seemingly little things matter, let us remember to spend time with God, for he will clean our hearts and our spirits for us.  Just like our houses need to be cleaned often, our hearts regularly need God to renew them.  We must keep up with our "spiritual cleaning," so that we don't have to clean up bugs later down the road.  Our messy lives can only get messier without God, but with Him, we can be good as new.

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An Untamed God

Revelation 1:17-18

New King James Version (NKJV)

And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.

When I was in high school, a boy went to my youth group that many people, including myself, admired.  He always seemed to have something insightful to say about God or faith or whatever else we were discussing, and we thought he was just so wise.  One time, he said something like, "Having a kid must have really had an impact on God, because the God of the New Testament is so much more tame than the God of the Old Testament."  At the time, I was nodding my head in agreement, thinking how right he was. At first glance, it seems like the God of the New Testament really is so much more loving and compassionate than the God of the Old Testament.  He's not though.

What I have learned with much studying and growing in my faith is this: the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament is the same God.  He hasn't changed. In fact, He has been fairly consistent throughout the course of time.  People feel like Jesus was so peaceful compared to the God of the Old Testament, but Jesus is God, and God is Jesus. They are one.  Neither one is more or less powerful or peaceful than the other.

In the following paragraph, some numbers are listed, showing how God has stayed pretty consistent overall. These numbers I found from another blog. 

"A cursory non-academic scanning of the Old Testament reveals 446 mentions of God’s ‘love’ and 100 occurrences of ‘mercy’ as opposed to 135 mentions of ‘hate’ and 173 of ‘wrath’. [...] this is a significant statistic: 551 love/mercy vs. 308 hate/wrath. Compare this to the New Testament where the statistic is 291 love/mercy vs. 71 hate/wrath.

In both testaments, God has been more loving and merciful than angry or hateful.  The wrath to mercy ratio may be a bit higher in the Old Testament than the new, but much of the Old Testament took place during a time of war rather than a time of peace. Wrath was more appropriate then.  Overall, God is a loving and merciful God, no matter what testament we look at.

Now that we understand that the Old Testament is just as loving as the New, we must understand that God is just as powerful and frightening in the New Testament as he is in the Old.  Nowadays, people have a tendency to make Jesus out to be a rather nice doormat that we can walk all over if we desire. We use his mercy for our own selfish purposes, justifying our sins with his goodness, saying, "Jesus wouldn't care if I did this," or "Jesus loves us whether we sin or not, so why not sin?"

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is John 8:1-12.  In it, a woman who has committed adultery is brought to Jesus, and he has mercy upon her.  This is not a reason for us to sin. Jesus does not approve of adultery, nor does he want us to sin just because he forgives. Nonetheless, when a broken sinner humbly comes to him, he will forgive him or her.  Had she arrogantly rejected him as the people of the Old Testament did, Jesus would certainly have handled the situation a bit differently.

In Matthew 21:12-13, Jesus became angry with those who carelessly disrespected God. He even knocked over tables because he was so mad! Do not treat Jesus like a house cat when he's a lion.  God might appear more merciful in the New Testament than in the old just because His people were being changed.  They had guidance and learned to come to God with humility.  When they didn't, though, Jesus very much so reflected the God of the Old Testament. The same things that made the Old Testament God angry made Jesus angry, for they are the same. Why do you think they crucified Jesus? Because He was a nice guy? They crucified him because he was threatening and frightening. He told the truth, whether it was comfortable or not. He makes the rules.

Therefore, if someone makes a comment about how different God is now compared to how He was before Jesus came along, do not foolishly nod your head as I did. For God is as unchanging and all powerful now as He always has been.  He knows when to be merciful and when to pour out His wrath; we cannot pretend to control Him, for He isn't a tame God. 

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Your Heart

Proverbs 4:23

New Living Translation (NLT)

²³ Guard your heart above all else,
for it determines the course of your life.

Brace yourself; it's about to get real.

Once upon a time, I was fifteen.  I had many great Christian influences in my life telling me to "Stay pure! Stay pure!" so I did.  Or at least, I kept my virginity, which I'm sure is the same thing.  Except, this super cool and charming guy did come into my life and turn it upside down. That's an understatement; although I was still physically pure, I gave him everything I had emotionally. I fell hard.

Taylor Swift has this awesome, whiny, girly song called "Fifteen," and if you have any extra time on your hands, you should look at the lyrics, because they are unfortunately pretty accurate. Basically, the song discusses how, when you're young, you want to be wanted so badly that you will give everything you have to someone. You feel like you've got it all figured out until things change. In the end, you're left with nothing but tears and a messed up heart. That guy that I fell for so hard? Well, he brought me disappointment and heartache that I had never even imagined to exist; I still have to deal with emotional consequences that came with that "relationship," even now, years later.

Proverbs 4:23 tells us that we should guard our hearts, for it determines the course of our lives. Before our minds, before our bodies, before anything else, we need to make sure our heart is guarded. That's a pretty big deal! When I was young, I used to take pride in "wearing my heart on my sleeve." I thought it was a positive characteristic of mine that gave me better chances of finding true love. When your heart is on your sleeve, however, it isn't being guarded.

Some people may wonder what is so wrong about having an unguarded heart.  Other than the fact that God tells us to guard our hearts, it surely can't be that big of a deal.  Maybe it will cause a bit of heartbreak, but hey, they say it's better to have loved and lost then never to have loved at all, right?  Well, let me put this into perspective.  True love won't break your heart. It always protects. In fact, God has given us a pretty good description of true love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-13.  If you're married and your spouse passes away, then yes, I believe it is better to have loved and lost then to have never loved at all. However, if you give your whole heart to someone who throws it away somewhere down the road, then that's not true love, and it's not worth trading your pure heart for a broken one.

Once we realize the importance of guarding our hearts, the next step is to determine how we can go about doing that.  Maya Angelou once said, “A woman's heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her.”  When we deeply burry our hearts in Christ, they cannot be broken. The same goes for men; having a relationship with Jesus needs to come before finding a relationship with a female.  God will never hurt you or forsake you. If you give Him your heart, He can protect it until the right person comes along.

There are four Greek words for love: agape, philia, eros, and storge. Storge is a natural fondness due to familiarity; philia is the love between friends; eros is romantic love; agape is unconditional love. Although we are commanded to have agape for one another, we must refrain from being reckless with eros. As long as we give God our whole hearts, we have nothing to fear.

Therefore, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life that determines the course ahead of us.  Love (agape) your neighbor, your enemies, and everyone in between, but don't let yourself love (eros) just anyone who comes your way. Keep your heart completely hidden in Christ, so that it can be truly protected from anyone who will try to hurt you and remain pure for the one who won't.

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Shepherds and Sheep

In addition to my daily devotionals, I've been trying to read a couple chapters of my Bible at night in hopes of reading the entire thing one day.  I'm not exactly in any rush; I just read a chapter or two at night (when I remember), and I figure I'll reach the end at some point.  Anyway, I've finally gotten to Ezekiel, and I've realized how much parallelism there is in the Bible. I'm loving it, because everything makes sense as I read through it; the Old Testament reflects the new, and the new reflects the old.

Last night, I read Ezekiel 34, and I knew I had to share it with the readers of College Vespers. (That's you!)  Although there will be a lot to read today, I'm going to go ahead and have everyone read this chapter before I go on.  (If you have entirely too short of an attention span to read it all, I'll highlight the important parts. I'm not saying you shouldn't read the whole thing, but if you don't, I've got your back.) If you prefer to read it out of your own Bible, good for you! Otherwise, I have pasted it below:

Ezekiel 34

New International Version (NIV)

The Lord Will Be Israel’s Shepherd

34 The word of the Lord came to me: ² “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? ³ You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. ⁴ You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. ⁵ So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. ⁶ My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.

⁷ “‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ⁸ As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, ⁹ therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ¹⁰ This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.

¹¹ “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. ¹² As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. ¹³ I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. ¹⁴ I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵ I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. ¹⁶ I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.

¹⁷ “‘As for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will judge between one sheep and another, and between rams and goats. ¹⁸ Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? ¹⁹ Must my flock feed on what you have trampled and drink what you have muddied with your feet?

²⁰ “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says to them: See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. ²¹ Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them away, ²² I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another. ²³ I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. ²⁴ I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the Lord have spoken.

²⁵ “‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of savage beasts so that they may live in the wilderness and sleep in the forests in safety. ²⁶ I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing.^[a] I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. ²⁷ The trees will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them. ²⁸ They will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will make them afraid. ²⁹ I will provide for them a land renowned for its crops, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations. ³⁰ Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them and that they, the Israelites, are my people, declares the Sovereign Lord. ³¹ You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

Wow! I know that was a lot to read in one little blog entry, but it's so deep!  Throughout so much of the Bible we read about how God is our shepherd.  There is the much loved Psalm 23, which is absolutely beautiful, in my opinion.  Jesus called himself "the good shepherd" in John 10:11-16, and when he came to a large crowd, he had compassion on them, for they were like "sheep without a shepherd" before he came along (Mark 6:34).  God has been portrayed as a shepherd from Genesis 48:15 to Revelation 7:17.  (Just for the record, I can't take the credit for all of this awesome knowledge.  I have a really nice student Bible that provided it for me.)

Why do we care that the Lord is our Shepherd? What does it mean to us?  It means that He has every intention to take care of His people, no matter what.  God doesn't like seeing His children, or his "flock," being mistreated, and He will go to extremes to prevent that.  When His people didn't have adequate leaders to take care of them, He came to the world Himself to take care of us.  He sent a good shepherd to watch over His flock.  When we were all scattered and lost, He brought us back to Him.  Since we have been given a good shepherd to take care of us, we are to follow Him so that He can adequately watch over us. 

Although God has really done all the work for us, we are still to respect other followers of Christ so that they may be taken care of as well.  In Ezekiel 34:16, we read that God will "destroy" those who have no regard for the well-being of other followers of Christ. He has no pity on those who trample over others, caring only for themselves, for he shepherds over us with justice.

Therefore, follow God and God alone, so He may watch over you and care for you.  Do not take advantage of His people, shoving and hurting the weak, for God loves them as well, and He will not tolerate injustices against the ones He loves.  Let us be thankful for all that He has done to make sure that we have a loving Shepherd to lead us, and show our appreciation by following Him and His commands.

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Let it Shine

Romans 13:14

New International Version (NIV)

Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.

Side note:  In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit.

In Sunday school, when I was a little kid, I remember singing a song called "This Little Light of Mine."  I'm sure most of you may recognize it if you heard it. The second verse went something like this: "Hide it under a bushel? No! I'm going to let it shine." This song is talking about how Jesus is the light of the world, and we want to let his light shine through us for the world to see. I remember hearing that song thinking, "Why would I ever hide Jesus under a bushel?"

Today at the church I've been visiting, the pastor talked about how we often want to "check Jesus at the door."  If we're being honest with ourselves, it's usually not very "cool" to behave like a Christian at social events. Therefore, we keep the "Jesus time" limited to Sunday mornings, and every other day of the week, we don't bother with him. In a sense, we are hiding our light under a bushel, just like our little Sunday school song warned us about.

We are not meant to hide like that, though.  2 Thessalonians 2:15 tells us, "So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter." Whether it's socially acceptable or not, we are to stand firm in our faith, and to clothe ourselves with Jesus Christ, putting on his qualities and characteristics every day.  Some people might not get it; they'll think you're crazy for living your life in away that reflects God's will for us.  Some people may even pursecute you for it. Either way, we are not to let them get to us; the only opinion that should matter to the followers of Jesus Christ is Jesus Christ's.

One common misconception that so many people believe is that if we actually take Jesus with us wherever we go, so to speak, than we will never have any fun. I found this link, however, that tells us that the opposite is true. "God meant for believers to have fun and celebrate. There are a number of examples throughout the Bible of great celebrations. David danced. The Jews celebrated upon their exodus from Egypt. Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding celebration. God meant for believers to celebrate and have fun because celebrations lift the spirit. He wants Christian teens and adults to have fun so they can see the beauty and meaning in the life He gave to us."  I mean, see Matthew 25:21, or 2 Samuel 6:14-15! It's not fun that we're against, but sin. When the fun becomes sinful, that's where we have to draw the line.

I remember when I was little, there was a huge fad in Christian clothing where everyone wore "WWJD" bracelets or T-shirts.  WWJD stood for "What Would Jesus Do?" The whole concept was to ask yourself before every decision you make if your choice is something Jesus would choose to do if he was in your place. In order to clothe ourselves with Jesus Christ, we need to keep that mentality of WWJD every single day.  Is this something that would please God? Are my thoughts, actions, and speech adequately reflecting His will?

In Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, we can read about something called "a moral law." Everyone talks about what's "right" and what's "wrong," but where do they get this concept of right and wrong from? In order for there to be a "right" and wrong," there has to be some sort of moral code that tells us what's "right" and "wrong." In order for there to be a moral code, there has to be a creater of the moral code. As far as we know, humans have always had a feeling of what's right and what's wrong since the world began, so the only logical conclusion is that there is a being larger than us who created this moral code and inscribed it upon our hearts and our minds, so that we can all have a fairly similar understanding of "right" and "wrong."

When we understand that God is the one who gave us the feeling of what's right and what's wrong, we can realize that He desperately wants us to do what's right.  The best example we have ever been given of "right" in all of history is when He came to earth Himself as Jesus Christ to show us what true righteousness is. Now that we have seen what's right, we are to do it; we are to be like Christ every day in every way possible. Socially acceptable or not.

Therefore, do not "check Jesus at the door," but take his spirit with you everywhere you go.  Let his light shine through you, even when we feel pressured into hiding it from the world.  God inscribed His moral law upon our hearts so that we can choose right and reflect Jesus Christ in all that we do.

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Ages and Stages

1 Corinthians 13:11

New International Version (NIV)

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.

When I was little, I had all sorts of expectations of where I would be at this point in my life. My friends and I would play pretend all the time, and we all just pretended that we were young people, never younger than fifteen and never older than twenty-five.  We always pretended to have big parties all the time and to live in exotic places. Whether it was Barbies or "house," all of our pretending was about the future, and we never had any rules.

Overall, I was pretty wrong about about my future and what "growing up" entails.  Mostly, that's because I didn't understand much of the real world when I was young; I thought like a child. The concepts of bills, the pain of heartbreak, and the reality of responsibilities never crossed my mind. To me, adults had no restrictions. They had it made.

Now that I have actual responsibilities, I feel like an actual adult now. Still, I sometimes have that same understanding of adulthood as I used to have, and I don't like to be restricted by age now that I'm an "adult". To my dismay, though, that's not how the world works.  My parents still give me rules (no tattoos or borrowing the car to drive across the country) and even if they didn't, the law still gives me rules (can't rent cars from most companies until I'm 25, no alcohol until I'm 21, etc.). Sometimes, I want to throw a fit about it. Too often, I tell my parents, "I need to be treated like an adult!"

How funny is that? I am supposedly "grown up" and yet I'm still thinking like a child, by glorifying the concept of being an adult.  I'm admitting to this because I know we all have experienced it at one time or another. As children, we don't want to be seen as babies; as teenagers, we don't like to be seen as children; as adults, we don't like to be seen as teenagers.

Listen to this quote from C.S. Lewis, though: “Critics who treat 'adult' as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.” 

 

As embarrassing as it is to admit, I have been acting like a child lately. Even the Bible tells me that I need to grow up (1 Corinthians 13:11).  The only comfort that I have is knowing that I'm not alone here; I'm sure many people my age face the same struggles with wanting to be accepted as an adult. 

 

Nonetheless, we need to learn to accept the positives and negatives that come with our age (restrictions and all), and embrace the stage we are in our lives right now, whether we are seniors in high school or senior citizens. Why get upset over the things we can't control?  Rather than focus on our expectations of our stage in life, we should learn to focus on trusting that God has it covered.  Live your life, love God, and everything else will fall into place.

 

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Peace

Philippians 4:7

English Standard Version (ESV)

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

The other day, I had a conversation with a very talented and kind friend of mine who happens to be an atheist.  For the most part, our different beliefs don't get in the way of our friendship; she knows I'm Christian, I know she's not, and that's that.  During this past conversation, however, I found myself at a loss for words. 

My friend came to me looking to me for comfort, spilling all of her problems to me, because she knew she can trust me with them.  She explained to me how hopeless life feels to her and how she doesn't feel like a good person anymore. Of course, I don't believe life is hopeless, so I did point that out to her, but she didn't want to hear anything about that. "This has nothing to do with faith," she scolded me.  But darling, this has everything to do with faith.

Within all of us, I truly believe, there is a gaping hole, or an incompleteness, so to speak.  Some of us think that if we just find our soul-mate, then that hole will be filled. If we could just have that perfect family that we missed out on, then we'd be content. Get that promotion at work. Have a white picket fence. Maybe we think that a bottle of wine will do the trick, or just a couple more rounds of poker. None of these things, however can provide true, lasting happiness on their own -- not even your soul-mate. And why is that? Because this gaping hole you feel is from God.

The reason why people or things cannot fill this hole we feel is because that hole is a longing for a Savior, for a love greater than that of this world.  God creates this longing inside of us so that we will seek Him, and in turn, build a relationship with Him. Psalm 145:19 says that God fulfills the desires of those who fear Him. Ironic, right?  This God who is love and goodness created this horrible dissatisfaction for us because He loves us.  It's our reminder that we are made for something more than this.

When we look to God for fulfillment, we can receive it; however, people and things cannot sustain that kind of pressure. If you expect a friend or a lover make you happy, not only will you be disappointed, but that person will feel inadequate. The reason I found myself at a loss for words while talking to my friend is that she was complaining that she had no hope while rejecting the only hope I had to offer.  I cannot bring her peace. I can listen to her complain, but there's nothing else I, or anyone aside from God, can do for her.  C.S. Lewis once said, “God can't give us peace and happiness apart from Himself because there is no such thing.”  It's not fair to yourself (or to your loved ones) to expect them to bring you happiness, because it's setting everyone involved up for failure.

Now, what I'm not saying is that Jesus is the fix-all card that will make our lives easy. In fact, investing in a relationship with Christ can cause even more problems for us! (Luke 9:23 and Matthew 10:22 can back me up there.) The point isn't to have an easy life, though; the point is to have a complete life, with hope, love, peace, and a satisfaction that only God can provide.

Therefore, find your feeling of completeness by investing in a relationship with God, for the One who placed a longing for something more inside of your heart is the only One who can fulfill it.  Although He won't fix all of your problems, he will bring you the strength and peace necessary to cope with them. "May He grant you your hearts' desire and fulfill all your plans!" -- Psalm 20:4

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Respect

1 Timothy 5:2

New Life Version (NLV)

Talk to older women as mothers. Talk to younger women as sisters, keeping yourself pure.

Guys tweet about how nice some girl's body is. They don't know her, but it doesn't matter.  Tweet the words "yoga pants," and odds are that multiple guys will retweet you. Girls update their Facebook statuses with how good the book Fifty Shades of Grey is and how excited they are to see Magic Mike in theater because Channing Tatum will be half naked in the movie. When a sweet little girl goes out on a date, she picks the most low-cut blouse she has so that the guy will like her.  Sure that cute guy might a girlfriend, but he's flirting with you now. This is how the world works. It's just the way things are.

The problem with Christians, though, is that they weren't made for this world.  Philippians 3:20 states, "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ."  Therefore, we should not condemn ourselves to behave like we are created for something less than heaven. Even though the world accepts certain behaviors, we are still to reject them.

When it's put down in writing, it sounds obvious. Ladies shouldn't treat men like mere pieces of meat and vice versa. People should treat one another with respect as human beings and that's that. Nonetheless, this is one of those things that is much easier said than done. God wants us to go above and beyond the world's standard; he tells us to treat younger men and women as brothers and sisters, and to treat older men and woman as parents. Worded that way, it's actually pretty disgusting for us to hit on each other and check each other out; it's like making a move on your dad!

Until we are married, this is literally how we're expected to behave.  Most people may react to this by asking, "Does this mean we aren't supposed to date?" Personally, I wouldn't want to date my brother or sister, but I'll leave that up to you.  If you decide you want to date, I don't think that makes you a better or worse Christian than if you decide you don't. Nonetheless, we absolutely shouldn't talk about the opposite sex like simple objects, whether we date or not.  That aspect of the command is nonnegotiable.

Maybe you're reading this and not convinced. I mean, even though the Bible says these people are like our brothers and sisters, they aren't really related to us. In that case, look at it from this perspective: how would your future husband/wife feel if he/she heard you talking about the opposite sex the way you currently do now? Will she feel like she snagged a keeper, or will she be repulsed by how degrading you speak of women? Will he think it's adorable that you've kept your thoughts and speech pure for him, or will he be embarrassed for you?  Chances are, one day you may get married, and your future spouse won't appreciate you talking about his or her gender as if they aren't human.

C.S. Lewis once said, “You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.”  The same goes for everyone. People aren't bodies; they are complex, multifaceted beings. When we behave like we are only interested in the physical aspect of the opposite sex, we are disrespecting them, ourselves, and God.  Purity is more than just holding on to technical virginity until marriage. Purity consists of treating one another as you would treat your family, waiting to be physical with someone until they become your husband or wife, and even then, respecting that person as a soul and not just a body.

I pray that you all have the courage and self-control to speak about one another with respect. Since we do not belong to this world, my hope is that you don't conform to it, but remain true to the standards God has for you.

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