Thursday, June 23, 2011

My "Draw Me Nearer" radio station on my Pandora must play this song five or six times in a day...every time it hits my ears, I'm compelled to pause and reflect on the wonder of Christ's abundant mercy and grace.




Good ol' Mr. Chambers did it again. I was reading my worn copy of My Utmost for His Highest and had a good reality check this morning. The devotional is just too good not to share.

"A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." Isaiah 53:3

"We are not acquainted with grief in the way in which Our Lord was acquainted with it; we endure it, we get through it, but we do not become intimate with it. At the beginning of life we do not reconcile ourselves to the fact of sin. We take a rational view of life and say that a man by controlling his instincts, and by educating himself, can produce a life which will slowly evolve into the life of God. But as we go on, we find the presence of something which we have not taken into consideration, viz., sin, and it upsets all our calculations. Sin has made the basis of things wild and not rational. We have to recognize that sin is a fact, not a defect; sin is red-handed mutiny against God. Either God or sin must die in my life. The New Testament brings us right down to this one issue. If sin rules in me, God's life in me will be killed; if God rules in me, sin in me will be killed. There is no possible ultimate but that. The climax of sin is that it crucified Jesus Christ, and what was true in the history of God on earth will be true in your history and in mine. In our mental outlook we have to reconcile ourselves to the fact of sin as the only explanation as to why Jesus Christ came, and as the explanation of the grief and sorrow in life."

"How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity," Psalm 32:1

Friday, June 10, 2011

What do I know of holy?

Holiness has been a reoccurring theme during my devotions, prayer and thoughts...what does it look like, this holiness that God desires? I feel like this holiness should be totally consuming, swallowing every inch of us up. Turning us upside down and letting loose the "Jesus freak" from within. But then there's these walls I've kept up. Walls I've maintained for the sake of society, my goals, my pleasure...they keep God's kind of holiness in a neat, orderly container that is easily managed. I get just enough dosage to leave me feeling Christian enough. It doesn't overwhelm my conscience too much, nor inhibits my fun. What happens if I take them down?


A radical life that reeks of Jesus Christ.


"As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves..." I Peter 1:14-15


I'm realizing I know very little about this holiness...



Friday, June 3, 2011

Children in poverty. Hurting families. Limited access to resources. These components of our world today are burdening my heart and haunting my thoughts. So many needs...

So much is swirling around in my mind, but words aren't coming easily to me. My heart is breaking for...

...those children that are abandoned. Will they know what love is?

...the families that are barely keeping things going. Will the next meal be their last?

...that little boy or girl that all he or she knows is violence, drugs, lies, hurt and poverty. Do they know there's a way out?

...that loving couple that all they want is a little one but are struggling to find the funds to adopt. Where will the money come from?

...that child who has no idea that his Creator loves him. Will he know before it's too late?

My life has been impacted by the stories I read. The pictures I've seen. They're REAL....and not that far away. The main question I keep reverting to is "how can I help? what can I do?"

My search has left me overwhelmed by the options, and encouraged that there are many others who are wanting nothing more than to impact a life. Just one life with the Truth.

I spent Wednesday evening with a close friend, looking through pictures of her recent trip to Ethiopia with Compassion International. While talking to my mom during my lunch break yesterday, she suggested I take a peek at Chatting at the Sky blog and Inspired to Action...my mother is so wise.

Through the Ordinary Hero blog I am daily reminded there are a million needs that have to be met.

And answering just one makes a world of difference.