Real Relationships:

I'm really honored and excited about the attention both these blog posts and my magazine articles are receiving lately.  Not surprisingly, topics having to do with relationships (marriage, dating, etc.) have been a huge hit.

There is something about relationships and connecting with others that hits the core of who we are as human beings.  Our God is one of love...and in order for love to exist, relationships must be present.  We are drawn to relationships, ultimately, because we are drawn to a God who made us to connect in such a way. 

With regard to relationships, my readers have bombarded my email inbox with questions and thoughts in response to the articles they have read both here on my blog and via Relevant Magazine.  Some of the stories you have shared and questions you have asked have both inspired, moved, and challenged me, and I want to expand on some of that feedback.

In light of this, I'm starting a relationship series called "Real Relationships".  For the next few months, my articles and posts will be commenting on some of my readers questions on relationships and I will be answering through the lens of my personal life and love, as well as my experience as a professional counselor.

If you're interested in taking part in this series and potentially having your question answered or thoughts shared, email me at debslessonslearned@gmail.com, with the title "Real Relationships" in the subject line, so I know that I have permission to share your thoughts or question.  All things shared will be anonymous, unless you specify in your email that you'd like to be mentioned.  Be sure to subscribe to my blog via email or follow me on Twitter (@DebFileta) to keep up with the latest thoughts and questions!

I'm excited to hear from you, and dig even deeper into some of these topics.  God has thought up a marvelous design for relationships, and hopefully through this series we can each align our lives and relationships a little more in tune with His plans. 

Snorting Scripture:

John 15:5
I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

This season of Lent has been an important time for me to learn to "remain" in Jesus.  Personally, I find that it's easy to make my way through life not realizing that I have pushed God into a little corner of my heart, going to visit Him during quiet times and Sunday mornings.

I forget the truth of this passage, the truth that I can do nothing apart from Him...until my life spins so out of control that I am desperate for God's hand to touch it.  I don't want to get to that point before I learn to turn my eyes to Jesus.  

A speaker that I heard yesterday said something that stuck with me.  She spoke of a dear friend who was going through some significant struggles in her life.  She asked her friend "How are you getting through this season in your life without going crazy?"  To which her friend simply replied: "I'm snorting scripture".

And she was.  It sounds kind of funny, but the reality is, if you're going to snort something....Scripture is the way to go.  Practically speaking, this woman was making sure to eat, breath, sleep, live God's word, because she knew it was the only way to remain in Him and allow His word to penetrate her life beyond her struggles.  She read throughout the day and when she didn't have the strength, she had others read it to her. 


This season of your life, whether struggle or victory, may God give you the motivation to soak up His presence and His Word.  May He give you the concentration to say no to distractions and say yes to Him.  May He give you the discipline to continually choose to remain in Him as you seek to find sanity and peace.
  
"Listen less to your own thoughts and more to God's thoughts."-- François Fénelon
 

It's a Party: Tribal Style (On Child like Faith)

Matthew 18:4-5

⁴ Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child—this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵ And whoever welcomes ^[a] one child like this in My name welcomes Me.

I had another post in mind for today, but something I saw today totally rocked my world and took the forefront of my thoughts today.  In light of Pastor John King's reflection yesterday, I felt that it was fitting to take today's reflection in this direction. 

You see, I saw a YouTube video this afternoon about missionary Mark Zook and his incredible ministry to the Mouk people of Papa New Guinea.  They were a tribe of men and women living in the jungles of Papa New Guinea, who had absolutely NO exposure to the Bible or it's message.

It's hard to even comprehend this truth, considering that I have six bibles sitting on my shelf, and unlimited access to God's word through the internet, ipod, bible software, etc.  

The Mouk people's reaction to God's word is breathtaking.  It is a child-like faith that ushers them into a place of sheer celebration- celebration like I have never seen before- when presented with the truth of God's word.  It's incredible...and it brought me to tears.   Tears of joy...and tears of shame. 

It's a shame that, we get so accustomed to God's word and His story that it really holds little value in our lives.  I mean, ask your self: When is the last time you celebrated the incredible realization of your salvation?  We are bored by it, uninterested, and apathetic toward the story that changed the destiny of all of mankind.   It's sad, when you think about it- that we could have so much at our fingertips yet still be looking past it...tempted by the material things of this world and the people in it. 

As you watch this video, may you dig deep to find the child-like faith within you...the faith that trusts, the faith that believes, the faith that rejoices with all that is within you at the feet of the Savior who came to this world to change your destiny and save your soul.  

May you learn from the simplicity and genuineness of the Mouk people, who had nothing- but gained everything in the simple acceptance of God's truth.  

Thank you, Jesus...for choosing us.  

 
 

On Falling In Love: Circumcision II

Matthew 22:37
Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'

John 14:15
"If you love me, you will obey what I command."

You might be wondering what in the world Falling in Love has to do with circumcision. Before you get carried away, let me try to explain.  A couple weeks ago I wrote a post about Freedom in Christ and commented on the topic of circumcision.  In that same post, I also discussed the tendency of Christians to become legalistic and rule-driven, rather than relationship-driven.  That post got some attention...and a desire from my readers to do a follow-up on the other end of that spectrum. 

And with these thoughts in mind, I am following up to that post out of fear of escorting readers to the other extreme of freedom.  You see, although I never want to come across as a legalistic, rule-based believer- at the end of the day I also not want to come across as a "do whatever the heck you want" kind of believer. 

So let me begin.  I typically don't pay much attention to Christian Radio.  Unless the song playing is by Hillsong United, I don't tend to give it too much thought.  But just the other day I was driving to work and this song caught my attention. 


Give me rules
I will break them
Give me lines
I will cross them
I need more than a truth to believe
I need a truth that lives, moves, and breathes
To sweep me off my feet
It ought to be

More like falling in love
Than something to believe in
More like losing my heart
Than giving my allegiance
Caught up, called out
Come take a look at me now
It's like I'm falling, oh
It's like I'm falling in love

Give me words
I'll misuse them
Obligations
I'll misplace them
'Cause all religion ever made of me
Was just a sinner with a stone tied to my feet
It never set me free
It's gotta be


There is something special about the words of this song by Jason Gray.  There is something special because it is emphasizing the importance of relationship.

And in my opinion, with relationship comes much bigger obligation than with rules.  Trust me, as a married woman, I know this to be a fact.  I have always viewed my the connection between relationship and responsibility in this fashion:

I love my husband.  And because I love him I do my best to do the things that he would appreciate.  I try to keep the house clean.  I bake him his favorite cookies.  I wash his clothes...and sometimes I even fold them.  I do these things and more because I am absolutely head over heels in love with him, and I want him to know this.  I have always thought about obedience to God's commands in this sense.  Purely, out of love.


Now, imagine if I came home from a long day of work to a list tacked on the wall of John's "Do's and Dont's".  Wash my clothes, iron my shirts, sweep the kitchen, weed the garden- and on and on and on.  In all honesty my first reaction would be: "REBEL!  Not doin' it.  No way, no how, no when.  Who does he think I am?"


The reaction would be entirely different...my heart would sink in following his rules rather than thrive in doing these things out of love.  In a sense, that miserable list would take away my joy.  And I guess, there lies the key in all that I am trying to say today: LOVE.  Relationship.  Rules and Responsibilities cannot stand apart from those things, or at the end of the day they are a "stone tied to my feet".  And nothing more.


It causes me to really examine my relationship with God....because the moment the relationship is weakened and is no longer watered by love (And believe it or not, it's only weakened because of me...God usually does his part to keep it strong, go figure) I sink into a dangerous path of do's and don'ts that take away my joy and cause the seed of rebellion to begin to take root in my heart.  It's a toxic seed.  A seed that can quickly seep into every part of my being. 


So at the end of the day, the law still has a part of the picture.  And a good part.  But for it to mean anything at all....it must be fueled by love.  It's more like Falling in Love than something to believe in. More like losing my heart, than giving my allegiance...It's like I'm falling in love.

I own six Bibles, but who really cares?: On Delighting in Gods Word

Psalm 1:2
But his delight is in the law of the Lord and on His law he meditates day and night...

I am re-reading one of the most incredible autobiographies ever written, called The Heavenly Man.  It is truly a remarkable story about a young Chinese man named Brother Yun, and his incredible journey of being used by God to spread Christianity and expand the Chinese underground church.

The first chapters of the book open with Brother Yun as a young child in his poverty stricken village.  As a new believer, he was desperate to own a bible, having never even seen a bible in his life as they were forbidden by the Chinese government.  For 100 days he fasted and prayed that God would give him a bible...and God miraculously granted his request [you'll have to read the book to find out how....it's incredible].

After Brother Yun got his bible, he spent every day from morning until evening completely devouring the words of God.  Having only received a third grade education, he read slowly, using a dictionary to help him along.  After he had gotten through the bible once, he decided he needed to memorize these powerful words, and began memorizing Gods word one chapter a day.

After 28 days, he had memorized Matthew chapters 1-28.  Shortly after, God called this young 16 year old boy to the villages of southern China to "preach".  Not even knowing what preaching was, he made his way to these villages, stood before hundreds of spiritually hungry Chinese men and women, and did what he knew how to do: recited the bible. 

It's amazing how many souls came to the Lord that year...hearing only God's words coming out of Brother Yun's mouth.  But even more amazing to me, is Brother Yun's passion for God's word.  His passion puts me to shame.

You see, I, like many other middle-class, American, Christians...own about 6 bibles.  I have a study bible made of leather, my name inscribed with gold.  I have a couples devotional bible, also inscribed with my name.  I have a pocket bible, to carry in my purse in case I am traveling.  I have an online bible, to use while on my laptop sipping on a Starbucks cup of coffee.  And that's just to name a few. 

I am sad to say it, but in my affluence and abundance I have lost something.  I have lost the passion for God's words.  The bible has become so common place in my life that I take it for granted day after day.   Don't get me wrong, I read my bible every day....but you see, that's just where my problem begins, I settle for that.

I check my daily bible reading off my list, find a little lesson....and move on to the next task. I have lost my passion.  I have lost the desire that cries out from the bottom of my heart to hear God's word, to be in His presence, to listen to His voice.  I no longer hunger and thirst after Him, desperate to hear what He has to say.  The sad thing is, I have lost something....maybe something I never had to begin with. 

It's disappointing when American Christians have so much on their minds that there is no room left for God's words.  Our minds are wasted with meaningless facts, song lyrics, sports statistics and random trivia.  And sadly, we make more and more room for these things while God's words slowly get's pushed back where it came from.  I don't want to settle for this kind of Christianity anymore.  I don't want to settle for six bibles and a lack of passion. 

I want to have a love for God's word that compels me to it day and night.  I want a desire so rich that I can't get it off my mind.  I want to delight in his laws with a delight that is rivaled by nothing else in my life. 

And to be honest, I suppose it begins with shutting off this little computer monitor, and getting into God's Word....so if you'll excuse me, it's time to get my priorities straight.