What's the Point of Unused Freedom?: On Egypt, Freedom, and God's Grace

Matthew 5:11
God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers.

Many of you have heard about the tragic events and injustice that has recently happened in the country of Egypt, a country very close to my heart.  October 10th brought devastation to Christian Egyptians as they were attacked during a peaceful protest, in defense of a church that was recklessly burned down prior to this protest.

Though injustice like this occurs every day around the world, and Christian persecution is a common part of many cultures- this tragedy rings even closer to my heart because in the back of my mind I always remember that this could have been me. 

I'm thankful that God willed for my parents to immigrate to the States long before I was conceived.  I had the privilege to be born into freedom and religious rights never imagined by my parents and grandparents.

When I hear about this tragedy, I'm reminded of the freedom that I fail to take advantage of...a freedom that get's taken for granted nearly every day.  My purpose is not to write a post about my American blessings...because though I am blessed to live in a country that offers freedom- I owe every bit of that to the grace of God.

My purpose, though, is deeper than merely giving thanks for freedom.  Because at the end of the day, what is freedom if it is not used?  Why would a chained prisoner rejoice just because he has the key to his chains- if he doesn't have the strength to throw off those chains and be free?

Sometimes I feel like that prisoner.  Given all the freedom I could ever need...and no motivation to use it.

My prayers are weak.  My worship is lacking.  My intimacy with God is limited...not by persecution (that would be an honor), but by the chains of laziness, busyness, and arrogance. 

I forget how much I need Him, and I forget how much He wants me.

It's sad that it takes the death of brothers and sisters in Christ to remind me to take hold of the freedom that I have to worship.  May it never be so again.  

Steve Jobs and the Image of God:

Genesis 1:27
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Wednesday, October 5th, Steve Jobs-  founder of Apple, said goodbye to this world and journeyed into the next.  It's always a sobering reminder when someone dies, bringing into awareness the reality that this life is not all there is.

But what was even more devastating to me about the death of this man?  The reaction of our society.

With regard to his death I heard someone say, "It's a shame...now who is going to come up with the next iphone?"

As flippant as that comment was, I think it's a sad reflection of our society and it's priorities.  We have grown so accustomed to seeing people for what they have to offer rather than who they are.  We interact with people around us as though they were a commodity, making sure to tap into the resources they have available.

Brains, beauty, wealth.  Business, advice, help. 

In the interpersonal communications class I teach, there was a section in the text devoted to "networking" and the principle of making sure to see everyone we come into contact with as a potential person with whom we can "network".

Really?  Is this all that our humanity has boiled down to?

The answer is yes.

I don't know about you, but I want to do my best to fight this vicious paradigm.  I want to be a person who fights the temptation to treat the world around me as a commodity, but rather, see each individual as one who bears the image of God- highly loved, highly valued, highly honored- simply because of their Creator.

What Could Have Been:

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

I've had the honor of meeting some really incredible men and women over the course of the past few weeks who have really reminded me why I am a follower of Christ.  

Men and women who's lives have been radically changed from darkness into light, from dysfunction into healing, from brokenness into new hope.


It never ceases to amaze me when I hear their stories.  The chains of addictions wrapped around their lives.  Addiction to drugs, sex, relationships.  Addiction to approval, alcohol, and material things.  Broken hearts, destitute spirits, and hopeless futures.  It's amazing to hear the incredible stories of how God took their hurts and their shame...and brought them into something new.

The old has gone, the new has come. 

It reminds me of the power of the love of God through Jesus.  It reminds me of the hope to which I cling.  It reminds me that there is some real power behind the Spirit that is living inside of my heart. 

But it also saddens me.  

I'm saddened because at times, I take my story so lightly.

Sometimes I forget what a privilege it is to be living in the "new".  I've been in relationship with Jesus for most of my adult life.  Having made that choice, and accepting that gift, I've been doing my best to live a life guided my God's Spirit at work in me.  Offering me hope, freedom, and joy ever since.

There is something incredible about that.  There is something incredible to think of who I am today and imagine what could have been if Jesus had not captured my heart. 


My story should cause me to celebrate every day at what should have been...but isn't. 

Thank you Jesus that you enter my present each and every single day, and that you rescue my future. 

The old has gone, the new has come.  May we never take that lightly. 

I Heart Me: Loving Yourself

 

Mark 12:31

Love your neighbor as yourself.

From the beginning of time there has been a deficit of love in our world.  There has been a deficit of how man loves his God.  There has been a deficit of how man loves one another.  And there has also been a deficit of how man loves himself. 

For this reason, these five words hold such powerful insight into the human psyche.  The more I learn about the discipline of psychology, the more I am amazed with how well God knows His people.  There is proof of that knowledge within these words. 

The beauty of this verse is that with two words God is relaying a foundational truth that many times goes ignored: “As Yourself”.  You cannot love others, until you have learned to love yourself.  I meet so many Christians who struggle continually with this concept.  I meet Christians who have wrestled with the concept of loving themselves because their lives have been filled with self-denial, self-hatred and self-loathing.  Christians who have never been taught to love themselves.  Christians who mistakenly thought they had found some solace in the words of the Bible that taught them to deny their self, to put others before them, and to consider their selves as nothing.  There is tragedy in this type of degradation. 

This type of “denial” is a dangerous misconception.  Masking self-loathing with self-denial is a dangerous road.  Confusing humility with a lack of self worth causes more harm than good.  We are called to love ourselves, to enjoy how God has made us, to delight in our uniqueness, our value, and our worth.  God delights in us, and we also are to delight in who He has created us to be.  We are to love ourselves. 

You see, God is not calling us to deny who he has made us to be, but rather, who He has not made us to be.  To deny our sinful nature with its temptations and its downfalls.  To deny our selfishness and our stubbornness.  To deny our lust, our pride, our idolatry.  To deny the things that separate us from God.  And only those things.

Christians, we are called to love ourselves- just as God loves us.  We are called to delight in ourselves as He delights in us.  And when we do, we will find that gates to loving others have never been so easy to walk through.  We will find that loving others becomes so real, so genuine, and so complete.  We will find that in that beautiful exchange of love between our self and our God, we find the strength and motivation to exchange that same love with our neighbors. 

Lord, give us the ability to love ourselves as you love us- in order that we may then learn how to truly love others. 

Life Happens: Simple Birthday Thoughts

Romans 14:8
If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
--CT Studd

In just a couple hours the clock will strike and it will be September 18th...the day I was born. 

As a child, birthday were always a joyful time.  Looking forward to a day to celebrating ME.  I'm sure you can relate.  For most children, birthdays hold special memories, a time when all the world around you stops to put the spotlight on you. 

As I get older, birthdays hold a different, more profound meaning for me.  Slowly, God is showing me the greater joy that comes from taking the spotlight off of me and placing it on Him.  Let me explain.   

As this day approaches, I realize that another year of my life has passed.  In college, our chancellor never allowed us to forget the reality check by CT Studd, reminding us that life was short.  That phrase sticks with me, and is especially ringing loud in my mind today.  Another year has passed...not that it's any surprise, but the reality that life is short is beginning to sink in- in a serious way.  

You see, Life happens...whether or not you are living it.  Today I am struck with the challenge to live my life, and to live it well.  For me, living it well means nothing less than a life devoted to a God who devoted His life to me. 

And yes, that may sound so selfless and sacrificial, but you know what- it's not.  When you really dig deep you realize that life does not get more fulfilling, purposeful, and abundant until you are truly living it for Him.  Like John Piper says, there is something hedonistic about that kind of sacrifice.  


In seeking to live a life for Christ, I am ultimately choosing to live my life in the most fulfilled way possible.  I am choosing to live a life in which true joys are to be found.  To me, there's nothing much sacrificial about that.  Because at the end of the day (and of life) what I am gaining, makes what I am giving seem entirely meaningless...compared to knowing Jesus and finding myself in Him.    

So, these are my simple thoughts as my birthday approaches...I want to remember to live. 

To live a life the honors Jesus, to live a life that magnifies Him, and to live a life aligned ever so closely to His will...His good, pleasing, and perfect will. 

Life happens.  Are you truly living? 

Hurricanes, Earthquakes, Fires and Floods:

Psalm 31:15
My times are in your hand...

The past 30 days has been quite an adventure, to say the least.  Natural disasters have showed their face all across the country at large and showed us humans who is boss.

It's a little intimidating at times, when nature takes an unexpected turn.  It's even more intimidating when that turn is closer to home.

Through the recent disaster's we have been facing in Central Pennsylvania there has been much tragedy.  This morning I heard a story of a friend of a friend, whose life was taken through the past days of disaster. 

It's heart-breaking taking in the details.  I'm sure that just a couple days ago this man was not thinking of his death...who is?  Who of us wakes up in the morning and wonders if today will be their last?  We don't realize that the end is near until it has found us...

For a moment, the stories of tragedy caused me to give in to some panic.  The reality is that you just never know.  You never know what day will be your last, or worse, the last for those you love.  Life is a difficult journey, with the giving of breath and the taking away.  When faced with the lack of control I really have in all of these things, I found myself with a storm of anxiety building inside my heart.

And then I realized something: God's not surprised by tragedy.

From the moment we take our first breath, the path before us is set.  Whether it's a road that we walk for 3 months, 45 years, or through the ripe age of 92...we each have our journey set before us.  A journey filled sometimes with joy, filled sometimes with pain, but one that is always filled with purpose.  Whether short, or long...foreseen or sudden, there will be a day that we will all come to the end of our road. 

For me, I find comfort in the fact that my journey is not my own.  My time here on earth is completely and entirely in the hands of a God who loves me and the ones I love.  My life is in his hands.

To make the most of this journey, there is no room for anxiety and panic...there is no time to waste thinking of the end.  There is only time to live, to love, to be present.  There is only time to hope, to heal, and to be available. 

Make the most of yours. 
 

 

For All the Stay At Home Moms- Or anyone who sometimes feels like they're under House Arrest :)

Acts 28:30-31
³⁰ For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. ³¹ He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance! 

In reading Acts a few months ago I came across a verse that totally rocked my world and changed my perspective in a huge way.  You see, I'm a stay at home mom, for the most part.  This new chapter of my life came pretty abruptly, as does the birth of a new child.  Suddenly, your entire world is filled with change and just when you thought you were getting the hang of life you realize that you are back to square one.

Talk about a rude awakening.  In fact, it's an awakening that occurs every hour of the day...and even every hour of the long, sleepless first few months:)

Being a new mom comes with so many changes and adjustments...but being a stay-at-home mom is a whole-nother-level of change.  Not only does your entire world change, now revolving around this tiny human being...but so does your entire occupation.

I don't think anyone can really appreciate what that actually means unless they have gone through it.  All of a sudden the area in which you are an expert no longer seems to exist- and you are thrown into a new job with new rules, a new boss (mine was 7 lbs- but still demanding), a new location...and no orientation to get you accustomed.

The demands of being a mom are never ending (but, oh...so are the sweet, sweet joys). 

But I know for me, there have been many days in which I wondered how God was going to use me in this new phase of life.  No more adventure-filled mission trips to Africa.  No more visiting the projects and going door to door meeting some of the sweetest people I will ever know.  No more spending months in 3rd world countries, hours at an orphanage, or late night conversations with friends in need.

For some people, they might have the superpowers to accomplish all those things....but not for me.  The birth of my daughter brought many changes to my life.  It ushered me into a new season.

I have been on a journey of finding God's will for me in this season of my life.  Now, don't get me wrong, I think being a mom- and being a good one at that- is enough of a purpose for any hard working mom.  But for me, I had entered a season in which I felt that there was more.  My soul was thirsty for more.

And then, I stumbled across this incredible, incredible passage. 

I've read the stories of Paul's journey's in bringing the gospel to the world plenty of times.  But never did I really grasp the fact that two years of his most significant ministries was spent in the city of Rome, under house arrest after being ship wrecked.

For two years, Paul was not allowed to leave his home...but that didn't stop him from having significant impact on the kingdom of God and loving on the people around him.  For two years Paul proclaimed the name of Christ within the walls of his own home, accepting visitors, and welcoming friends into his home.  He encouraged them, loved on them, and shared with them the hope that he had in Jesus...

That clicked with me in a large way. 

You see, there are times that because of the demands of a baby and life as a mom that I, too, feel as though I'm under "house arrest".  Now granted, being a mom is nothing like prison.  It is a joy and a blessing to invest in our children and I wouldn't trade it for the world.  But as far as the flexibility, freedom, and spontaneity I used to possess...yeah...no such thing anymore. 

My world is limited by the sweet little child that God has blessed me with.  She is my world, and she comes first.  That said, as much as I would love to be "free" in living my life...nap times, bed times, and feeding times come first!


Talk about a sort of house arrest.  

But God opened my eyes in a huge way by showing me that just like Paul, I can be free to do God's work through my life no matter WHERE I am or what season of my life I am in.  I want to take that challenge and really live a life that reflects the love of Jesus to the world around me right within the walls of my own home. 

The past few months, just like Paul, I have made it my calling to really use my home as a place of ministry.  I have opened my home to friends for lunch, for prayer meetings, bible studies, coffee dates, play dates and dinner gatherings.  I have used this place as a way to share all that God has given me with the people around me, and to teach all that God is teaching me.  And in turn, God has opened my eyes to the people that really do need this kind of hospitality and love.  They're all over the place if you take the time to look for them. 

We can be used by God no matter where He has placed us....because He has placed us there for a purpose.  

My prayer for you is that God renews your passion for this specific season in your life.  Whether working a dead-end job, studying, a stay at home mom, career, or looking for a career...God has placed you in this season of life for a purpose.  Be open to what He has for you, be open to His calling on your life.  Because no one else can do what God has created you to do.  

Can I get an Amen?