Supported by God

I am excited but waiting.

Excited because opportunities and open doors in my life have been abundant lately. Excited that my dreams are taking shape every day. Excited to see God working. But, I am waiting. Waiting because it’s not time. Waiting for the fruit to ripen. Waiting to see. Sometimes waiting because it is the wise choice, other times waiting when it’s not my choice at all. Learning to wait patiently even though I am scared.

I am scared but trusting.

Scared that the dreams and desires on my horizon will end up crashing down. Scared of my own failure. Scared of rejection or embarrassment. Scared that I’ll miss my chance. But, I am trusting. Trusting that God’s heart for me is good. Trusting in His loving-kindness that is everlasting. Trusting even though His ways are not mine. Trusting Him because I am weak.

I am weak but supported by God.

Weak because of my fear. Weak in the face of uncertainty. Weak when faced with my own immaturity. Weak under pressure. But, I am supported by God. Supported by His Holy Spirit empowering me. Supported in the Body of Christ which is the Church. Supported with mercy and with Grace. And because I am supported by God’s love for me, I AM EXCITED!

Left is Right and Right is Wrong

“Don’t you know that ‘Left is right and right is wrong.’?”

I’ve been getting that question a lot this week. I got my right ear pieced. Yes, I do know “right is wrong” and no, I am not coming out. Getting my right ear pierced is something that I’ve been thinking about doing for awhile. I finally did it. This is my explanation.

Originally, the only men who wore earrings were bond servants. In the Bible, in the Old Testament, when a person owned a slave, the slave was to serve him for six years and in the seventh year go free. But, when the seventh year came around it was not uncommon for a freed slave to voluntarily re-enter service to the master he loved. The master would take him to the doorpost and pierce his right ear with an awl and the slave would become his bond servant for life. Only a freed slave could become a bond servant and once he had entered that service, he could never be freed again, nor could he be sold into slavery to another master. (Exodus 21:2-7)

In the New Testament, early Christians called themselves bond servants of Christ. Bond service is a two way commitment. The freed slave chooses to commit his life to the service of his master and his master commits himself to the bond servant, never to release or sell him. (Galatians 1:10, Philippians 2:7, Colossians 1:7, 2 Timothy 2:24)

Jesus has committed Himself to us. With His own blood, He paid our debt and freed us from the slavery of sin. We are free to serve whomever we choose. I choose Jesus, the one who loves me and gave Himself for me. He has made a commitment to love me. I have made a commitment to serve only Him. So, I got my ear pierced as symbol to all that I am a servant by choice and can neither be bought or sold.

The Glory of God

I have been reading “Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places” this summer along with several other people from the chapel and from camp. The book is full of challenges. While reflecting on my reading of the book, I wrote the following journal entry;

Christ is not easy to follow. He promises life to the full, but it is not an extension of more of the things I want and admire. Full life is not in any way for my glory. but just the opposite. In order for the life and glory of God to increase in my life, I must become less. I must be willing to abandon myself, my glory and my lusts and ego, and follow Christ in death. This is difficult. Without faith in Christ, the son of God, it is impossible.

I have been challenged lately to realized that following Jesus is not glamorous or sucessful. That thought doesn’t sit comfortably for me. My humanity has a natural aversion to suffering. I want as much success as possible. A quick quote from the book that caught my attention;

The life of Jesus is not a happy story, not a success story. What it is… is a salvation story.

I am learning more and more that following God means denying self. No matter how moral or compassionate or virtuous self may be at times, we must lose our lives to find them. Another quote that caught my attention is;

The glory with which Jesus was glorified and the glory for which Jesus prayed for us is quite different from the kinds of glory that we are conditioned to want and admire. This glory is not conspicuous. It is not glamorous. It is not the glory that gets featured in glossy magazines or travel posters. It is not a glory noticed by fashion editors. It is not a glory that flatters our lusts and egos.

It is our natural tendency to use God for our own glory. But God’s glory is entirely other than our own. Time after time our behavior is deserving of Jesus words, “Get behind me Satan”, when we try to make Jesus about our own agendas and our own success instead of God’s.

Summer Camp

I am preparing to be a camp counselor at Summer’s Best Two Weeks this summer. I am hoping for a summer full of opportunities to invest in the lives of others, and at the same time I am expecting God to do huge things in my own life. This summer my heart will be stretched, and with His grace, continue to grow towards God. I am asking my friends at home to pray for me, that God will work through me, and despite me, that He may be glorified. This is more than a “prayer request”. I am asking you to extend your hearts in prayer with me in all that this summer holds. This blog post serves to let the majority of people know about my plans for the summer, but I am hoping to share my hopes for this summer with many of you on an individual basis, so that as this summer approaches, and into camp, I can share with you how I experience God working. So with that said, there are several aspects of ministry that the camp staff will be covering in prayer. I want to share with you a list that they have made as a reminder for anyone who will commit to praying for Summer’s Best Two Weeks.

• Campers
• Co-Counselors
• Health and Safety
• Bible Studies
• Personal Growth
• Summer Life Nights
• Unity
• Wilderness Trips
• Office Staff
• Leadership Team
• Families
• Salvation
• Activities
• Orientation and Training
• Competitions
• Testimonies
• Coaches
• Nurses
• Weather
• Captains
• Meets
• Cabin Campfires
• Cooks
• Messages
• Programs
• Life Change
• Worship
• Work Crew
• Surprise Night
• Maintenance Staff

Easing Racial Anxieties

There has been a lot of talk about the issue of race in the presidential campaigns, especially after Obama’s recent speech on race in Philadelphia (video). Race relationships are a complicated issue today. A new study from Northwestern University suggests that many people feel anxious during interracial interactions whether race is mentioned or not. Although the study was only conducted with 15 white college students, I feel that I can identify with the conclusion that “standards to create a diverse yet harmonious society may unwittingly be encouraging anxious responses toward blacks.” I am a firm believer that all people are equal, yet living in a very diverse neighborhood I experience anxiety in my every day life. I tend to avoid a lot of interracial interactions for fear of “acting wrong” and being interpreted as a racist. The study points to the fact that our communities “need to start thinking about creating opportunities to undermine anxieties about [interracial interactions]“. According to the study, something as simple as a smile can instantly ease anxieties. I have experienced for myself a smile or a “hello” that has eliminated very tense situations of passing strangers on the street. After reading this article I have decided to face my anxieties head-on with a smile or a friendly gesture instead of avoiding the situation altogether. Like the community around me, I have a long way to go in developing perfect relationships with people that are different than myself, but I am making progress, and I encourage you to join me.

Evangelicalism to Get its Own Pope

According to Hope Waves on the Shore of My Soul voting for the new Evangelical Pope (or ePope) is underway.  Hit up the link which I found through thinkchristian.net to read more details. Here are a few bits from Hope Waves…

    “Exactly one year ago, frustrated evangelical leaders joined together to brainstorm ways in which to tackle the problems of divisions they have been facing in their churches. The solution?”

    “A heavy dose of rigid church hierarchy. Most notably the appointment of what’s being dubbed the ePope.”

   “Spiritual guide Joel Osteen had this to say, ‘I just wish people could get along. There’s so much positivity the church could be getting out there if we could just put on a happy smile, join hands, and pass the collection plate.’”

    “Front runners for the ePope include Saddleback’s Rick Warren, Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. and—as a cursory nod to the past—Billy Graham. There was also mention of Shane Claibourne but it was met with derisive laughter and a few concerned shouting, ‘That sissy would make us give away our money!’”

Rob Bell was not invited to attend.

Do you think this shows signs of growth for the Evangelical movement? Thoughts?

Am I So Foolish?

Tonight I read Galatians with some friends. It was a good time, and I gained a lot of insight.

The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”  -Galatians 3:8

I never realized before that Abraham was saved by the same gospel that Christians claim. This week I have been challenged to remember that I am saved by faith, and not by my own efforts.

Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?  -Galatians 3:3

This time last year was a turning point in my life, which I owe completely to God’s Spirit at work in me. Am I so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, I have been trying to attain my goals, and become a good person by my own effort. God is reminding me of my total reliance on Him.

No Religion

Last night at church was the first night in a long time that I haven’t felt completely preoccupied during worship. The last couple weeks I haven’t been able to focus myself on anything other than the things going on in my head, and worship has felt more or less empty. The feelings in my relationship with God aren’t always intense, or even apparent at all, and I’m ok with that. My relationship with God isn’t based on the feelings, rather the feelings are a result of the relationship. A fruit, not a foundation. But going any period of time without significant feelings can be somewhat discouraging, so it was refreshing to have a significant sense of God last night.

Paul Sartarelli’s sermon was about the openness of the church; What are the qualifications for being allowed in the church? He used the analogy of church doors. Are the doors to be wide open, or open only to an elite few? He talked about faith being the only basis for justification, “being allowed in the door”. Justification is not based on our works, or external qualifications by any means. He talked about Abraham, and how he “believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness“. Abraham had this righteousness simply by hearing God and listening. For fourteen years there was no covenant, no law, and no religion. This was to show that God provides justification by faith and faith alone. There is no religion for which God will credit us righteousness. The righteousness we receive from God is by faith alone, it is not achieved through observing Judaism or Christianity or any other religion. Abraham is known as the father of faith, not just for those of a particular flavor of religion, but for anyone who hears God and believes.

 I heard a quote once, “Abraham, Issac and Jacob had no religion, but all three had mighty encounters with a living God.”. I don’t remember where that quote is from, but I like the freedom from religion that it points to. Religion can get messy. People do dumb stuff to each other in the name of religion.  It is completely understandable that people want nothing to do with religion. That is why I find comfort in the way God dealt with Abraham. It is cliche to say, but God doesn’t want our religion, He wants our hearts. He wants us to listen to Him and believe.

Snow Day

I never remember seeing so much snow! I’m not sure what the official depth is, but I know that walking around the neighborhood today I was more than knee deep more than a few times. A group of us tried to go sledding. We tried driving there, but it wasn’t the best idea. After a couple of hours pushing the car around we managed to get into a parking deck. We walked up to the top of the deck to try sledding down the ramp, but it wasn’t quite steep enough, and the snow was too deep. We ended up walking back to an apartment and watching Boondock Saints.

After the movie, the snow was still coming down. I guess the city was on level three snow emergency or something like that, and it was illegal to drive, but for some reason people still thought it was a good idea. Walking back from the apartment to my house there were a few people who needed pushed out, one of which was my housemate who got stuck in the driveway. The rest of us decided not to try moving our cars.

Since driving was out of the question, our house decided to have a community meal. We threw together what food we had, and 10 of us had an awesome dinner of spaghetti, green beans, garlic bread, chicken and wine. Mmm… tasty!

I like how community is naturally so close together on these snowy days. The roads will probably be bad for quite awhile, so I may not get the community of meeting at church in the morning, but at least I get to share the community of my house and my friends that live in the neighborhood.

Using MyPyramid.gov For Healthier Eating

On my way into the Rec today I noticed some new posters from MyPyramid.gov with some pretty interesting nutrition facts on them. Since my usual plan for eating healthy is something like, “This looks healthy, I’ll eat it.” I decided to check out MyPyramid.gov to see if I could get a better idea of what I should be eating. The website has an incredible amount of resources, and it is very easy to use. If you just want to get an idea of what you should be eating, you can enter your age, gender, weight, height, and activity level to get a personalized nutrition pyramid. The site also offers MyPyramid Tracker, where you can keep track of what you eat to help you analyze your diet, and get recommendations for how to improve. My results were less healthy than I had expected, but I wasn’t suprised by the areas that need improvement.

Like my mom always used to tell me, “Eat your fruits and veggies!”