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"No matter where I am, your teachings fill me with songs." - Psalm 119:54 (CEV)
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Meditations for Maundy Thursday
In the quietness of a darkened sanctuary,
Stained glass windows dim with fading light,
Candles burning near the altar,
Lights being turned out one by one,
I hear them reading the Story,
His words repeated,
His prayer right before He went to the garden -
He was praying for me.
For me -
The Pharisee plotting to have Him killed,
The Betrayer throwing away the best thing I've ever known with a kiss,
The So-Called Friend who swore to be faithful then denied three times.
He was praying for me.
In the darkness I repent,
Mourn my selfishness and His affliction,
Silently praise for this cleansing Sacrifice.
The last lights go out.
We leave in silence.
Music for this day:
(Louder here, but the video didn't quite go with my candle theme as well as this one did.)
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
"How Then Shall We Fight for Joy?"
Right now, a small group I'm part of is going through a really good book,
The Desiring God DVD Study Guide, based off the book Desiring God by John Piper,
Including some really awesome video recordings of a seminar Piper did.
This week's video was really good.
He answered the question "How then shall we fight for joy?".
As usual, his answer was amazing.
He gave the first six of what will apparently be fifteen points (last nine over here).
Considering what they were, I wanted to share them with you,
Along with the Scripture references I quickly jotted down that supported his argument:
(By "quickly jotted down", I mean I missed some and some of the ones I have might not be quite what he said - I am human, and I do make mistakes. A lot of them.)
- Realize that authentic joy in God is a gift (Galatians 5:22-23)
- Realize that joy must be fought for relentlessly (1 Timothy 6:12, 2 Corinthians 1:24)
- Resolve to attack all known sin in your life (Romans 8:13)
- Learn the secret of gutsy guilt - how to fight like a justified sinner (Micah 7:8-9) (I'd better explain this one: it means that we feel guilty about our sin, but we don't collapse because of it. We know that we are in a secure position because of the cross.)
- Realize that the battle is primarily a fight to see God for who he is (Psalm 34:8, 2 Corinthians 4:4-6, 2 Corinthians 3:18)
- Meditate on the Word of God day and night (Psalm 19:8, Jeremiah 15:16, John 15:11, Psalm 1:1-3)
I really liked a couple of them -
Really liked all of them, actually,
But a couple stuck out in particular.
Number one: "Realize that authentic joy in God is a gift."
Wow.
It's so true, isn't it?
I can try and try all I want to be joyful in God,
But the only way it ever happens is by His grace.
All my striving can't really bring me joy in Him,
Only His grace can.
On the other side of that,
If I never strive,
He never gives me joy.
He blesses those who seek Him,
He allows the seekers to find.
So joy is a gift,
A gracious gift, straight from God,
But I can't get it or hold onto it if I don't put forth some effort.
The one that really, really caught my attention, though, was number five.
Did you catch that, any of you who are counting with me?
"Realize that the battle is primarily a fight to see God for who he is."
The battle for joy and the battle to see God for who He is are intertwined.
More than that - they're inseparable.
I can't have joy in God
If I don't know who God is.
And more than knowing Him,
It's a fight to know Him,
A war to see Him for who He is.
Again, it takes effort.
Did you notice, too, how it said primarily?
Not only are the battle for joy and the battle to see God for who He is inseparable,
The battle for joy is primarily fought in the battle to see God for who He is,
Like killing two birds with one stone,
I can fight for joy in God
And fight to see God for who He is
At the same time,
And I can fight for joy a lot more effectively
When I am doing so by fighting to see God for who He is.
Isn't that cool?
It seems like a strange word to use, but the right one -
It's
so
cool
That God designed things this way.
He intentionally made it so that I could know Him and have joy in Him,
So that I could find joy in Him by knowing Him.
Isn't that incredible?
Isn't it something worth celebrating?
I kind of stumbled upon it myself, I guess -
Well, not really myself.
There was definitely a lot of guidance from God.
He led me to it,
This finding of joy in Him by knowing Him,
By His grace,
So He deserves the credit for this discovery that's changing me -
And the discovery is so much of why I'm counting.
I need to know who God is,
And knowing who God is
Brings
Me
Joy.
I am a Christian Hedonist,
(Or, at least, I'm striving to be one,)
And the fight for joy is one reason why I'm counting.
Reasons 482-587 this week:
He allows His people to hear His voice speak out of fire and survive (Deuteronomy 5:26) He is living (Deuteronomy 5:26) He wants His people's hearts to fear Him and keep His commands so that it might go well with them forever (Deuteronomy 5:29) He promises that it will go well with those who obey Him, and they will increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey (Deuteronomy 6:3) He is one (Deuteronomy 6:4) He is among His people (Deuteronomy 6:15) He destroys from the face of the land those who worship idols (Deuteronomy 6:14-15) He is not to be tested (Deuteronomy 6:16) He sends great and terrible signs and wonders (Deuteronomy 16:22) He commands His people to keep His decrees and fear Him, that they might prosper and be kept alive (Deuteronomy 16:24) He offers His people righteousness (Deuteronomy 16:25) He finds defective or flawed sacrifices detestable (Deuteronomy 17:1) He desires for evil to be purged (Deuteronomy 17:7) He knows what His people will ask for long before they ask (Deuteronomy 17:14-17) He wants His people to read His law that they may learn to revere Him and carefully follow His commands (Deuteronomy 17:18-19) He does not permit His people to practice sorcery or divination, nor listen to those who do (Deuteronomy 18:14) He raises up prophets from among His people (Deuteronomy 18:15) He commands that His prophets be listened to (Deuteronomy 18:15) He does what His people ask when He chooses to (Deuteronomy 18:15-19) He puts words into the mouth of His prophets (Deuteronomy 18:18) He calls into account those who do not listen to the words He speaks through His prophets (Deuteronomy 18:19) He demands the death of prophets who speak in His name what He has not commanded to be spoken, or who speak in the names of other gods (Deuteronomy 18:20) His messages take place and come true (Deuteronomy 18:21-22) He goes with His people to fight against their enemies and give His people victory (Deuteronomy 20:1-4) He commands that the land He gives not be desecrated (Deuteronomy 21:23) Anyone who is hung on a pole is under His curse (Deuteronomy 21:23) He turns curses into blessings (Deuteronomy 23:4-5) He moves about in His people's camp to protect them and deliver their enemies to them (Deuteronomy 23:14) He turns away from indecency (Deuteronomy 23:14) He demands that His people keep the vows they make to Him (Deuteronomy 23:21-23) He redeems (Deuteronomy 24:18) He detests anyone who deals dishonestly (Deuteronomy 25:16) He gives His people a land flowing with milk and honey (Deuteronomy 27:3) He detests those who make idols (Deuteronomy 25:15) He sets the nation that obeys Him high above all the nations of the earth (Deuteronomy 28:1) He blesses His people in the city and in the country (Deuteronomy 28:3) He blesses the fruit of His people's wombs (Deuteronomy 28:4) He blesses His people's crops (Deuteronomy 28:4) He blesses the young of His people's livestock (Deuteronomy 28:4) He blesses His people's baskets and kneading troughs (Deuteronomy 28:5) He blesses His people when they come in and when they go out (Deuteronomy 28:6) He grants that the enemies who rise up against His people be defeated (Deuteronomy 28:7) He blesses His people's barns (Deuteronomy 28:8) He blesses everything His people put their hands to (Deuteronomy 28:8) He establishes His people as His holy people, as He promised, if they keep His commands and walk in obedience to Him (Deuteronomy 28:9) He grants abundant prosperity to His people in the land He swore to give them, if they keep His commands (Deuteronomy 28:11) He opens the heavens to send rain in season and to bless all the works of His people's hands (Deuteronomy 28:12) He gives His people such abundance that they need not borrow (Deuteronomy 28:12) He makes His people the head, not the tail (Deuteronomy 28:13) He curses those who do not obey Him in the city and in the country (Deuteronomy 28:16) He curses the baskets and kneading troughs of those who do not obey Him (Deuteronomy 28:17) He curses the fruit of the wombs of those who do not obey Him (Deuteronomy 28:18) He curses the crops of the land of those who do not obey Him (Deuteronomy 28:18) He curses the young livestock of those who do not obey Him (Deuteronomy 28:18) He curses those who do not obey Him when they come in and when they go out (Deuteronomy 28:19) To those who do not obey Him, He sends curses, confusion, and rebuke in everything they put their hands to (Deuteronomy 28:20) Those who turn from Him and do not obey Him will be destroyed and will come to sudden ruin (Deuteronomy 28:20) He plagues those who turn from Him with diseases until He destroys them (Deuteronomy 28:21) He strikes those who turn from Him with all forms of disasters (Deuteronomy 28:22-68) His name is glorious and awesome (Deuteronomy 28:58) He is never willing to forgive those who persist in going their own way (Deuteronomy 29:19-20) His wrath and zeal burn against those who persist in going their own way (Deuteronomy 29:19-20) He curses those who persist in going their own way, and blots out their names from under heaven (Deuteronomy 29:19-20) He singles those who persist in going their own way out for disaster, according to all the curses of the covenant (Deuteronomy 29:19-21) His fierce anger burns against those who abandon His covenant (Deuteronomy 29:24-25) His anger burns against those who worship and bow down to gods they do not know, gods He does not give them (Deuteronomy 29:26-27) In furious anger and great wrath, He uproots those who abandon His covenant and worship idols and thrusts them into another land (Deuteronomy 29:24-28) The secret things belong to Him (Deuteronomy 29:29) He restores the fortunes on those who return to Him and obey Him with all their heart and soul (Deuteronomy 30:2-3) He has compassion on those who return to Him and obey Him (Deuteronomy 30:2-3) He gathers back the ones He scattered when they return to Him and obey Him (Deuteronomy 30:2-3) He gathers and brings back His people, even if they have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens (Deuteronomy 30:4) He circumcises the hearts of His people, that they may love Him with all their heart and soul, and live (Deuteronomy 30:6) He curses the enemies of His people, who hate and persecute them (Deuteronomy 30:8) He is life for His people (Deuteronomy 30:20) He never leaves or forsakes those who follow Him (Deuteronomy 31:6) He knows what His people will do before they do it (Deuteronomy 31:16) He reveals the future (Deuteronomy 31:16-18) He becomes angry with and forsakes those who forsake Him and break the covenant (Deuteronomy 31:16-17) He hides His face from those who forsake Him and break the covenant (Deuteronomy 31:16-17) He hides His face from His people because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods (Deuteronomy 31:18) He gives His people songs, as witnesses for Him against them (Deuteronomy 31:19) He tells His people to sing! (Deuteronomy 31;19) He gives His people a song as a reminder, a song that will not be forgotten (Deuteronomy 31:19-21) He knows what His people are disposed to do (Deuteronomy 31:21) He is great and worthy to be praised (Deuteronomy 32:3) He is the Rock (Deuteronomy 32:4) His works are perfect (Deuteronomy 32:4) All His ways are just (Deuteronomy 32:4) He does no wrong (Deuteronomy 32:4) He is upright and just (Deuteronomy 32:4) He is the Father of His people (Deuteronomy 32:6) He is the Creator – of everything (Deuteronomy 32:6) He made us and formed us (Deuteronomy 32:6) He gives the nations their inheritance (Deuteronomy 32:8) He divides all mankind (Deuteronomy 32:8) He sets up boundaries for the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel (Deuteronomy 32:8) His portion is in His people (Deuteronomy 32:9) Jacob is His allotted inheritance (Deuteronomy 32:9) He rescues and cares for His people (Deuteronomy 32:10) He guards His people as the apple of his eye (Deuteronomy 32:10) He catches (Deuteronomy 32:11) He carries (Deuteronomy 32:11) He alone leads His people (Deuteronomy 32:12) He nourishes His people (Deuteronomy 32:13-14) He is Savior (Deuteronomy 32:15)
Part 2 of "How Then Shall We Fight for Joy?"
Counting 10,000 Reasons to worship Him:
<a href="http://maryschieferstein.blogspot.com/search/label/10000%20Reasons" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitidrfBKBWTHSBiWyh3WMRKjHFgYKk-RxjYB9-uePQb1-uI3t3bjysPnR65zloJJ0LgTqhT5kW70Rk8VOC2utXFUWhGRPIxNCqzZ_9YQryYPMJdj2XpiX0oawLUiMnmxFOeMkmjk3IIA/s320/10000ReasonsButton.jpg" /></a>Fighting for joy together,
And Linking up at A Holy Experience today, trying to share the way God's been changing me through this. For more on how the 10,000 Reasons Challenge relates to sacrifice, read this post.
Also, please look at some of the other beautiful posts found at the bottom of this one. Maybe bless the author with a comment? It's a blessing to know that God has used your imperfect words to bless another.
Thank you for visiting.
God bless!
Labels:
10000 Reasons,
Joy,
Thoughts
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Imperfections
I've noticed that I have a tendency to make myself look perfect.
It's probably because I'm a perfectionist.
I want everyone to see me as absolutely flawless.
The problem is, I'm not.
I have endless flaws,
Planted so deep within me I can't get them out on my own,
And letting God weed them out is a slow and painful process.
I've noticed that I've been portraying the way this challenge is changing my life as perfect, too,
Talking only about the joy God has allowed me to find in Him through it,
Yet never speaking of the joyless moments I have also found along the way,
The many, many times I have regressed yet again to my former state.
I decided today would be a good time to give a small example of that.
The last two weeks have been absolutely crazy.
I've had no time to do anything,
Or, at least, I perceive myself to have no time to do anything.
("Perceive" because, somehow, in the midst of all this, I still have twenty minutes to cut my nails.
I mean, really? My nails? When I don't have any time? Really?
Anyway, I digress.)
That leads to the typical patterns that pop up in my life
When I'm buried in homework
Or unable to get alone time:
I make just as much time for God as I feel obligated to,
Yet never as much time as I need to.
I forget who God is
And my love turns to utter apathy.
I cease to care
And cease to care that I don't care.
And it
Drives
Me
Nuts
That I do this
Over
And over
And over again.
Usually it only lasts a couple of days.
This time it lasted around two weeks.
I essentially forgot who God was
For two weeks.
Now, here's where the challenge comes in.
The whole two weeks, I'd been counting
But I'd found no joy in God.
Just because I'm counting doesn't mean I really care,
As it can easily become a duty and an obligation.
Just because I'm counting doesn't mean I have a good relationship with God,
Because I am very good at having tons of head knowledge yet a stone-cold heart.
Just because I'm counting doesn't mean I'm finding joy in God,
Because I have a great ability to read words yet have them mean nothing to me.
I am a sinful, fallen creature.
I am perfectly capable of screwing up completely on a daily basis,
And I do.
Every day.
Again, that shows my utter dependence on His mercy and grace.
I
Can't
Do
Anything
Right,
At least not apart from Him.
Nothing.
So, the counting?
It's just a tool.
If He's using it to bring my heart closer to Him,
If my heart is responsive to that,
He can do amazing things with that tool.
If I am ignoring Him in my pride and arrogance,
If my heart is cold and lifeless,
And that tool doesn't work anymore,
That is not the tool's fault,
That is not God's fault,
It is my fault for failing to seek after Him as I ought,
Failing to love Him as I ought.
So, is the challenge good?
In a way, yes, as it was formed with the intention of helping me to know God more.
In another way, no, because it is imperfect, inspired by God's tiny nudges, yet brought into full formation by my weak and imperfect mind.
It is God who is Good,
God who is Perfect,
God who is Faithful
In drawing us unto Himself,
God who chooses to use imperfect tools
To bring His people back to Him.
And I've seen that this week, too,
Where, in my emptiness, in my apathy,
And in my brokenness over the lifeless state of my heart
He has brought the cure,
Brought it through a worship leader on the stage shouting out God's character,
Brought it through leading me to exactly what I needed to hear,
Brought it through blessing the time I finally made to just be with Him,
And the cure is this:
Seeing Him for who He is,
Loving Him,
And worshiping Him.
And, really, that was the whole point of the challenge.
When I go back to the ways that He, through this challenge, taught me to see Him,
Taught me to seek Him,
Taught me to love Him,
Taught me to worship Him,
I find Him,
And in Him I find joy,
And I keep counting
And I never want to stop.
Never.
Counting numbers 374-481 this week (I met my goal, and I'm still counting!):
He causes staffs to not only sprout, but bud, blossom, and produce almonds (Numbers 17:1-8) He is the share and inheritance of those He chooses (Numbers 18:20) He promises to bring water from rock when those He chooses speak to it (Numbers 20:8) He punishes those who do not trust Him (Numbers 20:8-12) He punishes those who do not honor Him as holy (Numbers 20:8-12) He proves Himself Holy, in spite of what people do (Numbers 20:8-13) He hears those who cry out and sends angels to rescue them (Numbers 20:15-16) People die exactly when He says they will (Numbers 20:23-29) He gives people up to be destroyed by those who plead for the privilege (Numbers 21:2-3) He sends venomous snakes among those who speak against Him (Numbers 21:4-6) He listens to prayer (Numbers 21:7-8) He provides a way for those dying to live (Numbers 21:7-9) He gives water (Numbers 21:16-18) He tells people not to fear . . . and gives a reason (Numbers 21:34) He delivers kings along with their armies and lands into the hands of His people (Numbers 21:33-35) He protects those He blesses (Numbers 22:10-13) He tells people what to do (Numbers 22:20) He opens the mouths of donkeys (Numbers 22:28) He opens the eyes of people (Numbers 22:31) He allows people to see the unseen (Numbers 22:31) He sends His angels to oppose those whose paths are reckless before Him (Numbers 22:32) He gives words (Numbers 22:5) He is not human (Numbers 23:19) He does not lie (Numbers 23:19) He is not a human being (Numbers 23:19) He does not change His mind (Nubmers 23:19) He commands to bless (Numbers 23:20) His blessings cannot be changed (Numbers 23:20) His shout is among His people (Numbers 23:21) He gives His people the strength of a wild ox (Numbers 23:22) He does things so amazing that others say, “See what God has done!” (Numbers 23:23) He allows people to see clearly (Numbers 24:3) He allows people to hear His words (Numbers 24:4) He allows people to receive visions from Him (Numbers 24:4) He gives people knowledge from the Most High (Numbers 24:16) He is the Most High (Numbers 24:16) He opens the eyes of those who fall prostrate (Numbers 24:16) He crushes foreheads and skulls (Numbers 24:17) He conquers peoples (Numbers 24:18) He causes His people to grow strong (Numbers 24:18) He is zealous for his honor among his people (Numbers 25:11) He sees those who are as zealous for His honor as He Himself (Numbers 25:11) His people's zeal for His honor convinces Him to turn away His anger (Numbers 25:11) He decides not to put an end to people in His zeal (Numbers 25:11) He makes a covenant of peace with those zealous for His honor (Numbers 25:11-12) He makes a covenant of lasting priesthood with the line of one who is zealous for His honor (Numbers 25:13) He counts zeal for His honor as atonement (Numbers 25:13) He instructs His people to treat other peoples as enemies (Numbers 25:16-17) He instructs His people to kill their enemies (Numbers 25:16-17) He gives instructions for allotting lands (Numbers 25:52-56) His words prove to be true (Numbers 26:65) He knows what is right (Numbers 27:7) He carries out His promise to punish those who do not obey His commands to honor Him as Holy (Numbers 27:12-14) He gives breath to all living things (Numbers 27:16) He appoints leaders (Numbers 27:15-21) He instructs through people (Numbers 27:23) He commands people to take vengeance (Numbers 31:1-2) He subdues the land (Numbers 32:3-4) He honors and blesses those who follow Him wholeheartedly (Numbers 32:10-12) He commands that journeys be recorded (Numbers 33:2) He strikes down the firstborn children of His people's oppressors (Numbers 33:4) He commands His people to drive out the land's inhabitants (Numbers 33:51-52) He commands that carved images, cast idols, and high places be destroyed (Numbers 33:52) He gives His people land to possess (Numbers 33:53) He commands that people take possession of the land and settle in it (Numbers 33:53) He warns of what will happen if His commands are not obeyed (Numbers 33:55-56) He threatens (Numbers 33:55-56) He sets boundaries (Numbers 34:1-2) He commands that the land where His people live, the land where He dwells, not be defiled (Numbers 35:34) He increases the numbers of His people so that they are as numerous as the stars in the sky (Numbers 35:10) The land He gives is good (Deuteronomy 1:25) He fights for His people before their very eyes (Deuteronomy 1:30) He goes before His people (Deuteronomy 1:30) He carries His people (Deuteronomy 1:31) He carries His people as a father carries his son (Deuteronomy 1:31) He carries His people until they reach the place He wants them (Deuteronomy 1:31) He goes ahead of His people on their journey (Deuteronomy 1:33) He searches out places for His people to camp (Deuteronomy 1:33) He shows His people the way they should go (Deuteronomy 1:22) He gives the land He promised to those who follow Him wholeheartedly (Deuteronomy 1:36) He pays no attention to the weeping of those who have turned from Him (Deuteronomy 1:45) He turns a deaf ear to those who disobey Him (Deuteronomy 1:45) He blesses His people in the work of their hands (Deuteronomy 2:7) He watches over the journey of His people (Deuteronomy 2:7) He stays with His people for years (Deuteronomy 2:7) His people lack nothing (Deuteronomy 2:7) He gives His people all the towns He promised – not one is too strong for those He is with (Deuteronomy 2:36) He shows His servants hints of His greatness (Deuteronomy 3:24) He shows His servants hints of His strong hand (Deuteronomy 3:24) No other god in heaven or on earth can do works or deeds as mighty as His (Deuteronomy 3:24) He becomes very angry (Deuteronomy 3:26) He commands His people to speak about some matters (Deuteronomy 3:26) He destroys from among His people all who worship idols (Deuteronomy 4:3) He allows those who hold fast to Him to live (Deuteronomy 4:3-4) He is near His people when they pray to Him (Deuteronomy 4:7) He gives His people righteous decrees and laws (Deuteronomy 4:8) He makes His nation great (Deuteronomy 4:7-8) He wants His people to revere Him because He is worthy of reverence (Deuteronomy 4:10) He makes the mountain blaze with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness (Deuteronomy 4:11) He is a consuming fire, a jealous God (Deuteronomy 4:24) He can scatter the corrupt among the peoples, and only allow a few to survive (Deuteronomy 4:25-28) His people can find Him from any place, so long as they seek Him with all their heart and soul – He is always within reach (Deuteronomy 4:29) He is merciful and does not abandon or destroy His people (Deuteronomy 4:31) He does not forget the covenants He has made which He has confirmed by oath (Deuteronomy 4:31) He takes for Himself one nation out of another nation by testings, signs and wonders, war, a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and great and mighty deeds (Deuteronomy 4:34) He is God – besides Him there is no other (Deuteronomy 4:35) He makes His people hear His voice from heaven, that he may discipline them (Deuteronomy 4:36) He loves His people and rescues them by His Presence and great strength (Deuteronomy 4:37)
Counting 10,000 Reasons to worship Him:
<a href="http://maryschieferstein.blogspot.com/search/label/10000%20Reasons" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitidrfBKBWTHSBiWyh3WMRKjHFgYKk-RxjYB9-uePQb1-uI3t3bjysPnR65zloJJ0LgTqhT5kW70Rk8VOC2utXFUWhGRPIxNCqzZ_9YQryYPMJdj2XpiX0oawLUiMnmxFOeMkmjk3IIA/s320/10000ReasonsButton.jpg" /></a>Counting in community,
Also, linking up at A Holy Experience, walking with Him, sacrificing self and running back to the only One who's really worth it:
And if you have a minute to read some of the posts at the bottom of this one? Leave a comment? It's such a blessing!
Thank you for visiting.
God bless!
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