eucharisteo

Life-filling gratitude...

154. Grand and wonderful reading for this new class

155. A sausage gravy and biscuit breakfast, bought for me by my BFIL

156. Nightsounds radio program by Bill Pierce on WEGS

157. The blessedness of freedom to vote for our country's leaders

158. The power of prayer

159. The mandate to "confront the powers of darkness fearlessly, with HIS authority" (D. Wilkerson)

Curious Meg, what big ears you have!

160. Dog being let out on accident, being found by HIS purpose

161. Rainy bands from the outskirts of Hurricane Isaac, and no more

162. Productive days at the school office

163. Finding what was lost

164. The smell of clean laundry (and having it to wear!)

165. Milk!

166. The robust political stimulation of the RNC in Tampa this week

167. Peace that passes all understanding

168. A lifetime of trust in a sovereign and loving God

169. Parents that educated us in the history of Christianity

170. A PLACE is being prepared for me in GLORY!


"Give thanks to the Lord! His Love Endures Forever!"

in deep

I sense, as I delve into my assigned reading for this class, that I am getting "in deep." This class is Regent's Making of the Christian Mind. And I am LOVING IT!!!

Before I get too many weeks into my studies, I want to post some of the things I am marking and/or highlighting in the many texts, papers, and articles I am required to read.

I counted, and this week alone I have almost 200 pages to read, plus 3 essays to write and a quiz to study for!!! Anyway, the workload is heavy, but so is the enrichment of my theology and spiritual life! :-)

My favorite so far has been Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.'s (cool name, huh?!?) book Engaging God's World. Plantinga served for a time as president at Calvin Theological Seminary, a Reformed bastion. He starts out the book with a dedication to Chuck Colson, one of my Dad's most beloved modern writers and apologists. I liked it already! ;-)

"Cool Quotes" from this book...

"The Holy Spirit authors all truth." (Calvin) Pg. x

"Well-instructed Christians try not to offend the Holy Spirit by scorning truth in non-Christian authors over whom the Holy Spirit has been brooding, but this does not mean that Christians can afford to read these authors uncritically (Calvin, in his Institutes). After all, a person's faith, even in idols, shapes most of what a person thinks and writes, and the Christian faith is in competition with other faiths for human hearts and minds." Pg. x

"Thoughtful Christians know that if we obey the Bible's great commandment to love God with our whole mind, as well as with everything else, then we will study the splendor of God's creation in the hope of grasping part of the ingenuity and grace that form it. One way to love God is to know and love God's work. Learning is therefore a spiritual calling; properly done, it attaches us to God. In addition, the learned person has, so to speak, more to be Christian with." Pg. xi

"Getting educated is an excellent way to prepare for service in the kingdom of God. It's not the only way, but it is an excellent way." Pg. xii

"Educated Christians therefore need to 'know their Bible' in order to lead a life that fits in with the purposes of God." Pg. xii

"Shalom- restoration of peace, justice, and harmony,; the coming of the kingdom." Pg. xii

"There is not a square inch on the whole plain of human existence over which Christ, who is Lord over all, does not proclaim: 'This is Mine!'" (Kuyper), Pg. xiii

"A holy life means a whole life." Pg. xiv

"Only the Holy Spirit can start Pentecost. On the Holy Spirit can blow across your bow (as in ship bow) strongly enough to turn you around for good, but your (Christian) college can help you hoist your sails." Pg. xvi

"Our final joy lies 'beyond the walls of the world.' (Tolkien)
Ultimate beauty comes not from a lover or a landscape or a home, but only through them. (C. S. Lewis) Pg 6

"Our 'inconsolable secret' is that we are full of yearnings, sometimes shy and sometimes passionate, that point us beyond the things of earth to the ultimate reality of God (Lewis, Weight of Glory) Pg 7

"Genuine hope always combines imagination, faith, and desire." Pg. 8

"Without the lens of Scripture to correct and enlarge our vision, we see the world with self-referential bias." Pg 10

"But the person who keeps her head up so that she can lookout toward the future of others- this is a person with some range to her hope. This is a person who has been enlarged by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:17)." Pg 12

"Without costly action, hope can soften into sentimentality. With costly action, hope may harden into reality." Pg. 14

thankful living

Eucharisteo in my life this week...

133. Pizza and swimming in the sunshine

134. Warm wet hugs and kisses from two precious toddlers

135. Finding an affordable replacement for Mom's worn-out blue rug (identical pattern/colors)

136. Craigslist finds, specifically a burn barrel and an identical replacement for Mom's worn-out blue rug

137. 50% clearance on two new Yankee candles

138. Cocacola fudge cake at Cracker Barrel

139. Fun and relaxation with Mom and sisters

140. The XXX Summer Olympics in London

141. USA gymnast Gabby Douglas' bold witness for the Lord

142. A cool house in the heat of summer

143. Sweet and deep sleep

144. Student loans to pay for online uni classes

145. Texts from across the world

146. The delicious smell of cinnamon struesel muffins

147. Green bell peppers, picked fresh

148. Energy and health to do housework

149. The grace to get what I need to get done, done

150. A Sunday day of rest! :-)

151. The sound of waves crashing on the beach at my feet

152. Making my mortgage payment once again this month

153. Being able to pay off another credit card! :-D


"Give thanks to the Lord! His Love Endures Forever!"

crazy love & mr. chan

I gave a friend a copy of Frances Chan's Crazy Love recently. Last summer, on a whim, I ordered my first audio-book and listened to Mr. C read his Crazy Love. This was tricky, since I am LARGELY a visual person and do NOT have much of an auditory modality at all. Mr. C boldly attacks several American ideologies that we hold dear, many "culturisms" that are not Scriptural and not in any way true. My "American sensibilities" were challenged as my mind reverted to some ideas that theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer had proposed during the '30-40s, ideas regarding the then current Christians' unbiblical thinking and practices. And Chan's premiss that our God is jealous over us, that He is relentless in His pursuit of us, is fascinating! Ideas that I know in my head, and I need to realize more fully in my heart.

Now said friend has asked me about my favorite part of Crazy Love.
Well, I have many favorite parts! :-D  Here are some of my fav excerpts from the first chapters.

Chapter 1:

"Our culture says anything goes; fear of God is almost iunheard of. We are slow to listen, quick to speak, and quick to become angry. The wise man comes to God without saying a word and stands in awe of Him...Romans tells us that through creation, we see His 'invisible qualities' and 'divine nature.'"

"R. C. Sproul writes, 'Men are never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance, until they have constrasted themselves with the majesty of God.'"

"There is an epidemic of spiritual amnesia going around, and none of us is immune. No matter how many fascinating details we learn about God's creation, no matter how many pictures we see of His galaxies, and no matter how many sunsets we watch, we still forget."

"We are programmed to focus on what we don't have, bombarded multiple times throughout the daywith what we need to buy that will make us feel happier or sexier or more at peace. This disatisfaction transfers over to our thinking about God. We forget that we already have everything we need in Him."

"Isn't it a comfort to worship a God we cannot exaggerate?"

"Not being able to fully understand God is frustrating but it is ridiculous for us to think we have the right to limit God to something we are capable of comprehending. What a stunted, insignificant god that would be!"

"He knows our thoughts before we think them, our actions before we commit them, whether we are lying down or sitting or walking around. He knows who we are and what we are about. We cannot escape Him, even if we want to.When I grow weary of trying to be faithful to Him and want a break, it doesn't come as a surprise to God."

"God is the only Being who is good, and the standards are set by Him."

 "All the people of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him, 'What have you done?'" -Daniel 4:35

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Do not be anxious about anything." -Phil. 4:4, 6


Chapter 2:

"Worry implies that we don;'t quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what's happening in our lives.

Stress says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace toward others, or our tight grip of control.

Basically, these two behaviors communicate that it's okay to sin and not trust God because the stuff in my life is somehow exceptional. Both worry and stress reek of arrogance."

OUCH!!! This ^^ is like reading my bio! :-(
More to come...

great peace have those

"Great peace have those who love Your law, And nothing causes them to stumble." -Psalm 119:165

I am getting a really HARD lesson in this in recent days, going through some spiritually trying circumstances and trials that could very well rend my soul, if God were not my Rock.

I know that I have asked the Lord to let me learn my lessons well. We had a saying in our house when I was growing up, something to the effect that we'd be "going around the mountain" until we were neck deep in a trench of learning lessons. As I have grown more mature in my faith, this is more lie than truth. I want to learn my lessons, so I can move on to learn others- going from "strength to strength." The fact that I am going through this again and again means that there is something in me that resists it, in some way, and God wants to rend it from my heart.

It hurts, Lord! Help to me forgive and rest in Your peace. Help me not to stumble and harbor bitterness. Help me to love YOU enough to love those who seek to hurt me as a result.

"He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you. But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?"  -Micah 6:8

 "Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me." -Psalm 51:10

a day to fill the cracks

I have been needing a day off. A day to fill up the cracks in my faith.
Off from work, from family stress, from financial pressure, from life in general.
Sometimes I get too entrenched in it all.

So today is that day. Actually, a combo of yesterday morning and today that I have managed to eek out. A day just to soak and read the Word and pray and worship and let the Holy Spirit heal my soul and minister to my spirit.

Chris Sligh on Pandoa provides the backdrop.
My old Living Bible as the Meat.
My laptop as an apply conduit of God's Grace.

I'm reading 1 Thessalonians and more.
Verses that speak to this weary heart...

1:5  "For when we brought you the Good News, it was not just meaningless chatter to you; no, you listened with great interest. What we told you produced a POWERFUL EFFECT upon you, for the Holy Spirit gave you great and full assurance that what we said was true. And you know that our very lives were further proof to you of the truth of our message."

1:10  "And they speak of how you are looking forward to the return of God's Son from heaven-Jesus, whom God brought back to life- and He is our only Savior from God's terrible anger against sin."

2:4  "For we speak as messengers from God, trusted by Him to tell the truth; we change His message not one bit to suit the taste of those who hear it; for we serve God alone, who examines our hearts' deepest thoughts."

2:7-8  "But we were as gentle among you as a mother feeding and caring for her own dear children. We loved you dearly- so dearly that we gave you not only God's message, but our own lives too."

2:11-12  "We talked to you as a father to his own children...pleading with you, encouraging you and even demanding that your daily lives should not embarrass God, but bring joy to Him who invited you into His Kingdom to share His glory. And we will never stop thanking God for this: that when we preached to you, you didn't think of the words that we spoke as being just our own, but you accepted what we said as the very Word of God- which, of course, it was- and it changed your lives when you believed it."

2:18  "...but Satan stopped us."

2:19-20  "For what is it we live for, that gives us hope and joy and is our proud reward and crown? It is you! Yes, you will bring us much joy as we stand together before our Lord Jesus Christ when He comes back again. For you are our trophy and joy."

3:2-3  "I decided...to send Timothy...to visit you to strengthen your faith  and encourage you, and to keep you from becoming fainthearted in all the troubles you were going through. (But of course you know that such troubles are a part of God's plan for us Christians..)."

3: 10  "For night and day we pray on and on for you, asking God to let us see you again, to fill up any little cracks there may yet be in your faith."

3:12  "And may the Lord make your love to grow and overflow to each other and to everyone else, just as our love does toward you. This will result in your hearts being made strong, sinless, and holy by God our Father, so that you may stand before Him guiltless on that day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns with all those who belong to Him."

God heals and speaks through His Word!

the Word gives life!

"The Lord isn't really being slow about his promise to return, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to perish, so he is giving more time for everyone to repent." -2 Peter 3:9

I have been talking with Mom and Tricia about the intensity that we feel regarding the imminent return of Jesus. I personally wonder WHY THE HECK He has not come before now; the earth is in a sad state. But the Church is not purified and spotless. And I feel an urgency that The Church must repent and turn from our wicked ways so that God can do His work in our homes, churches, country, and world.

I think of own family member(s) and loved ones who have not accepted Christ as their Savior. They know about Him in their head, but do not believe and trust in His saving grace. 

His life has not affected their life in a momentous way.

I cringe to think of all the students I have taught, those with whom I did not aggressively witness to of His saving power. "I am 'Jesus with skin on.' People can see Jesus in me!" was my mantra for long long. Too ignorantly long. :-(

When Tricia's friend L died in February, we felt like God was kicking us in the pants to get us moving and to work. His work.

I think of missionaries on the foreign field. With good intentions they go out in the name of the Lord, but they end up living a life of colonization or occupation, neglecting to really reach out to everyone that their lives touch in the name of Christ. And then there are the few who are doing His work in His name, reaching a few or a multitude with the Gospel. The truth.

Desperate times demands desperate measures.

Taking into consideration cultural norms, we MUST see and feel and act on our Great Commission. Otherwise we are neglectful and worthless servants of the Most High God.

But what do we really KNOW about our God?

I challenge myself. And consequently I challenge you, my reader. Find out who God really is through His Word. We perish for lack of instruction. All the instruction that we need is located in one Book. One Book with one Author. And if we neglect it, we end up creating a god in our own image, according to what we think He is or should be. Very small and impotent indeed.

I know that this is aggravating and angering to Him.

"You can't just understand the Bible with your mind alone, your spirit must enter into it, because it is written for your spirit to understand."

"It's Author is the only writer in the universe in the universe who can possibly know the truth about any of of the subjects named (worthy to study)."

"Now if you can bring to this study a belief in the Book that we are to take up, you will be able to enter deeper into the things of which it tells. But if not, you will only see the things which are on the surface. I do not mean an intellectual belief that comes from being convinced that the Book is logically true; I mean a will to accept every statement the Book gives. If you can do that you will have a key that will unlock a great many secret and beautiful treasures of knowing and wisdom that have been placed there for only those who believe. And if you can do that honestly, I can promise you that the proof of its truth will later be shown to you."

~Grace Livingston Hill, in The Prodigal Girl

Have mercy on us, Lord! And teach us to hear and obey you!