Lysa Terkeust

I wanted to put a direct link to this wonderful blog post - but couldn't. It's at Lysa's blog:

I was in the audience at a concert one night amazed by the size of the arena, the volume of the cheers and applause, and the excitement of being in this moment. At one point all eyes went to a ten year old little girl who was acknowledged by the singer and given the happy birthday wish of a lifetime.

As I sat there and thought about how exciting it must have been for that little girl to get the attention thousands others craved from this star, my mind wandered away from the concert.

I imagined Jesus standing up on that stage. I imagined the whole crowd fading away as He points his finger straight up to me. Little ol’ insignificant me, sitting in row 116, section R, seat 24. And then He speaks straight to me, “I love you Lysa and I have chosen you. Can we spend some time talking about this?”

I smiled. Then the reality of the concert brought real life crashing back. To the rock star the person sitting in row 116, section R, seat 24 is just another face in the crowd.

But to Jesus there is no such thing as just another face in the crowd. Somehow to God, we are all unique souls who He desires to call out, recognize and invite into a more intimate setting.

Unlike a human pop star, Jesus can give this kind of individual attention without excluding others. Every single person in the crowd could have their own individual encounter with Him. The only requirements are the desire to experience Him and the belief that it is possible. Sadly, very few people have either of these.

I know. I used to have the kind of relationship with God where I viewed Him as The One who makes sweeping glances over thousands of people per minute just to make sure no one was getting out of line. But the possibility to have God pause in the midst of everyday life to spend a little time with just me wasn’t in my scope of possibilities at all.

It almost seems a bit presumptuous to think God would want to notice me, choose me, call on me, and converse with me- doesn’t it?

Maybe the answer to this question is yes in human terms but not in Biblical terms.

In human terms the word “chosen,” sends my mind reeling back to playground kickball days. These were not some of my finer childhood memories.

“Chosen” was not at all a word I would have used to describe myself.

So, when I first heard that word in relation to God’s feelings toward me, I couldn’t process it. In human terms it did seem quite presumptuous to think that God would pause to pay attention to me. My earthly Daddy never did that. My kickball team mates certainly didn’t do that. It seemed quite upside down to think that a girl the world ignored and passed over would actually be handpicked, on purpose, by God.

The Bible is full of reassurances that this is exactly the way God wants us to process life.

Colossians 3: 12 says, “Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

Psalm 25:12 says, “Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD ? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.”

And John 15:19 says, “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.”

I am a chosen person, with a chosen way, who has been handpicked by God on purpose to live a chosen life set apart in this world. But please don’t mistake this as an exclusive country club type membership. No, this is the truth that every person can stand on no matter their race, background, or their past. If you proclaim Jesus Christ, son of God, as your Lord and Savior, this is your chosen reality.

The problem is we have been trained to process life based on the way we feel. We think we must feel love for love to exist. We think we must feel wanted for it to be true that we are chosen. We think we must feel God’s presence for Him to really be close. But God never meant for us to feel our way to Him.

God wants us to stand on the absolute truth that He is with us no matter how our feelings may try and betray that reality. When I process life through my feelings I am left deceived and disillusioned. When I process life through God’s truth I am divinely comforted by His love and made confident in His calling on my life.

So, back to that concert when Jesus gave me the visual of Him calling out to me- choosing me, I learned something profound that night.

God made each of us with a vulnerable place inside our souls to be wanted, loved, and chosen above all others. I think that’s what ultimately drives people on both sides of an arena filled stage. The one on the stage is looking to have this vulnerable placed filled by the screaming crowd. The screaming crowd somehow thinks this famous person has it all figured out so if they can just get close maybe some of that fulfillment will rub off on them.

All the while Jesus stands off to the side and wonders if anyone realizes He’s the One our souls long for… not the fame… not the attention of the famous… and not the millions of other things we’ll spend our lives thinking we must have.

The answer to our deepest desires is not the seemingly perfect life… not the most romantic husband…not the smartest and most well behaved kids… not the bigger house… not the better job… not the awards and recognition of man and not in trying to feel our way to God.

It’s making the choice to recognize that God is close. Whether we’re at a concert, on a playground in the middle of a sorry kickball game, or sitting in a chair in our den- God is there. Loving. Assuring. Teaching. Calling. Choosing to spend time with us.

Becoming more than a good Bible Study Girl means never settling for needing to feel our way to God or to simply limit our experience of Him to those few minutes we call our quiet time.

It’s being able to sit in the noise of the arena of life with every worldly distraction imaginable bombarding you and suddenly thinking of Him- talking with Him- smiling with Him- and realizing every longing I’ve ever had in life to be more than just the girl in row 116, section R, seat 24 is already filled. By Him. The One who sees me as chosen.

Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges

The first book I ever studied in a small group was ‘Pursuit of Holiness’ by Jerry Bridges – a gem of a book which I still have. Respectable Sins is an admirable companion.

Immensely readable, the truths contained in it are both easy to grasp and difficult to implement. We are all guilty of sinning but, as Bridges says, we excuse ourselves. This book challenges that attitude: any sin, however, small, is anathema to God and we would do well to develop ‘zero tolerance’ towards the ‘little’ misdemeanours. Sins such as anger, pride, self-righteousness and sins of the tongue are all familiar to us and are sin even when present to a very minor degree. Add to the list ungodliness, anxiety, frustration, discontentment, unthankfulness, an independent spirit, selfishness, inconsiderateness, lack of self-control, judgmentalism, envy, jealousy and worldliness – there is no area of our lives where, if we are honest with ourselves, we can claim to be ‘sin-free’.

Such a long list might seem disheartening, but Jerry Bridges offers encouraging advice, practical help and real stories which give the reader confidence in defeating sin. An accompanying discussion guide, suitable for both personal and group study, is a useful tool for practical action.

Read the book slowly, pausing to examine your life in the light of each chapter. Life-changing.

Memo to self

Hmmm:

1. Sermon at Church on the Rock yesterday: Moses turned aside to look at the burning bush which was not burning, then God spoke to him.

2. Today, reading Nick and Catherine Drayson's blog, a mention of the burning bush. They quote this poem by r.s.thomas, in the context of inspiration for extending God's kingdom:
“I have seen the sun break through
to illuminate a small field
for a while, and gone my way
and forgotten it.
But that was the pearl
of great price, the one field that had
the treasure in it. I realize now
that I must give all that I have
to posess it.
Life is not hurrying
on to a receding future,
nor hankering after
an imagined past.
It is the turning
aside like Moses to the miracle
of the lit bush, to a brightness
that seemed as transitory
as your youth
once,
but is the eternity that
awaits you.”

[The Bright Field]

3. This was an Aargh! moment. Reading a blog I came across quite randomly - you know how you click on a blog, then click on another blog mentioned on that blog, etc etc - I found this quote:

Peter Maiden said at a University Christian Union event, (30 years ago)

"Moses spent 40 years learning to be a somebody, 40 years learning to be a nobody and 40 years learning how God can use a somebody who's learned to be a nobody"

I literally went 'Aargh!!', clutching at my hair and bashing elbows on the table - I was about to load biblegateway.org to look up... yes, Moses!

So, this is the story: the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up."
When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!"
And Moses said, "Here I am." Exodus 3:2 - 4 Or, as The Message puts it: The angel of God appeared to him in flames of fire blazing out of the middle of a bush. He looked. The bush was blazing away but it didn't burn up.
Moses said, "What's going on here? I can't believe this! Amazing! Why doesn't the bush burn up?"
God saw that he had stopped to look. God called to him from out of the bush, "Moses! Moses!"
He said, "Yes? I'm right here!"

Then, after making as many excuses as he could think of, Moses went back to Egypt on a mission at God's command...and the rest is history.

It struck me yesterday in church - and again today, reading this passage - that Moses had to turn aside to look at the bush BEFORE God spoke to him. I wonder what would have happened if he'd just carried on walking...?

Hmmm...

Saying 'no'

I never thought I would do this, but I’m actually saying no to a couple of commitments at church. I’ve just – barely – survived a week where, on top of working full time, I have been out for six nights running – five of those six, on church events of one kind or another. Two of them only happen every couple of months – but happened to be on consecutive days. It’s too much: I’m exhausted to the point of feeling ill.

I’m taking myself off the coffee rota, for one. I reckon I’ve been serving coffee about once a month for the last three years, so it’s time to step back.

A while ago, I resigned from leading prayers. I’d been asked to do it shortly after I arrived at church over five years ago, but I just wasn’t comfortable with it. It all seemed too formal, too prescribed – yet doing anything more interactive with over 80 people was quite a chore and didn’t lend itself easily to the format of the service. I couldn’t, in all conscience, continue. So that was OK.

But the coffee rota? What’s the harm in SERVING, especially as it is only once a month?

The harm is in too many other commitments: by the time I’d fitted in coffee rota, prayer ministry rota, small group, ladies' breakfast, prayer session with prayer partner, committee meetings, women’s fellowship committee meetings and events AND tried to spend whatever free time my husband had (he works shifts with a weekend off every five weeks, I work Monday to Friday) with him, my weeks were too full. The harm is in doing too many little things.

There is harm in another way, too. If I am doing something useful, filling a gap – then I am depriving someone else of the opportunity to serve. (Yes, we could have half a dozen of us to serve coffee when one or two will do, but that never happens in practice…)

If someone is not serving or involved in other ways, they may not be developing their God-given talents for His purposes.

So I’m resigning from women’s fellowship committee. I’ll still go on hosting a breakfast for ladies in church who work; I’ll still attend events – if I can.

But at least I am free of pressure to be in a certain place at a certain time.

And where is God in all this? He wasn’t – that was the trouble. I was too tired, too busy for Him. I had begun to run on empty, without His words filling my life. He tapped me on the shoulder with exhausting circumstances, and I’m grateful.

It was indeed time to stop.

Interview with God

I have seen this as an email 'round robin' before, but just love it. Watching it feels like coming into God's presence...

Wisdom

Thinking about wisdom - and finding this article in Discipleship Journal.

I'm a teacher - and find my school day gives ample opportunity to share wisdom with colleagues, students and parents.

It also gives ample opportunity for Satan to interfere with God's work.

So I realized,when I read Proverbs 19:20 "Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise," that, strange as it may sound when I am the one 'giving instruction' - literally, several times a day - I need God's wisdom quite desperately.

I need advice and instruction when I am dealing with a difficult student, parent, or even colleague.
I need to listen more carefully than I do.
I need to be humble enough to accept that advice - particularly when the advice is to say sorry.
I need to be brave enough to accept that advice - particularly when it might take me to a place of fear.
I need to be strong enough to do put it into action.

Above all, I need to be wise. Help, God!

Wise advice

Psalm 86:11
Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

Psalm 94:18
When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O LORD, supported me.


Psalm 119:32
I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.

Proverbs 21:20
In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil,
but a foolish man devours all he has.


(New International Version)