A cross is a rather simple structure. Two rough pieces of wood, one nailed perpendicularly on top of the other. There is no refinement or glory, though many modern Christians proudly wear a silver or gold cross, beautifully embellished, around their necks. No, the cross on which my Savior bled & died was no thing of beauty. It was rough, crude, & extremely painful. There isn't a torture practiced today that is more horrendous than that of the Roman crucifiction.
Isaiah 53:4-5 says, "Surely He has borne our griefs, & carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, & afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; & with His stripes we are healed." Do you realize what that means? Christ died for me. He was beaten by men & repulsed by His Father in order to pay the enormous price for my sins. The awesomeness of His great sacrifice should never stop amazing me, yet, day-by-day I find myself complacent & often repeating the same sins over & over. The sin He died for. His pain: it was for me.
In dorm devotions tonight, Holly, my dorm supervisor, challegened us with the reality of the cross. We each were asked to bring a 3x5 card & a pen to devotions. Before starting her challenge, she handed out small finishing nails. One for each person. On that small piece of paper we were to write out one sin that we struggle with daily. As I wrote just one of the many sins I so often repeat, Holly explained that when Christ died on Calvary, He died for my sin. His pain & suffering nailed my sin to the cross. It was for me. The notecard was folded in half & each girl took her notecard & nail to a small, simple cross Holly had at the front of the room. Our sins were nailed to the cross. There was complete silence in a room filled with 60+ girls who are rather known for giggling, jokes, & laughter. The image was real. Christ died for me. It was my sin that nailed Him there.
Christ's body hung on the cross by just 3 nails, yet our cross was covered with 60+ notecards held by 60+ nails. Christ has already paid the price for them all.
It was for me.
28 September 2009
27 September 2009
be a missionary
Have you ever had one of those days where God reveals something so amazing & you know it was just for you? Have you ever had it happen twice in one day? What if the same lesson was reinforced a third time? Would it grab your attention & change your life?
Today was the opening of Calvary's missions conference. I have always loved missions conference. At home, the foyer of the church is teaming with people going down the hallways that surround two sides of the auditorium. Faces young, old, & everywhere in between are looking at presentation boards, picking up prayer cards, & talking with the various missionary families. In our opening service, the congregation sings "We've a Story to Tell to the Nations" as high school boys bring in the flags of the countries represented by the missionaries attending the conference that week. When we finish the hymn, each missionary & their country is presented to the audience. It's wonderful. As I see the parade of nations, I am moved. I don't think I am called into missions, but as each flag sweeps the air as the young man turns to face the congregation, I wish, for just a moment, that I could minister with the missionary family. See life as they see it.
Like I said, today was the opening service for Calvary's missions conference. In Sunday School, the Lord first grabbed my attention as Caleb Stein spoke from the book of Jonah. He captivated me for the rest of the hour with two statements he made in his introduction: Everything in the book of Jonah glorified God except Jonah & Jonah only wanted to love those he thought were deserving. It's a shame, but Jonah is an accurate representation of me & how I view others, specifically the Lost. Missionary Stein encouraged us to see others as God sees them: to share His mercy with others. Jonah did not love the people of Nineveh as God loved them; he did not see that God's love is greater than any sin & His grace is far greater than we can ever imagine. Sunday School rocked my boat.
Pastor Loggans' service following Sunday School went hand-in-hand with the lesson on Jonah. He spoke form Matthew 9. Again, it was Pastor Loggans' introduction that focused me in on the rest of the service: "One of the most overwhelmin thoughts known to man: God uses us!" He presented a dire situation: a multitude of unbelievers, a deliverant supplication: "The work of God moves forward on its knees", & a declared solution: "Here am I, Lord, send me."
As I studied for tests & wasted all too much time on facebook this afternoon, I could not get off of my mind the lesson that the Lord was teaching me: Do I see others as Chrsit does? Am I praying & willing to serve wherever He leads?
Not surprisingly, Mr. Trainer's message this evening both reinforced & expanded the messages from this morning. His challenge? What does it take to motivate me to take advantage of divine appointments? I should be looking at people through Christs eyes, because the way I see them determines how I will respond to them. His challenge came from Luke 4. The context: Christ reads from Isaiah in the synagoge & proclaims Himself as the much anticipated Messiah. Luke 4:17 lists 5 ways that Christs views the lost: poor (spiritually bankrupt), broken-hearted (emotionally destitute), captives (morally bound to sin), blind (intellectually near-sighted), & bruised (mortally demolished/hopeless).
Am I seeing others as Christ does? Does my heart break knowing what they are missing & do I rejoice to share my Christ with others?
The timing of today was no coincidence. God truly was working & "remaining anonymous." Just 2 weeks ago, Mr. Trainer presented the various missions trip opportunities we as students had for Spring Break & this summer. It was a hard decision. Two teams interested me. One to Uganda and another Ireland. As I weighed the pros & cons, the "still small voice" became louder & more clear. I knew which missions trip I was to apply for. After much prayer & counsel, it became apparent to me to apply to be part of the medical missions team to Uganda in March, despite my lack of medical skills. As of yet, I don't know if I have been accepted as part of the team, but I know, with all my heart, that just by applying I have followed the Lord's will. It's in His hands now.
Uganda won't be the beginning of my missions trip, though. It has to begin now. I have heard the Lord &, whether I accept or reject His calling, I will be changed. I'm chosing to look at others as Christ does. To have compassion on the poor, broken-hearted, blind, & bruised captives.
How will you respond?
Today was the opening of Calvary's missions conference. I have always loved missions conference. At home, the foyer of the church is teaming with people going down the hallways that surround two sides of the auditorium. Faces young, old, & everywhere in between are looking at presentation boards, picking up prayer cards, & talking with the various missionary families. In our opening service, the congregation sings "We've a Story to Tell to the Nations" as high school boys bring in the flags of the countries represented by the missionaries attending the conference that week. When we finish the hymn, each missionary & their country is presented to the audience. It's wonderful. As I see the parade of nations, I am moved. I don't think I am called into missions, but as each flag sweeps the air as the young man turns to face the congregation, I wish, for just a moment, that I could minister with the missionary family. See life as they see it.
Like I said, today was the opening service for Calvary's missions conference. In Sunday School, the Lord first grabbed my attention as Caleb Stein spoke from the book of Jonah. He captivated me for the rest of the hour with two statements he made in his introduction: Everything in the book of Jonah glorified God except Jonah & Jonah only wanted to love those he thought were deserving. It's a shame, but Jonah is an accurate representation of me & how I view others, specifically the Lost. Missionary Stein encouraged us to see others as God sees them: to share His mercy with others. Jonah did not love the people of Nineveh as God loved them; he did not see that God's love is greater than any sin & His grace is far greater than we can ever imagine. Sunday School rocked my boat.
Pastor Loggans' service following Sunday School went hand-in-hand with the lesson on Jonah. He spoke form Matthew 9. Again, it was Pastor Loggans' introduction that focused me in on the rest of the service: "One of the most overwhelmin thoughts known to man: God uses us!" He presented a dire situation: a multitude of unbelievers, a deliverant supplication: "The work of God moves forward on its knees", & a declared solution: "Here am I, Lord, send me."
As I studied for tests & wasted all too much time on facebook this afternoon, I could not get off of my mind the lesson that the Lord was teaching me: Do I see others as Chrsit does? Am I praying & willing to serve wherever He leads?
Not surprisingly, Mr. Trainer's message this evening both reinforced & expanded the messages from this morning. His challenge? What does it take to motivate me to take advantage of divine appointments? I should be looking at people through Christs eyes, because the way I see them determines how I will respond to them. His challenge came from Luke 4. The context: Christ reads from Isaiah in the synagoge & proclaims Himself as the much anticipated Messiah. Luke 4:17 lists 5 ways that Christs views the lost: poor (spiritually bankrupt), broken-hearted (emotionally destitute), captives (morally bound to sin), blind (intellectually near-sighted), & bruised (mortally demolished/hopeless).
Am I seeing others as Christ does? Does my heart break knowing what they are missing & do I rejoice to share my Christ with others?
The timing of today was no coincidence. God truly was working & "remaining anonymous." Just 2 weeks ago, Mr. Trainer presented the various missions trip opportunities we as students had for Spring Break & this summer. It was a hard decision. Two teams interested me. One to Uganda and another Ireland. As I weighed the pros & cons, the "still small voice" became louder & more clear. I knew which missions trip I was to apply for. After much prayer & counsel, it became apparent to me to apply to be part of the medical missions team to Uganda in March, despite my lack of medical skills. As of yet, I don't know if I have been accepted as part of the team, but I know, with all my heart, that just by applying I have followed the Lord's will. It's in His hands now.
Uganda won't be the beginning of my missions trip, though. It has to begin now. I have heard the Lord &, whether I accept or reject His calling, I will be changed. I'm chosing to look at others as Christ does. To have compassion on the poor, broken-hearted, blind, & bruised captives.
How will you respond?
07 September 2009
my car
The Lord constantly amazes me. Just when I think life is out of control, just when I begin to despair because of finances, He shows me that His power is infinite. He reminds me that I am & have nothing without Him.
No, my car does not get great gas milage, nor can I use it to take a weekend vacation home. Though some my age may think that a car would have been more beneficial as I college student, I know that the Lord specifically wanted me to have my "car": a 17.3" Toshiba. And with it I have been able to travel the world.
This summer, as I put away money for this semester's college bill, I began saving money for a car. The amount of money I had accumulated by August did not amount to much. In fact, I don't think I could by one tire with the money I had, nevertheless, it was a pitiful start to a need.
At the end of the summer my computer, which was a gracious gift from my aunt & uncle after my computer died my freshman year, began to have problems that interferred with performing simple tasks. The biggest frustration was that it would no longer hold a charge, nor could I charge it with my cable. I was frustrated, but determined to make it last me at least this semester.
God amazes me. I texted Mom about buying a computer at the exact moment that my parents were looking at computers in the Watertown WalMart. While I was considering using up my last summer paycheck to buy what I needed, my parents were talking about my need. Dad agreed to help me with my computer. He called it my car. Why? The price I would pay Dad would exhaust my car saving. It was worth it. Though I wanted that money to go toward a car, God knew what I truly needed: a computer.
No, my car does not get great gas milage, nor can I use it to take a weekend vacation home. Though some my age may think that a car would have been more beneficial as I college student, I know that the Lord specifically wanted me to have my "car": a 17.3" Toshiba. And with it I have been able to travel the world.
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