Therefore…

I’ve been wanting to blog something for several days now. But I just can’t seem to eek out the time needed to make any coherent thoughts. So… how about a list of what’s been rummaging around in my head?

~ Bible college at my church started this week and I’m helping out a little bit with that. It is so cool to see how earnest and enthusiastic these young people are about their faith and their relationship with God (most are just out of high school or in their early 20’s). And the Bible classes themselves are in-depth. How can one not help but grow and learn? It’s a shame that somehow all that earnestness and enthusiasm seems to diminish as we all get older. It’s embarrassing how apathetic many of my peers are about their relationship with God and how uninspired and shallow many past Bible studies have been. It’s making me think about what needs to change in my own life. I need my faith and my relationship with God to be alive and active. I want that enthusiasm for what I put my hope in to seep into every area of my life.

~ I have been working on memorizing Romans 8. It was going good until this week. I have verses 1-3 down pretty good. Even though I haven’t gotten very far, it’s been good. Today, Romans 8:1 came to mind while we were taking communion at Bible College. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” How amazing that if we confess our sins before God, he is faithful to forgive us! Pray that I will press on in memorizing even more of Romans 8.

~ Our Bible study in 1 Timothy has been good. I have been thinking a lot about verse 16 in chapter 4. “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” I’ve been thinking about what it means to “save both yourself and your hearers.”

Some of the discussion was about how if our lives will reflect our doctrine, it can bring opportunities for those around us to hear the Word, see it in action and bring the good news of salvation to them. (“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” – Romans 10:15)

Other discussion was about how watching our life and doctrine closely can save us and those around us a heap of trouble – save us from falling into temptation, save us from being pulled into false doctrine, save us from the trouble and heartache of relationships being destroyed by hurtful words, legalistic actions, unforgiveness, etc.

~ I really need to be less busy. I miss having time to spend pondering what God’s Word is saying to me. I’m praying that God will show me what in my life should stay and what needs to go.

Romans 8

Those who aspire to memorize large portions of scripture used to intimidate me. Then, they began to inspire me. Now, I am motivated to follow.

Romans 8:1-2
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

Today, I am feeling grumpy. I want to be set free from this law of sin and death. I have been set free – through faith – but I long to experience it!

Funny Bone

You know, I tend to only write about what I am learning while studying the Bible. But maybe I need to interject a lighter note here once in awhile.

This article on the BBC News hit my funny bone this morning. For some reason it is particularly funny to me that Starbucks’ current competition is Dunkin’ Donuts and McDonalds rather than quality independent shops like Zoka and Vivace. I can remember moving to Seattle in 1987 when going out for coffee at Starbucks was not the same experience as going out for coffee at McDonalds.

Hey, maybe we can learn a spiritual truth from this after all. Have the standards of our spiritual life fallen to the level of McDonalds – cheap and not very nutritional? Or are we pressing on towards the rock that is higher.

“From the end of the earth I will cry to You,
When my heart is overwhelmed;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”
- – Psalm 61:2

Spiritual Health

I just finished reading the book The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult. This last stretch of book reading was spurred on by a friend who is in a book club and has read all sorts of books. She has talked about Jodi Picoult before, so I thought I would give one of her books a try.

The book is about a teenage girl who was date-raped and the ensuing aftermath. Her father grew up in Alaska and had a problem with anger as a kid, now kept in check as an adult. The story twists and turns between the characters leading to the end of the book. I won’t give you any clues to the ending in case you do want to read the book.

This book was a difficult to read in places. I don’t enjoy detailed depictions of drugs, adulterous relationships and such. But what was between those segments kept me reading to the end. There was one paragraph at the end of the book that gave me more to think about. Or rather, fit together with a thought that has been roaming around in the back of my head.

“It was possible, he decided, that even in today’s day and age – even thousands of miles away from the Yup’ik villages – people could still turn into animals, and vice versa. Just because you chose to leave a place did not mean you could escape taking it with you. A man and a woman who lived together long enough might swap traits, until they found parts of themselves in each other. Jettison a personality and you just might find it taking up residence in the heart of the person you loved most.”

That paragraph mentions trying to discard an unwanted personality trait only to see it pop up in the people closest to you. Similarly, what I have been pondering is how our own spiritual relationship with God effects those around us. And more specifically our spouses and children.

There have been times in my life where I have been so excited to be learning and growing in the Lord. And there have been other times where every aspect of life feels like a desert. Not only was my life dry, but I wasn’t even making any effort to nourish it with any kind of way. In retrospect, I have seen the effect this dryness has had on those around me. And I think it is especially true for those who live with us in the same house. My lack of “pressing on” in growing in the things of God seem to rub off and make my closest relationships dry as well.

I am beginning to think that it is important, not only for my own spiritual health, but for the spiritual health of those around me, to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus (as Hebrews 12:2 says) and to keep pressing on towards the things ahead (Philippians 3:13-14). It is encouraging to see someone living fully for the Lord. And it is discouraging to see someone give up or slack off on walking with God. For spouses, it is much harder to study the Bible alone, or to attend church alone. I have two friends whose husbands are not believers and at times it is not easy for them. If I am slacking in my Bible study, it is much easier for my husband to come along with me and slack off on his study as well. It takes more effort to stand against the laziness and keep pressing on. Not that it is impossible, but that it just takes more effort. My lazy attitudes soon becomes his lazy attitude.

I think this train of thought also goes along with “raising children in the way they should go”. I wonder how our examples as adults living out our faith effect the children around us – whether they are our own children or friends’ children at church. Are my lazy spiritual habits rubbing off on the children in my life as well as my spouse? Eek. This thought makes me cringe even more than being a poor example in the company of adults.

We are studying 1 Timothy in our Bible study and discussing requirements for leaders within the church. This thought about how our own spiritual health effects those around us really seems to make sense when it comes to leaders in our church. What if our leaders were careless, undisciplined, letting go of the “deep truths of the faith”? I think we have seen the results of this in various ways around the world.

“Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.” – - 1 Timothy 3:8-11

Oh Lord, help me to consider my actions and be an encouraging example to those around me.

And Now It Is January

This poor little blog has been severely neglected. Something must be done about that. I don’t know what, but something.

The holidays came and went and now it is January 2008. My how time flies. We went minimal this year. In some ways it was nice. And in other ways it didn’t really feel like the Holidays – except for the traffic and mobs that were shopping – which we tried to avoid as much as possible.

While other folks are making goals & resolutions for the new year, I’m just not feeling the need to evaluate and resolve. I suppose that makes me a little weird. I’m longing for deeper relationships – with God and with people. Seems like that’s a big enough challenge in itself these days. It almost feels counter to our current culture.

We began the New Year by skiing yesterday. It was a perfect day. The snow was good and we had fun. And I skied my first Black Diamond run, intentionally and without embarrassingly removing my skis and looking for alternate routes down the mountain. That’s progress! For those who don’t know but are wondering… ski runs are graded Green, Blue, Black Diamond, and Double Black Diamond – from easiest to hardest. Beginners start on Green runs that are so green they are nearly flat. That’s where I started 6 years ago (Or was it 7? I can’t remember). My advice… take classes!

I’m really looking forward to February. We have some planned get-aways. Vacations. Finally. The last few years we’ve been getting away for 3-5 days at a time. This time – 1 week and then another 2 weeks are planned. I think life requires more vacation time. Just like we need time set aside for worship and prayer, there needs to be adequate time set aside for resting and playing.

And so… now it is January… 2008.