"Gentlemen, This is a Football"

A Bit of Background
I care very little about football.  My understanding of the game is very limited, so I lose interest quickly.  I have been trying to learn more about it from my husband as we watch our youth group teens compete.  However, in the cases when I do not know any of the football players personally (e.g. on TV), I am much happier to sit and crochet with my silky terrier, Nika, curled up next to me.  
   
All that to say, this post really has nothing to do with football.  Last weekend, Jonathan and I went to the Continuous Worship Conference at Maranatha Bible Camp.  The main speaker quoted Vince Lombardi (the quote found in the title of this post) during several of his messages to illustrate how we needed to come back to the basics of our faith.  At the time, I mentally assented to what he was saying (I had heard the same message many times before and will hear it many times in the future), but I didn't give it much more thought than that.

An Unexpected God-Appointment
Today, I found myself strangely motivated and energetic for a Sunday afternoon and began to sort through piles.  You know, those piles of newsletters, partially used gift cards, coupons, magazines, random mail, and other odds and ends that tend to swallow up some poor, unsuspecting counter.  My piles had been re-located to a bookshelf when we had some company over and were gradually pushed to the bottom of the priority list.  For some reason, the piles are less offensive to my organization-obsessed personality when they are on the bookshelf than when they are scattered haphazardly on the counter.  I've digressed.

While shuffling through said odds and ends, I came across a little booklet that my husband had given me several months ago.  He was wanting to use it for the youth group and asked me to read it so that he could get my thoughts on it.  "Life in 6 Words" was its title, and it was published by Dare 2 Share Ministries, Inc. as a companion for a short YouTube video titled "Life in 6 Words: The GOSPEL."  I started reading it during a trip to see my parents, but I was interrupted; I am ashamed to say that after my return home, the booklet was added to my pile and slowly forgotten until today.

After I finished with my sorting project, I sat down on the couch, watched the video, and read the booklet (the WHOLE booklet this time).  I had seen the video before, but it had been a while.  Just as it did the first time I watched it, it brought me to tears.  If you haven't seen it, go look it up.  Seriously, you can go do it right now.  It is a beautiful picture of the basics of the Christian faith to which the speaker at the conference pointed: the basics of the Gospel.

THE Truth: THE Gospel 
I have heard the Gospel hundreds of times in my life.  I say this not as a complaint but as a statement of fact.  I am very thankful that I grew up in a home with God-fearing parents who took me to a Bible-believing and Bible-preaching church.  My parents, Sunday School teachers, camp counselors, Vacation Bible School teachers, mentors, Bible college teachers, youth group leaders, and more wonderful people have all been very dedicated to teaching me the truth, and I acknowledge the incredible blessing that they have been to me.  Nevertheless, it has been easy for me to let the Gospel become mundane: to lose grip on the reality of it.

I am a sinner.  My sin separated me from a perfect God.  God is the only One who could possibly pay the price for sin, so Jesus (God) paid the punishment for my sin through His death on the cross.  His resurrection proves that the payment was acceptable and effective.  All I have to do is believe in (trust in/rely upon) Jesus alone to save me, and I am forgiven and have eternal life forever.  My relationship with God is restored.

The words can come so easily and thoughtlessly, but to get a glimpse of the reality of those words is something beyond compare.  When I truly contemplate how utterly hopeless, enslaved, and doomed I was before Christ and how He...how God, completely undeserving, took every drop of the punishment I deserved.  GOD Himself!  The all-powerful, all-knowing, sovereign GOD died for me.  Jesus died for me.  He did that while I was still a sinner: while I had no desire for Him, no love for Him, no thought of Him....Him: the One who created me!  It makes no logical sense, but God loved me.  God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son.  Jesus died to take the punishment for my sin against Himself.  Now, He is alive!  Death could not hold Him, and He wants to talk to me, to guide me, and to listen to me.  He wants to show me how to live life for Him because, after all, how could I do anything else?  All that He has done for me, He has done for you as well.  The relationship He desires to have with me, He desires to have with you too.  Does this stir up your soul as it does mine?

I thank God that He brought that little book to my attention today, not because the book itself had some sort of mystical power, but because it clearly, biblically, and effectively brought me back to the point of grasping the reality of the Gospel once more.  This is not at all to say that I was saved again.  I believe that once a person believes in Jesus once, that person is saved forever (eternally secure).  Yet, today I was blessed to remember the essence of my faith and to experience the power of it all over again.

A Challenge
This is not the first time that I've been brought back to the basics of my faith since being saved, but times like this one have been too few and far between.  I am curious to see how my heart and attitude would change if I were to make remembering the Gospel part of my regular routine...even more so than at Communion once a month.  Because of this, I am embarking on an adventure, along with any who would join me, to intentionally meditate (spend serious time thinking deeply about) on the truth of the Gospel at least once a week for two months.  The Gospel brings all the issues of life and various doctrinal beliefs back into perspective.  It is the focus of Scripture as a whole, and it is seriously life-changing: not just in the single event of salvation, but in the gift of daily life on this earth.  What would happen if it were consistently the center of our thoughts and actions?

Will you join me?

Even if you don't know Jesus or this "Gospel," will you give Him a chance?  A REAL chance?  If you don't know where to start, you can start with the video I mentioned earlier.  You could also go to www.biblegateway.com and read the book of John.

Even if you have been burned by a local church or by believers in Jesus, I implore you to set aside all of your preconceptions and hangups and give Him a chance.  Other people, including Christians, will change, disappoint, and fail.  Jesus will not.  Please, give HIM a chance.

Even if you are where I have often been and can recite the Gospel backwards and forwards, will you let the Gospel continue to work in your heart?  Will you take time to remember what God has done?

I am going to start by reading the book of John with the intention of meditating on God's great salvation, and I can't wait to see what He does.  In the signature phrase of my brother-in-law, "Hallelujah, Jesus!"  Thank You for the gift of You.                                      

Renewing the Mind: From Complaining to Thanksgiving

I caught myself again today.  I caught myself entertaining those thoughts that so easily creep in, tear my focus from where it should be, and completely change my attitude if I let them.

Why all the snow?  Mr. Huseby just said that we are supposed to get anywhere from 3-18 inches this weekend, and Becca is supposed to be coming to visit.  Hasn't it snowed plenty already?  What if it keeps snowing like this and I can't go to Sterling next weekend?  What if Jon and I can't go to Marysville over Spring Break to look for a place to live once we are done with school? Why can't it just stay nice like it was several days ago?   

Ahhhh!  What in the world is that wretched sound that just came from that key?  This piano is in desperate need of a thorough tuning.  Why hasn't it been tuned?  There are even business cards for tuners sitting on the piano!

It's Thursday: cleaning day.  What is the point in cleaning on slushy days like today? I'd rather just crochet while I watch Downton Abbey.     

You get the idea.  Complaining comes so easily, and it is so easy to rationalize.  I don't like to hear myself complain, and I know that no one else does either, not to mention the stench it must be to my Lord.

Before heading too far down road of discontentment and irritation, He nudged me gently.

My child, why are you thinking this way?  Your vision is far too narrow right now, and you are being very ungrateful.  

It's funny how counting my blessings (including the ones that are incognito) can so quickly stifle my complaints, worry, and discontentment.  Looking at what God has done instead brings rejoicing, peace, and contentment: not because I assume that God will turn everything to roses and sunshine, but because I remember what is true and Who is true.

Lord, I am thankful for the abundance of snow that is quenching this parched land.  Thank you for Becca's friendship and for the technology to communicate with her even if she can't come to visit. Thank you for having the future in your hands.  Whether that future includes trips to Sterling and Marysville or not, I trust you.  Thank you for clearing the skies enough yesterday for me to get to town to get groceries for the next several weeks.  

Thank you for pitchy pianos that keep me humble.  Thank you for a mom who wouldn't let me quit taking piano lessons when I wanted to so badly.  Thank you for excellent the excellent teachers I had, and thank you for the opportunities to play here at school.  

Thank you for a cozy apartment where my husband and I can escape from the frigid outdoors.  Thank you for the discipline you are developing in me through keeping the apartment clean and somewhat organized.  Thank you for the time I have right now to develop that discipline and the confidence you then give me to use this place you have provided for hospitality.  

Thank you for a husband with a servant's heart who, quietly and without fanfare, does whatever needs to be done when he can, even if it is the simple task of picking up empty Communion cups or folding a load of towels.  

Thank you for a wonderful family that makes silly videos, worships together, and loves each other.  Thank you for a God-fearing dad and father-in-law who both work so hard in different ways to provide for their families and to reach out to hurting people at the same time.  Thank you for a faithful mom and mother-in-law who are always available, who share my heart, and whom I can text about plants, crocheting, worries, puppies, struggles, joys, and jokes.

Thank you for friends who still share their lives with me even though many of them are so incredibly far away.  Thank you for the ways you are growing them and growing me through them.  Thank you for heart connections with my dearest friends that go so deep, they are difficult to express.       

Above all, thank you for Your Son.  Thank you for sending Him to take all of the punishment for my sin on the Cross.  Thank you for the institution of Communion and the way it helps me to slow down and remember who You are and who I am.  Thank you for your forgiveness, mercy, grace, and love.  You satisfy my soul's deepest needs and desires.  Thank you for making salvation so simple.  I believe in Your Son, and I am saved.  Thank you for nudging me when I need to be nudged, even when I am stubborn for a time.  Thank you for the hope you have given me by the resurrection of Your Son, and thank you for the promise that you are coming again.  I love you Lord.  Help me to love you in my obedience today.  

This is the day that the Lord has made.  I will rejoice and be glad in it!      
      
        

   

Psalm 145: Speak!

Psalm 145 is currently one of my absolute favorite passages in the Bible.  I served as a counselor at five different high school Bible camps this summer, and this Psalm was brought to my attention during one of the counselor meetings at the third camp.  I don’t remember what all the camp director talked about concerning this Psalm at our meeting, but I have come back to it several times since then to dig into it for myself.  I still have a lot of digging to do, but I want to share what I have discovered in this precious portion of Scripture so far.

(I primarily use the New American Standard Bible for studying, so it may benefit you to look at that translation if you would like to follow along.  If you do not own a copy, you can use www.biblegateway.com.)

Speaking

The verbs in Psalm 145 were the first attention-grabbers for me.  If you have time, I recommend going through and underlining all of the words that describe the actions of everyone except God before you keep reading this post.  When I did just that, I discovered two main categories of words: praise words and speaking words.  Here is what I came up with:

Abbreviations: v. = verse, vv. = verses

Praise                                              Speaking                                                  Other

Extol (v. 1)                                     Declare (v. 4)                                           Meditate (v. 5)

Bless (vv. 1, 2, 10, 21)                    Speak (vv. 6, 11, 21)                               Look (v. 15)

Praise (vv. 2, 4)                               Tell (v. 6)                                                 Fear (v. 19)

Praised (v. 3)                                  Utter (v. 7)                                               Love (v. 20)

                                                        Shout (v. 7)

                                                        Give Thanks (v. 10)

                                                        Talk (v. 11)

                                                        Make Known (v. 12)­

                                                        Call Upon (vv. 18, 19)

Cry (v. 19) – Cry isn’t used as a verb in this verse, but still describes what the people did as indicated by the statement that God heard them.

This entire Psalm is focused on praising God.  What I learned from this exercise is that praising God is not only done silently in the heart.  A monumental aspect of praising God is talking about who He is and what He has done (Another exercise you can do is to go through and underline what specifically the Psalmist [David] and others praise and speak about concerning God)!  I love verses 6 and 7: “Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts, and I will tell of Your greatness.  They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness and will shout joyfully of Your righteousness” (emphases mine).  David and the men of verse 6 aren’t scared to share about what God has done and about who He is!  They are not embarrassed or cautious because of what others may think.  They know that God deserves every ounce of verbal praise that they offer up to Him and more.  Not only do they know that they ought to praise God in this way, but I get the idea that they would burst if they didn’t praise God out loud.  This has been such a huge challenge me to open my mouth and share with eagerness, joy, and enthusiasm about who God is and what He has done for me. 

Remembering

There is so much in this passage, but I want to bring up just one more thought for now.  Verse 5 says, “On the glorious splendor of your majesty and on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.”  How can I share who God is and what He has done if I don’t think about Him and His works?  I mean really think: mulling it over in my mind constantly throughout the day.  One illustration I have often heard of meditation is that of a cow chewing cud.  The cow eats its food, and then brings it up later to chew on it some more.  If I understand it all correctly, the cow brings up the food to chew several times as it processes through different stomachs until it is finally digested.  I should bring what I know and learn about God up several times to chew on it: to get all of the nourishment and flavor I can possibly get out of it.  When I do this, it is so much easier to talk about God with other people! 

My main problem is that I am forgetful.  I tend to forget what God has done for me and who He really is.  The quote from Del Tackett in my last post is also very applicable here: “We have a tendency to forget the things we're supposed to remember and to remember the things we're supposed to forget.”  Israel had the same problem.  Judges 3:7 says, “The sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth” (emphases added).  When Israel forgot God, she did what was evil and served idols.  When I forget God, my feet rush much more quickly to sin, and I find myself bowing down to what this world pretends to offer: pleasure, security, happiness, control, etc.  I forget God when I let myself get so busy with life and even with serving God that I neglect to spend time with Him in prayer and in His Word.  Forgetting God makes praising God nearly impossible. 

I Choose to Remember and to Speak

With all that said, I have to praise God by sharing a couple things He has done lately.  First of all, I am originally from Colorado, and I have been praying for all my loved ones as the floods have wreaked havoc.  I am so thankful to say that my friends and family are safe and haven’t had any damage as far as I know.  However, I know that many people are suffering loss, and for them I pray and am thankful that God will use this somehow to draw them closer to Himself and to work this out for good in their lives.  I praise Him for His sovereignty in this entire situation. 

Second, my husband and I have had major issues with the tires on my husband’s car in the past year.  All four tires went flat multiple times.  When we took them in for repair, the repairmen couldn't figure out exactly what was causing the tires to go flat.  We finally got to the point where we felt like we needed to get the alignment checked and possibly get new tires.  Last year, my husband and I were both full-time students, and now my husband is currently in his senior year as a student.  I worked last year, and my husband has worked both years, but we still weren’t thrilled with the idea of having to buy new tires (especially since the ones that were going flat had only been purchased a year ago).  A couple weeks ago, my husband was talking to a fellow student and found out that he had totaled his car, which was almost identical to my husband’s.  Before he totaled it, the student had just gotten new tires for it.  He saved the tires, not knowing for sure what he was going to do with them.  When he found out about my husband’s tires, he gave us the entire set!  Now, we have had the alignment on the car fixed and have nice, like-new tires as well!  We are so thankful for how God provides and how He uses His people to meet each other’s needs.  This was also a beautiful illustration to me of how God can take something bad that happens and use it for good.  Even though our friend suffered loss at one point, we know he will be blessed by God for meeting the need of a brother and sister in Christ.  To God be all glory and praise!