Wherewithal To Wonder

Nothing in my hands I bring; simply to the cross I cling.

Naked, come to thee for dress; helpless, look to thee for grace.

Foul, I to the fountain fly; wash me Savior or I die.

In general, this past semester has been weird. It’s been hazy. Like, my mind contradicts itself in almost every assertion it tries to make, and I can’t see clearly in many things, especially spiritual or emotional things. My friend tells me its like I have a cloud hovering somewhere up above my eyelids or inside my brain. I’ve asked questions, remained silent, been critical and been skeptical.

One thing that is clear, however: God is good to me. I have so much to be thankful for and so much I take for granted every day. I ask, and I believe (though I can’t dogmatically assert that it will happen beyond a doubt) that if I keep hiking up this misty mountain, I will eventually burst through the clouds and be greeted with a clearer view of—not everything, but many more things that lay below, where I used to be. It will be beautiful.

You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,

And abundant in loving kindness to all who call upon you.

Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;

And give heed to the voice of my supplications!

In the day of my trouble I shall call upon You,

For You will answer me.

There is no one like You among the gods, O Lord,

Nor are there any works like Yours.

All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before you,

Oh Lord,

And they shall glorify Your name.

For You are great and do wondrous deeds;

You alone are God.

There is so much freedom in being vulnerable with one another. Letting your guard down, not putting on an act, but rather sharing weaknesses and struggles…that begets real freedom and healing in Christ. It inspires and refreshes. It encourages closeness with God. It is so sweet. 

When Paul refers to ‘the gospel’, he is not referring to a system of salvation, though of course the gospel implies and contains this, nor even to the good news that there now is a way of salvation open to all, but rather to the proclamation that the crucified Jesus of Nazareth has been raised from the dead and thereby demonstrated to be both Israel’s Messiah and the world’s true Lord. ‘The gospel’ is not ‘you can be saved, and here’s how’; the gospel, for Paul, is ‘Jesus Christ is Lord’.

-N.T. Wright

ding-a-ling-a-ling

ding-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling

Jesus is the king

Jesus is the king-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling

You are worthy of affection
You’re the radiance of all of His glory
Let adoration fill this place.
You hold everything together
By the word of your immovable power
We sing a song of praise!

The enjoyment of God is the only joy with which my soul is ever truly satisfied. Everything that the world can offer is just scattered beams, but God is the sun. They are just streams of still water, but God is the overflowing ocean.

Hey friends, I thought I’d post the advent devotional I’m going through before Christmas. It comes from desiringgod, and it helps in focusing my mind on the majesty and glory of Jesus, the incarnate God-man. Booyah. 

You can access it here.

Thinking about the phrase, “Don’t judge me because I sin differently than you.” That’s interesting, isn’t it?

What do you think????

I feel like it just says “you sin, I sin, let’s not judge each other because we’re both sinners.” We have to ask about the significance of repentance and holding each other accountable for when we sin. 

I guess the word judge could mean a lot of things, too.

This is something I’ve been thinking about and learning in my Acts class. I have one of the godliest men I know as a teacher—I respect him so much. Anyways, obviously we look at the life of Paul a lot because he’s pretty much the main character from like chapter 9 on.

So Paul does this thing where he makes a plan. Usually, the plan is right thing to do! On the first missionary journey, from what we can see, Paul makes a plan and does it. But sometimes, God changes his plan. On the second missionary journey, he changes it three times. There are very few instances when God/the Spirit reveals to Paul what he wants him to do—these come in life or death situations, like twice. What’s the norm? The norm is that Paul makes his plans “in pencil and gives God the eraser.”

It’s something to think about. If we just wait until we “feel peace” about something, we’ll never do anything. I’m not saying don’t pray about it—pray about it. Then, with the information that you have plus the Bible, make the best decision and go do something. 

*another thought. When Paul got beaten up, he didn’t automatically assume that was God’s way of telling Him it wasn’t in the plan. He knew that hardships would come.