Wow...I have no idea how all this time flew without a blog update! I was sitting in church yesterday and something the minister said really struck me and I thought, "AH! I want to blog about this." which was immediately followed by, "OH NO! i haven't blogged in SO long! my poor readers."
So here I am. back again. updating.
In my church here in Minneapolis, there were extra visiting ministers in town for a World Relief meeting, and so we got the pleasure of hearing thoughts from about four of them. There were a few thoughts I jotted down...and I'm actually not sure which one I want to pursue on the blog. So I'll do them all.
In the morning, we read from Job 6. It is a response Job has to his friend. Basically in Job 5, his good friend, Eliphaz told him that when bad things like this happen, it's because of sin. And God was using this as a time of correction.
then Job has this passionate response in which he still is trying to justify his complaints. He expresses how miserable things are for him and wonders why he should be patient with God or what all these trials are for.
then he wants to give up and die.
and then he responds directly back to Eliphaz and basically says how he's not being a very good friend and his words were not helpful. He talks about how he can't rely on him or get his hopes up.
Overall, the chapter is very depressing and really makes you feel for Job. So the preacher said something that I really liked.
God does not send us on an easy journey, but he sends us on a safe one.
It seems simple enough. But there is a lot of truth there that, if applied, could help us in some of our darkest moments. Ultimately when we get fearful, it is a lack of trust that God will see us through. We fear failure, death, sickness, making someone mad, inability to function, poverty etc... all of these fears can grip us and immobilize us and ultimately draw us away from God. Fear has no place in the presence of God. And the simple promise that he gives us:
"trust in the Lord...He will direct your paths." Didn't say, "and He will give you cushioned paths with flowers and meadows all around." So the road may not be easy...but he IS directing you...
"I will never leave you nor forsake you." Pretty sure if the God of the universe is right by my side...I have nothing to fear, i WILL be safe.
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze." Isaiah 43:1,2
There was no "if" in that at all...you WILL go through these things. The journey will NOT be easy.
Oh and by the way, go read Isaiah 43. I just read the rest of the chapter, and it is pretty fantastic. wow. I'll even put a link right here to make it easier. Feel free to look it up in whatever version you want. link
Well that went a little longer than I expected. But I'm gonna do another.
In the afternoon, forgiveness was talked about. Well, it came from 1 Corinthians 8...and looking out for each other and things that may offend one of our brothers or sisters. But in the wrap-up, Mike L. brought it back to forgiveness...and he said something that really hit me and made sense and just clicked.
"Jesus didn't just die for your sins. Yes, that is why he came and what he did...but he also died for the sins committed against you. The ones that have hurt you."
Just let that sink in. As Christians, we believe that Christ died for the sins of the world. All the sins. of all the people. right?
But it seems that we believe that until someone (who's sins we just said we believe Christ died for) does something to hurt us. Then all of the sudden all of that truth we believe about who's sins Jesus died for goes out the window. if the God of the universe could give his Son to die an unfair, undeserving death for sins he didn't even commit... and he forgave us...and washed us clean...and put those sins as far away as the east is from the west... how can we withhold forgiveness from those who hurt us.
Those sins were forgiven, forgotten, washed and put away as well. and if God, who is righteous, holy and just can do that, then we have no excuse. This is really convicting to me. Sometimes in my effort to personalize salvation and really understand it how it applies to me and my sins, I forget about how it applies to others as well. I expect God to forgive my petty (or not so petty) sins. And then I justify the frustration, anger, bitterness, etc... that I have with other people. BECAUSE THEY WRONGED ME! HOW DARE THEY! THAT IS JUST UNACCEPTABLE! THEY HAVE TO KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE! I MAY FORGIVE, BUT I WON'T FORGET!
*sigh*
Thank you God, for forgiving me...and for forgiving those who have wronged me. It is the desire of my heart to forgive as you have forgiven. Thank you for your strength to be able to do this. I place in your hands all the hurts that have been done against me. You will make them right. You will heal the wounds. You will supply the joy and peace.
Now on to some pictures =)
Sleeping with Ender. so relaxing holding a little baby...
Awake Ender. quite alert.
He's got some great facial expressions too
Big Sister isn't super jealous, but she does feel the need to claim things that he has. Little Brother has a nook, Big Sister must have one too.
Karlina picked this hat to wear, but it is a bit small. so it perched atop her head.
My mom got me a beanbag chair...and Sierra loves it. I sent this picture to my mom, who didn't see my caption about Sierra loving the beanbag chair. I guess the quality on her phone was poor. Her response, "is she in some kind of silver upright tunnel?"
A bit of miscommunication.
Mumzy getting in good Grandma time. Big sister trying to get Little Brother to sing "This Little Light of Mine." it's her favorite song. She loves hiding it under a bushel, not letting Satan *whoo* it out and letting it shine til Jesus comes. =)
So sweet.
Also, with the help of a friend from work, I discovered the most authentic Mexican food place...Taco Taxi.
It's in Minneapolis, which I hadn't really ventured to much. But it's pretty fantastic.
They speak spanish.
They have phenomenal carnitas y asada.
they had MANZANA SODA!
they made yummy grilled jalapenos and onions.
I felt like I was in LA. or Mexico.
COME VISIT ME! I HAVE A TACO JOINT! =)
So here I am. back again. updating.
In my church here in Minneapolis, there were extra visiting ministers in town for a World Relief meeting, and so we got the pleasure of hearing thoughts from about four of them. There were a few thoughts I jotted down...and I'm actually not sure which one I want to pursue on the blog. So I'll do them all.
In the morning, we read from Job 6. It is a response Job has to his friend. Basically in Job 5, his good friend, Eliphaz told him that when bad things like this happen, it's because of sin. And God was using this as a time of correction.
then Job has this passionate response in which he still is trying to justify his complaints. He expresses how miserable things are for him and wonders why he should be patient with God or what all these trials are for.
then he wants to give up and die.
and then he responds directly back to Eliphaz and basically says how he's not being a very good friend and his words were not helpful. He talks about how he can't rely on him or get his hopes up.
Overall, the chapter is very depressing and really makes you feel for Job. So the preacher said something that I really liked.
God does not send us on an easy journey, but he sends us on a safe one.
It seems simple enough. But there is a lot of truth there that, if applied, could help us in some of our darkest moments. Ultimately when we get fearful, it is a lack of trust that God will see us through. We fear failure, death, sickness, making someone mad, inability to function, poverty etc... all of these fears can grip us and immobilize us and ultimately draw us away from God. Fear has no place in the presence of God. And the simple promise that he gives us:
"trust in the Lord...He will direct your paths." Didn't say, "and He will give you cushioned paths with flowers and meadows all around." So the road may not be easy...but he IS directing you...
"I will never leave you nor forsake you." Pretty sure if the God of the universe is right by my side...I have nothing to fear, i WILL be safe.
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze." Isaiah 43:1,2
There was no "if" in that at all...you WILL go through these things. The journey will NOT be easy.
Oh and by the way, go read Isaiah 43. I just read the rest of the chapter, and it is pretty fantastic. wow. I'll even put a link right here to make it easier. Feel free to look it up in whatever version you want. link
Well that went a little longer than I expected. But I'm gonna do another.
In the afternoon, forgiveness was talked about. Well, it came from 1 Corinthians 8...and looking out for each other and things that may offend one of our brothers or sisters. But in the wrap-up, Mike L. brought it back to forgiveness...and he said something that really hit me and made sense and just clicked.
"Jesus didn't just die for your sins. Yes, that is why he came and what he did...but he also died for the sins committed against you. The ones that have hurt you."
Just let that sink in. As Christians, we believe that Christ died for the sins of the world. All the sins. of all the people. right?
But it seems that we believe that until someone (who's sins we just said we believe Christ died for) does something to hurt us. Then all of the sudden all of that truth we believe about who's sins Jesus died for goes out the window. if the God of the universe could give his Son to die an unfair, undeserving death for sins he didn't even commit... and he forgave us...and washed us clean...and put those sins as far away as the east is from the west... how can we withhold forgiveness from those who hurt us.
Those sins were forgiven, forgotten, washed and put away as well. and if God, who is righteous, holy and just can do that, then we have no excuse. This is really convicting to me. Sometimes in my effort to personalize salvation and really understand it how it applies to me and my sins, I forget about how it applies to others as well. I expect God to forgive my petty (or not so petty) sins. And then I justify the frustration, anger, bitterness, etc... that I have with other people. BECAUSE THEY WRONGED ME! HOW DARE THEY! THAT IS JUST UNACCEPTABLE! THEY HAVE TO KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE! I MAY FORGIVE, BUT I WON'T FORGET!
*sigh*
Thank you God, for forgiving me...and for forgiving those who have wronged me. It is the desire of my heart to forgive as you have forgiven. Thank you for your strength to be able to do this. I place in your hands all the hurts that have been done against me. You will make them right. You will heal the wounds. You will supply the joy and peace.
Now on to some pictures =)
Sleeping with Ender. so relaxing holding a little baby...
Awake Ender. quite alert.
He's got some great facial expressions too
Big Sister isn't super jealous, but she does feel the need to claim things that he has. Little Brother has a nook, Big Sister must have one too.
Karlina picked this hat to wear, but it is a bit small. so it perched atop her head.
My mom got me a beanbag chair...and Sierra loves it. I sent this picture to my mom, who didn't see my caption about Sierra loving the beanbag chair. I guess the quality on her phone was poor. Her response, "is she in some kind of silver upright tunnel?"
A bit of miscommunication.
Mumzy getting in good Grandma time. Big sister trying to get Little Brother to sing "This Little Light of Mine." it's her favorite song. She loves hiding it under a bushel, not letting Satan *whoo* it out and letting it shine til Jesus comes. =)
So sweet.
Also, with the help of a friend from work, I discovered the most authentic Mexican food place...Taco Taxi.
It's in Minneapolis, which I hadn't really ventured to much. But it's pretty fantastic.
They speak spanish.
They have phenomenal carnitas y asada.
they had MANZANA SODA!
they made yummy grilled jalapenos and onions.
I felt like I was in LA. or Mexico.
COME VISIT ME! I HAVE A TACO JOINT! =)
5 comments:
taco taxi even looks like it's in mexico! :] :]
Taco taxi?! Good work, Suz, I have been looking too. MN lacks in its Mexican food quite a bit.
I don't understand the Satan whoo part
@katie: YES! Totally makes me think I'm in Mexico. Bright colored paint. Random signs. Square building.
@dan: let's go sometime
@anonymous: it's basically "don't let Satan blow it (the light) out" but you actually blow on your finger. Wasn't sure how to spell the sound of blowing...
Great thoughts - we're studying Job in church right now and it's been challenging my ideas about how I think my life should be easy. The picture of you sleeping with Ender makes me think of when you used to come hold A for me :)
PS - how rad is it to see Dubai on your live feed list?? Hi Aunt Sue :)
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