Thought of the day

What's the point in calling yourself a Christian if you don't even believe in the God you worship?

So there you have it. Today I'm not going to bore you with an excessively long post. Instead, I'm giving you this "thought of the day" with a little bit of explanation, and then leaving you to meditate on it and pray about it.

So what do I mean by it exactly? I don't mean that it's pointless to claim to be a Christian if you don't even believe in God. (Although it is.) What I mean in particular by my question - the thought - is that it's moot to be a Christian if you don't believe in the power of God. If you read the Bible yet pass over the parts about moving mountains and healing diseases and parting seas and read them as abstract fiction, why bother? Your being a Christian is no different from someone being an atheist.

Christians who don't believe in the power of their own God are no different from people who don't even believe that God exists. This is one of the gravest hypocrisies in the church. I urge you to examine your heart, your beliefs, and then go examine the Bible. Look at it plain and simple. It never says that God's power stops.

A song to power up to...

This song, "Break Every Chain" by the fantastic Jesus Culture has been running through my head ever since I heard it last weekend. It's from the group's most recent album, found here. (I give an iTunes link because, well, Amazon mp3 fell off the train of awesomeness on this one and doesn't sell it.)

It's such a simple song, and super easy to catch on to. At 8 minutes, it's one of the typical hardcore Jesus Culture songs. Seriously, check Jesus Culture out. My family just recently invested in buying some of their CD/DVD combo packs, which I highly recommend. It's impossible to love on Jesus Culture too much! Especially when their music not only glorifies God, but empowers you and welcomes the Holy Spirit and proclaims solid theology:

There is power in the name of Jesus to break every chain

Bask in it.

Fall

I recently got A Fiddling Christmas, a fairly easy book of Christmas tunes for violin/fiddle. (I do both styles of playing.) And, by recently, I mean sometime in October. Anyways, I've been playing from the book fairly steadily ever since then, and it's really been getting me in the mood for Christmas. Today my family finally put up our tree and began taking down the autumn decorations and replacing them with festive wintry ones! As a lover of Christmas... I am thoroughly pleased.

So here I've been, playing anything from "I Saw Three Ships" to "Away in a Manger"... over, and over, and over, and over again! I've been ready for Christmas for a couple of months now. And finally, it's actually appropriate to be singing Christmas carols! Yay! Anyways. I'm getting off track. Today has been extremely tired/unbelievably hyper, so my writing is a bit off. Sorry.

So one of the songs in the book is an old classic - "O Holy Night". I'd always liked the song, but it wasn't until sometime in early November when I really fell in love with its worshipful attitude. The lyrics are absolutely beautiful, and I really like the music. When my bow hit the A-string in the 15th measure, I finally understood.

Worship is something that is really close to my heart. To get lost in it and to be found at the same time is the greatest of glories. To forsake yourself is to discover your identity. The true worshiper praises not only to give, but to receive. Worship is not a one-way street; God operates in it just as much if not more than we do. He gives His all in worship, too. I long to see Christians in every church worshiping in their various ways: some people sitting down in chairs meditatively, others up and around the room dancing and jumping joyously, some people standing and swaying... I long to see every heart display its worship shamelessly. That is something that is so direly needed in the church today. But that's another topic entirely.

Anyways. 15th measure. This is the part of the song where the lyrics change to a more humble form. It's only four little words that made this song for me:

Fall on your knees...

And there you have it. Fall on your knees. Fall on your knees. What I love about this part is that it doesn't say "Calmly kneel down." It says "Fall on your knees." Let the worship overtake you. Let the Holy Spirit fill you. Fall on your knees. Leave your dignity at the door.

As Christmas, the celebration of the birth of our Savior (and let that sink in for once), approaches I would encourage you to make it one of your spiritual goals to learn how to truly worship. Worship in its purest form does not have room for religion. (You might want to re-read that sentence.) Pure worship is the abandonment of self. It is the praise, no matter what the circumstances, of our Lord. Whoever you are, I appoint you this task: learn what worship is. Then go do it.

Fall on your knees...

Links:
1. My all-time favorite rendition of "I Saw Three Ships", by Manor House String Quartet.
2. A current violin favorite, Dvorak's "Humoresque" as performed by the wonderful David Garrett. I felt like including this because, well, quite frankly, I'm in love with it.

Thanksgiving vs. Black Friday

With Thanksgiving being tomorrow, smells of cinnamon and pumpkin seem to filter through the air. Grocery shopping is being finished and recipes are being resurrected from last year's arsenal. As I type this my stomach is already growling in preparation for Thursday's feast. (Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that I haven't yet eaten today...)

But then there's a cloud hanging above our heads. And probably over yours too, if you live in America. One of the calmest, family-oriented holidays morphs into a brutal, sometimes even deadly quest for inexpensive merchandise called Black Friday. Stores are opening in the wee hours of Friday morning (and some even the latter hours of Thursday night) to make way for the thousands of sleep-deprived frugal monsters that will be mobbing their way in. Is that really what we've come to? Has a pure holiday been cast out by a vicious shopping day?

Unfortunately, I think that's what's happened. While everybody loves a good hearty Thanksgiving meal, nobody gets anywhere near as excited for Thanksgiving as they do for Black Friday. While this isn't the most perfect metaphor that I'm trying to make... it seems like this is what's happening to all good and pure things.

You've got something - Thanksgiving - that's been going on for ages. It's a good holiday, born from good intentions. If you do any amount of earnest research on November's holiday, you'll find that the "First Thanksgiving" was a celebration of pilgrims who fled England due to controlling church authorities. The pilgrims were refugees of a sort - they came to America, my home country, for God. They ached to worship God freely. They had been injured by religion over and over again, and so they left England not for the sake of "freedom of religion" as so many will argue; instead, they left to find freedom from religion.

Religion, my friends, has been killing souls for a long, long time. Jesus didn't come to this Earth and die so that we could live under a "righteous" dogma or breathe the polluted air of a doctrine. He came that the gap that sin built might be bridged to form a perfect relationship with God. You can lift your hands in worship and memorize Scripture all the days of your life and still not have a relationship with Christ.

As I look inside my very own church, I see so few Christians; they are eclipsed by Churchgoers. If your Sunday morning service is Thanksgiving, then the football game that afternoon is Black Friday. You scarf down your meal - the filling of your spirit - in angst, longing for the good deal the next day. But what happens after Black Friday? Are you even thankful for the bargains you found? You may have a mountain of shopping bags surrounding you but you can't eat them. Toys and clothes and electronics can't fill you or eliminate your hunger.

And that's how we've gone on to live our lives - we want the cheap thrill of Black Friday. How much can we get for $20? What's the least amount of money, of effort, that we can put into something and still get a good reward? This life that we live is nothing more than emptiness. Tell me, does a movie satisfy the stomach? Does a stuffed animal quench your thirst? No, only the Bread of Life satisfies the stomach. Only the Water of Life quenches thirst.

Over the past few years especially, I have seen Thanksgiving turn into a preamble for Black Friday. "What are you thankful for?" someone at your table may ask. I hope with all my heart that you say "The freedom and love of Christ; the freedom to choose who I worship and how I do so" instead of "Good deals on Black Friday".

And the Word Came with Power = a must read.

And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.

~ Acts 4:31 (NASB)

Several nights ago, I was physically exhausted but mentally wide awake. Can you relate? I wanted so badly to get to sleep so that I could wake up early the next morning and get the day going. But for some reason, no matter how hard I tried, sleep just would not come.

Within the past month or two, I had purchased a book called And the Word Came with Power. The book is the firsthand account of an American missionary to a remote Filipino village.

Thinking that I would only read a chapter or two, I picked up the 176 page book and began to read it. At first I felt the writing was mediocre and somewhat choppy, but the more I read... the better it seemed to get. Since I had just a few minutes earlier asked God to romance my heart, I thought that maybe this book would be the answer to my prayer. I was right.

Since I have a burden for a place full of spiritual darkness and hostility towards Christianity, this book especially ministered to me. The incredible stories of deliverance and healing are beautiful. Joanne Shetler began her journey in the hopes of translating the Bible into the language of the Balangao people. As she learned to trust God and came to value the family of Christ, God opened doors and softened the hearts of the people. 

Ordinarily I would give you an in-depth analysis of this book and go into a whole bunch of theological whatnot. But this time... I'm just going to leave it at this: read this book. Even though I was dead tired, I stayed up until 3am reading this book. I literally read it cover to cover. I didn't get up to go to the bathroom or get water or anything. I just read it straight through. And that is something that rarely happens. 

... The word of God is not imprisoned.

~ 2 Timothy 2:9 (NASB)

The Travesty of the Spiritual Couch Potatoes

My fingers have spent hours tapping away on my keyboard, trying to squeeze out a blog entry. Since my last post on October 15th, God has moved so fantastically in my life. My eyes have been opened to a world I always knew existed but failed to live in; I had merely visited.

The change has been so overwhelming that I literally can't put it into words and still do it justice. It is something that must be experienced firsthand - which is why so few believe in it, and thus fail to live it. Though it seems pessimistic, in this post I'm going to be talking about the most common Christian failure.

As I've written before, until I was about 8 or 9 my family went to a Baptist church. Since then, we've gone to a church that could easily be called non-denominational. It's got aspects of many denominations, but has never truly fit inside the box of a particular one - and that's something that it loves. Anyone can walk into our church and fit in.

I didn't open this post today to bash my church, which it may sound like I'm about to do. But I promise you that I am not. I'm heavily involved in my church and I love being there. However, there are several things that I would change if given the chance, one of them being this: my church's focus is to evangelize. It loves to welcome new people to the faith. Every weekend (and every Wednesday too!) I see dozens of people giving their lives to Christ. For that, my church is a wonderful one. I typically always love the sermons, and tend to agree with my pastor's theology. But there's something missing. It seems like it lacks that next step, for people who are already into their walk with God and ready for some revolutionary stuff to happen. I'm one of those people.

For that, most churches (mine included) suggest that you check out one of their home small groups. My parents belong to two of those groups. But where do I fit in? I don't. My church doesn't have a small group program for serious, devoted teens. And that's something I would like to change. Where is the serious Christianity for the teenagers? My age certainly isn't looked down upon at my church, but it's not glorified either. But anyways. That's starting to get off topic.

I think my point is that this is where so many churches fail Christians. The church's focus is on getting people inside their building, converting them, and letting them leave. But what about the people who are already there? What about the people who desire something more than for their hand to be raised one time and be done with things? This is the failure of the church.

Instead of focusing almost solely on converting people as if they're sheep to be sheared, the church should spend a lot of time and devote a lot of energy into equipping its existing members. What good is a church body of 5 million if only 50 of its members go out and heal the sick or help the needy?

Churches spend a lot of time focusing on organizing mission trips, which are great. Don't get me wrong. But step outside. Look at your neighbors. I can guarantee you that at least one of them has something in their life that you can fix. Why are we not helping them, our very own neighbors? How is Guatemala or Burma any different that your very own street? People are in need of something every single place you look. If you live with someone, I'd bet that they've got something you could help them with. If you're a Christian, you have power in the name of Jesus, granted to us by the Father, delivered to us by the Holy Spirit to pray over sick people and heal them. If you've got the Holy Spirit, you are able to prophesy to people. Through Him you can speak in tongues or preach or see into the spiritual realm. Those things are very real. Yet we live as if the only healers are doctors with drugs, the only prophets are those that died during Bible times, the only tongues are Russian and Chinese, the only preachers are those in the pulpit, and the only seers are those committed to mental institutions.

One song by Casting Crowns comes to mind. Listen to this song and read the lyrics. Open up your heart and let it stab you.

This is a burden of mine. I ache for the dying church. If Christianity were to go on forever exactly as it is right now, we would not be changing the world. We would merely be existing within it. And that, my readers, is a problem. Christians shouldn't be spiritual couch potatoes.

That's one thing that God has shown me so clearly in the past few weeks. The body is dying. We are almost all failing to live life inside the body. This is why Christians are so often called hypocrites. Because we are. If you actually read the Bible, you'll see some of God's explicitly clear commands. But where are they being carried out? So few people actually live the Christian life that God designed.

The majority of the Christian church as it is right now is a living but dying travesty. At its best the mainstream church mocks what Christians once were and should still be. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be a breathing travesty.

Jesus did not die on the cross for us to be travesties. So what are you going to do about that?

Will You?

Confession #1 of a 90s baby

I grew up listening to some really awesome music.

Confession #2

Among my favorite bands was the Newsboys. In spite of my temporary dislike for Christian music, I always loved them.

Confession #3

As a little girl, I was convinced I would marry Phil Joel.

Confession #4 

I didn't.

Confession #5

Aside from that tragic heartbreak (:P), I still love their music and have recently rediscovered it, thanks to my mom.

I don't know what it was about them, but I really loved the Newsboys. Just ask any member of my nuclear family, and they'll assure you. I was hardcore.

Even though I was just a toddler, I'm pretty sure I knew every single word to every single Newsboys song. I also watched their movie, Down Under the Big Top, about a billion times. We had a few of their concert videos, which I watched repeatedly. I also went to several of their concerts. I seem to recall having a Newsboys poster when I was about four, right by my bed. If there was an award for being the biggest Newsboys fan ever, I'm pretty sure my little kid self would have won it. Just sayin'.

So for the past couple of days, my mom has been listening to Love Liberty Disco, Adoration, and Thrive, all of which I love. Although each album is filled with songs that speak to me, the ones that are really standing out to me at this point in time belong to the Thrive album.

The title song is just plain gorgeous. But it's "It is You" that got me writing this post.

I've been studying a lot about the Holy Spirit lately, and God has really been teaching me about all sorts of relationships. Away from the chaos of human relationships lies the most brilliant of them all: the relationship between God and man (or woman!). When I heard this song for the first time in a couple of years the other day, it caught my heart in its net. I love, love, love, love, love the lyrics, particularly this part:

As we lift up our hands, will You meet us here?

As we call on Your name, will You meet us here?

We have come to this place to worship You,

God of mercy and grace; it is You we adore.

That part really stood out to me. It's such an earnest, calm prayer. The singer is petitioning God, saying, "We're going to praise You, we're going to worship You. Would you meet us here? Could you come down from Heaven and love on us as we love on You?" Gah. It's so simple, and so undeniably beautiful.

This song has really become my prayer for worship. It just occurred to me - literally, just now - that when some people worship, they don't expect anything from God. They just sing the song, maybe raise a hand or close their eyes, but they never invite the Holy Spirit to rest on them. I don't want to be like that. Worship, for me at least, is more than just a one-way offering. Worship is a way for me to sacrifice myself to God and to experience His music as I sing. 


God, will You meet us here? 


Next time that you worship, pour your soul into it. Don't let it be a routine anymore. Invite the presence of God to fill you. Ask Him to meet you. And He will.

As I Followed the Flock

Even though in my chronological Bible reading I'm still back in Deuteronomy (almost to Joshua!), I happened to read a few verses in Amos the other day. They really resonated with me. To me, these couple of verses are so personal, and they really speak of not only Amos but of every Christian. Here they are:

... "I was no prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet, but I was a sheepbreeder, and a tender of sycamore fruit. Then the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said to me, 'Go, prophesy to My people Israel.'"

~ Amos 7:14-15 (NKJV)

I don't know how many Bible readers have passed this up. I can only wonder at how many times it has been read, but never really meditated upon. It's perhaps one of the most profound parts of the Bible in terms of our identities and gifts. Allow me to explain.

Amos was just a regular guy. No noble blood, no noteworthy inheritance. He wasn't really a person of stature; he was merely a person. A man living his life, doing his job, walking with the Lord. As is noted in Keil and Delitzsch's Old Testament commentary, Amos was not even possessing the flocks which he tended nor the fruit which he pruned. He was a totally blue collar guy. 

Quite simply put, Amos was an average Joe. There wasn't anything "special" about him, really. Amos could be you, Amos could be me. He could be anybody, and the fact that he had no "significance" makes him so important. His ordinariness is what sets him apart. 

So here's where this gets me: Amos had no claim to prophecy. It wasn't his trained profession, he had no connections in prophecy, he wasn't related to any prophets... This job wasn't familiar to him. Instead of prophesying, he took care of sheep and fruit. He did his job well and loved God. Then one day as he is doing his work, God tells him to prophesy.

As he is doing his work. "As I followed the flock," Amos wrote.

God's call is "out of the blue" to Amos. It happened suddenly. I like what A. W. Tozer says:

God's people are so afraid of “suddenly”. They always want things to slip up on them a little bit at a time, slowly. Everybody is willing to be filled with the Holy Spirit provided God does it very gingerly and slowly, and does not take away their face nor embarrass them nor frighten them. But the scripture says, “Suddenly they were filled with the Holy Ghost.” It even says, “Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts.” I think you will find that word occurring whenever God did a wonderful thing. He did it suddenly.

God did a wonderful thing through Amos, and He most certainly did it without warning. He did it as Amos followed the flock. As Amos did his work, God did His. I've heard in so many places that God likes taking ordinary people to do extraordinary things. And it's true; He does. Amos is just one of many examples of that. I think the problem with so many of us is that we're lazy. "Oh, I'm just waiting on God," we'll say. "It's all Him now. I've prayed. All I can do is sit back." Um, no. You keep praying, and you keep working. Rewards don't come to people who don't do anything. They go to people who actually work for them.

Of course, I'm not saying that God only "helps those who help themselves" or anything like that. I'm not saying that if you don't work your butt off that God won't show up. I'm just saying that you can't be completely passive about your calling. You have to live expectantly. God won't trust you with the big things until you show Him He can trust you with the little things too. You can't just sit down in the midst of chaos waiting for God to show up. You have to stand up, fight for Him, and know that He'll come.

Amos didn't work for ten years and then say, "Alright. I've worked my fair share, it's about time God did something for a change. I'm just going to quit working and wait." Amos did his duty and expected God to do His. God called Amos out of his ordinary job to do something extraordinary -- go and prophesy to Israel. And God can do that for you, too.

You probably aren't a literal shepherd. I know I'm not. And you probably don't tend sycamore fruit. I don't even know what sycamore fruit really is. I don't know your circumstances. But I know mine. I'm a student, and I have a pretty normal life. But then, one day, God said "Hey. I want you to do this for Me." And as I followed the flock, as I lived my life and loved Him, He called me to something. It may not necessarily be prophecy, but God can do that for you too. I encourage you to trust Him with where you are, because He put you there for a reason. Do your duty. Do it heartily. And then, God just might show up.

Give it a try.

For several years straight, I was heavily involved in theater. In just 3 1/2 years, I managed to take part in 3 plays and 7 musicals. Though I didn't really know it at the time, acting became my crutch. I hadn't truly discovered God yet. I worshiped performing.

During the time that I was actually in theater, I took for granted much of what my directors, choreographers, and voice coaches taught me. I was naive and a little cocky. Though they imparted upon me a lot of knowledge, I didn't really take any of it to heart. I shoved it to the back of my mind and went on with the show. Since I had always been a performer to some extent, I thought that I didn't really need any of this formal training. And actually, my directors took both formal and informal approaches to their teaching, all of which I took for granted.

It's been about a year since I was in a full-on show, though I've done a few skits and talent shows since then. By the time I finished the most recent show, I was simply burnt out. The high that I got from performing was no longer there. I needed something else, something more. Don't get me wrong, I still loved performing -- but it simply wasn't enough. I needed God.

Recently, though, I've started trying some new things, such as volunteering at church and playing violin. (Among other things.) And finally -- after all those years -- I understood something that my director had taught me.

Several years ago, I was at "my" theater's audition for a musical that had some filler parts for cheerleaders. I already had a supporting role that I was happy with, so I just sat back and watched those auditions. And I'm glad I did; I learned something extremely valuable.

In order to get one of those parts, you had to be able to do a cartwheel. (Among a few other things.) Always the opportunist, my director turned that into a lesson. (I'm going to paraphrase him here.) "When it comes to auditions like this," he said, "never say 'but I can't do that.' Always say, 'I can do my best and give it a try.' Even if you don't get that specific part, the people casting will notice that you're willing to stretch yourself and test your limits. Don't let an opportunity get away from you simply because you didn't try."

Wow. I didn't realize it back then, but now I've come to appreciate this extremely valuable lesson. There have been many times just recently that I have opted out of saying "I can't" and into saying "I can try." I can't even begin to describe how much this has helped me, not only in "regular" things, but also in God things.

If He asks me to do something, He knows that, through Him, I am capable. Instead of complaining to Him that "I can't" do something, I should respond with a willing attitude and a cheerful heart. This reminds me of something Mother Teresa once said:

I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish He didn't trust me so much.

But whatever God gives us, it is for a purpose. Perhaps it will be like Abraham sacrificing Isaac -- even though God doesn't actually want us to do that, He wants us to trust Him enough to give it a shot and to just heed His call. And don't forget --

... Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.

~ Colossians 3:23 (NKJV)

Fail to prepare...

...prepare to fail.

Have you heard that old adage? The first time I remember hearing it was at a conference a few years ago. "Huh," I had thought, "that's interesting." It somehow managed to get stowed away inside my mind, only to resurface about a week ago.

If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you'll know that I have a heart for missions (particularly foreign). While I'm obviously not in a position to pack my bags and move to some obscure corner of the world just yet, God is training me in my everyday life. Our relationship went from being ritualistic - and religious - to being loving and reminiscent of the way parent-child relationships should be. As I make mistakes, I hear "the little voice" inside my head giving me mini-lectures. It's kind of like having spell-check on your life. (More simply put, extremely helpful yet occasionally aggravating.)

Just recently, I realized that yes - God is training me right in my very own city - but eventually, I won't be in high school anymore. I won't be living with my parents in Anytown, USA for the rest of my life. One day, I'm going to go out into the world, start my own family, build my own legacy, etc. All that jazz. (That Hollywood jazz... Forgive me, but I love 80s music.) But before I go to my "ultimate" place - the country that I feel God calling me to - I should probably (no; definitely) have some practical experiences.

Within the past year, I've stumbled upon a good amount of mission trip opportunities, both within my own state and country and on other continents. (The latter category appeals to me far more.) My parents, the frugal people that they are, wouldn't go for a $2,000 expense. Back then, I didn't have a source of income (other than my allowance... haha) and I wasn't as in love with Jesus as I am now. The Holy Spirit hadn't yet become my go-to guy. So I let these opportunities go.

Then, just the other day, I remembered that if I

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.

and it hit me like a ton of bricks. (Gotta love the English language; it has such peculiar idioms.) If I want to go on a missions trip within the next few years, I need to start saving now. So I grabbed a standard envelope and a Sharpie. On the envelope I wrote "Missions money" and made myself the following deal: whatever money goes into the fund does not come out until I am paying my expenses for a foreign mission trip. No exceptions.

I'm a movie buff. Just today I bought the Blu-ray/DVD/digital copy of the new X-Men movie. Did I really need that? No. I just wanted it. But people out there NEED the gospel, and it is not my duty to sit back and watch as others take action; instead, it is my responsibility to get off my butt and do something about the evil in this world. I could have added another thirty bucks to my missions fund. But I didn't. I wasted it on a material thing.

Not that there's anything wrong with indulging every now and then. But I could have saved that money for something else. And next time, I think I will. (Of course, ever since I first saw First Class in theaters, I told myself that I would buy the combo pack, so it wasn't some spur-of-the-moment thing.) When it comes down to it, I don't want to prepare to fail simply because I failed to prepare. I want to be ready when the time comes. (Reminds me of "I Wanna Be Ready" by B. J. Thomas; this is the song I'd fall asleep to as a kid.) I'm saving a good portion of my money for this future mission trip. I've told several people about it; they can help hold me accountable. My bare minimum for the fund is $1 out of every $10 that I make. (So, 10%, like my tithe.) And that's a good place to start.

So let me ask you this: what are you doing? Are you failing to prepare? Or are you preparing for success? Find your burden, and do something about it. Save money, volunteer, whatever. But don't just sit there.

All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.

~ Edmund Burke

I refuse to let evil, in its many forms, triumph. I may not be big, but I'm not too small to make a difference. Neither are you.

Deliberation is the work of many men. Action, of one alone.

~ Charles De Gaulle

So how about it, folks? Let's be that one man (or woman!) who acts. Let's not be "good people" who stand in silence. Let's be ransomed sinners who walk by faith.

Churchaholics Anonymous

Last night I was texting a friend when I said, "Man. I miss church already."

She replied with, "Ha. You're a church addict!"

"Yes, I am. I'm a churchaholic. I should be in a Churchaholics Anonymous group. We would have fellowship and do worship and study the Bible."

"...But that's the same as going to church..." she noted.

"Exactly," I shot back.

I am not; I am

For years, my mom would tell me to "speak words of life". For a few years, starting when I was about 7 or 8 and ending when I was 11, I had a tendency to be negative about everything. Those years were pretty rough for me, and honestly--I'm probably the one at fault. I never said anything positive. I became closeted and angry. I didn't know at who or about what, but I lived inside a self-constructed prison of negativity and self-beration. Um, yeah, not a fabulous world to create for myself.

Starting in 2009, God began to really get a hold of my heart. He was laying the foundations for what would happen this spring (my true realization of Christianity). This was already several years after my seemingly unshakable bad attitude finally dissolved. So I don't remember exactly when it was, but my pastor gave a sermon on our identities. In a nutshell, he said that we needed to stop living inside the lies of who the world declares us as. Instead, we need to live in the truth of who God knows we are.

So instead of saying, "I'm just a girl. I'm not worth anything. I can't change anything. I'm meaningless and unimportant. I'm not special." -- I should be saying positive things about who God made me to be. He crafted me with great care, forming me with His loving hands.

But now, O Lord, You are our Father;

we are the clay, and You are the potter;

and all we are the work of Your hand.

~ Isaiah 64:8 (NKJV)

God knew what He was doing when He made me. He made me to serve and love Him. And when I do, He will do great things through me, just as He can do great things through you as well. Words are inadequate to describe His glory. As A. W. Tozer once said,

Always remember this: God is always bigger than anything God can say, because words are inadequate to express God and what God can do.

I love this quote. But anyways. My pastor gave that sermon, and it took awhile for it to really sink in. I had always thought of myself as "Anna the Useless" or "Anna the Follower", but then one day God revealed to me that I was exactly the opposite of what I had believed--I am not an unimportant pushover. I am "Anna the Useful" and "Anna the Leader". Through Christ, I have the ability to move mountains and see my world change.

So the other night, a holy discontent welled up within me. I may not be able to solve world hunger or eliminate poverty, but I sure as heck can pray my soul out. I can raise awareness for issues that burden me. I can work with the hungry and the poor in my area. But before I can do that, I must have a vision. I must know what God wants for me. And even before I can know that, I must know who God created me to be. So after the holy discontent, I wrote a brief paragraph to myself. In it I included words of life that feed God's power within me and terminate the lies that I had so willfully taken in the past. Here it is:

I am NOT "just a girl" from Anytown, USA.

I am a child of God - a daughter of the King -

with a vision and a dream. And that counts for

more than just "something"; it counts for everything.

I can - and WILL - make a difference in 

this world for the glory of God.

And there you have it. It speaks truth about my life and projects God's power into my future. Let me tell you, I am going to be keeping this near and dear to my heart. Come to think of it, I think we all should have one of these. I encourage you to write one for yourself. Find out what God has placed on your heart. I'm not saying that you have to know what your life's work will be. All I'm asking is, what is bothering you right now? Homelessness? Illness? What is it? Find it. Pray about it. Then act upon it.

What's your burden for today? What does your "power statement" say? 

What does it matter?

As summer seemed to wind down this year, my family decided to have a garage sale. We all scoured our belongings, trying to find things to get rid of. While I still have a lot that could be purged, I managed to rid myself of a good amount of clutter. My parents, too, found much to sell. Among the things that my mom wanted to get rid of was a devotional called Voices of the Faithful. I had seen that my dad was reading the sequel to it, and I was curious about it.

"Why are you getting rid of this? It looks good!" I asked. The book, some 400 pages, is comprised of a daily Bible verse, prayer, and one-page story from a missionary. As an aspiring missionary, this devotional really appealed to me. Needless to say (but I'm going to say it anyways!), I saved the book from going into the garage sale.

By the time I started reading it, August was drawing to a close. Immediately I fell in love with this devotional. I don't know how those who aren't called to foreign missions would feel about it, as it probably wouldn't be that appealing to them. But I strongly recommend Voices of the Faithful to anyone who desires to be a missionary in any way, shape, or form--especially foreign missions.

So September 11th's reading began with Romans 14:8:

If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

While I've read a few chapters in Romans and have skimmed most of it, I don't recall ever having read this verse before the other night. As I read it, I felt such a strange peace. If you read my post from a few weeks ago, you'd have seen that I mentioned I had been fearing death in the mission field. This verse was sent to me at just the right time!

I realized that I have something that many do not -- a firm faith in God. I can't even explain the strength and peace that this gives me!

If God be for us, who can be against us?

~ Romans 8:31 (KJV)

[See also "Our God" by Chris Tomlin -- a favorite!]

I've realized (just recently) that without God, I simply have nothing left worth living for. All that I do would be in vain. I would be wandering aimlessly, searching for meaning or truth yet I would have nothing. Honestly, if Jesus weren't on my side, and if the Holy Spirit weren't my constant companion, I would have killed myself a long time ago. I was living inside of a personal hell. I had no faith in this God that I "kinda sorta" believed in.

But now that I know what it is to be loved by and important to God, I know that the only important thing is to love God. If we do, everything else, though utter chaos, falls into place. If we allow it, God will have His way. And believe me, His way is always better for us than our way.

... His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the Earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of Heaven and among the inhabitants of the Earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, “What have You done?” 

~ Daniel 4:34-35 (NKJV) 

To truly be a Christian should mean to surrender whatever little control we have over our lives to God. We really do need to let Jesus take the wheel. I choose to allow Him to do so. If I live, it is His will. If I die, it is His will. What does it even matter how I feel? What does it matter what I desire? I will follow the Lord.

The beholder's eye

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.

~ Proverbs 31:10 (NASB)

The other day I had a rather humbling experience with God on the subjects of beauty and vanity.

I was just running errands, nothing too important, when I saw a girl my age who had rather unfortunate looks. This was a field that I had lived in; I was just beginning to get over the feeling that I was somehow unforgivably hideous. Ever since elementary school, I've battled with feeling ugly or fat or simply not good enough. I never got to the point of anorexia or bulimia, but I lived underneath a big black cloud of shame. If you've been through this (and I'm sure most of us have!), you'll know that no matter how many people tell you that you're beautiful, you never believe it. When you look in the mirror, you still only see the body that you've created in your head. No amount of weight loss can change that. Neither can a new tan, copious additions to your wardrobe, or a new haircut. The only thing that can change how you perceive yourself--and beauty in general, for that matter--is by allowing yourself to be influenced by the Father Who loves you and knows that you're beautiful just the way that He created you.

So anyways. There I was, and I saw this girl. I don't really know why I prayed what I did, but I asked God to make her beautiful. She just simply didn't really have any attractive qualities. Feeling sorry for her, and also somewhat empathetic, I prayed that she would become wonderfully beautiful. Right as I was wrapping up this stupid prayer, God gently said, "But Anna, she already is."

Just a few simple words. "She already is." All that can be said for this is selah.

So while I have no idea what guys find to be truly beautiful, us girls tend to believe that beauty is found in being a size 0 with expensive clothing, perfect skin, and impeccable makeup and hair. But what about all the other girls? Are they--am I--not beautiful also? Was the girl that I prayed for--this "unattractive" girl--not beautiful?

It was then that I realized what I had already known for some time: beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Our Creator sees us all as "fearfully and wonderfully made" regardless of what the world thinks. Through God's eye, His glorious, perfect eye, we are all exceedingly beautiful. After all, He purposefully made us the way we are. Yet somehow, through the world's eye--this damaged eye, always requiring glasses to see--beauty is something that only the elite are allowed to possess.

God has taught me about beauty quite well. I now no longer strive to merely look beautiful. My strife is now only in truly being beautiful in my spirit and soul.

For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.

~ 1 Timothy 4:8 (NKJV)

Update

Well, yesterday was a busy one, but a great one.

I don't know if I've blogged about my Sunday routine before, but my Sundays are always brimming with busyness. I wake up early, head to church early, and am there until about 2:30 in the afternoon. For two hours, I work with toddlers. If you're a parent, or if you've ever worked in any sort of nursery or daycare, you'll know that holding little kids for that amount of time can be quite tiring. I actually decided that I don't need to even exercise on Sundays; I get a work out from serving! Then, after serving, I attend the sermon and worship.

In reality, I don't even have to go to church at all. And most people, when they go, they're only there for one service. At my church, and many others, this means about one hour. But no; I'm a churchaholic! I love serving there, and worshipping and learning and having fellowship. I've finally discovered what one's church should be for them.

Anyways, I got home around 2:30, and then had a handful of friends over to my house for Bible study and dinner. By the time everyone had left, it was 11pm. I then proceeded to fall asleep, unable to eat anything because I had been so spiritually satisfied. Have you ever had that happen to you?

So here I am now, still basking in His presence as I enjoy my Labor Day. Alright, so this isn't my typical post. But you're probably enjoying the reprieve, aren't you? ;P Today I'm going to install my new ceiling fan and assemble my new desk, and then hopefully relax and play some violin.

Edit: I wrote in this entry that I made an account on Tumblr, but I ended up deleting it not too much later.

Some thoughtful advice from A. W. Tozer

Set aside time and search the Scriptures. And if the Scriptures do not convince you that the Church and the individuals in the Church ought to be living a happy, Spirit-filled life, then do not listen to me. Because if I preach five hours straight and I do not preach according to the truth found in the Bible, I am wrong no matter how eloquent I try to be. Pray, yield, believe, obey, and see what God will do for you. …

~ A. W Tozer

O Death

Had Christ the death of death to death

Not given death by dying,

The gates of life had never been

To mortals open lying.

I'm not sure where I found this little poem, but I stumbled upon it sometime within the past few months. It was credited as "Unknown" (that guy and his brother Anonymous sure get around, I'm telling you), so I can't tell you much about it. At first I saved it to my compilation of quotes (it's literally 39 pages long, and counting) so that I could ponder it later. The first time that you read it, if you don't take it slowly, you'll wind up really confused. (I know I did.) 

But then, if you read it slowly... it's really quite profound. Put into simpler tongue, it's saying that if Jesus hadn't killed death by dying, true life in Heaven wouldn't be accessible to us. 

If I let myself go too deep into this subject, we'll all end up with migraines. The post would be so long that not even I could read it. (And even without my fullest extrapolation, it'll still be pretty lengthy.) When it comes to God, you just can't exhaust anything. Because He goes on forever and is infinite in every way, our discussions and thoughts on Him never end. It is impossible for a human to fully comprehend God. But we can surely do what we can. 

This poem reminds me of an excerpt from Miracles, a book by good ole C. S. Lewis. I found this paragraph in A Year With C. S. Lewis. 

On the one hand Death is the triumph of Satan, the punishment of the Fall, and the last enemy. Christ shed tears at the grave of Lazarus and sweated blood in Gethsemane: the Life of Lives that was in Him detested this penal obscenity not less than we do, but more. On the other hand, only he who loses his life will save it. We are baptised into the death of Christ, and it is the remedy for the Fall. Death is, in fact, what some modern people call 'ambivalent'. It is Satan's great weapon and also God's great weapon: it is holy and unholy; our supreme disgrace and our only hope; the thing Christ came to conquer and the means by which He conquered.

Wow. I often find myself jealous of Lewis' literary excellency and theological wisdom. In this excerpt he explores the death in life and the life in death. He shows us, quite plainly, that death is both our kindest of friends and our harshest of enemies. I've found myself meditating on this passage quite a bit. It is so profound. I would compose on it, but really, is there anything left for me to say? Lewis is well-known for his honesty and precision. Quite frankly, he inadvertently leaves many subjects impossible to expand upon.

I am then reminded of a Bible verse. I've used it on here before, but I failed to see the profundity of it. It fits right in with Lewis' aforementioned description of death:

[We are] always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 

~ 2 Corinthians 4:10 (NKJV)

How did I not see that before? Without Jesus' death, we can't enjoy the life that He brings! Selah. I have to wonder if, whilst penning Miracles, C. S. read that verse. Perhaps this is a bit of a stretch, but one of the things that I got from this was that Jesus gave death a taste of its own medicine. This entire philosophical notion gives me a bit more joy than it should give a teenager.

Another thing that I am reminded of in all of this is that some people wonder how a loving God could kill His Son. Again, that would take quite a bit of space to do the subject justice. There are so many corridors and rooms to explore within that house. I find quite a bit of truth in this quote:

The dying Jesus is the evidence of God's anger toward sin; but the living Jesus is proof of God's love and forgiveness.

~ Lorenz Eifert

While this quote doesn't encompass fully the subject of the crucifixion, it's pretty interesting. Because God is a just Person, He must punish sin or it must somehow be atoned for. (This is why in the Old Testament, His children had to perform ritualistic sacrifices in order to avert judgment.) With Jesus, He made the final sacrifice. He got in the last word. And yet again, this leads us to another extremely long post, which will have to be written some other time. God is like that; you can't condense any given aspect of Him to one blog entry. You could write for your entire life and still not even come close to finishing. My head is already spinning! All that I wanted to do with this post was give you the excerpt from Miracles and ask you to think about it. Instead I've ended up with another novel!

Anyways. I'll try and bring this to a close. You've got a life that you should get back to, and so do I. Basically, through this wild goose chase that I've led you on, I've just given you a few additions to C. S. Lewis' thought. One could think for hours about death and its theological and philosophical implications and properties. Jesus, the Man Who was God, slayed death by arising from it. He conquered its power. We can now boldly shout,

O Death, where is thy sting? O Grave, where is thy victory?

~ 1 Corinthians 15:55 (KJV)

We no longer have to consistently live in rituals. We don't ever have to make an atonement sacrifice. Jesus did that for us. And through Him, I completely agree with Socrates:

Death may be the greatest of all human blessings.

Promises 4,000 years in the making

Reading the Bible, though excruciatingly dull at parts (I'm reading through Leviticus now. Yikes.), is also brimming with gorgeous gems for us to harvest. God's Word continuously speaks to those who scour it, and even to those who only seek revelations with half their hearts. This collection of books, written over the course of several millenia, has spoken directly into the lives of countless individuals. For years and years, the Bible has penetrated the soul. No matter how many centuries old its writings are, the Bible always finds a way to relevance. Wherever you are, it speaks to that place. The Word is convicting, encouraging, hopeful, lovely... it is alive.

For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 

~ Hebrews 4:12 (NASB)

Just a few days ago, I finished reading the Book of Exodus, famous mostly for the story of Moses' early life and the events encompassed therein. I know that when I attempted to read the Bible through before, I didn't make it past the story of the Hebrew exodus. I hadn't seen what God wanted me to see.

You may think that once the exciting part of Moses' story is over, Exodus has nothing to offer. I thought that for awhile as well. But then, this time around, I discovered three treasures buried beneath laws and stories of Moses conversing with God. The verses that I'm about to show you are often overlooked. I don't think I've ever heard them referenced before.

I can't remember if I've mentioned this here or not, but I believe I'm called to foreign missions, particularly Africa. I honestly cannot imagine anything else for my life. So naturally, being used to my quiet suburban life, this urging from God wasn't comfortable news. It's not what I would have chosen for myself. In fact, it was the last thing I wanted to do! (I'll probably extrapolate on callings at a later date.) My mission field isn't a safe one. For awhile I worried about my safety, my life (and occasionally the fear tries to creep back in). I worried that I might die. I worried that people wouldn't receive God, or that I wouldn't be a "good missionary". And then, in Exodus, I found a diamond amongst coal:

"Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Beware of Him and obey His voice; ... for My name is in Him. ... If you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. For My Angel will go before you. ..."

~ Exodus 23:20-23 (NKJV)

These few verses began to re-silence my fears and reconfirm my faith. The fleshly voice of doubt within me went from painful screaming to semi-confident shouting. And then, a few verses later...

"I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you."

~ Exodus 23:27 (NKJV)

The voice went from a shout to normal speech. Slowly, through His ancient written Word, God was calming me. Here. In 2011. With something written thousands of years before my birth! Originally spoken to the infantile nation of Israel, this promise of theirs became this promise of mine. You see, the place to which I am called is not safe. It is not easy there. My biggest fear was of a premature death. I was worried about 'enemies' coming to slit my throat or pierce my side. But He will cause them to "turn their backs" to me. You will be safe in His arms. This reminds me of a verse found in Job:

From one disaster after another He delivers you; no matter what the calamity, the evil can't touch you.

~ Job 5:19 (MSG)

That's not to say that bad things won't happen, or that you won't face any adversity. (Click on the link, and look at the entire verse. It's pretty interesting.) But in the end, God will win out. If you allow it, His will will be done. When it comes down to it, you'll be delivered. And that voice of doubt will devolve and vanish.

I read those verses in Exodus sometime last week (I really don't even remember what day) and a few days after reading those, I came across a later Exodus verse. I call it "The New Jeremiah 29:11". For awhile now I've been praying that God will do some crazy stuff through me. I've been asking Him to reveal His glory through my life. I've been asking Him to fix me and make me more like Jesus. I've been asking Him for a lot for my future, as well as for my present. I want Him to show Himself through what I do, and I want Him to wreck the despair and violence in which people live. But anyways. When I read this verse, I got Holy Spirit chills, just as I did with the other verses. But this one especially, I felt, was a bold promise. 

And He said, "Behold, I make a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the Earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord. For it is an awesome thing that I will do with you."

~ Exodus 34:10 (NKJV)

He makes a covenant. A covenant. The strongest promise that there is. He will do things that haven't been seen or even fathomed in the entire Earth. Everyone around me will see His work. He will do an awesome thing through me. This is a sermon that I've got to preach to myself continually. And it's a powerful one. 

These promises are thousands of years old. So, I believe that God transcends time, right? So while He may not have been speaking to my face when He first said those words, I believe that He knew that one day, I would read those covenants. He was speaking them to me then, just as He was speaking to the Hebrews. 

So, those are my promises. What are yours? What is God promising you? I ask you to seek out answers. Pray for revelations. Pray for Him to reveal your calling to you. Count on God to make you some crazy awesome promises. 

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."

~ Matthew 7:7 (NASB)

[See also Deuteronomy 4:29 (NKJV)]

Seek His covenant to you. Search for your calling. But don't stop there.

"Selah." Do what now?

If you've been reading my blog, you may (or may not) recall an instance or two in which I used the Hebrew word "selah", famous for its 70-something occurrences in the Bible. For years scholars have argued over the meaning of this elusive word, never able to agree on a meaning. In Bibles it is simply transliterated as "selah" and left without translation.

After awhile I started to wonder what this word meant. It was used fairly heavily in the Psalms (and featured once in Habbakuk). What was the meaning of this mystery word?

If you take a look at the footnotes of your Bible, you'll probably see it noted that the exact meaning is unknown. "Probably a literary or musical term" is often what you'll find, but in a few copies, you'll see something suggesting that it means "reflect" or "pause", which I like much better than merely "interlude" or any random word.

Okay, so I'm not an expert on the Hebrew language. Heck, I'm not even an expert on the Bible! So I'm most definitely not the one to tell you what this word means. But perhaps I could offer my opinion?

In all the instances in which I've read it (that I recall at this moment), "selah" has been used after a thought-provoking statement has been made. It seems to me that the word invites the reader (or listener, whatever) to meditate upon what has just been said. To pray. To dream. To reflect. Pause, wonder, ponder, imagine, bask. To me, this is what "selah" means. It's not simply some "musical or literary term" -- which, if assigned that meaning, there is nothing for us to gain from it.

So maybe this wasn't the best of my entries. It's been difficult to find the perfect words lately. But I'm waiting for God to inspire. I'm asking Him to show up. I'm inviting Him to speak to me, and about more than just this little project of mine. I'm asking Him to guide me, and show me His ways.

There are many verses in the Bible that warrant a "selah". Your job now is to find them. Search the Word for everything. Look to it and its true Author for spiritual fulfillment. He won't turn us away. God will love me regardless of what I do (or do not). He will never leave me. He will never abandon or forsake me. And that, my friends, begs a selah.

Waiting for Inspiration

I apologize for the lack of posts in this past week or so. I've been busy.

And lacking inspiration.

The funny thing about inspiration is that you can't choose when it comes to you. You can keep trying (and I did--I wrote about 5 possible entries, but none of them really worked) and hoping, praying even, that you can produce something of quality. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to do that lately. With school and church and work and all my other activities, life can get a bit hectic. It can be a struggle to stay focused and joyful.

But I'm hoping that God grants me some wonderful, glorious inspiration this week--and then through my inspiration, you can be inspired.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfect of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 

~ Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV)

אֶפְרָיִם (Ephraim)

Warning: this post is my longest to date.

So I recently started reading the Bible. Chronologically. And this time, I won't stop at Exodus chapter 2 (that's where I fell off last time). This time, I'm going to finish it. I've been reading 10 pages a day for about a week now; I read through about 2/3 of Joseph's story today. And suddenly, I found the inspiration that has been missing for quite some time now. I haven't posted in days.

My inspiration comes from Genesis 37:5-11. If you don't recognize the reference right off the bat, it's not too far into the story of Joseph.

Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. 

(Genesis 37:5)

What's interesting about this verse is that it mentions that he was loathed "even more", which suggests that his siblings had hated him previously as well. It's concluded that their hatred stemmed from the fact that he was clothed in a beautifully colored robe, symbolizing that he was favorited by their father. Thus if we are clothed in righteousness, placed in the garments of truth by our heavenly Father, our brothers will hate us. (See this also.) But the thing is, our brothers won't despise us if we simply blend in and live as the world does. They will hate us if we tell them of our God-given dreams. If we step out in faith, and show them that we believe in God, they will mock us. This then leads us to the beatitudes. 

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, 

for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and 

thirst for righteousness, 

for they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, 

for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.

Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.

Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, 

for great is your reward in Heaven,

 for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

-- Matthew 5:3-12

This list is ample. It doesn't mince words. Was Joseph, for revealing that God has spoken to him, persecuted? I would say so. Are we, if we make bold statements in Christ, also persecuted? The truth is, quite often, we are. Those who believe in God are often derogatorily referred to as "Bible thumpers" and even worse, slandered as idiots and lunatics. But blessed are we. 

Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing... in all our troubles, my joy knows no bounds. 

-- 2 Corinthians 6:10, 7:4 (NKJV)

And yet another Bible snippet following in this spirit:

[Be] rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer. ...Bless those who persecute you. ... Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good. 

-- Romans 12:12, 14, 20 (NKJV)

Doesn't this completely go against the grain? We're inadvertently taught, in American society at least, so be self-serving and self-righteous. We learn to love primarily ourselves, and only to love others if they are of use to us. If it doesn't go our way, we get to throw a tantrum. If it goes our way, we can bask in our glory however we wish to. One of the most common myths in America: "Just do what you can to be happy. Happiness is the goal." But you'll notice that in 2 Corinthians, it wasn't written that "in all our troubles, my happiness knows no bounds"--it was written that the joy is limitless. 

By continuing on our mission, staying the course (I just had to link to this, haha), and following our God-breathed dreams, we are accumulating treasures in Heaven. We are doing things of eternal value, not of mortal worth. To follow God is to follow Love and Perfection and Beauty and Truth and Joy. To follow Him, to spread His attributes, to tell others of what He has done for us, is to build one's treasure in Heaven. To do good as you have opportunities to do so (Galatians 6:10) is to serve God. (And there are many other ways as well.) So back to Joseph.

This guy didn't have it easy. He tells his family of his special revelation from God, and what do they do? They shun him. His brothers build up animosity towards Joseph, who was merely following God. And so begins the plot to kill him.

God, however, intervenes. Instead of murdering Joseph, his brothers wind up selling him to a band of Ishmaelites. Joseph survives. However, his survival is less of smooth sailing and more of a roller coaster.

Quickly Joseph is recognized as a great man, and he is promoted from lowly slave to important servant. He's got a great position in a prominent household; that of Potiphar. Things are looking up for him, and I imagine he must be somewhat satisfied with where he is. That is, until Potiphar's wife makes her move. I think most of us are acquainted with this story. When refused, this seductive wife accuses Joseph of trying to rape her, basically. ...Uh, yeah, not so great.

Suffice it to say, Joseph gets thrown in prison. And prison isn't such a fantastic place to be.

Joseph was there for a couple of years before Pharaoh had a dream that puzzled him. Enter: an opportunity. The chief butler, who had temporarily shared the prison with Joseph, finally remembered the Hebrew who had interpreted one of his dreams. I can almost imagine the memories that flooded over him when he remembered Joseph. And it is because of this butler that Joseph is released from his cell.

But see, the funny thing is, Joseph had to be in prison initially in order for him to meet this butler. Then, the butler had to have a dream, and Joseph consequently had to interpret it. When the butler was liberated, Joseph entreated that mention of him be made to Pharaoh, so that he, too, might be freed. But the butler forgot. There went that sliver of hope. ...For two years, that is.

Pharaoh heeded his butler's eventual voice and called Joseph to interpret. And interpret he did. Or, should I say, God interpreted through Joseph and Pharaoh recognized something extra shining through in Joseph.

And Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?"

-- Genesis 41:38 (NKJV)

Shortly after, when the Pharaoh saw that there was truth to Joseph's words, Joseph was made prominent once more:

Pharaoh also said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt."

-- Genesis 41:44 (NKJV)

Now, I have two thoughts that come from this one verse. One thought is yet another verse:

But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered awhile, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

-- 1 Peter 5:10 (NKJV)

"After you have suffered." After. Not before. You don't get to live an abundant life and then do a few years of community service. Life doesn't work that way. You have to work. You have to earn your rewards. If you're given a gift, don't forget that someone else had to labor first in order to reward you with it. Have you ever heard the saying "Things get worse before they get better"? I think it's safe to call that adage a true one. In order to go downhill, we must first trudge uphill. Other than that, I think that verse speaks for itself.

And thought #2 from Genesis 41:44: Joseph was given dominion over Egypt by the Pharaoh. Seriously, the only person higher in rank than Joseph was Pharaoh himself! Pharaoh bestowed so much power to Joseph. In all practicality, Joseph was lord of Egypt! He could do whatever he pleased--and get this--in the Pharaoh's name. It's like when we're little kids, and we're caught by a sibling doing something. "But Dad said it was okay!" we'll argue. And if we're telling the truth, that's that. Dad said. Mom said. The end. Take it up with them.

Isn't this just like the power that Jesus has given us? In His name, we are able to move mountains (Mark 11:23). In His name, we are able to cast out demons (one among many references is that of Luke 10:17-20). In His name, we are able to heal the sick (again, one of many references is Luke 9:1). You get the picture. If the Ruler authorizes it, it's done. (Daniel 4:35)

So do you see it now? Do you see that this ancient tale of Joseph relates to us today? Right here, right now? This man didn't wrong his brothers, yet they desired him dead. He didn't attempt to undermine their authority, yet they sold him as a slave. He didn't sleep with Potiphar's wife, yet he was accused of adultery. This man, an overall righteous one, a "good" man, spent years in prison before his release. He suffered. And then he was exalted.

He is eventually reunited with his brothers and father. He eventually marries and later, is the father of two sons in particular:

Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: "For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father's house." And the name of the second he called Ephraim: "For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction."

-- Genesis 41:51-52

Also somewhat like Joseph was Job. Many others, Jesus Himself included, who were "good" and "righteous" (I use quotations because the men who were purely human could not compare to Christ) suffered a great while before their reward was dealt to them. We are not any different. Bad things happen to good people. But the good always wins out in the end. Someone once said, "Everything will be all right in the end. If it's not all right, it's not the end."

We are assured that one day, there will be no more sorrow (Revelation 21:4). We will have forgotten all of our sadness at the first sight of God's glory and wonder.

Let us let Him make us fruitful in our affliction. Ephraim. Let us let Him make us forget pain and sorrow. Manasseh.

But he who loves God has no need of tears, no need of admiration, in his love he forgets his suffering, yea, so completely has he forgotten it that afterwards there would not even be the least inkling of his pain if God Himself did not recall it.

-- Soren Kierkegaard