This week's read is "Holy Cow", by Sarah MacDonald, who goes on her own personal adventure to India. As she finds herself in a near fatal situation, she is presented with the realization that she doesn't really know what comes after death. Being in India provides a golden opportunity to ask big questions about the afterlife because it is home to a variety of faiths and an attitude of religious freedom that few countries have. India is home to Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Christians, and Muslims. As she searches for an answer to her questions, she meets people from each walk of life who allow her into their inner circles.
After all of her searching, I find it very enlightening that when she is faced with another life or death situation, she is confronted with the reality that knowing one God who exists to bring control and peace is the only answer that satisfies.
As she chats on the plane with a fellow passenger "...about the wonderful nature of Buddhism, she asks me if I'll stick to his teachings. Seeing I can't be a Jew, I begin to say yes. But I stop. We are high above the Himalayas and I just heard a propeller splutter and stall... [M]y two weeks of Buddhist training practically fall into my pants. I scream. My hands are sweating, my heart is pumping and my mind is clutching at life like a randy dog to a leg. The propeller starts again but I've buried my Buddhist belief. I don't want to die. I like life. I'm completely attached to this body and this realm. I try to stop trembling and meditate. I can't... The emptiness of Buddhism sits heavy in my stomach. I actually find myself praying. For the first time in my life I want to believe there's a God who's in control. I realize I desire salvation more than the prospect of centuries of learning to control my mind."
I am both nervous and excited about my upcoming trip to India. I know that I will be faced with a variety of faith paths and a plethora of gods, each seeking to provide for my every need. The reality that I have one God who can do 1000 times more than any of theirs, even all put together, gives me this amazing sense of peace. However, I want to honor and respect those people who hold their faith as dear as I hold mine. I am eager to learn from others and an eager to see what God shows me in this new country.
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Monday, October 14, 2013
Friday, August 2, 2013
My physical body is only temporary
2 Corinthians 4:16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
John MacArthur says that Paul wants his heavenly body so badly because he wants "a new body that would forever perfectly express his transformed nature." I never thought about this before. I want a body that outwardly displays who I am in Christ. This shell is broken and sluggish. I can't wait to get a new one that has not been damaged by me and living in this broken world. I want a heavenly body that looks like what God intended it to look like- exactly as He sees me everyday.
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2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
John MacArthur says that Paul wants his heavenly body so badly because he wants "a new body that would forever perfectly express his transformed nature." I never thought about this before. I want a body that outwardly displays who I am in Christ. This shell is broken and sluggish. I can't wait to get a new one that has not been damaged by me and living in this broken world. I want a heavenly body that looks like what God intended it to look like- exactly as He sees me everyday.
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Saturday, July 13, 2013
Brand new
"Though you cannot go back and have a brand new start, you can start now and have a brand new end." John Maxwell
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Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Don't lose hope- We know our ending!
A few weeks ago I went through a pretty difficult week. Maybe it wasn't difficult compared to other people's lives but, for me, I felt like I've been in the thick of battle. Fatigue, loneliness, disappointment, and frustration have all been prominent features in my story this week. Through it all, though, God has been there as my best friend. When I was able to step back and observe myself dealing with this situation, as compared to similar situations in the past, God showed me how much more I relied on him this time than I have in my past.
Even amidst moments of "despair", I knew enough in my heart to pray against it and to trust that I was not without hope.
I have been memorizing scripture a lot this year and it was during this time of battle that I had to call on it. It was a blessing to have that to call on as my weapons. One day I started crying for no reason I could understand. All I knew was to speak out loud, "help me God." He told me to go outside. I did. I sat outside in the sun with the dogs I was pet sitting for and was instantly more at peace. I was reminded through the beautiful nature around me and two of God's living creatures that God still loves me.
It was amazing how quickly that feeling of despair went away and the feeling of hope came back. I know I'm growing because I am not forgetting what my God has done for me amidst dark situations.
God gave me another blessing the next day. You know how you feel when you watch a movie or read and book and you already know the ending? When you see your favorite character going through turmoil and frustration, you want to encourage them not to give up because you know there is a light at the end of the tunnel. You want to shout, "Don't waste time moping, you're going to get the girl!" Or "Just hang in there a little longer. You'll survive because your rescuer is on his way!" It's the same with us as believers. We know our ending. We should be more encouraged than ever in our darkest times because, no matter what, we know exactly how it's going to end. We get to go to heaven with our Savior and be healed and cared for, freed from all distress.
Why have I never realized this? I have a new perspective. And don't want to forget it.
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Even amidst moments of "despair", I knew enough in my heart to pray against it and to trust that I was not without hope.
I have been memorizing scripture a lot this year and it was during this time of battle that I had to call on it. It was a blessing to have that to call on as my weapons. One day I started crying for no reason I could understand. All I knew was to speak out loud, "help me God." He told me to go outside. I did. I sat outside in the sun with the dogs I was pet sitting for and was instantly more at peace. I was reminded through the beautiful nature around me and two of God's living creatures that God still loves me.
It was amazing how quickly that feeling of despair went away and the feeling of hope came back. I know I'm growing because I am not forgetting what my God has done for me amidst dark situations.
God gave me another blessing the next day. You know how you feel when you watch a movie or read and book and you already know the ending? When you see your favorite character going through turmoil and frustration, you want to encourage them not to give up because you know there is a light at the end of the tunnel. You want to shout, "Don't waste time moping, you're going to get the girl!" Or "Just hang in there a little longer. You'll survive because your rescuer is on his way!" It's the same with us as believers. We know our ending. We should be more encouraged than ever in our darkest times because, no matter what, we know exactly how it's going to end. We get to go to heaven with our Savior and be healed and cared for, freed from all distress.
Why have I never realized this? I have a new perspective. And don't want to forget it.
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Friday, May 10, 2013
Reality in history
This year at church we have been going through The Story. This week's chapter was about Jesus' resurrection. It is always an exciting part of the Bible for me to read. To Think that a man lived and died and then lived again seems unreal. Of course, many say that it is. The reality for me is, even when I have tried to pretend that God was not real or to somehow explain away some of the words in scripture, everything always ended up pointing back to him. Everything in my life is evidence of the truth that exists in the Scriptures. Jesus was and is REAL.
I love what my devotion says as it paints the picture of what it must have been like that weekend Jesus died, as the disciples learned the exciting news.
"A gentle whisper began to circulate of his triumph, yet it still seems impossible. It went against everything they knew. He had risen from the dead. His love was the glue that held the disciples together. In their wildest dreams, they could not imagine that Christ would overcome death with his love...The grave held our hearts, Our hopes, and our dreams. Love overcame death in a bloody war for our souls. His love proclaims that your soul is worth it."
I like to sometimes just sit with that reality. I like to ponder actually being there when it all went down. I cannot imagine what it would have been like. I can only imagine the energy that would've been resounding in that city and then very quickly to other towns, countries etc. I am so grateful to be alive in the day when Jesus has already come, but it would have been such an experience to be there when it all first happened. As they say, reality is stranger than fiction. I believe it.
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I love what my devotion says as it paints the picture of what it must have been like that weekend Jesus died, as the disciples learned the exciting news.
"A gentle whisper began to circulate of his triumph, yet it still seems impossible. It went against everything they knew. He had risen from the dead. His love was the glue that held the disciples together. In their wildest dreams, they could not imagine that Christ would overcome death with his love...The grave held our hearts, Our hopes, and our dreams. Love overcame death in a bloody war for our souls. His love proclaims that your soul is worth it."
I like to sometimes just sit with that reality. I like to ponder actually being there when it all went down. I cannot imagine what it would have been like. I can only imagine the energy that would've been resounding in that city and then very quickly to other towns, countries etc. I am so grateful to be alive in the day when Jesus has already come, but it would have been such an experience to be there when it all first happened. As they say, reality is stranger than fiction. I believe it.
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Monday, April 29, 2013
Cultivating Joy
Cultivating gratitude and joy means letting go of our fears and embracing gratitude. Brene Brown talks about this concept in her book "The Gifts of Imperfection". It makes so much sense to me, especially since I have noticed my lack of joy this week. Now I am understanding that being joyful is a daily practice. Our choice to be joyful is connected to our spirit of gratitude. When we wake up in the morning and are thankful for the life that we have been given we are instantly full of joy.
"The difference between happiness and joy is the difference between a human emotion that's connected to circumstances and a spiritual way of engaging with the world that's connected to practicing gratitude."
The root words for happiness and joy in Greek reflect this definition. The root word for happiness is Makarios, "which was used to describe the freedom of the rich from normal cares and worries or to describe a person who received some form of good fortune, such as money or health."
The Greek word for joy is Chairo. "Chairo was described by the ancient Greeks as the culmination of being and the good mood of the soul." It is something that is only found in God and "comes with virtue and wisdom."
I especially love this quote from author Lynne Twist, in her book "The Soul of Money": "For many of us, our first waking thought of the day is I didn't get enough sleep. The next one is I don't have enough time. Whether true or not, that thought of not enough occurs to us automatically before we even think to question or examine it. We spend most of the hours and the days of our lives curing, explaining, complaining, or worrying about what we don't have enough of".
Brown says, "We are starving from a lack of gratitude."
Brown also discusses how our fears can keep us from being joyful. Sometimes we are so afraid to feel joy because we are waiting for the last shoe to drop. Unfortunately, holding back from embracing the joy in those beautiful moments of life just robs us from experiencing life to its fullest.
Jesus did not come to give us life but to give us life abundantly! I'm going to live life the way He intended.
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"The difference between happiness and joy is the difference between a human emotion that's connected to circumstances and a spiritual way of engaging with the world that's connected to practicing gratitude."
The root words for happiness and joy in Greek reflect this definition. The root word for happiness is Makarios, "which was used to describe the freedom of the rich from normal cares and worries or to describe a person who received some form of good fortune, such as money or health."
The Greek word for joy is Chairo. "Chairo was described by the ancient Greeks as the culmination of being and the good mood of the soul." It is something that is only found in God and "comes with virtue and wisdom."
I especially love this quote from author Lynne Twist, in her book "The Soul of Money": "For many of us, our first waking thought of the day is I didn't get enough sleep. The next one is I don't have enough time. Whether true or not, that thought of not enough occurs to us automatically before we even think to question or examine it. We spend most of the hours and the days of our lives curing, explaining, complaining, or worrying about what we don't have enough of".
Brown says, "We are starving from a lack of gratitude."
Brown also discusses how our fears can keep us from being joyful. Sometimes we are so afraid to feel joy because we are waiting for the last shoe to drop. Unfortunately, holding back from embracing the joy in those beautiful moments of life just robs us from experiencing life to its fullest.
Jesus did not come to give us life but to give us life abundantly! I'm going to live life the way He intended.
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Location:Russo Dr,San Jose,United States
Friday, April 26, 2013
Good news
I am reading an insightful book about how to counsel one another the way Jesus did (Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands by Paul David Tripp). As we seek to understand our own hearts and what God is doing in our lives, it is so important to understand God's timeline and his character. When we think about how many years it took for God to send Jesus, it doesn't always make sense to us, until we understand His timeline. He says that it was the perfect time. Historical events, the economy, political upheaval, etc. made everyone's hearts ready for Jesus. If he did all that for Jesus' coming, he'll do that for us in our lives, too.
"The time has come. Jesus is saying, 'This is what God has been working on. All of history has been moving toward this one moment.' God had not forgotten or lost interest in humanity. Since that horrible first fall into sin, he had been bringing the world to this day. What looked pointless and out-of-control was, in fact, the unfolding of God's wonderful story of redemption, which reached its crescendo with the coming of Christ."
"As sinners, we have a natural bent to turn away from the creator to serve the creation." We are constantly seeking to fill the void in our lives with various things and we end up spending so much of our time digging under a mound of trash and untruths in order to find a small shred of insight that we think provides the answers we have been searching for. This insight gives us hope and order but this is only temporary. It doesn't give us the long-lasting hope and change that we so desperately need. Jesus is the only one who can do that.
As believers we are called by God to help others see that truth. "We gently turn them away from the mound, and joyfully turn them to the man, Jesus Christ. This is the essence of personal ministry. "
I'm excited to learn more about how to do this so I'm sure I will keep sharing.
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"The time has come. Jesus is saying, 'This is what God has been working on. All of history has been moving toward this one moment.' God had not forgotten or lost interest in humanity. Since that horrible first fall into sin, he had been bringing the world to this day. What looked pointless and out-of-control was, in fact, the unfolding of God's wonderful story of redemption, which reached its crescendo with the coming of Christ."
"As sinners, we have a natural bent to turn away from the creator to serve the creation." We are constantly seeking to fill the void in our lives with various things and we end up spending so much of our time digging under a mound of trash and untruths in order to find a small shred of insight that we think provides the answers we have been searching for. This insight gives us hope and order but this is only temporary. It doesn't give us the long-lasting hope and change that we so desperately need. Jesus is the only one who can do that.
As believers we are called by God to help others see that truth. "We gently turn them away from the mound, and joyfully turn them to the man, Jesus Christ. This is the essence of personal ministry. "
I'm excited to learn more about how to do this so I'm sure I will keep sharing.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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