i have an alias

Did I waste it? Reflections on 18 years of competetive soccer.

2010-11-23T00:08:00.002-06:00

It's really over. After talking with a teammate tonight about the ins and out of the future Golden Bear Soccer squad...it finally hit me: I am no longer a competitive level athlete.

Identity crisis? No, but definitely emotion. With a wedding and graduation quickly approaching, my mind has been consumed with the next task or appointment. What was it for? Why did I spend so much time making sure my body could endure certain lengths of running? What is the measurable result?

Relationships. I have been blessed to become good friends with people through this sport.
Discipline. I have learned that there are consequences for decisions: either good or bad. These choices form a pattern which influences nearly every part of life.
Glory. Not mine. I've had a very quiet career. There are no big stats to pull out to impress you or award to show for. I'm not that girl. But I have learned much about glory...

The most precious thing about the past 18 years has been something I call the "switch."

Short and simple, soccer had been a way to receive attention or personal worth up until 10th grade. I played for me. My workouts and efforts were the means to a successful high school career, letter jacket, college scholarship, and anything else I thought would come with the territory.

And then Jesus showed up. Along with 2 stress fractures and a messed up Achilles tendon. My little god of myself had been crushed. I made myself an idol and when my idol died for a season, I was depressed. What can fix this feeling? I thought. Relationships? Popularity? Isolation? What's the answer?

And then I started to hear the Bible. Jesus died for sinners.

Wait, wait, wait. That's offensive. I've heard that all my life, but I don't consider myself to be that bad. I try hard, I'm a good person, I'm nice to people, etc. etc.

But the truth wouldn't leave me alone: no one is good, not even one. The Bible made it clear: there is only 2 kinds of people: bad people and then Jesus--the only good guy.

And this being true, it meant that I was in some serious trouble. I had replaced the God who created me with soccer, with success, and ultimately with myself. The Bible has a pretty serious word for this: idolatry. And what does that merit? Wrath. Hell.

But because God loved me first, he sent Jesus to absorb the punishment I deserve on a cross. For the first time... sitting in an auditorium at Colorado State University, I was absolutely and irresistibly compelled to the person and work of Jesus Christ at hearing the truth that he died for me and my sin.

He promises justification... a right standing with God. First by taking away my sin, and then giving me his own holiness. The reality of this message has changed my life.

So... post "switch..." I learned that all things can be a means to make Jesus look good. To show the world that knowing Him is more satisfying than creating idols. The idol being like saltwater... hoping for it to give you life, but having it kill you more quickly and leave you feeling more and more thirsty.

In conclusion, it is fair to say that I wasted many years of soccer on myself. But by God's grace, the past 6 years have been a process of killing my selfish desire to keep making myself an idol...and acknowledge that Jesus is better. When I took the field with this heart, the game became a means to enjoying the game more because I was playing for the one who gave me skill and motivation in the first place.

I hope you consider the facts:

God loves you.
Idols disappoint and lead to death and eternal punishment.
Jesus Christ died for you so that you may know him personally, forever.

Don't waste your athletic career. Don't waste your pursuit of satisfaction on mud pies when you are offered a holiday at the sea. Know God and be free from sin.

My Responses to the Top 5 Questions about our Engagement/Wedding/Marriage

2010-04-25T09:39:00.006-05:00

John and I are excited to have set a date to be married on December 18, 2010--God willing. We've shared much joy with friends and family about the engagement. It's also been interesting to hear various responses and reactions from everyone---teammates, friends, family, co-workers, etc. Here are the top five questions, and my written reactions.

1. Q: Are you having alcohol at the reception?
A: Nope. Two Reasons: 1) Most importantly, we see alcohol as a potential distraction to the thing we want displayed most clearly: that marriage is about Jesus Christ. Marriage is by God, and the display of God. For the duration of our marriage ('till death do us part)...we hope to keep this central... so at our ceremony and reception, we hope for the same. 2) An exponentially lesser reason: We do like wine and beer, but not that much--it saves us a lot of money to not serve alcohol.

2. Q: Do you have jobs lined up?
A: John graduates this spring. I graduate December 15 (yes, 3 days before the wedding). John hopes to find a teaching job in the cities--that is what we're praying for and working towards. At this moment, we don't have a promise of income. But we do have prayer and planning. We've worked hard in school, athletics, and part-time positions to make ourselves marketable. We do believe it is the husband's role to be the "bread-winner" and that God speaks with much weight about the subject. We are trusting God to provide a sustainable income for both of us, a place to live, and food to eat. We believe his promise that he grants us "ALL THINGS pertaining to life and godliness." But this promise doesn't make us lazy. We are working hard in planning, networking, and applying in order to find these jobs. Please pray with us and if you know of any opportunities, please let us know!

3. Q: Aren't you too young to get married?
A: I don't think so. I used to compare our relationship to other relationships... "well they got married during college, so we can too." Or "Well they are waiting to get married for a few years after college in order to be financially stable." This brought me to realize: other relationships aren't our standard. God's unique call and provision within our own relationship is the criteria.

4. Q: How many attendants do you both have? And who are they?
A: We both have six. That's "a lot" (to some), or "sounds good" (to others), and even "I probably couldn't pick less than ten" (for one). We have included some of our dearest family and friends in our wedding party, and it happens to be 6 each. We are blessed to have these people in our lives and are excited to thank them for their friendship to us. At the moment, we have already asked each attendant to be a part of the wedding...except I think that John has one more yet to ask.

5. Q: How much money are you spending? Who's paying?
A: Trying to pinch pennies while being realistic is hard. Basically, a wedding costs an arm and a leg... so John is giving up his leg, and I'll give up my arm (the right arm, preferably...so I can still wear a ring)! ;o)

Thanks for being curious about our wedding... we hope it will be a good time that puts the beauty of Jesus Christ on display.

Sara Grace

Flyleaf--Beautiful Bride

2010-04-06T12:09:00.001-05:00

Unified diversity
Functioning as one body
Every part encouraged by the other
No one independent of another
You're irreplaceable, indispensable
You're incredible
Incredible

(Chorus)
Beautiful bride
Body of Christ
One flesh abiding
Strong and unifying
Fighting ends in forgiveness
Unite and fight all division
Beautiful bride

Strengthen your arms now
Train your fingers for battle
Urgency's here now
Train your fingers for battle
Fighting this violence
With your feet wrapped in peace
Sad tears and silence
Now screams of joy
Victory

(Chorus)
Beautiful bride
Body of Christ
One flesh abiding
Strong and unifying
Fighting ends in forgiveness
Unite and fight all division
Beautiful bride

Beautiful bride
Body of Christ
One flesh abiding
Strong and unifying

We're not gonna fall and forget
How far You went to pick us up
If one part's hurt the whole body's sick
If one part mourns we all mourn with Him
Rejoice, and we'll sing with you
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah

prepositions matter, and this is why I like them:

2010-03-25T12:39:00.003-05:00

Why are words so powerful? phrases, clauses, syntax, semantics... dictate the meaning of a pieced together set of words.

In particular, I have a keen interest in the preposition. Not through the preposition, or on the preposition, or in between the preposition--but IN the preposition. It amazes me that one word can create a sentence that has never before been written nor said. One word can bring you joy or stir up hate.

Even God is particular with his prepositions...because they make all the difference:

Colossians 1:13-14 (English Standard Version)
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Praise God that I have been saved FROM His wrath TOWARDS my sin. IN Christ, He accomplished atonement. He appeased God's anger towards my sin THROUGH Jesus Christ who was slain on my behalf. And anyone who believes in Him, will not perish, but have eternal life.

Read John 1. The WORD became flesh.

In Christ

2010-03-22T16:43:00.002-05:00

It's been essential for me to remind myself of who I am in Christ lately. I am prone to forget who I am. This makes is all the more easier to continue in sin... to hold onto idols... to indulge the flesh.

Here is some Bible that's been helpful for me:

1 John 3:2-8
Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. 4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning.

Galatians 5: 16--
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

He will save the needy from death

2010-03-02T09:27:00.004-06:00

I have been made so aware of my pride. The very "sin that got Satan kicked out of heaven," Mark Driscoll likes to put it. What an awful thing, to think of myself as greater or more glorious than God. To look at accomplishments, physical attributes, or dispositions and truly count myself as better. What a slave I've been to my own glory.

But God is faithful, and has humbled me by revealing the reality of myself to me. His Word is like a mirror that reveals my depravity for what it truly is: awful and utterly sinful. My allegiance to myself is unsatisfying. God is good to show me my helplessness. To show me that without His Word and Spirit, I can indeed do nothing but sin. Jesus Christ is a savior, and offers grace to anyone. Won't you come and enjoy the salvation He gives from Sin and self?

He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. — Psalm 72:13

Munich, part one

2010-01-04T02:08:00.002-06:00

After a few days in Munich, I have enjoyed the many varying dynamics of another culture. The city has great public transportation--we have been taking the ubahn and Sbahn everywhere. It's true what they say--beer is like water here, the drink of choice at dinner time. The best beer I've tried was the Paulimer, weisbeir at a pub in the Marienplatz, or main square.
New years eve was crazy-- in the city center the people were lighting off their own fireworks, downing bottles of alcohol, then smashing them on the cobblestone... And singing... Random white stripes songs.
Holidays and Sundays, the city shuts down. Sunday we found a starbucks that was open, and another coffee shop in the main square. Otherwise, even grocery stores are closed.
I really enjoy the pace here--maybe it's just because I'm on vacation here instead of living here, but everyone seems to take time at dinner, talking, eating, sipping... I see few people with their nose in a screen. Wifi is hard to come by! I enjoy the freedom from the information overload that is apart of American culture.
I'm waiting at the train stationto head to Füssen. We are going to see the castles today. Tomorrow we will head to Salzburg.
Jet lag finally died for me I think. After a remedy from Whole Foods, and an overload of caffiene in the mornings, I think my body is finally rewired to this time zone.
I continually see the beauty of God's provision and protection and authority. He is intimately at work across the globe... Jesus is Lord over Munich, Minneapolis, everywhere he is good and sovereign.

George Mueller on Prayer

2009-12-16T10:17:00.002-06:00

"While I was staying at Nailsworth, it pleased the Lord to teach me a truth, irrespective of human instrumentality, as far as I know, the benefit of which I have not lost though now... more than forty years have since passed away.

"The point is this: I saw more clearly than ever, that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not, how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished. For I might seek to set the truth before the unconverted, I might seek to benefit believers, I might seek to relieve the distressed, I might in other ways seek to behave myself as it becomes a child of God in this world; and yet, not being happy in the Lord, and not being nourished and strengthened in my inner man day by day, all this might not be attended to in a right spirit.

"Before this time my practice had been, at least ten years previously, as an habitual thing, to give myself to prayer, after having dressed in the morning. Now I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God and to meditation on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed; and that thus, whilst meditating, my heart might be brought into experimental, communion with the Lord. I began therefore, to meditate on the New Testament, from the beginning, early in the morning.

"The first thing I did, after having asked in a few words the Lord’s blessing upon His precious Word, was to begin to meditate on the Word of God; searching, as it were, into every verse, to get blessing out of it; not for the sake of the public ministry of the Word; not for the sake of preaching on what I had meditated upon; but for the sake of obtaining food for my own soul. The result I have found to be almost invariably this, that after a very few minutes my soul has been led to confession, or to thanksgiving, or to intercession, or to supplication; so that though I did not, as it were, give myself to prayer, but to meditation, yet it turned almost immediately more or less into prayer. When thus I have been for awhile making confession, or intercession, or supplication, or have given thanks, I go on to the next words or verse, turning all, as I go on, into prayer for myself or others, as the Word may lead to it; but still continually keeping before me, that food for my own soul is the object of my meditation. The result of this is, that there is always a good deal of confession, thanksgiving, supplication, or intercession mingled with my meditation, and that my inner man almost invariably is even sensibly nourished and strengthened and that by breakfast time, with rare exceptions, I am in a peaceful if not happy state of heart. Thus also the Lord is pleased to communicate unto me that which, very soon after, I have found to become food for other believers, though it was not for the sake of the public ministry of the Word that I gave myself to meditation, but for the profit of my own inner man.

"The difference between my former practice and my present one is this. Formerly, when I rose, I began to pray as soon as possible, and generally spent all my time till breakfast in prayer, or almost all the time. At all events I almost invariably began with prayer. . .But what was the result? I often spent a quarter of an hour, or half an hour, or even an hour on my knees, before being conscious to myself of having derived comfort, encouragement, humbling of soul, etc.; and often after having suffered much from wandering of mind for the first ten minutes, or a quarter of an hour, or even half an hour, I only then began really to pray.

I scarcely ever suffer now in this way. For my heart being nourished by the truth, being brought into experimental fellowship with God, I speak to my Father, and to my Friend (vile though I am, and unworthy of it) about the things that He has brought before me in His precious Word.

It often now astonishes me that I did not sooner see this. In no book did I ever read about it. No public ministry ever brought the matter before me. No private intercourse with a brother stirred me up to this matter. And yet now, since God has taught me this point, it is as plain to me as anything, that the first thing the child of God has to do morning by morning is to obtain food for his inner man.

As the outward man is not fit for work for any length of time, except we take food, and as this is one of the first things we do in the morning, so it should be with the inner man. We should take food for that, as every one must allow. What is the food for the inner man: not prayer, but the Word of God, so that it not only passes through our minds, just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what we read, pondering over it, and applying it to our hearts. . .

I dwell so particularly on this point because of the immense spiritual profit and refreshment I am conscious of having derived from it myself, and I affectionately and solemnly beseech all my fellow-believers to ponder this matter. By the blessing of God I ascribe to this mode the help and strength I have had from God to pass in peace through deeper trials in various ways than I had ever had before; and after having now above forty years tried this way, I can most fully, in the fear of God, commend it. How different when the soul is refreshed and made happy early in the morning, from what it is when, without spiritual preparation, the service, the trials and the temptations of the day come upon one."

Enjoy Food and Clothing, Don't Obsess

2009-12-09T11:15:00.003-06:00

I write this to remind myself...

"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' ³² For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." — Matthew 6:25-33

Thoughtfulness about the world is a heathenish sin, and unbecoming Christians. The Gentiles seek these things, because they know not better things; they are eager for this world, because they are strangers to a better; they seek these things with care and anxiety, because they are without God in the world, and understand not his providence. They fear and worship their idols, but know not how to trust them for deliverance and supply, and, therefore, are themselves full of care; but it is a shame for Christians, who build upon nobler principles. — Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright 1991 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.

SEEK CHRIST, THE BREAD OF LIFE, AND BE SATISFIED.
"Taste and see that the Lord is good."

Dear Astronomy,

2009-11-22T11:46:00.004-06:00

So get this: Astronomy is a 3 credit gen ed... and I've put ALMOST more time into homework and preparation for tests than I did for my Arabic classes. It's a bit out of control.

What I do appreciate about the class is the learning curve. I have not learned this much "new information" so systematically for some time. Planets, moons, their cycles and phases, our sun, our solar system, the galaxies... orbits, revolution, and rotation... this class is info overload!

An interesting thing Dr. Trapp said in class the other day is that Astronomers can see approximately 5% of the universe. When we asked him how they knew it was "5%" if they can't see the entirety of it in order to know what fraction they see... he had a pretty decent answer which I can't really remember.

So when I read this today, I was humbled--to say the least:

"Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with
the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the
dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the
scales and the hills in a balance?" -- Isaiah 40:12

God is more majestic than I know Him to be. My sin is so often a result of not viewing Him rightly. Jesus is what my soul craves, and the only one capable of fully satisfying these cravings for pleasure and joy!

May I see myself in light of God's vastness and be humbled. May I then see the greater glory of the slaughtered Lamb--Jesus Christ--and be spurred to live to make this glory known and magnified.

Imperfection: Part واحد

2009-11-20T20:42:00.006-06:00

واحد means "one". Part I.

Tim Keller once said, "Christianity is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints."

This is a fair comment on the "sickness" and "disease" I so clearly perceive in myself every day. A peculiar hospital it is... for indeed, Christ has made me well! "For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified" Hebrews 10:14

Yet my sickness is ever with me. If holiness is to be pursued and grown in, why is it that my sin is ever-more apparent to me?

What is more, He has declared me to be a Saint. So what does Keller mean? Why not display the saints for one to admire? Because the saint-hood of anyone is not their doing. The glory is not in sainthood, but in the One who exchanged His holiness, perfection, and spotlessness for our depravity which enables us to do nothing but sin.

This is the glory that reigns and will be at center-stage for eternity: the glory of the grace of the Lamb who was slain.

Two reasons we don't need this museum:

Saints still sin
The glory of sainthood is merely a reflection of Christ's glorious grace

The reason Jesus doesn't need a museum:

Museums are for dead people; Jesus is alive.

You can see the way I change

2009-11-19T08:28:00.002-06:00

A new swag, new walk, new focus...
It's all Christ--not me--no boastin.

Romans 12:2 "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind."

Don't waste your life

2009-11-16T09:31:00.003-06:00

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Jesus said, whoever drinks the water that I give him will never thirst again.

seeking satisfaction?

2009-11-07T10:07:00.000-06:00

"Men are in a restless pursuit after satisfaction in earthly things. They will exhaust themselves in the deceitful delights of sin, and, finding them all to be vanity and emptiness, they will become very perplexed and disappointed. But they will continue their fruitless search. Though wearied, they still stagger forward under the influence of spiritual madness, and though there is no result to be reached except that of everlasting disappointment, yet they press forward. They have no forethought for their eternal state; the present hour absorbs them. They turn to another and another of earth's broken cisterns, hoping to find water where not a drop was ever discovered yet."
--C.H. Spurgeon

Cravings

2009-10-24T10:45:00.003-05:00

I crave mistake-free soccer games.
I crave the approval of those watching.
I am selfish and prideful.

Thanks be to Jesus who purchased me with His blood on the cross!

Now I may play for His glory, and my enjoyment of the game.

May I forget myself today and play because God is so good, for the glory of Jesus.

If Jesus did not get up from the grave, you should feel sorry for me

2009-10-22T21:59:00.003-05:00

"If Jesus did not get up from the grave, you should feel sorry for us...But nobody is gonna feel sorry for you if they can't tell you put all your stock in Jesus.

"If your life doesn't reflect how valuable Jesus is, no one is gonna be like, 'I hope that's real'--if you look like the world does...

"If you're investing your life in eternal things, if your life reflects how valuable and incredible Jesus is, and some of the decisions you make everyday demonstrate that you live for Christ--people should feel sorry for you if this ain't real because you gave it all...."--Lecrae

but here's what Paul said: BUT IN FACT, CHRIST HAS BEEN RAISED FROM THE DEAD (1 Cor 15:20)

He did get up.

Don't waste your life.

5 Reasons Why I am Anti-morals

2009-10-20T14:24:00.005-05:00

5. One mistake or wrong doing discredits any "goodness" I have or do

4. Morals produce proud people... the sin that got Satan kicked out of heaven

3. I have not the capacity to be good when even my thoughts are evil
Matthew 5:21-26

2. The prodigal son stole money, had prostitutes, and ran away... he wanted his dad's money to serve his own desires; but he didn't want his dad.

1. The prodigal's brother stayed home, and obeyed his dad. Worked hard and did it all "right." Yet was ticked off when his brother came home and dad threw the biggest party.

This is me. Wanting the father's gifts by trying to earn his favor by doing all the right things...
but not wanting the father.

The point Jesus makes in this story is that it is not about what we do that makes us worthy of the Father's love.

The REASON why we do either bad or "good" is what separates us from the Father.

I don't want God; I want his benefits.

But Jesus, came to shatter morality by fulfilling the law with joy and perfection on our behalf.

So that, through Christ, I may experience grace: blood that washed away my morality.

Rid me of this appearance of goodness, Lord I ask... I hate it. I deserve your wrath, and yet you sent Jesus to die for the Church that I might know you, your love, the power of your resurrection... and be compelled to ENJOY YOU.

God is better than morality.

Christianity is not morality.

Jesus is not merely my example of perfection to conform to. IMPOSSIBLE.
He is my SAVIOUR.

Remember, the Bible is the book that says even our righteous deeds are like dirty rags when offered to God... original language... literally meaning: dirty tampons.

Isaiah 64:4
We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.

Does God care about soccer?

2009-10-04T09:40:00.004-05:00

"There it is, the answer to the most important question in all of life! God made you and me for his glory...

"To bring something glory means to make it look great.

"Everything we do is to be done to the glory of God. Every jump shot and every slap shot. Every single and every strikeout. Every victory and every defeat. Whether we ride the bench, or start every game of the season, all of it is to be done to the glory of God."
--Stephen Altrogge, Game Day for the Glory of GOD

i eat dinner at 3:30pm

2009-09-15T21:40:00.002-05:00

I would just like to document that I eat diner at 3:30 pm.

But sometimes I don't.

Sometimes I wake up at 5:30 to go to 6am practice.
Those days, I eat dinner whenever I want.

Those other days, I eat at 3:30... because we Bears practice during dinner time.

It's quite odd... this practice schedule... sleep schedule... eat schedule...

but quite fun.

God supplies strength, and discipline and time. "His mercies are new every morning."

I enjoy being a Christian who plays soccer because I enjoy God through competition by experiencing that He is, and always will be, more satisfying than goals, wins, losses, shut outs.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it. God satisfies. Knowing Him is to pursue the highest pleasure... any other pursuit is weak.

SGS

Jesus is better than...

2009-08-28T14:26:00.003-05:00

Rush of Fools, "We All"

You are love like we have never known,
Before the world was born--
You had named us and called us your own;
We are yours.
And we're broken at your feet!

We all fall to the ground at the name of Jesus

You have died for us

We all fall to the ground at the name of Jesus

You are seated at your throne.
It's your love that gives us hope
That you will never let us go.

We all fall to the ground cuz you're right here with us.
We all fall to the ground at the name of Jesus.

Reject Me

2009-08-06T14:16:00.003-05:00

We all have a sin-killing cancer
But you see, Jesus is the answer

And the cure comes by this surgeon
So I tell you cuz its urgent

Go ahead--reject and deny me--
Jesus paid my whole fee

He said, "taste and see how good I am"!
Satisfaction is created by the Lamb.

Your pursuits are weak: Sex, drugs, and money
God ain't pleased; He don't think you're funny.

If you'd only look to the cross,
Your sin would all be lost!

For Christ took it upon himself,
to grant you all His wealth!

God is the prize!
Do not listen to lies.

The battle is already won.
Forever, we may worship the Son.

Cliché homecoming

2009-07-31T22:52:00.002-05:00

You spend a summer with people you've never met. But you know a lot about them.
You know their names and faces from your fridge.
You realize as you meet them that they actually exist.
You start to spend each moment with these names and faces.
You eat meals together. You go to Harry Potter and Transformers together.
You climb mountains and take pictures.
You talk to God with them.
You listen to God with them.
You ride in vans everywhere you go.
You let sarcasm be your friend here, at times.
You listen to songs and have the same "Summer" playlist on your iPod.
You read the Bible together and disect God's Word.
You pray together.
You pray together.
You check your mailbox and read hand written letters.
You keep all your receipts.
You spend your free time working out.
You find alone time in only the bathroom.
You pray together.
You confront each other.
You go to Wal-Mart.
You go back to wal-mart when your One Card is declined.
You go back again.
You wake up to mountains that scream of God's grace.
You walk through them.
You run down them.
You make videos.
You eat bagels.
You pray together.
You get sick.
You get better.
You get annoyed.
You get over it.
You get cold. You get wet. You get hailed on.
You talk to strangers about Jesus.
You pray together.
You ride on buses.
You crash on buses.
You go to Savers and find sweet kicks.
You go to Boulder. You people watch.
You tube down a creek. You almost die.
You lost a flip flop. Someone finds it.
You make plans and create trips for students.
You Rene it.
You eat meals together. You pray.
You get up earley to go work out.
You run together. You lift together.
You take energy drinks. You can't sleep.
You eat at Walrus.
You raft.
You hike.
You Elitch.
You slide.
You fight with food.
You package food.
You wear a hair net.
You pray.
You trust.
You doubt.
You confess.
You read.
You talk with 10th Ave.
You avoid the cafeteria.
You eat with your family.
You worship God with your hands raised.
You Psalm 134 it.
You see you don't do things FOR God, but BECAUSE of God.
You pray. You listen. You read.
You try not to listen to yourself.
You talk truth to yourself.
Youask questions.
You know these faces. You know these names.
You know God, more.
You enjoy God, more.
You hate your sin, more.
You pray.
You pack a suitcase.
You put away the new clothes
You leave your door open and turn in a key.
You get on a shuttle.
You go through security.
You text people.
You pray.
You get on something.
You sit; it takes you away.
You come back.
You don't see a change but it's different.
You pray. You eat. You miss. You enjoy.
You think, but not too much.
You make plans.
You pray.
You work out.
You unpack for 3 days.
You wonder.
You feel grateful.
You feel sad.
You don't cry, but maybe you will.
You press onward towards Christs call.
You don't know what is next.
So you trust God. You talk with God.
You enjoy God. You thank and praise God.
You keep your eyes fixed on the cross
And you do the next thing.
You're home.

Justified

2009-07-13T22:23:00.002-05:00

justified = counted righteous

"You have been justified by faith"

FAITH IS NOT LOOKED TO in order TO SAVE YOU.

FAITH IS THE NOT LOOKING AT FAITH.

If you're looking @ your faith; you're not looking!

Justified: sinner looking to CHRIST alone.

Christ: may I know Him!

Imma Believer

2009-06-06T09:40:00.002-05:00

And I'm quite sure yo momma told ya not to trust just anybody
But tell me who is like the LORD? Not anybody.

I took a look at Him in the Scriptures--it's really got me
He keeps his promises, even though cats be livin sloppy

Look at his love, and his grace, and his just mercy
I was dirty till I trusted Him who's trustworthy

I'm a believer

what is joy?

2009-05-01T11:36:00.004-05:00

John and I were trying to define "joy" over dinner @ the Little Oven (real good) the other night.

We concluded that it is not an emotion, like "happiness" or being "chipper"... because the Bible commands we have joy even in our sorrow, even in our deepest sufferings.

While I cannot put my own words into a definition yet, a friend demonstrated joy to me today:

"God is good... but it is painful."

If you can say this, through suffering, through pain... you know joy, even though it must be fought for! "Joy" produces these words because the pleasure of knowing Jesus Christ runs deeper, and is richer than any pleasure or absence of pain this world may offer.

"...we deny ourselves because beyond
self-denial is great reward. Jonathan Edwards goes
even deeper in his analysis of how Jesus’ demand for
self-denial relates to his demand for joy.

"Self-denial will also be reckoned amongst the
troubles of the godly. . . . But whoever has tried
self-denial can give in his testimony that they never
experience greater pleasure and joys than after great
acts of self-denial. Self-denial destroys the very
root and foundation of sorrow, and is nothing else
but the lancing of a grievous and painful sore that
effects a cure and brings abundance of health as a
recompense for the pain of the operation." (J. Edwards)

If this is true, then Jesus’ demand for self-denial is
another way of calling us to radically pursue our
deepest and most lasting joy. They are not competing
commands. They are like the command to be cancer-free
and the command to have surgery.

--John Piper, In Our Joy

God sits on His throne; therefore, Sovereign over all

2009-04-30T22:01:00.003-05:00

"There is no attribute of God more comforting to His children than the doctrine of Divine Sovereignty... There is nothing for which the children of God ought more earnestly to contend than the kingship of God over all the works of His own hands...
On the other hand, there is no doctrine more hated by worldlings... As the great, stupendous, but yet most certain doctrine of the Sovereignty of the infinite Jehovah. Men will allow God to be everywhere except upon His throne... And when we proclaim an enthroned God, and His right to do as He wills with His own, to dispose of His creatures as He thinks well, without consulting them in the matter, then it is that... Men turn a deaf ear to us, for God on His throne is not the God they love.

They love him anywhere better than they do when He sits with His sceptre in His hand and His crown upon His head. But it is God upon the throne we love to preach. It is God upon His throne whom we trust."
-- C.H. Spurgeon, Divine Sovereignty

Proverbs 21:30, "there is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord."

May my inclination to deny these words die out--
May I ever trust in God who is Sovereign over all:
Creation, providence, salvation, and suffering.
May I neglect my hope of participation in regeneration,
And see that dead men don't ask for life!
May I not write God off as an idle observer,
But "keeper of the keys," One who governs all events.
May my trust in His enthronement lead to an abandonment of fearing man,
And an intoxication by Gods majesty that draws others to "taste and see!"

"thank you Lord for the twenties on the Escalade"

2009-04-29T11:25:00.006-05:00

The love He gave us
Thank You for the bills paid
Thank you for the twenties
On the Escalade
Lord I thank you for your Holy Word
Even when I'm ballin'
I can still tell the world what's up
Look how you died for me
Forgave me my sins
And your Blood has set me free
Oh Lord, I will do anything for you

I was listening to random songs on my computer, and unfortunately heard these lyrics... from a CD called, "Soul Vibe." I don't know where I got it, or when, but I laughed out loud when I heard the lyrics.

Essentially, the singer is thanking God for his bills paid, the twenties on the Esclade, and oh yeah... Jesus' blood.

From there he promises God he will "do anything" for the Lord.
What if your bills don't get paid?
What about the rust on those 20s on the Escalade?

Trip Lee says it better:
You might want you some change, yeah you might want a crib
But tell me where the Bible say that Jesus want us rich
It say we should be content if we got food and clothing
That's the truth and we trippin' really being foolish homie
We shouldn't put no value on fallin' screens and stylish chrome
Even if you say that stuff can't go with you when you back at home
Allow me to encourage you, if you agree the Word is true
You can only serve one Master some of us is serving two
Can't serve God and cash, can't love the world and Christ
Put money out ya mind, focus on eternal life

The Bible says it best:
Matthew 16:24-25
²⁴Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTc_FoELt8s

is abortion a means to genocide?

2009-04-29T10:31:00.003-05:00

[The] incidence of abortion has resulted in a tremendous loss of life. It has been estimated that since 1973 Black women have had about 10 million abortions [probably up to 13 million now]. Michael Novak . . . calculated, “Since the number of current living Blacks (in the U.S.) is 31 million, the missing 10 million represents an enormous loss, for without abortion, America's Black community would now number 41 million persons. It would be 35 percent larger than it is. Abortion has swept through the Black community like a scythe, cutting down every fourth member.”

--blackgenocide.org (2002 statistics)

I'm writing a research paper on the correlation between abortions and the high percentage of minorities who receive them in urban areas. The facts are disturbing.

I do not argue in the paper for rightness/wrongness of abortion, but focus on such facts like the one listed above, calling to question the intentions of Planned Parenthood, and/or other organizations or persons who administer a majority of abortions to minorities (percentage).

This is tough.

I sin

2009-04-27T11:12:00.003-05:00

Lord Jesus,
I sin--
Grant that I may never cease grieving because of it,
Never be content with myself,
Never think I can reach a point of perfection.

Kill my envy, command my tongue, trample down self.
Give me grace to be holy, kind, gentle, pure, peacable,
To live for thee and not for self,
To copy thy words, acts, spirit
To be transformed into thy likeness,
To be consecrated wholly to thee,
To live entirely to thy glory.

Deliver me from attachment to things in unclean,
From wrongful associations,
From the predominance of evil passions,
From the sugar of sin as well as it's gall,
That with self-loathing, deep contrition,
Earnest heart searching
I may come to thee, cast myself on thee,
Trust in thee, cry to thee,
Be delivered by thee.

O God, the Eternal All, help me to know
That all things are shadows, but thou art substance,
All things are quicksand, but thou art mountain,
All things are SHIFTING, but thou art ANCHOR,
All things are ignorance, but thou art wisdom.

If my life is to be a crucible amid burning heat, so be it,
But do thou sit at the furnace mouth
To watch the ore that nothing be lost.

If I sin willfully, grievously, tormentedly, in grace
Take away my mourning and give me music;
Remove my sackcloth and clothe me with beauty;
Still my sights and fill my mouth with song,
Then give me summer weather as a Christian.

The 'nevers' of the Gospel

2009-04-26T23:09:00.003-05:00

"...may I never confine my religion to extraordinary occasions,
But ackowledge thee in all my ways;
Never limit my devotions to particular seasons
But be in thy fear all the day long..."

Election

"it is not feeling the Spirit that proves my saved state
But the truth of what Christ did perfectly for me;
All holiness in him is by faith made mine,
As if I had done it...
I rejoice to think all things are at thy disposal,
And I love to leave them there.
Then prayer turns wholly into praise,
And all I can do is to adore and love thee.
I want not the favour of man to lean upon,
For I know that thy electing grace is infinitely better."

He > Me

2009-04-25T09:44:00.006-05:00

El Shaddai god: you're almighty
and father i worship you

Jehova Nissi: Lord you're my banner
Lord you're my banner
and father i worship you

Jehova Jirah: you're my provider
and father i worship you

El Shalom: God of peace
and father i worship you

Martin Luther

2009-01-26T20:10:00.001-06:00

Search and examine your own heart thoroughly and you will find whether or not it
clings to God alone. Do you have the kind of heart that expects from him nothing
but good, especially in distress and want, and renounces and forsakes all that is
not God? Then you have the one true God. On the contrary, does your heart cling
to something else, from which it hopes to receive more good and help than from
God, and does it flee not to him but from him when things go wrong? Then you
have an idol, another god.

--Martin Luther

Satisfaction: The pursuit of happiness

2009-01-24T14:25:00.010-06:00

Truth: People want to be happy, satisfied, and experience pleasure.

But most people's means to this end is WEAK.

Examples:

I sought pleasure in soccer, and athletics--convincing myself that praise because of success would satisfy my craving to be known
I witness friends drinking night after night to the point of sickness
I witness friends smoking, getting high and enjoying that
I hear people frustrated that they have not made out with anyone for X amount of time, and it has been "too long."... "I just wanna make out with someone!"
I see people pursue happiness in academic success, "worshiping" their goals to a point where they cut off even friends from their life
I have witnessed people become so in love with their meals, and food that their life is dictated by restaurants and "snack times"
I have seen in myself, an attitude of idolizing friendships or role models to the point of extreme disappointment when that person fails me (which is a given!)
I have witnessed people's display of extreme patriotism, investing all--or none--of their trust in a national figure...pledging allegiance first and foremost to this country
I have seen the love of money consume people: buying, spending--this feeds almost each of these other things: food, clothing, beauty
Sex... in any form: out of marriage, with a guy, or a girl, over the internet... people are experimenting more and more. More $$ is spent on pornography each year than Pro baseball, football and basketball combined
I grew up with hundreds of girls who seek to be "beautiful" in their appearance--including myself--buying the right brands, having the right hair cut, being tan, and being skinny.
American dream: get a job, have a family, get a dog, retire... then move to Florida and collect sea shells

These are just a few examples of our common pursuit of happiness. Yet each one is WEAK.

"Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”--C.S. Lewis

We are far too easily pleased with these weak actions to satisfy our craving for enjoyment.

>>ONLY GOD HAS THE CAPACITY TO SATISFY US<<>>We EXIST to "GLORIFY GOD BY ENJOYING HIM FOREVER" (Piper)<< When you come to see JESUS CHRIST as the treasure that He actually is, all of these previously stated things that we all pursue to please us... seem like "dung".

Why drink muddy, toxin infested water as your only nourishment--that will surely lead to death

when you are OFFERED THE MOST PURE, SATISFYING, NEVER ENDING FOUNTAIN OF CLEAR WATER for your ENJOYMENT--that gives you life?

Why make mud pies in a slum when you're offered a holiday at the sea?

Jesus Christ is serious about your happiness, and that is why He died on the cross to pay the penalty for Sin--so that, you may know true joy and total satisfaction.

He is not a temporary "numbing" sensation, like getting drunk or getting high, HE IS ETERNALLY GOD, the "bread of life"... if you drink the water he gives you will "never thirst again."

He doesn't get boring. Knowing Him only gets more exciting--if it doesn't--it is not a reflection on Him, but on us--the half-hearted creatures...fooling about with all these other created things that we think will make us happy.

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."

ENJOY GOD. to do so, IS INDEED THE HIGHEST PLEASURE.

Philippians 1:19-23

it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

When Jesus Christ is your treasure, DEATH IS GAIN. This world and its "pleasures" fade in comparison to the enjoyment found in Jesus Christ.

Turn from "weak" attempts to satisfy yourself--and enjoy God forever!

CHS

2008-12-13T18:13:00.002-06:00

C.H. Spurgeon Quotes

"The man who is deeply discontented with himself is probably growing fast into the
full likeness of Christ." CHS

"Nearness to God brings likeness to God. The more you see God the more of God will
be seen in you." CHS

"He cannot be a disciple who does not learn, but invents." CHS

"Christ is the cause of the greatest division, but he is also the medium of the greatest
union." CHS

"We little know what we owe to our Saviour’s prayers" CHS

"What Jesus loves, we love; what Jesus hates, we hate; what Jesus seeks, we seek;
what Jesus shuns, we shun. This is true friendship when there is but one heart in
two bodies, and when one heart in the twain produces with undivided strength one
object." CHS

You never saw a child startled when it was told for the first time that God made it,
for within that little mind there dwells an instinct which accepts the statement." CHS

"When we preach Christ crucified, we have no reason to stammer, or stutter, or hesitate, or apologize; there is nothing in the gospel of which we have any cause to be ashamed." CHS

"The heart of the gospel is redemption, and the essence of redemption is the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ." CHS

"Do not forget that, although the Lord graciously changes man’s will, and he has
absolute power over the human will, and makes men willing in the day of his power,
yet he never saves anybody against his will, and, while the will stands out against
God, and is unrenewed and unchanged, the man is still unsaved." CHS

"Let this be to you the mark of true gospel preaching - where Christ is everything, and the creature is nothing; where it is salvation all of grace, through the work of the Holy Spirit applying to the soul the precious blood of Jesus." CHS

"Avoid a sugared gospel as you would shun sugar of lead. Seek the gospel which rips up and tears and cuts and wounds and hacks and even kills, for that is the gospel that makes alive again. And when you have found it, give good heed to it. Let it enter into your inmost being. As the rain soaks into the ground, so pray the Lord to let his gospel soak into your soul." CHS

Man of sorrows... what a name!

2008-12-04T10:22:00.002-06:00

Man of Sorrows! What a name
For the Son of God, Who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Guilty, vile, and helpless we;
Spotless Lamb of God was He;
Full atonement! Can it be?
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Lifted up was He to die;
“It is finished!” was His cry;
Now in heaven exalted high.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

When He comes, our glorious King,
All His ransomed home to bring,
Then anew His song we’ll sing:
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Hallelujah! What a Savior!

all truth is relative? false.

2008-11-29T23:01:00.005-06:00

Some folks say, "all truth is relative--it just depends on what you believe"

"ya know, any man ain't really know for sure who God is or whats really true"

...but that means you believe your own statement.
that "there is no way to really know what is true"
you're sayin that that statement is true
you're killin yourself!

If what's true for you is true for you,
And what's true for me is true for me,
WHAT IF MY TRUTH SAYS YOURS IS A LIE?

...is it still true?
c'mon.

{Truth by Lecrae}

Statistically... I am a rebel?

2008-11-28T00:22:00.008-06:00

Statistically, an average 20 year old woman in America is expected to be a part of the following:

Nearly 50% of 15-19 year olds in the US have had sex at least once
By age nineteen, 7 in 10 teens have engaged in sexual intercourse
Past month alcohol use was reported by 62.0 percent of full-time college students compared to 50.8 percent of their counterparts who were not currently enrolled full-time
About 9.7 million persons aged 12 to 20 reported drinking alcohol in the month prior to the survey interview in 2000
Among youths who were heavy drinkers in 2000, 65.5 percent were also current illicit drug users.
Approximately 2.1 million youths aged 12 to 17 had used inhalants at some time in their lives as of 2000

Statistically I would be considered a "conformist" to participate in underage drinking, illegal drug use, sexual activity...

but... I haven't conformed, so what am I?

a non-conformist? a rebel?
doesn't the word "rebel" have a negative connotation?

sure.

yet here it applies.

I haven't had sex
I don't get drunk... I don't even drink
I don't smoke anything illegal
I don't inject myself with any kind of illegal substance

Therefore, I am considered a REBEL {(n): one who resists or rises against some authority, control, or tradition} by definition.

"Pat me on the back. I beat the odds. Good for me! I am a good person! A sheltered, non-adventurous, safe girl! Way to be Sara--have a cookie."

False.

What is it that drives my rebellion? Restate that: Who is it that drives my rebellion?

Jesus Christ.

Apart from Him I am a hopeless case. He is more valuable to me than what mainstream American culture pitches as "valuable." He is more satisfying to me than sex, drugs, or getting wasted after a soccer game.

I long for consistency--He never changes.
I long for enjoyment--He is the source of joy.
I long to be in awe over something greater than myself--He is Creator.

Why settle for temporary pleasures when I can enjoy an eternal all-satisfying relationship with the Creator of the universe?

How can this be?

Jesus Christ died on the cross so that anyone who believes in Him, will not perish but have eternal life. In our sinfulness, we are separated from God--Jesus is our ONLY remedy--who makes it possible for us to know God.

"Rebel" by Lecrae
"Man they swear they so gangsta but everyone's the same
everybody do the same stuff: tattoos, piercings
smokin' up and drinking; money and sex--
plus them extravagant weekends,
if that's the high life, I'll puff puff pass that--
you leave evaporated like you missing a gas cap,
I guess I'm passed that, cause I am in rebellion--
I'd rather have a dollar in my pocket than a mill-ion.
I'm scared to worship money, and my wants over Elyon,
I'll remain a rebel while the rest of them just carry on.
this is what I live fo, this the hill I'm buried on--
if Jesus is the truth
that means one of us is VERY wrong
think about it."

That is the ONLY reason I am a "rebel"--because of God's grace in Christ towards me and Him working in me.

Not anything I had to do with.

So join the rebellion---not without a cause.

But go to the root--recognize that the Bible is true, and it says, "all have sinned and fall short of God's glory" (Romans 3:23).

So many Americans consider themselves "Christian" yet we look at the statistical information of "most" of these same Americans... it doesn't add up. The Bible says "faith without works is dead." Therefore, if your actions don't align with your words... think about this and ask yourself if you truly treasure Christ above everything else in your life.

Then, we are invited to turn from evil, and trust in Christ who has taken your punishment on the cross--then His righteousness can be counted as yours.

And enjoy God forever. it's that simple.

Christ is the focus. God gets the glory.

Romans 3: 21 - 26
21But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

SGS

joy in sadness

2008-10-06T11:08:00.002-05:00

i'm pissed. i'm frustrated. i'm sad about soccer... the weekend was rough.

YET... God remains good. God remains faithful. and through sadness... i see the importance of moving on and recognizing that Joy is deeper than an emotion... it is underneath... not affected by circumstances... based solely on the fact that Christ is for me---so who can be against me?

there is no greater joy than knowing and treasuring Jesus Christ, who died to pay for my sin. He is more valuable than soccer. he is more valuable than outcomes or performance. He is good.

His mercy is new every morning, what a good God!

Keep me.

2008-09-24T11:13:00.003-05:00

"If believers are lost, God loses more than they do, for he loses his honour, he loses his
character for truthfulness, and the glory of his name is tarnished". 1429.468

"If anybody said he had eternal life and lost it, he would be flatly contradicting
himself. It could not be eternal, or else he must still have it". 2120.691
"Further, if Christ had intended to cast us away because of our sins, why did he ever
take us on?" 2720.147

"True, we are unworthy, but we always were, and if thou didst want a reason for
leaving us thou hast had ten thousand reasons long ago". 2923.87

C.H. Spurgeon.

50 minutes of words that changed my life.

2008-09-11T14:42:00.002-05:00

October 9th, 2005. Minneapolis, MN. Sunday morning. Convention center.

A few months after my eyes had been opened to recognize my sinfulness, and desire Jesus as my savior... I listened to these words... which caused me to recognize the "goal of creation"...or why we, or anything else exists.

VIDEO: The Suffering of Christ and the Sovereignty of God

From eternity past God had a plan. That Jesus Christ, the Lamb, would be slaughtered to ransom the Church: His "bride"...to display the greatness of the glory of the grace of God.

After asking myself, "what is my purpose"?

I heard a resounding answer coming from the Bible...

"Even as he chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved...so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory." (See first Chapter of Ephesians)

So why do we exist? "We exist to glorify God by enjoying Him forever."

Welcome back music library...

2008-09-03T00:39:00.003-05:00

Hello, iTunes music library...nice to hear you again. Specifically, Tenth Avenue North. It's been a few weeks...

Never have I encountered a whole CD that has captured my attention for so long. I am a sporadic song listener--usually cannot listen to a whole song without changing it. Yet when it comes to "Over and Underneath" by Tenth Avenue North... I can't get enough. For 3 reasons.

1. Truth. 10th Ave's lyrics are first and foremost Bible-saturated and Christ-centered. There is nothing better.

"Look at these hands and my side//They swallowed the grave on that night//When I drank the world's sin//So I could carry you in//And give you life//I want to give you life"
(By Your Side)

2. Spirit. The Bible tells us to worship in Spirit and in Truth. So not only in truth...but also in spirit... with emotion, with passion, with delight, with joy. The lyrics are so honest... expressing fears, failures, and dependence on Jesus Christ. Not with stiff, emotionless law or words...but sincere emotion-packed charismatic spirit...

"One tear in the dropping rain//One voice in the sea of pain//Could the maker of the stars//Hear the sound of my breakin' heart? //One light, that's all I am//Right now I can barely stand//If You're everything You say You are//Won't You come close and hold my heart"
(Hold My Heart)

3. Good music. These guys are actually talented... and their songs are enjoyable to listen to. Again, and again, and again!

We have a mind that comprehends words so that we might know the Truth. We have emotions so that we might delight in things--and the ultimate, all-satisfying delight is knowing God through Jesus Christ. This CD is breaking me down, building me up, and spurring me to know...to really know my Lord...and encouraging me to take delight in seeing others come to see and savour Christ for the first time as He ought to be valued.

"Well you've been a mistress, my wife//Chasing lovers it won't satisfy//Won't you let me make you my bride//You will drink of my lips //And you'll taste new life
"Cause you're my beloved//Lover I'm yours//Death shall not part us//It's you I died for
For better or worse//Forever we'll be//Our Love it unites us//and it binds you to me"
(Beloved)

God keeps his covenants. He made a covenant through His son's blood...and no power is able to divorce Christ from His bride--the Church. Not because of our power, but His power...that Christ may receive all the glory because He, who was without sin, became Sin for His sheep. God is good!

Moral of the post, enjoy 10th Ave because through their music...we can worship God in spirit and in Truth...for His glory because of the Lamb who was slain.

Gaming at Parkside

2008-08-29T08:56:00.005-05:00

"Let's get a bear hug," my captain says to the team at the end of practice. We've spent two weeks training hard, practicing, competing amongst ourselves, working on formation, and sprinting...lots and lots of sprinting.

Today we come together as a team to win a game. No longer competing in a practice against each other, but we come together to compete as a whole against the other team. We are confident in each other's strengths. Ignorant of our weaknesses. Fearless of our opponent's strengths.

"We're not the team that can just show up and win games," my coach says. "We have to out work every team--that is how we will win." Patience with the ball, always looking for opportunities to get a goal.

So how is this like life? Can a sport translate to somehow relate to my relationship with an all-powerful, supreme, sovereign God--who ultimately has control over even this, soccer?

In 1 Corinthians 9:24-26, Paul says, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air."

The opponent is real. The competition is tough. Yet with Christ, victory over sin is sure--and the prize, Paul says...is imperishable.

So in competing on the soccer field it is a joy to remember that to win is great. To win is good. To win is exciting. But even this, a victory and its praises are perishable. Yet I know a man, Jesus Christ who purchased a sinful people with His blood on the cross--conquering sin and death...and whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

This is the imperishable victory. Looking to Jesus Christ for a righteousness we can never obtain. He is our mediator that makes it possible to actually know God, by the Holy Spirit revealing things to us in the Bible.

Today I step onto a field to compete to win a game against Parkside, to the praise of God's glorious grace. Recognizing that competition points me to Jesus...above all else. Because He conquered the greatest battle of all, the sin of the nations.

May Christ be made much of in and through this soccer game with this mindset. To know that it is good to receive the perishable wreath, but far better and satisfying to receive the imperishable prize in Christ Jesus.

I'm getting dunked...what does that mean?

2008-08-06T12:42:00.006-05:00

There are several hours before I go to a lake and am baptized by a Pastor from my church with 14 other friends. Before setting out to do this, I've been looking for two answers: what is baptism? and how important is it?

In short, baptism is a symbol of union with Christ in his death, and resurrection. This video helps to explain (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g08kQvQ5-8k)

Christ conquered my sin at the cross, and purchased my very willingness to believe. The cross is where my testimony starts and ends. Jesus Christ is my righteousness!

God revealed that to me in high school.

I was a 3 sport athlete my freshman year, with a lot of potential. Success produced attention, and I love that. Praise was my idol, treasure, identity.
The following year I was injured, unable to play any of "my sports". I was angry at God because I thought he existed to give me anything I wanted.
Pride surfaced.
The following summer at a Campus Crusade conference, I heard the Gospel again and understood it for the first time. I recognized that I am an idolater, loving created things over the creator; therefore this offense is against none other than the God of the universe, deserving infinite punishment in hell.

God replaced my heart of stone with a heart of flesh, and the cross of Jesus was no longer foolishness to me, but irresistible! Immediately I embraced Romans 3:24-25, "We are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith."

This summer I have come to see the importance of baptism. Baptism symbolizes Christ's death and resurrection that conquered my sin "through faith".
Colossians 2:11-12 says, "In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead."
Here circumcision of the heart is a symbol of the New Birth. This symbol is being paralleled with what happens in baptism: therefore also a symbol of being buried with Christ and then raised with him through faith. (So if this symbol represents the New Covenant, should it be given to babies like the symbol of circumcision was given on the 8th day to members of the Old Covenant? No, because the "Church" by definition is no longer a physical nation, but a spiritual nation. Not by physical birth, but only by Spiritual birth.)

"Paul shows the same way of thinking about baptism and faith in Galatians 3:26-27: “In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” We become sons of God through faith and no other way. Then he says, “for”—connecting this way of becoming sons of God with baptism—“for as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”
That explanation with the word for only makes sense if baptism is understood as an acting out of faith. “In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Or to turn it around: Since you were baptized into Christ, therefore we know that in Christ you are all sons of God through faith. Why? Because that is what baptism means: You were baptized into Christ by faith. Baptism without faith was inconceivable to Paul. (http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/2008/3037_What_Is_Baptism_and_How_Important_Is_It/)

So why is this important to do?

-Jesus commands it.
-In every instance of Baptism in the Bible it was given to Christians, not non-Christians (it is not a means to make anyone a Christian, as if the Holy Spirit is bound to a sacrament. Jesus says in John 7,8 "You must be BORN AGAIN. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.")
-"It was uniquely connected to conversion as an unrepeatable expression of saving faith." (Someone should only be baptized once because Christ only died and was raised once.)

God willing, my baptism tonight will glorify and make much of Christ, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To proclaim to all at the lake, and all friends and family attending, that indeed Christ has risen!

"We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God" the Bible says. Punishment for sin is death and eternal separation from God in hell, the Bible says. But let it be known that whoever believes in Christ Jesus will be saved by His grace through faith!

May the cross become irresistibly beautiful to you,
Sara

Theology to Doxology

2008-08-05T02:03:00.005-05:00

"Make every effort, to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love" (2 Peter 1: 5-8).

Truth is not an opinion. The Word of God is Truth. I'm realizing more and more that what I think it says makes no difference, what I want it to say makes no difference--but that what it does say, in fact, makes all the difference. God commands that no one "add to it or take from it".

Understanding and loving the truth in the Bible is not merely a privelage or a job for a Pastor or Theologian. We are each called to personally know God! And knowing comes from hearing His Word...the Bible.

So that, by the power of the Holy Spirit we "may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God" (Eph 3: 18,19).

Christian, keep watch, because there are false gospels: (video--see original post)

There is absolute truth, and it is objective, not subjective. Let us fight for this, the Gospel of Jesus Christ! We are to "contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 1:3)

We are all called as Christians to be students of the word, lovers of Truth.
We are all called as Christians to contend for this Truth.

And above all, this knowledge of the truth, "theology"... is meant to lead us into a "doxology".

That our joy is not in the knowledge itself, or its pursuit.
That our joy is not in the contending itself, or its pursuit.

But that our joy of the knowledge of God brings us down to our knees in awe and in wonder of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The covenant-keeping King. Because through Christ, by grace, we know the Sovereign God! Yahweh. "I am". The one true God, the God of the Bible.

Doxology means to "ascribe glory to God". Our theology should serve no other purpose than to glorify GOD through it!

The only reason anyone exists is to the praise of God's glorious grace.
The only reason anyone is saved from hell is to the praise of God's glorious grace.

"He chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of HIS WILL, to the PRAISE OF HIS GLORIOUS GRACE" (Ephesians 1:4-6).

Therefore we must KNOW the supremacy of Christ!

For through trusting in Christ by grace through faith, God gets the Glory!

So then, let our "seeing dimly" be ever focused on worship, and "ascribing glory" to God, who indeed is worthy of praise because He sent his Son Jesus to appease the wrath of the Father, so that "whoever believes will not perish but have eternal life"!

"Theology to Doxology", Paul does this well:

Romans 11:33-36, "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen."

So let this video be our doxology:

Glory To God through Christ, by the Spirit,
Sara Grace

Prayer, and God's plan...

2008-08-02T22:39:00.004-05:00

Hot topic: "So If you believe God has elected people before the foundation of the world those who will be saved and those who will not--why not just sit in your basement and eat cupcakes and not tell anyone about Jesus"?

My first two responses are this...

1: Jesus has commanded us to, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (Matt 28:19). This command is something I not only strive to obey, but delight to obey because God has replaced my heart of stone with a heart of flesh through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, and given me new desires.

2: How is anyone going to believe if they haven't heard about Jesus? "But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?...So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ" (Romans 10:14,15,17).

Bottom line...the Gospel needs to be preached in order for people to even hear about Christ. Not only doing nice things for people with church friends. That's not the gospel. God created language...he wrote Truth with words...we must articulate the Gospel with the Word... not only in deed, that is not the whole gospel.

So here's the long answer: God is sovereign; He uses means like prayer and preaching.

"the preaching of the gospel is just as predestined as is the believing of the gospel: Paul was set apart for his preaching ministry before he was born (Galatians 1:15), as was Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:5)" (Piper).

Saying "why evangelize if God has already chosen?" is like saying "why pray about anything if God's will is to be done?"

God command's it. Also, He sovereignly uses prayer---because His Spirit is the one who guides us in prayer.

"Prayer is like preaching in that it is a human act also. It is a human act that God has ordained and which he delights in because it reflects the dependence of his creatures upon Him. He has promised to respond to prayer, and his response is just as contingent upon our prayer as our prayer is in accordance with his will. "And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us" (I John 5:14). When we don't know how to pray according to God's will but desire it earnestly, "the Spirit of God intercedes for us according to the will of God" (Romans 8:27)" (John Piper, The Sovereignty of God and Prayer).

God uses means to accomplish His purposes. He uses prayer, so we should pray all the more...in accordance with His will. He uses preaching, so we should speak the Gospel all the more.

Holding tightly onto truths of God's supreme Sovereignty and Predestination do not create laziness. On the contrary, these are the very truths that spur me to action...to prayer, to speaking. These truths have caused me to fully recognize man's inability to freely "choose" salvation (John 6:44). These truths are beautiful because they give God ALL OF THE GLORY because salvation is all of God, and God alone--The Father, Son, and Spirit.

"The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever"

"For your joy,"
Sara Grace

"Aslan is on the move"

2008-07-31T11:53:00.003-05:00

Most level-headed people today enjoy a good "Chronic-what-cles of Narnia" story. Personally, I struggle to get through a whole book (particularly The Horse and His Boy)... but nonetheless, I do love the series. C.S. Lewis is a personal hero of mine... and in his writings there is an unbreakable thread running through each one: Christ--in whom Lewis finds all joy

A prime example of this theme would be this quote by Lewis from his book, The Weight of Glory:

"Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by an offer of a holiday at sea. We are far too easily pleased."

This is true. After one year at school I have seen the desire for satisfaction played out in these very same ways. I see two traps, two cultural trends. One...the very obvious party scene. Get drunk. Get high. Have some sex. Get drunk again. Two...the not so obvious-not-party scene. Ace the courses, ace the field or gym, ace the dating scene, ace "ministry", ace the fashion trends, ace the "Office" quotes ace "uniqueness", ace having a political opinion, or whatever else you wanna ace.

In any case--these things do not have the capacity to satisfy a soul.

C.S. Lewis said, "You do not have a soul. You are a soul, you have a body" (thank you Kate Drahosh). So why then, all this effort to satisfy a temporary thing? Because people are blind to the issue. People are born dead--spiritually. Do not try to tell a drunk friend, "you're not having fun--this isn't actually fun." Do not try to tell your roommate making out with her boyfriend, "your body is a temple--treat it like it." Because sin is powerful for these reasons: it is what we naturally desire and tends to give us pleasure, or we think it will...therefore we actively choose to do it. And if someone is dead and blind, that person is not alive (obviously) and unable to see.

I myself chose to be a number in the #2 group last year at times. "i'll be happy when i get more playing time" or "i'll be happy when a boy pursues me" or "ill be happy when i get this 'ministry' stuff checked off" or "ill be happy when i ace these classes". I battled with my flesh. Desiring what the world enjoys...and tasting some... and then God in his mercy and kindness led me to repentance.

These pursuits are passionate, by anyone and everyone for satisfaction apart from Christ. The means to reach satisfaction differ, but the end is the same--despair.

The Bible says in Psalm 107: 9, "For he satisfies the longing soul". God alone has capacity to satisfy a soul because we are relational beings, created in His image. God alone has no beginning nor end--therefore he satisfies our desire for longevity (?). God alone does not change, so he satisfies our desire for consistency. God alone is the being that it will take an eternity to know--in other words, we will never completely know him--yet know him more every moment throughout eternity. Mind boggling.

So this presents a dilemma. Blindness. Deadness. We need eyes to see. We need life. Without which we cannot even begin to know God because of our sin. This is where and why the Gospel is central to all history--therefore should be central in your life.

Jesus Christ bore God's wrath on the cross, so that anyone who believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16). Because of Jesus' sacrifice, we are able to know the one true God. This is the good news!

So if this is life which it is...we need to make it known. We need to speak it. We need to write about it. We need to sing about it. We need to be saturated in our speech with the words about Jesus, who is our only hope. Therein lies satisfaction beyond measure.

So who is Aslan? And why is he moving?

Jesus Christ is depicted in some ways by the character of Aslan in the books by Lewis. (He gave up his life for Edmund, that Edmund might live--even though he was a filthy traitor and deserved death!... Aslan took his place...and he rose...conquered death. no big deal). Mr. Beaver told the kids at the beginning of the story, "Aslan is on the move". Something huge was about to happen. The brink of war--battles to be fought and won.

In parallel...God is on the move at my campus, Concordia University in St. Paul. He will set out to conquer hearts there--to remove blindness. To call people from death to life. That they will see Christ as no longer foolishness, but treasure. And that their desires for satisfaction will completely shift from temporary things to a relationship with the unchanging God of the Bible. It is my prayer and hope and work that I might be a means to God's movement.

"According to 2 Corinthians 4, people are spiritually blind until God gives them eyes to see, that is, until God causes them to be born again. But here Jesus says in verse 18, “I am sending you to open their eyes.” The point is not hard to see. God opens the eyes of the blind to see the truth and beauty and worth of Christ. But he does by sending people to tell the good news from hearts of love and lives of service. " (from Desiring God ministries)

God willing, one year from now, I will be able to see what He has done, and say with new believers, "My heart and my flesh may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever" (Psalm 73:26). God is sovereign. He will accomplish his purposes. He declares the end from the beginning. All praise be to His glorious grace in Jesus.

"For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,' calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it" (Isaiah 46:9-11).

Grace abounds... all around...
sather

William Cowper...

2008-07-29T00:22:00.004-05:00

William Cowper (1731–1800) was a brilliant poet. He battled depression for most of his life. He tried to commit suicide 3 different times, and was put into an asylum. There, Dr. Nathaniel Cotton tended to William. Cotton knew and loved the God of the Bible, and the gospel--he spoke of grace to Cowper frequently.

Then Cowper read this, Romans 3:25: "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God."

Here was his reaction: "Immediately I received the strength to believe it, and the full beams of the Sun of Righteousness shone upon me. I saw the sufficiency of the atonement He had made, my pardon sealed in His blood, and all the fullness and completeness of His justification. In a moment I believed, and received the gospel ... Whatever my friend Madan had said to me, long before, revived in all its clearness, with demonstration of the spirit and power. Unless the Almighty arm had been under me, I think I should have died with gratitude and joy. My eyes filled with tears, and my voice choked with transport; I could only look up to heaven in silent fear, overwhelmed with love and wonder".

Depression did not disappear from Cowper's life after his conversion. John Newton, author of "Amazing Grace" soon entered Cowper's life by God's plan. "I found those comforts in your [Newton] visit, which have formerly sweetened all our interviews, in part restored. I knew you; knew you for the same shepherd who was sent to lead me out of the wilderness into the pasture where the Chief Shepherd feed His flock, and felt my sentiments of affectionate friendship for you the same as ever. But one thing was still wanting, and that the crown of all. I shall find it in God's time, if it be not lost for ever".

Newton spent himself for the cause of the Gospel and ministering to those like Cowper (and William Wilberforce). Newton did not "despair of the despairing" --read more about Cowper's life and John Newton's influence on him at Desiring God.

Cowper displayed a brutal honesty. Cotton persisted in sharing the Gospel. Newton shared the burdens of desparing people--pointing them to the cross. God uses means to accomplish his purposes and his will. He works sovereignly over all things--to the praise of His glory. May we not despair in the despairing, but hold fast to the joy found in knowing Christ--and make every effort to help others "see and savour" Jesus.

"God Moves in a Mysterious Way"
by William Cowper

God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill,
He treasures up his bright designs,
And works his sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,
The clouds ye so much dread
are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence,
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain;
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.

Hip-Hop...minus sex, drugs, 'n thugs...?

2008-07-23T09:30:00.006-05:00

I have somethin wired in me that needs a break from Coldplay, John Mayer, or Gavin DeGraw, Colbie Caillat... or Rascall Flatts. I have this love for Hip-Hop music; it ignites a passion in me. I dance to it. I sing with it. I enjoy it.

"Serve the Lord with gladness" (Psalm 100:2) and "Delight yourself in the Lord" (Psalm 37:4); and who prayed, "Satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness, that we may . . . be glad all our days" (Psalm 90:14); and who promised that complete and lasting pleasure is found in God alone: "In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever" (Psalm 16:11).

God not only desires our joy in Him, he commands it. And that which he commands he works within us. Philippians 2:12,13, "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure."

So is it right and good to delight in something that usually reps sin? Popular hip-hop like Akon, Usher, Young Jeezy... our culture loves their words because they represent where they seek their satisfaction: sex. drugs. and thugs. People relate to these desires because they share them--it's our nature. They rhyme about their rims and escalades and cribs that could probably pay to feed thousands of starving children.

So here's my predicament...how can I glorify God and yet still enjoy this music? The answer: listen to someone else. Someone rhyming about God's glory. Someone saturating their lyrics with Bible... someone centering their music on Jesus Christ. Something simple yet profound. But not music that is a poor excuse for it's genre. So here's what has come up on my radar...

Click on the link to hear their stuff on Myspace music...
Json.
Flame.
Trip Lee.
Lecrae.
116 Clique.

These guys do just what I was craving... Glorify God because their satisfaction is found in Him alone. This music ignites a passion in me for the Cross, and for truth--not money, sex, drugs, or thugs.

My pastor was talking about them at church. He said something like, "It's amazing how much theology and truth you can pack into this music...with the way rap works...its just amazing!"

It's true. It's relevant. and, it's just good music. Check it out...

Calvinism, it is simply the Gospel.

2008-07-21T21:25:00.014-05:00

It's been three years. Three years since God gave me new life, and granted me faith and repentance. Three years of battle...with my flesh, with my mind, with my pride. And time and time again God conquers, His Truth prevails upon me and His grace endures.

God himself and his External Word are becoming more dear to me than relationships, school, soccer, even my family. I'm only begining to taste what Paul meant when he wrote, "I count ALL THINGS loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord."

Salvation, I had thought, was my choice. "When I chose to believe in Jesus, His death on the cross became effective for my case. " This is wrong thinking. 1 Peter 1:3 says, "According to His great mercy, he has caused us to be born again..."

Ephesians says we were "dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked" (2:1). A dead person doesn't ask for someone to save him.

"God...made us alive together with Christ" (2:4,5).

John chapter 6 continually shatters my pride. Jesus is talking. Listen to what he says:
"All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out" (v37). "...that I should lose nothing of all that He has given me, but raise it up on the last day" (v44).
"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail" (v63).
"No one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father" (v65).

and John chapter 10 encourages me more deeply than almost any other passage. Listen to what Jesus says:
"The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out" (v3).
"I have other sheep that are not of this fold, I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice" (v 16).
"You do not believe because you are not part of my flock. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand, I and the Father are one" (v26-30).

God alone is the author and perfector of my faith, or anyone's faith (Eph 2:8-10). Because in eternity past, he chose in Christ---before the foundation of the world--individuals that he would redeem (Eph 1:4-6), whose names were written in "the Book of Life of the Lamb that was slain" before the foundation of the world (Rev 13:8, 17:8). Jesus died for His sheep...Jesus himself said that those who do not believe do so because they are not His sheep. He KNOWS His sheep, and He calls them by name...and NO ONE, not even that sheep himself, can pluck them from the Father's hand. God will bring His good work to completion (Phil 1:6). Those whom he knew, personally, he predestined---and those same ones he WILL glorify.

Romans 8:29-30, "For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified."

Praise be to God's glorious grace that He accomplishes His purposes... and that not one soul falls from this chain of redemption, but are upheld moment by moment by God's grace in Christ. Jesus is my only hope!

God has appointed this summer to be a brain-wracking, pride-shattering, joy-producing time in the depths of the Bible for me...learning from the Creator of the universe...sitting at His feet and having my man-centered, self-exalting mind humbled, and shaped, and conformed to Truth instead of opinion or what I "feel" God is like.

God is all Sovereign. He declares the end from the begining. His purposes stand. He is never changing. He is glorious. Do you know Him?

He sent His Son Jesus to be crushed. We have sinned and fallen short of his glory, none are righteous the Bible says! But Christ, lived the perfect life--without sin, and yet became sin for us...bearing the Father's wrath and fury...and then conquered death! That WHOEVER trusts in Him will have eternal life--because when God looks at those who trust in Jesus, he sees not our sin, but the righteousness of Christ.

Do you know Him? You can.

Below are exerpts from something C.H. Spurgeon wrote... these words resonate with my soul so deeply that I would dare say I may even die for these truths--or pray that if the opportunity came about, that in that moment I would choose to. Calvinism is merely a nickname for the Gospel, Sprugeon says. It is nothing else. This is what I would give up my life for, The Gospel. Because the Gospel did not change my life, it gave birth to my life--all because of Jesus Christ.

A DEFENSE OF CALVINISM (C.H. Spurgeon)
"I cannot understand the reason why I am saved except upon the ground that God would have it so. I cannot, if I look ever so earnestly, discover any kind of reason in myself why I should be a partaker of Divine Grace. If I am at this moment with Christ, it is only because Christ Jesus would have His will with me and that will was that I should be with Him where He is and should share His glory. I can put the crown nowhere but upon the head of Him whose mighty Grace has saved me from going down into the pit...

"I do not think the young convert is at first aware of this...

"I believe the doctrine of election because I am quite certain that if God had not chosen me I should never have chosen Him...I have my own private opinion that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and Him crucified unless we preach what nowadays is called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism. Calvinism is the Gospel and nothing else. I do not believe we can preach the Gospel if we do not preach justification by faith, without works—nor unless we preach the sovereignty of God in His dispensation of Grace—nor unless we exalt the electing, unchangeable, eternal, immutable, conquering love of Jehovah. Nor do I think we can preach the Gospel unless we base it upon the special and particular redemption of His elect and chosen people which Christ wrought out upon the Cross. Nor can I comprehend a Gospel which lets saints fall away after they are called and suffers the children of God to be burned in the fires of damnation after having once believed in Jesus. Such a Gospel I abhor—

"I do not know how some people who believe that a Christian can fall from Grace manage to be happy. It must be a very commendable thing in them to be able to get through a day without despair...

"Some persons love the doctrine of universal atonement because they say, “It is so beautiful. It is a lovely idea that Christ should have died for all men. It commends itself,” they say, “to the instincts of humanity. There is something in it full of joy and beauty.” I admit there is, but beauty may be often associated with falsehood. There is much which I might admire in the theory of universal redemption but I will just show what the supposition necessarily involves. If Christ on His Cross intended to save every man, then He intended to save those who were lost before He died. If the doctrine istrue—that He died for all men—then He died for some who were in Hell before He came into this world—for doubtless there were even then myriads there who had been cast away because of their sins. Once again—if it were Christ’s intention to save all men, how deplorably has He been disappointed,for we have His own testimony that there is a lake which burns with fire and brimstone and into that pit of woe have been cast some of the very persons who, according to the theory of universal redemption, were bought with His blood. That seems to me a conception a thousand times more repulsive than any of those consequences which are said to be associated with the Calvinistic and Christian doctrine of special and particular redemption...

"There is no soul living who holds more firmly to the doctrines of Grace than I do and if any man asks me whether I am ashamed to be called a Calvinist, I answer—I wish to be called nothing but a Christian. But if you ask me, do I hold the doctrinal views which were held by John Calvin? I reply I do in the main hold them and rejoice to avow it...

"That God predestines and yet that man is responsible are two facts that few can see clearly. They are believed to be inconsistent and contradictory to each other. If, then, I find taught in one part of the Bible that everything is foreordained—that is true. And if I find, in another Scripture, that man is responsible for all his actions—that is true. It is only my folly that leads me to imagine that these two truths can ever contradict each other. I do not believe they can ever be welded into one upon any earthly anvil—but they certainly shall be one in eternity. They are two lines that are so nearly parallel that the human mind which pursues them farthest will never discover that they converge—but they do converge and they will meet somewhere in eternity, close to the Throne of God, where all of His Truths spring...

"We believe that God has predestinated all things from the beginning, but there is a difference between the predestination of an intelligent, All-wise, All-bounteous God and that blind fatalism which simply says, “It is because it is to be.” Between the predestination of Scripture and the fate of the Koran every sensible man must perceive a difference of the most essential character...

"But we are next met by some who tell us that we preach the wicked and horrible doctrine of sovereign and unmerited reprobation. “Oh,” say they, “you teach that men are damned because God made them to be damned and that they go to Hell, not because of sin, not because of unbelief—but because of some dark decree with which God has stamped their destiny.” Brethren, this is an another unfair charge. Election does not involve reprobation. There may be some who hold unconditional reprobation. I stand not here as their defender—let them defend themselves as best they can. I hold God’s election, but I testify just as clearly that if any man is lost he is lost for sin. This has been the uniform statement of Calvinistic ministers.

"If he is lost, damnation is all of men. But, if he is saved, still salvation is all of God.

"A yet further charge against us is that we dare not preach the Gospel to the unregenerate! That, in fact, our theology is so narrow and cramped that we cannot preach to sinners! Gentlemen, if you dare to say this, I would take you to any library in the world where the old Puritan fathers are stored up and I would let you take down any one volume and tell me if you ever read more telling exhortations and addresses to sinners in any of your own books. Did not Bunyan plead with sinners and whoever classed him with any but the Calvinists? Did not Charnock, Goodwin and Howe agonize for souls and what were they but Calvinists? Did not Jonathan Edwards preach to sinners and who more clear and explicit on these doctrinal matters?

"It is an indisputable fact that we have labored more than they all for the winning of souls. Was George Whitefield any the less seraphic? Did his eyes weep the fewer tears or his heart move with less compassion because he believed in God’s electing love and preached the sovereignty of the Most High? It is an unfounded calumny.

"Our souls are not stony.

"Our hearts are not withdrawn from the compassion which we ought to feel for our fellow men. We can hold all our views and yet can weep as Christ did over a Jerusalem which was certainly to be destroyed. Again I must say I am not defending certain Brethren who have exaggerated Calvinism. I speak of Calvinism proper—not that which has run to seed and outgrown its beauty and verdure. I speak of it as I find it in Calvin’s Institutes and especially in his Expositions. I have read them carefully. I take not my views of Calvinism from common repute but from his books. Nor do I, in thus speaking, even vindicate Calvinism as if I cared for the name, but I mean that glorious system which teaches that salvation is of Grace from first to last. And again, then, I say it is an utterly unfounded charge that we dare not preach to sinners.

"What was the Reformation itself but the waking up of men’s minds to those old truths? However far modern Lutherans may have turned aside from their ancient doctrines—and I must confess some of them would not agree with what I now say, yet, at any rate—Luther and Calvin had no dispute about Predestination. Their views were identical and Luther’s “On the Bondage of the Will” is as strong a book upon the free Grace of God as Calvin himself could have written. Hear that great thunder while he cries in that book, 'Let the Christian reader know, then, that God foresees nothing in a contingent manner—but that He foresees, proposes and acts from His eternal and unchangeable will. This is the thunder- stroke which breaks and overturns Free Will.'

"And then it has another virtue. I take it that the last is no mean one, but it has another—that when it is preached there is a something in it which excites thought. A man may hear sermons upon the other theory which shall glance over him as the swallow’s wing gently sweeps the brook—but these old doctrines either make a man so angry that he goes home and cannot sleep for very hatred—or else they bring him down into lowliness of thought feeling the immensity of the things which he has heard. Either way, it excites and stirs him up not temporarily, but in a most lasting manner. These doctrines haunt him. He kicks against the pricks and full often the Word forces a way into his soul. And I think this is no small thing for any doctrine to do—in an age given to slumber and with human hearts so indifferent to the Truth of God. I know that many men have gained more good by being made angry under a sermon than by being pleased by it—for being angry they have turned the Truth of God over and over again and at last that Truth has burned its way right into their hearts.

"Some by putting the strain upon their judgments may manage to hold two or three points and not the rest. But sound logic, I take it, requires a man to hold the whole or reject the whole. The doctrines stand like soldiers in a square, presenting on every side a line of defense which is hazardous to attack, but easy to maintain. And mark you—in these times when error is so rife and neology strives to be so rampant, it is no little thing to put into the hands of a young man a weapon which can slay his foe. A weapon he can easily learn to handle—which he may grasp tenaciously, wield readily and carry without fatigue. A weapon, I may add, which no rust can corrode and no blows can break—trenchant and well annealed—a true Jerusalem blade of a temper fit for deeds of renown. The coherency of the parts, though it is, of course, but a trifle in comparison with other things, is not unimportant.

"...be more prayerful, more watchful, more holy, more active than we have ever been before and by so doing, we shall put to silence the gainsaying of foolish men. A living argument is an argument which tells upon every man. We cannot deny what we see and feel. Be it ours, if aspersed and calumniated, to disprove it by a blameless life and it shall yet come to pass that our Church and its sentiments, too, shall come forth, “Fair as the moon, clear as the sun and terrible as an army with banners.”

So here is my weak prayer...that I might know Christ, and do so in such a way as to make Him look like the TREASURE that He actually is. He is not a name to be thrown around. He is the Lamb that was slain, the centerpiece of worship for all eternity. Do you know him?

Grace Abounds,
Sara Grace

Hedonism

2008-07-18T13:05:00.007-05:00

he·do·nism (noun):
1 : the doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the sole or chief good in life
2 : a way of life based on or suggesting the principles of hedonism

"say imma hedonist>>i seek my pleasure>>hey man look around>>cats seekin their pleasure>>seeking joy>>seekin satisfaction.>>well, us too.>>but the difference is>>we seekin to be satisfied in the Lord alone,>>cuz not only is He far greater,>>but He's glorified in that."
--Trip Lee

"What Is Christian Hedonism?
My shortest summary of Christian Hedonism is: God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.
We all make a god out of what we take the most pleasure in. Christian Hedonists want to make God their God by seeking after the greatest pleasure—pleasure in him.
By Christian Hedonism, we do not mean that our happiness is the highest good. We mean that pursuing the highest good will always result in our greatest happiness in the end. We should pursue this happiness, and pursue it with all our might. The desire to be happy is a proper motive for every good deed, and if you abandon the pursuit of your own joy you cannot love man or please God. " --Pastor John Piper

Trip Lee

Lecrae

Don't Waste Your Life.

Sara Grace

heaven?

2008-07-13T16:57:00.002-05:00

"The critical question for our generation—and for every generation—is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever say, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?" (God Is the Gospel, Dr. John Piper)

The answer is: no.

Beautiful Grace

2008-06-26T22:13:00.004-05:00

"Beautiful Grace"
written by Sara Sather
June 26, 2008

What Beautiful grace now I see,
That He electeth me!
Before the world began,
Before the fall of man!

Yet sinners all are we,
by nature and by choice!
Not one man's lowly voice
Will's to praise the King.

No pow'r to choose my Lord,
Only His call did afford,
To bring me from death to life--
All praise be to His might!

The cross, though foolish once,
Now beautiful to me!
For there Christ did absorb
God's wrath that b'longed to me!

Making his grace so free
To whoever may believe!
From every tribe and tounge,
A people ransomed by God's own Son!

Died Jesus for His Sheep
And they He'll always keep!
For it is grace that holds me still--
According to His will!

So look ye to the cross,
And endure the wave's strong toss.
For God it is who wills
And works within you still!

The elect He will not loose,
For we have not the pow'r to choose!
So all praise be to God's grace,
That I will behold His face!

“His grace shall triumph o'er us!”

canoeing...bad idea.

2008-06-20T21:53:00.007-05:00

Today Dad and I tried to canoe down the Minnehaha Creek. Put it this way, it was a bad idea.

Good conditons for braving the creek usually range from 75--150 cubic feet per second. Anything 150+ is deemed "very dangerous."

After the battle we found out that the creek's discharge ws 250 cfs. As you can imagine, this presented some problems for us.

Not two minutes into the three hour trip we capsized, drenching ourselves and learning for the first time how to get all the water out of the canoe...and get back into it without tipping over again. That was interesting. The first two tips were definately my fault--I guess you're not supposed to lean in the direction that you want to go...you're just supposed to keep paddling (live and learn)?

We went under a bunch of interesting bridges, saw a man who lived under a bridge, and one bridge almost claimed our life. Bridges...tell you what, passing under them is a lot more thrilling than crossing them.

We stopped at a portage right before we reached that dam. Which was a good idea, considering if we had kept going we probably would have died (maps are helpful). After lunch...the adventure only became more life threatening. We had to put in right by that dam, so the water was going real fast (prob a lot more than 250 cfs). And a few minutes later I guess we passes a sign that said "Portage Required." I guess dad mentioned it to me, and I guess I didn't hear him.

So we were heading for this bridge... this low, arched stone bridge. We were going to clear it easily. Until I noticed that it had this thing (I don't know what else to call it, if I were to call it something else it would probably be "death" or "hate for canoers"). This thing was under the arch of the bridge, spanning from wall to wall. It cut the clearance into basically nothing. We were heading to our decapitation. The current was incredibly fast on the other side of the dam. We tried to paddle to the left side of the creek to grab a tree, or rock, or something! I steered directly into the side of the bridge, hitting some other rocks, and my dad and I both tipped out of the canoe--crashing our knees on the stones and turning the canoe upside down--which was ready to keep heading down the stream with or without us. My dad yelled something like, "oh no! my ring! Chris' ring!" And when I looked back his wedding ring had fallen off...and we were being swept into the bridge that still looked like it really wanted to clothesline us. We grabbed the canoe and ducked under the metal thing in the bridge and got to the other side.

At that point, dad was bleeding from the knees, had lost his wedding ring, and definately seemed eager to take my cell phone, call mom, and say "come pick us up!" But we got back in the canoe and kept going. For a while we rode smoothly, through old Edina...very beautiful expensive homes and gardens... pretty much the only scenic part of the trip lasted about 15 minutes of the 3 hours.

We encountered some more rocks. Head on. Tipped in deep waters, with no place really to get back in. We drifted a bit with everything and found some footing on some rocks. After we got back in we were by this point, quite determined to go home. Finally we were in Minneapolis, ready to head for Lake Nokomis...but were headed towards a large tree branch that covered the whole width of the creek. Dang. We had to turn around and paddle up stream...to somewhere and pull out. We found out that were we at W Minnehaha and Harriet on the north side... we dug out my cell phone and called mom to come pick us up.

Overall it was a really frustrating, freaky day. But I enjoyed it so much because I got to sit in, or swim next to, or fall out of the conoe with my dad. He lost his wedding ring, and in all honesty we were foolish enough to be on the creek after Gray's Dam opened earlier this week, we could have been seriously injured. But I guess the risk made it all the more exciting.

I'd do it again, but...probably not tomorrow. I have a feeling my arms won't be working...

That being said, I am thankful for a dad who not only enjoys and desires and pursues to spend time with me, but he also encourages me to know God, to seek truth, to do hard things, and to have a passion for God's glory. He has a willingness to walk through difficult times with me, whether in a creek with a discharge of 250cfs, or in the pursuit of Truth "so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the Truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love" (Ephesians 4:14-16).

Grace Abounds,
Sara

Lillian

2008-06-16T21:18:00.007-05:00

Tonight I sat listening to God's word, absolutely numbed by its relevance. Relevant not in the sense of "felt needs," but relevant to my actual needs. Feelings do not always tell us what it true, so what does? Truth does--the Bible. How obviously the Bible states that I do not have "free will." We are all (and by all I mean, every human born of Adam) "slaves to sin." And only by grace, God intercedes and calls people from any and all nations from death to life--from blindness to sight!

Jesus died on a cross, became a curse for us and was RAISED, conquering death--so that whomever believes in him will have eternal life--to the praise of His glorious grace. Jesus said, "the only way to the Father is through me." We all have sinned, fall short of God's glory and are captive to sin--bound for destruction. Yet there is hope! Jesus says, "repent and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:15).

And this repentance, this faith is sparked by the New Birth. Just like we had no choice in our physical birth--we have no choice in our Regeneration--and how sweet that is!!! We do not cause it--God does. 1 Peter 1:3 says, "he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."

And how are we born again? John 3:3-8 tells us that it is by the Spirit of God--who is like the wind: "the wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." The Holy Spirit is not bound to a sacrament created by a tradition in a church--the Holy Spirit IS God and moves as he pleases and as he wills, not as a human commands or institutes.

The New Birth, that only the God of the Bible causes, sparks CONSCIOUS faith and repentance. John 1:11-13 says, "He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

A.W. Tozer's words are so helpful: "This intercourse between God and the soul is
known to us in conscious personal awareness. It is personal: it does not
come through the body of believers, as such, but it is known to the individual,
and to the body through the individuals which compose it. It is conscious:
it does not stay below the threshold of consciousness and work there unknown to
the soul (as, for instance, infant baptism is thought by some to do), but comes
within the field of awareness where the man can know it as he knows any
other fact of experience... Being made in His image we have within us the
capacity to know Him. In our sins we lack only the power. The moment
the Spirit has quickened us to life in regeneration our whole being senses
kinship to God and leaps up in joyous recognition. That is the heavenly
birth without which we cannot see the kingdom of God...That is where we begin,
I say, but where we stop no man has yet discovered, for there is in the awful
and mysterious depths of the Triune God neither limit nor end."

1 John 5:1 says, "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him." God regenerated my heart, which awakened immediate faith in Jesus Christ for the propitiation of my willful disobedience towards my Creator. Yet faith, is also a gift! It has been granted--Phil. 1:29, Acts 11:18, 2 Tim. 2:24-26.

God has removed my will of resistance, which was not "free will" at all--it was enslaved, and my master was Sin---but praise be God through Jesus who removed my heart of stone, replacing it with a heart of flesh, making me a slave to righteousness---not by my doing in any sense--but totally God. HE "has done what the law weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."

And so now that my will is enslaved to a Master of righteousness is it my doing that I choose to pursue holiness by the faith God deposited in me? NO! Philippians 2:12-13 says, "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." So also, the answer is YES! Because God HAS exchanged my will, that I now DESIRE to do what is right--for he has written his law on my heart, and has called me his child! Yet it is fully GOD that works in me to "both will and to do."

Jeremiah 32:39-41:
"I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul."

Wow.

While reading through these Scriptures earlier tonight, I took a break. And a kind lady named Lillian introduced herself to me. She has kind eyes that were so sincere--as though she has lived through much suffering, yet much grace. And through her story...she finally said, carefully: "It's good to wait on the Lord," and she paused as if she understood it is not an easy task. And then she said, "and not run ahead..." How valuable are the words of those that have gone before us! What sincere fear of the Lord Lillian depicted to me tonight, after years and years of journeying she recognized that the more she knows, the more questions she has. The more she understands the Bible, the more IN AWE and in trembling fear of her creator she stands. Psalm 111:10 says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!"

May I follow in Lillian's example, fearing God above all else--that I might treasure Christ as he ought to be, and by doing so glorify God...not by any power I have--but by God's work, to "will and to do."

Grace abounds!
Sara

the calmer of the seas

2008-06-14T23:41:00.004-05:00

"The Calmer of the sea Here in this room with me So gently welcoming The weakest things in me You are the blood over The door of my heart What pain You spared me from How could I know it all? Oh Jesus, You became what was my deepest shame That at Your very name My calloused heart would change How could You, oh perfect One Love me, when I have done nothing that's worthy of My freedom You have won?" --Bethany Dillon, "Let your light shine down"

The God of the Bible, the one True God, here--with me? The depths of my heart have been so aching over divisions on doctrines. And how graciously, yet firmly God has revealed to me the importance of standing on the Word alone... and the necessity of division.

"God gives good press to doctrine... In God’s book, knowing his Son and believing true things about him is liberty. “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). God’s self-revelation in the Bible is not a wax nose. Paul calls it “the standard of teaching to which you were committed” (Romans 6:17). It’s a standard, a yardstick, a pattern. You measure truth by it. Elsewhere he calls it “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27), and the “pattern of the soundwords” and “the good deposit entrusted to you” (2 Timothy 1:13-14). It does not change. Our everlasting salvation is determined by whether we believe it: “Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son” (2 John 1:9). Depart from the doctrine, and you depart from Christ. Or, better, keep watch over your doctrine and “you will save . . . yourself” (1 Timothy 4:16). " --Desiring God Ministries

It is therefore much needed that we pursue the Truth, and right-thinking in the Word relentlessly--so that as ideas of man or even doctrines of a church or school of thought arise that declare to be of the Bible...we measure it by the Truth...holding it up to the entire Word, and examining it by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The quest for joy is found so fundamentally in the truths of Scripture--and that is why we must have right thinking about all the Bible teaches. And what could be better or of more value than this? That by doing so, God is most glorified in us because of Jesus Christ--who is the centerpiece of the Bible--because of his death for sinners, and his ressurection--which is "history's only essential message (CJ Mahaney)."

Ephesians 4:25-27 "Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil." along with Ephesians 4:1-16 has continually led me to stand firm, striving to speak truth in love--yet how slow of a student I am!

He can calm the seas--he can surely calm my heart. God says, "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). What stillness and peace comes even in the midst of struggle, loneliness, or longing when the Absolute Sovereignty of God is so clearly evident in all of Scripture.

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him" (John Piper). May Paul's heart be my prayer: "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith--that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. NOT THAT I HAVE ALREADY OBTAINED THIS OR AM ALREADY PERFECT, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:8-14).

Grace Abounds,
Sara

captive to truth

2008-06-10T18:14:00.002-05:00

The Absolute Sovereignty of God

2008-06-06T12:54:00.003-05:00

By grace, as my pastor John Piper would say, may I always start as a Bible-believing Christian that desires to put the Bible above all sytems of thought... not start with a doctrine in order to defend a system.

So here I am, at the tail end of about 8 hours a day of study for the past three days, absolutely enjoying, being encouraged by, challenged by, and in awe of the Scriptures. And so helped by Martin Luther, John Calvin, Mark Driscoll, Tim Keller, Pastor Piper, J.I. Packer, and C.S. Lewis (The Weight of Glory).

God's sovereignty over all things has brought me down to me knees literally and humbled my heart more times in these past few days in the Word than ever before. Reading the Word is not only a command, but what a delight!

Isaiah 46:8-10
"Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,'”

Daniel 4: 34-35
At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, "What have you done?"

Psalm 115:3
"Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases."

Romans 9: 18-23
"So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills. You will say to me then, 'Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?' But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, 'Why have you made me like this?' Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honored use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vesseld of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory."

Job 42:2
"I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted."

Psalm 33:8-10
"Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the word stand in awe of him! For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples."

Ephesians 1:11-12
"In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who are the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory."

Psalm 135:6-7
"Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps. He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses."

Romans 13:1
"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God."

Proverbs 19:21
"Many are the plans of man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand."

Proverbs 16:33
"The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD."

Proverbs 21:1
"The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will."

Amos 3:6
"Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the LORD has done it?"

Isaiah 45:7
"I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things."

2 Thessalonians 2:11-12
"Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

Matthew 10:29
"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father."

Three stroies of God's sovereignty:
Job 1:1--2:10: the Sabeans killed his servants and stole his possesions, The fire of God burned the sheep and servants, The Chaldeans took the camels and killed his servants, a great wind knocked down the house killing his family, and Satan struck Job with sores--yet the Bible says "The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord," "Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?" God has power of Satan.

Joseph in Genesis "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good." (Gen 50: 20a)

Luke 23:1-46 The most evil act ever commited, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Acts 4:24-30: "And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, "Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, "'Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed'—for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus."

Isaiah 53:10
"Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand."

Romans 8:32
"He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?"

"God wills in one sense what he disapproves of in another sense."
God is fully good, with absolute sovereignty.

Grace abounds,
Sara

logs

2008-05-30T13:38:00.003-05:00

"...of first importance"

2008-05-26T12:41:00.000-05:00

1 Corinthians 15: 1-4

"Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you— unless you believed in vain.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures."

laminin

2008-05-23T09:57:00.000-05:00

Grace and Peace

2008-05-13T15:17:00.000-05:00

"We all make a god out of what we take the most pleasure in. Christian Hedonists want to make God their God by seeking after the greatest pleasure—pleasure in him.
By Christian Hedonism, we do not mean that our happiness is the highest good. We mean that pursuing the highest good will always result in our greatest happiness in the end. We should pursue this happiness, and pursue it with all our might. The desire to be happy is a proper motive for every good deed, and if you abandon the pursuit of your own joy you cannot love man or please God."

Grace Abounds