Jehovah Jireh!

I need to break the silence!  I have not posted in such a long time, that I feel like the next post should be momentous... but the longer I wait, the less momentous each possibility seems.  So I am just going to WRITE and share the little bit of my journal entry, dated May 28, 2013:
God doesn't usually work in conventional ways.  That struck me today, and I had a good laugh at myself over it.
This morning I volunteered again at BFM from 9 am until 1 pm.  It takes me 15-20 minutes to walk there, and I like to spend that time in prayer.   Today I walked along, enjoying the fresh morning air asking God to provide me with work for this summer.  Then all of a sudden I couldn't help but smile at the irony--I am walking off to a morning of work, praying for God to provide work! 
So I thanked God for providing me with work, and switched to asking God for money to pay for my tuition and housing for next year.  I still didn't get too far, though, as I remembered the cheque that I deposited yesterday--a gift from some dear friends to help pay my school expenses. 
So I thanked God for His financial provision, and set myself to do whatever God brings me this summer with all my heart.  As usual, God's ways are never quite what I expect--but in my experience I find that His ways are usually more interesting, and always better! 
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths."  For is He not Jehovah Jireh, my Provider?  Truly, His grace is sufficient for me!
Jehovah Jireh is my Provider!:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cBUoufez3M

"It is finished!" ??

“I have glorified you on earth. I have finished the work which you gave me to do.” --Jesus (John 17:3)

     As I read Jesus' prayer before His crucifixion on Good Friday morning, this statement astounded me. How could Jesus say that when the gospel had not spread much beyond Judea and Samaria... when multitudes still suffered from disease, blindness and oppression... when many still embraced lies about the nature of the Messiah and His kingdom... when even his own disciples still did not fully understand!...when there was still so much work to be done?

      In the face of all this 'unfinished work', Jesus evinced a peace and certainty in doing His Father's will. While Judas went to perdition, Jesus could still say “those whom you gave me I have kept, and none of them is lost.” Throughout his whole life, Jesus remained steadfast in God's will and timing (John 7:6; 8:28-29, 42...). And at the end, he could say “It is finished!”

      Jesus' certainty and steadfastness stands in stark contrast to my own restless spirit and confused sense of responsibility. Too often I feel the urge to 'fix the whole world' and I hop to and fro like a confused bird from one thing to the next. I'm afraid that my life carries more uncomfortable similarities to Frank Sinatra's “I did it my way” than to Jesus' “I have done the work that the Father gave me to do.”

     Christ's humble confession bespeaks a peace, certainty and joy that arises out of a perspective of God's bigger plan and a sense of his role in God's story. He did not have to 'do everything' during His time on earth. His role in the story at this point did not include testifying before Caesar, just as Paul's lines did not include atoning for his own sins. Yet at the end, Paul could also say: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race” (2 Timothy 4:7).

     These truths just turn my whole story upside down! It's like when you are reading a book... you think you understand the gist of the plot... you know where the author is going,... your prejudices and biases begin to set... then an event happens and the story isn't what you initially thought at all!

...It's not all about me! I don't HAVE to do what I feel like doing because I am a new creature in Christ with a new potential. I don't have to do everything and save the world either. I just have to be faithful in the role that God calls me too. God's story is so amazing, so much better than the ones I try to write... it is an awesome privilege to be part of His drama of redemption and reconciliation.

     The ironic part is that even while I may think that I am doing it my way, yet God has still inscribed every moment of my life story. He penned it even before I was formed in secret, skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Throughout the whole world, God is speaking into existence an amazing story of reconciliation, of hope, of judgment, of resurrection. It is a story where there is no peace for the wicked, but perfect peace for those whose minds are stayed on God and surrendered to His purpose (Isaiah 48:22; 26:3).

     On Good Friday I was wowed again by God's awesome, unprecedented story. A story that we are living RIGHT NOW. A story that is possible only because Jesus did not live forever on this earth healing everyone and killing Romans and fighting over doctrine, only because Jesus followed the Father's will and did the work that was set before Him.

     Jesus' work is the basis of my story. For, I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. And the life that I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loves me and gave Himself for me (Galatians 2:20). By His grace, I look forward to His return when He will look at me and say: “Well done, good and faithful steward. Enter into the joy of your Lord.”

The Who and the What

     Have you ever thought a comment was really good... until you found out who said it? Who says it, and what they are referring to, can make all the difference in the world! One time, I was surprised to find out that someone I didn't particularly like happened to appreciate the same literature that I did. I wasn't sure how to respond--do I adjust my perception of that person, or do I shift my literary preferences?

     Sometimes feelings are affected by people who hold similar perceptions. Sometimes our feelings are affected by what they are applied to. This last point struck me when I read through the United Nations Charter.

     As I read the Charter with its values and principles, I couldn't help but notice how much the UN sounded like a religion. It aims to establish lasting peace.  It seeks to mobilize the whole world in the work of the UN. Its members profess faith in the UN and commit to its principles, Charters, and international laws.

     Now, how about we replace that with a faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and a commitment to His commands and laws and vision? These are also “indispensable foundations of a more peaceful, prosperous and just world.” It is only through acting in accordance with the “purposes and principles of [God]... that any just and lasting peace all over the world” can be established (quotations are from the UN Charter, with minor adjustments in square brackets)!

      Somehow, the world perceives it differently when it is not about the God of the Bible.  Somehow, it is not religious bigotry when the UN is involved.

   

My story or your story?

What kind of story are you living? Or maybe a more pointed question: Whose story are you living?

Did you know that when you work really hard on a project, blood flow increases to to your brain and overflows into your brain's pleasure center? This gives you an enjoyable feeling of accomplishment. However, according to Dr. Jeff Myers in the movie CAPTIVATED (see previous post), when we use technology like video and computer games, they give us the same feelings of pleasure. Only, that is because they drain blood from the executive center into the pleasure center. As a result, we feel good and like we have accomplished something—and we haven't.

When I learned that, I heard a sinister echo of Huxley's “Brave New World.” Instead of soma, the panacea for all feelings of discomfort or ill, we can manufacture a pleasure fix for ourselves with our ubiquitous technology. Instead of the 'feelies', we watch 3D HD movies and vicariously enjoy the characters' experiences.

As our world becomes increasingly virtual, our lives are too. Technology does have a role in business and school, but what is its role in our entertainment and 'free time'? Is our 'free time' becoming a self-imposed jail sentence to technology?

As a student, I find that I use the computer a lot. It facilitates essays and research. But when I watched the clips from CAPTIVATED, I thought about how much 'screen time' I have and I was surprised.

Lately I have been struggling with what kind of impact I have on my world. More to the point, I am struggling with the lack of impact I seem to exert on my world. Then I wondered what kind of impact I expected to have if all I did was sit in front of my computer. “The Story of a Young Girl who Sat at the Computer” doesn't sound very reportable or world-changing. It brings up a haunting question:

Will the world be a better place because I have lived—or will no one even notice the loss of what could-have-been?

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:1-2

Isn't technology captivating?

Are you free?  Or not?
According to merriam-webster.com, 'captivating' means "to influence and dominate by some special charm, art, or trait and with an irresistible appeal."  The definition seems almost light-hearted.  However, a film that came out in 2011, CAPTIVATED:  finding freedom in a media captive culture, gives another dimension to this word.
I have only watched video clips from the movie so far, but I hope to watch the whole thing sometime soon.  Am I living in a 'techno-utopia'?... or a 'virtual prison'?  I have a feeling that my life story needs a rescue mission from captivity...
Does yours too?

 
http://www.captivatedthemovie.com/

LIFE story!

      Much Ado about Nothing, Oliver Twist, Heart of Darkness, The Odyssey, The Bible ... What do these all have in common? Aren't they all stories that were written long ago, and yet continue to compel us?

      The whole idea of 'Story' has fascinated me for a long time. I am an avid reader, something I credit eleven years of home-schooling for. I love how stories relate to my own life... how they open up previously unthought-of possibilities... I especially love biographies, like Jungle Pilot (Nate Saint's story), Kisses from Katie (Katie Davis' story), and my latest read, An Autobiography of George Muller. These real-life stories inspire me because they actually happened. Fiction authors can construe any unlikely scenario and insert it into their plot.

      However, I like fiction as well. Artful authors can write stories that speak truth into difficult situations and question societal expectations, even if they have no single person's story to tell. For me, Deadline by Randy Alcorn was one such thought-provoking read. Another good book is A million miles in a thousand years by Don Miller, which not only stimulated by brain cells but also helped to shape my love and appreciation of 'Story' itself.

      I am not entirely sure what is so compelling about story, except that maybe it is wired into us . According to one source, it seems we may possess some 'story-telling' gene that enables us to look into the future and analyze the past, relating everything together into a cohesive story. (I am trying to unearth the link to where I learned that, but am having some difficulties.  I heard it on a movie interview with a professional story-teller, but can't quite remember where.  If you are interested in this, contact me and I will try to find it and send it to you.)

      Maybe we are attracted by 'Story' because we are part of a story ourselves, told by a story-telling God who made us in His image. Maybe 'Story' speaks to us because we are living it as part of God's comprehensive story of Redemption..

      I love how everyone has their own subplot to relate in this overarching story that God is telling in the world. In every boring face that I see is a challenge to unearth whatever interesting story it hides. At one ladies' Christmas program, I found myself next to an amiable enough, well-dressed lady. We had barely started into our desserts, and I was already bored by the small talk. So I decided to show interest in her as a person and the story she had to tell. It turned out that she is a Christian now, but her ancestors were Mennonites in Russia. During WWII, Lenin sent her grandfather to a Siberian concentration camp because he refused to fight as a soldier. Her grandfather survived, however, by escaping with the lumber that he loaded onto ships headed for England... What a story! It turned out to be an interesting evening after all.

      I like to hear people's stories, and not only because I find it personally interesting. It also excites me to see how God is working in the world—it is like reading the God's story of redemption hot off the press! As we share our stories, we get a better picture of who this God is that we serve and what His kingdom looks like. In Ephesians 3, Paul prays that we would begin to know, with all our fellow believers, what is the height and breadth and depth and height of Christ's love. Christ's love is sooo big that it takes all the believers to even begin to understand it! I like to think of it in terms of the story of the blind men who wanted to find out what an elephant is like. They all went up to an elephant and felt it. The first felt its tail and thought, “Ahhh. An elephant is long and thin, like a rope.” The second felt is massive side: “I see, an elephant is broad and flat like a wall.” The third felt the beast's leg, and concluded that “an elephant is strong and round like a pillar.” Then they spent the rest of the day arguing over what an elephant was like. By themselves, none of them had the whole picture. Yet, if they combined their experiences, they would begin to grasp the magnitude and nature of the beast that we call 'elephant.'

      On this blog, I want to open up and share my story within God's story. I hope that as I share how God is penning my life, it would encourage you in your story and give you a fuller picture of our awesome Creator God. I don't know what this coming year will look like, but I know that it will be exciting because it is has a purpose and a goal, and it is told by a Master Story-teller.

blog: new name

Hello readers,
Just to let you know that I am changing the title and purpose of this blog from "Faith... Hope... Love..." to "LIFE story."  So don't become confused and do come back and read more!  My next post will share with you the new vision for this blog (which will hopefully breathe some new life into it).  Thank you for stopping by to 'chat' with me!  I appreciate it
Melissa