An Anchor of the Soul…

Well, first of all, I’ve been gone for awhile, so I guess that deserves an explanation. To be honest, quite a lot has happened since my last post. My mind is spinning right now and I have so much I want to share in upcoming blogs, but I first want to focus on the subject of faith. It’s something that I was really battling with not too long ago. And, well, I had a lot of questions and a lot of doubts. I remember the night when I had reached my point of desperation and I needed answers.  I sat in the darkness with only a Bible and a small light while the world around me slept. Exhaustion consumed me, but I knew I wasn’t going to be getting any sleep until I had some answers.

I started reading out of Romans, not even sure exactly what I was expecting to find that I hadn’t heard a million times growing up in a pastor’s home. But I needed to know how I could be sure of God. In the midst of my pain, I needed to know for sure who my God really was. Here’s what I found…what I truly believe God showed me and what I want to share.

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

Romans 5:3-4

So our sufferings produce hope! Think about it, to suffer means to “submit to or be forced to endure” according to Webster. We suffer, because we lack something that we deem essential to our well-being in one form or another. When we lack, we are forced to find something to fulfill those needs. Don’t you notice how people always turn to God when they need something or when they’re going through a difficult time? We rely on God during times of suffering and this, in turn, produces a hope that something greater than ourselves is at work and has a master plan.

I kept reading.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
-Hebrews 11: 1

If faith is the substance of hope and suffering produces hope, then suffering produces faith! Even in the desperation of that night, God used my pain to bring me hope again. He used my suffering and even the doubt in my life to bring forth faith. A faith that He is Sovereign and although my mind cannot fully grasp who or what He is in His entirety, I know one thing for sure: My God is righteous, he is Sovereign. His grace and love towards me is reflective in everything in my life.

Here’s one of my favorite scriptures:

“Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast…”

Hebrews 6:19

It just makes sense, doesn’t it? Hope anchors our soul, because it brings faith. That’s what we’re living out each and every day as Christians. Faith that there is something bigger than us that knows what He’s doing. And I do have faith. I know that my God is here and, no matter how relentless this life is, all the suffering in the world is worth it for Him. I believe.

It’s no wonder Paul said,

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

James 1:2-4

In my suffering, I am forced to rely on God. He is my source of life. Therefore, I delight in my suffering…I even seek to be in a continuous state of brokenness before God so that I may be forever dependent on him to meet my needs. My faith is founded in the Lord.

Your Truly,

Another Broken Psalmist

Sorting Things Out

So here’s my current situation: I woke up this morning and realized I have to be all packed up for school by Saturday. I decided to go out into the garage and assess the damage. Now I’m sitting amidst a pile of containers full of things I packed away at the beginning of summer when I came home from college. As I started unpacking and sorting through my boxes this morning, I began finding things I forgot that I had. I hadn’t needed any of it at the time and, because I’m one of those “out of sight-out of mind” people, all my junk became non-existent in my mind. But it was still there–just waiting to be sorted through. And, consequently, the inevitable had to happen.

College paraphernalia isn’t the only thing I’ve been forced to sort through lately. I guess, in my mind, because God had delivered me once from difficulties in my life, I thought I could easily pass any test. But there were, as always, issues in my life that I still hadn’t dealt with and, because they were still “packed away” in my mind, I never realized they were existent–until a situation arose that brought them out into the light. I was once again reminded that no, Shelly, you’re not invincible and yes, you are still nothing without the God who dragged you out of your egotistical and self-pleasing prison in the first place.

I knew the decision I had to make concerning my situation and yet the desires of my heart seemed to be going the opposite way. It was as if my spirit and my flesh were playing tug of war with my heart and it was being torn in two directions. It was then that I was reminded of this scripture:

“Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” -Psalm 37:4

Yea, I know what you’re thinking. What a phenomenal verse–God will just give you whatever it is your little heart desires! “Here ya go, kid! Murder is not exactly something I condone, but YOUR heart desires it!” Doesn’t exactly sound like the voice of God, huh? That’s because most people look over the condition under which He will give us the desires of our hearts. “Delight yourself in the Lord”. I looked up the definition of “delight” in the Webster dictionary and got this:

Delight: “A high degree of gratification: JOY: extreme satisfaction”

I thought that was amazing, because, basically this verse is telling us that when we find that place of extreme satisfaction in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our hearts. And I’ve found it to be so true! It’s in that place of satisfaction and gratification that our hearts are aligned with His; His desires become our desires! It is when we deny our flesh and let God have control over our spirit that He is not only able to mend our heart, but lavish us with all that He has prepared for us. And I guarantee you, it is more than enough to fill your heart until it’s overflowing.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to finish sorting through these boxes.

Your’s Truly, 

Another Broken Psalmist

To hear from other Christian bloggers, go to GreenSleeves blogging site at:

http://grassrouted.wordpress.com/2010/08/17/sorting-things-out/

Love is Up

I Corinthians 13:1-3

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.”

I remember awhile back when I was sitting around the lunch table with some college friends while discussing theology like we often did. I often enjoy conversations such as these. I’ve always been a firm believer in a healthy debate to strengthen the knowledge and understaning of God’s Word and how it relates to the world around us. But, as sometimes occurs in situations where differing views are discussed, the power surge began to rise among my colleagues. It was a battle of knowledge and who could use the biggest words. Before I knew it, Scripture verses were something of the past and theological terms were being tossed around like a bad night’s sleep. This conversation was no longer about God, but about who could articulate the most well-crafted sentence from within their mind’s wealth of knowledge and logic. It was then that it hit me: When did we get so caught up in the complexity of life’s problems that we forgot the most foundational element from which the rest should all be built–love. God. (I John 4:8)

A man can know all the theological terms along with their deep philosophical meanings and, without God, the very embodiment of love, it is meaningless and void. We (the church) can study and debate theology until we’re blue in the face, but if we’ve forgotten our “first love”, we’re in a very dangerous place (Rev. 2:4).

People are so busy looking for some kind of inspiring quote to live their lives based on, that they forget the God they were created to serve; they’re so busy trying to grasp some kind of goodness and truth from within them that they are forgetting to look outside themeselves and to something bigger. All the soul searching in the world won’t grant you peace. All the best arguments and most well-developed theories of God’s creation are meaningless when you take their Source of life and power away. Without a power source they are merely words and thoughts sent out into oblivion.

Bottom line: We’re all messed up. We’re weak. We’re broken. We’re hurting. We can’t do this. We can’t look to ourselves to solve our problems and we can’t look to other hurting individuals to better our situation. If another’s heart is broken and imperfect, how can we look at them to fix yours? If left to ourselves and each other to better our wretched state as human beings, there is no hope. We need something greater and more transcendent. We NEED God.

Stop looking in the mirror for the solutions to your problems. Stop looking at your friends, your family, your loved ones. And please, please, please, stop looking down at your textbooks and look up. Just look up.

His Truly,

Another Broken Psalmist

To hear from other Christian bloggers, go to GreenSleeves blogging site at:

http://grassrouted.wordpress.com/2010/06/13/love-is-up/

A Necessary Sacrifice

When the word “sacrifice” is mentioned, immediately it brings to one’s mind thoughts of destruction or loss. This is because, simply put, the word “sacrifice” means the killing or destruction of something in the place of something else–In other words, giving something up for the sake of a greater purpose.

Take, for instance, Mulan—a young girl who gives up her role as a proper young lady and goes out to battle in place of her disabled father. To Mulan, her father’s life was not only more important than her role in society, but it was more important than her very life which she chose to put in danger. She made the decision when she could have continued to seek the approval of her society by doing what they deemed respectable.

Sacrifice for the sake of a greater purpose.

Frodo—a young unsuspecting hobbit who leaves the comfort of the Shire on a mission to save all of middle earth. To Frodo, the fate of middle earth was bigger than his peaceful life in the Shire. He took up the responsibility when he could have walked away and given it to a more likely candidate.

Sacrifice for the sake of a greater purpose.

 Jesus—God’s only Son who comes to earth in human form and gives His life in order to save all of mankind. To Jesus, the fate of human beings was more important than the pain and suffering he endured to save us. He could have walked away and let us die without hope of redemption—no wrong done on His part and no crime committed.

Sacrifice for the sake of a greater purpose.

 

There are endless accounts of stories—fictional and non-fictional—that speak of sacrifice—one thing taken away in exchange for something greater. This is the definition of sacrifice and it is dependent on what is most treasured and adored.

When it comes down to it, we all make sacrifices in our daily lives. Whether it be sacrificing the television show you wanted to see in order to put more hours in at your job or giving up your favorite dessert in order to get into shape. Sometimes we even make sacrifices gradually over time without even realizing it—we neglect our prayer time with God in order to spend more time with friends or we don’t spend as much time studying the Bible, because we have to get our paperwork in before the deadline. Whatever the case may be—however big or small the decision—sacrifice is something that’s unavoidable.

Sacrifice is an indication of where one’s priorities lie. When done with purity of heart to a righteous God, the pain we endure through sacrifice molds a beautifully broken and humbled spirit that is blameless in the site of God. Sacrifice is not meant to be easy, but it’s a promise that you are striving towards something better.

The road I’ve travelled to come to this conclusion was not an easy one and there were sacrifices in my life that had to be made in order to strive towards something greater—to draw nearer to the heart of Christ. Lately I feel like God has really been taking me through a time of testing in which I’ve really had to search my heart and ask myself some important questions. I would like to ask you the same.

What’s important to you? Where do your priorities lie? And what are you willing to sacrifice for them?

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” –Psalm 51:17

 His Truly,

Another Broken Psalmist

To hear from other Christian bloggers, go to GreenSleeves blogging site at:

http://grassrouted.wordpress.com/2010/05/12/a-necessary-sacrifice/

Class in Session

Good morning class! Welcome to “Who is God? 101”. I know everyone’s ready to get out of here for the weekend, so I won’t keep you long. I won’t be passing around the attendance sheet, but you’re not going to want to miss today’s lecture. Please put your phones on silent and put away anything else that may be a distraction while in this class. Today we’ll briefly discuss the importance of knowing who God is as well as situations we may encounter and how we can deal with them from a perspective that’s holy and pleasing to God. Through my own personal experience I share, my hope is that you will find applicable information that will be relevant in your own life. So let’s begin.

Recently, through a series of situations, I’ve found myself asking a lot of questions about the Bible as it pertains to God—that is, His Sovereignty and true character. Although, that leads to an entirely different discussion, it paves the way for what I want to discuss in today’s class period.

In my search and through my questioning, I was condemned by some people for seeking out the answers to such seemingly “trivial” questions about God. I got discouraged for awhile and felt ashamed at the rebuke aimed at me. “Don’t ask questions…it shows a lack of faith in God. You’ll never understand Him, so why try?” Those were the words that echoed in my mind. It’s just like humans to push away any topic that we don’t understand or that makes us feel uncomfortable. The problem is, despite what makes us uncomfortable, God remains the same. God does not change based on how man defines Him and ignoring reality will not altar it.

Ever heard this one before?: “There’s no point in discussing this, because it doesn’t effect whether or not we get to heaven.” In other words, as long as you’ve said the sinner’s prayer and you’re living a pure life, there’s no need to bog yourself down with theological debate.

I knew in my spirit that this was wrong and I couldn’t shake the feeling that resonated within me. I felt frustrated and once again ran to God complaining about it. After ranting and raving about my confusion, I finally let God speak. It was one question—just one. That’s all it took.  “Why do you serve me?” He asked. That was the question that rocked my world. And so now I want to ask you the same. Why do you serve God? Do you serve Him in order that you will be ensured a good seat in Heaven? Do you serve Him in order to get any benefits that He might throw your way?

Think about it: We’re so used to the focus being on us, that we forget the God we’re serving!

So let’s clarify:

Q: Who are we?

A: We are all sinners and are worthy of nothing but death. God was everything we needed and yet we turned away from Him and angered Him with our disobedience and discontent with His love for us. We don’t deserve ANYTHING. Without God and the sacrifice of His Son….we are nothing. Nothing at all.

Q: Who is He?

A: The Author of everything. The God of everything who, even in the midst of our putrid sins, gave his Son to save us from death and, in doing so, displayed the ultimate act of love. He deserves everything.

Please take note of this important passage:

“Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.” –Romans 5:9

So why do we serve God? Do we serve Him for our personal gain or do we serve Him because of the incomprehensible and undeserving love He offers to us—wretched and imperfect human beings?

Q: Why do I serve God?

A: I serve God because He is everything—a sovereign Being deserving of all that I am.

So then, this is not a matter of making it to Heaven, but my desperate search as a mere human being to understand the heart of my God so that I may better serve Him and bring Him glory as is my purpose.

“…bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” –Isaiah 43:6-7

In closing, I’d like to see more class participation and intuitive students. Being apathetic in this class will not help you in any way. To understand who God truly is and what His actions and words reveal about His character, we must ask questions and search out the truth. Through this, God may begin to reveal His true character and identity in a way that you never imagined. Merely attending class and getting you’re “A+” isn’t enough. I want to see that you’re really applying what is taught into an active part of your everyday lives. Don’t live a life that just barely gets you into heaven. Live a life that draws you closer to the heart of who God really is so that you can fall in love with Him even more deeply.

Class dismissed.

His Truly,

Another Broken Psalmist

To hear from other Christian bloggers, go to GreenSleeves blogging site at:

http://grassrouted.wordpress.com/2010/04/02/a-lesson-concerning-god-the-real-one/

When Love Becomes Jaded

“Dear Readers,

 I’m sitting here on my bed in my dorm room listening to my air conditioner whir and I can feel the night growing quiet around me (surprising for a college campus!). I haven’t written in awhile and I’ve been thinking about what to say to you all. As I sat here and contemplated what has been going on in my life over the past few weeks, I began to feel such a peace as I saw God’s hand manifested in my life so undeniably during this time. But before I really start rambling, let me tell you what’s been going on with me and what’s on my heart.

 About two weeks ago, I was given the opportunity to join some of the students attending my university as they went on a bi-weekly outreach for the homeless. It wasn’t an official organization, but simply a few people with a desire to reach out to the impoverished in love. They would drive their personal cars, filled with clothes that had been donated from various areas, and park on the side of the road near the homeless shelter where most of the homeless congregated towards the end of the day.

I was invited to go and, having no other plans, I thought it would be an interesting experience. Before I left my room, I quickly glanced in the mirror to make sure my scarf was fixed in place (Yes, yes, scarves are my down fall!)  and my make-up wasn’t smudged (Oh, come on ladies…I know someone out there is relating to me right now!). As my roommate and I drove away from our beautiful university, we gradually started making our way into the more impoverished areas of the city. Soon we turned onto the street where the homeless shelter was located and I watched as groups of rough looking people gathered in different areas. Some walked alone, meandering aimlessly up and down the street with no particular destination or purpose. Their clothes were filthy and worn and their demeanor intimidating. It was the kind of street that you wouldn’t want to turn down if you were alone—a place where one might feel compelled to lock their doors. As we got out of the car, we met with the two guys who were handing out clothing and soup in Styrofoam cups.

 As I began to help people find clothes and hand out cups of soup, I felt like so unworthy. Here I was with my meal plan at an all-you-can-eat cafeteria handing out cups of chicken noodle soup to people who may not have eaten all day. My accessorized and color-coordinated outfit suddenly seemed so vein as I dug through a trash bag to help a lady find a pair of pants that would keep her warm through cold nights. I felt like such a hypocritical Christian as I began to have conversations with these people and realized they were real—they had lives, families, stories, heart aches, and raw human emotions. How could I have claimed to love my neighbors and helped those in need when I didn’t even know them? I never even left my small world where I enjoyed the comfort of my small group of friends and had personal devotions in the evening.

 In theory, I claimed to love as Jesus, but love in theory cannot thrive when it is, in essence, an action.

 I always believed that I had the love of God and, as the popular belief of Christians goes, “if I’m saved by Jesus Christ, my love will automatically permeate from me and spread cheer to everyone in my path!” Never mind that I just gave a dirty look to that lady on the highway! She was going to slow and she can stare at the back of my gospel fish-embossed car for all I care!  That, of course, is  sarcasm, but it’s simply to get my point across. We’re so quick to judge others and make up excuses for why we can’t reach out to others. I mean, be honest with yourself, how many times have you rolled up your windows and locked your doors when a homeless person approached your car holding up a cardboard sign? After all, they could be dangerous, right? Or better yet, they’re probably just saving up until they can get their next bottle of booze. God forbid we roll the window down, give them a few bucks, and say something as trivial as “God bless you” when that may be what they need to hear. I mean why give them money that could potentially be spent on booze when you could hand them a tract!

 You may have noticed that by writing this I risk offending many people and being shunned by studying theologians. Truth be told, I’m deeply troubled by how “holy” Christians have become. When did we transcend so highly above sinners to the point where we are no longer able to stoop down and pick them up.

 Jesus was never so unapproachable. Indeed, Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

 I want to love like Jesus. Even if it starts with rolling down my car window instead of plastering bumper stickers on my car with cheesy Christian puns or giving my waitress a good tip instead of whispering amongst friends about the cultic charm hanging from her necklace.

 This is my proposal of love: To break down the walls of the church that have driven away the hurting and the lost. To live out Christ-centered life by displaying an unconditional act of love to everyone I encounter—give to the poor, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, comfort the hurting and oppressed, and befriend the lonely.

 On a more personal note, this is a scripture that I’m particularly passionate about—a constant reminder that I live by as I continue in my calling for Social Work with children. I would like to share it with you:

 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” –James 1:27

His Truly,

Another Broken Psalmist

To hear from other Christian bloggers, go to GreenSleeves blogging site at:

http://grassrouted.wordpress.com/2010/02/01/when-love-becomes-jaded/

Hope After January!

With Christmas right around the corner, I’m finding myself in an especially festive mood this year. As I finish off the first week of Grassroots blogging, I feel I can only sit comfortably knowing that the tree lights are plugged in, my pumpkin spice candle is burning, and a cup of hot cocoa is in my hand. Oh! and Christmas music is a must while driving … it’s simply the only thing that feels right! And yes, I do live in Florida and have never seen snow a day in my life, which probably seems bizarre to most of you, but I figure that by living vicariously through the lives of characters in cheesy Christmas movies on television (who, by the way, all experience snow), I do not miss out quite so much.

There’s an excitement about Christmas that is different from every other holiday. The weather, the music, the decorations, the presents, the aggressive shoppers-these are all sure signs the Christmas is right around the corner. Hope fills the air as the season gets ready to usher in the New Year.

This past week I’ve thought a lot about this hope that begins to spread at this time of year. People who are feeling down can, for a season, forget about their worries and hope that next year will bring new fulfillment. Isn’t it the truth? We’re all hoping that our list of New Year’s resolutions will guide us into a new stage of life.

December! January!

Even as I admit that they can be somewhat stressful, I must also admit to the excitement that wells up in me when I say their names and know what they Entail.

Christmas! New Year!

But what about March, April, May and so on? Will we still have this hope of something better as time goes on? Or will it have faded, withered up, and died as we got so wrapped up in our Hectic lives?

As I Pondered these questions, I began to wonder about hope and how we let it go so easily. So I began to search the Bible for every Scripture I could find on hope. What I found amazed me. Look at what these verses all have in common:

“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
My hope is in you. “-Psalm 39:7

“But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. “-Romans 8:25

“Wait for the LORD;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
   wait for the LORD! “-Psalm 27:14

Is it possible that the Lord wants us to wait on Him and, in doing so, our hope will be Manifested? It was a Freeing realization and yet it goes against my very nature. How can I wait? I’m a Busybody. I like to be moving, doing, and Accomplishing.

We live in a world of immediate gratification. From the time we wake up until the time we lay down, everything must be the way we want it and now is better than later. With the flick of a wrist, we have our hot shower. If it’s not so, that’s the definition of a bad morning. The drive to work would have been pleasant if it were not for the fact that the guy in front of us did not see the light turn green right away and it prolonged the trip an additional five seconds. There’s nothing good on television, our computer is going too SLOW, we were put on hold when trying to make an important call, the fast food was not fast enough and the list goes on.

Waiting seems like such a difficult action, because it requires surrender. Yet, in doing so, the ultimate, lasting hope will rise up in us. This hope is not here temporarily with the change of seasons, but it is a hope that can only come with a complete surrender in God as we wait on Him and rest in the knowledge that His timing is better than our own.

Q: So what is the difference between a hope that comes with the change of the seasons and a hope in God comes after the Christmas and New Year’s season?

A: That God’s hope is still burning in you and keeping you strong all throughout the year.

My New Year’s Resolution: Hope after January!

What’s yours?

His Truly,

Another Broken Psalmist

To hear from other Christian bloggers, go to GreenSleeves blogging site at:

Read more at: http://grassrouted.wordpress.com/2009/12/19/hope-after-january/