Life Less Ordinary for the week of March 23, 2008

silence.



It’s unnerving, isn’t it? Scary, even. Makes us feel awkward and frustrated. Silence leaves us stranded, empty. We feel as though we’ve lost something, so we try to fill it to ease our discomfort.

The thing is, we have so much to gain in the silence.

Even when it feels like God has abandoned us.

1 Kings 19:11-12 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.


A still, small voice.

One that can only be heard in the silence.


Take some time this week to just be silent. Yes, even in the midst of homework and tests and papers. Turn off your iPod, close facebook, shut the TV off, put your phone away and listen. It won’t be easy, but you just might catch that little whisper that God has been longing for you to hear.









“Be still, and know that I am God.” ~Psalm 46:10

Life Less Ordinary for the week of March 16, 2009

You know, I've been thinking a lot about Jesus lately. It is the Lenten season, after all. It’s interesting, how Jesus came down to be with us…he knew there was no way we could save ourselves. We forget sometimes that Christianity isn't about what we do. It's about grace.

"For Jesus is the descent of God to our lives, just as they are, not the ascent
of our lives to God, hoping he might approve when he sees how hard we try."
--Eugene Peterson

Jesus comes to meet us where we are. In our own slop and filth. He stretched the tight skin of human existence over his own glory, retaining the essence of everything we could never aspire to be, because he knew that we could not rise from the ashes of our own accord.

I'm not talking about his death or resurrection or his love. Yes, he came down because he loved us. Yes, he died for us because that was the price that had to be paid. Yes, he rose from the grave to overcome death for us. But he had to come down in order to do that.

Why? Why must he come down? Why did he have to grow inside Mary's belly, cry and poop and scrape his knees, grow, learn, laugh, and mourn, just like us? It's more than the mere fact that he wanted to relate to us. It's because there was no way to bring us out of our demise without being in it himself. “We all, like sheep, have gone astray…[and] he was lead like a lamb to the slaughter.” Isaiah 53. That’s why.

Look at the homeless. The impoverished. The starving children. The abandoned and abused. How do we help them? We come down. We get out of our own comfort zones and meet them on their level, just as they are. We don't require anything of them in the respects of being "good enough." Mother Teresa didn't help the poor of Calcutta by creating a place for herself and making everyone clean up before they entered in. She came down and got her hands dirty. She wept and she bled and she cared and she loved. And look how much of an impact she has made on the world. Helping those who are less fortunate than we is not the ascent of their lives to ours, hoping that we might approve when we see how hard they try. It's just not.

And so I challenge you to look around. See who needs a helping hand, and reach out—spiritually, physically, emotionally. We’re all broken, but through the power of Christ we can be his hands and feet.

~~~

Life Less Ordinary for the week of March 8, 2009

Your Name
Phillips, Craig, & Dean

As morning dawns and evening fades
You inspire songs of praise
That rise from earth to touch Your heart
and glorify Your Name

Your Name is a strong and mighty tower
Your Name is a shelter like no other
Your Name, let the nations sing it louder
'Cause nothing has the power to save
But Your Name

Jesus, in Your Name we pray
Come and fill our hearts today
Lord, give us strength to live for You
and glorify Your Name

Your Name is a strong and mighty tower
Your Name is a shelter like no other
Your Name: let the nations sing it louder
'Cause nothing has the power to save
but Your Name

~~~

God said to Moses, "I am who I am .” ~Exodus 3:14

You all know the story of the burning bush, when God tells Moses his name, I AM. To the Hebrews, a name is the closest possible way of knowing a person’s very existence, their character; who they are at the very core. Yahweh defines his personality by his own self—“I will be whatever I make myself to be.” It’s like saying, “I am God, and I will do God-things.” He acts according to his nature, which is pure, holy, just, and good.

Did you know that in ancient times, the belief was that gods kept their names a secret? If mortals knew the name of a god, they might have power over him to summon and use him to their own advantages. Not so with Yahweh! That fact alone expresses his vulnerability and his power—that he gives us access to his very being, yet can never be overcome by his creation. A very humbling and uplifting gift, indeed.

~~~

Life less Ordinary for the week of March 2, 2009

Welcome back, girls! I hope you all had a safe, fun, relaxing break. While here I usually offer a thought or reflection, this week I only want to tell you one thing:

You are loved.

That’s it. Plain and simple. Over and over in the New Testament, Jesus says, “I tell you the truth…” And in John 14 he says, “If it were not so, would I have told you?” That’s huge. If this weren’t the truth, it wouldn’t be all over the Bible. So believe it, because it’s true. Isn’t that awesome?

~~~
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ~John 3:16

The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” ~Jeremiah 31:3

“…In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” ~Romans 8:37-39

“The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."
~Zephaniah 3:17

The LORD is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.
The LORD is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
The LORD is faithful to all his promises
and loving toward all he has made.
The LORD upholds all those who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
The LORD is righteous in all his ways
and loving toward all he has made.
~from Psalm 145

~~~

Life Less Ordinary for the week of February 15, 2009

Psalm 47

1 Clap your hands, all you nations;
shout to God with cries of joy.
2 How awesome is the LORD Most High,
the great King over all the earth!

3 He subdued nations under us,
peoples under our feet.
4 He chose our inheritance for us,
the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.
Selah

5 God has ascended amid shouts of joy,
the LORD amid the sounding of trumpets.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises.

7 For God is the King of all the earth;
sing to him a psalm of praise.
8 God reigns over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.

9 The nobles of the nations assemble
as the people of the God of Abraham,
for the kings of the earth belong to God;
he is greatly exalted!

~~~

Learning about God and how to live our lives as imitators of Christ is always good. But sometimes we need to stop focusing on being like Him—instead, we need to be with Him. Praise Him. Glorify Him. He deserves our worship and thanksgiving, because he is God, and we are not.

Be still, and know that he is God. Don’t worry; he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. Trust in his grace, which is sufficient to cover you when you feel like you are not enough. He is higher and greater than we could ever be—so praise him!

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