Unfathomably Comfortable

Over the last few weeks at church we have been doing a study on "famous" church leaders. This past Sunday, my pastor spoke about Charles Spurgeon. He was an incredible man, but I think the most incredible thing about him was that he knew he could never exhaust the unfathomable characteristics of God. He knew that no matter how hard he sought after God, he could never come to the point where he has "arrived" spiritually. And he continued seeking diligently his entire life. 

We all know Spurgeon was a great thinker, philosopher, pastor, preacher, theologian, etc, etc. We have all read his quotes. Believers and non-believers around the world know of Spurgeon. How can a man like that have the humility to understand that he cannot and will not ever "arrive" spiritually, but then we come along having hardly done anything noteworthy for Christ in our lives thus far and think that we have arrived. "It's been a month since I have opened my Bible at home for my own private devotions, but that's okay, because I pretty much know everything that the Bible says anyway." Seriously? It sounds so embarrassingly stupid, but we all do it. 

Oh God, awaken a hunger and thirst in us than cannot be quenched by complacency!

How is it possible that we have become comfortable with how much we know about the Creator of the Universe and the Savior of our Souls? 

Beauty and the Season

Job 11:7-12

New International Version (NIV)

⁷ “Can you fathom the mysteries of God?
    Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
⁸ They are higher than the heavens above—what can you do?
    They are deeper than the depths below—what can you know?
⁹ Their measure is longer than the earth
    and wider than the sea.

¹⁰ “If he comes along and confines you in prison
    and convenes a court, who can oppose him?
¹¹ Surely he recognizes deceivers;
    and when he sees evil, does he not take note?
¹² But the witless can no more become wise
    than a wild donkey’s colt can be born human.

 

 

Over the last few weeks I have been listening to a sermon series by Pastor Steven Furtic at Elevation Church in North Carolina called “Times and Seasons”. This series has struck a chord with me because it’s about wanting to “fast forward” through the hard or not so fun times in life, and Pastor Steven kind of blasts a hole in that way of thinking.

 

Everybody has hard times in their lives. Every mother has been pooped on. Every wife has had a disagreement with her husband. The person you look at and idolize has hard times in her life. You aren’t going to get rid of them. The point of life isn’t to see how quickly you can get through a crappy situation. It isn’t even to just survive through it. Every obstacle is an opportunity to excel. Before you start rolling your eyes at me because “I have no idea what you are going through”, pause for a moment. Take a step back from your difficult life and look at it. What could God possibly be trying to instill in you through this hard time? Is it faith in His provision? Is He teaching you contentment in His love above all others? Is He trying to get you to examine your heart motives? Patience? Perseverance? A combination of all of these or something completely different? Maybe he wants you to come to the end of yourself so you will remember him and draw near to him. Point being; stop trying to ignore the season you are in. If you pretend it isn’t there…it’s still there, you’re just not learning what you should be learning. It’s hard being a mom of a toddler, but if you just grit your teeth to get through it you’ll be missing out on all the amazing things they are learning how to do. Truth be told, every stage your children will go through will be hard and if all you’re trying to do is survive it, you’ll miss it. Same is true for marriage. The season you are in might be really hard, but unless you are willing to learn and grow, it will never get to “The Notebook” place that you want it to. Gold is refined through fire and the hotter the fire the more pure the gold. If your “fire” is really hot right now, congratulations! God is making you really shiny! J  

 

No matter what season you are in, God has a purpose for it and there is beauty to be enjoyed in it.

Loving Forgiveness

Hey there wives and mamas. Sorry for the abrupt pause in blog posts. The last few months have been crazy: We found out we are having twins, moved up to MN from FL to be closer to my family and we have been on a job hunt for my husband and getting settled in. Busy. Busy. Busy.

Anyhow, I hope you are all doing well and that you’ll forgive my neglect.

The last time I wrote to you it was about love, the 1 Corinthians 13 kind of love. Impossible love…or so it would seem.

To jog my memory, I just went back to read it a couple of minutes ago and reflected on how I have loved over the last few months. Do I love my husband and my son (and my unborn twins)? Yes! I absolutely do. But would my actions reflect that Christian love? If I’m honest, no. I’m still selfish. I still get frustrated when I don’t get my way. I still brag about how I do most of the care-taking of our one year old. (Hello, what stay at home mom doesn’t? duh.) And, let’s be real for a moment; pregnancy + sex = not my favorite thing to do. But it’s not the worst thing to do either. Yet I make him beg and plead as if it’s such a burden. In front of the world, I love my family. It’s plain to them. Behind closed doors…some might question just based on my complaining.

Now, let’s move beyond husband and children…How do you love your parents and siblings? How do you love your in-laws? What about your crazy aunt?

I don’t mean to completely reiterate my previous post, but love is hard. And maybe the hardest part about love is forgiveness. People hurt people, whether on purpose or on accident, it’s just a fact. People do dumb things and it gets on the nerves of the *ahem* smarter people. And then sometimes they’re not even sorry! OR willing to apologize! How dare they. How can you forgive them if they don’t apologize? How much more selfish could they be…keeping you from being able to forgive them like that…? Sheesh. The nerve of some people. Making you remain bitter and angry with them.

Come on, ladies, that’s ridiculous. But, that’s the lie of Satan: making you think that the person needs to ask your forgiveness BEFORE you can forgive them. We’re all guilty of believing and acting on that lie. Just like we are all guilty of sinning against people we love (and people we don’t even know).

You are not better than your family or your neighbor. Your sin deserves Hell just like theirs. But somehow we all have a heaping amount of grace for ourselves and barely a teaspoonful for the rest of the world to share.

Jesus bled and died for them, just like he bled and died for you. And your sin against him was far greater than any sin anyone has ever committed against you. How arrogant are we to say, “God, they hurt me, they stole from me, so I can’t forgive them. But I have cursed your name and worshipped false idols instead of you and you need to forgive me.

Scripture says to confess your sin and humble yourself before the Lord. Perhaps the first step in that direction is to start forgiving the “unforgivable”. Pray and ask God for strength. It’s not easy, but if He can forgive the whole world of their sins I am certain that He can extend His grace to you so that you can forgive those who hurt you. All it takes is your willingness.