crushed with longing for the word

Sunday morning (May 25) we met with our community groups bright and early to review what we had learned and to dig deeper into the word. Bethany was in my community group- there was also a guy from Australia who had traveled by himself just for the conference…!

There were perhaps one too many French fry and McDonald’s metaphors from Pastor Doug which were designed to help us understand that we would be bombarded with scriptures and ideas throughout the whole conference but we needed to pick out the key parts that God was speaking to us and apply those. (Don't try to grab all the french fries, just choose the good crunchy ones, and why settle for a happy meal when there is a steak out there for you to find by searching a little harder? It's ok, we didn't know either.)

Family groups had been assigned the night before and they were led by Crossway guys. My family group leader was Noah-the-coffee-addict, a close friend of Elya’s, which was kind of fun.

We broke off individually for forty minutes to study and meditate on Psalm 119. It was a tough assignment to read the longest chapter in the Bible while taking notes and meditating on it. I didn't make it all the way through, but I plan on studying the chapter further on my own...

Things which stood out to me!

How can a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping it according to Your word.
With all my heart I have sought You;
Do not let me wander from Your commandments.
Your word I have treasured in my heart,
That I may not sin against You. (v. 9-11)

In these verses David actually answers the question of “how can a young man [person] walk in purity?” As young people we are to keep our lives according to the word of God! Seek God, store up the word in our hearts, meditate on it, and guard ourselves with it. In a culture where the media bombards us with images of a range of impurity, our hearts are to rest in the example and word of Scripture.

I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
As much as in all riches. (v. 14)
The law of Your mouth is better to me
Than thousands of gold and silver pieces. (v. 72)
Therefore I love Your commandments
Above gold, yes, above fine gold. (v. 127)

David asks God to teach him His ways; when he regards them he rejoices in their truth much as someone would in wealth. Wow! When I read the Bible I definitely do not get as excited over it as though I had won the lottery… Do I treasure the words of God above possessions and wealth of the world?

My soul is crushed with longing
After Your ordinances at all times. (v. 20)

The psalmist’s soul is crushed with longing. Crushed is such an intense word which displays to the reader the emotion that he felt. David doesn’t merely follow God and study the word as a duty, rather his very soul desires to search the word. But his desire goes beyond our meager desires to see the next movie or to read another book, his entire being longs after it. He needs the word. He is crushed by desire.

Even though princes sit and talk against me,
Your servant meditates on Your statutes. (v. 23)
I will also speak of Your testimonies before kings
And shall not be ashamed.
I shall delight in Your commandments,
Which I love. (v. 46-47)

The psalmist reads the word and delights it no matter what those around him think. The fact that he uses the word “princes” and “kings” shows that he does not care about the disdain of others. He stands in his faith unashamed before kings, who am I to bend and break when peers talk against me for my faith?

May Your lovingkindnesses also come to me, O LORD,
Your salvation according to Your word;
So I will have an answer for him who reproaches me,
For I trust in Your word. (v. 41-42)
May those who fear You see me and be glad,
Because I wait for Your word. (v. 74)

David knows the saving power of the word of God and asks that the Lord prepare him to defend his faith at all times, also crying out that he would have a testimony among believers and unbelievers alike. To know the Bible so that I am able to give a defense for what I believe, when questioned, is a goal!

Burning indignation has seized me because of the wicked,
Who forsake Your law. (v. 53)
From Your precepts I get understanding;
Therefore I hate every false way. (v. 104)

Am I filled with “burning indignation” over sin, or do I gloss over it and follow the “Jesus loves you!” attitude of half-hearted Christianity? We ought to despise sin so that we are motivated to approach those in sin with the love of Christ to represent the grace of his gospel to them for forgiveness of their sins.

That's pretty much as far as I got. We were brought back into our family groups to discuss what we read and to discuss Josh's sermon from the previous night. It is always good to discuss and hear what others say. 'Tis very interesting to hear what God speaks to different people about through the same service!

Ripping, Burning, Eating

After settling into the Galt House with our luggage and after parting with the Apex church to make a joyful reunion with my best friends Bethany and Elya, we headed to the conference center.
All 3,500 of us kicked off the conference right away Saturday evening by receiving a word through Josh Harris, a man who is a few inches shorter in person than he sounds on CD…

“Ripping, Burning, Eating – A Right Response to Scripture” by Joshua Harris

Your words were found and I ate them,
And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart;
For I have been called by Your name,
O LORD God of hosts. - Jeremiah 15:16

He started by asking us “How do we relate to the Bible as Christians? How do we relate to it personally?”
These two questions are difficult to answer, and I would have to say that at the start of the conference I viewed the Bible more of a “road map” for Christians. Instead of seeing it as the story of God’s grace and what He has done in my life and for me, I accepted it first as a list of what I needed to do.

We claim a passion for the Word of God, but do our lives reflect it? Such a searching question which Josh asked. As Christians we say that we mold our lives around the Bible, but is that true? When people look at our lives, do they see God and the Bible? I certainly hope that this would be true of my life.

Josh contrasted the reactions of three men in the Bible as they responded to the word of God:

- King Josiah in 2 Kings 22:1-2,10-13
+ Josiah’s chief example of what a king should be was his grandfather, an ungodly king, yet at age 8 Josiah’s heart was set on the Lord
+ The law had been lost but it was found and brought to Josiah in v. 10
+ Josiah was moved with humility and repentance by the Word of God and tore his clothes as a symbol of the repentance of Israel
· Is this our response to Scripture when we “find” it? If not, what does move our hearts?

- King Jehoiakim in Jeremiah 36:30
+ The son of Josiah yet had an opposite attitude
+ When the word of the God was brought to him he burnt the scrolls
+ He did not fear God and his response was coldhearted rather than repentant
+ All of Jehoiakim’s aides supported him yet when we stand before God in heaven we must give an account for ourselves, our peers will not stand with us
· When we disobey God/Scripture we are in essence burning the word of God through our actions

- Jeremiah in Jeremiah 15:16
+ Jeremiah remembered how the scrolls were found during the reign of Josiah
+ He “ate” them – they became a joy and a delight to him in a time of struggle

God’s word meets us where we are, even in our weak moments for it has power when we are powerless.

Just as the word “became” a joy to Jeremiah we must fight to delight in the word.

· Scripture is not merely a “to do” list for the Christian detailing what we need to do- it is about the grace of God and what He has done for us. It is His story, not ours. We obey Him because of what He has done

The key point that stood out to me in Josh’s sermon was when he described Josiah’s reaction and then asked us what our reaction to Scripture was. I certainly do not rejoice over it as Josiah, nor do I hunger for it as Jeremiah. But if I don’t rejoice and hunger for it, what do I turn these emotions to? What do I value? Definitely something to consider as I begin to pour myself more into the word.
My prayer is that as I fight to hunger after the word my soul would desire it more and more!What an excellent start to an excellent conference!

New Attitude! (the journey)

I had the opportunity to attend New Attitude in Louisville, Kentucky this year. What an amazing experience!

Since I have no homework to do over the summer, I plan on reviving my blog. I figure that there is no better way to start this than by recounting my time at New Attitude and relaying what I learned.

I was able to spend a day before the conference with my brother and his family, which was such a blessing. They allowed me to stay with them and then to ride with their church.

I must say, the young singles of Sovereign Grace Church are amazing. They welcomed me, an outsider, into their group and by the end of the very long drive (I still cannot figure out why we had to go through West Virginia for so long.) I felt as though I attended the church. What a great testimony to them!

Anne and I recorded some of the... interesting things which Kenny and Dan said through the trip, most of which is from Kenny creating new words.

"The purpose of a banshee is to be 'creepificating'."

"So they just went back to the town and started 'murderalizing'."

"That is when they weren't off hunting or 'warrioring'." - Kenny

"Three days later she woke up dead!" - Dan, discussing a woman who was bitten by a spider and died three days later. This became the joke of New Attitude and anytime anyone had a hurt of some kind Dan would chime in with "you better be careful or you might wake up dead!"

I must say that I was in the better of the two vans. Between Dan's amazing storytelling ability with his wild near-death pursuits and Kenny's imagination, Sara, Abby, Annie, and I were never bored.

The mountains of Tennessee and West Virginia are absolutely amazing.

Pictures courtesy of the lovely Abby Hinds.

Season of Rejoicing

I wanted to write a post for Christmas, but I wasn't sure how to tie everything that I was feeling into one blog post. The commercialization of Christmas is all around us, and threatening to choke the Christian's out. The only way I could think of to express this was in the following short story. Before I post the story, let me share again the Scripture I used last year at this time.

Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord's feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me." But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."

And now, for a short story. Enjoy.

A Season of Rejoicing

Emily slammed her fist on the steering wheel and mentally screamed at the car in front of her. It was noon on Christmas Eve and in front of her a seemingly endless row of cars stretched out towards the mall. Horns echoed across the highway as other impatient Christmas shoppers angrily navigated the holiday traffic, confirming that she was not the only one who had forgotten Aunt Sally and Cousin Jim's presents. She navigated her way through the sea of cars and found a parking spot at the end of a row. By the time she walked to the store it was nearly 12:30 pm. Her guests would begin arriving soon.
Inside the department store she fought through the crowds of people, silently agreeing with the complaints she heard in passing. After selecting the last presents she needed, she joined a line at the register which stretched into one of the aisles. As each minute eased past her she grew more impatient and more upset with the cashier and other customers. She finally made her purchase and hurried out of the store, brushing past the red-clad Salvation Army worker. The steady clang of their bell gave her a headache, adding to the irritation she felt.
By 3:00 Emily made it home with her purchases, having made a second stop to pick up needed cranberry sauce and gravy. Barely pausing to acknowledge the group of family and friends steadily gathering in her living room, she hurried to the kitchen and began to cook. In between stirring the gravy, defrosting the pumpkin pie, and peeking at the turkey in the oven, Emily hurried to the garage to wrap the last of the gifts. She then turned off the stove before depositing the gifts beneath the tree, only partially noticing the laughter filtering through the house.
The last few hours of the day seemed to fly by as Emily prepared the meal and then cleaned up after everyone had eaten their fill and more. By 7:00 pm exhaustion began to hit her and a wave of sadness passed over her as she realized that Christmas Eve was nearly over. Picking up the last of the dirty dishes from the table, she added them to the pile in the sink and donned her apron one last time to begin washing.
Just then a sweet melody of Christmas music drifted towards her from the living room. The voices of her friends and family carried the sounds of the season to her ears and exhaustion overtook her as a silent tear slipped down her face to join the murky dishwater below. The joyful voices of those around her did not reflect the feelings that the busy, commercialized Christmas season had taken for her. As she tried to regain her composure and ignore the thought that no one had offered to help her, no one had noticed her hard work and preparation, she felt a warm hand on her back. A strong voice behind her whispered in her ear “Emily, Emily, you are bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary…” Turning around to see her brother standing there, Emily looked up with confusion. “Luke 10:41-42,” her brother Christopher said, still gently. “When Jesus was in the house of Mary and Martha, Martha was so caught up with the preparations of the season that she nearly missed the entire reason that she felt the need to prepare – the Lord was in her house! I know you want to make Christmas special for us, but don’t let that desire overshadow the reason we celebrate. We would much rather see your smiling face praising God with our Christmas hymns and joining with our fun, than have the table clean and floor vacuumed. Those things are nice, but Em, please don’t let man’s ideas of a perfect Christmas overshadow God’s perfect Christmas gift. Let’s spend time together, as a family.”
Conviction filled Emily’s heart as she realized that not once in the past month had she stopped to think of the birth of Christ, not once had she thanked God for His precious gift. Tears filled her eyes as her brother wrapped his arms around her. “I wanted everything to be just right…” she whispered. Christopher stopped her with his hand on her face, gently wiping the tears. “It is Em, it is. The Lord is in your house. That’s all we need…”
Emily let her brother lead her into the family room where her tears were soon forgotten. Before tearing open the gift wrap and exclaiming over material gifts, the group gathered around the Christmas tree and in front of a roaring fire read from the Bible the first story of Christmas.

Revival of... football players?

The Detroit Lions are starting a revival. And it's not in new sportswear.

Quarterback Jon Kitna is the starting quarterback of a top NFL team in 2007, but first and foremost he is a Bible-believing Christian.
The team holds regular chapel every saturday night, and even the non-believing members come for encouragement. But it hasn't stopped there.
Thanks to the influence of Kitna and a few other devout Christians on the team, Detroit is seeing a new unity in their NFL team. After every practice, the Lions pray together. And now Kitna holds a Bible study for the team every Monday night in his basement. What started as a small gathering has lead to a regular attendence of 40 team members and family, as well as almost 20 salvations and baptisms.
The team is now 3-1, proudly playing football with their new-found unity and inspiration.

For the original story, see:
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007709230629

such brilliant splendor

Last night I came home late to find that the sky was amazingly clear of clouds, for the first time in over a week. As I stood in the yard and watched the stars for a minute, allowing my eyes to adjust to the darkness, it seemed as though thousands more stars appeared each second.

How is it that a human being can look up into an infinite darkness peppered by thousands of dazzling stars, and not see the hand of God? We go to our museums and "ooh and aah" over paintings by famous artists, and yet when we leave our houses we fail to see the glory of our Master Painter. He has painted for us a world of beauty to enjoy, and we deny Him due praise while we honor men and women who imitate Him.

When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
What is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
*Psalm 8:3-4*

Everything that we dream up on paper was first painted for us in full across the earth and sky. Even the most expensive and beautiful painting is only an image of the original.

Ruth - Woman of Excellence (Prov31)

The description of a godly woman in Proverbs 31 begins with verse 10:

An excellent wife, who can find?
For her worth is far above jewels.

An excellent wife, you're thinking. How can someone hope to prepare to be an excellent woman when each person's definition is different? Dr. Phil has his opinion and Oprah has hers. To one an excellent wife is the one who will go to the football games with excitement. To another she is one who will cook well, to another the one who will hold a well paying job, and so on. How can you define an excellent wife?
Rather than calling for an excellent woman, however, I believe that the Scripture is describing not just an excellent woman, but a woman of excellence. Ruth was such a woman. Boaz recognized this in her simply by watching her actions:

"Now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you ask, for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence." - Ruth 3:11

The Hebrew word in these Scriptures actually translates as a "virtuous" woman, or "literally...of valor, in the sense of all forms of excellence."**
All forms of excellence. The godly Proverbs 31 woman strives for excellence in all areas of her life. She is virtuous, and holds high standards. She, like Ruth, is loyal.
This verse also asks who can find [an excellent wife] for her worth is far above jewels. The godly Proverbs 31 woman is not a young lady who conforms to the world. She is not one of millions, but one in a million.
Boaz saw Ruth from afar and noticed her loyalty, humbleness, and excellence. When those around you look at you, do they see a shallow girl following the world or do they see a rare young lady pursuing purity, worth more than riches?

**http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%2031;&version=50;