"Be careful, she's better than you."

Good morning!

I love when the Lord wakes me up at 3:00 in the morning. This is a post I wanted to write before going to bed a few hours ago, but I've had a quick prayer and am ready to write now.

Ladies love to talk bad about other ladies. Okay, SOME ladies like to talk bad about other ladies. We don't think of it as gossiping; it's not. It's simply telling about something that happened- factually (or not). It's explaining the reason why we were made to feel the way we feel- honestly (or not).

A few days ago this week, I had a good reason to be spouting off some "truths" about another sister in Christ.

My husband listened quietly in the car.

Our children were within earshot, and if my oldest son is within earshot, he is straining his ears to hear every word. Now, the boy is completely deaf if you tell him to do ANYTHING, but a conversation that is not had with him in a car... now that's remembered in detail.

After I finished my first relieving round of information, my husband kept right on driving, and without even looking at me he said, "Be careful, she's better than you." He had a spirit of kindness, gentleness, and love in his voice, and not a tone of anger, judgment, or ridicule.

That's it.

He's right.

And my precious son got to hear it all.

I knew immediately what Bible verse he was referring to: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interest of others." Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV)

It was hard at that moment to consider this woman as better than myself. My mounting anger was justified, but I choose to remain quiet.

I am grateful that the Lord saw fit to complete me with a man of few words who is able and willing to speak truth into my life.

This week my husband answered the call of Galatians 6:1, "Brothers, if a person is caught doing something wrong, those of you who are spiritual should restore that person gently. Watch out for yourself so that you are not tempted as well." (ISV)

I am grateful for my husband's humility and willingness to bring me closer to the Lord.

Spiritual Disciplines

I have been challenged this week by a former Muslim Fatimah from Singapore. After finding Jesus, she says that she is forever grateful for her upbringing. In trying to be a good Muslim, she learned many disciplines that help her in her Christian walk.

Good Muslims are required to pray five times a day. This Fatimah did not ever miss a prayer. It did not matter where she was or who was watching when it was time to pray; she would drop to the ground and say her prayers. Good Muslims are required to fast 30 days during the month of Ramadan. Being the daughter of an Imam, this Fatimah would fast up to 45 days around Ramadan. And finally, because she wanted to be faithful to allah, this Fatimah spent time trying to memorize the Quran every day before she left for school.

She said that Muslims put Christians to shame with their discipline.

Christians do not have a minimum number of times that they are required to pray during a day. We are simply told to pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

Christians do not have a minimum number of days that we are supposed to fast during a year. We are simply told to fast (Matthew 6:16-18).

Christians are not required to memorize their Bible. We are simply given an example of hiding the Word in our hearts (Psalm 119:11).

I fear that because Jesus frees his followers from all bondage (Galatians 5:1), many Christians in America today are lazy about their own spiritual disciplines. We have been free so long that we take our freedom for granted.

In general, American Christians only tend to speak to God when they want something. It is a one-way monologue, and then they are left doubting this Jesus other people say they have a relationship with.

In general, American Christians do not fast. It is something they have never done, it is something that has never been taught to them, and many do not find the necessity in learning this discipline for themselves. It is funny, Satan has successfully compelled many religions to fast, but Christians will not fast for the only true God.

In general, American Christians do not memorize their Bible. Again, some Buddhists, for example, memorize 20,000 pages worth of their scripture in their flesh. American Christians fantasize that they cannot even memorize one verse, even with the help of the Holy Spirit.

As Christians, we are free from legalism in our religion. But we should not use this freedom as an excuse to become lazy followers of Christ. Many other religions successfully invoke a fear of a false god if their followers are not spiritually disciplined. Where is this fear of the Christian God in America? Where is our discipline?

A Live Coal

"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty." Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."

Isaiah 6:5-7

Isaiah knew his own unworthiness in the presence of God. The seraphim offered a solution, and Isaiah seems to willingly have opened his mouth to be cleansed. Would I have been so willing?

Today I heard a story about a Christian woman in China who suffered and was tortured for years because she believed in Christ. She recalls one point of wanting to give up when she looked down and noticed her footprints shaped in the pools of her own blood. She thought of Jesus walking to the cross possibly leaving footprints in his own blood- for her. Her strength was renewed.

Would I willingly accept a live coal to be placed on my lips so that I could draw closer to God? Would I willingly trudge through my own blood through hours of pain to be more like Christ? Will I accept temporary discomfort in this life if it is how the Lord desires to cleanse me of my sin and conform me into the image of his son? What if that discomfort is ridicule? persecution? torture? death?

If I am unwilling to have a live coal placed onto my lips, when will I ever be willing to die for Christ? Matthew 10:38 says, "he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me."

I do not have a literal live coal being offered to me tonight or any other day. Instead, I have the opportunity of my own cross set before me to make me worthy. Jesus does justify us, but it is our choice to take up our cross and carry it to our own death-to-self that sanctifies us; and, according to Matthew, makes us worthy.

Isaiah choose to be cleansed in a manner God preferred- a way that probably wasn't all that comfortable, and a way that probably didn't make much sense to him. But he still choose to trust God, obey, and endure whatever temporary consequence he suffered in order to be made worthy. And then, after his faithfulness, he was rewarded with the presence of God.

One of my favorite verses in the entire Bible follows this choice of Isaiah's to be made clean:

"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

Isaiah 6:8

Isaiah's obedience gave him the opportunity to be used by God.

Will you, dear brother or sister in Christ, choose the live coal that is placed before you every day? It is your choice to accept the recurrent cleansing God offers, cleansing that only comes from dying to self.

A Quick Blog On Friendship

This is my answer to one of the discussion questions in one of my current KI classes.

How can we be a good friend?

John 15:15 says that Jesus has made us his friends. It says that he made us friends when he taught us everything that he learned from his Father.

If we are to be like Jesus, then I believe we cannot be a good friend unless we are willing to take an active role in another person’s spiritual life. If the other person is an unbeliever, then we can only be a friend to him by developing enough of a relationship with him that we are free to show him his sin, and then show him the Way Jesus has provided for him to be saved.

If the other person is a fellow Christian, then we can only be a friend with him if we find ways to encourage him and keep him accountable in his walk with God.

There are many other ways the world suggests to be a good friend, and I believe a lot of those ways could be considered Biblical, i.e. being loyal, not gossiping your friend, and helping him get through rough times in his life…  but because none of these listed items assist in that person’s final salvation, if the “friend” is a non-believer and we haven’t shared a way for him to be freed from his sin and have eternal life, then we have not loved him, and we have certainly not befriended him. We have stalled or hindered his walk with God.

What Is Wisdom?

I am taking a class on the book of Proverbs over at Koinonia Institute. I thought I'd post a quick answer to one of my discussion questions because I think it's a good question that each of us should consider.

Use your own words to define wisdom. Besides Jesus, who is the wisest person you know? Why?

There are several ways to describe wisdom, but I believe the definition I would most attain for in my own life would be an ability to consistently and accurately discern God’s will coupled with the learned, disciplined willpower to obey it.

Solomon was one who was given the gift of wisdom. He was able to write all sorts of proverbs that helped many people, but ultimately that wisdom only resulted in a head-knowledge, as his life did not become Christ-like and he strayed from the center of God’s will.

Wisdom is useless if its direction is not obeyed, and I believe one is not truly wise unless he or she is somehow able to both obtain wisdom and then obey its promptings.

Besides Jesus, the wisest person I know is my mother. She consistently puts into action the things she believes God would have her do, and this, to me, is the essence of wisdom.

The Sound of Silence

You probably need to listen to The Sound of Silence by Disturbed. It's a remake of Simon and Garfunkel's 1964 Sounds of Silence. It has quickly become one of my favorite songs and is stuck in my head all day every day. Please. Go to the link and have a listen. You will love... or hate me for it.

This song stirs up a lot of emotion in me. It is a very well-sang song which is sung with passion.

I wish I had a spiritual spin to add to this post, but I've tried two, and given up on both. You will have to draw your own spiritual conclusions about this song and do the research on this band/singer to find out what you chose to believe about it.

Was this song/video inspired by God? If so, why was it? Was this song/video inspired by Satan? If so, why was it? I haven't made up my mind yet, but the history of how this song was created is interesting.

God uses the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. (1 Corinthians 1:27) Does he also use the loud, sinful, unholy things of the world to teach those who diligently seek him? You decide. But just remember, you are sinful. You are unholy. We all are, and just because this singer I have referenced does not claim to be a Christian, I do not think we should automatically assume that God wouldn't/shouldn't use him.

The Spanish Bible

A couple years ago Josh and I loaded our car to the brim, dropped off our children with my mother and headed toward Moore, OK to help with tornado relief there. We were there the day or so after it happened and stayed for several days sifting through people's ravaged belongings trying to salvage what we could find for them.

On the way there, Josh and I went into a gas station. As I was perusing, I noticed a Spanish Bible sitting beside 15 other books or so. It was $5 and I felt very compelled to buy it. I did not. I talked myself out of this purchase by convincing myself I didn't need it, I couldn't even read Spanish well, and just because I had a Bible collection at home didn't mean I needed to impulse buy this Spanish copy. But I really did think I should buy it... and regretted not getting it immediately after we left, but who turns around for a $5 purchase?

Fast forward to one of the last days we were out serving Moore families. I was four months along expecting Jonah, so I did not operate chain saws or do heavy lifting. One particular day the men (including Josh) were all demolishing through the remains of a house, and it left me temporarily idle. I started speaking (very poor) Spanish with a man from South America who was single. He was a humanitarian who randomly flew around the world after natural disasters to help however he could. I spoke a little Spanish and he spoke a little English, and between the two of us we laughed and gestured our way through a great conversation. We had lunch together.

He was very interested in this God of mine which I attempted to tell him about after inquiring about his own faith. He did not know about God where he had come from, and he wanted to know more. He was leaving the following morning to return back home.

I did not have that Spanish Bible to send him home with.

Two and a half years later, my heart is still grieved by this loss of opportunity.

The Lord often speaks in a still, small voice. Today I challenge you to obey that voice. If you are prompted to do or buy something that you don't understand, obey.

The man I met in the path of a tornado's destruction was a seeker. He was a good man and he had done many good works, but he was lost. I do pray God sends another obedient servant to that man, and if he doesn't, I do hope God forgives me.

Damage From the May 2013 Moore, OK Tornado