Thank Goodness

You're probably asking yourself what's up with the picture for today's post. Well not only does it touch on today's topic, but I think it's pretty hilarious: when I think of reggae, I don't immediately think of reggae from Finland...but to each their own, I guess.

I was telling my wife the other day that the topics of Kindness, Goodness, and Gentleness are probably the three most difficult for me to separate out of the Fruits of the Spirit because they seem to blend into one another and sometimes seem interchangeable; but here's my best crack at it. Growing up, I was a big comic book fan: I could read Captain America, The Punisher, and SpiderMan all day long, and anyone who's even thought about comic books knows the common theme in those stories: the battle between good and evil. And yes, doing the opposite of evil is the simplest definite of goodness. In fact, Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary says, "Goodness in man is not a mere passive quality, but the deliberate preference of right to wrong, the firm and persistent resistance of all moral evil, and the choosing and following of all moral good." What's interesting about that definition is its observation that goodness is a deliberate, persistent choice. Not only do we have to choose to do good, but we have to do it constantly. You only have to be alive for one day to know that we're constantly bombarded with the temptation to do evil, it's just our sinful nature at work.

In the book of Exodus, Moses asked the Lord to show him His Glory. "And the LORD said, 'I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.' " (Exodus 33:19). I just love how God refers to His Glory as His Goodness. In reference to this passage, the New JJohn Gill Exposition of the Entire Bible says, "the glory of the Lord lies in His goodness, and that appears in the works of his hands, in the methods of his providence, especially in the distribution of His sovereign grace and mercy, and particularly in His pardoning grace and mercy, through the blood of Christ." You see, God is the ultimate example of goodness, and we see it in the world He created, and even more so in His compassion for us through the sacrifice of His son Jesus Christ, who came to die and offer forgiveness of our sins.

So what now? Psalm 116:12 says, "How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me?" Let's look at Webster's definition of goodness, "The quality of being good in any of its various senses; excellence; virtue; kindness; benevolence; as, the goodness of timber, of a soil, of food; goodness of character, of disposition, of conduct, etc." So therefore, to repay the Lord for His goodness to us, we need to also be good. Goodness of character, disposition, and conduct will make us a well-rounded person that God can use for His glory as a witness to the lost: no one likes the crabby or rude Christian, or the Christian who is always getting into the wrong thing. We must also remember to be good to one another: be just, kind, and honest.

So you think I forgot to keep up the song titles theme, right? Wrong. "Thank Goodness" is actually a song from the Broadway show "Wicked" (which is a PHENOMINAL show, by the way). I chose it for this entry because this past Christmastime, Wicked was coming here to Charlotte and I reeeeally wanted to go. My wife tried to get me tickets when they went on sale, but all the shows sold out in a flash. So she, knowing we were travelling up to NY/CT for the holidays, bought me tickets for the actual Broadway version of the show. She really wanted to get me to see Wicked one way or another, so she did...and I had a blast...and I'll never forget it either. It was special to me that she went out of her way to do that. As mushy as it sounds, when I think of goodness I think of my wife: she's always displays goodness of character, disposition and conduct. She always thinks of others, and it's a trait I really admire in her: God has truly blessed me with an amazing wife. There are many people who practice goodness everyday deep down to their core for the glory of God: I'm sure we know at least one. Those are the types of people we should emulate. 2 Peter 1:3-5a says, "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness..."

Kindness for Weakness

I definitely admit that I had to use Google to find a song with "Kindness" in the title; and the search turned up this song by Dialated Peoples...now that's a group I haven't heard from in quite awhile.

Anyway, back on topic: What is kindness and how does it apply to each one of us? The Dictionary defines kindness as, "the quality of being warmhearted and considerate and humane and sympathetic; the tendency to be kind and forgiving." Now I'm sure everyone would love to be described as kind, and I'm also sure that most people like to think of themselves as pretty kind most of the time. But after reading that definition, do we necessarily fall into that category all the time? I know I sure don't. When you sit down and think about it, being kind is really easy when it doesn't take considerable effort from us; but when it takes thought, action, and patience. Here's a good example: it's real easy to give the loose change in your pocket to the Salvation Army guy ringing the bell in front WalMart during Christmastime...but what about when you know someone in church who, say, is out of a job and can't afford to fix their broken lawn mower and you own your own lawn care business? It's easy to say, "Well I normally get paid for this" and then blow it off completely, and it's also easy to think someone else is going to just come along and do it. We've all done it.

I think a lot of times Christians have completely the wrong idea of kindness: we alienate ourselves from the world around us; and in doing that, we alienate the people around us. We like to point out the flaws in others instead of helping them overcome those flaws, instead of loving them in spite of our differences. That kind of attitude makes the world resent us, but God wants us to act in a way that displays good character. Zechariah 7:9 says, "Thus has the LORD of hosts said, 'Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother.' " Compassion is difficult sometimes...it's habit to drive by the person on the side of the road with the flat tire or to ignore the homeless man asking you for money on the street. But as Christians we need to follow Christ's example and have a people-focused mentality. Jesus saw how people were hurting and He loved them, and we must do the same, whether those around us are Christian, athiest, Buddhist, Muslim, black, white, Asian, Hispanic...we must be compassionate. At the moment, I'm reading the Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr., who is one of my favorite historical figures. In one of his most famous writings - Letter from a Birmingham Jail - is a stirring, eloquent call on church leaders to be more compassionate about people and social issues outside of the church. Dr. King definitely had the right idea: we have to be compassionate, we have to care.

On the other end of the spectrum, there's a growing trend in Christianity where people think kind deeds are all you need: don't go to church? Not a problem. Don't even own a Bible? Meh. Don't pray much? That's cool. All you gotta do is be loving and kind. You see how it's easy for a lot of people to buy into, right? Being nice to others makes you feel good...but it conveniently leaves out the hard work involved in being a Christian! Micah 6:8 says, "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" See, you have to practice kindness, be just, but you must also walk with the Lord and live by His commands: you can't just pick and choose what you want out of God...Christianity is not a cafeteria, it's all or nothing.

So let's get practical here: how do we practice kindness on a regular basis? I guess that depends on you: you can find a charity or two to support, or you can go through your closet and donate the clothes you don't ever wear to your local Goodwill or Salvation Army. You can also find volunteer/service opportunities through your local church, which can include - but aren't limited to - feeding the homeless, fixing cars for single moms, and visiting the sick. You can go on a missions trip or adopt an animal from a local shelter. You can buy lunch or some donuts for that crabby person at work. You can DEFINITELY smile a little more, say nice things to others, compliment your friends and co-workers, wave to your neighbors, wave to your local police officers (they like it, trust me). The possibilities are endless and range from the grand and expensive to the absolutely free...but they all achieve the same things: they allow us to do what God has commanded of us, but they also break down the barriers between Christians and the rest of the world. Everyone respects a kind deed, and if you're kind to others, they'll take notice. And what better way to reach lost souls for the Lord?

Fruit of the Spirit: All We Need is Just a Little Patience

Anyone noticing how I've been using song titles/lyrics for my Fruit of the Spirit posts? It's kinda fun to do :) So yes, today we're continuing with our look at the Fruit of the Spirit with Patience: easily the most difficult next to love, in my opinion.

I don't know what it is, but I can't stand waiting in lines...it gives me fits, particularly at the grocery store or WalMart. Usually it's due to there being 50 billion people in line and only 1 register open. Yes, patience is definitely NOT one of my strong points: not in the grocery store and DEFINITELY not in the car, but God's working on me! So why in the world have we become so impatient? Simple: instant gratification...we want it fast, we want it now. Don't want to go to the library? Research online. Don't want to make cookie batter? There's break and bake. Just bought a computer? There's a faster one right around the corner. No time for dinner? There's the drive-thru. There's nothing wrong with speed, speed is good in some instances...but we've become obsessed with it. Think about it: Do we let God move in church, or are we constantly looking at our watches because Pastor's gone 5 minutes over? Do we spend time to talk to someone who needs it or are we too busy?

Everyone has heard this before, God's answers are yes, no, and wait. The last one stinks sometimes, right? But it's God we're talking about, remember...he's not concerned with our timeline - He knows what's going on, He has a plan! Daniel 4:35&37 says, "He does as He pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back His hand or say to Him: 'What have you done?'...Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything He does is right and all His ways are just." God is sovereign, He does as He pleases because he is just...and sometimes that means we just have to wait. Why wait on God to heal you when you can get a prescription for medicine? Why wait on God when you can surely figure things out yourself? Yeah right. The patience God wants us to have takes faith, and a lot of it.

So how to we achieve this? Let's take a page out of God's playbook. 1 Timothy 1:16 says, "But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life." and 2 Peter 3:14 says, "Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him." One of my favorite Far Side comics is one where it shows God's Computer, and it's got a big button on there that says "Smite." Think about it: we are some messed up people and have been for a long, long time. There have been many a time where God could've easily hit the smite button on His computer and been done with us...I mean he did it once before, except for the inhabitants of the Ark. Further, Jesus was mocked and abused while on the earth and He chose to go through it, not to say "Enough of this mess, bye bye humans!" Nope, God's patience with us means our salvation: instead of punishing us like we deserve, He gave us the opportunity to be saved through His Son's sacrifice! And still we want everything from God, and we want it immediately and in some grandiose fashion. I've met a lot of people who have abandoned God because the very week they got saved, their lives didn't go completely perfect...and that's a shame. Colossians 3:12 says, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." You see, as Christians, we have to have patience because we reflect Christ, and He is patient with us. We serve a mighty and powerful God, who can do anything, so we have to have the faith that He will do what He needs to do in our lives...in HIS time, not ours. If it's God's will, He'll do it, we need to wait on Him.

Colossians 1:10-14 says, "And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in Whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." When we live for the Lord, He'll give us the endurance and the patience to put up with life. So slow things down, and practice some patience in your faith and in your everyday life, I know I will be trying. And if all else fails, look for a good, Godly, patient person and talk them up...Hebrews 6:12 says, "We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. "

Give Peace a Chance

Whooooa, man...we're gonna, like, continue on the topic of the Fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23. Today's totally far-out topic is Peace, man...

Ok, so I'm not going to talk like a hippie throughout this entire post (Thank God, right?)...but the funny thing is, whenever I think of peace, the first thing I think of is a hippie. When you look up peace, you get the typical definitions: freedom from war, mutual harmony between people or groups, public order and security, etc. All this is well and good, of course...peace among people should be a goal we should all strive for. Today we like to throw around the word peace, particularly in light of the war; I'm not going to take any political stance, but it's funny to see how some people want peace and are using such vitriolic speech to express it. Sorry, but that's not peace...it's anger under the guise of wanting peace. I hate to be a bummer here, but total peace (as in no wars, people being all lovey will not be coming any time soon, just read Matthew 24:3-14, particularly verse 6, which says, "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass.." Now don't get me wrong here: should we pray for our troops? Yes. Should we pray for our leaders? Yes. Should we pray our brave soldiers come home safe? Yes! Is it OK to be anti-war? Yes...who likes war anyway? Is it OK to have political views about wars and conflict? Absolutely. But the reality, as evidenced in the Bible, is that the world is just going to get worse...so we should focus on reaching the lost souls before Christ returns!

What I'm getting at the most, though, is characterized by this definition of peace, "Freedom of the mind from annoyance, distraction, anxiety, an obsession, etc.; tranquillity; serenity." Ah....THAT peace! Remember that bumper sticker that said, "No Jesus, No Peace. Know Jesus, Know Peace"? Well...it's true! This is the kind of peace, I think, that is meant in the Word...an inner peace, even when everything around you is going nuts. That peace is a product of our faith and relationship with Christ. A great example is that great story in Mark 4:35-40: Jesus went out to sea with the disciples and he fell asleep in the boat. A great storm arose and the disciples feared for their lives and awoke Jesus, basically saying, "Don't you care that we're gonna die?!" Here's the awesome part, Matthew 4:39, "Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, 'Peace, be still!' And the wind ceased and there was a great calm." Whoa. Jesus said "Peace" and the sea was tranquil...and He can do the same in our lives. We all know this truth: we will all see storms in our lives...that's a guarantee. But God send His Son to die for us so that we can have that peace...but we need to have faith in order to have peace. When Christ rebuked the storm, he turned to the disciples and asked "Have you no faith?" When Jesus walked on the water and Peter wanted to join Him, Peter succeeded for a bit...he HAD to have peace in order to do that...but when he became frightened of the choppy water, he began to sink...Jesus' reply: "Ye of little faith."

In John 14:27, Jesus says, " 'Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.' " So there's the promise...Jesus has given us that peace, but picture it like a treasure chest that needs a key. The key is faith. It's hard to have faith sometimes when things start to pile up on you and get extremely difficult, but hold fast to God, because he's promised to get you through it all by Christ's sacrifice: John 16:33 says, " 'These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.' " I absolutely love this verse because it's so powerful and clear: Jesus, through his death and resurrection, has conquered sin, death, and all the troubles we can ever have in our lives! Praise the Lord! So when trouble comes, remember that Jesus loves you, Jesus died for you, and Jesus is WAY bigger than any of your problems. He will provide and you just have to believe in it! Always pray in times of trouble and ask for peace from the Lord...then you will be the person who is always calm when everything seems to be falling apart.

It Is Well With My Soul...

Today we have another entry about a popular hymn, "It is Well with my Soul."

Like I said before, I grew up in a church where we sang a lot of hymns and this was one of them. It was one of those songs where I'd sing it but never bothered to focus on what I was singing because, admittedly, it's a little difficult due to the wording. At their concert in February, Selah gave the background of this hymn and it immediately became one of those most powerful hymns to me once I learned the context by which it was written.

In 1873, Horatio Gates Spafford decided to go on a vacation to Europe with his wife and four daughters. In England he was to meet with his good friend, D.L. Moody, who was to be preaching there. Spafford was hung-up on business here in the States, so he sent his family ahead and in the mid-Atlantic, their ship collided with another and sank immediately. His wife was able to hold onto some debris (and was one of 47 survivors), but all four of his daughters perished in the accident. Upon hearing the news, Spafford received a two-word telegram from his wife with only two words, "Saved alone." He then took a ship across the Atlantic towards England, where he passed the place of his daughters' deaths, then sat down and penned the famous hymn while at sea:

When peace like a river, attendeth my way;
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

It is well...with my soul... It is well, it is well, with my soul...

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

It is well...with my soul... It is well, it is well, with my soul...

He lives--oh, the bliss of this glorious thought;
My sin, not in part, but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Oh my soul!

It is well...with my soul... It is well, it is well, with my soul...

And, Lord, haste the day when our faith shall be sight
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll,
The trumpet shall sound, and the Lord shall descend;
Even so, it is well with my soul...

It is well...with my soul... It is well, it is well, with my soul...

Wow. What a tremendous story and what a tremendous song. I'll tell you right now: I probably would not have handled the same situation the same way as Horatio Spafford did. In the midst of all this tragedy (he also lost his only son 2 years prior), he found peace in the Lord...because He is sovereign and His will is good and just. It's just so hard to understand sometimes. It makes me think of Job, who went through all those trials and tribulations and still loved and praised God, saying "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21). I think one of the hardest parts of being a Christian is trying to make sense of the hard times. Sometimes we get angry, confused, hurt, sad...but God's will is good, and He knows all things. Where one thing may be bad, it could bring about something good in your life...those are the times where we should hold fast to the Lord. I love the Amplified Bible's translation of Jeremiah 29:11, and it's one we should remember always, " 'For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you,' says the Lord, 'thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome. ' "

Fruit of the Spirit: And if the devil doesn't like it, he can sit on a tack...

Remember that old Sunday School song?

I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.
Where? Down in my heart!
Where? Down in my heart!
I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart,
down in my heart down in my heart to stay.

Good stuff! Today's topic, continuing on the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) is Joy. The dictionary defines joy as, "the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation." While joy is pretty easy to define, joy is not something easy to obtain or hold on to, it seems. We live in a world that seemingly exists to crush and exhaust us: we run to and fro, getting this and that done...and we're tired, and we're worn out, and sometimes we're just plain unhappy. That, my friends, is where we forget what it's all about: God and His everlasting love and mercy!

Think about it: we serve a God who spoke the universe into existence. Spoke it...he said "Moon" and there the moon was. Whoa. And yet somehow, in the grand scheme of things, He decided to show mercy on us, his screwiest creation, and sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins so we can spend eternity with Him. Doesn't that make you smile when you think of it? This mighty and powerful God cares for me! That is the source of joy: the remembrance of what God has done for us. It should drive us and put a smile on our face and a spring in our step. Yes...it's hard, very hard, to keep it up in such a day and age...but think about how much God has done for you and continues to do: He lets us get up in the morning, He provides for us, He gives us breathable air, He gives some of us good health...the list can go on forever. There's always something to be joyful about because God always works, sometimes we just don't realize it. This joy will help us tackle even the toughest of times, because in it we realize that God is bigger than anything we'll face. Nehemiah 8:10 says, "Do not grieve. For the joy of the Lord is your strength." God is God and He loves us...when we can continually think on that and have joy in that, we can go through anything!

The dictionary also gives another definition of joy that I like, "to feel joy; be glad; rejoice." To me, this definition goes hand-in-hand with Psalm 28:7, "The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. " Not only do we have to have joy that God is there for us, but we need to give thanks and praise Him for all that He does. No matter how lousy you feel, getting into some good worship time with God feels great, doesn't it? You stop and ignore all the junk in life and focus on Him...and you rejoice in all that He's done and His goodness. It's joy, folks! A couple days ago I was getting ready for work and I was listening to some praise and worship on my MP3 player, particularly "Agnus Dei" by Donnie McClurkin...it's such a powerful version of that song and sometimes I feel like I'm overwhelmed by the love, power, and majesty of the Lord. It made me think of what praise in Heaven must be like: the angels all in chorus, crying out "Worthy is the Lamb!" And it made me think: because of Jesus, I'll join in that chorus one day! It made me feel GOOD, it made me smile, it brought me joy. It was exactly what I needed for that day...and it's true: the joy of the Lord is my strength. We have to continually think on that: it's easy to be happy about my Yankees winning, or getting out of work early, or finally making it to another weekend without losing my mind. But that joy is fleeting...the joy of the Lord is everlasting because His love endures forever!

The Fruit of the Spirit: L is for the way you look at me...

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. " ~ Galatians 5:22-23

After just chowing down on some chunky, unsalted organic peanut butter with raisins, I was thinking, "I would love to eat an orange right now." That stuff makes your mouth DRY! By anyhoo, it got me to thinking about what to post next...I don't normally do themes because half the time I can't remember what I'm doing, but this time I thought I'd give it a shot. I remember once sitting around with some friends at UNCC talking about what I'd teach if I was a small group leader for InterVarsity. I mentioned the fruit of the spirit as a cool topic. I like the Fruit of the Spirit because not only does it make you hungry, but it gives a very basic outline of how we're supposed to act: you know God doesn't want us actin' a fool here on earth! So here goes: each entry for the next while will be about one of the fruits of the spirit. Today? LOVE...

Love is a word that's thrown around a lot these days...I even do it myself: "I loooove chocolate!" See? I did it. Love has become a word that has lost a lot of meaning in society...so what does it mean? Dictionary.com defines loves as, "a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person"...another definition says, "affectionate concern for the well-being of others"...and ANOTHER one says, "the benevolent affection of God for His creatures, or the reverent affection due from them to God." So let's take a look at these definitions: the first one is pretty straightforward - we love our friends, family, etc. I love my fiance...that's love as it's most commonly known by everyone. Once we start to go deeper, though, we begin to see what God is getting at through the scriptures, and also where we all falter.

When you really sit down and think about it, do we have affectionate concern for the well-being of others? Nah. We live in a world full of hatred, prejudices, and fears. The story of the Jena 6 has been in the news a lot lately and I'm not going to take sides on the issue but rather say this: it's an obvious example of people from all walks of life being complete imbeciles. People fight with each other, politicians argue with each other, people walk on the other side of the street when someone who looks different is coming the other way. What in the world is wrong with us? In Matthew 22:39, Jesus Himself said, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." It's a commandment from on High...we should be more compassionate. It isn't easy, not in the least bit...it's too easy to ignore the homeless man on the corner or the lady pulled over with a flat tire...it's easy to get caught up in life and not pray for those who struggle. If God has blessed you abundantly, then bless others...it's that simple. It doesn't always have to be monetary: it could be time, it could be physical assistance, it could be something as simple as a hello and a smile. We're naturally wired to think only about ourselves...we need to ask God to help us see others first...to see them in His eyes.

Still having difficulty? Look at it this way: Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. " We sure didn't deserve God's love and forgiveness...yet He gives it freely because of his undying love for us. Wow. Simply put, God loves us, so in return we must love. That's it, end of story. We must love God, we must love others, because that's how we show God to others. You don't have to run around hugging everyone, saying "I love you man!" or doing it out of a sense of obligation. No, rather do it out of a sense of compassion for others and a sense of thanksgiving for the love God's shown you. I know I need to work on it...and I think if we all made a conscious effort to obey what God's commanded, then we can make a tremendous difference in the world, because we need love to make our faith effective. 1 Corinthians 13:1 says, "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal." You see, if we don't love, then everything we've done is useless...just noise...because we can't reach souls, no matter how much of the Bible we've read or how many Christian songs we know. Faith, the Word, and prayer build the car...but love is the gas.

Jesus Paid it All...

I grew up in a church where we sang at least one hymn in every service...now I'm the first to admit that hymns can get a little dry from time to time or just plain weird (See: "God of Earth and Outer Space")...but now that I'm a little older and have some semblance of intelligence, I think about those old hymns and I realize that they were pretty awesome. Sometimes we sing hymns and immediately think "Man, this is boring" or what-have-you...but have you ever really sat down and read the words and reflected on them? A lot of them are beautifully well-written and capture the truth of God's word. Sure the language can be uncommon, but it's a good challenge and isn't THAT hard. From time to time, I'm going to try to pick a hymn and talk a little bit about it, because you can learn a lot about hymns from their history: my fiance and I went to a Selah concert in February and they do A LOT of hymns, but they also talked about the story behind those songs...and they took on a lot more meaning for me. A lot of churches today have gone away with hymns, and I've even witnessed worship leaders up on the pulpit saying they hate hymns...and I think that's kinda sad, because we'd have no Christian music today without those old hymns, in my opinion.

So here goes: in 1865 - Elvina Hall - a member of the Monument Street Methodist Church in Baltimore, MD was reflecting on her complete salvation through Jesus while her pastor was praying at a service. She felt compelled to write down her overwhelming thoughts and feelings and composed a poem entitled "Jesus Paid it All," which she wrote on the inside of their hymnal. She showed it to her pastor, who later met up with the church organist and found he had unknowingly written a tune that fit Elvina's poem. And there a hymn was born: through an overwhelming sense of thanksgiving for the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins. To me this song says it all: through Jesus we can be healed, changed, energized, and protected....and when we finally meet Him face to face, we can say, "I couldn't do it by myself...but You did it for me!" So read the words, think about them, and thank God for the truths that are in those words:

I hear the Savior say, "Thy strength indeed is small! Child of weakness, watch and pray, find in Me thine all in all."

Lord, now indeed I find Thy pow'r, and Thine alone,Can change the leper's spots and melt the heart of stone.

For nothing good have I whereby Thy grace to claim-I'll wash my garments white in the blood of Calv'rys Lamb.

And when before the throne I stand in Him complete,"Jesus died my soul to save," my lips shall still repeat.

Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain-He washed it white as snow.

God Uses Cracked Pots

I remember some years ago, Patsy Clairmont came out with a book called "God Uses Cracked Pots," which apparently was full of funny quips about God and life (I don't know, I've never read it). I always liked the title of that book, because in a metaphorical sense, it's definitely true. When my fiance and I went on our first date, we went to see the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit here in town, which was VERY cool. That day was my 2nd time seeing the exhibit...the first time was a couple weeks before that and the place was PACKED. I remember at some point I was kinda wandering around, avoiding the crowds that seemed to be everywhere and I came to this display case that had a huge clay pot in it, it was probably about 3 feet tall and had thin hairline crack along the front...it was a pretty cool-looking pot...and I noticed I was the only person that seemed to be even remotely interested in it. Next to the display was a small sign that gave a little information on the artifact, and the part that really struck me was the last one, which said something like, "Vessels such as this one that were damaged were discarded by the people of Qumran as useless." Wow. It got me to thinking: isn't that a lot like life? I mean, we are all vessels in one shape or form...and no matter how hard we try, we're flawed and cracked. The beauty of it, though, is that through Jesus' sacrifice, God re-shapes us into a vessel that is pleasing to Him...to the common eye, we as cracked pots are useless...but to God, we are beautiful works of art!

A couple weeks ago in Sunday School, we were continuing our talk about Jeremiah, and we went over Jeremiah 18:1-6, "This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD : 'Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you my message.' So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the LORD came to me: 'O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?' declares the LORD . 'Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. ' "

To me, this is the beauty of God's love: that despite our flaws, screw-ups, and hang-ups, God is willing to re-form us into a beautiful creation that is ready to do His work. A lot of times people get saved and remain so woe-is-me about the past and whatnot...but when we accept Christ, we're made new...and that old junk is gone and forgotten by God...so we should forget it too! The Bible as well as history is full of people who came from marred lives to become tremendous vessels for the Lord: some great examples are Paul, who persecuted Christians then went on to write a huge chunk of the Bible; and Nicky Cruz, who was a gang leader and drug addict in New York City, and went on to become a great minister and evangelist (you can read/see his story in "The Cross and the Switchblade"). So yes, God uses cracked pots, and he always will...cracked pots from every race, gender, background...He loves them all, and all can be used for His glory!

Off Topic: Let's Go Yankees!

As of right now, my beloved New York Yankees are 1 win away from clinching a spot in the playoffs! Yeaaaah boyyy. Now if only we could get the one lousy win already, sheesh! I'll tell ya, I didn't think we'd pick it up the way we have: we were playing really lousy for a good portion of the season, and it didn't help that none of our pitching was healthy. Hopefully we'll kick it up a notch going into the playoffs and turn into complete beasts like my buddy Domo-Kun over on the right there (I love that guy, I think he's awesome, by the way). I always enjoy playoff time, even though in the last few years the Yanks have been garbage in the playoffs...but I think if we keep it together, we can make things reeeeeeal interesting. So keep watching and LET'S GO YANKEES!!!