The following chapter is entitled "Beware of Snakes." I hope it encourages anyone who is battling despair, fear or hopelessness; and teaches you how to stand victorious against the enemy. 

 Beware of Snakes

Few of us will ever forget the first time we watched the film The Passion of the Christ. The sheer magnitude of Christ’s sufferings left most viewers speechless and many breathless. In this film the familiar words of Scripture come crashing through our senses in living color. The prophetic words “by his stripes we are healed” take on a whole new meaning when watching the brutal scourging of Jesus. I recall sitting in the theater and begging “Jesus” to not get up when he had fallen at the whipping post. “Don’t stand up!” I repeated over and over again under my breath as I watched the Roman soldiers rip the skin from his back. “Please don’t stand up.” I thought if I could encourage him to stay down then his suffering would end.  Yet, he didn’t stay down. No, he stood and took more lashes and more lashes—for he knew that his brokenness would mean our wholeness. His death would mean our life.[i]

It stunned me how relieved I was when the crucifixion finally arrived, for with death my Savior’s suffering would finally end. Whoever thought death would be a welcomed sight? I’m pretty sure I held my breath for most of the movie.

Amazing sacrifice.

Amazing love.

Amazing grace.

As difficult as this movie was for me to watch, one scene in particular caused my heart to stand up and cheer. I absolutely loved the very first scene. The movie begins with a heavily burdened Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. There, in the garden, just hours before his arrest, Christ surrenders himself to the will of God the Father. From the following scene of The Passion of the Christ, we, the audience, are given a glimpse of the future victory and triumph that will come through his death. 

But first there is a conversation.

“Do you really believe that one man can bear the full burden of sin?” taunts the voice of Satan.

Jesus with his eyes heavenward and speaking only to the Father says, “I trust in you.”

And then, continuing his accusations, Satan says, “saving their souls is too costly.”

And Jesus says to the Father, “not my will but yours be done.”

What is this dialogue? Has Mel Gibson taken creative license? No. I think this scene perfectly encapsulates the entire cosmic drama of the crucifixion: God became man in order to redeem humanity from our slavery to sin and Satan. In doing so, Jesus must face the same temptations you and I face. So while Jesus agonizes about his impending death, Satan tempts him to abandon his mission to redeem the world's sins.

Let us never forget that Jesus is God in the flesh—fully God and fully man. So, there in the garden, it is Jesus the man who must make the choice to endure the pain and suffering for our sin. At Gethsemane, Jesus determines he will go forward with God’s plan and redeem humanity. He will be the perfect substitute and he will lay down his life to die in our place. But his surrender doesn’t come easily.

Can you fathom how tempting it must have been for him to think only of himself?

Meanwhile, another presence lurks in the garden that night—a snake. While Jesus is praying, a serpent, symbolizing Satan, slithers toward the Son of God to make a deadly strike.  But then, at the last second, with eyes fixed, Jesus rises to his feet and with one step crushes the head of the serpent – a step that defines his destiny. A historical moment. A prophetic moment. A moment that symbolizes the victory that is soon to come.  He will crush the head of the serpent. Satan will be defeated.

Girls, let me just take a commercial interlude right here and fill you in on a little fact about yours truly: I HATE SNAKES. Let me explain. I loathe snakes. Rats, I’m not a fan of either—given the whole plague thing and all—but I can handle them. Spiders, bring em’ on. But snakes, there is nothing I hate more than a snake. So when Jesus stood to his feet and stomped the serpent’s head I was elated.

But my elation had more to do with the fact that this serpent represents Satan. The deceiver, the accuser, the one whom Jesus calls the Father of Lies,  the one who is the cause of all anguish and suffering in this world. And since the beginning of time (back in a different garden called Eden), the serpent has become synonymous with Satan himself. But girls,

Gethsemane is not the first time Jesus has faced the serpent.

When Jesus began his earthly ministry, he, too, went into the wilderness. There, he was tested and tempted by Satan.  In Jesus’ wilderness season we learn an extremely important wilderness skill: Jesus shows us how to stand against the lies and deceptions of the Enemy.

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. 2 After He had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, He was hungry. 3 Then the tempter approached Him and said, "If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."

    4 But He answered, "It is written:

    Man must not live on bread alone

    but on every word that comes

    from the mouth of God. "

5 Then the Devil took Him to the holy city, had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:

                He will give His angels orders concerning you and,

                they will support you with their hands

                so that you will not strike

                your foot against a stone. "

                7 Jesus told him, "It is also written: Do not test the Lord your God. "

    8 Again, the Devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 And he said to Him, "I will give You all these things if You will fall down and worship me."

               10 Then Jesus told him, "Go away, Satan! For it is written:

                Worship the Lord your God, and serve only Him. "

11 Then the Devil left Him, and immediately angels came and began to serve Him.                                                                                                                                                                                     Matthew 4:1-11(HCSB)

When Christ was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, each temptation came back to one thing: doubt. If you will notice, every time Satan speaks he begins his question with the word, “if.”

• If you are the Son of God then… (Satan wants Jesus to doubt his identity as the son of God.)
• If you will worship me…(Satan wants Jesus to doubt his redemptive mission and take a short-cut around the cross.)

Satan’s ploy was to use questions to tempt Jesus into sin (i.e. not trusting God the Father.) Doesn’t that ole snake do the same thing with you and me?

• If God really loved you then… (The snake wants you to doubt God’s heart for you.)
• If God is really good then he wouldn’t allow … (The snake wants you to doubt the character of God.)
• If you were really a Christian then… (The snake would love it if you would doubt your own salvation.)

Beware! Just as a snake disguises itself in tall brush and rocks, Satan deceives you and me with questions and accusations while in the wilderness. He is oh-so-subtle.

But in this interchange between Christ and Satan, we see a snapshot of how we should respond when encountering the snake in our trials. Each time, Jesus replied to Satan’s suggestive questions with three simple words, “It is written,” and then, Jesus spoke out loud a truth from Scripture in response to the lies of the Enemy. Finally, Jesus took authority over and commanded Satan to leave.

Isn’t this is an amazing wilderness skill? And it may very well be the best kept secret in all of Christianity. As believers in Jesus Christ, you and I can do the very same thing today. But where do we begin? We must start by taking inventory of our thoughts and making certain we aren’t listening to or believing the lies of the enemy. But, how does a girl know if she is being fed a lie? I’m so glad you asked.

True story: At times in my life, I’ve been what you would call a slave to fashion. Shopping can be a problem for me. Some girls emotionally eat…I emotionally spend. Jesus and I are working on this. I digress. Oops! This is not confession time. Where was I? Oh yes, believing a lie.

So a few years ago, I had a major fashion crush on this new pair of jeans. Problem A: my budget could not afford this specific pair of designer denim. Problem B: my budget could not afford this specific pair of designer denim. But girls, let me just say…I so loved these jeans. I would go visit them at the department store and just stare at them. Sometimes I would try them on and decide if I really needed to pay rent that month. Images of my homeless self in designer denim would send me out the door empty handed.

Then a friend of mine kindly informed me that I could probably buy the jeans on eBay at a much better price. Brilliant! I’m so in for a bargain. So now, empowered with shopping scoop, I surfed droves of denim on eBay until I discovered a pair that was identical to the ones I’d been eyeing in the store. And do you want to know the best part? They were brand new and cost only a fraction of the price.

I bought those bad boys faster than Nicole Ritchie changes sunglasses. But I did uncover one major bummer to online shopping. There is no instant-gratification-wear-the-jeans-tonight-thrill. So, I wait (and if you will recall, I love to wait) a few days for the UPS guy to deliver my new duds. Giddy, I rip open the package only to discover that I’d been fashion punked.

They were sooooooooooooo counterfeit!

I’m sure you are dying to know how I knew the jeans were as fake as a tan in January. It’s simple really. I knew the moment I touched the fabric that these babies were not the real thing. You wanna know how? Because I’d seen, touched, and tried-on the “real thing” enough times to know a fraud a mile away.

Here’s my point ladies: to spot a lie, you must know the truth.  

Remember…

Satan wants to deceive you about who you are.

Satan wants to deceive you about God’s character.

Satan wants to deceive you about God’s plan and purpose for your life.

And when in a wilderness season: i.e. hurting, lonely, sad, depressed—you and I make one easy target for his lies. Please note: this snake is sneaky.  Satan watched and waited and only when Jesus became hungry for food did the enemy unleash his taunts and temptations.

Hunger is defined by my friend Mr. Webster as “a strong or compelling desire or craving.”  Satan waited until Jesus was physically hungry for food, and then, it was that specific desire that the enemy zeroed in on when tempting Jesus to not trust his Heavenly Father.

A woman in a wilderness can “hunger” for so many things that make her prime for temptation, such as love, affection, attention, affirmation, relief from stress, or even an escape from pain. I tell you this as a warning: carefully consider what you are thinking about.  If you are going through a tough time and find yourself experiencing tormenting thoughts or strong temptations, you very well may be dealing with a snake in the grass.

            My friend Amy told me about the wilderness season she walked through following her painful divorce. When she married right after college, she expected it would be forever—a.k.a. ‘til death do us part. Yet weeks into the marriage, her fairytale became a nightmare as her “prince charming” husband became both physically and verbally abusive.

            Even with biblical grounds for divorce, Amy candidly admits that Satan took full advantage of her pain and her hunger for love to heap lies and accusations on her. Here are a few lies Amy heard in her wilderness:

• God will never forgive you.
• You are used goods now. You might as well give yourself away to any guy who comes along.
• A “real” Christian man would never marry a girl like you
• Why don’t you numb your pain with alcohol and male attention?

It took time for Amy to learn to silence Satan with the Word of God and to take her rightful authority as a redeemed girl and tell him to “be gone.”  Through Bible study and involvement with other Christian women, she has learned this skill. Today, she is a wonderful example to many that Satan is a big-fat-liar. Amy not only actively serves in her church discipling young women, but is also married to one of the godliest men I know. Amy’s testimony is one of victory because she made the decision to stop believing Satan’s lies and to start standing in God’s truth.

This wilderness skill is so huge! Our thoughts must be based upon truth, or we will be in big trouble. The reason? Our thoughts lead to our emotions, and our emotions lead to our actions. And when we are in the wilderness (i.e. rejection, loss, despair, etc.), it doesn’t take much to send a girl’s emotional state of being into full-blown-melt-down. We have to be so careful to not  entertain the lies of the enemy and allow him to dictate our emotions and our actions. Determine, especially in wilderness seasons, to stand in truth.

I know someone reading this may be thinking, “Hold it right there missy, what exactly is truth?”  Girls, there is a definitive answer to this infamous question. The word truth means “that which has fidelity (conformity) to the original.” Meaning? There is a standard. Given that the word itself implies there is a measurement of what is “true,” then it only makes sense that truth is not relative.

Then what is truth? God’s word is truth. Jesus said in his prayer for you and me before his death on the cross, “Sanctify them [purify, consecrate, separate them for Yourself, make them holy] by the Truth; Your Word is Truth.” (John 17:17 Amplified Bible) Jesus teaches us that the Bible, God’s very word is the truth. So what’s my point? If my thoughts about myself or about my God differ with what God has spoken, then I am believing a lie. Remember my denim debacle? I recognized a fraud only because I knew the real thing.

Jesus also gives us a warning about the snake, Satan, when he cautions, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10 NIV) Satan has an agenda and his mode of operation has not changed—he operates in lies. But girls, listen carefully—the snake is defeated! Jesus defanged the serpent at the cross. All he can do is lie to us. We must choose whether we will listen to his lies or to God’s truth.

Looking back over my recent wilderness season, I recognize that so many of my issues came down to where I allowed my thoughts to dwell. The enemy desired not only to steal my worship, but also to kill my joy and destroy my faith. I’ve found the same to be true for every woman I’ve interviewed in writing this book. Countless women shared their wilderness tales with me, and the common denominator in all of them was the torment of lies and accusations each woman endured.  

So, what’s a girl to do? We must do what Christ modeled for us in the wilderness. Resist Satan and stand firm in the truth of God’s word.  Just as it says in James 4:7: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (NIV)

Submit—turn to God in prayer and claim his truth. I suggest you find specific scripture passages that deal with the particular lies (temptations, questions, accusations) that torment you.

            Resist—say “no” to the lies and tell Satan to “go away in the name of Jesus.”

            No lie. Just last night I put this skill into practice. I was driving to a dinner party when I felt those “poor me” thoughts forming. I listened to a few and realized if I didn’t nip them in the bud, I would be quite the dud at dinner.  So I began responding to the negative thoughts (i.e. lies) with God’s word. For each lie I heard, I spoke a scripture out loud. Finally, as I was pulling up to the valet I said, “Satan, go away in the name of Jesus.” And guess what? It turns out that Jesus proves one excellent wilderness guide. Though the snake was indeed dead, I opted for something else for dinner. No “skinning and gutting” for this girl.

P.S: the pecan crusted chicken and molten chocolate cake were oh-so-fabulous!

R|G - Welcome from Reedemed Girl Ministries on Vimeo.

Transforming Truth #2 A Redeemed Girl Knows Her Identity

R|G - Transforming Truth 2 from Reedemed Girl Ministries on Vimeo.

Transforming Truth # 3

Watch as Marian shares how the Word of God transforms a girl from the inside out.

R|G - Transforming Truth 3 from Reedemed Girl Ministries on Vimeo.

Transforming Truth #4 A Redeemed Girl Knows Her Purpose

R|G - Transforming Truth 4 from Reedemed Girl Ministries on Vimeo.

Transforming Truth #5 A Redeemed Girl Never Runs on Empty

R|G - Transforming Truth 5 from Reedemed Girl Ministries on Vimeo.

It was a little after 3pm, and I had just finished a drawn-out, three-day,road trip (flat-tire and lock-smith included) from an empty Los Angeles apartment to a temporary home in Houston. Near the end of our route, my husband and I stopped for a very important pick-up in central Texas. Abbot, a ten-week-old, long-haired, cream dachshund was coming with us. He was cuter than you can imagine, super snuggly, and a little scared. I half-suffocated him with hugs and kisses (see attached photo and you will understand).

Fast forward to a little after 3AM that next morning. I jumped out of bed to the sound of Abbot crying. My puppy training book told me that a middle of the night cry meant a much-needed potty break, so I lifted Abbot from his den, took him outside, and set him in the grass. His response? Sleepily crawl back to the porch, lay down, and stare at my blankly. I took him back to his den. He cried. I took him back outside. Blank stare.

I repeated this process countless times, eventually falling asleep on the couch with Abbot in my arms, still staring at me blankly. Fast forward to a little after 5AM, same morning. Wake up to a sore neck and a much-too-small puppy attempting to jump from a much-too-tall couch. I catch him. I set him down for his breakfast. His response? Walk over to my mother's brand new rug, squat, and pee.

Time taught Abbot to go outside for these breaks (most of the time), but potty time was also backed up by a chorus of "No-no Abbot," as he proceeded to do everything except the business at hand (e.g., eat the mulch, chase the grasshopper, chew up the plants, chew on my socks, chew on the rocking chair, chew on... well, everything). And that is how Abbot landed himself in my blog about patience. You see, patience, or rather impatience (yes, I was frustrated with the cutest puppy in the world) is usually about off-kilter expectations. I can't expect Abbot to come fully potty-trained straight from his mom. I can't expect him not to chew my socks. All I can expect is for him to be a puppy, and to grow in time. My puppy training book comically emphasized - "YOUR PUPPY WILL HAVE ACCIDENTS INSIDE. If you just expect it, you will be much less frustrated, and both of you will be better off."

In Luke 4:26-29, Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a seed that grows, though the farmer doesn't know how. That farmer can't have specific expectations for how and when the plant will be ripe, he just watches as the the stalk comes up, yields the head, and is finally ripe with grain. Faith is that way. In the life of faith, we need to yield our specific expectations, and realize that God is doing the work on the inside. This perspective can first allow us to forgive ourselves, when we (inevitably) fall short of perfection. Paul says in Philippians, "He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it." He is working. Don't get impatient with yourself. Guilt is never from the Lord. It is the weight that brings us down and keeps us from growing into who God has redeemed us to be.

Secondly, this perspective can give us a abundance of grace for others. When we can accept God's grace for our own shortcomings, we should be eager to pass on that grace to others. In Matthew 18 Jesus tells a parable where a slave is forgiven a huge debt but is unwilling to forgive a friend of a small debt that he is owed. The master rebukes him, "You wicked slave... Should you not have mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?"

As we remember that we are all fragile, slowly learning and growing at God's pace, let's have patience with ourselves and with those around us... And I will try to be patient with Abbot, even right now, as I stop him from chewing on my sandals.

Recently, I sat through a painful 2.5 hours of the recent Sex and the City movie installment; only to conclude at the end that the women portrayed in this film are more desperate than ever...desperate for a love that fills them with a sense of security that can not be stripped away by career upsets, menopause, aging bodies or rocky marriages. The four women once again display the angst and insecurity found in looking for love in all the wrong places.

The following is an excerpt from my book Sex and the City Uncovered, I pray that women who look to Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda as their role models will read this and discover the true source of love, security, and confidence...that can never be taken from her.

Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places

Do women just really want to be rescued?--Carrie Bradshaw of Sex and the City
(Season 3, episode 31, “Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire”)

Back on the island—Manhattan, that is—their get-together results in a lively discussion of the topic “Why do women love firemen?” Miranda leads the charge with her observations, and the others follow suit. Their conversation is the typical brunch banter until Charlotte chimes in with her reason, bringing the table to a stunned silence: “Women just really want to be rescued.” She sighs as she props up her aching head with her hands. You could hear a pin drop as the other women stare back at her in disbelief. Did she really just say that? At this point Carrie, in a voice-over, describes Charlotte’s comment as “the statement single women in their thirties are never supposed to think, much less say out loud.”

The Girls

Just in case you aren’t familiar with the show (or you’ve been watching PBS for the last decade), let me give you a little 411 on the girls of Sex and the City. Carrie Bradshaw writes a column about sex and relationships in New York City. Carrie is fashionable and witty, and her love life is the catalyst for the show’s plotline. No one captures the plight of the love-seeking single woman better than Carrie Bradshaw. She uses her own dating experiences as material for her column, and she is not one to shy away from difficult or taboo subjects. Carrie is real—real about her desires and real about her weaknesses. Somehow through it all she still hopes to find real love. Carrie’s escapades as a single woman in New York include her three best friends: Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte.

Samantha Jones is a powerful NYC publicist who brings the shock factor to the group as she relates her sexual conquests to the girls. Samantha wears shamelessness as a badge of honor. Sam Jones is a successful woman who knows what she wants—and most of the time she gets it. On the outside she radiates confidence in everything. Although there are moments that reveal serious cracks in her armor, for the most part Samantha seems to relish in her lifestyle. She embraces uninhibited sexuality with a varied (and large) group of men. Forget wedding dreams; Samantha is one to choose lust over love any night, and she’s proud of it. The only thing Sam fears is a real relationship.

Next we have the practical and very serious Miranda Hobbs. Miranda is smart, self-assured, and proud of her achievements. She is driven, be it in her professional or personal life. She made partner in her law firm and bought her own apartment on the Upper West Side. However, like the other women, she struggles with her love life. At times, Miranda has abandoned the pursuit of love altogether. Known as the tough girl, she doesn’t open up easily, masking her vulnerability with cynicism and self-deprecating humor about life and love.

Charlotte York is an art gallery curator who is portrayed to be prudish (by the show’s standards) when it comes to sex but hasn’t lost her faith in finding “the one.” Charlotte has an optimistic outlook on love and romance amid the ever-complex dating scene of NYC. Well bred, she walks through life with a perfect sense of decorum and a good dose of idealism. For years Charlotte has maintained a clear vision of the life she’s wanted. First and foremost, she wants to get married. She wants true love. And she wants her husband to be wealthy and handsome and to belong to the social elite.

In this particular episode, “Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire,” each character deals with the desire to be “rescued” in her own stereotypical style. Charlotte, believing a man will solve all of life’s problems, vows that this is the year she will finally get married. She complains to her girlfriends, “I’ve been dating since I was fifteen. I’m exhausted! Where is he?” So in this episode, Charlotte goes in search of the man she hopes will be her Prince Charming. But alas, the prince she meets while out with Carrie one night is less than charming. For Charlotte, the search for the white knight continues.

Carrie, on the other hand, still struggling from a recent breakup, turns to her beloved Jimmy Choos as her lifesaver. Deciding “to rescue her ankles from a life of boredom,” in typical Carrie fashion, she maxes out her credit card and goes shopping, hoping to fix all that ails her. I have to ask, how many pairs of shoes does it take to rescue a woman?

Meanwhile Miranda is in need of a real rescue, but her self-reliant attitude rises to the surface and keeps her from asking for help. She views the need to be rescued as a weakness. Miranda takes independence to an extreme and refuses to let her boyfriend Steve assist her after her eye surgery. In fear of appearing needy, she’d rather risk her health than accept Steve’s offer of assistance, but luckily he comes to her aid despite her protests. Miranda’s way of dealing with the desire to be rescued is a simple one: denial.

Samantha tackles her “rescue” fantasy through her characteristic way: sex. Void of sentiments or emotional need, Sam hopes sexual pleasure will rescue her. While visiting her current fling, the fireman she met at the calendar contest, Samantha seeks to fulfill her own fireman fantasy. To her alarm, the fire station siren blares while she is naked, leaving her abandoned to find her clothes when her “hero” is called away to a real emergency. This episode reveals (quite literally) that Samantha’s choice leaves her exposed, alone, and ashamed. I wonder, Is this the fairy tale she always dreamed of?

The Confession

Knowing that Charlotte is the hopeful romantic of the bunch, it comes as no surprise to us that she utters the words that “single women in their thirties are never supposed to think, much less say out loud.” Of course, she is the one to confess, “Women just really want to be rescued.” But what’s the big deal? Did she say something wrong? Why are the others so shocked? Is Charlotte still drunk? Or maybe, just maybe, she has stumbled onto something. Do women really long to be rescued? Is there something deep down inside each of us that would love to have the white knight sweep in and carry us away? I think for most girls the answer is, “Yes!”

Recently I watched the hit show The Bachelor. This particular season the bachelor happened to be a real prince. Fighting for his affection and attention were twenty-five beautiful women. In the two-hour premiere, one common theme resonated from the women: they wanted the fairy tale. As the evening progressed and the alcohol flowed, the women revealed more and more of their hearts’ true desires. Each wanted to be chosen by the prince and for her childhood longings of being a princess to come true. As I watched the episode and listened to their comments, I thought, This is reality television. Hungering for love and desiring to be chosen, these women had picked up their lives and moved to a castle in Rome in hopes of being rescued by Prince Charming.

So why did the Sex and the City characters, and perhaps many of us, bristle at Charlotte’s comment? It seems the other characters are much too independent and savvy to admit this inner longing. They pride themselves on self-sufficiency and hope to evolve past any notions of having needs and longings, so they blast Charlotte’s old-fashioned idea with a dose of reality. Reality, according to Miranda, is that “the white knight only exists in the movies.” Her reply rings with bitterness toward men and a lack of trust in anyone but herself. The same is true of Carrie’s response, except she takes a different approach, saying, “Did you ever think that maybe we’re the white knights, and we’re the ones that have to save ourselves?” There it is—the motto of the modern single woman: “I don’t need anyone, and I can do it all by myself.”

Charlotte does not buy their dismissals, and her response to their advice is revealing when she replies, “That’s depressing!” And we have to admit, it is, but why? Probably because as women, since the first time we played with Barbie, we’ve imagined Ken coming in his sports car to rescue her from the clutches of GI Joe. This is part of the fabric of being a girl. But surely, some would say, we’ve all grown up and put those childish dreams behind us. After all, hasn’t life taught us some pretty tough lessons? White knights don’t always come to the rescue, and sometimes, let’s face it, Ken actually likes GI Joe. For some of us, these life lessons have left us hard and a little jaded too. So, like Miranda, it’s easier to shove the desire to be rescued behind us and pretend it’s just a fantasy.

But what if it’s not? Let’s imagine just for a moment that it’s real—the fairy tale, the hero, and all the stuff that romantic movies thrive on. Let’s imagine for just a minute that it is a legitimate longing and examine why Charlotte’s confession resonates with us. Why do women long to be rescued? Why is this desire ingrained in the heart of every little girl? To answer this question, we must dig a little deeper and ask some fundamental questions.

The Rescue

First, what is meant by the word rescue? The word rescue means “to set free, as from danger or imprisonment; to save.” (Kudos, Mr. Webster.) From the damsel in distress, who is tied to train tracks as a high-speed locomotive approaches, to the princess, who is locked away in the perilous castle, the role of the hero is to save his lady from whatever enemy she faces.

I’ll be honest: life’s been so intense at times that I’ve daydreamed that someone comes along and takes me away from it all. I’ve gazed out my office window hoping to see Prince Charming ride up on his white horse (or in an SUV—I’m not really picky about the mode of transportation). Just like Charlotte, I did my share of barhopping in the past, hoping to meet “the one.” But I’ve realized the desire to be rescued goes much deeper than just a longing for a man. I know plenty of women with great men who still have this desire. Women identify with the longing to be rescued—young and old, married and single, rich and poor. Ladies, this desire is bigger than any man can fill—yes, it is even bigger than Mr. Big.

Because this is a common desire, is there also then a common problem? In other words, is there something that we all need to be rescued from? Is there something basic to all of us that causes us to feel like we need help or we need to be set free? What is it that makes us hope and dream that someone will come along who can make all right in our world? Our desire to be rescued implies we are held captive . . . imprisoned.

But what is this prison?

I believe the universal prison in which we are all held is best described in a country song from the ’80s by Waylon Jennings called “Lookin’ for Love in All the Wrong Places.” (Pardon if my country girl roots show through for a bit—we’ll be back to the land of five-dollar coffee and stilettos shortly.) Now, you might remember this song from John Travolta’s hit movie Urban Cowboy (he was totally robbed on the awards that year, by the way). Whatever your history with this song, I’m here to tell you, it is truth! The prison that each of us needs to be rescued from is one of “Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places.”

The Prison

As a child of the ’80s (a decade of great fashion and even greater music), I grew up singing the words into my hairbrush microphone. But it wasn’t until years later, in the ’90s (now wearing grunge and listening to Nirvana—thankfully that trend was short lived), that I realized just how dead-on these lyrics are about life and love. One might say they are . . . profound. The song is a classic because everyone can identify with the problem. Here’s the point: this song describes, and human experience confirms, that humankind is in a prison—a perpetual and fruitless search for something or someone to make us feel loved, complete, and whole. Each one of us has an empty place in our hearts that aches to be filled.

You know the ache I’m talking about. You aren’t satisfied; you don’t feel complete; something is missing, and you keep hoping that the next relationship or the next job or even a new outfit will remedy the ache, but it doesn’t. Life can be going along great, and, yet, that empty gnawing is still there—the one that cries out, “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for!” And as a result, we desperately search and we hunt for a love that will fill our emptiness and make us feel complete. And on and on and on we go.

This is my story. I went looking for love in all kinds of places, only to find myself more empty and confused as a result. From parties to people, from shopping to men, job promotions and even more parties . . . hoping something would bring me a sense of security or love. Happy hour eventually is over, the guy inevitably fails to be perfect, and food may fill a stomach but not a soul. My disillusionment eventually led to despair. Life seemed without hope and joy seemed elusive. I was captive to the emptiness.

I see this same desperation and disappointment in the lives of the women portrayed on the show Sex and the City. While on the surface everything appears glamorous and exciting, if you take a step back and evaluate their soul-searching questions, you see women who are hoping for someone to rescue them from the pain and emptiness they feel.

For example, let’s consider Charlotte. Like most of us girls, she hopes to find the love her heart longs for in a man. She is by far the most hopeful romantic of the crew. Over the six seasons of Sex and the City, we watched as she searched from man to man hoping to find “the one” who would complete her. Did she find him? Well, yes and no. She did get married (two times, in fact), but once she found a husband, did he fill her emptiness? No. The last season ended with Charlotte hoping the ache in her heart would be filled with a child. So, her search continues.

Can you relate? How often do you tell yourself the following?

• If I were married, then my life would be perfect.

• Or, If I had a better job, then I would be satisfied.

• Or, When I buy my own house, then I will be happy.

• Or what about this one? When I lose ten pounds, then I will feel OK.

We believe the solution to the restlessness we feel is remedied by finding something or someone to fill the emptiness in our hearts. But as we all know, those things may work for a season, but after a while that old familiar ache returns and we move on to the next thing or the next person, thinking that this time we will find what we are looking for.

This is why I call “looking for love in all the wrong places” a prison. For some of us it can be a life sentence. The pursuit to fill the void can be endless and full of disappointment. But that leads us to the most important question of all: what caused this emptiness in the first place?

The answer is found in the Bible. Yes, I said the Bible. (You know, the best-selling book of all time? Yes, that’s the one I’m talking about.) In Scripture we are told the story of God and how our problem of “looking for love” first began. The Bible tells us that humanity is created by God and for God. Translation: He is the Designer and Creator of Life, so in order to find out how things got all jacked up in our world, we must go back to the “Designer’s manual.”

Let’s play Fantasy Island for just a minute and imagine Dolce & Gabana designs a one-of-a-kind outfit just for you. It goes without saying that they would know best how this outfit is supposed to be worn (the perfect accessories, fit, shoes, etc.). Why? Because they are the designers. Hello? That’s the same with God. As our Creator, we need to look to Him and His Word (a.k.a. The Bible) to understand how life was meant to be lived. So for us to understand why we deal with insecurity, self-doubt, restlessness, and a perpetually empty soul, we must turn to the original design to see what God created us for and what went wrong.

The Beginning

In Genesis, the first book of the Bible, we find that after five quite productive days of speaking into existence solar systems and farm animals and the oceans and the assorted sea creatures that would fill them, God then turned His creative eye to bring into existence the crown jewel of His creation: humankind.

God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature.”

God formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive—a living soul!

God looked over everything he had made;
it was so good, so very good!

Genesis 1:26; 2:7; 1:31 (MSG)

In the beginning, God placed the human race in a beautiful garden that He filled with everything they needed for a life of joy, peace, and purpose. Adam and Eve were provided for and given the responsibility to rule over and care for God’s creation. And right from the start, God declared our identity (the “who am I?” question) when He looked on the first man and woman and declared us to be “very good” (Gen. 1:31).

This is a powerful moment. When God speaks over Adam and Eve the word good, He establishes their identity. You know how when you fall in love, one of the best things about being with that special person is how they make you feel about yourself? Well, that is the situation we have here. Our God-given design is one that when we are in relationship with Him, we know who we are and we know we are loved. As the Designer, He alone has the authority to name and define—and His declaration of His design from the very beginning was “very good.”

Here’s the thing: originally humankind didn’t need to be rescued from “looking for love in all the wrong places.” Why not, you ask? Because all was right and good in our world—we didn’t struggle with the self-doubt, insecurity, restlessness, and emptiness that you and I experience today. You see, it was never God’s original design for people to suffer from the nagging inadequacies we feel.

The Bible describes God’s original design of man and woman in a physically descriptive way, which, in truth, speaks to their emotional, psychological, and spiritual condition as well. “The two of them, the Man and his Wife, were naked, but they felt no shame” (Gen. 2:25 MSG).

Perhaps you are imagining a hippie nudist colony in the middle of a tree orchard. Maybe this is not your ideal living situation, and I can totally understand your hesitation. The point of the Scripture is not to endorse a clothing-optional lifestyle; the purpose of this text is to explain the pure freedom and confidence that Adam and Eve knew in God’s original design.

The Design

Uncovered. Naked and not ashamed! This is the condition of man and woman while living in the midst of the unconditional love of God. Adam and Eve didn’t know the meaning of insecurity. They didn’t ask questions such as, “Am I good enough? Am I pretty enough? Will I be accepted? Am I lovable?” Eve never asked, “Does this fig leaf make me look fat?”

Identity is something that is bestowed. We cannot define ourselves. Today, we are always looking outside of ourselves for someone to tell us who we are, but for Adam and Eve, the question of their identity wasn’t up for debate. First of all, when God created them, He essentially said, “You are good and you don’t need to do anything to prove yourself or seek anyone else to tell you that you are worthy of love.” So, for Adam and Eve, the self-worth question was solved. If the God of the universe, who spoke the world into existence, said they were good—then that settled it.

Girlfriends, can you fathom walking into a room and never thinking, Do I look OK? Just imagine being fully known, explicitly seen, and fully loved—never fearing rejection, never meeting a new group of people and feeling like you don’t belong. Try to imagine having a confidence that isn’t based on fickle things such as money, a new pair of shoes, or attracting male attention. Or better yet, what if Carrie didn’t need fashion, Samantha sex, Charlotte a husband, or Miranda her career?

The other reason Adam and Eve were so secure is that they lived in the presence of the One who is love. God “is love” we are told in the Bible; love, defined as seeking the best for others. Because God is the Author of Life and the Giver of all things, He alone is the ultimate expression of love. Love is life giving, and that is exactly who God is.

Adam and Eve lived in the presence of His perfect love, so they had no reason to go searching for anything—because they didn’t know what it was to feel empty. The state of being “naked and not ashamed” implies that they were free to be themselves—without props, without additives, without labels, without pretense. Because they lived in the unconditional love of God, they were secure and they knew they were accepted simply for who they were.

So, for the million-dollar question: what went wrong?

The Scam

The pure freedom and unshakable confidence Adam and Eve experienced were wonderful while they lasted, but the harmony and beauty of Eden were shattered when Satan entered the scene. Previously, God told Adam and Eve that everything in the garden was theirs for enjoyment. Unparalleled beauty. Ultimate bliss. Everything in the Garden of Eden was good for Adam and Eve, except for one thing: “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” This particular tree was off limits. God told them not to eat of it, for if they did, they would die (Gen. 2:16–17).

Is God a divine fun thwarter, or was there a reason they couldn’t eat of this tree? Here’s the problem: the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” represented independence from God. The tree itself was fine, but taking the forbidden fruit placed man in a role he was never designed to play—that is, the role of determining for himself what is good and what is evil. God
is the all-creating, all-sustaining, all-defining, all-powerful One. He has the authority to define reality, for He alone is God.

But as we see in the following passage, Satan (starring as the Serpent) scammed Eve into disobeying God. This deception is the root cause of our perpetual search for love and completion today—the real reason we are looking for love in all the wrong places and we all long to be rescued.

The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: “Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?”

The Woman said to the serpent, “Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It’s only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘Don’t eat from it; don’t even touch it or you’ll die.’”

The serpent told the Woman, “You won’t die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil.”

When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she’d know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate.      Genesis 3:1–6 (MSG)

I’ll give it to Satan; he’s a good salesman. He offered Eve something pretty enticing when he told her, “You will be just like God.” Wow—what an incredible offer! But like my mom always said, “If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” And in this case, the old saying is right.

Satan tricked Eve. But it is important to note just exactly how this ruse went down. First, he caused her to doubt God by asking, “Did God really say?” Then he outright called God a liar when he suggested, “Surely, you won’t die.” By leading Eve to doubt the truthfulness of God’s word, Satan undermined her trust in God.

The serpent called God a liar, and Eve now faced a choice: believe God or believe Satan. So, the great deceiver appealed to her physical senses and gave her ample reasons to buy his con: the forbidden fruit was good for food, able to make one wise, and the ultimate temptation—to be one’s own god. Satan’s lure implied freedom, power, control . . . but in reality, the opposite occurred. (Personally, I’d love it if we could TIVO history. I’d hit rewind. Go back to the beginning, and have a little heart-to-heart with my sister Eve.)
I digress. Where was I? Oh yes, the scam.

Satan’s scam was basically an attack on the goodness of God. His theory went something like this: if God is good, then He would allow you to eat of any tree. God must be bad because He said you can’t eat of this certain tree.

Think back for a minute to your high school days. Remember when your parents said you couldn’t date that certain guy? Remember how you thought they were flat-out evil incarnate and surely they were plotting to ruin your life? But now, you look back and realize your parents were right—that guy wasn’t the best for you. In this scenario protection = love.

The same is true of our relationship with God. Here’s the thing: God knows what is best for us. But as we see, Satan distorts God’s protective provision to be a bad thing, and Eve bought into the lie. She rebelled against her God—her source of life, security, and love.

Perhaps you’ve been in a similar situation. You hear a great marketing pitch about a new cosmetic product that promises to eliminate wrinkles, cellulite, bad breath, and make you taller all at the same time. Sold, you charge the wonder pill to your credit card (at only $49.99 a month for the rest of your life) only later to discover . . . you’ve been scammed! The whole thing is a lie. The wonder pill isn’t so wonderful. It doesn’t deliver on its promises, and with it comes a whole new world of side effects. This is exactly like Satan’s promise to Eve, except the side effects of his scam were far more devastating—they were life altering.

Today, many women, like Eve, are deceived—
believing the lie that the love we hunger for is found in the alluring lifestyle portrayed on Sex and the City. Masked behind couture fashion, clever writing, and beautiful people is a life of searching and desperation. I know because I’ve been there myself. The lure is clever, but the promises don’t deliver. Here’s the big problem with deception: you don’t know it’s a lie until you face the consequences.

The Loss

The sad fact is that Adam and Eve were deceived, but the even sadder reality is that they lost the very thing that made them feel whole, complete, and secure: their relationship with God, their Creator. Separated from their source of confidence and estranged from the Giver of Life, they covered themselves with leaves and tried to hide from God.

Now, “naked” doesn’t imply freedom; it exposes. Vulnerable, ashamed, and confused, they realized something big was missing, and that something was God. In choosing to be their own God, Adam and Eve fell into shame. Their inadequacy to fill God’s shoes was clear, and the shame enveloped them like a fog. So they hid.

We were not created for life separated from God. When Adam and Eve chose to dethrone God and cut the cord of dependence—by deciding for themselves what is good and evil—humankind indeed got independence from God. And this independence is the source of every heartache, disappointment, and the emptiness we experience in the world today.

Recently, as I flipped through TV channels, I came across a documentary about a baby inside a mother’s womb. (Note to self—epidural!) Riveting television. The miracle of life is breathtaking. I sat for hours as the commentator explained the stages of growth and development preceding birth. The most interesting thing I learned about in the wee hours of the
morning was the perfect environment that the child inhabits—the mother’s womb. In the womb a baby is nourished, sheltered, protected, and literally attached to his source of life.

This got me to thinking. That’s a lot like the state of humankind in the garden with God before evil entered the world. Everything we needed was supplied. And there we, too, were connected to our true source of life. So, for us to fully comprehend what we’ve lost, imagine a child taken from the womb, separated from his mother, and left without anyone to feed, protect, or care for him. You might think I’m being a bit dramatic, but this comes as close to illustrating the weight of our loss as anything I know. Simply, we weren’t designed for life apart from God.

Today, we all experience the loss and separation that resulted from Adam and Eve’s fatal decision. Instead of knowing peace and security, we feel angst and incompleteness. Instead of knowing who we are and if we are loved, we are constantly searching and striving for someone to tell us who we are. Our desire to be rescued, therefore, finds its origin in the human need to be reconnected with our Creator—to be back in the place of security and rest that comes from being in His presence—simply, the place we were created to inhabit.

Charlotte is right. Women really do want to be rescued!

The Rest of the Story

I’m just a girl who believed the lie that the deep longings of my soul could be fulfilled in the lifestyle portrayed on Sex and the City. Rescued from the emptiness, I’m here to tell other women the rest of the story. God doesn’t abandon us. He knows our design. He knows apart from Him we are searching, restless, and incomplete. And because He loves us with this incomprehensible love, He comes to rescue us and set us free from our prison of “looking for love in all the wrong places.”

Hang tight; we will discover the rest of that story later.

Before we uncover God’s amazing solution, we need to take a closer look at our problem. In the following chapters we will examine the various ways we, and the women of Sex and the City, attempt to fill this God-shaped hole in our souls. We will discover how these methods are not only inadequate but most of the time destructive. Disconnected from our true Source of love, life, and identity, we turn to these substitutes, hoping they will fill the void. Hear me out; some of these can be good things (relationships, food, sex, careers, success, friendships), but whenever we try to put anything in the place that is intended for God alone, the inadequacy of the substitute becomes painfully obvious. Frustrated and yet still empty, we turn to the next trinket, the next person, or the next pleasure . . . and all along our journey, that small voice inside each of us whispers, “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.”

“Peace be with you.”  These were Jesus’ first words to his disciples after He rose from the grave. Yet I’m sure his presence meant more than his words did.

Imagine that you are a disciple . . . you give up three years of your life and leave everything behind to follow someone, and then they die unexpectedly.  Jesus did tell the disciples on at least three separate occasions what was going to happen to him in Jerusalem, yet I think that they, as I would have too, tended to think that perhaps his story of dying in Jerusalem was some sort of parable that they didn’t fully understand.  He wasn’t going to really die. He was just talking about some sort of greater death to self.  And then suddenly, they are without Him—the center of their existence for the last three years.  What do you do?

To say that the disciples were troubled is probably an understatement.  This was not what they thought their lives were going to look like.  Have you ever been there?  You had big plans for yourself that didn’t work out, or you succeed only to find out that you don’t enjoy what you worked so hard to get.  Not the sorority you dreamed of?  Not the job you wanted?  Have you ever been left wondering, “where do I go from here?” “What was all my hard work for?”  “Now what?”  Perhaps your life change just happened to you.  Your parents get divorced or you lose a loved one.  Maybe you are injured and can no longer do that of what you dreamed .  I know the feeling of being left with a puzzle where you can’t make all the pieces fit together anymore.  Dashed hopes and dreams.  Hard things to heal.

When my college boyfriend and I broke up at graduation, I was devastated.  I had built my life for the three years prior around him and the dream of one day being his wife.  I found myself alone, back at home with my parents, and unemployed.  That was not where I had seen my life going.  My dreams were dashed and my heart was broken.  My life just didn’t make any sense anymore.

Enter Jesus.  He is the piece of the puzzle that changes everything.  He used by broken heart to change me from the core and to help my dreams even better and bigger than that for which I hoped.  I did marry—5 years later—and I am so glad that God didn’t give me my first dream.  He gave me an even better one.  Jesus can dam any hole or reshape any dream.  He is hope personified and with him comes peace because we no longer have to solve the puzzle of our lives by ourselves.  We can give him our tattered dreams and our terrible disappointments and he brings them alive for us again.  Granted, they may look a little different than we expected, but they will give us even greater joy.

Back to the disciples.  They were crushed, scared, and ashamed, but because of the presence of Jesus and the knowledge that he overcame death and came back for them, they are changed forever.  People later wonder if these are indeed the fisherman from Galilee.  Jesus changed everything.  They no longer are just good disciples, but they become apostles filled with the Holy Spirit.  Not what they imagined or hoped for.   Simply better.

Let Jesus enter your problem.  Don’t worry.  He will bring His peace with Him.

Faith Brings Freedom Part 1 of 3 from Simon Swee on Vimeo.

Faith Brings Freedom Part 3 of 3 from Simon Swee on Vimeo.

Faith Brings Freedom Part 2 of 3 from Simon Swee on Vimeo.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all tell this story – the storm hitting, the disciples struggling, and Jesus speaking, “Peace,” to the wind and the waves.  All is quiet and safe.  He made the storm go away.

That’s the mental picture I have of peace – the quietness after a storm. The clear blue sky reflected in a calm sea of glass.

But there is another dimension of peace to be found in this story…

Let’s go back to the “All hands on deck” call.  Peter is barking out orders, Andrew is at the wheel, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and all the other disciples are beyond stressed and terrified.  The boat is filling with water faster than their buckets can bail.  The flashes of lightning only illuminate the endless sea of tumultuous waves crashing around them.  One wrong move equals death. All the while, Jesus is in a surprising position.  His hands are not holding a rope or a bucket, nor are they folded in prayer.  No, his head is resting on a pillow, and he is asleep.

Two pictures of peace.  The most blatant is the calm sea.  We all have moments of this peace in our lives – the gift of a restful day, the fortune of escaped hardship.  But the second image shows a different kind of peace.  It is one man out of a dozen, with no fear or anxiety – sleeping in the middle of a storm.

One of the disciples wakes him up with a yell - angry, terrified, and confused - “Don’t you even care that we’re drowning!”  Jesus stills the storm and then asks, “Why are you afraid?”  

Seems like a pretty stupid question.  “Um – because I was seconds from death?”  “Because I was holding on for dear life?”  DID YOU MISS THE STORM, JESUS?!

Have you ever felt like you were drowning, and God was nowhere to be found?  Just because He doesn’t still the storm around you, doesn’t mean He isn’t there.  He looks into our lives – at that broken relationship, that lost job, that hospital bill, that impossible decision – and He asks, “Why are you afraid?”  He offers a peace that goes beyond the surrounding storm.  Paul calls it a “peace which passes all understanding,” and claims that it guards the hearts and minds of those who have irrational trust in the face of terrible circumstances.  The key?  Realizing God is there.  Jesus’ question, “Why are you afraid?” makes more sense when you think about the fact that He was on the boat and He was in control.

So, if your sea is calm today, enjoy peace with a little p.  But if it looks like rain, remember, you have the Peace that Passes all Understanding. 

“The Lord is near.  Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

                                                                                                                                                -Philippians 4:5b-7

Webster’s Dictionary defines joy as “a source or cause of delight.” 

God places that source of delight inside of us as one of the fruits of the Spirit.  Think about that . . . inside of you is a source of delight.  You don’t have to go make joy happen.  It is supposed to emanate from you because its very source is within you. That’s pretty amazing.

Usually, I am big on joy.  I don’t know if I should say this aloud, much less write it down, but I think it might be one of my favorite fruits.  Perhaps it is because I’ve struggled with depression at various times of my life--joy just feels good.  But for these past couple of months, I’ve been very challenged in that department.

I am pregnant, and while that is a huge source of joy, the constant vomiting for the last 8 weeks straight wasn’t working for me.  I fell full-on into self-pity after having ruptured a blood vessel under my eye from all the straining and also having irritated my esophagus so much that my vomit was accompanied by drops of blood.  Let’s just say I was absolutely miserable, and, of course, this month’s fruit was joy.  I was pretty sure that I was as close to joyless as I could come.

But then I remembered, Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before him.  Paul said consider it all joy when you encounter various trials. And low and behold, the joy returned.  Not because my circumstances had changed, but because I remembered the source of my joy--Jesus.  My soul is alive and well and sings for joy because it knows Him and cannot wait to be reunited with him.  Jesus is alive, sovereign, and forever good, and sufficient, and just thinking about who He is produces joy.  And Jesus everyday experiences the overwhelming joy of fellowship with the Trinity as well as the joy of knowing that He righted the spiritual realm and will one day escort sin and darkness off the stage forever.

The next time that you are experiencing joy, take a minute and write down your praises so that you have that reminder when your world proves stormy for so long, that you, like I did, forget what your source of joy is. 

Today as I sit down to write about joy, I cannot escape that quite its opposite has been surrounding us lately.   With the massive earthquake in Haiti just a few weeks behind us, I find myself unable to simply look for a more likely candidate to showcase joy.  Because if real joy isn’t based on circumstances, then devastation is just the place to look, isn’t it? 

A friend of mine, Rhett Smith, recently visited Haiti – doing some service there and blogging about his experiences.  I followed his blog and wanted to share some excerpts with you.  [To read more of Rhett’s blogs, go to rhettsmith.com]

Why?

Our second stop was in another church/hospital compound that was run by the pastor, his wife and lots of volunteer doctors and nurses. Again I found myself on the edge of the experience until we walked inside to take a tour of the hospital and talk with the patients. In the very back room we met a woman who was sitting on the edge of her bed recovering from her wounds after being buried for almost two days in all the rubble. We asked if she wanted to share her story. She told us about her house shaking, and how when the roof collapsed she was holding her twin baby boys (17 months old). Both boys died.  In her eyes was such hope and peace as she talked about calling out the name of Jesus for help.

We began to pray for her and her husband, all 10-15 of us Americans, along with other Haitians and Dominicans. We stood there, hands on them, praying about things that none of us could ever have understood. And then in the overwhelming grief, the husband began to rock back and forth, shake, and cry out, “Why Jesus, Why Jesus, Why Jesus, Why Jesus” — over and over and over again. I have been in lots of hospital rooms, and even spent 5 years in the hospital rooms of my mom as she was dying of breast cancer. I remember being next to her after she had died, consumed with my own grief. But in all my years I have never been witness to someone so overcome by grief. It’s the type of grief that you picture an Old Testament character experiencing after the loss of their entire family, wherein they strip off their clothes to cover themselves in sackcloth and ashes and sit down in their grief. I stood in silence, stunned, unable to offer forth any words. We all stood in silence.

Later that day, I stood on top of one house, watching a group of about ten-thousand Haitians worshipping anywhere they could in close proximity to the church. I almost expected some people to lower a friend through the roof of the church so that they could be healed. I saw a man standing in a tall tree, just hoping that he could get a glimpse of the prayer service.

Displaced God

One of the questions that has been going round and round in my mind is “How can these people who have suffered so greatly, worship and praise God in the midst of picking up the pieces? Because I’m not sure if I could do it. I’m not so sure that if such a tragedy came upon me that I would have even half of the hopeful spirit that the Haitians have displayed to us over and over again during our time here.

This spirit of hope and faith and love is not something that I saw on the news at night. It’s not a story you will read in the papers or online. While the rest of the mainstream media is talking about all of the destruction and mourning, they have failed to see the whole story. There has been no coverage of all the people pouring into churches by the thousands all over the city. Instead of a day of mourning, it has been days and days of hope and praise. A country in transition. In search of change.

How can the Haitians praise God when many of their lives have been destroyed, and they are deprived of basic needs like food, water, shelter, medical care and security?

I believe it’s because they, like us, worship a displaced God.

Immanuel.

God is with us.

God who took on flesh.

God who has experienced our pains.

Empty

At one service I was tapped on the shoulder and informed by a Haitian pastor that I would be giving the sermon that day.

It took me about a minute or so to gather myself on stage before I was able to bring forth the words that they had invited me to speak to them. And what’s a minute anyways when I had been asked to speak in the prior thirty seconds. That minute or so seemed uncomfortably long for my translator who was encouraging me to go on. If it was uncomfortable for him (as was the slow painful march to the front of the church) it felt both humiliating and freeing for me. And when I looked in the faces of the Haitians staring up at me, I knew we had connected on a much deeper and personal level than any of the words I could have spoken to them anyway.

In the quiet silence of the church, where only my sobbing could be heard, I was able to identify with their pain in a way that I didn’t think possible…and I believe they were thankful that I could mourn the loss of life with them…and then celebrate the living of life with them.           

Reading my friends blogs, I learned something about God.  God sees human pain and suffering, and Philippians 2 says that He “emptied Himself” and joined in it.  By becoming human, in the man Jesus, God emptied Himself and shared in the suffering of the world.  God responded much like my friend who went to Haiti, empty-handed, and just cried with the people. 

We hear the man crying in Haiti, “Why Jesus, why?!”  It is a fair question.  But we can also hear another cry of agony – a cry from the cross – Jesus screaming, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

God does not stop all pain and suffering, and I will never understand why.  But God does not abandon suffering.  He empties Himself and cries with us.  He has compassion… co – passion … feeling with us the pain we are feeling.

Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble.”  It is a given.  But countless times He also said, “I am with you.”   Matthew begins his gospel with the description of the Messiah, calling him Immanuel – which means “God with us.”  He ends his gospel with the promise, “I am with you always.”

Joy is not escaping trouble.  Joy is the deep-set contentment that comes with knowing that God is not watching from a distance.  He is with us.

So wherever you find yourself today - laughing, crying, or somewhere in between – know that God is with you, and you will have found joy.

Faith and Inheritance from Breakaway Ministries on Vimeo.

Love.  It is this month’s blog subject and it has been killing me.  I know, I know . . . there is so much that can be said about it.  Maybe I should start with what I do know.  Of all the things that have happened to me in my life, of all the gifts I have ever been given, none has been as life-changing as unconditional love.  It is a diamond—the most valuable and rare kind of love.  Love has expanded my heart and healed up wounds that I just knew were permanent.  I hope that you have had that experience.  

I think that is why Jesus declares the highest command to be to love: 28One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"  29"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.[e] 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'[f] 31The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[g]There is no commandment greater than these." –Mark 12:28-31  Not only is love the defining attribute of God, but also God knows that through our participating in both its giving and its receiving, we will be healed.

Then why is it so hard?  If my one goal everyday is to love God and others (because why move on to other lesser commandments if I can’t even complete the first one), then why so often do I fail before breakfast?  How does all my determination to focus on others leave me still worried about me and my needs?

Anyone who has tried to love like this will soon figure out that unconditional love is not part of our DNA.  It must be poured into me by God as I pray that I will have eyes to see his love and a heart open enough to receive it.  Unconditional love only splashes out of me onto other people when I’ve allowed God to fill me to the rim with Him—this is the gift, the fruit of the Spirit. And on those days when there is absolutely zero splashing, that is where God meets me and washes me in his amazing grace and forgiveness, working it all for my good and bringing me back to fall at his feet.

Only God could make such a difficult assignment so sweet.  When I am full of Him, I pour out life-changing love.  When I am failing miserably and I turn to him in confession, He pours out more sweetness in the form of grace and forgiveness.  “We love because He first loved us.” ( I John 4:19)  Thanks be to God who rescues me from me and allows me to participate through my weakness in His glorious plan and kingdom.

I think most of us get this on a physical level. We have our mother’s nose or our father’s eyes, and we are recognized as being related to them because of these physical characteristics. Yet what about our spiritual lives? Do people see us and recognize that we belong to the family of God?  Are we accused of being a Christian because our lives bear the evidence of Christ? If not, they should! Oswald Chambers said it best, “The resounding evidence of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life is the unmistakable family likeness to Jesus.”

Here’s the truth: when you and I place faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, we become children of God.  (John 1:12) At that point, we know God as our Heavenly Father and His Spirit indwells us and fills us with His life, enabling us to live a life that brings Him honor and glory.  (Romans 8:14-16)

And what is the chief characteristic that the world should see in us that gives evidence that God is our Father? “Oh! I got it! We wear a cross necklace?” Nope. “What about putting one of those Jesus fishie thingies on our car?” Wrong again. “I’ve got it….a Christian is someone who avoids certain people or places.” Three strikes.

The Bible spells out the answer in a simple four-letter word, L.O.V.E.  Love is the mark, the chief characteristic, and the defining family trait in the life of a follower of Jesus. As the old saying goes, “they will know we are Christians by our love.”
Just as when someone looks at my blue eyes and sees my dad’s, so too should someone look at our actions and see our Father in Heaven. After all, as 1John 4:7-8 states, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

God is love.

What is love? Thankfully, the Bible spells that out for us too. One of the most famous verses in the Bible is 1 Corinthians 13. I can smell roses and hear a wedding anthem playing as I type these words. After all, this scripture is read at EVERY wedding ceremony. I digress. Let me put away the bouquet and get back to my point… this passage defines for us what love truly is:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

I don’t know about you, but when I read that list I want to throw in the towel. Who is able to produce this kind of love, 100% of the time? Not me! Here’s the truth, we can’t manufacture this love on our own. No one can, except Jesus. God produces it in us by His Spirit. That’s why when Paul describes the “fruit” (produce, get it?) of the Spirit in Galatians; the first characteristic mentioned is love.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…” (Galatians 5:23-24)

So…how is love produced in us?

First, we remain connected to Jesus. John 15:1-5 is a great teaching on this subject. In this passage, Jesus reminds us that He is the vine and we are the branches, apart from Him we can do nothing. Translation? We can’t bear fruit apart from Christ.  Just as a grape branch produces grapes when connected to the vine, so too will we produce love when we are connected to Christ. We stay connected to Christ through worship, daily reading His Word and prayer.

Second, we confess any areas that don’t align with God’s love. By examining our hearts, motives, words and deeds we will quickly discover attitudes and actions that aren’t motivated by love.  Such as: greed, jealousy, bigotry, lying, gossip… When we see this kind of fruit, we must quickly confess it as sin and ask God to replace it with His love.

Third, Pray! I’ve learned over and over again that prayer is the key to the victorious Christian life. When we ask Him, God fills us with His spirit and gives us the ability to love when we would otherwise react in our old sinful nature.  Test this one out! The next time you are faced with a situation that tempts you to react in anger or jealousy, ask God to fill you with His response instead. I promise you will be amazed at the great harvest of fruit!  Let’s practice this together:

Dear Heavenly Father,
I desire to live a life that brings you glory. I confess that apart from Your Holy Spirit, I am selfish and I don’t love as I should. Help! Please show me any areas that I am not acting in love. (Confess anything that comes to mind.)  I pray that I would decrease and Christ Jesus would increase.  Please fill me with your Spirit and give me your love. I pray specifically that You would enable me to love _____________________as You love her/him/them. Apart from You, I can do nothing!
I ask this in Jesus Name

Redeemed Girls, it is my prayer that each of us walks in a manner worthy of Christ in 2010. I pray that we reflect to the world His beauty and His glory as His love is manifested in and through us.  I hope you will point others to your Heavenly Father as His love is evidenced in you.

What’s your Christmas tree preference?  Real or artificial?  Green or flocked?  I probably stumped you there.  I am most likely a little older than you and when I was a kid, green or flocked was a legitimate question.  Flocking was some kind of fluffy goo that “they” (I’m not quite sure who had the privilege) sprayed all over the tree to make it look like it had been snowed on.

My husband and I have thus far purchased only real trees.  Every Thanksgiving weekend we go out and pick our quirky little tree and set it up with food and water in its container.  We start off so strong—checking the water level daily and refilling it so that the tree keeps drinking.  But somewhere during the festivities and stress of the holidays, our tree gets a little neglected.  This year was particularly bad.  By the time I got around to disrobing it of its beautiful ornaments, the tree was turning brown, and if a tree could scream, it would have yelled, “I’m parched!” at me.  The limbs were wilting, with some having already drooped so low that many of the ornaments had already slid off onto the tree skirt. Let’s just say the January version of our Christmas tree was not candy for the eyes, nor did it serve well to hold up our lovely ornaments.  The tree was in such pitiful shape that I had to perform the walk of shame as I carried the thing out to the corner of the driveway to await the garbage men.

I was struck by how often my life mirrors the plight of my Christmas tree. Just last week, I realized that my heart was dead on the vine.  I was no wellspring of living water, but rather a dried up well that should contain water, but didn’t.  You see, when I am living dependent on my creator, He keeps me overflowing by His grace. However, when I get busy, and a little independent, my waters begin drying up.

The Bible tells us exactly what we need to do to keep our tree from shriveling:

¹¹ The LORD will guide you always;
       he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
       and will strengthen your frame.
       You will be like a well-watered garden,
       like a spring whose waters never fail.  Isaiah 58:11

If we stop trying to desperately meet our own needs, if we cry out to God and ask him to be God, guess what?  That’s exactly what He does.  He longs to show us His glory and His power to be our complete provision.  All we need to do is realize our inability to water ourselves and rest and trust in His promise to strengthen our frame and transform us from a desiccated, desperate, almost dead tree into a well-watered garden “whose waters never fail” because they flow into us from the Lord.

Let me leave you with a little something that I read in a book by John Piper:

“We, not He, are starving for something.  And what Jesus wants is for us to experience what we were really made for—seeing and savoring His glory.”

Go be filled, my friends!

I know a girl who- even having a deep relationship with God, having experienced his forgiveness and been surrounded by the truth of who He is and how worthy He is of obedience – I know a girl who still struggles with sin.  The Christian life can sometimes feel like fighting a losing battle as we struggle against long-held habits and try to do what is right.  Maybe in 2010 we can consider a new way of thinking as we step into our daily lives.

“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” 

-Galatians 5:24-25

The issue then isn’t my beating myself up over all of the things I am not doing or the things I am doing poorly; the issue is my learning who this person is who God keeps insisting I already am.  Notice these words from the letter to the Philippians: “Let us live up to what we have already attained.”  There is a person who we already are in God’s eyes.  And we are learning to live like it’s true.  This is an issue of identity.  It is letting what God says about us shape what we believe about ourselves.  

-Rob Bell in Velvet Elvis, pp. 139-142

But letting what God says about me shape what I believe about myself is easier said than done, right?  Especially considering how often I fall short, screw up, and fail.  As Paul wrestled with this idea, he cried out “Who will rescue me from this body of death?”  This image can really help us trade our old identity for the new one that is offered.

In ancient Rome, the body of death was a form of punishment for a convicted murderer.  The corpse of the victim was chained to the back of the culprit, and the murderer would eventually die due to the weight and decomposition of the body.  It must have been a torturous existence, however long it lasted, trying to live with a dead corpse on your back.

This picture shows how absurd and even grotesque it is for Christians to live while we are still lugging around our old sinful selves.  When Christ raised Lazarus from the dead, the first thing He said was “Unbind him.”  Can you imagine if Jesus would have raised Lazarus and left him all wrapped up in the stinky grave-clothes?  Do you see how absurd it would be for Lazarus to have shown up for dinner the next week still wrapped up in stinky cloth?  This is the point that Paul is trying to make.  God has raised us with Christ, so let us drop the body of death, shed the grave-clothes, and step into who we really are.

I like to think of keeping in step with the Spirit as a radio.  The waves are always there.  Right now in my room, Taylor Swift is singing “You Belong With Me” and something poppy from The Glee soundtrack is going, and Damien Rice is under it all doing his half sing/half whisper thing.  I don’t have three stations going at once; in fact, I don’t have any music on at all.  But the waves are there, the songs are there, the music is there.  To tap in, I just have to turn on the radio.  

If we turn to God and make our hearts receptive to what His work, our new identity will start to seep out into our daily lives. We will begin to see ourselves acting in ways that we normally wouldn’t, and the Fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control – will start to grow.

This year, RGM has decided to tackle a topic that leaves many Christians perplexed: Who is the Holy Spirit and What does it mean to live life by the power of the Spirit?  Each month we will focus on a different aspect of the Holy Spirit and discover the true power for transformation in a Christian's life. We believe that authentic life change only happens only by the power of God working within us. Therefore, we need to get to know our Power Source.

For starters, check out this amazing video, POWER, and then review the scriptures below that discuss the Holy Spirit's activity in the life of a believer. Feel free to let us know your specific questions in the comment section.

Untitled from Marian Jordan on Vimeo.

The Holy Spirit’s Activity in the Life of a Believer

 The Holy Spirit Convicts us of Sin—

John 16:8

Jesus said, “When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.”
As I write this section, I am praising God for this verse. Unless the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to see our sin, we never recognize our need for a Savior. It is God’s mercy on us that His Spirit helps us to recognize our need for the cross. 

I tell women all the time that conviction of sin is a gift. Without it, we would remain stuck and in bondage. But God, through His Spirit, makes us aware and causes us to come to repentance where we find grace and freedom!

The Holy Spirit Indwells the Believer—

Romans 8:9

“You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, If the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.”

When we come to Jesus Christ by faith, we are born again (John 3). This new birth is by the Spirit, which produces in us a new nature—the life of Christ. Christ now lives within the Believer by His Spirit.

The Holy Spirit Gives us a New Heart with New Desires—

Ezekiel 36:26-27

In foretelling the work of the Spirit, God prophesied: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”

This is one of my favorite scriptures! I recall in my own life experiencing the transformation from a “heart of stone” that despised God and wanted to do my own will—to the miracle of a “new heart” that loved God and longed to glorify Him. This miraculous transformation occurs by the Spirit of God working in our hearts and taking up residence.  Now, with the Spirit living in us, we have both the desire and the power to live a life that glorifies God.  He gives us radiance!

The Holy Spirit Helps us in our Weakness—

Romans 8:26

“The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. “

Prayer is an expression of weakness, bringing us to God to acknowledge our dependence and need. In this place of weakness, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us, taking our pleas before the very throne of God.

The Holy Spirit Gives us Understanding into God’s Word—

John 16:13

Jesus said, “When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.”

As believers, the Spirit of God helps us understand the Word of God. After all, He is the author of Scripture. He gives us understanding and teaches us concerning Christ. As we read the Bible, we ask God to open our eyes to truth and to reveal His Son to us; it is the Spirit of God who makes the truth plain to us.

The Holy Spirit Speaks to Us—

Acts 13:2

“While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said…”

God speaks to us! The Holy One imparts wisdom, knowledge, direction, encouragement, truth, and comfort to His children. This is one of the greatest truths in the Bible. Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice.” (John 10:27).  

Yes, Girls, we can know the voice of God. He does speak to us through His Word and in our hearts. He will never lead or guide us to do anything that dishonors God’s name, contradicts His Holy character or His Word.

The Holy Spirit Produces a Love for God —

Romans 8:15

“You did not receive a spirit of fear, but your received a Spirit of Sonship. And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.”

When we receive God’s spirit, we are born again as children of God. This produces in us a love for God. Now, we see God as  “Abba”—Hebrew  for “Daddy.” Our whole mindset towards God is one of love and affection.  

The Holy Spirit Sanctifies  (Transforming Us into the Likeness of Christ) –

2 Thess. 2:13“We ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the spirit…”

From the moment of our new birth, the Holy Spirit is at work in us to produce Christ-like character. This transformation, called “sanctification” is the process in which we overcome the old sinful nature and become more like Christ, who is Holy.  It is important to remember that sanctification is a life-long process. We participate in the process by surrendering to God’s spirit, studying His word, praying, and daily remaining connected to Christ. Overtime, we will resemble the Radiant One, Jesus Christ, because of His Spirit’s transforming power in us.

The Holy Spirit Produces Christ’s Character (Fruit)—

Galatians 5:22-23

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

I believe this is one of the most misunderstood and misapplied scriptures in the whole Bible. So often you will hear teachers say, “A Christian should strive to be loving or joyful.” Yet, the truth is that we cannot change in our own power.

We need Jesus and His Spirit living in us to produce Godly character.  The fruit of the Spirit is the evidence that someone is controlled by God’s Spirit. For instance, an apple tree doesn’t strive or strain to produce apples. No, the natural result of its nature is apple production. Likewise, when we indwelled and filled with God’s Spirit, then the natural  “produce” of our lives is His character (or fruit).

The Holy Spirit Equips Us with Spiritual Gifts—

1 Corinthians 12:4-7

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.”

Every believer is equipped with gifts of the Spirit to use for the glory of God. The purpose of these gifts is to testify of Christ and to build up the church. Every one of us is empowered for service in God’s Kingdom. You have a special role to play in glorifying His name. Don’t hide your gifts—let them shine!


After much deliberation, I decided my living room’s theme would be “Texas Chic.” Or at least, that’s how I described the look I was going for to my friend who volunteered to decorate. I suppose I should mention that I bought my first house this year.  Yep, It’s official…I’m a big girl now.  

Girlfriends, let me just say for the record that I had no idea the amount of time, money, and effort it was going to take to get settled into my new place. Weeks after I moved, I was still living out of boxes, and the only furniture that I owned was my bedroom furniture from college. No one warned me about the nesting gene that women have. I was completely unprepared for the phenomenon that would overcome me once I had my own house. All of a sudden, I needed, desperately needed to watch the sundry of home improvement and the decorating programs on television. Seriously, I was obsessed. Obsessed, broke, and did I mention living out of boxes?

If I’m honest, the television shows did more harm than good. They left me too overwhelmed with options to make a decision. Should each “space” be modern, classic, traditional, or contemporary? So many choices!!! The whole process of choosing paint colors, picking furniture, and deciding on one decorating style was more than I could handle. I found it strange that I had no problem committing to a 30-year mortgage, but for the life of me, I couldn’t commit to a sofa. I know. It’s crazy. 

 I forgot to mention that I moved during one of my busiest ministry seasons. So even though I longed for my home to feel settled, I was at my wits end as to how I could get it all done in the midst of traveling, speaking, and writing. Then God sent me a decorating “Angel.” My precious friend (whose name happens to be Angel), sensing the dilemma that I was in, stepped in and said, “Just let me handle it. I’ll get everything arranged and decorated for you.” 

Halleluiah!

The girl’s got skills. She is super creative and knows my personality so well. All she needed from me was a decorating theme. That’s where the idea of “Texas Chic” was born.  I saw this photo of wild horses running and fell in love with the passion captured by the photographer, so I asked Angel to decorate my living room around that print. 

So one day while I was away on a speaking engagement, my friend created her own version of the show, “While You Were Out.” While I was out, she and a few other friends performed the most amazing decorating transformation you can imagine. My living room went from feeling like a bland and boring asylum to fabulous Texas chic in a day. 

Like I said, the girl’s got skills. Everything is so “me” without “me” having to do the work. When I walked in for the “big reveal,” I was truly blown away by all the hard work and little touches she accomplished on such a small budget. She completely captured the theme without it feeling obnoxious or over the top. My favorite detail is a Texas star that she positioned atop my armoire.  Decorators say that lighting is the key and I agree. The room looks it’s best when the lights are dim and only the star is shining bright. 

A few days after the makeover, I realized another benefit to the star—it served as a fabulous nightlight. Since I must walk through the living room to get to the kitchen at night, the star shines in the darkness so I can easily navigate around furniture. 

However, one night I woke up and needed something to drink. I stumbled down the hall towards the kitchen, entering the living room, I discovered it pitch black. The star wasn’t shining. I couldn’t see anything. Panic ensued. No, not because I’m afraid of the dark, but because I feared the star’s light had permanently gone out. You see, Angel found the star in a clearance bin at Pottery Barn, so I knew I couldn’t get another one and was anxious that my favorite decorating detail was broken.

Then it dawned on me…check the plug! 

Yay! Decorating catastrophe averted. The star was simply unplugged from it’s power source.  As I was plugging the cord into the electric outlet, I thought, “this is why so many Christians struggle to live as the light of Christ in the world—we aren’t plugged into our power source. Although God called us to be lights in the darkness, we fail so often because we are unplugged and trying to shine in our own power.”

A Christian’s power source is the Holy Spirit of God. God didn’t just save us from our sin and give us eternal life; He also gave us the power to glorify Him. In order to understand how to stay plugged in, I will explain who the Holy Spirit is, how He empowers us to live the Christian life, and what two potential barriers that often limit the Spirit’s power. 

The Power Source

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, Oh God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” Psalm 42:1-2

To best understand the Holy Spirit’s role as our power source, we must return briefly to the heart of our faith: our desperate need for God.  Psalm 42 clearly articulates the human condition. We thirst for God. Thirst is defined as: painfully feeling the want of something, or to eagerly long for something. Just as God created within each of us a thirst mechanism for water and a hunger mechanism for food, so He also placed with our souls a thirst for Him. We are created by Him and for Him. 

Born into sin, we are separated from God and continually feel the want until this relationship is restored. Blaise Pascal famously said, “Man was created with a God-shaped hole in his soul that can only be filled by God Himself.” To remedy this problem, Jesus, God Himself, stepped into creation, took on human flesh and brought about the reconciliation of God and man through His sacrificial death. 

During Jesus’ earthly ministry, He addressed our fundamental problem and invited all thirsty souls to come to Him to find true life. He said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, “out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:37-38) 

The context of this statement is the annual Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. Each year, the Jewish people would celebrate how the Lord provided for their every need during their forty-year wilderness journey.  As you can imagine, God providing water in a barren dessert for millions of people was a pretty big deal. This was a joyful feast, rich with symbolism. 

On the last and “greatest day of the feast,” the High Priest would lead the people in a procession from the Temple through Jerusalem to the Pool of Siloam. Here, he would fill a pitcher with water, and the procession would continue back to the Temple—every step of the journey in complete silence.  Then, amidst thousands of worshipers, the High Priest would pour the water out onto the altar—an act of worship that acknowledged God alone as the source of life.

At that precise moment, Jesus stood, and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink”  (You just gotta’ love Jesus, He’s not subtle.) There, in the midst of the pomp and pageantry of religion, He revealed that He was the fulfillment of the symbol. He alone is the Living Water that quenches the thirst of man. 

In case you think the procession just carried on its merry way, think again. The entire city was silent when the Son of God shouted his message.  His hearers did not miss Jesus’ meaning. He had the audacity to claim equality with God and set himself forth as the solution to humanities greatest need. Don’t let anyone ever tell you that Jesus never claimed to be God. He knew exactly who He was and why He was sent.

Jesus’ invites thirsty souls to “come and drink.” To drink means to believe. Friends, this invitation is more than mere “head knowledge.” To drink implies to experience, to trust and to depend upon Him. When we come to Jesus and drink of the Living Water, we forsake other fountains, admitting that they will never truly satisfy.  Trusting in Jesus for life is what it means to be a Christian. 

Notice what Jesus said next…

“Jesus said, ‘Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow within him.’ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive.” John 7:38-39

God recognizes that forgiveness of sin is not enough to cure the human condition; we need a new nature, with new desires and new ability if we are to glorify Him. This new nature is the Holy Spirit of God living within us. Just as Jesus promised, whoever believes in Him receive His Spirit. 

God knows that we can’t live radiant lives without His power. As I tell women all the time, if we could glorify God on our own, then the cross wouldn’t have been necessary and Jesus wouldn’t have bothered to send us His Spirit. That’s why the Apostle Paul said in Colossians 1:27, “it is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Our only hope to live glorious lives comes through the power of God living in us.

“When Jesus said, ‘You are the light,’ we hear, “you are the light,” and we think the light has to come from us. So we try to generate the light ourselves. After a few attempts, it should become obvious that we just don’t have the power. But we keep trying anyway. The Scripture says, ‘In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.’ This is a massive principle to remember: The light comes only from the life—the life of Christ in us.”—Shine: Make Them Wonder What You’ve Got by The Newsboys

Christianity is not a self-improvement religion in which one tries really hard to do better, to work harder, or to be good. A genuine follower of Jesus says, "I can't do it.”  I need Jesus and His Spirit working in me if I’m going to glorify God.”  Girls, we must come to the end of ourselves and recognize that we don't have the power to glorify God on our own.  By faith, we believe in Jesus and He puts His Spirit within us, enabling us to shine brightly as lights in the darkness. 

©MarianJordan2010

Dreaded.  You know, “The Questions” that you are forced to answer over and over again since they are asked by almost everyone you encounter when you return home for the holidays.  When I was in college, the questions were: “What’s your major?”, “Do you have a boyfriend?”, and “What do you want to do with your life?” Once I graduated, the theme stayed the same, but the questions were tweaked slightly.  “Do you have a job?” “Are you married yet?”  “Is your job on a career path?” Now that I am married, I get: “Do you have children?” and “Do you still work?”

I never realized that the whole of my existence could be summed up in just 2 or 3 questions.  Sometimes I think that maybe I should just write my replies on a nametag and be done with it.  Then if they work for someone, she or he can stop and talk to me.  I think the real issue, though, is do my answers work for me.  Do I believe those questions, or rather my answers, justify my existence?  Or am I just the waste of air that deep down I am so afraid that I am?

But Jesus . . . it is hard for me to imagine that Jesus would leave what I can only picture as His posh spot in heaven to come down and suffer being human for 33 years just so that He could be with me.  Without Him, I must endeavor to justify my existence, to tilt the scales to read “good” or “worthy of love.”  But with Him, it has all been done.  Now I am His chosen one, holy and dearly loved, called to spend my life by His grace coming to know Him in the most intimate way. (Col. 3:12) That is the purpose of my life and His sacrifice is my justification for living.

So, let’s try those questions again, this time keeping our identity in Christ in mind . . . . They all boil down to: Are you lovable?  Do you have a purpose? Are you important? Are you making a contribution to this world?

And for the answers:  “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8) “He rescued me because he delighted in me.” (1 Sam. 22:20)  Am I loveable?  Absolutely, by the grace of God.

Do you have a purpose?  Yes—“the chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying him forever.” (Westminster Catechism, altered by John Piper)  

Are you important? Yes, you are so important to God that he sent his son to die so that you and I could have a relationship with Him.  Yet, our importance is nothing compared with God and his glory.  We are but ashes and dust apart from him.

And, finally, if you are living by faith, you will be contributing to this world: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph. 2:10)

Sadly, it doesn’t take much to distract me…
 
I wake up to spend time with the Lord. Go to grab my Bible, journal and books from the living room…
          See husbands shoes, wallet and keys laying in the floor…
                   Take the “droppings” to the bedroom to be put away…
                             See an unmade bed that MUST be made…
                                      See my phone w/ 4 text messages and 18 emails...
                                                Grab it and begin multi-tasking…
                                                          Stomach growls. Need to eat!
                                                Sit down with my bowl of Cheerios, only to realize, the Bread                                               of Life from which I was so easily distracted!!
                                  Quietly bow before the Lord asking HIM to order my steps today.
                             Finish my cereal and banish my phone and computer back to the bedroom.
                   Snuggle up on the couch to spend time with the Lover of My Soul.
          Spend time praising Him, studying His Word and asking Him to renew my mind, body and soul which are prone to wander.
Re-start my day asking the Lord to keep me in step with His Spirit so that my life isn’t lived in my own strength or for my own agenda/ambitions/glory.
 
This Christmas, the desire of my heart is to keep in step with His Spirit. Resting when He wants me to rest. Praising when He desires my praise. Giving of my time and energy to my family, when He nudges me out of my comfortable to-do list. Sacrificially giving to those in need.
 
This idea of keeping in step with the Spirit hit home for the me this Christmas. It was the first day of Christmas vacation when I heard a knock at the door. I was cozy in my bed (actually spending time w/ God NOT distracted for once!?!). My husband, Joel, opened the door to find a man and woman standing on our front porch asking to rake our lawn. Joel and I had literally JUST planned on raking it ourselves over the break and so he kindly declined their help.
 
I asked who was at the door and Joel replied immediately “It was a homeless man and his wife. They wanted to rake our yard…I totally should have let them!” We both looked at each other and knew we had to go track them down. I threw on some shoes and we hopped in the car. About 3 blocks away we saw the man and his wife, whom we now know as Wallace and Rosina. We loaded them in our car and headed back to the house. They were sweet as could be and worked so hard unearthing our lawn from the fall leaves. We chatted with them a while, paid them for their work, and gave them a book that explained how to become a Christian and a basket of fruit and told them to come back again someday.
 
Two days past and we couldn’t get these new friends off our minds. Never before had we seen such hard work and been so burdened to be a blessing to someone in such need. They came back again that Saturday, this time while they worked in the yard, Joel helped them and I gathered blankets and cooked a warm lunch. We got to hear a little bit more of their story over tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Then we had some prayer time for them.
 
Our conversation over lunch confirmed in mine and Joel’s hearts that THIS was a blessing we could have missed.
 
THIS was what it looked like to keep in step with the Spirit.
THIS is what it means for the Lord to bless us in order for us to be a blessing to others.
THIS is what it means to LIVE out the Gospel tangibly to a hurting world.
 
Joel and I have decided we will continue developing a relationship with Wallace and Rosina. We just saw them this morning and were able to give them some Christmas gifts to keep them warm and some fresh bread. Rosina said she is beginning to see God’s work in their lives and they are hopeful for what He wants to do in their lives.
 
We want to be available to be used by the Lord in the lives of whomever, whenever. But, it takes intentional effort NOT to get so distracted!!
 
What things are distracting you this Christmas? How will you lay those things down in order to keep Christ and His plans for you first in your heart?

“Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep….Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.’ And he was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.’”  Genesis 28:10-11, 16-17

Each year around November 28, at some point during the middle stages of Thanksgiving weekend (usually with my fork in mid-air as I take another bite of leftover pumpkin or pecan pie), my thoughts begin to race to the tune of Carol of the Bells.  And they go something like this: “It’s Christmas time. You’re so behind. Get off your rear.  Get into gear.  Address Christmas cards.  Wrap Christmas gifts.  Find the perfect gift that brings your mom to tears.  Hurry Hurry Hurry, it is Christmas.  Do not stop to sleep, it is Christmas.  You are so behind, it is Christmas!!!” 

And until the last gift has been unwrapped on December 25, we have made the annual pilgrimage to Brenham to my in-laws’ farm, and I have sunk wearily onto the couch to try to enjoy the last vestiges of the day, that song plays through my head more often than it should.  To be honest, the Christmas season feels more like a rat race than a hallowed pondering of my Savior’s birth.

But that is what it should be: a hallowed pondering.  A sacred pause throughout the entire Advent season to consider Christ.  To reflect upon the beauty of His Person, the Greatness of His Gift, and the Awesomeness of His Humility.  Gift buying, Christmas card addressing, friend-visiting, and party-going should all play second fiddle to the tune of mystery and majesty that rings through the cosmos each and every day.

But how does one make that happen in a very real, fast-paced Christmas season?  I have heard the Biblical character (and he is a character, believe me) Jacob described as the most post-modern man in the Old Testament.  His whole life is spent searching for his identity and the approval of his father.  He is a seeker, a swindler, a runner, a fugitive, and finally, he is a man who encounters God.  Or, rather, God encounters Jacob smack dab in the middle of his running, and Jacob is never the same. 

At one of the lowest points of his life, exiled from his family, a man on the run, with nothing to his name except the clothes on his body and the rock under his head posing as a pillow, Jacob falls into a restless sleep and dreams.  And in his dream, God appears to him as a ladder reaching to heaven upon which the angels are ascending and descending.  The ladder is none other than a picture of the pre-Incarnate Christ Himself, and Jacob realizes, when he awakes, what he has seen is the very gate to heaven. 

Jacob was a privileged dreamer.  In the thousands of years before His birth, no one else saw the picture of Christ as the ladder and the gate quite like Jacob did.  But you and I are different.  Through the pages of Scripture and with the help of the Holy Spirit, you and I are able to see Christ, the ladder, the door, and the gate to the very House of God each and every day.  This is what Christ meant when He said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:7-9). 

So each and every day, stop.  Open Scripture.  Pray.  And pause to ponder the reality of Christ who came to earth as the very door to the House of God, to the House where He has gone to prepare a place for all of those who love Him and call upon His Name.  The rush and rat-race of Christmas will continue in the world around us, but our response is to go to the very Door of Life, lift its handle, and enter in.  The Father Himself is waiting. 

It is tragic if you have not seen this movie. Because we are friends, I will ignore this lapse in judgment, but you must promise me that you will not let this next Christmas season go by without watching it. Trust me, it is worth it. So for those of you who haven’t seen the movie, let me give you a quick trailer.

The film takes place in the fictional town of Bedford Falls shortly after World War II and stars Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey, a man whose attempted suicide on Christmas Eve gains the attention of a guardian angel, Clarence, who is sent to help him in his hour of need. Most of the film is told through flashbacks spanning George's entire life and narrated by unseen angels who are preparing Clarence for his mission to save George. Through these flashbacks we see all the people whose lives have been touched by George and the difference he has made to the community in which he lives.

Ironically, George Bailey is a man who walked through the wilderness of unmet desire. He longed for a life of adventure, he desired to travel and see the world. Yet George’s life was confined to Bedford Falls, and he never did stretch his wings and fly away. I love the last scene of this movie. In it he discovers his life is not one of disappointment but rather divine appointment. Surrounded by his family and friends, George Bailey realizes it is a really good thing that life didn’t go according to his plan.  For there was a better plan for George Bailey, and it took an angel in need of wings to reveal this truth to him.

A few years ago during my Christmas tradition I drifted off to sleep somewhere after George Bailey crashed his car. But I wasn’t asleep long before I was awakened by a noise. Once awake I realized it was the sound of burglars breaking into our house!  No, I wasn’t dreaming about the Grinch, these were real-life present stealers sneaking in to steal Christmas. Wide-eyed and frightened, I jump off the couch and did the only thing this Texas girl knew to do in a situation like this, I yelled, “Daddy, get the gun!”

Those four words sent those two would-be present bandits running for the county line. It seems my dad’s gun collection is infamous to more than just my ex-boyfriends. So when I yelled for armed backup, the robbers bolted out the door.

Over an hour later, after the police came and went, and the tree was double checked for missing trinkets, I found myself back on the couch where the whole ordeal began. Wrapped in a blanket and watching George Bailey discover…it is a wonderful life.

There was absolutely no way I was going to fall asleep after that ordeal.  My heart was pounding so loudly I could hear the thud. And then my imagination began to take over, and I played through my mind all of the “what ifs” of the evening. I needed to rest but I was too wound-up and freaked-out to get any shut eye.

I stared at the TV for another ten minutes before I heard the sound of dad walking through the house. His walk is unmistakable. A small man he is not, so when he is coming—you know it. Dad came in the family room where I was watching TV and took a seat in his chair.

There is something about dad’s presence. Almost instantly, I lowered my head onto the sofa cushion and watched as Bedford Falls celebrated George’s return home and the saving of the old Building and Loan. It is one of my favorite moments in movie history. I especially enjoyed the sweetness of it this night. For that scene says, “Everything is going to be OK.”

And something in my heart felt that was the case. For when my dad entered the room and sat in his chair, my worried heart ceased fretting and my breathing returned to the slow deep breaths of the weary. Within minutes I was fast asleep.

Reflecting on that night I know there was a deep connection between my ability to rest and my belief. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that with my father in the room I was completely safe. Nothing and no one would harm me. My confidence in that truth told my worried heart to “fret not” and my anxious mind to fear not—all would be just fine. And this girl went fast to sleep. 

Living with unmet desires is much the same. It’s so easy to get wound up with the “what ifs” of the future. When we let ourselves go there and dwell in worry, life becomes miserable. I truly believe the lesson of Psalm 37 is this…chill out. When we start believing that God does care about our hearts and he still knows how to run the Universe, then we can stop our fretting and rest.  I know I too will have a “wonderful life” because my Heavenly Father sits on “his chair”…which just happens to be his throne in heaven.

Looking back over the wilderness season, I can honestly say the area I’ve changed the most is this: I am a woman at rest. God has so proven his faithfulness that I am far less likely to worry and fret about my unmet desires or the unknown future. What’s changed? I know God’s “no” in my past was the best thing that ever happened to me. As a result, I trust him even more with my future. I rest believing God’s plan is far better than my plan.  While his way may not align with my way or come to pass on my timetable, I can cease fretting because I know God is good. I know he is in control. And most importantly, I know I can trust him.

excerpt from Wilderness Skills for Women by Marian Jordan

It’s a unique mission, carrying a child. There’s not much you can do or control; a pregnancy has a built-in waiting time. Imagine Mary, overwhelmed with the fear and honor of carrying the Messiah, in awe that she has been chosen by God. The reality of her mission is upon her, but instead of a call to action, she is given a time to wait. Think about it; Mary couldn’t really make a move to speed up this process or get on with the project. She was given a call, but she was also given time to remain and prepare. After discovering her pregnancy, God provided Mary with a safe haven, her cousin Elizabeth’s house, where she could process the craziness and get comfort from a friend.

Luke’s words remind me of those in 2 Samuel 6, where we find the story of the ark of the Lord(a really important symbol of God’s presence in the Old Testament) was being moved to the tabernacle. Before it could move there, it had to remain in a house for three months. In this story, David was given a mission - to carry the ark into the city and place it in the tabernacle, and the task was overwhelming. At one point he is losing it, and cries out, “How can the ark of the Lord come into my care?” The mission seemed too big, but God allowed space and time – three months to be exact – to prepare David to fulfill the task before him.

David remained three months while carrying the ark of God, and centuries later Mary remained for three months while carrying the Messiah. Two thousand years later this tiny verse hits us, busy with Christmas craziness and trying to live God mission in our lives. Living for Christ requires action, to be sure. But sometimes God’s first call is not to action, but to remain. Before we can move, we must let the work that God is doing develop in our hearts. We must remain just like the infant Jesus stayed and grew inside his mother, just like the ark waited in the house, just like Mary lingered with Elizabeth. We must remain so that when we return, the time will be right for the plan that God has been working out all along. The question breathes through the centuries: where is your house of waiting, your friend, your safe haven? Where will you remain this Christmas?

This month our transformation blog will focus on the Incarnation. That's a big theological term meaning "God in the Flesh"....or rather, the Incarnation is what Christmas is all about. One of my favorite songs of Christmas is "Mary Did You Know." It is both haunting and beautiful. As I was researching for a talk that I'm giving tomorrow night on Mary, I ran across this video. Absolutely Captivating! Of course i had to share. I pray as you watch it you worship the One, King Jesus, who is both Prince of Peace and Mighty God! Never forget the reason for the season.

Mary did you know from John van Leeuwen on Vimeo.

So today’s doctor’s visit was no different.  In one way, it was routine.  I knew what to pack in the medium-sized canvas bag I always take to Lillian’s doctor visits.  It had its fair share of pictures for her to color, books for us to read, and snacks for us to share during the invariable wait that lay ahead.  And, as always, Lillian was a champ.  She was polite and cooperative with the doctor, made each of the nurses smile, and left with a lollipop in one hand and her daddy’s hand in the other.

Yet the diagnosis was different.  In the past, we have received news about Lillian concerning her lungs, her heart, and her brain. Today the diagnosis concerned her hearing.  Off and on, for the past several months, my husband and I have wondered if Lillian’s hearing was impaired or if it was only a chronic case of three-year-old “selective hearing.”  But the doctor confirmed that Lillian has fluid build-up in her inner-ear, which causes her to hear the world around her as if two fingers were stuffed into each side of her head. She doesn’t hear soft sounds, and at times it is difficult for her to hear loud sounds.  And what we, in the past, have thought was just an ability unique to her personality to focus well on the task at hand could very well be a by-product of her inability to hear.  She has learned to shut off the world without and retreat within, to a place she can hear.

Thankfully, Lillian’s hearing problem is easily fixed.  With minor surgery, the doctor will drain the fluid, place tubes in her ears, and remove her adenoids (part of the lymph node system), and Lillian’s hearing should be as good as new in no time.

Yet as I pulled home into the driveway, unloaded the canvas bag, and tucked Lillian into her bed for her nap, I felt an ache tugging at the edges of my thankfulness.  An ache as I remembered the countless times she asked me, “Mommy, please turn the music up,” with my response being, “No, Lillian, you can hear the music; it is loud enough.”  An ache as I recalled my frustration at having to repeat directions four or five times, the last time with impatience in my tone and frustration in my eyes.  And an ache as I could hear myself calling her name for the tenth time when her back was turned to me, inevitably ending in me saying in a rising tone, “Lillian!  LISTEN to me!” when all the time she could not hear what I was saying.

As I remembered all of these things, the ache in my heart made its way to tears in my eyes as I reflected upon all the ways my Heavenly Father has responded to the deafness in my heart through the years.  Instead of responding in frustration and impatience when I do not listen, He does not shout at me, or turn away from me, or give up on me.  He stands at the door and gently knocks until I can hear (Revelation 3:14).  And when the hurt or pain of life or the sorrow and consequences of sin have deafened my ears to His Voice, He calls my name in love until I respond once again.

And my only response was, and is, “Thank You.  Thank You for being the Parent who always loves, always protects, always hopes, always forgives, always patiently understands.  Forgive me for all of the ways I have hurt Lillian and You because I have not been willing to follow Your example and patiently listen, knock, and hear.”
 
So this Thanksgiving, I am thankful.  I am thankful for doctors who are willing to use their God-given knowledge and skills to heal.  I am thankful for easy access to the Medical Center and for the vast array of doctors and specialists we have here in Houston.  I am thankful for a child who sweetly responds to all of the ways God has chosen to draw her to Himself.  I am thankful fo r my husband who never misses an appointment and never fails to first to fall to his knees, and then to comfort, console, and yet be an immovable rock all at the same time.  And I am thankful for my God.  For my God who loves my child enough to place His mark and His Hand upon her.  For my God who is faithful to remind us that Lillian is His, not ours.  And for my God who patiently and lovingly parents me, even when, and especially when, I cannot hear.

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Psalm 103:1-5

My mother’s breakfast table overlooks my favorite fall panorama: a red horse barn canopied by golden trees on a carpet of rolling hills. Sitting here amidst the sounds of my loud and crazy family, I can’t help but think of all the many things for which I have to be thankful.  The usual list comes to mind this time of year: family, friends, health, freedom, forgiveness, life…

Yet, as I ponder these blessings, the one thing my heart is most grateful for is the comfort I have in knowing God is Sovereign. I realize this sounds rather theological and a little bit philosophical at a time of year that typically focuses on football rivalries and the oh-so-great stuffing vs. dressing debate.   But, I’ll be honest...no truth gives my soul more rest or my mind more peace than remembering that the God I know and love is firmly established on His throne—ruling and reigning.  For this truth I am ever thankful.

Why, you ask?

I suppose I’ve walked through enough of life’s setbacks and storms to realize how thankful I am that God is God…and I am not. I am thankful for the old cliché of “unanswered prayers,” and I’m forever grateful that I can reflect back on my life and see how “God has worked all things for good.”  God’s sovereignty means He is in control…even when life seems out of control.

Just recently, I sat with a friend overlooking another beautiful landscape in a far different land—India. As we sat crossed legged on a porch swing overlooking miles of golden wheat fields, soaking in the beauty of our experiences there, I turned to my friend and said, “and just think…I would have missed this.” 

What I meant of course is that I would have missed out on that incredible blessing if life had turned out according to “plan Marian.” I would have missed it…the amazing, unexpected, unplanned life that God sovereignly chose for me. 

That moment of gratitude for God’s sovereignty was a culmination of many other moments in the past few years, all of which resulted from seeing the beauty of His plan unfold. You see, in so many marvelous ways my life did not turn out according to “my plan.” Nothing in my life has turned out as predicted, but the outcome has been so much more glorious. As a result of this unexpected life that I live, I have a deep abiding love and gratitude for the sovereignty of God. The aspect of His character that reminds me that He has a plan and He is at work even when I don’t quite understand.

I’ll be honest.  Long before I became thankful for the Lord’s sovereignty, I learned to trust in His goodness and His love. None of God’s attributes can be separated from one another. In order for His plan and direction to be the desire of my soul, I first had to come to a deep and abiding belief that “He is good and His love endures forever.”  My journey with Jesus over the past few years has been one of learning over and over again these truths.  To believe in every situation and every turn in the road that I can trust the One who leads me is the secret to believing that His path is far more glorious than any trail I could blaze for myself.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

It seemed to me that there was no goal worthier or even holier than perfection.My striving meant that I was no slouch.I was one of those who were driven, who really did try, and who wouldn’t rest until I got it right.

Yet, all perfectionism did was make me a bear to be around, and I discovered that I wasn’t so much trying to please God as I was trying not to need him­­­­. Sometimes I thought if I could only overcome one last little sin, I would arrive and triumphantly enter my sin-free existence.Ironically, I was endeavoring to make myself not need a savior.Why did I think my self-sufficiency sounded so Christian?

I was wrong on so many accounts.My goal shouldn’t have been perfection, but Jesus. It is hard to rest in my Savior’s loving arms when I am working so hard to show him I am worthy of his love. I am just beginning to understand what Jesus meant when he said, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:30)

Now I also see that he meant what he said when he uttered, “My strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:9) Once I accepted my imperfect self, it was much easier to see how desperately I needed Jesus in every area of my life and then to rejoice when he somehow radiated through me in my weakness for God’s glory.

In this season of Thanksgiving, I am so thankful for a God who recycles my junk and uses it for His glory.I am thankful for a Lord who promises to bring me rest, who encourages me to step off the treadmill and let Him carry me a while.I am thankful for a Savior who sees all of my imperfections and asks me not to get it together, but rather to hand it over to him. I hope that you have already discovered the cornucopia of grace that is our Abba God.May his peace bless you and yours this Thanksgiving.

I’ve never felt more ancient. There I sat with my girlfriends, our shared bag of M&Ms, and a huge bag of popcorn for what women around the world have awaited now for months: the premier of New Moon, the second installation in the Twilight Saga.

When I say I felt ancient, I mean really, really, really old. Besides my girl friends, I was the only person over the age of 15 in our theatre, which was packed to overflowing.  It was like a middle school field trip and I must confess, I loved every minute of it!

While watching New Moon I found myself as much entertained by the audience as the movie. The moment Edward Cullen appeared on screen, walking with his hypnotic stare towards Bella (in slow motion I might add), the screams in the theatre would rival any National Championship sporting event. There is a reason girls are cheerleaders—it was rocking in that place. I kept waiting for someone to do a round-off-flip-flop, but alas I had to settle for jumping and squealing.

Let me just say from the start. I get it if parents and pastors alike have issue with a story that focuses on vampires. So before you post comments on this blog, I want to set that debate aside for just a sec and look at what this character, Edward Cullen reveals to us about young women.  In case you’ve missed the big news flash, he’s quite a hit with the ladies. Take Elvis, the Beatles, New Kids, and Brad Pitt….roll them into one, and you still don’t have the draw, the magnetism, or the sheer adulation that girls have for…wait for it…Edward.

So…what’s the big deal about Edward…besides the obvious fact that he’s gorgeous? I believe the Twilight sensation is far more than a zillion teenage crushes on one good looking guy, oh-no, this phenomenon reveals something far greater at work.

The Twilight Saga has awakened in young women something that has been sleeping for a few generations. Girls are realizing, maybe for the first time, what it means to be feminine.  To be a woman who wants to be rescued, loved, and protected…and that these feelings are okay.  Just think! The generation of girls that has only known courtship in which they pursue, they text, and they flat-out take the lead are now being schooled on what romance was meant to be…and they LOVE IT!

As a girl who grew up in the wake of the feminist movement, in which we were taught that a woman was supposed to have the same desires, same abilities, and the same drives as a man…well, that brainwashing led an entire generation to disdain her feminine nature that longed to be treated as a girl. You know, the part of her that wanted the strong, capable, fearless, leader to sweep in and defend and provide.

In God’s design there are different roles for men and women.  Sadly, most young women have been led to believe that her God-given design is wrong and that she needs to be or must be other than how she was created.  God didn’t create a woman to be a man and he certainly didn’t create a man to be a woman.

I, for one, am thrilled that young women have a picture once again of a man. A MAN who will sacrifice his desires, restrain his passions, protect and defend. We’ve been fed a diet of weak and emasculated men for so long that we’ve forgotten what a real man looks like.  Just thinking about the TV and movie characters that shaped my teenage years brings to mind images of passive, weak-willed and selfish men. (Take Ross and Chandler from Friends for example.) These guys lacked conviction, gumption and any real sense of leadership.  And people scratch their heads and wonder why girls are going gaga over Edward…is this really such a mystery?

I highly recommend to any girl (or guy for that matter) interested in this subject to read Elisabeth Elliot’s book, Passion and Purity. In it she confronts the blatant disregard in our culture for our divine design as men and women and how this indifference sabotages the relationships we all truly desire.

http://www.amazon.com/Passion-Purity-Learning-Christs-Control/dp/0800758188

One thing I love about the holidays is visiting my family.  This year, Mike and I are headed to spend Thanksgiving out in the hills of Blanco, TX with my parents.  If the season has been kind enough, some of the vibrant wildflowers of the Texas Hill Country will have lasted into the fall.  I love driving the winding back roads that seem to go on forever, watching the sky and searching for sunflowers.

I did a little Internet research on Sunflowers recently. They are interesting plants because when they are young, they exhibit heliotropism.  At sunrise, the faces of most sunflowers are turned towards the east. Over the course of the day, they move to track the sun from east to west, while at night they return to an eastward orientation (I got this information, of course, from Wikipedia).

This is a good picture of faith for us.  Hebrews 11 defines faith as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”   Sometimes we think of faith as something we have, but it can be argued that faith is also something we do.  In Ancient Greek (the language in which the New Testament was written) the word faith – pistis – is the same root for the action word believe – pisteuo.  It means, “faith-ing” or exercising your faith.  But what does that look like?  After the writer of Hebrews defines faith, he gives a list of examples of people who exercised their faith.  At the end of that list, He says “Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12: 1b-2a).  Jesus is the pioneer of our faith in that He is the source and beginning of it.  He is also the perfecter of our faith because as we continue on our journey with God, we look to him to sustain our faith.

In Numbers 21 there is a story where the people of Israel are hit with a plague that was brought by poisonous snakes, a plague that came upon them because they did not believe God would provide for them.  God instructed Moses to raise a bronze serpent on a pole, and whenever one of the sick people gazed on the pole, they would be healed.   Jesus later said in John 3:14-15, Jesus compares himself to this snake saying, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” 

Faith is not a one-time statement of belief to which I sign my name when I become a Christian.  Faith is my soul’s constant gaze upon God.  Just as the Israelites looked up at the bronze serpent, to exercise our faith is to look to Jesus.

The sunflower can teach us a lot.  Its face follows the sun because the sun is its source, its energy, which gives it the ability to grow as it should. In the same way, we must turn our gaze toward Jesus Christ who is our source, who gives us the ability to develop and become more like Him.  When we focus less on ourselves, and more on him, we will find that the things we are trying so hard to accomplish are being accomplished in us (Philippians 2:13)

Hebrews 12 shows great balance.  “Fixing our eyes on Jesus” allows him to work out faith in the onlooker’s life. “Let us run with perseverance” shows that the runner does not stop and blankly stare; rather, as he goes, He focuses on the example and love of Christ which empowers Him to continue on. I want to run, always focusing the gaze of my heart on the one who gives me the strength to keep going.   I want to be a jogging sunflower.

Smells of autumnal delights float through the air to wake up the Calvert family on Thanksgiving morning. My mom is always hard at work whipping up a wonderful feast…I think I need to help her this year—it’s time to grow up…we lounge around in our pj’s until the very last second—a few minutes 'til noon—and then throw on something presentable before strangers/soon-to-be friends, arrive. You see, I grew up in West Virginia with the closest relative living over 9 hours away. So, to make our holidays more full of love, my parents would randomly select other people whom they knew didn’t have a family to go home to. One year it was our friend Gwen and her friend from work. Another year it was Ted, a recent widower. And still another year a woman my mom adopted as her mom-away-from-home and all her kids. Whichever year it was, there was always guaranteed new friends for which to be thankful.
One tradition my dad began years ago was passing an ear of dried corn around and having everyone pull out a few kernels. During the cold winter months the pilgrims sometimes only had a few kernels of corn to get by on! For each kernel that we grabbed we were to share something we were thankful for. It’s always helped keep a grateful perspective on the delicious food we are about to dive into.
I will look forward to carrying on these traditions as I grow older and have a family for my own. This year we will head back to WV to yet again make new friends and be thankful for what God has given us. We are SO blessed!!!
 
  

Greek follows a brother and sister duo as they navigate the twists and turns of sorority and fraternity life on campus. At first, I watched it purely for “research.” Considering the fact that I spend the majority of my existence speaking to college women, I reasoned that I needed a refresher course on all things greek; seeing as it’s been, oh, let me think, a few years now since I donned my Chi Omega letters. Labeling my TV time as “research” makes me feel better about the hour I’ve wasted. If I can turn it into something productive…like this blog for instance….then I feel a tinsy-bit better about myself. So, instead crashing the next fraternity mixer and taking the whole “cougar” thing to a whole new low, I though watching an episode or two of Greek would be a wiser option. Yet, little did I know that I would soon get sucked into the soap-opera-esque love triangle that emerged in season one between Cassie Cartwright and her two campus loves: Cappy and Evan. Oh-the drama…Oh-the-suspense! So, that’s how my obsession with the show Greek began.

Glee! Just typing the title makes me smile. I heart this show. My niece and I text after each episode to compare notes about our favorite songs. Hands down their rendition of “Single Ladies” by Beyonce is UN-BE-LIVE-ABLE! So good, really. Find it on YouTube, you’ll thank me later. As a former choir geek .I find myself absolutely rooting for the Glee kids to break through their stereotypes and make show choir cool again. It doesn’t hurt that the singing and dancing is just plain fun to watch.

So…I’m sure most of you are asking…what do these television shows have to do with the Gospel? I’m so glad you asked. For starters, let me begin by defining what the Gospel is: It is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe. (Romans 1:16) Translation: When a person places their faith in Jesus Christ (His life, death and resurrection) as substitution for their sins, then that person is saved by grace…not by their own performance or works. As a result of their faith they are transformed. Or, as the Bible says, “we are new creations in Christ.” This is the good news or the Gospel.

Here’s where these television shows come in. As I’ve watched both of them over the last few months I’ve noticed a common theme: both programs depict Christians who don’t know or represent what it truly means to be a Christian…these characters don’t seem to understand the true Gospel at all. On Greek, the so-called Christian character is extremely religious and his view of salvation is one where he must perform to please God and work hard to earn God’s approval. Glee doesn’t prove any better when it comes to defining authentic Christianity. Here, the Christian students are depicted as hypocritical and lacking any real transformation of heart.

My frustration over this issue has prompted me to defend the true Gospel. For that reason I’ve decided to post a teaching that I did recently on the book of Galatians. In Galatians, the Apostle Paul defends the true Gospel to people who were being deceived by a false one. After watching these television shows, I’ve realized the message of Galatians is just as relevant today as it was 2000 years ago. I pray these teachings videos encourage your faith and help you understand the true freedom we have in Christ because of His finished work on the cross.

Faith Brings Freedom Part 1 of 3 from Simon Swee on Vimeo.

Faith Brings Freedom Part 2 of 3 from Simon Swee on Vimeo.

Faith Brings Freedom Part 3 of 3 from Simon Swee on Vimeo.

Edward.  How can one name change so much?  For those of you who are not familiar with the Twilight book series, I will briefly attempt to explain all that is captured in that name.  He is glorious—beautiful, impossibly strong, eternal.  He also is in love.  Bella Swan has captured his impenetrable heart and has redefined his existence.  Now his world is loving her, protecting her. 

Why am I making so much of a vampire?  Because I believe that Stephanie Meyer captured the essence of our hearts’ longings in this book series.  Augustine wrote in his Confessions, “If those who are called philosophers . . . have said [what] is true and in harmony with our faith, we are not only not to shrink from it, but to claim it for our own use from those who have unlawful possession of it.” 

What is the truth that I am claiming for Christ found in Edward?  When I look past his status as a vampire, I see who Jesus desires to be to me.  I am often like Bella, unaware of my soul and in desperate need of love and protection.  Bella always feels safe when she is in Edward’s presence.  She feels like she can deal with life’s worst if he is there with her.  She trusts that he will rescue her, even from herself, and, just like me, she often doubts his love because she does not feel worthy.

I have found my Edward and his name is Jesus. I yearn for life past my mundane existence and Jesus shows me his glory.  I will have life as long as I am with him.  He loves me so passionately that he dies so that I won’t have to be away from him.  When I am afraid and don’t know how I’m going to make it through the pain, Jesus whispers, “I will be with you. ‘Nothing can separate you from my love.’” (Romans 8:39) And that is enough.  Like Bella, I know no heaven where Jesus is not.  It is still hard to believe that he loves me so much.  And I am not worthy to be chosen by him.  But that doesn’t matter.  He has chosen me  . . . and that is enough.  Thank you, Edward.  No, I mean thank you, Jesus.

So of course, I bought it on the spot.  As I listened through the album, one of the songs caught my attention.  It’s track number five, called “Turn it Off.”  Check out some of the lyrics (although they’re better if you listen to Hayley Williams sing them here - http://tinyurl.com/paramore-5 ).

I scraped my knees when I was praying

And found a demon in my safest haven

Seems like it's getting harder to believe in anything

And just to get lost in all my selfish thoughts

I wanna know what it'd be like
To find perfection in my pride

To see nothing in the light

I'll turn it off in all my spite

In all my spite I'll turn it off

It brings up some interesting ideas that are emerging around us today.  I see a trend – with young people especially – that they have given up on religion.  In their book, un-Christian, Dave Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons surveyed sixteen to twenty-nine year olds to discover this generation’s perception of Christianity.  Among the top responses from their research were two words: judgmental and hypocritical.  As Paramore tells us, many young people are disillusioned with Christianity, and they are finding it easier to turn inward to their own thoughts rather than to listen to what Christians may be saying.  In their frustration they have chosen to turn off their desire for God or spirituality.  Just ignore the desire for something greater; just look inside yourself to find what you’re looking for.  Just turn it off.

Ironically, it is within the song itself that we as Christians can find a clue as to how to meet the “Turn it Off” generation where they are.  The song continues…

And the worst part is

Before it gets any better

We're headed for a cliff

And in the free fall I will realize

I'm better off when I hit the bottom

In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul shares that God gave him a “thorn” to keep him from being too prideful. Bothered and brought down by this difficulty, Paul begged for God to take it away.  God’s response?  He tells Paul that His grace is enough and that His power is made perfect in Paul’s weakness.

We can learn a lot from this.  Sometimes as Christians we feel like we have to have all the answers, we have to be above struggles, we have to be strong.  But Paul is reminding us that, in fact, we have to be weak!  Well, we don’t have to try to be weak, we just have to admit our weaknesses.  If we always put our best foot forward, if we constantly show others our Sunday best, we create a false image of what it means to follow Christ.  We give others the idea that we are different than they are, better than they are.  But to be redeemed means to remember where we’ve come from – and what we are constantly being saved from.  Before we get better, we have to hit the bottom.  God lifts us up and gives us victory – for sure!  But we cannot forget where we have come from; we cannot forget that only in Him are we strong.  Jesus’ kingdom is upside-down.  Remember, what He told His disciples - it is when you are poor, mourning, hungry, and thirsty that you are blessed (Matthew 5:1-11).  If we can take the step to be vulnerable, to admit that we are frail and weak and nothing without Him, maybe the world will start to see us as genuine and loving instead of judgmental and hypocritical.  I agree with Paramore, I’m better off when I hit the bottom.  But that’s not the worst part – it’s actually the best part.  It’s what being redeemed is all about, living with brand new eyes – eyes that see the world upside-down, where weakness is strength and we are willing to share our thorns.

 
 
So I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.
~ 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Well, capital “H” HIM…Jesus. It may sound cheesy or even churchy, but this is my favorite way of explaining the radical transformation that occurred in my life nearly a decade ago.  To say I wasn’t expecting this turn of events is an understatement. Sure, I’d grown up going to church, but mostly because my parents made me. Girls, let me just say I didn’t know Jesus from Jose Cuervo. Actually, I knew Mr. Cuervo pretty well back then.  I was what you would call a wild child—in every sense of the word. If there was a rule, I’d break it. If there was a way to get in trouble, I’d find it. If there was a booze with a guy’s name (Jack Daniels, Johnny Walker, Jim Beam) I’d introduce myself, and if there was a blue or frozen drink…well let’s just say I had a lot of blue tongues and head freezes back then!

All that changed, however, the day I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ.

Before my transformation, I was the girl looking for love in bars, boardrooms, and bedrooms.  And then…wham! Love found me. THE LOVE that I’d been desperately searching for “in all the wrong places” found me.  Before, I was grasping at anything and everything that I thought would make me feel whole, complete, or valued, but the problem was nothing would ever fill the gaping hole inside of me that was crying out for God.

You could say I was a mess. Combine the consequences of my sin and the brokenness of my childhood, and you had one empty, bruised and battered young woman. But you’d never know it by looking at me. From the outside, I looked like your typical young, single girl trying to find her next “fix”—a new guy, a new outfit, or just a new happening party scene.

Then I met Jesus.

I was absolutely blown away by the love and grace of God offered to me in Jesus Christ. Girls, I didn’t find religion. No! Far from it. I met a Person. And He loved me. No, really, He L-O-V-E-D me. Mess and all. The irresponsible, absent-minded, can’t find her keys, procrastinating, lying, insecure, drunk and promiscuous, messed up childhood, party girl…me…He loved me.

But there was a huge problem in our relationship…I didn’t love him.

Events from childhood and my own sin left me with a deep distrust of God. How could a “good” God have allowed the painful events of my past to occur? And because of my own rebellion and sin, my view of God was distorted.  Here’s the thing, sin darkens our understanding of who God really is; therefore, our image of God is marred, and as a result, we don’t trust him. Or perhaps it was the fact that I was carrying a heap of shame, and I didn’t believe God could forgive a girl like me.

I was in the midst of a major worldview shift. Part of me distrusted God, but the other part of me was beginning to see God in a new light. I had heard of his grace and forgiveness. Now I was beginning to see him as loving and kind, instead of mean and punishing. Jesus was wooing my heart to himself. I was a girl in conflict.

Could I trust this Jesus?

Should I surrender my life to him?

Would my life really be rewarding if I followed him?

I felt torn. My old life was broken, yet familiar. Following Jesus was an unknown—a step of faith into a mysterious world of surrender and obedience. I wanted to take the step…really I did, but there was something holding me back.

During this time I met this girl. She was beautiful, hip, and fun—not at all what I expected from a “church girl.” We met at the church I was attending. Amy is her name and the way she lived her life rocked my world. Amy invited me to join a Bible study group that met in her apartment. I went for a few weeks, and each night I left feeling miserable. Amy had something I did not have…she had a passionate love for Jesus Christ. Let me repeat myself. She was crazy in love with Jesus. So much so that she did silly things, like, I don’t know, obey him. Amy based her lifestyle choices on her love for the Lord. Obeying God was simple because she loved him. Trust me when I tell you that this line of reasoning was a totally foreign concept to me.

You see girls, at that point I believed obedience was something I had to do. I didn’t realize that obedience was motivated 100% by love. If you love God then you obey him. So, there I was a complete moral mess with no clue of what a relationship with God really meant, and yet still being pursued by Jesus. And sitting before me each week was this total Jesus freak.

But, Amy wasn’t weird; she was normal, which really jacked with my head all the more. That Bible study sincerely messed me up. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something major was missing in my life. I wanted what Amy had.

She was passionate for Jesus.

She was filled with joy.

She wasn’t empty.

She didn’t live in the emptiness of hookups and hangovers.

She truly desired to live a life that brought God glory.

One night I left her apartment after Bible study and sat in my car crying (imagine the really ugly face.) I knew I couldn’t go on the way I was living. The call of Jesus was so strong, yet the lure of the old and familiar was just as powerful. Even though I recognized my old life was empty, I still didn’t trust that life with Jesus could actually be fulfilling.

Sitting in my car I started talking to God. Not knowing how prayers were “supposed to sound,” I just said to God whatever I felt. Here is the conversation we (God and I) had that night. The night my whole life changed.

Jesus…. (Heaving sobs)

I don’t know much, but I do know that you are real.

I can’t explain all of this stuff that is happening to me, but I’m beginning to figure out that I can’t get away from you.

I know you died for me, and I know you love me.  But, I also know this: I don’t love you the way Amy loves you.

Frankly, I’m not sure I even like you all that much.

But, I know myself. I am a complete failure at being “good.”  I know you are the only option for me. It’s you or nothing else. I’m not going to find whatever it is I’m looking for anywhere but in you.

But, here’s the deal.  If I am going to live my life for you, then you need to do one thing for me: GIVE ME A HEART TO LOVE YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE IN THIS WORLD! Trust me, this is the only way this relationship will work.

I know me. I’ll go back to my old ways tomorrow.

There is no way I can live this life for you if I don’t love you. Jesus, change me.

 DO WHATEVER IT TAKES…but GIVE ME A HEART THAT LOVES YOU.”

I had no idea the power of that prayer. My world turned upside down. Something supernatural occurred inside me that night. Today, after years of Bible study, I know I experienced what God spoke of in the Old Testament when he said:

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.  
Ezekiel 36:26-27(NIV)

And also in the New Testament when he said,

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old is gone, the new has come.”
2 Corinthians 5:17(NIV)

Later, when I stumbled across these verses in the Bible I thought, “THIS HAPPENED TO ME! I am a completely new person.” Today, I realize I wasn’t a phenomenon. God is the New Creation Business. His specialty is taking girls like me and making us new—women with new hearts, new desires, and a new love—Jesus Christ.

I am a redeemed girl! God did give me the new heart and new desires, and I wanted with everything in me to live for him. Something happened in my heart that night—I fell CRAZY in love with Jesus. Girls, I’m talking about serious butterflies. I was now my worst nightmare, I was a total Jesus freak and I didn’t care.

Excerpt from "Wilderness Skills for Women: How to Survive Heartbreak and other Full-Blown Melt-Downs"

There is something special about pulling a book off the shelf - one that you've read before. Maybe you've read it once, three times; maybe the number is closer to a dozen. Today I pulled such a book from the shelf and blew the dust from the title: The Pursuit of God.  As I flip through the book, I can hear the author, AW Tozer, reminding me what it means to be redeemed. 

He says, “To have found God and still pursue Him is the soul’s paradox of love.” 

How does this remind me about my identity as a redeemed girl?  Let me give you an example.

When I first met my husband and we started dating, the pursuit was on.  He was driving almost an hour for weeks in a row to visit my university.  We spent time doing so many different things together – playing games with our friends, spending time alone, talking about our families.  We wanted to know everything about each other.  No effort was too much, no drive too far, it was always worth it to have time together.  How weird would it have been if once we got married all of that stopped.  What if I said, “Well now I know a lot about you, and we’re married.  The important things are done.  I think I’ll get my own place.  It’ll be a lot simpler.”  That would be crazy!  A friend of mine (Denbigh Cherry) wrote a song for his wife on their wedding day.  There are two lines I really like.  The first says, “I do believe I love you even more today than I ever have.”  I love that because it rings true to the significance of the moment.  This is their wedding day; love is at its peak!  But there’s another line that I like even more, “I do believe I’ll love you even more tomorrow than I do right now.”  He realizes that this is just the beginning. 

Sometimes we over-emphasize the starting place of redemption, the prayer or experience that kicks off our Christian journey.  We have misunderstood the beginning and have called it the end. Salvation is not just the end; it is the beginning - the beginning of life eternal, the beginning of knowing God. John says it (Jn 17:3); Paul says it (Phil 3:7-14); and God says it, "I am your portion and your inheritance" (Num 18:20). 

A worship song by Pete James says, “Jesus saves and is still saving me.”  To be truly redeemed means that once we have found God, we still seek Him.  When our journey with God begins, we must be careful to remember that the best is yet to come!  We can enjoy the endless pursuit of God Himself.  Let’s not lose God at the beginning.  “To have found God and still pursue Him is the soul’s paradox of love.”  Let’s insist that we know Him and that we experience Him in the daily grind of our lives, or we are missing the point entirely.

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:12-14

If I heard it once, I heard it a thousand times, “What looks like rejection is God’s protection.”  Groan.  Sigh.  Gag.  “Mom!” I would say (in all my teenage maturity, I might add), “Stop saying that!!!”  But she was right (good ol’ mom ended up being right about lots of things).  What looked like rejection time and time and time again actually ended up being, well, God’s protection.  But for a long time, before I could see the protection, all I could feel was the rejection.  And boy did it sting!

Simply put, your average junior high, high school and college boy is not interested in dating someone intent on purity of heart, mind, or body.  So…from never being asked to high school formals, to never being asked to dance once I was at the formal (I got oh so good at the “sideline shuffle”), to never having a boyfriend with the exception of one three month period in the midst of a very long four year famine, to always being passed up for the more popular, more beautiful, more flirty “girls-just-want-to-have-fun” type, I was truly convinced that marriage was never going to be in the picture for me, or if it was, the man God would choose for me to marry would be so unattractive, I would have to say “I do” with my eyes closed (I’m just being honest here).

But rather than seeing the rejection for what it was – God’s gracious Hand of protection – I often kicked, screamed, and fought against it, demanding answers and wondering why in the WORLD God made me so ugly, so unattractive, so undesirable, so…fill in the blank.  And many times, I focused so much on the “rejection” side of the equation that I missed the blessing of resting and trusting in the “protection” side of the equation.

But I did have my moments of sanity.  In between longings for a date, I was able to take the time that I would have been investing in guys and dating and sexual temptation and invest it into the Kingdom of God and becoming a woman after God’s own heart.  I was able to minister on my college campus, study abroad, go away for a semester, teach, write, invest, and pour out into the lives of other women.  Looking back, I wouldn’t trade one of those experiences for myriad of dates or dances.  At some point during my senior year of high school or my freshman year of college, I found this quote from Elisabeth Elliot in her book Passion and Purity, wrote it on a note card, and stuck it in my daily planner….and it’s still there: “I wanted to marry a man prepared to swim against the tide.  I took it for granted that there must be a few men left in the world who had that kind of strength.  I assumed that those men would also be looking for women of principle.  I did not want to be among the marked-down goods on the bargain table, cheap because they’d been pawed over.  Crowds collect there.  It is only the few who will pay full price.  ‘You get what you pay for.’”  Harsh?  Maybe.  True?  Absolutely. 

So when Jason Baker appeared in my life, I shouldn’t have been surprised.  After all, Elisabeth Elliot had prepared me years before that men like him actually existed.  But I was surprised – surprised that a Godly, handsome, purposeful, pure-of-heart man like him was looking for an average, ordinary girl like me.  And to be honest, eight years into marriage, his love still takes me by surprise when I think back upon the long wilderness of waiting and rejection. 

So did God redeem my rejection?  In ways that I could not even ask or imagine.  Am I thankful for His protection?  Every single day of my life.  Every day that I look at my husband and thank God for the man that he is, I am thankful for the protection I had from other men.  Every day that I wrap my arms around my two little girls, I thankful for the protection of purity and the legacy that I have to hand down to them.  And one day, I know that I will be able to encourage my daughters the same way my mom encouraged me: “Girls, I know you are not being asked out.  I know, at times, you feel like chopped liver.  BUT look at your father, and remember: What looks like rejection is God’s protection!”  And they can groan, sigh, and gag all they want to. 

I guess I just couldn’t buy the whole truth.  I got that Jesus loved me, but it was a long time before I believed that He was good.  I got that I was a new creation in Christ, but I didn’t understand how that made me O.K.  I just wanted to be O.K.  I just wanted to be loved.  I just wanted to not be haunted by constant pain. Could Jesus save me from me?

I needed triage badly—I was bleeding from lots of places and was too far gone to hear God’s voice anymore.  So God sent me a boyfriend that was committed to me (in the college sense) and who played the guitar and helped me fall asleep after dinner each night so that I could keep my food down.  You see, I didn’t try to throw up.  My body was just whacked enough that I couldn’t keep food down very well.

With my bulimia addressed and my desperate need for approval quieted by a boyfriend, Jesus finally had me in place where I could begin to truly learn about him and from him.  I began reading books about Jesus as well as the Bible and discovered that He was not the establishment.  He was not sitting there shaking His head at me, thinking that I would never get it together.  Instead I learned that Jesus came for me . . . for people just like me, who mess up and then do it again.  When I read the following passage, I realized that I was the brokenhearted, who needed to be released from the darkness, and receive comfort.  I needed the oil of gladness and freedom from despair.
 
 1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
       because the LORD has anointed me
       to preach good news to the poor.
       He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
       to proclaim freedom for the captives
       and release from darkness for the prisoners,
 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
       and the day of vengeance of our God,
       to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
       to bestow on them a crown of beauty
       instead of ashes,
       the oil of gladness
       instead of mourning,
       and a garment of praise
       instead of a spirit of despair.
       They will be called oaks of righteousness,
       a planting of the LORD
       for the display of his splendor.   (Isaiah 61:1-3)

I remember sitting outside on my balcony, reading this and thinking that Jesus can save me even from me! That was the beginning of the love affair.

Like any relationship, mine with God has hit some rough patches, but as a friend once told me, God just wants you to crawl up in His lap.  He doesn’t care if you crawl up and pass out, or crawl up and cry, or crawl up and tell him how angry you are at Him.  All that matters is that you somehow crawl back into the lap of our loving Lord and Savior, Jesus.

P.S.  My college boyfriend and I broke up at graduation. Jesus and I are still together.

R|G - Transforming Truth 3 from Reedemed Girl Ministries on Vimeo.

Clothed

I was far off

Tossed in a corner

Battered, bruised, forsaken, scorned

I was lied to, told I was nothing

Only an object

To be tried on, worn –

But Your Arms

They

Gave me garments

Ones that fit my nakedness

Ones that transformed

Into Something all my nothing

Glorious, Adorned.

So your Light it

Calls me, beckons

To a life well-worn with Love

When I’m fit

Clothed for the Journey

Where I’ll find my Glorious Home.

Called

The Sun it rises o’er the valley

Giving Light to all I see

Fingers tracing, Fingers probing

Paths of well-worn antiquity.

Darkness banished,

Sends it fleeing

To furthest corners of space and time

The paths are open

The hills, they beckon

“Come and see!”

“Daughter, Come and climb!”

He’s set my heart to come and worship

He’s clothed my heart to truly live

The One who beckons, I have tasted

He is glory, deep within –

All my ways are known before You

I have told You everything

Yet You take me,

Own me, know me

Want me, with my everything.

So clothe me with Your lovely glory

Teach me Your Paths, O Gracious One.

Remove the false,

Get rid of darkness

For I have tasted lips of the Son.

(Proverbs 2:1-15; Psalm 119:26, 29; Psalm 2:12)

Climbing

The garments cling

The sweat, it drips

My legs burn with every step –

Weary-worn and tired of speaking

I stop for a moment to pause…and rest…

The valley teems with life below

Those who have chosen to stay beneath

The mountain is lonely, the paths are ancient

Is what I am doing insanity?

But the view, oh, it is breath-taking

Peaks and valleys, snow-capped ridge

Silent is the sacred journey

My heart, it sings

The song You give.

Cannot

Now comes the darkness

Deepest blackness

Night of all deepest despair.

I cannot see where I am going

I am blind by all my fear.

I stumble, trip, bruised in the darkness

No one here to hold my hand

Loneliness, it presses closer

Paralyzes, from the heart down.

I call to You –

But all seems silent

Where are You, my Lord of Love?

You beckoned me upon this Journey,

Yet on the path, I feel alone.

All at once, I hear the summons,

“Take one more step, you’ll see the way.”

And so in faith-fraught, fearful courage

I step along the ancient way.

And once I step, when fog has lifted,

Now the next step beckons me.

So through the night

I step, and follow,

Faith-filled path of mystery.

Caught

You are the Warrior of my Worship

Defender of all Ancient Ways

You keep the paths of wisdom open

For all who lose their life to save

O my God!  Fight for my worship!

Keep my heat set upon You!

These feet of mine, they stray so quickly

Off the path, off of all good.

And when I stumble, bleeding badly,

I feel such shame upon my soul

Come and lift my head up higher

To follow You, Lord of all Love.

Arms they beckon, hands they strengthen

Every step along the Way

And as light banishes all darkness

I wake to find Thee in my stead –

Never have I been alone.

Never was I cast aside.

There behind me,

There beside me,

There in front,

You’ve hemmed me in.

I cannot fall

Where You can’t catch me

I cannot stumble

Beyond Your reach

For when our hearts are set on worship

Anointed One, our paths You keep. 

Companion

Fellow traveler,

Listen closely

The Journey, it is arduous

The path is steep

The nights, they darken

But the Warrior-King, He beckons on.

Never will the One who found you

Cleaned you

Clothed you

Leave you alone.

Never will the One you follow

Leave you for a “better” one.

For you are His

Your worship precious

The paths He gives you

He will defend.

And when you stumble

He will aid you

Set your feet back on to Him.

And the views He gives are mighty

Stunning and so glorious

So take the Hand of your Companion

Ascend the path of Obedience.

Girls, I adore Spring. 
Recently, I bought my first house and moved in the “dead of winter.” (Okay, so that’s kind of a drastic statement for someone who lives in Houston, Texas. But, it did dip down into the frigid forties this past January, which felt very tundra-like to this Texas girl.)
I digress. Where was I? Oh yes, Spring. 

So, when I moved in I noticed these dead twigs and sprigs in my yard. I supposed them to be unwanted weeds that I would eventually get around to removing. But then, something happened…Spring arrived. 
Ahhhh…glorious sunshine!
Low and behold, I now have a garden! Those lifeless twigs are in full-bloom. My yard is brimming with new life, and looks quite lovely I might add. 

With springtime comes another symbol of new life…Easter. All over the world this past weekend Christians celebrated the resurrection of our Christ. I like to sum up Easter in one word: transformation . Think about it…. Death becomes Life. The perfect symbol of our faith.

As Christians, we believe in a God who transforms us for His glory by giving us new life in Him. Jesus, our Redeemer, takes our brokenness and makes us whole. He gives sight to the blind, hope to the hopeless, and brings light to the darkness. Miraculously, sinners become saints. Like my garden, Jesus transforms us from spiritually dead to people that blossom with the fruit of His Spirit. (Ephesians 2: 1-2; Galatians 5:23-24)

Sadly, this is not the message we (the church) are sending the world. I’ve been reading a book called unChristian. The authors have this to say:

"Christians are supposed to represent Christ to the world. But according to the latest report card, something has gone terribly wrong. Using descriptions like “hypocritical” to describe the church…young Americans share an impression of Christians that’s nothing short of ….unChristian.”

This book elaborates on the problem by saying that the lifestyle of Christians is not different from those who don’t know Christ. Simply, we are not bearing fruit that represents Jesus to the world. Our lives don’t testify transformation.

But why?

I’ve been thinking about this problem quite a bit lately. If, the message of the gospel is the power of God’s grace to transform us, then why doesn’t the world see us as transformed people? I think the primary problem is an old one. We have substituted God’s transforming power for our own human effort. And, let’s face it; we simply aren’t very good at changing ourselves. 

Transformation happens in the human soul when we see our brokenness and turn to God in our weakness and surrender to God’s spirit for life. It is not about human effort, it is 100% about Christ-dependence. 

Thinking about my new garden, I’m struck by the fact that I’ve never once overheard my rose bushes whining and complaining about the difficulty of producing a rose. Nope, not once did I hear my peonies huffing and puffing in their effort to produce colorful blooms. The reason? They followed the simple God-given design for bearing fruit—they remain abiding to their vine.

I think the book unChristian raises an important point. For many, the Christian faith is about a one-time decision to pray a prayer or walk an aisle or check a box. This type of experience is only the first step. The Christian faith—the one that transforms—is the result of daily abiding in the object of our faith…Jesus Christ. 

The night before His crucifixion, Jesus explained the secret to fruitfulness to His disciples by saying: 

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:1-5 NIV)

The secret to seeing the life-transforming power of God in our lives is staying connected to the Life-Transformer, Jesus Christ. It is that simple. 
Our only hope for transformation is in Him. There is no method, no program, no plan, no iPhone app, prescription, or a handy-dandy quick fix that can transform us…just the glorious Son shining upon us, and His Spirit’s power flowing through us every single day. 

Friends, if we want our lives to testify of God's transforming power, we must ABIDE!

“A 2004 study of almost 2,000 teens found that those who watch TV with a lot of
sexual content are twice as likely to engage in intercourse as those who watch
less. ‘The impact of television viewing is so large that even a moderate shift
in the sexual content of adolescent TV watching could have a substantial effect
on their behavior.” --Generation Me , by Jean Twinge, Ph. D.

The issue facing these young girls is the daily, moment by moment, decision to believe God’s truth about whom they are, what they are worth, and how they should live. The world bombards them with the message that says: you are nothing more than a sexual object; you are only as valuable as how you look; and you are not loveable unless….

Thankfully, we can offer young woman The Truth to confront and expose the lies. The Truth is Jesus Christ and His Redeeming Grace. He alone sets the captive free from the lies of the world. He alone can tell these young girls that they are not objects to be used and discarded, but they are treasures worth dying for.

Enough is enough. Satan is a big-fat-liar!

“Jesus said, ‘the thief has come to steal, kill and destroy, but I have come
that you may have life and have it abundantly.’” John 10:10

The editor of Vogue has accused some of the world’s leading catwalk designers of pushing ever thinner models into fashion magazines despite widespread public concern over “size-zero” models and rising teenage anorexia.

Alexandra Shulman, one of the most important figures in the multi-billion-pound fashion industry, has taken on all the largest fashion houses in a strongly worded letter sent to scores of designers in Europe and America. In a letter not intended for publication but seen by The Times, Shulman accuses designers of making magazines hire models with “jutting bones and no breasts or hips” by supplying them with “minuscule” garments for their photoshoots. Vogue is now frequently “retouching” photographs to make models look larger, she said.

Her intervention was hailed last night as a turning point in the debate over model size that has raged after the deaths of three models from complications relating to malnutrition, and the decision of leading fashion shows to ban size-zero models.

Baroness Kingsmill, who headed the 2007 Model Health Inquiry on behalf of the British Fashion Council, said the stand taken by Shulman was “an encouraging sign” from one of the industry’s “leading lights.”

Beat, Britain’s leading eating disorder charity, says that 1.1 million people are affected by anorexia or bulimia.

Shulman claims that the clothes created by designers for catwalk shows and subsequently sent to magazines for use in their photoshoots have become “substantially smaller”.

The garments are typically sent to magazines six months before they appear in the shops and editors have no choice but to hire models that fit the clothes or fail to cover the latest collections from the leading designers.

“We have now reached the point where many of the sample sizes don’t comfortably fit even the established star models,” Shulman writes, in a letter sent to Karl Lagerfeld, John Galliano and fellow designers at Prada, Versace, Yves Saint Laurent, Balen- ciaga and other top fashion houses.The supermodel Erin O’Connor described the stand by the editor of Britain’s most prominent fashion magazine as “a huge breakthrough”.

“The fact that Alexandra Shulman with her enormous influence has opened this conversation means that it will have a huge impact,” she said. “It has . . . made it compulsorily relevant that we address this now.”