The God of Restoration

I feel like this is a very important scripture to Sterling College right now. We need to know what God is planning. I feel like this is what is on His heart. In the places of death, God desires to bring life!

Isaiah 35
Joy of the Redeemed

1 The desert and the parched land will be glad;

the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.

Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom;

it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.

The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,

the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;

they will see the glory of the LORD,

the splendor of our God.
3 Strengthen the feeble hands,

steady the knees that give way;
4 say to those with fearful hearts,

"Be strong, do not fear;

your God will come,

he will come with vengeance;

with divine retribution

he will come to save you."
5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened

and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
6 Then will the lame leap like a deer,

and the mute tongue shout for joy.

Water will gush forth in the wilderness

and streams in the desert.
7 The burning sand will become a pool,

the thirsty ground bubbling springs.

In the haunts where jackals once lay,

grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
8 And a highway will be there;

it will be called the Way of Holiness.

The unclean will not journey on it;

it will be for those who walk in that Way;

wicked fools will not go about on it.
9 No lion will be there,

nor will any ferocious beast get up on it;

they will not be found there.

But only the redeemed will walk there,
10 and the ransomed of the LORD will return.

They will enter Zion with singing;

everlasting joy will crown their heads.

Gladness and joy will overtake them,

and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

I feel that right now we need to be doing what verse 3-4 talk about: strengthening and encouraging those who are weak and anxious. We need to prepare ourselves as well for this new season. I had this image in my mind of someone in front of Cooper (where the chapel is) and they were raking the ground. The ground was full of cracks and dry,dry dirt. Someone walked by and started mocking the person who was raking. However this encouraging came, "This is wisdom". It is wisdom to prepare in this way, even those places that look hopeless. It will soon be worth it to labor for things that look foolish now. Keep going! Keep praying! Keep fasting! Keep studying! Keep encouraging others!

Awkward things I've done this week

Here are a few things that happened to me this week that reminded me that I really am awkward. They are arranged from least to most awkward

• Food- My nice new khaki colored sweater wanted to taste some lasagna. It's a good thing that red and khaki go together. Good thing I have that Tide-to-go pen!
• Class mix-up- Every Wednesday we have chapel from 9:50-10:50am. I have no class from 8:50 until then and so that become nap hour every M-W-F. This Monday I came back from class, exhausted after about 5 consecutive days of going to bed at 2:00am (average) and waking up at 7:00 (average), and got ready for my nap. I set my alarm, crawled under my snugly blankets, and had an amazing nap! One of those naps where you sleep like a log, where you feel like you slept a full 8 hours in 1 hour, and maybe even relaxed so much as to drool. I got up a little later than planned and rushed over to my photography class. I arrived at the art center just as my friend Megan D. was walking in (she's in my photography class). She asked me what class I was here for. "Strange question," I thought to myself. And then replied in typical immediate-post-nap syndrome straightforwardness "This one!". Megan gave me a confused look. "Pssh!" I thought, "What was that for?!". I finally put 2 and 2 together and realized that I had shown up for photography one hour early. I could have kept sleeping. I could have let myself wake up a little more before I looked at my alarm clock. Then I went and filled in gas, came back to the dorm, and finished my nap. Oh well.
• Something that has never happened to me before! Awkward History. In chemistry (the most painfully boring class I have taken in awhile) The guy behind me (Stephen, actually a pretty cool guy) accidentally kicked my folder off the chair next to me onto the floor. The class is held in one of those lecture hall, tiered seating kind of places with the desktops that swivel up to be used. I leaned over to recover the notebook and heard a creaking (not unusual for these particular desks), felt the tension release (a little odd), and heard the tiny 'ching' of something metal hitting the floor (ummm...). Yah, I broke the seat. I think it's still attached by one screw. We'll see how long that will last. I've never broken a chair before! Congratulations me! I guess I just know how to throw my tiny amount of weight around (watch out attackers!).

That's all the awkward news for now.

I keep hearing "revival" everywhere I go

Just read this article by Jim Wallis (especially the last bit)
The Religious Right's Era is Over

Heed my (reposting of this guys) words, Sterling College

Hey Sterling College: A massive move of God is coming down the pike. We need to get ready. When it happens things are going to change. It's time for us to plant seeds in the Spirit and not in the flesh (Galatians 6:6-10).
That's why I felt that this article is especially important for what is about to explode:
Let me ask you something: Are you ready for revival?
I really respect the author's (Shawn Blanc) writing. He has a special commitment to write about things that are vital to a steady Christian walk in increasingly important times.
Here are some of my favorite snippets from this post:

"The seed of massive global revival is cracked, and the roots are beginning to sprout. You and I have an incredibly short time to get ready. You don’t know when the “suddenly of God” that is planned for your life will happen. All you know is that your time to get intimacy and personal relationship with God is getting shorter by the minute. Seriously."

"You have to plan ahead for meekness. You have to expect that hard times are coming. Promotion and demotion: They’re both hard to respond rightly to. Pride and bitterness both come from the same apple. Your hope to stay steady and be in love with Jesus after the dust settles is to plan ahead now; and you do that by asking God to help you. Asking Him to give you grace."

Please read, consider, and pray about the things considered in this article. It's about to get really, really important.

What a weekend!

This past weekend I had the privilege of leading a group of 30 sterling college students (out largest group ever!) to the International House of Prayer in Kansas City. It was a little crazy at first. I don't recommend putting all 30 people in a living room and tell them to be quiet all at once. All the people that went are amazing! I have loved getting to see close friends and new friends experience new depths of God's love and receive new understanding of scripture. I've loved seeing these new faces dive right in to the deep end and run after God. I am excited to see everyone as we come back to our campus and apply these new things to the daily grind.

One of my biggest prayers for our group was from Ephesians 1:15-20, basically that God would open up their hearts to receive a greater and deeper understanding of His heart and that they would come to know the hope that comes from being the chosen inheritance of Christ. Also that they would come to see for the first time, as well as more clearly what their calling is. God was faithful to answer these prayers in such amazing ways.


God is crazy! He doesn't care what background you have, what doubts you may have, what plans you've made, He will do anything to show you His love and make it easier to love you.


Watch out Sterling College!!!

Yah, that is a picture of the new IHOP stage. My friend Ben took it (no flash!). I love the new stage. It is not all that distracting and I actually felt that they way the stage was situated it involved the congregation more.

Death's Perspective

The other day I was hanging out with Jesus and discussing with Him what this current time in my life is all about. I asked Him whether or not I was headed into another long season where praying and reading the Word seemed boring and if I needed to prepare to press through. Or is this just a hard time of transition for me as I adjust to a new semester, new schedule, new staff that I'll be working under, etc? I wondered why I had to be in this place again, possibly for a long period of time, where I feel so weak and tired and busy and burdened and bad for not spending more time or getting more out of the time I spend. Why do I have to be in this place that is seemingly barren? And then I felt the Lord put this phrase in my head:
"It is only from the perspective of death that He speaks to me about life."
or in other words
"It is only from the place/perspective of death that we can understand life."

That made so much sense to me! Think of all the times where God lead His people into the desert or wilderness and then spoke to them. In Hosea 2, God tells Hosea to tell His prostitute wife (really check it out, it's a cool book in the Bible), a.k.a God is saying this to unfaithful Israel, "Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her." (Hosea 2:14)

It seems like those who are most afraid of death, talking about it, being around it, fearing their own death, are those who don't really know how to live. It is only when we examine and understand that this life really is just a breath, just a vapor, just a moment that we start to live.

So, even though I hate that place of barrenness and weakness I will embrace it, knowing that every time I say 'yes' to putting part of my own desires, dreams, thoughts, strength to death, God will truly bring life, and life to the fullest, to those things. God is the God of the resurrection and the life. I guess I'm ok with that.

(note to self: He is more committed to perfecting you, strengthening you, teaching you, loving you, etc. than you are. Remember that. God is faithful)

"He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it. " -Jesus

Matthew 10:39

Let's not be afraid of death (to ourselves) or the pain of death any longer friends. Let's embrace it and find out what living is really all about.

Blessed is/Blessed are those...

So I've started a new study on verses in the Gospels on the times when phrases like "Blessed is...." or "Blessed are those...." appear. The plan is to dissect the verse, in context of course, and discover more of the depth of these scriptures as well as understanding who it is who Jesus counts as blessed. The first batch of 'blessed are' s that most people recognize is the beatitudes. From this we obviously see that Jesus doesn't look at things the way we look at them.

Yesterday I studied Matthew 11:6: "Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me." in the context of Matthew 11:2-6.
So here's what I got:
It seems that a lot of commentators think that John (the baptist), while imprisoned, had some sort of crisis of faith and so sent his disciples to ask Jesus if he really is who he says he is. I disagree. John and Jesus were relatives and in the womb John even recognized the Messiah (Yes, it's in the Bible). I think that John sent his disciples over to talk with Jesus so that they would realize that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.
So, John's disciples come up to Jesus and say, "Are you the expected One, or should we look for someone else?". Jesus, instead of just saying, "Yah, that's me," answers them with what probably would've been well known scripture from Isaiah 61 "Go and report to John what you hear and see: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM." (v.4-5).
Then Jesus says something that is really interesting, "Blessed is he who does not take offense at me." (v. 6). The word offense in Greek can mean "to put a stumbling block or impediment in the way, upon which another may trip and fall, metaph. to offend or to cause a person to begin to distrust and desert one whom he ought to trust and obey ." As we know and see today, Jesus can be pretty offensive. So what exactly does this mean?
I think that Jesus used scripture to show the he is the long expected Messiah because he expects John's disciples recognize him because of His word. So verse six could really say, "Blessed are those who recognize Me."
So, when we want to recognize God's work in our lives and communities we need to be rooted in the word of God. It can be easy to be offended when change comes, especially if unsuspected, but by seeing how God interacted/interacts with His people in the Word, knowing His promises, and what His thoughts and desires are we can recognize and be in line with what God is doing. If we don't recognize God we could become offended and stumble over what God intended to be a blessing. I believe that as God's children and people that we are meant to recognize God and act accordingly.

At the end of the study I wrote out this super-amplified version of verse 6:

"Blessed is he who knows what to look for, who knows how to prepare, and who is not taken by surprise at my coming or fooled by lies. Blessed is he who recognizes when I start to shift and change things in the Spirit. They will not fall, but adjust their path to walk in My ways. These are the ones who will know me and delight in my presence and faithfulness when the rest of the world is nursing scraped knees, bruises, and their injured pride as a result of their fall."

What do you think?

The Superbowl

I did not waste my time this year. Ha! And no, I don't even care that I missed the commercials.

Teeth and Self-esteem

I just found this article and thought it was really interesting. This is dedicated to all of you out there who have crooked teeth or think you do. Apparently it doesn't affect our overall happiness, so let's move on.

p.s. Isn't crooked a funny word? It seems like it should be spelt differently. hmm.

Random Friday Thoughts

Here are some random thoughts from today let loose from my brain:
Did it really snow two days ago?

Rock the Casbah is an amazing song and I am currently bobbing my head to it and typing in rhythm to its Casbah beats.

I love my roommate. She is a blast. No joke, you should get to know her.

Friday Night Burn is tonight (pray it up into the early morning)-I need that time.

Winter is waging war on my skin.

My heart and mind is all over the place.

One of my favorite things about this semester is getting to know so many different people.

The rush to find a date for Valentine's day is on. Just look around people.

Play Rock the Casbah again! Woot!