Thursday, January 24, 2008
OK Then...Try This On For Size
Can anyone tell me why Jesus matters today without any references from the "great" book your reading or from your devotional guy? Can you tell me something new, original from you that comes from the personal intimacy you have with Jesus? If God is eternal then He must be telling you something original, I mean, if you know Him that well. Go for it! Articulate away and do it from your personal experience, if you have any. Is He more than a crutch and are you more than a hypocrite? What do you do to legitimize your answers? Anything...why does it even matter when we are all such do it ourselves people? Happy posting everyone.
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I guess what I'm trying to say is- Do you have a fresh word to offer someone who approaches you and asks why Jesus? Or do you need an hour at Starbucks to draw inspiration and experience from your current book selection? Where is YOUR testimony? Are you living in any way that God would choose you to speak through. God told us to make the most of every opportunity. So, Joe Blow asks us about Jesus and we start telling them about our friend who's going to Africa , or whatever. I hope you know what I'm trying to say.
I got you Palzo...the truth is...I was stumped and still am. Those are great questions and it causes me to refocus on what is important,thanks.
No "fresh" word. My word from the Lord is old news but good news. I look forward to hearing fresh words through my friends though. I love fresh words. I love new songs. I love when Mary the mother of Jesus sings her new song. I'd long to sing a new song in my life.
My testimony lies deep within the quietness of my mind. My testimony is my Peace. It's the peace that passes all understanding. See, I told you this was old news. Let me expound further. I have been on great spiritual highs. I have been in seasons of unbelievable intimacy with Christ. Where truly nothing else mattered but Him and His will for my life. Saturated in studies, reading, prayer, quiet times, service, selflessness, and ministry. Seasons where sharing the love of Christ felt so easy cause at that time it was my core strength. On the other hand, I have also been in pits of sin, seasons of sin, and then there is my daily sin. All kinds of sin if you get my drift. In those times, I don't feel as intimate. Truth being I am still saved, loved, forgiven and so on, but I don't "feel" close. A dry spell some would call it (even though He is the living well that never runs dry I just wasn't tapped into the spring I guess). Then there are times that I'm not in some pit of sin, just the pit of life. Work, housework, chores, duties, responsibilities, stress, yada, yada, yada. Need I say more. It's not that I'm out making poor decision after poor decision, I'm just too stinkin' tired to engage. TIRED! In those times, I know the Lord is watching over me, but I feel like he's watching me perservere and push through those walls without swooping down to rescue me. It is spiritual muscle building time. Teaching me how to press on even if I'm sick and tired of doing it. (FYI: Please know that while I type these things I think of the children in Africa, the teenagers in my class with wrecked homes, a wife who just lost her husband to a tragic heart attack while raking his lawn a few weeks back and so on. I feel stupid even discussing "My" problems or even opinions at times about pressing on.)
Here's my point.
As I lay in my bed or drive in my car and my mind starts battling amongst all its voices, the Lord instills a peace within me. It gives me a sensation that in the midst of all that is going on, whether I'm in the middle of a storm or having a mountain top experience, He speaks to me and His words bring peace to my mind and soul. Peace is everything to me. In a world at war, with so much anger and hostility, I have a peace that lets me know with all of my heart that everything is under control because God has the whole world in His hands. Whether I am sinning my butt off or seeking His face with fervor, God has Never stopped talking to me. My testimony is the peace that I have received through excepting Christ as my Savior. Old news, but Good News! Praise God for His peace that surpasses all understanding.
Wow great stuff rachel i know exactly what you were talking about but have never really been able to put it into words like you did, thank you!
Why Jesus? If I was asked this question I wish I could say I have this very elaborate and theological speech but it would only be this. I was hopeless and now have hope, I was scared and now have courage, I was seen as a sinner and am now seen as righteous, I was dead and am now alive. I like rachel have a peace that would surpass understanding, and it wasnt until I opened my eyes to Jesus did I recieve this peace. Not that I'm walking around on this spiritual high (quite the opposite most of the time) just that I have hope that things will get better if not in this life then in the next. Also, I just came to realize that no matter what I did if God was perfect I was the exact opposite, and there was no way for me to reconcile the two. My life would be a constant downward spiral into sin and depression if not for the hope that I have in Jesus. For when I fall which I will I just realize that its not about me but about Him.
First off, I will say I was extrememly tempted to read this post, close my computer and "think about it" for a little while. But, I realized that if I'm catching your tone Paul, that is exactly what you dont want, and I dont think that is what Jesus wants either. Those of you who know me well, know that I am an emotionally raw person. That is how I process things. I often come across people who I feel like don't get that about me. Like, I will respond to something and then they will almost try to prove me wrong or something. Dont get me wrong, I love healthy debates, but when I throw things out there, that is part of my processing and if you ask me the same question in a few hours I may have a totally different response. Even in responsing to this blog, with the "special person" post aside, I have always just read the post and replyed immediately. So, here I am going to go for it ...
To be completely honest, my first thought that came to mind (I am a little ashamed to admit) after first reading the question posed ... Why Jesus? was the intense intellectual thought ... WHY NOT? (So, now you are all saying, OK, maybe you should have closed that laptop and thought a little harder) But, I am deciding to go with that and explore why that would be my first thought. If Joe Blow were to ask me Why Jesus right this instant I think that is what would come out of my mind. Why Not? If God is who HE says He is (not what others say) and He figured out a way to spend eternity with us by sacrificing Jesus to atone for our sinful nature, why not take that gift and run? Believe me, I have tried and tried over and over to "do it myself" as Paul said, and I freakin cant do it. Call me a whore, call me what you will, bc most of the time that is exactly what I am. Just like that Caedmon's song says, "I am a whore, I do confess, I put you on just like a wedding dress and run down the aisle" (sorry I know you said no devotional guys :) ) So, if God is who He says He is and I have the chance to get off the hook and spend eternity with Him, why the heck wouldn't I choose Jesus (maybe that's just it. I didn't choose anything, He chose me) I can't escape Him. I have said before with much ridicule that I truly think it takes more courage NOT to beleive. To take that kind of chance to Not beleive in the perfect plan takes some serious you know what. As Paul (the bible one) says, " I have resolved to know nothing but Christ and Him crucified" (from memory so sorry if I butchered that). So, from a beleiver to the non-believer Joe Blow that is what my raw self would say.
From a believer/chosen, what have you to another brother or sister, I would say ... I keep pressing forward to hear those beautiful words, "well done my good and faithful servant". Some days I strive to make the worthwhile things outway the worthless crap, although I am ashamed to say the later seems to overcome most of the time. Other days, I just want to make it to the end faithfully. I don't care if I come in last, I just want to finish the race. That is why Jesus, because He is the only one who can get me there. He is the prize.
Jesus is necessary to me because when I watch Sydney wander around the house or play with her cousins, He is there. When I watch her play basketball, pray with her at night, take her to eat, talk with her, travel with her, am lonely without her, He is there.
When I go to bed each night desiring someone to lay next to me He is there. When I drive to work overwhelmed with all my inadequacies, He is there. When I workout and feel as though I can't push myself any farther, He is there. When I set time apart to go read or watch a good movie, He is there.
He's not JUST there, He's actively there. In the lonliness of night after several hours of thinking, He is more than enough to satisfy my cravings and my longings with His touch or His word. I could go on and on, but my point is that He specifically speaks to me in ways that are most meaningful, substantive and personal. The rub comes when I don't want Him to be the one who satisfies those longings as I mull over my own creations in how to go about solving my problems which are encased in my very personal wants. My wants have been given power and have gained traction in my life because I have surrendered to them, sometimes more often, than Jesus himself.
I will say this, that everytime I've returned home to His counsel, His presence, His word, His Spirit, His love, I've never seen His back. It's always been His beautiful face that welcomes me home with unconditional, already atoned for, personal love. It's quite humbling and often times shameful on my side at how quickly I am to give myself away to the world and it's trappings after He's given so much.
I want alot, some good some bad, but I do and always will need Jesus. He is not only relevant and important, He is absolutely without a doubt the only true hope we have in escaping what we all deserve; separation from our heavenly Father for eternity. He is our greatest ally when it comes to pleading for us to the One who will judge. It's in these times I'm thankful He knows me better than I know Him, but that I do know Him!
JT, Rachel, Brent, and Crystal thanks for sharing. I really enjoyed reading your thoughts. I respect you all so much for being so open and honest. Thanks again. Your efforts don't go unnoticed or unappreciated.
Hey guys. Sorry, but I usually catch up on my “blogging” on Monday’s. Sorry for being so late. Like Crystal, I felt the need to “answer quickly” to the question why Jesus matters. If I did, and if I was honest, it would be a very short, simple answer. That is, for me, Jesus means hope is never lost. Without the Holy Spirit, my personality would be that of one who is known for giving up easily, never finishing what he started, and always lacking contentment. Sometimes it scares me to think that the “real” me is that person, and if Christ had not chosen me, as Crystal said, I would be a lazy individual soaked in self pity.
Only through Him do I get relief from that. Only through Him can he turn that around completely. Through Him, I refuse to believe that the quest for something good is ever out of reach. I’ve almost given up hundreds of times in my life, whether it was huge life decisions or something of the smallest importance like an early morning workout. It’s really not in me to push myself, I really mean that. But the feeling that comes from Jesus knocking on the door and encouraging me to go just a little bit more – for Him – is what saves my life daily. What would I do without that? It makes me scared to think about.
The best part is that it is always Him from which I draw my strength, but He uses people like my brother, my family, a Sunday morning, a day at the Snoot to work through to get to me. It’s those times I feel honored to have people in my life that are that close to Christ so that I may benefit and reap the rewards of your obedience.
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