Sunday, May 27, 2012

On The Road Again

Tomorrow, I am leaving. I'm going to spend an entire summer serving God at a summer camp in California. This will be my third summer, and I cannot wait to get on the road again.

And so, as most good things do, my blogging must come to an end... well at least it must suffer a significant decline in how often I post.  I'm hoping to post an update every other week, but that might be wishful thinking.

Because of Him,
Missa

Monday, May 21, 2012

Blame Game

I can't help it. I was just made like this. I'm just being me! I'm not going to be something I'm not just to make people like me!

So, I've heard this a lot lately - I call it Disney Channel theology... It's an excuse for Christians to be lazy and not deal with sin in their life.  I've also heard a lot of "I was just raised that way". There is a grain a truth to that one, Proverbs does say to train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Here's the thing, though, God gave everyone different circumstances, but only one Truth.

Now, I'm not saying life's not hard... I'm saying there hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man, but God is faithful and will not allow you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temptation provide a way for you to escape that ye may be able to bear it.

Actually, I'm not saying that - God did in 1 Corinthians 10:13

We say all the time that God can forgive everyone everything they've ever done.  He is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse from all unrighteousness! AMEN!

And now that we're saved, our life does not dramatically change. I am not saying that you must be good to keep your salvation, but why must we all be victims and live our life using the past as a shield? Maybe you didn't grow up in a good home, maybe you didn't have the best parents, maybe you grew up in the perfect environment to make you into a wonderful example of God's grace!

No one can claim ignorance of truth based on their past if they are saved. If you can read this post, you have access to Truth. The Bible is available free on the internet. Google it.

Maybe it's not so much that we don't have access to Truth, as that we don't want to be humble and change our ways.  It's humbling to get saved, but let's be honest, it's easier to be humble in the privacy of your own heart with a God who you cannot physically see, then to radically change the way you are living in the full view of those who know you the best. The mocking. The questions. The persona you have built up and display whenever someone is looking must be crumbled down because you have admitted that you can't do it yourself. That kind of humility is really hard.

Least I seem to be poking only at those of you with "a past", in the negative sense of the word, let me just say, I have seen kids from excellent families go bad. I have seen kids with every excuse in the book faithfully choose His way. Anyone can blame someone else for their shortcomings. It takes guts to allow God's truth to penetrate your life.

And about just being yourself, go for it. You are a beautiful example of God's creativeness, He made you the way you are. Just remember: in Christ you are a new creature, old things are passed away, behold all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)


Because of Him,
Missa

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Job Requirements

Well, as most college students do at some time or another, I am looking for a job. I really don't know why I'm doing it now... I leave in less then two weeks to spend all summer at camp, but that's neither here nor there.

One of my favorite hobbies is photography. I was glancing on Craiglist for photographer jobs, and picked out the one that I had to have. It's for a photographer for a luxury car lot. Seriously, whoever wrote this is hilarious! A few highlights include:

Must have reliable transportation to work, we don't care if your mom has to drive you and pick you up. We hope she doesn't have to, let the woman have her own life, but hey, whatever gets you here.

Then send us your resume! We love simple and easy to read one pagers! Pack that thing with everything, we don't care if the font size has to be 5 and margins are zero to fit it all in on one page! Word, .txt, .pdf, whatever you have, send it over! Ever put a hyperlink in a resume? Yeah, some of you have. Some weird ones too! But we like that crazy stuff. Send it! We love resumes tailored to fit the position we are describing. Does that describe your resume? It should! Did I say spell check it? I'll say it again, spell check it. 

Must love cars, LOVE them, think about them constantly, OBSESS.
 

Must be familiar with digital cameras, we'll show you how to take our style of photos, if you can hold a camera still long enough to take a clear photo, you are good.
 

Must be able to drive a manual transmission, a M-DCT, a Doppelkupplung, a semi-sequential manual gearbox, an automated manual, an F1, a Geartronic, Steptronic, Touchshift, Sportshift, Tiptronic, S-tronic and R-tronic transmissions and know what cars they are in. Don't know how to drive stick? Learn!

Sadly, I have less then no clue how to drive a stick, and like I said, I'm leaving soon, sooooooooo. Well, I'll have a pity party later, after I get a life and friends to invite to the party. :)

Requirement. That's a big word... that I can spell without spell check (you'd be surprise with how far that will get you in the office world). A requirement is something that eliminates people, it gives a standard, it's an expectation.

Thinking about our walk with Christ, what are His requirements? Actually, He gave them to us in one simple verse (I love conciseness!):

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Micah 6:8

He has outlined a very simple plan for us to follow. Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with God.... Easy stuff, right?  What does that actually mean, though? These are three attributes of God; goals we must strive to in our Christian life.  Prior to verse 8, Micah 6 asks if God is pleased by a myriad of different sacrifices. The point of the passage is that it's better to do right, then to offer sacrifices (or ask forgiveness in our case) later.

To be continued....

Because of Him,
Missa

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Solo

This morning my college had a final chapel service.  Instead of a challenge, we were given the tremendous privilege of hearing the ministry team's program before they leave to travel the south/mid-west this summer. I had been hearing the practices every Tuesday evening for several months now. I had heard the good, the bad, and the ugly.

This morning it was beautiful.  This morning God was glorified. The songs were tastefully arranged in an order that flowed delightfully from one piece to the next. The topics of the individual pieces were designed to focus on the majesty of God.

Soli Deo gloria.

For the glory of God alone.

Tonight, my college put on a fine arts concert. A thought-provoking drama interwoven with music about a holocaust survivor.  The violinist made wood sing, and the monologue style drama was put to splendid effect.

Soli Deo gloria.

For the glory of God alone.

He is the only One worthy of praise for either musical event.

That might seem kinda nervy for me to say that. Those musicians put in a lot of practice.  They worked hard, and yet I say that God alone gets the glory for the produce of their effort?

Yep.

This is how I look at it:

He gave life to the violinist.
He gave her the ability to think and learn.
He provided a way for her take violin lessons
He gave her the tenacity to continue to work hard throughout the years
He provided a way for her to go to college to learn even more
He gave her the memory capacity to be able to memorize a monologue that was over an hour long in addition to memorizing several violin pieces.
He provided the facility for the performance to take place in.

And that's nowhere near all the providence that He habitually continually provides. Plus all the things that happened in the composer's life, the orchestra who accompanied the violinist, every single individual who was in the choir, in the life of the person who was controlling the lights.... do you see my point?

I live my life because of Him, but really everything is because of Him. He is in complete control of all our life circumstances, and He brings all things to His own glory.

Psalm 34
I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.
I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.
The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.
Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?
Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.
Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.
He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.
Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.
The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

DISCLAIMER: This is not to say that you shouldn't encourage people by complimenting them and telling them that they did a good job! We need to encourage people, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ.

God alone is worthy of praise. This is a song one of my college professors wrote:

For Your justice soars like mountains
And Your love flows as the sea
And like waves your mercy rises
And rushes over me.
Who can fully grasp Your wisdom?
Who can fathom all your grace?
But my heart responds in worship:
I sing Your praise
I sing Your praise
For You alone are God.

Because of Him,
Missa

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Waste Not, Want Now

*In TV announcer voice* Has this ever happened to you? You go to work. You come home to check your bank account and... NO ONE put any money in your account!  How can this be? You just put in your 9 to 5. Doesn't the boss understand the concept of instant gratification?!

And about this time they run an ad for a some make money at home scam.




I don't know about you, but I wouldn't mind getting paid everyday. I was blessed to have a job that I got paid every week, but still it would be nice have the money instantly. It's not like I would spend it right away, but there's something comforting about it. Like someone still knows and cares that you totally just killed yourself for the benefit of the company.

Then again getting paid immediately is often accompanied with a nice little piece of pink paper...

Sometimes our Christian life feels the same way... There are days when I'm so tired of doing the right thing. Now I don't mean doing the right thing for the wrong reason... just consistently serving God.  Just plain old spiritual burnout.  I want my reward now!  Why can't God give us some little nod or like some token of acknowledgement like an extra hundred bucks or something.

Why, when I witness to someone, why don't they get saved when I'm talking to them?  Why does that loved one still reject Him after I've prayed for them for years?

Does anyone care that I'm here in the back corner of the church washing windows?

Maybe we don't really mean it when we say we want to be rewarded now, but some days it would be nice to have just one person say thank you.

But, even though no one else notices, God truly does. And I think He knew how easy it is to burn out, because there's quite a few verses talking about it:

(1 Corinthians 15:58) ...Therefore my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
(2 Thessalonians 3:13) But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.
(Galatians 6:9) And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. 

And there are more. God has promised in Galatians 6 that we will reap what we sow, but, as with plants, we don't reap the fruits of our labor until after we have put a whole lot of work and patience into it.

So, even though our rewards are not meted out fast food style, God's pretty good at keeping an accurate record of what we are doing.

Because of Him,
Missa

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

What's That Mean?

Definitions are such important things. If words didn't have a meaning, or if their meaning changed every time they were spoke, what would be the point of language? This God-given gift to man would be a worthless mumbo-jumbo of sounds.

When I was a kid, my sister and I really wanted to be sophisticated grown ups.  We thought that sophisticated meant refined, elegant, and grown up. My mom asked us what we meant by that, and then looked it up in the dictionary. Well the verb sophisticate has a pretty bad meaning :

Sophisticate
Transitive verb
1: to alter deceptively; especially : adulterate
2: to deprive of genuineness, naturalness, or simplicity; especially : to deprive of naïveté and make worldly-wise : disillusion
3: to make complicated or complex 
(www.mirriam-webster.com)
 
Yes, it does kinda mean grown up, but not in a good way. 

Here's the thing though, most people, if you ask them, agree with my original definition of the word. Obviously, something has happened. A culture has re-defined a word. It wasn't until I had personally seen what the true meaning was that I changed how I spoke. 

So definitions really do change your view of things. 

I learned a new definition. 

How do you define the word "blessing"? A blessing is something God gives to me because He loves me.  Blessings are good things, like a new car, a job, a boyfriend/girlfriend, etc. Anything bad is from Satan. Am I right?  

As my science teacher used to say "EL WRONGO!"

Actually you only need the first half of that definition. A blessing is something God gives to me because He loves me. Blessings are good things. 

And Who defines the word good?  So, I gave it away. God is good. He is the essence of goodness. He defines what is good in my life. God is putting things in my life to cause me to grow. Sometimes that means He gives me things I like, Miracle Grow for the healthy Christian. Sometimes He prunes me in ways I don't particularly like.  Really? I needed to loose my job now? 

If you've ever tended a rose bush, you understand that both fertilizer and pruning are necessary. That is what makes it bloom into the best rose bush it can possibly be. I'm sure the plant does not particularly enjoy the pruning times, but it is necessary.  It is even more beautiful for the pain.

So maybe that should be our definition of blessing.  That which is the absolute best for me, because He loves me. 

And it's so much easier to "bless them which curse you" when it doesn't necessarily mean that they'll win the lottery. :)

Because of Him,
Missa

Friday, May 4, 2012

Soul Piercing

God's Word is Awesome. I mean that literally, not the skater-dude version of the word. His Word is awe-inspiring.

And sometimes it is so annoying!  A few weeks ago, I had had a pretty big disagreement with my parents.  It wasn't my fault!  Mom was irritated at someone else and it came out on me.  Then I got blamed for something I really didn't have any part in, and got in more trouble because I tried to explain to my dad, who's hard of hearing, what was going on.

Great sob-story, right?

Yeah, actually part of it was my fault... Everything I wrote above is true.... technically.  The part I left out was when my mom got mad at me, I got mad back. If I had obeyed and given her time to calm down rather then challenging her for my right to be treated like the best daughter in the world, it wouldn't have escalated to the point it did.

Maybe it seems like I was justified in my sinning. But the Bible says to honor my parents... it doesn't stipulate that they have to be treating me fairly.

So here's what it amounted to:

I dishonored my parents
Therefore I was dishonoring God,
Therefore my sin was against Him and my parents
Therefore Someone had to pay, which was Christ Who died for my sins - all of them

Ouch. My bad attitude meant that Christ had to die? That moment of "justifiable" frustration had a pretty hefty price tag.  But that is how God views sin.

And here is where the Bible becomes annoying. Have you ever known you were doing something wrong, but wouldn't admit it? Well, like the good little girl I am, after being so wrongfully treated, I am going to read my Bible. That's right!  Look at me, I'm the righteous one here!

So I knew I was wrong, but I really didn't want to get convicted... One of the most encouraging books in the Bible is Psalms, right? It's all about praising God for His Majesty and Glory...

The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek [after God]: God [is] not in all his thoughts. His ways are always grievous; thy judgments [are] far above out of his sight: [as for] all his enemies, he puffeth at them. He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for [I shall] never [be] in adversityPsalm 10

I'm positive that that was not in there earlier!

The Word of God is described as "quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)

But God is faithful to forgive us our sins, He has cleansed me from this, and all other unrighteousness through His blood on the cross. I don't live daily with guilt, I rest expectantly in joy.

My pastor preached a number of sermon lately about apologizing for your two percent wrong.  (I actually disagree with him a bit here. Because even if it's only your two percent, it becomes a matter of pride that I was only two percent wrong). But nonetheless, here is another example of God giving me a lesson and then giving me a test afterwards...

Because of Him,
Missa

Thursday, May 3, 2012

I'm Afraid... Not!

Once upon a time, when I was kid... Ok, it wasn't that long ago. Anywho, maybe I'm the only one who did this, but when I was growing up, I had to do chores. Terrible, horrible chores that took FOREVER. I'm talking hard stuff, like making my bed, picking up my clothes, and even emptying the dishwasher (except for anything breakable - like glasses, plates, cookwear... that really only left silverware and pots). Well, all sarcasm aside, I had to do all these chores on a regular basis. As for motivation, well, as most horrible children at the age of eight, I didn't do a single one of these things because I loved my parents. I did everything out of a healthy fear of the Paddle.
Now, don't get any ideas about me being abused or anything stupid like that....  I survived, and as the Bible says in Proverbs 23:13 "Withhold not correction from the child: for [if] thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die." I lived!  But child-rearing is not the point.

The point is, I did things because I feared the consequences, not because I wanted to serve my family, or even because I loved them. That didn't come for several years, and was only slowly produced through maturity.

But how often do we treat serving God like this? Oooo, I gotta go to church, otherwise He'll whap me! I forgot to tithe! God's gonna go after me this week!  I need to volunteer in nursery more often, especially if I don't want a lightning bolt to strike me!

Our life, serving Him, is not to be drawn out of fear, but rather of love and gratitude for what He did for us. Consider:

He gave you the breath you just took
He gave you the clothes on your back
He gave you the food you ate for dinner
He gave you life
He died to give you eternal life
And He continues to supply exceeding abundantly above that we can ask or think!

And in exchange for all of this, He truly asks for nothing.

Wait? Nothing? Yeah, look in the Bible, Salvation is a free, non-exchangeable, non-refundable gift. And all those blessings? Look at John 14:13-14 "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye ask anything in my name, I will do it." It kinda gets really iffy here. This isn't like a good luck charm, or a magic leprechaun giving away free gold, but the more you study prayer, the more you realize that when you are in God's will, seeking God's will, you will want God's will. Another thought for another time.

If you continue in John 14, vs 15 says "If you love me, keep my commandments." And there is my point. We should keep His commandments out of love for Him. Like a child, often it takes a bit of maturing to get to this point.... though sometimes we fall back to immaturity.

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." 1 John 4:18 In my opinion, this is the best part. We are not perfect, so we cannot understand the true love, but God loves us in a perfect love. We don't need to be afraid to ask, we don't need to be afraid to do.

When your motivation changes from doing things of necessity to doing things out of real love, it stops feeling like chores. Instead, serving becomes such a great delight and joy that you find yourself yearning to do more. Service is a privilege.

Because of Him,
Missa

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Write This Down!

With the finals looming, and papers coming due, I'm beginning to appreciate all the notes I took throughout the year, and I kick myself for all those times I wasn't paying attention and didn't get as much detail as I should. Every year at the beginning of the semester, I wish that I could take a full load of classes, and at the end of every semester, I thank God that I wasn't able to because I don't know how in the world I would get everything done! God is so good to give me exactly what I need. And the best part of that goodness is that He always will supply according to my needs, and He never changes though my circumstances might.

So all I've been talking about really applies to school, but what if we applied it to our spiritual life? A few years ago, I was talking to some of my friends and I said how much I loved going to church on Sunday, especially since I could just listen to the sermon without worrying about taking copious notes since I didn't have to worry about being tested over the material at the end of the semester.

How wrong and stupid I was!  School is so insignificant compared to the eternal Word of God being preached from the pulpit.

Yes I did just say school was insignificant. That is after I have already put a few grand into paying for it and look forward to paying even more over the next couple years.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't go to school - please do! It can used to better equip you to follow in God's calling for your life. What I want to make clear is that we should put as much effort into studying God as we do that English/Violin/History class.

I might have thought a few years ago that I would never be tested on what Pastor preached on, but now I know that the opposite is true. Everyday God brings challenges into our life - tests if you will. He has equipped us with what we need to succeed... if we took the time to remember and study.

Last year, I went through a very rough spot in my life. I had only recently decided to take advantage of the very nice little outline blank printed in our bulletin. My pastor had just begun a series on trial in our life and trusting God through them. Praise the Lord, those messages were just for me! The other day, I was studying my Bible on my lunch break at work, and a co-worker asked me a random question about exactly what the sermon was about the Sunday a couple of weeks before!  The Lord gave me recollection to exactly the verses I needed to give her the Truth and present the Gospel. Wow!

And this kind of stuff happens to me all the time! Studies have proven that when you write something down, even if you never look at it again, you're way more likely to recall the information at a later date. A lot of people tell me that they just don't like to take notes, and honestly neither do I. But this investment of unpleasantries is such a tremendous asset, how can we willingly give it up?

And even if you never use it, remember that you will be required to give an account to God of all you have done in this life, whether it be bad or good. (2 Corinthians 5:10). To whom much has been given, much more shall be required. (Luke 12:48). I've sometimes wondered if when all is said and done, we'll remember every single time we had an opportunity to encourage someone with the Word of God and we forgot what we learned, and thus lost opportunity.

I don't mean to say that, to encourage you to live and walk in fear. We don't serve our Great God out of fear, but rather out of love and gratitude for what He has done for us.

So, as the boy scouts say...

"Be Prepared!"


Because of Him,
Missa