Elements Recap: April 16th, 2012

This week Steve finished up our look at the Real Jesus: What was He REALLY all about? Steve’s talk focused on Luke 24:44-49, and how ‘it’s all about Jesus’ within the Bible. How often do we see Jesus when we’re reading the Old Testament (OT)? Sure there are those passages where your Bible says links up to a verse in the New Testament (NT), but what about the rest of the OT? I mean why not just pick which parts of the Bible you want to read, and let that be that. I have often neglected a majority of the OT, except Job and the Psalms; they are my favorite OT books. Steve aptly points out in this talk that we can’t just pick and choose because we’re missing the whole picture.

It’s like when you’re learning to drive a car for the first time. You can’t skim through the drivers manual and read only how to drive at insanely ludicrous speeds. If that’s what you do, how will you know where the brake pedal is to stop? You won’t know, and you’ll crash, most likely dying as a result. I’ve heard that dying is painful, so don’t do it unless you have to. Steve urges us to read the Bible with a new hermeneutic, orb of interpretation or the way we filter information. We read the Bible to get something out of it for ourselves, but we ought to be reading it with Christ at its core.

The Bible is a manual, that’s how our culture views it, but Steve argues that it is so much more than just a manual. The Bible is a book, revealing God to us and yes teaching us. Steve wants us to read the Bible expecting to meet Jesus in every word. Before we can do that we need to strip off our old baggage of our broken filters. Steve gave us this two-part process to help us read the Bible with our new Christ centered hermeneutic. Start wherever you are in the Bible if you are currently following a reading plan (or just pick a passage at random), and consider what that passage means on the surface to it original audience. After you have thought on that first part a while, read the passage again. This time consider what it means in terms of Christ. Steve gave us a great handout that depicts how Jesus is in every book of the Bible, and if you want a copy, contact Steve.

Steve also had a drawing to help us visualize his two-part process to read the Bible with our Christ centered hermeneutic:

*Sorry about the red border around this, I can’t figure out how to get rid of it.

Now I know this diagram looks confusing, but I’ll try to explain it in terms that hopefully make sense. If not, then ask Steve. We often read a passage of the Bible like the David and Goliath story, and think ‘if David can beat that giant with God’s help, than God will help me overcome my obstacles’. While that is fine, it isn’t the whole picture. It’s allegory, a figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another. It’s us reading the Bible for our own means. So the red line from the passage of scripture to us, isn’t how we should the Bible.

Steve’s first part of our new hermeneutic style of reading the Bible takes the David and Goliath story and considers the context of the story through the redemptive history of the original audience. The people of Israel were being oppressed by Goliath’s people, and on the verge of war. David has the courage to stand up to Goliath, and was obedient to God’s instructions. So, God helped David defeat Goliath. If we stopped there, and tried to apply that to our lives it still wouldn’t be the whole picture. It would be moralism; the practice of following a principle or rule of conduct. That would be the legalistic practices of the pharisee’s of Jesus’ time, follow the Law no matter the cost. So, don’t follow the red line of moralism either.

In stead follow through to the second part of Steve’s plan for a Christ centered hermeneutic. Take David and Goliath’s story through what it meant to its original audience, and consider what it means in light of Jesus. Jesus is the better David, heck he’s the better version of everything and everyone. David was a shepherd, and I bet he lost a few sheep every once in a while. Jesus is also a shepherd, but he never loses his sheep. David would become king, but he made some mistakes. Jesus is the Messiah, King over all-no mistakes there. Jesus is our freedom from legalistic moralism.

We also shouldn’t read the Bible and try to connect Jesus to what we’re reading without first considering the Redemptive History. That’s typology, a systematic classification or study of types; symbolism. If we try to apply this symbolism to our lives, that’s us reading the Bible as means to get what we think we need. The Bible isn’t the means to an answer, it points to the answer-Jesus. As you’ve probably guessed, the red line of typology isn’t the way to go either.

The way to seeing Christ in every piece of the Bible and in our lives is to follow the black lines of the diagram. The two-part system that Steve explained, read a passage once-considering what it originally meant to the Israelites back then, read the passage again-considering what it means in light of Christ, and then consider how that applies to you. In the end, you’ll find that JESUS IS EVERYWHERE! He’s in every aspect of the OT, and that makes it equally important with the NT. Jesus is the love that holds everything together, without one tiny piece-the artwork wouldn’t be complete. So, how does our perception/hermeneutics need to change so that we can see Christ in every aspect of the Bible and in our lives? For me, it begins with taking the time to read the Bible more than once during my quiet time. Being deliberate in thinking what this book means now and what it meant then; building my new hermeneutic muscle.

Now comes the awesome part where I remind y’all of the amazing things coming up at Elements! Next week is community night, and we will not be in the Henderson building. We will be at 318 South Atherton street, and having breakfast for dinner! Also for community night, we will be eating at 6PM, so note the time change. This Friday there will be an epic bonfire coning down at Harvest Fields starting at 8PM. Rides are being provided and are still being figured out-keep an eye out for more info on that. On Sunday, which is Earth Day, City Serve is happening! Elements is teaming up with another group to clean up downtown on Sunday morning. If you haven’t signed up and want to help out, contact Dana Ray ASAP! (dmray50@gmail.com) The group will be meeting Sunday at 10 AM outside the Dorito Church, aka Grace Lutheran Church. Have a blessed week!

Elements Recap: April 9th, 2012

Elements Recap: April 9th, 2012 Precursor (The poem Dr. Roe recited some of to begin his talk.)

This week at Elements we were blessed to hear Dr. John Roe speak to us about materialism and Christianity. Dr. Roe used Jesus’ resurrection as the foundation of his talk, and compared what the Bible tells us of resurrection to our limited perception of resurrection. He also had to differentiate between the Bible’s definition of materialism and our culture’s definition. I hope that I can relay his talk to you accurately, as it is of the utmost importance.

For starters, let us be clear about what materialism is in Biblical terms. God created the world and everything on it/in it, and he called it ‘very good’ in Genesis 1. That’s everything in nature, that occurs naturally on this planet, in this universe. What that doesn’t include is that cell phone in your pocket, the computer you are reading this blog on, or even the clothes you are wearing. Our culture has made materialism to mean those techno gadgets, and consumer products that we ‘need’ everyday. Dr. Roe points to Plato as the originator of this line of thought. In the space of time from Plato’s day to our own, we have not done any better to give materialism back its true definition.

I’m sure you can at least think of that one person in your life that trades up on consumer products every few months or years. Every time something newer, faster, shinier comes out on the market. Dr. Roe mentioned the new iPhone, and I would even add the new iPad to that. It could be a new video game console/game, faster/ manlier new sports car, or motorcycle. Ladies don’t think I’m leaving y’all off the hook either! Shoes, clothing, purses, and other accessories count too!

Dr. Roe went on to describe our perception of resurrection. Granted he nor I have all/any answers about what Resurrection Day will be like. The Bible and Jesus gives us some clues. Dr. Roe uses the passage of Luke 24 as his main reference for this portion of his talk. We think of resurrection as having new bodies, and being able to do all sorts of things we can’t do now (I’m up for flying and walking through walls.). Doesn’t that sound like our perception of ghosts? We also think that Heaven is separate from our sinful world, like there’s some barrier way out in space keeping us apart.

While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence. He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. Luke 24:36-48

Even the disciples thought Jesus was a ghost! Dr. Roe points out three things that we can use to recognize Jesus in this passage. He is hard to recognize, ghost Jesus; he expands on the scriptures, see here I already told y’all this; lastly Jesus likes to eat fish. The disciples need that physicality of materialism in Jesus to see through their limited perception of resurrection. They needed to see his scars, and see him eat the fish to understand. Of course, Jesus opening their minds allowed for their complete understanding of what was going on.

Aren’t we the same way? Most of us have stopped believing in things we once believed as children. Things like the Easter bunny, Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, an imaginary friend or two, and I could go on to include fictional places in movies/books. It is just so much easier to not believe what you can’t actually see. I’ve never seen a majority of the states that make up the United States, and yet we are taught that they do exist. I’ve never seen Heaven either, but I’m told it exists too. At least for the states, there are accurate pictures to prove their existence to me. That makes it easier for me to believe that they do exist. As believers in Christ, we have to flex that faith muscle to believe in what we can’t see.

Our perceptions of materialism and resurrection aren’t necessarily a contrast of good vs. evil. It is more of a contrast of what is and what has yet come to fulfillment. We need to do a better job of expecting Jesus this time around than what the disciples did. Like us, the world awaits eagerly for the return of Jesus. Paul writes in Romans 8:19-25

For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

If anyone remembers the awesomeness of Jubilee from a few months back, this will most likely sound familiar. Jubilee’s theme was Everything Matters, and Dr. Roe finished up his talk along those same lines. We already established that God created everything, and he called it ‘very good’. That was before sin wrecked it all. We are corrupted by sin, and the whole of creation (world/ everything naturally and unnaturally on it) was corrupted as well.

So, what’s this all mean for us? Also in Genesis chapter 1, God gives Adam and Eve (a long with all their descendents) a mandate. We are to be stewards of the Earth and all its wonders. Stewards of the proper order of things on Earth, to prepare it for its resurrected glory in Revelation 21. Imagine the new Jerusalem coming down from Heaven as a beautiful bride. Picture this beautiful city landing on a dry, emaciated, torn Earth. That could very well be where Earth is heading, and that is absolutely not what God has intended for his creation. The one he created and called ‘very good’ all the way back in Genesis.

We cannot serve two masters: master of our broken humanness and God our true master. One must die, so the other can fully live. Our limited perceptions of resurrection and materialism must die, so that God’s true intentions for resurrection and materialism can be revealed. We must take up our stewardship of our world with all the seriousness we possess, before it’s too late. Dr. Roe made some simple suggestions of ways we can be better stewards. He suggested reusing containers, getting a travel mug to drink your coffee from, and by giving God thanks for the things we have. By serving as stewards, we reflect God’s love to all who bear witness.

That’s all the recap for now. Be on the look out for upcoming opportunities to serve our community and be the good stewards we are called to be. This Friday Elements has a lot going on, there is a Pig Roast out at Harvest Fields starting at 5:30 P.M. Rides will most likely be available, and be on the lookout for more on that. Also on Friday is Elements last FREE FOOD GIVEAWAY of the semester! We will be handing out pretzels this time around beginning at 10:45 or so at Schlow Library! Come out and be beakens of God’s love to those who are hungry! Coming up a few weeks from now is City Serve, April 22. Elements is establishing a team of faithful stewards to help clean up downtown after the Blue White game. For more details see your Elements weekly email, or contact Dana Ray at dmray50@gmail.com .

Elements Recap: April 9th, 2012 precursor

Seven Stanzas at Easter

Make no mistake: if He rose at all
it was as His body;
if the cells’ dissolution did not reverse, the molecules
reknit, the amino acids rekindle,
the Church will fall.

It was not as the flowers,
each soft Spring recurrent;
it was not as His Spirit in the mouths and fuddled
eyes of the eleven apostles;
it was as His flesh: ours.

The same hinged thumbs and toes,
the same valved heart
that–pierced–died, withered, paused, and then
regathered out of enduring Might
new strength to enclose.

Let us not mock God with metaphor,
analogy, sidestepping, transcendence;
making of the event a parable, a sign painted in the
faded credulity of earlier ages:
let us walk through the door.

The stone is rolled back, not paper-mâché,
not a stone in a story,
but the vast rock of materiality that in the slow
grinding of time will eclipse for each of us
the wide light of day.

And if we will have an angel at the tomb,
make it a real angel,
weighty with Max Planck’s quanta, vivid with hair,
opaque in the dawn light, robed in real linen
spun on a definite loom.

Let us not seek to make it less monstrous,
for our own convenience, our own sense of beauty,
lest, awakened in one unthinkable hour, we are
embarrassed by the miracle,
and crushed by remonstrance.

John Updike, 1960.

 

Elements Recap: April 2, 2012

This week’s discussion at Elements comes from John chapter six. Steve Lutz talked about followers of Jesus quitting on him. This entire semester we’ve been learning about the Real Jesus, and this week’s talk revealed a harder Jesus than some people are used to. This side of Jesus is a cut the crap, are you in or not kind of Jesus. Definitely not the sweet, cuddly kind of Jesus. Steve focused his talk just after the feeding of the 5000, and after Jesus walking on water in John chapter six.

Jesus gives these people a huge miraculous sign by feeding them, so when the next day comes they follow him to the other side of the lake. This lake wasn’t a tiny lake either, and while they were traveling they had plenty of time to ponder the previous day’s events. They were excited, and believed that Jesus was the prophet they had been waiting for. Jesus could tell that these people were just fans, and not true hardcore believers who were ready to carry their crosses for him. Jesus calls them out in verses 26 and 27:

“The truth is, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you saw the miraculous sign. But you shouldn’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that I, the Son of Man, can give you. For God the Father has sent me for that very purpose.”

These confused people were like, ‘but if you just give us another miraculous sign Jesus, we’ll get it this time.’ How many times have we said something along those lines? Well, if you just do this or send that, I’ll be good this time. Bargaining with God just shows how little we comprehend about him. Yet, we do it over and over again. Each time we don’t get what we want, we throw a fit like we had any power in the matter. These people try to recite scripture to Jesus in their effort to bargain their way into right standing with him. Verse 31 states, “After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! As the Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

They totally missed the point of the miraculous sign from the day before. The point just went up and over their heads. To these people, Jesus is the means to an end and not the end/the answer. God is the source of life and not those he has called to be teachers or prophets. I lost the TV remote once, and I looked all over my tiny dorm room. I was really freaking out because I am borrowing this TV from a friend. I’m about to call her to tell her I lost the remote, but then I reach up on my bookshelf for my cell phone. There’s the remote, right where I left it. It was right there in front of my face, but I couldn’t see it. The answer was right there in front of these people, but they just couldn’t see it. Jesus even tells them he is the answer, but still they don’t get it.

“I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry again. Those who believe in me will never thirst. But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me.” John 6:35-36

“And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them to eternal life at the last day. For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life-that I should raise them at the last day.” John 6:39-40

At these words spoken by Jesus, the crowd of people begin to grumble/complain/whine about what Jesus has said. They’re like ‘isn’t that the son of Joseph the carpenter?’ That seems like the basic slogan of humanity. “Mad at God? Then let him know by grumbling/complaining/ whining about what HE DID to make you mad.” As if God is only capable of messing things up, no WE mess things up. Yet, we grumble. We complain. We whine. We act like we have some small sliver of control over things. We need to check ourselves because we have no right to be complaining about the life God has graciously given us.

Jesus calls the crowd out on grumbling as well. Verses 43 and 44, “Don’t complain about what I said, For people can’t come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them from the dead.” Jesus again tells these people who God is the source/the answer. They just can’t get it. Jesus goes on to tell them that their ancestry doesn’t automatically assure them God’s favor. Their law following, good works won’t buy their way into the kingdom.

“Yes, I am the bread of life! Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died. However, the bread from heaven gives eternal life to everyone who eats it. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; this bread is my flesh, offered so the world may live….I assure you. Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. But those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them at the last day. For my flesh is the true food, and my blood the true drink. All who eat my flesh and drink my blood remain in me, and I in them. I live by the power of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, those who partake of me will live because of me. I am the true bread from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever and not die as your ancestors did, even though they ate the manna.” John 6:48-58

All this hard teaching from Jesus even weirds out his disciples. They begin to grumble as well, which causes Jesus to check them as well. He asks them, “Does this offend you?” (verse 61) Many of his disciples answered him by just leaving. Can’t you just hear them be like ‘Peace out Jesus, I quit.’ How about ‘Dude, you’re crazy, I’m out.’ Jesus then turns to the twelve, his core group of disciples. I love Peter’s answer to Jesus in verses 68 and 69: “Lord, to whom would we go? You alone have the words that give eternal life. We believe them, and we know you are the Holy One of God.” Peter gets it! The twelve get it!

Do we get it? I can’t speak for everyone, but I can speak for myself, maybe. I know the answer that God is the source of life and the only way to get to God is through Jesus. I know this in my head, but I often drift along without knowing it in my heart. People quit Jesus all the time for many reasons, and that is just fact. I’ve heard some say that fewer people quit their religion because we are more informed now than people were back then. That may be true, but like our ancestors we can’t see the future either. I’ve quit Jesus because I felt cheated in my many many attempts to bargain with him over the life of my dear friend who passed away from lung cancer ten years ago. I’ve quit because there were just too many rules/laws, and it was becoming robotic/lifeless. I’ve quit simply because I was complacent with the ‘good’ happening in my life. I’ve quit when God was silent in my life (again poor bargaining skills). I’ve quit when life just gets in the way, and religion is often the easiest weight to cut loose to keep my head above water.

That last one sneaks up on you. Finals week is fast approaching, and I’ve been noticing how my time in God’s Word has decreased slowly to hardly at all. I may not have said to God, ‘I quit’, but my actions speak far louder than my words more often than not. Steve finished up his talk with encouragement for us to not quit, and to persevere. I also encourage whomever reads this to press on, dig deeper, lean in closer to God. He likes the attention, and loves to speak those refreshing words of life in your ear. God Bless.

Elements Recap: March 26th, 2012

This week Elements was given a special treat, Calvary pastor Dan Nold spoke to us continuing our semester long study of the Real Jesus. Pastor Dan discussed Jesus’ temptation in the desert as written in Matthew 4:1-17. Before talking about Satan’s temptation of Jesus, Pastor Dan asked us to envision a moment of our lives where we can genuinely feel God’s approval/pleasure. What came to my mind was the gift of new life that I experienced on Saturday night as I delivered another calf into this world. Unlike the calf I delivered during spring break, this calf belonged to my youngest sister and myself. All that joy as I watched this sweet baby calf stumble with her first steps, I imagine God looks at us like that from time to time. Pastor Dan equated our moments of approval with that of Jesus’ baptism at the end of Matthew 3.

The Heavens are opened and God speaks for the very first time in the New Testament. All to say that Jesus was his son, and He was pleased with him. If God does that for his son, he will surely show his approval/pleasure of us. If Pastor Dan had stopped there with his talk, it wouldn’t do much to show us who Jesus really was. From here on out, his speech became more interesting, yes, but also harder to sit there and listen to the truth. Immediately after God had shown his approval/pleasure of his son, the same spirit forces Jesus out into the wilderness to be tested. Wait, repeat that last bit. Didn’t God just say he was pleased with Jesus? Sending him out into the desert sounds like a punishment, not a reward.

To our broken logic, yes, that would sound like punishment. In order for Jesus to fulfill all that was written about him, he had to go into the wilderness and be tempted. His temptation prepared him for ministry through suffering in the wilderness, and we are to do likewise. To be followers of Christ, requires us to go all over the world as the Great Commission in Matthew 28. We aren’t told to only go to the easy, comfortable places that just happen to fit into our schedules. We forget this fact sometimes, but the temptation of Jesus should be our reminder.

For the sake of clarity, Jesus actually went into a desert wilderness, but our wilderness often looks a lot different. A desert in the middle of Pennsylvania? Maybe in some opposite parallel universe. What could a wilderness look like in our lives? Waiting rather impatiently for prayers to be answered, struggling to actually believe all the things you’ve heard in church, lost on life’s highway, trapped in a vicious cycle of addiction, or trying to please too many masters at once are just some examples for starters. Each person’s wilderness looks very different from everyone else’s. My wilderness changes as I change and hopefully grow closer to God. Ten years ago, my wilderness would have included utter darkness, deep inside the vicious cycle of depression brought on by my belief in lies fed to me as precious truths by Satan. More recently, my wilderness involves a search for truth, and God’s will for my life. Is the old wilderness gone? No, but it has evolved.

Pastor Dan mentioned the phrase “God loves you and…has a difficult plan for your life.” I found this to be a harder truth to sit through and actually listen. Pastor Dan explained it pretty well, and I was intrigued by his layman’s version that God sees the potential in us, but to fully get our potential out/put to good use we need refined. Suffering through our wildernesses refines us, prepares us as Jesus was prepared during his temptation. No one wants to go through difficult times, so we try to take the easy way out/around. As Pastor Dan put it, “you can’t wussify the wilderness.” It’s like camping with someone who needs to have an electric air mattress, air conditioning, hair dryer, an actual stove for cooking, and you can keep on adding to this list. Point is all these appliances to make camping comfortable, takes away the fun of camping, the art of being one with nature. The wildernesses of our lives can’t be made all cutesy and clean, we won’t/can’t grow that way.

There is good out in the wilderness according to Pastor Dan. Our passion for God deepens when we feel his absence. Which God never actually leaves us, but sometimes to teach us a lesson he will mask his presence from us. Other times, God will utterly amaze us in the mist of our wilderness. Secondly, there is no ‘I’ in wilderness. We must depend on God, and God alone to get what he wants us to learn. The only way out may be to just persevere through the wilderness, and we can’t do that without God’s help.

Ephesians 2:10 states, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” We are God’s artwork, his canvas. We carry God’s brushstrokes, his signature. Luke writes in Acts 9:15, “…for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name….” As we persevere with God’s grace through our trials in the wilderness, we gain more and more of God’s brushstrokes. Are we then willing to go into the wilderness to rightly gain God’s brushstrokes on our lives? Or would we rather take the easy looking way into more trouble?

If we are truly honest as Christians, we would say that we want God’s will to prevail in our lives. His will is for us to persevere through the wilderness, gaining more and more of his markings to show the world we are his. It won’t be easy, but be encouraged that only Jesus had to go through the wilderness alone. Because Jesus went through alone, he now is with us to help us through. I can look back now with gratitude at my wilderness from ten years ago because now I can see God’s markings. Pastor Dan challenged us to find those little things we are grateful for everyday, and to praise God continually for them. I am grateful for the community at Calvary and at Elements. God has used them to reach out to me in the wilderness, and to bring me back to the path leading to life.

Weekly Elements Re-cap March 19th, 2012

This week we heard from Dana Ray on the Greatness in the Kingdom, a look at Luke 22:24-30. Dana uses this passage in Luke to reveal to us another glimpse at the ‘Real Jesus’, which we’ve been studying the realness of Jesus this semester. Tonight’s discussion began with how we define ‘greatness’. Most dictionaries will define ‘greatness’ as: really cool, big, epic, significant, awesome, and a success. Dana summed it up as being recognized for doing things well, or success with an audience.

Success with an audience…so greatness is just a performance, an act, just going through the motions? That is what our broken society may have us believe, but as Christians ‘greatness’ means something very different. So we must guard ourselves against becoming lukewarm followers of Christ. Revelation 3:15-16 warns, “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” I struggle with being lukewarm, and I’m glad that my family at Elements has helped me this past year to lessen my performing. Let’s face it, I’m not much of an actor/actress. I may say one thing, but the truth is usually written all over my face.

Dana pointed out in her talk that there are two things NOT in God’s kingdom, power and status. ‘Power’ brings to my mind as having wealth, land, servants, etc… old Medieval kind of power. Dana modernized ‘power’ to having control and respect. So now I’m thinking about the old gangsters like Capone. Anyway, hopefully you get what I’m trying to explain. These things are often sneaky, crafty little vices causing us to stumble. We like to keep our reputation relatively clean, you know better than so and so. We like to plan ahead, and have everything just so. Lord have mercy if just the smallest detail is out-of-place because we are going to freak out. Anything sound familiar? It does for me.

In my mind ‘status’ goes along with ‘power’ because those with ‘power’ have a higher ‘status’. Again old school train of thought. Even today, we hold celebrities to a higher standard than say Joe Schmoe down the hall. You can even add politicians, and big time business people to that list. I know that growing up with younger siblings, we would always one up each other. Now, one upping each other sounds like this:

(my sister) “I had five chicken nuggets for lunch, and drank half of my chocolate milk.”

(me) “Oh yeah, well I had six chicken nuggets, and drank all my milk plus what you didn’t finish.”

You can just imagine one of us, or both of us sticking our tongues out at each other. Such were the days of our childhood. I’m afraid one upping doesn’t end when we turn eighteen, and our childhood is but a distant wisp of memory, all but long forgotten.

I could give you example after example of the one upping I hear in my major, and at my job. Due to time constraint, and the fact that you probably got the idea, I’ll move on. Dana challenges us to think about what we do everyday and why we do it. Are we taking this class because we want to look good compared to someone who hasn’t taken this class, but may need to eventually? Do we lord our status/power over others, maybe not even realizing we are doing so? Dana sent us a news flash: the Kingdom of God doesn’t revolve around us, it revolves around God. After all, it is his name in the Kingdom of GOD.

So, what is in the Kingdom of God that would make one describe it as being great? Dana gives us four great examples: servant-hood, humility, severely high level of difficulty, and overall-love. Servant-hood, or being childlike calls us to be entirely dependent on God. Depending on God means that we must first give up ourselves. Luke writes in chapter nine verses 23-25: “Then he said to the crowd, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life. And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose or forfeit your own soul in the process?’” We must surrender. We must die to self and the world in order to live within the ‘greatness’ of the Kingdom of God.

Dana also mentioned that humility is in God’s Kingdom. In looking up the definition of the word humble, I was struck not by the definitions but by some of the synonyms. Words such as: unpretending, unpretentious, submissive, meek, unassuming, and poor. Humility is our acknowledgment of our total dependence on God. The thing is that if you truly believe that you are humble already, then you are not humble at all. Here is where many of us are caught because of the nasty vice of pride. C.S. Lewis puts it like this in Mere Christianity:

“According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.”

The remaining two examples go together like a confusing math problem, and the easy answer staring you straight in the face. The one you still can’t see until your super smart friend points it out to you. Being a humble servant is all fine and dandy, but surrendering is not something our broken selves can do very easily. Pride is one tough cookie to beat, especially for me. Why bother trying to surrender when we know we will constantly fail? LOVE. It’s that simple, God loved/loves us so much that he sent Jesus to die-for us. We need to keep trying to surrender ourselves, being servants, showing humility to those around us, and searching for the ‘greatness’ of God’s Kingdom. All that because we are called to love others as we have been loved. Doing all these incredibly difficult things, shows two things: our love for God and God’s love for us to ourselves and to those around us.

Jesus is love, and a willing servant. Back to ‘greatness’ being success with an audience, there is only one who can free us from the vicious cycle of comfort that one finds in pretending in order to gain ‘power’ or ‘status’. We must be truly ready to surrender ourselves, and ask for our freedom. Luke 11:9-10 encourages us to, “…keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks.” Be on the lookout for further announcements pertaining to awesome upcoming events! Next Monday Pastor Dan Nold will be speaking at Elements, so don’t miss it!

Gracious Lord:

Thank you for sending us your word through Dana. Thank you for working through your servants at Free Food Giveaway, Friday night. May all those touched through them come to know you better. Speak to us this week Lord, reveal to us the things we hide away. Things we pretend aren’t there, but you can see that we need to surrender to you. Help us to give up our control to you, O Lord. All the ‘little things’ we think don’t matter, and we pull them closer-trying to hide them from the light. Reveal to us the lies we utter, both in public and in secret. Forgive us, Lord, for being stubborn and thinking surrendering is a weakness-only for cowards. Forgive us, for our stubborn pride. Help us, merciful Lord, to love those around us as you love them. Help us to love ourselves as you love us. Lord you work in strange and mysterious ways, and your ways are not our ways. Open our hearts, Lord, so that we may understand your will for our lives. Lord, answer those prayers believed to be unanswered. Speak words of tenderness to us out in the dry places, and declare to us your promises to never destroy or abandon us. I ask that Lord you would bless whoever reads this, and whoever doesn’t read this. Thy will be done, Lord, and not my own.

Amen…

Elements Recap

This our first week back from spring break, we had Steve talk to us about rest. Anyone find that just a little ironic? We just got back from a break, where we were supposed to be resting. I know I certainly didn’t do all that much resting during my spring break. That’s not even mentioning the hour of sleep we lost Sunday morning. Steve talked about how rest is good for us, but it is so hard to regularly commit to doing. If that sounds familiar, no worries because Steve gave us some ideas on how to make room for rest in our lives. First, I feel the need to do some clarifying about ‘rest’.

Rest is defined as: • the refreshing quiet or repose of sleep

• refreshing ease or inactivity after exertion or labor

• relief or freedom, especially from anything that wearies, troubles, or disturbs

• a period or interval of inactivity, repose, solitude, or tranquility

• mental or spiritual calm; tranquility.

These were just the first five results when I looked up ‘rest’ on Dictionary.com. Yes, rest can be all of these things. I think Steve was referring to the mental and spiritual calm that one can find in Christ. Obtaining that calm could involve other definitions of rest; I think it varies for each person. What does not vary is that the only way we can truly rest, is in the Lord. Rest was created by God, and he commands us to seek refuge/rest in him daily.

In Genesis, God created the world and everything in it. God then took a rest on the seventh day, Genesis 2:2-3 “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” God gave the commandment to Moses in Exodus 20:8, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.”

Too often we take this commandment for granted, but it is every bit as important as the other nine given to Moses. Like everything God created, rest became broken when sin entered the garden of Eden. Sin separates us from God, just as being super busy distances/distracts us from God. We aren’t super heroes, we can’t do it all. Yet, we try, and we fail miserably. Steve pointed out that as Americans, we work more hours than most other nations; however, we are the least productive nation. So, why do we feel the need to be busy busy busy? I know for me I don’t like to let people down, especially if I care about them. It’s just so hard to say ‘no’ when they ask you for something, without seeing the piles of other requests scattered all over your life. Truth is, they probably can’t see them at all. For others, it could be the false illusion that if they work harder, they will get a longer break later. Perhaps we are trying to prove our worth to others, or ourselves by working til we break. Believe me, we will eventually break. In this chaos, we often wonder if God has abandoned us. Surely he would have brought some relief by now? He probably already has, but we missed it in the busy work we were doing.

Here come some hard truths, so let them soak in a bit. Psalms 127:2 says, “It’s useless to rise early and go to bed late, and work your worried fingers to the bone. Don’t you know he enjoys giving rest to those he loves?” (The Message) If you can’t tell, this Psalm was written by Solomon, who also wrote Ecclesiastes where everything is meaningless. God alone is our source of joy and fulfillment, nothing we can do/have done will achieve this. Steve also shared the story of Elijah hearing God’s small voice. In the noise of the chaos in our lives, we can’t hear that small, still voice. Does God always use the still, small voice to get our attention? No, and I have a six inch scar to prove that. The point is that we should be better listeners for that voice, instead of turning up the volume of the chaos. Psalm 46:10 says, “…Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” God is in control, and not us. We need to surrender, my friends. Rest should be us placing our trust in God, that he is enough. God is all we will ever need, all else is worthless fools gold. Isaiah 30:15 goes like this: “…in repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength…” Now, where in all that is the part that we can do for ourselves? There isn’t a part that we can do for ourselves; just surrender to God’s will, and accept his grace.

Steve wrapped up his talk with some suggestions on how we can surrender our lives in order to rest more fully in Christ’s waiting arms. For Steve, he is giving up social media for the entire month of March. That’s why if you’ve sent him a Facebook message, he hasn’t responded back. Try emailing him, or texting him if its important. He also suggested scheduling breaks for yourself through the day/week. Whether you take a nap or not, is up to you. For me, I need to re-prioritize the list of people I can say ‘yes’ to, and add some names to the ‘no’ list. For others it could be spending more time in the Bible, or in prayer. Whatever it is, you’ll have to choose to do it daily instead of being too busy. Be encouraged by Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Just to date myself and because it is an amazing song, I will share with you a throw back to 2002. I saw a band in concert in 2002, called Big Daddy Weave. One of the songs they played was called, “Rest”. The lyrics are based off of Matthew 11:28, which totally make it relevant. Here are the lyrics: “To all who are weary and those who are heavy laden Lay at the feet of the one who loves you best Bring all of your trials and all of your tribulation Come unto me and I will give you rest I will give you rest Take my yoke upon you Come and learn from me For I am humble in spirit and so you must also be Lo I will be with you in the midst of every test If you run unto me, I will give you rest I will give you rest” Here is also a link to a video of the song: http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=7P7YY7NX

In closing, remember that we are called to rest in our creator’s presence. Be on the lookout for upcoming emails/notices for Friday’s Free Food Giveaway, this Friday outside of Schlow Library. Food giveaway begins at 11PM, so be ready to serve our community. Also if you’re planning on attending an Elements lab before regular Elements on Monday the 19th, please let Dana Ray know by Sunday afternoon. Her email is dmray50@gmail.com. You should also email Dana for more information on this upcoming lab, as it is sure to be a great one.

SPRING BREAK

Surprise post by Angela Ruby!

Spring break is finally upon us, and may it be a week of rest or a week to catch up on all your school work. Either way, I do hope everyone is taking the time to rest in our Heavenly Father’s presence this week. For me, spring break is work filled and often wearisome. I know that not everyone has a good spring break experience. The thought of going home may bring on more stress than stress relief. Jesus had a time like that while he was on earth. Mark 6: 1-6a tells the story like this:

“Jesus left that part of the country and returned with his disciples to Nazareth, his hometown. The next Sabbath he began teaching in the Synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. They asked,’ Where did he get all his wisdom and the power to perform such miracles? He’s just the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.’ They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. Then Jesus told them,’ A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family.’ And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any mighty miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.”

Jesus was dissed in his own hometown. If he was totally human, that would shake even the strongest believer’s faith. Thankfully, Jesus was both fully human and fully divine. We aren’t so lucky, but we don’t have to face life alone. We have God, and he gave us each other to support and encourage each other in our journeys of faith. Spring break makes it especially tough because not everyone from Elements is in close approximation to each other. You can’t turn the corner of your house to walk to the kitchen and find Faye dancing around your kitchen table. As awesome as that sounds, it is most unlikely to happen.

Going home is hard for me. A lot of my relationships with my family are strained and on rocky ground. I see the shadows of promises that were broken, and feel the pull of obligation rather than relationship. Being a farmer’s kid ain’t easy, but neither was being the son of God in ancient Israel. I often get acknowledged like Jesus did in Mark 6:3. ‘Hey you’re one of those Ruby girls’, or ‘aren’t you one of Steve’s (my dad) daughters, the one that works on the farm’. I’m still learning to take those as what they are, and not process them through the broken processors of my brain.(Not to say that I don’t enjoy being called Ruby by anyone from Elements because I like it.) I’m sure more of you can relate.

So, where to go when going home is scary? I’m not actually qualified to tell you physically where to go, but spiritually, the Bible’s got plenty of room for everyone. Isaiah has some amazing verses that God is showing me this spring break. They’re so amazing, that I’m going to share with all of you. I’m learning that to try to survive this life alone is just foolish, I don’t have any control over it. Isaiah 43: 13 puts it bluntly, “From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can oppose what I do. No one can reverse my actions.” We aren’t in the driver seats friends, but we often try to be.

Our ‘thinking’ we are in control doesn’t send God away, although I’d like to think it saddens him a great bit. Isaiah 42:16 puts it like this, “I will lead Israel down a new path, guiding them along an unfamiliar way. I will make the darkness bright before them and smooth out the road ahead of them. Yes, I will indeed do these things; I will not forsake them.” God goes out ahead of us, to prepare the way for us. No matter how much we mess things up, he will never leave us. We have been ransomed, my friends by the blood of Jesus! Isaiah 44:21-22 says, “Pay attention, O Israel, for you are my servant. I, the Lord, made you, and I will not forget to help you. I have swept away your sins like the morning mists. I have scattered your offenses like the clouds. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free.”

It is my sincerest hope that you find these words as a comfort and a source of joy that our Lord loves us so much! God promises to help us, but we have to actively ask for help. Parents bringing you down; ask for help. Siblings bugging you to death; ask for help. Homework piling up, so that it takes over your room; ask for help. If you can’t think of anything to actively ask for help on; ask for help. Also ask others to petition God for help on your behalf. That’s what supporting our brother’s and sister’s in Christ is meant for. As a community at Elements, we are called by name to actively pray for each other and to encourage each other. I personally am honored to be praying for you, my friends at Elements, because it glorifies the God we love. Last bit of scripture before I pull this post to a close. Isaiah 43:1-2: “But now, O Israel, the Lord who created you says:’ Don’t be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.’ ” That’s all for now from me. Be encouraged that whatever you’re going through, wherever you are in your journey, God is there with you. He has even gone ahead and prepared the way for you, he loves you that much! Looking forward to seeing you all when Elements begins again on Monday March 12th, and hearing how those breaks went. May everyone’s spring break be restful, and filled with God’s presence!

Lent: The Season of Bright Darkness

Post by the apprentice, Dana Ray

In even the least liturgical churches, two key seasons are acknowledged: Advent and Lent. Advent leads up to Christmas, the celebration of Jesus’s birth. Lent leads up to Easter, the memorial of his death and celebration of his resurrection.

 

They are both about waiting.

 

No one likes to wait. To put it bluntly, waiting sucks. But waiting is part of the created order and it is only in the fall that waiting feels like a burden. Waiting is part of us learning to hope and practicing patience at the same time. Waiting is about trusting that the God who created will do what He promised.

 

In Lent, we wait to remember Christ’s death and for His resurrection.

 

In Lent, we practice waiting for his second coming and the final resurrection.

 

The season before a celebration is very important. It is the time before that makes the celebration what it is.

 

There is significance in the time of this particular wait. Lent lasts 40 days. Moses spent 40 days on Mt. Sinai in God’s presence receiving the Law. The Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years. Jesus lived in the desert for 40 days and was tempted there. 40 is a sign of intense periods of change, but change that comes through isolation, through loneliness, through hunger, through the desert.

 

So to remember as a Church (the invisible Catholic/universal church) and as individuals, it has become a tradition to fast during this time. Fasting means we give up certain things to remember when our ancestors wandered in deserts and when our God wandered in a desert without food for 40 days.

 

This looks very different from person to person or between denominations. Some give up a vice, or a great temptation in their lives to remember reliance on God alone. Others give up some celebratory part of life, something beautiful and good to remember Who gives goodness and beauty to the world. Others give up some sort of time commitment in order to spend more time focused on prayer. Others practice an “active Lent”: they offer volunteer service to the community or focus on a spiritual discipline or read a book or work their way through the Four Gospels. Catholics make a pretty standard practice of no sweets/desserts during Lent and not eating meat on Fridays (hence the tuna and cheddar panninis in South on Fridays during the spring semester!). Emphasizing a special fast on Fridays helps to remind the Church that Christ died on a Friday.

 

Lauren Winner, author of “Girl Meets God”, is a creative faster. Her book is structured around the Church Calendar. And for Lent, she gave up reading. Now, I’m imagining most of the readers here are college students so let me say this: DON’T GIVE UP SCHOOL WORK. The point is that she took something that was dear to her and was a significant part of her time and something she really wouldn’t ever want to live without, and she lived without it. She chose to be in a “desert” to wait for the God who makes streams in the desert.

 

My own Lent observations have varied over the years. Most years I try to read through a play on Christ’s life: “The Man Born to be King” by Dorothy Sayers. But I will be honest: Lent has a tendency to sneak up on me. Ash Wednesday suddenly happens and I’ve made no preparations for the season of preparation! In the past, I’ve given up facebook, chocolate, movie watching. Other years, I’ve not bothered at all… and regretted it. This year, I’ve given up most of my make-up. I only kept eyeliner, chapstick, and foundation in my bathroom drawer. Make up has become something I enjoy using and going without mascara and eye shadow each morning reminds me that today is not a day of celebration but of waiting. When Sunday comes around when I remember the Resurrection and get to put on mascara, it’s like I’m going to a party!

 

The purpose is to remember. The purpose is also to create space in our physical and spiritual lives to pray, to be with God, and to wait with Him for the answers He has promised.

 

How will you remember this Lent?

Elements 2/27 recap

Written by Angela Ruby!!!

Here is your handy-dandy Elements re-cap for this week! We’re still learning about who ethereal Jesus is as this semester comes to the midway point. This week Erica spoke about Jesus as our comforter and conqueror. She spoke primarily from the book of John, the eleventh chapter, verses seventeen through forty-four. You may know that passage better as the death and resurrection of Lazarus. If you’re not familiar with this story, then I encourage you to read it in John before reading there re-cap.

Erica showed us just how smart she is by teaching us a new word that scholars use when referring to Jesus. The word is hypostatic union, and it means that Jesus is BOTH fully human and fully divine. Pretty nifty head knowledge, but does that sink the eighteen inches or so to our hearts? Well, I hope by the end of this re-cap these truths will have sunk down deep into your hearts, and may they resonate in your very soul. So, on to the meat of Erica’s talk.

Lazarus is the brother of Martha and Mary Magdalene, and the three of them are close friends of Jesus. When Lazarus became very sick, his sisters sent word to Jesus to come heal their beloved brother. Jesus received their message, but stayed where he was two more days before coming to their aid. In that time Lazarus literally died, deader than a doornail, dead, Jesus knew this as he approached where Martha and Mary lived. Martha hearing that Jesus was coming ran out to meet him. She ran; she wanted answers, and by golly she was going to get them. We see this in verse 21: “…if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Where were you, Lord? Why did you wait those two whole days?

 

Jesus tells her that he will raise Lazarus from the grave, but Martha doesn’t fully understand. She instead goes to get Mary, maybe thinking she could get those answers from Jesus. Mary goes quickly to Jesus, and tells him the same thing that Martha did. If you had been here…. In comes the shortest verse in the entire Bible, verse 35. Because Jesus saw Mary weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit. “Jesus wept.” I ain’t talking about some little boo who either, I’m mean bawling till there is no more tears left. Such a deep grief that is hardly quenched with ice cream and chocolate that is weeping. The Greek translation for weeping is literally ‘loud wailing’.

Now coming to the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus was again deeply moved. He orders the stone to be removed, which they reluctantly did. (Lazarus had been dead four days, and probably started to smell pretty ripe.) Jesus thanked his father, God, for listening to his prayer. The prayer was more to the benefit of those around Jesus, which he states in verse forty-two. Jesus then calls Lazarus to come on out, and out Lazarus walks, still bound in burial linens. I would have liked to have seen the look on the faces of the people in the crowd that had gathered around the tomb.

Jesus was fully human. He ate, drank, and worked with his hands, had friends, experienced emotions, and he suffered for us. Erica talked about Jesus as being the one who steps out of Heaven, being incarnated (becoming flesh). Jesus lowered himself to our level; he became a servant for us. Philippians 2:6-8states, “(Jesus Christ) who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking on the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearances a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death-even death on a cross!” Paul also points this out in 2 Corinthians 8:9.

Erica talked about how Martha doubted Jesus. She believed he was the Messiah, and had all the authority to one day resurrect her brother. I think this doubt comes from Martha seeing Jesus as fully human, with all those human characteristics mentioned in the previous paragraph. What she can’t see is Jesus’ authority and power in that present moment to resurrect Lazarus. She didn’t quite have that heart knowledge; maybe it was in her head. Head knowledge is easier to be swayed and forgotten, than genuine heart knowledge. Isn’t that precisely how we are most of the time? We know all those Sunday school answers, but do we believe them? Are they secured deep down in our hearts? Or do we waltz around with fake facades, trying to look like a normal Christian?

Jesus was fully divine, apart of the Holy trinity. He had the authority and power to heal Lazarus when Martha’s and Mary’s message reached him. Jesus chose to wait two whole days before heading their way. That’s two days of torture and agony for Martha and Mary. To quote the Script, “(they) wanted words, but all (they) heard was nothing.” They wanted Jesus to drop everything and heal their brother. Yes, they eventually got their brother back. Like us, they wanted it done on their time, right now. Jesus waited, remained silent, right where he was. Verse forty-two says, “…but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” Jesus had/has a greater purpose to fulfill. He is a teacher, and so he must teach. That is why God remains silent in our lives from time to time; he has a greater purpose to fulfill in and with our lives.

We must not miss that Jesus was deeply moved twice in this passage from John. The phrase ‘deeply moved’ doesn’t quite mean what we have softened it to mean. ‘Deeply moved’ in Greek, means outrage, fury, anger, etc…. (The actual word is embrimaomai.) On top of Jesus’ loud wailing in verse thirty-five, there is seething fury. Jesus is just sick and tired of death: the ruler of death, what it causes mankind and the poor state of humanity in general. I believe that part of Jesus’ weeping is grief for Lazarus, but I think this fury is part of those tears too. Have you ever been so mad, that you couldn’t help but cry? I’ve been there a time or two.

So, what then does Jesus do? He reveals the glory of God, and conquerors death. He defeated death for Lazarus, but he also did it for you and me on that cross. Jesus is our savior, and death has been given one mighty whooping! Those victories are our hope for tomorrow and our strength for today. Its Jesus bringing/having brought Heaven to us. It’s a gift of eternal love, and it doesn’t end there. Those two mighty words inverse thirty-five, give us permission to be deeply moved and to grieve. Too often Christians are thought to be all cheerfully happy all the time, but the truth is we’re not. Jesus gives us permission to be who we are in those times of grief out in the desert.

As I try to wrap this up because let’s face it, most of you will not enjoy reading such long posts. Remember the grief of Job and the Psalmists, when someone tells you to cheer up. It’s okay to be deeply moved, Jesus was and I believe he calls us to be likewise. I read a book some years ago called An Untroubled Heart by Micca Campbell. Ladies, I recommend checking it out! In the last chapter there is a prayer:

“Lord, break my heart with the things that break yours. Give me the wisdom to see the needs of my neighbors. Supply me with strength so I can be brave enough to accomplish your work. I know this is your plan for me to serve, love, and witness to others, so I’m trusting in you to give me the courage I need to do your will.”

I also encourage us to not let this amazing, life saving knowledge just rot in our brains. We must believe this knowledge, but like Martha we doubt. Who is God calling you to encourage with real faith in the midst of this real broken life this week? One last little tidbit, that can be used as a prayer to help us when we doubt. The chorus and bridge of the song “Give Me Faith”:

“Give me faith to trust what you say/ That you’re good and your love is great/ I’m broken inside, I give you my life/ I may be weak/ Your spirit is strong in me/ My flesh may fail/ My God you never will”[repeat as needed]