I just finished a two-week devotional called "Thirsty?", and it discusses in detail what our lives look like when we are trying to run it ourselves, what our should look like when we have Christ in charge of our lives, and how to make it happen. It was such a powerful read, I just wanted to leave you guys with a small teaser from it. Perhaps you will become "thirsty" for more?
"Have you ever felt that this can’t be all there is—that somehow there must be something deeper, something more to the Christian life? Something you don’t need to act out but a palpable source of energy and life flowing from the heart? Not behavior modification by your own effort and discipline but life transformation through God’s power? Jesus clearly taught that there was when he said, “if anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” John goes on to tell us, “By this he meant the Spirit” (John 7:37-39). According to Jesus, the Holy Spirit is the source of that “something more,” the source of what’s missing.
The phrase Jesus used, “living water,” was meant to evoke, among other Scriptures, Jeremiah 2:13: “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”
But even if we didn’t know Jeremiah 2:13, we could have understood Jesus’ implication by his use of the phrase “living water.” Sounds poetic, even mystical, doesn’t it? But Jesus didn’t use the term “living water” poetically or mystically. Living water was another term for freshwater, the stuff you use to water plants and animals, grow crops, clean dishes—the stuff you drink to live. And, importantly, it stands in opposition, not to stagnant (dead) water, but to saltwater.
Saltwater looks and feels like fresh, or living, water, but if you drink it for any length of time, it kills you. A person could be stranded in the
middle of the ocean floating atop a gazillion gallons of it and
die of thirst. The more you drink saltwater, the thirstier you get. If there’s a better picture for sin, please stop me at any point.
And so here we are again, back at the basic meaning of Jeremiah 2:13. It’s not just that our souls need living water or we’ll die of spiritual thirst; it’s that we’re dying of thirst because we drink from alternative wells, chugging down saltwater instead of fresh. What our souls thirst for is Christ, whom we experience by the Spirit.
Like the body, the soul can’t go very long without water. And so everyone, most every day, gets thirsty, as experienced in innumerable forms: insecurity, unforgiveness, meaninglessness, loneliness, hopelessness, emptiness, boredom, dissatisfaction, worry, anxiety, and so on. Our souls are constantly crying out for something to drink. So we drink.
But all temporal forms of refreshment (sex, drugs, success, fame, busyness, entertainment, travel, materialism) are, in the end, saltwater. In the moment, they taste and feel like water to the lips but they only succeed in making us thirstier. If we persist in drinking them, they are spiritually terminal.
But this isn’t the worst tragedy. The greater tragedy by far is that those of us who have come to know Christ continue to drink the same saltwater that unbelievers drink, though perhaps in more socially acceptable forms.
When we feel the thirst of insecurity, for example, do we turn to the Lord or do we buy clothes, lift weights, clamor for attention, flirt, judge others or put others down, or get jealous? When we feel the thirst of loneliness or dissatisfaction, do we turn to the Lord or do we eat, watch TV, play on the computer, fantasize, sleep?
When we need confidence, do we rely upon God or jack ourselves up with music, coffee, nicotine, Red Bull, new clothes, self-talk, cool speech? To what are we turning to satisfy those thirsts?
Though we have living water (the Holy Spirit) within us, we satisfy our thirst in much the same ways unbelievers do. Maybe we’ve stopped having premarital sex or taking illicit drugs—maybe—but that doesn’t mean we’re not turning to saltwater. In truth, we’re often consuming it daily . . . by the gallon.
And this, when you clear everything else away, is at the core of our dissatisfaction and thirst: we are not filled and do not walk with, or drink from, the Spirit in the way we could or should.
Now, it could be that we just don’t know any better. Maybe we never even knew the source of living water was within us. Or maybe we thought we were supposed to gut out a godly life in our own strength through discipline and abstinence. Maybe this is all we’ve ever seen modeled. Whatever the reason, it doesn’t matter, because we are going to change all that."
This is just the introduction to a 2-week devotional entitled "Thirsty" by Rick James.
More information and how to order a copy here:
http://crupress.campuscrusadeforchrist.com/discipleship/thirsty
Friday, March 26, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Midterms = Stress
Sorry its been a couple days since I've posted...its midterms week here at Point. Not too excited about it. I had three exams and two papers I needed to have completed by the end of this week. I just got done with one of my exams and I wasn't too happy about it...but, there is always next time!
Along with the theme of midterms, God has been putting the thoughts of stress and worry on my heart. I was just reading through the book of Philippians and I came across 4:6...
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
"Do not be anxious about anything"....man, that is not me at all. I am anxious about EVERYTHING! I am worried about money, what am I going to do after college, what do people think of me, am I portraying God in a good way right now, etc., etc. But this passage is calling us not to worry or be anxious about anything, but instead give it up to the Lord and know that he will have supreme power over it. Like I said, God has put it in my heart because of me reading through Philippians, but, God is also reaching me through another book.
I am reading Francis Chan's "Crazy Love" right now and let me tell you, it is stinkin' amazing! It is all about the love that God has for us and the love that we should have for him. But, the part I want to focus on is also about worry and stress. I'll just write it out for you...
"Worry implies that we don't quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what’s happening in our lives.
Stress says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace toward others, or our tight grip of control.
Basically, these two behaviors communicate that it’s OK to sin and not trust God because the stuff in my life is somehow exceptional. Both worry and stress reek of arrogance. They declare our tendency to forget that we’ve been forgiven, that our lives here are brief, that we are headed to a place where we won’t be lonely, afraid, or hurt ever again, and that in the context of God’s strength, our problems are small, indeed.
Why are we so quick to forget God? Who do we think we are?
I find myself relearning this lesson often. Even though I glimpse God’s holiness, I am still dumb enough to forget that life is all about God and not about me at all.
It goes sort of like this…
Suppose you are an extra in an upcoming movie. You will probably scrutinize that one scene where hundreds of people are milling around just waiting for that two-fifths of a second when you can see that back of your head. Maybe your mom and closest friend get excited about that two-fifths of a second with you…maybe. But no one else will realize it is you. Even if you tell them, they won’t care.
Let’s take it a step further. What if you rent out the theater on opening night and invite all your friends and family to come see the new movie about you? People will say, “You’re an idiot! How could you think this movie is about you?”
Many Christians are even more delusional than the person I’ve been describing. So many of us think and live like the movie of life is all about us.
Now consider the movie of life…
GOD creates the world. (Were you alive then? Was GOD talking to you when He proclaimed “It is good” about all He had just mad?)
Then people rebel against GOD (who, if you haven’t realized yet, is the main character in this movie), and GOD floods the earth to rid it of the mess of people made it.
Several generations later, GOD singles out a ninety-nine-year-old man called Abram and makes him the father of a nation (did you have anything to do with this?).
Later, along come Joseph and Moses and many other ordinary and inadequate people that the movie is also not about. GOD is the one who picks them and directs them and works miracles through them.
In the next scene, GOD sends judges and prophets to His nation because the people can’t seem to give Him the one thing He asks of them (obedience).
And then, the climax: The Son of GOD is born among the people whom GOD still somehow loves. While in this world, the song teaches His followers what true love looks like. Then the Son of GOD dies and is resurrected and goes back up to be with GOD.
And even though the movie isn’t quite finished yet, we know what the last scene holds. It’s the scene I already described in chaper1: the throne room of GOD. Her every being worships GOD who sits on the throne, for He alone is worthy to be praised.
From start to finish, this movie is obviously about God. He is the main character. How is it possible that we live as though it is about us?
Our scene in the movie, our brief lives, fall somewhere between the time Jesus ascends into heaven (Acts) and when we will all worship God on His throne in heaven (Revelation).
We have only our two-fifths-of-a-second-long scene to live. I don't know about you, but I want my two-fifths of a second to be about my making much of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." That is what each of our two-fifths is about.
So what does that mean for you?
Frankly, you need to get over yourself. It might sound harsh, but that's seriously what it means.
Maybe life's pretty good for you right now. God has given you this good stuff so that you can show the world a person who enjoys blessings, but who is still totally obsessed with God.
Or maybe life is tough right now, and everything feels like a struggle. God has allowed hard things in your life so you can show the world that your God is great and that knowing Him brings peace and joy, even when life is hard. Like the psalmist who wrote, "I saw the prosperity of the wicked...Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure...When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God" (Ps. 73:3, 13, 16-17). It is easy to become disillusioned with the circumstances of our lives compared to others'. But in the presence of God, He gives us deeper peace and joy that transcends it all.
To be brutally honest, it doesn't really matter what place you find yourself in right now. Your part is to bring Him glory---whether eating a sandwich on lunch break, drinking coffee at 12:04 a.m. so you can stay awake to study, or watching your four-month-old take a nap.
The point of your life is to point to Him. Whatever you are doing, God wants to be glorified, because this whole thing is His. It is His movie, His world, His gift."
This really hit me hard....I'll tell you more later! Love you all, thanks for reading and I hope God can speak to you through this blog!
Ryan
Along with the theme of midterms, God has been putting the thoughts of stress and worry on my heart. I was just reading through the book of Philippians and I came across 4:6...
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
"Do not be anxious about anything"....man, that is not me at all. I am anxious about EVERYTHING! I am worried about money, what am I going to do after college, what do people think of me, am I portraying God in a good way right now, etc., etc. But this passage is calling us not to worry or be anxious about anything, but instead give it up to the Lord and know that he will have supreme power over it. Like I said, God has put it in my heart because of me reading through Philippians, but, God is also reaching me through another book.
I am reading Francis Chan's "Crazy Love" right now and let me tell you, it is stinkin' amazing! It is all about the love that God has for us and the love that we should have for him. But, the part I want to focus on is also about worry and stress. I'll just write it out for you...
"Worry implies that we don't quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what’s happening in our lives.
Stress says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace toward others, or our tight grip of control.
Basically, these two behaviors communicate that it’s OK to sin and not trust God because the stuff in my life is somehow exceptional. Both worry and stress reek of arrogance. They declare our tendency to forget that we’ve been forgiven, that our lives here are brief, that we are headed to a place where we won’t be lonely, afraid, or hurt ever again, and that in the context of God’s strength, our problems are small, indeed.
Why are we so quick to forget God? Who do we think we are?
I find myself relearning this lesson often. Even though I glimpse God’s holiness, I am still dumb enough to forget that life is all about God and not about me at all.
It goes sort of like this…
Suppose you are an extra in an upcoming movie. You will probably scrutinize that one scene where hundreds of people are milling around just waiting for that two-fifths of a second when you can see that back of your head. Maybe your mom and closest friend get excited about that two-fifths of a second with you…maybe. But no one else will realize it is you. Even if you tell them, they won’t care.
Let’s take it a step further. What if you rent out the theater on opening night and invite all your friends and family to come see the new movie about you? People will say, “You’re an idiot! How could you think this movie is about you?”
Many Christians are even more delusional than the person I’ve been describing. So many of us think and live like the movie of life is all about us.
Now consider the movie of life…
GOD creates the world. (Were you alive then? Was GOD talking to you when He proclaimed “It is good” about all He had just mad?)
Then people rebel against GOD (who, if you haven’t realized yet, is the main character in this movie), and GOD floods the earth to rid it of the mess of people made it.
Several generations later, GOD singles out a ninety-nine-year-old man called Abram and makes him the father of a nation (did you have anything to do with this?).
Later, along come Joseph and Moses and many other ordinary and inadequate people that the movie is also not about. GOD is the one who picks them and directs them and works miracles through them.
In the next scene, GOD sends judges and prophets to His nation because the people can’t seem to give Him the one thing He asks of them (obedience).
And then, the climax: The Son of GOD is born among the people whom GOD still somehow loves. While in this world, the song teaches His followers what true love looks like. Then the Son of GOD dies and is resurrected and goes back up to be with GOD.
And even though the movie isn’t quite finished yet, we know what the last scene holds. It’s the scene I already described in chaper1: the throne room of GOD. Her every being worships GOD who sits on the throne, for He alone is worthy to be praised.
From start to finish, this movie is obviously about God. He is the main character. How is it possible that we live as though it is about us?
Our scene in the movie, our brief lives, fall somewhere between the time Jesus ascends into heaven (Acts) and when we will all worship God on His throne in heaven (Revelation).
We have only our two-fifths-of-a-second-long scene to live. I don't know about you, but I want my two-fifths of a second to be about my making much of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." That is what each of our two-fifths is about.
So what does that mean for you?
Frankly, you need to get over yourself. It might sound harsh, but that's seriously what it means.
Maybe life's pretty good for you right now. God has given you this good stuff so that you can show the world a person who enjoys blessings, but who is still totally obsessed with God.
Or maybe life is tough right now, and everything feels like a struggle. God has allowed hard things in your life so you can show the world that your God is great and that knowing Him brings peace and joy, even when life is hard. Like the psalmist who wrote, "I saw the prosperity of the wicked...Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure...When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God" (Ps. 73:3, 13, 16-17). It is easy to become disillusioned with the circumstances of our lives compared to others'. But in the presence of God, He gives us deeper peace and joy that transcends it all.
To be brutally honest, it doesn't really matter what place you find yourself in right now. Your part is to bring Him glory---whether eating a sandwich on lunch break, drinking coffee at 12:04 a.m. so you can stay awake to study, or watching your four-month-old take a nap.
The point of your life is to point to Him. Whatever you are doing, God wants to be glorified, because this whole thing is His. It is His movie, His world, His gift."
This really hit me hard....I'll tell you more later! Love you all, thanks for reading and I hope God can speak to you through this blog!
Ryan
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Short and Sweet
Pray for me...giving my testimony tonight for Cru's Fellowship Dinner. The Fellowship Dinner is an event where we invite the community, family, and friends to come and see what God is doing on this campus. I have been asked to tell everyone there how God has changed my life and how this ministry here has helped shape me into the man I am now. I am praying that God speaks to a lot of hearts through this event and I pray that if some don't know Him they will seek out who He is and want to be apart of this divine love story...
"But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life."
--Jude 1:21
"But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life."
--Jude 1:21
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
His Steadfast Love Endures Forever
God is so good! Even though it is such a dreary day outside I feel great! I just sent out a message five minutes ago on Facebook to everyone apart of my Facebook Support Team and already I have five people respond asking to receive a letter. Can I say it again? God is sooooo good! I am so stoked to see how He is going to raise all of my support and how He is going to sharpen my faith through it.
Got together with Lisa Mast today to go over my testimony which I am giving this Saturday at the Fellowship Dinner for Campus Crusade for Christ. I am very excited for it! My parents (and maybe my Grandma) are coming and that is what I am most excited for. I love them all so much I don't think they even understand!
I was thinking today...wow, I really do love a lot of people. Not the, "I love my shoes" or "I love hamburgers" kind of love, but genuinely love them. It just amazes me how I can be such a different person all because of God and the love He has shown me. According to 1 John 4:8, GOD IS LOVE. He is the single reason why we can love, because we have seen his love. Then I found this little nugget in Psalms....
"Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations."
--Psalm 100
And I'll leave you all with that.
Remember that you are loved by a God who created you and wants to be in deep, personal relationship with you!
Got together with Lisa Mast today to go over my testimony which I am giving this Saturday at the Fellowship Dinner for Campus Crusade for Christ. I am very excited for it! My parents (and maybe my Grandma) are coming and that is what I am most excited for. I love them all so much I don't think they even understand!
I was thinking today...wow, I really do love a lot of people. Not the, "I love my shoes" or "I love hamburgers" kind of love, but genuinely love them. It just amazes me how I can be such a different person all because of God and the love He has shown me. According to 1 John 4:8, GOD IS LOVE. He is the single reason why we can love, because we have seen his love. Then I found this little nugget in Psalms....
"Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations."
--Psalm 100
And I'll leave you all with that.
Remember that you are loved by a God who created you and wants to be in deep, personal relationship with you!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
This Church is Unsound...
Hello friends!
First post and I am excited about it. I can imagine that many of you are confused at the title of my blogspot. Well, let me enlighten you...there is this amazing band by the name of 'Oh Sleeper', and "This Church is Unsound..." is a lyric from one of their songs. The full lyrics are, "When I am God, this church is unsound." Its a very powerful song called 'Vices Like Vipers', asking why we hold onto the things that hold us and bring us down. One of my favorite bands ever!
On a different note, I am very excited about this week. I feel like it is going to be a great week seeing as how I had one heck of an amazing weekend with the most beautiful girl I know! I went to visit Hannah for her birthday and it was such a great weekend. So, I have a good feeling about this week...thinking its going to be a good one.
I am super pumped about going back to San Diego Summer Project and being an intern. God is going to do work there this summer and I am more than excited to see what he has in store for everyone. I am just now starting my support raising adventure. I started a Facebook group to get in contact with everyone and let people know what I am doing:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=353041450741&ref=mf#!/group.php?gid=353041450741&ref=mf
Class starts in a minute, so I will post again soon!
"If I speak in tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove the mountains, but have not love I am nothing."
--1 Corinthians 13:1-2
First post and I am excited about it. I can imagine that many of you are confused at the title of my blogspot. Well, let me enlighten you...there is this amazing band by the name of 'Oh Sleeper', and "This Church is Unsound..." is a lyric from one of their songs. The full lyrics are, "When I am God, this church is unsound." Its a very powerful song called 'Vices Like Vipers', asking why we hold onto the things that hold us and bring us down. One of my favorite bands ever!
On a different note, I am very excited about this week. I feel like it is going to be a great week seeing as how I had one heck of an amazing weekend with the most beautiful girl I know! I went to visit Hannah for her birthday and it was such a great weekend. So, I have a good feeling about this week...thinking its going to be a good one.
I am super pumped about going back to San Diego Summer Project and being an intern. God is going to do work there this summer and I am more than excited to see what he has in store for everyone. I am just now starting my support raising adventure. I started a Facebook group to get in contact with everyone and let people know what I am doing:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=353041450741&ref=mf#!/group.php?gid=353041450741&ref=mf
Class starts in a minute, so I will post again soon!
"If I speak in tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove the mountains, but have not love I am nothing."
--1 Corinthians 13:1-2
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)