Death is always creeping around us. And not just physical death, but the death that comes from sin in our lives. Anytime we sin, we bring an element of death into our lives. I see and feel the effects of sin in my own life, realizing that when I choose to sin, I choose to welcome death into my very existence. Sin is limiting and crippling, leading to death in me (death in any and all areas of my life).
God desires life for me instead of death. And it is because of this desire that He sent Jesus to earth to live among humanity, become the ultimate sacrifice (making payment for my sin), and ultimately conquer death of all kinds. Through His sacrifice and His conquering death, Jesus made a way for me to receive life from God. No longer am I bound to continue to live full of death, but am able to be connected to God and to be given life. Those places of sin and death no longer have to remain in me. When I give them over to God for Him to change me, I can be freed from the death that I possess and can be given life. Because of Jesus, I can be fully alive.
This is what I will be celebrating on Sunday. Of course, I will enjoy all the traditional holiday festivities (Chris H., I will beat you this year at the Gingerbread House Contest) but will also be holding deeply to the truth that Jesus came so that I can be made alive and do not have to walk around embodying death.
12.22.2011
12.20.2011
Right Posture
As my husband and I move forward pursuing a move into the north part of our city and as we begin taking steps to lead out in a missional community approach through our church, I have been asking God to keep my heart in the right posture. Specifically, I have been asking Him for humility…so that I do not think that I’m just so amazing…and to remember that anything that I do is because of Him in me and is ultimately to show Him to the world around me.
I know that when I pray stuff like that, then usually God points out so many areas that I am still desperately in need of Him and shows me that I am not a self-sufficient superstar. Over the weekend so many areas of my own personal weakness became glaringly apparent. As the weekend progressed, it became more and more obvious that I needed to just recognize my weaknesses, own them, and ask Jesus to begin to transform those areas that are still so imperfect.
It’s a funny thing that when you ask God to keep your heart in a right posture to Him, He will actually do it. So, over the last few days, He has been showing me exactly where I still need His power in my life. He has been showing me again the truth of the Gospel: that I am desperately in need of Him to rescue me and restore me. I am prevented from thinking too highly of myself when my imperfections are staring me in the face. I am also prevented from hopelessness and self-deprecation when Jesus’ rescue of me is also staring me in the face. Because of Jesus, I (even though I am sinful and imperfect) can have hope (that I will continually be transformed as I follow Him). This is how my heart stays in right posture before an amazing God.
To check the posture of your heart, I recommend listening to this sermon (it rocks me every time I listen to it):
“Posture,” Harvey Turner, Living Stones, Luke: Series 02, Part 4, 4.29.07. (You can find it on iTunes under the Living Stones podcast.)
I know that when I pray stuff like that, then usually God points out so many areas that I am still desperately in need of Him and shows me that I am not a self-sufficient superstar. Over the weekend so many areas of my own personal weakness became glaringly apparent. As the weekend progressed, it became more and more obvious that I needed to just recognize my weaknesses, own them, and ask Jesus to begin to transform those areas that are still so imperfect.
It’s a funny thing that when you ask God to keep your heart in a right posture to Him, He will actually do it. So, over the last few days, He has been showing me exactly where I still need His power in my life. He has been showing me again the truth of the Gospel: that I am desperately in need of Him to rescue me and restore me. I am prevented from thinking too highly of myself when my imperfections are staring me in the face. I am also prevented from hopelessness and self-deprecation when Jesus’ rescue of me is also staring me in the face. Because of Jesus, I (even though I am sinful and imperfect) can have hope (that I will continually be transformed as I follow Him). This is how my heart stays in right posture before an amazing God.
To check the posture of your heart, I recommend listening to this sermon (it rocks me every time I listen to it):
“Posture,” Harvey Turner, Living Stones, Luke: Series 02, Part 4, 4.29.07. (You can find it on iTunes under the Living Stones podcast.)
12.13.2011
For the Ladies: Minister
A Lifestyle Calling: The Home and Beyond
The Scriptural perspective of ministry for the woman (and, really, for any followers of Jesus) is more than a “full-time” ministry job at a church; rather, it is a lifestyle calling. According to Scripture, our whole lives are meant to be a form of worship to God, displaying Him to others. Our lives are also meant to be a conduit to minister to the world around us (2 Corinthians 5:16-19). We see this throughout the Scripture as we see that the woman’s role as minister is focused in her home with her family and extends through her home to her friends, neighbors, the city, and the world.
As we have seen in the homebuilder post (see, “For the Ladies: Homebuilder”), the home is the primary place she will pour herself out. She is creating a home not only through functional measures with functional outcomes but also spiritual measures with spiritual outcomes. There is both a tangible and an intangible reality to the home she creates. It is through her home that she ministers first to her family and then to those around her. The home as a center of ministry is often downplayed in our culture; however, the home is a vital source of ministry first for the woman’s family and second for others to be brought into the sanctuary that is her home.
The Home:
She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue… (Proverbs 31:26)
Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land. (Proverbs 31:23)
Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her… (Proverbs 31:28)
For her family she manages their daily life, provides food for them, prepares their clothing, etc. She also pours herself out as a ministry to her husband through helping him by listening to him, encouraging, offering insight as God reveals, being a companion, offering her strengths to him, and being a lover to him. She then pours herself out in ministry to her children by loving them and by talking with them about their everyday lives, easily and applicably incorporating God’s truth into those conversations. She sees giving herself to and loving the people in her home as her primary ministry. She is always teaching about God through the way she lives, listens, and shares insights and truth. Because of the woman she is, she does not disqualify her husband from his calling; rather, she pours into him to help him be the man he was created to be. Her family affirms her because she was present in their home and lives.
Not only does the woman pour herself out to her family in her home, but she also opens her home as a place of ministry to others. She practices a lifestyle of hospitality and teaches others truth as they intersect with her life. The woman understands the value and importance of her home as a space for others to be brought into because she has created it as a sanctuary. Because of the importance she has placed on ministering first to her family, there is a unity and life among her family that she has facilitated. Because they are alive, thriving, and bonded, she is then able to invite others to participate in their life. The Gospel reality of her family becomes something that others can be brought into. She also knows when to scale back from bringing others into her home in order to minister to her family. There will be times when she will simplify the hospitality she offers and others she brings into her home as her family has greater need for care; then there will be other times where she will be able to bring many through her sanctuary of a home. It is important to not forget that our most important ministry as women is pouring ourselves into our home and family first and having our other ministries happen as an overflow of that first and primary ministry of home and family.
And Beyond:
She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue… (Proverbs 31:26)
Older women likewise are to…to teach what is good… (Titus 2:3)
She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. (Proverbs 31:20)
What we see as specific ministry roles explained through the “womanhood” Scriptures are simply teaching others and serving the poor. These may be done either inside or outside the home and may be lived out many different ways. Women are not limited to these two ministry areas; rather, women do possess a variety of spiritual gifts and may function in many different ministry roles. For our purpose, though, the ones we see as an overflow of womanhood are the ministries of perpetuating wisdom through teaching others and of reaching out to the poor.
In order to actually pass along wisdom, one must possess wisdom. And in order to gain wisdom, one must develop that inner life with God (mentioned in “For the Ladies: Christian”). By gaining wisdom through being connected to God, the woman will then be able to teach wisdom, kindness and whatever else is good.
The woman who follows Jesus will also care for the poor in some capacity. This will take many different forms throughout the various seasons of the woman’s life. The principle, though, remains that throughout her life that she will continually consider how she can open her hand to the poor. My guess is that having an open hand to the poor was important to mention in the context of the womanhood Scriptures because a woman who follows God would have an understanding of being given much (grace, freedom, rescue, etc.) and would give of her self in response to all that she has been given. The woman also sets the tone of her own home and would primarily be the one to encourage her husband and children to give to and serve the poor.
Again, the woman’s areas of ministry are not relegated to passing along wisdom to others and to serving the poor; however, we see that these two areas are characteristics of and should be evidenced in all women who follow God.
The Scriptural perspective of ministry for the woman (and, really, for any followers of Jesus) is more than a “full-time” ministry job at a church; rather, it is a lifestyle calling. According to Scripture, our whole lives are meant to be a form of worship to God, displaying Him to others. Our lives are also meant to be a conduit to minister to the world around us (2 Corinthians 5:16-19). We see this throughout the Scripture as we see that the woman’s role as minister is focused in her home with her family and extends through her home to her friends, neighbors, the city, and the world.
As we have seen in the homebuilder post (see, “For the Ladies: Homebuilder”), the home is the primary place she will pour herself out. She is creating a home not only through functional measures with functional outcomes but also spiritual measures with spiritual outcomes. There is both a tangible and an intangible reality to the home she creates. It is through her home that she ministers first to her family and then to those around her. The home as a center of ministry is often downplayed in our culture; however, the home is a vital source of ministry first for the woman’s family and second for others to be brought into the sanctuary that is her home.
The Home:
She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue… (Proverbs 31:26)
Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land. (Proverbs 31:23)
Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her… (Proverbs 31:28)
For her family she manages their daily life, provides food for them, prepares their clothing, etc. She also pours herself out as a ministry to her husband through helping him by listening to him, encouraging, offering insight as God reveals, being a companion, offering her strengths to him, and being a lover to him. She then pours herself out in ministry to her children by loving them and by talking with them about their everyday lives, easily and applicably incorporating God’s truth into those conversations. She sees giving herself to and loving the people in her home as her primary ministry. She is always teaching about God through the way she lives, listens, and shares insights and truth. Because of the woman she is, she does not disqualify her husband from his calling; rather, she pours into him to help him be the man he was created to be. Her family affirms her because she was present in their home and lives.
Not only does the woman pour herself out to her family in her home, but she also opens her home as a place of ministry to others. She practices a lifestyle of hospitality and teaches others truth as they intersect with her life. The woman understands the value and importance of her home as a space for others to be brought into because she has created it as a sanctuary. Because of the importance she has placed on ministering first to her family, there is a unity and life among her family that she has facilitated. Because they are alive, thriving, and bonded, she is then able to invite others to participate in their life. The Gospel reality of her family becomes something that others can be brought into. She also knows when to scale back from bringing others into her home in order to minister to her family. There will be times when she will simplify the hospitality she offers and others she brings into her home as her family has greater need for care; then there will be other times where she will be able to bring many through her sanctuary of a home. It is important to not forget that our most important ministry as women is pouring ourselves into our home and family first and having our other ministries happen as an overflow of that first and primary ministry of home and family.
And Beyond:
She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue… (Proverbs 31:26)
Older women likewise are to…to teach what is good… (Titus 2:3)
She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. (Proverbs 31:20)
What we see as specific ministry roles explained through the “womanhood” Scriptures are simply teaching others and serving the poor. These may be done either inside or outside the home and may be lived out many different ways. Women are not limited to these two ministry areas; rather, women do possess a variety of spiritual gifts and may function in many different ministry roles. For our purpose, though, the ones we see as an overflow of womanhood are the ministries of perpetuating wisdom through teaching others and of reaching out to the poor.
In order to actually pass along wisdom, one must possess wisdom. And in order to gain wisdom, one must develop that inner life with God (mentioned in “For the Ladies: Christian”). By gaining wisdom through being connected to God, the woman will then be able to teach wisdom, kindness and whatever else is good.
The woman who follows Jesus will also care for the poor in some capacity. This will take many different forms throughout the various seasons of the woman’s life. The principle, though, remains that throughout her life that she will continually consider how she can open her hand to the poor. My guess is that having an open hand to the poor was important to mention in the context of the womanhood Scriptures because a woman who follows God would have an understanding of being given much (grace, freedom, rescue, etc.) and would give of her self in response to all that she has been given. The woman also sets the tone of her own home and would primarily be the one to encourage her husband and children to give to and serve the poor.
Again, the woman’s areas of ministry are not relegated to passing along wisdom to others and to serving the poor; however, we see that these two areas are characteristics of and should be evidenced in all women who follow God.
12.09.2011
Here We Go...
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19
I am interrupting the series I have been working on to share what God has been doing in mine and my husband’s life. For the last few months, we have been praying about what to do “next.” We have been feeling like we were reaching a “critical mass” moment in our life. Our agreement had been to not make any changes to our life until three months after our son was born. The reason for this was simply to give me a chance to be a “normal” person post-partum. I struggled with a little post-partum depression after my first son was born, and I wanted to make every effort (for my sake and ultimately for my whole family’s sake) to not find myself in that same struggle this time. Taking these precautions required my husband to set aside a calling to move to the north part of our city (to read this back story, read the following posts: “North” and “North, Part 2 (a.k.a. “Oneness”)”). He was faithful to his calling as husband to lay down his life for me when I was in need of being treated with care (read, “Porcelain, Part 1”).
Due to much prayer for this season and a calm and consistent life these last few months, I thankfully have not struggled with post-partum depression this time around. In fact, over the past few months, my husband and I have been consistently talking about our next season of life and all the possibilities that are in front of us. For quite a while, we were leaning toward moving to Washington to join Soma Communities (to read more about this, click here) so that we could learn how to do “missional communities.” Basically, a missional community is a small group of people who gather regularly to share life and learn more about God together, while focusing on one primary “mission” to serve their city. Missional communities are meant to serve others and live out life as God intended. Both my husband and I have a heart for discipleship/shepherding. We love walking with others through life and engaging what God is doing in them. We love leading small groups of people to know God more. So, moving to Washington and purposefully learning this missional communities lifestyle seemed like a good fit.
We were somewhat considering staying in our current town and either moving into the north part of the city or not and either having my husband stay at his current job with a Christian medical residency program or not. I was also considering having us move back to my hometown to be a part of my old church (Living Stones), simply because I so missed and longed to again be a part of that community and mission.
Then a crucial conversation happened. The night before Thanksgiving, my husband and I went out for a dinner “date” (with both babies in tow). On that date, we had a valuable conversation about surrender and our need to be fully surrendered to whatever God would show us…even if it meant staying put.
The next day (Thanksgiving Day) my husband was able to leave the hospital earlier than usual…right in time for the boys’ naps (naptimes are such an evidence of grace!). We spent that whole afternoon talking through what each of us felt in regards to surrender and staying. We each shared that neither of us had a clear direction to move to Washington. My husband shared again that last January he had felt that we were called to move into the north part of our city. As we talked, we both agreed that a good default for our life is to always fall back to the last thing either of us possibly heard from God and obey that leading. So, we started seriously considering staying here and moving into the north part of the city. All of the sudden so much clarity came to us. My husband had been feeling like he had tried to follow God in what he thought God was leading him to do (move into the north part of the city), but that it had not been good for his family (i.e. me, in regards to post-partum depression prevention). As a result of this, my husband had really been struggling with whether he was really hearing the Lord or not. It seemed as though he could either obey God in a calling towards the north or obey God in a calling to care for me, his wife. As we talked, it became clear that he would be able to do both now…that both were calls from God and were not mutually exclusive.
We both agreed that not moving eight months ago was the right decision. We both see how much stronger our marriage is, how much oneness we now possess. We are also both amazed at the grace we have been given to have a peaceful season in which I have been myself (and not a depressed version of me). We see how good this time has been for our family. There are many other details that would not have been good for us if we had moved into the north eight months ago. We feel that God is calling us to move into the north now. We feel the affirmation that my husband does hear the Lord and that I do too. We are learning that we may hear different details about what God wants to speak to us. The goal is to bring those details together to discover the whole picture of how God is leading our family.
And now, we are ready to pursue moving up there. So many pieces and possibilities have started clicking into place since our conversation during naptime on Thanksgiving Day. I see so much evidence of grace in how things are coming together.
As we have reflected back, we have seen that God has been working in us to transform us towards this next step. My heart for our current city has been developing (read, “The City”). One of my husband’s friends has opened a prayer house in the north. We are under the authority of a church, which actually brings freedom. We have friends in the north and more that want to move into the area. And we will still pursue learning the concept of missional communitites through sermons from Soma Communitites. We simply want to be obedient to whatever God is calling us to do. We know that He wants to do a “new thing.” And so the adventure begins. Here we go…
I am interrupting the series I have been working on to share what God has been doing in mine and my husband’s life. For the last few months, we have been praying about what to do “next.” We have been feeling like we were reaching a “critical mass” moment in our life. Our agreement had been to not make any changes to our life until three months after our son was born. The reason for this was simply to give me a chance to be a “normal” person post-partum. I struggled with a little post-partum depression after my first son was born, and I wanted to make every effort (for my sake and ultimately for my whole family’s sake) to not find myself in that same struggle this time. Taking these precautions required my husband to set aside a calling to move to the north part of our city (to read this back story, read the following posts: “North” and “North, Part 2 (a.k.a. “Oneness”)”). He was faithful to his calling as husband to lay down his life for me when I was in need of being treated with care (read, “Porcelain, Part 1”).
Due to much prayer for this season and a calm and consistent life these last few months, I thankfully have not struggled with post-partum depression this time around. In fact, over the past few months, my husband and I have been consistently talking about our next season of life and all the possibilities that are in front of us. For quite a while, we were leaning toward moving to Washington to join Soma Communities (to read more about this, click here) so that we could learn how to do “missional communities.” Basically, a missional community is a small group of people who gather regularly to share life and learn more about God together, while focusing on one primary “mission” to serve their city. Missional communities are meant to serve others and live out life as God intended. Both my husband and I have a heart for discipleship/shepherding. We love walking with others through life and engaging what God is doing in them. We love leading small groups of people to know God more. So, moving to Washington and purposefully learning this missional communities lifestyle seemed like a good fit.
We were somewhat considering staying in our current town and either moving into the north part of the city or not and either having my husband stay at his current job with a Christian medical residency program or not. I was also considering having us move back to my hometown to be a part of my old church (Living Stones), simply because I so missed and longed to again be a part of that community and mission.
Then a crucial conversation happened. The night before Thanksgiving, my husband and I went out for a dinner “date” (with both babies in tow). On that date, we had a valuable conversation about surrender and our need to be fully surrendered to whatever God would show us…even if it meant staying put.
The next day (Thanksgiving Day) my husband was able to leave the hospital earlier than usual…right in time for the boys’ naps (naptimes are such an evidence of grace!). We spent that whole afternoon talking through what each of us felt in regards to surrender and staying. We each shared that neither of us had a clear direction to move to Washington. My husband shared again that last January he had felt that we were called to move into the north part of our city. As we talked, we both agreed that a good default for our life is to always fall back to the last thing either of us possibly heard from God and obey that leading. So, we started seriously considering staying here and moving into the north part of the city. All of the sudden so much clarity came to us. My husband had been feeling like he had tried to follow God in what he thought God was leading him to do (move into the north part of the city), but that it had not been good for his family (i.e. me, in regards to post-partum depression prevention). As a result of this, my husband had really been struggling with whether he was really hearing the Lord or not. It seemed as though he could either obey God in a calling towards the north or obey God in a calling to care for me, his wife. As we talked, it became clear that he would be able to do both now…that both were calls from God and were not mutually exclusive.
We both agreed that not moving eight months ago was the right decision. We both see how much stronger our marriage is, how much oneness we now possess. We are also both amazed at the grace we have been given to have a peaceful season in which I have been myself (and not a depressed version of me). We see how good this time has been for our family. There are many other details that would not have been good for us if we had moved into the north eight months ago. We feel that God is calling us to move into the north now. We feel the affirmation that my husband does hear the Lord and that I do too. We are learning that we may hear different details about what God wants to speak to us. The goal is to bring those details together to discover the whole picture of how God is leading our family.
And now, we are ready to pursue moving up there. So many pieces and possibilities have started clicking into place since our conversation during naptime on Thanksgiving Day. I see so much evidence of grace in how things are coming together.
As we have reflected back, we have seen that God has been working in us to transform us towards this next step. My heart for our current city has been developing (read, “The City”). One of my husband’s friends has opened a prayer house in the north. We are under the authority of a church, which actually brings freedom. We have friends in the north and more that want to move into the area. And we will still pursue learning the concept of missional communitites through sermons from Soma Communitites. We simply want to be obedient to whatever God is calling us to do. We know that He wants to do a “new thing.” And so the adventure begins. Here we go…
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