I'm going try something new ....

I have started listening to the audio book Crazy Love, Overwhelmed by a Relentless God  by Francis Chan. I want about to see if I can blog about this book a little. Hopefully it will be an inspiring journey we can share. 

P.S. The idea to get this book came from reading Dossi Park's blog one day. I've also viewed a couple of his (Francis Chan's) teachings, which I thought were INCREDIBLE! 

An awesome teaching by Francis Chan

Not in this world you are not.

Today I watched a preview for the new Narnia movie The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I've  already read all the books and have enjoyed the previous two movies. anyways, in the beginning of the  preview, you see Edmund Pevensie trying to sign up for the Royal Guard. He does not think that he is a no body, for in
Narnia, he was and is a king. But not in England. A king in Narnia is not one in the human world. This idea is true for disciples as well. C.S. Lewis wrote his books with thoughts like this.

We are not children of this world. Our Father's kingdom is of another realm,lest we soon forget. People of this current place we live in will make us think that this is it. That we are a no body, there is no battle among heaven and the powers of darkness in this world, and most importantly, that God cannot exist. This is a lie from our adversary. Many disciples know this, but we all can and will get our guard down. The adversary wants us to believe that our fellow brothers and sisters are just out for themselves and that we are alone in our struggles.

A perfect example of this is:

This past week I've been bombarded left and right by thoughts from the past. Things that I didn't think got
handled right at the time, offenses that I supposedly let go of, and old offenses that I seemed to never get rid
of, just stuffed it down inside. On the way home from work today, I got to talk a little about some of the
things eating at me with John Bob, one of my good friends. I truly felt like I was going to eek on
everyone.(which I may have, I am sorry to all those affected) John bob reminded me that all those thoughts
were brought by the accuser of the brethren, and that the biggest weapon he has right now is to turn us against
each other in our minds, forgetting the real battle. And believe me,it is hard once you are at this place to turn back around. sometimes it's painful to look back on the "wake" you left  behind when you were in that state of
mind.Our job is to  keep our eyes fixed on him. Every time we look away, we can become dismayed by the struggles around us. When our eyes are focused on him, we can do anything! We are sons and daughters of the King of Kings, children of his promise sent here to represent him.Let us never forget that.

  "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." (1Jo 2:15)

"And be not conformed to this world: but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Rom 12:2)

Long live Aslan!

The widow and the Samaritan

 I was listening to a song that John Bob and Jeff  wrote called "Two copper coins" yesterday and it gave me inspiration for this blog post. First of all, a question. What does the Samaritan man and the widow who gave the two small coins have in common? I thought about this all day, coming to the conclusion that they both gave something that they did not own. The Samaritan man devoted his time to the man on the road, and the woman gave all she had in those two coins. The other comparison I came to was the Priest/scribe and the rich men. The priest and the scribe were too busy and too important to stop and help. The rich men gave only for the glory of getting praise for the huge amount they gave. Are we giving to get praise from men? Or is Christ our reward?  And is our life just about those planned moments we have with God, or is our entire life devoted to seeking him in all of life; whether it is working alongside your brother and sister or even shopping at Wal-mart. Believe me, I know how nonspiritual it can seem doing practical things. But Christ said that we must be faithful in the little things to ever even hope to do huge things. That is amazing!

my beautiful sister.

neat poem

"A cup of sweet water could never spill a drop of bitter water, no matter how heavily it was jolted." Amy Carmichael

Missing Him

"I slept, but my heart was awake,

when I heard my lover knocking and calling:

“Open to me, my treasure, my darling,

my dove, my perfect one.

My head is drenched with dew,

my hair with the dampness of the night.”

But I responded,

“I have taken off my robe.

Should I get dressed again?

I have washed my feet.

Should I get them soiled?”

My lover tried to unlatch the door,

and my heart thrilled within me.

I jumped up to open the door for my love,

and my hands dripped with perfume.

My fingers dripped with lovely myrrh

as I pulled back the bolt.

I opened to my lover,

but he was gone!

My heart sank.

I searched for him

but could not find him anywhere.

I called to him,

but there was no reply."     - Song of Solomon 5:2-6

For each disciple, the journey often takes different routes, but for anyone who seeks to fall in love with Christ, in the intimate way, we find that often, when he calls,we have something we want to do and we reply "I have taken off my robe.Should I get dressed again? I have washed my feet. Should I get them soiled?” Just like the woman in the story, we give excuses why we cannot answer the call. When we hear him trying to enter our heart, as we try to let him in, he seems to disappear. We are left with the feeling that we were abandoned. Like Christ on the cross, we ask "My God why have you forsaken me?" This experience draws us closer to the  lover of our soul. It also teaches us to answer him quicker. Christ is multi-dimensional. When we think we know why he allows something to happen to us, and even if we see a small benefit a little later down the road, he uses the experience for many other reasons. The thought that comes to mind, is that the will of God is like a diamond, when you look at one side,you don't see the entire gem; you must turn it around in your hand and look at each facet. That is the way God shows us the effects of how our obedience, suffering, and self-denying actions effect others and even our own life.  He wants to be near us, and longs to make us just like him. Such love he has for us!