Hope...

Today I am overwhelmed with hope!

It's hard to describe...to understand it you must have a concept of what our God and saviour did for us on the cross, but I am so energized by the hope that I have on a regular basis. The understanding that the time we have on earth is so short...

For some a thought like this may push them to over-achieve; for others it may cause them to freeze. For me, I love the thought that I am not in control. I rest in the times when I can do nothing but hope. Trying to control everything is such a burden!
That is why I am learning to leave that burden at the feet of Jesus.

I would like to encourage anyone who reads this (even myself if I come back to it) to never let go of the hope that we have. It should be what drives us...it should be a fire in our hearts that causes us to live in anticipation of great things. God is in the business of greatness! He can use you if you let Him. Just don't expect it to look a certain way...allow Him to lead and you will be filled with a joy that never goes away! I believe that is the definition of joy...the knowledge that no matter where we are or what we go thru...it will all be OK in the hands of our wonderful Father.

Take joy in what is right now...

Thank God for People

You know...people disappoint me some times...

I really get sick of how they act like they care or talk like they care, but when it comes down to it they really don't care. It's like a never-ending game of "psych!". You know when you say or do something believable and then retract it by yelling PSYCH! Maybe that was just a sick game that we played...anyways...I digress. I just grow weary of watching people play those games with no regard for the impact that it has on others. I keep wanting to ask the question, "does the church ever really make it to the point where we live family?" Or do we just talk about it and only show that kind of love to the people that we so chose.

The weird part is that God asks me to care about people even when they don't care about me. The even weirder part is that when I truly begin to care about other people and their struggles in life...I start to care less about how much they care about me.

Ultimately, I have to learn to love people because God loves people (unconditionally)...and that is enough for me.

I love the lesson given when Jesus prays for us in John 17:20-26 (read it when you get a chance). Immediately following this dynamic prayer for blessing and unity among new believers...he is betrayed by someone close to him (Judas). Talk about "people" huh.

That's all I needed. God has seen more disappoinment than I have...end of story.

The noise...

With everything going on in our lives lately, Yana and I have been looking for ways to simplify things. It has been a long and difficult time in our lives, and we are still dealing with alot of different hurdles that seem to keep coming. In light of all that stuff I finally got the nerve to ask a friend to borrow their bicycles so that we could get out and do something for free. I know it's not much of an adventure, but we haven't been on bikes for years! As we ventured out on our first ride, there was one thing that really struck me...THERE WAS NO NOISE. As I breathed in the fresh evening air, and peddled up the hill I realized how much noise we deal with on a daily basis. Whether it be in the car, in the office, the tv being on, the fan at night, business of our daily lives...all of it is noise...and we never stop adding to it do we?

A colleague at work suggested that all of the noise that we keep constantly processing in our brains subconsciously leads to both mental and physical fatigue. I agree with that statement, and I would go even further to say that it leads to spiritual fatigue. I mean, how often do we really get quiet? Being a person that believes that we are fully physical and fully spiritual beings, I think that maybe we need to stop and confront all of the noise in our lives. When scripture states, "Be still and know that I am God"...do we even consider the physical ramifications of that action. So many times I think that we fall prey to the thought that this is a command with unknown consiquence rather than a gift that we can be rejuvinated by.

Maybe we are afraid of what might happen? Maybe we don't truly believe that the Lord will speak to us? Maybe we are just stuck in a rut? Either way...this is a call to stillness! Stop the noise!!! Just for a while anyway...see what happens.

-J

The process of Catharsis...

My wife and I recently lost our first child-to-be...it was 12-13 weeks old, and she had a miscarriage. The first part of it was really difficult. To have no warning signs and wake up at 2:30 in the morning facing a labor-like situation...without the hospital. No support to speak of, just pain and raw emotion for 4 hours. All of the thoughts swirling in your mind. How are we going to tell our family? They have been waiting for this moment almost as wantingly as we have. What about our friends? What would this child have looked like? We were going to be the first great-grandchild in the family! It's virtually impossible to confront all of these thoughts at once...yet they seem to come all at once. I broke down once or twice...not in front of her...of course. These are just the crappy things that come along in this life, but I'm not convinced that they need to be explained. Somehow I know that my response to this is what matters. Will I lose my inhibitions? Will I ask all of the typical why and how questions? I don't think so. I will simply take to heart the verses of 1 Peter 1:6-7:

"6 So be truly glad.[a] There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world."

Thank you God! I know that you are always present in my hardship. Your promises are true now and forever. I will never play the blame game with you because I know that I will constantly face trials in this life that are a natural result of this fallen world. You ask me for my heart in obedience thru it all...and in that you use these things for your glory, and that is my reward! Your provision is great, your mercy is great, you are just, you are loving. I take refuge in the knowledge that you can see my unborn child. You know their name...you know what they look like...you know what they will become, and the choices that they will make. I pray for them now. I ask for your blessing on their lives. Lovingly direct and guide them by your Spirit. Father heal our hearts. Surround us with your loving peace. Thank you...thank you.

If you are going thru some trials, read this article...it is right on:

http://www.gotquestions.org/trials-tribulations.html

An old blog that I found...

Check this out...I wrote this a long time ago on my myspace page, and it spoke to me today. God is good:

From the words of one of my favorite songs:

"The more I seek you, the more I find you"

"The more I find you, the more I love you"

I find it interesting that this is truly the process I go thru in my pursuit of God. When I truly seek Him, I find Him...when I find Him, I can't help but fall in love with Him. That love places the desire in my heart to follow His words, and following His words create love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, and they give me hope (Gal. 5:22). That process forces me to check myself every day. I can no longer be complacent in every day life because if I am truly a "Christ-follower" the Spirit will always keep me accountable for my actions and/or non-actions. If I ever lose that desire...I fear that I was never saved at all, but I rest in His promise that He will never leave or forsake me (Heb. 13:5...read the whole chapter).

I guess my point is that I truly believe that those of us who don't "currently" have a desire for God need to question whether or not salvation is with us. How can one say that they are a "Christian" and not desire to seek Him and to make Him known to others. How can a "Christian" live in sin doing what they know is not right, and trying to make justification for it. The answer is that you can't. Of course we will fail sometimes, but the key is that we do not want to fall short of righteousness. We will not justify our sinful actions...we will repent and correct them. Our desire for God will overcome our sinful nature, and we can successfully live in God's will.

Maybe this is just a thought for those who don't feel like God matters "right now".

-Jonathan

Days 19-21...Moving forward in love

So the last 3 days have been the culmination of my 21 day journey. It is interesting how the Lord works through these things. This has been quite a drastic transition period in my life...I have been going thru a massive career move, and I found out that I am going to be a Father. I don't think that things could be any more dynamic than they are right now. Yet the entire time God has taught me very specific things. I have learned how to apply my time with God to the wholeness of my life rather than just some ritualistic time period. It has been quite the journey.

I would like to conclude this time with a new perspective. As I have been reading further in the Gospel of John I have noticed something that I feel is worth mentioning. On His journey to the cross, Jesus repeatedly pulled the disciples away from the petty and meaningless things that they were focused on and reminded them of two things...His death for their sins and the necessity of love for one another.

I found this to be a great testament to the message that we must strive to present thru our lives. First is Jesus...the message of salvation thru His sacrifice. Then comes Love...the natural result of salvation thru Christ. Our lives with Christ must be an outpouring of love. Not just our most contemporary definitions, but a fullness of joy...a life of service...a desire for truth that is only satisfied in the presence of the living God. This love is everything that is good and pure. It is not limited to our notions of what is happy and nice. It does not rely on emotion. We must strive to have the love that Christ made perfect on the cross. So simple, yet so complicated. But we don't do it alone...we have the Holy Spirit to direct us.

Father lead us on! Let us bring your love to the dying generations. Teach us, guide us, discipline us, correct us...do whatever is necessary that your will may be accomplished in our lives. Thank you for leading me on this journey. Thank you for your promises. As always...you are great and gracious. Amen.

Day 18...Accountability by the Spirit

Today I learned that God wants our everything...even down to the smallest rhetoric. As I have been navigating a new job, I have been convicted about the the intentional way that I live out being/living in Christ. All of the ways that I tend to cunningly skirt around vocalizing my knowledge of Him have been exposed. When in conversation with another believer, I found myself quieting my voice only when I used a number of key terms...Jesus, Christ, Salvation, The Spirit, ect. The cool part is this: The Spirit convicted me of my wrong doing in this way. I was made aware of the fact that I was actually being timid about the Truth. As I have asked the Lord to search my heart and expose any inconsistency He has been opening my eyes to a number of issues such as this that hinder the work of the Spirit in my daily life. I can't wait to see what's next!

Jesus...I love you. Thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit. I ask that you would lead me in my progression of boldness and understanding. Be with me as I move further along in this job, and give me wisdom to know what your will would be in the many new situations I will encounter. Amen.