Heaven Come Down

We stood in the dark, our feet in the cool sand. Bundled in sweatshirts though it was the middle of the summer, both of us stayed silent, listening to the breeze and the crashing waves.

"I love the beach at night," I said to my sister.
"Me too. It reminds me of heaven."

I looked at her, looked back out at the ocean, trying to make out the dark horizon line, and agreed.

"Yeah..."

We stayed at the edge of the water as long as we could before being beckoned back to the bonfire. In that moment, I became acutely aware of the vast beauty surrounding me, and I am comforted as I think of it from time to time. I began reflecting on why the beach at night is like heaven. An obvious initial response might be that all of creation reflects God, but I believe the metaphor goes deeper.

When looking out at the ocean, its expanse is too far for the eye to see. We can hardly even fathom that by going all the way out there into the unknown we would find land again. This experience is heightened at night, and I can't help but imagine the glory of God and how we can only get a taste of it! We know all too well the struggle in trust it takes to live life as a fully committed Christian, but think about this -- who really wants to stay on the beach? As hard as it is, if asked by someone "Do you want to continue doing the same thing or trust in the GOD of creation and experience the absolutely new?" which would you choose?

I like thinking there is someone so much greater than myself because honestly, I kinda suck sometimes. And that's an understatement...So I think I'm going to work on trusting that someone a little more.

Which is NEW for me...

On The Subject Of God...

"God" is not a subject.

I heard a nun once say, "When I was with my family one time, we were talking about God, and my godfather said, 'Is God the only subject we can talk about here?' So I looked at him and said, 'God is not a subject, He's a person!'"

I think the nun has a point. But I would like to take that point further.

God is indeed a person, but He is more than that because He is God. He is the Creator of the universe, the Alpha and the Omega, the all-powerful, all-knowing, all-merciful, loving God whose very presence permeates our entire world.

The nun's godfather didn't just miss the point about God being a person, but he missed the point that we cannot compartmentalize God into a "subject" because our entire existence is dependent on Him, our entire experience is affected by Him, and everything in this universe points towards Him.

God is, in fact, the only "subject" that really matters.

God Of All Encouragement

From January 1 to July 1, as my 2010 New Year's Resolution, I kept another blog called "Betraying Bitter Betty." I was testing a hypothesis of mine that if we began doing something as simple as encouraging each other, the world would be a little more likable. My goal was to "betray the Bitter Betty inside all of us" and truthfully encourage at least one person per day for 6 months.

This turned out to be a hard but exciting challenge that literally changed the way I live. I do not feel as though this challenge has "finished" or "resolved," but rather it has led me to a greater realization of just how important and significant that challenge is.

Now, according to the NAB version, 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 says:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement, who encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God. For as Christ's sufferings overflow to us, so through Christ does our encouragement flow. If we are afflicted, it is for your encouragement and salvation; if we are encouraged, it is for your encouragement, which enables you to endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is firm, for we know that as you share in the sufferings, you also share in the encouragement.

For Lent, our household gave up sarcasm and complaining, resulting in probably one of the hardest yet fruitful Lents in my lifetime. Fortunately for me, this coincided within my New Year's Resolution time frame, thus giving me extra encouragement (and accountability) to encourage...and not be negative.

Coming home for the summer has been really difficult. If there's one big difference that has come from my resolution, it's that I feel almost hypersensitive to negativity. I find myself being dragged against my will back into old behaviors and habits of slicing sarcasm and frustrated arguments with the family. Of course, though it's against my will, I do have the choice not to give in...I just feel the negative environment seems to weaken my will.

To be honest, I don't really know what to do. Trying to stay positive is an obvious effort, but what about practical ways to do that? Still working on it...

If I come up with something, I'll let you know.

Meanwhile, I encourage you to be encouraging. It really does more than we might think on the surface...After all, if God is the God of all encouragement, it necessarily follows that we would strive to imitate that and be God's people of encouragement -- not of judgment, hatred, condescension, or despair.

Fear.

Have you ever noticed that when you resolve to do better, to pray more, to make a change, things get harder? Suddenly praying those 5 minutes every morning are a lot tougher than you originally planned, and it's difficult to stay focused.

Do not be discouraged.

It's actually fairly common, as frustrating as that is, but most people think it means something is wrong. They are told that they must be doing something wrong. They think that they aren't good enough or holy enough.

That's a lie.

I am reading a book called Wild at Heart by John Eldredge. It's actually a book on manhood written from a Christian perspective (the one for women is Captivating), and I definitely recommend it. The reason I mention it is because there is a section where Eldredge really hits the nail on the head in regards to this, our efforts to move forward in faith:

"That is the next level of our Enemy's strategy. When we begin to question him, to resist his lies, to see his hand in the "ordinary trials" of our lives, then he steps up the attack; he turns to intimidation and fear. [...] Satan will try to get you to agree with intimidation because he fears you. You are a huge threat to him. He doesn't want you waking up and fighting back because when you do he loses. 'Resist the devil,' James says, 'and he will flee from you' (James 4:7, emphasis added). So he's going to try to keep you from taking a stand. He moves from subtle seduction to open assault. The thoughts come crashing in, all sorts of stuff begin to fall apart in your life, your faith seems paper thin" (page 166).

Sound like a familiar story? That sure is the story of my life. Something really good comes into my life, I form a good habit (or try to), meet a person who needs my help, start a bible study or praise and worship group... What happens? Satan tries to attack it -- and me -- at all the weak points.

Face it -- he knows our weaknesses, our wounds. He constantly goes after them. What do you struggle with the most? Try to grow closer to Christ and see where you begin to hit road blocks. Probably in the most vulnerable, wounded areas of your life.

But God is with us. To the very end! And perfect Love casts out all fear. The Lord is that perfect Love. He is with us, and in Him we have nothing to fear. Standing firm in our faith in Christ, we have been given the same Spirit as the apostles on Pentecost. The same Spirit! The same Spirit that guided them across nations, that gave them power to heal, that gave them power to cast out demons, that gave them power to preach the gospel of Christ, that gave them the courage to die for their faith. This Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, which is Christ, and he is with each one of us.

So do not lose heart. For although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed every day. For this momentary slight affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transient, but what is unseen is eternal (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

Fight the good fight.

Reality

It hit me last night.

People don't live in reality.

Lot's of people think they do, but they don't. The reality is that most people live without ever giving a thought to anything spiritual. However, because it is real, because God is real, because there is a spiritual battle happening for our souls as we speak, how can we say we truly live in reality if we ignore this aspect of it?

Sure, we can't see it necessarily. But neither can you see the wind.

Have you ever stopped--I mean really stopped--and been present? As in, fully and completely acknowledge where you are, right now, in this moment in relation to everything else?

This world we try to build for ourselves is nothing without God.

It's time we stop ignoring it and start facing the fact that what we think, say, and do does matter. It does have moral bearing. It does affect us. I does affect others. It does change lives.

That is the reality.

"If you are who you should be, you will set the world on fire."
- St. Catherine of Siena

The Fallen

We are human. That's why we fall.

Why do we try then, in our human nature, to not fall? By our nature, we fall.

It is God's grace that saves us, God's grace by which we fight and win.

Therefore, why do we not ask for God's grace in the moment that we see we are about to fall?

And if we continually ask for His grace, wouldn't it stand to reason that we would continually find strength to not fall?

And if we do fall...then get back up. Through grace.

For it is only through grace that we do not fall, and only through grace by which we get back up.