It all started the morning of February 26 with Psalm 44:21, For he knows the secrets of the heart. That truth just cut me up. It ached. And the onslaught continued for many mornings afterward because of the living and active Sword "which pierces the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12) :
Romans 2:26b, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
Matthew 23:26, "First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean."
Psalm 69:5, O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.
Mark 4:22, "For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light."
1 Corinthians 10:12, Therefore, let anyone who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
Psalm 90:8, You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.
Over these past months, these passages have provoked both intense pain AND incredible joy my soul because I've been reminded my God knows me THAT well. It has been a true realization to me as I've had shown to me some sins of selfishness I'd been harboring for a while and maybe didn't even realize it ("secret sin" can be that which is intentionally hidden and that which is unintentional, but it's all still sin).
So I've been on a road to being obedient in admitting these to God, myself, as well as brothers and sisters from whom it is right to seek forgiveness. In much the same way as mentioned above, it stings AND relieves to know I have those people in my life who know me well enough (in some cases, better than I know myself) to call me out when I'm being a jerk or worse. Jenny is one. Greg is another. Man, they call me on the carpet and they're usually spot on.
If you feel there is a disconnect with the Lord, you need to check your end by asking Him to reveal to you any unconfessed intentional or unintentional sin. Go to the Bible (perhaps a few of the above passages) asking Him to use the Word to convict you. It's uncomfortable, but growth and change always are. When that sin is revealed confess it to Him (use Psalm 51), knowing that when "we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and PURIFY us from ALL unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). Ahh. It doesn't get more refreshing than that!
Pray for people to hold you to an unwavering biblical standard. We all long to know others deeply and be known ourselves. The Lord Jesus Christ does this for us. He gave us a letter in the Bible that can read our thoughts and intentions backward and forward, revealing our very hearts. He's placed the ability in godly men and women to apply that Word to do the same. Even David, the "man after God's own heart," was called out of his sin with Bathsheba by God's man, Nathan.
Thank God for His correction through His Word and His children! May you be blessed by His knowing your inmost feelings and intentions yet still loving you. May God place great men and women in your life by whom you can be known and know in return.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Somebody Chose to Love Their Way into My World
Saw this in class today. It really touched me because I am the son of two of the most amazing teachers and coaches I know.
I saw many parallels to discipleship in this vignette.
Remember: It's all about loving your way into someone's world with a compassion that could only be fueled by Christ.
http://makeadifferencemovie.com/
I saw many parallels to discipleship in this vignette.
Remember: It's all about loving your way into someone's world with a compassion that could only be fueled by Christ.
http://makeadifferencemovie.com/
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Cloud of Witnesses
I've felt less like myself the past five days. Maybe due to a little extra stress. And some lack of sleep, though that part was certainly not of my choosing. Suffice it to say I've been "off" after having been on my game for quite some time. Today was starting out to be no different, so I prayed to God this morning to reignite whatever it was in me that was missing. To renew me.
Boy, do I serve a loving, faithful, and steadfast God! Today was going to be all about research for an upcoming paper. Library. All afternoon. I wasn't looking forward to it. The despondent weather didn't help matter, just gave an excuse to be more melancholy.
But then I ran into some friends at the library. Greg and Tyler, even though they may not have known it, ministered to me greatly in those afternoon hours. Because of their power of presence, their laughter and their insight I feel like Jared again. My Savior God utilized my great cloud of witnesses to uplift me and care for me for a while.
Oh, and someone put an anonymous card in my box at the church that said, "Thank you for making an eternal difference. You are loved." There was also a $25 gift certificate to my favorite restaurant included. :-)
Take a moment to call up a friend, facebook them, or write them a letter telling them how much they mean to you. My guys and that anonymous church member probably had no idea I was down in the dumps, but God used them mightily because they made themselves available.
May we all be obedient and do the same for those the Lord has placed in our lives.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Stones
Joshua 4:8-9
And the people of Israel did just as Joshua commanded and took up twelve stones out of the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of people of Israel, just as the Lord told Joshua...and Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood: and they are there to this day.
This above passage takes place as the Israelites are completing their 40-year sojourn through the wilderness and entering the Promised Land. To mark the occasion, so that no one may forget what God has done for them, the Lord commands a monument of 12 stones be erected.
The theme of setting up "stones" to remind myself of what great works God has done in my life has been recurring in my heart consistently since Christmas. I'm sentimental, but I don't think overly so. I mean, when I move, I don't have a super-difficult time getting rid of what needs to go. Pull it out of the box. Have the memory. Move on....unless it's a stone. I mean a REAL stone. Not those fake things we haul around and rent storage buildings for unheard-of prices to hold on to. I'm talking about the GOOD STUFF.
I've given thought to what these stones may be for me. In my case, starting at the top (those which are not as strong, but still of import) to the bottom (those stones which are cornerstones) I would first offer up the physical objects. In my office hang my journalism degree from OU, my President's Leadership Class Award, my Outstanding Senior Journalist plaque, along with my ministry license and baptism certificate.
I don't look at these and see Jared-achievement. I see them as markers of grace God has given me. Each of these represents a goal God gave me, in some form or fashion, and the working toward achieving that goal, and the goodness of God in giving me the strength to do so; with exception of the baptism certificate, which is meant to symbolize a very special day in the life of 8-year-old Jared, and his current-26-year-old counterpart who still thrills at what Christ has done for Him and strives daily in His strength to be obedient.
They were all special times because God was in them every step of the way. So I am humbled when I see them, and love telling people how God has guided my education and spiritual formation.
My books are next. The important ones like Lectures to My Students, Les Miserables, Chosen By God, When I Don't Desire God: How To Fight For Joy, Organic Disciplemaking, Systematic Theology, Gates of Fire, to name a few. These books and their shelf-companions are my friends and some of the best teachers I've ever had.
There are also the photos. Of family. Of friends. These speak of the blessing of people in my life. Those who've changed me for the better. Who've changed me for good. I love pictures. They're little pieces of time you can hold in your hand...just don't smudge!
So much better than the novels and other books there's my journal passages and Bible underlines, scribbled notes, and highlighters marking my growth in grace and knowledge of the Word under the Spirit's guidance. I sometimes just go back and read through an old journal or see a note or underline in my Bible and I'm transported back to when my pen first hit that page. I remember what it felt like to struggle, love, doubt, pray, and trust like I did.
You need to journal. If you don't, please start. It's not as hard a discipline as you might think. Make some stones with your pen strokes to remember the greatness of God at all points of your life.
But at the base.... the greatest stone markers of my life are the people. They go along with the photo idea, but the real people are so much better than ink-jetted glossy paper. The men and women God has guided in shaping me are, ultimately, those for whom I will stand before God and give account and praise and honor for how I loved and treated and grew alongside.
People-Stones are the best, because they're each and every one huggable and conversational and a phone call or memory away. These stones have names: Dad, Mom, Jenny, Jenna, Tyler, Austin, Mr. Singleton, "Greggie", Joe, Chris, Steven...
Oh, I could go on. These stones have supported me and spoken truth into my life, each and every one. Without these, I would not be the man writing before you now. They've each loved me and allowed me to love them deeply. For that I will never have sufficient words.
So there's some of my stones? What are yours?
And the people of Israel did just as Joshua commanded and took up twelve stones out of the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of people of Israel, just as the Lord told Joshua...and Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood: and they are there to this day.
This above passage takes place as the Israelites are completing their 40-year sojourn through the wilderness and entering the Promised Land. To mark the occasion, so that no one may forget what God has done for them, the Lord commands a monument of 12 stones be erected.
The theme of setting up "stones" to remind myself of what great works God has done in my life has been recurring in my heart consistently since Christmas. I'm sentimental, but I don't think overly so. I mean, when I move, I don't have a super-difficult time getting rid of what needs to go. Pull it out of the box. Have the memory. Move on....unless it's a stone. I mean a REAL stone. Not those fake things we haul around and rent storage buildings for unheard-of prices to hold on to. I'm talking about the GOOD STUFF.
I've given thought to what these stones may be for me. In my case, starting at the top (those which are not as strong, but still of import) to the bottom (those stones which are cornerstones) I would first offer up the physical objects. In my office hang my journalism degree from OU, my President's Leadership Class Award, my Outstanding Senior Journalist plaque, along with my ministry license and baptism certificate.
I don't look at these and see Jared-achievement. I see them as markers of grace God has given me. Each of these represents a goal God gave me, in some form or fashion, and the working toward achieving that goal, and the goodness of God in giving me the strength to do so; with exception of the baptism certificate, which is meant to symbolize a very special day in the life of 8-year-old Jared, and his current-26-year-old counterpart who still thrills at what Christ has done for Him and strives daily in His strength to be obedient.
They were all special times because God was in them every step of the way. So I am humbled when I see them, and love telling people how God has guided my education and spiritual formation.
My books are next. The important ones like Lectures to My Students, Les Miserables, Chosen By God, When I Don't Desire God: How To Fight For Joy, Organic Disciplemaking, Systematic Theology, Gates of Fire, to name a few. These books and their shelf-companions are my friends and some of the best teachers I've ever had.
There are also the photos. Of family. Of friends. These speak of the blessing of people in my life. Those who've changed me for the better. Who've changed me for good. I love pictures. They're little pieces of time you can hold in your hand...just don't smudge!
So much better than the novels and other books there's my journal passages and Bible underlines, scribbled notes, and highlighters marking my growth in grace and knowledge of the Word under the Spirit's guidance. I sometimes just go back and read through an old journal or see a note or underline in my Bible and I'm transported back to when my pen first hit that page. I remember what it felt like to struggle, love, doubt, pray, and trust like I did.
You need to journal. If you don't, please start. It's not as hard a discipline as you might think. Make some stones with your pen strokes to remember the greatness of God at all points of your life.
But at the base.... the greatest stone markers of my life are the people. They go along with the photo idea, but the real people are so much better than ink-jetted glossy paper. The men and women God has guided in shaping me are, ultimately, those for whom I will stand before God and give account and praise and honor for how I loved and treated and grew alongside.
People-Stones are the best, because they're each and every one huggable and conversational and a phone call or memory away. These stones have names: Dad, Mom, Jenny, Jenna, Tyler, Austin, Mr. Singleton, "Greggie", Joe, Chris, Steven...
Oh, I could go on. These stones have supported me and spoken truth into my life, each and every one. Without these, I would not be the man writing before you now. They've each loved me and allowed me to love them deeply. For that I will never have sufficient words.
So there's some of my stones? What are yours?
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