Monday Morning Munch No. 5 - He Died My Death

The purpose of MMM is to be a little breakfast of encouragement before the week starts, and today I want to share one of the most humbling but encouraging things I've read in a long time.

"Be hard on sin but easy on forgiveness. I think that's what the cross proves about our God. He's hanging there because I put Him there. God is making a statement about what He thinks about my sin as Jesus writhes in agony trying to get enough leverage to just breathe. He's there on the cross because God is saying something about my sin, "I hate it. I'm hard on sin. You want to know how hard I am on sin? Watch Me as I deal with My Son on Calvary." And without mercy, without grace, without pity, without compassion, He brutally killed His Son and made Him to suffer my hell. God is hard on sin so He can be easy to come to me one day and say, "Forgiven.""

-Michael Durham  

"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

-2 Corinthians 5:2

If that doesn't wrap you up in a warm blanket of love, humility and awe, I don't know what will.

Jesus became our sin. We were supposed to have His death, but because of love He suffered in our place so that full atonement could be received by us and full glory could be given to Him.

Man of Sorrows! What a Name:

Man of Sorrows! what a name

For the Son of God, Who came 

Ruined sinners to reclaim. 

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Bearing shame and scoffing rude, 

In my place condemned He stood; 

Sealed my pardon with His blood. 

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Guilty, vile, and helpless we; 

Spotless Lamb of God was He; 

Full atonement can it be? 

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Lifted up was He to die; 

"It is finished!" was His cry; 

Now in heaven exalted high. 

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

When He comes, our glorious King, 

All His ransomed home to bring, 

Then anew His song we'll sing: 

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

I pray you are able to see with what pure, redeeming, relentless love God has loved you. He offers redemption and steadfast love to all [Psalm 130:7-8]. And, while He was hard on your sins, He is easy on forgiveness [which in no way makes it acceptable to sin, Romans 6:15]. If you haven't died to yourself and this world, do it today. If you have, be encouraged by the Gospel and preach it to yourself daily as you continue to die to your identity in this world.

Monday Morning Munch No. 4 - Encouragement Through the Trials

"Remember this and stand firm,
recall it to mind, you transgressors,
remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like Me,
declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose...’
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it."
(Isaiah 46:8-11 ESV)

I don't know what is going on in your walk with the Lord, but as I spoke with brothers and sisters at church yesterday it was apparent that Satan was assailing people with doubt and discouragement through various trials. Even our Sunday School class was about that and it obviously resonated with the majority of the body of Christ. 

When we are attacked by the evil one, seemingly out of the blue, and taken by surprise (even though we aren't supposed to be surprised, 1 Peter 4:12), our hearts can rest and rejoice knowing God is not taken by surprise. He declares the end from the beginning and His counsel will accomplish everything intended, even if it's uncomfortable, painful or difficult for us. 

Yesterday's Morning entry from Charles Spurgeon's Morning and Evening echoed this: 

"God is God; He sees and hears

All our troubles, all our tears.

Soul, forget not, 'mid thy pains,

God o'er all for ever reigns."

"Fear not death, nor Satan's thrusts,

God defends who in Him trusts;

Soul, remember, in thy pains,

God o'er all for ever reigns."

"For this life's long night of sadness

He will give us peace and gladness.

Soul, remember, in thy pains, 

God o'er all for ever reigns."

The Lord does forever reign over all things, not just the good things. Is He the author of evil? Absolutely not, but He still reigns over it because evil was conquered at the cross. 

In the midst of challenging, heart-wrenching situations, our comfort comes in knowing our great God will work each situation for His children's good, His glory and for the purpose of conforming us to the image of His dear Son. 

Encouragement for the Journey

Here are some verses of encouragement that have helped me over the past few days to not have a victim's mentality through these attacks, but to see God orchestrating a bigger, greater plan than I could ever conceive in my finite mind. I hope they encourage you in whatever situation you are facing.

"But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me." (Micah 7:7-8 ESV)

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (James 1:2-4 ESV) 

"This is my comfort in my affliction, that Your Word gives me life." (Psalm 119:50 ESV)

"Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You preserve my life; You stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand delivers me. The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me; Your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of Your hands. (Psalm 138:7-8 ESV) 

 "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:15-16 ESV)

"All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep His covenant and His testimonies." (Psalm 25:10 ESV)

"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV) 

"The Rock, His work is perfect, for all His ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is He." (Deuteronomy 32:4 ESV)

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too." (2 Corinthians 1:3-5 ESV) 

This one should really encourage us and propel us to the throne with a heart drenched in gratefulness and humility: 

"The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will He keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities." (Psalm 103:8-10 ESV)

Wow. Whatever we are going through, no matter how hard and painful it may be, our sweet, merciful, gracious Lord is still dealing with us in ways we don't deserve. 

Thank You, God, for being so gloriously good to Your children. Help us to not be blinded by circumstances around us or look at situations without seeing Your grace in the details, but rather fix our gaze on You and Your holiness. Help us not be consumed with ourselves, our struggles or our pain, but look at Jesus' example on the road to the cross as He took on the greatest struggle and pain as You turned Your face away from Him to bear our sin and conquer the evil one once and for all. Help us to be encouraged through this light momentary affliction and take advantage of it as a way to proclaim Your name in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation in which we shine as lights holding out Your Word. More than anything, may we glorify You in our response to trials and take comfort in Your abundant steadfast love that endures forever. 

  

Back to School Prayer

This week (today for some) the sweet girls of my True Beauty ministry go back to school. My heart has been heavy with that thought for about a week now and the following is my prayer for them (straight out of this morning's journaling session in my prayer journal) as they once again return to grade school. Join me in prayer for these and others who will be exposed to so much purity-sucking worldliness and straight sin in the halls, and sometimes classrooms, of the public (and private) schools.

Dear God,

I pray for my little ones as they go off to school now that summer is over. I pray that You bring them to the end of theirselves and show them their desperate need for You. Expose the emptiness of the world and the evil that lurks around them and may it cause them to run to You. I pray for teachers who will fill their minds with good things and who will pour truth into them at the risk of their own jobs. I pray You preserve whatever innocence these young girls have left and use all things to point them to You and magnify Your glory. I pray the lessons they have heard in True Beauty, church and from their parents will come back to their minds and that they will be true ladies who set an example for all with purity in speech, in doctrine and in attitude and actions.Help them to be uncomfortable so they find their comfort in You. May they be lonely so they find true companionship in You. May they be hopeless so they find You as their hope. May You show them their sin so they see You as the glorious sin-bearer.Help them not to consent when sinners entice and may they have nothing to do with the putting down of others and everything to do with putting others' needs above their own. I pray school for these sweet girls this year will be a place where they radically experience You and Your magnificent Gospel.Thank You for loving them more than I, and for going before them. Show them Your beauty, Lord- may You be the most attractive person to them. I love You, God. Amen. 

Monday Morning Munch No. 3 - God is in Control

Today's short MMM comes from a man much wiser than I; one of the heroes of the faith, Charles Spurgeon.

I pray this word encourages your heart to remember that God is in full control, never lacking in supply and never delayed in His coming. He is holy, righteous, beautiful and sovereign and will never leave or forsake you.

"Say not my soul, 'From whence can God relieve my care?' 

Remember that Omnipotence has servants everywhere.

His method is sublime, His heart profoundly kind,

God never is before His time, and never is behind."

"If I should lose all I have, it is better that I should lose than have, if God so wills: the worst calamity is the wisest and the kindest thing that could befall me if God ordains it." 

-Charles Spurgeon,

Morning and Evening,

August 5, Morning

"Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, 'Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.'" 

-Isaiah 35:3-4 

My prayer for the good times, the hard times and all the times in between:

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;

Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.

Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,

Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;

I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;

Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;

Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,

Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:

Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,

High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,

May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!

Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,

Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

 -Be Thou My Vision,

Dal­lan For­gaill

With eyes fixed on the Author and Finisher of our faith,

Monday Morning Munch No. 2- Common and Still Useable

Does the Lord use us, common men and women?

The following is a little food for the soul (and hopefully a nugget that will stir questions) that will answer that.

In Acts 3, Peter and John are used of God to heal a man lame from birth. They then take the opportunity to share the Gospel to everyone who saw the miracle. Because of their teaching and preaching they greatly annoyed the Sadducees and temple people, so Peter and John were arrested (chapter four).

When they went before the high priest and were questioned about sharing the Gospel, they did not defend themselves but started talking about all the wonders Jesus had done. Then boldly proceeded to share the Gospel with the very people who were telling them to stop. This is what happened next:

"Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus." -Acts 4:13

What comfort and encouragement oozed out of this passage for me. They were uneducated (in the Rabbinical schools) and were common. Yet they were used so powerfully by God (because of their boldness) so that the high priests were astonished and saw and recognized they had been with Jesus, for there was no other explanation.

Does your life look different than the world?

Is it easily recognizable that you have been with Jesus?

The high priests end up letting them go even after Peter and John tell them they won't stop speaking about the Lord. Why did they let them go?

"(They let them go) finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened." -Acts 4:21

Take heart today, O my soul, for the Lord uses common men! It is my earnest prayer to be used by God and that everyone I encounter--whether they be for me or against me--would recognize that I have been with Jesus. May all the people praise the Lord. 

Praying we go forth in boldness to proclaim the Gospel,

Olympic Dreams, Sophie’s Plans and God’s Will

Tomorrow the Opening Ceremony for the 2012 Olympic Games will begin (at 6:30 p.m. CST).  The best athletes in the entire world will compete on the highest level representing their countries and going for the gold.

Several of my friends are there competing, specifically Amanda Furrer, Sarah Scherer (who happens to be related to Charles Spurgeon) and Jonathan Hall, among others who will be reppin’ the USA in shooting.

I cannot tell you how happy I am for these amazing shooters and people who have overcome so much to be where they are right now- in London just about 24 hours away from the Opening Ceremony! They have each worked so hard and I am ridiculously proud of them and can’t wait to wake up in the middle of the night to watch them compete.

However, if I let it, it hurts my heart.

Because I’m not there.

You see, this was going to be my Olympics. I even told someone that in an interview when I was 13 years old. (You can read the article here… please don’t judge my picture or my perfectly-parted-down-the-middle hair… wow.)

From the time I first realized shooting was an Olympic event, I was going to win the gold. It was my dream forever. The hours of training, the traveling for national competitions, the expensive equipment, the elite camps, were all stepping-stones for my way to the World’s Stage where I would compete and win gold.

At least that’s how it was perfectly planned in my selfish, me-centered head.

But God.

…had other plans.

Better plans.

“Many are the plans in the mind of a man,

but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.” (Proverbs 19:21 ESV)

He knows my dreams and my heart’s deepest desire and He isn’t a God who will see that and then give me the exact opposite because He’s cruel. Absolutely not. He doesn’t promise to give me what Sophie thinks is best, He promises to give me His best. And I’m living it out.

I would not trade where God has me right now for competing in five Olympic Games.

God has allowed me to experience Him in ways that I never imagined through a job that I love, discipling a group of girls I adore and learning from some of the greatest people I know, all of whom are following hard after God.

So, back to what I said earlier: if I let it, the realization that I’m not there hurts my heart.

Emphasis on “if I let it.” It’s a choice, just like everything else in life. And I choose to be ridiculously happy for my friends competing in the Games and with where God has me right now, knowing it’s for my good and His glory and preparing me for a future only He can see. 

I will watch the Opening Ceremonies tomorrow night and cry as the athletes walk in and then I’ll proceed to cry during every medal ceremony. They won’t be tears of selfishness but tears of victory; victory with the ones winning the medals and victory with the One who created my heart and has fulfilled it to the uttermost.

“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold [Olympic gold] that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”(1 Peter 1:6-7 ESV)

Praising Him for my life that is going exactly as He planned,

Michael Carneal and Me

Dad had his morning radio news playing when I woke up yesterday morning. The local AM talk show was giving updates when the person said, "Courts are deciding whether or not Michael Carneal waited too long to withdrawal his guilty plea to the 1997 Heath High School shootings."

As my mom continued getting vitamins for my dad I just stood there in disbelief over Carneal.

Fourteen-year-old Carneal is escorted off Heath High School
 property by officers after he opened fire December 1, 1997,
killing three and wounding five more. 

Why doesn't he just admit to the shooting? I mean, he was the one. It's on video. There's eye witnesses. Evidence. And he already plead guilty once.

My cousins were there that morning. The day he opened fire on the other side of my medium-sized town in western Kentucky. I remember their fear.

Why is he trying to say he's innocent now? Three people died and five were injured. Why did he admit to it and now change his plea?

Then it hit me like a spiritual spanking:
That's just like me.
I am just like Michael Carneal.

No, I haven't murdered anyone in a high school shooting, but I've had anger without cause and Jesus says that's the same.

But besides that, I've tried to defend my sin.

How many time have I stood before God in guilt and, despite evidence and eye witnesses, tried to play it off like I wasn't guilty?

Welcome to my whole life before surrendering to Christ. And, unfortunately, too much of my regenerated life after being saved.

I hate sin.
And Satan,
and my pride,
and my ugly, ugly flesh.

Francis Chan said this, "Confess sin, don't defend it."

Yesterday's 10-second news spot reminded me of that and showed me how fast I am to judge the sins of others when I do the very same thing.

What's crazy is that after confessing my wretch sin (and every sin is wretched), my Judge, the Ruler and Creator of the universe, doesn't pronounce me guilty, but free. Completely innocent. 

The Judge says I did the sin but Jesus Christ did my time. He took the punishment then took the death penalty that I deserved.

"Sealed my pardon with His blood, hallelujah, what a Savior!"

"For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." --Colossians 3:3  

"Because the sinless Savior died my sinful soul is counted free,for God the Just is satisfied to look on Him and pardon me." 

Humbled and in awe of the Lord's remarkable grace,