Currently Occupying the Peculiar Mind of Me

The past month I have gained a much greater appreciation for community. More specifically though, Brosephs (guy community). Coming into the college era of my life, I had no idea that relationships with my guy friends would be so important to me. My mind really just blanks out when I begin to try and express how much of a blessing it is to have encouraging brothers who want the best for you, and are willing to cross boundaries to make sure I don't screw things up. The one thing I can acknowledge though is that the guy friends I have are nothing but a gift from God. I often realize how my personality may some times promote me as an awkward person, so it is real easy for me to acknowledge that if I tried to make friends with such awesome people, I might end up embarrassing myself. So the fact that I have such incredible guys in my life to encourage me to pursue God is a representation of God's blessing and provisions in my life. This has allowed me to realize the importance of community after I graduate. I am so glad I've realized this now. Because of this, I consider community when I am looking for future jobs. I can't imagine living in a city for an extended amount of time where there is no community for me to be apart of. I thank God for his revelations to me. He surely has blessed me beyond what I can really understand.

Fruit

Let it be known, I love fruit. Sweet fruit, sour fruit, juicy fruit, ....not so juicy but still a lil juicy fruit, it's all delicious. That being said, it has absolutely nothing to do with what I'm going to write, except for the fruit part.

I'm sure every christian who was raised up in sunday schol or youth group has heard of the examples used for Christians bearing fruit. Like a tree, if it is not water, pruned, taken care of, it will not produce juicy delicious decadent fruit, or the fruit it does produce is withery and full of worms, thus worthless. It's hard to really compare ourselves to that. I know when I wasn't feeding my spirit (Christianese for spending personal time with God worshipping and reading His word, the Bible), and I was being honest, I would admit that I was not producing noticeable fruit. Well thinking back, the only reason I could have said that is because I was not producing anything that originated from my relationship with God, and not because I had an understanding of what that "fruit" should look like.

So what should the fruit that Christian's bear look like? That is to say, what are things that a person can see and say, "that Christian is being fed, water, and pruned, and is healthy in their faith."

Well, I don't know.

I definitely would say there is not a particular list that, if not followed, one could claim the Christian is not healthy. However, I do feel there are somethings which, if present, can be said are caused by a "well taken care of" faith.
All that to say, I think there are things which can be seen which appear only in a Christian who takes his relationship with God seriously, however, the lack of these things does not mean the contrary. Just like acorns mean oak trees, but oak tress don't necessarily mean acorns.

But don't take my word for it, lets look at the scriptures.

Colossians 1:4-6
since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.


1) Ok so the Gospel produces fruit.


Paul also goes on to say in verse 10 that he is praying that they be fruitful in every good work.

2) Good works may, but not always, produce fruit.

In Matthew 13, Jesus tells the parable of the sower. In verse 23 he says, speaking of the seed fallen on good soil, "this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."


3) Fruit is not produced in universal amount. The amount of fruit produced does not define the Christian, however presence of fruit, in any amount, is important. 


John 15!! JACKPOT!! The big kahuna. Here Jesus talks specifically about producing fruit. 
Verse 4,  
"Abide in me, and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me."


4) Fruit cannot be produced unless we are abiding in Christ. Abide: to remain in, rest in.


Bonus: If we abide in Him, we ALSO receive whatever we ask for!!
Verse 7: If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.


And Paul tops it all off with a list of what some fruits produced look like. 
Galatians 5:22-24
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."


Ok, so I know several people who's personal qualities mimic this list. Ironically (sarcasm) I can attest that their personal pursuit of God includes abiding in Christ each day, and yes the abundance of each "fruit" is different in their lives, and their good works, although selfless, do produce signs of the things Paul listed. And most importantly, each is pursuing an understanding of the Gospel with every ounce of their life.

So what does this tell me??
Well I know I long to produce fruit, because also in John 15, Jesus also tells us that His Father (which is also our Father, Hebrews 2) is pleased when we produce fruit, and pleasing my heavenly Father is my number one goal in life.

I think writing all this has revealed to me that there is a balance of pursuing an understanding of the Gospel and abiding in what I know about Christ. And so doing, I think unintentionally I will begin to bear fruit that pleases my heavenly Father and reveals that I am a disciple of Christ.

Late Have I Loved You - Gungor

Late have I loved You
Beauty so ancient, so new
Late have I loved You
You were within me
But I was outside You

And it was there that I searched for You
It was there that I searched for You

Late have I loved You
Beauty so ancient, so new
Late have I loved You
You were here with me
But I was not with You

And it was there that You found me
It was there that You found me

You called and You shouted
And You broke through my deafness
You flashed and You shone
Dispelled all my blindness

You breathed Your fragrance on me
You breathed Your fragrance on me
Late have I loved You
Late have I loved You

You called and You shouted
You broke through my deafness
You flashed and You shone
Dispelled all my blindness

You breathed Your fragrance on me
You breathed Your fragrance on me

I drew in Your breath
And I keep on breathing
I've tasted I've seen
And now I want more

'Cause You breathed Your fragrance on me
You breathed Your fragrance on me
Late have I loved You
Late have I loved You

Hebrews

So the past few weeks I've been doing a personal study of Hebrews, and man let me tell you, It has been really cool. It's really the first time I've done my own personal study and been relatively consistent. Since it has been a huge blessing to me so far this summer, I figured I'd post something about it. I've only made it through a few chapters thus far, so I still have a lot more to dive into. One thing that really jumped out at me and continues to be a subject of thought is Hebrews 1:10-12.


"And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail."


Here the author of Hebrews is quoting an old testament passage in Psalms, where the the author of that particular psalm is prophetically declaring the characteristics of Christ our Lord. One reason this jumps out to me is because the author of the Psalm is declaring these truths about our Lord centuries before he came into the world. This adds truth to the eternal truths of Jesus. From a simple intelectual perspective, any knowledgeable person can see how things of this world have been changing throughout time. From the changing types of governments, monarchies to democracies, to the changing types of family order, where women had no rights or respect, societies have altered on a continual basis in so many perspectives. What comfort there is to know that our God and our Savior has been the same for all time. Even in times from day to day, we find ourselves not knowing what to expect in our lives, and rightfully we can't really know, however there is one thing, which the author of Hebrews talks about, that we can find complete hope in. Our Lord has been from the beginning and will be till the end, and has not changed, is not changing, and will not change. I definitely have not yet grasped the reality associated with this truth. If I completely understood and acknowledged this truth, my thoughts throughout the day would be surrounded with peace and confidence in our Lord.
How can I get to that place where I do have complete confidence? James 4:8, Ephesians 6:10-20, I know  it's a continual war I have to fight against. The enemy's best strategy is to get us to doubt the plans God has for us. When we begin to doubt that, we begin to try and make and chase those plans ourselves. I've got to chase after God, work towards him, and yes it is work, because it's fighting against everything this world is telling us. And when I do that, I will unexplainably begin to find myself not worrying about such fears. I will begin to find myself naturally trusting his purpose and plan. It's how he works in his children's lives, and it's worth pursuing.

Brief

Dependencies!

We are dependent on food. We are dependent on water. Some of us are dependent on other things like coffee, friends, long walks on the bea... I mean, maybe not.

But do we have a noticeable dependence on God?
One can always tell when they haven't eaten or when they haven't been drinking enough liquids. But can we tell when we haven't had God as our focus? I think for most followers of Christ, it is quite apparent when they haven't set time aside to rest in God's presence, however I find myself, and I don't think I am the only one, not becoming desperate for it as much as I am for water after a long workout or food midday.

I am humbled by this obvious lack of dependency. It reveals to me my continual pride that is still present in my life. I long to be completely dependent on my Father, as I am for food and drink. I long to be desperate for Him when I have been away for a decent amount of time.

Your shepherd staff
Comforts me
You are my feast
In the presence of enemy
Surely goodness
Follow me
Follow me
In the house of God, forever

Fasting for... someone??

If I were to be completely honest, my experience with fasting is rather shallow. I have decided to refrain from eating food or partaking in some other distraction or entertainment in hopes that I would draw closer to God in that time. Looking back on it, there have really been only two significant times where I have decided to fast from something and felt as if my heart was changed after breaking the fast. I think this is partially from my lack of focus on the purpose of the fast, and instead focused on the things I removed myself from rather than the things I was longing for. 

I think due to my inability to focus on the right things while fasting, my concept of fasting is skewed and tainted. I believe a lot of this has to do with my spiritual maturity. Whether I enter into the fasting really desiring change, or enter into it because of pressure from other sources, my motives and purposes for starting it are the things that will allow me to have a Godly experience. Unfortunately it will be the thing that also causes me to have a miserable, painful experience. 

So in order for me to experience God through fasting, I need to approach it cautiously, and be certain that my intentions are pure and holy before attempting to humble myself in such a way. I've had these thoughts hovering in my mind for a while, and a brief comment in a podcast the other day stirred it back up. A comment about fasting for someone or something was said as if it were a common act… Well is it??

I've never really even thought about fasting for someone else. I've always pictured it as something an individual would do in order to draw themselves closer to God. However as I got lost in my thoughts as the podcast went on, it made sense that fasting for something outside of yourself would be powerful. Jesus is recorded in John 15 saying, 

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends."

This sunday school verse entered my mind as I pondered about the ramifications of fasting for a friend. We can get more from this verse than just the idea of one dying for a friend. Reading into the verse a bit, any type of sacrifice for a friend in one's life is a reflection of Christ in our lives. Actions which are done willingly, without any hesitation or expectation for compensation, towards a friend are powerful, and really do show the care and love they have for their friend. 

So even more, how powerful is it to approach God on the behalf of a friend. Fasting, removing "necessities" from my life, so that I can reveal my weaknesses, my need for God, my dependence on my Father, in order to request His power to be revealed in a friend's life. This would be the greater Love Jesus talked about, putting someone else's life before mine, someone else's future, someone else's heart before mine. 

I look forward to attempting experiencing God by fasting on behalf of a friend. 

Church, submit

Ephesians 5:22-24

"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the Husband is head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything."

So I asked a friend what the first thing she thinks of when she hears this verse. Her repines: "umm..Wives submit to your husbands.."

I think I may not have phrased the question in the best way, however I think this is a fair representation of what most people, (single/engaged/married) initially think of when they hear this verse. The church I am attending this summer covered this passage on Sunday, and approached again at the CityGroup on Thursday night. I didn't realize how much this verse means to me personally until mid-conversation Thursday night.

While others were talking, the meaning of the passage to me started overflowing my mind. The first phrase isn't necessarily the first thing I think of when I hear the verse. Well it isn't necessarily referring to me either, so obviously it doesn't convict me as it would others. (women in particular) The later part of the verses is what provokes most thought. "……..,as unto the Lord. …….., even as Christ is head of the church: and he is the savior of the body." Chewing on these verses resulted in a few powerful points (to me personally)

1) This world's view of marriage is screwed up.

This also stemmed from watching the show Two and a Half Men with my roommate earlier that day. In the episode, there was a couple who was about to get married. In this sitcom, along with so many others, they portrayed the man as the cowardly spouse, who would run to his fiance with his tail between his legs every time the woman would yell out his name. This portrayal can be seen in so many other sitcoms, and also in so many modern day young marriages (just go to your local grocery store and people watch) If you were to ask the guy if he's happy, most the time he'd say yes. But being a guy, I know this is simply degrading to a man's confidence. Also, although i know I am not an expert in women's psychology, you never hear a woman complain about her husband's role when he lovingly takes leadership in the relationship. Enough on marriage counseling, I really wanted to compare the world's view of marriage to the way you and I (the church) live our lives with Christ. 

When we, the bride, desire to take control, desire to create our own path, and attempt to establish ourselves on our own man-made foundation, we become the domineering controlling bride in today's worldly view of marriage. Ironically, does not our relationship with God result in the same dysfunctional and destructive outcome as those relationships the world portrays?? (I'm referring to the 50% divorce rate) Do we not find ourselves in places of depression, confrontation, and sadness? 

(to be continued…)