My life for yours.

This week I was reminded of one of the principles that shape a Christian home and family. I read this principle "My life for yours" in Elisabeth Elliot's book The Shaping of a Christian Family.

The simplest form of this principle may be referred to as courtesy. An act of courtesy says in effect, "You matter more than I do."  I don't hear the word courtesy much anymore. Is it being taught in homes? Is it being modeled by parents? It begins by doing small things like a husband opening a car door for his wife or one sibling letting the other have the last of the ice cream. But as one matures, the principle may become more complex and costlier.

Jesus says "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep." John 10:11

"The price of the salvation of a home and family is sacrifice." Elisabeth Elliot 

Do I want to see the salvation of my home? As a Christ follower, am I willing to pay that price?

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy" Ephesians 5:25-26

How are you doing Spiritually?

Has anyone asked you this question lately? I found the following assessment in Dr. Walt Larimore's book The Highly Healthy Child, which is, unfortunately, now out of print. Since our church's motto is "In to heal. Out to love," it is important that we be moving toward health so we can go out to love. Take the test. If you are not healthy, why not? What are some changes you need to make? If you're not sure, make an appointment with your pastor. That's what he is there for!

Barna Spiritual Journey Assessment
How true is this characteristic of you?
1 = Not at all or never
2 = Not much or rarely
3 = Somewhat or occasionally
4 = Often or usually
5 = Completely or always

1. You maintain an intense level of respect, awe, humility, and gratitude toward God-in acknowledgement of his superiority and perfection. _____
2. You effectively share the substance of your faith with people who have an interest in it. _____
3.You pray for the needs and future of others. _____
4. The choices and decisions you make are based on spiritual principles and values. _____
5. Your speech and behavior pleases God. _____
6. When you pray, you both speak and listen to God. _____
7. Worship is not just an event you attend-you try to live your life as an act of worship to God. _____
8. You are held morally and spiritually accountable by others who know and care for you. _____
9. You give away your time, abilities, and money sacrificially for the benefit of the needy. _____
10. You fight injustice and inequality. _____
11. You strive to live out the "Golden Rule"-to love other people as you want them to love you. _____
12. Your attitudes, values, and thoughts please God. _____

Add up your score. A score of forty-eight or higher indicates you are likely to be spiritually healthy; a score of twenty-four or lower indicates you may not be spiritually healthy.

I'm the one doing this to me.

My small group leader has said that we all really know what to do in any given situation. When we struggle with something it's because we really don't want to do what we know we should. When I felt prompted (by God) to give more money to the church, I prayed about it (how silly, when it was God who told me what to do in the first place), I asked my husband what he thought (he was no help - he told me to do what I thought God wanted and I already knew that) and then I put it off for a while (hoping God would forget). My SELF did not want to give the extra money. The struggle against my own will, my pride, is real. I am not saying that we don't struggle. Jesus struggled so strongly (over what He already knew to do) that He sweated drops of blood. (Luke 22:44) However, "The demanding of my own will is the singular force that smothers out joy-nothing else." "I'm the one doing this to me."1 So what's the answer? What did Jesus do? He died to His own will and He trusted the Father's will, no matter how bad it looked at that moment.  "Fullness of joy is discovered only in the emptying of will."2 And trusting God. Whether we are 13 or 30.
1One Thousand Gifts page 177
2One Thousand Gifts page 179

Empty to Fill

Empty to Fill is the title of the tenth chapter in the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. Of that phrase she says "It's the fundamental, lavish, radical nature of the upside-down economy of God." This only confirms what my husband has been preaching for years. "Go be a blessing" he would say (referencing God's command to Abraham). We are not to just take the blessings from God, but we are to be the blessing. Why? Because God knows that when we hold onto the blessings we are given, joy within us dies. Look at this promise from Isaiah 58:10-11: "Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. The LORD will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring." So what does this look like in my life? This week it is giving financially...even though my faith is weak and I can't see beforehand how this upside-down economy of God works. Ann says "God extravagantly pays back everything we give away and exactly in the currency that is not of this world but the one we yearn for: Joy in Him."

Expectations Kill Relationships

Author Ann Voskamp, in her book, One Thousand Gifts, says "Expectations kill relationships-especially with God." Today, my second-born son, Stephen would have been 22 years old. He was born on April 30th and he died the same day. I, like any mother-to-be, had expectations. God shattered them all that day in the finality of death. But these were my expectations, not based on any promise of God. I had a choice then; to either sever this relationship with God (based on what I perceived to be His inability to fulfill my expectations) or relinquish those same expectations in acceptance and find not only peace, but joy in that relationship. Each time, in any and every relationship, the choice is the same: demand my will be done and kill the relationship or die to my will (and expectations) and be surprised by joy.

Is the problem Hollywood?

Years ago I read that Christians are just 5 years behind the world in accepting what they accept. At first I thought the author was ridiculous, but as I really began to think about it, and watch the people I knew to be professing Christians (including myself), I saw that he was right. The problem is not Hollywood and all the trash they produce. Why are we surprised that non Christians are producing non Christian entertainment? Rather, the problem is us, the church of Jesus Christ. We are not being who we are called to be. Holy as God Himself is holy. We are called to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). We are called to meditate on things that are true, noble, just, pure and lovely (Philippians 4:8). Are we? Or are we "entertaining ourselves to death" as the following article by Franklin Graham suggests?
http://billygraham.org/decision-magazine/april-2014/hollywood-entertaining-ourselves-to-death/

Evidence

Yesterday, as I drove around town, I saw Forsythia bushes in all their glorious bloom! I felt such joy because it was evidence that spring is indeed here. The calendar had announced spring weeks ago, but this yellow flower was unmistakable evidence that it is spring. What was once dormant is now alive!

The calendar is also telling me that Easter is this coming Sunday. A celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The One who was in the tomb is now alive and living inside me. Like the Forsythia bush, I was once dormant. When the seed of God was planted in me, I sprang to life. But what evidence is there?  The following article speaks of persecuted Christians. What impacted me was the common characteristics that the persecuted believers share. One is that there is no fear left in them and the other is joy. Joy is the mark - or evidence of the Holy Spirit.
http://billygraham.org/decision-magazine/september-2013/holding-nothing-back/