Mixed Feelings

Real quick, for those of you praying for my husband...thank you...he's one day closer to being done with this nasty bar exam and told me that today he could feel everyone's prayers.

Anyway, on to my mixed feelings...

Today I found out that a young boy at my school died on Sunday. I have very mixed feelings about it. This little boy has been battling a rare cancer for a few years now and he was laid to rest Sunday morning. I know that he is at peace now and not in any pain, but at the same time I can't help but think what a young, joyful life is missing from this earth now. I keep wrestling with this in my head. Why does God allow little children to suffer? Then I think, well he didn't let him suffer much because He showed him mercy by bringing him home and relieving him from pain. But then, lately, I've been in a discussion with a friend about where babies and children go that haven't had the chance to accept Christ yet. I come back to just having mixed, unsettled feelings. I know that God is just and merciful, so I trust the outcome, but I still feel all confused and mixed up inside.

I'd love to hear what you guys have to say on this topic....Thank you!!!

Finding the Balance

Well, last night at my community group we finished up the study on Grace and Truth that I've been writing about. It was some very interesting conversation. We discussed the importance of finding that balance between truth and grace, because without it we either appear too legalistic or too carefree (without standards).

One of the tough questions we worked through last night was: "How is it evident in your life that you have repented of your sins and know that you are saved?" Many of us had a hard time answering this question, but there was one person who had a great answer. He shared how he wrote a letter to his dad apologizing for how he'd been as he was growing up. We thought this was a great practical way and brought to a personal level. I shared that I struggled with this question because a lot of times I have a hard time forgiving myself, so I don't feel right asking God for His forgiveness, when I've can't even forgive myself. I don't know if anyone else can relate to that, but I think for me it's harder to forgive myself than it is to forgive another person. I am working on it and striving to improve in that area, but it's a tough one for me.

Anyway, that pretty much concluded our study and we're deciding next week what we will be studying in the weeks to come. Hope you all have had a great weekend. :)


~~~If you wouldn't mind praying, my husband takes the bar exam in a week. Please pray that his anxiety level would be non-existent for the test and that he will be able to easily recall all of the information he has been studying so diligently. Thank you for your prayers!!!

Truth

As I've continued on with my study, "The Grace and Truth Paradox," I have continued to grow. This four week study is coming to an end though. There is only one week left. As I said before, I strongly recommend this study to anyone looking for one right now.

This past week's focus was TRUTH. We had some great discussions at my community group. Most importantly we kept coming back to the key focus of Christ's example. No matter how important the truth is, it must always be displayed in a graceful manner. It is not our job to judge people or to condemn them. It is our job to love them.

We are all sinners so to come across as "perfect" is a flat our lie. The church so often makes people feel like once they're "family" that you can't have any baggage, but I think the world would be a better place if we all did openly share our struggles in life. I think those who don't yet know Christ along with other fellow Christians would find comfort in REAL people, not the paper doll cutouts people try to portray themselves as.

If we would just befriend people, whether or not they are Christian, and actually not even address whether they are Christians or not; you know, treat them like a person (what a concept), maybe people would see "real" Christianity lived out. If we were stronger in our own faith and secure in how we were to live, we wouldn't have the desire to shove our religion on others and more people would see the attractiveness of our Christ and His amazing Grace through the Holy Spirit's loving actions moving in and through our lives!!!

I know this is short, but I hope it helps you think...I know it's made me think. I'm looking forward to the last week of the study and finding more life application for living out both Grace and Truth.

"The Grace and Truth Paradox"

Okay, okay, okay....this is for my husband, who guilted me, this morning, into posting something.

The truth is after being sick for so long, I sort of felt out of the loop and began to wonder if what I posted was really all that special and so I just stopped writing because I feared what I was writing was pointless. I mean, I've stopped getting the traffic that I used to get and far fewer comments, so I figured that the things I had to say were either things people already knew or didn't care about. Apparently my husband does, so I will continue on.

Anyway, right now I am going through a study with my community group that is AMAZING!!! I recommend this study to anyone who is looking for something challenging, yet life changing. The study is by Randy Alcorn and it is called: "The Grace and Truth Paradox" responding with Christian Balance.


This study takes, in my opinion, the two most important concepts and teaches how to apply them in daily life. I am going to be taking several quotes from the book as I continue.

"A paradox is a statement or a phrase that seems to contradict itself but, in fact, is true. One of the greatest paradoxes of the Christian faith is the interplay between grace and truth. Grace, by itself, may permit deception and moral compromise. Truth, by itself, leads to self-righteousness and crushing legalism. Are these two qualities mutually exclusive?" (5)

Wow....these few sentences say so much and they are only in the preface. This topic is one I wrestle with and have found several of my brothers and sisters in Christ also wrestle with. How do you uphold the truth while still displaying grace? Sometimes it's easy, but then there are times that are so hard and a few that are uncomprehensible. If we live with granting too much grace than we appear as not standing for anything, but if we live a life purely by truth than we appear as though we're judging others. Neither one of those senarios are ideal. The awesome thing is that we don't have to live one way or the other, nor should we. Jesus didn't! He was a perfect combination of both absolute truth and absolute grace.

"The challenge for believers today is how to express grace and truth in balance, as Jesus did. It's an important issue because the world will draw conclusions about Jesus from what it sees in us." (5)

To get a little bit more specific about truth and grace here is how Mr. Alcorn defines each one separately:

"Truth: refers to the legal demands on humanity that God's character requires and the absolute law He established in His Word.
~God's holiness, justice, and wrath are expressions of His truth." (9)

"Grace: is the aspect of God's character that overrides His judgment of our sin.
~ God's grace led Him to sacrifice His Son to pay the penalty for our sin, offering all people an opportunity to be forgiven and to have new life in Christ." (9-10)

"In the beginning was the Word; and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the One and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."
~John 1:1,14

My prayer is that the Lord will help me to show grace to others. I don't know if in this life time I will ever be able to show Grace to others even 50% of the time, but through this study I am beginning to grasp just how much grace God granted me, which in turn makes me want to grant grace to others even more. I am no different than those murderers and rapists out there. We are all sinners. No one sin is okay while another is not. All sin is wrong in the eyes of the Lord and keeps us apart from Him without the blood of Christ. Therefore, we are all in need of grace and very much undeserving. If God can grant us grace than who are we to withhold it from others.

"While we were still helpless, at the appointed moment, Christ died for the ungodly." Romans 5:6



So far in this study, I've only been through the comparisons of why both truth and grace are important and then this last week was a further study on what grace actually is, this week I will be studying about what truth really is. Here is a great passage from the study about grace:

"Grace isn't about God lowering His standards. It's about God fulfilling those standards through substitutionary suffering of the One who set the standards. Christ went to the cross because He would not ignore the truths of His holiness and our sin. Grace gave what truth demanded: the ultimate sacrifice for our sins." (29)

"If righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing." Gal. 2:21

"Christ gave His all to save us all. That's grace. Period." (29)

This past week's study has really helped me to find the things that I'm blessed with in life and how to let go of the things that might not be as great, so that I be uplifted and desire to extend grace to others. Phil. 4:11 says it well: "I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am."

"If I grasp that I deserve hell, I will be filled with gratitude not only for God's blessings-including my redemption and my home in heaven-but also for His smaller blessings: sun, rain, a beating heart, eyes that see, legs that walk, a mind that thinks." (39)

Well this is what I am studying and what I am learning right now. It is absolutely fascinating to me!!! I hope that it causes you to think or at least stop a moment and realized how blessed you truly are. I am blessed to be able to share this with you. Thanks for stopping by. I pray that the Lord would move mightily in your life this week.

Happy New Year

To all my friends in blog world... I hope that you have a safe and happy New Year's. Looking forward to 2006 and all that God has in store for us!!!

Poetry in Motion

I have a simple post today...but one that for sure needed to be posted. My friend from blogland, Maryellen, states things most eloquently. She has a great blog and posted many wonderful posts and has been fired at many times from many different people. She has so much grace in the way she responds and answers. I admire her for that. Here is a great quote from one of her comments in reply to one of her faithful readers....it is truly poetry in motion:


"If my faith were based on the behavior of Christians, I would be totally faithless, but my hope and faith is built on nothing less than Jesus. So, I stumble on, keeping my eyes on the light, and hoping that some how, in some way that same light is shining through me and making this dark world a little brighter..." --Maryellen

visit her blog....you'll love it!!!

Missing the Point

My heart has been heavy lately. So many of my friends that I love and hold dear to my heart have missed the point of what Christianity is all about. Even today, while reading several blogs, many people are just missing the point.

Many of my friends that I am referring to have the wrong approach to Christianity, but I think it's because of how the church sometimes approaches how we are to live our life as Christians. I often hear all of the things that we as Christians we should not do. For example: Don't get drunk! Don't have sex before you're married! Don't use foul language! Don't talk back to your parents! Don't do drugs! Don't do anything that would dishonor your parents! Don't lie! Don't steal! Don't do anything that would bring harm to your body! Don't hang out with non-Christians! Don't listen to secular music! Don't forget to read the bible every day! Don't miss church! I think you all get the idea. Well, with this approach it makes being a Christian seem like a constant out reach thing to do because you're hearing all of the things you can't do "if you truly want to be a Christian." This is what causes people to walk on the fence. They try to see how much they can get away with, how close they can come to the other side with still being "Christian." This makes it easy to fall away from Christ because soon people do anything and then rationalize it by saying, "God will still love me. God will forgive me." They use this logic, while falling farther and farther away from Christ, so far that by the time they realize it, they are so angry at the rules that were "placed" on them that they don't want anything to do with Christianity because they've missed the point.

In my opinion, as trite as it might be, the church ought to be teaching what we SHOULD be doing, not what we shouldn't. It's so much more appealing. For example: Love God! Help each other! Love each other! Strive to put others before yourself! Help the homeless! Love little children! Now doesn't that sound more appealing?

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not meaning we should be selling Christianity by any means. I am just simply saying that by giving a list of things we can't do MISSES THE POINT of what Christianity is all about. I mean Christ came out of love, to offer love, and then to give love as the final sacrifice. Christianity is about love and being love to others.

Instead of passing judgment on those who have trouble with all of the rules, let's love on them and help them FEEL the presence of God once again or maybe for the first time. Let's not miss the point anymore.