A lot of people that I’ve met recently have shared with me their frustrations with “organized religion.” A lot of them have been burned by religious institutions, let down by religious leaders, conned by selfish congregation members. This is just so saddening to me. I want to take people who have experienced “church” in this way and bind up their wounds. I want them to see that the church is a body of broken people, and that we can’t put our hope in anything but Christ! People will let us down, churches will do the same. My theory is that the hurt is more amplified within the church because its just a whole lot of broken people under one roof. Let’s strip it down: what does our God think about religion? What is pleasing to him? Won’t that be the kind that is most pleasing to us as well?
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27, NIV)
Light bulb moment…So that’s what God wants? He wants us to love each other, look after those who can’t provide for themselves. He wants us to bind together in a community as a “salty” people that preserve his goodness in a crooked and perverse generation. He wants us to shine out his love like stars in the milky way, that each person that he has created will recognize his goodness and love. As a body of believers, we should give freely, love deeply, act justly, and above all, remain connected to our source, our Heavenly Father.
Why did it take me so long to find out about this. I flippin love it. I’m seriously all about this….I love their articles (especially those meant for campus ministry!) This stuff speaks to my heart. Here’s the meaty article I’m working on right now. It is a huge help with all of the spiritual conversations I’ve been having lately. Here’s where I can find some answers to the people that are constantly asking me, “So, do you judge me? Am I going to hell if I don’t believe in your God?” Check it out!
This isn’t a Christian song. Far from it. But the message is cool. I have definitely felt the God of the universe whisper this to me in the past few months.
so let go, jump in
oh well, whatcha waiting for
it’s alright
’cause there’s beauty in the breakdown
so let go, just get in
oh, it’s so amazing here
it’s alright
’cause there’s beauty in the breakdown
such boundless pleasure
we’ve no time for later now
you can’t await your own arrival
you’ve 20 seconds to comply
The message is continual, gentle, persistent. He uses all means possible to convey the message…even Frou Frou lyrics. The Most High God, creator of all things cares about my heart. Now that is crazy. CRAZY. He cares about yours too. I’m not just pulling this out of thin air. I have tasted and seen the goodness of the Lord while I am in the land of the living. But don’t take my word for it:
Let go…see the beauty in the breakdown. (2 Corinthians 12:1-10)
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. (Phil 4:12)
This is what I ask the Lord to teach me this day. I know that I can ask him for what I want, but the true desire of my heart is not for my own wants but for his. My heart aches over my own desires. I am blinded by what I want, so much so that sometimes I can’t even see where my blessed Lord is leading me.
Here’s my delimma…I’m supposed to ask him for what I want. How much can I want and yet be content at the same time? I don’t understand this at all. My prayer is that the Lord would shape my desires to line up with his, that I might be content where I am, rejoicing in who he has made me.
I don’t want to wish my life away, chasing a desire of my heart while missing out on the good gifts the Lord has given me for this day. It is so hard. I am tired. It’s so much easier to just pine away sometimes. Sometimes like right now. I feel my fleshy-ness so much in moments such as these.
Has the Lord revealed truth to you about this? How has he taught you about your desires, about contentment? I would love to hear about it.
…is being sure of what we hope for, certain of what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1)
Faith is scary. But I know that the God I serve is faithful, and that he goes before me in all that I do.
I was meditating on faith last night as I was praying over my plans for the future. My dear dear friend (she’s my bosom friend, for you Anne of Green Gables fans) Brook shared some wisdom from the Word of God with me that was so encouraging that I thought I would share it with you too (it’s from Psalm 37:23-24):
If the LORD delights in a man’s way,
he makes his steps firm;
though he stumble, he will not fall,
for the LORD uphold him with his hand.
This article changed my perspective on discerning God’s will about a year ago, and I am just now really getting to test out what it means to follow the Lord’s will in terms of big life decisions. Check it out.
I realize this is a pretty random post… but I just wanted to share a little of what the Holy Spirit is teaching me these days.
I’m just going to throw this information out. I’m addicted to coffee shops. Not coffee itself, mind you, but the place where they keep the coffee. I think I know why, too. Each shop is unique, and while offering basically the same drinks (I get the same thing at each one), I enjoy the atmosphere at each shop. I literally had to budget myself $30 this month for coffee shop runs…which might sound like a lot to you, but is modest compared to what I spent last month. Yikes!
When I worked at Starbucks in high school, we were big on customer service training. One of the things I learned in training was that Starbucks is striving to create this “third place” for people. Now, before you write me off for being brain washed by some globalization scheme of Howard Schultz (somewhat true), just hear me out. The third place is separate from “normal” life. The first place is home, and the second place is work. People are looking for some kind of third place to escape the responsibilities each of these places present….voila, Starbucks (or any coffee shop). I pretty much agree with this philosophy, although I’d have to say that coffee shops are more like my 5th place, after home, school, work, Bible study 1, and Bible study 2.
So I’m guilty. I love the “third place.” I can’t get enough of it, frankly. The following is a list of my favorite shops in SLO. We don’t really have coffee shops in Bako, so sorry if you’re reading this and it doesn’t apply to you….
1. Uptown Espresso/Black Horse: recently changed its name, but still a great place to have a date night with Jesus or study. I love the patio (which is where I gave my final speech for COMS 101, btw) and also have some great memories of meeting DeKlotz here for d-ship last year. Learned so much about who God is in this place! I always run into at least one person I know here, which is usually a good thing. Also, it’s downtown, which is an upgrade in my book.
2. Linnaea’s Cafe: Love the garden and the almond lattes. I lied before when I said I get the same thing everywhere. I splurge here for the flavored latte instead of my normal single unflavored latte. Also, its pretty quirky, and though that doesn’t fit my personality completely, its a good change from my normal routine. I have a strong urge to buy a fixed gear bike after visiting this shop, and want to go home and shower after looking at the “earthy” girls who work here.
3. Higher Groundz: Its right down the street from my house and run by Christians. The music is great (usually some Jon Foreman in the mix) and I know at least three of the employees. A great place for d-ship. However, it doesn’t feel as intimate to me for some reason. Still makes the top three. Try the Chai.
Ok. Now that I’ve confessed, you can keep me accountable. Its ok. Ask me how many times I’ve been out to coffee this week…. Really though. Caffeine makes me feel icky, so the coffee itself isn’t the problem. The real truth is that these coffee shops have become a great place for me to wind down and soak in the Father’s love. Try a Date Night with Jesus at a local coffee shop–I guarantee it will be a pick-me-up for your week. Go. Try it.
I have been thinking lately about how people view our God. I was thinking about how they see him as unapproachable, unreachable, unattainable. I have seen this in my own life, and it has been amplified by my time here in El Salvador. I see how one in three Salvadorians is ”born again” yet don’t really experience life in abundance thanks to a skewed view of the Mighty One. For most Christians here, following Christ is about following a bunch of rules, and not about entering into the most intimate relationship of their existence. As I was thinking, I remembered a humorous rendition of this world view. Here’s a little insight into how people think here (and everyone):
Funny, because it’s truly what people believe about Christ sometimes. I have news for those of you who see Christianity as a bunch of rules, regulations, and restraints. Following Christ and surrendering my plans to his has shown me the most freedom and peace I’ve ever experienced. This week has been huge in that. I’ve been contemplating Jonah’s prayer in Jonah 2. It’s a prayer of complete surrender, the prayer of a dead man. I must continually die to myself, and in this way be sanctified by the blood of Christ. That’s what Christ is about. Freedom through surrender.
“but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.”
-Isaiah 40:31
Ok, confession time. Sometimes I fall into the trap of thinking that some verses are too “cliché” to be applicable to my life. Isaiah 40:31 has pretty much always fallen into that category of cliché scripture in my mind, most likely because I spent 2 years at a Christian school that used this verse as a reason to be the BCHS Eagles. Lame. Not the whole school, just the fact that 80% of Christian schools use this verse as a motto and an eagle as a mascot. Ok, I made up that stat. Anyway, my friend Xavier (Salvadorian) just graduated from Josué Christian School here in San Salvador. Guess what their mascot was? The Eagles. Proof that the eagle is an over-used mascot in Christian schools AROUND THE GLOBE. What exactly is so holy about eagles anyway? Nothing as far as I can tell. End of rant.
The Lord definitely has been teaching me a thing or two about how important and “un-cliché” the whole Word of God is. He keeps bringing this verse to my mind each day here in El Salv. I’ve been here for over 2 weeks now, and fatigue hasn’t got the best of me yet. I definitely don’t have the strength to go on my own power. I believe the reason for this is that I want to renew my strength each day by putting my hope in the Lord. So, what does it mean to hope in the Lord? I’ve been really digesting this as I have been working on a devotional called Thirsty while here on project (it’s a new release, and may not be added to the posted link for a bit). I need to be emptied of myself, confessing my dirt, grime and sin before a holy and righteous God, and then ask and believe that I am empowered, filled up and controlled by his Holy Spirit. Its a miracle.
And that is what my hope in Him looks like. I hope (I have an ultimate expectation) that He is faithful and just to forgive my sins and cleanse me of unrighteousness. See 1 John 1:9. I hope in the salvation of my soul, that he who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. See Philippians 1:6. I hope that my Lord is made known in my weakness, that he is so great that he can use my sin to draw others into a knowledge of who he is. This is where I draw strength. A crazy amazing breakfast, a great team, relationships with students and a Hilton Princess bed will only leave me weary in comparison with the renewed strength I get from putting my hope in him, the Everlasting One.
Pray for Olga, Delmy and Johanna…the girls who accepted Christ with me last week. Pray that they would feel urged to come to our follow-up meeting this next week, that they would desire to know more about this salvation that they have been adopted into. Pray for our ministry, which will be completely on Universidad Evangélica for the next two weeks. Pray for momentum, for ministry contacts and for a MOVEMENT. We want to see a growing, thriving movement here in El Salvador. A movement that provides fellowship, accountability and friendship while reaching out to all of the lost souls in the community. Pray that our team would not grow weary while doing good, but that we would see the fields that are white with harvest. We want to go out in the name of Christ, in whom we are more than conquerers.
I appreciate all of your prayer support! It’s helping me to renew my strength!
Photo Update:
Day off….at Sunzal Beach with Alyssa!
Ordering Chinese food in Spanish poses a challenge….
Your eyes do not deceive you. Genuine “Sara” soup found at your local Hiper Paiz (Salvadorian Wal Mart).
At the Dinner Party hosted by Lio and Luchi (National Crusade Directors). We met up, ate and danced alongside the Destino Summer Project team. A great night!
Alyssa and I at the Vida Estudaintil Party yesterday. We had students in attendance from 4 different universities in San Salvador!
Ordering Chinese food in Spanish poses a challenge….
At the Dinner Party hosted by Lio and Luchi (National Crusade Directors). We met up, ate and danced alongside the Destino Summer Project team. A great night!
Alyssa and I at the Vida Estudaintil Party yesterday. We had students in attendance from 4 different universities in San Salvador!