A Living Hope

This is one of my favorite passages and it came up in the first lesson in our study of joy. I've read this twice at funerals. That doesn't seem very joyous, right? But there is definitely joy in the idea that these trials lead to lasting reward. And that at both of those funerals, I knew that someone I loved had already had that "new birth into a living hope" and now their trials were over. Time for the inheritance! Where does joy come from? A new birth into a living hope.

1 Peter (New International Version)
Praise to God for a Living Hope
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

It is Well with my Soul

This song and the story behind it was part of my Bible study lesson. It's one of my favorite hymns (mainly because it was easy to sing for my short stint in choir, good for altos). Still, it's also applicable to the study of true joy.

It Is Well with My Soul
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Is Koi a Scrabble word?

You know how you feel when you're with people that you just feel comfortable with? Like you're OK no matter what form of dorky you are today? I have a few friends like that. Maybe that's just me. For some reason, even with people who I'm firmly convinced usually like me, I'm waiting for them to not like me, to think I'm just too...whatever it is that day...to hang with. And when I have to walk into a "party" with new people, I spend most of the day leading up to it in a pep talk..."You're good enough, You're smart enough, and, dog gone it, people like you." And then I usually do my best not to attract notice.

So, I'm trying a new church because I want to get involved with a group of people who believe what I believe and have similar lives...single Christians seem a good place to start. Cut to game night...me, driving over...I'll just see who's there and if I don't like it, I don't have to stay. Right, God? God says sure, while rolling his eyes probably. And as I'm parking, the girls in my Bible study drive up. No escape. And they don't allow me to hang back. And it was fine. It was good. So, I think none of us are cool...the heated Scrabble conversation over the word "koi" was my first clue. But they fit and I fit. And they already know about my weird New Year's resolution and my odd Pride and Prejudice obsession. How much worse could it get? Pretending to be cool takes too much out of me. I think I'll let that go. Maybe I'll just try to be real.

TGIF...for reals

In the men's room at work, the Boss had placed a sign directly above the sink. It had a single word on it -- "Think!" The next day, when he went to the men's room, he looked at the sign, and right below, immediately above the soap dispenser, someone had carefully lettered another sign which read -- "Thoap!"

Ouachita

A few more OBU posts. The first is the boys' dorm I stayed in (with a bunch of other girls) as a Senior. Boys are weird. My room showed the remnants of the words "Big Al" on the wall.
The bridge shows the way to the boys dorms from the main campus...across the ravine. I was trying to understand what makes this such a special place to me on the way home Saturday. And much of it depends on growing up there, really becoming who I am. Away from my parents and family, on my own, alone, meeting and making friends, learning what I like and deciding who I'm going to be. It wasn't always easy or fun, but I wouldn't have wanted to do that anywhere else. The thing about OBU is that you can't help but feel closer to God. God is there in that place and in those people. Obviously, not all those people, but enough to make it so easy to feel his presence. Daily. That's hard out here in the real world. I think Peru is so special to me for the same reason. I was close to God there. There really was no other option. He was already in that place. It's tempting to want to remain in those places, close to God, surrounded by others who can lift you closer to him. But God doesn't want us to stay there, safe and secure from all alarms. Here is where he wants me to be, here where I can share the little God I have with others. Is it possible to feel the same connection here that I do in places like OBU or Peru? I'm not sure. It's a question of focus, right? How well can I focus? That's me. God's the same here as he is there. I'm the one who's different. Focus.

A lesson in...Joy?

Romans 15:13 (New Living Translation)
13 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Last night, instead of doing any of the millions of things that I'd do on a normal Tuesday night (OK, really I almost always just stick with watching television), I went to a new Bible study with the ladies of the Sunday School I'm going to right now. That just sounds so exciting, right? And maybe it wasn't "make a movie out of my life" exciting but it was fun. And I'm going to learn about Joy. Anybody remember my New Year's resolution? I vaguely do...finding more joy was there. And shoes. I took care of that one quick, though.

For Good?

This is from the Purpose Driven Life daily devotional. I've always held onto the promise that God's going to take everything that happens to me and work it for good. I never applied that to the consequences of my bad decisions. What a promise. I don't have to hold on to my mistakes. I start where I am today with God. And I can do that every day. Yesterday might have been a failure but today is all brand new possibility. Thank God.

God Meant It For Good
by Jon Walker

“You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result.” (Genesis 50:20 NIV)
Joseph’s life was anything but peaceful. It was complicated by youthful folly, broken dreams, and the mean-spirited actions of others. Sold into slavery by jealous brothers. Thrown into prison on false charges. Yet he remained a man remarkable for his lack of bitterness or regret, always seeing God as the “Great Engineer” behind even the worst of circumstances.

In a final confrontation with his brothers, he graciously noted, “You meant it for bad; God meant it for good.”
The theology packed in that statement is astounding. “God meant it for good” means:

You can accept the past – No sin, no action, no choice on your part is too big for God to handle – or too big to be worked for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28) Just ask Joseph! Better yet, ask his fearful and famished brothers, who were forced to rely on him for survival.

You can embrace the present – There’s no need to play the “what if” game. The past is gone, and no energy you expend will ever change it. The future is in God's omnipotent hands, so you’re free to focus on the present. Your job is to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, trusting him to forgive the past and transform the future. Martyred missionary Jim Eliot once wrote, “Wherever you are, be all there” – not living in the past and not fantasizing about the future. God wants you in the present because that’s where his grace will flow.

You can look expectantly toward the future – Even if you make mistakes today, God still controls your future. Walking in the Spirit, you can live life to the fullest, unafraid of making mistakes and unconcerned that you may stumble into some terrible circumstance that takes you out of God's control. Even when things appear to be terrible, you can trust that God is working out some divine plan through you.

What does this mean?
· No matter how bad things get – God is still able to bring good out of it. Today, thank God that nothing – no disaster, no delay – is bigger that his ability to turn it into something good and godly.
· Thank God and let go – Thank God that he is sovereign over your past, your present, and your future.
· Give God the circumstances, disasters, hindrances, hurts, and sins from your past.
· Give God your current situation, your disasters, hindrances, hurts, and sins of today.
· Praise God that he can work anything in your future for godly good, that you can walk in confidence that there is nothing anyone can do to you, or anything you can do that will be beyond the reach of God’s grace and redemption.
· Look for God’s hand – Walking by faith means you see God’s hand even in the most difficult of circumstances. You trust his ability and his willingness to transform the bad into godly good. God is not limited by people’s motives. In other words, it doesn’t matter why someone hurt you, God still can transform a deliberate, mean-spirited situation into something for his good.
· What will you allow God to change? – There it is: some situation, or event, or person in your life that, as far as you can tell, was “meant for bad.” How do you think God meant it for good? Ask God what he wants you to do with this situation (event or person). When he answers, do it.