In Other Words: The Blood

“At the heart of the story stands the cross of Christ where evil did its worst and met its match.” ~ John Wenham

There are so many good things that have already been said of this quote this week, that I don't feel like I have too much to add. There are two things keep running through my mind. One is that evil is NO match for the glory and power of God. Though I am sure that was not Wenham's intent. :o) Two is I love how he mentions that "evil did its worst". A lot of times we look to our salvation and the events that brought it about as a wonderful thing - and don't get me wrong, it is wonderful indeed! - but we easily forget the agony that went along with it.

Iris mentioned The Passion of the Christ. I vividly remember the day after my lovely husband and I watched that movie, sitting in my chair, getting angry with God for having Jesus - the one and only perfect One EVER - take all of MY "crud" upon His perfect self. Imagine that! Being mad over the very thing that saved my soul. It just seemed so unfair. What He went through was brutal, and He deserved none of it, but I did and didn't get it. What I didn't deserve and yet was given anyway was Him taking it upon Himself. But that's what the grace of God is... what He gives to us even though we are unworthy and undeserving of even the smallest drop of it. It took me a little while to come to terms with that, and I'm glad that I went through those angry moments because I feel as though it has made me appreciate the gift a little more. I've always been one of those people that requires a swift knock to the head to "get it" sometimes when it comes to God's love and grace. Seeing it so vividly and having to come to terms with the horror of it and the fact that it was for me (and you) was a big knock.

I'll end now with a poem I wrote when I was around 14. Yes, it's quite old but the message still rings true and fits with this week's quote and the Passover season, so I thought I would share.

The Blood

As blood flowed down His thorn-crowned head
The people shouted, ''This Christ, He's dead!''
No one assumed, they could not understand
That this crimson blood would save the souls of man

They carried Him to the tomb, and there laid Him down
The blood still clinging to His bruised, scarred crown
As they sealed the grave, they could not conceive
That this blood held power to cleanse all who believe

The third day came, when He rose up again
The scars were still there, but no was blood on Him!
He gave up his life; shed His precious blood for all
Now our lives we must give Him in answer to His call

The power is so great, our minds cannot understand
The love God expressed for us when He revealed His plan
This power is still flowing, coming down like a flood
So will you believe in the Power of the Blood?

© Crystal M.H. 2007

Please visit Iris at Sting my Heart for more on this week's quote.

In Other Words: Make Harmony, Not War

"Every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before...either into a creature that is in harmony with God,...or into one that is in a state of war with God. Each of us at each moment is progressing to the one state or the other." ~ C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Ahh, did C.S. Lewis ever write anything that wasn't just totally deep? Every time I read something from him, no matter how many times I've read it before, I'm always amazed at the insight and wisdom God gave this man. What a quote Christine picked this week! It reminds me of something my dad told me just in the past few weeks: "You are the sum total of the decisions you make on a daily basis". It is just so true. Even the smallest seemingly insignificant things I do from day to day are, in fact not only actions from my soul, but they act upon my soul as well; taking me either closer to or further from my goal (intimacy with God). It's really a sobering thought.

I'm also reminded of something else my dad said to me, though this was many years ago. He said that everything you see or do feeds you, either nourishing your carnal flesh or your spirit. Whomever you feed the most is the one that will be in control.

For a while now I've been thinking that I'm not really moving forward or backward - I'm just being still, being stagnant. But now I wonder (realize, really) that isn't true at all. I don't think I've ultimately progressed or regressed, but what I have done is taken a step forward and a couple back. Four forward and two back. Two forward and three back. So even though it may seem to me like I haven't moved at all, I've really been doing the cha-cha the whole time (you know me, I've never been a good dancer). *wink*

I need to start making sure I feed my spirit more, much more, than my carnal flesh. This keeps running through my head: "... or into one that is in a state of war with God." A state of war with God! If that doesn't put the fear of God into you, I don't know what will.

Please stop by and visit this week's host, Christine at Fruit in Season, to read her thoughts and visit other IOW participants. :o)

The God of Mission

“It is insufficient to proclaim that the Church of God has a mission in the world. Rather, the God of mission has a Church in the world.” ~ Tim Dearborn

I don't know about you, but when I first read this quote I wasn't automatically taken by it. Then the more I thought about it, the more I saw how profound it really is. At first glance, I just saw the word "mission" as it pertains to "missionaries". I'm not ashamed to admit that while I have a deep respect for people with a heart for work in what most people consider "the mission field", and I love to support that work, I have never felt a calling or tugging in my heart to partake in anything more than support of it. So, I struggled with whether or not I wanted to participate this week. (As always! Can you tell I'm quite indecisive?) ;o)

However, I think if I just left it there I would have missed out. I read it more carefully and seriously pondered the phrase, "the God of mission". Our God has a mission in this world. What is that mission? I believe it is proclaiming His own glory and presenting His truth to His creation (us), and then developing an intimate relationship with His creation (via salvation through Christ) to the perfecting (maturing to the result of mirroring Himself) of that creation. He then commissions his people to reach others in many ways shapes and forms. While the most widely accepted definition of "missionary" is one part of God's mission, it definitely doesn't end there and it does not show the whole of it. Each of us (us being His "church") has a different and unique calling from God on our lives to become mature in Him and further His mission. Some do it in Indonesia, some in Indiana, some in Internet land, some in their home.

In the past, I've written in this blog a little about what I think is part of my mission in life and how I'm great at running from it because it forces me to jump out of my comfort zone, and if you know anything about me at all, you know I'm a comfort-loving gal! It's sort of easy to forget lately with everything else going on in my life, so it's good for me to participate in these things and get these gentle nudges to keep it in the front of my mind. I'm always a little afraid that I'll be a little too timid for just a little too long and miss out on what God has for me. Maybe someone needs to make it their mission in life to not nudge me, but shove me. *giggle* (Did you read that, Lord? I was only kidding...) ;o)

Because it has been running through my head for most of the time I've been writing this post, I'll leave you with the words to a song I wrote a few years ago that I believe is not only the core of my mission as a Christian, but yours as well - reflecting His glory.


Reflection

Silver so impure
Fashion me by your design
Wash me in your fire
That my soul may be refined

'Til all you see is your glory
A portrait of your heart; the colors of your love
A canvas for your artistry
The masterpiece you breathed life into
Make me a reflection of you

From your mighty hands
To each contour of your face
I will mirror you
Be an image of your grace

'Til all you see is your glory
A portrait of your heart; the colors of your love
A canvas for your artistry
The masterpiece you breathed life into
Make me a reflection of you

© Crystal M.H. 2007

Don't forget to visit Laurel Wreath, this week's host, and read her thoughts on the quote. :o)

Why I Believe

"If I'd abandon all that seeks to make my faith informed and chic, could You, would You, show Yourself to me?" ~ Nichole Nordeman

When I first read this quote, I wasn't sure what it meant. Even after reading the entire song, I still wasn't sure if I had anything of value to add this week. After spending most of the evening and night last night feeling pretty sick, I decided I would just skip this week. Then this afternoon, I decided to look at it one more time and see if anything came to me. Call me crazy, attribute it to OCD, whatever... but I felt bad skipping a week, especially since I just joined in on this. *smile*

It finally dawned on me that this quote sort of represents the last several years of my life. I was raised a Christian, in a Christian home, with God fearing parents. We only missed church when we were sick. I even went to a Christian school for my high school years. So everywhere I turned, there was God. I grew up believing the same things my parents believed. I took everything our pastors would say as truth. I took my faith in God for granted. It was my life, of COURSE I believed it all. Right?

It wasn't until a while after I married that I realized I knew what I believed, I just didn't really know why I believed it. I mean, obviously, I believed it because it was how I was raised. But why? I was extremely close minded and approached the Word with preconceived ideas. It wasn't until I sought to shed those ideas and approach His Word with an open mind and heart that He truly began to reveal Himself to me, precious facets of Himself that can just blow your mind. My beliefs didn't change so much... at least not in the big things that matter. But rather I started to see why I believed what I did (other than just being taught that way my entire life), and why His Word is the only truth. It was at that point that I ceased to be a follower of man, making my faith be whatever information people gave me - whatever was "chic" and right to them, and instead became a real follower of Christ.

Don't get me wrong. I was saved as a child, and I still believe to this day I was saved as a child. I understood what I was taught, I just didn't understand all the whys. My knowledge of God was very surface level. My relationship with Him was there and real, but it wasn't something extremely deep that I constantly pursued. I didn't have the deep desire to grab on to His coattails and hang on for dear life. The switch was on, but the light was dimmed by the thickness of my selfishness, stubbornness, and preconceived ideas. It took growing up and getting out on my own, and being tested in my beliefs for me to see God revealing Himself as I firmly planted my feet on the ground of those beliefs for the right reasons.

I hope that makes sense. If not, blame my migraine and OCD. *smile*

Don't forget to visit Fruit in Season, this week's host, and read her thoughts on the quote. :o)

In Other Words - Skimming is not my friend

"Those who read fast reap no more advantage than a bee would by only skimming over the surface of the flower, instead of waiting to penetrate into it, and extract its sweets." ~ Madame Jeanne Guyon

Hi, I'm Crystal. I'm a skimmer. Not so much when I read the Word in study, but in everything else. See, I have a short attention span and even though I love to read, I have a hard time concentrating on something that doesn't especially hold my interest. I have to consciously slow down and make myself focus, or else I'll end up reading the same thing over and over and over again with no more knowledge of what I just read than I had before I started. The whole skimming thing has never worked for me. If I tried it in school, I wouldn't be able to answer the questions. If I try to skim an article, I'll never remember important information. If I skim a friend's email or internet posts, I'll miss the fine details of their lives. Skimming just does not work at all for someone like me, especially since I already have a horrible memory.

Obviously, I have already found the wisdom in this week's quote to be true in many aspects of my life. However, the quote is pertaining specifically to skimming while reading the Bible. When I open up the Word to study, I read slowly and try to understand what I'm reading. But honestly, I don't think even that is enough to truly extract all the sweetness of His Word. It wasn't until I bought a good concordance that I realized how much goodness we miss out on when we read from our translation of choice. SO much is truly lost in translation. That is why I appreciate Bible studies that put a lot of emphasis into original language study of the passages or topics on which the study is based.

I admire people who really dig deep and embrace the full meaning of scripture instead of just what we have in our favorite translation. Following in those footsteps and learning to do that myself has opened up my eyes to several things in scripture that I would have missed had I not learned this valuable lesson. I think if more people would do this, then perhaps less scripture would be taken out of context and more growth would happen from the understanding gained in this practice.

If you don't study the Word in this way, I urge you to give it a shot. I promise it is worthwhile. Don't skim, but don't stop there. Dive DEEP into the scriptures, plunging past the limits of our English language translations so you don't miss some of the sweetest droplets of the nourishing nectar that is God's Word.

(And remind me to do the same.) ;o)

Don't forget to visit Laurel Wreath, this week's host, and read her thoughts on the quote. :o)

In Other Words - Oh Me of Little Faith

"We are urgent about the body; He is about the soul. We call for present comforts; He considers our everlasting rest. And therefore when He sends not the very things we ask, He hears us by sending greater than we can ask or think." ~ Richard Cecil

I can be quite short sighted. Often times, I can't even see past my own nose. My rotten circumstances and the things I desperately want and feel I have a right to gain are surefire ways of clouding my vision. Lately though, I've been forced (quite against my own will, I might add) to gain some perspective. You see, I don't really like gaining perspective all that much because it almost always means stepping out of my box, moving on, and putting up with pain. These are not things I relish doing! However, in dealing with deep unfulfilled desires for the past year and a half (which has undoubtedly pushed me out of my box, given me little to no choice but to move on, and dealt me lots of pain) I've come to realize that my faith isn't what I thought it was. I'd love to be one of those women who say, "My faith is what gets me up every morning." but if I said that, I think it would only be a half truth. My faith keeps me hoping for more faith and keeps that still, quiet knowledge in my soul that things will be okay, no matter what... but really, the only thing that gets me through each day is just the fact that I have no other choice.

A lot of people lose their faith over things like this. That thought both saddens me and terrifies me. Really, a situation such as I'm in can turn out to be such a defining moment for a human being. It not only brings to the surface who they really are (and are not), it's also impossible to walk away from unchanged. I wonder very often why God has put me here and what I'm supposed to be doing with it. I don't think that losing my faith is the right answer, *lol*, and I don't think it's the final answer I'll find at the end of the road. At the moment, my faith isn't what I thought it was, and it's definitely not what I want it to be, and it has been damaged... but I don't believe that is my endgame. God hasn't given me 26 years of a life with Himself to let me fall off the wagon completely. He hasn't brought me up from the lowest of lows only to see me be destroyed.

My faith in Him should be more desirable and precious than anything else. Nothing is worth losing that faith. A few years ago when I had no hope, He taught me that He'll never give up on me. When I was sure He couldn't love me, He showed me but a tiny glimpse of what His unconditional love really means. I wonder if now, through my lack of faith that has been made apparent as I wake up each day to unanswered prayers and shattered dreams, He is trying to teach me what faith is truly supposed to be. Or maybe I'm just over analyzing my short stick. ;o) Either way, let's hope that this unanswered prayer does do some good someday, somehow.