Many Sons Had Faather Abraham...

As I was reading through Genesis just now, an old familiar passage stood out:
"But Abram said, 'O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?' And Abram said, 'You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.'
  Then the word of the LORD came to him: 'This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir.' He took him outside and said, 'Look up at the heavens and count the stars--if indeed you can count them.' Then he said to him, 'So shall your offspring be.' Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness."

We've heard this before and we get it. Abram has Isaac, Isaac has babies, and Isaac's babies have babies. The next thing we know, we find ourselves wading in Numbers and 1 Chronicles. You don't need a clear night sky to count the stars. Just look in the Bible!

But yet again, God outdoes Himself. It is not enough for Abram to literally have more descendant than stars in the sky. He has to spiritually as well. If only Abram(now Abraham!) could sit in on a typical sundayschool morning and watch a bunch of sugar-high grade schoolers singing, "Father Abraham had many sons. Many sons had faaather Abraham. I am one of them, and so are you! So let's all praise the Lord..." If only he could see what was just around the corner, not just Isaac's kids but those who by faith are considered Abraham's offspring. As Romans 9 so beautifully puts it, "....But it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring." That's all of us Christians! The Church. And further still...If only he could see that his "seed" would eventually be Jesus Christ Himself. What an incredible thought!

And yet I can't exclaim again what a pity it is Abraham didn't have a leather-bond copy of the Bible and then not see this truth myself. The cloud of witnesses who have gone ahead before me (including all those who the author of Hebrews didn't even have time to touch on), the spiritual equivalent of Elijah's seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to baal, the church. All, Father Abraham's children. And all my family in some strange sense. I am never alone. And the incredible consequence of never being alone; both in that nice warm way and in the prodding/spurring/terrifying sense.


This next year, remember you are a son of Abraham. And through Christ, a son of the Most High. (Does that make you Abraham's brother too? Nevermind, that thought messes up the song) No matter how dark it is, there are always stars. May you know that you truly are never alone.
Abby

P.S. The best way I know of remembering a spiritual truth is to stop trying feeling good about it or have this inner glowing peace and instead facing that truth daily in the Bible. REMIND yourself. And then remind me.

Waiting and DOING.

"At that time, the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps and did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming and they all became drowsy and fell asleep."
Matthew 25

This passage continues and I've always read it as "be prepared!" For some reason, it struck me this time around as "Expect to wait." Both sets of virgins were asleep by the time the bridegroom came. They weren't "prepared" in that sense. This is more than just carrying a end-of-the-world-care- kit in one's purse; this is expecting to wait. Carrying out our faith with fear and trembling. And we see this in some of Paul's letters, his warnings to those who loaf around waiting for the Lord's coming. They had sold everything and expected him to come. Again, this is just like the angels told the disciples in Acts, "Why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven. "

  We are to follow Christ with our minds set on heavenly things, not earthly. For we died and our life is now hidden with Christ in God. But we also need to be grounded! Get going! Do stuff!

Sorry my thoughts are disconnected (I've been saying that so much I might as well sign with it instead of my name). My excuse this week is exams. More on this later, Lord willing!

Abby

But what about you?

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
....
"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"

Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."


Just noticed this for the first time. What is Christ's response? This:

"....And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it..."

The account according to Matthew 16:13-20.

Jesus asks Peter who He is and ends up telling Peter who he is. I feel like there's a name for this structure. Either way, how awesome is that?! And in a somewhat silly, subjective way, when we confess Christ, when we say who He is, that's when we truly find out who we are.

"For you died and your life is now hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, you also will appear with Him in glory...."

Christian (loosely defined) pick up lines

“Do you want to be accountability partners?”

“I may not have a job right now, and I may live in my parent’s basement, but I swear to you I’m storing up treasure in heaven and my mansion is gonna rock.” 

“Did you say your name was Esther? Oh, I guess I just think you were chosen for such a time as this.”

"Hey, you ever read Lady in Waiting? What about 'I Kissed Dating Goodbye?'"
"No," she responded.
"Sweet, wanna go out some time?"

"I'm not a big fan of your last name, but don't worry - I can change that."

 "How many times do I have to walk around you to make you fall for me?" 


"How would you like to join my Purpose Driven Life?"

"I would leave 99 sheep to come and find you... and then I would carry you home joyfully on my shoulder"

"Do you need prayer? because I am certainly willing to lay hands on you."

" The word says 'Give drink to those who are thirsty, and feed the hungry'; how about dinner?"
 

Taste and See

This last Sunday, my pastor preached over Psalm 34.

"Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. Fear the LORD, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing." (verse 8-9)

The neatest thing is that after the sermon, we had communion. Taste and see that the LORD is good.

"I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, He will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.....I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood as eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever...."
John 6:35-58ish.

But just as this bread is more than manna, so communion is more than just once a month (or week). "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him"

"In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." Luke 22ish

We remember Him more than just through communion. Or at least, communion as I think of it.

Communion...Commune. His life in our body, just as our death was in His body. And that's something I can do in my classes today. Abide in Him.

This is sounding a little cultish and weird but ironically this thought will have to wait because...it's lunchtime.

Additional thoughts: I'm currently reading through Revelation and just came across this passage: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of His wrath." Revelation 14:9-10. Just a few verses later, "The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes, and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath. They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses' bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia." 

Instead of drinking the cup of God's wrath, we drink Christ's blood. We drink life. The cup of friendship instead that of wrath. What a thought!

Practicing prayer?

I have finally gotten around to reading (part of) "The Practice of the Presence of God" by Brother Lawrence. It's a great book, but let's face it. Completely impossible. He writes,

Having found in many books different methods of going to God, and divers [sic] practices of the spiritual life, I thought this would serve rather to puzzle me than facilitate what I sought after, which was nothing but how to become wholly God's. This made me resolve to give the all for the all; so after having given myself wholly to God, that He might take away my sin, I renounced, for the love of Him, everything that was not He, and I began to live as if there was none but He and I in the world.

 He concludes that not thinking of God has become as difficult as getting in the habit of thinking of Him in the first place, "I am come to a state wherein it would be as difficult for me not to think of God as it was at first to accustom myself to it".  That was the sentence that especially stunned me. We are finite humans! We are incapable of thinking of anything for very long, let alone God for eternity. This is beautiful but again impossible.

 And then...I see a glimpse of my life. I can spend a week consumed with my Language Adaption class. I can spend a month worrying over my best friend. I can talk for a year (I don't even need to stop for food;  mastered the art of talking and eating long ago). I can spend a lifetime thinking and living for myself. But after half an hour on my knees, I start to squirm. The ability is there. The issue is thinking about God continually means not thinking about myself. To pray without ceasing means ceasing that which isn't prayer. Being more like Christ means being less like myself.

 And that is where the impossibility appears again. "I" can't be less than myself because all "I" will ever want is to be more of me. To choose you is to kill the self that chose you. So this must be you, O Christ. It must be all you in all of me. "I" do not have the will to surrender my will. And in finding myself totally unable and completely unwilling, in seeing myself for what I am and what I can never be, I can more clearly see You and what You will always be.

My Last Sunday at "Home"

Last night when I set my alarm early, I expected to get up leisurely and garden before getting ready for church. As I discussed this plan with myself, I think I might have even tacked a "Of course, Lord willing" to the end of it. But isn't it funny how when He's willing something else, suddenly it's not "of course Lord willing"?  And so when I found myself in a late-to-church-induced panic, with a severe case of bedhead, and completely unable to match, I comforted myself with the idea of studying John. I may have been robbed of my morning gardening, but I still had this! Since this is the all-confiding blog, I'll be completely honest and say that my personal devotions haven't "amounted" to anything for the past while. I haven't...felt the Word burning in my heart or been excited to spend time alone in His presence. This past while, I've worshiped God by doing the actions and praying for Him to change my heart. But nearly every Sunday, I have felt His presence through studying His word and worship. It's a gift. And one I wasn't to have this morning!

All sunday school classes combined together to hear our guest speaker, who was representing the CBA (Conservative Baptist Association). Which, let's face it, doesn't sound quite as awesome as a missionary speaker from Ireland or Indonesia. And while sunday school was mostly interesting, I went into the worship service expecting our speaker to rehash what he had just said in more words and with more meaningful pauses.


Instead, the subject was on the unity in the church. As we looked at various passages referring to community in the Body, this not-missionary-sunday-school-robber really spoke to me. With the new college stress of sitting in a different pew each sunday fresh on my mind, this was such an important reminder that I've already known for years but have forgotten. I am not alone.  Like Elijah, there are seven thousand reserves somewhere who have not bowed the knee to baal. There is only one Body of Christ! I am not wandering into an unfamiliar church, I'm returning home. And I can't allow the differences, the forced smiles, and the sensation of being "out of place" to prevent me from being the other end of mutual encouragement.

Best Hymn EVER.

                                                              His Name Is Life

His name is Master, Savior, Lion of Judah

Blessed Prince of Peace.

Shepherd, Fortress, Rock of Salvation,

Lamb of God is He

Son of David, King of the Ages,

Eternal Life,

Holy Lord of Glory, His name is Life.

The block that causes men to stumble?

            After years of battling my fear of being a heretic, I’ve decided to blog. And it took me ten minutes to write that sentence and delete the others that once took its place. This is not a good start. But it is a start! Besides, as I'm unlikely to accidentally start a cult (at least one that would willingly follow me), a blog seems like a pretty safe escape from college. Eventually, I might get some semi-witty title up and add a picture. Probably a picture of something meaningfully abstract. Life-changing quotes to follow in a good sixty years. But isn't talking about what I'm going to talk about in a blog a forbidden rule with writers?

            That's all for now,

                              Abby

P.S. Mom, this is my attempt at "staying in touch" over college. I'm expecting pun wars by the dozens.