O Christmas Tree

I remember when I first heard that some Christians don't put up Christmas trees. I was surprised, but I wasn't judgmental. After all, Paul talks about living according to the faith God has given you, and but being a stumbling block to those whose faith is weak (I'm not saying people who don't put up Christmas trees have weaker faith, I'm just quoting what Paul said). I've always taken that to mean that if you have a minor disagreement about something with a fellow believer, such as whether or not you put up a Christmas tree, you need to let God be their guide, and follow him yourself with the grace he gives you to do so. Aka, let it slide.

But ever since then I've been thinking about why I put up a Christmas tree. My experience is that if I look hard enough at something and listen well, God can put a lesson in almost anything. So what does a decorated pine tree have to do with Jesus coming to earth as a baby to save us from our sins? This year, I found my answer. And I found it in the song O Christmas Tree:

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree
Your branches green delight us
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree
Your branches green delight us
They're green when summer days are bright
They're green when winter show is white
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree
Your branches green delight us

The word that instantly sprang to my mind when I read that verse was "faithful". The second word was "evergreen". Of course! Pine trees stay green no matter the season and no matter the weather. Just like God is faithful no matter the circumstances. And he proved it at Christmas time. Have you ever counted how many promises and prophecies were fulfilled when Jesus was born? The whole story is stuffed full of them! Therefore the lesson is this: no matter how long it takes, God is faithful to keep his promises and to fulfill his prophecies. And we can be reminded of that every time we read the story of Jesus's birth and every time we look at a Christmas tree.

The Wise Builder

In dance class devotionals this week, I learned about how important it is to respond to God when he speaks to me. While we were given time to think about what God was telling us and what our response would be, I had a hard time finding out what God wanted from me. He and I had already had a big discussion about how my life was going that morning, and I couldn't think of any way I could respond to that issue more. So I sat and listened, asking God what he wanted. He reminded me of something I that had stuck out to me in my Bible reading recently. It is found in Matthew 7:24-27.

Most of you have probably heard the parable of the wise and foolish builders. In the past, every time I read it, my mind instantly pictured some animated story while I read. The thing is, I've always been so busy picturing the story that I missed the point: Jesus said that the wise builder was the one who "comes to me, hears these words of mine and puts them into practice." That part never ever computed with me before.

This time, I wanted to know what Jesus was referring to when he said "these words of mine." So I looked up the passage, and found that it was located at the end of the Sermon on the Mount. So "these words" were referring to the content of that sermon.

Later, when I had more time to review those words again, I compiled a list of everything the sermon talks about:

1. Be poor in spirit
2. Mourn, and be comforted
3. Be meek
4. Hunger and thirst, and be filled
5. Be merciful
6. Be pure in heart
7. Make peace
8. Be persecuted because of righteousness
9. Let your light shine before men
10. Practice and teach right commands. 
11. Let your righteousness exceed that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law:
1. Don't just refrain from murder. Refrain from hate, anger, grudges, and don't let animosity linger
2. Don't just refrain from adultery. Refrain from lust. Subject your flesh to discipline and self-control
3. Don't divorce, and don't marry someone who has
4. Don't swear. Let your word stand by itself.
5. Don't take revenge for yourself ("eye for an eye"). Don't resist an evil person.
6. Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you
7. When acting rightly, do it for God and not for men
1. Giving to the needy
2. Praying
3. Fasting
12. Forgive each other
13. Store your treasures in heaven
14. Do not worry. God loves you and will take care of you.
15. Don't judge, you're a sinner too
16. Ask, seek, and knock. It will be given, found, and opened.
17. Enter through the narrow gate
18. Watch out for false prophets. Look at their fruit.

When I had compiled the list, I was reminded of the Ten Commandments. It's a list of rules to follow. But then I recognized that I had listed the things under #11 as individual commands. I didn't even have #11 because I thought it wasn't important. It was only then that I realized that Jesus said all those other things as a follow-up on "be more righteous than the religious." Only then did I realize that the whole sermon was talking about letting your righteousness be a heart response. It was showing people what the kingdom of heaven is like: People's hearts seeking God's. Not just setting yourself apart from the world with rules, regulations, habits, teachings, and laws. Being set apart from the world is nothing more than a natural side effect from being transformed from the inside out.

Jesus was saying that he didn't want a people who honored him with their lips, but whose hearts were far from him. All he wants is all we are. When we've given him everything, it's all he is asking for. Giving ourselves to him is the habit he wants us to develop. The more we do it, the more it becomes our natural reaction. But it's a habit that is built over time, like a man digging a foundation deep into solid rock. It's hard work. It takes time. But in the end, we will be able to stand against the storm.

So I encourage you, just as I encourage myself: When God speaks, don't just listen. When he prompts your heart to do something, do it. Reach out with your spirit to find his. Live by the Spirit, not by the flesh. The flesh will give you a false sense of security, like building a foundation in sand. After all, our flesh is dust originally, and it will fail us. But God's word never will. So be a wise builder. Hear his word and respond.

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

~Matthew 7:24-27

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it--not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it--they will be blessed in what they do."

~James 1:22-25

"In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, 'You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."

~James 2:17-18, 26

The Most Imporant Lesson

Isaiah 43:1-4
"This is what the Lord says--he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior... Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you..."

Hey, Internet! Looks like I haven't posted on this blog since April, but I've been busy. This summer, I spent 40 hours every week at an animal teaching hospital for an internship, which was the last semester of my degree program. Now, however, I'm done! Yay!

In my earlier duo-post Losing Perfection... Finding Peace, I talked about some pictures that I got from God that described what my second semester would look like. What I haven't mentioned since is that I've been asking him for pictures that describe every semester since then. It's been very cool to see what he's shown me!

For this past Spring semester, God showed me two pictures:
1) An extension of the journey through the dark valley. I had passed through the village and was on my way to the mountain on the other side. It was time to leave behind the people I had met--committing them to God's plans for their lives, and trusting him to take care of them--and climb the mountain that lay ahead.
2) I saw a huge wave, probably twice the height of my two-story house (it was very similar to the wave in the trailer for Exodus: Gods and Kings), bearing down on a lone figure. The person was on their knees with bowed head as the wave approached, but their shadow stretched out behind them in a standing position holding a sword and daring the wave to do its worst. It was like I was facing immense pressure, but the one who was living inside me was greater and fiercer than anything, and he was teaching me to be a warrior. I didn't know if the wave would crash over me, and I would emerge out the top, or if the wave would split and not touch me in the first place. My eyes were closed, trusting God, and he told me that he would take care of me. I was reminded of Isaiah 43:1-4, when God promises to be with us through the waves and waters that sweep over us.

That second picture was describing the time period from the beginning of Spring semester through my summer internship. They day after my internship finished, I saw the next piece:
I was standing, watching an ocean storm play out around me. Wind blew fiercely and the water was churning and rolling. I looked down, wondering what I was standing on, and it turned out to be water. But I wasn't afraid, because God told me that I had just overcome the wave, and had come out the top victorious. 


God showed me more pictures which I talk about later. But for now, I want to glorify him and encourage you by describing how he proved faithful to me during the last six months:
1) "...I will be with you..." was one of the coolest promises I received from God this year. He phrased it in an interesting way one morning during my quiet time: "Don't forget to take me along." It was a gentle reminder for me to rely on him, a habit I had kind of gotten out of this summer. But he was always there for me, every single day. When I went to school on campus, I'd ask him what to print, what to bring, which assignments to do when, and which tests to study for. He always provided an answer, and he always proved right. The more I trusted him with, the more he proved faithful time and time again. It was hard, yes. It meant making the same choice thousands of times: Surrender my fears, worries, and tasks to God, because he will take care of me. And follow him, no matter what common sense said to do.
2) "I will complete the work I started in you" was another promise he gave me. It was one I referred back to when I didn't know how well of a grade I got on a homework assignment or test. It was also what helped me trust him when I had a couple classes go below the grade I desired. He helped me see that it didn't matter if I got A's, I just needed to pass. He told me that he was the one who had called me to do this degree, and he would bring me through no matter what. I needed to stop trying to be perfect, and seek him first. And then he used my finals to boost my grades back up to A's anyway, just because he could.
3) "Picture me doing it" was one that I've already written about in a previous post. He told me that when I had a project that involved an oral presentation, something I was convinced I was terrible at. Over and over, I was picturing past embarrassing moments, as well as picturing repeating them in the next context. But he put a stop to that with those words, and when he did the assignment, it was fantastic.
4)"...Those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength..." "...his compassions are new every morning..." and "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" were the verses that carried me into and through this internship. The first verse (Isaiah 40:31) was also a reference to the picture I asked for and received to describe the summer:
I was an eagle about to launch into the sky and soar. The launch represented trusting him, because I was throwing myself into the sky not knowing if I could fly. He would catch me with the updraft I glided on, and I would be using wings that he gave me, which meant I would be doing what he designed me to do.
The second verse (Lamentations 3:22-23) was a reminder for me to not borrow trouble. I needed to trust that God would give me the grace I needed when I needed it. I didn't need grace for the next day, because that day hadn't arrived yet. So I needed to not worry about it, and choose to trust him and ask that his grace would be given to me for each situation I faced. Isn't it nice to pray for something you know he'll give you?
The third verse (Philippians 4:13) was one to post in my locker at the animal hospital. That way, I could see it and know that he would give me the wisdom, strength, and attitude I needed no matter what that day held.


So that's just a glimpse at all that God has been doing for me in the last six months. And since I'm already on a roll, I figured I might as well tell you what's next, as far as he's told me. But I'm warning you, it's not much. Here's why:
1) This was a picture that he gave me at the end of the Spring semester, when I was looking towards this summer and what lay beyond. It's another extension to the story about the journey.
I was still climbing the mountain, but then I reached the cloud that I had seen from afar that sat half-way to the top. In there, I wouldn't be able to see even the path in front of my feet, let alone what lay beyond the cloud. However, I just needed to focus on the sound of his voice leading me thorugh, and believe that he was taking me on the best path.
2) "I know the plans I have for you..." (Jeremiah 29:11) was the final verse/promise that God gave me during school. He has told me to follow him for every single step, and not worry about the long-term strategy. I need to leave it to him to decide, listen for his voice, and trust in his plan for me.

Therefore, I don't know if I'll be getting a job, volunteering, or just learning to "be busy at home". I just know that I'm following him no matter what.

So there you have it! A (hopefully brief) description of the last six months of my college experience. I hope it encouraged and challenged you to trust God no matter what you are facing: whether it be a huge wave, a dark valley, or a shrouded mountain path. He has promised to be with you... "when you pass through the waters; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze." For he is the Lord, you are precious in his sight, and he loves you. Of all the lessons I learned in college, this was by far the most important one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teUxQpnhezY

God's Seeds

So after learning about how Satan's seeds--which are lies--are like parasites, let's take a look at what God's seeds look like.

In dance this semester, we've been learning about how God sees us so that we can use that truth to counteract the lies that have been in our lives. This week, however, our focus changed a little bit. We learned to take the knowledge of how God sees us and who we are in him, and apply it to how we see fellow Christians who have been born again. Every Christian, after all, has become a new person in Christ and is being renewed. Each of us are loved by God, and are viewed by him as his children who have endless potential.

We were learning about how we sometimes forget that when we look at fellow Christians, especially if they've hurt us in the past (like if they provided a "mosquito bite" with their words that injected a lie into our life). But we need to surrender our relationships with each other to God, so that he can help us see those people with the redemptive vision that he has.

So that was the lesson this week. Our homework is to examine Matthew 12:34 ("Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks") in that context. We then had a time of reflection, and I saw a continuation of the heartworm picture. God compared that mosquito bite--which represents someone speaking negatively to us about ourselves that injects a lie into our lives--with an IV injection of medicine. The medicine is us speaking to each other with encouragement, to affirm the truth about each and reminding each other of who we are and how God sees us. Each of these things--the mosquito bite and the IV injection--come through the same route: injected into the blood stream. But the effects that they have on our hearts and lives are very different. The mosquito bite injects a deadly being into our lives that worms its way into our hearts and sucks our lives away. The IV injects medicine that builds up our body and strengthens our hearts.

The same is true for how we speak. Negativity and encouragement come through the same route: speaking. The negativity either plants or confirms a lie in the life of our hearer, which then worms its way into their heart and sucks their life away. Encouragement soaks into the heart in a way that benefits and strengthens the other person, preparing them to become more of who God made them to be.

So the point is: watch what you say. If your conversation is filled with Satan's seeds ("You're so frustrating" "Can't you do anything right?" Or "That was stupid"), you may need to spend some time with God so that your heart may start to overflow with his seeds instead ("I appreciate you in _____ way" "I admire ________ about you" etc.). The fruit that is born from his seeds in other's lives are the same as the fruit in our own: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. So plant those seeds in your conversations with others. And I'll be trying to do the same.

Satan's Seeds

In the medical world, most of our enemies are invisible. They're invisible because they're microscopic. You'd be amazed at how careful and precise we have to be cleaning surgery rooms, and even exam rooms, even when there's no visible debris. I imagine that if an outsider watched it happen, without knowing why, we'd all look like we had OCD for cleaning everything we touch.

But there is good reason. We have to be on the lookout for bacteria, viruses, protozoa, fungi, and even parasites (like heartworms). None of which we can see. Instead, we learn about the effects that they have on the animal's anatomy so we can hopefully recognize it when we see it. We also learn a little about what to do with it once it's identified.

In dance this semester, we've learned more about the character of lies and who they come from, as well as the character of the Truth (as in, it's not a lie, and as in "I am the way the truth and the life"). At one point, my teacher was talking about the role that surrender plays in fighting lies in our lives. She described a lie as a tiny little thing that we might not even believe at first, but as it keeps coming and we keep thinking on it and developing a relationship with it, it grows deep in our hearts and gets tangled up in them. It gets so tangled, in fact, that we can't remove it ourselves, so we must give our whole heart, tangled lies and all, to God so he can remove them for us.

I know it's a gross picture, but during our meditation time after the lesson, I suddenly saw my heart as it would look with the parasite heartworm. Being in vet tech school, I've seen such pictures, and they aren't pretty. Just imagine a normal heart with long, white, stringy, living things curled around and inside it. I pictured that, and it only took a moment for me to make the connection. Lies are parasites.

Heartworm is a particularly good example, because of its life cycle. As many of you likely know, heartworm is passed to our dogs through mosquitoes (much like West Nile Virus). The mosquito bites an infected dog, then carries the microscopic heartworm larva around until it bites the next dog, injecting the parasite. We've all likely been bitten by a mosquito and can relate to the discomfort they cause. Likewise, at dance we've learned that lies often stem from a hurtful comment or action from others, and that makes us more likely to believe them (in my case, anyway). It may seem like no big deal at the time, like an insect bite that will go away soon enough. But little do we know that it has injected something that can tangle in our hearts and suck our lives away.

That's the next stage. The heartworm larva that developed in the mosquito now moves into the tissues to grow up. After several months, it moves back into the blood stream and heart, where it develops into adulthood, and where it draws its life support. Likewise, lies grow slowly in the back of our mind, not quite affecting us yet. But then, after we've been considering it for a while, it moves into our heart as we start to believe it. There it thrives and continues to grow, developing more lies like a heartworm reproducing.

If a heartworm actually reaches the heart, the animal requires treatment. If it does not receive treatment, the animal will die. Treating heartworm with medication is painful and expensive. It used to be that the only treatment was open heart surgery. Now we have drugs that succeed most of the time, if we catch the disease early enough. The point is, lies must be addressed as soon as they are identified. They must be completely removed, and so must all their offspring.

Like with heartworm, the best treatment for lies is prevention. We have heartworm prevention medicine that we give to dogs on a regular basis, and it serves to destroy the heartworm before it reaches the bloodstream. It doesn't prevent the mosquito bite, but it does guard against the parasite itself. The most common brand is HeartGuard.

We have preventative measures that we can take against lies as well. We can try and learn about each and every lie that might one day come our way, but if we try that, we'll be overwhelmed and our focus will be in the wrong place. Instead, we need to learn the truth. Once we know the truth, we can tell that anything that doesn't look like the truth is a lie. We need to cultivate the truth in our lives, and develop a relationship with it.

I'm not saying that recognizing lies is easy, even when you do know the truth. Personally, the lies that stump me are usually "backed up" by scripture (like when Jesus was tempted to jump off the temple). And I'm personally going through the treatment as well as the prevention. But the good news is that we are not alone in this fight. God is more than eager to use his truth to set us free. And like my dance teacher said, when we surrender our whole hearts to him, tangled as they are, he will meticulously pull out parasite after parasite, replacing them with new healthy words from him until our hearts are functional again. I believe that I can be set free from the lies I believe, and I know you can too.

A-Z Psalm-like Thingy

I was reading Psalm 37, which my NIV tells me is one of the psalms that David wrote where each line starts with a letter of the alphabet. I decided that that sounded pretty fun to do, so here's mine:

All the ways of the Lord are good, therefore I will trust in him.
Because of his great love for me, I will not be afraid.
Can't you remember the faithfulness of the Lord? I bring all his acts to my mind, and find peace.
Darkness may overshadow me, but his light breaks through, because he lives in me.
Every hour of every day his ears are tuned to me. His eyes watch over my every step.
Forever I will dwell in his presence, because he has made a way to call me his own.
Goodness and love permeate his inmost being. Never has his way shown deceit.
Higher than the mountains and deeper than the seas, his grace and his love know no bounds.
Intimately, he calls me to him day by day.
Justly, he judges all the peoples of the earth. He will not let wickedness go unpunished, nor will the righteous go unrewarded.
Know, oh my heart, that he will never leave you. Your Heavenly Father will not abandon you to your enemies.

Living in me is the Creator of life. All his ways are good.
Many things the Lord has promised. All of them will come to be. 
Not one person suffers that he does not see. Great is the mercy of the Lord.
One day, God will invite me to join him in paradise. I lack nothing in his presence. 
People sinned, and he came to their rescue. Never has he forsaken those he loves. 
Queer and wonderful are all the ways of the Lord. He weaves the story of the world with perfection. 
Run towards the Father of life! Run into his open arms and find peace! 
Sweet and nourishing are the words of the Lord. When I drink them in I find life. 
Trust in him, oh my heart! Let him care for your every need! 
Until I hear his voice calling in the morning I am dead, but he awakens my heart without fail. 
Victorious, he will reign forever! The Lord is mighty in battle! He is powerful beyond measure! 
Watching the earth day and night is his delight. He rejoices to care for his children. 
X is for the Cross, the final resting place for my sin. Great is his love for me! 
Year after year I wait and long for the day of the Lord. The earth will fade, but he will remain. 
Zeal for the Lord consumes my soul! His faithfulness continues through all generations. His name is highly exalted!