Every Thursday Night

Typically, when people ask me what Beloved is all about, I just say "Jesus." He is the focus. The reason why we meet every Thursday night is to learn about His love for us and to understand that via the Bible. 

However, Beloved has become so much more than a Bible study. 

Every Thursday night, I have the privilege of meeting with 7-10 of my sisters. 

Every Thursday night, I find out that even though I studied in order to actually teach and lead, my girls always have so much to teach me.

Every Thursday night, I see the growth that has taken place since July, as girls - some who hardly knew one another - come together and genuinely care.

Every Thursday night, these beautiful young women share their concerns, struggles, and joys with one another.

Every Thursday night, I am challenged as a leader to shut my mouth and allow the Lord to speak through me.

And every Thursday night, I see a small glimpse of what God had in mind when He said that we are to be one body. 

Beloved is made up of young women who go to different churches, different schools, work at different places, are different ages, have their own opinions, and are by no means perfect. But, the one absolute common ground is that we want to know more about our Savior. Whether someone comes to the group with vast knowledge, or no knowledge of Jesus at all, we want to know more! We want to be able to grasp His Word and share it with others. And most of all, we want to be able to love like Jesus. 

"For by the grace given to me [Paul] I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another" 

(Romans 12:3-5 ESV),

Draw Near

I sat down to prepare for Beloved yesterday and realized that I only had three verses to study. Mildly concerned I would not have enough material, I prayed and began the journey (cliche, but more gripping than other beginnings). 

I read through Hebrews 4:14-16 and was fairly amazed. In short, the love of God is just so much bigger than I can fathom - but, I already knew that about myself. However, verse 16 quite literally took my breath away. It is written out below:

"Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

Draw near - what a powerful thought. What does that mean? Well, at the risk of my small group girls reading this before I am able to share it with them in person, I would love to tell you! 

This type of "draw near" is like one would do to come before a king or highly regarded leader. One would not simply waltz up to Obama and say, "Hey bro, I've got this wicked speeding ticket. Uh, fix it!" Of course not! I would hope, with no political agenda to be discussed, that anyone would approach the president with honor and respect. He is in a position of authority that, by nature, demands respect. He is leading an entire country! 

Now, imagine God. The Almighty, Alpha and Omega, I Am, Jehovah. Using the example above, one would not do this with God either. There would be respect, admiration, and honor given. He is our Creator; and while Obama leads a nation, God created the Earth and all who are on it! It would almost seem that God is unapproachable. But that is where the "throne of grace" mentioned in the verse comes into play!

By the blood of Jesus, we are saved from our sins. By the blood of Jesus, are we able to come before God. Why? Don't think you're worthy? Think you're too bad for God? Well, truth be told, we are all born sinners. But, with the promise of John 3:16 (for God so LOVED the WORLD that He GAVE His one and only SON that WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT PERISH but have ETERNAL LIFE) in mind, we are covered in grace. When God sees us, He sees the atoning sacrifice of Jesus and welcomes us into His presence. 

So, why is this so important? Because it reminds us of the true and genuine love of our Savior. Love that is so pure, strong, and captivating. This is a love that no one should miss out on! If you don't know Jesus, or think you are too unworthy, pray! It is so simple. And if it is terrifying to think of even attempting to come before God, remember that He wrote the words "draw near" in the Bible for all to see for all eternity. They were written for me, and they were written for you. I needed the reminder that He loves me and that I am welcome. And with that, I am safe in the watchful eye of my Savior who rules mightily, seated on a throne of grace.

Course Code: LIFE2014

I had the great privilege today of being reminded of what God has called me to.

The woman I have the blessing of being a caregiver for has been ill lately. Today, I came in and she was absolutely awful; IV hanging, nauseous, tired, and not eating. I had been sitting with her for awhile and asked her how she was feeling. Her reply, "I feel better when you are here." 

Recently, my beautiful friend and mother reminded me of the call that I responded to when I first came to Washington. She encouraged me to remove myself from the disappointment of not completing nursing school and press on. Essentially, she encouraged me to remember what Paul wrote in Philippians 3:12-16:

"12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained" (ESV).

Surely you have been discouraged before; this world is not exactly the most encouraging place at all times. Shortcomings occur, pain ensues, and traps for failure are set. But, there is so much hope in the blood of Jesus Christ which has covered all of our sins! And the wondrous work of the Lord is that while he is saddened when we sin, he never stops loving us! 

When you feel that you have fallen, and the Lord is no longer guiding you, just remember that the only one down on the ground is you. He is patiently waiting to take your hand and continue to guide you.

"A man's heart plans his ways,

but the Lord directs his steps."

- Proverbs 16:9 (NKJV)

Galatians 5:16-26

I am happy to report that this is not an update on my life post, but a Jesus post. Yesterday I taught on Galatians 5:16-26. It was so radical, and actually is what caused me to want to write this! May you be blessed as much as I was!  
I should preface by saying that I use a commentary by David Guzak for my studies. This commentary is easily accessible to the general public via www.blueletterbible.org - I would encourage you to type in your search and study the Word for yourself, too!

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 

• This verse is one that we can take at face value. The term, "walk" means to pattern our lives after. It's not just a once-in-a-while thing when we live in the Spirit, it is a constant thing. We should: 1) acknowledge that when we accept Christ, the Spirit dwells in us, 2) be open and sensitive to the Spirit, and 3) pattern our life after the Spirit. In response to this, the Spirit will: 1) reveal His will through the Bible, 2) use others who are living in the Spirit to influence us, and 3) mature us in our faith in order to give us direction and understanding. *John 16:13-15 tells us how we know the works of the Spirit

17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 

• This is a BATTLE. Straight up conflict is what we can see here. We know from Ephesians 6:10-18 that we must put on the full armor of God. This verse here demonstrates to us why it is called "armor." A good modern day analogy is this: you open up your closet in the morning to find shoes. You see black Converse and yellow Converse. You own both of them, but you can only wear one pair. You don't have 4 feet, so you can't put on both pairs, and wearing one of one color and one of the other color won't work. So, you must choose. Similarly, we have the flesh and we have the Spirit. We must choose one. We own them both, but we can't put them on at the same time. 
• Q: What is flesh?
• A: Boice defines the the Greek word, "sarx" as follows: "All the evil that man is and is capable of apart from the intervention of God's grace in his life." So, the very Christianese word "flesh" does not mean your epidermis, it is all of the things we are capable of (that will destroy us) outside of the grace of God.
• The wonderful thing is that we have the opportunity to put on the Spirit of God, and the armor of God and fight against the flesh that dwells within us.
• Matthew 6:24 confirms the idea that we cannot put on both the flesh and the Spirit. 

18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 

• Another wonderful verse that be taken exactly how it sounds. We have grace! We don't need to live under the 613 commands of the Law of Moses. He have the grace of God and we should write it on our hearts. *Jeremiah 31:33 confirms this. (It is important to note that the grace of God does not decommission the Law of Moses; rather, the grace of God allows us to be saved by grace rather than by our own works). 

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions,divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 

• This section is pretty famous - all of the major "do not's" of a Christian life in the Spirit.
• There are 4 sin categories: 
•  Sensual sins
• fornication (a.k.a. sexual immorality): this comes from the Greek word "pornia" which is where we also get the term "pornography." This is a wide variety of sexual sins. Whether dating or married, single or mingling, this terms applies to all of us. It can range from looking at porn, lusting with your eyes or your thoughts, self-driven sexual sins, adultery, etc. 
• impurity (a.k.a. uncleanliness): this is related to sexual immorality. It's the idea that you "didn't go all the way" or "porn isn't bad because I'm not doing it with anyone" or "I only cuss when I'm angry." To my understanding, impurity relates to excuses. It is very general and broad. If you spill coffee on yourself, you would say your shirt is dirty. Sure, the stain might come out later, but when you spill, the shirt is deemed unclean. Similarly, when you sin sexually, it is an unclean sin.
• sensuality (a.k.a. lewdness): the Greek term for this is "aselgeia," meaning you don't care how much you shock the world with your sins, as long as your needs are met, you're fine. This is a dangerous state, because at this point, you no longer have shame for your sin. In my own experiences, shame from sexual sins is convicting; it draws me back to my knees before the Lord asking for forgiveness and desiring to turn from my sin.
• Religious sins
• idolatry: anything that we worship more than God. It doesn't have to be a tiny wooden statue, or gold calf. It can be the TV, money, a girlfriend or boyfriend, a book. ANYTHING that takes your heart away from the Lord.
• sorcery (a.k.a. witchcraft): anything that alters your state of mind. Hallucinatory drugs, spells, potions, etc. In this, you are putting your mindset and pleasing yourself in that way above serving the Lord.
• People sins: 
• hatred: Greek "ekthra" for an attitude of the heart that causes an inner motivation for the ill-treatment of others.
• contentions (a.k.a. strife): combative and argumentative spirit
• jealousy: Greek "zelos" means a desire to have what someone else has - this is pretty similar to envy.
• Social sins
• drunkenness: we know that Jesus made water into wine (John 2:1-11). To our understanding, wine was a sign of joy and celebration. However, too much wine was destructive. This notion is very similar today.
• orgies: sex between a husband and wife, within the confines of the marriage covenant and commit is a beautiful thing. However, when sex is taken from the marriage bed, involving more people, etc., it becomes destructive and has severe consequences.
• those who DO such things - Greek "prassontes" means those who make a practice of doing, or pattern their lives. Like the previous section states that we should pattern our lives after the Spirit, the idea Paul relates here is that people who pattern their lives after these sins will not inherit the kingdom of Heaven. It's a heart thing. Our outward conduct indicates our inward status.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

• Fruit of the Spirit! The way this is written indicates that the fruit is singular - or universal! Once in the Spirit, this is the evidence! Fruit by nature is fragile (if you threw and apple on the ground, it would most likely split), nourishing, attractive, self-reproducing (meaning that if we are able to love unconditionally, there is a good likelihood that the people who receive our love, will be able to love in return), and birthed by abiding. So too is the fruit of a Christian!! How wonderful! 
• love: this is God's unconditional love! We sin, he never stops loving us.
• joy: abiding and remaining, not dependent on circumstances. (Acts 16:25 - Paul and Silas are in prison and SINGING!) 
• peace: Greek "chara" meaning tranquility of the heart. When I am on the ocean shore, I feel peace. But, that is peace that I understand. This peace of the Spirit, is have a tranquil heart when life is falling apart. Not being fake and saying that everything is great, but really being at peace, knowing that God knows what He is doing. It truly is incomprehensible.
• patience (a.k.a. long-suffering): Martin Luther says the following of patience: "When the devil finds he cannot overcome certain persons by force, he tries to overcome them in the long run . . . we must patiently wait for the devil to get tired of his game." This is running the good race, not quitting. This also allows us to hold onto love, joy, and peace indefinitely.
• kindness & goodness: we all know what kindness and goodness are! This is a self-explanatory fruit!
• faithfulness: this is both to God and to people. Barclay says it is the "ability to serve God through years and temptations realizing the person who does this is not a hero, but was living in the Spirit." My favorite example of faithfulness is Corrie Ten Boom. A dynamic woman, I would encourage you to learn her story!
• gentleness: this is being teachable and not having a superior attitude. Being able to find rest in Christ and to encourage/strengthen others in that rest that you have found.
• self-control: this will work on behalf of others. This is learning to control your appetite, and mouth, but through the Spirit, it is allowing the Spirit to give you insight, rather than drawing from your own.
• There is no law that compares to this fruit!

24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with it's passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 

• This section reminds us a what Jesus did. 
• Matthew 16:24, Romans 6:6, and Galatians 2:20
• Jesus took up his cross just as we are called to do!
• Jesus' death was painful. He was publicly mocked and humiliated, whipped within an inch of his life, stabbed with a spear, had his hands and feet nailed to the cross, and thorns pushed into his scalp. We need to remember that the death of our flesh, is painful. Because our flesh is something that is a part of us, it is painful. 
• It must be dealt with decisively. If you are sinning and are making excuses for why you don't quit - do it! If you're waiting to stop cussing until it becomes more common, stop now! If you are looking at pornography and are waiting to stop once it interferes with your sleep, stop now! Sin needs to be addressed decisively. Jesus asked for the cup to be taken from him (Luke 22:42). Yet, in that same prayer He asked for his Father's will to be done. Because God loves us to radically, his will is that we would not keep living is sin. If we are supposed to pattern our lives after Christ, then when our Father tells us that we must stop sinning, we need to be as decisive as Jesus was, and stop!

26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

• Finally, this verse can be taken at face value. This all comes back to how we treat one another. The first listed fruit of the Spirit is love; and love we must!

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

My last semester of my undergrad career start on Monday. That is both extremely exciting and extremely nerve-racking. College has been one of the most challenging, yet rewarding times of my life. This morning when I woke up, I felt sad - my joy was minimal. When my parents plan to come up here and help me move changed that made the sadness all the more evident. However, I am reminded that joy is a fruit of the Spirit. And, by the grace of God, the Spirit lives in me. As a result, I have the opportunity to be joyful always. As a little girl, my mom would say that when I complained, I had to say two things I was thankful for. As an adult, I have to remind myself to do just that. With that being said, I would like to say a few of of my favorite things.

1) the grace that God gives me on a daily basis; not because I earn it, but because He loves me that much.

2) my ever-loving family. I was able to spend last week in Oregon seeing my crazy family, and I was so filled with all of the love that they consistently give to me.

3) Noah. Probably the most cliche answer, but my relationship with Noah and all of the wonderful and challenging experiences that have grown us, must be in the top three of my favorite things. I would not be who I am today without having the opportunity to grow with this man.

4) music. peaceful, tranquil, simple, acoustic music.

5) quality time with friends. no explanation necessary.

6) the beach/ocean. big and daunting, yet somehow the most relaxing and calming place.

7) coffee and laughter. they go hand in hand.

8) photography. being able to capture any moment and treasure it forever.

9) food. new foods and classic dishes. I also enjoy cooking - mostly because it involves food.

10) reading. getting lost in a world that someone has written for you to enjoy.

Response

My wonderful friend Rylie (if you are reading this, I miss you terribly and would appreciate your mailing address) recently posed the question: "what are you thankful for this week?" Well, that sounds simple enough. Air, water, food, shelter, and all of the other beautifully simple and completely necessary things. However, this question has been asked at an interesting time.

Recently, my funding for school - my last 4 months of school - has been . . . dismal. Under the impression that my original source of funding had been removed, I threw myself fully into trusting God for the money to go back to school. Let me break it down:

- today is July 29, 2013 and as of today I have $500 of the $5,000 saved

- school starts on August 26, 2013 and money is due that day

- I have less than 30 days left, and approximately 1/10th of the money needed

So, when asked what am I thankful for this week, my focus must be removed from my monetary issues, and placed on those of salvation issues; not issues, but things that are a blessing to me rather than things I am worried about. Here goes.

- Although funding school seems to be looming over my head, I am oh so thankful that a college-level education is even an option for me.

- Although working two jobs is tiring . . . I am employed!

- Coffee brewed at home is much cheaper than coffee bought at a shop, and I have a coffee maker! 

- The women's retreat last weekend was marvelous, refreshing, and brought much needed promise!

- I am thankful that I have a loving family who wants what is best for me.

- I am thankful for restoration.

- I am thankful for freedom.

- I am thankful that I have not had to go more than 2 weeks without seeing my love this summer.

- I am thankful that for the first time in my life, I am not sleeping on a twin mattress.

- Young women's Bible study has been one of the biggest blessing this summer and I so admire those young women and their hearts; and teaching them once a week is humbling and uplifting.

- My church has surrounded me with love. 

- I am thankful that I am able to feel the freedom of not having a 5-year plan - I don't even have a 6-month plan!

- Although the tickets were more expensive than usual, I get to be in Oregon for one full week and spend all of those precious days with my family.

- I am thankful that I have the opportunity to live in God's new mercies every morning!

- I am thankful that the upper half of my body is tan - that means I have been outside.

- The library has air conditioning and hours of entertainment. It is a wonderful place.

At the women's retreat last weekend, we had the opportunity to be alone with the Lord. In that time, it was suggested that we just thank God. Not ask Him for anything or call out for anything, but say thank you and show our gratitude. By the end of the 40 minute prayer time, I was shouting thanks and I just kept thinking of more and more things that I am thankful for! I have never worshiped in that manner, nor have I ever put my needs/wants aside and simply said, "thank you Abba, Father, that you love me so much!" So, my question to you is this:

When was the last time that you simply said thank you?

Spoken Word

These words came out of nowhere, so it must have been the Holy Spirit. I just wanted to share. God bless!