stubborn

i was reading the story in exodus about pharaoh and the plagues. despite the fact that i’ve read this particular story many times, the lord showed me a whole new angle this morning. this time around i read the story from the perspective of pharaoh. it was clear through the whole passage that god was giving him clear direction on what he should do and he chose to do this own thing. there was reference to the fact that pharaoh continued to sin and was stubborn. at plague 5, the word says that god hardened his heart and made him more stubborn. i heard the lord asking me….what am i giving you clear direction on and you’re choosing to do your own thing? sadly there were a few things but my gracious god also showed me how to adjust my path. boy am i thankful that i was met with grace and mercy again today!

new ministry opportunity

i think the thing that i’ve missed the most since moving is being in a consistent bible study group. one of the challenging parts is that i haven’t totally landed on a church so getting involved has been nearly impossible. the church decision is coming along but getting a group needs to happen sooner rather than later. i’m working on getting an online group together and test the waters of online bible study. we’re going to discuss the discipline of grace by jerry bridges. i’m so excited about this book and the possible discussions around the topic of grace. as many of you know god has taught me so much related to grace in the last year and i’m confident that he has much more to teach me. so if you’re interested in learning more about “our part and god’s part in the pursuit of holiness” (book subtitle), stayed tuned for a link to join the discussion.

leaving with class

the bush twins went in as girls and left as women. watch this moving video …

follow me

it’s amazing what god will teach you if you just take the time to be still and listen. taking advantage of a morning where i didn’t have to be anywhere i did just that. sat before the lord and listened.

what did he say to me? “follow me”.

my response…”what does that mean? would you teach me what that means and show me what it would look like?”

his response “sure. dig into my word and i’ll tell you and show you what it means.”

“i’ll give as much time as you need”

so after this conversation i began to examine the gospels for the situations where jesus called people to follow him. i think there are a few common threads through each of these situations…

• none of them knew where they were following Jesus yet they followed anyway
• demanded that they leave what they knew to embrace a new set of priorities
• pledged a commitment to their new master

one of the themes for 2009 was trusting jesus and what i discovered this morning is that following jesus demands that i trust him. now is the time for me to wrestle with the point above and surrender to following him and thereby trusting him.

let the wrestling match begin….

get cultured

i had an experience this week with one of our new authors that i belive will have a long lasting effect on my life. mako is the author and the conversation was around creativity, reading, culture, and reaching the lost. we published refractions because it not just a book but a conversation about culture and faith. through a series of essays mako talks about experiences he’s had as an artist.

he asked an intriguing question…”are you creative?” the answer to that question is easy…NO! mako then proceeded to blow that answer out of the water. his main point…god created us all as creative. we’re just creative in different ways.

the most impactful part of the day was the thought that having common cultural experiences with people who are far from god can provide an inroad to having spiritual conversations. i wouldn’t consider myself cultured in the least but reading books is something i love to do. the big read was an inititive begun by the nea during mako’s time on the board. the focus is on getting people reading both classic and new books that have deep messages and create common experiences for those who read. first on my list…to kill a mockingbird. praying that the lord provides a good with whom to read.

i’ll be tying to “get cultured” in 2009!