Wanted: DEAD

Acts 20:24 ~
"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me —the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace."

In June 2009, I began Broken To Breathless.  I felt it was something God wanted me to do. I'm still not convinced He would have me abandon it, but several months ago the "inner voice" I've come to trust as the Holy Spirit within me said, "It's time to stop writing about this, and go out and live it." 

So, that's what I've been doing -- slowly stepping out of my comfort zone, reaching beyond my family and close friends, and walking without fear. My goal, Lord willing, is to share with you all my journey of obedience and my discovery of life. But just so you know, it begins with death.

The Lord blesses each of us; there is no doubt. As I walk through the woods on crisp fall mornings, or past dewy, manicured lawns in the spring, it occurs to me that all of this is a miracle. Genesis 3 tells us that because of mankind's sin, poverty, failure, death and decay were allowed to freely roam the earth; we chose that over relationship with a perfectly loving Father! Based on our choice, we should never even have the experience of love, or fragrant flowers, or vibrant colors, or the warmth of a child's hug. But God, in his infinite mercy and abundant grace has held the consequences of our choice in check and allowed us the pleasures of life amidst our preference for death! Somewhere along the line, may we become grateful for that; and if your experience is anything like mine, it begins like a spark inside your spirit and slowly grows to a raging fire -- one that cannot be contained, one that shines from the windows of your eyes and stokes the engine of your heart.

Three years ago, the blessings of family, and health, and happiness lit my spark -- the spark that led to Broken To Breathless. As I wrote, I searched the Scriptures for applicable verses, or to double-check my amateur theology; the pages of God's Word caught that spark and stoked a great fire. I loved studying the Bible! God's Word was with Scott and I as we returned to my home church, dealt with family situations, launched our own business in a terrible economy, tithed of our money and time to individuals and charities, and began experiencing a true evolution of faith. We share the Gospel of Jesus Christ whenever we can, but not just in words and not just within our own circle. The Gospel is living, and while it requires a certain amount of meditation and study -- hearts and minds, it requires arms and legs, hand and feet. The Gospel is hugging those to whom you never thought you'd speak. The Gospel is feeding those with whom you never thought you'd share your table. The Gospel is putting away all pretense, eliminating any preconceived notions, tearing down all walls, and dying to self -- becoming the arms and legs, hands and feet of Christ!

Today

Thank You, God, that You allow us to serve You, allow us to praise You, allow us to petition You. Forgive me for being embarrassed, busy, tired, ungrateful because I am so arrogant -- thinking that I am doing something good, something sacrificial by giving You my time. Thank You that You are the Giver of time, the Giver of every good and perfect gift. Thank You that You not only forgive us our trespasses, refine us, call us, welcome our praises, bless us, delight in us, give us the desires of our hearts, know us, sing over us, protect us and give us peace, but You love us enough to have sacrificed Your most precious Son just so we -- the arrogant -- can enter Your presence, so we -- the filthy -- can be made white as snow, so we -- the incompetent -- can be equipped to serve You, so we -- the unmerited -- can have relationship with You. And have it not because we have ever desired it, but because YOU DO!

Can I get an AMEN?!

A Wedding Invitation

People don't always see others for what they are. When I first met my husband, he was full of bitterness and attitude -- MAJOR attitude. I pegged him for spoiled, demanding, miserable, and intolerant. I was right. But what I hadn't seen was a man who loves his children, who struggles to be a man in a society that frowns on authority and strength of character, and a man who'd been betrayed.

When Scott met me, he saw me as beautiful. Despite my worn out look, my mood swings and my attitude -- MAJOR attitude. He could look past those things and into my heart. He saw the mother who loved her children, who struggled to make ends meet, whose fatigue and short answers were merely a symptom of the day-to-day conflict in which she was engaged.

Scott rescued me. As God was changing my heart, Scott was changing my circumstances. He showed me what it meant for a father to love his children; I began to know God as my Father. Scott explained things from a man's point of view; I learned to love with God's heart although others are different. Scott taught me how a good husband loves his bride; I began to see the love of Christ for His bride, the church -- the body of believers. 

Jeremiah 3:14 -- "I am married unto you."

Imagine, if you will, the groom who waits expectantly at the front of the church for his bride, clothed in spotless white to join him. To him, she is the most beautiful one on whom he has ever rested his eyes. To him, she is purity and light. He has worked just to meet her and will continue to work to keep her. He has pulled her up to know just how precious she is to him. He will cherish her. He will share her sorrows and joys. He will protect her. He will never leave her. He provides for her. He shares whatever wealth he has with her. He will give her a new name -- his own. Nothing but death will separate him from her. 

The church of Christ is His bride. But unlike the mortal union that is marriage, death is no wedge between Jesus and His bride. In heaven, Jesus and His bride will celebrate their blessed bond. A bond in which the bride and groom have been conformed to one heart.

I see Scott very differently now. I see him as the one who was not ignorant to my imperfections but chose to see me with loving eyes. I see him as a hero to his children and me, and a servant to God. I see him as the one whose love brought the pages of God's Word to life for me -- a living example of the Husband, Christ. 

Are We Even Speaking the Same Language?

Four years of high school Spanish and I can ask for the bathroom, identify a seahorse, and correctly name six of the seven days of the week.  So when Christine told me last year that she wanted to take French, I knew it was time for Rosetta Stone.  Six months later she was still screaming, "I HATE this stupid thing!" in English.  Apologetics it is, then.  Knowing her plans to go away to school next year, I figured it could only help. 

We are currently talking about some of the religions that have taken hold in America -- Islam being one of them -- and what appears on TLC, but "All-American Muslim," a new series which premiered last night!  In the first episode, an Irish Catholic man was converting to Islam in order to marry a Muslim woman; by admission, she does not adhere to Islam's strict practices, and based on the discussion with his mother, his conversion is more of an issue of tradition than eternal destiny.  In one scene, Jeff the groom-to-be is speaking with his future father-in-law about his conversion.  His fiancee's father says, "You are not renouncing anything, only adding to it."  One of the greatest lessons taught in the Garden of Eden is that the best lies are those closest to the truth.  Isn't this what any person making a difficult decision wants to hear?  "Relax, you can have your cake and eat it, too.  It's a minor adjustment."

First of all, the "shahada" offered by converts (and by Jeff in last night's episode) is "There is no God but Allah.  Muhammad is the messenger of Allah," or something very similar.  That in and of itself is exclusive -- "no other."  Stating there can be no other, forsaking and renouncing any that have had Allah's place before.  And The One True God?  What does He say?  Exodus 20:5: "Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God..."  He's not looking for any competition, nor is there any worthy of competing with Him.  The act of claiming any other god to be God, or to share the throne of heaven with Him, is renouncing God Almighty -- Jehovah.  God will not, cannot share His throne.

Secondly, adding?  Is God the Creator one who is in need of supplement?  "And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good." (Gen. 1:31a)  Is God's grace or power insufficient?  "But he said to me,   'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'" (2 Cor. 2:19a)  Is God's Word out dated?  "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness," (2 Timothy 3:16)  Is God's Word not enough?  "You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you." (Deut. 4:2)

Lastly, and probably most importantly, Allah is not the God of the Bible; Allah is not Jehovah.  Without fumbling my way through a lesson on Islam, in which I am woefully inadequate, and taking up even more of your precious time, I know this much -- we are not speaking the same language.  Allah is not a trinity.  According to the Qur'an (sura 19:88-92) Allah has no son; it is a monstrous allegation and at it, the entire earth rises up in protest.  Allah "loveth not transgressors," (sura 2:190), but 1 John 4:8 tells us "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."  If Allah does not even know God -- Jehovah -- how can he be God?  In Islam, there is no substitute for the sacrifice that sin requires, just the hope that one's deeds will be enough to garner eternity in paradise; sin is not eradicated, ransom paid in full, but merely covered, forgiven by a completely sovereign deity who does not promise paradise beyond a shadow of a doubt to anyone -- Islamic teaching is always followed "with the hope" of entering paradise.  All is subject to the will of Allah.

When faced with the rhetoric of those who deny The One True God and preach syncretism as a politically correct way for us to "co-exist," I'll rely on the truth spoken by The Rock Eternal.  "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)

Cross references:

1. John 14:6 : Heb 9:8; 10:20; Eph 2:18
2. John 14:6 : John 1:14, 17; 1 John 5:20
3. John 14:6 : John 11:25

Cross references:

1. Deuteronomy 4:2 : Deuteronomy 12:32; Josh 1:7; Prov 30:6; Rev 22:18, 19