The Shower

You know that feeling you have after a really good shower - one after you've been especially sweaty and gross? You're so clean, your skin is exfoliated and pure, your hair is silky smooth, and you just feel good. Not a lot of feelings in this world quite compare to the refreshing feel after a good shower. But there's also the possibility of a bad shower. I found this out in Italy where our hotels quite obviously installed showers as an afterthought. Hardly big enough to get inside and shut the door, you couldn't move once you were in there. The water had little pressure and it took a good ten minutes to get the soap out of your hair. When you finally were able to fully rinse off, It wasn't even really worth it because you still felt unclean getting out - definitely not the refreshing shower we all would want after walking around the sites of Ancient Rome for ten hours!

How often do we go to a shower that promises to make us clean and wash away all the dirt from the day, only to come away feeling burdened, unrefreshed, and frustrated? We go out with friends after work for an evening of fun and relaxation, only to feel exhausted the next morning. We spend hours on the internet trying to distract from the things that bear us down, only to be burdened by new things we find there. There are a number of other places that we go to purge and cleanse the thoughts and memories of our days and make us feel light and clean; and yet all of them leave us feeling still just a bit unclean and unfulfilled.

But there is a shower that promises that we will be completely clean, refreshed, and unburdened. It can heal beyond the depth of our skin and cleanse our heart and soul with a power unlike anything else. Just as a shower with good water pressure has a massaging feel on our skin yet is not hard enough to be painful, so Jesus Christ's blood has the power behind it to massage the impurities from our hearts and leave us feeling clean and new.

Just as we go unclothed into a shower, we go before the Lord with a bare heart. A good, refreshing shower does not leave one small area untouched that we aren't ready to have cleaned yet. Rather, it washes all impurities away, leaving us clean and new. God does the same in creating a clean heart in us. He simply asks that we do not keep any part of us from His healing rain. It's not always a pleasant experience to allow God to cleanse our hearts. Think of those times when you've had paint or mud stuck to your skin that took a little extra scrubbing. Sometimes our hearts take a little extra scrubbing too, and for a little while it may be a bit raw and tender; but God promises us to heal our broken hearts and cleanse us from all unrighteousness, so that raw tenderness with eventually become pure and whole.

God is urging us to come and stand in His shower while He washes away our impurities and burdens. He has provided us with a cleansing flood that will leave us refreshed and pure before Him so we can live our lives freely under His blessings. Will you step into His shower? I challenge you to come to Him completely open, baring all, so that He can bring about healing and cleansing to your soul. This is not simply something to do of your own bidding, or of my encouragement. Bring the matters of your heart to the Lord in prayer, because once you ask Him to cleanse you fully, you can't go back. It can be scary letting God see every part of you, but when you have faith and trust in His love for you, you will see that all He wants for you is good.

Psalm 51, a Psalm of David

Have mercy on me, O God,
    because of your unfailing love.
Because of your great compassion,
    blot out the stain of my sins.
 Wash me clean from my guilt.
    Purify me from my sin.
For I recognize my rebellion;
    it haunts me day and night.
 Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;
    I have done what is evil in your sight.
You will be proved right in what you say,
    and your judgment against me is just.^[a]
 For I was born a sinner—
    yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.
 But you desire honesty from the womb,^[b]
    teaching me wisdom even there.

 Purify me from my sins,^[c] and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
 Oh, give me back my joy again;
    you have broken me—
    now let me rejoice.
 Don’t keep looking at my sins.
    Remove the stain of my guilt.
 Create in me a clean heart, O God.
    Renew a loyal spirit within me.
 Do not banish me from your presence,
    and don’t take your Holy Spirit^[d] from me.

 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and make me willing to obey you.
Then I will teach your ways to rebels,
    and they will return to you. Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves;
    then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.
 Unseal my lips, O Lord,
    that my mouth may praise you.

 You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.
    You do not want a burnt offering.
 The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
    You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.
 

"I'll Pray for You"

How often do you actually pray for someone when you tell them you're going to? I find myself frequently telling a friend or coworker that I'll be praying for them. I used to fall into the habit of saying this and then realizing later that I never did actually pray for them.  I have also been in friendships where they would say "I'll try to remember to pray for you." or "I'll do my best to pray for you." While I appreciate the honesty of those two statements, I appreciate even more when you hold praying for others as a priority. Yes, telling someone you're praying for them is a great way to encourage them in a hard time; but what is even more encouraging is actually praying for them!!!

Something I've started making a habit of is that as soon as I tell someone I am praying for them, I pray for them right then and there. Whether it's in a comment on Facebook, a text message, in a letter, or in person, I take a moment right then to lift them in prayer. It doesn't have to be long, it doesn't even have to be out loud. But it does need to happen. Anytime I have the slightest thought about someone go through my head, I immediately send up a prayer for them, whether I know what it is that they need or not. It's the perfect opportunity to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and impact someone else's life.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thes. 5:16-18 (ESV)

What is so awesome about prayer is that it is literally just a conversation with our Creator, our Lover. We should talk with God the way we talk with our friends. We do that all day long, so why not talk to God all day long? Tell Him about the "hi" and "lo" of your day, or the funny moment that happened in class, or the stress you're feeling about an assignment. Ultimately, take the time to put yourself and your needs aside and pray for those of someone else, just as if you were encouraging them right there in front of you. Jesus knows what they need, and He wants to give it to them. Help them get what they need.

My challenge to you: Who are you praying for today, and I mean really praying?

Everyone Is Fighting A Battle

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.”    - Plato

 This got me to thinking, this is more true than most people even realize because we are all fighting a battle every day - a spiritual one. One for our souls, for our very lives. One that is very, very real. For those of us with Jesus in our lives, this battle is already won and we are to go on to fight for others in their battle. The battle we face is not against flesh and blood (other people) but against principalities of darkness (the spirits behind the evil things people do) (Eph 6:12). This means that these battles are best fought and won when we fight them God's way and not our own. Wearing His armor of peace, love, salvation, righteousness, truth, faith, His Word, and His blood (Eph 6:13-19). With love, prayer, and relationships.

As we begin NSO this week, I am reminded that each new student we welcome to campus is not just another target to hit with Jesus. Rather, they are each someone searching for something bigger and better, looking to be loved and accepted, to feel needed and wanted, and to have a place somewhere. By God's grace, maybe that place is in our body of believers here at UWRF.

I Gave It to the Lord

We all have something we need to give up to the Lord, and most of us know exactly what it is we're holding back from Him. We say we'll give it to Him, but then we take back a little piece of it to keep for ourselves. We make excuses for why we need to hold on to that piece - we need to learn our lesson, it's too hard to say no to, or it's a good reminder of where we came from - but those excuses are exactly what hold us back from experiencing the fullness of life through Christ Jesus.

Up to this point in my treatment for depression, I would say things like, "Lord, I am going to give this to you. I need your help," but a part of me didn't want to let it go. When you've walked around with something like depression for as long as I have, the thought of being without it can leave you confused and uncomfortable. "Without it there, what do I have left? I can't remember the last time I felt anything but depressed." In a very unhealthy way, I wanted it to hang around so I could feel sorry for myself - at times I actually liked the feelings the depression gave me.

This is exactly what God is getting at when He asks us to give Him our burdens. He wants the whole thing, not just the stuff we feel comfortable giving up. This was made very real to me this weekend while attending InterVarsity Christian Fellowship's Fall Conference. The first night we were there, a skit was done showing a girl who let Jesus take her bag full of trash after He told her that is what He does, but she wanted to keep one little piece of it. The fact that she couldn't give it to Him broke Jesus' heart because His love for us compels Him to take away any suffering we carry with us.

That skit confirmed what God had been urging me to do for a few weeks, and I knew then and there that this would be the weekend I finally let go of the last little bits of trash I was carrying around and experience the freedom that comes through Christ alone. All day on Saturday I wrestled with the idea of giving up my last bit of control because, you see, I love to be in control; but my need for control was really starting to ruin my relationship with God in ways I hadn't allowed myself to acknowledge.

On Saturday night during our plenary session, a call for prayer was made for anyone needing to let something go into God's hands or make a commitment to Him. I watched for a full hour as hundreds of other students went to the front to recieve prayer as we worshipped, and I tried to convince myself that I could just tell God by myself that I was going to let Him have everything - I was ready to let it go, I knew that for sure (and that was freeing in itself) but I didn't want to have to go to the front and tell a prayer leader that I wanted to give it up. Well, we all know how God gets His way in the end - He kept telling me He was proud of my decision but also kept reminding me of verses in the Bible where it talks about making confessions before a community of believers that can build you up and hold you accountable when the hard times come. Finally, right before the service ended, I made my way to the front and told the prayer leader that God had been asking me to give Him my struggles with depression and unhealthy coping behaviors, and I had finally decided to say yes.

I returned to my seat feeling so light and different that I couldn't even truly identify the feeling in any way other than God's supernatural freedom. I knew I wasn't completely healed and on track - there is a lot of learning that comes along with living a life free of something as debilitating as depression - but I also knew that it wasn't in my hands anymore. It isn't a secret burden anymore, and God was fighting my battle for me.

In less than 24 hours, I have already seen my own thoughts, desires, and behaviors change. I've been content or joyful a lot of the day, feeling as though I can allow people to know and love me for who I am, and also very secure in knowing what it is that I have because of God's grace (take some time to study out Ephesians and you'll have a list longer than you can imagine!). I haven't wanted to feel depressed or isolate myself, I haven't resorted to any of the coping behaviors that I've done for so long they had become more of a lifestyle than anything, and I am so excited to see where God takes me from here.

So, if you find yourself holding something back from God that you know He has offered to take from you, do whatever it is you need to do to get to a place of letting it go - whether it's bitterness, depression, worthlessness, an idol that you've placed before Him in your life, or anything else, God wants to see you free so that you can live your life abundantly through Him, spreading His perfect plan of grace for all people. I am praying for all of my readers and anyone who may come across this blog to find a new freedom in Christ.

As always, prayer requests are more than welcome and very important! I pray you all experience the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ and come to know the breadth and depth and width and height of His never-ending, unconditional, magnificent love for you!

My Encounter with the Beatitudes

This week I spent a good deal of time taking a deep look at The Beatitudes, one of Jesus' most remembered teachings, from Matthew 5. First, I'll comment on the deeper meaning I found in the passage itself and then leave you with the charge that God gave me at the end of my time studying this scripture.

Matthew 5:1-12

The Sermon on the Mount

¹Seeing the crowds,^(A) he went up on the mountain, and when he^(B) sat down, his disciples came to him.

The Beatitudes

²And^(C) he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
^3(D) "Blessed are^(E) the poor in spirit, for^(F) theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴"Blessed are^(G) those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
⁵"Blessed are the^(H) meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
⁶"Blessed are those who hunger and^(I) thirst^(J) for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
⁷"Blessed are^(K) the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
⁸"Blessed are^(L) the pure in heart, for^(M) they shall see God.
⁹"Blessed are^(N) the peacemakers, for^(O) they shall be called^(P) sons^[a] of God.
^10(Q) "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for^(R) theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
^11(S) "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely^(T) on my account. ^12(U) Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for^(V) so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

v3 - "poor in spirit" - those who recognize their need for God
v4 - Jesus came to comfort those who mourn, who have repented and are looking for a new beginning
v5 - Meek = recognizing our need for God through humility
v6 - when we are searching for God to fill us, He will fill us beyond satisfaction
v7 - when we show mercy to others, God is inclined to show mercy to us
v8 - purity of heart as such that we come to God with a child-like faith, desiring more of Him and not questioning His motives but trusting that He has our best interest in mind
v9 - we are called to minister the peace and love of the gospel to the world, bringing healing to those who need it
v10 - withstanding persecution brings about blessing; it is basically a guarantee that we will not be liked by those around us because of the message that we bring

Jesus has called me to:

• recognize my need for Him
• ask Him for repentance and find comfort in His salvation
• come to Him humbly adn seek His face to be fulfilled
• show His mercy to those around me
• approach Him with the heart of a child, putting off all my doubts and worries to allow Him to cleanse me of my impurities
• bring the peace of His gospel to the world with my life as a witness to His glory
• and withstand persecution for the sake of His name, knowing that ultimately He will be glorified and bless me in return.