In the meantime

My mind [and life] is working through a dilemma… And while it isn’t something often discussed, I’m sure other Christians deal with the same problem. I’m talking about the consistent disconnect between what my heart and mind desires as a Christian and what I actually do as I go about life. In a sense, it is the “Romans 7” scenario where “ what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.” (Romans 7:15b)   Except in a more specific situation.  I keep thinking about about how rarely things—GOOD things—spill over from my heart and mind into my interaction with people in my every day life. I want to encourage other people in their Christian walk.  I want to discuss how God has been working in my life.  I want to share my faith with my unbelieving coworkers.  I want to be a student of the Word.  It just doesn’t really seem to ever happen.    It seems oh, so hard to turn that want...

Ok, this article on why women need theology reminds me of a good friend of ours who is always saying that "girls should care about theology too--it's not just for guys!"  And it is true!  We need to be studying God's Word for ourselves... I like the statement the author makes about the study of God's Word being directly tied to our relationship with God:   " If we don’t study him, we won’t desire him, we won’t become like him, and we will not enjoy him." 

Unlike my husband, I am a slow and very un-dedicated reader.  However, I have started reading “The Hole in Our Holiness”  by Kevin DeYoung (Wheaton, Illinois:Crossway, 2012) and already it has been a challenging read! I don’t know about you, but for me, when I think about being holy, it always seems like something that is far beyond my spiritual grasp. Something that I’ll never quite reach.  Maybe it is because I like to have things detailed and concrete; I like to know exactly what holiness is supposed to look like in my life (but obviously [and thankfully!], the Bible doesn’t list it off as if it were a checklist to complete.) The last chapter that I read from DeYoung’s book, however, was particularly encouraging and challenging.  He made several points that brought home to me the necessity and the “grasp-ability” of holiness in the believer’s life. 1.  The Bible is full of examples of believers being declared upright and godly, walking blamelessly ...

I am so thankful for the presence of the Spirit in my life: He ensures my salvation, He has made me a part of the Body of Christ, He enables me to walk the Christian walk, and He convicts me of my sin.  It is this last aspect of the Spirit’s ministry that is most painful.  I know where I am wrong. I know what I need to do that is right. But it is so hard!  It is in times like these that I particularly feel my sinful desires kick in and struggle against the Spirit. It is easy to excuse my actions. However, it is in times like this that the Spirit once again has to remind me of something that I have unconsciously pushed to the back of my mind for a while: “You are responsible for what you do.  You are not responsible for what others do or may do to you. You are going to answer to God for your actions.  You are not going to answer for the actions of others.  Now, you have the facts.  What are you going to do with them?” Such bold truths put me between a...

This section from The Valley of Vision  was a particular blessing and challenge to me today:              "O God the Holy Spirit, Thou who dost proceed from the Father and the Son,      have mercy on me. When thou didst first hover over chaos,     order came to birth,     beauty robed the world, fruitfulness sprang forth. Move, I pray thee, upon my disordered heart; Take away the infirmities of unruly desires     and hateful lusts; Lift the mists and darkness of unbelief; Brighten my soul with the pure light of truth; Make it fragrant as the garden of paradise,     rich with every goodly fruit,     beautiful with heavenly grace,     radiant with rays of divine light. Fulfil in me the glory of thy divine offices; Be my comforter, light, guide, sanctifier; Take of the things of Christ and show them to my soul; Through thee may I daily learn more of his love,     gra...