A Quote by Calvin

I got this in an e-mail and did not want to lose it, so I'm posting it on my blog. Plus, I thought anyone that reads this might appreciate it as well.

Without the gospel everything is useless and vain; without the gospel we are not Christians; without the gospel all riches is poverty, all wisdom folly before God; strength is weakness, and all the justice of man is under the condemnation of God. But by the knowledge of the gospel we are made children of God, brothers of Jesus Christ, fellow townsmen with the saints, citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, heirs of God with Jesus Christ, by whom the poor are made rich, the weak strong, the fools wise, the sinner justified, the desolate comforted, the doubting sure, and slaves free. It is the power of God for the salvation of all those who believe.

This is what we should in short seek in the whole of Scripture: truly to know Jesus Christ, and the infinite riches that are comprised in him and are offered to us by him from God the Father.

It follows that every good thing we could think or desire is to be found in this same Jesus Christ alone. For, he was sold, to buy us back; captive, to deliver us; condemned, to absolve us; he was made a curse for our blessing, sin offering for our righteousness; marred that we may be made fair; he died for our life; so that by him fury is made gentle, wrath appeased, darkness turned into light, fear reassured, despisal despised, debt canceled, labor lightened, sadness made merry, misfortune made fortunate, difficulty easy, disorder ordered, division united, ignominy ennobled, rebellion subjected, intimidation intimidated, ambush uncovered, assaults assailed, force forced back, combat combated, war warred against, vengeance avenged, torment tormented, damnation damned, the abyss sunk into the abyss, hell transfixed, death dead, mortality made immortal. In short, mercy has swallowed up all misery, and goodness all misfortune.

For all these things which were to be the weapons of the devil in his battle against us, and the sting of death to pierce us, are turned for us into exercises which we can turn to our profit. If we are able to boast with the apostle, saying, O hell, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? it is because by the Spirit of Christ promised to the elect, we live no longer, but Christ lives in us; and we are by the same Spirit seated among those who are in heaven, so that for us the world is no more, even while our conversation [which means “life”] is in it; but we are content in all things, whether country, place, condition, clothing, meat, and all such things. And we are comforted in tribulation, joyful in sorrow, glorying under vituperation, abounding in poverty, warmed in our nakedness, patient amongst evils, living in death.

This is from John Calvin’s preface to Pierre Robert Olivtan’s 1534 translation of the New Testament.

fearfully and wonderfully made

I have interesting conversations with the people I work with. These conversations always get my mind working, and today I felt it was blog-worthy material. Tonight while we were sorting candy, we were talking about color blindness and the way that people see things, and how each person may or may not see things differently than others. And being a nurse in training, this got me thinking about how complex a creation the human body is. God is so amazing. It would take awhile to even write down all of the things that evolutionists have a hard time explaining because they were created so intricately and complexly that if something were to have "evolved" even a tiny bit differently than the way it did, life would not be possible.

This got me thinking about the way that I was created, and of course brought to my mind one of my favorite passages, Psalm 139.

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. (14)

I was created as an individual by the Creator of the Universe. The hands that set each star in place and made the ground that I walk on decided to create me. He knew me before anyone else did, and He knows more about me than I know about myself. He knows my faults, my failures, and my future. If I were to count the number of thoughts God has about me, they would be "more in number than the sand" (Psalm 139:18) My sinfulness often disappoints Him, but as a loving Father, He cares enough about His created child to take her back each and every time she falls away from Him.

These attributes of God are so indescribable. But I think that often that is what draws me to Him. He has given me more than beyond measure in so many ways. I cannot fathom the depths of His love, and His faithfulness and mercy are new every morning.

It's funny how a few sentences in a conversation about color blindness can allow a person to praise God so much for who He is.

wherever you are...

Last weekend when I was visiting my college friends in Wisconsin, I had a lovely visit with my very good friend and former dorm supervisor, Dori. There were lots of laughs and we talked and ate chocolate, but as always, my conversation with her challenged me to grow in my walk with the Lord. I told her that I was struggling with being at home and that I didn't like my job a whole lot and that I was torn between being at home and being at school. The next thing she told me is what really got me. She said, "Wherever God has you at this point in your life, be all there."

Be all there...

God has you wherever you are in your life right now for a reason. If you do not put everything you have into what you are doing at this moment, you could miss an opportunity. You could miss the whole purpose for why you are in this situation in the first place. You could miss the chance to minister to someone who is in need of something that only you can help them with. God has everything perfectly planned out, and I realize that by not fully committing myself to doing what God has for me at this time in my life, I am rebelling in a way. That may sound harsher than it should, but if I am even a little unhappy with where God has sovereignly placed me, then I am not trusting that "His ways are perfect" (Psalm 18). This is what is on my heart today, and I am going to try to live my life fully in whatever place God has me.

wisdom of a child

I got this link from another blog, and I felt like it was something I should share. I've seen a few of the "I am Second" videos before, but the one from this girl was so moving. She has wisdom beyond her years and knows about God's leading and trusting Him for everything at such a young age. Here it is :]

Seconds - I Am Second

are you still searching?

This morning when I woke up, the song "By Your Side" by Tenth Avenue North was in my head, and there was one line from the song that stuck in my brain.

Why are you looking for love? Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough?

This line in the song is coming from God's point of view, and He is asking why we are searching for satisfaction in things apart from Him when He is all that will satisfy us. This morning, I was thinking about how silly it is for us to chase after other things when God promises that He was, is, and will be everything that we need.

Looking for love? God's love for you is everlasting. (Jeremiah 31:3)

Need rest? Jesus promises a yoke that is easy and a burden that is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)

Overwhelmed? God is a rock and a stronghold in the day of trouble. (Psalm 61:1-3)

What about forgiveness? He is faithful and just to forgive us when we confess our sins. (1 John 1:9)

Feeling lonely? You are never left alone or forsaken by God. (Hebrews 13:5)

Not sure what to do next? God has a plan for you and promises to work all things together for good. (Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28)

Why then, with all of these promises, do we try to fulfill these desires with other things? I think for me the reason is that confiding in friends or having lots of stuff or whatever else are all tangible things. I can see that I have friends and can see that they are listening to what I have to say. My relationship with them is tangible. The stuff I buy to feel better about myself sits in my room. I can see it. When these emotions are felt, God does not seem tangible or right in the room with us. He seems distant and uninterested in what is going on, when the reality is that the complete opposite is true. He is the only one who is always there no matter what, even if I don't always realize it right away. He is waiting to give me everything I need, and all I have to do is ask Him.

So I guess I'm done searching...

one word: delight

So a few weeks ago, well more like the beginning of January, someone sent me a link to a website called myoneword.org. It's a different way to do New Year's resolutions by only picking one word that defines something you want to change in your life for this year. I've thought about it since then, and have finally chosen a word. My one word for this year is delight. Delight, according to dictionary.com, means to have great pleasure or to take pleasure in something. I chose this word because I want to be constantly reminded to delight myself in the Lord. At the same time, I want Him to be able to delight in me as His child. This year has already been one of the hardest for me so far, but I will delight in the Lord and praise Him no matter how tough things get. I also want to take time to delight in the little things that get overlooked or taken for granted many times.

Bible verses containing the word Delight:

Psalm 40:8
I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.

Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself in the LORD,and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Isaiah 58:2
Yet they seek me daily and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the judgment of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near to God.

Psalm 1:2
but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

What's your word for the year? Let me know if you choose one! I'd love to hear about it.

don't waste your life

With much thanks to christianaudio.com giving it away for free, I have been listening to the book "Don't Waste Your Life" by John Piper on my way to and from work for the past couple days. If you have read this book before, I don't have to tell you that it's a good one to read. If you haven't read it, I would recommend it based on what I have heard so far. There are so many good thoughts in this book that there is now way I could share them all on here. However, there are a couple of thoughts from the first four chapters that stick out in my mind right now that I would like to share. This is kind of a long one, so be prepared.

1. Piper starts out the book talking about a picture that was hung in his parent's house with this saying on it: "Only one life, twill soon be passed. Only what's done for Christ will last." This is what the main idea of the book is, as Piper talks about the fact that anything we do that does not glorify God is wasted. At this point, barely into the first chapter, I've already realized that I do not want any more of my life to be wasted on things that will not last past this life.

2. After talking about what a wasted life is, he talks about what it means to not waste your life. The opposite of wasting your life on things that do not bring glory to God is to magnify Him in everything that you do. Paul says in Galatians 6:14 that he does not want to glory in anything except the cross of Christ. Piper then makes the point that everything good and everything bad that is eventually worked out for our good (Romans 8:28), can be directed back to Christ's suffering on the cross. All of the good things that happen are because of the mercy that Christ shows believers that was ultimately displayed by His love for us on the cross and His desire to give us what we need despite the fact that we are wretched sinners who deserve nothing. All of the bad things can also point back to the cross because we are called to suffer as Christ suffered for us (Matthew 10:37-39, 16:24).

3. When it comes to magnifying Christ, Piper gave a really good illustration. He said that we can magnify Christ like a microscope or a telescope. Both of these things magnify whatever you are looking at through them, but they do it in two different ways. The microscope takes something that is small and makes it look huge, and thus it is magnified. The telescope, on the other hand, looks at something that is already beyond our comprehension and allows us to see it for what it truly is. This is the way that we should view God.

The overall gist of what I've gotten out of this book so far is that everything that happens in my life should be a reflection of Christ. I can glorify Him in every situation that I encounter, and if I do not do this, then I am wasting my life. Glorifying God with everything that I have in every situation allows me to be an example to those who do not have a relationship with Him, and an encouragement to those who do. When I am completely satisfied in Christ, He is most glorified through my life.

PS- If you read this and the book interests you, I do have three copies of the audiobook available to send to other people, so let me know!

so this isn't quite on time...

but instead of being on the computer this weekend, i visited family and made cinnamon pastries with my sister. i think that's a good excuse. i'll blog about my life another day, and it will happen :]