Love is patient, Love is kind.....

I had to stop and write. Anytime I'm studying, and I get slammed between the eyes with a truth, I try to stop and record it in some way. And this one was a sledgehammer:

I'm reading the book 'Crazy Love' by Francis Chan. The entire book is challenging, convicting, and a true wake-up call, especially to churches. It causes you to go through a lot of (sometimes painful) self-examination. Tonight in my reading, he writes out this passage. Maybe you've heard it a time or two:

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8


I've seen this verse on hanging on walls. I've seen it on coffee mugs. It was even recited at my wedding. But here is the challenge he put forth. Put YOUR name in the place of the word 'Love'. (Amy is patient, Amy is kind...) Convicting.


I admit, I often fail at this. Some parts are easy: loving the ones that you love, for example. But Jesus said, if we are to follow Him, to love even our enemies. I'll even take it a step farther.
 
Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.  1 John 2: 4-6

Jesus says the first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God above all others and secondly, to love everyone else. Then he gives such a rich, vivid description of what love is. A step beyond that, we are told that our love for God is truly made complete when we obey His word. And you obey him because you love Him. That's a lot to chew on. That will be digesting for a lifetime. My challenge to myself is to constantly put my name in that Bible verse in all that I do, through the help of the Holy Spirit.

Here was my last revelation: God. Is. Love. All of those definitions Jesus gave us of what love is.....that's our God. How thankful I am that when I fail (often) to love and obey the way He has called me to do, that God CAN put his name in the place of 'love' and never fail to meet any of those qualities. And that is how much he loves each and every person. It is because of revelations like these, as I study Him and His word, I fall in love with Him all over again every single day.

Amy Edwards

The veil is torn

 It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" And having said this he breathed his last. Luke 23: 44-46(ESV)

They had questioned Him and beaten Him. They made a mockery of Him, crushing a crown of thorns onto His head. He carried His cross until He could bear it no more, and a bystander in the crowd was forced to pick up the heavy tree and carry it the rest of the way. They nailed His hands and feet to the cross. They mocked him, spit on him, and in the end, stabbed a spear in His side to make sure He was dead. This is where we pick up the story.

Suddenly, Jesus dies. And the world goes black. (Side note: there are historical accounts of this phenomenon outside of the Gospel writings)

As if that wasn't enough to make you stop and consider the man that had just died, the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 

The curtain that is spoken of was in the Jewish temple, the temple was built to house God's presence. God gave specific instructions to the Israelites, after he led them out of Egypt, on how this temple was to be constructed, down to the color of the yarn used to make the curtain and robes of the priests. This was not just some conception of man on how to house God. God himself was the 'contractor' of the temple. The area behind the curtain was called the Holy of Holies, and in this place and this place alone could you approach the presence of God. Today, we are able to stroll into church without even a second thought of how sacred of a place we are approaching. This was not a place you could just walk inside whenever you felt the need. Only once a year, one priest was chosen to approach the Holy of Holies. He had to undergo vigorous rituals of cleansing, purification, and sacrifice before entering 'God's presence'. They even tied a rope around his waist in case he was struck dead by the presence of God, so that they could pull his body out. This was serious stuff. And with the death of Jesus, the veil separating God's presence from man was torn.

As I reflect today, Good Friday, on the death of my savior, I marvel yet again at the perfection of God's plan. Through hundreds of prophecies, over thousands of years, by many different authors in the Old Testament, the coming of the Messiah was predicted by the Jewish people. Psalm 22 starts off: 'My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?' and continues with 'they have pierced my hands and feet.....they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots'. (All things that happened at Jesus's crucifixion) It was prophesied that none of his bones would be broken. As the guards came to break Jesus's legs (to speed up the process of death), they found he was already dead and stabbed Him, just to be sure, thus preventing the necessity of breaking any bones. Jesus left no prophecy unfulfilled, leaving us no room for doubt that he was the Messiah, God's son. And then the veil was torn.

On this day, I thank God for his abounding love, in sending His only son to die for my sins, and rise again from the dead, to bridge the gap to this day, between my God and I.  In no other way could I, in my uncleanliness, be presented before a clean and holy God. Only through the sacrifice of the perfect, spotless lamb who took my place, am I able to approach the Holy of Holies. I thank Him for tearing the veil that separates man from God.

Jesus washes the feet of His followers: A lesson in humility

Today we celebrate Palm Sunday, the beginning of Passover week.  If ever there was a time of the year to truly reflect on the depths of love God has shown us, it is this week. Although the fact that Jesus gave up His life for me is always at the forefront of my consciousness, this week it is especially vivid.

Today, I will be looking at the beautiful illustration of Jesus washing His disciples' feet. The text I will be referring to is from John 13, starting with verse 4.

⁴ so he (Jesus) got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵ After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 

In the culture of that time, only the lowest of the low had the job of washing people's feet. The major mode of travel was to walk. Imagine walking around barefooted (or if you were lucky, in sandals) in a dry, dusty climate. I'm fairly certain that there was no abundance of pedicure shops in that day and time, so we are talking nasty, dirty feet. Now imagine being one of the disciples: you are serving and walking with God himself, in the flesh. You've seen him heal the sick, raise people from the dead, walk on water, and cast out demons. And he wants to wash your feet. I can empathize with Peter who in verse 8 says, 'No, you shall never wash my feet.' But the master of the universe insisted. Kind of hard to argue with the creator of the stars. He proceeds to wash each ones feet, and in the Bible, it says he washed ALL of their feet.

Here's the utter beauty of this passage. As with all of the Bible, there are so many lessons to be learned in this one short story, but I will condense it down to what hit me the hardest. First, Judas Iscariot was still one of the disciples. He was there at the feast. Jesus KNEW who was going to betray Him. He KNEW the kind of death He was about to endure. But the Bible doesn't say He skipped over the one who was going to betray Him. He washed them all. What depths of love that shows!! I think I'd have a hard time washing the feet of the one who was about to turn me over to be killed. When Jesus said love your enemies, He meant it. And LIVED it.

The other lesson I got from this was a lesson in complete humility. No one is higher or better than anyone else. The Lord of all creation did the work of a slave. Again, a hard lesson to put into practice. How many times at work do we think, 'I'm not doing that, it's not my job.' How many of us would take in a dirty, ragged homeless person off the street and bathe them? How many times does someone hurt your feelings, and you lash out at them? But Jesus calls us to put everyone else first. Everyone. Not just the people you like, not just your friends, not just your family....EVERYONE. Wow. Even if that person is about to have you killed, show them the ultimate love, serving them.

In closing: These things that Jesus did, and commanded us to do, seem impossible. And in truth, they are. But only if you are trying to do them on your own. It takes the power and love you get from the Holy Spirit to reach these depths of love. To humble yourself, and submit when everything in you cries out that it's not fair, is a task you cannot complete without total surrender to the one who has already done these things.

Amy Edwards

Fire insurance vs. Falling in Love

Sounds like the title of a sermon, right? I'd actually call this the title of my life. This is my story:

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who went to church. She did what she was supposed to, learned the basics, but nothing really sank in. She continued on her life, not thinking about or caring what the driving force behind that life was.

As she started to grow, life started getting harder. Trials and tribulations began to rear their ugly heads. So she decided to try all of the things the world offered to offset the emptiness, and to combat the pains of life. If something didn't work, she would try more of what wasn't working. But without fail, the things of this world would let her down. She knew she was empty, but didn't know what to fill herself up with.

In college, she was told there was no God. That it was a silly, out-dated belief. For a time, a part of her even thought this might be true. So she began seeking Him, studying Him, and researching the validity of things like the Bible. She came to the conclusion that He was there, but somehow, this did not affect her lifestyle. She still didn't get it.

So she went on taking everything the world had to offer. Oh, when she would hit some of the lowest points in her life, she would remember God and reach for him. But as soon as things got better, she would turn back to the things of the world.

Eventually, nothing satisfied. So she began to truly seek God's face in earnest. With her heart and soul. Suddenly, all the lights in the house came on. God is faithful like that, He meets those that seek Him. And suddenly, her life changed. It was like she had never seen the world before. Everything took on a different meaning.....she saw God everywhere. In the hurt eyes of the people around her; in the beauty of a sunset; in the miracle of new life. Creation was singing a song all around her, and she finally had ears to hear. So the love affair began.

She hungered for God's word. She began reading His world. She devoured everything she could find written about Him. She began going to meet Him at His house. She began seeking fellowship with His people. She began talking to Him. And as the creator was revealed, her old self died. See, the most important truth that she learned is that she was deserving of death. Eternal death. All the things she'd done in her life, all the sins she'd commited.....all of them were treason against the ruling force in this world: God. But even though she'd commited high treason, God showered her with grace beyond measure. He loved her so much, He didn't want her to die. So He sent His son to die in her place. When that truth slammed into her heart, it broke into a thousand pieces, and He picked them all up, and put them back together. She died, and was reborn. And with this rebirth, the love and gratitude that she felt for her creator overflowed into every aspect of her life. No more was she living to please herself. She was now living to please the one she loved more than life. And as if what had been done for her wasn't already enough....she started receiving immeasurable joy in serving her God. Gift, upon gift, upon gift.

This story even has a happily ever after: she will continue serving Him for as long as he allows her to dwell on the earth, and when her work is finished, she will go home to be with the one she loves, forever.

This is just the reader's digest version of my life. But it explains, as best I can with the meager words at my disposal, why I do what I do.

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
    “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[c] There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:28-31


Amy Edwards

The stoning of Stephen: God stands

I deleted my first blog, because after further research, I believe there were some historical inaccuracies. As I said in the beginning of my first post, just in case anyone reads these thoughts on my studies, I will attempt not to deviate from scripture in any way, shape, or form. The Bible gives many warnings against false teachings, and I take those seriously. (I tend to believe God means what He says :P )


This morning, the passage I will be commenting on is in Acts, chapter 7. Specifically, verse 55. To set the scene: Jesus has been crucified, died, and has risen again from the dead. He has appeared to his disciples and numerous other people. He was taken back to heaven, and the Holy Spirit descended to dwell on the earth in the hearts of men who believed. Stephen was one of these men, and is described as 'a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit (5) As Stephen went out and 'did great wonders and miraculous signs' (8), opposition against him rose. Those in power tend to dislike it when someone else displays more power than they have. And just like today, it seems the people in power are so afraid of a threat to that power, they will use any means necessary to remove it. Back to the story...these men in power secretly took aside a few people, and talked them into giving false testimony against Stephen. What I find interesting here is that when they arrested him and brought him to trial, they looked at him and 'saw that his face was like the face of an angel' (15). Now I don't know about you, but if I glance over at a person on trial, and he suddenly looks like an angel, I'd be tempted to rethink what I was about to do. But not these hard-hearted people.

They asked Stephen about the charges. He answered in such a way, that there was no arguing against him. But did his words of wisdom have any affect? Of course not. As it usually goes, when fools are faced with a truth they can't refute, they get even angrier. They were so angry, they 'gnashed their teeth at him' (54).

Now here comes the awesome part. Stephen, knowing he's about to die, looks up. He sees Jesus STANDING at the right hand of God (55). In every other text I've read in the Bible, Jesus is SITTING at the right hand of God. What a sight that must have been!! When I read this, I think of occasions when I've stood for someone. The most common is when we give someone a 'standing ovation' for a job well done. How powerful to see the son of God stand up in approval of a job well done!!

As they drag Stephen out to stone him, he prays. And not just any old prayer. He prays for the people that are killing him.

I got numerous blessings from this reading, but here is the summary, spoken to my heart: Just because you are a Christian, does not mean you will be free from suffering. But Jesus sees. He knows how it feels. And He stands with you, to receive you with open arms for a job well done.

Introduction

I shall attempt to keep a spiritual journal. This is for the benefit of no one but myself, to be used as an outlet for all of the amazing things God keeps pouring into my heart. If it ends up blessing someone else as well, then all the more glory to my God. 

I've attempted journal writing in the past, and it has been erratic at best (if by erratic, 'every few years' can fall into that category).  But I have come to a place where I feel it is truly necessary to record my walk with the Savior, especially for someone like myself, because of the many hills and valleys my spiritual walk has thus far held. To quote an author I've been reading, Philip Yancy: "When exuberant, I look at my past writings and am shocked at the sloughs of despond I wallowed in; when depressed, I am shocked at the bright faith I used to have." Of all my faults, self-delusion is not one of them. There are times God's presence is as real as the air I breathe, and times when I struggle to find His face. Within this record, my hope is to offset the worst of the valleys, as I'm able to look back at the awesome manifestation of God in my life.

Right now, for the first time in my life, I am reading through the entire Bible. I'm only a couple of months in, and it has been more amazing, informative, thought-provoking, and convicting than any sermon I've ever heard or devotional I've ever read. The Bible is ALIVE. It is just as applicable today as it was centuries ago. It is truly the infallible Word of the Lord.  Most of the posts for the remainder of this blog will be the things God shows me daily through my reading.   

Amy Edwards