FREE BOOKS. GET THEM

Hey everyone,

You're in for a treat this time!

Ruth was the one who found this/shared this awesome website with me, but anyway, it's a website that sells audio of Christian books. Every month they have a free download of a Christian book, but the book is only free this one time EVER. This month (July! hurry!) they're giving away a free download of The Pursuit of God by Tozer (I think it may have been his best-selling book!)

https://christianaudio.com/free

I downloaded it. It doesn't seem dangerous or like a conspiracy (I had my suspicions)

God is Good

Romans 8

²⁸And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

I used to use this verse to mean that I got what I wanted. That since God works all things together for my good (if I love God), then that means only good things will happen to me, right?

And sometimes, it's stuff that seems pretty reasonable. There are times when you ask for healing, times when you plead for a friend who's turned his back on God, times when you wish that you or the people around you didn't have to suffer so much. I don't want pain, and it hurts me to see the difficult situations of those around me as well. And as much as I pray for God to take away the sorrow, what I want the most is for everyone to understand Romans 8:28.

There are moments when things seem dark and you wonder why God isn't working, and then something happens and you see that everything turned out well in the end. I used to have that, and then say, ah-ha! God does indeed work everything out for good. But I think that I reversed the order.

What this verse means to me now (though I know I don't fully hold onto it as I should) is that God works all things for the good of those who love Him. What it means to me now is that when things are dark, and I don't know what good can come out of what's going on right now. When God doesn't seem to answer my prayers, or says no to something that means so much to me, and seems so reasonable to me--this verse tells me that God is good, and I have to trust that beyond all the things that are happening now.

I don't see the big picture, and I may never, ever understand what God's big plan is, or how He works things out for good, but even though I don't, the most important thing is to trust that God is good, that God loves me, and that God allowed this to happen for a purpose.

The verse isn't something that just corresponds with our experiences--it's something that's supposed to define our experiences. When we don't understand and are left in the dark, let's hold onto this verse, though honestly it's so tough. All we can do is pray to the Lord and pray that He would give us the faith to believe in His goodness.

Romans 8

³¹What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

³²He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?

...

³⁴who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

³⁵Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

...

³⁷But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

³⁸For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,

³⁹nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Rise of the Juniors

It's a scary thought to think that soon we're going to be the upperclassmen. Where has the time gone! I remember first coming to CBS, going over to Caleb and Richard's to play some Halo before I knew the people here. It's so funny to think about the way I viewed the junior class back in the day.

They seemed so distant--like older (at least to me) and I thought it would take a while for me to be like that. And here we are...we're about to become juniors, and it's a scary thought. Soon freshmen are going to be coming in, and who knows what they're going to expect. I know that I thought the upperclassmen knew so much. I expected them to be done struggling with a lot of issues, to have things figured out. When I got to know them more my sophomore year, it was funny to see a lot of the same struggles that I go through, though a lot of growth as well. I realized that we weren't so different in the end, just trying to love God more and trust in Him past our fears.

I guess there are a lot of fears for this coming year that I have because I know there are a lot of sins that I wish I had stopped struggling with by now. There's a lot of love lacking in my heart. And I wish I could be that great older brother with a lot of answers to life's questions.

In some ways, to be sure, I think we've all grown in God. We've experienced a few more things and can share wisdom on some stuff that we've gone through with the freshmen and the sophomores, but it's still a daunting task because we are all still so weak. And I guess that's the way it should be. We don't stop struggling with sin, we don't have the perfect prayer life, or the perfect trust in God, and it's probably still hard for us to know what God wants us to do. We probably don't change that much in 2 years. But the way that I have changed, and possibly you too, is actually pretty simple. It kind of seems small when I think about it now. I guess I kind of imagined that by now I would have like matured/grown to the point where I could fight off lions or something (something like that).
But instead, looking back, I think all that I can think of right now is that I've learned that God is greater, more powerful, good-er, and needs to be more important than I knew before. God's been slowly destroying a few idols in my heart that I didn't really think were all that big of a deal. And in their place, God has put more of Himself. I've learned what a joy it is to get to love and know God, and I've learned how great it is that God has placed us all in a body together.


After one felly dinner, I came to my conclusion that ultimately what CBS is meant to teach us is how good God's love is. To be sure, we as brothers and sisters fail each other, but there are times when you can really feel the love (I think), and it comes clearest to me during the felly dinner times. The love we have for each other is just a small portion of how good and how big God's love is for each one of us, and God is teaching us about His love in our fellowship, so that when we all leave from here we can help other fellowships to experience how great a blessing God has given us through the body-life. That we can show God's love to other people, and show them that it's more than just being in the same building together on a day or two or three, but being connected in our lives to one another. That's why I think that I'll miss everyone here, and the times we had at CBS (hopefully we stay in touch though!), but I also think, the best part of CBS is God's love, and we can take that wherever we go.

Poem by Annie J. Flint as heard on a clip of Ravi Zacharias on Ruth's blog

He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

The Little Things

Song of Songs Chapter 2(ESV)
¹⁵Catch the foxes for us,
the little foxes

that spoil the vineyards,

for our vineyards are in blossom.

I think that the trap that we often fall into are those little traps--the little sins, or little acts of disobedience that feel like they don't really count. I've had quite a few experiences with that. I argue with God sometimes over some of the small things, or argue with the feeling of what I think God would want. I think it's reasonable for me to want to play basketball before the gym closes, I think it's reasonable if I just want to watch a drama for now instead of reading God's Word, I think it's reasonable to say to God that I've spent all day in Bible study so I ought to get to do stuff that I want to do instead of having to read this book and taking the effort to examine my heart or learn more about myself or take the trouble to grow.
The little things that I think I have the right to are the ones that are derailing my walk with God right now. It's not that it's wrong to play basketball or other things. But it's wrong when it takes us away from God. And if playing basketball becomes too much, and if it starts to drive time spent with God out, or becomes more important than it as expressed through my actions, then even something small like that needs to be submitted to God. Small sins can keep us from fellowshipping with God, and that's what makes them so deadly. Because we sometimes allow ourselves to slip on them because they're so small, but they can make us stumble in such a big way. That's why we need to be so diligent, because the little things can happen at any moment, and may happen the most when we're tired, or just feel like we deserve a break. I know that sometimes I want a break. Just a time here or there to let myself go. I mean, it's ok to relax, but I guess the moral of the story is that it's never okay to sin, no matter how small.
Of course, sin can't nullify Jesus's sacrifice for us, but it can entangle us. It can keep us from growing in God, and it can lead to further sins. For me, as soon as reading the Word and praying to God start to dwindle, everything else goes with it. All the things that I know God wants me to do--whether it be email people, keep in touch, or blog--go out the window. And even the stuff that I continue to do--go to Bible study, help with the kids--lose the meaning that they once had. The little things are so dangerous, that's all I think.

Drowning doesn't look like drowning

I got this article for my sister's Facebook.
"Drowning doesn't look like drowning"

http://mariovittone.com/2010/05/154/

The new captain jumped from the cockpit, fully dressed, and sprinted through the water. A former lifeguard, he kept his eyes on his victim as he headed straight for the ownerswho were swimming between their anchored sportfisher and the beach. “I think he thinks you’re drowning,” the husband said to his wife. They had been splashing each other and she had screamed but now they were just standing, neck-deep on the sand bar. “We’re fine, what is he doing?” she asked, a little annoyed. “We’re fine!” the husband yelled, waving him off, but his captain kept swimming hard. ”Move!” he barked as he sprinted between the stunned owners. Directly behind them, not ten feet away, their nine-year-old daughter was drowning. Safely above the surface in the arms of the captain, she burst into tears, “Daddy!”

How did this captain know, from fifty feet away, what the father couldn’t recognize from just ten? Drowning is not the violent, splashing, call for help that most people expect. The captain was trained to recognize drowning by experts and years of experience. The father, on the other hand, had learned what drowning looks like by watching television. If you spend time on or near the water (hint: that’s all of us) then you should make sure that you and your crew knows what to look for whenever people enter the water. Until she cried a tearful, “Daddy,” she hadn’t made a sound. As a former Coast Guard rescue swimmer, I wasn’t surprised at all by this story.Drowning is almost always a deceptively quiet event. The waving, splashing, and yelling that dramatic conditioning (television) prepares us to look for, is rarely seen in real life.

~~~

Lately, God has been challenging me to see people the way He sees them. I am often tempted to, in self-centered self-consciousness, be content with labeling people and moving on with my life.

"That person seems happy, put-together, and 'too cool' for me...they're fine. Whatever."

I feel as though if I do anything or say anything, I'll just look dumb/unsophisticated or come off as an oaf. So I move on without giving a second glance (like the priest/Levite in the good samaritan story?). In essence, I'm just thinking about me.

But God has been showing me that there are people in my life who are drowning. They are in desperate need of rescue. They're not okay. They need Jesus.

I as a human can't 'save' anyone, but am I willing to be part of what God is doing? Am I reacting like the parents in the story? A little annoyed, a little put off, a little agitated...'What are you doing! We're FINE!'?

God, help me see people the way you see them, because drowning doesn't look like drowning.

Prayer at Gethsemane

I was reading Matthew 26:36-46, where Jesus prays at Gethsemane and the disciples couldn't keep watch and pray for an hour.

Jesus prayed "My Father if it is possible, let this cup be taken away from me. Yet not as I will but as you will". And then He went back to the disciples who were sleeping and told them to watch and pray. Then Jesus went to pray again. The same prayer. And again, He went back to the disciples and found them sleeping. He didn't wake them up this time, but He left them again to go pray the same prayer.

I never really took notice of this before, but Jesus prayed the same prayer three times. And I was wondering while reading this passage, how you can possibly pray a two sentence prayer for an hour. Either the bible is summarizing the gist of Jesus' prayer, or most of the prayer time is spent in meditation or listening to the Father, or in silence. Jesus did say to the disciples "Could you not keep watch with me for one hour?" Thus indicating that part of the prayer was "keeping watch". Then Jesus said "watch and pray so that you won't fall into temptation". That was confusing too. What kind of temptation was He referring to? I guess denying Christ, not having enough faith/(how they would run away later). The disciples didn't really understand the urgency of praying, or what would happen later, aka why Jesus was saying to watch/pray as to not fall into temptation. Sometimes we don't quite know what we're praying for either, or how urgent it is, but God knows, and He hears our prayers, and answers them.

yea, just some things that caught my attention. Just an encouragement to continue to pray, not out of routine, but out of urgency. And to keep watch when God calls you to do so.

Imagine Jesus saying to you, "Could you not keep watch with me for one hour?"

So, let us pray out of the same love and same Spirit.