December 31, 2011

Definition of FIRE

1

a (1) : the phenomenon of combustion manifested in light, flame, and heat.

I have been wanting to do a word study on "fire" for a long time. Even though I am just beginning that process, the things I read as I study cause a stirring in my spirit. There should be a fire burning inside of all who call themselves Christians. I want to take a moment and challenge you today. Do you have the 3 elements that it takes to be a burning fire? Is there REALLY a fire LIVING inside of you? Let's find out...

As of right now you are obviously (if you come from any sort of Christian background) being reminded of the fire that guided the Israelites. In Exodus chapter 13 we see that God Himself provided His people with a pillar of fire by night as they went forth to do what He asked of them. This is exciting and is an obvious look into the future of what the Holy Spirit/Helper is to us today. Even though this is absolute amazingness (I know thats not a word) to read about and everyone in their right mind would give anything to see God do such a thing today, this is not the exact direction I want to take with the word "fire".

Let me ask you something? Do you have days where you feel like the last thing you want to do is pretend to be happy? Do you ever pull up to the church parking lot and think something like, "I really, really don't want to fake a smile again today."? Do you ever walk out of a Sunday worship experience untouched by God and wondering what's wrong? Do I sound like an advertisement for an anti-depressant right now? Haha, ok, ok... moving on...

Seriously? How many Christians are living their lives in deep, deep depressive states? How many people who call themselves Christians can't remember the last time they shared their faith? How many of us can't accept the fact that we will have ups and downs in this human life, and so when the downs hit we don't know how to handle the emotions? Again, I ask. Seriously?

I am not saying that we are to live life above emotion. I believe this concept has been wrongly taught in the church. I believe God created human emotion for a reason. I also believe that God gave us opportunity to know Him through Jesus and to know His hand on our lives through the ups AND the downs because as Jesus (God Himself manifested as human) left the earth, He gave us the Helper (Holy Spirit). Why would he call the Holy Spirit "the Helper" (John 15:26) if He wasn't here to help us through difficult times? So, lets study this "Helper" a little bit...

The first time we see it stated in the scripture that the New Testament Church was touched by the Holy Spirit was in Acts chapter 2. You will notice that in verse 3 it says that as the Holy Spirit came upon them, He appeared as if tongues or flames of fire had settled on each person. In my word study for fire, I knew I would find the Holy Spirit right in the middle of it all, but the more I think about it, the more I actually wonder how many people who call themselves "Christian" actually let the fire settle on them in their every day lives.

Lets take this back to a word study for a moment, looking at what Merriam Webster has to say about the definition of the very word:

Definition of FIRE

1

a (1) : the phenomenon of combustion manifested in light, flame, and heat 

You will see, that in Webster's opinion, fire is a combustion (act or instance of burning) of three things: light, flame and heat.

I have to admit that when I saw that fire was a combination of three things, combusting to create something new and useful, I wanted to find a way to tie it to the Trinity. I haven't done a lot of study on this, so if you feel the same as I do, search it out. Get in the Word and ask God to reveal something to you today. That's your homework. Let me know what you find out. Moving on...

When I was a kid, I had this friend named Irna. We were soooo passionate about the things of God. We literally got school bullies saved and sang worship publicly in supermarkets at the top of our voice. As life moved on and things changed, I began to notice that this passion/fire I used to have seemed to slowly dim or even at times fully burn out. Part of my desire to research and do a study on the word "fire" was because I wanted to restore something inside of me. I wanted to remind myself of who I really am and of what I am capable of with God on my side. 2 Timothy 1:6 is a reminder to stir ourselves up in our faith. In the New Living Translation it even says "fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you..."

As I try to remind, build and stir myself up, I remember the fire I used to have. So, lets look again at the word fire...

Definition of FIRE

1

a (1) : the phenomenon of combustion manifested in light, flame, and heat.

Fire begins immediately when three things are combined: light, flame and heat. Where do we find these elements in our lives? How do we work these three ideas into spirituality? Obviously the light, to me, would be the light of salvation: Christ in me. I could get super deep just on this one point, but for the sake of writing a BLOG and not a book, I will refrain. However, if you want to know more about this salvation and how Christ can live in you, feel free to ask questions or to contact me in any way. 

Now, we know we need light (the light of salvation, Christ in us). Where do we get the flame? I want to refrain to Timothy when God told him to "fan into flames the gift God has given". God has put a passion inside of every one of us, a calling you might even say. When you have Jesus living in you, begin to search out what God is really saying to you. What passions has He given you? As you begin to stir yourself up in that way, you will find that He has placed a boldness inside of you to accomplish the calling. Fan it into a flame. 

Next, we will see that we need heat. I struggled a little bit with what this might mean. In the end I came to this conclusion: you need a little heat in your life. You need the strength to speak up. To speak out against wrong. Don't let others dominate what you do and believe. You need the ability to speak with heat. Its like when you burn yourself on the oven. It likely isn't a burn so bad that it will leave a scar, but in the end... without even trying... the oven has taught you a lesson about what it is and how you treat it. We need to take the boldness God has put in us, and use it to teach others how to react to who we really are. This may be more difficult (and applicable) where family and friends are concerned. They have known you most of (if not all) of your life, and when they see that you have plans to follow Christ in a way that is bigger than what they had imagined for you, this is when you will need this heat. In a way that doesn't leave a scar, you will need the heat/boldness to proclaim the truth about every step you take. You will need the heat to burn when they tell you it can't be done.

Fan the flame. 

Unfortunately, you cannot (in any way) have fire without the risk of burn. I encourage you today to begin to ask God what passions and gifting He has put in you. Ask Him how He would like to use you in this world. It may be bigger than what you had expected. Then, begin to study His Word. Learn about Him. Learn Who He is. Let Him speak to you. Fan into flames what He has put inside of you. Don't let the world, family, friends, or even the church put it out. It will take boldness. Learn to burn without scarring. Learn to be refined inside the very flame you are stirring. Don't be afraid to let God change you. It will burn and it will hurt at times in the process, but something brilliant and blazing will arise, if you will only let Him do the work He WANTS to do in you.

Be a fire in the church. There are so many Christians who go to church every week, but are still only Christian by name. They find ways to bend the rules to fit their life and the way they want to live. If you wanted to be a firefighter, you would not show up to work in a clown costume and expect to be able to ride on the engine and do the work. Why do we show up at church (often times in theoretical clown costumes) acting like we want to be something that, if we were to look at the way we live, we really don't want to be. If you don't want to live like a Christian, don't go to church and tell the world you ARE a Christian. However, if you feel like there is something inside of you that God has placed that can be fanned into flames, then go to church, seek counsel, get on your knees before God. Ask Him to change the things in your life that you struggle with. Seek out accountability and practical guidelines to help you overcome whatever you are battling. IT IS POSSIBLE. Christianity is not a game. Don't treat it like one.

Fan it into flames.

Thanks for reading.

J

December 8, 2011

In the end, dear friend, it is always between us and God, not between us and them. ~Mother Teresa

Sometimes God puts people in your life just to prove a point. For me, He has brought an exceptional friend along my side in the past few month. She is someone who inspires me in so many ways. I can't even begin to convey how thankful I am to God for placing her in my life at this strategic time. I didn't realize it before I moved onto the mission field, but even though I was already saved and serving the Lord, He was pursuing my heart in a HUGE way... and He was out to prove a point to me.

Over my life I have had endless opportunity in every area, good and not so good. In times of decision, I can honestly say that I haven't always taken the righteous path. Sometimes I have even looked God in the face and said "No" to what He was directly telling me. It was in these times that I opened a door of sin in my life, and through this open door came much hurt and darkness that hid itself deep inside my heart over many many years. Not everything that has happened to me has been by fault of my own decisions, but for the things that were direct results of my poor choices, I held onto the pain and regret. Sometimes, I didn't even know I regretted the things I had done, thus allowing an icy wall to slowly build up around parts of my life, my heart and my spirit.

Upon taking a step of faith and making the permanent move to Albania, I began to see God work an array of miracles in my life and I saw Him put very specific things in order. One of those things was a place for me to live. Once I had made the final decision to stay in Albania, God opened the door for me to move in with a missionary friend who had been living in Albania for a little over 2 years already. Thankfully this allowed my financial situation to be much less stressful, as my cost of living would be only half of what I was expecting it to be. Little did I know what God was really up to. I knew that He had His hand all over the situation, because of the way He brought me and this roommate together. You see, she is a gal from South Africa who I met on a random trip to the ice cream shop on one of my short term trips in 2007 or 2008 (I really can't remember which year). God did a seemingly random thing when we met that night and hit it off immediately as the best of friends. Over the years, even from miles away, we kept in contact via internet. This is what opened the door for me to move in with her and split expenses as we both tackled the calling God had on our lives.

That being said, I knew God did something extraordinary in creating a special friendship between two people who had a heart for the same tiny nation, but I didn't realize that He wasn't done yet. In the first few months of rearranging your entire life, moving countries, changing cultures and trying to build a new life in a different place, your emotions can become a bit unsettled. Its not that I broke down or anything, but I began to see God using my vulnerability to reveal those icy places in my heart. As those things began to rear their heads, this wonderful friend God had already placed in my life allowed herself to be used endlessly to show me Gods unending love for ME. You see, I had always known of God's love, and of course I "knew" He loved me... but I was missing something. The funny thing is that I never knew I was lacking in this way, but God moved and showed me things that I am eternally grateful for.

In the end, I have seen a bit of a roller coaster in many ways since taking this move into ministry. However, I can honestly say that I know God has a plan for me here, and that I am following His ways step by step on a new journey, with a new realization for His love for me in my heart. Without this true knowledge of how He loves me, how could I have ever reached out to others? I am so glad that even when we think we have arrived, God has a new fire to put us through, and that He uses that to refine us to values we never thought we could reach. I am worth more than I know, and so are you.

In the end I am so thankful for the way that this special friend helped me through those hard times. Today is a special day for me, in celebrating a spiritual victory and freedom. I "raise my glass" to her for all the tears, hugs and love we have seen each other through. I know it is hard to do what we do, and I am so inspired by the way I have seen her live her life for God.

I want to set an example for the young people out there who think the world is too hard of a place to live in AND to truly live like a Christian. The truth is, this is a girl who is over 30 and is 100% pure in many ways, not just the one that you are thinking of. She has integrity in every area in life and I think you should listen closely and use this story to set "the bar" in your life.

This is a girl who seeks God on every decision, even things that may seem small. She sets boundaries in her life and abides tightly by them. It is easy to fall into sin, and to open the door to darkness in your life, but it is also easy to stay pure and to live as a Christian example in your family, school and even church. Imagine being a Christian who is so dedicated to purity that God begins to use you as an example to other people who are already living the Christian life.

It is as simple as saying yes to some things and no to others. It is as simple as living in God's Word AND taking His Word for exactly what it says. Live it out on a day to day basis. You can do it. Be encouraged. There ARE Christians out there who are living like it. Begin to pursue God on how to be one of them.

I want to take a minute and thank my bestie. I don't need to mention names, because she knows exactly who she is AND she knows why I am thanking her today. If it wasn't for the way God used her in my life over the past 8-9 months, I don't know if I would have been able to fulfill His calling in the equipped way I can today. I thank God for people like her who lay down their entire life and being for the sake of God and I thank her for taking time to care about my tiny and seemingly unimportant issues. It has made all the difference in my life.

Live you life in a way that you can show God to others and set in motions changes in their lives that will impact generations to come. This isn't about who has bread to eat and who doesn't. This is about eternity. We can feed people and build them houses, but in the end if they go to hell without knowing God, what have we really done?

Be inspired today to live life in a way where your decisions are based solely on what will matter in eternity. Anything else is frivolous and has a definite expiration date.

Thanks for reading,

Julie