Meg This is Life

Psalm 80:19

Restore us, O Lord God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.

Good Friday

Matthew 27: 45-54

(45) From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. (46) About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” -which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

(47) When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

(48) Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. (49) The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

(50) And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.”

(51) At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. (52) The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. (53) They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

(54) When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

Oh, Healthcare

So many passionate opinions about this subject - but does anyone even know what is included in the bill? One of the clearest outlines of the bill I could find was through BBC News. Check it out if you want to be knowledgeable during this great debate.

My only public opinion (since I don’t feel like arguing with people - haha, but seriously): “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40.

Psalm 51: 10-12

Create in me a pure heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me from your presence

or take your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation

and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

First Love

Sometimes its really hard to know what God is asking you to do. If you are like me, you might often pray that God show you direction about important aspects of life: How long should I be at this job? Is there something else I should be doing? When should I start a family? Is this my purpose? Am I speaking up enough? Am I being the bigger person? Am I wasting time? Am I being patient enough? Am I growing? Am I stuck?

At times, life can seem so clear. There are obvious steps that should be taken. Other times, there is a static that seems to be filling the air between you and the answers you are looking for. This static is understandable. Life can’t be completely easy and laid out. Its important to pray and think situations out. Its one of the greatest ways to grow as a person. But, do you ever come to the point where enough is enough? The static has just become annoying and irritating. You can’t do it anymore. What are you supposed to do then?

I guess you just do the only obvious thing to do - keep taking steps forward. Sometimes you have no idea where those steps are taking you, and even when you “think” you know, you really do not know at all. So, you just keep moving. Keep remembering your dreams. And never forget your first love.

I wrote about a Francis Chan article I read the other day. In his article, he wrote about a section in Revelations 2, the letter to the Church in Ephesus. Verse 2-4 says “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.” I can’t stop thinking about this. We can be doing all the right things, not be swayed by falsehoods and push through hard times BUT if our first priority is not loving God, we are still missing the best life possible.

I would hate to miss the best life possible because I was too busy doing all the right things that I missed opportunity to just love God more. Its like the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42. Jesus comes to their home and Martha is so busy serving and preparing, while Mary just sits at Jesus’ feet and simply loves him. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been afraid that I look more like Martha than Mary. It is just more my personality to be doing. Its not my nature to just sit and be. I worry and prepare and fix. Jesus says to Martha “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Mary chose the best life possible. And even though Martha had great intentions, her work overshadowed her first love.

So, during the times of static, when its easy to put yourself on autopilot as we keep trudging along, we can’t forget what is more important: to remember your first love. Revelations 2:7 says “To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” What could be better than that?

Public Passion vs. Private Devotion

Francis Chan, a pastor & author, wrote THIS article which really spoke to me today. He writes about how we can easily forget to love God while doing ministry, how its easy to fake passion and how we sometimes follow the people we are supposed to be leading. I definitely needed to read this today.

“I refuse to let my public passion exceed my private devotion.”

God Told Me To

Nik sent me this really interesting article yesterday that I thought I’d share. The author is the frontman for the band Project 86.  Its an article on what the phrase “God told me to” can mean - the good and bad. It goes deep into the case of hearing God’s voice and how He really communicates with us. Check it out.

Feels Like a Movie

I woke up this morning with intentions of writing a light and fun blog post (which I will probably still do later today). But, at the moment, I just can’t seem to think of anything but Haiti.

This morning, Haiti experienced a 6.1 aftershock. What? Are you kidding me? It feels like I’m watching one of those “end times” movies where everything gets destroyed and there are all sorts of awesome graphics and insane action scenes. But this is real life. Or maybe its a glimpse into hell. I cannot imagine what it is like to be there right now. My heart is breaking. I’m holding back tears. This is horrific. I do not understand why there is such pain and suffering.  Its estimated that 3 million Haitians are still without food, water, shelter and medial assistance. One doctor is quoted saying  “We’ve run out of surgical supplies. We have to wash with vodka, and we have to operate with hacksaws because we don’t have enough operating tools.”  The aid is supposed to take a turn for the best today. But how much more devastation did the aftershock cause? And what about the FEAR that it caused? It is reported that “patients at a hospital near Haiti’s airport in Port-au-Prince immediately started praying as the ground shook like a ship rocking back and forth. They asked for forgiveness and protection, a nurse said.”  CNN.com

God, where are you? What can we do to help? How can we stop this?

Donate relief funds at Convoy of Hope.

Keep Moving

Sometimes the only thing you can do is take another step.

Keep those feet moving.

Keep that heart trusting.

For God is faithful to His children.