Perseverance

John 1:14

The Word became flesh, and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Psalm 43:5

Why are you downcast, O my soul?

Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God,

For I will yet praise him,

My Savior and my God.

Read Psalm 44

This is war.

Fighting for my heart,

Fighting for my love.

-Jon Shirley

Psalm 46:1, 10

God is our refuge and strength,

An ever-present help in trouble.

“Be still and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted among the earth.”

Isaiah 61:1-4

The Spirit of the Sovereign

Lord is on me,

Because the Lord has anointed me

to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the

brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives

and release from darkness for the prisoners,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor

the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn,

and to provide for those who grieve in

Zion-

to bestow on them a crown off beauty

instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness

instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise

instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of

Righteousness,

a planting for the Lord,

for the display of his splendor.

They will rebuild the ancient ruins

And restore the places long devastated;

They will renew the ruined cities

that have been devastated for generations.

Hebrews 12:1-2

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy before him endured the cross, scoring its shame, and sat down at the throne of God.

Keep reading the rest of Hebrews 12.

James 1:1-4

James, a servant of God

and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations.

Greetings.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

The World is Angry Tonight

I sat at the window,

looking at the stars.

They glimmered with hope,

for a brighter tomorrow.

Pain and sadness

crept into my heart.

Regret and confusion,

agony and defeat.

As I watched,

the clouds came rolling,

billowing in.

The sadness in my heart

blocked the stars.

How long, O God?

How long will we wait?

The earth groans for renewal.

When will you take us away,

your bride?

You are teaching me,

every day, every night

to follow You.

Never look back.

No regrets.

Yet I do.

I have regrets.

Fresh, recent wounds.

Am I proud?

Or disheartened?

The stars have faded away.

My heart deceives me.

I cover pain with pleasure,

only to cause more pain.

You, O Lord.

I HAVE to trust in.

Who else is there now?

What is Going On, God?!

Dear God,

Have you seen the news reports? The footage of the earthquakes hitting Japan? What about the tsunami? What are you doing?

Maybe this will jog your memory: CNN Student News Report from yesterday.

Haven't you heard the screams of the Japanese mothers and fathers, sons and daughters? Are these people so horrible? Why allow this to happen to anyone?

You better get your act together. Don't you hold the foundations of the earth together? Were you off on vacation in some distant galaxy? Are we too small for you?

We're just a blip on the radar screen. We live for a blink of an eye. Who cares?

What about this??

Proverbs 8:28-30

²⁸ when he established the clouds above
and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
²⁹ when he gave the sea its boundary
so the waters would not overstep his command,
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.

SERIOUSLY? Isn't that overstepping their bounds? Or did we overstep ours?

The USS Ronald Regan is there in Japan providing meals and support. Isn't it interesting, though...

There was Pearl Harbor...

But now we're there helping...

And they're doing all the can to help their own people...

What is going on, God?!

Comfortable? Yep.

Why yes, I do like my little iTunes with my music, sittin' on a comfy couch, with a warm laptop on my lap, friends near me. Sip some hot chocolate, wear comfy clothes, sleep in a warm, comfy bed. What's wrong with that?

Nothing.

But what about hanging out with my same friends? Shunning those who are planning on getting completely wasted this saturday for Fake Patty's Day? Laughing at them as I talk about God with my circle of Christian friends?

Yesterday, I was mad. Throughly ticked off.

"Get off my grill, man! Quit preaching at me! You don't know me. Ugh. Pointless. Annoying. A waste of time."

These were the thought that ran through my head at our reflection after our InterVarsity meeting. We were reading the passage in John that has the application of 'get out of your boat,' your comfort zone and DO SOMETHING.

Fine. The application was to go out in pairs to Derb and walk up to random people and ask them if there was anything we could do to bless their day.

When asked if this would work, I immediately said no, it's too awkward. No one will do it, much less WANT to do it.

We ended up going out. It WAS horrible. It was like pulling teeth. I was out of my comfort zone.

During that reflection, I decided it was pointless. Why go up to random people and do random things for them, like give them a hug or tell them a joke?

Ok, ok, it wasn't that I got kicked and shot down, I do feel like I made at least one girl's day. But really? What was the point in that??!

I really don't have any answers at the current moment. I feel that I need to keep fanning the little tiny flames of this Bible study. I can't put giant logs on just yet, that will smother and kill the fire!!!

Hopefully, I'll get to the bottom if this dissonance in my thoughts soon.