In the next couple days I will be changing the name of my blog:
upheldtofollow
This is taken from Psalm 63. The Psalmist cries out to his God, saying how he longs so desperately for his Lord. David realizes that His Father's love is much richer and satisfying than anything life can offer; even life itself.
Verse 3. "...Your steadfast love is better than life"
Near the end of this Psalm, David says, "My soul follows hard after You; Your right hand upholds me."
In the original Greek, the word for 'follow hard' is 'dabaq'. Which means ;
cling, stick, stay close, cleave, keep close, stick to, stick with, follow closely, join to, overtake, to stay with, to be joined together, to cleave to, to pursue closely, to overtake, to be made to cleave.
Think about that definition for a minute. To be joined together, to stay close and stick to... We are literally MADE to cleave to our Lord.
The second part of that verse is the most important. "Your right hand upholds me". The Greek word for 'upheld' is ' 'tamak', which means;
to grasp, hold, support, attain, lay hold of, hold fast, grasp, lay hold of, attain, to hold up, support, to hold, keep, to take hold of each other, to be seized, be held.
The Lord lays hold of my heart and life. He keeps me, and supports me to follow hard after Him. It's a beautiful picture of His love and grace. This is the most important and crucial part of this verse because we are incapable of clinging to or following hard after the Lord, without Him upholding us.
This is the reason and meaning for my blog name... for those of you that actually care! As His children, we follow hard after Him in faith, believing and trusting in Him as His righteous right hand uphold us. Thank You, Jesus!!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Repenting of Our Righteousness
'The Prodigal God' by Tim Keller is all about the parable of 'The Two Sons' Jesus tells to the Pharisees in Luke 15. In his book, Tim, talks about the need to repent not only of our unrighteousness, but our righteousness as well. Here's an excerpt from his book that I find both challenging and humbling:
"What must we do, then, to be saved? To find God we must repent of the things we have done wrong, but if that is all you do, you may remain just an elder brother. To truly become a Christian we must also repent of the reasons we ever did anything right. Pharisees only repent of their sins, but Christians repent for the very roots of their righteousness, too. We must learn how to repent of the sin under all our other sins and under all our righteousness – the sin of seeking to be our own Savior and Lord. We must admit that we’ve put our ultimate hope in both our wrongdoing and right doing we have been seeking to get around God or get control of God in order to get hold of those things.
It is only when you see the desire to be your own Savior and Lord—lying beneath both your sins and your moral goodness—that you are on the verge of becoming a Christian indeed. When you realize that the antidote to being bad is not just being good, you are on the brink. If you follow through, it will change everything—how you relate to God, self, others, the world, your work, you sins, your virtue. It’s called the new birth because its so radical”
Monday, January 9, 2012
Psalm 37
Verse 3-8
"Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will act.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices.
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it ends only to evil."
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
LOVE
If I had to define one of the biggest things the Lord has been teaching me in the past eight months, it would be love. What does it mean to love God? Here are some of my thoughts and the things the Lord has been revealing and challenging me on love.
Something I think many of us Christians do is that we want to honor and glorify God; to love Him with all of our heart soul, mind and strength. We often do this by living a "moral" lifestyle, or by going around the world evangelizing, or fighting for those that are weak. Now don't misunderstand me, those things are important and great, but what we often don't realize is that the biggest way we can glorify God and love Him, is by loving people. If we aren't truly loving people, than all those "moral" and "good" things or acts of service we do, don't really matter. I Corinthians 13 says that you can be the wisest and most "servant hearted" Christian, but if you don't have love, than you are just a noisy gong or clanging symbol. It doesn't count or last if there is not love. Jesus says the greatest and most important commandment of the Bible is this:
Sorry this is kind of random, but basically I'm going to focus on the way of loving people. What that looks like. Hod Jesus loved and spoke truth at the same time and how we're suppose to imitate that. It's a bit long, but I hope and pray that you would take a few minutes to read it and ask the Holy Spirit to convict you where conviction is needed, and that you'd be so set free and changed by the love of Christ that it changes your perspective of loving people. And please know, I am not saying I got this down. I never will perfectly here on this earth and I fail at truly loving people every single day. But if I desire to love Jesus with all my being, this is where I must start...
Have you ever notice that the most predominant love in scripture is between a father and son? In all the ways love can be expressed; love between a man and woman, between brothers, between a friend, between a neighbor, etc. As scripture shows us God's love, the most predominant is a father to son (parents to child). Because parent to child, father to son, that kind of love is most clearly and instinctively unconditionally, complete self-giving, looking without anything in return.
The Lord really got me thinking about love back in October. One of my pastors asked me, "Camille...do you think you are a lover of people?" I said I didn't know but wanted to be. He said to me, "One of the ways you can measure whether you're a lover of people or not is by asking yourself this question: 'how am I at loving the people that are hard to love?'" Wow, that hit me hard. I began to be humbled by the fact that I don't love people well. I've been studying the Gospels all the ways that Jesus loves people and how He does it. He is ALWAYS risking Himself. He is often spending so much time with the unlovable. The "worst" of sinners. Lets look at some of the ways that Jesus chose to show love to people:
The woman at the well: Jesus' love is unconditional, self-giving, looking for nothing in return. In her day, she was known as a whore; she had 5 husbands and was living with a man that wasn't her husband. And what does Jesus do? He goes to her at a time of day when a man and woman shouldn't even be speaking to each other at the well,. So His reputation is all on the line. And what does he than do? He connects with her. Loves her unconditionally and basically says, "I know your empty, I know you thirst... that's what all that relational carnage in your life is all about. Enter into a love relationship with me and you'll never thirst again." It's an unconditional love and He puts Himself at risk by even speaking to her.
How about another time: When He disrobed to wash His disciple's feet? He's not getting anything in return to become the servant who washed their feet. It's unconditional, self-giving.
The woman caught in adultery. He just saves her life. Jesus was the only one there who could have thrown the stone, but He says; "Neither do I condemn you. Leave your life of sin." -unconditional love. Notice that is TRUTH AND LOVE. He first loves her by saving her and not condemning her, yet, He still speaks truth to her saying that she needs to leave her life of sin.
But that's not how we operate as the church theses days. Our message is more like this: "We condemn you and your sin. When you leave it, I (we) may take the risk to love you." But Jesus says, "I don't condemn you, leave your life of sin."....wow, I don't get that and most of the time I don't do that...that's unconditional, self-giving love.
How about the widow of Naim: She lost her complete lively hood when her son died. Jesus isn't doing a magic show. He's restoring to her, her lively hood- the life that had been taken away.
Or how He loved Peter when Peter denied Him three times in the gravest hour of all history of the world. The question is never "Peter, do I love you?" but, "Peter, you know I love you? In my love will You love me? Will you love me back?"
Then the ultimate way we see this deep, unconditional love is in the cross: Jesus loves you so much that He wants to so have you as His child that He's willing to give up Himself. That the Son is willing to be orphaned from the Father that we might be called the children of God. And for three hours what does God do? He turns off the lights of the universe, because the Son/Father relationship, that perfect picture of love, was disrupted. Christ was orphaned that you might be a son/daughter of God. It means that if I put my faith in Jesus Christ that what God says, feels, thinks about the Son, He says, feels and thinks about me....On my best day and worst day. It never changes. What does the Father say? "This is my son, whom I love, with whom I am well pleased." Do I dare believe that? Not because of me, but because of Christ?
We need to be honest. We can begin to love people that way. We need to stop playing with all the rules. We need to measure our walk by love. If we're not loving other people maybe we don't truly love Jesus. Maybe we don't know Him the way we think we know Him. All the laws, rules, everything in our lives is fulfilled in love and if it's not, we need to pull back. We need to either say, "Jesus I don't know You the way I think I know You." Or fall on our knees saying "Jesus, I need more of You. I need more of You!"
If we wrestle with what it looks like to love people we will begin to look like Jesus. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control... these are the marks of love. That's how you'll know. We'll begin to bear the family image. :) That's what it's all about. Jesus was the perfect image of God and we get to bare that family image in our own lives. That's so awesome because we see Jesus, who was born to us, died for us, and then began to be born IN us.
Lastly I want to end this post with what Elizabeth Elliot said in her book 'Passion and Purity'.
"Love interprets things in favor of the one loved....Paul's description: 'love is patient...never selfish, not quick to take offence. Love keeps no score of wrongs...there is nothing love cannot face; there is no limit to its faith, its hope, and its endurance.' The trouble, or course, is that we must learn to love people. People are sinners. Love must be patient when it is tempted (by the delays of other people) to be impatient. Love must not be selfish, even if other people are. Love does not take offence, though people are offensive sometimes. There are wrongs, but love won't keep score. There are things to be faced, but nothing love can't face, things to try love's faith, discourage its hope, and call for its endurance. But it keeps right on trusting, hoping and enduring. Love never ends."
Something I think many of us Christians do is that we want to honor and glorify God; to love Him with all of our heart soul, mind and strength. We often do this by living a "moral" lifestyle, or by going around the world evangelizing, or fighting for those that are weak. Now don't misunderstand me, those things are important and great, but what we often don't realize is that the biggest way we can glorify God and love Him, is by loving people. If we aren't truly loving people, than all those "moral" and "good" things or acts of service we do, don't really matter. I Corinthians 13 says that you can be the wisest and most "servant hearted" Christian, but if you don't have love, than you are just a noisy gong or clanging symbol. It doesn't count or last if there is not love. Jesus says the greatest and most important commandment of the Bible is this:
Mark 12:29-31 "Jesus answered, "The most important is this, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall 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: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
Sorry this is kind of random, but basically I'm going to focus on the way of loving people. What that looks like. Hod Jesus loved and spoke truth at the same time and how we're suppose to imitate that. It's a bit long, but I hope and pray that you would take a few minutes to read it and ask the Holy Spirit to convict you where conviction is needed, and that you'd be so set free and changed by the love of Christ that it changes your perspective of loving people. And please know, I am not saying I got this down. I never will perfectly here on this earth and I fail at truly loving people every single day. But if I desire to love Jesus with all my being, this is where I must start...
Have you ever notice that the most predominant love in scripture is between a father and son? In all the ways love can be expressed; love between a man and woman, between brothers, between a friend, between a neighbor, etc. As scripture shows us God's love, the most predominant is a father to son (parents to child). Because parent to child, father to son, that kind of love is most clearly and instinctively unconditionally, complete self-giving, looking without anything in return.
The Lord really got me thinking about love back in October. One of my pastors asked me, "Camille...do you think you are a lover of people?" I said I didn't know but wanted to be. He said to me, "One of the ways you can measure whether you're a lover of people or not is by asking yourself this question: 'how am I at loving the people that are hard to love?'" Wow, that hit me hard. I began to be humbled by the fact that I don't love people well. I've been studying the Gospels all the ways that Jesus loves people and how He does it. He is ALWAYS risking Himself. He is often spending so much time with the unlovable. The "worst" of sinners. Lets look at some of the ways that Jesus chose to show love to people:
The woman at the well: Jesus' love is unconditional, self-giving, looking for nothing in return. In her day, she was known as a whore; she had 5 husbands and was living with a man that wasn't her husband. And what does Jesus do? He goes to her at a time of day when a man and woman shouldn't even be speaking to each other at the well,. So His reputation is all on the line. And what does he than do? He connects with her. Loves her unconditionally and basically says, "I know your empty, I know you thirst... that's what all that relational carnage in your life is all about. Enter into a love relationship with me and you'll never thirst again." It's an unconditional love and He puts Himself at risk by even speaking to her.
How about another time: When He disrobed to wash His disciple's feet? He's not getting anything in return to become the servant who washed their feet. It's unconditional, self-giving.
The woman caught in adultery. He just saves her life. Jesus was the only one there who could have thrown the stone, but He says; "Neither do I condemn you. Leave your life of sin." -unconditional love. Notice that is TRUTH AND LOVE. He first loves her by saving her and not condemning her, yet, He still speaks truth to her saying that she needs to leave her life of sin.
But that's not how we operate as the church theses days. Our message is more like this: "We condemn you and your sin. When you leave it, I (we) may take the risk to love you." But Jesus says, "I don't condemn you, leave your life of sin."....wow, I don't get that and most of the time I don't do that...that's unconditional, self-giving love.
How about the widow of Naim: She lost her complete lively hood when her son died. Jesus isn't doing a magic show. He's restoring to her, her lively hood- the life that had been taken away.
Or how He loved Peter when Peter denied Him three times in the gravest hour of all history of the world. The question is never "Peter, do I love you?" but, "Peter, you know I love you? In my love will You love me? Will you love me back?"
Then the ultimate way we see this deep, unconditional love is in the cross: Jesus loves you so much that He wants to so have you as His child that He's willing to give up Himself. That the Son is willing to be orphaned from the Father that we might be called the children of God. And for three hours what does God do? He turns off the lights of the universe, because the Son/Father relationship, that perfect picture of love, was disrupted. Christ was orphaned that you might be a son/daughter of God. It means that if I put my faith in Jesus Christ that what God says, feels, thinks about the Son, He says, feels and thinks about me....On my best day and worst day. It never changes. What does the Father say? "This is my son, whom I love, with whom I am well pleased." Do I dare believe that? Not because of me, but because of Christ?
1 John says, "How great is the love the Father has lavished upon us..."
We need to be honest. We can begin to love people that way. We need to stop playing with all the rules. We need to measure our walk by love. If we're not loving other people maybe we don't truly love Jesus. Maybe we don't know Him the way we think we know Him. All the laws, rules, everything in our lives is fulfilled in love and if it's not, we need to pull back. We need to either say, "Jesus I don't know You the way I think I know You." Or fall on our knees saying "Jesus, I need more of You. I need more of You!"
If we wrestle with what it looks like to love people we will begin to look like Jesus. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control... these are the marks of love. That's how you'll know. We'll begin to bear the family image. :) That's what it's all about. Jesus was the perfect image of God and we get to bare that family image in our own lives. That's so awesome because we see Jesus, who was born to us, died for us, and then began to be born IN us.
Lastly I want to end this post with what Elizabeth Elliot said in her book 'Passion and Purity'.
"Love interprets things in favor of the one loved....Paul's description: 'love is patient...never selfish, not quick to take offence. Love keeps no score of wrongs...there is nothing love cannot face; there is no limit to its faith, its hope, and its endurance.' The trouble, or course, is that we must learn to love people. People are sinners. Love must be patient when it is tempted (by the delays of other people) to be impatient. Love must not be selfish, even if other people are. Love does not take offence, though people are offensive sometimes. There are wrongs, but love won't keep score. There are things to be faced, but nothing love can't face, things to try love's faith, discourage its hope, and call for its endurance. But it keeps right on trusting, hoping and enduring. Love never ends."
Monday, June 20, 2011
Waiting on God: Patiently
This is an excerpt from the devotional book by Andrew Murray, "Waiting on God"
"'Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him. Those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the land." Ps. 37:7, 9
'In patience possess your souls.' 'Ye have need of patience.' 'Let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire.' Such words of the Holy Spirit show us what an important element in the Christian life and character patience is. And nowhere is there a better place for cultivating or displaying it than in waiting on God. There we discover how impatient we are, and what our impatience means. We confess t times that w are impatient with men, and circumstances that hinder us, or with ourselves and our slow progress in the Christian life. If we truly set ourselves to wait upon God, we shall find that it is with Him we are impatient, because HE does not at once, or as soon as we could wish, do our bidding. It is in waiting upon God that our eyes are opened to believe in His wise and sovereign will, and to see that the sooner and the more completely we yield absolutely to it, the more surely His blessing can come to us.
'It is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy.' Romans 9:16. We have as little power to increase or strengthen our spiritual life, as we had to originate it. We 'were born not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of the will of God.' Even so, our willing and running, our desire and effort, avail nought; all is 'of God that shows mercy.'
All the exercises of the spiritual life, our reading and praying, our willing and doing, have their very great value. But they can go no farther than this, that they point the way and prepare us in humility to look to and to depend alone upon God Himself, and in patience to wait on His good time and mercy. The waiting is to teach us our absolute dependence upon God's mighty working, and to make us in perfect patience place ourselves at His disposal. They that wait on the Lord shall inherit the land; the promised land and its blessing. The heirs must wait; they can afford to wait.
'Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.' The margin gives for 'Rest in the Lord,' 'Be silent to the Lord,' or 'Be still before the Lord.' It is resting in the Lord, in His will, His promise, His faithfulness, and His love, that makes patience easy. And the resting in Him is nothing but being silent unto Him, still before Him. Having our thoughts and wishes, our fears and hopes, hushed into calm and quiet in that great peace of God which surpass all understanding. That peace keeps the heart and mind when we are anxious for anything, because we have made our request known to Him. The rest, the silence, the stillness, and the patient waiting, all find their strength and joy in God Himself.
The need for patience, and the reasonableness, and the blessedness of patience will be opened up to the waiting soul. Our patience will be seen to be the counterpart of God's patience. He longs far more to bless us fully than we can desire it. But, as the husbandman has long patience till the fruit be ripe, so God bows Himself to our slowness and bears long with us. Let us remember this, and wait patiently; of each promise and every answer to prayer the word is true: 'I the Lord will hasten it in its time.' Is. 60:22.
'Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.' Yes, for HIM. Seek not only the help, the gift, thou needs to seek: HIMSELF; wait for HIM. Give God His glory by resting in Him, by trusting Him fully, by waiting patiently for HIM. This patience honors Him greatly. It leaves Him, as God on the throne, to do His work; it yields self wholly into His hands. It lets God be God. If thy waiting be for some special request, wait patiently. If thy waiting be more the exercise of the spiritual life seeking to know and have more of God, wait patiently. 'they that wait on the Lord shall inherit the land.'
'MY SOUL, WAIT THOU ONLY UPON GOD!'"
"'Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him. Those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the land." Ps. 37:7, 9
'In patience possess your souls.' 'Ye have need of patience.' 'Let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire.' Such words of the Holy Spirit show us what an important element in the Christian life and character patience is. And nowhere is there a better place for cultivating or displaying it than in waiting on God. There we discover how impatient we are, and what our impatience means. We confess t times that w are impatient with men, and circumstances that hinder us, or with ourselves and our slow progress in the Christian life. If we truly set ourselves to wait upon God, we shall find that it is with Him we are impatient, because HE does not at once, or as soon as we could wish, do our bidding. It is in waiting upon God that our eyes are opened to believe in His wise and sovereign will, and to see that the sooner and the more completely we yield absolutely to it, the more surely His blessing can come to us.
'It is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy.' Romans 9:16. We have as little power to increase or strengthen our spiritual life, as we had to originate it. We 'were born not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of the will of God.' Even so, our willing and running, our desire and effort, avail nought; all is 'of God that shows mercy.'
All the exercises of the spiritual life, our reading and praying, our willing and doing, have their very great value. But they can go no farther than this, that they point the way and prepare us in humility to look to and to depend alone upon God Himself, and in patience to wait on His good time and mercy. The waiting is to teach us our absolute dependence upon God's mighty working, and to make us in perfect patience place ourselves at His disposal. They that wait on the Lord shall inherit the land; the promised land and its blessing. The heirs must wait; they can afford to wait.
'Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.' The margin gives for 'Rest in the Lord,' 'Be silent to the Lord,' or 'Be still before the Lord.' It is resting in the Lord, in His will, His promise, His faithfulness, and His love, that makes patience easy. And the resting in Him is nothing but being silent unto Him, still before Him. Having our thoughts and wishes, our fears and hopes, hushed into calm and quiet in that great peace of God which surpass all understanding. That peace keeps the heart and mind when we are anxious for anything, because we have made our request known to Him. The rest, the silence, the stillness, and the patient waiting, all find their strength and joy in God Himself.
The need for patience, and the reasonableness, and the blessedness of patience will be opened up to the waiting soul. Our patience will be seen to be the counterpart of God's patience. He longs far more to bless us fully than we can desire it. But, as the husbandman has long patience till the fruit be ripe, so God bows Himself to our slowness and bears long with us. Let us remember this, and wait patiently; of each promise and every answer to prayer the word is true: 'I the Lord will hasten it in its time.' Is. 60:22.
'Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.' Yes, for HIM. Seek not only the help, the gift, thou needs to seek: HIMSELF; wait for HIM. Give God His glory by resting in Him, by trusting Him fully, by waiting patiently for HIM. This patience honors Him greatly. It leaves Him, as God on the throne, to do His work; it yields self wholly into His hands. It lets God be God. If thy waiting be for some special request, wait patiently. If thy waiting be more the exercise of the spiritual life seeking to know and have more of God, wait patiently. 'they that wait on the Lord shall inherit the land.'
'MY SOUL, WAIT THOU ONLY UPON GOD!'"
Sunday, April 10, 2011
The Faithfulness of God- An Update
Well, I just realized a few days ago that the last time I wrote an update post it was back in September when I first returned from my summer school. Well, MUCH has happened since then and I am in an entirely different place (heart/mindset/etc.) than where I was then. Soo...I will try not to be long and bore anyone who happens to read my blog. But I pray that this post will reflect the faithfulness and grace of my precious Lord.
My jobs have not changed. I am still nannying three days a week for my friend's little boy, who just turned three today. I am still working as a youth intern, part-time, at my church (Cornerstone Presbyterian Church, PCA. http://www.cornerstonepca.net/). I work with both Jr. & Sr. High youth groups! I love it! So non of that has changed....but God has done SO much in my heart. Several of the posts I've written in the past couple of months have been somewhat of a synopsis of the things that God has been teaching me. One of the biggest things I would say that God has been changing in my heart is realizing the depth of my daily sin. Realizing that my heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick...(Jeremiah 17:9), and that the ONLY good thing that is within me is that which the Lord has done. For there is NO good in me apart from my Lord (Psalm 16:2). Which, by the way, has drastically changed the way that I see and think about people. Which leads me to the second greatest thing the Lord has been working on in me: LOVE. What it means to truly love people. It's a hard thing to grasp...and I never will fully nor will I ever do it perfectly, here on this earth, but I know that my Father is in the process of changing my heart.
Side note: I have been working on a post for the past two months on the subject of LOVE. So more on that to come...whenever I finish it. :)
Another thing...which I'll probably post about soon ;)... is how God is teaching me to trust in Him with all of my heart (Proverbs 3:5-6) and what that looks like in my daily life when I can't see often times what is 5 feet in front of me (2 Corinthians 5:7). I'm honestly not sure what else to write. But that God is just doing amazing things in my life and the lives of those that He has placed in my life. He IS faithful and He IS truly good! I am SOOOO happy and thankful that God did not call me to return for the second phase of the school I went to this summer. Because if I went back, I would not have learned the things that He has taught me through being home. I would not know the things that I know now. Once again...He IS faithful and He knows what He's doing. Yes, I knew this back in September, but I was struggling to see that. All I could do was believe. (Which I failed at...many times.) But now, I am able to SEE the ways God has been faithful and good in calling me to stay home in the past eight months. And there is literally no other place I'd rather be...there is no other place I desire to be, but here: serving and loving on my family, my church family and those that He places in my life that are in need of the grace, mercy and love of our Heavenly Father. So that's just about it! I can't really think of anything else...but just felt like I should write an update considering last time I wrote one I was really struggling with being home. I wanted to testify to, yet again, God being faithful!
" 'For I know the plans I have for you.' declares the Lord,
'plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.' "
~Jeremiah 29:11~
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