God's Academy Part 2
Faithful
Well today is the end of my winter break. Praise God that for the most part, I was able to relax and rest and prepare myself for spring. I’m hoping it isn’t too stressful and busy and that I do really well because I kind of have to haha.
Ephesians 5:25-27 “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”
God really spoke to me tonight through a sermon about purity. The pastor was talking about how guys want a pure wife. Perhaps the most comforting thing on earth to a man is the ability to say without doubt, “my wife is faithful.” Men want wives that are trustworthy and stay far from any situation that might be considered sketchy. The part that really shook me was when he applied the principle to the church and individuals in a relationship with God. The same purity and faithfulness I would expect from my wife is what God wants from his bride. He wants a bride that only has eyes for him. God wants a bride that is totally in love and dedicated to him. I really had to examine myself and ask if I could say I was without spot or blemish. An important point he made was that it’s not just about staying right behind a boundary line. From my own experience I find it is so easy to say to God, “well I’m not acting on anything so what’s the big deal?” I know I’d be crushed if my wife said the same thing to me. Real pain can be inflicted just by sharing hurtful thoughts. I can imagine it hurts God even more than I could ever be hurt when he searches hearts and finds things that are sinful and dirty. All this kind of discouraged me and broke my heart. Thankfully when God gives bad news he also has good news. I was reminded that sin lost its power over my life when I accepted his forgiveness and his spirit moved inside my heart. I am no longer in bondage to anything but the loving Savior who paid the price for ALL my failures. I was adopted by an omnipotent father who hears my cries, knows my struggles, and gives me new grace and strength everyday. I want to be presented holy and blameless and without spot and blemish and by his grace I will be if I use the power he has given me to kill sin and bring every thought captive to obey Christ. It’s such a sweet deal, I really don’t understand it.
Text Books
Buying text books is like buying a brand new car. You go to the lot and take your pick. Then, once you find the perfect one, you pay for it and as you drive off the lot, the car depreciates instantly. When the time comes to sell your books back at the end of a semester, text books that were once brand new lose somewhere around 50% of their value! Those bookstore bandits! Grrrr it makes me pretty angry when I think about it…so I’m not going to think about it anymore.
God's Academy
Praise God I made it through winter session. Thank you to everyone who helped me. Thank you Jesus for being with me through some rough nights. Thank you Bianca, my love, for being with me almost 24; you were there laughing with me and keeping my overall stress level down, editing and making my work a whole lot better. Thanks to the Bonus house for giving me a quiet place to study and use the wifi. Thanks to the De Alba home for feeding me and letting sleep in a comfy bed. And lastly, thanks to The Coffee Bean in Claremont Village for making some delicious lattes and ice blendeds that gave me a little extra boost to get through the day. Winter ’09 was fun.
During my little ‘first day off’ celebration today, God told me something about his academy- There are no graduations on earth. This is the only school with all its alumni surrounding God’s heavenly throne. God is constantly teaching me. It feels like it’s something new almost everyday. However, I admit there are times when I feel like I’ve mastered some of God’s lesson and it’s time to move on to bigger things. I was reminded today that nothing is further from the truth. The second I think I’ve mastered something is the moment when God shows up and brings to light how dependent I really am. I’ve learned today and I echo the apostle Paul when he says that he hasn’t attained but he presses on toward the upward call. Lord, I am dependent on you to obey even in the smallest of things and to learn the most repeated lessons . Thank you for providing your Spirit to accomplish your work in me and making a way out of every situation that your name would be glorified when I resist sin. Thank you for victory through the cross of Christ. Continue to teach me and set me apart for your glory on earth until I see you face to face in heaven. Amen.
hope
It’s really been a while since I’ve written anything here. I’m almost at the end of my winter semester and praise God he has got me through it. It’s weird because the months go by ridiculously fast and feel so long from each other; January feels like a year ago to me. I guess it might be change. Every month something happens that destroys the world I live in. God rebuilds it better though. I’m realizing through many of these mini trials that it is Gods way of answering prayer. I pray for patience and he makes me wait. I pray for endurance and he puts me through the fire. I pray for faith and everything becomes hopeless. It’s hard to see in the midst of a trial but God is working to develop character. Character that reflects himself. Romans says that with character comes hope. Hope never disappoints. I’m hopeful for my Saviors return. I’m hopeful for a glorified body, a body without aches and pains, a body that functions how it was created to. I’m hopeful for peace on earth. No reports of wars and crime. I am hopeful for an abundance on earth, clean water and food to fill bellies. I’m hopeful for God’s heavenly kingdom to be established here on earth. I’m hopeful to see the face of love and the hands of sacrifice. This is why I am alive, the reason for the breath in my lungs. Hope.
