Hey Friends- I found this prayer update letter from when I was in Colorado... I felt inspired to re-share it. I wasn't sure if I wanted to -but I'm going for it anyway- I hope you enjoy it!
March 12, 2009
It's been a while....
Hello friends! It's been a while since I have updated you all. I am currently sitting on my back balcony, listening to Jason Upton's song Beyond the Window, the wind chimes creating sparkling notes in the breeze above my head, and the blinds of the sliding door behind me catching the wind and slapping together. The sky ahead is bright but filled with springy overcast and the traffic has a peaceful rhythm passed the apartment complex (I cannot see the cars, however, due to a fancy beige cement wall covering up all the "ugliness"...[whose ugliness? ours or theirs? I shan't ever know] how creative we are here in the US of A)
Anyways, that is the setting. In class today we did skits on the role of women and men. They were all hilarious! Our group, being a bunch of avid Friends fans creating a scene from the show that perfectly replicated the characters. We thought it was hillarious! But, as we presented, judging by the audience's lack of understanding at some key points, we became aware that all of the avid viewers were in our group and we were the only one's that got the punch lines. Not good for a grade or for one's self esteem, but so much fun and a great memory.
What is God doing? God is bringing me back to a first love. He is reminding me what it is to truly delight in Him! My sister spoke over me a few months before I came out here; it was a prayer that this time out would be a sabbath for my soul, and that I would truly get to know the man Jesus, as if I was sitting with Him in a coffee shop [back to 2011 for a minute: one of the coolest moments of my life was around the time of this entry- this prayer was answered]. Some feel that coffee shops, hot-dog stands, and traffic lights are too informal of settings to envision ourselves meeting with our Savior, and I understand that point on the matter of valuing His holiness. However, I believe that understanding that God is relationship... a relationship that includes us (His kids), intimately, just the way we are... is crucial to helping us understand the grace of God and the role that we play here on la terre.
Inspirational Thoughts for the day:
Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature[a] God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature[b] of a servant,
being made in human likeness. (Phil 2)
It continues to say that He humbled himself, and was obedient, even to death on a cross... God does not have a relational aspect of Himself, He is a relationship simply by existing (three parts... read The Shack a sweet depiction of such a phenomenon), and wants us to be equal heirs in Christ and literally participate in the relationship that He has with....Jesus...Himself... crazy! Christ became our righteousness, so we now have a seat at the cool-kids table! We are IN! WHAT?! Why? I am a total mess of a person, can't get disciplined, I read slow, I am not as bad at being punctual as times in the past...but I am not good at it either, and the list could go on and on... but amazingly, Christ became perfect so that we could show up to the party(heaven) and show His invitation to the bouncer. I know that is a ghetto analogy, but we literally get to wear His name tag when it comes to having authority to do miracles, and also to love. It is a blessing and a big responsibility; we are His hands and feet- I need to do a better job of looking like Him.
I am becoming more and more aware, that just being the "perfect church kid" was not what Paul had in mind when he said we should be imitators of Christ. I think it looks a whole lot different than what we might want to believe... Pray about that; ask the Holy Spirit to show you who Jesus, the man Jesus really is. I could say somethings that I've been wondering, but I'd rather you ask for yourself. Maybe you could grab a cup of coffee with Him and talk a while. See what He likes, what He sounds like, what makes Him laugh, what breaks His heart... It is my prayer that He would answer your request and meet with you. I know that He will answer it because He came so that we could do just that.
Do you think that God is too proud to meet with us in a coffeeshop? For real? Well, He is Holier and Greater than anything you can imagine. Think of Isaiah when he saw God, did he feel like ordering a latte? Um...heck no:
“ Woe is me, for I am undone!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King,
The LORD of hosts.”
The closer he got to God and the more he saw of Him, the more unclean He realized He was. So, I'm not suggesting that there won't be times when we feel as big as plankton and realized how unclean we are in light of God, but in light of that, we don't want to lose sight of the Jesus that humbled himself and became like us, so He could relate to us. Even though He is the holiest, He is also humility in the flesh. It's a paradox, but truth. He came and washed our feet. Humility isn't something God choses to do... He IS humble, it's where we get the idea from in the first place. God hates pride because it's the opposite of Him. It's just not God... just like lying or being unkind or unloving...not God. God stoops down to the lowly, brings in the left out people, takes care of widows and orphans.... all the time. So, I feel like He wouldn' mind meeting me or you at a coffee shop. I want to be His best friend... and this whole "back to first love" thing is really making me aware of that opportunity. Also, to realize that Jesus has been there for my whole life, was there for my whole life story and wrote it before I lived -He knows me so well. He knows when I sit down, when I take a nap, my habits and my quirks and my favorite shows. He knows when I'm happy, when I am crying. Think about those people in your life, that can predict you from the kind of sugar you put in your coffee to the way you will react in certain social situations--- That guy is Jesus. For real. Think about it. Breathe that in! Now go! Go out for coffee! Get out of here! Look into the eyes of the living and breathing man that bled for you!
I love you all so much!
Thanks for your prayers.
Pray for me today or right now if you have a second! I need it!!!!!
I will send an addtional email with some pictures from recent events and links to some videos.
Jessy
PS- What can wash away our sin, what can make us WHOLE again? Nothing. Nothing. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. So quit waiting on earthly things or "tomorrows" to bring that whole feeling.. then they become idols. Just save time and heartache and look to Jesus!
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There ya have it.
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