Father, purge the church

of the health/wealth/prosperity gospel...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTc_FoELt8s&feature=youtube_gdata_player

show Yourself glorious, & full of strength & joy, & sufficient, through our "deepest possible pain." thank you, awesome Father!

we need these reminders, right? that He is enough. that He will get us through. and not just in a barely making it kind of way. in a way that says, this sucks but i praise Him & run to Him because i have no where else to go & because He's absolutely worthy & capable. a friend recently pointed me to peter's words (in 2nd peter 1) about teaching the scriptures, his defense of repeating to his audience what they already knew about prophecies of Christ revealed, etc etc.

essentially, he wrote that they needed to be told often, even though they already knew, believed & walked in the truth. and he saw the repeated telling as his purpose until his time was done: "so i will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. i think it is right to refresh your memory as long as i live in the tent of this body."

i thought you might also benefit by hearing the above lines as paraphrased by eugene peterson: "because the stakes are so high, even though you're up-to-date on all this truth and practice it inside and out, i'm not going to let up for a minute in calling your attention to it. this is the post to which i've been assigned—keeping you alert with frequent reminders—and i'm sticking to it as long as i live. i know that i'm to die soon; the Master has made that quite clear to me. and so i am especially eager that you have all this down in black and white so that after i die, you'll have it for ready reference."

so there it is. a couple things i'm feeling especially passionate about lately- an American church purged of the crap that is the prosperity gospel. and the church being the church by reminding each other of His grace & power to shape our character & make us whole.

more king's speech

i forgot to revisit this film to at least say thank you to the academy. that seems wierd to say since they didn't give me an oscar (jerks). but i was really pulling for king's speech to take a few home. and they did- director, actor, picture & i'm not sure what else. i was slightly offended that geoffrey rush didn't get best supporting. but what are you gonna do. i also feel the need to note, now that i've seen it twice (in theaters- don't judge), a few more things i love about it.

the irony of fear. the glory of friendship.

the irony of fear. lionel, george's speech therapist, was chiding bertie (king george's nickname) for being afraid of the "things he was afraid of when he was 5." it was a gentle chiding. it was needed. it was beautiful encouragement as they discussed childhood traumas, etc. but not more than a minute later in the movie, lionel himself is thrown into a panic, when his wife shows up at the office, because he had failed (& intentionally so) to inform her that he'd been doing speech therapy sessions with the KING. bust. so he's literally trying to hide from her behind a door when he realizes she's arrived. and bertie says, "you're being a coward." and lionel says, "you're right."

i guess it was just the timing that made me smile & see how easy it is to discern where other fears are irrational, fears that we might not have so we can't relate to in the fullest sense. but with our own fears... not as easy to see that they're unreasonable or silly.

and the glory (!) of friendship. what a gift. what a joy. to be known & loved, warts & all. i feel i say this fairly often, but on the other hand, i can't say it enough. and what a great picture of such comraderie in this best picture. (the next sentences are kind of a spoiler, but maybe i take the freedom since it's based on a true story.) as the film draws to a close & bertie's giving a crucial wartime speech, he's in a room with just a microphone & lionel. before bertie starts, he's clearly feeling apprehensive (sweat, pale face, darting eyes, shaky hands). and lionel calms him: "forget everything. just say it to me. say it to me as a friend."

the glory- & in this case, also solace- of friendship. have i mentioned you need to watch this movie!

also, it was precious to hear director tom hooper thanking his "mum" at the oscars. pretty sure he's loving her right now. check it: http://movies.about.com/b/2011/02/27/273277.htm

i feel you're missing out,

if you haven't been hearing the sermons in a recent series at my church. it's called psalms- the anatomy of the soul

so as to prevent too much of the above-mentioned missing out, i'm going to relay some of the points that struck me & are still sitting with me. hope you're encouraged & maybe drawn to read some of the below passages.

from psalm 1- the most dominant voice of instruction is God's. this makes a man "blessed" (translate: happy)!

psalm 2- when people conspire/rebel against God ("murmur" against Him), He is not unnerved. knowing their end & being their judge, He "holds the nations in derision" (vs. 4). but, blessed are all who take refuge in Him- refuge from His own wrath. through Jesus, the Father saves us from Himself. the problem of evil is me; i need to be saved. the barrel of the gun turns from Hitler & is pointed at me. we're saved from fearing man & from being timid by a proper fear of God. we find refuge in the Son who took the Father's anger at our sin on Himself; we have solace because Jesus didn't. the gospel is terrifying and it overjoys us at the same time.

psalm 89- the psalmist's hope is stirred by the fulness of God's promises. he refuses to let disappointment result in a downplaying of desire. he wants to endure with longing & stirs up his yearnings by recounting God's ridiculous promises. we need to stand on His promise that He's broken the power of sin & pray boldly in light of that.

psalm 16- the irony of pursuing joy apart from Him- when we pursue fulfilment with no-holes-barred, with the only stipulation being do whatever you can/have to do in order to find pleasure, the sad irony is that we will in fact be lacking in joy. for the Christian, joy is the norm; it's commanded & expected for those coming into contact with a great God. but our culture is famous for pursuing contentment via no prohibitions, minimal self-denial, resulting in depression rather than happiness. true joy stems from an ultimate commitment- saying yes to Him in everything & resolutely no to anything not of Him. it's not mere doctrinal assent but denying competing interests. vs. 1-2: only He can preserve our lives, & He alone is the source of goodness. vs. 4: we're often hedging our bets (seeking Yahweh plus...), but this only makes us more frustrated & "increases sorrow." we make these choices thinking we'll feel more secure. instead, we can feed our faith with thoughts of one day being seated at His right hand & by communing with Him in the meantime (vs. 11).

next post- a rundown of the messages on 42-43, 51, 66, & 67.

thank you, Father, for the skillful, clear, vibrant teaching of your word. how we need it!

romans 12:1-2

recently, at the suggestion of friend/prayer partner jen, i looked at romans 12:1-2. her pastor had challenged the congregation to pray scripture, & as a church, they went through these familiar yet always challenging verses together. i told her that it raised questions for me (mostly of the how variety)... but it was worthwhile. i'll be thinking on this for a while, i feel. here's my prayer, though it's in process, from the above-mentioned tried & true, gloriously penned lines of paul.

help me Father, to keep your mercy in view, in light of it, to present myself to you (& to know what that means/looks like). show me how to be a living sacrifice, to give up the things of the world and my own desires for what you want for & from me. help me live a holy life & be pleasing to you. and to do this for you & not for people's praise or affection. let obedience be what characterizes my life. let it be my pattern. let my actions be a worshipful gift to you. help me not to seek to fit into the world's mold. change me with a mind that's continually made new & a heart that's open & soft to the things that matter to you. i want to know you & do your will- which can be trusted because it's right & best.

thank you, awesome Father!!

what we all need

is someone who fights for us. or more than one. someone (or more than one) who knows where we're weak & pushes us toward strength/growth, & who loves us in the process. this is what i witnessed in the king's speech, where king george VI, or bertie as his family calls him, is played by colin firth, & his speech therapist is played by geoffrey rush. i have two requests- one is for you- watch it. the other is for the oscars guild or whatever they're called- give an award to geoffrey rush!

it's based on real events of course, but i don't wanta spoil it with too much detail about the dynamic between bertie & lionel logue (the therapist). suffice it to say, lionel played a vital role in bertie's life; he helped bertie see past the fear that he'd never overcome his speech difficulties. and he did that by forgiving bertie after some hurtful interactions, & with strong words of encouragement like this:

"you have incredible perseverance, bertie. you're the bravest man i know. you'd make a great king."

i don't think bertie saw himself as persevering well. i doubt he felt very brave. and i bet he didn't think he had the hutzpah to be king. but lionel believed these things for him. and maybe that confidence gave him a glimpse of what could be.

so i might have a third request- be a lionel to someone. and my fourth request will be a reiteration of the first- SEE THIS MOVIE!!!

everything i need to know

this is an excerpt from valley of vision... it reminded me of a favorite line from the old hymn "how firm a foundation"- what more can He say than to you He hath said?

"Thou hast loved me, espoused me, received me, purchased, washed, favoured, clothed, adorned me, when i was worthless, vile, soiled, polluted. i was dead in iniquities, having no eyes to see You, no ears to hear You, no taste to relish Your joys, no intelligence to know You; but You've given me spiritual perception, & opened me to Your word as light, guide, solace, joy. Your presence to me is a treasure of unending peace; no provocation can part me from Your sympathy. keep me, for i cannot keep myself. help me to walk by Thy side, lean on Thy arm, hold converse with Thee, that henceforth i may be salt of the earth & a blessing to all."

winter vegetable beef soup

here is the soup you must try. before winter escapes us. and for we who live in columbia, it could be summer any minute.

throw the below items in a crockpot for seven ish hours on low.
1 pound lean ground beef (browned)
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 large can tomato sauce
1 package frozen mixed vegetables
1 package onion soup mix
1 can beef broth; 1 can water

salt/pepper/texas pete to taste :) the beauty of this is you can have a bowl (or 2), then take the rest to a friend who just had a baby! enjoy the ease & tastiness that is a crockpot soup.