Sacred Vessels

In my devos today I came across the story of the writing on the wall. I had not read the story for some time, so I decided to do so. In the account, King Belshazzar is throwing a huge party with thousands of people. They are drinking wine, and the king instructs his servants to bring out the cups that had been stolen from Jerusalem. These cups had been used for sacred purposes in God’s temple, and now Belshazzar is using them to get drunk with his lords, wives, and concubines. On top of that, they proceed to praise other false Gods while drinking the wine. In the end, a jealous God carries out his justice and Belshazzar loses his kingdom and his life.
As I was reading the narrative, I saw some applications in my own life. As a Christian, I am a vessel of God. His spirit lives in me. I am his temple. I am intended to be used for his sacred purposes. Just as Belshazzar’s blasphemy angered God, so misuse of his vessels (Christians) today will anger him. When I say misuse, I don’t only mean blatant disregard of God’s commands, though that is clearly one side of it. I mean I am guilty of misusing Christianity. This is especially true when it comes to music. I love music. It helps me connect to God and worship, which is why it is such a powerful tool today. But as many Christians, I have been guilty of using music and worship as a way to make me feel good, to feel holy. It’s like we are trying to get drunk off God. Not that being intoxicated with the Holy Spirit is a bad thing, but we at times make it more about us than about God. Just because I am not blatantly blaspheming God to his face does not mean I am making him the center. My intention and prayer is that I might make God the center of my story, not me. When we “give our lives” to God, that is what is implied; a complete shift of focus from us to our savior. But many times this is not how it plays out. Too often it is about how God makes OUR life better. How He saved US. How He loved US. How He died for US. All these things are great, but the creator of the universe didn’t give his only son up to be tortured and killed simply so that we could feel good or have better lives or get more attention. When we turn our lives over to God, He expects to be the center of our stories. He wants our complete and total devotion. He wants our lives. He is the one in the spotlight now. His light shines on us only so we can reflect it to the world. And our whole lives should be wrapped up in this purpose; our jobs, our daily choices, our relationships, our worship, all of it. Otherwise, we are misusing his sacred vessels, and as we saw in Belshazzar’s case, God won’t put up with that forever.

"It has to be taking up space, right?"

So I suddenly find myself amazed at the story of the great flood back in Noah's day... It's been a torrential downpour here for the past two days, and all we have are big puddles and a soggy soccer field. How the heck did the big guy flood the entire planet for 40 days & nights??? That was one freaking huge puddle!!! Luckily that’s not going to happen again anytime soon, but you get the point… it is wet out.
So anyway, I was having a chat with a friend of mine the other day in the library on campus. We were talking about this, that and the other thing for a while. Then somehow we got on the topic of not staying mad about things we can’t change. Then she said something to the effect of, “If you’re thinking about that (things we can’t change), you are missing out on good thoughts that could be there instead”. I said I’d never heard it put that way before, and she said “it’s got to be taking up space, right?” Maybe the concept is a little silly, but there was something so simple, so childlike about the idea that made it stick in my head. When we’re focusing on the bad things we can’t change, we’re cheating ourselves out of the good. When we’re focusing on the problems surrounding us, we’re missing out on how we can overcome them. When we’re focusing on our short-comings, we’re blocking out the truth: that we are fearfully and wonderfully made by an awesome God who loves us way beyond our comprehension.

Beautiful Uncertainty

I think more than anything else in my spiritual life, I struggle with trusting in times of uncertainty. No matter how many times I get things "figured out", I still inevitably find myself stumbling in the dark, wondering where on earth I'm going and why I'm not there yet. These times always pass and, a short while later, there comes a time of sweet rest, when I know I'm exactly where God wants me; and even though I may be surrounded by unanswered questions and dead ends, I'm content; I love those times. Sad to say, right now is not one of those times. I don't know if it's me, or my human nature, or both, but I seem to lack the ability to stay in that beautiful place of peace and rest. I am restless, and so I wander. I quickly get lost and have to relearn the lesson. God in his goodness somehow remains patient and is ready to pick me back up and point me in the right direction. Now, if I could just get that direction. It's in these times of uncertainty that I need to lift my head high and rejoice in the fact that it will come. I know it will. My father does not leave his children out to dry. He is my shepherd and I WILL NOT WANT. Sometimes there are green pastures and still waters, but he walks with me even when there are not. But they will come.

Lord, give me the patience to wait on you. Daily remind me that you can and will do all things in your perfect time. Give me the wisdom to move when the time of waiting is over. Help me to embrace the silence and the chaos with open arms, and trust you in both. Give me peace. Perfect, beautiful, divine peace that only you can give. Help me trust in you ALWAYS, for you do all things well.

For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day (2 Timothy 1:12b).

I seem to lack the ability or motivation to post more than once or twice every three months, but when I blew the cobwebs off my blog and looked over some of my most recent posts (April/May), I realized I actually had a few comments, and yes, confirmation that at least three people read it from time to time. So, here I am, once again pounding out to the great unknown what ever happens to pop into my head.

Here's a quick rundown of the last 2 1/2 months: I went to Europe as planned in late May/early June. It was a great experience, and I'm now officially addicted to traveling. I returned home and started my intership in Lansing. It took me about a week to decide that commuting 45 minutes every day was very overrated, so, going on a referral from a friend, I moved to Lansing. That worked out great, except for the third or fourth day, when my house was broken into and my laptop stolen. With it went thousands of pictures (including those from Europe and Mexico), three years worth of school work, and some silly videos I filmed with my younger siblings. Despite many generous promises from my landlord to help restore/replace it, it's almost the end of summer, and I still remain without a laptop. Oh well, as the French would say, C'est la vie. Other highlights include three weddings I was a part of. I was an usher for both my cousin's wedding and my friend Jon's, and this past weekend I was the best man in my brother Seth's wedding. That last one was a bit more stressful, as I had to plan a bachelor party and write a best man speech, which by the way was a great success. Turns out I know how to make people laugh and cry at a wedding. Who knew? It was also probably the most fun and the most important, as Seth is my brother and all.

And that brings us up to date. In two days, I will relinquish my position as an intern at Auto-Owners Insurance and prepare to head back to school. It's been a good summer, but I'm ready to be back at school. My last year, holy cow!!! Anywho, I'm out for now, but I'll try and post something other than a history lesson fairly soon.

Summertime

Yet another semester has come and gone. I don't know if I worked harder this semester or if it just felt like it because I did better academically than last, but I felt especially relieved walking down the halls of Whitman-Gibbs after my last final. I may or may not have begun flailing my arms about like a crazy person and emitting unintelligible sounds of glee. I'm glad to be done, but it has been a good semester and I'll miss the people I've grown close to this year. One more year (and a class or too) and I'll be a college graduate. Craziness. Even though the semester's done, the craziness isn't over quite yet. I'm kind of in the middle of unpacking before I repack for Europe. I'm going to Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and France for a cross-cultural class. As you can imagine, I'm excited about the whole thing, but I've got a lot to do yet for that and not much time to do it in. At 10 tomorrow I have an interview for an internship (hands and fingers crossed), I still have to get fitted for a tux for a friend's wedding, I have a presentation I have to research for, I need to finish unpacking a semester's worth of stuff, and I have to squish three weeks worth of stuff into a 21" suitcase. It's doable though. After I get back, I'll probably be living at home for the rest of the summer, which is something I haven't done in years. It'll be nice to be around though, a good chance to hang out with my friends before they all get married off. Marriage, geez, everybody's doing it. Buuut that's another topic.

Something About Mary

Me = sore. I ran/walked 25 miles yesterday and today for relay for life here at my school, and the fact that I'm out of shape is sadly evident. I actually have to limp at times :-) Dang it James, you and your stupid suggestions. It was fun though. After that I went to a retirement home for a class service project. First, we played "Let's Make a Deal". I was on a team with a women named Mary, who spent most of the time telling me I was good looking and assuring me that one day, I would meet a pretty, intelligent, nice and pretty girl. She proceeded to tell me that if she was 25 years younger, she would date me herself. That was special, but it made me smile considering she would still be in her late 40s. Sorry Mary, I'm not Ashton Kutcher. Also this week in the news, I got a job as a Peer Advisor! That means that in the fall I'll be a student leader helping mentor somewhere around 14 freshman. I'm pretty excited.

Wake up

I'm very bored lately with the mediocre, the superficial, the apathetic. I don't want to miss out. I want to be active, to get involved, to go deeper. To milk everyday for all it's worth. To wake up. Every moment is pregnant with possibility, and I want to explore it. I have the same schedule, week after week. I get comfortable, but do I grow? To some extent, I guess, but I want more. I want to take a more active role. I want to dig beneath the surface and unleash the potential of myself and my friendships. I want to explore my gifts and use them for good. I want to build up those around me. I want to justify all the time and money I'm investing into my life. And I don't want to be satisfied, to feel complete, to settle. I don't even know where all this is coming from. I just want to be a faithful servant with what I've got.

Happy New Year!

Here it is, the first post of 2008. Another year come and gone. They don't lie, time really does get faster as you get older. I can't imagine what a year's gonna feel like when I'm old and have kids and real responsibilities... That's despressing, so I'll move on. I can't complain too much about the past year. It's been a good one, all things considered. It's gone fast, but a lot has happened this year. Spring saw the conclusion of my first year at SAU. Despite the cost difference, the transfer from Baker has been worth it in pretty much every way possible. I've grown spiritually and academically in ways I don't think I ever would have before. And living around people I can relate to doesn't hurt either. I love the community there, and I've made some great friends.
Over the summer I got to live in my own house (with three other guys) and enjoy all the benefits and responsibilities that come along with that. It wasn't exaclty what I expected going in, but it was worth it. The town I lived in, Upland, was the type of place where everybody knows everbody, but that's about all they know. JK. It's about the closest thing to Mayberry I'll probably every experience. As the closest WalMart was 30 minutes away, shopping trips actually had to be planned. Weird.
This last semester has been by far my hardest semester yet academically. I was working more, taking harder classes, and to make life sweeter, I didn't get my textbooks 'til about a month into school because my loans didn't come through. That last bit was mostly my own fault, because I didn't take care of stuff when I should have. Ooops. It also almost ended up causing me to spend the semester at home, just working. Live and learn I guess. Here are some important lessons I've learned through it all, in no particular order:

1. Coffee is your friend
2. Why put off today what you could have done a week ago?
3. Sleep is a luxury, not a requirement
4. Because sleep is not always a reality (see no. 3) sanity is also optional.
5. Time managment is a good idea (I don't always go for good ideas).
6. Don't buy a planner for 2008 when it's September of 2007.
7. Don't major in Computer Science unless you're a nerd.
8. My car is poopy.
9. I'm four.
10. God is cool.

Like I said, overall this year's been a good one. God has taught me a lot of new things, and reminded me of some old ones. 2008 is already looking pretty sweet: Mexico, Europe, and the beginning of my senior year (kind of). Alriight!