Don't Miss Out.

I feel like people are missing out. People that believe the only reason they are on earth and the only reason they choose to believe in Jesus is for what's to come and to go to heaven. Don't get me wrong...there is something to look forward to but you're missing one of the most important parts of the story if all your beliefs revolve around getting to heaven.

We do have God's kingdom and a new city to look forward to but what about that part that says your kingdom come, your will be done on Earth? We are here to be a part of God's story and God's kingdom here on earth NOW. We can bring glimpses of that here. The book Compassion says it well:
"In the new city, God will live among us, but each time two or three gather in the name of Jesus he is already in our midst. In the new city, all tears will be wiped away, but each time people eat bread and drink wine in his memory, smiles appear on strained faces. In the new city, the whole creation will be made new, but each time prison walls are broken down, poverty is dispelled, and wounds are carefully attended, the old earth is already giving way to the new. Through compassionate action, the old is not just old anymore and pain not just pain any longer. Although we are still waiting in expectation, the first signs of the new earth and the new heaven, which have been promised to us and for which we hope, are already visible in the community of faith where the compassionate God is revealed to us." 
 "This is the foundation of our faith, the basis of our hope, and the source of our love."

Why don't we realize we have the opportunity now to be a part of bringing God's kingdom here and giving glimpses of this new city to those around us. Let's not forget the God we serve and that we are a part of a bigger story. We can't just sit around thinking this world is just going to hell and there's nothing we can do and just wait for heaven to come around, but realize the future has already begun and "its revealed each time strangers are welcomed, the naked are clothed, the sick and prisoners are visited, and oppression is overcome."


I sorta made an impulsive decision.

So...in Seattle last week Leah said "Hey Ab you should get your nose pierced." So I did. I've always wanted to but never thought I would. I know the picture is sideways but I think you can still see it okay. Jake, Em, Abe, and Leah were all in the room when I got it pierced...like my dad always says, "The family that pierces together stays together." Right Mom? :)

I like not being afraid.

I've been reading Romans 8 almost every day for the last month or so. The church I've been going to has been studying it for the last few weeks and I'm loving it. It's amazing to me that you can read one chapter of a book and get so much out of it every time. One part that sticks out to me each time is where it says:
"For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, 
but you received the Spirit of sonship."
It says so many times in Scripture, "Do not be afraid" or "Fear not" (I tried to look up how many times it says it, but I can't find an answer...) how come we don't listen? I am so fearful of so many things...but that's not how Christ has meant for us to live. If we truly realized that we are sons and daugthers of a King and how powerful we are because of Christ living inside of us how would our lives be different? How would our prayers be different? How would our conversations be different?

I'm learning not to be afraid and it's freeing. I'm learning how much power there is in the Holy Spirit. I'm learning how confident I can be in Christ because he tells me not to be afraid. It's a process, but I'm learning and believe me life is better when you're not afraid!

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ" - Ghandi

I've been thinking a lot lately about the way Christ lived. Nothing he did was normal. Nothing he did "fit in" or was the cool and trendy thing to do. And why do we as Christians who proclaim to worship Jesus and say we're followers of Christ look nothing like him? It's a convicting statement if you really think about it. Part of this vent is stemming from the constant questioning about my life and career choice and when the next chance I'll have to be promoted or when people say, "Wait...how much do you make?" or "Abby, why do you think that's important, that's just the way it's meant to be"?? Jesus didn't do everything that was popular and quite honestly his life and actions were pretty much always counter cultural and backwards.

This hit me again today at church when we were singing In Christ Alone and the line says, "Here in the death of Christ...I Live", that doesn't make sense...because Christ died I live, but that just seems to be the way He works. And it made me remember this passage from the book Compassion:
"Thus we are deeply disturbed by a God who emobodies a downward movement. Instead of striving for a higher position, more power, and more influence, Jesus moves, as Karl Barth says, from the "heights to the depth, from victory to defeat, from riches to poverty, from triumph to suffering, from life to death" Jesus' whole life and mission involve accepting powerlessness and revealing in this powerlessness the limitlessness of God's love."

So let's move from being people who admire and worship this Christ we claim to follow, but look nothing like him and become people who look like this Christ we love so that through us His Glory can be revealed and his Kingdom can come on earth as it is in Heaven. Please.