Big Picture

   "She never tired of looking from the glorious new viewpoint on the first slopes of the Kingdom of Love and seeing it all from a new perspective. What she could see and could take in almost intoxicated her with joy and thanksgiving, and sometimes even with inexpressible relief. Things which she had thought dark and terrible and which had made her tremble as she looked up from the Valley because they had seemed so alien to any part of the Realm of Love were now seen to be but parts of a great and wonderful whole. They were so altered and modified that as she saw what they extended into, she wondered at having been so blind and stupid at having had such false ideas about them.
   She began to understand quite clearly that truth cannot be understood from books alone or by any written words, but only by personal growth and development in understanding, and that things written even in the Book of Books can be astonishingly misunderstood while one still lives on the low levels of spiritual experience and on the wrong side of the grave on the mountain."

[This excerpt is from a book called Hinds' Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard. It's an allegorical tale of a girl and her journey to the High Places. ]


How many times have I been so focused on me and my circumstance that I have missed the Big Picture?

Our God is a BIG God. Let me help you understand this...He has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand (Isaiah 40:12) and He can hold seven stars in His hand (Revelation 1:16). Not like gold star stickers, but flaming heavenly bodies. That is a really big God. And being a big God, He has a big plan--a plan for the entire world to know Him, for them to see His Truth and rejoice in Him (2 Peter 3:9). So He calls us to go. To go to our neighborhoods, our country, to the ends of the earth. (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8).

But if you are honest with yourself, that is scary. To go where you've never been before, to tell people about Someone that they may have never heard of and if they have heard of Him, they might not be a big fan of Him. There's a catch to this, though, we do not go alone. God, our glorious Father, goes before us and is with us wherever we go. He will never leave us or forsake us. (Deuteronomy 31:8) And he is faithful to do what he says (Isaiah 46:11).

All we have to do is surrender to Him and seek His face.

And with that, there is no fear (1 John 4:18, Romans 5:5). Once we trust in Him to do what He promises and to provide, our eyes are opened, and the scary things aren't scary anymore because our best interest is being looked after by a God who is bigger than we could ever imagine and sovereign beyond all belief.

Imaginary Lines

For a while now, I've seen how God's Word connects back to itself, how it's one big story, never ending. But today God reminded me of how closely His Word fits together and how sovereign He is.

This morning I was going through my memory verses for today. As of now I have eight cards in my Tuesday slot, and they've all been put there somewhat randomly. But today, God made them all line up, like He was drawing an imaginary line through my cards and making them into some kind of flow chart. It was really cool. I just love how He chooses to reveal certain things to different people at just the right time.

Here are my verses and the order, that makes sense to me:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18

If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:23

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7

"Everything is permissible"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others. 1 Corinthians 10:23-24

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rules, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12

And here is the way I see it:

You start with the word, which is also Christ (John 1:1). With Christ, we can become new creations. Because of Christ, we have life through Him in faith. As we grow, we are transformed little bit by little bit into His likeness. But in order to go after Him, we must deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Him. This is not of our own strength, but with the Spirit of power, love, and self-discipline that God has given us. In addition to loving the God who has given us Christ, eternal life and the Holy Spirit, we are called to love each other, which means looking out for them before ourselves (denying ourselves). And a reminder that there is a bigger struggle going on "out there."

What a sweet reminder of how God places everything together so carefully.

Here we go...

I've had this set up for about a week now with thoughts flying through my head on what my first post should be. I read several of my friends blogs, and from my eyes, I wonder how I could say anything as well as they do. I guess I'm a little hard on myself. But after thinking, I finally decided to go with what has been running through my head the most:

A song called I Already Know by Mandi Mapes. It's one of four songs about the book of Ruth. (This one is about the third chapter.) 

If you don't know the story, you should stop reading this and go read Ruth (it's only four chapters long). I will give you a quick summary of Ruth 3, though. This is where the story gets good. Naomi tells Ruth that Boaz is a kinsman-redeemer and for her to make herself presentable and go lay at his feet. Ruth does just what Naomi tells her. Boaz finds Ruth at his feet and has compassion on her, but there is a twist. There is another kinsman-redeemer that is closer than Boaz. The chapter ends with a cliff-hanger: Will Boaz be the one?

Ruth 4 holds the answer, but Mandi Mapes' song gives Ruth (and us) hope no matter what happens.

I Already Know by Mandi Mapes

I'm closer than you can see
My love is greater than you know
Feel the weight of my mercy
My arms are open

I already know who's gonna save you
I already wrote the end of the story
You were made for me and I'll never leave you
and in the end it's all for my glory

Your life is my melody
Part a song that I am singing
in the dark it's hard to see
but there will be redemption in the morning.

Cling to me and wait
As I cover you with my garments
Can't you see you are my clay
and I'm the potter and you're carryin' my fingerprints

I already know who's gonna save you
I already wrote the end of the story
You were made for me and I'll never leave you
and in the end you will be happy
and in the end you will be with me
and in the end it's all for my glory

I really wanted to post a video of this song, but I couldn't find one. 

So instead, I strongly encourage you to go to www.grooveshark.com and listen to it. 

It is most definitely my new favorite song :).

I hope you have a great day.