You have been healed

The comfort that comes with knowing Christ as my shepherd gives me unspeakable peace. Think with me about some of my favorite verses in Scripture:

 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. 1 Peter 2:23-25

Becoming Christ-like has never seemed an easy task, but the more I read the Word, the more aware I become of how far I have to go!! I am constantly asking for more grace to die to sin and live to righteousness, and pray that when I fall I will be contrite and truly repentant. "By his wounds you have been healed." I love that the language here is past tense, as if to remind us that the Lord has restored us, and to help us recount of his marvelous redemption in our lives. It is refreshing to know that the Shepherd of my soul will continue to bring me back into the fold, and that He never tires of fixing me when I wander into pain or trouble.

I am thoroughly enjoying Elisabeth Elliot's "Keep a Quiet Heart", and have been praying this prayer I found tucked away in the pages:

Grant, O Lord my God, that I may never fall away in success or in failure; that I may not be prideful in prosperity nor dejected in adversity. Let me rejoice only in what unites us and sorrow only in what separates us. May I strive to please no one of fear to displease anyone except Yourself. May I seek always the things that are eternal and never those that are only temporal. May I shun any joy that is without You and never seek any that is beside You. O Lord, may I delight in any work I do for you and tire of any rest that is apart from You. My God, let me direct my heart towards You, and in my failings, always repent with a purpose of amendment. St. Thomas Aquinas

That you would keep Christ your first love,
Amber



If you are unsure who this Jesus guy is, need prayer, or would like to talk about Christianity - please don't hesitate to email me. anminden@gmail.com

 

The Gospel at breakfast

This semester has been filled with refining from the Lord. Something I have experienced that is refreshing my mindset and encouraging my heart is the idea that the Gospel is new every morning to me. That the Gospel of Christ is for me every day and every moment, that it wasn't only for when I prayed the prayer and responded to Christ. His mercies are rich and new every morning, and when Christ died he died for my sin yesterday today and forever. Not that this freedom is for the flesh - "For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." Galatians 5:13

God calls us to rest in Him, to be still and acknowledge that He is always sovereign (Psalm 46:10). I am thankful that we can cast our anxieties on Him (1 Peter 5:7). He is still working on me, and convicting me when my pride pushes Him away. Look at 1 Peter 5 - verse 6. I don't believe that humility is a one-time-altar-kind of humility, but to continually acknowledge our flesh and crucify it with Christ (Galatians 2:20), to each seek to put others before ourselves (Phil 2) - remembering that God becoming man as Jesus was the ultimate example of humility.

That you would welcome His grace,

Amber

A few words for a thousand thoughts

Man. James 1, the whole book is rather fantastic. If you are called to ministry or missions of any capacity, it is a great book in the Bible to keep you going and help you stay grounded.

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12 ESV

As I grow closer to the Lord, He constantly is reminding me that it is a true reward to be counted worthy to suffer for the gospel. Now, mind you, when the apostles suffered they were literally preaching the gospel in various countries and cities. But, no matter where we are, we can live out the gospel in the way that we love those who are in Christ, and those who are far from Him. Jesus said "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35)

I think we all can use a healthy dose of reality from time to time, remembering that we are not of this world but we are called to be salt and light (Matt 5:13-14). It's my hope that we will continue to shed light on darkness, to dispel lies with truth found in His Word.

That we would be salt and light,

Amber

Breaking Free

If you haven't read Breaking Free by Beth Moore, I strongly recommend it. It's fantastic. My favorite part is she has you memorize Isaiah 61:1-4.

Isaiah 61

The Year of the LORD's Favor

 ¹ The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, 
   because the LORD has anointed me 
to bring good news to the poor;^[a] 
   he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, 
to proclaim liberty to the captives, 
   and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;^[b] 
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, 
   and the day of vengeance of our God; 
   to comfort all who mourn; 
³ to grant to those who mourn in Zion— 
   to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, 
the oil of gladness instead of mourning, 
   the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; 
that they may be called oaks of righteousness, 
   the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.^[c] 
4 They shall build up the ancient ruins; 
   they shall raise up the former devastations; 
they shall repair the ruined cities, 
   the devastations of many generations.

Oh, thank you Jesus! Not only that you saved me in my sin, but that you proclaim liberty, that you comfort all who mourn!

That He would be glorified,

Amber

Radical Obedience

I've gone through David Platt's work, Radical and Radical Together. Recently Francis Chan also came and spoke at Liberty about living a life that emulates Scripture. I recommend either or both books. I am currently in the gospel of Mark, but wandered into Matthew yesterday read some of Jesus' words that stood off the page to me for the first time.

"And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters of father or mother or children or lands, for my names sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last and the last first." Matthew 20:29-30

Jesus was answering Peter who said "We have left everything and followed you" (v. 27). God has recently led me to pursue seminary rather than medical school. This for me is a huge step of faith, because with even two degrees (biology and seminary), it would be very difficult for me to find a job outside of ministry, or possibly teaching. Also, it seems rather irrational to me to finish a difficult baccalaureate in order to pursue a masters in possibly global apologetics (completely unrelated to biology). But, somehow, I feel a strong peace from the Lord that He is opening these doors for me and closing another. I do believe I may pursue graduate school some day for medicine, but know that I need to be equipped for the field now, rather than later.

Peter and the other apostles left everything to follow Christ. I would like to say I am willing to leave everything, but I am glad that the Lord is stretching me in what ways He is. Remember that radical obedience begins with surrender, daily surrendering our rights and will over to the Lord each day. I try to hold onto that promise from Christ that those who are "first will be made last, and last first". Where is our treasure? Here on this fleeing earth, or in eternity? Matthew 6:21 says that where our treasure is, there our heart will be also. I don't want to set my heart on temporary things, but rather those eternal.

Paul says in Philippians 1:29, "For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,". Suffer? As westerners, we often take hold of the good promises in scripture and claim them in our lives- that our burden would be light, that our territory would be enlarged, that we would be prospered and not harmed. Both Christ and Paul called Christians to more than prosperity, but that in their hearts they would be willing to make radical sacrifices for the Kingdom.

My heart is also continually torn for those who endure the shame of human trafficking, especially at the price of prostitution. I am praying and considering going to India for a summer. I don't really know what the big picture looks like, but I know following God's lead and trusting Him is always the best plan.

I hope that you would seek to serve the Lord, even when it seems irrational or difficulties may ensue.

Amber

His Glory, not ours

"You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength into your holy abode." Exodus 15:13

To just fill you in on back story some, Moses is praising God right here. In Exodus 14 God commands Moses to raise his staff over the Red Sea, telling Moses to stop whining and to lead the Israelites across the Red Sea- on dry ground. These next verses are a tad lengthy and pretty deep, but hang with me I'm getting to the climax:

And Moses said to the people, "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.
The LORD said to Moses, "Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, and stretch your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all of his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen."
Exodus 14:13-18 - emphasis added.

Just a quick reminder about the Moses we saw only ten chapters earlier- Moses is not a natural leader, or an eloquent speaker. He bluntly questioned God's call to go to Egypt, making excuses and dodging his calling. And yet he is one of the greatest biblical leaders in history, God uses him to lead millions of Israelites away from what had been their home for 430 years (Ex 12:40).

The point of all this context is that God uses inadequate, sinful people for HIS GLORY! So when we walk seeking the will of God, we can't go wrong. Because each circumstance, success, and failure, can ultimately be used for the glory of God. When we start to believe we can do anything without him, we quickly fall on our faces because we are ultimately here to bring Him glory. Make it your daily prayer and ultimate goal to glorify God in all you say and do, and only then will you find true success. Christ took care of our sin on the cross, and now all we are to do is glorify him with our redeemed lives. Note that God is not only a loving God, but literally love incarnate. I'm not going to give you the "God is love" speech, because not only is he love, but he is also just. Notice that this passage works out great for the Israelites, but remember that tons of Egyptians swallowed way too much sea water.

A final thought; in 2 Corinthians 12 Paul writes-

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

(vs 9-10)

 That in our weakness, Christ may be glorified.

Amber

Aroma of Christ

aroma. n.  a distinctive pervasive and usually pleasant or savory smell. b. A distinctive, intangible quality; an aura.

Aside:
Personally, I enjoy the use of pervasive here. Pervasive means "spreading widely through an area or group of people". I would also like to note that both definitions use the word distinctive.

Have you ever considered what sin smells like? I know many of us consider the image of rags to glory when contemplating salvation, that we were naked and overcome with shame prior to encountering our glorious Savior, and that His redemption makes us white as snow before our Maker, the God of the universe. Think of your favorite aroma, baked cookies from the kitchen, the scent of rain, your favorite flowers. Now to only think of the worst smell this earth has to offer, for me sulfur comes to mind (smells similar to rotten eggs). Christ takes our nastiness, though it may be an intangible quality or simply an aura about us, and restores is to the best aroma. When we live out our lives pursuing the holiness of Christ, we become the aroma of our Savior to God. We essentially become a pleasing fragrance to God, no longer filled with the stench of this sin-filled world, but rather the glory of our King.

^"But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ."
 2 Corinthians 2:14-17 (emphasis added)

Consider that the passage says we are not only the aroma to God, but also to those who are coming to know Christ, and those who are perishing, or do not yet know Christ. Think of the unsaved people you interact with each and every day, what kind of aroma do you bring to their lives? Is it enticing, inviting? Or is it an aroma of bitterness, selfishness, maybe discontent? We are commissioned by God, in the sight of God, we should strive for sincerity in our walks.

So take a step back today, how do unbelievers perceive you? As freshly baked cookies or rotten eggs? Ask Christ to mold you into His aroma, that we may win some who are lost.

That you would be a fragrance pleasing to our Lord,

amber