Month: July 2011

Glasses

Published on by Sarah E. CooleyLeave a comment
For those of you who cannot see and need glasses like myself, what was it like when you first got your glasses? Amazing, wasn’t it? 
What would you do if you had the opportunity to go to a third-world country (or even your own neighborhood) and give out glasses to all the people you see around you who are blind or have impaired vision? What would you do if you had the opportunity to give those glasses out for free of charge?
After not being able to see for the last couple of years of my life, this opportunity would be great. I know my vision is not as bad as some and I could even function without glasses, but to be able to share sight with those who could not see would be amazing.
I ask you these questions because this is the same way we should be toward the gospel. I have heard plenty of other examples shared. For example, if you had the cure for cancer you would have an urgency to tell every person diagnosed with cancer in order to cure them. Or, being able to give out the most amazing gift ever free of charge to the person receiving the gift wouldn’t you also have a sense of urgency? These are all great examples, but let me just elaborate on this a little bit.
I have grown up hearing and knowing the gospel. I grew up in church and in private christian schools my entire life. I know a lot of historical facts about the bible. I could sing pretty much every hymn or worship song that is played word for word. But, I never felt the urgency to share this free gift of grace that was given to me by Christ on the cross. 
I have brainstormed for a while about why I didn’t (and sometimes still don’t) have that sense of urgency about me. One of the biggest reasons I would say is that I didn’t truly know and have the gospel. I knew the details, but belief followed far behind. The things in this world were so much more appealing to me because they gratified my own selfishness. But, the Gospel has nothing to do with myself; It has everything to do with Christ.
While I can’t really pin point when I became a believer because most of my life was lived selfishly and sometimes still is, unfortunately, I can pinpoint now how the gospel has changed my life — just like sitting in the optometry section at Sam’s Club, trying on my new pair of glasses, changed my life. I now never go anywhere without my glasses, and especially as a believer, I never go anywhere without sharing that gift that Christ has given me because it is so beautiful and true.
~~~
I was sick, but now I am healed. 
I was deaf, but now I hear.  
I was depressed, but now I have joy. 
I was dead, but now I live. 
I was blind, but now I see.
~~~
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
 Romans 6:23 ESV

~~~


To Be Continued… =)

Tree Planted by Streams of Water

Published on by Sarah E. Cooley1 Comment

So, the Lord loves to just awaken my heart every time I open the book of Psalms. He really is the perfect provider and I love it. First of all, Psalm 1 is amazing:

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” (Psalm 1 ESV)

It is amazing for several different reasons. For one, it is a short, sweet road map for a believer to live his/her life. If we, as believers, delight in the law of the Lord, in his word, we will bear fruit and prosper. What an amazing promise from the Lord!!!!!!

I spent some significant time journaling about this here subject and one of the other things that stood out to me was the part that talks about the wicked. It says that they are like “chaff that the wind drives away.” That line left me with my jaw dropped all the way to the floor. So often, even when I call myself a believer, I find myself being like “chaff that the wind drives away.” My emotions travel from happy to sad, from mad to content, from sad to overjoyed, or visa-versa. Even as I was reading that chapter couple mornings ago, I was angry and mad and frustrated and quite frankly over it. The Lord convicted my heart and calmed me down. As believers we are called to be different than the rest of the world. We are to be ‘not of this world.’ Our emotions need to be this way too. Living with our emotions and lives like chaff that the wind can simply blow away is most definitely of this world. We have been given the peace of God and joy in Him. That is not a small gift; that is remarkable. That is incomparable.

How do you be of Christ and not of this world? How do we take our thoughts and emotions captive? How do we not let ourselves be like “chaff that the wind drives away?”

It is plain and simple.

The answer is verses one to three:

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.

 The answer is in this promise (John 16:33 ESV):

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

So,  basically:

trouble/tribulation
+
meditating on the law of the Lord
=
Peace from God 
We are going to have difficult lives. Guaranteed. We are going to go through valleys and lows that seem to never see the light of day. We are going to struggle. We are going to lose friendships and relationships. We are going to lose money. We are going to lose homes. We are going to emotionally feel completely  unstable.
Those things are guaranteed!
BUT
Christ has told us…he has PROMISED us… that if we find our delight in Him and meditate on his law day and night, we will be like trees planted by streams of water that will not wither but will prosper.
Those troubles and tribulation will become simple and easy because the knowledge of Christ is enough. He alone makes us dwell in safety…not plenty of money, a large home or any home at all, family, friends, husband/wife, bed to sleep in, food to eat, good health, or anything else. It is in Christ alone. (Psalm 4:8)  Having Christ can cause us to “lie down in peace and sleep” because we know that he came not to fulfill half of the problems in this world, but every single one of them.
One of my FAVORITE quotes is “Being in the Lords will is the safest place to be.”
Amazing.
Today, I pray that you rest in the Lord’s power and his will. It truly is the safest place to be.
Anyone else going through a valley and needing to rest in His perfect will? How has the Lord revealed Himself to you recently through scripture, a person, or just circumstances in life?
~~~
On a side note, I went to Kris and Sarah Corso’s wedding this weekend and was completely blessed by their union. The Lord is so good and does bless those who wait on Him. I will post a couple pictures later when I get home. I was so blessed to have been able to be there to witness the Lord’s goodness in their lives. He has transformed them by His grace; it brought me to tears! Thank you, Lord.



To Be Continued… =)

Glory in Him

Published on by Sarah E. CooleyLeave a comment
“Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”
(Philippians 3:1-11 ESV)
 
~~~

I have been studying this passage this week. It has been a joy!! I just wanted to share a couple things that the Lord has illuminated in my heart this week through this passage:

  • Worship comes solely from the Lord. Anything we do comes from the strength of the Lord. (verse 3)
  • In order to gain Christ, we must lose all things. (verse 7-8)
  • Righteousness of God is born of faith and faith only. It is even dependent on it. (verse 9)
  • Though Paul had a lot of success in life, or as he calls it “gain”, he considers it loss for the sake of Christ. (verse 4-8)
  • Paul realized that that “gain” in life was righteousness from the ‘law’ and in order to have the righteousness of God that is dependent on faith, he had to lose and even be willing to give up the things of the world. (verse 8-11)
  • Our goal as believers is to worship the King, glory in Him, and place absolutely no confidence in the flesh. (verse 3-4)
  • Gain in this world, even religiously, is righteousness of my own that comes from the Law. (verse 4-5)
  • We count all things as rubbish so that we may know him, the power of the resurrection, and that we may share in his suffering. (verse 10-11)

More on Philippians 3 later as I study this passage and the remainder of the chapter next week. Obviously this isn’t any deep theology, but just observations.

Any body else read through these passages and found observations that they would like to contribute?

To Be Continued… =)