Living in the Land of Shoulds

Galatians 3:1-14

You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?
This is the only this I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?
Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
Did you suffer so many things in vain--if indeed it was in vain?
So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracle among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?
Even so Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness.
Therefore be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.
The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "All the nations will be blessed in you."
So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.
For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the Law, to perform them."
Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, "The righteous man shall live by faith."
However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, "He who practices them shall live by them."
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us--for it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"--
in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would recieve the promise of the Spirit through faith.



Living in the land of shoulds
We cannot see the truth
For the tall, rooted trees that make these woods
Hide the sun, our long searched-for proof...

Shout Out

To Jesus, first and foremost, and last, with my dying breath, and into life after this world:

He is Judge, continually making known ways to pursue Him upon which we are untangled from our sin and our prayers are unhindered.

He is Savior who bears our burden, vindicates, and proclaims freedom in the innermost places of the heart.

He proves faithful, that we might cast all of our cares upon Him.

I am His; He remembers this, and honors our relationship and loves me for His namesake. For He is love and He is merciful and He is my righteousness.



To the Nav men:

for protecting purity. The Nav women trust you.



To close friends:

Given by Him for encouragement, for fellowship in suffering and joy, and for mutual pursuit in the knowledge of Him.




Thank You, my One Great Love, for all these blessings...and the many, many, many, countless many more You lavish upon Your children.

On Tolerance, Eccentricity, and Cookies

"I am very, very tolerant of eccentricity. In fact I probably overvalue it."
-Professor Ulreich (of my Milton class)

"I'm serious about cookies."
-Professor Zwinger (of my Late 19th/Early 20th Century American Fiction class)



This semester's English classes sound promising. :)

Some Verses...

are instantaneously devoured by my heart.

"Thus says the LORD, 'Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not a mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows me.'"

-Jeremiah 9:23-24a


"But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."

-Philippians 3:7-11



The knowledge of God is immeasurably precious.

God has been gracious and faithful to me in proving this truth to my heart. In Japan I was stripped of many comforts...including feeling at home with my own personality. There were times when I had to choose whether I would live life abundantly in an uncomfortable situation or freeze or run from it. Often, this would dictate the extent to which I would sow seeds for His ministry. Each day that I chose to live an abundant life amid discomfort, I was not disappointed by His power, but encouraged by the fellowship I had with Him in His sufferings. More than this, I knew Him better through these days.

I pray that God would graciously give me the opportunity and the courage to continue this in a country with so many luxurious (and perishable) comforts. I must fiercely protect my fellowship with Him.

Women

O women of truth and righteousness
Walking in the gospel of peace
Fight for humility and gentleness
For God's beauty in you, which will not cease

Faithfulness as Sarah's daughters
Is not a struggle for the weak
His strength upholds when faith doth totter
Strength to be merciful and meek

Take up your swords and pursue His grace
Guarded in His loving care
Looking ever only to His face
Reflecting His beauty to which none compares



"In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior. Your adornment must not be merely external--braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses, but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear."

-1 Peter 3:1-6

O, For a Thousand Tongues to Sing

O, for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer's praise
The glories of my God and King
The triumphs of His grace

My gracious Master and my God
Assist me to proclaim
To spread through all the earth abroad
The honors of Thy name

So come on and sing out
Let our anthem grow loud
There is one great love
Jesus!

Jesus, the name that charms our fears
That bids our sorrows cease
'Tis music in the sinner's ears
'Tis life and health and peace

He breaks the power of canceled sin
He sets the prisoners free
His blood can make the foulest clean
His blood availed for me

So come on and sing out
Let our anthem grow loud
There is one great love
There is one great love
Jesus


He speaks and listening to His voice
New life the dead receive
The mournful broken hearts rejoice
The humble poor believe

Glory to God and praise and love
Be ever, ever given
By saints below and saints above
The church in earth and heaven

So come on and sing out
Let our anthem grow loud
There is one great love
Jesus

There are so few words
That never grow old
There are so few words
That never grow old
Jesus

So come on and sing out
Let our anthem grow loud
There is one great love
There is one great love
There is one great love!

Jesus!

Joy!

"Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy."

-2 Corinthians 1:24

"This is what Satan desperately wants to hide from the eyes of our hearts--a spiritual sight of Christ's glory in the gospel. Not just the facts, but the beauty of the facts."

-John Piper, When I Don't Desire God: How to Fight for Joy

"More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the POWER of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."

Philippians 3:8-11

"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the JOY set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Hebrews 12:1,2

At the same time...

"Our striving would be losing."
-Martin Luther

"So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with much fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure."

Philippians 2:12,13

"...it is a good fight because it is not a struggle to carry a burden, but a struggle to let a burden be carried for us..."

-John Piper

"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing."

John 15:5

"Apart from Christ I can do nothing--I cannot even rejoice."

-John Piper

"...I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and JOY in the faith..."

Philippians 1:25

"...[Paul] expresses the summary of his ministry on earth as working to advance their joy!"

-John Piper

Let us spur one another on to love and good deeds, not only fighting for our joy, but the fruit of joy in others. By the grace of God, we can rejoice together.

"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me."

-1 Corinthians 15:10

The fight (for joy) itself is a gift flowing from the grace of God, that the following gift of joy from God might serve to glorify Him, and not uphold our "good works."

"Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen."

Hebrews 13:20,21

And since He is sovereign, and joy is not a wage due to us, let us glorify God in our waiting for the spontaneous occurrence of joy at the sight of His face.

"I waited patiently for the LORD;
And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay,
And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear
And will trust in the LORD."

-Psalm 40:1-3

"He waited for the Lord. He could not make the Lord come. He could wait and hope and trust that He would come...If [blessings] delay, we trust the wisdom of our Father's timing, and we wait."

-John Piper

Grace is powerful, joy is rugged, and love is deep at the fountain of the Lord. Let us wait on Him.