Grace Trumps Karma

(Excerpt from the book Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas)

This is an interview with Bono that David sent me… a great read!  This makes me ever the more excited to see U2 live in May!

Bono: My understanding of the Scriptures has been made simple by the person of Christ. Christ teaches that God is love. What does that mean? What it means for me: a study of the life of Christ. Love here describes itself as a child born in straw poverty, the most vulnerable situation of all, without honor. I don’t let my religious world get too complicated. I just kind of go: Well, I think I know what God is. God is love, and as much as I respond [sighs] in allowing myself to be transformed by that love and acting in that love, that’s my religion. Where things get complicated for me, is when I try to live this love. Now that’s not so easy.

Assayas: What about the God of the Old Testament? He wasn’t so “peace and love”?

Bono: There’s nothing hippie about my picture of Christ. The Gospels paint a picture of a very demanding, sometimes divisive love, but love it is. I accept the Old Testament as more of an action movie: blood, car chases, evacuations, a lot of special effects, seas dividing, mass murder, adultery. The children of God are running amok, wayward. Maybe that’s why they’re so relatable. But the way we would see it, those of us who are trying to figure out our Christian conundrum, is that the God of the Old Testament is like the journey from stern father to friend. When you’re a child, you need clear directions and some strict rules. But with Christ, we have access in a one-to-one relationship, for, as in the Old Testament, it was more one of worship and awe, a vertical relationship. The New Testament, on the other hand, we look across at a Jesus who looks familiar, horizontal. The combination is what makes the Cross.

Assayas: Speaking of bloody action movies, we were talking about South and Central America last time. The Jesuit priests arrived there with the gospel in one hand and a rifle in the other.

Bono: I know, I know. Religion can be the enemy of God. It’s often what happens when God, like Elvis, has left the building. [laughs] A list of instructions where there was once conviction; dogma where once people just did it; a congregation led by a man where once they were led by the Holy Spirit. Discipline replacing discipleship. Why are you chuckling?

Assayas: I was wondering if you said all of that to the Pope the day you met him.

Bono: Let’s not get too hard on the Holy Roman Church here. The Church has its problems, but the older I get, the more comfort I find there. The physical experience of being in a crowd of largely humble people, heads bowed, murmuring prayers, stories told in stained-glass windows

Assayas: So you won’t be critical.

Bono: No, I can be critical, especially on the topic of contraception. But when I meet someone like Sister Benedicta and see her work with AIDS orphans in Addis Ababa, or Sister Ann doing the same in Malawi, or Father Jack Fenukan and his group Concern all over Africa, when I meet priests and nuns tending to the sick and the poor and giving up much easier lives to do so, I surrender a little easier.

Assayas: But you met the man himself. Was it a great experience?

Bono: [W]e all knew why we were there. The Pontiff was about to make an important statement about the inhumanity and injustice of poor countries spending so much of their national income paying back old loans to rich countries. Serious business. He was fighting hard against his Parkinson’s. It was clearly an act of will for him to be there. I was oddly moved by his humility, and then by the incredible speech he made, even if it was in whispers. During the preamble, he seemed to be staring at me. I wondered. Was it the fact that I was wearing my blue fly-shades? So I took them off in case I was causing some offense. When I was introduced to him, he was still staring at them. He kept looking at them in my hand, so I offered them to him as a gift in return for the rosary he had just given me.

Assayas: Didn’t he put them on?

Bono: Not only did he put them on, he smiled the wickedest grin you could ever imagine. He was a comedian. His sense of humor was completely intact. Flashbulbs popped, and I thought: “Wow! The Drop the Debt campaign will have the Pope in my glasses on the front page of every newspaper.”

Assayas: I don’t remember seeing that photograph anywhere, though.

Bono: Nor did we. It seems his courtiers did not have the same sense of humor. Fair enough. I guess they could see the T-shirts.

Later in the conversation:
Assayas: I think I am beginning to understand religion because I have started acting and thinking like a father. What do you make of that?

Bono: Yes, I think that’s normal. It’s a mind-blowing concept that the God who created the universe might be looking for company, a real relationship with people, but the thing that keeps me on my knees is the difference between Grace and Karma.

Assayas: I haven’t heard you talk about that.

Bono: I really believe we’ve moved out of the realm of Karma into one of Grace.

Assayas: Well, that doesn’t make it clearer for me.

Bono: You see, at the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics; in physical laws every action is met by an equal or an opposite one. It’s clear to me that Karma is at the very heart of the universe. I’m absolutely sure of it. And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that “as you reap, so you will sow” stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I’ve done a lot of stupid stuff.

Assayas: I’d be interested to hear that.

Bono: That’s between me and God. But I’d be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge. I’d be in deep s—. It doesn’t excuse my mistakes, but I’m holding out for Grace. I’m holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don’t have to depend on my own religiosity.

Assayas: The Son of God who takes away the sins of the world. I wish I could believe in that.

Bono: But I love the idea of the Sacrificial Lamb. I love the idea that God says: Look, you cretins, there are certain results to the way we are, to selfishness, and there’s a mortality as part of your very sinful nature, and, let’s face it, you’re not living a very good life, are you? There are consequences to actions. The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world, so that what we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death. That’s the point. It should keep us humbled . It’s not our own good works that get us through the gates of heaven.

Assayas: That’s a great idea, no denying it. Such great hope is wonderful, even though it’s close to lunacy, in my view. Christ has his rank among the world’s great thinkers. But Son of God, isn’t that farfetched?

Bono: No, it’s not farfetched to me. Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: he was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha, or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn’t allow you that. He doesn’t let you off that hook. Christ says: No. I’m not saying I’m a teacher, don’t call me teacher. I’m not saying I’m a prophet. I’m saying: “I’m the Messiah.” I’m saying: “I am God incarnate.” And people say: No, no, please, just be a prophet. A prophet, we can take. You’re a bit eccentric. We’ve had John the Baptist eating locusts and wild honey, we can handle that. But don’t mention the “M” word! Because, you know, we’re gonna have to crucify you. And he goes: No, no. I know you’re expecting me to come back with an army, and set you free from these creeps, but actually I am the Messiah. At this point, everyone starts staring at their shoes, and says: Oh, my God, he’s gonna keep saying this. So what you’re left with is: either Christ was who He said He was the Messiah or a complete nutcase. I mean, we’re talking nutcase on the level of Charles Manson. This man was like some of the people we’ve been talking about earlier. This man was strapping himself to a bomb, and had “King of the Jews” on his head, and, as they were putting him up on the Cross, was going: OK, martyrdom, here we go. Bring on the pain! I can take it. I’m not joking here. The idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside-down by a nutcase, for me, that’s farfetched

Bono later says it all comes down to how we regard Jesus:

Bono: If only we could be a bit more like Him, the world would be transformed. When I look at the Cross of Christ, what I see up there is all my s— and everybody else’s. So I ask myself a question a lot of people have asked: Who is this man? And was He who He said He was, or was He just a religious nut? And there it is, and that’s the question. And no one can talk you into it or out of it.

Revival from Survival

I just recently read a quote from Beth Moore:

“Most of my revivals come from survivals”

I reasonated with it at the time, but little did I know that no more than a few days after the Lord brought me to this truth, He would show me what He meant.

Early Saturday morning around 4:30AM I got a call from David.  Thankfully, my phone “just so happened” to be on and “just so happened” (sorry, I love that He’s in the details) to change ring tones to wake me up.   “Hey, I don’t want you to freak out, but I’m driving myself to the E.R.” He was apparently experiencing tingling and numbness on one side of his face, shoulder and arm.  He didn’t tell me this at the time, but he feared the worst: a stroke or aneurism.  After I “came to” and prayed with him over the phone, I got in my car, prayed for the ability to see clearly (I have bad night vision and had accidentally left my glasses at work) and trekked to Fort Worth.

My mind was racing with fearful thoughts: “What if this is a brain tumor like Matt?”  then “how will I be strong enough to handle something like that?” then “Lord, please don’t take him from me…it is too soon…we’re just starting life together”  I did the only thing I knew to do – lift these fears up in honesty to the Lord and remind myself of His character.  I put on some worship music which, per usual, resulted in deep prayer and worship in the truth I know.

I walked in the E.R., followed a red line of tape on the floor, and ended up in an empty room.  I knew he was in getting his CT scan, but his absence was felt deep in my heart.  I wanted to see him and for him to tell me that he was ok.  He has always been the strong one, the one that is always there for me when I’ve been sick.  Now, the roles had been reversed.

After what seemed like an eternity, the doctor came back with the results: the CT scan came back clear (no stroke or aneurism).  She recommended that he follow up with a neurologist should the symptoms persist or worsen.  She released us mid-morning and we were greeted by a beautiful January day.

At the time, this was one of the scariest “reality checks” that I’ve had in a while…perhaps ever.  Afterwards, I began to see the gift we were given.

We were given the gift of gratitude.  Gratitude for eachother.  Gratitude for life and health.  Gratitude for love.  Gratitude for hope, even in the scariest situations.  We even toasted “to life!” at I Heart Yogurt.

We were given the gift of seeing the community in our lives: family and friends checking on us, praying for us, opening up their homes to us.  My family felt so big that day.

We were given the gift of renewed awareness of the beautiful hope that we have in Jesus Christ.  Should David had been taken away, I would have hope.  I would have the knowledge that everything works together for my good and God’s glory.  I would have hope in His purposes, in His presence.

Lastly, we were given the gift of renewed perspective.  After home group on Sunday night, a good friend of mine shared with me that God had to “slap her in the face to get her to see” the situation she was in.  She shared that although there were many warning signs that she was going the wrong direction, she failed to listen, and the Lord lovingly took the situation into His hands.  I loved her discernment and her description of God’s relentless heart towards us.  I feel like that is what we experienced: (slap) “why are you sweating the small stuff?” (slap) why don’t you see and rejoice in the beautiful gift I have given you? (slap) don’t you see that life is but a mere breath?  Almost instantaneously, the chains of getting weighed down in miscommunication fell off and we were left with the joy of life, the joy of having each other.

Yet another revival from survival.  Thank you Lord for answering prayers for my desperation and to truly know You!  Thank you that this comes from moments of survival, moments of desperation.  We believe that only good things flow from your hands and that Your favor is upon us!  This is a good look for us!! mm hmmm

Day 2

Sunday morning we cooked some breakfast and headed to church.

Casa de Libertad (House of Freedom) is 5-10 minutes from the team’s house, assuming the bridge is open.  Apparently this has caused a lot of issues with traffic.  Oh, the things we take for granted!

Casa’s pastor and the team’s “boss” is Francisco.  We joke about him being the Guatemalan Matt Chandler…very articulate, passionate, funny and…tall.  Not many Guatemalans are tall.

Francisco preached and I attempted to refine my Spanish by rejecting the help of headphones that relay the English translation in real-time.  Refining my Spanish?  Maybe.  Understanding the lesson?  Not so much.  David took the wiser route (I’ll take the headphones) and had to tell me about the message after we got done.

After church, we got to meet the Freeds.  I’ve heard Susan talk about this family, so it was really fun to get to meet them.  The Freeds family is serving with an organization that distributes resources to orphanages.  The girls have all said that they have been such a blessing to them to help them get acclimated.  Praise GOD for His provision!

The rest of Sunday was a Sabbath – we hung out at the house at were joined by Kailah in the afternoon.  Kailah is a member of The Village that is serving in Huehuetenango.  It was fun to see her and she offered to cook dinner for everyone on Sunday night.  this dinner was one of my favorite parts of the trip – we all laughed until we cried and stayed at the table for hours.  We all attempted to head to bed early since we knew Monday would be an early morning for all of us!

PS, I promise pictures are coming w/ Day 3!

 

 

Day 1: They Have Malls in Guatemala?!

We’re back from Guatemala and we LOVED our visit!  Thanks everyone again for your support and prayers!  We’ve committed to blogging about our time there with the hope of giving you a glimpse of life in Guatemala.  We hope and pray that reading will give you a better idea of how to pray and support our the team!

First, let me say how much of a blessing it was for David and I to be back in Guatemala together.  For those that don’t know, we met on my first trip (and his…80th?  kidding, kinda) and our friendship grew much deeper on my second trip.  We started dating a few months after we got back.  It is so cool to see the Lord’s providence when we look back on our time there.  He was stirring us both separately for this type of work and the people and culture of Guatemala – and then BAM, we’re friends, dating, engaged, soon to be married!  All of that to say, it was fun to be back where it all began…and cool to dream about the possibilities of what the Lord might have for us there long-term!

Ok, so we got to Guatemala Saturday night and really only had time to run to the mall, grab a bite to eat and head to their house.  You: “WHAT?  They have MALLS?”  Let me explain.  There are places in Guatemala that are very remote, no electricity, etc., but the team is serving in the capitol: Guatemala City.  The city has very much been influenced by Western culture.  From a Guatemalan’s perspective, if someone has moved to/lives in the city, they’ve “made it.”  The city has access to malls, fast food restaurants, really anything you would need or want in the states.  Ok, so they don’t have 50 different kinds of stationery like they do here, but they’ve got what you need.  The thing is, there is hardly a middle class.  People in and around the city have either “made it,” or “haven’t made it.”  You’ll see what I mean as you keep reading.

So, we ran to the mall, played with the interactive, touch-screen mall directory (seriously) and went straight home.  In Guatemala, it really isn’t wise to stay out after dark.  Especially if you’re a gringo.  So we took our 2 cars of gringos and suitcases and headed to their house.

At home, we stayed up most of the night talking with Susan.  She shared stories of transitioning into living there, heart-breaking stories of the kids she works with, and we reminisced on old trips and our engagement story.  It was fun!  The thing that stood out to me most were all of the stories of the kids, their past, and what their future looks like, apart from the sheer grace of God.  I’ll speak a little more about this when I talk about our visit to the orphanage and Operation Rescue.

We headed to bed looking forward to a late wake-up for church!

Guatemala: aaaaand, We’re Back!

When life moves quickly, my typing doesn’t quite follow suit.  Hence the reason my last blog was in July…and it is now…almost November.

You win some, you lose some.

In an ironic twist of fate, the Lord is allowing me to go back to Guatemala, although not at all in the capacity that I thought, or had planned.  The God I know is…witty.  Chuckling, you could say.  A year ago at this time, I was knee-deep in fundraising training.  A year later, I’m knee deep in a relationship and going back to minister to my former team.  If you would’ve told me the chain of events that have transpired to get me from point A “moving to Guatemala” to point B “life as I know it,” I would have laughed.  It is so beautiful to submit our lives to the Lord’s plan…His insight truly is inscrutible.  And as much as I rail against it at times, He knows what’s best.

Although the Lord has re-directed my path (now for the second time) from going to the mission field, He has stirred my heart incredibly for Him: what His heart is, what He is doing, where He is working, how to submit to His will and His authority.  For this, I’m grateful.  We’re going over the week of Thanksgiving and are praying for the church to join us in prayer and financial support; e-mail me (jen.stetter@gmail.com) if you’re interested.

Wanted to share a few pics from my trip with David to Yellowstone and Glacier National Park…what a beauty! http://www.flickr.com/photos/fullmetalphotos/sets/72157624985163171/

 

“Hi, I’m…

The other day, among a group of intimate friends, one friend suggested that we go around and introduce ourselves to the one girl semi-new to the group.  When the sharing got to me, I shyly said, “I’m Jen…” and before I could get anything else out, she blurts out “Oh, you’re THE jen stetter.”  I gasped, did the silent “ehhhhh,” and immediately started to scroll through the list of things that she could possibly have found out about me that would merit adding “the” at the beginning of my name.  Come to find out, we simply have several friends in common.

In business school, we were taught to create and memorize our elevator speech.  You know…a 10 second version of your resume.  Hi, my name is Jennifer, I just graduated from The University of Texas with a degree in marketing and I desire to do something in international business.  I like long walks on the beach and want to travel the world.

Ok, so maybe you weren’t forced into such a strict prepping routine for the real world, but we all have those “things,” whether they be upbringing, schooling, specialized knowledge, personality or experiences, that define us.  The funny girl.  The over-achiever.  The artist.  The Longhorn.

As followers of Christ, are we still allowing these earthly accomplishments/pursuits/relationships to define us, or do we let Christ redefine us?  In Him, we are NEW.  We are called holy and blameless and perfect.  He delights in us.  Our identity is no longer found in the things that we do, the things that we have done, who our family is, what we’re gifted in.  It is fully rooted in Christ’s work on our behalf on the Cross.  We are adopted sons and daughters of the King and his Spirit indwells us.  What greater worth is there?

I’ve caught myself aggressively defending my identity from before I was made new in Christ.  I fear and attack and self protect against circumstances, experiences, people that threaten that old identity.  But what am I fighting for, when God has offered an opportunity to be His ambassador?  He can be exalted through my life.  His righteousness and goodness  and character has the potential to be seen through me.  Why do I settle for an association with my past, with things I do or people I’m with, when the highest calling and most beautiful identity has been given to me freely?

He has given us a new identity – we are His.

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

²⁶For consider your calling, brothers:^(AN) not many of you were wise according to worldly standards,^[b] not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. ²⁷But^(AO) God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise;^(AP) God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; ²⁸God chose what is low and despised in the world, even^(AQ) things that are not, to^(AR) bring to nothing things that are, ²⁹so^(AS) that no human being^[c] might boast in the presence of God. ³⁰And because of him^[d] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us^(AT) wisdom from God,^(AU) righteousness and^(AV) sanctification and^(AW) redemption, ³¹so that, as it is written,^(AX) “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Redefining Freedom

In honor of July 4th: “And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free!”

Its safe to say that America puts a lot of value in the word freedom.  It is what this country was founded on, and it continues to be held in the highest light.  Freedom of choice, freedom of speech, freedom of religion…But, is freedom the “answer” to all of life’s troubles?  What is freedom, anyways?

I used to define freedom as doing whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted.  If I felt like doing something, I would do it.  Granted, there were times that I would reign in my instincts, but for the most part, this was the mantra of my life.  This must be the road to joy and happiness: no one tells you what to do, essentially, you are your own master.

The Bible has a lot to say on this topic.  As I was studying the name Adonai, or Master, I came across the verses above.  Freedom, as I had previously defined it – self gratification, living for the moment…is, in fact, the antithesis of the path to joy.

Romans 6:

¹⁶Do you not know that if you present yourselves^(A) to anyone as obedient slaves,^[a] you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? ¹⁷But^(B) thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the^(C) standard of teaching to which you were committed, ¹⁸and,^(D) having been set free from sin,^(E) have become slaves of righteousness.

If we are our own master, which we are before Christ intervenes, we are a slave to it.  We absolutely cannot get out of the death-giving trap of our instincts, our desires, our attempts to exalt ourselves in this world.  Very clearly, this path leads to death.  BUT, if we are in Christ, He is now our master, and we, in turn, are slaves to Him, slaves to righteousness and obedience.

At first glance, this gives me a bad taste in my mouth.  My nature doesn’t want anyone telling me what I can and can’t do.  But, if it is true that I’m in slavery to SOMETHING, I will freely choose slavery to an all-knowing, all-loving, compassionate, overwhelmingly merciful Heavenly Father that desires my good.  Slavery to that master is pure joy, pure bliss.  I gladly submit myself at His feet, proclaiming “more of You and less of me, GOD!”  He is not only worthy to be Lord Adonai, Master as Creator of this earth, but it is a great honor to be His servant and be called His daughter.

Romans 14:

⁷For^(A) none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. ⁸For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then,^(B) whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. ⁹For to this end Christ^(C) died and lived again, that he might be Lord both^(D) of the dead and of the living.

True Love.

A friend sent me this today and it was just too good not to pass on.  From Surprised by Grace, Tullian Tchividjian:

“In Jesus, we also have all the affection we long for. The gospel rescues us from the fear of not being loved as well as our fear of loving. We all long to be loved and also to love. Men especially can become relatively sophisticated at suppressing those longings, in large part because they believe such things aren’t manly. And many women have been so hurt by someone in a past relationship that they now suppress their desire for love because trying to fulfill that desire is entirely too painful. Although our longing for love is such a fundamental part of our humanity, what we’ve discovered is that true love is downright dangerous. In The Four Loves, C.S. Lewis expresses this so insightfully:

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give you heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket – safe, dark, motionless, airless – it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable…..The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.

Real love is risky. It opens us up to the possibility – even the likelihood – of intense emotional ache. So we suppress our longing for love and our willingness to love – which is why we all, to one degree or another, live clammed-up lives. Countless millions of people live in self-protective mode every day. They’re afraid to love and to be loved because they’re terrified of being taken. They’re desperately afraid of getting trampled, since all of us, to one degree or another, have been trampled in the past. This is why the world is such a cold place, so unfriendly. Our world lacks warmth because everyone’s looking out for themselves. But no one has to live a clammed-up life. This is the glorious freedom that the ongoing power of the gospel can bring. The gospel tells us first of all that we’re forever loved by Jesus. In fact, if we embrace all that he has done for sinners, then we’re assured that absolutely nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:39). Once we know that we’re forever loved by Jesus, we’re free to love others regardless of the risk, because our deep need to love will be satisfied.”

I hope and pray that we all know this great love in our short lives on earth.

I will walk to Subway for lunch…if the Lord wills.

As I have grown older, I’ve found myself to be less of a planner.  Let me rephrase: God has lovingly forced me to become less of a planner.  Even this week, I chuckled to myself as I tacked “that is, if the Lord wills” to an explanation of some trivial plan that I have made.  I think a co-worker was asking me what I was doing for lunch.

Growing up, I had pretty concrete plan for my life in my head.  I would go to X college, get X degree, marry X man, have X children, vacation to X spots…you get the point.  Most of us still plan.  But what is it in us that makes us so confident of our future?  Even godly pursuits and ambitions have the potential to collapse as our plans, formulated with limited knowledge, quickly warp into mental certainties.  As GOD gives us knowledge of one step to walk in obedience, we get overly ambitious in thinking that we know the end.   “A” leading to “B” must end in “Z” eventually.

Remember Abraham and Isaac?  If I was in Abraham’s place, I would have been…confused.  “But, Lord!  That’s not what you mean!  I must not be hearing from You.  If I sacrifice my son, then surely your promise won’t be kept.  And you’re a promise keeper!”    But alas, yep, that’s exactly what He meant.

In the midst of my own pursuits, hopes, desires, dreams and plans, there have been countless times that I have lost focus of El Elyon, GOD Almighty, Sovereign Ruler.

El Elyon is sovereign over: growth and decay (Isaiah 5:5-7), weather, death & life (Deut32:39), sickness & health (Deut 32:29), fertility (1 Samuel 1:5,6), poor & rich (1 Samuel 2:6-10), judgment and destiny (1 Samuel 2:6-10), light & darkness (Isaiah 45:6-7), well-being and calamity (Isaiah 45:6-7).

“As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand…For the Lord of Hosts has purposed concerning the whole earth, and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations, for the Lord of Hosts has purposed, and who will annul it?  His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?”

Isaiah 14:24,27

How is this God, El Elyon, glorified?  Humble submission to His infinite wisdom time and time again.  Submitting our steps and end results to Him upfront.  This is what He desires.  This is how He is glorified. And this is how we are satisfied, by entrusting our plans to an infinitely sovereign, but also loving, Ruler.

Romans 11:

³⁶For^(AQ) from him and through him and to him are all things.^(AR) To him be glory forever. Amen.

Knowledge, Wisdom & the Revealed Will of God.

Party People: my blog traffic reports tell me that you’ve missed my random thoughts (sike!).  Sorry to keep you waiting.

I haven’t been blogging much because my head has been in the clouds.  Daydreaming? Yes. Delusional?  Without a doubt.  To some degree, aren’t we all?  I digress.

I wanted to share some random bits of truth that I have learned recently from the book of James via Jennifer Wilkin’s study of the book.  If you want to hear for yourself, go here.

You know when truth that you’ve heard before hits you one time and it feels as if you’ve just heard it for the first time?  That’s how God is speaking to me through the word of James and the interpretation of Jennifer Wilkin.  Here goes:

Knowledge versus Wisdom.  I had never really thought about the difference before, but this is key.  God possesses all KNOWLEDGE (the facts) and sometimes graces us with it (He is not a taskmaster), but more often graces us with WISDOM (the ability to make the best decision with the knowledge that we do have).  From James 1:

^5(J) If any of you lacks wisdom,^(K) let him ask God,^(L) who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

What a promise!  It WILL be given.  There are no conditions we have to meet.  He gives it.  When we’re seeking answers or direction, are we expecting an answer of knowledge or wisdom? Although we can not expect an answer of knowledge (which house?  which man?  which ministry?) we CAN expect wisdom when we ask for it.

I know I’m not alone in this: I am often paralyzed in seeking the Lord’s will – fearful that I am not making the “right” decision and thus, enslaved to fear.  This is not how He intended for us to live!  Jennifer reminded me that His will has already been revealed in Scripture:

1. His will is that we are saved. 2 Peter 3:9

2. His will is that we are filled with the Spirit Ephesians 5:17-18

3. His will is that we are sanctified 1 Thessalonians 4:3

4. His will is that we are submissive 1 Peter 2

5. His will is that we suffer 1 Peter 3:17, Philippians 1:29

6. His will is that we obey

I’m thankful for this truth.  It gives me much hope and confidence in the guidance of a heart that cherishes Him, desires His will and is aware of the heart’s deceitfulness apart from grace.  Praise God that He is our Counselor!