spiritual stuff

I started this yesterday and finally finished it today.

Today as I drove to the Y to get a fast walk in at lunch, I felt the Holy Spirit asking me to walk outside.  It was fairly nice but I still debated in my head.  I’d picture myself on the treadmill and I’d have no peace about it.  I’d picture myself walking outside and I could hear Yes!  Yes, a simple walk was a debate.

So I parked at the Y and started out on the sidewalk leading out to the adjoining neighborhood.  For local folks, this will look familiar.  As I walked I really felt that God has something to show me.  I prayed that He’d give me His eyes as I walked.  As I walked past this field of sorts, I could hear the birds chirping.  The pieces of a few verses came to my mind

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them…do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” Mattthew 6:26, 34

As I walked, over and over again a word or object would bring forth a verse to my mind. Sometimes all I could recall were a few words.  But it was clear specific verses were coming to mind from the most mundane things.

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

I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. John 14:2-3

And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. Matthew 6:18

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. John 1:3

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.  Romans 10:13

For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them. Matthew 18:20

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” Mark 10:14-15

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” Mark 1:17

Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Ephesians 5:18

He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. John 1:11

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10

And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. Genesis 2:8

He said to them, “Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” Luke 20:25

Be still, and know that I am God Psalm 46:10

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies You anoint my head with oil;  my cup overflows. Psalms 23:5

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14

“Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” Matthew 2:2

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

Today is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:2

(reflection)

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you Jeremiah 1:15

As I drove away, I was overcome with emotion.  God is real.  We can meet with Him in the smallest things around us.  He loved us.  He died for us.  He’s inviting us.  Just as we are.

Just as I am, without one plea,
but that thy blood was shed for me,
and that thou bidst me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

In the past three days, I finished “Same Kind of Different As Me”.  In fact, I woke up and stayed up early this morning to finish the last few pages my eyes couldn’t handle past midnight last night.  The book was slated for Bloom’s book club in January/February but you saw what kind of stack I had to get through. I finished The Life You Always Wanted by John Ortberg and started this one Saturday.

This is not a book you can just read and discard to the read pile.  No, this one gets to your core and doesn’t let go.  I actually made a list of what this book covers and it’s no less than 10 huge issues:

1. Homelessness
2. Slavery
3. Racism
4. Sacrifice
5. Movement of the Holy Spirit
6. Voo Doo
7. Angels
8. Prayer
9. Death
10. Grief

For those that haven’t read it, I don’t want to spoil the story, because there is a story there.  There are lots of stories there.  But basically it’s about a homeless man and rich man and the woman that brought them together.  And how all 3 of them made a change for their city.

Like many that have read it, I’ve come away with wanting to do something.  You don’t want to turn a blind eye anymore.  You don’t want to fall into the bystander affect.  You don’t want to miss being a Miss Debbie.  And you certainly don’t want to miss meeting a Denver.

If you don’t want to read or don’t like to read, watch their story that is posted below.

But the bottom line is this.  I will be doing something about it.  I am going to make a difference.

We don’t have a huge homeless problem in our area.  We have them, but it’s not like what I’ve heard about in Dallas or Nashville.  But Scott and I had talked just recently about creating book-bags full of necessities to hand out to those we do see around town.  With all the free stuff I get at CVS, it would be a shame not to share it.  I have in fact shared it before.  There is a women’s shelter in the next town that I would hand off bag fulls to.  But I don’t know, there’s something about handing it to them directly.  Getting a chance to ask their names.  Their needs.  Their stories.  I’ll admit it scares me.  But the really cool thing is Debbie had Ron and I have Scott.  I don’t have to do this thing alone.  In fact, I have an awesome church that is full of people wanting to help.

I encourage you to read over at Bloom. They have some stories up and links to stories of people trying to make a difference.

I’ll close with my favorite quote from Denver

“You never know whose eyes God is watching you through.”

and Ron

“One person can make a difference.”

And finally one of my favorite quotes

I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do. Helen Keller

The first difference I’m going to make is inspire OTHERS to make a difference.  I’m not being asked to or given these books.  I’m just so convinced people should read this that I’d love to make it possible.  Please email me at amyjbennett AT gmail DOT com requesting a book and I’ll send one to the first 5 people.

All 5 were spoken for.  LOVE IT.  Thanks!!

This is one of those Scott would call one of my “deep theological posts”.  He really just means it’s too long to read.  Sorry.  It was a lot to think about.

I sat on the left side of the classroom pulled up close to black top tables that served a dual purpose of note-taking and dissecting.  Thankfully, note-taking at the moment.  With squinty eyes I watched a middle-aged woman with light brown shoulder length hair while she drew pictures and labeled them with A’s G’s C’s and T’s on an overhead projector.  I understood clearly the concept of base pairing she was teaching but I had not a clue how it related to chromosomes which was the topic we had been covering.  I wanted to ask how these little letters possibly determined the fact that I was a female.  I just knew I had missed something and I was the only one in the class that was not getting the big picture.  I mean, it wouldn’t have been the first time a little common sense hadn’t kicked in.  My heart beat sped up and I could feel my face flush and I just knew I was going to ask.  Before I knew it my hand had shot up, she called on me and I said, “This might be a stupid question but how does this relate to chromosomes?”

A huge smile broke across her face. “That is not a stupid question at all.  In fact, it’s a great question!  That’s exactly where I was going with this.”  She went on to explain how millions of these pairs were strung together and made a chromosome.  (Please trust WIKI for a better understanding) Trust me when I say a light bulb came on and I was a little closer to understanding DNA as well as one can in Biology 101.

So I sit here eight years later and I find I have that same feeling.  There’s just something I don’t understand and I’m afraid to raise my hand to ask.  Surely everyone else just gets it and I’m missing something.  But as countless teachers said, there’s no such thing as a stupid question.  And as Biology 101 proved to me, sometimes asking pays off.  Not just for you, but for others.  So I guess this post is me raising my hand.  Not necessarily for anyone to answer, but maybe just for the benefit of some reading so they know they’re not the only one that doesn’t get it.

That was a long winded way to say I’m having a hard time understanding prayer.  And a lot of people might find that surprising, especially after reading this post. Ever since I can remember I’ve always prayed.  All day, in little spurts, I talk to God.  And the Sunday School answer for what prayer is is talking to God.  That’s easy.  I get that.  I do that.  I understand the purpose of talking to him.  And more importantly I understand how important it is to listen to him.  I get that part of prayer.

The problem I’ve been having with prayer is when it comes to asking for something.  Does God decide to give or do things based on if, when, how much I ask or even how many of us ask?  In other words, does prayer work? It’s really hard to raise your hand and ask that question.  It seems like Christianity 101.  Surely everyone in the classroom gets the concept.  You ask God for something, he decides whether it should happen and he answers.  The problem I have is we all know that sometimes he doesn’t answer the way we’d like.  I’m told this happens because it’s not best for us or it doesn’t fit in His will.  Fine, I’m good with that.  I will take His will over mine any day.  But then my question is why ask?  If He’s going to do what He wants, or what He has planned anyway and then I’m just left with a pile of prayers that were heard but ultimately didn’t change anything, what is the point of laying our requests before Him?

I have to be honest, I got to a point where I told God, “God, I don’t know whether this is going to change anything but I’d really like x, y and z to happen.”  And I honestly didn’t know whether my asking would change anything.  Because the real question here is much larger.  Really it’s about predestination and whether things are already laid out and we’re just living them out or our prayers, free will and desires are creating the present and future.  It’s a hard question and that question I know has many people raising their hands.

Sodom and Gomorrah is a good place to start to try to understand this.  God told Abraham he would destroy the cities and Abraham basically bargained with God about whether to spare the cities based on how many righteous people were there.  He ends up sparing Abraham’s nephew Lot and his family.  If taken at face value, you would assume that had Abraham not asked, Lot and his family would not have been spared.  But my question is would they have not?  Would God have seen Lot’s righteousness and spared them anyway?  Was God basically “playing” with Abraham and he was planning to spare them anyway? Or, was God’s plans really changed and Lot and his family were spared? I want to say God changed his mind!  Prayer works!

But if God changes His plans, what does that mean for everything else?  Does the future of everyone change with each decision we make or He makes?  Does God really know everyone’s future?

I have to believe that some things are “set in stone”.  If I just think back to all the prophecies, things were told beforehand what were to happen and they came true.  Even Christ said that he was there to carry out what was set before him.  God says many times He has plans for us.  Revelation is an entire book dedicated to things that are to come.  At some level, the future is known.

So that’s where I am.  Where do my prayers fit in?  As I sit here, I believe God hears my prayers and I’m pretty sure prayer changes things.  I mean, I’ve seen and been a part of miraculous things that have happened that were prayed for.  It’s like the A’s, T’s, G’s and C’s in class.  I feel confident in that part.

But I’m having a hard time seeing where it fits in with the rest of God.  Maybe it’s a stupid question.  Maybe I’m failing Christianity 101. But it doesn’t mean I don’t believe in prayer or God’s omniscience or my salvation or whatever else.  I believed in base pairing and chromosomes and DNA.  Just because I couldn’t put the pieces of the puzzle together didn’t mean I didn’t believe in any of the pieces or that the puzzle did fit together.  I’m not questioning my faith here.

But I do have questions.  I have some puzzle pieces in my hands and I’m trying to fit them together.  I’m turning them around and around trying to see which sides will fall into place to make sense of the bigger pictures.

So I’m raising my hand and bowing my head.

Oh, of course I dedicated to doing these recaps of North Rock Hill services right before we started a series on sex!  But I have to say this morning’s start was dare I say fun?  I know, I know.  Sex in church…gasp!  Sex talks in church that were fun…gasp!  It just doesn’t sound right!!  What are you people doing over there??  Aren’t you learning about JESUS?!

But today’s intro was so awkward, filled with lots of nervous laughing but just some downright funny, relatable stuff.  And he only covered attraction today!  So here we go.

In this series, he’s covering Song of Songs.  Many like to say it’s allegorical for our relationship with Christ but it’s clear in latter chapters that not ALL of it is allegorical.  As Chris said, there is some stuff in there I just don’t wanna be doing with Jesus!  But yes, it has some allegorical elements.

Cast of characters:

1. King Solomon – writer and participant
2. Unnamed Shulammite – she is the beloved
3. Young Jerusalem women – these are the Beloved’s friends.  As Chris pointed out, a man doesn’t just court a woman, he courts her AND all her friends.

Solomon and this girl are not together at this point.  They’ve met and there is attraction.

v4 – This is not his bedroom, this is a place where the King hangs out.  She’s basically asking him to take her to his favorite place (although Heather pointed out that probably IS his bedroom)

v6 She is a peasant/servant.  She’s not fair skinned and plump like a princess would be.   Yet, she has captured the King’s attention somehow.

v7 Basically she is saying, I’m not playing games like the rest of these girls that follow you around to try to catch your attention.  Tell me where you are.

The rest of the first chapter they exchange love notes basically.

One thing: Love is not about finding the right one; it’s about BEING the right one.

Women generally use 2 approaches to catching a man’s attention

1 – Catching mode.  These are the ones similar to the girls that veiled themselves and followed the shepherds around.  They put on an outfit, do their hair and rely on looks.  Think Bret Michaels Rock of Love for a worse-case scenario.  It’s like throwing bait out to see what you can catch.  The problem with this is you’ll have to keep him with that bait and Father Time is not on your side.  You will eventually lose them when you lose your bait.  And when you catch him, you’ll generally find out he is a loser.

2 – Hunting mode. The women pursue.  Do all the work.  Call, set up dates, tell the guy exactly what’s going to happen and basically call all the shots.  The result is you have a passive wimp.

v7 shows a picture of the alternative.  She made a decision to be a princess.  You are either going to be the one they sleep with or the one they marry.

v3 Name is significant.  He had a good reputation and honor.

v7 Before courtship, create a standard.  If you don’t, it will change based on emotions.  Guys are great manipulators and will say anything to get what they want.

A woman doing it right will hold her standard up, wait to see if he leads.  She wants a leader not a pacifist.  If he doesn’t lead now, he won’t lead later.  Don’t compromise for attention.  Princesses have expectations.

Males, be a leader and respect boundaries.  Don’t be selfish.

If you’re married, instead of pursuing this in another marriage, work on your own. You can’t fix someone else but you can control yourself.  Be the best husband or wife you know how.  1 Peter 3.  Life is more about marriage.  Your life should be a pursuit of Jesus regardless of your spouse.  Men, step up.  Women, encourage your husband when he does step up.  Men are also responsible for being attractive after married.

Typing this out, I guess it felt a little like Dating 101 but it was so interesting seeing it related to Song of Songs.  Also, I think every single teenager needed to hear this.  It makes me want to save it another 5 or 6 years for a few little girls I might know.  I highly recommend listening to the Podcast (when it’s posted).

Next week is about Courtship!