Tension

Oh, the tension that we live in as believers!

The balance between the love of God and the holiness of God- people are on both sides of the fence on this one, but I wonder if anything can get done when the two sides scream at each other in an effort to prove a point. Where are you, Jesus? Can you be honored in these skirmishes? I think we have to drop our weapons and let you speak.

The balance between speaking our desires and being content... so difficult, yet this is an area that draws us to know your heart more deeply. When should we hold off, and when should we "PUSH"? When should we beg for healing and when should we accept our situation? Oh, Jesus! Above all theological debates and religious frustrations, I know you want us to remember you.

The grey areas... where are you in these, Jesus? The only answer that makes sense is, "Come to me... I give rest...take my yolk upon you and learn from ME!"

In this 'tension' we find Jesus. He exists to turn everything on its head. He doesn't want stances without his Father's stamp on them. He doesn't want our good ideas to turn into programs that weren't meant to happen in the first place (especially if they weren't birthed from him).

Jesus, show us where you are, and we will join you. Show us your heart in the tension. Hold us closely, help us to follow you, and may you always keep us in the blessing of this tension... it means we are letting go of control and trusting you.

Thank you, Scotland!

Dear Scotland, 

I have been complaining a lot about your weather and the various inconveniences I have encountered since arriving, so I thought I would take a wee moment to tell you what I love about you. Here I go!

Thank you for heaters in the bathroom! I don't freeze when I get out of the shower, and that is a wonderful thing!

Thank you for serving tea, coffee, and biscuits everywhere I go! I love the cozy atmosphere you set. It helps with the weather blues.

Thank you for humor. So many of my new friends (who call you home) look at life's ups and downs and know how to laugh in the midst of them. I like that about you.

Thank you for exercise that is built into the lifestyle here. Though I am exhausted at the end of each day, I am thankful for your butt-kicking hills and the fact that we are car-less.

Thank you for free admission to museums and other historical venues. It gives this mama something to do!

Thank you for mum groups- I have so many to choose from!

And finally, thank you for giving my family and I a year to experience something new. Sure, it's different and sometimes challenging, but I know we will look back and smile at getting to spend so much time with you.

So, thanks, dear friend. We are almost halfway through our time with you, and I thought this was a good time to tell you I am a fan of yours (most of the time).

Sincerely,

Shelby 

I needed this today.

Today has been... well, just plain crappy.  I woke up hating the wet, windy weather here, mad that it takes numerous steps to get anywhere, losing a glove (not that big of a deal, I realize), and then losing my phone (that contains my contacts, and a lot of personal stuff).

I am so frustrated, and I really just want to jump on a plane and come home to convenience, family, and familiarity.  I know I typically write with a positive spin, but to be honest, I'm not feeling quite like Pollyanna today.  I really need to find my phone, and I have tried everything I know to do.  So now I just have to be patient and see if it turns up.

When I got back to the apartment, soaked like a wet dog, I opened my email to find this little devotional below.  I really need it today, because I certainly am not operating with the mind of Christ at the moment.  The part that really struck me (as you'll read for yourself below) had to do with feeling like we have the "strongest ground for taking up a certain attitude..."  Oh man, I feel like I have every reason to be frustrated right now, but I know I am allowing my frustration to cloud my view.  I'm thankful for God's constant ability to think clearly and perfectly.

We have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:16)

Our natural mind is a great obstacle in the race which we are running, cropping up all the time with its complexes, its arguments, its interests and its methods. When the Corinthians were brought into the Church they left behind their obvious sins, but they carried over into their new realm the old, natural ways of thinking and reasoning which belonged to the world and not to the Spirit of God. But the apostle remonstrated with them: "But we have the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16), so urging them to allow the Cross to be planted between the natural mind and the spiritual. We shall only come to the fullness of Christ as we leave behind the mind of the natural man and move on more and more in the progress of the mind of Christ. On everything; every judgment, every conclusion, every analysis, every appraisal; we must ask the Lord: "Is that Your mind, Lord, or is it mine?" We may sometimes feel that we have the strongest ground for taking up a certain attitude or coming to a certain conclusion; we may feel that we have all the evidence and so are convinced; and yet we may be wrong.

The man who wrote the letter to the Corinthians knew from deep and bitter experience that this was the case. "I verily thought... that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth," he said (Acts 26:9). There was no man who had stronger convictions as to the rightness of his course than Saul of Tarsus. The great revolution which took place in him when he came to Christ was that he had to say: "I have been all wrong in my fundamental way of thinking." After that confession he made good headway in the race because he was always ready to subject his thinking to the jurisdiction of his crucified Lord. This is the way of spiritual progress. We shall not get very far while we hold to our own opinions and our own conclusions, even though we may have the support of others; we have to learn to conquer our natural mind by submission to the mind of Christ. This is most important if we are concerned about spiritual progress. And spiritual progress is th e increase of Christ – there is no other.

By T. Austin-Sparks from: God's Purpose in All - Chapter 1