12. Out of the Wreck I Rise

God does not keep a man immune from trouble; He says--"I will be with him in trouble. It does not matter what actual troubles in the most extreme form get hold of a man's life, not one of them can separate him from his relationship to God. We are "more than conquerors in all these things." Paul is not talking of imaginary things, but of things that are desperately actual; and he says we are super-victors in the midst of them, not by our ingenuity, or by our courage, or by anything other than the fact that not one of them affects our relationship to God in Jesus Christ. Rightly or wrongly, we are where we are, exactly in the condition we are in. I am sorry for the Christian who has not something in his circumstances he wishes was not there.
"Shall tribulation...?" Let tribulation be what it may--exhausting, galling, it is not able to separate us from the love of God. Never let cares or tribulations separate you from the fact that God loves you.
"Shall anguish...?" Can God's love hold when everything says that His love is a lie, and that there is no such thing as justice?
"Shall famine...?" Can we not only believe in the love of God but be more than conquerors, even while we are being starved?
Either Jesus Christ is a deceiver and Paul is deluded, or some extraordinary thing happens to a man who holds on to the love of God when the odds are against God's character. Logic is silenced in the face of every one of these things. Only one thing can account for it--the love of God in Christ. "Out of the wreck I rise" every time.

11. Psalm 142

1 I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy.
2 I pour out before him my complaint; before him I tell my trouble.
3 When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who watch over my way. In the path where I walk people have hidden a snare for me.
4 Look and see, there is no one at my right hand; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life.
5 I cry to you, LORD; I say, "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living."
6 Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me.
7 Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me.

I hope this blog finds everyone having a great Thanksgiving break (although now it is just about over). This psalm has been chosen by a member of FBC Clinton's sunday school class as a passage to be memorized during this time in her life. Susanna Young has Hodgkin's Lymphoma. She has suffered from it for many years. She has dealt wonderfully with the chemo, radiation, pain, and even humiliation. She has a wonderful personality and you never see her without a smile on her face; hat smile that brightens up the room when she is present.
Our Sunday School class has chosen to memorize it alongside of her. This is an act of friendship and love to her in hope that she will see that we are here for her during this trying and devastating time in her life. It is our prayer that she will receive some encouragement from this.
She has recently been sent to Birmingham for some more chemo. I am not sure how she is doing. But my prayer for you this Thanksgiving holiday is that you remember and thank God for all the great blessings he has enriched you with. You may not be the richest, smartest, prettiest, or best at a certain sport, but God has given you wonderful talents and He wants you to use those to further His kingdom. Just like this young girl, you do no know when you will take your last breath. Step out now. Do something with what God has given you.

10. My Testimony

I was born under a Christian home with very Godly parents who strived in every way possible to teach me what it meant to be a Christian and to live like one. I was brought up with strong Christian values and every Sunday, my parents made it a point to take me to church. Going to church gave me a chance to grow in His likeness and I did. They emphasized the importance of being a Christian and expressed themselves as one too.
One afternoon, at the age of eight, I really felt God tugging at my heart to accept Him as my personal Lord and Savior. So, I wrote my mom a note (I was big on notes at the time) saying that I wanted to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. So we talked and prayed about it and the upcoming Sunday I talked to our pastor, Dr. Rob Boyd, and was baptized the following month. Over the next years I regularly attended church camps and activities where I was encouraged by many to expand my walk with Jesus Christ. It was not until the summer after my ninth grade year and on into my tenth grade year that I began to see that I really was not growing spiritually.
At the beginning of my relationship with Christ, I consumed myself in his Holy Word and I was on fire for Him. I progressed more spiritually and grew to understand what it truly meant to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Yes, countless obstacles were hurled in my direction and I prayed that God’s power would overcome me and unbind me. Soon, all of this drifted away. My regular quiet time disappeared. My Bible was just another book on the shelf and was rarely opened except when taken to church. I began to turn my back on God and decided to run my own life, taking a hold of the reins once again. Everything seemed to be going bad and I turned even farther away from God. My anger got the best of me causing me to be what seemed like hatred towards my parents and brother. Finally I woke up from this “nightmare” and at Super Summer last year I decided to once again return the reins to the rightful owner.
My tenth grade year was a hard year for me, but I managed to get through it because my Savior was right beside me every step of the way. Friendships seemed to be falling apart and my relationship with my parents was terrible. Though everything was going wrong, I turned to Him and relied on Him to bring me through this storm. Just like the song, I began to praise God in the storm, my storm. Eventually friendships were restored and my parents and I began to share our love for one another again. I have learned to not release my anger as much and desire to honor my mother and father, as it says to do in the Bible. By placing Jesus Christ first in my life, many blessings began to enrich my life. One of those is the richness that God has blessed me with with the wonderful friends that he has placed in my life and the life-long friendships that are growing from them. One of my favorite passages is Psalm 23 which talks about letting God lead your life. If God has entire control over your life, then you will be abundantly blessed. I pray that from Super Summer this year God would take my heart and break it so that I can surrender my everything to Him. My hope for me is that from camp I will have such a burning passion for Christ that I can ignite other hearts on fire for Him. That has been one of my desires is to experience the joy of leading someone to Christ and undergo an intense overseas mission trip.
Although I have not yet experienced the incredible opportunity of going overseas on a mission trip, I have been on two in the past year. They have been a major turning point in my life. Ever since that summer before my tenth grade year, I have had a burning passion for missions. Last summer, I had the opportunity to travel down to the coast and do some repair and construction work on some of the houses that got damaged from Hurricane Katrina. That was an amazing experience for me to get to see the joyous reactions of those families that we helped and to know that I was doing it out of the kindness of my heart and for the glory of the Lord Almighty. Then, this past spring break, I had another incredible opportunity to join about twenty five college students from Mississippi College on their annual spring break trip to Mission Arlington. It was AMAZING! The Lord really moved in my life. It affirmed my desire and passion for missions. I was able to develop an amazing relationship with a little boy named Isaiah. I had the chance to talk with him about his relationship with Christ and his older brother, Andrew, went on to accept Jesus Christ as his Savior. At the closing of the week, I was able to pray, along with another college student, with Isaiah, Andrew, and his mother. It was GREAT!
The Lord has also been laying on my heart about my friendships. I have had the same friends for a long time and it has been a great experience sharing memories with them, but some things happened and I got really hurt. The Lord taught me that I need to expand my horizons and include and develop other relationships, not necessarily tossing the others out, but spending time with others so that I can share the love of Jesus with more people. This year I have made some extraordinary friendships with several seniors and with several college students. It was great for me to see another side of friendships. I have really been struggling with developing some deep, true friendships, especially with guys. I have met some amazing college guys that are becoming that for me.
I thank God for all the blessings he has given to me throughout my life and know that through the rough times, “God is gonna pull us through!” (you had to be there--Spring Break at Mission Arlington).
My senior year was quite difficult in the fact that most of the things that I wanted to accomplish or attain this year I did not. But Luke 12:48 helped me through this. I have accomplished great things in my life and I should be very proud. I may not be as smart as my brother or as athletic as a certain friend but I have wonderful attributes that I can use to glorify my Lord. Mississippi College will be a new and exciting experience for me and I hope that I can use my talents to further Christ’s kingdom. I know he has some amazing things in store for my life.
I pray that my experiences at Mississippi College will help me grow closer to Christ, broaden my horizons to develop new friendships, and use my career goal as a physical therapist to help the less fortunate, physically and spiritually, all around the world.

9. Everything

Find Me Here Speak To Me I want to feel you I need to hear you You are the light That's leading me To the place where I find peace again.
You are the strength, that keeps me walking. You are the hope, that keeps me trusting. You are the light to my soul. You are my purpose...you're everything.
How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you? Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
You calm the storms, and you give me rest. You hold me in your hands, you won't let me fall.
You steal my heart, and you take my breath away. Would you take me in? Take me deeper now?
How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you? Would you tell me how could it be any better than this? And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you? Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
Cause you're all I want, You're all I need You're everything,everything You're all I want your all I need You're everything, everything. You're all I want you're all I need. You're everything, everything You're all I want you're all I need, you're everything, everything.
And How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you? Would you tell me how could it be any better than this? How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you? Would you tell me how could it be any better than this? How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you? Would you tell me how could it be any better than this? Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
This really spoke to me becaue I have really been struggling with this lately. Jesus Christ is the only thing that I need to sustain me in this world. I have had several aspirations that Ihad set out to accomplish during my high school career and did not get them. I have never had a girlfriend and find myself longing to have one because all of my friends have one. I used to feel that there was an empty space in my heart and thought that if I tried to fill it with the love from a girlfriend it would be better. But then I realized that that empty space should be filled with Christ and His love for me; that He is the only thing that I need in my life. He is everything that I need.

8. Habitat Humanity

So today, I had the incredible opportunity to work on a house being built for Habitat Humanity. I had never done something like this and it was a great experience. I was a little worried about how I could be used because I have never built a house or done anything remotely close to it. It turned out a lot of painting needed to be done and that was right down my alley.
We painted several rooms in this one house. It had to be very detailed and careful. This was the perfect job for me becaue I am such a perfectionist. Others got to put shingles on a house while others were nailing boards on another house. I can not imagine walking around on top of a house; I would definitely fall off! I am so clumsy. I mean how would you walk because the roof is slanted.
I had the opportunity to talk to the owner of the house. She described her hardships and her struggles with getting a house. She explained that you had to make a certain income and then get accepted through an application process. After that, you were selected and you had to go before an interview panel. She said she was very nervous about that, but she knew God would be with her. Then it hit me. We are so blessed and have been given many riches (with even many more to come). We forget that it is God that has so richly blessed us with these things. We forget to thank Him for all the good things He has done in our lives. This young lady has gone through a hard life and is raising kids as a single mother and is now receiving a house through Habitat Humanity but she continues to praise God even through the rough times.

7. Father Forgive Them

Father, Forgive Them

“I used to have golf balls in the glove compartment. When I drove down the road and someone cut me off, I would drive ahead of them, take a golf ball, and toss it out of my sun-roof, hoping it would dent the car that had cut me off.” Now, I really didn’t do this, although, sometimes, I wish I could. This was a conversation I heard from Rob Bell‘s Nooma video clip, Luggage. But haven’t we all done things like that? We are so caught up in seeking revenge--only to find that revenge does not satisfy.
About a year ago, I went through a rough time with one of my good friends. She had done some things that had really hurt me and I held a grudge, not wanting to forget those past actions. Proverbs 16:25 says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." I discovered firsthand the energy it takes to harbor anger, hatred, and resentment towards others. It is exhausting. Every bit of energy we give to negative activities and dwelling on regrets, robs us of the energy we need to become the person God wants us to be. Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend, co-authors of Safe People, state that safe relationships, those that involve people helping you become more like Christ, are grounded in forgiveness. I eventually said that I had forgiven her. But I didn’t mean it. I never wanted to forget what she had done. But Beth Moore, the speaker and author of Breaking Free, said, “Forgiving someone doesn’t mean that what they did was alright. Forgiveness is doing what God has told us to do and then leaving the revenge to Him.” Forgiveness does not mean what my friend did was acceptable; it just means that I must not let her past actions bring me any further resentment, anger, or pain. I had discovered what Archibald Hart said in Love Must be Tough, was true “Forgiveness is surrendering my right to hurt you for hurting me.”
If anyone had a reason to feel anger or harbor unforgiveness it was Joseph. His story can be found in Genesis 37. Joseph, one of Jacob’s twelve sons, was obviously his father’s favorite. This caused his eleven brothers to hate and resent him. Their hatred was so strong they plotted to kill him but settled with only selling him to slave traders. This horrible journey, however, ended with Joseph emerging as ruler of all Egypt. Years later, a famine struck his homeland, causing his brothers to come and seek grain in Egypt. They did not recognize Joseph when they approached him to ask for grain. Joseph, however, recognized them! When Joseph finally revealed himself to his brothers and forgave them for every cruel thing they had done to him, he said, “You meant this for evil. But God meant this for good.” We, too, should forgive those who have wronged us no matter what they have done.
William Arthur Ward, author of Thoughts of a Christian Optimist, expressed his belief on forgiveness when he said, “We are most like beasts when we kill. We are most like men when we judge. We are most like God when we forgive.” Imagine the courage and the strength it would take for someone to forgive the murderer of a family member. Corrie ten Boom was arrested and imprisoned during the Holocaust for hiding Jews in her home. She was sent to Ravensbruck Concentration Camp along with her sister, who was murdered just days before Corrie’s release on December 31, 1944. A few years later as she traveled throughout Germany spreading the message that God forgives, she saw him- the guard from the concentration camp, the one who had abused and murdered her sister. The thoughts and the sights of that horrible and terrifying place began to pour into her memory. After her speech the guard approached Corrie and said that he had become a Christian. He stated he knew that God had forgiven him for all the cruel things he had done, but now he needed her forgiveness too. He stretched out his arm and asked, “Will you forgive me?” As difficult as it was, Corrie knew she must forgive, for the Bible teaches in Matthew 6:15, “If you do not forgive men their sins, then neither will your Father in Heaven forgive your sins.” After prayer, she stretched out her arm and with a current of healing warmth filling her whole body, she cried, “I forgive you, brother! With all my heart!”
Rob Bell concluded, “Maybe a friend turned their back on you. Maybe someone you love betrayed you. We all have wounds and we end up carrying around these things that people have done to us for weeks, months, and sometimes even years. It isn’t always easy to forgive these people and after a while these hurts can get really heavy. So the only way to feel better seems to be somehow getting back at the people that hurt us, to get revenge. But does revenge ever truly satisfy? Perhaps forgiveness isn’t something you do for someone else. Perhaps forgiveness is about you. God didn’t create you to carry these wounds around. God created you to be free.” Just imagine what it must have been like to be Jesus Christ, the perfect Son of God who was crucified on the cross for our sins when he had done nothing wrong; but still he chose to forgive, stretching out his hands to his Heavenly Father and saying, “Father, forgive them for they know what not they do.” Let forgiveness set you free.

6. Every Knee Shall Bow

Every Knee Shall Bow

“I think that so often we try and make our job to make the gospel easier for us to preach and easier for other people to hear in order to not get in trouble…to not be confrontational. You see, here’s the truth, you just can’t preach the gospel and not get into trouble. You can dress it up any way you want but if you’re really preaching the gospel, you’re going to get yourself in trouble. Because the cross is both beautiful and offensive and it must be both: there is no other gospel for you to preach. We’re not doing anyone any favors by making the gospel easier to hear because it ceases to be the gospel. You know, it’s not safe to boldly preach the gospel…it’s not…Safe is not a word that should characterize Christians, or Jesus, or the gospel wet€™re preaching…if it is, then it might not be the gospel we’re preaching…” In this quote from the CD, The House Show, Derek Webb states that the Gospel is not safe but if we are to have every knee bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord then we need a passion for the cross, perseverance to stand up against the world, and patience to develop relationships. The Gospel is not safe but it is truth.
In Romans 1:16, Paul says, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…” If we are to bring God’s message to every heart, then we must first have a passion for Christ. An example of this zeal was seen by our youth intern, Jonathon Watts, on a recent trip to China. Watts told a story of a young Chinese girl who at worship recited about two chapters from a book in the Bible. After she was finished, she began to weep. They asked her why she was crying and she replied, “Someday, I am going to jail for what I believe in and what I have memorized here is all that I am going to have to tell those people about Christ.” Wow! You can truly see that this young girl has a deep bold passion for Christ and the furtherance of His Kingdom. You don’t have to be a missionary to share the Gospel. When you are so in love with Jesus it makes you bold; you want to say things, you just can’t help yourself.
According to Galatians 1:10, “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Someone who perseveres keeps on doing the will of God even in the face of adversity. That is just what one man in the heart of Africa did. According to former journeyman to South Africa, Terry Dent, there was a man, who lived in the jungle who suffered from elephantiasis; a condition which causes limbs to swell abnormally and become leathery. It is a very painful disease. He met Jesus through a medical missionary in his village. He wanted to share his new faith with everyone in his village, and he went door to door with excruciating pain but a joyful heart. After many believed, he decided to traverse the jungle and all its dangers and go two miles to the next village where he proclaimed God’s love to each person. As night fell, he had no place to stay and began the long journey back to his village through the dark and perilous jungle. The next morning the medical missionary found the man lying on his porch, bloody and cut, but with a joyful smile. The pain was great but the joy of sharing Jesus was greater. The Gospel is costly and it requires us to get out of our comfort zones and often through the process we find that not only have we changed the lives of others, but we have also been changed.
2 Timothy 4:2 says “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction.” Someone who is patient will let things occur in God’s time. If every knee is going to bow and every tongue confess, then we can’t become discouraged when people don’t accept the message of Jesus Christ right away. It takes patience to create relationships with people and develop those until you have trust. Take the story of CD, a Southern Baptist missionary, who lives in a country where it is illegal to be anything but Muslim. To even speak her name could bring death. CD has begun planting seeds in her area. One of those seeds, L, has chosen to except Christ as her savior despite being shunned by her family and her culture. It took two years for CD to see this seed planted grow in L, but the wait was worth it. Christ is interested in building relationships. This desire to foster relationships has become a growing trend in churches and the community. In Atlanta, Pastor Andy Stanley and the congregation of North Point Community Church‘s motto is “invest and invite” as everyone’s attitude should be to dedicate their time to build relationships and invite them to partake in the experience of going to church; thus resulting in every knee bowing down in submission to God.
Our mission as Christians is to speak to the nations so that every tongue will confess and every knee bow down in submission to the Heavenly Father. The passion for God gives you the perseverance to be patient with others. Remember the passion of the young Chinese girl. Remember the hardship that the man overcame with perseverance. Remember the patience that CD developed while fostering a relationship with L. 2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. There is a time for being bold and a time to wait. Let’s not wait- Let’s Go! The fields are ripe for every knee to bow!