Refined By Flames

During a worship gathering at my school last night, the Lord put an image on my heart: gold surrounded by the flames of a fire.

I began thinking about the meaning of the image.

I pictured the hands of a miner panning gold, his dirty blistering hands plunging a pan of sand and dirt into water and then shaking out the remnants of gold. Though the process may be gruesome and tiring, in the end the miner is left with pure gold.

Just like the gold being hidden amid piles of sand and dirt, as Christians, we were once blended in with the rest of the world. Then Jesus came and separated us from everyone else. He called us out to be his disciples.

But it doesn't stop there.

After gold is found by a miner, the miner brings it to a craftsman to be refined. The goldsmith places the gold in a crucible, and being held by tongs, thrusts the crucible into the flames to remove all of the impurities of the precious metal. After many times of being put in the flames, with temperatures in the thousands of degrees, the gold is finally made pure.

I couldn't stop thinking of how similar the process of refining gold is to our walk with the Lord.

Not only did Jesus choose us from the mess of the world, but he is constantly putting us in situations where we either have the choice to be refined or to walk away.

Take someone's death for an example. Recently at our school a former student passed away. It was a moment of grief for many students, but even through it those close to him chose joy instead of anger. They rejoiced because the student wasn't in pain anymore, and they didn't allow themselves to be overcome with despair.

This is a refining moment in the flames. As would many other circumstances, such as being stuck in a financial crisis or experiencing a break-up after a long-term relationship that you thought would lead to marriage.

How will you handle the flames that arise in your life? Will you flee, or will you remain and allow the Lord to mold your character into something more like Him?

1. The Lord takes us through struggles and pain for a reason. His ultimate purpose for us is to grow more and more into the image of Christ, and the trials we encounter are designed to help us reach that goal. Trials develop godly character, and that enables us to "rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." (Romans 5:3-4)

2. The Lord also reassures us that those who call on His name during these times of trial will be answered. When we put our hope fully in Him, He will calm us during the storm and provide a way out in His timing. It may not happen right away, like the Israelites who wandered in the desert for 40 years, but He will work as what fits best in His plan for your life.

"I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'The Lord is our God.'" (Zechariah 13:9)

There's no avoiding the pains and troubles that come with life on earth. However, we do have a choice about what we do when these troubling times hit. Choosing to trust in the Lord and abide in Him during the storm will give us the opportunity to grow more into the image of Christ.

And once we choose to put our hope in Him, the Lord will rid of us of all our impurities when we become fully SATURATED in His presence. Ask Him to ignite the flame in your heart that would gnaw away at any impurity hindering your from growing in your relationship with the Lord.

Fill In The Blank

Today in chapel we sang "Great I Am" by New Life Worship.
I remember over the summer debating with one of my friends over what the best worship songs were, and this song popped up. My friend described it as the "most powerful worship song of the day," and honestly, I couldn't argue that.
The chorus goes like this:

Hallelujah, Holy Holy
God Almighty, the Great I Am
Who is worthy
None beside Thee
God Almighty, the Great I am

I've sung this song probably a dozen times in church settings. In my own listening, I've played it countless times. But I never fully grasped what the lyrics meant until today.
As I was worshipping, I started thinking about the Old Testament patriarchs. Moses. Abraham. Joseph. Their stories are fresh in my head, because I committed to doing the whole "Read-The-Bible-In-A-Year" thing for one of my new year's resolutions.
I remember reading how God appeared to Moses in a burning bush and said, "I AM WHO I AM." His answer puzzled me. But the answers lie in the previous chapeters and the books to come in both the Old and New Testaments.
God is our Deliverer, Healer, Redeemer, Provider, Defender, Fighter, Father, Friend, Helper, Shepherd... The list goes on and on.
God is whoever you need Him to be in your circumstance.
Even when Jesus comes in the New Testament, He uses the same phrases to describe Himself. The book of John lists several of these:
"I am the Bread of Life."
"I am the Good Shepherd."
"I am the Light of the world."
God is the Great I Am ___________. You fill in the blank.
Whether you need healing from a sickness, peace in a relationship, money in a financial crisis, or anything in-between, He is there standing in the gap for you. Have faith in Him and He will be there for you in whatever way you need Him to.

I Will Not Fear

(The most important part of this post is bolded; that's my story from this past Friday night.)
There's a really cool evangelistic opportunity at my school. It's called Encounter.
Every Friday night, students gather in one of the classrooms on campus to worship and pray for an hour. Then, at around 11:30 p.m., they hit the streets of downtown Minneapolis to get to know the people who are out partying and drinking. Their goal is to spread Christ's love through simple conversation, which ultimately can open doors for prayer and salvation.
I started going to Encounter during spring semester of my freshman year. In fact, it wasn't until the very last outing that I went. My friend Amy reeled me into it, saying that it was "so awesome." Yeah, I was terrified.
See, I had never been one to go out and evangelize, nonetheless walk around the streets of Minneapolis at night. I'm not a city girl. I come from a small town bordering the suburbs, so this experience would DEFINITELY push me out my comfort zone.
But I went. And, I liked it. The Lord knew exactly what He was doing when He sent me out on those streets that night. My partner and I were able to hear the life story of a guitar player near one of the clubs, and eventually we got to pray with him. It was incredible; nothing like I had ever experienced before.
That one night was a launching pad for my consistent attendance the following year. I started to feel a deeper love for the city and the people. I started to feel the brokenness enveloping the city, and God placed a passion inside of me to go and minister to that.
Fast forward a year. It's my junior year at North Central University, and this past semester I didn't go to Encounter very much. Instead, I was working late nights and early mornings on the weekends, so my body couldn't afford sacrificing a good night's sleep. The times I did go out were amazing, though.
And now it's the beginning of a semester. I quit my weekend job during winter break, which means Encounter is now something I can go to more often if the Lord leads me to it. Speaking of which, this past Friday I went out. And wow, was it mind-blowing. I want to share my story with you.
I was partnered with one of the leaders named Josiah and a new student named Gabi. We walked downtown and talked to quite a few people, but it wasn't until we reached Bar Fly that the main events of the night struck. Josiah started talking to a man, and as this was happening a drunk guy ambled off the street. Gabi and I said "hello" and started a conversation with him. Gabi was doing most of the talking, and as the the conversation progressed my eyes drifted off to the side. I saw a woman dressed in a long, puffy coat with a fur hood covered her head. Her face was buried in a white scarf, and you could barely see her pale brown face in the light. That's when I felt the nudging of the Holy Spirit. So I walked up to her. I asked her how her night was, and she suddenly stopped, turned to me, and gave me a hug. I didn't know how to respond. She then pulled out four coins and asked me if I had $0.75. I said no, but I told her I could pray for her if she'd like. Immdiately she turned away and walked in the other direction. After that happened, I was able to talk and pray with the man she was with who was walking beside her. Then I moved back to Gabi's conversation with the drunk guy. I noticed on the other side of the bus stop (where we were standing) there were two police officers with a skankishly dressed girl. The drunk guy waltzed over to one of the officers and tapped his shoulder to use him as a metaphor in our conversation about the Bible. Suddenly, another officer appeared and told the drunk guy to leave the premises otherwise he could be arrested for interrupting a serious situation (the girl was intoxicated and the officers were trying to help her find her friends to get home). The drunk guy backed off, but it seemed as if the officer didn't understand, because he grabbed ahold of his shirt and shoved him against the glass wall of the bus stop. The man started yelling, and all of a sudden he was tackled into the street. Gabi and I had backed away by this point and had started to pray over the situation. We didn't know what was happening. After praying and meeting up with two other group members, the officers had left and the drunk guy had walked off in another direction. But the girl was still there, surrounded by two of her friends now. One of the friends left, and the other friend was on the phone. My attention grazed towards the intoxicated girl, however. She was seated on a bench, scrunched up with her hands covering her face. The Holy Spirit then nudged me over to them.
"Ladies, how are you doing? Is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine," said the girl on the phone.
But I could tell not everything was fine. The intoxicated girl was dressed in a white blouse, a black mini skirt and black tights. I could tell she was freezing. So I asked her a question.
"Honey, are you cold?"
No response. Just a quick seat-shift to the side, and her hands motioning for me to sit down next to her. I sat down and offered her my coat, but her friend refused to have me give it to her. So I just hugged her, my arm wrapped around her cold, frail body.
She cuddled closer against me, and I could her hear whisper, "You're warm" under her intoxicated breath. It broke me.
The time went by, and after five minutes their ride came and the girl on the phone got up and helped her friend up. I then regrouped with the others who were standing nearby.
This is what I learned that night:
Sometimes following the lead of the Holy Spirit is uncomfortable. It will scare you out of your mind; it will draw you into places you'd never imagine going before.
But when you drop all your fear and uncertainty on the side of the road and say, "God, I will do WHATEVER you want me to do," that's when He accompanies you and fights for you.
That's what I had to do on Friday night.
I'll be transparent with you. I told you above that after my first experience with Encounter, I really started to like it. I've had amazing interactions with people on the streets, but all of these interactions have been primarily through the prompting of one of my partners. I've never sparked my own conversation with someone on the street. And, to add to that, I've never talked to a woman on the streets. Only men. That's my confession. My fear.
Or, should I say, old fear. On Friday night, I decided that I was done hanging out in the background. I decided I was done just following the lead of my partner, and not listening to the Holy Spirit while on the street.
I wanted to listen to the Holy Spirit, and I really wanted to talk to women.
Then God spoke to me. He told me that He would fight for me if I put my hope in Him. He would be my mouthpiece if my own words failed.
So I allowed God to use me. I allowed myself to become nothing so He could work through me. I was able to listen to the nudging of the Holy Spirit, and I was able to talk to two women.
See, we are nothing without the power of Christ in us. I believe that to be so incredibly true. From the very roots of my relationship with the Lord I am dependent on Him. He was nailed to a cross so I could be redeemed, and by faith in Him, I am saved. That's my story.

Don't be a Partial Follower

Tonight I was reading in 1 Samuel 15.
God sends out Saul to attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them, not sparing one human or animal.
In Saul's perspective, he obeyed what the Lord had commanded of him. He gathered and army and wiped out the Amalekites. However, he kept the king and the best of the sheep and cattle alive.
When the word of the Lord came to Samuel, he was very distressed. Samuel knew that Saul did not carry out God's instructions completely, and so he knew God would punish Saul for this. Samuel went to Saul and told him this, and when Saul received word that the Lord rejected him as king because of his partial obedience, he mourned and grieved deeply.
This is a powerful story of OBEDIENCE and what it means for us.
Maybe the Lord has instructed you to quit a job, end a relationship, move to a new city, or something else that would dramatically change your life. It's easy to listen to Him tell us his plans for our life, but it's an entirely different feeling to actually follow his plans.
Fear.
Worry.
Sadness.
I know I struggled with these feelings for the past few months. God had specifically told me to quit my first job -- the job I've had since my senior year of high school (that's 3 1/2 years) -- before I went back to school for spring semester this year. I hesitated with the thought of actually quitting my job. I was so cultured into that place, and comfortable. I had formed friendships that would last many years after leaving. I was scared.
Then God started wrestling with me. I started sharing my situation with a few of my friends, and they were all on God's side. No one told me to keep the job. This frustrated me.
It wasn't until one night when I was praying and journaling that it finally dawned on me: I needed to let go of this job in order to step into the new and bright future God had planned before me. I couldn't cling on to it secretly and pretend that God didn't see.
And, I couldn't hang on to the job for the summer and school breaks. Because that would only be obeying the Lord partially.
See, when the Lord instructs us to do something, we need to obey Him FULLY. It isn't enough to obey Him PARTIALLY -- even if it's 99% of what He's telling us to do, and ignoring the other 1%.
There are serious consequences if we don't obey His instruction completely. For Saul, he was rejected as king. Now that's a pretty big deal when you consider he was king over all of Israel, the Lord's people.
I challenge you to examine your heart, soul and mind and where they stand when making decisions to follow the Lord's plan for you life. Do you second guess yourself, or purposely get caught in a tangle of confusion, just so you can keep yourself in a comfortable position in life?
The Christian life isn't meant to be comfortable. It's meant to be reckless, adventurous and dangerous. Because even if the next step is uncertain, God has already memorized the entire path and will lead us along without fault if we put our entire trust in Him.

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." (Prov. 19:21)

Not My Own

Today I was touched by one person's act of genorosity.
I was working at our house garage sale to raise money for the FMSC MobilePack event our school is hosting this spring. It was quite slow, but around 4:45 p.m. one of the guys on my brother floor walked in. He browsed for at least ten minutes, and afterwards he ambled up to the counter with a bag of Hebrew coffee in his hands.
"How much?" I said. "$2? $1? Give as little or as much as you like." I wasn't expecting much for a small bag of ground coffee. Out of my surprise, my expectations were blown away.
"I was thinking $10."
I just sat there, jaw dropped and my eyes wide.
"Or actually, all I have is a $20 bill, so how about I just give it all?"
This time my heart stopped. $20 for a bag of coffee? You wouldn't even pay that much for a fresh ground bag at Starbuck's or Caribou.
"Uhhhh... Wait... Are you sure?"
"It is for a good cause, isn't it?"
"Why yes... well ummmm, thank you. Thank you so much!"
Then he walked up the stairs.

In the moments after he left, I sat there motionless. I couldn't focus on the Bible commentary in my hands anymore. All I could think was, "Why would someone give so much for something so little?"
But isn't that what God did for us?
He came down into the earth in flesh and bones, and sacrificed his body for all of humankind on the cross. He gave his Son as a living sacrifice so we could be redeemed and made whole again.
This is the ultimate gift.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
 

Some of you may have heard this verse over and over again as a child in Sunday school, but I want you to really focus on what it means.
It was out of authentic, pure and righteous love that God gave his highest prized possession (his Son) to redeem the wickedness of the world. We don't deserve one bit of this love. But out of His grace, we are released from our chains and are free to live in joy, peace, and goodness!

As I reflect on the wonder of God's sacrifice, I ponder about what I am hanging on to that could release more of God's kingdom into this earth if I let it go.
My pride.
My greed.
My fear.
These are only three of the things I struggle with. What if I decided to leave pride, greed and fear on the side of the road and run after God's arms like never before?
Pride and greed would be replaced wtih HUMILITY. God's strength would come alive in my weakness.
See the truth is, God will never turn us away. No matter how broken and messed up we are. Maybe it's time to start sacrificing the things holding you up tight for something that may not seem like the most self-satisfying in the moment, but for something that honors and glorifies the King through meekness and humble devotion.

It's time to remember that our bodies, possessions, emotions, actions and words were all created by the King for one purpose: to glorify the King, the maker of the universe and everything in it.
Everything we own really isn't ours. Everything that has been given to us is a blessing from above, and we need to use it to magnify His name - whether that be our earthly possessions, our talents or our personality.
We were made to worship.

"Love the Lord your God with all your HEART, and with all your SOUL and with all your MIND." (Matthew 22:37)

So I challenge you. Take time to evaluate your heart's motives behind every word that rattles off your tongue and every action your hands and feet make. Do they bring glory and praise to the King? Or are they self-glorifying, bringing satisfaction for a moment but in the long run destroying you?

Give it all to Jesus. He's worthy of every penny, every smile, every car ride, every phonecall, every basketball shoot, every paintbrush stroke, every stir of the spoon, and every other way that can be used to show off his glory. :)

A Brother's Cry

Today at work I was very heavy-hearted.
As I scrambled around trying to keep the cookie jar full, stack the cups away, wipe down the counters, and various other little jobs to keep the cafeteria spick and span, I noticed something that broke my heart.
A guy sitting alone at a table.
It's not unusual to see a person sitting or standing by himself in a public area, and typically it's something our eyes skip over every day. But I couldn't stop but stare at him for a moment.
And it wasn't because of his appearence or that I knew him. It was because he was ALONE.
Here's the question that crossed my mind:
Why is it that as Christians we can go out and love those who don't know Jesus, but we can't show love to those within our own community?
I'm not saying that the Church is doing a terrible job at caring for its community. And I'm not saying that we don't love our brothers and sisters in Christ. But, I do wonder... Do we minimize or overshadow the needs of others in the body of Christ simply because they share the same faith as us?
If I was to pose the same scenario to you in the cafeteria today, but let's say the student was a visitor, then how would that change the dynamics? I think it would change them drastically. Since the person isn't a regular, people would notice that and jump in and include this person into their culture.
So why don't we include the student sitting alone in the cafeteria, the elderly man standing alone in the foyer before church begins, or the girl at the end of the hallway who never seems to leave her room?

1. One potential reason is fear. We are so afraid of going out of our way to meet the needs of others because it can mess with our image, expectations or schedule. Or maybe it's not necessarily that -- maybe it's because we're afraid to talk with people we don't know. We cannot allow fear to rule us any longer. Go against the norm, and stop allowing fear to get in the way of stepping out and showing someone you care!
2. Secondly, I think sometimes our minds trick us by telling us that "someone else will love them, so I don't have to". NO! This is a lie. You may be the only person in someone's day that snaps them a smile, wishes them a hello, or asks how they are doing. Never assume that a person will receive love from someone else. Don't let this mirage of thought ruin your chance to make someone's day!

Maybe we don't notice it, but maybe our brothers and sisters in Christ are secretely screaming, "I want to be included! If you are my brother or sister, show me the love of Christ!" inside of them.
WE MUST LEARN TO LOVE LIKE CHRIST LOVED.
And how did He love? 1 John 3:16-18 tells us well.

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."
 

I loved the second sentence of this passage. We ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
Surrendering your life is the ultimate form of sacrifice, and this is what Jesus is calling us to. Jesus literally laid down His life for us, so in order to love like He loved, we must lay down our lives for others (maybe not in a literal sense, but we still need to take this very seriously).
In Matthew 22:39, Jesus also commands us to "love your neighbor as yourself." How much do you love yourself? One way to look at it is to see how much you spend on yourself. How much money do you invest into a new wardrobe, a new car, an education, your cell phone bill, etc? We spend a lot of time feeding the selfishness rotting away at the inner core of our being. What if we were counter-cultural, and instead of always thinking about "me, me, me", what if we shifted our focus inside-out to put the needs and desires of others before our own?
To truly love is to set aside one's own desires and comforts to meet the silent pleas of those around you.
God places us in every moment and situation for a reason. If we don't step into the gap and love the person who's all alone now, who knows what could happen to them next? They could commit suicide because of the brokenness they feel. They could start cutting themselves. You never know what a person's next action will be, and the best thing you can do is always show them that they are loved through a simple smile or "hello".
So I challenge you.
Recognize people.
Spark up a conversation with a fellow student in the halls.
Stop judging people based on their outer appearance or even their reputation. Because height, weight, hair color, clothing style, economic status, personality and past mistakes are just masks covering a person's soul.
Look past the facade and answer the cries of the lonely both inside and outside the Church.

This Little Light Of Mine

Last night I locked myself out of the house I live in. Thankfully, all I needed to do was call my roommate and ask her to bring my keys downstairs to the door.

She did just that, and the second I turned around, an elderly Somali woman was standing stationary in the middle of the sidewalk, her dark eyes glued on me.

I caught myself off-guard. Was their something about my appearance that bothered her? Was their something foreign on my clothing?

As nerve-wracking thoughts continued to rush through my head, I decided to approach the woman and ask her how she was. She mumbled something in her native language I could not understand. I asked her to repeat, and she pointed to the large smokey grey house that I call home.

I still couldn't understand her words, even with the gesture that accompanied her words. So I simply mustered, "This building is a residence house of North Central University."

She nodded, with a blank expression splatted across her wrinkled face. No words.

Awkwardly, I continued the conversation: "You have a beautiful purple scarf." The woman had a floral patterned violet scarf wrapped around her head, as many Muslim women do.

Her face lit up in a gorgeous smile. Although her teeth were yellow and crooked, a tangible joy appeared that wasn't there before.

The woman started rambling off some more words that were alien to me, and I just stood there in awe.

The self-conscious thoughts that flooded my head before faded in a snap. I suddenly realized that my simple compliment had a profound effect on this woman's emotions.

A brief yet insightful moment with a stranger where a piece of Jesus' love was revealed. How many of these experiences have you had with people? Maybe it was with a homeless man on the street, a businessman in the elevator, or a mom with three kids in the line at the grocery store.

There's a special kind of terminology I like to use when describing situations like this. Dr. Watson, a popular and lovable professor at my college, unofficially coined the phrase.

"divine appointment" - n.

A divine appointment is where God sovereignly brings people together to accomplish His will.
Sometimes it involved two people who know each other already. Other times, and in many cases, God draws the paths of two unfamilar and quite opposite people together.
This is what happened with me. A Christian 20-year-old college student meets an elderly Muslim woman. Two opposite ends of a spectrum clashing together. And it wasn't an accident.
In these scenarios, the Lord uses His sheep to reach the ones who are not in the pen of the Shepherd yet. Sometimes it's through the telling of the full Gospel message, other times it's just through a simple bit of encouragement that plants a seed. Either way, God treasures these moments. They are priceless in history.

Sadly, it is seldom that we remember or find value in brief interactions with people. As Americans, we tend to hurry through our days with one thing planted on our minds. Usually we're just thinking of where we're going and how we're going to get there.

People we pass along the way are merely living and breathing pieces of scenery. How sad is that?

What if, instead, we looked at people as how God sees them rather than judging them based on their physical appearance, past and character? We were all created beautifully in God's eyes.

Yesterday I was reminded of one simple truth.

Every second we spend on this planet is an opportunity to be a light. Whether we're surrounded by people or not, we still have a choice to make. Will I harness this moment and glorify God with it, or will I waste it away and make it something meaningless?

Time is a gift from God. We should never take one minute of this life for granted.

"Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." (James 4:14)

Never expect that you will awaken tomorrow morning and be able to fix all of today's mistakes. If God is knocking on your heart to forgive, forgive NOW. If He is calling you to confession, then pour out your brokenness before the throne. Be always listening for the voice of the Holy Spirit and be obedient to His promptings.

Besides having a constant awareness of the still, small voice the Lord loves to speak through, go out and spread the Good News to those who are lost. God calls us to be children of light (Ephesians 5:8).

I think the Lord has placed three basic callings on our lives:

1. To love the Lord with all of our hearts, souls, and minds

2. A specific vocational calling (missionary, businessman, church nursery provider, etc.)

3. To reach out to the broken-hearted

God longs for each one of his sons and daughters to come home to Him and call Him "Father". We, as Christians, are His instruments.

"In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)

We have some pretty big shoes to fill as we walk this planet. Although it may be overwhelming at times, remember that the Lord has given us authority over darkness and he is the ultimate source of power and strength.

Allow the Lord to place divine appointments in your life. Pray for them. Hunger for them. Seek them out. There are hundreds of people who cross your path every day who don't know the Lord, and all it takes is one simple "hello". I believe the Lord arranges divine appointments for us every day, but we are only able to experience these when we are in tune to His voice.

Live out the catchy song your teachers taught you in Sunday school.

This little light of mine,

I'm gonna let it shine...

Let it shine

Let it shine

Let it shine.