Beautiful Yubelina

    

Over a year ago, I started receiving monthly issues of the free publication "Voice of the Martyrs." Quite honestly, I don't always take the time to read it, but whenever I take the time to, it's truly inspiring to see what Christians worldwide are willing to go through for their faith in Jesus.

Well, when last month's issue arrived, I couldn't help being startled by the picture above, as it was printed in full color on the eight and a half by eleven inch cover of the magazine. You see, this precious woman from Indonesia, Yubelina, was burned when Muslims overtook her village. And she's still smiling.

Today I received another issue of VOM. It mentioned Yubelina's photo, and how many people were disgruntled by their using it as the cover of their magazine. Some people even asked to be taken off of their mailing list because they were offended by her face.

Americans today are obsessed with appearance. Walking the grocery store aisles today, I was amazed by how many products we use to try to make ourselves feel more attractive. I even began to worry about myself when I picked up the new Land's End swimsuit catalog from our counter and started perusing it this evening.

Am I skinny enough? Am I pretty enough? What does everyone else think about me? We often ask ourselves these questions. Of course we judge ourselves this way- everybody is caught up in the self-image craze, and we critique people accordingly.

Perhaps that's why people were offended by Yubelina. We're so used to starved, photoshopped models that we have no gadge for beauty.

David says in Psalm 27:4, "I have asked one thing from the Lord; it is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, gazing on the beauty of the Lord and seeking in His temple."

Yet in Isaiah 53:2 we read, "He had no form or splendor that we should look at Him, no appearance that we should desire Him."

Hmm...then that must mean that the sort of beauty God possesses must not resemble the earthly beauty that we have grown accustomed to admiring. And, if that's the case, then, if we truly hope to reflect Him, it probably doesn't have a lot to do with the way we look.

I truly believe that Yubelina is a beautiful woman. At least, she's a beautiful woman the way that I desire to be beautiful. And it pains me to think that her brothers and sisters in Christ were ashamed to look upon her lovliness, and that my very first thought when I first saw her was the same as theirs.

What are we seeking after? If we pursue temporary beauty, we are sure to end up propped up, dyed, stuffed, painted and, most of all, hollow.

There is so much more in store for us.

"From Zion, the perfection of beauty, God appears in radiance." Psalm 50:2

Yubelina was willing to give up every hope of being beautiful by the world's standards for the glory of her King. What did I do for my Jesus today? Did I attempt to reflect His perfect beauty by living as He would, or did I pursue the shallow, fleeting standard of beauty that the world applauds?

Thankfully, it's after midnight, so, technically, it's a new day and I get to try again. =) I just can't forget to ask God for His enabling grace.

I'm Expecting...

(and it's most definetly not what you're thinking! =D)

When it comes to prayer, I think a lot of us, (myself included), ask often, but don't really expect the so-called "answer". Why is that? It seems to me our prayers are often stuck in this rut of, asking but not expecting.

This morning I woke up not feeling very well. I was heading off to babysit, so it wasn't really a great situation. There in the early morning light I was praying a half-hearted, sleepy prayer. "Jesus, I ask that you give me strength for the day." It was a prayer with little room for God to intervene. Just give me that strength, okay? I fumbled out of my room, swallowed some breakfast, brushed my teeth, and found myself driving away.

My neck was still stiff, and my head was still pounding, and my eyes were still a bit groggy. Halfway to the destination, I realized I just couldn't spend seven hours with two little boys feeling like this.

And, I suddenly realized that Jesus could take away the aches and stiffness, the tired, dreary feeling I had. So, I asked Him. And you know what? I had hardly finished my (specific, expecting!) prayer, when my weary feelings (headache, ect.) were instantly (and I mean instantly) gone! It was amazing, and I was just so filled with His awesome wonder and might. Babysitting for the day went splendidly, too.

This has been such a lesson for me, and I hope it can send you thinking, too. Honestly, I feel foolish for all the times I've prayed prayers that have such "loose ends" that don't give our Lord room to provide in His amazing ways. Let's start expecting!

Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives, is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see. -Corrie Ten Boom

"I Love You" by Misty Edwards

He Sees Every Tear

A four year-old with dark eyes stared up at me this morning and didn't say a word. Since you never know what this might mean, I quickly followed him back to the table where he was coloring a picture of fruit. At first I thought that he might be upset because he had accidentally colored his pineapple red, but then I realized that this was a purposeful artistic touch.

"That's nice," I smiled, about to walk away. Then I realized the reason that he had tried to get my attention- he had a friend in need.

There, staring down at his empty picture of black-and-white fruits, sat Zacchaeus, tears brimming in his eyes. The moment he caught my eye, he began to sob. I carried him out of the room so that he wouldn't disrupt the thirty-two other preschoolers and sat him down in the hallway. Surprisingly, the moment he was in my lap, the tears stopped flowing and he sat in silence. All he needed were arms around him and someone to wipe away his tears.

The adult world is cruel. The moment that we're old enough to drive ourselves around and pay for the means to do it, we're expected to remain composed at all times- tough and resilient- and not show any emotion other than elation. The required answer to the question, "How are you?" is "good," no matter whether it's the truth or not.

When you're a child, of course, it's a completely different story. Kids are allowed to cry over just about anything- candy, scrapes, dinner, bedtime- it's expected of them. However, no one would be understanding if a twenty year-old woman burst into tears because she wanted the blueberry lollipop.

But life isn't always full of rainbows and sunshine, whether we're supposed to pretend like it is or not. To where can we turn?

When I told Zacchaeus that it was time for us to go back inside the classroom and stood him up, he burst into tears again, this time even more than before. But it was only a couple of seconds before he was silently settled in my lap again, content to remain there until his mother arrived.

As I sat there, I thought of Jesus and His continual arms around me and the fact that, at the end of the day, after I've answered "good" dozens of times and smiled whether I felt like it or not, He is there with open arms, ready and waiting for me to climb into His lap as a child would and tell Him what's really on my heart.

"Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14

You don't have to be a child to be a child to Jesus.

Thursday's Thoughts from Heroes of the Faith

 

"In the final analysis, it does not matter what question we are asking. All questions come under one of three headings:

1. Way--we need guidance

2. Truth--we need a norm.

3. Life--we need sustenance.
Jesus said, 'I am' all of these things. Let us bring everything that baffles us into His presence, holding it up before Him by faith. In that Light, the look of things will slowly begin to change, and as we humble ourselves to receive the true answer, our eyes will be opened. We learn to know Christ, then, as we walk in His way, obey His truth, and live His life. He Himself, a living, loving Person, is our answer." -Elisabeth Elliot

"Lost" Keys

I'm always paranoid about losing my keys.

I suppose it's not so much about losing the keys as much as it is the fact that I wouldn't be able to go anywhere without them. Still, no matter how many times paranoia strikes, I always find them nestled safely in my purse and drive off into the sunset.

That is, until the other day.

I was already running late getting from one lesson to another, and I couldn't find them anywhere. I had just said my good-byes and gotten ready to leave, but after rummaging through my very small purse and even going to such lengths as pulling everything out, I still couldn't them. Great, I thought, about to walk back up the driveway.

Suddenly, before I even looked inside my hand, I realized where they were.

I had been holding them the whole time.

After slapping myself in the forehead, I drove away.

Do you ever have questions? It's very rare that I don't have some sort of question on my mind. Often I'll find myself asking God, "Why?" or "When?" or "What?" or "Where?" I'm not really expecting an answer because I've convinced myself that He wants me to fend for myself, but it feels good to just ask Him.

Here's a question: Why would He want us to fend for ourselves? Why in the world would He have come into the world to reconnect us to Himself if all He intended to do was leave us alone again?

When I really think about it, even with all of the many questions that I find myself asking God, all I really want to know is, "What should I do now?"

Well, what if I told you that asking God such a question and not expecting an answer is like searching for the keys that you're holding in your hand? He is very much within your reach- His voice, His word, His power and all that He has for you (which is everything that you could possibly need)- all that you need to do is open your hand.

"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Matthew 16:19

Please believe me when I say that I wrote this post as much for myself as I did for you. Let's open our hands together, okay?

"I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live." Ezekiel 18:32

Thursday's Thought from Heroes of the Faith

Why don't you join Him in His great global purposes as He shapes a world for His glory? Will you bow down, worship, and serve our great God? Will you tell others of His unfailing, unfaltering, and unshakable love for them? Will you go? -Julia Henry, missionary in Ecuador

Cast Your Burdens

In 1 Peter 5:7 it says, "Cast your cares on Jesus for He cares for you." What a glorious verse that is, to know that, as Christians, we can walk in the unclouded sunlight! Yet, I have found I struggle with handing my cares over to Jesus. Many times I go on my knees to surrender it to Him, only to finish my prayer; rise, and take my up my burden all over again.

D.L. Moody once said something quite poignant, and I think it rings true with many of us. Far too often, he said, we come to church with our bundle of burdens, and drop them at the end of the pew. We sing, rejoice, praise, and forget our cares. But once the benediction is spoken, we leave and pick up our bundle of burdens once again.

Christ is the sin-bearer, but He is also the burden-bearer. If we humble ourselves before Him, He shall take them.

What hinders us from giving our anxieties to Jesus?

Seek His Face...

Lord, You're beautiful
Your face is all I seek
For when your eyes are on this child
Your grace abounds to me...

This is a favorite song of mine, it's lyrics seem to capture the very longings in my heart. Only a few weeks ago did I learn it was written by Keith Green, which made me love the lyrics all the more, knowing that such an inspiring, poured-out Christian had written them. (Which you can read more about in Lauren's post here.)

Honestly, I get so frusterated with Christians who never see the Lord's beauty. They are stuffy, crusty, stale, and dreary. They talk but they don't live. I wonder, have they ever felt the wind dance through their hair? Listened to the birds, smelt the falling rain? Looked at the intricate snowflake, the majesty of a horse, the mighty mountains? Do they ever pant after God, as the deer pants for flowing streams? Has there never been a flame within their soul? Have they experienced Jesus, felt His wonderous love? Tasting the goodness of the Lord, pondering it...
All of this, it is the beautiful face of God.

Seek it.

Almost

It seems as if the whole country is holding its breath in anticipation of the moment when the last snowflake will disappear and little green shoots will begin to appear all over the countryside. There is something about spring that holds an enchanting promise, and we're almost there.

Almost.

Isn't that an intriguing word?

Almost.

When it comes to a lot of things, it's a beautiful word. My sister and her fiance are almost married. The weather outside is almost warm. Opening night for the show I'm in right now is almost here. There are a thousand almosts holding a promise that something entirely new and wonderful is about to happen.

But what about the other almosts? What if life is on the brink of something incredibly beautiful, but I'm not quite willing to step out of my comfort zone and onto a limb to try it?

What if I am an almost?

Lindsey and I were talking about lukewarm Christians the other day- Christians that have so much potential to be incredible vessels for the light and love of Christ, but just barely fall short of that potential. It wasn't until after we each hung up our phones that I realized the person of whom we were speaking might as well be me. There are plenty of almosts in my life- am I missing my potential?

It's a frightening thought, isn't it? At the end of this life, when we are entering into the beauty of heaven and are beginning an eternity at the feet of our King, will He look into our eyes with tears in His own and say, "You were so close, My darling. You were almost there."

A.W. Tozer says it this way: "Why do we consent to abide all our days just outside the Holy of Holies and never enter at all to look upon God? We hear the Bridegroom say, 'Let Me see they countenance, let Me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice and thy countenance is comely.' (Song of Songs 2:14) We sense that the call is for us, but still we fail to draw near, and the years pass and we grow old and tired in the outer courts of the tabernacle."

Thankfully, dear friends, it isn't too late. We're never too old or too tired to make the choice to press through the outer courts into the Holy of Holies. He has a potential for us so much greater than our imagination can handle, but it won't come without change.

It can't come without change anymore than spring could come without the snow melting and the flowers pushing up from the slowly thawing soil.

Death and Life

I've been surrounded by four deaths this week. Four. All of them dear, treasured people, all greatly loved. So once again I ponder that unknown word, death.

Outside my window just now, everywhere you look, you are surrounded by life. As spring begins to show it's first signs, life just seems to burst forth from the birds, the trees, the air, and the sky.

To experience life in one hand and death in the other is such an odd feeling. In Christ, I know that there is eternal life. I know that full well. However, there are now four people who are no longer here. What is so eternal about that?

I think my idea of "eternal life" has been wrong for a long time. In Christ, there is eternal soul-life. Praise Jesus that there are four souls in Heaven with Him! Life on earth, though, is not eternal.

We could die at any instant. Why then, do we not live that way? Making every moment worthy for our King, pointing lost souls to our Lord, serving Him?

The other day I glanced at my calendar. "Here we are," I thought. "Just another box on a page. I will go to bed and wake up, and we will have moved to yet another box with a number on it..."

What? Suddenly I realized what I was saying. Just another day? No, no--rather another day created by God, unlike all the millions of other days. Set apart to be used for His glory, not a minute to be wasted.

That is how the servants of Christ must work.

I Choose Joy

It's easy to be happy when things are going great. It's not so easy to be happy when things are not.

Aren't I deep? I think Confucius said that once.

These past two weeks have been full of some rather unfortunate circumstances. Between four student cancellations in two days, a rather terse activities director, misread schedules, and a student who quit lessons altogether, it's been one thing after another. Then the steering wheel in the car decided it didn't like turning, thus all of my plans for today were cancelled. "Well," I thought as I hung up the phone after calling a friend of mine to postpone our lunch date, "at least I don't need a car for the lesson I have this morning!"

I waited for a half an hour before coming to the conclusion that she must've forgotten.

Am I telling you all of this to complain? Of course not. Because, if I was, I'd end this post right here and say, "Feel sorry for me!"

No, I'm telling you all of this because I have a feeling that you've often had weeks exactly like mine- probably weeks that were much worse, too. And in those weeks, you, like me, probably felt a little bit sorry for yourself and probably complained a little bit to anyone who was willing to listen. And, in our culture, that's fine. We're encouraged to "let it all out" and take some "me time" to rejuvinate and feel better about ourselves and our unfortunate circumstances.

Well, let me tell you, that was my first thought this morning. And then it struck me- that's exactly what satan wants. He wants to destroy every bit of my "happiness" until I am rendered useless for the purposes of God. If I am feeling sorry for myself and lose any bit of my joy, I am no longer a representation of Jesus on this earth- I'm just like everyone else, wallowing in my earthly unhappiness.

Happiness is fleeting. Depending upon it is like depending upon sunshine on a windy, cloudy day. You smile when the clouds blow away from the sun and its beams radiate down upon your shoulders, but the moment that another cloud rolls by, your grin fades. Happiness depends upon circumstances.

Joy is a choice. That's what Jesus whispered in my ear this morning. No matter what is going on, His joy is there, ready and waiting for me to grab a hold of it and smile. As soon as I do, it's the enemy that is rendered powerless.

And that is definitely something to smile about. =)

You Will Seek Me...

At church on Sunday we had an incredibly beautiful service, a good portion of which was spent in the throne room of heaven. We all basked in the warm glow of God's presence and allowed Him to work in our hearts as He desired. It was a truly beautiful morning.

Near the end of our worship time, my pastor asked a very blunt question.

"How many of you really feel God at work in your heart?"

Amazed, I watched as only a small portion of our congregation raised their hands. I lifted mine immediately, assuming that everyone else would feel the same way I did, and I felt almost embarrassed as I realized that I was a exception. I felt sorry for everyone who was being honest and saying that God was doing absolutely nothing inside of them. Then I began to wonder what the problem was.

Looking back over the morning, I remembered when our amazing worship time had begun. Everyone was singing and praising God, and then our pastor come up to the podium and we all stopped. But he began to sing again- as he often does- and only a handful of us stood up to worship with him. The other group was probably saying, "Worship time is over. I'm just going to sit and wait for him to start preaching." They are used to the schedule and they want the services to remain that way.

After thinking back to that moment, I realized that those of us who stood up to worship again were also those of us who raised our hands about the work that God was doing inside of us. Coincidence? Absolutely not.

Google tells us that we make about 35,000 decisions everyday. No wonder we are easily distracted from our First Love! But, even so, it is possible to seek Him. It is possible to find Him. And, once we find Him, like the Beloved in Song of Songs, we must hold Him and not let Him go. (Song of Songs 3)

So how do we do it? Well, how could seventy percent of my church's congregation have had an incredible experience with God on Sunday morning? Firstly, they needed to stand up and worship Him. We can't expect God to just come down and transform us while we sit in a chair and stare blankly at the wall. We must open our hearts to Him and put forth the effort- no matter how much it takes- to seek Him with all of our hearts.
"You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13 

Secondly, we must not be complacent. Jesus has a burning desire to be intimate with you, but it is your choice whether that intimacy occurs or not, for it must be two-sided. If you don't have a passionate desire for Him, ask Him to give you a hunger for His presence. Most likely, you'll discover that many of the things you already desire can be found in Him and you never realized it.

It may not be effortless, dear friends, but think of any truly magnificent relationship- true love, a close friendship, a family bond- none of them are. And what an incredible gift it is to be able to say we are best friends with the Creator of the universe.