They That Were Ready Went In...

Where's your oil?

I was reading Matthew 25(KJV) today. There were 10 virgins, the Bible says. Five were wise and five were foolish. They were all waiting for the bridegroom but the foolish virgins brought no oil to light their lamps. When the bridegroom arrived, they asked the wise virgins to share, but to no avail. What if there wasn't enough left to light their own lamps after they shared with their five foolish comrades? So, the foolish virgins went to get their own oil, and while they were gone, the bridegroom came. This is what the Bible records in verse 10:

And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

They that were ready went in...

This made me ask myself how ready I am for my King to return. Do I have my oil? Or has the zeal of my first love run dry? The funny thing about these virgins was that they were all pure, they were all waiting for the bridegroom. Only five of them, however, were ready while they waited. Only five were prepared for that cry in the midnight hour proclaiming the coming of the bridegroom.

Let's not wait in vain. Let's choose Jesus, and after we've chosen Him lets run toward Him with everything we have. No dilly dallying. No more playing church. No more agendas and programs. Let's be a people who are after the heart of Jesus, not just waiting for His hand in marriage.

I don't want to be caught unaware. I don't want to hear the cry of Christ's coming and realize, belatedly, that my lantern is dry and unlit. We have to constantly fill our vessels with oil. This takes dedication, prayer, worship, the Word, fasting. Do we love our Bridegroom enough to keep the fire burning? Is the passion still there?

When the bridegroom comes, I want to be ready. I want to go in with Him to the marriage. When the door is shut, I want to be locked in with my King, and with all of my wise brothers and sisters. Then we will worship Jesus forever more.

Let Your Light Shine Before Men...

I've heard people say that one man can't change the world, but I'm afraid that I'm going to have to contend very strongly with the notion.

Matthew 5:14-16 says:

14You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.

15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.

16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

These words make me feel so strong. They empower me.

Jesus tells us plainly that we are the light of the whole world. The light that I've received from knowing Jesus is enough to brighten the whole world. We all have this light. God has given us all gifts that will cause us to shine for His glory in one way or another. He gives these gifts freely, but its our responsibility to go out into a darkened and broken world and shine so brightly that darkness has no choice but to flee.

Verse 15 implies that its outrageous to hide a light. That light is supposed be positioned in a high place so that it can give "light to everyone in the house." For us, this house could very well be our homes. It could be our churches, our schools, our jobs, our communities, our world. The possibilities in God are boundless. But we must first let our light shine. We can't be ashamed of this gospel. We have to keep our eyes set on things that are eternal. Everyday we have to choose God again and again and again until we see Him face to face.

My favorite part is verse 16. This light that we have isn't for us. It's not okay to keep it to ourselves. We have to go out into our worlds and shine so that people will look at us and say, "What on earth do they have that I don't?" And when they ask us, we move out of the way, we point toward our Savior and we say, "I have Jesus."

Yes, we are only human. Each one of us is so different from the other. We are all individuals. But with God, we are always in the majority. One man, with God, can change the world.

Bless the Lord, O My Soul...

Psalm 103:1-5 says:

1Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

2Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
3Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
4Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's

I love these verses! I can relate to the psalmist because I, too, have received so many benefits from knowing Jesus and having a relationship with Him. I, too, cannot forget these benefits. I, too, want everything in my life to bless the Lord. I don't want to have anything to return unused for His glory on that last day.

What does it mean to "bless the Lord?" For me, it just means that I want to be a blessing to Jesus. I want to be an asset to His kingdom and His cause here on earth. Not because I have anything to give, not because whatever I give will be enough to repay Him for all He's been to me, but because it would be a crime for me to look at all He's done for me, and how He's changed my life, and all He's given me and not want to do something to say thank you.

I don't talk about Jesus so much because I think I'm better than anyone. In fact, I believe the opposite. I'm not a Christian so that I can be judgemental and toss accusations at passers by. The truth is that when I see people in the amazing world around me, I want to get to know them, hear their stories, understand and the give them excited hugs. The reason that I talk about Jesus so much is that He has done too much for me to keep to myself. This is my way of blessing the Lord. If I looked back over my short life and saw everything that this amazing and kind God has done for me, and I was prompted to do nothing in return, I may as well be dead.

My prayer is that everything in my life -the good and the bad- will be a blessing to God and to His church and to His cause. I want all that is within me to bless the Lord and because of this, I cannot keep silent.

"I will love You with all my heart. I will love You with all my strength. I will love You with all my soul. Take all of me."

I've Heard That Love is Blind...

I've come to the conclusion that it is fairly inaccurate to believe that love is blind. In my years of limited erudition, I've come to understand that love does, indeed, see the multitude of sins...but chooses -with full sight- to cover them.

have i told YOU today that i love YOU?
and i appreciate all that YOU've done?
have i said that i'd like to give YOU
every peice of me, every last one?

have i let YOU know how much it means
that YOU'd spend YOUR time with me?
or that if YOU had never found me
i have no idea where i would be?

have i made it clear through jest and tears?
have i given enough of myself?
to show YOU that its YOU i want
it's YOU and no one else...

Who Am I?

Oh, the joys of the journey toward self-actualization! There are many highs and lows that make this life so exciting and unpredictable. I think that most interesting part of life is the road we take to finding out what defines us. It is an adventure that must be taken with risk and spontaneity, but this same course must be explored with much caution.

People, I've learned, have a very interesting way of defining life according to their own experiences and schema. The only way that we know how to frame our world is through the lenses of experience. The problem arises when we try to define other people. People are so diverse and intricate. Only God can truly know our hearts, so when one man tries to blow the horn of another, he might toot too loudly or too softly, never really getting just the right pitch. On the other hand, a man that toots his own horn won't exactly find the perfect tone, due to certain unavoidable biases. So, who, you might ask do we give the privilege of "the toot?" The Word of God is the only mirror that we can look into to give us a clear image of God, of self, of others and of the world around us.

What does the Word say about me? That I am fearfully and wonderfully made, that I'm royalty, that I'm a redeemed sinner, that I'm the apple of God's eye...so many other things. The beauty of finding ourselves in God's Word is that in the end...every good and beautiful thing that describes us is found in God, which should eradicate all feelings of pride. This also gets rid of feelings that we're not good enough or that we'll fail, because as long as we find rest in God who does not fail, we are standing on unshakable ground.

This is the bottom line: YOU ARE WHO GOD SAYS THAT YOU ARE.

Nothing more...nothing less...

What sweet relief I've found in learning that I don't have to try anymore.

Something to Think About...

I'm trying right now to think of people who's names grace our history books; people that will be remembered for generations to come. What mark will I leave on this earth when I'm long gone? How will this generation as a whole be remembered?

I was reading 2 Timothy 1 today and it was verse 5 that sparked these thoughts, and my active imagination fanned the sparks into flame. Verse 5 (NIV) says:

I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

Timothy's grandmother and mother left a tremendous legacy behind for him to follow. They made the way a little clearer for Timothy by the way that they lived. Their faith is described by Paul as "sincere faith." Paul also pointed out that this same faith "lived" in these amazing women. Their faith wasn't dead. They must've been working it out, because we all know that faith without works is dead (James 2:20).

What legacy will I leave behind for those who will come after me? What will be said of me when I'm gone? I think that these are questions that we must all ask ourselves. I'm praying that God will develop within me a steadfast and diligent character, so that in the end, I will be found standing tall on His word, with a song of praise in my mouth and my arms lifted high in worship to a God that saw me when I was nothing and told me that I'm special.