Category: December 2015

DISCLAIMER: This is a bit of a long one.

The Spirit of God testifies to and confirms the simple, but almighty, security of the life that “is hidden with Christ in God”… “My peace I give to you…” — a peace which brings an unconstrained confidence and covers you completely, from the top of your head to the soles of your feet. “…your life is hidden with Christ in God,” and the peace of Jesus Christ that cannot be disturbed has been imparted to you.

~ Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest ~
Referenced above: John 14:27 and Colossians 3:3

It must be a strange concept to the world; a life that is hidden. Concealed, obscure, covert.
Withdrawn…
Difficult to perceive…
Indistinct to the senses….
Far from the public eye or important activities…
In concealment…
Sheltered in a hiding place…*

These are not incorrect definitions of the life “hidden with Christ in God.”

It is a life withdrawn. I do not mean that Christians by nature are hermits or completely dissociated with society (although certainly this is the case with some). But ours is a calling to be withdrawn from the world’s pattern for living. When Jesus prayed for His followers before His arrest — imagine that! The most holy Being, the Savior even of His captors, was arrested and condemned by men as a criminal! — He said,
“I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth…” (John 17:15-17).
We are supposed to be in this world — I mean, after all, here we are — but our hearts are supposed to be withdrawn from the world itself, and should be fixed on heavenly things; namely, on our Savior and His quickening return (Colossians 3:1-2).

Difficult to perceive? Yes, I think this is accurate. To anyone who is not a Christian — and even, I daresay, to many of us who call ourselves Christians — the life of a Christian is a difficult thing to understand. Think about it: We are supposed to willingly “lose” our lives for the sake of Jesus. We are supposed to love the people who would spit in our face and not lose a wink over our detriment (commonly known as our enemies). Jesus says that if someone slaps us in the face, we should offer him the option of slapping our other cheek as well. Oh, and did I mention? We are also supposed to die. It is no wonder that the world thinks Christians are lunatics! Everything we are supposed to do and be is completely counter-intuitive to the human nature! It is no surprise that Paul said that “the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing…
…BUT” he continued, “to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18). Biblically speaking, our way of life should be pretty difficult to understand to the rest of the world.

This is also where “indistinct to the senses” comes in. The life of a Christian is a life of self-denial. Our human senses that crave and hunger and lust after anything and everything around them are surely quite taken aback when we begin to deny them. We see and we want. We smell, and we hunger. We hear and we listen harder. We touch, and we want to grasp.  We taste, and we indulge. How very foreign to our human nature is the principle of self-control. Yet this is a very crucial component to the Christian life (Galatians 5:22-23).

Far from the public eye or important activities. This is applicable in a specific way. Jesus was, in fact, frequently under the ever-curious eyes of the public, and He was also present at important events such as the Feast of Tabernacles, weddings, and funerals. Had He lived during our period, He likely would have had a fair bit of media publicity.
However, there was a vitally significant part of Jesus’ life that was kept very private. His forty-day temptation, for one. And He frequently got away from the crowds to commune with His Father in fervent, sometimes sweat-inducing prayer. We glimpse only tiny segments of these parts of Jesus’ life; He practiced what He preached:
“…when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who sees in secret…” (Matthew 6:6). Ministry is often a public thing; but there are elements of our walk with the Lord that are meant to be far removed from public places and activities.

I love the notion of my life being concealed and sheltered in a hiding place…

A mighty Warrior rescues me from vicious predators in a blinding rainstorm. With His strong arms, He sweeps me up and covers me with His cloak. He carries me away to a cave, out of reach from the biting wind, stinging rain, and untold dangers. When He has settled me safely in His hiding place, He goes out to slay whatever threat remains. And upon His return, offers me a place with Him, to abide with Him and learn from Him in His secret dwelling place, always under His loving protection and watchful eye….

This is a tale that can be further elaborated. Perhaps you have a different preferred narrative. There are other ideas surrounding this notion of concealment in a secret hiding place. David said of the Lord,
“…in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.” (Psalm 27:5).
The psalmist of chapter 91 says,
“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1).
This psalm is chalked full of vivid descriptors of the life of the one who abides in the shadow of the Almighty. It is a life that cannot be touched apart from the Keeper’s will. It is a life of fearlessness, implicit trust, and intimacy with the Most High.

We must often remind each other of what our life is { I N  C H R I S T }. These are not mere fantasies, illusions, or sentiments. These are actually fundamental components to our lives in Christ.
It is easy to forget what our lives are supposed to be if we are not daily renewing our minds in the truth. So remind yourself. Remind your spouse. Remind your children, sisters and brothers, friends…
Ours is a hidden life. A life concealed, set apart, and obscure to the fallen world around us. And it is bursting with heavenly wonder to behold if we will discover it…

Says the Lord, “Because you have set your love upon Me, therefore I will deliver you; I will set you on high, because you have known My name. You shall call upon Me, and I will answer you; I will be with you in trouble; I will deliver you and honor you. With long life I will satisfy you, and show you My salvation.”

~ A paraphrase of Psalm 91:14-16 ~

*Paraphrased definitions from Dictionary.com

There is a unique peace to be found in coming home.
And when I say “home”, I do not mean that home is necessarily a place. Home will always be in a place, but it is not the place that makes it home.
No. When I say “home” I refer to the most precious people in my life. And in my case, home is more than one place, because the dearest people of my heart reside in more than one geographical location.
Now, I realize that not everyone would necessarily agree with this definition. But that is the beautiful thing about words like “home”. It is one of those that can be subjective to individual interpretation.

But I am home. I am in the home of my family. No matter which house this happens to be — and believe me, it has been many different “wooden boxes”, as my dad puts it — it is always home. Seven of the people dearest to my heart reside in this little-known town 1400 kilometres away from my other home.
But it is here, in the presence of my parents and siblings, that I find a rest and peacefulness that is unmatched by any I find elsewhere. Here I feel uniquely released to just live and let live. With each visit I am more overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude for my family, for God’s grace in my family — which is increasingly evident to me — and for the privilege of belonging to these people. They love me in a way that I have never been and will never be loved by other human beings.
When I stop and think about it too much, I cannot help but tear up. What kind of tears? Gratitude. Love. Unworthiness. Joy, perhaps. A deep desire to cherish every moment, every smile, every laugh, every conversation, every hug, every word spoken in love. An equal desire to forget every word spoken in exasperation. An eagerness to serve, to shower love on these precious people as much as time and opportunity will allow. Fear of taking it for granted, of missing something, of blinking and finding it all to be over. It is almost as though I glimpse heaven when I am at home. It is so sweet, so overwhelmingly sweet, I cannot even pin a singular feeling that evokes such emotion. Fellowship, unconditional Christ-given love, manifested grace, joy, harmony, humility, servanthood, rest…oh, be still my soul.

I suppose I must be fair in admitting, it is not all golden streets and pearly gates one hundred percent of the time. Oh no. We have our spats, our disagreements, our tensions and misunderstandings, our wounds and regrets. Exhaustion and frustration have their place and time. We are, all of us, very imperfect, very broken people, and it is more evident the older we get and the longer we know each other.

I suppose it is the sweet presence of Christ in my home that overwhelms me. I mean, after all, “every good and perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17). Truly, every good thing that makes my home a sweet place is a gift from our perfect Father.

But while I am on the subject of home…
I am reminded of another home that is mine. It is the place my Savior has gone to prepare for me. I am merely a sojourner in this world. But to fellowship in the Spirit and in truth with my brothers and sisters in Christ — regardless of where that is geographically — is always a foretaste of that heavenly dwelling place where my holy Father resides, and the Son Jesus Christ at His right hand.
The sweetness of this, my blessed earthly home, is an invitation to imagine just how much sweeter it will be to go home to glory with all the saints.

Do not let your heart be anxious. You have believed in your Father God. So believe Me, too. In His house there are many places to live. If this was not the case, I would have told you. I am going there to make a place ready for you. And the fact that I am doing this is a promise that I will come back again and take you home with Me, so that you can live with Me forever.
You know where I am going. And you know the Way….
Because { I  A M }
the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. And nobody can come to My Father unless they first come to Me.

Come to Me, every one of you who is weary and weighed down with heavy burdens. I will give you rest…

~ A paraphrase of John 14:1-4 & 6 and Matthew 11:28 ~

My roommate and I spent a few hours “deep cleaning” our room today. It was abundantly satisfying to move furniture around, vacuum up dust bunnies, wipe down surfaces, re-arrange our spaces, and make everything feel fresh and clean. Washed sheets; old assignments and handouts from the semester thrown out; a clean floor floor (a big job on hands & knees, but so worth it!)….hmm, what a delightful feeling.

When I thoroughly clean a space, it reminds me of how the Holy Spirit comes into our lives and does a deep cleansing of our hearts & minds. And when He cleanses our interior lives, our exterior lives begin to reflect the purity of our hearts, and the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

I am now a mere two days away from heading home for the holidays. One more final. A sense of accomplishment, a peace of mind and heart settling in as I anticipate a brief season of rest, rich fellowship with my family, and showering love on them in any way I may while I am at home.
I am grateful… For the abundant and very undeserved grace that my heavenly Father has showered upon me; for the grace, love and support of my dear roommates & friends over the past few months; for success in my courses; for a cleanliness; and now for the joyous opportunity to spend time with my family.

God is good, in all circumstances and challenges. He is good in hard things and in easy things. He is good in stress and in reprieve. He is good when my mind is anxious and when it is at peace. He is good in heartache and healing.
God is good. All the time.

As for God, His way is perfect;
The word of the Lord is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

~ 2 Samuel 22:31 ~

I took a walk today. Just me. Well, and Jesus, of course.

Sometimes it takes a “lonely” walk to remember that Jesus is always with me. A lonely walk quiets my mind. To walk in silence, to only think, to listen to the sounds around me — the gentle breeze dancing in the leaves and making them shiver, birds chirping distantly (they like to praise even in the winter cold too), my boots click-clacking on the sidewalk — it brings peace to my heart in a way that the presence of people does not.

I love my quiet, pensive walks with Jesus. I can imagine Him walking beside me. When I do, He is always a quiet, gentle presence. There is no pressure to speak. Only the freedom to be.
Sometimes, even today, when I am walking in silence, I feel the need to fill the silence with something. Should I sing, should I pray aloud, should I be praying silently? But then, like today, I felt instead, “No, Amy, it’s alright. Just be.”

J U S T   B E

I am usually not good at just being. I always feel like I must do. But why not just be? I can do nothing for God that will make any difference in how He feels and thinks toward me. He saw me, died for me, loved me, called me by name before I even perceived His gentle call. I had nothing to bring to Him, no great gift or sacrifice, no great talent. I cannot come to Him and give Him anything that He needs, or anything that He does not already have. I come empty, destitute, and in need. And He receives me with open arms.

Grace is a beautiful thing, and something that I will never in this life understand. Grace is forgiveness. But it is also power. It is love, but it is also correction. It is the enabling ability to do…
…but it is also the gift to simply be…
…to be in Him.

Let Him be the { I  A M }
and just be His.

Grander earth has quaked before
Moved by the sound of His voice
And seas that are shaken and stirred
Can be calmed and broken for my regard

It is well with my soul

~ Bethel Music ~