Change of Residence

I have migrated to tumblr! If you want to know what I'm up to, head over to the blog I actually update!

Grace and peace,
Jessi

Brokenhearted for the smart people

Intelligent people "less likely to believe in God"

This is really tearing me up right now, guys; I'm literally on the verge of tears. It makes me so very sad to see that people deemed intelligent are turning away from the gospel because they've gotten "too smart" for God. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4: "...if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" (emphasis mine).

Satan has used the gift of great intelligence with which God has blessed these people to convince them that He is simply the main character in a great fairy story. Science and reason can explain everything anymore, so what need is there for God? Maybe I'm naive, but I can't look at the world we live in without seeing God everywhere. Matter of fact, I can't get past how intricately He made me, so I really don't have to go that far to see evidence of a Creator.

"Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts[...]because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen." Romans 1:22-25 (emphasis mine)

This humanistic intelligence essentially says that we are our own god because we have outsmarted and out-thought Him. Religion becomes superstition in the revelation of enlightenment, and God becomes a frayed, ragged safety blanket clung to by those of us who are not educated enough to know any better. If you ask me, they've got more faith than I do for sure. I think it takes a lot more faith to believe that there is no God than to believe that there's Someone out there holding the universe in the span of His hand.

"For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.' Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 (emphasis mine)

God was kinda cheeky in my opinion when He made it so we can't get to Him through our own means, by our own power, and via our own wisdom. He is known by faith in Christ, not through reason and science. Certainly we see God through these avenues, but that's now how we know Him. It might not make sense to our tiny human brains, but that's the way God wanted it.

With acknowledgement of a higher power comes responsibility to that higher power, and humans don't like that. I'll readily admit to being one of them, but part of the beauty of the gospel is this: when you follow Christ and surrender fully to His will, you are free in Him. You're no longer bound to the weight of you and the junk you carry around. It's freedom. If that makes me unintelligent, so be it. I'd rather have Jesus than men's applause.

(I really never intend to write this much, and I've got a lot more to say, but I need to sleep. I guess I'm just opinionated. Best be bracing for the backlash to come. =P)

Passport or Textbooks?

I LOVE to travel. I think that’s a desire God has given me because it’s part of what I’ll be doing in my life. I get impatient sitting around my room like I am now because I know there’s a great big beautiful world out there just waiting to be explored. I also know that same world is full of hurting people who don’t know Christ.

I just want to go. I know God has called me to missions in some way, and given my love for languages and travelling to far-off places, I feel like it’s going to be on the foreign field. At the top of my list are places like New Zealand, Ireland, Australia, Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal, India, Costa Rica, South Africa, Brazil…I could go on and on. If God chose not to place me in any of these countries permanently, I’d at least love to see some of them before I die. I don’t know where I’m going-not in the next year, and certainly not in the next ten years.

God has this way of only revealing things to us piece-by-piece because the big picture would overwhelm us, I think. He must smile a little when I come to Him, demanding to see it all right now. At the moment, I’m in one of those places where I feel like He’s about to show me another piece soon. I’m fairly certain I’m on-schedule to graduate this May, which means I’ve got to be thinking about what I’m going to do once I’m through college. With my Biblical Studies major and calling to the mission field, seminary seemed like the logical choice. (Here’s a hint, folks. In case you didn’t know, God doesn’t really work based on our logic.) Now I’m not so sure. I’ve begin weighing the options, making lists of pros and cons. Do I really need an M.Div to serve God? Should I take a year off and travel or do mission work through a missionary society? Journeyman? Should I just get involved with an international ministry and forget seminary altogether?

I’m surprised at the fact that I’m not freaking out yet, but I feel that’s God’s hand in all this. He’s going to let me in on things when I need to know. Like Gandalf (he-he): A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins. Nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to!

Happy Birthday, Blog!

Okay, so maybe I missed it by a couple of weeks...

Regardless, I'm kind of proud of the fact that I haven't totally forgotten about it and shelved it for eternity! Honestly, I've had a lot to say lately, just not enough time to say it. But, I got up early-ish today so I could accomplish some things, and those things having been accomplished, I have a little time to write!

Summer is going by far too quickly for my taste. I am ready to be back at Blue Mountain, but only to see my friends. I'd like to forget the fact that going back to school actually means going back to school. It's a good thing I'm looking at graduating this year; I'm not sure I could take this "senioritis" thing for much longer than that. Summers have changed a lot since high school; my whole family works now, so it's no longer about planning things on my dad's vacation. We have to co-ordinate four separate and drastically different work schedules to get any semblance of "family vacation." I did get to go out for ice cream with my dad a couple of weeks ago, just him and me. ^_^

Before I head to the Mountain, I'm planning to pitch a tent in the back yard, so I can say I went camping at least once this summer. That used to be our family's "thing," loading up the truck and van to camp at Rough River State Park and take the boat out on the lake. Many, many good memories up there. =] I'd also like to have a bonfire before the summer is over, but seeing as we live next to a subdivision and a fire station, I'm not sure how well that would go over.

Online classes continue to haunt my daily existence. This is week four of two eight-week classes I'm taking through Campbellsville University. Long story, but it's been a nightmare trying to get these things in order. Lots of busywork as well, which is highly irritating. My repeated mantra lately is "earlygraduationearlygraduationearlygraduation!"

Still Here!

I tend to appear as though I've fallen off the face of the earth come summertime, but I am posting to assure you that this is not the case. I don't like to write about the day-to-day very often, but I'm going to be vain and assume that you might be somewhat interested in my slightly mundane summer existence. Ha-ha.

I'm living at home for the summer, excepting at least one trip to Memphis for the wedding of two very special people in my life (Charlie and Audrey, collectively known as "Chaudrey"). Looking forward to this with great anticipation. I adore summer road trips.

While I'm home, I'll be lifeguarding at a swim club in town six days a week. This is my third summer as a lifeguard, and I can't think of a better job. I'll admit, the tan lines aren't the greatest sometimes, but at least there *are* tan lines. Ha-ha. The weather has been a bit bipolar lately (brownie points if you know the song! ^_^), so the water is quite...ah...refreshing? I'm gonna brag a little now, if you don't mind. Last Thursday, I made my very first jump-in save. It was pretty exciting stuff. A girl jumped off the diving board into some very cold water and freaked, so I went in after her. I almost had a second save, but another guard (we'll call him "Thor") happened to be walking by and got to him first. Poor little guy had oh-so timidly hopped off the board and I knew he was going to need help before his head broke the surface.

So that's my summer so far. I'll try to be a little more insightful later on.

Some other miscellaneous items:

1) my UBS Greek New Testament arrived about a week ago, so I'm having tons of fun studying it.

2) I adore driving backroads in the county with the windows down 'cause it lets in the summer air that smells like...

3) honeysuckle! If you've never smelled honeysuckle, you're missing out. It's basically the smell of summer.

4) speaking of things that smell like summer, I must confess that I have a love for the scent of line-dried laundry, and the smell you get when you combine sunscreen, chlorine, and just a little bit of sunshine. It's kind of wonderful.

5) I don't think I mentioned my decision to become a baseball fan this summer... I arrived at my decision to support the St. Louis Cardinals logically and geographically. I'm about the same distance from Cincinnati and St. Louis, and I have a rule that says I *never* go north, so St. Louis was the obvious choice. My baseball cap arrived on the same day as my GNT, so yours truly was a very happy camper.

6) I'm experimenting in new music this summer. After watching I Am Number Four and hearing their music on the soundtrack, I found Adele and Civil Twilight. Fell asleep listening to Adele last night, but it's some pretty good stuff so far. Civil Twilight is on the agenda for this afternoon.

Lunch Date with Peter

First Peter, that is. =]

Truly Satisfied

So, these epiphanies are wonderful, but it'd be nice if they'd come when I wasn't in such dire need of sleep. Anyway, bear with me because my brain, while it is processing at an alarming rate, is not prone to sense-making right now.

Something Platt talked about in Secret Church really stood out to me. It was a little thing, but I've been mulling it over all day. I wish I could find the page it was on, but after searching the book from back to front and front to back, I have had no luck. The gist of it was this: you struggle not because your fleshly desires are too strong, but because they are weak and you are too easily pleased. Your desires are quickly met in the flesh. Long for the things of the Spirit and your desire will become strong for what really satisfies.

Like the woman at the well (in John chapter 4), I turn to worldly things to find meaning, fulfillment, validation. Granted, I've not been married five times, but I've certainly played the harlot, chasing after earthly things that will not satisfy. Sooner or later money, success, human relationships, good grades, whatever-these things will run out. You will come to the end and you will no longer be happy with more, more, more because there will be no more. The well you have dug for yourself will run dry, but you will still be dehydrated. They're great for the moment, certainly. No one would complain about having a hundred extra dollars lying around. It feels good to be recognized for your hard work. Having that special someone can send you over the moon with happiness. But temporal things will fail you. They will come to an end and they will not satisfy that deep longing in your heart. I know you feel it too.

Jesus tells the woman at the well that He knows of a source of living water that will never run dry. That source is Jesus Himself. Jesus is God and God is infinite. It's impossible for our puny human brains to comprehend infinite. Just try it. Think about forever. It doesn't end. It's not just a really long time, then it's over. It's never over. Got a headache yet? Knowing Jesus is the only thing that satisfies. It's not because when we reached the bottom of the well our thirst was quenched; it's because we can't reach the bottom of the well.

Instead of being satisfied with what's easy, set your mind on getting to know Jesus more. He will not disappoint. I was kind of a heathen this morning and fell asleep during the service at my church (on Easter... Yes, I know I'm a horrible Christian, blah, blah, blah. There's this thing called "grace," and I believe in it...), so I decided I'd listen to parts four and five of Matt Chandler's series on Ultimate Authority on my drive back to school. Now, these messages deal with confrontation and church discipline-topics we don't go to for a "happy-feel-good" sermon. But simply hearing the Word preached and spending time in meditation on what I'd heard was fellowshipping with God. I've got a six-hour drive between school and home, and this one was probably the best yet. I just had wonderful communion with my Lord through hearing the Word and singing along to my iPod. I've been in an awesome mood all night just because of spending time with Jesus. He alone satisfies in His infinite, unending depths.

But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. John 4:14

But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? Galatians 4:9

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. Colossians 1:9-10

(I never intend to write this much...)