1 peter 1:3-9

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you,
who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation
that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold,
which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proven genuine
and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Though you have not seen him, you love him;
and even though you do not see him now,
you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,
for you are receiving the goal of your faith,
the salvation of your souls.

hearing God

"what kind of father does not presently speak new things to his children?"

living with some people is one of the biggest tests of patience, self control, and being slow to anger ever...holy crap!

oh christian humor.

Fantastic
Adventures
In
Trusting
Him

"just another sign that makes you wonder.."

This really encouraging to me and I think it is really cool to share how God works in people. so here is an email from Kevin, Belmont ruf pastor, about a student at Belmont.


Of course only the Lord knows, but I had a great meeting with George last night who thinks he got converted at ruf

last night. pretty cool story if you don't remember hearing me tell you about him. He came to a talk I gave on
pluralism and emailed me about meeting and following up an talking
more. He told me he is not a Christian but has started to be
interested in that stuff. After he comes to ruf the first time about
6 weeks ago he writes me an email saying that he is pleased to find
himself wanting to come back. One of my core group girls who has
known him since freshman year can't believe he's coming to ruf. He
and his girlfriend (who at one time professed faith but now has
serious doubts) begin coming regularly. Last week he and his
girlfriend (both are seniors) ask my wife if it would be ok for them
to keep coming after they graduate. So, I meet with him today and he
says that the last 24 hours have been pretty intense. He talks about
how while I was preaching he just wanted to shout out and cry at the
same time. I tell him about Wesley describing his conversion as
finding his heart strangely warmed and he says "Yeah, that's it."
Turns out he has been listening to my podcasts on the Real Jesus
every Sunday morning sitting on top of the parking garage for the
last month too. And he says he thinks he's been converted. Praise
God for George and pray for him. Grace and peace, Kevin

http://www.biblicalhorizons.com/open-book/no-28-concerning-halloween/

check out this article on where Halloween originated. its very interesting and makes you think differently about the holiday that our churches growing up said was demonic.

forgiveness

for the passed week or 2 i had been wrestling with forgiveness...basically because God's forgiveness is incomprehensible to me and all i can do is have faith and accept it. but he kept bringing stuff up to me that i'd never really thought about. one example is king david. david was the only person on earth who had the Spirit dwelling in him and speaking to him yet he still went so far as to sleep with a soldiers wife then have the husband killed to cover it up...and God still forgave him and restored his anointing! what?!!!! how much more will he forgive me? how can i even think that he would leave me? tonight alex mitchel and i went to the living room in homewood to pray. while i was praying God told me to turn to Zechariah. i think...strange, i've never even opened to this book ever i don't think. i'm pretty sure i even forgot it was in there ha. but in Zechariah 1:3 the Lord says, "Return to me AND I WILL RETURN TO YOU." He will never leave us no matter what we do if we turn back to Him. he is so faithful and so comforting!
at one point in auburn last year i was struggling with myself that i was even saved because of the same thing of how could God love me and forgive me for grieving Him. i battled this for about a month and one day while walking home from school i just cried out to him and instantly i heard almost audibly (but in my spirit) "You are my son!" i could not make myself make that up at the moment in time because i tried and there was no way i could convince myself that i was His. but He told me! He told me! Jesus...mmmmmmmm

so who is coming to iceland?

How Sad Our State by Nature Is!

i love hymns. kevin twit, belmont ruf pastor, is working on a new indelible grace cd and this hymn is on the cd. My friend Justin wrote the music for it and it touches the deepest caves of my broken heart. The words are so rich, so convicting, but so hopeful it brought tears to my eyes last night at ruf.

How sad our state by nature is!
Our sin, how deep it stains!
And Satan binds our captive souls
Fast in his slavish chains.

But hark! a voice of sovereign grace
Sounds from the sacred Word;
“Ho, ye despairing sinners, come,
And trust upon the Lord!”

My soul obeys the Almighty’s call,
And runs to this relief;
I would believe Thy promise, Lord;
O help my unbelief!

To the blest fountain of Thy blood,
Incarnate God, I fly;
Here let me wash my spotted soul
From sins of deepest dye.

Stretch out Thine arm, victorious King,
My reigning sins subdue,
Drive the old Dragon from his seat,
With all his hellish crew.

A guilty, weak, and helpless worm,
Into Thy hands I fall;
Be Thou my strength and righteousness,
My Savior, and my all.

love.joy.peace.

i need His peace to reign in my heart today.

so almost daily someone comments on oh so how "chill" i am. i wish you could spend a week with me and see how many times i get told this. it can actually be quite amusing. "oh sandra, you're just so chill and layed back and calm." the other day i made a comment to my friend erica about being stressed about something and she goes, "YOU get stressed?!?" its interesting how people preceive you.
i think the Lord has given me a grace to have a good perspective a majority of the time. really, i see no reason to ever freak out. my HOPE and TRUST is in HIM. what do i have to worry about really? BUT, that does not mean i never feel that way. i just try to move past that and claim truth asap. like right now, ha.
i need a revelation of that in my heart today.
i need his understanding.
i got a friend to pray for me last night about a situation and that i wouldn't be anxious but that God's peace would consume me. im holding to the truth that he will do that. Phil4:6-8.
the word says "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition...to present your requests to God..and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus."
its hard sometimes. its a promise though. and even if i dont feel it, i believe it.

"my God will meet ALL your needs according to his GLORIOUS RICHES in Christ Jesus." phil4:19
"But seek first HIS kingdom and HIS righteousness and ALL these things will given to you as well. do not worry about tomorrow.." matt5:33

"There's gonna be a wedding. For God is a lover and He's preparing a wedding.
The Father will have a family and the Son will have a bride.
He's not a baby in a manger anymore. He's not a broken man on a cross.
He didnt stay in the grave and He's not staying in heaven forever.
He's alive! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!"

lately God has been revealing to me who we are in him and the past couple days i keep recollecting him calling is sons, we are also referred to as the bride, and we are referred to as friends. when thinking about the holy trinity and putting those 3 references together God showed me my relationship with Him. I am the Father's son, the bride of Christ, and the Spirit's friend. 3 different relationships with the 3 different members of the trinity. i know it doesn't sound too profound but i mean...it's pretty amazing if you think about it. it's weird growing up how people would tell you that they are all the same but one but would never explain what the meant (i think honestly because they didn't know what it meant except to believe it because thats what they'd heard and been taught without ever really digging into it themselves.) God is made up of the 3: GOD the Father, GOD the Son, and GOD the Holy Spirit. all of them together make up GOD and none should be seen as the lesser. a lot of times we see the Spirit as lesser and that just takes away from who GOD is. i don't know why it's so easy to do that...probably just a fat lie by the enemy because the power given to us and what moves us is the Spirit. if you take out the Spirit from our lives then we limit God and limit the part which moves in power here on earth.

in the end...Jesus is amazing. i get overwhelmed sometimes thinking about the trinity and my relationship to God and a lot of times it really confuses me but i know God will continue to reveal himself to me so that i will truly know who He really is and to truly know Him personally and intimately. let us always give thanks to Him

taylor

as weird as they are personally and spiritually... sigur ros has the most beautiful instrumental i've ever heard

"Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of he world to shame the wise; God chose he weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has bcome for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: 'Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.'"
1 Corinthians 1:26-31

"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day."
John 6:44

heck read John 6:25-59

I am going to see the arcade fire tonight in Louisville! it should be really good, i'm excited. Life has been really good lately. I have a great group of friends and God has been teaching me a lot. I am taking an understanding the bible class this semester, and my teacher has really challenged me. Not in a way where i see Jesus more beautiful and believable, I get that at chruch and ruf, but she teaches that the old testament isn't reliable because it is old and people back then told these stories orally and memorized them so that makes it fallible. And she says that christians look into the old testament too much and put Jesus in there when he isn't. That as humans we long for things to be meaningful so we look into it too much. So it has challenged me to find answers to these important questions and has been very fruitful.
here is a question i had:
"Do i take the old testament literally?"
answer: i found in luke 11 Jesus talks about the sign of Jonah, the guy that got swallowed by the whale. I mean that is a hard story to believe... but Jesus is teaching here as though he existed in real time and that story happened at a certain time in history. So i think we should take the old testament literally.

"Is Jesus in the Old Testament?"
answer: of course, yes he is, John 5:46-47 Jesus says, "If you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?"

Yesterday in class she talked about Prophecy. She asked the class,"How do you know if someone is a prophet?" I found the answer in Hebrews 1:1-2, "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world."
The key words are has spoken, which is past tense, there is no need for prophets "in these last days" because God spoke to us through his son.

So even though when i leave her class i am usually upset with what she was teaching, it has challenged me to find answers in scripture to important questions.
I am so ready to be done with school. Please pray for me that I would have patience and be a diligent student.

mewithoutyou

so the band MeWithoutYou is incredible.
for some reason i havent listened to them until now, and well i cant stop.
check out these lyrics... these are probably my favorite thus far on my mewithoutyou adventure.

you're a door-without-a-key, a field-without-a-fence
you made a holy fool of me and I've thanked you ever since.
if she comes circling back we'll end where we'd begun
like two pennies on the train track the train crushed into one
or if I'm a crown without a king, if I'm a broken open seed
if I come without a thing, then I come with all I need
no boat out in the blue, no place to rest your head,
the trap I set for you seems to have caught my leg instead!


so good. hope yall have a great day:)

Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.
psalm 27:14

so this is definitely my "crazy week".
-paper due tomorrow, and an geography exam
-accounting exam tues
-advertising exam thurs
needless to say school is consuming lots of my time lately, which i suppose it should be since this is my "job" right now, but it seems like a lot more then previous years. probably because its combined with my last year of college so i am trying to make the most of my relationships here too. please pray for balance with my time and school and friends.

possible thoughts for my post-college life...
1. IHOP--Kansas City
2. Bethel Church school of ministry, pastor Bill Johnson--Redding, CA
3. YWAM DTS--anywhere in the world
4. bham...job?

i am pretty confident that i am called into full time ministry. that might mean i am in the marketplace for a time, but i think long-term i'll be doing ministry of some kind, somewhere. and because that is what i am being called to do, i think it is wise to get training. and i think now is the time in my life to do that when i dont have any obligations. so who knows, we will see where the Lord ends up calling me for the initial first step. all i know is that the first 3 possibilities make me extremely excited and i cant think of anything else i would want to do with my life! as of today i'm leaning towards Bethel, but you know.

God is good. and faithful. and he is my guide, my shepherd.
I am following Him. no matter what.
goodbye American Dream...hello God of the Universe and Your destiny for my life.

i love and miss you all SO much! geeze.

computer

sorry i haven't really been able to use this. my computer broken a couple weeks ago and my new one still hasn't come in so i've only been able to use my roommate's when they aren't using them or left them at home...but hopefully this week

on another note if you guys don't have a prayer life...not this "quiet time" bullcrap where all you do is ask for things but genuine communication with the Father on a daily basis where you seek out the actually heart of God then i suggest you start and if you have a hard time just pray for the grace of prayer from the Spirit to tell you what to pray for and how to pray. it will seriously change your life...not just be another thing added to normal life but an actual changing of your life. you will begin to hear God like you have never heard Him and He will speak to you more than He's ever spoken to you. obedience to Him is also a big big part of this. He asks us to do a lot of weird stuff but it's just to see if we will step out in that faith and obey Him.

also another thought. i think it was who paul made a town so angry by preaching the gospel that they took him outside and stoned him and he survived the stoning and went right back into the city and continued to preach what he had just been stoned for...think about it

Grace

2 Corinthians 12:7-10
In this passage, Paul is talking about how he has a thorn in his flesh that torments him, causes him pain. He asks God three times to take it from it, but God does not. "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

A friend was sharing with me her constant struggle with bulimia. She loves the Lord and desires nothing more than to please Him with her life, but this one thing has been a constant struggle. In Jesus' name we are believing that Jesus is healing her body and mind and that she will be completely set her free, but through this the Lord is teaching her so much and allowing this "thorn" which is from the enemy, for good. Not only can she relate to so many girls that struggle with eating disorders, the thorn has created the constant desire for more of Jesus in her life.

It is grace for Him to allow the thorn in my flesh. I think the thorn is different for everyone and even changes from season to season, but none the less as long as we are on this earth and until we have our resurrected bodies, i believe we will always have a thorn to some degree. And I am learning to be grateful for that. So many times I pray away the thorn but I am beginning to see a different side. (He works everything for the good of those love Him..Romans 8:28) The hard situations, struggles, disappointments, etc. are ALL being worked out for my good! I can't see the big picture, He does. He is making my way perfect. (psalm18:32)

Without the thorn it would be so easy to rely on myself or others for things I can only really receive from Jesus. The worlds comforts are fleeting, His are lasting forever. It is kindness, or grace, for Him not t0 take away the thorn. Because of His sympathetic understanding towards us, he knows how easy it would be to not look to the unseen but the seen. The temporary, not the ever-lasting. (for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. so we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2cor3:17-18).

The torn reminds me constantly that I can't do it alone. I am weak and I NEED him.
The god of this age has blinded people (2cor4:4) and made them think the thorn is cruel and that if God really loved us then why would he allow pain? He doesn't desire the pain of the thorn, he desires us. He desires my life remain in Him and a love relationship with me that is so alive and real that the thorn is so worth it.

-sandra

fletcher...genius! i miss all you guys

The Passion of the City

This is me going over what I learned at church Sunday and trying to apply it to my life.

"The tallest building of any city shows you the God of that city"

How true is that... At church we are studying Genesis, and last Sunday we went through Genesis 11:1-9 which is the tower of babel story. We talked about the Twin Towers, which were the tallest buildings in the country at one time. What did they represent? the Twin Towers were a metaphor for capitalism and economic success. Our country values that more than anything, and that is why they were attacked on 9/11. The terrorist knew that was what we valued above anything so they attacked the symbol of our countries God.

There are two cities, the city of man and the city of God. The point isn't to keeps these separate but that through God's grace the city of man will be transformed into God's city.

We see in Genesis 11:4 that the passion of the city of man was themselves and their own glory. "Then they said, "Come let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth."
We can see the insecurity in there thinking. Insecurity is produced by two things: pride and fear.
Pride: "lets make a name for ourselves"
Fear: "lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth"
This was mans attempt to glorify themselves because they were afraid of being alone, being separated from each other. AND...
They disobeyed God's command in Genesis 1:28, And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it..." Insted they stayed in one place and were building a city for their own glory, because they didn't trust God.

Now also, we cannot read this passage and take it literally. Meaning that the people thought they could build a tower that literally would reach into heaven. Instead, what it is saying is that the tower isn't physically reaching the Heavens, but spiritually.
The irony is in verse 5 "And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built" It is ironic... he didn't come down because he was impressed with the city and tower, but because out of his mercy on those who were confused. He saw that there was nothing they couldn't do to glorify themselves so out of his grace he confused their language and dispersed them over the face of the earth. It was to show them that Gods glory is the greatest benefit, not yours. The more I read the Bible the more I see that God doesn't punish out of anger but out of love. When he punishes us it is to bringing us back to him. And how amazing is that! We don't deserve it. There is a verse in a Derek Webb song where he says, "In God we trust, even when He looks like the enemy." I know it feels like Gods punishment is death, but in reality it is fatherly love, he does it for our own good, so that we wouldn't continue to live in despair. What we think is for our benefit or glory will only end in destruction.

Where is Jesus in this?

Acts 2:1-13 the Pentecost

"Ever since the early church fathers, commentators have seen the blessing of the Pentecost as a deliberate reversal of the curse of Babel."

Before Jesus was crucified he promised that the holy spirit would come and on the Pentecost his promise is fulfilled. It is a reversal of the curse of Babel because a)all of them are gathered in one place, like in Babel and 2)The holy spirit allows them to speak in other languages and they can understand each other. It is God promising to bring us all back together, because Gods city unites everyone. "The account of Babel describes fearful people proudly trying to ascend to heaven, whereas the account of Pentecost in Jerusalem describes heaven humbly descending to Earth."

The point of this is to try and apply it to my life. Daily, I try to make a name for myself. I mean I want to be in the music business, originally apart of me was drawn to the fame in it. Make connections and networking. It makes me rethink why I go to college? So i can get a job and make money or be financially stable. Those are honest and nobal answers, right? Well, i have to ask myself what is the motive behind the answers? Ultimately, I want to bring glory to myself and build up my own tower of Babel. But when you see how Heaven humbly descended to earth in Jesus Christ it makes you rethink your motives. We see in the story of Babel that personal glorification is death and nothing good comes from it. God's will for us is the only thing that brings us life. I have to repent daily for wanting to glorify myself and reliy and trust in Jesus. Trust that despite my attempts to glorify myself, God is completely commited to creating a new heavens and new earth, and since Jesus in deed died for my sin, He is making me into a new person. There is tension. Although i am completely accepted by God and clothed in Christ righteousness, I still live in a world that is tainted with sin. Christ defeated sin on the cross, but the effects of the fall still exist.

God's passion for his city is...?

Justice! and Us! read Revelation 21

"What began in a garden will become to full fruition in a city"

God's city is a refuge, where every tear will be wiped away and no one who does what is detestable or false will be there.

We bring glory and honor into the new creation. It is a regenertion, we can do good in this world, but god makes it perfect in his city. His city is resourceful with all the nations bringing their glory and honor. diversity is a very good thing in God's City. And lastly God's city is Spiritual. v22 "And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the almighty and the Lamb."

-cities are meant to be a preview of the city to come... Jerusalem revelation 21:1-2
When I think about Cities today, I think about crime and violence not peace and justice. So at City Church we talk about this a lot, and I definitely want to live in a big city for these reasons. I still don't know how I can help restore Justice in this world. On a big picture, career wise, that is something i am waiting for God to show me. But I can get involved in the community I live and be a part of the good that is transforming Nashville into God's city."Christians should be a community radically committed to the good of the city as a whole."
Here is a link with an article by Tim Keller about Christianity, Culture, and Cities
http://www.christianvisionproject.com/2006/06/a_new_kind_of_urban_christian.html

Purpose

Ok, so we all know that communication is something that our family struggles with. I pretty much have no idea what is going on in anyone's life, and only talking every few weeks doesn't help much. So the idea behind this is we can post what is going on in our lives, what God is teaching us, what we need prayer for, or something that was funny and we wanted to share with everyone i.e. youtube video, song... . I don't want this to replace phone conversation but be an agent to spur on more phone conversations. What do you all think?

-Fletcher