Refreshed

I have been so inspired and encouraged the last two Sundays at church. It's good to be home and be able to go to the church you've been in your whole life where the congregation is as close as family. These people have watched me grow up my whole life and it blows me away when I realize how much support they have been and are to me. Even the older folks that only their faces I can remember will come up to me, address me by my first name, ask me how I am, know I only have one year left at Taylor, and just shower me with blessings and then leave. This has happened a few times and I feel bad that I had to pretend I knew who they were. But I can't really even express in words how much of a blessing those short conversations were. These people genuinely care.

It has also been extremely wonderful seeing my life-er friends. We've known each other since the years of the diaper, stuck with each other through the horrifying and awkward middle school years, and went our separate ways after high school to come back together and recap on all that has happened. It's safe to say that probably 98% of those friends have done some kind of missions work or are heading into it full-time with their spouses and soon-to-be spouses. It's awesome to see how God is using them in both the little and big ways. I can see their love and passion when I speak to them, and again, I feel blessed just to be a part of their lives and refreshed with a new hope for my own life. It gets easy for me to sink into a bland routine and not really reach for something bigger than myself. I don't want that to be true in my life. I want to let God use me in huge ways; I want to witness his power and stand in utter AWE of every day.

Which leads me to the main point of this post. My pastor is so good at teaching the Word and really encourages you to get into and live it. The last couple of weeks and for the summer his topic is on thriving. It's grounded in Psalm 1 which states:

1 Blessed is the man

who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked

or stand in the way of sinners

or sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,

and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season

and whose leaf does not wither.

Whatever he does prospers.
4 Not so the wicked!

They are like chaff

that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.

This passage speaks so much truth and seems so simple. Pastor Jon used the illustration from the passage of a tree planted by streams of water. It has its thick roots grounded in the lush, nutritious soil constantly being watered by the flowing stream. We are the tree and the Word is the lush, living water-fed soil. We cannot be moved if our roots are planted deep and growing strong in this firm ground. On the other side is the chaff. Chaff is described (by our trusty wikipedia) as "the inedible, dry, scaly protective casings of the seeds of cereal grain, or similar fine, dry, scaly plant material such as scaly parts of flowers, or finely chopped straw. In agriculture chaff is used as livestock fodder, or is a waste material ploughed into the soil or burnt." Hmm, definitely not something I would want to be described as. The wicked however, is. Pastor again wanted to bring this short illustration to life for us. He demonstrated taking a bucket full of seeds and tossing them up into the air. The seeds fall back in the pale, but the chaff gets blown away. I'm picturing dry, light, airy, transparent pieces of useless material floating in the breeze only to be quickly forgotten and lost in the vast field. If this is what we become when we don't care to get into the Word and delight ourselves in the Lord, then count me out.

Our adversary is always trying to cut our legs from under us. Satan does not want us to enjoy the fullness, grace, mercy and love God has to offer us. He is constantly trying to feed us lies telling us we're not good enough. He knows where and when we're weakest. He'll take something from your past and blow it up huge in front of you so you can't see anything else. He's trying to trip you up and stop you from having the life God wants you to live. Don't let him consume your thoughts. The way to get rid of them is by the method of displacement. How do you get rid of air in a glass? pour something into it. It's the same with our heads. Replace satan's lies with God's good and perfect Truth. With His living Word and message of love and mercy. With His power and majesty. With the many blessings He has placed in your life. With His Faithfulness, His Kindness, His Son. The Holy Spirit. He wants to live you, so let Him. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but what is unseen. For what is seen temporary, but what is unseen is eternal- 2 Corinthians 4:18.

I want to encourage you to start reading the Bible again or for the first time. It's seriously the best thing you can do to get refreshed with your relationship with God and grow in your love walk with Jesus. I am not just saying this to anyone reading, but I am really saying this to myself. I'm excited to get started again.