What is the object of my faith?

Even though I know it in my head, it's so easy to "forget" it in my heart. There is an article called Object of My Affection, which is a good reminder of Who should be the object of our affection.

It's so EASY to distractedly bank my hope in people rather than Christ. People will hurt. People will disappoint. I will hurt. I will disappoint.

Hebrews 12:1b-2a:

"let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith..."

HE understands our humanness, our temptations, our trials (Heb. 2:18, 4:15).

vs. 3:

"Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted."

Ah...vs. 4's interesting:

"In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood."

Ah, ah...vs. 7:

"It is for discipline that you have to endure..."

and vs. 11:

"For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."

I guess sometimes in order to get that 'peaceful fruit of righteousness' a little striving in tree-climbing is in order, keeping our eyes toward the 'sun'...

May that fruit be quick in coming, but even if not, may God help me run the race with my eyes fixed on Him...

Oh my goodness, another timing thing??

I hope God is the one giving me this frequent sense of awe. Yet ANOTHER timing thing. Am I reading into things too much? So I'm just now at this part of the book "Let the Nations be Glad: The Supremacy of God in Missions" by John Piper:

"The word for 'fight' in 1 Timothy (agonizesthai from which we get "agonize") is used repeatedly in describing the Christian life. Jesus said, "Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able" (Luke 13:24). Hebrews 4:11 says, 'Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, that no one fall by the same sort of disobedience." Paul compares the Christian life to a race and says, "Every athlete strives and uses self-control in all things. They do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we do it to obtain an imperishable one" (1 Corinthians 9:25). He describes his ministry of proclamation and teaching in these terms: "For this I toil, striving with all the energy which he mightily inspires within me" (Colossians 1:29). And he says that prayer is part of this fight: "Epaphras, a servant of Christ and one of your own, greets you, always striving on your behalf in prayers" (Colossians 4:12). "Strive with me in your prayers on my behalf to God" (Romans 15:30). It's the same word each time: the word for 'fight.'" (p. 42-43)

And just tonight in Bible study we discussed Hebrews 3-4:13 (notice the above reference to Heb. 4:11)...

May we strive for rest and learn to strive in prayer...

Pre-Race Reflection II

So my guess is that tomorrow's race will be doable, if I don't start out too fast, and if the hills don't kill me. A few months ago I felt that even the 1/2 would be a stretch for me, but as of now I'm feeling that it will probably be doable. Maybe I'll change my mind tomorrow :). I think I can even say that I like running now.

Anyway, life application time :). If there are life tasks that at first seem really daunting & haunting, I suppose it's possible that as I gain confidence and drive to tackle them with training and endurance build-up (through Christ's strength), the dread will lessen. I'm not sure if I'll ever get to the point of enjoying those tasks, but who knows, maybe I'll be able to find some sort of joy in even doing the undesirable, even if not through the task itself...

We'll see how well I enjoy the 'grading/class prep marathon' that I'll be coming home to tomorrow...

Pre-Race Reflection

So on Sunday I'll be running my first half-marathon race. My friend will also be running it, and in an e-mail update of hers, she wrote the following (boldness added) about the marathon moments of life:

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." (Hebrews 12:1) Later on in the same chapter, the author says, "no discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hmmm…sounds like this guy has run a marathon before. Well, perhaps not, but he sure knew that life could feel like a marathon at times. [...] Just when we think we can't go any further, our bodies are tired, our legs are weak, and our mind is about to wander off the edge, our Heavenly Father comes and refreshes us, strengthens us, and even carries us. But it isn't without pushing us a little, encouraging us to keep going despite the pain, despite the difficulty, knowing we still have more in us, knowing our potential, knowing more about us then even we know.

Notice that part..."But it isn't without pushing us a little"...Yeah...sometimes we do get stretched...perhaps this could be compared to a pre-run stretch, warming us up for the big race ahead. Just a little prep work.

I guess right now I feel like there's this unobtainable *"takane no hana" I want to reach out and grab. I often desire to do the 'big' ... but what about jumping over the everyday hurdles and incorporating invisible service into daily life? I am not striving to honor God in all my waking moments. While I desire to become significantly more disciplined and skilled at life management, I can't really just push a green 'go' button and turn into Ms. Merry Management overnight. I need to put in some effort. Step-by-step, hill-by-hill, (and water station by water station with God's refreshment and strength!), maybe I'll make it around the bend and fly like an eagle if through waiting for the Lord my strength is renewed (Isaiah 40:31).



*according to my Japanese idiom book, "takane no hana" means "flower on a high peak", and refers to "unrealizable desire, an unobtainable object, something out of one's reach"

Good endurance training...

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." -- James 1:2-4

So, God, please teach me to 'count it all joy'...please grow in me steadfastness, please mature me through them...

"May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy," -- Colossians 1:11

God please strengthen me with your power, for joyous endurance and patience...

Perhaps challenging times are good quizzes for bigger trials -- loved ones' deaths, possible nursing home residence -- we might encounter in the future.

2 Scriptures -- Contentedness in Adversity ; Jesus the Advocate

"So to keep me from being too elated by the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." -- 2 Cor. 12:7-10

Lord teach me to be content with adversity for the sake of Christ. In my weakness please be my strength...

"But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, [...]" -- 1 John 2:1b-2a

He is the Advocate...

(boldness added)

Abraham & Faith tests/trials

Abraham had been told that his offspring would be like the number of stars, and that his offspring would come through his son. And Abram had believed the LORD (Gen. 15). So there is this precious promise. And in chapter 17, God says of Isaac, “I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him” (vs. 19b). So there is this promise. Then in chapter 22, God tests Abraham (vs.1). At least 3 days pass in-between the initial call and the almost sacrifice. What was going through Abraham’s mind during this waiting and preparation time? Was his heart heavy? What a faith this man had! When Isaac asked where the lamb was for the offering, Abraham replied that God would provide a lamb. Did Abraham believe God would actually first provide a lamb, or was he fully expecting to actually sacrifice his son and that he would be revived? Perhaps he didn’t completely know. In Hebrews 11, it says that Abraham “considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back” (vs. 19). Whatever the case, he did not keep his son back (Gen. 22:12). Did Abraham know he was being tested? Do we always know when we are being tested? Perhaps not. However, James 1:2-4 tells us that we should “count it all joy…when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” There’s something powerful and precious about the testing of our faith. See 1 Peter 1:6-8: “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith – more precious than gold…-may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Should we treat every trial as if it were a test on our faith?