The Ark of the Covenant

With the new Indiana Jones movie hitting theaters, I started thinking about that older Indiana Jones movie. You know, the one where he races against the evil Nazis to find the ark of the covenant. That scene, when the ark is opened by the bad guys, and their faces melt, is forever imprinted on the memory of my childhood. Never had a cooler or creepier movie been made as far as my preteen self was concerned.

And then last weekend, my husband and I watched a rather fascinating documentary about a man who set out to track down and discover the real ark of the covenant. He didn't find it. He did find something sort of like it that was about 800 years old (maybe 600, but pretty old nonetheless) which was located in modern day Zimbabwe.

A few days later, I came upon this verse in Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 3:16

"Then it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land in those days," says the LORD, "that they will say no more, "The ark of the covenant of the LORD". It shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, not shall they visit it, nor shall it be made anymore."

Hmm. That last part, "nor shall it be made anymore" intrigued me. Does that mean that the original ark is now "unmade" and therefore doesn't even exist? I sure could have saved Mr. Documentary a whole heap of trouble if that were the case.

A couple of different commentaries seemed to think that that last phrase meant the ark wouldn't be repaired anymore. It would just sort of be forgotten and allowed to deteriorate. It is fairly certain that the ark was carried away during the Babylonian captivity, and we know that it was not restored when the temple was rebuilt. So I suppose that the physical form of the ark could possibly exist somewhere amidst undiscovered Babylonian or Assyrian treasures. But, I kind of doubt it. I think the thing has ceased to exist.

More importantly, though, is the reason that the original ark, and its current location, are completely irrelevant to us, except as a historical curiosity.

The ark served as God's dwelling place on earth. It was his figurative throne, and all of Judaism, with its intricate ceremonies and symbolism, revolved around it. The ark was so holy that touching it brought certain death. Only after going through excessive ritual cleansing could a priest approach the ark, and then only once a year, and then bearing blood to atone for Israel's sins.

Once, when the Philistines captured the ark,their cities were afflicted with tumors and plagues of rats. Nice. The Philistines returned it pretty quickly. Upon its return, the Israelites treated it casually, and they were struck dead. You can read the full story in 1 Sam 4-6. In other words, the ark was holy, precious and terrifying, all at the same time.

OK, but why is the ark now irrelevant? Quite simply, its because God doesn't dwell in it anymore. He has abandoned the ark for, what I think, is a much better throne: the hearts of His children.

1 Corinthians 3:16

"Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?"

One more thing. The ark held several items: a golden pot with some manna in it, Aaron's rod that budded (Aaron was a priest), and the stone tablets on which were written the ten commandments (the law).

Well, guess what else God has put in our hearts besides His Spirit?

Jeremiah 31:33

"But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."

Did you see that? The law, which was once written on tablets of stone and kept in a box, is now carved into our very hearts and minds. Amazing.

I suppose that I could stretch this post out and explain that we now receive manna directly from God through His daily provisions for us, and we are all priests, just as the budding rod of Aaron indicated. But, that would make this post waaaay too long. Maybe you could just take my word for it?

So, next time a friend of yours starts to muse about "whatever happened to the ark of the covenant," you can tell them exactly why it doesn't matter anymore. (What? You and your friends don't talk about stuff like that? What kind of friends do you have, anyway?)

Do you think I should write Mr. Documentary a letter and fill him in too?

Unchangeable

There is a really big word that means God does not change. Immutable. That is the fancy word. But if you don't get into theology and its sometimes extremely complicated terminology, then you can just understand the definition of the word: God has never, and will never change. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

That means that the same God who walked with Adam in the Garden, told Noah to build the Ark, revealed Himself to Abraham and appeared to Moses in the burning bush is the exact same God that you and I pray to today. Talk about an incomprehensible idea. I have a hard enough time wrapping my mind around the fact that God was never created, He has always existed outside of of time and history (2 Pet 3:8.) Then, He never changes either?

I know that it is tempting to think that God somehow "changed" between the Old Testament and the New Testament, but He didn't.

Here are a few verses to consider.

Psalm 90:2

"Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever You had formed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting You are God."

From that we see that God existed apart from, and before, the earth was created. He has existed and will exist, from everlasting to everlasting.

In Hebrews 6:17, God's counsel is described as immutable. There is our big word again. The exact phrase is "the immutability of His counsel." All that means in easy language, is that God's purposes are unchangeable. The author of Hebrews is using the phrase to describe why God swore by Himself when He made His covenant with Abraham.

God wanted us to know that His covenant with Abraham was so infallible that He gave it a double security. Not only did God say it, and we know that God only speaks truth (John 17:17). But He also swore by Himself. Humans swear by a higher power when they make an oath. For God, there is no higher power, so instead He swore by His unchangeable and eternal nature.

So if God exists in eternity, and His purposes are never changed, then why would it follow that He or any part of Him would ever change? It just doesn't.

What did change was God's revelation to mankind. When Jesus came and sacrificed Himself on the cross for our sins, a new covenant was ushered in. Just as God divided the sacrificial animals and walked through their blood when He entered into covenant with Abraham (Gen 15:9-17), Jesus blood marked the onset of a new covenant for God's people.

Here is where it gets complicated, and way beyond the scope of this post to fully explore. The old covenant, the covenant of works, did not become void. What that means is that perfect righteousness, perfect adherence to the law, did not become unnecessary. All of those things are still required in order for us to receive the privilege of not only being reconciled to God, but being able to call on Him as our loving Abba Father.

Instead of becoming void, the old covenant of works became completed. Jesus fulfilled the old covenant by perfectly adhering to all of its (impossible for us) requirements. And then, oh! then! he credited His perfect work to us by covering us with His holy and righteous blood. It will never get better than that.

And so now, even though God has never changed, and He is the exact same God whose holiness demanded that he call up the Babylonian armies to utterly destroy His beloved Jerusalem, we are able to curl up on His lap as cherished children without any fear. We are able to take the most minute concern to Him in prayer, and He will hear us without fail. Because when He looks at us, we are perfect and holy. We are just as righteous in His sight as Jesus is.

No, God has never changed. And neither has His overwhelming love for us.

Jeremiah 31:3

"Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you."

The Job We Don't Want

I've been reading Jeremiah for the past week or so. I've got to tell you, its tough. It is some heavy, heavy stuff. It's kind of like watching a horror movie, and seeing that young woman, who you know is about to get whacked, walking slowly toward the strange sound she heard in the other room.

You want to scream out, "Stop! Don't do that! Turn around! Run!" And you might even. Scream, I mean. But it wouldn't do any good. That foolish girl is going to get it, and all you can do is watch in horror.

That is what I feel like while I'm reading Jeremiah. Those foolish Israelites are headed straight toward death and destruction, and they refuse to turn around. Poor Jeremiah is the prophet who is chosen to give them warning after warning about what is coming their way. But do they listen to him? Nope. They abuse him, they mock him, they beat him and imprison him.


This is not a man who came bearing popular news. But you know what? He came bearing the truth. And the truth was going to be told, whether the Israelites wanted to hear it or not. (They didn't, believe me.)

In Jeremiah 20:9, Jeremiah decides that he has had enough. He is tired of being mocked and abused, and he is just going to quit all this prophesying that has gotten him in so much trouble with his peers. Here is Jeremiah speaking in first person:

"Then I said, "I will not make mention of Him,
Nor speak anymore in His name."
But His word was in my heart like a burning fire
Shut up in my bones;
I was weary of holding it back,
And I could not.

I love that. God's Word was like a burning fire in his bones, and he couldn't keep it inside. He had to just get it out, not matter the cost.

Just a few verses later, Jeremiah indulges in a major pity party. Not that I blame him at all, it's hard to imagine feeling happy and joyful about such extreme persecution. But listen to the depth of his anguish in 20:14-18:

"Cursed be the day in which I was born!
Let the day not be blessed in which my mother bore me!
Let the man be cursed
Who brought news to my father, saying,
"A male child has been born to you!"
Making him very glad.
And let that man be like the cities
Which the LORD overthrew, and did not relent;
Let him hear the cry in the morning
And the shouting at noon,
Because he did not kill me from the womb,
That my mother might have been my grave,
And her womb always enlarged with me.
Why did I come forth from the womb to see labor and sorrow,
That my days should be consumed with shame?"

Was the cause of his great pain some kind of sin he committed? No, his pain came as a direct result of being a faithful servant of the LORD. That is probably a foreign thought to most of us. We usually imagine that being a great servant of the LORD is the kind of job that involves lots of glory, miracles, maybe even a book deal and a speaking gig. But that is not always true. In fact, its probably not even true most of the time.

Oh, don't get me wrong. It is the greatest privilege in this life to be called to serve God. And God always makes provision for us in whatever circumstances He gives us. Just don't make the mistake of thinking that serving God is always a bed of roses. The history of our religion is full of people who have endured severe persecution in order to serve God. Our current state of religious freedom is a historical anomaly, and even now there are millions of Christians who endure real persecution for their beliefs.

Poor Jeremiah. He had a rough job. But it turned out OK for him in the end. The LORD personally reassures Jeremiah in 15:21:

"I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked,
And I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible."

According to the study notes in my Bible, when all of Jeremiah's prophecies came true and Israel was decimated by Babylon, the Babylonian commander had a special order to take care of Jeremiah. Apparently his prophecies had spread far and wide and Nebuchadnezzar felt kindly toward the rebel prophet who kept telling Jerusalem that Babylon was going to win.

Hundreds of years later, Jesus told us, "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

I bet Jeremiah is due for an amazing reward come Judgment Day.

Be Still and Know

Psalm 46:10

"Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!"

If you are anything like me, you have heard this verse many times. And you have probably heard it used to convey the idea that when we are still and quiet, we can "hear from God." Or maybe it was used to encourage you to go to a quiet, still place to pray.

Would you be shocked if I told you that the verse has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with getting still, peaceful and quiet so you could hear from God?

The first time I read Psalm 46 in its entirety, I suspected that somehow verse 10 tended to be misapplied. You see, Psalm 46 is about God's strength and His glory and His power. It is a picture of His ability to totally vanquish His enemies. It also illustrates His sovereignty over the outcome of situations that are frightening to us.

We should see this from the way the Psalm starts out in verse 1:

"God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in time of trouble."

The focus is on God and His strength, His ability to provide refuge for us in times of trouble. In verses 2 and 3, great turmoil is described, with images of mountains falling into the sea, the earth being moved and the oceans roaring and troubled. And even in all of that, we are not to fear.

In verse 6, entire nations are raging, and kingdoms are rising and falling, and against all of this, God simply utters His voice. That small act of uttering the voice is so powerful that the earth melts in response. Whoa. All of the fury and power of the kingdoms of earth cannot even begin to withstand the power of God when He only opens His mouth and utters.

In verse 7 we are reminded that this same God, whose utterance of voice can melt the earth, is with us. He is our refuge. So what on earth should we be afraid of? If such a holy, consuming fire is on our side, what can possibly bring us harm?

Verses 8 and 9 again display God's mighty power. He makes desolations in the earth. He causes wars to cease. He is the one who thwarts all the weapons that man can create-bows and spears and chariots. They are all completely useless against God!

So why, then, does it make any sense at all, that suddenly in verse 10, we should associate the words "Be still and know that I am God," with quietness and meditation? That would be taking the verse totally out of the context of the rest of the Psalm.

Even the rest of the verse, "I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth," is all about God's awesome power and glory. Not at all about us. And certainly not at all about us praying and "hearing from God."

I thought we should understand it to mean something more along the lines of: I am all-powerful! I am all-glorious! I will make myself known and exalted! Therefore, you small person without power and without glory, you be still and see ME in all of my power and all of my glory. THEN, remember that I am for you and against your enemies, and have NO fear. I can defeat them with only the power of my voice.

That's what I thought anyway. But then I read some commentary. And almost every single commentary I read said that we should understand the words, be still, as addressed to God's enemies, not God's people. Huh. That makes even my initial interpretation way off the mark.

It makes the sense of the verse more like this: All of you enemies of Me and My people, just be still, stop resisting. The outcome is certain. I will be victorious, I will be the one exalted. You will be defeated, and My children will be safe.

Who knew? I guess that is the trouble we can get ourselves into when we hear verses over and over again out of their context and start assigning meaning to them based on what they seem to be saying. It makes a strong case for opening up our Bibles and reading passages in the context in which they were meant to be understood. I've always known that, but even I was surprised at how off base the common understanding of this verse was.

Or maybe it was just me? Did all of you already know this?

By the way, this Psalm is the inspiration for the hymn, "A Mighty Fortress is Our God." It's one of my favorites.

The Valley of the Shadow of Death

You all know the verse from Psalm 23:4

"Yea, though I walk though the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."

I've been thinking about death a lot over the past several days, and whenever I do, this verse keeps coming to mind. I've always thought of that imagery of the valley of the shadow of death as representing difficulty, fearful times or impending danger. But recently, I've taken a new perspective.

Every one of us is going to die. There is no escaping it. We are all born once, and we all die once. (Heb 9:27) Admittedly, there are some of us who will be alive on the day that Christ returns, and I suppose that technically those will not experience physical death, but will instead be changed. (1 Cor 15:51)

You could in fact say that we all live every single day of our lives smack dab in the middle of the valley of the shadow of death. Even on days when the world is awash with delight and brightness, still the shadow of death hangs overhead. We might ignore it or refuse to acknowledge the reality of it, but eventually it will become impossible to brush aside.

Just so you know, I'm not feeling morbid about death, just serious and reflective about it.

For the Christian, death shouldn't be frightening or dreaded. It should be seen as the beginning of real life, life in perfect union and fellowship with God, who is the author and creator of all life. This world, with all of its wonder and beauty, is still stained and imperfect. What is in store in a world free from the blemish of sin is hard for me to even imagine. But I know it will be wildly superior to this world.

What IS scary is the idea of those I love dying and leaving me here. That thought, I will admit, causes me some anxiety. But my own death, that is not a scary thought at all.

It might be a long while before it happens, and I certainly don't mean that I want to quit this life. I have so much to live for, so many things I want to do and see still. But I realize that all of those expectations pale in comparison to Heaven.

Grief and sadness at death are for those who are left behind here. Those who have gone on, if they belong to Christ, have nothing whatsoever to grieve over.

So while there is nothing we can do to prevent the shadow of physical death from hanging over our heads, that doesn't mean it must be a terrible thing. Real, everlasting, perfect, rejoicing life begins on the other side.

Matthew 4:16

"The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death
Light has dawned."

Isaiah 60:19-20

"The sun shall no longer be your light by day,
Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you;
But the LORD will be to you an everlasting light,
And your God your glory.
Your sun shall no longer go down,
Nor shall your moon withdraw itself;
For the LORD will be your everlasting light,
And the days of your mourning shall end."

Planting and Watering

1 Corinthians 3:6-8

"I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor."


I have never considered myself a "planter," or an evangelist of any kind. I don't think that I'm relieved of an obligation to declare the gospel; it's just that it's not a natural gift of mine. Some people are incredibly gifted in evangelism, and we tend to think of the evangelist as the ones with the glamorous side of the equation. At least I tend to think so.

The image of a missionary in a foreign country proclaiming the Good News and winning dozens of souls is highly romantic indeed. And there are people who literally do that. I'm just not one of them. But note in the verses above, that watering is an important job, too. That's what my passion is--watering, as in nurturing, encouraging, learning and teaching with other Christians.

We see that God is the one who is responsible for the outcome-Paul is the one who planted, Apollos is the one who watered, but God was divinely in charge of any growth that occurred. What a privilege it is that God even uses us at all. He could just make it happen, but He has chosen us as His divine instruments to accomplish His plan. And above and beyond the privilege of just being of use to God, there is more in store at the end, but we will get to that in a minute.

As I read these verses, another scripture immediately sprung to mind.

Isaiah 55: 10-11

"For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But is shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."

Notice that again we have the "watering" analogy, only this time God is the actual waterer. And the tool He uses to accomplish what He pleases is: His word. That is exactly what He still uses to accomplish what He pleases in the hearts of men. And sometimes, He uses one of His servants (that would be you and me) to proclaim His word and bring forth the increase/bud. (I say sometimes He uses us because, certainly, God could drive someone to pick up Scripture and read it without the influence of another person.)

But here is the amazing part for each of us, whether we are called to plant or to water.

Just to make the point fine, let me add here that God's word for us is the Bible, and the Bible alone. I don't want to cause any confusion on that score.

OK, did you notice the last part of the passage from 1 Corinthians? "And each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor" The part that I found so encouraging is that our reward is based on our labor, not on the outcome of our labor. See the difference?

One Christian may work diligently and be blessed to see massive fruit from the work he or she does. She may write books that get published, and receive dozens of letters thanking her for her godly influence every week. Or, he may see entire communities or families come to Christ and be thanked by them in this life.

On the other hand, another Christian may toil away without seeing much progress, without enjoying any outwardly apparent success.

But it doesn't matter what each of their outcomes are, because God takes responsibility for the outcomes. We are to do the work regardless of the outcomes. And in the end, it is not the results that get rewarded, it is the labor.

We can see this principle again in Matthew 25:23, when Jesus says during the telling of a parable, "well done, good and faithful servant." He doesn't say, well done good and successful servant. Nope, He says, well done good and faithful servant.

What a relief! And what an amazing twist. God is responsible for the outcome, and we get to receive a reward just for doing the labor.

The Children in the City

If you have been reading my most recent posts, you will know that I have found myself in a time of intense healing and freedom from past sins. And since I'm going to be talking about that same subject yet again, I thought I might need to clarify some things, particularly for those of you who know me personally.

You might be tempted to let you imagination run wild and begin speculating about all of the horrendous things that must be lurking in my past. Don't do that. You'd be terribly disappointed anyway. Not that my sins, and the specific sins I have been dealing with, aren't terrible enough. But, the average run of the mill sinner has enough darkness in their heart, and enough bondage and slavery to sin, to scandalize all of us.

The thing is, I spent many, many years quite aware of my sin, but unwilling to treat it as harshly as it deserved to be treated. I took it lightly. I saw it through the lenses of our culture, which is exceedingly tolerant and encouraging of sin. I made excuses. I rationalized. Most of the time, I just plain ol' didn't think about my sin very much.

But when I began to, I was broken hearted. I saw and felt my sinfulness so clearly, it mourned me. It caused me deep grief. In the sermon on the mount, Jesus says, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." What I experienced is exactly the kind of mourning that Jesus was referring to. Mourning over the wretchedness of personal sin. The comforting is what comes after you have mourned properly.

So this is what brought me to tears yesterday. The comforting that God gives to us is so abundant, so full and consumingly rich, that we don't really believe it can happen until we've experienced it. We sort of think that, yeah, God can take away our sins, and forgive us of our sins, and then we can look forward to Heaven where we won't suffer from our sins anymore. What I have personally discovered is that God can not only forgive, and take away, and heal, but He can also make us completely whole again in spite of our sin. Praise the LORD. He can literally change us and make us a new creation. It happened to me. It has happened to me. It has really happened to me.

So, in Isaiah 49, in verses 15-21, there is a long description of the way that God is going to restore Israel after she has been devastated because of her sins. You have to read the following verses with a few things in mind to even begin to get a sense of the joy I have experienced. Just so you know, I read every commentary I could find to see if my personal application was somehow universally recognized. It's not, and you should know that. I'm not trying to press any kind of theological point here. I am just trying to express to you the way that these verses spoke to my heart and overwhelmed me with joy.

What you will read is an account of a city that has been devastated by destroyers and "swallowers up." If those two words aren't poetic descriptions of sin, I don't know what are. The children in this devastated city have all been taken away. Think of that as the real, practical consequences of sin. The LORD is then going to reestablish this destroyed city (me!) and fill it with so many children (abundant blessings) that the city is confused and stunned by the amount of children found within its walls.

All of a sudden, the city is so full of children that there isn't even enough room for all of them. That is exactly how I feel. I look around sometimes and think, where did all of this come from LORD? I was such a sinner, I offended you in so many ways. I did every wrong thing in the book. How is it that You could ever bless me like this?

OK, are you ready to read it now? Are you ready to try and understand what got me all worked up (in a good way) yesterday? It's kind of long, but worth the attention.

Isaiah 49: 15-21

"'Can a woman forget her nursing child,
And not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Surely they may forget,
Yet I will not forget you.
See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your walls are continually before Me.
Your sons shall make haste;
Your destroyers and those who laid you waste
Shall go away from you.
Lift up your eyes, look around and see;
All these gather together and come to you.
As I live,' says the LORD,
'You shall surely clothe yourself with them all as an ornament,
And bind them on you as a bride does.

For your waste and desolate places,
And the land of your destruction,
Will even now be too small for the inhabitants;
And those who swallowed you up will be far away.
The children you will have,
After you have lost the others,
Will say again in your ears,
'The place is too small for me;
Give me a place where I may dwell.'
Then you will say in your heart,
'Who has begotten these for me,
Since I have lost my children and am desolate,
A captive, and wandering to and fro?
And who has brought these up?
There I was, left alone;
But these, where were they?'"

I suppose I always believed abstractly that God could rebuild people, other people. You know, the ones that needed rebuilding. Not me.

When I finally opened my eyes and did an honest survey of the walls around my city, I saw the devastation. It was there all along. But somehow, I had been skipping around and having picnics in a bomb crater without even realizing it. That honest appraisal was the beginning of the rebuilding process. And it took a while, several years I would say. But one day I looked around again. And there were children stumbling over each other in my streets. Children I didn't deserve, but had anyway. And that, is bringing me to tears all over again.

Purchase Power

I have pretty much been crying on and off all day now. I'm going to get a headache in a little while that will probably ruin the rest of the afternoon. I'm not too excited about the headache, but the crying, well, its been the good kind, the kind that wells up inside you and refuses to be ignored. The crying that happens when you realize something so wonderful that it overwhelms you; and the only thing you can think to do in response is cry like an idiot.

It all started this morning when I read Isaiah 49.

Isaiah 49: 5-6

"'And now the LORD says,
Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him,
So that Israel is gathered to Him
(For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the LORD,
And My God shall be my strength),
Indeed He says,
'It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles,
That you should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.'"

Notice all of the capital letters in those verses. The Servant, the I, the Me, the one speaking here is Jesus.

I saw something in verse 6 that I'd never thought about before. The purchase price that Jesus Christ paid on the cross was too valuable to only redeem the nation of Israel. This would have been a revolutionary idea in Isaiah's day. The Jews understood that they were God's special and chosen people, set apart, marked off from the rest of humanity. They were right to think that way. God had declared it to them numerous times, and had given them specific laws to live by as a way of demonstrating their separateness to the rest of the world. But here, we see the LORD telling Jesus (part of Himself) that only redeeming Israel is too little to get in return for what He would do. So the Gentiles must be brought to the light as well.

Now, we know that God does not change His plan halfway through the game. Everything that has ever happened and will ever happen has been planned from the beginning. So it's not like God changed His mind and decided to throw the Gentiles in the deal at the last minute. It was part of His plan to include us all along. But I've just never seen it in this light before.

Which serves to illustrate an important point that seems to get overlooked a lot. This idea does an interesting thing. You see, this equation was never about our value, it was about God's value. It turns our perspective from ourselves back to God, which is where it should be anyway. So much of what we are exposed to encourages us to appreciate how much God loves us personally. That is important, don't get me wrong here, it is certainly part of the whole. But the part that gets overlooked, I'm afraid, is that God is about more than just loving us, He is always after His own glory. In everything.

This may be a subtle point, but I think its valid. Christ's worth is so infinitely valuable that we cannot even comprehend it. But one way God has tried to point us toward understanding it is by showing how much needed to be bought in order for the sacrifice of His son to be made. The Jews just weren't enough to make the trade worthwhile. Christ was too valuable. More had to be acquired for such a precious price to be given.

AND, not only does this high cost help us to understand Christ's worth, it brings Him glory as well. When we understand who God is and what He is, we glorify Him. Bringing glory to God simply means that we reflect His worth back to Him. The better we understand God, the more we can glorify God.

Boy I hope I expressed that in a way that makes sense. If I sound like I'm talking in circles, just let me know. I'll try to clarify.

There is so much more I want to share with you about Isaiah 49. These two verses aren't even the ones that made me cry. I'll try to get up another post this weekend. Maybe tomorrow I'll have settled down enough to express my thoughts clearly.

100th Post! (Updated)

Well! I just logged on to put up a new post, and I saw that this would be post number 100. So, in honor of blogging tradition, I'll try to list 100 things about myself. I seriously doubt that I'll come up with the whole number, but I'll give it a shot. Minor things like Paul and Apollos can wait until later...

1. I am 30 years old. I was quite traumatized when I left my 20's, but now that I am 30, I think its fantastic.

2. I grew up as a missionary child in Taiwan. I know, cool, huh?

3. I am one of three siblings.

4. I love pizza and would probably choose to eat it over a fancy schmancy meal anytime.

5. My favorite color is lavender, and favorite scent, too.

6. I love champagne and dark chocolate.

7. I studied speech communications in college because I was more interested in chasing fraternity boys than applying myself academically. I really regret that now, by the way. Still, I graduated with a 3.98 GPA in 3 1/2 years.

8. I got terrible grades in high school because I was too smart to bother with homework, and too lazy to care about it. Another regret.

9. My hair is naturally curly, but I wish I had straight hair.

10. The two worst things that ever happened to me turned out to be solid foundations that God would later build on.

11. I was only 21 when I got married! A babe in swaddling clothes!

12. I hate spiders. Like, really, really, seriously and with unreasonable dread hate spiders. I have run naked and screaming out of the bathroom because a spider was in the shower. My husband has little patience for this phobia.

13. I always think that I need to lose 5 pounds, no matter how thin I am. I've been working on that. Body issues anyone? You don't think our culture encourages that do you?

14. My life's ambition is contained in Psalm 40:8-10. Look it up.

15. I cry and sing in the car almost daily. I'm sure other drivers think my life is in shambles. What they don't know is that I'm praising God, tears and all.

16. I've spent so much time studying the Old Testament that I'm a little frightened of studying the New Testament in-depth. I cry almost every time I read the New Testament. I don't like to cry, despite doing it regularly.

17. I'm a horribly unorganized person. But I'm trying to get my "stuff" in order, because I don't want my children to be cursed with clutter and disorganization throughout their lives.

18. I'm pretty sure that one of my children is going to rule the world someday. If not THE world, certainly her own little corner of it.

19. You can find my prayer for my family in Isaiah 44:3-5.

20. I hate salmon and blue cheese.

21. I worry a bit that other women think I'm strange. All that talking I do about Cyrus being the instrument of the Lord, but not even realizing it and all...

22. Probably my most annoying habit is that I finish people's sentences for them. All the time. I'm terribly sorry if I've done that to you.

23. There are very few people in this world that I can't get along with.

24. I don't lose my temper often, but every once in a while I do have a fit of righteous indignation. Especially if one of my friends is getting picked on. Also when dealing with the phone company, but let's not talk about that.

25. I went on a mission trip to an orphanage (for children with living, but unfit parents) one time. I didn't sleep the whole week. I was too angry at the parents who refused to take care of their children. One tough little boy named Jacob said to me during lunch one day, "I bet he wishes that he had a mom just like you." Jacob was talking about the little boy sitting next to me, but I knew he was really talking about himself. That still makes me cry.

26. One of the things in this life that bothers me the most is the sexual exploitation of women. Even if the women are happily participating.

27. I know what it is like to lead a double life, to pretend to be something I'm not. I don't do that anymore.

28. I'm a huge snob about hotels.

29. I do ridiculous dances with my kids and sing silly songs.

30. If I could eat chocolate cake every day and not get fat, I'd be all over that.

31. I was the homecoming queen in high school. But really, it was only because I had the biggest, well, you know... I don't necessarily think of that as an honor.

32. I used to sit in English class and think in Mandarin Chinese. I also would speak Chinese during French class, causing my teacher great consternation. I didn't do it on purpose.

33. I hide candy from my kids and eat it in secret. Ice cream bars too, during the summer.

34. Putting my toes in the ocean is an annual requirement. My dad always believed in great vacations. He's a smart man.

35. My idea of ecstatic fun would be giving away millions of dollars.

36. I'm a total sucker for diamonds. Big ones. I hope there are the equivalent of big diamonds in Heaven.

37. I realized that my scripture memory skills were woefully underused one day when I quoted a long passage from "Pride and Prejudice" without even thinking twice.

38. Earthquakes are scary.

39. In my childhood room, in Taiwan, small mushrooms would sprout along the wall once a year during the monsoon season.

40. Many people struggle with feelings of inadequacy. I struggle with pride, and feelings of superiority.

41. I never realized the importance of a servant's heart until I hit a patch in my life when I couldn't do it all myself, and I really did need help from those around me. I get it now.

42. I don't worry too much about growing old. I see it as one day closer to Heaven.

43. I tried to read "Blue Like Jazz" because so many of the younger women I know like the book. I was so annoyed after the first 2 1/2 chapters that I had to put it down.

44. I'm in the researching phase right now for a bible study on the book of Ruth. You can't imagine how excited and terrified I am at the same time.

45. I love being the center of attention. Probably too much.

46. I hate polygamy. Bothers the stew out of me. I wish I could go over there and set 'em all straight.

47. False teachers make me quake with anger and then horror, at what is coming their way in the end.

48. I find great comfort in knowing that God sees all of it, even the things people think they got away with.

49. I am chief among sinners, and I hope that I never stop mourning it.

50. I am also God's perfectly redeemed and justified precious daughter, and I hope I never stop rejoicing over it.

51. I love to make people laugh. I love it when other people make me laugh.

52. I see beautiful women all over the place. But I bet they wish they could change something about the way they look.

53. I hope you aren't bored to death reading all of this.

54. I get ahead of God all the time. I'm almost always wrong about what He is working out. But I still try to guess.

55. When I was losing large amounts of blood and having my child cut from my womb two months early, my husband was making seagull noises in my ear. You'd have to be one of us to understand why that is not nearly as obnoxious or bizarre as it sounds.

56. Thank goodness for spell check, or you people would know that I was a lazy student in elementary school too.

57. Once, as a child, I bought food from a street vendor and fed it to a mangy dog covered with burns right in front of the food cart. The vendor had just kicked the dog. It made me mad.

58. I used to do pilates several times a week, before I had kids. I was always super friendly to the man who lived next door to me on the days when he came to the class, smiling and asking him how his day was. Then one day I realized he was not in fact the man who lived next door to me. I was so embarrassed that I never went back.

59. Love covers a multitude of sins.

60. I'd like to write children's stories. I have written a few. I don't know how good they are. My mom's opinion doesn't count.

61. I think all Christians would be helped if they thought of this life as a split second compared to eternity.

62. I hate Grey's Anatomy. I wish people would quit watching glorified adultery and fornication.

63. I do push-ups and squats in my kitchen. But I cannot abide a sit-up, wretched things.

64. I think that's enough about me. One thing that irritates me to pieces is when people go on and on about how adorable they are. My apologies if this list struck you that way.

65. Come back later, I really did have a much better post about Paul and Apollos in me. Maybe I'll get it up tonight.

Wait, here are some more things:

66. It bothers me that someone might think I am perfect, or that I have it all together all the time. I struggle with the balance between transparency and encouragement by example.

67. I'm a very good liar, or at least I used to be. I was also born with the ability to manipulate people with ease. Those are parts of me that God has been continually sanctifying throughout my life.

68. I hate to disappoint people.

69. Studying the Bible is my favorite part of the whole day. Well, getting my baby out of the crib first thing in the morning is a close second, but still, I would choose the Bible study.

70. This passion for God's Word is fairly new in my life.

71. I spent many years attending church without really understanding my need for a Savior. My real, deep down, relentless need.

72. I am thankful more and more as I grow older for the blessing that my parents are to me.

73. I believe Romans 8:28.

74. I want to love God with all of my heart, all of my mind and all of my strength.

75. Then, I want to love my neighbor as myself.

76. My husband and I have a song: Dancing Queen by Abba. You really don't want to know.

77. I love it when people tell me that my kids look like me. (Vanity, thy name is Hadassah)

78. There are some scary people out there. A few of them have visited this blog. Don't worry, I'm probably not talking about you.

79. Do you think that every woman who has ever given birth goes looking for Eve when she first gets to Heaven? Nah, probably not.

80. Apparently, when I stand up and speak in front of people, my southern accent disappears. Shame.

81. I hardly ever go to bed on time. I always regret it the next day. That can't be a sign of intelligence.

82. This world breaks my heart.

83. I want my children to be better than I was when I was young.

84. I know that God is in control of everything, and that nothing can prevent God's plan from being accomplished.

85. I'm so thankful for all of you who read this blog. Even those of you who never leave comments. I'm glad you think I have something to say that is worth listening to. I try my best to guard against this blog being all about me, I want it to be about Scripture, and the LORD, and then maybe a little tiny bit about me. This post is a major violation of that standard, but well, its blogging tradition. And one thing about me, I stick pretty close to tradition, always have.

White As Snow

Isaiah 1:18

"Come now, and let us reason together,
Says the LORD,
Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool."

Have you ever gotten a line from an annoying song stuck in your head, and you just couldn't make it go away? Well, that kind of happened to me last night, except it was this verse from Isaiah that I couldn't get out of my head. Today, I'm pretty sure that I understand why.

I've had an interesting couple of weeks. In 1 Peter 5:8, Satan is described as a roaring lion stalking about, seeking a victim to devour. I think that lion has been hot on my heels of late.

It all has to do with sin, my sin, and my past sin to be exact. If I was still writing this blog in total anonymity, I would give you all the ugly details. But since some of you happen to know me, I think I'll try to stay general here. Besides, all of us struggle with sin of one kind or another, and I think my experience can be applied to all kinds of sin, not just the specific one I happened to declare victory over.

I alluded in an earlier post to some sinful thought patterns that used to plague me. God has really brought about serious change in my thought life. It was not an easy battle. There were a whole bunch of lies that I had to overcome before I could really keep my mind stayed on the truth. And let me tell you, truthful thinking brings more peace to my life than you could possibly imagine. So I am not at all interested in revisiting those untruthful thought patterns. I want to steer as clear of them as possible.

Well, a couple of weeks ago, I found myself in a situation that challenged me in this specific area. I was faced with something that just begged me to indulge in sinful thoughts. I did manage to quiet those thoughts down, but the whole experience served to show me that I still have some work to do.

Now fast forward about a week, and I hit round two of a similar situation. Only a much more intense version of the first go round. I mean, the minute I realized what was going on, the first thing that popped into my head was, "I am under Satanic attack."

If you happen to know me, you will know that I do not typically use dramatic phrases like that. I know some people see spiritual battles every where they turn, and they might in fact be right about that, but I am not someone who spends a lot of time thinking or speaking in terms of spiritual warfare. So in other words, it was some serious testing that I faced. And I knew it.

But about half a second later, I realized that I was getting worked up over nothing. I don't know how else to say this, so I'll just say it the best I can. God threw a situation at me that I have been dreading for a very long time. I used to spend time thinking through a "plan of resistance" in case it ever did happen. And I guess I have been living in victory long enough that God felt like I was ready to face it head on...and come out shining.

Which totally turned the situation on its head. Because as it turned out, it wasn't an attack at all. It was an opportunity for me to celebrate and praise God for how far I have come. I saw up close and in vivid detail that my sin, and the grip it had on me, has indeed been washed as white as snow. What was once a scarlet stain that I carried around in my heart, has become as white as wool.

Not only has my sin been forgiven, but all of the power that it ever had on me has been destroyed.

There is a victory song that King David wrote in 2 Samuel. Several years ago, I took a section of that scripture and read it as a personal declaration of victory over sin. I want you to read the following verses thinking of "enemies" as sin; and of the battle that is described as the very real battle that each of us must face as we deal with our sinful nature. (The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak, right?)

2 Samuel 22: 38-43

"I have pursued my enemies and destroyed them;
Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.
And I have destroyed them and wounded them,
So that they could not rise;
They have fallen under my feet.
For You have armed me with strength for the battle
You have subdued under me those who rose against me.
You have also given me the necks of my enemies,
So that I destroyed those who hated me.
They looked, but there was none to save;
Even to the LORD, but He did not answer them.
Then I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth;
I trod them like dirt in the streets,
And I spread them out."

Notice all of the hard work that the warrior (me) has to do in those first verses. Sin, our sin, does not just lie down and go away when we become a Christian. Rather, it is a constant battle that we struggle against, as long as we live. But God is more powerful than our sin: He will give us strength, He will arm us for the battle, He will subdue our enemies under us. And when it is all over, our enemies, our sin, will be as insignificant as dust spread out in the street. I love it. And today, I really understand it in a new way.

Isaiah 43:18-19

"Do not remember the former things,
Nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?"

I know it LORD, I really know it. Sins like scarlet. White as snow.