Respectable Sins: Ungodliness

Jerry Bridges' Respectable Sins is the anti-page turner - I hesitate turning to the next page because I know the Holy Spirit will convict me yet again through Bridges' words. But I LOVE the concept of his book - we so often tend to overlook the "seemingly less egregious sins" such as impatience, anxiety, discontentment, while pointing out the ills of society. As someone who tends to be a cultural critic, I guilty as charged. We all remember the parable Jesus tells about pointing out the speck in your neighbor's eye, while ignoring the plank in your own eye...but that's just a nice story to remind children to be nice to each other, right? NO!

Christ is teaching us that it doesn't matter if I haven't gone out and murdered someone, my sin, no matter what it is, needs to be dealt with in my life. And it all goes back to ungodliness - the mindset that things I do not need God in my life, whether through deliberate actions or a subconscious lifestyle.

One of my favorite lines from Oswald Chambers:
"Never tolerate, because of sympathy for yourself or for otheres, any practice that is not in keeping with a holy God. Holiness means absolute purity of your walk before God, the words coming from your mouth, and every thought in your mind."

Nothing should go unchecked. Which means I need to rely upon the Holy Spirit to bring certain sins and behavior to light in my life. THE GOOD NEWS IS - Christ died to rescue me from those sins once and for all and we can rejoice in that gift of grace.

But, the process of sanctification continues. More thoughts on Respectable Sins forthcoming...

First cookout of the summer

Roomates and I had our first cookout of the summer! One week after Memorial Day so were close to being on time :) It was a beautiful evening spent outside, and capped with a visit to a friend's rooftop deck. What a reminder that I have a blesses life and want to use my resources/time/blessing to give back to the Lord!

Thinking of Japan

99 years after the first gift of cherry blossoms to the U.S. from Japan, they are still beautiful! Despite very low temperatures this weekend, the blossoms have survived and when the sun came out this Sunday afternoon, the pink tree flowers looked beautiful with the backdrop of a crystal blue sky. One of my favorite views is from Ohio Drive, with cherry blossoms aligned next to budding weeping willow trees, and the Potomac shimmering in the background.

The blossoms elicit feelings of happiness, peace and joy, all of which the Japanese people so desparately need in the aftermath of this current earthquake/tsunami/nuclear crisis. May God heal their land and rescue their people. The earth really does seem to be groaning these days, does it not?

Christmas in the OBX

Snow on the beach is a very funny thing - actually, it's quite beautiful! While tradition is comforting, and I'm so thankful to have spent most of my Christmases at home with my family, it was really a neat experience to spend Christmas in Duck, North Carolina. We went out to the beach three different times - at sunset, to see the stars, and to see the snow!

The sunset was beautiful - not exactly the vibrant colors you might see during the summer, but beautiful pale blues, pinks, and purples. Our God is amazing with watercolors in the sky!

Nigthttime was equally magnificent. Earlier in the evening we stepped out on the porch of our beach house (well, one of the four decks!) to see the stars, and they were absolutly vibrant. That was actually Christmas Eve, and I couldn't help but wonder what it must have been like on the night of our Savior's birth. What would it have been like to have been a lowly shepherd out in the field, to have an incredible host of angels visit you declare the arrival of the King? What would it have been like to have seen the awaited star of Bethlehem?

Later we walked down to the beach that night - the stars weren't as vibrant because the moon had lit up the dark sky. In fact, we could see our shadows the moon was so bright! The waves were powerful and never missed a beat. It was an awe-inspiring reminder, the the God of the universe, who created the stars and the moon - which controls the oceans - also cares for, and loves me.

On Sunday, the 26th, we were snowed in! When the blustery winds had subsided, a few of us went out to the beach to see the snow and sand mixture. It was quite a sight - incongruous yet beautiful. Although I must say, I prefer sand when the sun is out, and the thermometer is far north of 20 degrees!

The beauty of the beach brought peace to my soul. It helped me to remember the absolute audacity of Christ coming to the world he created as a human - a mortal, yet without sin. One of the lines from Hark the Herald Angels sing, especially stuck out to me during our family's makeshift church service in our beach house on Christmas Eve - "born to give us second birth!" He was born to die - to die and be raised again, so that I - you - we, can know Him as Savior and have our sins washed from us - like the pure-driven snow I witnessed on the beach.