Paper Isn't Unique

In a short exercise in class this last week, my professor had each of us students write a short story about whatever inanimate object that came immediately to mind. I was impressed as some of the students were obviously gifted creative writing majors that Hollywood or some publishing company is bound to snatch up one of these days, and their stories were written from the perspective of whatever object it was came to mind. I think, though, of all the stories, the one that stood out to me the most was a poetic story about a piece of paper -- how a single piece of paper is not unique within a three-ring binder. A piece of paper does not stand out from all of the others that look just like it -- with its lines of blue and single line of red contrasting upon the whiteness of it. A single sheet of paper is not unique. That is, until it is "covered in black ink." Thinking about the simplicity of this caused me to think of people. Not that people are simple. By no means. Rather, it is a simple metaphor that is applicable. Instead, thinking that unlike paper, each person is unique. And they don't need black ink in order to be so. Now, some argue that by saying so, one is automatically saying the reverse -- if everyone is unique, than that leaves no one who is non-unique, which in turn leaves no one truly unique. But, that isn't how Jesus sees it. We were each created in His image -- He knows us in the secret place. He knows our getting up and our lying down. He sees the heart. He sees the sin and iniquity, and yet He freely gives grace.

Watching people is fun. You see personalities, cultures, ideas and worldviews just by watching people. This last week was an especially fun week to watch people on campus. With the start of classes at the UW on Wednesday (I think we can safely boast of being the last school in the state to start the 2006-2007 academic year), there was a sense of eagerness and excitement everywhere you walked. Bands were brought in on temporary stages. Food vendors came pouring in so much so that it resembled the county fair, and you could you smell the grease of the polish hotdogs as soon as you stepped outside of a building. Tables spilled out of the student union building onto the front lawn as the various and very diverse clubs were out in full force as fellow students attempted to recruit you to join them. Fraternities. Sororities. The eager and somewhat overwhelmed freshmen. The seasoned graduate student. They were all there.

But beyond the carnival atmosphere, I was reminded again of the carnality and depravity of man without God. Now, I'm not trying to sound harsh nor I am trying to sound judgmental -- I am merely stating the way it is. Romans 1 is in full force on the UW campus. But, as Paul writes, "Thanks be to God!" that He does not give up on man. Instead, "He gave them over" but it does not say "He gave them up." And, it's not just the UW -- Romans 1 is in full force anywhere you go in the world. But, Romans 1 isn't all there is. We have fifteen more chapters to the book of Romans that God wants to take us through. He wants to take us from the truly sinful state that we were once in to where we are led of the Spirit (chapter 8) and going out to the nations proclaiming the Gospel (chapter 16). Oh, how the Lord loves people. He absolutely loves the thousands of undergrads, grads, faculty, and staff that comprise the campus here. I can't help it, sometimes I walk around crying (people must think that I'm failing my exams left and right at the sight of me) when I think about the lost on this campus. It is my prayer that the believers on the campus are flaming torches for Jesus there -- that He would be honored and glorified, and that the lost may know Him in and through every part of our lives while we are there for such a limited time only. May it be so. That there would be such a hunger for Jesus. There really isn't anything else that matters beyond seeing souls come into the Kingdom. And, unless we truly get that into our inner man, unless we are as Spurgeon so wonderfully put it, "filled with an agony for them," we will not see Kingdom expansion. How often are the believers, who are to be the salt of the earth, caught up in the frivolity of humanity? Is that going to last? Or all too soon will that fad away like the bands and the food vendors do after this weekend?

Unlike paper, as my classmate so brilliantly wrote, people are unique. Right now, they are smeared with sin. But, hallelujah to the One who can cover them, not with "black ink," but with the Blood of the Lamb.

ICF Starts Tonight!!!!!

I am soooo excited -- International Christian Fellowship starts tonight! International Students Inc. (ISI) is a global ministry with an evangelistic emphasis towards international students, ESL students and visiting scholars on university and college campuses. "International Christian Fellowship" (or ICF as it takes a lot less time to say) are the weekly Friday night outreach meetings held in the U-district of Seattle that are a ministry extension of ISI. So, every Friday night we'll pack the ISI house with anywhere from 30-60 people (mostly international), eat a meal together, have a time of worship, and then break up into small group Bible studies. Many of the students who attend do not yet know the Lord, but by the end of the year, many of those same students have "decided to follow Jesus." Here is a very, very small sampling of some pics from over the last year:

World Magazine and Andree Seu

Andree Seu delivers yet another wonderful and well written article in this week's World Magazine about a part of Kingdom living that is sometime very difficult to do, but so necessary when following Jesus -- Forgiveness.

"Forgiveness is a brutal mathematical transaction done with fully engaged faculties. It's my pain instead of yours. I eat the debt. I absorb the misery I wanted to dish out on you, and you go scot-free. Beware the forgiveness that is tendered soon after injury; be suspicious. Real forgiveness needs a time lag, for it is wrought in private agony before it ever comes to public amnesty. All true acts of courage are thus done in secret....
And now the unthinkable: not only to forgive but seek the good. Nature abhors a vacuum and Jesus admits of no middle ground between hate and love. Pray for him."

John Donne

School starts tomorrow for the UW. And, in light of that, I came across this quote again today:

"The University is a Paradise, Rivers of Knowledge are there, Arts and Sciences flow from thence. Counsell Tables are Horti conclusi, (as it is said in the Canticles) Gardens are walled in, and they are Fontes signati, Wells that are sealed up; bottomless depths of unsearchable Counsels there." ~John Donne

How very true. I would have to agree with Mr. Donne in that there are few places as exciting as a University and campus classroom setting. Engaging the mind is wonderful. There is a radio program by an apologist entitled, "Let My People Think," which I think is a great title. We are to think. Bigly. And yet, all knowledge cannot begin to compare with the wealth of true understanding that is found in the Word of God. For, it is in knowing the living Word of God that I find life:

O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts. I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word. I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me. How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

My dependence is not on my education. I depend upon Christ alone. Education, though, is an extremely important tool which is to be used for the Glory of God. But not as an idol, and not as a way to bring glory to ourselves. Instead, our minds should be used to bring Him glory and honor. So, let us engage our minds, hearts and lives in the study of His Word. And, as our way of thinking is washed by the "water of the Word," may we engage our minds in the understanding of truth in the academic setting as well. May we be led of the Spirit in the use of our minds throughout this next academic year!

On Dean Martin's Boat

For my Mom's birthday yesterday, my Dad arranged a special dinner cruise on Dean Martin's cabin cruiser at Lake Chelan. What an absolutely lovely time -- and, the best part was that we succeeded in surprising her completely!
This deadhead is the latest famous "landmark" of Lake Chelan. The result of a mudslide, the first folks to find this deadhead scribbled the name "Dave" on it, and I guess the tree has famously been called "Deadhead Dave" ever since. A tragic tale. It floats around the lake and boaters are supposed to leave something on it... hence the very eclectic look. Our captain told us that there's even a website devoted to Deadhead Dave! Who would have thought...

For the things that please Your heart, Lord, preoccupy me.

Piper and Christian Cultural Influence

I have the folks over at New Attitude to thank for alerting me to an article written three years ago by John Piper. In "Taking the Swagger out of Christian Cultural Influence," Piper looks at two groups of Christians: those who mock at culture and those who are passive about what happens within our culture. How often do you and I fall into one of these two categories? He writes:

human culture –- in every society –- dishonors Christ, glories in its shame, and is bent on self-destruction. This includes America. American culture does not belong to Christians, neither in reality nor in Biblical theology. It never has.

How true. And, as believers, we need to ask what is our role in a society that is so utterly wicked and depraved? Christ came that we may have life and have it to the full. He came to point the way to the Father. He came as The Way, The Truth, and The Life. How are we, as Piper writes, "serving our culture" to the glory of God? How are we not being passive, but rather, pointing our unsaved friends and family to the foot of the Cross? Again, Piper writes:

Christian exiles are not passive. We do not smirk at the misery or the merrymaking of immoral culture. We weep. Or we should.This is my main point: being exiles does not mean being cynical. It does not mean being indifferent or uninvolved. The salt of the earth does not mock rotting meat. Where it can, it saves and seasons. And where it can’t, it weeps. And the light of the world does not withdraw, saying “good riddance” to godless darkness. It labors to illuminate. But not dominate.

Piper's words have challenged me anew to serve culture for the glory of my God. I want to be salt that does not lose its saltiness, but rather, gives flavor and rubs when it needs to. Here's the link for the rest of the article -- read it for yourself, and let Holy Spirit speak to you.

"Taking the Swagger out of Christian Cultural Influence."

Quote of the Day

One of my many hero's is William Wilberforce. Here's something he once said:

"Of all things, guard against neglecting God in the secret place of prayer. "

Baylor University Survey

I love the out-doorsy company with the cute little stick figures and the "Life is Good" logo. I have to say in agreement, "life is good," but it's also rather busy. And, as a result, I haven't had the chance to read the survey put out recently by Baylor University's Insititute for Studies of Religion. Instead, I've only looked at the University's own overview on its website, as well as read other's takes on it (one of my favorite weekly magazines, The Economist, seemed to have a fair, un-biased opinion on it, although written from a secular point of view). However, it is on "my list of things to do before I head back to school." Since I haven't actually read it for myself, I can't say too much about it. But, h ere's what I've gleaned from the University's site itself. The purpose of the survey, which is the "most extensive and sensitive study of religion ever amassed," was to better understand religion in America. According to the website:

In a national random sampling, the mailed questionnaire was completed by 1,721 respondents and covers varied facets of American religion and spirituality. Analysis of responses to the nearly 400 questions paints an initial portrait of American religious life in the early 21st century. Specifically, the data examines such questions as:

• Just how religious is America?
• Do religious Americans favor any political party?
• How do religious Americans feel about the Iraq war?
• How does religious belief affect spending patterns in America?
• How do people's perceptions of God affect their view of government and their religious practices?

As a result of this extensive study, the researchers found what they call the "Four Gods" -- that is, the data from the studies conducted revealed four broad views of God in America as a whole. It seems that the "four gods" boils down to how you see whether God is present in the world, and whether He is angry with it. Definitely what The Economist succinctly stated as "complexities." The study was careful to state that these views didn't necessarily dominate amongst believers. So, as a whole, American's view God as:

• 31.4 percent believe in an Authoritarian God, who is very judgmental and engaged
• 25 percent believe in a Benevolent God, who is not judgmental but engaged
• 23 percent believe in a Distant God, who is completely removed
• 16 percent believe in a Critical God, who is judgmental but not engaged

So, that's a brief overview of the figures. Now I've got to go and read the rest of it. Here's the link for the pdf file of the survey. It's 74 pages long, but have at it. I was just thinking to myself, what a neat opportunity -- school is starting back up again, and colleges and universities are going to be packed with kiddos ready to tackle the philosophical questions of the world. This study was in some of the major papers across the country, so hopefully the students are aware that a study of this sort was conducted. Your unsaved co-worker at work is probably aware of this study. And, if so, most likely they have an opinion. And, if you were so led of the Lord, what a great conversation over coffee with a non-believer that would be...

Buckley and "Everybody's Business"

William F. Buckley, a writer I greatly admire, attacks the proverbial statement of “mind your own business” regarding international practices of life and law enforcement, following an article that had appeared in the New York Times a month ago on Aceh. It is my business, and I should be very concerned, in that, these are men and women who do not yet know the Lord and are destined for hell apart from Christ. We need to be shook up about that. We need to weep over the lost. And, we need to cry out to the Redeemer who desires that all should come to know Him. And, may we have ears to hear what it is that Father is saying to us -- what it is that He would have us to do wherever we are in the world.

Read Buckley’s article from National Review here.

Darfur

World Magazine had an article that immediately caught my attention this week. The Darfur Crisis and North Africa have been on my heart ever since I had the privilege of being a part of a prayer group that focused on Africa while attending Bible School. Please, please may we pray? You can read the article entitled, "Deadly Fall" here.

Back Again... With the Quote of the Year

No... I didn't fall off of the face of the planet. I was on vacation (WOOHOO!) with my family, and we didn't have internet access during the time that we were away. Hence, the silence.

We're back, though, in full swing. And, here's the funny story of the day: tonight, as my Mom and I were leaving the monthly Wenatchee Valley prayer meeting, our friend, Pastor Jay Caron looked over at me and said something that has kept me chuckling for the last hour or so. It was so good that I had to write this one down:

"Well, Emily, I know that there are more than 7,000 who haven't bowed to Baal, but it sure is nice to run into them every once in a while."