And Can It Be...

I've been singing/humming this hymn all day by Charles Wesley -- "And Can It Be That I Should Gain?" What love! What a mystery! What grace! What extravagance! That a sinner such as I could be "alive in Him... and clothed in righteousness divine." It is so good to preach the Gospel to my own soul -- I need to be reminded. Daily.

And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain—
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

’Tis mystery all: th’Immortal dies:
Who can explore His strange design?
In vain the firstborn seraph tries
To sound the depths of love divine.
’Tis mercy all! Let earth adore,
Let angel minds inquire no more.
’Tis mercy all! Let earth adore;
Let angel minds inquire no more.

He left His Father’s throne above
So free, so infinite His grace—
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s helpless race:
’Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!
’Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

Still the small inward voice I hear,
That whispers all my sins forgiven;
Still the atoning blood is near,
That quenched the wrath of hostile Heaven.
I feel the life His wounds impart;
I feel the Savior in my heart.
I feel the life His wounds impart;
I feel the Savior in my heart.

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

This is love

"This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." ~ I John 4:10

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." ~John 3:16

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are!" ~ I John 3:1

"For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us." ~ Psalm 103:11-12

"This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out His commands. This is love for God: to obey His commands." ~ I John 5:2-3

Uriah

A recent pic of Uriah, the nine month old son of some dear friends here in Seattle, who is now crawling. Is he precious or what?! His uncle is my Indonesian "twin," so I guess that sorta makes Uriah my "nephew"... I don't know, but I'll claim him!

CORRECTION: I have been informed by the wee man himself that he is nearly eight months old instead of nine... what sort of an aunt am I who can't even get the birthday straight???

"His magnum opus is people"

"The most important person you don't know" is the subtitle of an article by Tim Stafford that caught my eye in Christianity Today on a "Historian Ahead of His Time." Here's a nibble:

Andrew Walls was mildly incredulous when I phoned him in Aberdeen, Scotland, to ask for an interview. Of course he would gladly help me, he said in a restrained Scotch brogue, but was I sure I had the right person? He couldn't understand why Christianity Today would want to write about him.
The reason is simple: Andrew Walls may be the most important person you don't know. Most Americans and Europeans think of Christianity as a Western religion. Prominent leaders of the last 50 years, like Billy Graham, Oral Roberts, and Pope John Paul II, are known primarily for their influence in the West, though in fact each of them has played a significant role in wider, global Christianity. But the most important development for the church in the 20th and 21st centuries has not been in the West at all, but in the astonishing shift of Christianity's center of gravity from the Western industrialized nations to Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Read it. Walls has lived and taught in Africa, Scotland, the States, etc. -- he knows what he's talking about.

Midterms

I'm in the midst of midterm exams and papers this week, but I had to take a moment to share this, as it did cause me to laugh (posting this may also be one of my more dumber moves... as by doing so I may be asking for it). Having blond hair means that I am often unfortunately the recipient of blond jokes (much to everyone else's glee who is not blond). For once, though, this is a blond-joke that I do actually find funny myself (please allow me, though, to preface this by saying that though I may be blond, I did take all of my calculus classes in college very seriously -- and not like this at all. Hehe).
This is the "supposed" answer that a blond gave on some math exam (for the sake of relevancy, it was probably midterms). Obviously, she has no understanding of the Pythagorean theorem. The question was, as always, "Find X." My brother, the mathematician himself, loves this...

Dhaka

Millions from around the world congregated this past week in Bangladesh. The Dhaka Pilgrimage, according to BBC, is supposedly second only to Mecca in the multitudes of Muslims who are drawn to attend the three-day ceremony.

Goodbye -- Again

This morning we had to say yet another goodbye within this week (we've had three in the past five days). This one, though, seemed to be particularly hard on all of us as Hannah Kim has lived here in the ISI house for the past eight months, during which time we have had the joy of watching transformation unfold before our eyes as she came to know Jesus and began to hunger and thirst for the things of God and His Word. As a result, there is a sense of real maturity that marks her relationship with Jesus in these short months. She is also tons of fun (she was the one who graciously aided me in my cause to reclaim the stolen snowman last November) and so very kind and hospitable to all -- we're going to miss her around here! We'll miss all of the Korean food too...
As part of her farewell to everyone at ICF last night, she and several of the Korean students sang a special song which has become a popular praise and worship song in both Korea and Japan, and after hearing them, I have a sneaking suspicion that that is what the worship in Heaven will sound like. It was later in the evening while I was leading the corporate worship (in English... hehe), though, that I was able to capture a sight of Hannah that pretty much encapsulates the whole purpose behind ICF: We were repeating the chorus to Benediction for the final time a cappella ("To God be the Glory! Now and forever! Now and forever, amen."), and as I looked over in Hannah's direction, I saw her singing with eyes closed, hands raised and tears streaming down her face.
Eight months -- and a life changed by Jesus. And now, this changed life is going back to be a blessing within her country for the sake of the Gospel. Amazing.
As we finished the song and were about to bring the evening to a close, I glanced over the room filled with staff, volunteers and other "Hannah's" -- international students, most of whom are not yet believers, but are beginning to respond to the kindness of God -- and I thought to myself: "To God be the Glory."