unspeakable love.

the heavy tread of soldiers boots
horses snorting
fires flickering
tents pitched
tense waiting...waiting
a battle cry
a mother's sob
swords, clashing
children, wailing
families, broken
lives torn apart.
all of Israel crying,
where is our Messiah?
our Savior?
our Deliverer?
our Victorious One?

a silent night
except for the moans
of a woman in labor.
heavy breathing, quiet wailing,
and then a baby's cry
pierces the silent night
in a tiny stable
buried in the heart of Bethlehem
God's beloved
born to us.

more soldiers.
more wailing.
more crying.
more questioning.
more waiting.

while they waited
the baby grew
and grew and grew
into a man.
the infinite God, who had no beginning,
became man, and still God,
and had a beginning,
among His beloved,
among those He came to save.

although He was not the military victor people expected, this man still won victories.
except these victories were far more important than any war or battle fought with human hands.
these were victories won in the very essence of our beings,
in our souls,
in our deepest of places.
with each victory came the expansion of His kingdom and freedom to those who believed,
who had once been slaves to their own earthly natures.
He was a mighty victor.

His most glorious victory of all
came unlike any other.
without a big battle
or a giant overthrow of government.
instead, He died.
He died that we might live.
that those elected to be a part of His kingdom would truly be freed, once and for all.
but He didn't stay dead.

He was victorious over the grave.
it had no power over Him.
and the freedom that He died to give still remains
open to any and all
who accept the free citizenship in His kingdom.

John 3:16. what a Mighty Savior we serve.

standing on the promises.

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people." Ephesians 6:18

Praying my heart out for the Oppers. I know that God is in control of all of this, and that His will is going to be done through this. As hard as it is to see His plan, I do know He has the bigger picture.

Here's the lyrics to a song I've been thinking about a lot today.

Standing on the promises of Christ my King, 
through eternal ages let his praises ring; 
glory in the highest, I will shout and sing, 
standing on the promises of God. 

Standing, standing, 
standing on the promises of Christ my Savior; 
standing, standing, 
I'm standing on the promises of God. 

Standing on the promises that cannot fail, 
when the howling storms of doubt and fear assail, 
by the living Word of God I shall prevail, 
standing on the promises of God.  

Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord, 
bound to him eternally by love's strong cord, 
overcoming daily with the Spirit's sword, 
standing on the promises of God.  

Standing on the promises I cannot fall, 
listening every moment to the Spirit's call, 
resting in my Savior as my all in all, 
standing on the promises of God. 

The bold parts are the phrases that have really stuck out to me. My friend Stephanie wrote a wonderful post of verses...go check it out here. 

-Em
 

identity.

well, if you haven't heard by now, I am going back to Haslett at the semester change (end of January-ish). I've made this choice for a lot of different reasons...basically, the bottom line is that homeschooling isn't working out as well as I'd hoped. I'm going to miss everyone a lot, except we'll still be hanging out and everything so I won't have to miss you guys! :) ok, now on to what this post is actually about:

I read this quote by A. W. Tozer the other day, which really got me thinking. Here it is:

"A great deal can be learned about people by observing whom an what they imitate. The weak, for instance, imitate the strong; never the reverse. The poor imitate the rich. The self-assured are imitated by the timid and uncertain, the genuine is imitated by the counterfeit, and people all tend to imitate what they admire.

By this definition power today lies with the world, for it is the world that initiates an the church that imitates what she has initiated. By this definition the church admires the world. The church is uncertain and looks to the world for assurance. A weak church is aping a strong world to the amusement of intelligent sinners and to her own everlasting shame."
-A. W. Tozer

Guys, this is really true. I mean...we say we want to walk and talk and be like Jesus, but then who (or what) do we look to to define us? I know for girls it's so easy to be defined by the moral standards of the world - to wear really tight jeans or that one shirt that dips just a tiiiiiny bit lower than is probably "good". I fall into that trap all the time...I find myself buying into the lies of the world, claiming my identity in the lies that are preached through our culture. When I think about it, I realize that's not where I want to be. I don't want to be a world worshipper...I want Jesus to be the One who forms every aspect of my life, my true Maker. When I think about my "identity" and where it should be, 1 Peter 2:9 comes to mind. It says, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." 

Does that blow anyone else's mind? We were specifically called out of the bondage that held us in the darkness before our salvation. We aren't slaves to it anymore. We don't have to just try to become what the world tries to bend us to. The world doesn't hold our ultimate agenda anymore. Our agenda, our schedule for life, is found in Jesus Christ alone.