a slap in the face

John 19:19-22 “Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.’I have spoken openly to the world,’ Jesus replied. ‘I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.’ When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby struck him in the face. ‘Is this the way you answer the high priest?’ he demanded.”

The other day, I was reading the story of Judas’s betrayal of Jesus and Jesus’ crucifixion in John, and these verses in chapter 19 really hit me, specifically verse 22. It says that one of the officials struck Jesus in the face. As in, this guy slapped the King of kings. He hit Jesus. On the face. With the hand that Jesus created, actually. My initial reaction was anger at this guy…how dare he hit my King? How could he be so blind to the fact of who Jesus was, and is!? But then as I continued to think about it, I realized that the official did what we as sinners do every day. Yeah, there’s not a physical Jesus that we punch with our fist, but every time we chose sin and the desires of the flesh over the incredible blessings that are offered to us through Christ, we are pretty much slapping Him in the face. When we chose our old sinful habits over the grace of Christ, we’re saying “Yeah, God, what You’ve got is whatever…I’d rather not take part of it. I mean You gave your life, but it’s not really worth it to me to live for You.” That’s a slap if I’ve ever heard one.

Not worth it. That’s what our lives scream when we continue to stand in our sinful ruts. Not worth it. That’s what we say when we claim that our bodies aren’t beautiful. Punch, slap, smack, ouch. Why do we claim to live for Christ and love Him with our lives but then slap Him in the face in our lives? It breaks my heart. Truly, honestly, breaks my heart.

POEM!

So this spring break, I was with my best friend Kenna in Indiana for the week. We wrote a poem that sums up everything that we've done together this week, and I thought I would share it with you all. (The "you" refers to McKenna, by the way)


KENNA PRENNA

Your name is McKenna, I'm sure you're aware
On top of your head is lovely brown hair
You're great at Violin, and I like to hear you play
Some time we'll go to the zoo for the day!

We're best friends, through thick and through thin
Our friendship is made of stuff that's stronger than tin!
Talking to you always makes me feel better
And you're so nice - you let me borrow your sweaters!

Sitting in a hot tub was pretty darn fun
Although girls to boys it was six to one.
I like frolicking with you, especially at night
And we leave when the dark starts to give us the frights :)

Studying History can be quite creative
Although we're not always that motivated...
Grouchpants and SPICEQUEENS have no place among us
Or movies with characters who carelessly cuss!

I feel safe telling you things, I trust you completely,
I hope that you never change your name to "Bill Wheatley"
You can come live in my room and NOT sleep on a cot
I'll even clean up and let you use Emerson's robot!

You're at your lesson, playing with passion
And I'm looking at Tumblr, at blogs full of fashion.
You live in a cute city called Carmel, Indiana
Although I doubt that here it has ever rained manna...

This summer, we'll hang out together, you'll see!
Maybe we could even go climb in a tree!
We both have stomach problems that equal funny noises
And we see that high school dating is usually pointless

I LOVE YOU, MCKENNA KATE!
and hey, guess what? HATERS GONNA HATE!
but like JBiebs taught us, we'll never say never
Even if our sunrise breakfast is ruined by foul weather!

Wisdom Builders was fun, and so was Ben-Hur,
Although his chest looked like it was covered in fur.
I'm sad  that tomorrow I have to go home,
But no worries, we'll still talk on the phone!

If you ever get toe cramps, don't be alarmed
It happens to people, even if you don't live on a farm
Some days are just made for poking your eyes
And doing special dances that will bring in the guys!

We're not very good at picking out pickles
When Lucy jumps on my legs, it certainly tickles!
We both like the smell of chlorine and cookies
At baseball, Patch would beat us, because we're only rookies.

In the Arts District of your fine town
There's a restaurant called Bubs which on the wall has a hound
Ice cream there looks really good
But you'll get mugged if you take it in the hood

Someday we'll go on our first dates
And the guys better be really first-rate
If there's a shaking in the bushes, don't be alarmed
It's your BEST FRIEND, making sure you're not in harm!

Every Friday we'll wear dresses
And do something pretty with our tresses
It's a female revolution
Taking place at our institutions!

At Chick-Fil-A, they always say "My pleasure!"
And their ice cream is certainly served in large measures
There's an old man named Grandpa who creeped us out quite a bit
And he walks around, giving out mints!

As our time here together comes to a close
And we sit in the car reading pieces of prose
You and me together, a pod with two peas
And thats the way very best friends should be :)


McKenna and Emily, 4/2011

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.

happy things.

Today and yesterday were just happy sort of days. I've been reading through the Psalms before bed every night, and I've been thinking a lot about Psalm 23. I memorized it as "The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want." I had never really thought about what those words mean, until a friend posted them on Facebook in a different version of the text. Her status said, "The LORD is my Shepherd, I have all that I need."

The last part of that really made me think. Do I live like I have all that I need? Do I live like Christ is my all?

The picture of the Hebrew word above is the word "shalom". Most people I know would say that this word means peace. However, I was talking to my youth pastor, and he said there was also another meaning for the word. Instead of peace, it can also mean "the way things are supposed to be."

The way things are supposed to be. Wow. I don't know what mental image you get with that phrase, but for me, it's a world that's perfect. A world that doesn't have the pain and suffering that inhabits it right now. A world that hasn't taken perverted the most sacred parts of life. A world of living in the Light, instead of being shrouded in the darkness that so frequently suffocates us.

Living in the Light. The way things are supposed to be.
Guys, they're just phrases until we start living them out.