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I had to write up a little post for my Financial Management Class about my favorite verse, or one that guided me, or spoke to me specifically. This is what I wrote. It’s not eloquent, but it’s true!

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Discussion Question #4
Financial Management

Despite it taking me an eternity to get to write this weeks post, I am really excited by the challenge of this weeks topic.

It’s difficult to narrow down one passage to specifically nail down, but there were a few that really come to mind always. I finally settled on the one I felt like has been consistent on my heart for a few years now. Psalm 16:11 is the verse! Really I wanted Psalm 16:7-11, but had to narrow it down.

“You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”

To explain my deep love of this verse deserves some background. One of my favorite books in the world in “Abide in Christ” by Andrew Murray. I truly cannot explain how much I love this book. The topic is obviously that of Abiding in Christ, or making our home in Christ, finding peace in Him, letting Him be our redeemer and to truly live our lives Abiding in Him. I love this topic because it’s so simple, but so challenging. God promises us absolute peace, total joy and completeness with Him. That’s incredible. It definitely transcends any happiness or goodness we can find outside of God. So as a result, I love Psalm 16, partially 11b (the bolded part). “In HIS presence is fullness of joy”! Wow, not just is there goodness, or peace, or comfort, or love, or redemption in abiding with God, there is fullness, completeness promised. In no one else am I promised, nor can I be, truly satisfied. In no one else can I really find joy, much less FULL joy.

For me, that simple Psalm of David (the man God Himself said was a man after His own heart); that Psalm reminds me of the truth God promises us. That He will make our home, and it will be with Him. And when we are at home with our Father, our joy will be full. In Him we are complete. I like that promise. A lot. Even when I don’t believe it.

Oh Lord, that I may rejoice when the night comes.

“The Bible gives a completely different picture of reality than the world. Identity comes from God, not from performance, not from behavior. Christianity is not a “climb to the top of the mountain and become a guru” religion. It is a living, active, in-this-moment reliance on an indwelling Person, who has come to live inside us by grace through the Cross.”
- Ron Block

Actually you know what, go read the whole blog post. It’s just too good. Too true.

http://www.rabbitroom.com/2011/09/commandmentsandnewidentity-partiv/

This week is officially the beginning of a new year of K-Life. It’s truly hard to believe that this is my fourth year of full-time K-Life. And this is probably the most excited I’ve been. This is going to be a great year.

It’s funny how over time my mantra has changed, or perhaps I’ve developed one… From that first year when I was so excited, but learning what K-Life meant here instead of as a volunteer in Bolivar; to now, where I am slightly more seasoned.

That mantra, that I feel like I say way too often, is just so hard not to have on my heart. It’s not about having everything done perfectly, or trying to compete with the other distractions in kids lives, or even about always having the best conversation, it’s about being faithful. My job, not only as the K-Life guy, but as a human Christian dude, is to be faithful to what God has called me to, and to be faithful with what he’s given me. Be faithful. It’s my job to be faithful to what God has asked.

For me, what I think God has asked is simple, and a favorite verse. Matthew 22:34-40, Jesus is asked about the greatest command, and He simply states, Love God with everything you are, and love your neighbor as yourself, the whole Law depends upon these two. I love that. If I am surrendering to the heart change God wants to bring, then my whole life will be centered around that idea, of loving God and others.

That’s what I think God has called me to. My mantra is simple because I believe my purpose is simple. Be faithful to what God has called me, and that’s to Love Him, and love others.

I hope God helps me to daily surrender to a simple life of love and gives me hope that the next day, He will renew my ability to abide in Him.

This year reading through the Bible I’ve really enjoyed Psalms.  I’ve read them before, but never gleaned so much from them.  They are powerful worship.  And my favorites are always Psalms of David.  I feel like I know him;  like he’s an old friend, one whose heart you know well.  His words are reassuring.  That I too, don’t have it all figured out, that I’m fumbling in the darkness most of the time, but most importantly that God is a passionate God with a steadfast love.

This is one of my favorites of the last month or so –>

“I will walk with integrity of heart
within my house;
I will not set before my eyes
anything that is worthless.
I hate the work of those who fall away;
it shall not cling to me.
A perverse heart shall be far from me;
I will know nothing of evil.”

:: Psalm 101:2-4

Lord I pray that my heart learns to echo that sentiment.

The more I look around and watch the world the more I see something that makes me nervous. It seems like we all need fancier clothes, bigger SUV’s, larger more imposing homes, better titles, more money and power.

Culturally it seems like we’re obsessed with power. (I only know this from my desires within me, but surely others aren’t that far off…) It seems like we have this desire to impress in all ways. Almost a compulsion to have more power, or at least portray ourselves as more powerful that we are. At least I catch myself pretending to be more ‘at ease’ or comfortable than I am at times. I think it goes back deep into a heart issue, that I want to come across more ‘in control’, more powerful than I am.. It’s like I wanna make myself a bigger deal that I truly am.

Lord, I wanna be small. I don’t want to make more of myself. I wanna be humble and at peace with the simple things you have called me to. Maybe I’ll find out that those simple things are really their own big deal…

Yes. Please.

Today. I blog.

I’m learning that I don’t have to try to surrender everything for the rest of my life right now… But that it is day by day, hour by hour that I must continually sit in the presence of the Father and let go, surrender everything I am. That’s how God works, he gives us the strength to surrender each day, and gives us the night to refresh us and bring us new strength to surrender and make our home in Him for another day.

Just thinking on that is overwhelming. And comforting.