Fighting it

We have a problem at our house...

A squirrel problem.

My dad has this nice bird feeder and instead of the birds eating all of the feed,

the squirrels eat it all.

That's just not working.

A bird feeder is for birds, not squirrels.

So my dad is bound and determined to feed the birds.

He's tried many different, creative strategies to keep the squirrels from jumping onto the tree and then the bird feeder.

A few weeks ago, my dad hung a large lid over the bird feeder so the squirrels couldn't jump down from the branch above and onto the feeder.

This strategy did work, but didn't prevent the squirrels from jumping from the other trees.

A week ago, he hung a glass pot lid from the tree adjacent to the bird feeder in hopes it would block the squirrels from jumping onto the feeder.

The day after, I'm doing the dishes and looking outside, when all of the sudden I see a squirrel on the adjacent tree, staring at the pot lid and feeder.

"Surely," I thought, "he isn't going to be able to get to the feeder."

Sure enough, the squirrel jumped over the big pot lid and onto the feeder.

The pot lid seemed like a good idea, but I guess squirrels are smarter than that.

Then a couple days ago, my dad put some chicken wire halfway over the feeder to keep the squirrels from getting to the food, but still allowing the birds to get it.

I thought, "Okay this should work."

Once again, I'm doing the dishes and a squirrel catches my eye.

I stop what I'm doing and put my attention on the hungry (or greedy) squirrel.

Like the last time, this squirrel definitely has to put some thought into what he's going to do next.

His legs lunge back and I watch him go airborne towards the bird feeder tree. 

He passes the pot lid, lands under the big lid, and turns his body upside down (no joke) in order to get his head past the chicken wire so he could reach his afternoon snack.

"Are you kidding me?!" I said. "How in the world could he do that?! Wait until, I tell Dad."

My dad comes home that evening and I break the news to him.

"The squirrel hung from the feeder upside down so he could get past the chicken wire. Your plan didn't work. Maybe you should just give up."

But being the innovative and persistent man that he is, he replied, "Well, I have a few more ideas."

Clearly, my dad hasn't given up yet. That isn't a bad thing, though. He just wants the squirrels to stop stealing the birds food. 

But it makes me think (of course). 

It reminds me of when we're fighting for the sin in our lives.

We're in this struggle to keep the sin and justify it.

We may have part of our lives right, but the other, wrong.

We're fighting against it.

We don't want to give in and get rid of it.

In Ephesians 6:11-17, the apostle Paul tells us to "put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." 

Sometimes it's hard to be all in and not give in to the repentance of our sins.

We'll get rid of these sins, but not the others.

Paul tells us to "put on the whole armor." He doesn't say, "Put on just a piece or two of the armor of God."

He is telling us that it is worth it, to be all in.

To put our whole being into an armor of truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation will help us to withstand the temptation of the evil around us, even our own sin.

I'm not sure if my dad will give up on the Mission Protect the Bird Feeder, and if he doesn't, that's okay. I'm not saying it's wrong, but a picture of how we can fight against ridding the sin in our lives.

Will we give up and give in to the life of repentance that Jesus has called us to?

Acts 3:19 says, "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord."

2 things to learn:

#1 never underestimate the intelligence of a squirrel.

#2 more importantly, never underestimate the power of the whole armor of God and the strength He gives us, so that we can repent from our old, sinful ways to a life full of truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation.

"You are dust and to dust you shall return"

Genesis 3:19 says, "By the sweat of your face

You will eat bread,
Till you return to the ground,
Because from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return.”

So why is that significant? Today is Ash Wednesday. 

You may see people walking around with black crosses on their foreheads.

You may hear about people giving up something like social media or chocolate.

You may come across someone who won't eat meat during the week, but will feast on a juicy hamburger on Friday.

You may ask, "what is this all about exactly?"

Sarak Korf via Flickr.com

Ash Wednesday is a ritual practiced among Catholics and Protestants such as Lutherans, Episcopalians,  Presbyterians, Anglicans, and Methodists. 

Today marks the beginning of the Lenten period, meaning the remembrance of Jesus' 40 days of fasting, temptation by the devil, and crucifixion. It is during this time when people of these denominations reflect on Jesus' suffering, their sin, and live in moderation.

Sounds gloomy, huh? 

For some people, maybe not. It is a time for them to humble themselves.

I grew up Lutheran so I practiced the ritual of Ash Wednesday, as well as observing Lent.

I think a lot of good can come from this practice, however, when observing this time, one must be careful not to resent it or let it get in the way of it's sole purpose. 

I thought it would be helpful to learn about the history of Lent in hopes to deepen my knowledge of this practice. 

Did you know it began as a time to fast and prepare for baptism?

In the third and fourth centuries, lent was a pathway to newness by way of baptism on Easter. 

Baptism was the focus of this period. Although the Bible does not speak of observing Lent explicitly, it does speak of rituals pertaining to fasting and humbleness. We first hear of the Lenten period being observed by a letter from Dionysius addressing the length of Lent. Also, in 325 CE, the Emperor Constantine spoke of Lenten fasting at the Council of Nicea. 

Later on, the focus turned to confession and repentance rather than baptism.

People who committed serious sins would engage in public penance (confessing publicly) for forty days ending with a celebration feast on Easter. Some would still be baptized as well.

In the beginning, the fasting would begin on Sunday, but Pope Gregory the Great changed it to Wednesday and allowed for feasting on Sundays, instead of fasting. Because of him, we call today Ash Wednesday. He even started the practice of drawing ash crosses on people's foreheads to be a sign of grievance and repentance. 

As time has gone on, the practice of fasting has been modified. Sometime in the 800s people could eat after 3 pm, then people could eat after noon in the 1400s, and in 1966 the Vatican only required fasting to take place on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Also, during the 800s was the beginning of fasting from meat in order to "show of poverty before God" since meat was considered a wealthy food. 

It's interesting how this ritual has changed. When I partake in Ash Wednesday and Lent, I usually feel sorrow and gloom. I don't necessarily feel that it's a bad thing, because it is important to remember the suffering Jesus faced for us. We must also be careful to spend this time being grateful, even if we've given up chocolate. [I know it would be hard.] Matthew 6:16-18 says, “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face  so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who seeswhat is done in secret will reward you." We are to be representatives of Jesus Christ, so when we're walking around with ash crosses on our foreheads we must be careful not to complain about what you're giving up. 

With that being said, I really like the way Lent started out, as a focus of baptism. Now, if you were already baptized, of course you wouldn't get baptized every year, but remembering what comes with the suffering of Jesus Christ, the resurrection, is the most glorious part of Lent and Easter.

Let me say this again, remembrance, repentance, and sacrifice are HUGE. We should do those things, but we should be careful not to become so discouraged that we let it change our daily lifestyle of being joyful in all circumstances or become so wrapped up in the tradition that we forget the purpose. I think we can have a combination of both, remembrance and newness. Knowing our sins can surely bog us down, but facing our sins with the reality of Jesus providing us a newness can lighten our days during Lent, as well as throughout the year. 

So whether or not you are partaking in Ash Wednesday, remembering the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ and the glorious outcome of His resurrection and forgiveness, should help us to be thankful now and throughout the year!

Do you practice Ash Wednesday? If so, how does it make you feel? Are you giving up anything? 

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Day 14 In Him we find...

The past 3 days we've found conviction, repentance and refreshment in Him. All I can say is God is good. You know you want to say it with me...God is good...all the time! How loving and how kind of Him to give us multiple second chances to turn our lives around with His help.

 

Have you ever heard anyone say, "Wow, she is just full of lovingkindness." Um, I haven't, however, I do know of one person who is full of lovingkindness. Yep, leave it up to God to get the job done. In the Bible, we see the term lovingkindness often. In Hebrew, checed (aka lovingkindness)  means goodness, faithfulness, and kindness. Talk about triple threat! Yep, that's our God. Isaiah 63:7 (NASB) says, "I shall make mention of the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, According to all that the LORD has granted us, And the great goodness toward the house of Israel, Which He has granted them according to His compassion and according to the abundance of His lovingkindnesses."  No one can come close to the lovingkindness God shows us. I love Psalm 63:3 (NASB) because it says, "Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You." No matter what is going on in our lives, we should praise Him for His lovingkindness because it is better than life.

 

In Him we find lovingkindness.

If you're joining me in the year long reading plan, the scripture today is John 11-12.

Day 13 In Him we find...

 

Don't you just love wind? Gosh, I love it. It's one of my favorite things. Seriously. It may be weird, but oh well. I know I talked about in my Let me introduce myself post, but I just have to talk about it again. One of the reasons I love Fall so much is because I love the way it feels. I love to stick my hand out of my window while driving so that I can feel the wind through my fingers and I love sitting on my deck feeling the wind through my hair. Yesterday, I was sitting on the deck and I was enjoying it more than usual because it was quite windy. Maybe I like the wind so much because it's like a burst of energy. Whenever the wind brushes my face, I feel awakened and all I can say is "ahhh". Do you feel the same? Maybe I just have an obsession with wind, but it's just so refreshing. Maybe your idea of refreshing is a sip of Coca Cola or warm shower, but mine is wind.

 

So let's go back to what we found on Sunday...conviction. Then yesterday, we found repentance and today we find refreshment. Now, I'm not going to take credit for these ideas, because I wouldn't be writing about this if it weren't for Pastor Gregg Matte. Like I said, while I was listening to his sermons on Sunday so many lightbulbs turned on for me. I never really thought that I found refreshment in God, but it's true! Thanks Pastor Gregg for shedding the light on this topic. So God convicts us, then He offers repentance and through that He refreshes us. When we realize our sin and turn away from it knowing that God is waiting for us, that is true refreshment. I mean, when you repent, don't you feel refreshed and renewed? Through the turning, we are being refreshed because we have a second chance. Praise God for that! Acts 3:19 says, "Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord." When we turn from sin and devote ourselves to God, His presence gives us refreshment. Ahh, that's good.

I think it's even better than the wind.

In Him we find refreshment.

 

Be convicted, repent and be refreshed today!

 

Today's scripture for read-your-Bible-in-a-year plan is John 9-10.

Taking the dunk

So I've been praying about what I should blog about today and I finally figured it out (obviously haha). I only blog when I feel really led to write about something. Earlier I wasn't feeling tugged so I started reading other blogs and it hit me...the past 3 days there have been a lot of baptisms!

 

Baptism comes from the Greek word, baptisma which means washing. To Christians, it's more than just washing, it's a public display of how Jesus has washed your sins away and you are turning away from sin (repentance). Baptism doesn't save you, faith does, but it is important in our walk with God. You are giving your life to Jesus. You are trusting in Him. Because of His crucifixion and resurrection, you are saved from death and given eternal life! Romans 6:3-6 explains the importance of baptism very well..."Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—"

In fact, it's more than just a public display or symbol of repentance...it is a command. Matthew 28:19 (aka The Great Commission) says, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." Notice those are red words in the Bible which means that's what Jesus said! He told his disciples this after He was raised from the dead. He wasn't just telling the disciples, but it's meant for every believer!

 

Saturday night at the worship service I went to, the pastor invited anyone who wanted to get baptized that night to come on down to the front. Let me tell you, I'm thinking there were at least 30 young adults...maybe closer to 50. I just know it was a lot for such a short amount of time! It was amazing!!  Yesterday at church, there were people getting baptized as well! Then today I was reading blogs and read about a mother who has 2 young daughters who got baptized yesterday too!

 

Getting baptized may seem intimidating, especially if you are getting dunked in front of hundreds of people, but it is such an awesome and rewarding thing to do, especially since Jesus calls us to do it! I'll never forget when my nieces and Goddaughter were baptized...it's such an amazing thing to experience. I even cry when I see strangers get baptized! There is so much power in it.

 

What is even cooler, is that Jesus not only calls us to do it, but He did it TOO! Luke 3:21-22 says, "When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Isn't that awesome?! I think so.

 

“We may never be martyrs but we can die to self, to sin, to the world, to our plans and ambitions. That is the significance of baptism; we died with Christ and rose to new life” ~ Vance Haver

 

Have you been baptized? If so, tell me about it...I'd love to hear!

 

If you believe in what Jesus has done for you and have not been baptized, I encourage you to really think about it...talk to your pastor or a mentor or even me! Remember Jesus, himself, said to get baptized...so just do it! :)

 

Today's scripture for the year long Bible plan is Matthew chapters 27 & 28.