Meditation on Isaiah 9

Meditation on Isaiah 9
By Joshua Banner

Unto us a child is born
unto all of us
unto the window
unto the homeless
the addict
the AIDS patient
unto us the football captain
and the drag queen
unto us the politician
the factory blue collar
us the single mother
the crack baby
and unto us the affluent suburbanite
unto us the goth
the hippie
the rocker
the alternative and underground
unto us in Hollywood and on Madison Avenue
and unto all of us inbetween
unto us in the gutters of Calcutta
unto the Muslim
and the jew
the Buddhist
the Krishna and the Hindu
unto us the fatherless
unto the heavenly fatherless

For unto us a child is born
a son is given
and a secret revolution begun.
this is what the prophets had been preparing for.

They said his name would be,
"Most Beautiful Wisdom"
"the Highest of Heaven's Secrets"
his name would be
"The God who continually bends over backwards for you"
"The God who gets down on his hands and knees"
"the God who would become silly and mis-understood"
"The God who would be mocked -- the God whose name would be taken in vain."

He would be called
"The God of underdogs"

"The God of the powerless and unspiritual"

"The God of those who cannot pray or fast"

And there would be no end to him and his underdog weaklings or their secret
there would be no end even while the nations continue to rage on.
even as ethnos rises against ethnos
even as valleys are filled with dead bones
and rivers run with blood
even as violence runs through our streets
and schools and hearts
convering us like a thick fog
Even in this dark land of weak people
The God who bends over backwards
will shine forth like a great light
as the dawning of a new day
letting his secret spread forth with healing and joy

Drop the mirror and let it shatter
Crush the hourglass and stop the clocks ticking
stand still
hold your breath
anticipate.... imagine...
your wildest dreams
Sell everything and buy the farm
Come with me, cover your eyes and
hold our your hands
stop your weeping
stop your groans
the fast is over.

Let the celebration begin
the father has come
He has send his son
Unto us He has been born
even unto us.

Lu-Lu and He-Hu

My dear friend Lauren and I tonight had a talk. We talked about how here at our school, we don't have a good relationship with a lot of girls that go here. We wondered why our college experience is so different from probably every other school in the world. Our conclusion:

Women come to this school and worry about boys for four years.

We then talked about how, in the Christian culture at least, singleness is often looked down upon, though it is truly a gift (just as marriage is). She and I discussed the hurtfulness of a woman in a relationship or married who says, "ENJOY YOUR SINGLE YEARS! THEY ARE THE BEST YEARS OF YOUR LIFE"... when, in reality, if they were the best years of your life, you probably would have stayed in that time. Though, I realize God does some things in his own timing and in his own ways. But, you catch the drift.

Sometimes I just feel as if Christians: married, in relationships, older, younger, etc... look down on me because I'm single. As if being married is something to be obtained. In reality, though, it isn't. It is a blessing, a gift from the Lord, just as singleness.

Let's work together and change our perception. I'm not saying I want to be single forever, but I'm also not saying I want to be married, or even in a relationship. I'm saying that we should live according to the Holy Spirit. We should live in obedience in marriage, and singleness.

When you ask God to ruin your life...

Here we go. I had plans, big ones in fact. Let me just be honest [i guess to go along with the entire theme of this blog]... my plans after I graduated were to: get a job. meet a man. get married. follow him.

However, I've been so convicted about this. I am not giving myself an opportunity to live, much less let God lead me where he wants. I had it all figured out.

I haven't been able to sleep very well lately. My mind is constantly turning. So, the other night... er... morning.. at 3:30am, I felt like I needed to read something I had read before. I opened up the Book 'Forgotten God' by Francis Chan. It said,

"I think a lot of us need to forget about God's will for my life. God cares more about our response to His Spirit's leading today, in the moment, than about what we intend to do next year. In fact, the decisions we make next year will be profoundly affected by the degree to which we submit to the Spirit right now, in today's decisions. It is easy to use the phrase, "God's will for my life" as an excuse for inaction or even disobedience. It's much less demanding to think about God's will for your future than it is to ask Him what He wants you to do in the next ten minutes. It's safer to commit to following him someday instead of this day." (p. 120)

I'm going to do something great. I'm going to follow what I know the Holy Spirit is saying. Instead of fulfilling my plans of getting a good job after I graduate. I'm 65% sure I'm moving to another country for awhile. To experience the world. To experience God's people. To teach. To share.

I don't like to act like a charity case, but I would really appreciate your prayers. This is not what I had imagined doing. I'm literally going to take a leap of faith.... Across an ocean.

Ephiphany

I went to a prayer-team meeting for church tonight. I thought I was going to learn how to pray; instead, we prayed. I was a little apprehensive. That sounds bad. I was scared my prayers wouldn't be as knowledgeable, loving, or worded appropriately. I'm not an expert pray-er.

I say this time and time again throughout my blog. But, as a resounding gong, here I go again: I struggle with being single. Usually everyday. And to be honest, it probably consumes my thought on a good day, and it gets me down on a bad day.

This culture I live in constantly tells me, "Get married, get married"... when in reality, marriage is a gift. It's a blessing. Just because I may not get married, does not mean Father hasn't gifted me in different ways. Or even that I am not blessed by God.

I just want a husband. The good thing about God, though, is that he has already filled my void. He knew I would have this void, and my heart would ache for a husband. Isaiah 54:4-8 says, "For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. For the Lord has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God. For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will ahve compassion on you", says the Lord, your Redeemer.

Thank you, Lord. For your promise. for your covenant of peace.

an article from relevant.

Let us acknowledge our neediness, our beautiful desperation. Yes, our unanswerable, aching, longing poverty is a prerequisite for the balm of salvation. We, the people—the failures, the losers, the outsiders—we have found our King. Christ, the King of the fools; the Lord of the sick, broken souls like us. Let us remain in continual awe of the love we have been shown. And let us love! Let us celebrate the reckless love of the one who risked all that we might be loved. And let us follow in the path of a God who loves us. The tax collectors and the rabbis. The prostitutes and the Sadducees. In the bars and in the churches. Yes, God even loves Christians.

-Jon Foreman

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/church/features/23449-the-drunk-and-the-hypocrite

Deliver me.

Deliver me from my prideful mind. It weights heavier on me all the time. What a silent, yet such a deadly crime.. to think I own my own life.

Deliver me from my hateful thoughts, I'm committing murder... in the presence of God. Break my heart just like David's was...with a weeping, pregnant, widow in my house. How can i despise my brother when I've killed your only begotten son... Help me prefer another and say... you are the only God.

This morning... my alarm went off earlier than i'd ever want. In the small obedience, Lord. Let my heart stay bowed down. Father, you've given Jesus all those who you will raise up. And all eyes including mine will say : You are the only God.

Deliver me. Deliver me.

-Bethany Dillon, Deliver Me

Deliverance has become a word that comes through my mind on most days. The depths of this word haven't even begun to touch my heart. I have been in this idea of running from God. I have no clue what he wants for my life, and so I am running to find my own way. I'll admit it. I am scared of where he may ask me to serve. I'm scared of the unknown. I need, and desperately plea, to be delivered back into the kingdom of God.

I trust Jesus. I guess I only trust Him to an extent. I run away before I give him a chance to show me His mercies.

Jesus, Jesus how I trust You
How I've proved You o'er and o'er
Jesus, Jesus precious Jesus
Deliver me
Come and pull me through
Come pull me through

I need to learn how to live as a confident woman; as a woman who walks through the wilderness alone frequently; as a woman who fears for her life and runs the opposite direction.

Father, let your light shine down on me in the wilderness. Where it's cold, annoying, dark, and I don't seem to see you always. Allow me to see your beauty.

new project

This is my new project. Perhaps after a nap and a cup of coffee... Maybe tomorrow. However, this ones on the list. Thanks Little Apartment on the Prairie!

Mine is going over my desk, though.

Happy weekend!