When we're without something we like or someone we love, it helps us appreciate them all the more!
My husband went to Nebraska this weekend to visit the phd program at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. When I picked him up yesterday... and throughout the day yesterday... and throughout the night... and this morning... I had this overwhelming love for him. I realize when he has to go away for a couple nights how I much prefer to have him in my bed. I realize when he's gone that I really miss his conversation, his laughing at my dumb jokes. I miss laughing at his jokes.
Is this sappy? yep. but, come on wives... you feel it too. Alone time might be refreshing in it's own way, but there is nothing like that feeling of "yes, this is how it should be," when your husband comes back home :)
Monday, February 21, 2011
Romans 3
This morning, I found a hidden treasure in the book of Romans.
Romans 3:20-24 "Therefore, no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. But now, a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."
As a little kid, I attended AWANA at our church. I still stand by the belief that AWANA is probably the best thing your young child could be involved in. But, that's beside the point right now. Anyway, AWANA places a strong emphasis on scripture memory, even for its littlest "members" (pre-school age children). Do 3 and 4 year olds know what "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" really means? Though they may be able to tell you that God is perfect and they are not, they don't really grasp the deep meaning and implication such scripture holds. (Hey, do any of us really ever attain full knowledge of scripture? we might as well be 3 year olds compared to what God knows.) At the same time, these kids are hiding God's word in their hearts from a very young age - and the Psalmist says that is the key for living a pure life. "How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word... I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you." (Psalm 119:9, 11)
At some point in AWANA, I learned Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Today, however, the verses leading up to Romans 3:23 jumped out at me, making all the more sense of that verse I had memorized as a child.
Breaking it down - vs. 20 - "no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law." In other words, the best person you know won't even come close to getting into heaven simply through his or her "good" works. Andy Stanley in How Good is Good Enough? presents the following logic to the person who says "well, sure, I believe in God, but I just think you need to be a good person to get to heaven." Stanley suggests that "good enough" doesn't make sense because if "good" is never defined objectively and presented to all mankind, then that system is inherently unfair. After all, it leaves you wondering - well I think I'm good enough, but what if... And, what if "good" in one person's culture means running your planes into buildings on enemy soil. "Well of course, I would never do that..." but that person genuinely thought it was good. Stanley's argument is more eloquent, so you should probably just get the book at Borders (since so many are closing and everything is on sale) and read it yourself :)
vs. 20(b) "rather, through the law, we become conscious of sin" - with God's standard of perfect demonstrated in the law given through the Old Testament, it becomes clear that sin is unavoidable.
vs. 21 "BUT NOW a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known." I love Paul's dramatic writing here (Paul is the author of Romans). The pastor at the church I grew up at used to joke that "there are a lot of big buts in the bible..." and this is huge. Through chapter 3, Paul was explaining to the Jews, look, I know you thought you had it made because you are God's chosen people and whatnot, but that's not gonna cut it. The law was only created to show you how much you don't deserve God on your own, regardless of how fabulously religious and Jewish you are, so "no one will be declared righteous in his [God's] sight by observing the law." This was a colossal disappointment to the recipients of this letter, which makes the "BUT NOW" so great. If you were a Jewish member of the church in Rome and someone was reading this letter to hundreds of people and you heard "But Now, a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known," you would be thinking that this guy reading the letter could not spit the next part out fast enough... what is it!?!?!?
vs. 22-23 "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. there is no difference for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Did you catch it? The little verse I learned in AWANA sandwiched between all that great news... Paul goes on to explain, in a rather systematic way, what all that entails and how it works. But, for today, we can end there. We can end with "There is a righteousness from God that comes through faith in Jesus Christ to anyone who believes." Anyone. Me, you, that murderer in prison, that prostitute, that self righteous fundamentalist, .... There go I but for the grace of God.
1 John 1:9 says "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
So, do you...? Believe?
Romans 3:20-24 "Therefore, no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. But now, a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."
As a little kid, I attended AWANA at our church. I still stand by the belief that AWANA is probably the best thing your young child could be involved in. But, that's beside the point right now. Anyway, AWANA places a strong emphasis on scripture memory, even for its littlest "members" (pre-school age children). Do 3 and 4 year olds know what "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" really means? Though they may be able to tell you that God is perfect and they are not, they don't really grasp the deep meaning and implication such scripture holds. (Hey, do any of us really ever attain full knowledge of scripture? we might as well be 3 year olds compared to what God knows.) At the same time, these kids are hiding God's word in their hearts from a very young age - and the Psalmist says that is the key for living a pure life. "How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word... I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you." (Psalm 119:9, 11)
At some point in AWANA, I learned Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Today, however, the verses leading up to Romans 3:23 jumped out at me, making all the more sense of that verse I had memorized as a child.
Breaking it down - vs. 20 - "no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law." In other words, the best person you know won't even come close to getting into heaven simply through his or her "good" works. Andy Stanley in How Good is Good Enough? presents the following logic to the person who says "well, sure, I believe in God, but I just think you need to be a good person to get to heaven." Stanley suggests that "good enough" doesn't make sense because if "good" is never defined objectively and presented to all mankind, then that system is inherently unfair. After all, it leaves you wondering - well I think I'm good enough, but what if... And, what if "good" in one person's culture means running your planes into buildings on enemy soil. "Well of course, I would never do that..." but that person genuinely thought it was good. Stanley's argument is more eloquent, so you should probably just get the book at Borders (since so many are closing and everything is on sale) and read it yourself :)
vs. 20(b) "rather, through the law, we become conscious of sin" - with God's standard of perfect demonstrated in the law given through the Old Testament, it becomes clear that sin is unavoidable.
vs. 21 "BUT NOW a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known." I love Paul's dramatic writing here (Paul is the author of Romans). The pastor at the church I grew up at used to joke that "there are a lot of big buts in the bible..." and this is huge. Through chapter 3, Paul was explaining to the Jews, look, I know you thought you had it made because you are God's chosen people and whatnot, but that's not gonna cut it. The law was only created to show you how much you don't deserve God on your own, regardless of how fabulously religious and Jewish you are, so "no one will be declared righteous in his [God's] sight by observing the law." This was a colossal disappointment to the recipients of this letter, which makes the "BUT NOW" so great. If you were a Jewish member of the church in Rome and someone was reading this letter to hundreds of people and you heard "But Now, a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known," you would be thinking that this guy reading the letter could not spit the next part out fast enough... what is it!?!?!?
vs. 22-23 "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. there is no difference for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Did you catch it? The little verse I learned in AWANA sandwiched between all that great news... Paul goes on to explain, in a rather systematic way, what all that entails and how it works. But, for today, we can end there. We can end with "There is a righteousness from God that comes through faith in Jesus Christ to anyone who believes." Anyone. Me, you, that murderer in prison, that prostitute, that self righteous fundamentalist, .... There go I but for the grace of God.
1 John 1:9 says "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
So, do you...? Believe?
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Prayer
I have 3 students that have gone from being a major pain to a total joy this year - as a direct result of prayer. I'm talking, over night. Literally. Huge issue Monday...prayer Monday night and Tuesday morning... problem eliminated. Okay okay I admit - not eliminated entirely, but the transformation has been so large with each of these students that it feels as if each problem just disappeared entirely. The minute traces of negativity that are left seem hardly worth the energy to address.
Prayer works.
Matthew 7:7-8 Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
John 14:13-14 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it
Romans 8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.
Phillipians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Colossions 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
James 1:7 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;
As I grow closer to God, I am more convinced than ever that there is nothing as powerful as prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. People need our prayer - our neighbors, our families, our friends, our coworkers, our country's leaders. So, Who or what have you prayed for lately? What have the results been?
Believing in the power of prayer,
Renee
Prayer works.
Matthew 7:7-8 Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
John 14:13-14 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it
Romans 8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.
Phillipians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Colossions 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
James 1:7 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;
As I grow closer to God, I am more convinced than ever that there is nothing as powerful as prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. People need our prayer - our neighbors, our families, our friends, our coworkers, our country's leaders. So, Who or what have you prayed for lately? What have the results been?
Believing in the power of prayer,
Renee
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Liar, Lunatic, or Lord.
In a little (but potentially life changing) book titled "More Than a Carpenter," authors Josh and Sean Mcdowell present this truth:
"Many people want to regard Jesus as not God but a good, moral man or an exceptionally wise prophet who spoke many truths. Scholars often pass off that conclusion as the only acceptable one that people can reach by intellectual process. Many people simply nod their heads in agreement and never trouble themselves to see the fallacy of such reasoning. Jesus claimed to be God, and to him it was of fundamental importance that men and women believed him to be who he was. Either we believe him or we don't."
Pause. [More to come from that passage in a minute...] But, today, when I was reading John 8, this book I had read a year ago came to mind because of Jesus' emphasis on belief. In the 8th chapter of John, Jesus and the pharisees are going back and forth. Bottom line: Jesus tells them he's God and they think he's nuts. Jesus claims "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." The pharisees challenge him, "Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid." Jesus answers "Even if I testive on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going... but I am not alone... I am one who testifies for myself; the other witness is the Father, who sent me." These excerpts are from John 8:12-18. The conversation continues and escalates. The pharisees argue "The only Father we have is God himself." Jesus replies "If God were your Father truly, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here...why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and youw atn to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning... there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is the father of lies. You do not believe me....He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God." The Jews then answer "Aren't we right in saying you are demon-possessed?" (excerpts from John 8:41-48)
Ok. So, clearly this is not a wishy-washy-you-think-what-you-want-and-I'll-think-what-I-want. The Jews final response that Jesus must be demon-possessed, though clearly a false conclusion, makes more sense than thinking that He is a good, moral teacher, but not who he said he was.
In More Than a Carpenter, the authors go on to further explain this issue.
"Jesus didn't leave us any wiggle room for in-between watered down alternatives. [Either we believe him or we don't.] One who claimed what Jesus claimed about himself [see the rest of John 8] couldn't be a moral man or a prophet. That option is'nt open to us, and Jesus never intended it to be."
C.S. Lewis (a Cambridge professor and former agnostic) also understood this issue clearly:
"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about [Jesus]. 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg--or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is the Son of God: or else, a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon, or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."
Bottom line? Jesus claimed to be God. He expects a response - do you believe it or not? He is either true or false. He asks his disciples (most famously Peter and Martha) "Who do you say I am?"
Either our response will be that of Peter and Martha, "You are the Christ, the Son of God," or our response will be that of the pharisees, "This man is demon-possessed and a liar."
As the authors of More Than a Carpenter write, "liar, lunatic, or Lord?"
So, who is Jesus to you?
"Many people want to regard Jesus as not God but a good, moral man or an exceptionally wise prophet who spoke many truths. Scholars often pass off that conclusion as the only acceptable one that people can reach by intellectual process. Many people simply nod their heads in agreement and never trouble themselves to see the fallacy of such reasoning. Jesus claimed to be God, and to him it was of fundamental importance that men and women believed him to be who he was. Either we believe him or we don't."
Pause. [More to come from that passage in a minute...] But, today, when I was reading John 8, this book I had read a year ago came to mind because of Jesus' emphasis on belief. In the 8th chapter of John, Jesus and the pharisees are going back and forth. Bottom line: Jesus tells them he's God and they think he's nuts. Jesus claims "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." The pharisees challenge him, "Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid." Jesus answers "Even if I testive on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going... but I am not alone... I am one who testifies for myself; the other witness is the Father, who sent me." These excerpts are from John 8:12-18. The conversation continues and escalates. The pharisees argue "The only Father we have is God himself." Jesus replies "If God were your Father truly, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here...why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and youw atn to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning... there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is the father of lies. You do not believe me....He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God." The Jews then answer "Aren't we right in saying you are demon-possessed?" (excerpts from John 8:41-48)
Ok. So, clearly this is not a wishy-washy-you-think-what-you-want-and-I'll-think-what-I-want. The Jews final response that Jesus must be demon-possessed, though clearly a false conclusion, makes more sense than thinking that He is a good, moral teacher, but not who he said he was.
In More Than a Carpenter, the authors go on to further explain this issue.
"Jesus didn't leave us any wiggle room for in-between watered down alternatives. [Either we believe him or we don't.] One who claimed what Jesus claimed about himself [see the rest of John 8] couldn't be a moral man or a prophet. That option is'nt open to us, and Jesus never intended it to be."
C.S. Lewis (a Cambridge professor and former agnostic) also understood this issue clearly:
"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about [Jesus]. 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg--or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is the Son of God: or else, a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon, or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."
Bottom line? Jesus claimed to be God. He expects a response - do you believe it or not? He is either true or false. He asks his disciples (most famously Peter and Martha) "Who do you say I am?"
Either our response will be that of Peter and Martha, "You are the Christ, the Son of God," or our response will be that of the pharisees, "This man is demon-possessed and a liar."
As the authors of More Than a Carpenter write, "liar, lunatic, or Lord?"
So, who is Jesus to you?
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Random Updates
Ben has signed up for the Chicago Marathon. It's official. He'll be running it with a group from our Church (The Moody Church) who runs annually with Team World Vision. "World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice." They have focused on clean water in Africa for a long time, although they now have all sorts of outreach world wide.
Ben also found out the other day that he has officially been accepted to the Phd sociology program at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. Yay!! We are still waiting to hear from other schools he's applied to and we are waiting on the Lord to direct us. The repeated command throughout scripture to "Trust in the Lord" takes on a new meaning in different situations, doesn't it? We are learning this lesson each day. We are also so thankful to God for his provisions! His mercies are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:23)
We had a blizzard. Oh wait, that was the only news story this week, so you probably heard about it ;)
Our church does a one-on-one mentoring program for women and pairs up younger women with older women under the command in Titus 2 to teach younger women. I signed up to be a mentee and met with Valerie last night for the first time, my new mentor. It was lovely getting to know each other. I could see that this was a great fit :)
Reading lists are well underway. Ben is powering through book after book - some of his latest are:
The Seeing Eye, C. S Lewis
What in the World is Going On, David Jeremiah
Brothers Karamosov, Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
Some of my latest are:
Choosing to See, Mary Beth Chapman
Forgotten God, Francis Chan
The Magician's Nephew, C.S. Lewis
We're both reading through the "Chronicles of Narnia" series again - brilliant! I appreciate it SO much more as an adult. The biblical metaphors are beautiful and moving in a fresh way. It's such a quick read too... READ IT!
Book reviews to come.
Our street was finally plowed last night - so Ben is faithfully shoveling out our car as I write. We decided last night that this snow probably won't melt until July. Bummer. (My students' drama has rubbed off on me, what can I say...?)
Happy weekend,
Ren
ACT Prep
I have found out that I will be teaching the English and Reading portion of ACT prep, 2 days a week after school for the next 10 weeks. I don't know how many teachers get excited about ACT prep, but I am (hey, I new...)! The gap in ACT scores fascinates me. To be honest, it's something they should start in September. That's obvious, right? If the gap is so big, our students should be preparing for a longer period of time...
Anyway, 10 weeks is what it is. I found out I'll have the group of kids with the lowest scores because "Ms. Cook has the patience for them." haha I think that was a compliment and challenge all tied up in one.
Here's the thing about the ACT - for a very short period of time in life, your score is very important. I have kids who get a 3.8 GPA and are Mr. and Mrs. school involvement. Their 15 on the ACT (which they have been told is better than others) sets them way back in the college competition. With a 25+ they might have been in the running for some extremely elite universities. (No one at our school scored a 25 last year.) But the ACT average at a school likes ours takes universities like those entirely out of the question. The point is often raised in our meetings that the test is racially biased, as well as a poor assessment overall, and a poor assessment for students in a low socioeconomic bracket. Our principle's response: "but, it's the test they're using, and I don't want a separate test for poor kids."
I like his brutal honesty.
I'll be working on a planning team with 2 English teachers - and me, the music teacher. Yikes! Intimidating.
By the way, I get paid. Booyeah!
Cheers to ACT,
Ren
Anyway, 10 weeks is what it is. I found out I'll have the group of kids with the lowest scores because "Ms. Cook has the patience for them." haha I think that was a compliment and challenge all tied up in one.
Here's the thing about the ACT - for a very short period of time in life, your score is very important. I have kids who get a 3.8 GPA and are Mr. and Mrs. school involvement. Their 15 on the ACT (which they have been told is better than others) sets them way back in the college competition. With a 25+ they might have been in the running for some extremely elite universities. (No one at our school scored a 25 last year.) But the ACT average at a school likes ours takes universities like those entirely out of the question. The point is often raised in our meetings that the test is racially biased, as well as a poor assessment overall, and a poor assessment for students in a low socioeconomic bracket. Our principle's response: "but, it's the test they're using, and I don't want a separate test for poor kids."
I like his brutal honesty.
I'll be working on a planning team with 2 English teachers - and me, the music teacher. Yikes! Intimidating.
By the way, I get paid. Booyeah!
Cheers to ACT,
Ren
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Snow Day!
"There will be a snow day Wednesday for more than 410,000 students at Chicago Public Schools.
The nation’s third largest school system announced late Tuesday that it was canceling all classes
Wednesday at its more than 700 schools out of an 'abundance of caution.'" First one in 12 years.
Thanks to our interim CEO, I slept in until 6:30 :) For Ben and I, it's a cozy day inside. Agenda: read, movie, make chicken wild rice soup, eat the soup ;), clean, blog, nap, scrapbooking might be in the cards.... maybe i'll even lesson plan for next week. The possibilities are endless!
The way the snow peacefully blankets everything first thing in the morning is beautiful.
happy blizzard to all my chicago friends,
ren
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