Stop Sending Me Roses

"Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations -
I cannot bear your evil assemblies.
Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts
my soul hates.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them."

The very first chapter of Isaiah addresses the issue of rebellion. It's important to notice that in this passage, God is not talking to pagans who sacrifice virgins and dance around their golden idols. He's talking to His own people. The ones who do all the right religious rituals, who know Him and His word, who should more than anyone know the importance of following Him.

We all have acts of rebellion in our lives. Pastor Andy talked about how rebellion is opposed to submission. Rebellion,he said, comes out of a fear of losing control. I definitely identify with that; although I'm not a control freak as a rule, I think twice before giving up my life plan and submit to God. Even if I know what He wants, I think my way is slightly superior in a few details and rebel in my heart. This rebellion damages our relationship with God. No matter what the issue is, no matter how small it seems to you, it's really a big deal and it causes problems in our lives.

"Stop bringing meaningless offerings!"

The solution to this broken relationship with God isn't to be more religious, go to church more often, read your Bible more often, or pray a few extra times a day. It's hard for me to write that reading the Bible and praying isn't the correct solution; aren't those how we connect with God? Well yes, but that alone won't fix a broken relationship. When you are in a marriage relationship and something's broken, there's an issue of infidelity or violence or apathy, is the solution just to spend more time together? If you're married, you're probably already spending a good deal of time together! When the relationship is broken, when there's a problem that interferes with how things are supposed to work, you have to be serious and just fix the problem itself. As Pastor Andy put it, "Stop sending me roses and lets fix the relationship". Roses are nice. Outward acts of devotion are nice. But neither are going to fix a broken relationship, yes? Let prayer, reading the Bible, going to church, and worshiping God be outward evidence of your healthy relationship with Him, don't try to use them to cover up your rebelliousness that you still harbor in your life.

I don't always know whether I'm holding on to a sinful pattern or if there's something God wants me to work on at the moment, but I still want to do something as a deliberate act of submission and obedience to Him. It reminds me that every part of my life is for Him and not for me, and it builds spiritual discipline for times when I am struggling with something and need it. To that end, I am going to join people all across campus who are fasting for the next twelve days. We had a speaker at convocation a few days ago who challenged us to fast from six things for twelve days. The fast was supposed to start last night but I hadn't yet decided whether I was going to do it. Today I decided that as a deliberate stand against my own rebelliousness and act of obedience, I am going to fast from three things and engage in three daily things. The things I'm fasting from are either involving other people or just insignificant for you as a reader to know, but in case you're interested the three other things are that I will write in my prayer journal daily, set aside time to be quiet and think/relax/pray every day, and work on memorization so that by the end of the fast I will have memorized Jeremiah 29:10-14, John 15:1-15, and possibly parts of Isaiah 1.

I would encourage you to examine your own life. Are there ways in which you are rebelling, straying from God's way of life? If you are "working on" those areas, be honest with yourself and with God: Are you sending Him flowers or fixing the relationship?

If you'd like to participate in the same fast, the dates are from yesterday (Saturday, Feb. 21) to Thursday (March 5). For a week and a half, show yourself and God that you are willing to submit to Him. If you are struggling with an issue of rebellion in your life, this is a great time to give it up! Even if you're not, or you are but don't know it yet (I feel like this is me a lot of times...), sometimes just focusing on your spiritual life for a time is helpful in a lot of different ways.

May God bless all of your pursuits.






Parts of this post are based off of a sermon by Pastor Andy Addis. You can find his blog, along with his sermon series, at www.crosseyedlife.com.

Jesus, Lover of my Soul

As I woke up this Valentine's Day, I had the phrase "Jesus, Lover of my Soul" on my mind. I thought it was particularly appropriate on a day celebrating love to remember what it's like to be loved by Jesus. Recently, my favorite way of describing the way He feels about us is that phrase, "Jesus, Lover of my soul." What a beautiful concept, when you think about it.

You see, I was talking to a friend on Tuesday about how much I stress doing the right thing the right way. Especially with God, I feel like I MUST follow His will to the letter and never make a mistake. She, my friend, that wonderful snuggle of wisdom, gently reminded me that we are called to run with perseverance the race set before us. With perseverance, not with perfection. Why is this distinction important? Because Jesus is the lover of my /soul/, not of my perfect track record (no pun intended), not of what I do for Him, not of my good decisions. He loves me, the very essence of me. The impact of that is that I try to do right because I love Him, not so that He will love me. What a big different in outlook and stress levels!

Of course, having someone be the lover of your soul contrasts some human relationships too. It's so refreshing to not have to wonder for a moment whether Jesus loves you for what you can do for Him, or for your body, or for your happy personality, or for the help you give Him. In human relationships, what happens when any of those things change? What if you are too tired and can't do something, or when you gain weight or get old, or when you're sad and grumpy, or when you have other things to do and can't help out? If you're like me, you sometimes fear that one or more of those things could be cause for lost friendships or relationships. But what if people loved your soul, loved you for the essence of you, and because they loved YOU they also loved those other things, unconditionally? What if someone thought you were beautiful even though you had bed head and were wearing sweats and maybe even had some mascara smears from crying? What if someone still wanted to help you even if you right at that moment didn't have the strength to help them? Jesus shows us that kind of love.

This Valentine's Day, remember the Lover of your soul. Thank Him for his unconditional love of the essence of you. And as you go through life, experiencing different shades of love through friendships and romantic relationships, remember that you have an example to live up to and to evaluate with.

Love and be loved.

Welcome to DoveRocks

Song of Solomon 2:14

"My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely."

We are all a dove in the clefts of the rock, hiding our faces and voices. Our Heavenly Father, Lover, Savior is calling out to us to show Him our faces and let Him hear our voices. He delights in our interaction with Him, and in our expressions of ourselves in any medium. As He teaches me and guides me, as I grow in His love, I hope to use this blog as a place to share His message with others. You will find here things that He has taught me, ways that I have grown, unanswered questions I have, and praises I want to share.

Feel welcome to disagree, agree, supplement with your own thoughts, or in any other way interact with blog including not commenting at all. It is for your benefit as well as mine. I hope you will be blessed in some way by reading it.