We Are Not Islands

"We are not islands of spiritual autonomy, but pilgrims who think, live, and serve with the truth and power of a thoughtful chorus."

- Jill Carattini

Please Pray With Me

Every autumn brings the same question. What am I doing next summer? And every autumn season the question comes too early. This fall is no exception. Only this fall I know what I want to do; I want to go to Argentina. You may ask, "Where did this come from?"The answer: I have no bloomin' idea, but come it did...and the opportunity along with it.

It began a few weeks ago, when my friend, Steve, assumed I was on board concerning a Brazil trip this upcoming summer. I had given some interest, but honestly, I was not very excited (for no apparent reason). Then, the destination changed to Argentina, and out of seemingly nowhere, I was surprised by joy. Since I had been praying for some time that God would allow me (if it was his will) to go aboard, I felt like Scooby Doo in a pizza shop with a ten dollar gift card, when I heard the change in destination.

But…

Much is still in limbo. First, I am in the middle of auditions for a travelling team for Maranatha (something I want to do too), and if I make it then the mission trip will more than likely have to wait. Second, the details of the trip are far from settled, and many particulars have to get ironed out before May.

(Sigh) Wisdom is essential. Thankfully, God gives wisdom if we ask for it (James 1:5). Well, I’m asking for it. Please, pray with me. Pray that God’s will would be done in my life this school year and summer, whether travelling for the school or going to Argentina (or something entirely different). He knows what is best. Pray that God would give me wisdom to discern what to do if I make the team. If God shows me Argentina, pray that God would supply all my needs.

Please pray with me.

Praying For You

Forgive me for posting so many articles lately. I keep coming across relevant material that I have to share. And since I could never say it better, I just post their writings hoping you will spend time reading them. Anyway, here is another article on prayer. It meets me where I am. Maybe you too often find yourself saying (or hearing) these words, "I am praying for you." Here are some thoughts along that line:

But what about the times when someone has told you that they are praying for you, and you know that they are doing just that: crying out to God on your behalf. Have you ever heard anyone say that they could feel the prayers of believers moving them through a difficult situation? For these people, the power of prayer moves well beyond encouragement.

In fact, when uttered on sincere lips, "I'm praying for you" can be as frightening a thought as it is encouraging. Someone is standing at the throne of God with your name on her heart. This introduces an entirely new set of concerns: Is she praying for me the way I'm praying for myself? Is he asking God for the answer I'm longing for? When my dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer, I was livid when someone told me they were praying that God would take him home quickly--despite the fact that in between our cries for healing, we were praying God's will would be done. As someone once noted, prayer requires more of the heart than of the tongue. Knowing that someone is standing before God on your behalf is powerful not because she is standing with you but because she is standing with God.

Carattini, Jill. Slice of Infinity: Power of Prayer.

The Only Way To Truly Live

Must read from Slice of Infinity titled Who Am I:

Regardless of what we may have been told, the way of Jesus is ultimately the way of the Cross. Signing up with Christ won't give you worldly benefits, but all the forms of suffering that arise from carrying one's cross. As we proclaim in our religiously pluralistic context that Christ is supreme over all other gods of this world, we need to be reminded that his supremacy and victory cannot be divorced from the heavy price that he paid.

Often, like Peter, we tend to expect a Lord who fits our preconceptions or ideas--perhaps one who is always "successful," or one who is validated by signs and wonders. Even the disciples were not spared this temptation. All of their questions about who would sit at his right hand and what one would secure from discipleship reveal that they were expecting glory as they walked with the Son. Their expectations likely did not include getting killed.

However, as they soon learned, any commitment to Christ that does not feature the Cross is merely devotion to an idol, for following Christ is costly. For some, following will mean death itself. It will mean taking up the Cross. It will mean living beyond our comfort zone. It may mean you will have to leave the country you call home. It will mean stepping out in love and conviction and perhaps undertaking a calling that many will scorn. Choosing to call Jesus the Christ may mean losing our lives, but then, this is the only way to truly live.

- I'Ching Thomas

By Its Cover

Jill Carattini, the senior associate writer at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, writes:

In a recent study included in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine children were shown to overwhelmingly prefer the taste of food that comes in McDonald's wrappers. The study had preschoolers sample identical foods in packaging from McDonald's and in matched, but unbranded, packaging. The kids were then asked if the food tasted the same or if one tasted better. The unmarked foods lost the taste test every time. Even apple juice, carrots, and milk tasted better to the kids when taken from the familiar wrappings of the Golden Arches. "This study demonstrates simply and elegantly that advertising literally brainwashes young children into a baseless preference for certain food products," said a physician from Yale's School of Medicine. "Children, it seems, literally do judge a food by its cover. And they prefer the cover they know."

The most startling thing about the study with the preschoolers is how clearly we can see that a carrot in a McDonald's bag is still inherently a carrot. Yet how often are we similarly blindsided by mere wrappings? Is the mistake of a child in believing the food tastes better in a yellow wrapper really any different than our own believing we are better people dressed with the right credentials, covered by the latest fashion, or wrapped in the right theology? Covered in whatever comforts us, or completely stripped of our many wrappings, we are the same people underneath.

Read the whole article.

Calls Us To A Better Way

This quote, which I found on Josh Harris' blog, expresses what I like to call old orthodoxy:

"If you have humility without orthodoxy it's hypocrisy-a form of pride wearing a gentle mask. At the same time, orthodoxy without humility is contradictory-with one hand it offers true words and with the other hand it takes away that truth with a worldly tone. God calls us toward a better way: boldness that is broken; truth-telling that trembles; contending that communes."

-Justin Taylor on New Attitude (Whole Article)