On a Hill Far Away

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suffering and shame;
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.

O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left his glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For 'twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.

To that old rugged cross I will ever be true,
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then he'll call me some day to my home far away,
Where his glory forever I'll share.

Yes, I'll cling to the old rugged cross... For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above... to pardon and sanctify me.

Safe, at Last

Lately, I've been worrying a lot about the future. For those of you who don't know me very well, I'm sort of a planner. I like to be prepared for the future... I don't really like to just leave things up in the air until the last minute. I like to have a plan. A purpose. A direction.

This has proved a struggle for me over the last few years (actually, longer, but why push it? :) Because my family moves around quite a bit. So whenever I think about making plans for the future, the Lord gently shows me that those plans might not work out by-- how else?-- moving us somewhere different. Our most recent move has landed us in Nagoya, Japan, and while we were planning on going back to our home state after this move, there is a slight chance that we will move to a different state in a few weeks instead. Last night, I cried for a good while with my mom about it. However later that night, I was reading in my devotions about worry, trust, and trouble. I read Matthew 6:25-34,

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
"And why do you worry a bout clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

It's so true. Even if I don't worry about what I'll be doing tomorrow or next week or next year, Jesus Christ has granted me today to live for Him! I have enough struggles, enough work, enough everything just for today, because that's all I'm guaranteed. I can live right now for God's glory, or not. The choice is mine. A little later on in my devotions, I read a beautiful promise, "I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken." - Psalm 37:25
God never forsakes those He calls! Jesus also promises us, "I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." - John 16:33

I was also listening to Phil Wickham's song 'Safe' recently. I won't quote the whole song, but the chorus says,
You will be safe in His arms
You will be safe in His arms
'Cause the hands that hold the world are holding your heart
This is the promise He made
He will be with You always
When everything is falling apart
You will be safe in His arms

Even if everything falls apart in the world; even if there isn't anything else I can rely upon, I know this: I don't need to know where I'm going, as long as I know the One that I'm following and I'm willing to give everything up for Him.

If the Gospel Is Boring, What Is a Cause for Excitement?

“If [the gospel] is dull, then what, in Heaven's name, is worthy to be called exciting? The people who hanged Christ never, to do them justice, accused him of being a bore-- on the contrary, they thought him too dynamic to be safe.”


~ Dorothy Sayers

God's Word-- Our Light

I'm sorry I'm a little late on my '$15 or less' weekend post over here! But for most of you, it still is the weekend so I guess we're okay. :)
Did you know that there are more Christians imprisoned in China then in any other country in the world (Voice of the Martyrs Global Report, 2010)? Believers in China are in constant danger of losing their lives or going to prison and never seeing their families again. Chinese Christians present such a wonderful example of following Jesus, no matter the cost! Voice of the Martyrs, a Christian organization dedicated to assisting the persecuted church world-wide, has a program called "140,000 Bibles for China," in which they are trying to raise Bibles for the world's most populous country. For only five dollars, you can go here: https://www1.vombooks.com/qry/qe_sf_donatenow.taf?_id=A373551896&_function=donate and give one of the most precious gifts to a believer-- God's perfect word. How can we know the God that created us if we do not know the Word that He is written? Let's share God's perfect word!

God bless you all,

Rachel

Where, Oh Death, Is Your Victory?

Gary Thomas in 'Christian News' wrote: "As Vice President, George Bush represented the US at the funeral of former Soviet leader Leo Nid Brezhnev. Bush was deeply moved by a silent protest carried out by Brezhnev's widow. She stood motionless by the coffin until seconds before it was closed. Then, just as the soldiers touched the lid, Brezhnev's wife performed an act of great courage and hope. A gesture that must surely rank as one of the most profound acts of civil disobedience ever committed. She reached down and made the sign of a cross on her husband's chest. There, in the stronghold of secular, atheistic power, the wife of the man who had run it all hoped that her husband was wrong. She hoped that there was another life and that that life was best represented by Jesus, who died on the cross; and that the same Jesus might yet have mercy on her husband."

1 Corinthians 15:14 tells us, "And if Christ has not been raised our preaching is useless and so is your faith."

The fact that the tomb was empty on the first Easter morning is not just a 'nice thing.' It is the foundation of all of our faith! Everything that I, as a Christian, believe in is based on the fact that Jesus was risen from the dead! If Christ was risen from the dead-- and He was-- then the work of conquering sin was fully accomplished! He was resurrected, and this resurrection fully paid redemption's horrible price. After that, we could not add to the completion; we could not do anything to make it better. It was perfect. It was complete. Romans 6:9: "He conquered sin knowing that when Christ was raised from the dead, He dies not more; death no longer has dominion over Him." Or as Peter Joshua said, "When death stung Jesus Christ, it stung itself to death."

Let's celebrate the fact that Jesus not only took the horrible pain of the cross, bearing its sorrows, its shames, its sufferings...
but that He also rose from the dead to conquer our worst
enemy-- death.

Now, all those who trust in Christ are not under the law, but under grace. Where can death have victory over those in Christ?

I will lie down and sleep in peace

For my first edition of $15 or less weekends, I thought I would suggest a gift that most of us use every day. A blanket.

I don't know about you, but for me, especially during the winter, it can be difficult to sleep without a blanket-- even inside my house! I can't imagine sleeping every night in the dead of winter outside without a blanket. I think a blanket is one of those small things that we don't really appreciate until we think of life without it.

The Samaritan's Purse gift catalog reads: "Imagine how good a thick blanket would feel on a cold night to someone left homeless by war or natural disaster. For $6, we can provide a warm blanket as a comforting reminder of God’s love. 'I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety' (Psalm 4:8, NIV)."

For only $6, you can not only give a blanket to someone less fortunate, but give the people at Samaritan's Purse a way to start a relationship and share the gospel with some of the world's most hurting people. If you'd be interested in giving this gift, simply go to: https://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/Giving/gift_catalog/ and click on gift n. 18.

Grace,
Rachel

The Light of the World

In the book of John, chapter nine verse five, Jesus says, "While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." And in John 12:46 He says, "I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." What we often forget, however, is that we as Christians are commanded to do the same! We are to be the light of the world. Jesus says in Matthew 5:16, "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven." Recently, I've been very convicted about not being enough of a light. I've been working on a speech about the persecuted church-- and realizing just how afraid I am to share the gospel sometimes. Sometimes I don't tell people the good news of Christ because I worry about what people might think, or I worry that I won't do it right. Both these things are sins. They are sins because they show that I am giving into fear. How many thousands-- no, no, millions-- of Christians around the world share their faith knowing full well that it will cost them much more than someones opinion of them? There ARE many! Yet I feel afraid sometimes, safe as I am, to do the same. And this doesn't just go for sharing the gospel, either. This just happens to be a fear/sin that I've been struggling to overcome more recently. But, there are other fears that can keep one from serving Christ. Financial fears (which keep us from giving), prideful fears (which can keep us from sharing the gospel or discipling and helping each other), safety fears (which may keep us from doing hard or even dangerous things that God is calling us to), and the list could go on and on. I'd like to share with you a section that I'm using in my speech on the persecuted church. It's a quote from Brad Konneman, the Voice of the Martyrs youth director in Australia, after he had recently visited Columbia:


"The call to follow Jesus is by definition a costly call-- we must deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. Whereas we often seek comfort, security, wealth, greatness, and power, Jesus calls us to forsake all this and trust in Him as the only path to life and joy. Colombian evangelists present a fantastic example of what it looks like to follow Jesus, bearing the cross with joy."


This is what the cross should look like, my friends. Denying ourselves and taking up the Cross of Christ to follow in His steps. How will people know that we are Christ's disciples? The answer isn't hard: through self-sacrifice. If we are willing to sacrifice everything for Christ, people cannot help but see that we are His disciples! Thinking on these things the last few days, I decided to start a new series of blog posts. (I know, thrilling! ;) One post in this series will come every weekend! I've actually never done this before, it's kind of a big commitment... just kidding! It's pretty simple, really. And it wouldn't be a hard thing for any of you to do on YOUR blog either (hint, hint...) Here's how it will work.

1. The theme is Christian giving (self-sacrifice).
2. The goal is to show people how a seemingly 'small' gift can make all the difference in the world.
3. Every Saturday, or maybe Sunday, I will post about one gift-- $15 or less-- that, if you are interested, you can give to a Christian organization.
4. I'm calling it '$15 or less weekends.'
5. I will start today!


I realize that you might not be in a position where you can give a gift every week. But I thought that as long as I am trying to learn to be more giving, I could include you all in this adventure, too. Sometimes it's almost ridiculous how flippantly we spend $7 or $8, wouldn't you agree? But that could make all the difference in the world to some people. I realize not everyone can give every week, but I know that God will show you where you can give; just like through His grace He will show me how I can give. Because I can guarantee you this: He is calling you to self-sacrifice.

He is calling you to change the world.