His bride cont.

It blows my mind. I don't even know them, yet their home is my home, their meal is my meal, and I don't owe them anything. It is so strange that at times I found it uncomfortable looking them in the eye, because I don't know how to accept it. This goes way beyond just niceness, just hospitality, just duty, even uprightness and having a good heart. Because in the end, with other people, even (sometimes especially?) Christians, there is still a sense of debt, still a sense of requirement, still a limit, and there is no strong presence of the Spirit.
This. Is it.

Talk more later, maybe. For now -
"God does not have grandchildren."
"If you are sitting on the table and someone is on the floor, it is much more likely for you to be pulled down to the ground than to pull them up."
(in response to heading towards a very worldly career): "There is no need to worry. Cleave to Him. As Adam cleaved to Eve...Cleave to Him now."
"Reaching the point of neutrality...
You don't know whether you'll be married or what your health will look like in 10, 15, 50 years. It is only logical to trust God who sees our entire future. Kids are asked, "what do you want to be when you grow up?", as if it is their choice. The question is, God, what do You want? This nation is all about rights. This is not how the economy of the kingdom works. It's about obedience. Obey."
(in response to "What do you do when your parents don't seem to agree with this neutrality?"): "As long as you are not living and supporting yourself independently, you are under their authority. Obey them and He will bless that."
"Three things in life: Love. Humility. Obedience. If there is something off in your life, it has to do with one of these."




God wants us to love even when it's not convenient. God wants us to love without expecting the equivalent, or anything at all (appreciation, admiration, change included), in return. I can't name a single so-called Christian who disagrees with this principle. But how many Christians do you know who truly practice this?
It is good to know that these people exist.
Salt and Light.

boasting about my weakness

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me."

Paul, 2 Cor 12:9,10

Brancusi's 135th

Love this!

Let not conscience make you linger,
Not of fitness fondly dream;
All the fitness He requireth
Is to feel your need of Him.

His bride

The body of Christ in action is such a beautiful thing. About a year into becoming a part of HCC, I feel like I'm just beginning to see what all my head knowledge about the body looks like when it's translated into a reality. I am so grateful for the glimpses of the Acts 4:32-35 church that God's been giving me through several members of HCC (as well as several believers at Rice), most of them probably without knowing it (I love that God often uses us in ways we least expect). Their selfless hearts for edifying the body according to their unique God-given gifts, and all for His glory alone...I want that, for myself, for my family, for Brown, for CCF, for all of us here...and there.

And to think that I once really thought I knew a decent amount about these things. So much to meditate on and pray about these days.

God is good. And because of that He won't relent until He has it all.