Forward

Today is a thinking day.

It's one of those days when brand new concepts just keep
-BAM!-
hitting me in the face.
Things I had never thought before.
It's cool... I guess... but it also makes me want to lay on the floor and look up in despair... praying, "GOD? Really? Can't You just explain it all to me?"

Here's a mini-glimpse into my roller-coaster mind:

Christians today are concerned for the state of the Church. Understandably so. We think that the Church has strayed so far from what it once was.
Christians are always talking about how, "The Church needs to wake up! We need a revival! Why can't we be more like the early Church? Where has our passion gone?"

It seems like we (almost) all agree on this.
So what's the holdup?
Is there some "secret trick" that we're all missing out on?
We sit in judgment of "the Church"-- and I wonder-- who are we blaming?

Also,
are we limiting ourselves by setting our goal at being just like the early Church?
Paul and those guys rocked, but I'm sure that God has something else planned for us now. Something even more amazing.
So I think I might stop looking at the early Church as the prototype for how we should be. I might start looking to the Holy Spirit, and see where He leads us NOW.

Hm.

today

I once asked a friend:

"If you knew that Jesus was going to return at midnight tonight,
how would you spend your day?"

he responded:

"I would go to work, and when i got home, I'd finish my college applications."

I was furious. I immediately disagreed:

"What a waste! That's a stupid way to spend the last day of the world! What I would do is go downtown, and preach like a crazy person on the street corner. I'd try to get as many people saved as i possibly could, no matter how wild i appeared. I'd call up all of my family and friends who aren't saved and tell them! That's the right answer... seriously, man... why would you waste your time going to work and applying for college?"

He said:

"Why do I go to work every day? And why am I working on my college applications? It's because I know that this is what God wants me to do. Olivia, if you would feel convicted to spend your last hours on earth preaching on the street corner, then maybe you should do that every day. Why treat today differently than your last day?"

I left troubled.

More thoughts on finding God's will--

One option is to live every day as if it were our last.
For me, that would mean lots of evangelism.
It would also mean that any temptation to sin would be immediately dismissed.

Should we live as though judgment was around the corner?
Or should we relax, and not be nutcases?

"God's will" in just 27 easy steps

who's gonna help me out with this one?
some people write blogs because they feel like they have a message that they need to tell the world. sometimes i feel like that. and sometimes i write to learn what you think. and sometimes i write to figure out what i think.

i've found that discerning God's will is one of the top issues for us 20-somethings.
none of us know what we're "supposed to do" with our lives,
so we fumble around for answers, while we waste our youthful hours.

1 Thessalonians 4:3 says: "This is God's will: your sanctification."

very few people in history have received a personal and specific direction from the Holy Spirit as to what career or vocation He wants them to pursue.
but every person in history has received the command of God to be holy.

Philippians 3:16 says, "Let us live up to what we have already attained."

don't try to build an Ikea bookshelf starting at step 6, and then move back to step 3.
start at step 1, if you are looking to finish well.

So you know that God wants you to stop getting drunk?
live up to that.
So you know that you're in an unhealthy relationship?
live up to that.
So you know that God wants you to stop speaking harshly?
live up to that.
So you know that God wants you to stop thinking of yourself as better than everyone else?

So you want to know God's will for your life?
your sanctification.

the details will come.

it's time

sometimes you just need to be quiet
and let the Lord talk.

ssssshhhhhhhhhhhhh.

listen.

Psalm 18:28-36

For it is You who light my lamp,
the Lord my God lightens my darkness.

For by You I can run against a troop
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
This God, His way is perfect,
the Word of the Lord proves true.

He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him.

Who is God but the Lord?
and who is a Rock, except our God?
The God who equips me with strength,
and makes my way blameless.
He made my feel like a deer's,
and sets me secure on the heights.

He trains my hands for war
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You've given me the shield of Your salvation.

Your right hand supported me,
Your gentleness has made me great.
You gave a wide place for my steps under me
and my feet did not slip.

let Him love you

I'm a bit of a "praise and worship"-nazi.
It comes from thinking too much, but it can easily go from there into just being grumpy!

So often our theology is formed out of what we sing, so I try to be careful what words I sing along with before I open my mouth.

One particular strain of worship which used to bug me was singing songs about ourselves and how great it is to be loved and saved and freed.

It seemed funny to sing:
"I am so loved by God!"
rather than:
"I love You so much!"

But here is what I think that I am learning:

God's love for us is absolutely glorious,
and singing about His love for us actually exalts Him!

If we were just singing about the fact that God is "nice" then it really would be selfish. Or if we were just singing about how awesome our lives are it might not be worship.
But that's not the point. The point is: God's love for us is extravagant and immense and divine and powerful. When we shout and sing "OH HOW HE LOVES US!" we're not glorifying our own "lovability" but we are glorifying His amazing sacrifice of love!

So stand up on your chair and praise God with me!

He loves us!!!

urbandictionary has no clue

My name was invented by Shakespeare, apparently. Shakespeare's Olivia, in The Twelfth Night, is a bit of a weirdo. However, I still consider it an honor to be named by one of the greats.

It comes from the word OLIVE.
I've previously taken this to mean "olive branch"-- a symbol of peace.

But here are some new thoughts about this name:

What happens to an olive when it is crushed? Oil.
Hallelujah, I'm telling you, God is crushing me.
Being crushed is a good thing.

As I was recently reminded in a prayer meeting:
"The LORD is near to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit."
(Psalm 34:18)

So what if you're not crushed?
Align yourself with those who are.
Share in their brokenness,
become broken,
and the Lord will be near you.


"Come, let us return to the LORD.
For He has torn us,
but He will heal us;
He has wounded us,
but He will bandage us.

So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD.
His going forth is as certain as the dawn,
And He will come to us like the rain,
Like the spring rain watering the earth."

(Hosea 6)