TRUSTING in the LORD

...is straight-up HARD. GOOD. but HARD.

an upside-down kingdom?

something that i've heard often is that the Kingdom of God is an upside-down Kingdom: His politics favors the weak and undesireable over the strong and beautiful, advocates a policy of "consider others above yourself", and holds the least as the greatest and the greatest as the least. His economy rebukes us when we try to save up for a safe and comfortable retirement, demands that we give away money we took pains in earning to "those bums who don't do anything", and calls us to live on a day-by-day basis, taking nothing more than our daily bread, not knowing whether we'll have any tomorrow or the day after.

the Kingdom of God is an upside-down Kingdom.

or is it?

isn't God's Kingdom really the one that's rightside-up?
doesn't God's politics and economy create a world in which "No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but shared everything they had", in which there are "no needy persons among them" (Acts 4:34), in which poverty and hunger cease to exist? doesn't His politics and economy create a world in which we consider one another as family and not as an Other, and love them, not for what they do or how useful they are to us, but for who they are? a world in which i am considered as a sister or brother and not as an Other and loved, not for what i do or how useful i am to them but for who i am? a world in which there is no insecurity, no fear of judgment or condemnation, no need to prove myself, no want that haunts me? a world in which we are all inter- (not in-) dependent and receive all we could ever desire from the very Source of "every good and perfect gift" (James 1:17)?

...a world characterized by abundance, love, and freedom?
a world filled with laughter, music, dancing, and Jubilee?

we spend our life on this earth walking, not on our legs, but on our hands. and we wonder - if God is so good, why is there so much pain and suffering in the world?

...

i just went deeper than ever. before.





...and this is only the beginning.

excerpts.

"For those who look beyond the literal,
..............the world is a metaphor for God."

Confronted with the vision, however fleeting and obscure, of divine majesty, one becomes reluctant to speak and disinclined to share, because human language breaks down in the attempt to convey what can be grasped only in a nonrational, intuitive way. Intellect capitulates to mystery.

Speechless humility,
breathless amazement,
silent reverence
at the overpowering splendor, majesty and glory of God.

- Brennan Manning, Ruthless Trust

God, thank you for those who can express my heart into words.

God. You. are. CRAZY. AMAJING. the. end.

O Jesus, make me meek.

don't hate.

this is just how i jump. :p

<333

urbana06. jesus, we come to worship you:

my first storybook EVAR. :)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033567&id=1032810019&l=5ff04e8e89

i have never been so myself before.

AND MORE IS YET TO COME.

._. DANG.

Jeremiah 11. "The Covenant is Broken."

the Covenant:
[Exodus 24:8] - after the Exodus from Egypt, pillar of fire by day/the pillar of cloud by night, manna and quail, water from the rock, the Ten Commandments, laws about servants, personal injuries/quarrels, protection of property, social responsibility, of justice and mercy, the Sabbath, of the three annual festivals of celebration, and the promise to send an angel to guard and lead the way to the Promised Land.

Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, 'This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.

[Leviticus 26:1-13] - laws and regulations for worship at the tabernacle, instructions on ceremonial cleanliness, moral laws, holy days, the sabbath year, and the Year of Jubilee. --> holiness

"Be holy, because I am holy" [Leviticus 11:45]

"Reward for Obedience."

If you follow my decrees
.........and are careful to obey my commands,

I will send you rain in its season,
.........and the ground will yield its crops
..................and the trees of the field their fruit.
Your threshing will continue until grape harvest
.........and the grape harvest will continue until planting,
and you will eat all the food you want (abundance!!)
.........and live in safety in your land.

I will grant peace in the land,
.........and you will lie down
..................and no one will make you afraid.
I will remove savage beast from the land,
.........and the sword will not pass through your country.
You will pursue your enemies,
.........and they will fall by the sword before you.
Five of you will chase a hundred,
.........and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand,
..................and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.

I will look on you with favor (Joseph)
.........and make you fruitful and increase your numbers,
..................(God's first commandment to man)
.........and I will keep my covenant with you (Abraham).

You will still be eating last year's harvest
.........when you will have to move it out
..................to make room for the new.
............([Malachi 3:10] - "Test me in this, and see.if I will not
..................THROW OPEN the FLOODgates of heaven
...........................and pour out SO MUCH blessing
..............................that you will NOT have room enough for it.")

I will put my dwelling place among you,
.........and I will not abhor you.
I will walk among you
.........(Genesis 3:8 - Eden; back to the way things were)
and be your God, and you will be my people.

I am the LORD your God,
.........who brought you out of Egypt
..................so that you would
...........................no longer be slaves to the Egyptians;
.........I broke the bars of your yoke
..................and enabled you to walk with heads held high.

[Exodus 19:5]

Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant,
.....then out of all nations you will be
..................my treasured possession.
Although the whole earth is mine,
.........you will be for me
..................a kingdom of priests
...........................and a holy nation.

[Jeremiah 7:23, 11:7-8]

From the time I brought your forefathers up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again, saying,

"Obey me."

"Obey me, and I will be your God,
and you will be my people."

"Obey me."

....

But they did not listen or pay attention;
instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts.

The Covenant is broken.

[1 Peter 1:1-2, 14-16, 2:9-10]

To God's elect, strangers in the world...
.........who have been chosen according to the
..................foreknowledge of God the Father,
.........through the sanctifying work of the Spirit,
..................for obedience to Jesus Christ
...........................and sprinkling by his blood:

..................Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written,

.................."Be holy, because I am holy."



But you are a chosen people,
...........................a royal priesthood,
....................................a holy nation,
.............................................a people belonging to God,
..................that you may declare the praises of him
...........................who called you out of darkness
....................................into his wonderful light.

.........Once you were not a people,
..................but now you are the people of God.

[John 14:15, 21]

If you love me, you will obey what I command.

Whoever has my commands and obeys them,
.........he is the one who loves me.
He who loves me will be loved by my Father,
.........and I too will love him and show myself to him.

[1 John 2:3-8, 3:11]

We know that we have come to know him
.........if we obey his commands.
The man who says, "I know him,"
.........but does not do what he commands
..................is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
But if anyone obeys his word,
.........God's love is truly made complete in him.

This is how we know we are in him:
.........Whoever claims to live in him
..................must walk as Jesus did.

Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command
.........but an old one, which you have had since the beginning.
..................This old command is the message you have heard.
Yet I am writing you a new command;
.........its truth is seen in him and in you,
..................because the darkness is passing,
...........................and the true light is already shining.

This is the message you heard from the beginning:
.........We should love one another.

[John 13:34-35]

A new command I give you:
.........Love one another.
As I have loved you,
.........so you must love one another.
By this all men will know
.........that you are my disciples,
..................if you love one another.

[1 John 2:17]

The world and its desires pass away,
.........but the man who does the will of God
.......................................................lives forever.

...

i don't wanna go if You're not going to be there with me.

Delight yourself in the LORD
........and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD;
........trust in him and he will do this.

................................................[Psalm 37:4-5]

urbana09 journal to come!! :)

but i just have to say...

...God is CRAZY CREATIVE AMEN. i mean, who comes up with this stuff?? sunrises and colors and fingernails and the stuff that goes into making chocolate YUM. what the crazy!!

God is still creating today - creating opportunities, performing miracles, answering prayers in ways we can't imagine. He LOVES showing us how BIG, how CRAZY, how AMAAAAZINGLY out-of-the-box He is.

all we have to do is to pay attention. not just to pretty things (such as what is below), but also to things that we generally tend to ignore or overlook, such as why the wind blows, why dogs eat grass, or why clouds are shaped the way they are.