Sabbath. Day of rest and revelations!

Hi. :)

WOAH! OMG. I'm quite excited. What a refreshing Sabbath!!

So, last night, when I blogged about Isaiah 58 and all that, I was blogging and didn't feel like much flowed, in fact I was wondering what I was typing and why. I still was very grateful for the reminder I got about "it's not about me, it's about others and definitely God" but other than that, I felt like it all kind of came out of nowhere."

Well, after reading/blogging last night, I was on the phone with my amazing friend Megan and she told me to read Hebrews 11. So, I promised her that I would and I did that this morning before going to "The Bridge," the same church I'd been a month ago when I recently blogged about "CRAZY LOVE."

PS: we are in the same town as we were a month ago, which is so refreshing and relaxing!

So anywho, this morning, I wake up, get my coffee, go downstairs for breakfast and start talking with the desk lady. We'd talked quite a bit last time I was here in Nixa, so we just started back off where we'd last left off.
She told me her father was an incredible man who decided to hitchhike one day and move to Nicaragua to become a missionary. He packed a tall military bag and just left. He lived in tents and eventually got married and has kids there now.
His hope now is to move to Peru and use his agriculture degree to teach the Peruvians how to use agriculture to hopefully make means, which I think is phenomenal.
It got me thinking about what I someday want to do, and how much I respect it when  people have a passion and use that passion wholeheartedly for God, and those who need to benefit from that skill or knowledge. I think it's great when people become missionaries simply to preach the Word and save lives spiritually, but I think it's all the more amazing when people use physical needs as well as a means to reach out to the needy. So, that was a cool story I got to hear.

Then, I decided to read Hebrews 11, which is a reccord of all the great men and women in the Bible who have become famous through their faithfulness. Faith. So important. So crucial in our lives. The fact that these great names were able to get to that point in their lives is that they were focused on an eternal prize. A lot of them ended up not receiving the promise they were reaching for in the end, but that didn't matter to them because they were focused on God and spending eternity with Him someday. That was their reward. They had that vision. That out of the world faith that "gives us assurance  about things we cannot see. Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation." (Heb 11: 1-2)
I asked the desk lady to read verses 8 through 10: "It was by faith that ABraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going And even when he reached the land God proised him he lived there by faith, for he was like a foreigher, living in tens. Ans so did Isaac and Jaccob who inherited the same promise. Abraham was fonidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed by God."
She smiled and told me she got goosebumps after reading because the reason I had her read it is because when I read it, it reminded me of her father and what he'd done.
The other day, I checked my "what does God want you to know today" facebook application and it said:
"God wants you to know that infinite possibilities are born of faith. Do you think that's air you breathe; that's earth you walk on. All matter is God's creation. And the source is faith. When you have so much faith that you become one of faith, infinite possibilities open up to you."
What that reminded me that day was what I had blogged about when I talked about faith being a gift from God and when we accept it, our eyes open up to SO much more. We find ways to love the unlovable, see the unseen, believe in the impossible.
I'm going somewhere with all of this :)

This morning, we went to the Bridge and the pastor talks about how they've been reading out of the book Crazy Love and how chapter 7 was all about giving to the needy and having a certain vision and faith like the faith of the people that are named in Hebrews 11. So at this point, I'm like "wooah, I just read about this this morning! Crazy!"
I guess the title of chapter 7 is "the best life is later."
So then, the pastor goes on talking about how the gospel that we believe in is one focused on HIm and what He's done for us. What he wants from us, not what we want. How this Christian life is difficult because we are constantly torn between what we want (the flesh) and what He wants (the Spirit). It's not about us nor should it ever be, and as Christians we are called to be givers and not consumers.
He talks about this same vision I had read about that morning and goes on saying that the names in Hebrews 11 had a vision for the after life.The nomades and the travelers were focused on the eternal perspective that enabled them to endure anyting that this life brough their way. They focus was on something higher, the prize.
Then he went on talking about love again, and that crazy love that we receive from God. The only way we can love the way God loves us (all of us) is if we have that same vision and heart that these people had as well. God loves us all, every single one of us, but he also has a heart for the poor, the needy, the hungry, the widows, the orphans. We see that numerous times in the Bible.
He read out of Proverbs 31
8-9 "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless and see that they get justice."
This is God's heart. This should also be our heart.
So at this point of the sermon, I'm thinking "um....that's exactly what I blogged about yesterday. this is getting beyond crazy ridiculous and cool!"

This vision that is provided by faith leads to conviction. It's easy to overlook those in need. A lot of times we do things out of selfishly generous thought. And by that I mean that we do generous things to be seen, receive approval, and be praised. So in the end not only do we get expectations from these things, but we are doing them for ourselves more than for the person we are being generous towards. I'll be the first one to admit that I do that. When we don't get praises, we get frustrated, like "what the heck, why is no one grateful for this," or "what was the point of me even doing that?" you know?
Another point the pastor touched on was how important it is to balance the scale out for others.
This was really cool, I was able to relate with this point really well because I hear about it at least 4 times a week since one of the videos we show to kids is called "Balance of Power." It's all about fairness and equality and how most times life isn't fair, but the way we respond to the things coming our way determines the outcomes for ourselves and the people around us. How instead of being discouraged by unfairness, we should use it as a way to balance the scales out and make right decisions since they affect everyone around us, and become better people through them.
So the pastor talking about balancing scales hit home base for me. He meant that a lot of times, we overlook the needs of others and feed into our wants more than in the needs of others. It's easy to shut our eyes off to what people need simply so we can fulfill our wants BUT if we have that vision from God, our eyes open up to those in need and our heart transform to break for the things that break God's heart.

ok this gets crazy. THEN the pastor busts out Isaiah 58, which I'm like OMG God is amazing. The very thing I was blogging about last night without fully understanding where it was coming from was all to prepare me for this morning's message :D

Isaiah 58. The Israelites were doing everything they thought they should be doing. Everything that was written down in the law, but didn't get anything in return and were annoyed.
Isaiah 58:2 talks about the Israelites' actions. "Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and seem delighted to learn all about me. They act like arighteous nation that would never abandon the laws of its God. They ask me to take action on their behalf, pretending they want to be near me.
They say: "We have fasted before you! Why aren't you impressed?"

This verse reminded me of two things. First it lead me to Romans 2 where it talks about the Jews who rely on God's law and are terrible examples to the Gentiles mainly because they "follow" the law but lack the faith and heart that is needed there. They preach but don't act according to their word. They act as if they are righteous but instead lead people astray. (I blogged about this in September).

The second thing that was revealed to me when we read the first couple of verses from Isaiah 58 was something that Max Lucado wrote about in "A gentle thunder."
Max talks about the Holy Spirit and it's so easy for a lot of people to read the Word, go to "Church" (we are the Church, but you know what I mean) and do things that are told to be done, but in the end leave the Holy Spirit out of it and end up falling flat on their faces. I loved the illustration Max uses when he describes this type of living as dancing without any music.
These people view the Bible as an instruction book to teach how to live (or dance) and they are so focused on the things to do that they forgot all about what matters. God. And His heart. They end up learning all the moves, the footsteps, writing it all down. Following it rule by rule, instruction by instruction. But in the end, they forget to turn the music on. Max says this "We Christians are prone to follow the book while ignoring the music. We master the doctrine, outline the chapters, memorize the dispensations, debate the rules, and stiffly step down the dance floor of life with no music in our hearts. We measure each step, calibrate each turn, and flop into bed each night exhausted from another day of dancing by the book."

How true is that? How sad is that to.

So anyways, back to the sermon.

The Israelites are doing what they think is right. What they thought they were supposed to do and didn't receive anything from God in return... Remember how at the beginning of this entry I talked about how easy it is for us to do things expecting something in return because we give for selfish reasons. Well that's exactly what the Israelites were doing. They were dancing with no music on.

Isaiah 58:6-7 talks about God's view of what should be done and why it should be done. "Free those who are wrongly imprisoned, lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry, and gie shleter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help."
THat's God's heart right there. Justice and equality. Freedom.

When we get this vision and become one of faith, our heart breaks for these same things.
Before, we either gave out of pity or selfish motives, but now that we are a new creation and are after God's heart, we give out of LOVE. Just like God gave us out of love. God didn't pity us. He didn't want anything from us when he sacrificed his Son. He did it all because he loved us. Now we are to give because we are filled with that same love and the vision has led us to conviction.

Along with this, the pastor (and the chapter of Isaiah 58)is focusing on giving physical things such as money, clothes, food, etc... But I believe this also goes into giving away time, love, care or whatever we have to offer anyone in need. God's love for us is so crazy that He gave us patience, love, His life, His Holy Spirit, faith, eternity, and so much more. So if we are made in God's image, and we love Him so passionately, why can't we give patience, love, our lives, our faith and beliefs, our listening ear, and whatever else to others?

It sounds so much easir than it actually is. But isn't that what life is all about. Challenging ourselves to continuously become better people. I have a really good friend who amazes me. He is constantly trying to find ways of bettering himself. He refuses to settle. He refuses to be ok at something. The beauty of it isn't that he wants to be praised for it. He genuinely wants to give God the best of the best and His all. Talking to him fascinates me. For example tonight, I talked with him a bit about all of this, and he shared how there is someone in his life that has constantly hurt him and he found it hard to forgive them, but in the end he would always forgive because he felt like it was the right thing to do. Now he is able to forgive them because "it's become second nature to me, like it's normal to forgive him because I love him, and as a Christian I can't let his words affect me nor define me." This friend of mine challenges me to be better person and do better. I hope this blog can encourage and challenge you as well.
I'm not there yet, but I hope I can get there some day.

Isaiah 58: 8-9
Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind Then when you call, the Lord will answer: Yes I am here, he will quickly reply."

Wow, what a great promise. How phenomenal is our Father!??? There is to much joy in forgetting about ourselves and doing God's work. So much!
When we are able to have that heart, we no longer have those expectations anymore. We do because we are called to, just like Abraham, Jacob, Isaac, Joseph, Abel, Enoch, Noah, Moses, Sarah, and all these other people in the Bible were called for a specific task.

Let's not forget that the prize is Heaven. Nothing on this earth should satisfy us. Unfortunately a lot does. But, if we have that heart,vision, and faith the possibilites are endless.

Hebrews 11:39-40

All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us."

Hebrews 12: 1-2

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of fait, let us stip off every weight that slows us down, espeicaily the sin that so easily trips us up, And let us run with endurnce teh reace God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes focused on Jesus, the champion who initiantes and perfects our faith. Because of joy awaiting him, he endured the corss, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne."

BLESSINGS. I love you. Thanks for the prayers. :D

His servant,
Dorina Julia Oliveira