Friend

I had a friend who cared if I ate;
I have a Friend who is my Daily Bread.

I had a friend who followed me home to see that I was safe;
I have a Friend who carries me, every step of the way.

I had a friend who put up with my patheticy and tears;
I have a Friend who longs for me to bring the pain to Him.

I had a friend I thought would never leave;
I have a Friend who’s promised “forever” and whose promises ring true.

I had a friend who would text me to say “goodnight”;
I have a Friend who wrote me a book to tell me so much more.

I had a friend who was like a brother;
I have a Friend who is closer than a brother.

I had a friend who meant the world;
I have a Friend to whom I owe my whole world.

I had a friend who told me “I love you”;
I have a Friend who loved me enough to give His life.

Rahab's Lie

Is it ever ok to lie?"
"Wasn't Rahab blessed for her lie?"

These are the kinds of questions that were flying around at my small group this past week; the sermon at church last Sunday had been about the book of Joshua. Many possible answers and thoughts were tossed around...

Joshua 2:1-21
Rahab and the Spies
Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.”
But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, they left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.” (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.
Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof and said to them, “I know that the LORD has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.
“Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them—and that you will save us from death.”
“Our lives for your lives!” the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the LORD gives us the land.”
So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. She said to them, “Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way.”
Now the men had said to her, “This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house. If any of them go outside your house into the street, their blood will be on their own heads; we will not be responsible. As for those who are in the house with you, their blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on them. But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear.”
“Agreed,” she replied. “Let it be as you say.”
So she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.

It was mentioned at small groups about Rahab's belief in God (vs. 8-11) and that this is why she was blessed. (In Matthew 1:5, Rahab is listed in the lineage of Jesus; in Hebrews 11:31, she is listed in the Hall of Faith, etc.) This was the answer we eventually left it at.

However, the more I think about it, there more I think there is another option...

What if Rahab was spared and blessed for these two reasons:
1) she showed kindness to the spies
2) she asked to be spared.

WHAT?!

1) Rahab was not an Israelite. She did not know their laws, or their customs, or what we (having been raised in church, or at least being "churched") would consider to be something that everyone knows.
To her, lying was just part of showing kindness.(vs. 12)
In the same way that we can't expect non-believers to live the same way we do and abide by the same "rules" we do, there is no reason to expect Rahab to behave as a Christian or an Israelite.

2) Rahab specifically asked the spies to be spared "since she showed them kindess). (again, vs. 12)



Maybe, we should ASK God for the things we desire...including blessings.

Oops...

Sooooo... it's now been about two and a half months since I've posted... uups.

ummmm I guess (since I don't have anything deep and amazing to post at this time) I'll just fill you in on my life lately.

Christmas was really good, if difficult. There were many hard things to work through, but it was so good to see family and the break we got in FL.

I am now planning (officially) on going to college this fall... but that's as much info as I have for you at the moment.
I'm not planning on majoring in Theatre anymore, but I don't know what I DO want to major in, either. And because of that change, I don't really know where I want to go...
For this morning (I'm sure it'll change soon) I'm leaning toward going to Cornerstone in Grand Rapids and majoring in Photography, minoring in Theatre... God show me what you want!
I'm scheduled to take my ACT on Febuary 12th, but am nervous since I haven't done anything "school-ish" for two years AND I'm not a great test-take-er...

Since I've decided to go to college, I'm not planning on moving out or getting a puppy at this point. Yeah it's minor, but to me it's huge. I had spent the last however many months looking for options and dreaming about living on my own: that was tough to give up.



Biggest news in the near-er future: I'm going on a mission trip with Destiny Rescue!! :D
Right now I'm waiting on them to set the dates for the trip, at which point I'll officially apply, but they've already told me there's no reason I won't be accepted.
The trip will be to Thailand and Cambodia with lots of traveling around while there. It will be about two weeks and will cost around $3,000. I'll let you know more details as they come.

In the mean time, Starting this week (except not because I was too exhausted and the roads were rumored to be horrible) I plan to volunteer at Destiny Rescue one afternoon a week after work. I'm not sure what I'll be doing...

Ummm... there's a lot more I could say, but it's really not relevant to any or you, so I'll refrain for now.

Prayers always coveted and freely offered

Thought for Today...

If every time we
loved someone
missed someone
were mad at someone
thought about someone
we prayed for them... how much different would our world be?

Prayer is such a powerful tool...so why don't we make use of it??
If you were trying to screw together an Ikea shelf, and you had a cordless drill laying right next to you (with the right bit in it, even!), why would you use a screwdriver??
Ok, so that may be a bad example (because I'm sure there are times you would use a screwdriver....PLUS it just isn't a good example...) but my point still stands.

I challenge me to pray for those I miss, love, am mad at, and think about.
I challenge you to join me.

How different will your world be?

Abortion...

Something made me sick today...
Yes, abortion makes me sick. It hurts to the depths of my being. It's murder. It's wrong.
But do you know what's worse than abortion???

I'm a "fan" of a page on Facebook called "As a former fetus, I oppose abortion."

Today this group posted a link to an abortion clinic that performs (and advertises) late term abortions. When they posted the link, this is what they wrote:

"What a sick man! He actually advertises late term abortions! Please call his office and let him know how discusting his practice is!"

First of all, I went to the doctor's website. I wanted to see if what the group was saying was true. The doctor talks about his reasoning for late term abortions on his site:

"Patients coming in for very late abortion - over 26 menstrual weeks' gestation - are almost always seeking services for termination of a desired pregnancy that has developed serious complications. This usually means the discovery of a catastrophic fetal anomaly or genetic disorder that guarantees death, suffering, or serious disability for the baby that would be delivered if the pregnancy were to continue to term. Occasionally a woman presents at this stage for pregnancy termination because of her own severe medical illness or a psychiatric indication." (here)

There are currently 35 comments on this post from other "fans" of the page. many of them are people condemning the doctor. People have called his office and called the doctor and all his staff "pigs." The doctor is called "Dr. Evil of Mankind." He's called "Satan Enfleshed," "Sick," "a butcher." People comment on how they want to abort all the doctors who perform abortions.....

Looking at the abortion site makes me sick - thinking about how many babies have been lost and murdered...


...but you know what makes me MORE sick???


How can we claim to be followers of Christ, of the God who IS Love, when we would be so horrible to one of His creation?!?

The doctor is not a believer in Jesus. He has no basis for seeing this as wrong. (Ex: we as Christians would not say it's wrong for women to show their ankles as some religions do. We have no basis for that.To us it is not wrong.)

What this doctor is doing is wrong, but why would he do anything else? How can we expect someone who doesn't believe in the FOUNDATION of truth to SEE the truth?

This man is wrong, but HE is not a sick human - he's just committing sick acts. Jesus wouldn't condemn him or hate him. Is this man's sin any different than the sins we commit every day? We commit gluttony, lust, hate, jealousy, we lie.... but no one condemns us for those sins. No one calls us sick. No one hates us for our sins... In God's eyes ALL sins are equal and deserve death...ALL sins.

Jesus would love him. How will this man change what he is doing unless Christ first reaches him through loving people and changes his heart? Rather than condemning him (and others like him) why don't we pray for him in love?

Love Songs

soooosososoSO many love songs can be songs about/to God... Is this a coincidence? I think not - seeing as our deepest longing is to be in God's love, but our world tells us it's human love.... It makes complete sense...
Think about it...

The Question

There’s a question always ringing.
It’s in my head; pain it brings.
Is it always gonna be like this?
Do I always have to live like this?

There’s a questions burning deep
It is always close, close with me.
Is it always gonna be like this?
Do I always have to live like this?

There’s a question down inside
Buried deep - the depths of my mind.
Is it always gonna be like this?
Do I always have to live like this?

Give me answers, let me know.
All this pain I do not show.
Is it always gonna be like this?
Do I always have to live like this?

The pain you bring,
Do you know how much you sting?
The pain I bear,
Do you know, or care?

This question always ringing…
This question burning deep…
This question down inside…
These answers I do not know…
Is it always gonna be like this?


Brittany Stichter, September 2010