To the best of my ability...

Although we are no longer attending Pantano Christian Church, I still follow Pastor Glen's blog. I wish the church was closer to where we lived, so that we could take part in the many wonderful things this church has to offer. Pastor Glen, especially, has some great preaching, which both Greg and I have really enjoyed. Fortunately, God allowed the invention of the internet, through which we can obtain many resources and stay connected to various individuals, communities and organizations. As a result, I can have a bit of Pastor Glen each week, even if I'm not participating in his church. In his blog, he shares many insightful ideas on a weekly basis, oftentimes provoking great thoughts. He is very real and down-to-earth, which I love.

One of his recent entries really spoke to me, and I wanted to share it with others. The following has all been taken directly from Glen's blog.

To the Best of My Ability

posted by Glen Elliott

Joel Hunter suggests a life principle: “Do whatever you can, with whatever you have, wherever you are.” I would describe that as living a life of passion. It describes the “life to the full” that Jesus promises if we follow him (John 10:10). This Hunter quote reminds me that a life well lived is a life that is purposeful, generous and sacrificial. This is living to the “best of my ability.”

We intentionally ask someone who is being baptized this question: “Do you promise to follow Jesus with your whole heart to the best of your ability all the days of your life.” Jesus is not asking people to be perfect. But he does invite us to follow him and take up our cross daily. We follow Jesus, to the best of our ability. Some days we do pretty well. Other days no one would be able to tell we are a follower of Jesus. But we keep on the journey.

We also practice communion each week. Why? Our “best ability” always falls short of God’s perfection. Weekly, we remember God’s grace to forgive us of all our sins. Weekly, we remember that our best is never good enough, but God remains passionately in love with us and for us. Weekly, we remember that God not only sent Jesus so we had the Son of God to follow to the Father, but he sent his Son as a sacrifice to provide never ending forgiveness.

Marriage reminds me of this principle. I vowed to my wife 30 years ago to love, cherish, honor and respect her to the best of my ability. I’ve probably managed to do that the majority of our 11,000 days together. But there were many days I failed (Okay, there were full months). But we are still married. We are still in this together and still committed to love each other to the best of our ability. Marriage works when we seek to live purposefully, generously and sacrificially toward each other. Marriage works when there is also an abundance of grace.

Jesus says we are his Bride. The Bible likes to use the idea of marriage to describe our relationship with God. We are in a spiritual marriage with God and we’ve committed to follow Jesus “to the best of our ability.” God, being the perfect spiritual marriage partner offers grace upon grace.

So today and everyday, may we stay the journey of doing whatever we can, with whatever we have, wherever we are to bless the world around us and make a difference for Jesus – to the best of our ability.

Glen

February is believing

Ok, so I'm cheating for this month's memory verse. I kinda already know it, but not really well enough to be able to just rattle it off. As I kept thinking about what to memorize this month, these words seemed to keep floating into my little brain:

"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them." ~Romans 8:28

I think the reason I like this verse so much is not only the words found within that one sentence, but the context of the scripture, and what is found surrounding it:

"And the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don't even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will. And we know that God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them. For God knew His people in advance, and He chose them to become like His Son, so that His Son would be the firstborn, with many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, He called them to come to Him. And He gave them right standing with Himself, and He promised them His glory." ~Romans 8:26-30

Pretty neat stuff, huh?

During this time of my life, when I am searching out a career in Tucson, I find myself not even sure what I should be praying for. Especially a couple of weeks ago when I was preparing for my trip out for that first real interview. I didn't know if I wanted the job. I wasn't sure if I should pray that I get an offer, or if I should pray that something else would pop up while I was in town. It's been pretty overwhelming, to say the least. And then, I worry about the mistakes I could be making. What if I'm applying to the wrong jobs? Was there something else I should have put on my resume to make me look like a more attractive candidate? Am I really able to prove my experience with a simple email?

What if I just totally mess up?

Lots of questions in this little mind of mine. But this chunk of scripture lends some pretty great comfort to me. How great is it that as believers, we are not alone in our struggles? Even when we don't even know what words to lift up to God, the Holy Spirit jumps in and helps us out-even when we don't realize it. And it's all "in harmony with God's own will." Isn't that what we want anyway? God's will? It's what I want!

Furthermore...He causes it ALL to work together for the good...ALL OF IT! Meaning we can't really mess things up! How great is that? No matter what we chose to do, God will make sure that it ends up going according to His will. One of the things I appreciate in Greg, is that he is constantly reminding me of God's grace and amazing works. "Rebecca, you can't mess things up. Remember, God's in control," he'll say. "Believe it." And he's totally right.

So this month, even as the end of it is upon us, I have continued to believe. That God's will for me will be done, and that I can't mess it up. Perhaps I should memorize all 5 of those verses.

January is about HOPE

One of my goals for 2009 (that's right, I set goals this year, not resolutions) is to do a better job at memorizing scripture. I've always wanted to do a better job at this, since I know and understand the importance of knowing God's Word. But I've never actually made a strong effort at it. So this will be the year. My goal is to memorize 1 verse each month. I thought that if I could accomplish this, I would have 12 verses memorized by the end of the year. If I can do that, then next year I can try and memorize a verse each week (which seems like A LOT right now, so I'm not even going to think about that).

So in deciding which verse I am going to memorize each month, I thought it would be a great idea to try and select one which I can actually meditate on during that month. Words that actually hold a personally meaning to me, and that I can truly relate to. Figured it would help me with the memorizing too.

For my graduation, I received "the Bible Promise Book for Women" from Greg's parents. Since I'm going through this time of searching for a job, I thought that the chapter titled "Hope" would be fitting for me to meditate on. So at the beginning of the month, when I was reading through these verses, one just jumped out at me. And I decided that it is a verse that I want to remember for always. I've heard it before, and loved it then. Someday, I may have to share this season of my life with others, and when I do, I want to be able to share this verse with them. I want other people to memorize this verse and allow it to hold meaning for them as well. Maybe you can try it yourself! It's not just about HOPE, but also about FAITH:

Hebrews 11:1

"Now faith is being sure that we will get what we hope for. It is being sure of what we cannot see." (NLV)

I really like the NLT version-'confident assurance' seems so much more powerful than the word 'sure':

"What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see."

January is all about HOPE for me. Hope that I can find a job that God created me for. Hope that what I want aligns with what God's plans are for me. Hope that Greg and I can live in the same city, allowing us to see each other more than a weekend a month. Hope that I will be able to move out of the Midwest to the (entirely different) Southwest.

Many others are hoping that January will bring change for our country. Mr. Obama will soon be taking over the role as the President of the United States. Although I didn't vote for this man, I do hope that he is able to be a great leader for all Americans. There are changes that this country needs, changes that our government needs...and if he can produce that change, I welcome it! Bring it on Obama! I will pray for him, and continue to pray for hope for our country. And pray for the uncertainty that is of the future of this country.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I certainly cannot see the future. I'm glad that I can't...what fun would it be to actually know what happens? It's like finding out about a surprise party days ahead of time. Once you actually get to experience it, it's just not as exciting. But I have faith and like this verse defines faith, I am certain that somehow, at some point, God will allow me to have what I hope for. And what is so much more exciting, is knowing-being sure-that what He has planned for me is WAY MORE than what I could ever hope for myself! I can't wait to experience that.....