cleansing

during my first year of seminary, there was a ridiculous amount of rain that poured down on campus. it was never-ending. it just rained and rained and rained... i remember being so sick of the rain. and yet... i also remember really enjoying the moments curled up in front of the balcony windows, sipping some coffee, and studying some theology. i like being wrapped up in a blanket, thankful to be indoors... the rain made me appreciate the warmth. so, sure... i could spend a bit of time writing about the value of "storms" and the importance of "trials"... and how without the rain, there is no produce, no crop.. no fruit. but, that is not where i'm heading. =)

rain.

i long for it. in fact, currently i'd say i am desperate for it. i so crave a season of cleansing. a season of rain washing over me. and yet, the rain is not coming, the cleansing is not happening... instead, i am in a drought.

silly droughts.

and the thing about God, and the thing about droughts, and the thing about lacking rain... is that usually, it's our fault. =) like my perspective has ever so slightly been shifted back to me... my life... my issues... my desires... and i have lost sight of the One who breathes grace.

"rain come down, come and heal these sores and wash them clean, come and heal my soul. rain come quickly... come and ease this fire. rain silence me... " brie stoner

so, today.. i am praying for rain.

one above the other

this thought has been rattling around in my head, and as i sat with my good friend sammie and discussed the beauty of our Creator last night... i decided it needed to be written. the thought that has me contemplating is this, "we are to desire obedience more than we are to depend on grace." what i mean by this ... is that far too many people have forsaken a pursuit of holiness. they have given up on striving to give God everything. they have settled for this "act now, pray later" kind of mentality which gives themselves the right to do whatever they want and assume God's grace. but, what gives us the right to demand grace? if it is demanded, it ceases to be grace and it becomes something other. right?

but... if we were people that sought to be holy, that lived life in sheer obedience to His call... then we would discover a life of faith that is beyond our expectations. yet, when we depend on God's grace... we lose sight of His commands, His character... His very essence... and we lose. we lose big.

don't get me wrong... i live under grace. and i thank God that it is by grace i have been saved... but, what i am talking about is the apathetic lifestyle that so much of the church has settled in. there is this blanket of complacency... it's simply smothering the road toward holiness.

so, as sammie and i reflected on the spiritual state in the Greater Bay Area ... it dawned on us that perhaps the church is resting in assumed grace instead of suiting up and pursuing holiness.

so... are you striving after holiness today? or simply making an assumption that it's God's will to allow you to sin just so that He can prove His graciousness? hmmm... He has nothing to prove, nor should He ever have to. =)