Somewhere

I started reading Ray Comfort's book "My Friends Are Dying" last night. As I crawled under my warm covers, I wondered why. Why do I, a 21-year-old young lady living in the United States of America, have plenty of food to eat, a comfortable bed, a loving family, the joy and peace of knowing Jesus Christ, and so much more? Somewhere else not very far away, there is a 21-year-old young lady living in the United States of America starving because she uses all of her resources to buy drugs that she cannot stop using, sleeping in the wind and rain without a blanket, no one even caring that she exists, and completely without hope of escaping the downward spiral that she is caught in until she commits suicide, dies from disease brought on by her lifestyle, or is murdered. Just a simple turn of events and our places would have been switched. Why?

They might not be in MacArthur Park anymore, but they are somewhere--probably somewhere much closer to you. Don't take what you have (and I don't just mean material things) for granted. That could just as well have been you. And don't hold back what you have (and I don't just mean material things) from them. God has put you here "for such a time as this"!

A Word on Politics

I wouldn't consider myself a political person in any sense of the word, and I usually try to stay very far away from politics. Although some of the reason for that is personal preference, it is due largely to my understanding of the Two Kingdoms. (I HIGHLY recommended David Bercot's book "The Kingdom That Turned the World Upside Down" on this topic—I thought I understood the two kingdoms before I read it, but I really didn't. This book was so helpful for me!)

Having said that, I would like to share just a few words on the presidential candidates and upcoming presidential election (or the election of any official, for that matter) because I think a follower of Jesus Christ should have a Scripturally-based view on every situation, including politics and elections. Here are some of my thoughts that I hope will provoke you to thought and help you draw your own conclusions based on God’s Word.

It has saddened me to see many professing Christians justify voting for someone by saying that person is “the lesser of two evils”. When did the lesser of two evils become right? If something or someone is the lesser of two evils, it/they are still evil! “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil . . .” (Isaiah 5:20). As Christians, we must not decide between the lesser of two evils. We must always stand for absolute truth and righteousness in every situation.

I hesitated about bringing up specific names, since I don’t want the message of this post to be lost in the specifics. However, there is one presidential candidate who has captured the minds and hearts of scores of professing Christians who I feel like must be exposed and denounced. His name is Donald Trump. The reason I think it is so dangerous that so many professing Christians admire Trump and plan to vote for him is that he claims to be a Christian.

Do not be deceived—Donald Trump is not a Christian. Some may condemn me for making what seems to be such a harsh judgment. However, God’s Word is quite clear on some of the basic things that distinguish a follower of Jesus Christ. God did not leave us unequipped to discern between genuine and false fruit. If you do not know much about Trump or why I am making such strong statements about him, please do some research. With a simple internet search you will find things about him that I hope will shock you.

So as you consider the presidential candidates and all of the upcoming elections, base your decisions on the Word of God. What things are important to God? Are those things important to you? Do they influence how you vote, or don’t vote? If you claim to follow Jesus Christ, they should!

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.” Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is (Ephesians 5:1-17).

The Door or the Room?

I have been reading a book called A Vision of Kingdom Christianity by David Robertson. It is an excellent book and I thought I’d share one of the quotes that I appreciated:

“. . . in our day the emphasis is too often put upon the door (forgiveness of sins and conversion). Because of this misplaced emphasis, believers are many times left standing in the doorway instead of fully entering into the room of the kingdom, into the wide land of being all God intended us to be, which is true freedom. So the good news of evangelism is not just that you sins can be forgiven, that you can accept Jesus into your heart, and that you can go to heaven. We cheat the new believer if we do not show them the deep communion, new society, kingdom citizenship and costly discipleship that are part of the salvation package.”

Books

I finally have a preliminary version of my “books” page up (thanks to a migraine :)! It was hard to decide how to lay the page out and I hope to eventually add some short reviews/descriptions on some books and further divide them in to sub-categories. But for now, use this link or click on “Books” in the tabs at the top of my blog. This page will be updated as I read new books, so check back. Enjoy!

Openness and Drawing on God

Near the beginning of the year, I started reading the devotional book "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers (the revised edition). I have enjoyed all the readings, but several spoke to me more clearly. Below I have posted parts of one of the readings. (Since these are sentences from a whole reading, it may not make sense without context).

Sometimes we feel fresh and eager to attend a prayer meeting, but do we feel that same freshness for such mundane tasks as polishing shoes?...Jealously guard your relationship with God...Keep your whole life continually open to Jesus Christ. Don't pretend to be open with Him. Are you drawing your life from any source other than God Himself?... from Oswald Chambers "My Utmost for His Highest", January 20

5: Count Zinzendorf 's Affect on the World

One day while Count Zinzendorf was eating dinner at the coronation of King Christian VI of Denmark, he noticed a certain servant. After investigating and talking to the servant, Count Zinzendorf learned that he was from the island of St. Thomas and that he had become a Christian recently. He had a brother and sister back on the island that he desperately wanted to hear about Christ, but he could not go, for you see, he was a servant. Count Zinzendorf then decided that his community needed to be active. His community sent two young men as missionaries to the island of St. Thomas. Other people followed as missionaries to Greenland, the Guinea coast of Africa, St. Croix, Russia, Holland, South Africa, the United States, and many other places. I appreciated these quotes by some men who went as missionaries:

"If it was good enough for the Lord Jesus to become a servant so that we might be saved, it is a worthy calling for us also. I leave it to the good judgment of the congregation, and have not other ground than this thought: that on the island there are still souls who cannot believe because they have not heard."
- Leonard Dober, missionary to the island of St. Thomas

"Never forget that we have come here resting upon Christ our Savior, in whom all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, not on the principle of sight, but of faith."
- The covenant of three missionaries to Greenland

Count Zinzendorf was banned from the Saxony because many people thought that he had gone too far - a person of his class should not stoop to become a Lutheran pastor! Many, many years later, his banishment was lifted, though, as they began to see the good impact his community was having on the lives of people. Count Zinzendorf himself went as a missionary to St. Thomas and the United States, although he was in charge of keeping order at the two original communities in Germany. Count Zinzendorf accomplished a lot during the nearly 60 years he lived. At his death he said (speaking to his son-in-law), "Now, my dear friend, I am going to the Savior. I am ready. I bow at His will. He is satisfied with me. If He does not want me here anymore, I am ready to go to Him. There is nothing to hinder me now." Count Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf died Friday, May 9, 1760 at 10:00 p.m. The headstone for his grave read: Here lie the remains of that unforgettable man of God, Nicolaus Ludwig Count and Lord of Zinzendorf and Pottendorf. Through God's grace and his own faithful and untiring service he became the honored Ordinary of the Brethren's Unity, renewed in this eighteenth century. He was born at Dresden on May 26, 1700, and entered into the joy of his Lord on May 9, 1760. He was destined to bring forth fruit, fruit that should remain.

This is the final post on Count Zinzendorf. My prayer is that his life will touch you the way it touched me and I hope you have enjoyed learning about him as much as I have sharing about him!

4: Count Zinzendorf's Family

Count Zinzendorf's wife Erdmuth bore him 12 children in all, although many died young.
Christian Ernst, August 7, 1724 - November 1724
Benigna, July 1726 - (don't know the exact date she died, but she was alive at her father's death in 1760 with a husband and daughter of her own)
Christina Renatus, September 19, 1727 - May 28, 1752

Christian Friedrich, September 18, 1729 - October 1729
Theodore, October 1730 - March 1733
Johann, March 19, 1732 - May 19, 1732
Christian Ludwig, March 20, 1733 - August 31, 1737
Anna, August 7, 1734 - December 1738Maria, November 6, 1736 - (don't know the exact date she died, but she was alive at her father's death in 1760)Johanna, August 4, 1737 - 1743David, October 22, 1738 - 1742Elizabeth, April 1740 - (don't know the exact date she died, but she was alive at her father's death in 1760)

When his wife, Erdmuth, died on June 18, 1756, Count Zinzendorf grew lonely and sought comfort in prayer. Erdmuth had been his helper and manager these 24 years and now he did not have her. His son-in-law and some others advised him to marry again, and he did. He married Anna Nitschmann, leader of the single women's group, who was now 42.

(to be continued)

3: Count Zinzendorf's Life in Dresden

During the next few months of his life, Count Zinzendorf spent much of his time in the royal court at Dresden. These days were dreary ones for him. The only thing that kept him going was his new wife and his Sunday afternoon fellowship meetings with other believers. During this time, he wrote many hymns, in which he also found solace.

I learned this hymn on the violin and we sing it as a family. It really has some beautiful words!

Jesus Still Lead On

Jesus still lead on,
Till our rest be won,
And, although the way be cheerless,
We will follow, calm and fearless;
Guide us by Thy hand
To our fatherland.

If the way be drear,
If the foe be near,
Let not faithless fears o'er take us,
Let not faith and hope forsake us;
For, through many a woe,
To our home we go.

When we seek relief
From a long-felt grief,
When oppressed by new temptations,
Lord, increase and perfect patience;
Show us that bright shore
Where we weep no more.

Jesus, still lead on,
Till our rest be won;
Heav'nly leader still direct us,
Still support, console, protect us,
Till we safely stand
In our fatherland.

As the Moravian community developed on Count Zinzendorf's estate, many different people came to find religious freedom. He soon realized the need to bring some order. He solved this by setting up different groups of men and women and groups to minister to the needy. The leader of the women's group was an 18 year old girl named Anna. They also started a 24-hour prayer chain that lasted over 100 years!

(to be continued)

2: Count Zinzendorf Hears God's Call

When Count Zinzendorf got out of school at age 18, he traveled around Europe for one year just a every son of nobility did in his time. He was not particularly interested because he felt God had a special call on his life, but he went anyway. While he was touring, he visited a gallery of paintings. One that caught his attention was called "Behold, the Man". It was a painting of Jesus with a crown of thorns on his head, and on the bottom the painter had painted the words, This I have done for you, What have you done for me? After seeing that, Count Zinzendorf was more determined that God had a special call for him. He went home and took up his jobs in the royal court, wrote hymns, and attended meetings on Sunday. At last the answer came. He inherited his father's money, and with it bought his grandmother's castle. One day, a man named Christian David came to him and told him about a group of persecuted Christians in Moravia, just south of Saxony, and asked Count Zinzendorf if he would be willing to make his estate a community where these Christians could flee to. He agreed, and plans were made. Just before the first family came to settle there, Count Zinzendorf married a daughter of nobility named Erdmuth.

(To be continued)

1: Count Zinzendorf's Early Years

I recently finished reading a biography on Count Zinzendorf. I was greatly inspired by his life, so I thought I would share a bit about him with you.

For all of you who do not know Count Zinzendorf (I will try to be brief), Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf (known as Count Zinzendorf) was born in Germany on May 26, 1700. When he was young, his father died and his mother went to marry another man, so he was raised by his grandmother, aunt and uncle. One of my favorite stories about Count Zinzendorf is one from when he was 6 years old. He was reading the Bible and praying one day when Swedish soldiers stormed in to raid the castle. They stopped, looked at him, and then at each other. Then they quickly turned and left. They said they could not raid a place that God watched over. When he was 10 years old, he went to a school where he first saw and talked with a missionary from India who was visiting the school. From that point, he decided he did not want to follow his noble birth and become Count of the Saxony, but he wanted to dedicate his life totally to God.

(To be continued)