Simple words, yet words of life

Was sitting in Starbucks just the other day, and I read this excerpt out of Finney's book:

"Indeed I read my Bible on my knees a great deal during those days . . . beseeching the Lord to teach me His own mind . . . I had no where to go but directly to the Bible . . . " And here he laid the groundwork for all his evangelistic appeals. From henceforth, whether confronting individuals with the Gospel, preaching to multitudes or teaching in the lecture room, he was an evangelist whose dogmas were the heart of the Bible thrown at men's souls.

Funny enough I was having a conversation with a good friend yesterday about those people who have touched our lives, whom I deem as "beautiful people" who when they speak, they may speak one piece of Scripture out of the Bible that is so simple and you may read over it numerous times, but for some reason whenever they speak it into your life you have this transforming experience with the Father that thins the air between heaven and earth. Usually an experience that leaves you wanting more!

What I believe this is, is taking up the authority the Father desires to give freely and speaking the life giving words of the Bible out of courageous faith, only done in partnership with the Holy Spirit. When spoken in this way, words so simple become incredibly powerful, freeing, and Christ transforming.

I think Finney was on to something!

Well, this is my second last night in Canada before I jet set away to Germany. I hope to have lots of things to report whenever I return . . . until then, Auf Wiedersehen!

Thoughts on Charles G. Finney by Basil Miller and Prayer

Picked up another book yesterday, actually right off of our book shelf! I've been meaning to read it for quite some time as Cam has ranted and raved about how "that is exactly what he wants to do with his life!" Its a book on Charles Finney. If you don't know who this, shame on you! . . . haha, just kidding, I've heard of his name and have heard random references made about him, but I must confess I know nothing about the man. Hopefully that will change soon! You can also check out this website: www.gospeltruth.net or grab this book and start reading if you'd like to clear your ignorance as well!

I've only read the first chapter so far and already the man, who lived from 1792 - 1875, has got me thinking about prayer. The first chapter explains how Finney became a Christian in his later twenties. At the time he was a lawyer studying law and noticed how much of the legal jargon was interspersed with references to the Mosaic code of laws as well as other Scripture. Between curiousity and desiring to check out the references he picked up a Bible and began reading at leisure.

A little later after being asked to lead the choir in a local church because of his musical capabilities, Finney started challenging the minister and his hyper-dogmatic positions as not squaring up with the Bible. It was also around this time that Finney attended several prayer meetings. Yet interestingly enough, the book states:

He attended prayer meeting regularly but the praying did little to turn his attention to religion, for the church's praying was not followed by receiving. The lawyer chided the praying preacher for his non-receiving.

"I heard them pray continually for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and as often confess that they did not receive what they asked for," he says. Their confession, that praying often for a revival they secured none, seemed so inconsistent to Charles that once in a prayer meeting, when asked if he wanted to be prayed for, the choir-leading lawyer stood up and said,

"I suppose that I need to be prayed for . . . but I do not see that it would do any good for you to pray for me; for you are continually asking, but you do not receive. You have been praying for a revival of religion ever since I have been in Adams, and yet you have it not."

Once he told them, "You have prayed enough since I have attended these meetings to have prayed the devil out of Adams if there is any virtue to your praying." He could out-argue their prayers but could not refute the call the Bible made to his soul while reading it in the privacy of his office. "But on further reading of my Bible it struck me . . . they did not pray in faith . . . And after struggling in that way my mind became settled that . . . the Bible was, nevertheless, the word of God." This settled, God's battle for his soul was won.

Needless to say, this got me thinking about prayer and how I pray. Lately God has been teaching me much about prayer. Mostly that prayer shouldn't be about a list of things to knock off but about being still, waiting, listening, and then praying out of my heart. As such, my prayers have looked quite different and if you heard them they might sound extremely random, yet I know that my prayers are coming from a genuine place.

Yet, through reading Finney's thoughts, a person who was not a Christian at the time, it makes me wonder if a non-believer would say the same thing about my prayers? Am I truly praying out of a place of faith, especially for the miraculous, and receiving!?! I know only I can answer that question, but it has been making me think.

However, since praying in this way, out my heart that is, I have noticed a large difference. What might seem child-like has become to me the language of heaven. It sends me into a deep intimate place with the Father like I have known in no other way. And to top it all off, since praying in this way He has led me to pray for what my small human brain categorizes as the "bigger" things.

I guess what I've learned is that in order to learn the "adult talk" you must learn the "baby talk" first! A lesson that has often ended up in receiving!

Germany and perhaps a spiritual adventure too!

I'm leaving for Germany in a week from today! The trip was somewhat spontaneous but has been booked for about 6 months now. My grandma (my dad's mom), who is German, has several relatives living there. She has traveled to visit them many times over her lifetime and wanted to make one last trip before she wasn't able to.

Half for fun and half desiring to bring family along with her, she asked my parents if they would accompany her. Voicing a lot of interest myself I was later asked if I wanted to go too! Much to my surprise my grandma was very generous and even offered to pay for three quarters of my plane ticket! Obviously not wanting to pass up the opportunity I said yes and am now looking forward to a two week trip in Germany with my parents and our very own tour guide/interpreter . . . my grandma!

I would love to tell you all about the itinerary but I'm not all too sure of it myself. I know we land in Hamburg where we are picked up by relatives who live in Gifhorn. We'll be staying in Gifhorn for a couple of days before we make an 8 hour drive to the border of Germany and Italy where we'll be staying in a Bed and Breakfast and catching some grand sights! Other than that, I believe we'll be making a trip to Berlin and seeing some castles along the way.

All in all it should be a great trip, rich in history, with lots of pictures to prove for it!

On a side note, as I have been preparing for this trip it has come along with several interesting happenings. As I've sat back I've noticed that there have been several either coincidences or just strange occurrences, like . . . researching and writing a paper on Bonhoeffer this last school term, watching several movies with the Holocaust theme . . . first Defiance, then The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and then Valkyrie (all great movies by the way!). With each incident it has made me think deeply about the atrocities of Hitler and his Nazis regiment. Now, here I am, going to the very country where it all began . . . my thoughts have been, as they usually are whenever a certain theme keeps popping up, . . . what are you trying to either say to me or make me aware of God?

It has been my experience that whenever God is trying to tell me something He continually brings a theme to my attention until I either take notice or understand a new revelation.

Even before I started writing this post I was extremely curious if any concentration camp sites would be in our midst. In my curious state I was brought to this website: www.ushmm.org where I've now spent a total of two hours reading about concentration camps (Sachsenhausen, Dachau, Auschwitz), ghettos, medical experiments, Kristallnacht, pogroms (Russian word meaning “to wreak havoc, to demolish violently”), Herschel Grynszpan, and the list continues.

What gets me is the evil and darkness I feel whenever I read, study, or watch anything related to the Holocaust . . . how could such evil be dreamt up? What's more is how could someone do these terrible, nightmarish things to another and think it was alright? Perhaps my struggle has been with wondering where God was in all of it? I know that He is everywhere, but what was He thinking, where was He moving, what was He touching . . . . ? I guess I wonder what the bigger picture was in it all?

One thing is for sure, I will not be impressed with what the devil can do, because I know a God who is even BIGGER than any evil that can be dreamt up and acted out. For this reason, I will press even deeper into the depths of God, searching out His heart and His face, seeing the purity and love that is in His eyes . . . yeah, that's where I want to be.

Anyways, as I'm about to embark on a traveling journey, I pray that I will also be embarking upon a spiritual journey. One that will take me to new places and new heights! . . . I'll keep you posted!

Early Mornings, News, & Connecting with God

Was up at 5:50 this morning. I've been pretty addicted to getting up early these days. You might not think that is a bad thing, but it's because I've been addicted to watching Canada am!?!

Lately I've been so enthused with the news which is something I thought I'd never be into especially growing up. I hated when my parents would turn on the 5 o'clock news! It was so boring to me not to mention extremely depressing. However, I'm loving getting up, making myself a cup of warm coffee, making a little breakfast and sitting and watching the news!?! Who knew???

However, I'd like to think I have an addiction to the mornings rather than the news as I find myself becoming more and more of a morning person . . . could I be getting old? Something about getting up when you know most people are still sleeping is inviting. I feel like I have a secret that no else knows about. And to top it all off, I believe I have been connecting with God without even realizing it . . . until just now that is!

I find that I start praying about the things going on in the world without thinking about it first . . . like praying for God to lead people to find Victoria Stafford, and Air France 447 . . . so many things going on in our world . . . just reminds me how big the world is but just how much BIGGER God is!

Alright . . . I've been sitting here for way too long . . . it's time to get on with the day!

service with purpose affirms identity

"When God chose to bring the Messiah through the Virgin Mary, He sent Gabriel the angel to bring the message. When the apostle Paul was about to suffer shipwreck, an angel of the Lord told him what would happen. On numerous occasions throughout Scripture angels did what God could have done easily Himself. But why didn't God do those things Himself? For the same reason He doesn't preach the gospel: He has chosen to let His creation enjoy the privilege of service in His Kingdom. Service with purpose affirms identity. A godly self-esteem is derived from doing 'as He pleases.' And true service is an overflow of worship" (141).

Recently I just finished a book entitled When Heaven Invades Earth by Bill Johnson. The book in essence is about changing the way we think about the supernatural so much so that the author advocates that "by rediscovering our true identity in Him that we can begin to move into the promises of God regarding the miraculous."

A lot of what Johnson says I agree with and believe in. Lately I've been thinking a lot about identity. The question: "What is my identity?" has been popping up a great deal in the past year. It even popped up in a conversation I was having with my husband yesterday after church as he stated: "I don't think I know who I am anymore?" He continued on to say: "I used to know who I was based on what I was into, like how I liked going to parties, and how I liked being a soccer player, but now, I just don't know anymore?"

So many times, we identify ourselves by what we "do" . . . "I am a CEO" . . . "I am a teacher" . . . "I am a hockey player." Even when I read Johnson's statement: "Service with purpose affirms identity" I was somewhat confused as I thought he was saying that we are defined by what we do. However, as I thought about it a little more deeply I realized that I am the most fulfilled whenever I am "doing" something or "serving" in a way where it gives me purpose. What is this about? Could this be the essence to my identity?

As I've thought a lot about this over the past while I realized that when God knit me together in my mother's womb He knit into me specific gifts: spiritual gifts, natural gifts, talents, strengths, abilities, dreams, desires, etc. I also realized that in being part of the body of believers (ie. the church) my gifts and everything else that comes along with being "Candace Aitken" must be used if the body is to function at its best.

This got me thinking . . . whenever I am "doing" or "serving" and am feeling of purpose I am in fact functioning out of my gifts, strengths, talents, etc. as what I've noticed is that I feel a great sense of purpose because I feel strong and succeed. Huh! Maybe, just maybe, that was God's intentions and plan??? For me to feel strong and for me to know what succeeding feels like through using my gifts and talents? Could there be a connection here in terms of identity?

Perhaps instead of identifying myself as "Candace Aitken . . . I am a student" maybe I should start identifying myself as "Candace Aitken . . . a child of God with gifts and natural abilities that include leadership, empathy, prophesy, intercession, pastoring, drive, focus, etc. Maybe I shouldn't define myself by what I "do" but rather by my "being".

Perhaps in understanding my gifts and everything that comes along with that I might just start understanding my true identity. Hence, Johnson's statement then makes perfect sense: 'service with purpose affirms identity'! When we function out of our gifts it gives us purpose and in effect affirms more deeply who we are and who we were created be.