My Betrothed!

It’s been 2 weeks and 3 days since Christmas day, when I asked Lydia for the incredible honor of courting her. Her response will be forever etched in my mind…it was the greatest honor I’ve ever been given.

Courtship life has been fun! No complaints from me. Who would even believe me if I did, right? =)

The Biblical name for this is betrothal. There is absolutely no going back. When God created man, he didn’t give him the choice between Eve, Evelyn, and Ethel. God brought the woman to the man, and that was it. One man for one woman. Period. We do not believe in “trying out” and “dating around” so that you can be sure that you are compatible. You see, when God gave me assurance that Lydia was to be my wife, I didn’t doubt his ability to put compatible people together.

Lydia is the other half of my puzzle…

She’s the dot to my “i,” the cross to my “t”

The butter to my bread, the spoon to my tea

…well, you get the point. =D

But, as I was saying before I got distracted, betrothal is a commitment between two that means that we are growing together, and are meant for one another. We refer to this as “courtship.” This term has been used frequently among Christians to describe a sort of “dating” where a young man or lady will “court” multiple young people before they even get married. This is not our definition. This type of behavior is found nowhere in scripture, and I’ve never heard of the positive effects from this philosophy. If anything, it teaches a young person to devalue commitment and is really nothing less than worldly dating with supervision. I believe your heart is similar to a cake, and that when you enter into any serious relationship with another person, you give them a piece of that heart. As you grow together, you continue to give your whole heart to that person. If you begin a relationship and end it, and then repeat this process multiple times, then you are giving a piece of your heart away. When marriage finally does happen, a young person has to re-learn commitment and put behind him/her everything that they practiced in so-called “courtship.”

Well, I don’t believe in that, and neither does my beloved. Commitment should define every relationship, especially those which lead to marriage. We have decided to do this the Bible way, and have faith that when God said go, it wasn’t to get us involved with someone who he did not intend for us. God’s way is BEST!

Lydia Joy is my betrothed…interpreted, she’s mine, and I’m loving every minute of it. =)

Till next time,

Clay

In It To Win It!

Winning is not an event, a time and place, and an action. It is not the sudden celebration of being on top of your goals, your dreams, or your fights. Winning is much more than the comparatively brief moment of excitement when all is said and done, at the end of the day when you receive the reward of your labors.

Winning is an attitude. It is a way of life.

Winning is every second of all four quarters of a game. It is every burn and muscle ache of a marathon; it is every minute and hour of study, every moment of initiative and extra hard work, every decision to put away the weights and hinderances from you, regardless of how petty they may seem, or how long the temptation persists.

In everything a real winner does, he wins. The final score may not show it, the last blow may be the one that knocks him out of the rink, and the last shot that falls may be the nail in the coffin that sinks his every effort to come out on top. But he wins. He wins because no matter what he does, he leaves everything, his heart and his soul, on the floor and leaves that fight knowing he did his best. In victory, he cherishes it. In defeat, he learns from it, making it not a defeat for him, but a lesson.

Winning is an attitude.

"Yeah, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,..." Phillipans 3:8

I have won many things, and in this world, there is much allurement out there to win and to succeed in various things. As with any winning, it comes with much sacrifice. But this is the part of winning that makes most people losers. It is hard, sometimes painful, to sacrifice in order to win. Consider a fighter, who gives up all foods that would hinder his physical shape or bodily systems, keeps a sleep log, trains for hours a day. etc. He gives his life, literally, to be the best fighter he can be. Or an athlete, who does similar routines in health and dieting, physical exercise and training. Or an elite soldier, who once again demostrates unquestioned determination in giving up his home and family to be the soldier he needs to be.

Winning takes sacrifice.

But to win Christ? As I stare in amazement at the phrase itself, it seems an impossibility. For one thing, he had to win me, sacrificing himself on Calvary! How could I win him?

This is ultimate sacrifice. It is not sacrificing family, food, fellowship, or life itself. It is being willing to sacrifice any and all of those things, including any honor you would receive for those sacrifices! At least with a fighter, you may enjoy the benefits of a healthy life and good self defense. At least as an athlete, you enjoy health and millions of dollars due to the idolizing of American sports today. As a soldier, should you truly give up life or limb, you will have much honor in this country, whether you died or were injured in an act of courage and bravery for this country and for your comrades. These are no small things to speak of.

But when you become a pursuant of winning Christ, it is of no benefit to you. It is all a benefit and glory to Christ! In the pursuit of winning Christ, you will have nothing of which to boast, nothing to claim, and should you sacrifice all, and "count them but dung," you will, in the end, hope against hope that you may get closer to understanding what Paul meant when he said, "Let this mind be in you..." You will chase that presence of God that demands ultimate sacrifice of self and pride. YOU gain nothing.....except the likeness of Christ!!! And even this serves only to glorify his name and further his cause, leaving you the with only the blessed priveledge of knowing you gave to him somewhat similar of what he gave to you. Self sacrifice is a pursuit in a Christians life that desires to make him more like Christ, so that you can aim to live in his steps, spending and being spent for others.

I can only hope that I can come close to pleasing my Saviour as much as he pleases me.

I don't suppose I will ever fully understand the concept of winning Christ. I can only pray and work, so that when I stand before him, he will say, "Well done!" If I could hear those words one day from my heavenly Father, I'd say that would be winning enough for me.

His Thoughts or His Mind?

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus;"

Philippians 2:5

"For my thoughts [are] not your thoughts, neither [are] your ways my ways, saith the LORD." Isaiah 55:8

If his thoughts are above our thoughts, then how can the mind of Christ be in us?

It is not the understanding thoughts of the Almighty's ways that we are to have in us, but rather the mind of willingness to do God's will and humility that the Saviour possessed while on earth. It is not the ability to know all things as God does in Isaiah 55:8 that we are commanded to have, but the ability to obey without understanding, like Christ did in Philippians 2:5.

Too often we desire the opposite: to understand the ways of God Almighty and his perfect design, and yet we refuse to have the submitted, self-sacrificial mind that our Lord displayed in his life on earth, though we be commanded to "follow in his steps." (1 Peter 2:21) The path of Phillipians 2:5-8 goes unaccomplished in most Christians as they seek to know "why" God does things, reaching beyond human comprehension into the knowledge of an infinite God, which we will never understand.

Our Lord would rather us have a Christ-like submission to his authority, crucifying ourselves with Christ. In this way, it is not our will, but his being done. This is the mind of Christ.

Therefore, not understanding God Almighty's thoughts and ways, let us have the mind of Christ.

Working out your own Salvation

I took my parents truck down to the car wash to get washed recently. They do a real good job, inside and out. It smells real nice, looks real nice, and it takes a whole lot less effort for just a little cash. So anyway, I was in the waiting area drinking coffee and checking out the newspaper they had laying on the table there, when a mid-40's lady maked the comment, "That Obama is wicked!" She had obviously been looking at the back of the newspaper I was reading and saw the front page article regarding the federalization of all health care. And she didn't even dignify him with the customary "President" title! Wow! She just blasted him with the term "wicked!" Atta' girl! :)

But what got me was not the way she addressed Obama (I won't even dignify him...), but the word she used to define him..."wicked." That, to me at least, carries a biblical connotation. So I simply asked, "Ma'am, are you born again?" To that she replied, "Son, I'm saved, sanctified, filled with the Holy Ghost!" I guess that's a yes, huh? But if you know anything about dealing with other religions, you know that the phrase she gave me is easily identifiable with the Pentecostals who believe in sign gifts in our age for all believers. They say it is a requirement of Salvation to speak in tongues, which is evidence of the "filling" of the Holy Ghost. Well, if you know your Bible, the "fruits of the spirit" as listed in Galations 5:22-23 are the way to "walk in the spirit" according to Romans 8 and be fillled with the Holy Ghost. The filling that happened in Acts 2 was the same filling that I got the day I was saved, except I didn't have to perform the same "gifts" the believers did in a pivotal dispensation to show a sign to the Jews. (1 Corinthians 1:22) And it certainly didn't have to be done in order to be saved like they say. That's adding works to Salvation which is heresy. It doesn't mean that those who believe that doctrine aren't saved, it just means they are trying to prove something that isn't necessary instead of just believing what God said by faith.

I got all of that from the term, "saved, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Ghost." I knew who she was, what she believed, and I knew that she was trying to feel me out, so to speak. So I said, "God filled me with the Holy Ghost too. That's what happened when I got saved!"

Ok, so by this point, we had both staked out the battleground! She was a Pentecostal, works added to Salvation, miracle worker, and I was a hard-nosed, fundamental, by grace through faith alone, Independent Baptist. War was on the way, and I could feel it! These Pentecostals that I meet aren't too meek, if you know what I mean.

She said, "Well, I'm just trying to 'work out my own salvation.'" I responded, "Good for you! I know that 'he which hath begun a good work in me will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." She snapped, "Well you still got to work out your own salvation!!!" Aha! She's used to sinking people with one verse of scripture!

But that one verse had me puzzled. I didn't know exactly what to say, and in a Nehemiah moment I begged God to give me something to tell this woman. A bible believing, King James banging, church kid was stumped out of the blue, and I didn't even know why.

But out of nowhere came this:

"W-w-well, y-you work out your own salvation....(seconds that felt like eternity)...the same way you work out your muscles."

God, where is this going?

"Really?" she says. "How is that?"

"Well, you don't work out the muscle for it to exist, or even to prove the muscle exists. You work out the muscle because that's what it's there to do--work! Salvation doesn't need to be worked out to exist in the first place. It just needs to be worked out because that's what God gave you Salvation for--to work it out!"

THANK YOU, LORD! (deep sigh)

And before I realized what had happened, they had informed the woman that her car was done, and she could go. She saw that as a convenient exit and made her way off. But she got the truth, and she didn't get it from me! That came from the 3rd heaven on that woman's behalf to help her understand her Bible.

And while the Pentecostal was being shown that she didn't need to do a miracle to be saved, the Baptist was getting one on his behalf.