I'm Feeling...

In the spirit of another blog I just read,

I am feeling...

• quite fatigued over the humid hanging in the air.
• like I sweat my weight this week - which wasn't pretty.
• interested in the book I am reading (Epicenter, by Joel Rosenberg).
• in awe over what God is teaching me through memorizing scripture.
• mommy guilt over working and personal pursuits.
• enthusiastic to watch my son's play soccer this weekend.
• bummed that I can't sleep in tomorrow.
• grateful for my husband who is treats me better than I deserve.
• proud of my boys - who while they don't like school, go everyday without complaint.
• anxious about my work.
• concerned over the state of American homes and their impact on people's lives.
  
• intrigued by God's plans for the future.
• proud of myself for eating healthy and losing weight this last month.
• thankful for the life God has given me.
• responsible to give out of my abundance.
• love for my parents, grandparents, and other influential people in my life.

Lord, as I begin this day, may I hear your guidance
and obediently follow. May those around me sense Your love,
and be drawn to experience You.
Happy Friday!

Will the Real Knowledge & Wisdom Please Stand?

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who has called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption of this world caused by evil desires" (2 Peter 1:3-4).

For the past 8 years, I have summed up my life's purpose in one goal: to glorify God. In this time, glorifying God has grown in its definition for me. Within the last 12 months, the definition has focused upon knowledge and wisdom. God gives those who believe and obey Him knowledge and wisdom. And not just a little, but any amount needed to live for Him. Even more, this knowledge and wisdom allows us to know God, to experience Him, and to escape evil. Knowledge of God is revealed by God. It allows believers of God, who seek His knowledge, to be wise and have understanding beyond that of people who do not know God and seek His Truth. This idea is evident in Western culture's knowledge and understanding of evil.

"Too many in Washington today have a modern, Western, secular mind-set that either discounts - or outright dismisses - the fact that evil is a real and active force in history. They insist on interpreting events only through the lenses of politics and economics" (Rosenberg, 2006, 46-47).

As real as God is in my critical thinking, evil is just as real. There is clear evidence of evil in our world: from pornography, molestation, and addictions of all kinds, to suicide bombers, threats of annihilation, and so much more. Evil seeps in through unGodly ideologies at all levels. The most disturbing aspect of unGodly ideologies is that so many of the current, controversial issues are cloaked in human-made costumes meant to pass for Godly Truth. God would never compromise Truth to make peace - never!

"Stop fooling yourselves. If you think you are wise by the world's standards, you will have to become a fool so that you can become wise by God's standards. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. (1 Corinthians 3:18-19).

I see many people in the world claiming knowledge and wisdom who have no resemblance of God. Worse, though, are the people who claim to have God, but whose wisdom is more similar to the world's than it is to God. Prophecy is powerful:

The Lord says, "These people come near me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent with vanish" (Isaiah 29:13-14).

Wisdom and intelligence without God is dead. An example of this is evident in Rosenberg's (2006) recollection of his first job in Washington immediately before the Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. He writes,

"When I first moved to Washington in January 1990 to work for the Heritage Foundation, it seemed increasingly clear to me that Saddam Hussein was going to invade Kuwait, attack Israel, and draw the world into a bloody new Middle East war.... I was certainly new to Washington and as green as they came. I had no master's or PhD in history or politics of the Middle East. I had lived but a semester in the Middle East, and Israel at that, not in an Arab or Islamic country.... But I could not shake the overwhelming feeling that the experts were about to be blindsided" (44 and 45).

The Washington experts were certainly blindsided in the summer of 1990, and again on September 11, 2001 with much more gusto. The difference between Rosenberg and the others was (and is) knowledge and wisdom revealed to Rosenberg through relationship with God and scripture (i.e., knowledge of good and evil).

"When they saw the courage of Peter and John, and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13).

In God's system of schooling, a life of knowing Him surpasses every level of earned degree known to humankind. Ordinary people with Godly wisdom and knowledge are able to participate in the divine and they are able to escape corruption caused by evil. Worldly knowledge and wisdom eventually drowns even the most intelligent among us.

My brain is beginning to stir....

My brain is beginning to stir with ideas to share, lessons that I am learning, and revelations close to my heart. Nearest the surface is a the conviction I sense to pray for my students. These young adults have already faced more trauma in their lives than my nearly 40 year old mind can comprehend.

Lord, may your grace and goodness rain upon these students. Bring healing to their bodies, minds, and souls. And Lord, guide my words and actions in Christ-likeness. Allow me to be a light, an example, a trustworthy individual who exemplifies your love for all people. May these dear lives experience You!

I am between Bible studies with a group of women, so I am focusing my quiet time on memorizing all of my 2009 verses. The Lord has blessed me in memorizing His Word in 2009 - beyond my ability to articulate. This process has taken me far beyond human plans and goals; it is mysteriously glorious. I had no idea the journey that was ahead of me when I signed on to meet this goal. No earthly idea! God is alive. His work is real on this earth. At the time of God's choosing, He will reveal Himself to every human.... I can not wait to meet Him f2f!

Psalm 90:17 - My 18th verse in 2009

"May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us;
establish the work of our hands for us -
yes, establish the work of our hands."

Ahhh!

I know this video is all over the internet and TV, but my heart is so warmed by this daddy's response to his little girl. I could not help but share it today!! This is great parenting in a nutshell. Enjoy....

2009 Goal - August 15 through September 15

I have not shared my 16th and 17th verses in Operation Scripture Memory 2009. For all of 2009, I am memorizing 2 pieces of scripture per month along with other bloggers on Beth Moore's blog. To say that this journey has been enriching is an understatement of cataclysmic proportion. I have been completely challenged and changed by this experience. The focus of my life has been transformed; there is still much work to be accomplished by the grace and goodness of God.

August 15-31, 2009

"I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching is not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power" (I Corinthians 2:3-5, NIV).

September 1-15, 2009

The Lord says, "These people come near me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish" (Isaiah 29:13-14, NIV).

I am continually challenged by the difference between man's wisdom and God's wisdom. One aspect of this difference that rocks my world is the Biblical idea that man without God CAN NOT know and understand Godly wisdom. For this reason, I am driven to know God more in order to think critically about the issues at hand. As one of my previous verses highlights, "the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God" (I Corinthians 3:18-19a).

2 Kinds of Wisdom - Do you know the difference?

The past two weeks have been a flurry of fast and furious activity in The Tracht Home. We flew home from Oregon and hit the ground running as we prepared to begin a new school year - me at MVNU and the boys at East Elementary and the Middle School (MIDDLE SCHOOL!?!?). I seem to forget how much energy it takes to get 2 boys to school for the first time each year. School supplies, endless forms, fees for everything, schedules, buses, "cool" clothes, and the list goes on.... In the midst of it all, I go back to work, as well. This fall, however, is different as I will be teaching in addition to my regular responsibilities. I have high expectations for myself, and I am nervous about meeting them!

One aspect of going back to work that excites me is the schedule it requires of me. I am so much more efficient when I have a schedule to meet - though I get tired of it and crave spontaneity, too. I am back to my morning routine of Bible study in the car - I love it! This fall I am beginning to read, study, and consider First Corinthians. This book addresses Truth - so you can see why I am drawn towards reading it. In addition, a group of ladies is finishing up a Beth Moore Bible study about Esther.

In I Corinthians chapter 1 verse 20 stands out:

"So what about these wise men, these scholars, these brilliant debaters of this world's great affairs? God has made them all look foolish and shown their wisdom to be useless nonsense" (TLT).

Couple these sentences with the example Esther provides us. Esther was nothing by the world's standards - an orphaned, Jewish girl. She engaged the leader in a culture where her uninvited presence could have led to her immediate death. Yet, by the power of God, she negotiated with King Xerxes and saved the Jews. As Moore (2008) says, Esther was "mannerly, feminine, sweet, smart, and shrewd" (p. 157).

As God reveals Truth to His children, let us be like Esther in the midst of useless nonsense:

• Available for God to accomplish His plans;
• A patient, mannerly follower of God;
• A smart risk-taker on God's behalf;
• A shrewd negotiator bringing protection to God's children;
• Wise - by Godly standards;
• An active, feminine woman who obediently serves God and brings Him glory.

Lord, I ask for Your wisdom in this world because I know the wisdom of this world is foolishness to You. Help me to differentiate between the two, and to know You better than I know this world.

Moore, B. (2008). Esther: It's tough being a woman. Nashville: Lifeway.

The Leaning Tower of Me

As today's preacher prayed that we'd all adjust our minds to EXPECT something from the Lord, I felt my mind tuning in for a special message. Yes sir, He did it again! Praise His name. The preacher also asked us to pray this prayer: "Lord, Help me to care more about the Spiritual well-being of others." Yes Lord, may it be so!

One of my spiritual markers is Proverbs 3:5-6:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths."

This may be a combo of translations, but it is how my long term memory holds the verses!

I first found these verses during my teen years when I felt so alone in trusting God, and in acknowledging His Truth through my actions. At the time, I felt like I was missing out on parties, relationships, and fun. I wholeheartedly believed there was purpose in my trusting, but it was so hard. Now, at nearly 40, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the trusting as a teen was a very good choice. The Lord did guide my footsteps between then and now!

During today's sermon, a new application of Proverbs 3:5-6 became clear to me. The second half of verse 5 is flashing before me: lean not on your own understanding. When I started my master's program over 2 years ago, I prayed and asked the Lord for special wisdom in my educational pursuits. I have witnessed many people radically changed via education, and from my viewpoint, the changes were not the definition of wisdom. At the same time, I prayed for Godly sensitivity in embracing necessary changes related to my intellectual understanding of life issues. Today's sermon reminded me of the seduction that education represents when it comes to human knowledge.

"Stop fooling yourselves. If you think you are wise by the world's standards, you will have to become a fool so that you can become wise by God's standards. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God" (I Corinthians 3:18-19a).

Lean not on your own understanding. In reading Kevin Roose and A.J. Jacobs, I was overcome by their pursuits of Jesus within their own understanding. For those of us who believe there is a God, we believe (and we need to remember) that God is bigger in every way than our humanness. As a result, we will never understand Him this side of eternity. To me, this is a relief because the life that I experience and witness on this earth makes very little sense sometimes. Eleven years ago, I unexpectedly lost a nephew at birth due to a heart defect. This week, one of my closest friends also unexpectedly lost a nephew at birth due to birth defects. Two friends from college are dealing with the children in their care being subjected to unsupervised visits with their abusers. Every day good people are subjected to more pain than I can comprehend - it makes no sense!

Lean not on your own understanding. There are so many issues facing this world that I just do not understand, even though I may have an opinion. The only option I know of is to seek Truth through a personal relationship with Jesus. It is not acceptable to rely on the relationships others have with Jesus. Each one of us is personally responsible for our own lives; the truths we embrace and act upon daily. Only Jesus can fully know and understand our hearts. Most of us (if not all of us) often confuse our knowledge for God's Truth. Ask God for His wisdom and pursue it with all of your mind.

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who has called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires" (2 Peter 1:3-4).

The fact is that the world is corrupt - we see it every day. Part of this corruption is the belief that we can gain knowledge apart from God; that we can understand our culture, and live God-pleasing lives, without truly knowing Him. I am striving to find God's Truth in spite of the corruption around me. I desire to help others pursue God's Truth, as well. First and foremost, I seek to be an example and guide for my children - the next generation. As today's sermon reminded me, there is a tremendous amount at stake in pursuing, finding, and living Truth.

Lord, Help me to care more about the Spiritual well-being of others.
Guide me as I invest in the lives of others to influence future generations.