The Rampage of Fear

From the true onset of time, despicable acts of injustice have run rampant in our world. Never has there been a point in history of complete and utter peace. And there never will be, until time is stilled. Today I am not on here to wallow in the tragedies that continue to befall our world, or to state a political opinion on what our countries reaction should be, nor am I on here to speak to all people. I am here to confront the church.

I am not disheartened, but I am disappointed. Since age 12 I have had a heart for missions, and have gotten many opportunities to experience, learn, and figure out the direction God has called me to serve him. I have been supported, inspired, and kept on task, mainly because of the church. Now I do not want to discredited those whom I still look up too and experience encouragement from (because there are countless and I am beyond blessed), but there are many of us who have forgotten whom we serve.

Over the past few weeks, I have seen far to much fear. This is what truly worries me, not what has or hasn't happened, or what will or won't happen, but the fear that is running so forcefully through our church body. Brothers and sisters, we must not forget whom we serve! We do not serve a God who cares about America more than any other country. We do not serve a God who loves you more than any other person in this world. Nor do we serve a God who chooses sides. No, we as the church, we serve a God who created this world, every country in it, and every person born into each of those countries. So who are we to say we will serve some and not others? Who are we to say who is worthy of His gospel and who is not? Who are we to say that our life matters more than another? That is not up to our judgement, it is simply up to God's.

Our job as the church is to serve God with complete abandon. That means in spite of fear, we serve. In spite of what may happen, we serve. In spite of the fact that we may not be thanked, we serve. As the church we are not called to figure out the best way to make ourselves happy and "blessed." We are called to use the gifts and abilities we've been given to serve and promote the gospel in every setting we find ourselves. No matter what. My prayer today, is for the church, that our eyes will be opened to the fear and selfishness we are letting control our actions.

1 Corinthians 4:1-5 
"Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy. But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself. For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord. Therefore do not go on passing judgement before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts; and then each man's praise will come to him from God."

Taking A Bow

The internet. Such a powerful force. Used for both good and bad, like most everything else in this world. It has become an increasingly popular platform to boldly speak our thoughts and opinions. Every time I log on I am bombarded by videos, articles, pictures, and blog posts; each shouting their own opinions. Because of the mass quantity, these voices simply float away into the sea of varying opinions.  Some are more interesting than others. Some I agree with, some I don't. But none of them have radically changed my life.

This knowledge caused me to take a second look at my own posts. I have enjoyed voicing my thoughts for the past three years here on this blog, but I'm afraid each post eventually leaves the mind of the reader as they scroll to the next big idea. I want to make a difference in this world, and I don't believe that will start by the things I've written hiding behind a computer screen, in competition with a thousand others. I do believe that it will start with actions and words, coming personally from my own mouth and heart. 

S this is me saying thank you to those who kept reading despite my questionable grammar. For the encouraging responses. For the questions. For the challenges. And more importantly for loyally listening to my one opinion among one million. I will still voice my thoughts and opinions, but hopefully in a more impacting way.

I will now take a bow and kiss my internet voice goodbye.

-Laura Jane

Hope Against Hope

I, like every other person in this world, get hit with the obstacles of life. These obstacles bring on disappointments, setbacks, defeat, sorrow, or simply put, a loss of hope. Whether we like it or not, hope is what we as human beings rely on to survive. Whatever the hopes, they motivate performance, produce love, drive change, provide encouragement, and supply life. Hope is a beautiful thing.

Yet sadly, hope is something we tend to lose. The element of hope is shaky, because the things we hope in are unpredictable. When I was six, our family would go to the small local zoo quite frequently. I'd briefly pet the llamas, wave to the bears, and laugh at the monkeys, but when we got to the reptile exhibit all my motion quickly halted. For there before my eyes was a most majestic creature. The iguana. Unlike all the other animals he did nothing but sit on a branch basking under the glow of his heating lamp. I loved him though; with his quiet ways and long green tail. Week after week he was the reason I went back. One sunny visit I had just completed my rounds. Said hello to the polar bear playing with the red beach ball, greeted the dancing seals with an energetic applause, and was headed into the reptile house to visit my most mysterious friend of all. When my eyes had adjusted to the dim light though, my happiness suddenly seemed to match the dimness of the room. There was the snake still slowly slithering his tongue in and out of his mouth, and of course the lizards were still darting here and there with every movement they saw, but on the branch where the king of the exhibit used to lay, now rested a sign. A sign that caused me to lose all hope for our little zoo. My iguana had died along with my hope and love for the zoo. 

More often than not, this is how we live. On highs and lows. One minute we are soaring on a hope and the next we are scrambling to find another. It's a devastating and exhausting cycle. Yet it’s one we are all guilty of repeating. The nonsensical part to the whole thing, is that we each have the choice to end the cycle. There is one thing that has never changed and never will. God. There is only one person whose promises we can trust. God's. There is only one person who truly has our best interests at heart. God. Way too often though we fall back on our foolish temporary hopes, thinking that maybe this time they will hold us up. 

There was once a man named Abraham, who worked hard to honor God and have complete faith in Him. God saw this and promised to make Abraham's name great, by making him the forefather of many nations. By the time Abraham and Sarah (his wife) were at retirement age they still had no children. As all of us know, if you can't have children before you hit retirement, you're probably not going to have them after. Nevertheless, hope against hope, Abraham kept respect for God's promise and despite he and his wife's age, they had a son. 

Life's rough and nobody is going to escape the pain of it. But we can escape complete hopelessness if we put our hope in the only One who is stable and unchangeable. 

Romans 4:18-25

In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, "So shall your descendants be." Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. There it was also credited to him as righteousness. Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.