From My Reading #5: Bible Verses For A Day Such As This

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." -John 10:10-11

"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good." -Romans 12:9

"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." -Romans 12:12

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication." -Ephesians 6:10-18a

From My Reading #4: Impossible Odds

In honor of the fact that I got one of the thirteen available spots in the Fine Art Graphic Design program at my university despite an incomplete portfolio, a horribly-less-than-perfect academic record, and an application letter that should have disqualified me, I give you this edition of From My Reading:

Referring to the Feeding of the Five Thousand in John 6:1-14...

"In God's economy, 5 + 2 = 5,000 with a remainder of 12.

They actually end up with more than what they started with after feeding five thousand people. And God is glorified because He defied impossible odds. It honestly doesn't matter how many Moabites you're facing. It doesn't matter how tall the Egyptian giant is. And the size of the lion isn't really an issue.

The issue is this: How big is your God?"

-Mark Batterson, In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day

From My Reading #3: The Fear of Failure

"Here is my point. The cure for the fear of failure is not success. It's failure. The cure for the fear of rejection is not acceptance. It's rejection. You've got to be exposed to small quantities of whatever you're afraid of. That's how you build up immunity. . . One of the greatest things that could happen to you is for your fear to become reality. Then you would discover that it's not the end of the world. Your fear is worse than the actual thing you're afraid of." -Mark Batterson, In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day

I love this because it disables fear. It takes power away from our circumstances and gives it back to God. Even if every single one of my greatest fears came true, God is still bigger than all of that, He'll still hold me fast, He'll still have a direction for me to walk and a Kingdom for me to build and live in. He will still be faithful, satisfying, world-defying. Surely, if we as Christians saw the big picture, that the Lord establishes our steps (Prov. 16:9), that He can get us where He wants us to go, even when we fail, our present circumstances would not affect us as severely as they do.

From My Reading #2

"Think of every opportunity as God's gift to you. What you do with those opportunities is your gift to God. I'm absolutely convinced that our greatest regrets in life will be missed opportunities." -Mark Batterson, In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day

Hmm. I think I would rather seize opportunities and fail than never take the risk. What opportunities are available to me right now? And what does God want to do in those?

From My Reading #1

(In this column, I'll take excerpts from my daily readings that stand out to me and post them here, probably with some of my commentary.)

"A common but futile strategy for achieving joy is trying to eliminate things that hurt: get rid of pain by numbing the nerve ends, get rid of insecurity by eliminating risks, get rid of disappointment by depersonalizing your relationships. And then try to lighten the boredom of such a life by buying joy in the form of vacations and entertainment." -Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience In The Same Direction

Ouch. Must keep taking risks and investing more personally in my relationships. I need to overcome my insecurity with my new identity in Christ and trust that God will preserve me through disappointment.

God has brought me this far. He will see me through to the end.