Elom reflects on Scott's reflections: the 9 challenge recap

It's hard to believe that the 9 challenge has been over for a few weeks now. I guess it IS possible to read the New Testament in 9 weeks.

I have a confession to make... I kind of feel good when I hear people I consider mature Christians admit that they still don't have it all figured out. I find it very humbling, and comforting. It makes me feel better about my own spiritual growing pains. These spiritual growing pains usually happen during transition periods, particularly when I am trying to apply God's Word in my life. I can read it, and agree with it, but actually doing what is says takes another level of commitment.

Praying for people, for example, is not my forte. I have taken classes, listened to other people pray, read a couple of books. I know what the Bible says about the importance of praying and encouraging each other, but actually doing was really hard for me. I worried about saying the right words, having the right tone, quoting a few verses maybe, you know... sounding spiritual.

It became a little easier over time, and before I knew it, I started offering to pray for my friends after they shared their situations with me. I still struggle with that sometimes, but I am learning to get over it. It's all about remembering that I am not the one in charge, God is.

I really like the 3 steps to applying God's Word in my life mentioned in the message:

- Learn it!
-Love it!
-Live it!

I hope I remember them. After all, reading about helping your neighbor is fun... actually driving 16+ hours to help total strangers in New Orleans: priceless!

EED

Elom reflects on Scott's reflections: the 9 challenge: Eternity

I am still puzzled by the free gift of salvation. I didn't do anything to deserve it, I can't repay it, I can't exchange it. A neat aspect of this gift is the certainty of spending eternity with my Heavenly Father... pretty cool if you ask me.

When I think of eternity, and what seems like a really long time (for lack of a better term), I instinctively see pearly gates, flowers everywhere, white robes, harps... I am not sure if this is an accurate picture, all I know is that I get to go there. Not because of anything I did, do, or will do. Nope. It's a gift. I can't pretend that I am not scared of death, in fact I try not to think about it. But when I do, after the initial wave of fear and uncertainty, I remember Jesus' promise to prepare a room for me, I remember the eternal peace, the infinite joy. It feels good just to think about these things.

Why am I an eternal student? Because even if I spent an eternity on this earth, I still would not begin to understand my Father's love and care for me. I could think, ponder, wonder, cry, laugh, serve, love, live an honoring life and still not fully get it. Knowing that we can look forward to spending eternity with my Heavenly Father makes it all worthwhile.

EED

Elom reflects on Scott's reflections: the 9 challenge: Obedience

Choosing to obey sounds like a oxymoron. How do you "choose" to obey?

Choosing a lifestyle of obedience is one of the hardest I have had to do. The idea of surrendering any aspects of my life to someone else was (and still is) a little unsettling. I do it everyday, at work, at home, at church, in life in general... but I never really thought I had a choice in the matter. Obedience was just something I had to do, whether I wanted it or not.

I think I was so scared of this concept, because I didn't know who I was supposed to listen to. How do I know that I am obeying God's will for my life? I really don't have a clear answer to this question. Well, I kinda do, but I think I might be taken away in a straitjacket if I shared all the details (LOL). In uncertain times, I usually pray this very simple prayer:

"I pray Father God that I am following Your voice, and obeying Your commands".

Obedience to me is also about accountability. I firmly believe that God sent me people I need to be accountable to. I am thankful for them, they keep me on track. But if I really had to boil it down to one point, obedience just naturally derives from love. Don Miller said it best in his book: "Blue like jazz":

"When you don't love somebody, it gets annoying when they tell you what to do or what to feel. When you love them, you get pleasure from their pleasure and it makes it easy to serve" pg 14

Obedience to my Heavenly Father is a choice. It's a choice to know Him better and to love Him. Obedience just comes naturally (maybe not easily) from that.

EED

Elom reflects on Scott's reflections: the 9 challenge: Godliness

-" I can't believe YOU said (or did) this!"

I seem to hear this expression more and more often. It used to upset me at first, but not so much anymore. I think it stopped bothering me when I realized that I am trying to be a godly person, and live a life honoring to God. I am not godly, justified, or sanctified yet... Hopefully I am on the right path.

When I attempt to rely on myself to be a good person, I can go at it for a while. I can say nice words, smile, be friendly, joke... but I run out of steam pretty quickly. A few negative comments or a stressful situation usually do the trick. Being godly in challenging situations is something I am still learning. It's easier for me to retreat in a place of isolation (I am not a really angry person) than to make the effort to respond appropriately.

I think a big part of my transformation has been the acknowledgment that I CAN'T rely on my own strength. The implications of this extend to the way I live my life, and how I interact with others. I was really scared of becoming too self righteous... but again, when I acknowledge that I am not in control, I (hopefully) start getting it.

EED

Elom reflects on Scott's reflections: the 9 challenge: Forgiveness

Forgiveness is so easy on paper.

A good friend of mine hurt me recently. I am not sure if he did it on purpose, or if he was just joking... I rarely get offended, but I felt like he was attacking me for my beliefs, and it hurt more than I expected.

I couldn't tell if he was kidding or not. If he was just kidding, couldn't he tell that I was getting offended by his words? I am sure my facial expression gave my feelings away, but he just wouldn't stop. I don't think it would be so bad if he was just a stranger to me. It's always harder to forgive the ones I care about; because I feel like they should know better.

Tough questions:

- Do I forgive him IF he didn't mean to hurt me?
- What if he DID mean to hurt me? Then what?

Well, the Bible is pretty clear about the answer. Forgiving is not really about saying that what he did was right or wrong, it's about saying that I won't let him hold this power over me. In times like this, Jesus' words on the cross sound so MUCH more powerful:

"Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."And they divided up his clothes by casting lots" Luke 23:24

Words to live by... not simply read and forget.

EED

PS: Incidentally, I am kind of glad this happened...I believe it was a direct answer to a specific prayer request.

Elom reflects on Scott's reflections: the 9 challenge: Servanthood

A lot of my friends want to hear the following words at the end of their lives:

"Well done, you good and faithful servant" Matthew 25:21

I am no different, but some days are easier than others. There are days, when I don't feel like serving, but I do it anyway. Some mornings, I just want to spend one additional hour in bed, but I show up where I am needed instead. Not out of guilt, but because it feels right. Some people, like Pastor Steve Bowen our "Loving People" pastor makes it look so easy...

His message on servanthood really hit home. If Jesus Christ, the son of God, came to serve, then why is it so hard for me to go out and do the same? Am I not called to imitate Christ? Why is it so easy to forget or ignore about the serving part of his ministry? I think that one of the reasons I was so hesitant to make a commitment to Christ, is that I intuitively knew what it entailed. According to a spiritual gift test I took, "serving" is my main gift. This wasn't really a surprise; I used to call myself a softy... but servant sounds much better! Or does it?

Serving means forgetting about myself for a little while. It means genuinely caring about someone. Serving one person is a good start. Serving one person has a bigger impact than we can possibly imagine. I helped someone the other day, and she said that I was saving her life. In all fairness, all I did was listen to her story, pray for her and give her a ride somewhere. I don't think I will see her again. She said I saved her life, I say she saved mine. Every time I serve someone, I become a little more like Christ, "the way, the truth, and the life".

EED

Note: Wherever you are Charmene, please know that I am praying for you. It was no accident that you ended up on the steps where I met you. May God bless you, and protect you wherever you are. Amen.

The 9 challenge

Our church has been doing something pretty cool since the beginning of the year. The 9 challenge is challenge to read the New Testament in 63 days, or 9 weeks. There are three different levels of involvements, as detailed on the 9 challenge website... Of course, I am shooting for the Gold Medal:

- Read through the New Testament
- Join a Nine Week Small Group
- Do the daily devotionals

Joining a small group, was a leap of faith for myself, and a few people in my 20's something small group. I knew I was supposed to be in a small group, I just didn't know how it was going to happen. Well, God apparently knew... Why am I not surprised?

I am especially exited about this challenge for several reasons:

- God is showing me some pretty amazing things through the readings. I am picking up on new concepts, and getting different perspectives on concepts I thought I understood.

- I really enjoy being a part of a small group. Great small group leaders, great people, great connections... and great Tim Hortons concoctions!

- I might actually read the entire Bible this year. I have read the New Testament before, but I have never finished reading the Old Testament. I decided to pause my reading of the Old Testament to start the challenge (except the readings I need for the Pentateuch class of course, Eric!). By the time the 9 challenge is done, I should (hopefully) get back to it and "Voila!"

- I believe God sent me a word through this challenge... It's a word I really needed to hear to keep on keeping on: "fulfill". I have been manually counting the number of times the words "fulfill/fulfillment" appear in my readings. Pretty amazing how the Old and the New are related. The new creation is rising from the old, in fulfillment of God's word.

- I really like the fact that we are doing the challenge as a church family! I don't think that everyone is doing the challenge, but I like knowing that those of us who are, are taking part in something bigger than themselves... That's pretty neat!

EED

Elom reflects on Scott's reflections: 9 challenge: God's love

God's love for me can sound crazy and irrational to me sometimes. It just doesn't make sense to me.

Love really is a choice. It's a choice to love Christ, myself, and others. It's a choice for me to be more like Christ, not only with my words, but through my actions. I have a hard time telling people that I love them... I always have... Instead, I have learned to show people how much I love them with the simple things I do: sending them notes, having coffee with them, helping them with their kids, hanging out with them while they wait at the dentist...

Love really is a choice. A choice to be there for someone, even when I don't feel like it; a choice to answer my phone; a choice to respect and honor the ones I love AND the ones I don't love so much. WHY? Because Jesus said so; plain and simple. He not only stated that we NEED to love our enemies, but He took the time to explain WHY it is necessary to do so:

"If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?" Matthew 5:46

Love really is a choice. My first name "Elom" means "HE (God) loves me". His love leaves me speechless.

EED