What we are in the dark ...

"We are only what we are in the dark; all the rest is reputation." wrote Oswald Chambers. "What God looks at is what we are in the dark ..."

The adjectives I'd use to describe myself "in the dark" are not positive ones:

Scared. Insecure. Emotional. Weak.

I don't like myself in the dark. 

But John said of Christ-followers, "If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).

Walking with Christ is about walking in the light. 

In the light, I am:

Confident. Smart. Grounded. Influential. Mature. Respected.

I like walking in the light.

But here's the beauty of the gospel: God found me in the dark. 

"While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us," Paul wrote in Romans 5:8.

The beauty of the gospel in present tense is this:

God sees me in the dark.
God knows me in the dark.
God transforms me into His image in the dark.

So that I can be in the light all that He has created me to be. 

Then, my life isn't just reputation. It's real, authentic gospel living.

Aren't you glad God finds us in the dark?

Don’t panic over the SCOTUS ruling. Try these 3 suggestions instead.

I was on my way to a funeral when I saw the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage on my Twitter feed. (I’ll resist making any sarcastic symbolic parallels). Immediately, my Twitter and Facebook feeds lit up like a Christmas tree. Everybody, it seems, has an opinion on the ruling.

To be honest, I only pay attention to the tweets and posts that challenge us to show Christ’s love to a world in desperate need of His grace. I tend to gloss over those that refer to the ruling as the death knell of society as we know it. I don’t think we need to panic.

In fact, evangelicals in America have good reasons NOT to panic over the SCOTUS ruling — the sovereignty of God chief among them. He knew this was coming. We knew this was coming. As “sojourners” through these turbulent times, we do not rely on government but on the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Ultimately His love wins.

So instead of panicking, what can you do? Here are three suggestions:

1. Pray. To paraphrase Francis Chan from his book, Crazy Love, I can’t make anybody fall in love with Jesus, but I can get on my knees and pray on their behalf. Pray that those who don’t know Christ will  “grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and (will) know this love that surpasses knowledge” — that they “may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 4:14-21, NIV).  
2. Plead. In the red-light districts of Thailand, I learned that my job, first and foremost, is to be a messenger of reconciliation — not a judge but an ambassador for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). As Paul said, “we plead on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God” (HCSB). Until Jesus comes again, the message of reconciliation is my responsibility to share with all who don’t yet know His grace.
3. Settle down. While this world is not our home, this country and this community are the places God has chosen for me to live during this season of my life. Through the prophet Jeremiah, God told the exiles in Babylon, “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. … Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city … because if it prospers, you too will prosper” (Jeremiah 29:4-7, NIV).  Last night, I watched the U.S. defeat China in the women’s world cup. This morning, I got up and ate breakfast. Later I’ll run a few errands. Tomorrow, I’ll go to church, and Monday I’ll go to work. I've settled into this community, and hopefully, I’m making Christ known in the quiet, day-to-day opportunities He provides along the way. Nothing about this ruling will change that. 

So don’t panic. Pray. Plead. Settle down. Trust that God, in His Sovereignty, will continue to work through you and through His church to make His name known. 

How will you be a messenger of reconciliation for the sake of the gospel this week?

You have a choice!

Choices matter. Decisions have consequences. Seemingly random encounters have life-long impacts. This is the subject of my newest Bible study, Choices: Decisions that made a difference. Encounters that made an impact. Walk with me through the lives of Eve, Joshua, Samson, Ruth, David and Jesus as we examine temptation, leadership, power over oppression, humility and social justice, seduction and repentance, and forgiveness and redemption. Together we explore choices made, lives destroyed and lives redeemed. 

Through it all, we also see God's defining grace. While our choices sometimes have devastating consequences, Jesus' death on the cross saves, covers and redeems us. The power of His resurrection empowers us to live forgiven and free. "By his stripes we are healed."

It's taken me 14 years to write this study. I've taught it countless times in Asia and the U.S., and I've written, sought feedback and rewritten it more times than I can count. This book is a reflection of my attempts to grasp how God can love such a messed-up people and still use us to make His name known. Wow! What a Savior!

So, I hope you'll read it. Study it. Enjoy it. And let me know what you think of it. We're all in this journey together.

Travel light!

Ann