For the worn out…we are in the year of jubilee

When I look at myself, I see someone who is spiritually bankrupt.  This desert has been tough, however the Lord has been faithful to continually reveal himself to me.  This semester while being spiritually dry has also been busy and I've been running around doing a lot of things and there were many times this semester I just wanted to escape and be done.  In the middle of it all, I went to a women's conference here at school.  I only had time to go to one session but I am so glad I did.

 I was doubting my salvation because I wasn't reminding myself of grace and I was just so tired of beating myself up trying to prove to myself that I was okay.

In the sermon this Godly women took us to the pages of Isaiah 61 and compared it to Luke 4.  Luke 4 is the passage where Jesus is in the synagogue reads a passage from Isaiah and sits down and says "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing"(Luke 4:21)

What passage was fulfilled that day you ask? Well he read the first verses of Isaiah 61.
 
                                                                                Isaiah 61:1-3

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,

    because the Lord has anointed me

    to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

    to proclaim freedom for the captives

    and release from darkness for the prisoners,

 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor

    and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn,    

and provide for those who grieve in Zion—

to bestow on them a crown of beauty

    instead of ashes, 

the oil of joy instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise

    instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

    a planting of the Lord

    for the display of his splendor.

So, I don't know about you but when I read Isaiah I always get a little confused.  So what is this talking about?  It is talking about the year of jubilee.  So back in the days of Israel, most of us know that there was a sabbath day.  Well, there was also a sabbath year.  So after six years of planting crops, the seventh year they would not work and they would allow the land to rest as well.  Now, after the seventh seventh year, there would be a year of jubilee.  This passage is talking about this year, or the year of our Lord.  

Now a few things happen during the year of jubilee:

1. All debt is cancelled

2. All Land is returned to it's original owner

3. Slaves were freed

4. All were given a new beginning

5. Economy was balanced

If the year of jubilee were to happen today, it would be as if you had no college debt anymore!! No debt at all.  There would be no rich man or poor man all would be equalized and we were given the chance to completely start over.  

Well, why am I talking about his ancient practice?  Jesus read it aloud in the synagogue and said that He had come to fulfill it.  

This means in Christ we are always in a spiritual year of jubilee!! This means that:

1. Our sin debt is cancelled

2. We return to our maker

3. Once a slave to sin, we are freed to serve Christ

4. We are given a new beginning

5. There is a level playing field at the foot of the cross

Wow!! after hearing this message I felt like Jesus was saying to me, "Kenady stop being so hard on yourself!" I am living in the year of jubilee so these things are all true.

The year of Jubilee frees us from comparison to others because we are all equalized by the blood of Jesus, and it gives us freedom that the bondage of sin gives us.  Most importantly, it gives us an assurance of our salvation because our salvation is not based on works rather it is based on the blood of Christ. 

God has given me a car and still I forget about his wonderful grace.  I may be spiritually bankrupt but that is the point "God's power is made perfect in weakness" 2 Corinthians 12:9. When I stop trying to prove to myself that I'm okay, and start believing that Jesus came to earth so that I could be free,  God is glorified.  In my mess, God is brought higher, my sin debt is cancelled and I am made free.  

He has anointed us which means he has chosen us to proclaim this truth to the world.  To tell all about how they can live in a constant state of year of jubilee, and in that we will be oaks of righteousness because we will be declaring the Lord's glory and that will be our reputation. 

So for the burnt out…let's stop running around trying to be perfect and instead rest in knowing that we are in the spiritual year of jubilee. 

Is it a waste of money to take general education classes?

College has a different meaning for different people.  However, most college students in my generation I feel like either go to college because that is what is expected of them or they want a great job that allows them to support their family.

For those students who want to be a doctor, or lawyer, they go into college knowing that they will be in school for a long time.  However, for the businessman, they often want an internship that will lead them to their first job right out of college.

Is there anyway we could make schooling quicker?  So, we can get out to the job field as early as possible?  Some already do because they graduate early because they overload classes but I mean faster like 2 years faster? Why not just cut out the general education classes?  Why does an english teacher need to take math, and a math teacher need to take world literature.  Why does a businessman need to take geology, when is he going to use that?

Well, Arthur Holmes in his book "The Idea of Christian College?" discusses that education is not only instrumental in value meaning that you can use it as a tool to get you somewhere else, but it is also intrinsic in value meaning it has value in itself.  He also says we are asking the wrong question, We shouldn't be asking what education can do for me? but what it can do to me?

A Liberal Arts Education is for the whole of the person and can not only prepare you for a job, but for your whole life. It teaches you how to think, how to learn, and so that you may be equipped for wherever God may lead you.

Sure, you may never use geology in the business world, but geology trained you to process and to think in a certain way that any other business class wouldn't, so when your boss gives you a project that requires you to think in that same way, you are set equipped.

You may never use calculus teaching english to 7th graders but because math may have been a struggle for you and you had to push through it and stubbornly try to understand it.  Then, when a child in your classroom is hard to love or understand you can push through it and try to love him and teach him the best you can.  Or maybe a child who is great at math is in your english class and doesn't think just like you do, you can teach him differently with the methods you learned teaching yourself math.

General education classes maybe a struggle and seem like a waste but the enable you to learn how to think deeply, and learn new things.  They make you a more rounded person who is more marketable to any job that might come your way.  See if you don't have general education courses, then you are only trained for one specific field and if that field becomes obsolete then you are in trouble.  However, at a liberal arts college, that's a college with general education courses, you are prepared for anything that life may through out you.

In addition, God has called us to love him with all our mind, and what better way to do it than to learn how to learn and how to think and to honor him by succeeding in our general education courses as well.



Works Cited

Holmes, Arthur F. The Idea of a Christian College. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans    Publishing Company, 1987.

I'm not looking for my other half!!!

In today's society, we are inundated with phrases, that we don't often think about. This ends up coming to our demise because those phrases if heard often enough begin to shape how we think, and later how we act.

Phrases like follow your heart, which is in every disney film or I'm waiting for the one.  Phrases like these begin to shape our ideas about romance and love.  We begin to think if we follow our heart, we will get a happy ending.  Lol, I've followed my heart and told a guy I liked him, and it turned out badly.  We begin to think there is only one person out there for us.  This fills us with anxiety of what if we miss our chance, then we will never be with the one.  Yet, what about women whose husbands die and then remarry.  Do they have a two?  Are you saying there second is less than their first or maybe even their first is less than their second…which you would understand if you've seen Letters to Juliet.

Although I could give full arguments to both of these phrases, the one I feel like is important to talk about is: I'm looking for my other half.  Before you think I am a cynic, you can ask any of my friends and they will tell you that I'm probably the most hopeful romantic they know.  Yet, I refuse to believe in this phrase because the consequences of this phrase are staggering.

When you say you're looking for your other half, you're implying that you are not yet a complete person, and that when you get married you two together will be a complete person.

There are two consequences of this thought.  First, what about the people that never get married?  If Paul says it's better that we don't get married if we can resist the temptations, then why would God praise singleness if it made you half of a person?  Also, does that mean if I'm single than I'm half a person, oh my gosh, I better find my other half quick because I don't want to be half of a person.  I want to be a complete person.  These desires could overtake me and leave me discontent with the single life, when God so praises it. Also, Jesus never got married, was he half a person? alright enough said.

The second consequence is that you end up expecting too much of your future spouse.  I don't know about you but I hate being underestimated, but sometimes what's even worse is being overestimated.  For if you underestimated you could prove them wrong, but when your overestimated if you prove them wrong you show them your not as good as they think you are.  Well, if you are expecting a man and women to complete you, those are high expectations that no human could ever meet.  They are going to mess up and they may have that one annoying trait that gets on your nerves.  Yet, if you really expected them to be your other half, you're either going to get a divorce when your not satisfied with how they complete you, or your going to drive your spouse crazy as they try to live up to your expectations.

The truth is: God is the only one that can complete you.   In James, it says that when you go through trials, you learn from it and that makes you mature and complete not lacking anything.  We all long to be complete.  That's why hollywood has made big bucks on that phrase.  Yet, God is the only one that can live up to our high expectations to complete us.  He is our other half.

So, therefore I'm a single person, but I'm a whole person.  You see how degrading this phrase is?  I'm not a half nor do I want to marry a half a person.  I want to marry a whole person, not just a half.

I want to marry someone that finds their completion in christ.

Humans are messed up.  Two messed up halves don't make a whole.   I know math majors just give me a second.

In this case, two wholes can make you holy.   Two people who find their completion in Christ can shine a light to the world as they long to look more like Christ and love each other like Christ loves the church.

 Two halves can't really make a whole, but two wholes can make you holy.

Being single on Valentines day isn't a bad thing!!

I have never had a boyfriend on Valentines day.  I've never gotten a bear and chocolates or a dozen roses on Valentines day.  You know what?  I'm totally okay with that.

I'm aware that I'm single but why is that a bad thing?  I actually like being single, most of the time:/  Now, don't get me wrong, if a prince charming walked through the door, I'd definitely get excited.  But who says that when you single, you can't enjoy valentines day.

I love love.   I love watching women get showered and cherished on valentines day.  I'm not going to lie,  I still sometimes feel that twinge of sadness, and ask when it's going to be my turn?  Yet, I realize that this day is beautiful when you have someone special to share it with.  Maybe that someone special is your best friend, or you daddy, or your boyfriend.  But other than that, It's a day for couples and I know it's made up, but I still love it.  

Marriage was designed to be a reflection of God's love for us.  So, valentines day we get to see such a small picture of God's love for us.  Your boyfriend may get you roses, but God made roses for us.   You may get taken out on a special date, but God longs to spend time with you every day and is with you every moment.  You might get some chocolates,  but God has given you a world that is full of beautiful, tasty, and wonderful things.  

It's okay to want romance.  It's okay if your a little sad to be single today, but let's not stop in sadness but let us rejoice that we get to cheer on couples from the sidelines and rejoice that they have a special someone, because one day we might be in the game, and we will want people to be happy for us, not whining about how their single on valentines day.  Am I right?

So, in whatever, phase of life your in single, dating, engaged, or married, let God's heavenly romance touch you today.

We all have Baggage to Claim

You've got baggage behind you

But no where to go

Your heart beats faster

Does anyone know?

The weight you carry

Demands an extra charge

For you fears and pain

Come in extra large 

They ask for your baggage 

You decide to carry it on

You just can't let it go

Your scared might be long gone

The weight keeps from love

Your just afraid

That If you let go 

It will open you up for pain 

If you keep it here 

You know the baggage you'll claim

So you carry the burden

Weigh down the plane 

Your familiar with the baggage claim

You meet a girl

That makes you believe

That the baggage 

could just walk away and leave

Yet instead she comes 

With baggage of her own

And the burdens she carries

Can't be carried alone

You start to let go of yours

Only to find that hers is enough

Caring her bags

Is more than just tough

You scream let go 

This weight is too heavy

She tries but can't 

She's the one feeling guilty

If you keep yours

You can't belong

But if you let go

You'll have a different song

You long to get on the plane

But you've grown familar to the baggage to claim 

What if you let go

Of your security 

That girl loved you

And You'd be free

You'd be a tangled up mess

For she has weight too

But it takes two to defeat

This burden you hold on to 

Grab her hand 

You have to let go

And maybe just maybe 

you'll get on the plane 

and You'll have someone else's baggage to claim.

Poem: © 2015 Kenady Shope

What if we let go of the baggage that claims us, only to grab on to another hand? God's hand.  It's so easy to hold on to the junk we've been carrying around.  We are used to it, and familiar and if we let go, some new baggage might come along.  Yet  if we don't let go, we may never get to share in someone else's burdens.    God says "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30 

Let's Pray:

God we love you and we thank you for being a wonderful and merciful God who helps us carry our burdens.  Help us know when it's time to let go, so we can take a bigger grasp at who you are.  We love you and need you.

In Jesus's name 

Amen 

Come as you are, your shame has already been paid for...

Dear my Lily,

Where have you been?

I've been trying to fix my sin,

For you I'm too tattered and too torn

But Lily, I can make you reborn.

But God, You'd be disappointed to see

the mess that has become of me

No, I'll be delighted that you coming home

Its about who you run toward not where you come from

I created you and knew your my will for you

before you mom knew pink or blue

All I wanted was for you choose

me or you 

So, who's it going to be my precious daughter

Do you think the one who saves can ever falter?

Or can you save yourself?

How's that been working out?

I love you and I'm quite jealous

that you would settle for something less

For I can show you a kingdom

where you will be blessed

Stop fixing yourself

you'll only get tired

for I'm the Creator

and quite frankly you're fired.

Sit and rest and dwell on my power

think of me every rising hour

I know you think I want more

but I just want to be yours

If you have to earn anything for love

that love is not from me

for I just want you

that why the scars in my hand bleed

You are exquisite

a beautiful lily 

You've been saved

you are free. 

So step out of the prison

you have been reborn

Look at yourself 

your no longer tattered and torn

While you and I were talking I took the leisure

of filling your holes

For with me,

you'll be full

So next time 

come to me first

I'll satisfy your hunger

and quench your thirst.

Don't be ashamed of where you've been

for I've already took the shame of your sin

The shame even died with me

so your shackles are gone and you are free.

Dance with me,

My sweet Lily

Your savior,

Jesus

My thoughts on New Year's Resolutions

The gym is currently packed with the people who have recently committed that this new year they are going to work out…I'm not there.  Yet, my parents get a little frustrated every year as a new batch of hopefuls step inside the gym in January.  The sad thing is that the gym is a lot more crowded in January than in other months of the year.  As the year progresses, the hopefuls disappear and the frequent flyers are still chugging a way.  

This is an example of how New Year's Resolutions often are just a goal that never gets completed.  

Let's be honest.  A Year, while very definitive, is also very long.  It's a daunting task.  

Hmm….let me think of all that happened in a year.  I finished two semesters of college, a total of 37 hours.  I performed in Spring Sing with my sorority.  I traveled to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Costa Rica.  I was on a Pine Cove Camp in the City team and we brought camp to 6 different churches.  I helped out at 2 DNOWs, went to Passion Conference, and helped out at a church camp.  I performed at the Music Business Showcase.  I read a spoken word at an event called Inspired Poet for my sorority.  My sorority also rushed and welcomed 30+ new girls into our sorority.  

A lot of things happened in 2014, and I'm a different girl because of it.  

In 2014, I set out to read 10 non-fiction books.  I read 4.  After my crazy summer, to be quite honest I forgot.  

This year I grew up a lot, laughed a lot, cried a lot.  I loved a lot, and focused on my self a lot.  I turned to God a lot, and I failed to turn to God a lot.  I look back and I have regrets and on other days I have none.  Some days I succeeded and some days I failed.  

So, this new year.  I'm not going to make a New Year's resolution, because I don't want to buy a gym membership that goes to waste.  Instead, I'm going to wake up each day and choose to live that day for God.  What does that look like?  Well, it should look like me going to the gym…lol.  

I'm going to make goals don't get me wrong, but I want to take my goals one day at a time. 

Our mercies are new every morning.  I want to wake up and choose to love more, laugh more and seek God more every day.  

It's a new day…what will you choose??