Truly This is the Son of God!

With the Easter season comes a renewed appreciation for and focus on the story of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection (especially nowadays, when the Bible App offers so many plans!). I read the below passage in Mark a couple of weeks back, and today read the cross-referenced passage in Luke. Please, take time to read them:

 "And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, 'Truly this man was the Son of God!'" Mark 15:37-39 (English Standard).

"Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!' And having said this he breathed his last. Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, 'Certainly this man was innocent!'" Luke 23:46-47 (English Standard). 

When I read the Mark passage a few weeks ago, the centurion's reaction to Jesus' death struck a cord; he saw the way Jesus breathed His last and recognized who Jesus was. I wonder, did he see Jesus, after being crucified, ask His Father to hold his murderers innocent? Did he see Jesus tell the thief next to Him that he would be with Him in paradise? Did he hear Jesus proclaim "it is finished" and "Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit"? Regardless of what this Roman centurion observed about Jesus, it was enough for him -- a blood-thirsty Roman -- to see that Jesus was not an ordinary man. What a testimony. This Roman saw that Jesus was the real deal.

When we hear about Jesus (and read, in detail, of His life, death, and resurrection on earth), what is our response? We can move on with our lives or we can consider the impact of Jesus.

I don't know about you, but this does a couple things for me. In one way, it convicts me about my lack of faith, negligent appreciation for the Gospel, and horrible unworthiness. At the same time, this reminds me of what an incredible, incredible Savior we serve. We have the completed canon of Scripture, we have the mystery of the Gospel revealed, we see God's beautiful creation, and we can know that our Jesus LIVES!

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander, 
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.

When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur

And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee, 

How great Thou art, How great Thou art.

Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee, 

How great Thou art, How great Thou art! 

And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing; 

Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in; 

That on a Cross, my burdens gladly bearing,

He bled and died to take away my sin.

When we consider all that God has done, consider Christ's obedience to the point of death on a cross, and read of His testimony on earth, let us proclaim, "my God, how great you are!"

May these scattered thoughts make some semblance of sense and be a blessing!

Hold fast to Jesus!

Sonia

Four Months into 2019: His Grace Is Still Sufficient (For Grace to Fully Comprehend This)!

This morning, my internal clock would not permit slumber past 6:15, despite staying up about an hour late to read a book, The Sacred Search by Gary Thomas (so far, I would recommend it!). Oh well, it's actually a blessing to be able to wake up early on a Saturday without being horribly exhausted and have quiet time to oneself. 

Three words come to mind upon reflection of the the past month of life: Revealing, Stretching, and Rebuking (to my OCD self in the future: not alphabetized because the order wouldn't be correct) .

Revealing: Through life circumstances, God has been revealing Himself to me so much by reminding me 1) of my wretched, sinful state; 2) His incredible Gospel of salvation; and 3) my failure to surrender all, including the guilt of my sin, to Him. 

Stretching: This past month, I participated in a group event with the person I'm dating, and learned a lot about "getting over" the discomfort of not being an official part of a close-knit group, putting off my selfishness. and learning to be content and joyful in all circumstances. Not saying I perfected this by any means; in fact, the entire day was an internal battle within myself. 

Further stretching has been in that area to which I alluded at the beginning of the above paragraph: being in a relationship. Never having been in a relationship, I have no prior experiences or emotions to check against the events and feelings I'm going through now. The past couple of months have been confusing, to say the least, and I'm struggling to know the will of the Lord, and what it looks like to know what brings Him the most glory.

Jim Elliot once said something along the lines of, "He is no fool of gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." I have been praying and thinking hard about whether or not I have truly been giving my entire life and heart to my Savior before anything else, including in my relationship. God's Word promises that those who trust in the Lord with their entire heart will be led by God (see, e.g. Proverbs 3:5-6), but He doesn't say that there isn't a waiting period in which our trust in Him is perfected through the unknown! In fact, He promises that those who "wait on the LORD" will renew their strength! See, e.g. Isaiah 40:28-31.

Rebuking: Finally, this month has been rebuking. As mentioned above, I've been challenged to examine my relationship to God, realizing that I am not fully surrendering myself (and my sinfulness) to Him; failed to see and know His glory; been self-focused; and  failed to love God above all else. In short, this passage rings true: "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin."

Romans 7:24-25 (English Standard).

In closing (since it is nearly 8 a.m. and the morning is growing late), this passage we read during the high school group this week struck a cord and applies to what God has been revealing to me:

Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, ²to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. ³For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. ⁴But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, ⁵he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, ⁶whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Titus 3:1-7 (English Standard).

Nana reading to the Chunk (3) and Baby Em

Thankful for the opportunity to see this dear friend for a brief afternoon visit last week!

"Baca" (great-grandma) with Baby Em. A precious, precious moment.

Baby Lucy 

Enjoying a break-taking view of the beach a few weeks back -- this is the day spent with the new group of individuals. The beach was truly amazing, and God's glory was so evident in everything.

Baby Em continues to capture our hearts!

A trip to a different beach a week before the above beach picture! We had a lovely time visiting two light houses and walking several different trails.

We also visited an old military fort and had a little too much fun climbing the cannons and exploring the various buildings and trails.

Mozzarella and I are so blessed to be able to work together, she as the lovely face of the firm (receptionist) and me as a legal assistant.

The Chunk doing pre-running "stretches" with me.

A gorgeous flower, give from the bottom of his "heart and kidneys" (it's a phrase in Russian, and "kidneys" is now my favorite word to pronounce in Russian -- it's pronounced kind of like "pohych-kee") 

Hold fast to Jesus!

Sonia