The Ultimate Itch

            Temptation is the ultimate itch. Think about it. It’s there, harassing you. You just… You just gotta get it. Ahh there. Got it. But now look: You’ve got red, irritated scratch marks and it’s going to burn for a bit. At least it’s not itching though. Not too much later, there that itch is yet again. Incessant. Annoying. Yet somehow appealing, inviting. It feels absolutely impossible to ignore it. If you don’t appease it, it won’t go away. You might as well give in.

            But wait. It is possible to ignore the itch, but it’s so difficult. It takes a lot of willpower, and that’s a fact. Sometimes the itch comes at the most inconvenient time or place, and you have no choice but to ignore it. There are times when the urge to scratch is overwhelmingly strong and the itch is so awful you just want to scream in frustration.

            Now connect the dots back to temptation. We often scratch when we don’t want to and know we shouldn’t. It’s just like what Romans 7 says. “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do…For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it” (verses 15, 19-20). This is the irritating temptation to scratch that seems impossible to overlook. However, God does promise us an escape. “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). When you are tempted and you feel like the only thing to do is to satisfy it, remember this: God will relieve you of your struggle if you ask for help. It seems a lot easier said than done, but the more you learn to avoid “scratching” those tempting itches, the more you build self-control and dependence on God.  

Volcanoe (vision)

Last weekend, I was in Big Bear for a retreat with my church's college group. On Saturday night, we were having a prayer and worship session when God's Spirit completely set in. We were all basking in God's presence when God gave me a vision. I was writing it down and asking God who I needed to speak it to when He said to read it out loud for everyone to hear. As I read it, I could sense a fire stirring in us all, a fire and passion for revival. I began to pray with a fervor I've never experience before, and everyone began praying with all their might.

       I saw a desolate, flat, dry, dead land. Trees were bare, the ground was all dirt, no grass. The people living there were scrawny, starving, and weak. A mountain stood near the town--I could see that it was a volcanoe, long thought dormant. Suddenly, it erupted and fire came spewing out of it. The fire covered the dead land a spread rapidly. But instead of destruction, the fire brought new life as it burned. The trees sprouted green leaves, fresh grass grew and colorful flowers blossomed. The people became healthy, joyful, and vibrant. The fire spread rapidly to nearby towns, continuing the transformation of death into new life.
       We live in the desolate wasteland--the people are starving and feel hopeless. The body of Christ, the church, the believers... We are the volcanoe, long thought dormant. We must erupt with a passion and filled with the Spirit. We must spread the holy fire. People are longing for new life; we must show them how to attain new life. If we are obedient to God's will, the land will come alive again in a miraculous revival, a revival that will spread from person to person, town to town. We need to take responsibility for the lives around us and lead people to Christ so their souls will be satisfied.

       Lord, I pray that You will convict us of our unwillingness to reach out to the people in the world who hunger and thirst for You. Give us the boldness to speak truth in love to those who need You most. Show us the weight of the responsibility You have given us. Rid us of our stubborness, laziness, pride, or whatever it is that gets in the way of doing exactly what You say for us to do. Unite us as the body of Christ and ignite a flame in our hearts for revival.

                 Amen.

Ephesians 4:1-6

"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." 

Romans 13:11-12

"And do this [love God, love your neighbor], understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light."

Highways and Freeways

        Lately, I have been using a lot of freeways and began to wonder the difference between highways and freeways. It turns out, freeway can be defined as a "limited access highway." Oh, the irony! Who knew "free" meant limited access? A highway is a road going from point A to point B, most often connecting cities, with many intersections, businesses, and homes in between. Highways have more stop lights and fewer lanes (sometimes even have more traffic), while freeways go faster and are wider. That's probably why we hear of highwaymen and not "freewaymen"--there's a slim chance of a robber being successful with cars zooming by at seventy-five miles per hour.
        Something has also been bothering me about using the term freeway... There's really no freedom in deciding where you want to go. There are different on-ramps, exits, and freeways you can take, but you can't suddenly decide what to do. For example, if you see a McDonalds next to the freeway, you have to wait for an exit; you have to use the roads that have been made, not carve your own path on a freeway. And if, by chance, you miss your exit, you can't turn around. You have to keep driving and wait for the next exit (and hope there's another one close by).
        Somehow, in my mind, I made a connection between highways, freeways, and obedience to God. Freeways are when you are trying to obey God, while highways are the times of disobedience. This epiphany came when I heard someone say "It's my way or the highway." I feel like God is often saying this to me--Obey me. Trust me. Do as I say. As I said before, highways are slower and encounter more cross-roads (therefore more wrong turns), detours, and highwaymen. Especially without directions or a map. That seems to describe what happens when we disobey God.
        Freeways best illustrate obedience. God has a path planned for us, He tells us to make a specific turn, and we can choose to go His way or not. Sometimes that means we take the wrong exit and start driving the highway. Other times, we get stuck in traffic because we hesitate to listen. And still there are times where we actually follow His instructions and experience a pleasant journey.
        Another thought about the term freeway... It is called free, not because of the freedom to choose where to go, but for the lack of toll fees. The freeway is paid for by taxes, but it is not required to pay each and every time you enter or exit the freeway. Think about it. Each and every time you disobey you don't have to pay your way back into His presence. He asks you to sacrifice (money, time, etc.), but He doesn't charge you every time you decide to obey. God made the ultimate sacrifice to pay for our entrance onto the freeway--Christ.
        Now when I go on a freeway I think of God saying "My way or the highway." I pray that we can all have the strength and grace to do God's will, and never have to leave the freeway of obedience.