Angela Parlin

So Much Beauty in All This Chaos

Don’t Let Your Heart Be Hardened

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Image By Angela Parlin

If you’ve been here recently for this journey through the book of Hebrews, do you remember the day the ocean swallowed me whole and ate my sunglasses? It was my birthday, BTW. 🙁 More importantly, do you remember the first warning issued?

Pay the most careful attention to {the Gospel} so that you do not drift away. (See that post.)

Today, we find the second warning:

See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. Hebrews 3:12

The writer of Hebrews takes us back to the desert in chapter 3–quoting Psalm 95, which summarizes Israel’s history with Moses as their leader.

So, as the Holy Spirit says, Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for 40 years they saw what I did.

They saw what He did. With their own eyes, Israel witnessed God’s wonders on their behalf, time after time. Yet they continued to turn away from Him in rebellion and unbelief.

They even wanted to return to Egypt at times. To me, that seems hard to believe. In Egypt, they were enslaved and mistreated. They were repeatedly prevented from leaving–until God intervened supernaturally–parting the Red Sea and miraculously making a way when they had run out of possibilities.

Evenso, they decided it would be better to return to Egypt. They had witnessed God’s wonders, and still they doubted His plan, His way, and His timing.

But are we any different?

When we hear God’s voice, through His Word, we are free to obey God or to turn away. We always have a choice. The Holy Spirit continues to speak through this Psalm, with the exhortation to hear God’s voice and obey, an exhortation directed at New Testament believers and applicable to us today.

We need to be careful, that we don’t have a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away in doubt.

Do not harden your heart as you did in the rebellion.

When we harden our hearts–or rather let our hearts be hardened–we don’t listen for God’s voice anymore. We don’t seek God, and His voice (His Word) makes no impression on a hardened heart.

The result for Israel, was God’s wrath for continued unbelief. That generation never entered the land, the rest of God.

That’s why I was angry with that generation; I said, “Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.” So I declared on oath in my anger, “They shall never enter my rest.” (Hebrews 3)

They were perpetual wanderers. Indebted because of His grace, yet prone to wander. They willingly ignored God. They didn’t take notice of His ways, of who He really was. Who He is.

We must be on guard, brothers and sisters. See to it that none of us has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.

May we be careful, and honest, and prayerful, about our wandering hearts.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, 
Seal it for thy courts above. 

{Excerpt from “Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing”, Robert Robinson}

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Shouldn’t We All Feel a Little Unsettled?

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house hold firmly Christ

Image By Angela Parlin

Have you walked through the process of building a house?

The house we live in now is our 3rd home and the 3rd house we watched builders put together from the ground up.

Before they even broke ground, we spent hours getting to know the layout of this house. We visited the model repeatedly, making notes and snapping pictures of every corner. I poured over house plans, figuring out space for every piece of furniture, while we stayed several months in a little townhome we called, The Waiting Place.

Just a couple years after we settled in here, we felt like God wanted us to let this house go.

It didn’t make sense. Let go of our dream house, when our dream had just come true? So we listed the house while our littlest was still a baby, and we kept it wonderfully clean for showings. 🙂  But after most of a year, we again felt peace–this time, about taking it off the market.

Years later, we wonder if that whole process was about becoming  willing to let go of something we loved a whole lot. We still don’t feel certain we’ll stay here, in this house.

The truth is, whether we’re in a home we consider a long-term plan or the in-between, shouldn’t we all feel a little unsettled here?

This world is not our home. We’re foreigners, passing through. But how many of us live as if that’s really true? I’m guilty of trying to create some sort of heaven on earth, starting right here within these walls.

And speaking of these walls, how amazing is it to remember that the Lord calls us–believers–His house?

And we are His house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence, and the hope in which we glory. Hebrews 3:6b

As the house of God, we are God’s people and members of His household (Ephesians 2:19). He lives in each of us and also builds us up together as a spiritual house, the church, where He dwells among us.

You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  1 Peter 2:5

In the Old Testament, the house of God refers to Israel or the temple. When Solomon finished building His temple, He raised his hands to heaven and dedicated it to the Lord, in awe that the uncontainable God of the universe would choose to dwell alongside human beings.

“But will God really dwell on earth with humans?

The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you.

How much less this temple I have built!”  2 Chronicles 6:18

Yes, the Lord desires to dwell among His people. Yes, we are now His dwelling place, if we hold firmly to our confidence and our hope in Him.

But wait. IF? So what if we don’t hold firmly? Do we lose our place in His house?

This is not about losing salvation. It’s about proving our commitment to Him.

If we are truly in Christ, we will hold Him fast. Our commitment to Him will be proven over time.

We prove we are his house if we continue to hold firmly to Him.

Speaking of holding firmly, is there anything else you need to let go of?

What are the other things for you, the ones that get in the way of your trust and dependence on the Lord alone? Isn’t it time to pry open those hands and offer them to the Lord?

Because at some point, nothing else remains. Nothing but Christ is worth holding fast.

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Letting Go of Imaginary Worries

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peace worry

Image By Angela Parlin

I used to think I didn’t struggle much with worry.

And then I became a Mom a decade ago. Suddenly there were so many what ifs to contend with. My imagination easily ran off to terrifying places, thinking two steps ahead of them, often fearing the worst.

Sometimes still, I get caught up in a whirlwind of worry, even though I know I don’t get to control things. Even though my trust in God has grown.

Shakespeare said cowards die a thousand deaths, and the brave die only one. I’ve heard a variation of his quote, which rings true for me:

“Some people die a thousand deaths before they die one.”

(Author Unknown)

I know the truth of my thoughts and my imaginations. I don’t tend toward bravery, but fear. How many deaths have I died in my head, or how many deaths have I feared for my loved ones?

What about you? Do you get trapped in worry? Have you grieved for those you haven’t even lost? Do you try to figure out the future, even though you have no power there?

When I’m stuck in worry, my best response is to turn each concern into a prayer, and to listen.

I am God, He says.

I am a good God, He says.

Trust me, He says.

He calls me to hand over all of my concerns to Him, each time they find their way back into my mind.

He calls me to bring my life before Him, to bring my loved ones’ lives before Him, day after day, and to place them in His hands.

He calls me to come to Him in prayer, to lay out the pieces of my life, to entrust it all to Him.

He calls you to all of the same.

When worry takes over, what we need most is to find our way back to the quiet, to fix our eyes upon Jesus once more. There, He speaks kindly to us, transforming and renewing our minds.

There, peace takes over, and worry morphs into trust.

We stop trying to carry our hurts, our struggles, our pain on our own.

We stop trying to bear our burdens–both our real ones and our imaginary ones–apart from the God who holds the whole world in His hands.

And when the worries return, as they often do, the Lord invites us to trust Him again, because He is God and He is good.

Some people die a thousand deaths before they die one, and I don’t want to be that person anymore. Lord, help us to live in peace instead of worry, to trust you with all the pieces of our lives.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Colossians 3:15

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you; I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid. John 14:27

READ this post also at PurposefulFaith.com!

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When Cities Go Dark

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fix thoughts Jesus HopeMy alarm sings, and I swipe to shut it off. CNN flashes a list of alerts again this morning, and I groan. But I cannot look away. I both want to know, and I don’t.

There’s been another earthquake while we slept; this time, Greece.

The Russian jet that crashed over Egypt two weeks back? It was definitely a bomb, an act of terror, of which ISIS claims responsibility.

They’re recapping the details of the Paris attacks, and if we listen to the warnings, the terrorists say they’re coming for Washington, D.C. next.

I fell asleep, thinking about these things, wondering what’s coming next.

But every time I start thinking about these things, I end up at Jesus.

There is nowhere else to end up, at least for someone like me, because He is the only hope we have when people go dark, when whole cities go dark.

Jesus is the only hope we have. He’s not a last resort, or an insufficient hope.

Jesus is our only hope, our only real hope.

Our terror trial might become “contained” by governments, but it’s not going to be fixed by anyone other than God Himself. In this world we were promised troubles. We have an enemy, and he’s on the prowl. We’re in a battle, whether we’re aware of it or not.

In a world where it’s easy to get lost in the details, the difficulties, and the drama–what’s needed is to fix our thoughts on Jesus.

Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest. Hebrews 3:1

We’ve been making our way through the book of Hebrews on Tuesdays, and it’s fitting today to begin chapter 3. To begin with, Fix your thoughts on Jesus.

It’s what I need on all the days, but especially days like these.

The writer of Hebrews speaks to Holy Brothers & Sisters, who share in the heavenly calling. In other words, believers, people who fear God and believe in Jesus who He sent.

In my post, Brothers & Sisters, Jesus proudly calls us His siblings. His Holy Siblings. And now, people who share in the heavenly calling. Do you see yourself in that light today?

We have to start believing we are who He says we are.

The word “Therefore” points us backward, to the previous chapter, where we see Jesus as Son of God, who became lower than the angels for a while, fully human in order to break the power of death over us and atone for our sins. Because of all that–all He’s done for us–we should fix our thoughts on Jesus, who is both our apostle and High Priest. As apostle, meaning “one who is sent,” Jesus was sent into the world by the Father, as He often claimed.

To understand Jesus as our High Priest, it’s important to know that in Israel, only the supreme priest, the High Priest, could enter into the presence of God, the Most Holy Place in the temple, to make atonement for the sins of the people.

But now, Jesus is our High Priest, who ushers us into the Presence of God, inviting us into the heavenly calling, so that now, we enjoy the presence of God, at all times, in every place.

May we fix our thoughts on Jesus, the One who makes us holy, who makes us family, who calls us heavenward, who invites us in.

“My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

On Christ the solid rock I stand,
all other ground is sinking sand;
all other ground is sinking sand.”

(My Hope Is Built, by Edward Mote, hymnsite.com)

Jesus, You’re my hope and stay.    

 

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Chasing Wind

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meaning under sunI have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

Ecclesiastes 1:14

I’ve always loved the book of Ecclesiastes, since I first read it through as a teenager. Maybe it was the season I was in when I first met these words. Of course it was; I was a teenage girl. We all remember those days, right?

Solomon’s honesty appealed to me, and in my deepest melancholy, I guess I was drawn to his hopelessness. Everything is meaningless, he began, and he continued this theme until the end.

I nodded my head in agreement. I resonated with his search for more, for meaning and significance and God and all that matters.

I loved that it was okay to have questions. Deep and life-shattering questions. It was even okay if there was no good reason you should be the one searching for more. Because come on, this man was king with every possible indulgence at his fingertips!

Even in those shoes, he searched far and wide for true and lasting happiness.

Even in those shoes, life felt pointless. Boring. Wearisome. Monotonous.

Even in those shoes, the king declared there was nothing new under the sun.

The more things change, the more they stay the same, the proverb says (and Bon Jovi sings). But before this gets filed under Most Depressing Post in the history of blogging, let’s get to the real point.

The point of Ecclesiastes is that without God, life is futile.

Without an eternal perspective, life is meaningless. By the time you get to the end of the book, you’re nearly depressed and ready for the king’s conclusion—

The only way to live under the sun is to Fear God and keep His commands.

Because the truth?

Our lives do not only exist under the sun.

For those who believe in Jesus Christ, our lives are now hidden with Christ in God.

For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:3

Anyone who is in Christ, is also made into a new creation and given a new way to live.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17

We were once without hope, but now we are seated with King Jesus in heavenly places.

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:6

We don’t need to chase after the wind.

Because our lives do not only exist under the sun.

Our God is making all things new.

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then He said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:5

*Today’s post is also featured at LifePassionately.com, home of the beautiful My Life Day Planner…check out the artwork on this daily planner for the modern Christian woman who needs to stay organized and grounded in God’s word through her hectic life. I think you’ll love it!

**I’d love to have you along for the journey…Subscribe in the box to the right!

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