Blemished Sacrifices

Israel really can be so aggravating sometimes. Take in Malachi for example. In chapter one Malachi's word from God is this: "I have loved you," says the Lord." Encouraging right?

Well, listen to Israel's horrible response. "But you ask, "How have you loved us?"

I got really mad at them when I read that. Did they really just say that? Did they really just ask God how he had loved them? After all the years of faithfulness, all the times he had mercy on them and forgave them for their unfaithfulness because of his covenant with Abraham, did they really just ask for an example? How dense are they?

And there's more. The second section of chapter one deals with the "blemished sacrifices" they were bringing before the Lord.

God says "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?...It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name."

Israel's reply? "How have we shown contempt for your name?...How have we defiled you?"

They really are so thick headed sometimes.

Instead of bringing the firstfruits of all they had, they brought the crippled and diseased and blind. The animals they brought for sacrifice would not have pleased a human ruler, much less the King of heaven and earth. Yet they continued to light such useless fires before him.  And further still they complained about the burden of these offerings, sniffing at them contemptuously. Cheating God out of the whole and perfect offerings he alone deserves and complaining all the while...not good.

I was feeling pretty indignant by this point in my reading. When the Lord said "My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations," I got even more annoyed. How could Israel be okay with bringing anything less than their best before God, the one whose name will be great among the nations of the world?

But then a small still voice in me asked this question- What about you Quinn? Aren't you as bad as the Israelites? Don't you bring blemished sacrifices before the Lord too? Why don't you consider the plank in your own eye before pointing out the speck in the eye of Israel?

Ouch.

All the things I was annoyed at Israel about, I am guilty of myself. Perhaps that's why I had such a strong response, it just hit too close to home.

Like Israel, I challenge the Lord's love for me, asking for proof after he has time and time again showered me with undeserved grace. I come before the throne of grace with mediocre offerings at best, ones that require little real sacrifice on my part. Even with these half-hearted attempts I grumble at the inconvenience and discomfort of having to sacrifice things like time or effort.

God had mercy on Israel for their blemished sacrifices; I know he has shown me the same mercy. He alone can redeem and use all the half-hearted attempts I have made, all the mediocre offerings I have been trying to pass off as acceptable ones. He has opened my eyes to my impudence, arrogance, laziness, disrespect and contempt of his name and forgiven me abundantly in all these areas.

I pray he teaches me what it means to bring acceptable sacrifices before him, to offer my very best and to do so in joy and thanksgiving. I pray that because his name will be made great among the nations and I want my offerings to be a true testimony to that great name.

Spurgeon- Evening, April 14th

Isaiah 3:10

Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him.

 

 

It is well with the righteous ALWAYS. If it had said, "Say ye to the righteous, that it is well with him in his prosperity," we must have been thankful for so great a boon, for prosperity is an hour of peril, and it is a gift from heaven to be secured from its snares: or if it had been written, "It is well with him when under persecution," we must have been thankful for so sustaining an assurance, for persecution is hard to bear; but when no time is mentioned, all time is included.

 

God's "shalls" must be understood always in their largest sense. From the beginning of the year to the end of the year, from the first gathering of evening shadows until the day-star shines, in all conditions and under all circumstances, it shall be well with the righteous.

 

It is so well with him that we could not imagine it to be better, for he is well fed, he feeds upon the flesh and blood of Jesus; he is well clothed, he wears the imputed righteousness of Christ; he is well housed, he dwells in God; he is well married, his soul is knit in bonds of marriage union to Christ; he is well provided for, for the Lord is his Shepherd; he is well endowed, for heaven is his inheritance. It is well with the righteous-well upon divine authority; the mouth of God speaks the comforting assurance.

 

O beloved, if God declares that all is well, ten thousand devils may declare it to be ill, but we laugh them all to scorn. Blessed be God for a faith which enables us to believe God when the creatures contradict Him.

 

It is, says the Word, at all times well with thee, thou righteous one; then, beloved, if thou canst not see it, let God's word stand thee in stead of sight; yea, believe it on divine authority more confidently than if thine eyes and thy feelings told it to thee.

 

Whom God blesses is blest indeed, and what His lip declares is truth most sure and steadfast.

 

 

From Spurgeon's "Morning and Evening."

Finding Hope in Hard News

To say the past week has been a rough week for news would be an understatement. It was actually a pretty terrible week in that regard. We saw our staff team shrink from seven people to only four. And we found out there would be no stint team to pass the torch to next year. Just as we were feeling more hopeful and encouraged by the direction the movement was taking these things happen. Talk about loss of momentum. It's like the wind was completely stripped from our sails. The new school year is starting and I feel completely deflated.

With all this coming at me, God and I have been having some pretty frank and difficult conversations. They mostly consist of me asking "why?" and struggling to see how these could possibly be in his good and perfect plan for Japan. It's scary to feel betrayed by the One being you want to lean upon completely. It hurts deeply to see the ministry hindered like this.

But today as I took some time to reflect on the past week something struck me about these conversations. I realized that even though I've been struggling to come to terms with the realities of where our ministry is now, the fact that I can be so honest with the Lord about my feelings speaks to the existence of some deep underlying faith in his goodness. I wouldn't be able to open up, complain, struggle, if I didn't believe deep down that God cared.

As difficult as this has been, how much more hopeless would I feel if I were stuck with these thoughts but had nowhere to turn for hope? Even as I struggle, there is light at the end of the tunnel because I know God is there.

Realizing that encouraged me and spurred me to go even deeper- thinking about why I'm able to believe God cares and that he is sovereign in all things. As I meditated on aspects of his character and things that are true about him I turned to the Psalms. David is a great example of someone who deeply understood who God was and the implications of that to their relationship. He knew God to be big and holy and powerful and compassionate and just, so he could present every situation good or bad and process it with the Lord.

In Psalm 28 and 29 I found the encouragement I've been needing.

 

Blessed be the Lord!
For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
The Lord is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.
The Lord is the strength of his people;[b]
he is the saving refuge of his anointed....
Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!
Be their shepherd and carry them forever.
Psalm 28: 6-9

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness...
The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
Psalm 29: 2; 10

 

 

I can hope because God is my strength and my shield. I trust in his goodness and I am helped. When I am overwhelmed and downtrodden, he is my saving refuge and my shepherd. I don't turn my sorrows over to a weak or insignificant god, but the Lord who sits enthroned as king forever. His reign is eternal, his power uncompromised, his goodness indisputable. Whatever may come my way, I know I can overcome because this is the God in whom I have chosen to place my trust.

 

He will sustain me.

Kyoto- 京都 part 2

The adventures continued on day three with the Arashiyama bamboo forests, Ryoan-ji, Kinkakuji and Kyoto Station.

River crossing at Arashiyama

Bamboo

At Ryoan-ji Temple

The famous rock garden

Hardware

Fire buckets ready to go

Moss repairs

Loved these mini bell flowers

We got to make our own okonomiyaki for lunch! Tanoshikatta!

Kanji for "big" embedded on the mountain-side.
There are five of these giant kanji on the mountains around Kyoto that get lit up during a summer festival

Kinkakuji- Golden Pavilion

This picture cracks me up, the nice German man totally blocked Kinkakuji hahaha

Kyoto Tower from Kyoto Station

Gotta love those illuminated stairs

Another beautifully designed train station

 

Our last day I visited the Garden of Fine Arts, wandered rainy backstreets, and bought omiyage in the cute boutique shops of Gion.

My rainy walk along Kamogawa to the Garden of Fine Arts

Monet's "Water Lilies: Morning"

At the Garden of Fine Arts, the world's first outdoor art garden. Facility designed by Tadao Ando

Michelangelo's "Last Judgment"

DaVinci's "Last Supper"

Detail from Zhang Zeduan's "Qingming shanghe tu"

Detail from Zhang Zeduan's "Qingming shanghe tu"

Great lines

With DaVinci's "Last Supper"

Van Gogh's "Road with Cypress and Star"

With Seurat's "A Sunday Afternoon"

Bottles lined up outside a restaurant along the river

Dreary, rainy, and beautiful

Pretty sure Narnia is back there somewhere

Lanterns and plum blossoms

Shopping street in Gion



Beautiful aged home on the way back to "downtown" Kyoto from Gion
 

Kyoto- 京都 part 1 can be viewed HERE

Kyoto- 京都 part 1

Kyoto. Where do I even begin? I had the privilege of spending two days here the summer after my eighth grade (aka 10 years ago, what?!) and fell in love. Ten years later and I'm still enamored.

Many cities can be called beautiful. Many have a rich history. Many boast enviable architecture, shopping, scenery, cuisine. But for anyone who has experienced Kyoto, I think it's safe to say there is just something special about this city. Wherever you go you can feel the history, the patina of hundreds of years, the depth of beauty and memories that exist. Even with all the people, buses, taxis, and modern storefronts it seeps through. I can't really put it into words and photos can't really do it justice, but it is there. And it's a beautiful thing to experience.

With three days and our city bus passes (Russel from UP anyone?) in hand, we trekked all over, taking in many of the famous sites. What follows are pictures from the "landmark" places we went as well as the back alleys I wandered. And fair warning, there are quite a few photos, but these also aren't nearly ALL the photos I took so count yourselves lucky ;)

Without further ado, Kyoto the first two days.


The streets of the Gion/Kiyomizu area

The wood, the rooflines, the patina. It's the best.

Wandering the streets of Gion we came upon this quintessential Kyoto scene

Hokan-ji

 

Posing

loved everything in this store, especially these vibrant little blossoms

Putting our feet up along Kamogawa at golden hour

 

Day Two- Philosopher's walk to Honen-in temple and Ginkakuji, Takano and Kamo rivers fork, Shimagamo-jinja, Nijo-jo, and Kiyomizu-dera

Sand art at Honen-in

mini Hobbit-sized door

Teeny little jinja gate



Ginkakuji- the Silver Pavilion

Immaculate grounds at Ginkakuji

Overlooking Ginkakuji grounds to Kyoto

Moss

The photographer gets her own picture

Standing on giant turtle rocks where the Kamo and Takano rivers meet

rock piles at Shimagamo

Shimagamo shrine- lots of orange

Nijo Castle: standing here I had flashbacks to when I was here ten years ago



Love this roof so much, it's just perfection

Kyoto tower from Kiyomizudera

Kiyomizudera, an incredible structure and gorgeously illuminated

Omiyage shop with FREE SAMPLES

Lantern installations in Maruyama koen

Giant floral arrangements in Maruyama koen

The most famous sakura tree in Maruyama koen

Lanterns at Yasaka shrine

With Johnny, a fellow Bruin, now teaching with JET in Kyoto. He was kind enough to act as tour guide one evening!
Also, love the photo-bomber desperately trying to get out of our picture hahaha

 

 

Kyoto- 京都 part 2 can be viewed  HERE