Current Route: India/Nepal/Cambodia/Thailand/Malaysia/Botswana/Swaziland/South Africa/Dominican Republic/Haiti/Jamaica
HOLY
RIGHTEOUS
AND
REDEEMED
“It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God–that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” 1 Corinthians 1:30
There’s a YouTube video circulating out there in which you as the audience are asked a question. What does the fox say? As a toddler, I would play with this little pull toy , eagerly yanking down on the string to hear what the animals would say to me. As a little girl, my dad would joke around about his idea of what a rabbit says. I would laugh as he simply wiggled his nose and scrunched his forehead up and down, his skin appearing to come in waves. Growing older, I began to see that I have a sound within me that tells an unmatched story. AND as a young woman, I came to learn that God’s not dead and you should not only hear His roar within me, but see it in my story…in how I live my life. YOU who are IN CHRIST, are holy, righteous, and redeemed. So what is it that a Christian says? “HRAR!!!!” In the face of the Enemy’s schemes, I’ve learned to say, “HRAR!” a roar like that of a lion.” Why not remind him who you are? I AM HOLY, RIGHTEOUS, AND REDEEMED.
You learn a lot about yourself and others when you begin to entrust an unknown future to a known God. You learn how to LISTEN for His birds, because in His kindness we are enveloped by miniature reminders of such love and provision. You learn how to LEAN in to His discipline and receive it as LOVE. You learn to not only LOOK but pause and notice Him in the midst of even the most mundane moments. Most recently I’ve learned to LIFT a glass and break bread at the start of my every morning. Water crackers and wine. He’s calling you to remember. Can you hear Him?
When I was officially accepted by AIM to take part in World Race, I changed the way I do my mornings. There’s so much value in waking up to rest. You heard me right. I wake up to rest in the finished work of Christ. Yes, it still plays in my head, “Do this in remembrance of me…” BUT instead, my water crackers and wine are not blessed by a priest. It’s just me, my pajamas, water crackers, and wine in this one bedroom apartment. His love compels me to pause for the God who rights my wrongs.
You see, we don’t get an itinerary handed us when our feet hit the ground running. We can’t predict the traffic that awaits us, or know exactly what each day will hold. There’s no way of knowing if that To Do List will ever become Ta Done. AND let us not forget that humans are there to greet us, on the road and in our workplace, at home, and in any location in all directions with or without walls. One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned is that people really do show you not only who they are and whose they are but who you are to them, if you let them, and believe them when they do. A game of Show and Tell, where Show trumps Tell. So we must arm ourselves for the friends who will disappoint us, the family who may dismiss us, and the employers who frustrate our plans. We mustn’t leave behind one piece of armor, for each is vital when husbands and wives deliver words that hurt, and children remind us of ourselves. We turn off the TV and tune into fear instead, further aiding and abetting the deception plan of the other who never takes a day off in his pursuit. No matter what may become of your day, one thing is certain for you who are in Christ. YOU are Holy, Righteous, and Redeemed!
Why now? Why water crackers and wine? As I read 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 and others like it, I am reminded that worship is my return of His breath in me. I breathe in His GRACE and breath out His PRAISE. I begin to read, “For I received from the Lord (and my mind is flooded with thoughts of all that I’ve received) what I also passed onto you” (the call upon my life). Like the game of Telephone or Hot Potato, I am tagged for life and burdened by a call to pass it on. How sad would it be if the message of salvation never became a public display of a private pursuit? How sad too, if the message were so misconstrued, blurring the one true King in my story? I read on “The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed (and I think wow, He’s traveled my road) took bread. (Hello, someone betrays you and you grab a loaf? Don’t you get time to grumble and do the whole woe is me thing? Nope, not my LORD.) “And when he had given thanks (what, back up the bus… who does that?) he broke it and said, “This is my body (no other would do), which is for you (who am I?) do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup (there exists no greater trade) is the new covenant in my blood (death was not optional with his eye fixed on the prize): do this , whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me. For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup “YOU PROCLAIM THE LORD’S DEATH UNTIL HE COMES.” Sign me up for that! I mean really, have you seen the news? In that moment I think of those with faith living in secret, scared for their lives…and I break it, later feeling the burn of the wine to my throat. I take it not for granted that I can shout it to the rooftops if I so desire.
In a few short months. Well, maybe a more than a few…I’m leaving as a missionary for World Race. I will be challenged to my core, with the enemy at full throttle. I can’t lose sight of “HRAR!” It’s going in my day pack and my travel pack. I’ll face days wondering my purpose, always at risk of losing sight of the mission. My food is to do the will of my Father, but there will be times I will ponder starvation and confuse my state of being with the reality around me. Contacts won’t always come through for us, and Internet won’t always be within arm’s reach. Life will be messy, yet beautiful. Both exhausting and exhilarating. I will be fed lies that my presence isn’t welcome or necessary, and be overwhelmed by the needs around me. Powerless could enter my mind and take up residence. But “HRAR” is coming with me. I will remind myself each day leading up to World Race and prayerfully pursue making a habit of it on the race, to repeat those words to myself and the defeated sisters and brothers who join me. “We are HOLY RIGHTEOUS AND REDEEMED!”
