what are you going to pursue?

When I graduated from high school & college, I was showered with cards from family friends and relatives. Inscribed on these cards were all the typical sayings, “Follow your dreams,” or “Reach for the stars!” Graduation speeches are full of encouragement to pursue your dreams because YOU will accomplish great things.

We pursue a number of things in our lives. As children, we chase after a toy or video we really want. In middle and high school, we pursue good grades, relationships, iPods, etc. We might pursue excellence in our talents and abilities like playing a sport or a musical instrument. We spend money, time, and sometimes even sacrifice relationships to get what we want. This doesn’t stop when we graduate from high school. In college we dedicate hours of our lives toward a degree. Afterwards we pursue success in our jobs, newer cars…and the list goes on.

And while all these things are good, there is Someone far greater we need to pursue. So often things take our focus away from the one and only thing that can bring true satisfaction. I know, I know, you’re about to say, “I’ve heard this a million times before! I even know the “church” answer to give – we should pursue God.” And you’re right – we should! But do you? Honestly? I have to admit, many times I don’t. I may sacrifice my time for a favorite activity, but do I spend just as much time (if not more) with God every day? Stop right now and search your heart. Is your relationship with God something you pursue? Or is it just a habit, a duty, or nonexistent altogether?

The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer really challenged me in this area of my life. In his book Tozer focuses on Psalm 63:8, “My soul follows hard after thee: thy right hand upholds me.” He goes on to say that our very deepest longings are filled by God and God alone. So, where does this desire for God come from? Ultimately it begins with God. He has put a longing deep in our hearts for him. His Spirit moves in our lives when we trust in Jesus to restore our relationship with God, and we respond. We “follow hard” after God, because we know he is all that matters in life. We can hold on to the things of this world loosely because we have God who “satisfies your desires with good things” (Psalm 103:5). Whatever comes our way, whatever loss we may face, we’re still ok because we have Jesus.

You may not know what job, what major, or even what college to pursue, but all those things are small and insignificant compared to the decision you’re about to make. I want to challenge you, beginning right now, to pursue Jesus with everything. I guarantee you won’t regret it!

So, what are you going to pursue?

take my life

Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee
Take my moments and my days let them flow in ceaseless praise
Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of Thy love
Take my feet and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee

Take my voice and let me sing always, only, for my King
Take my lips and let them be filled with messages from Thee
Take my silver and my gold not a mite would I withhold
Take my intellect and use ev’ry power as You choose

Here am I, all of me
Take my life, it’s all for Thee

Take my will and make it Thine it shall be no longer mine
Take my heart, it is Thine own it shall be Thy royal throne
Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Your feet its treasure store
Take myself and I will be ever, only, all for Thee

loser: part 3

I have a picture of a Giant Sequoia tree on my computer desktop. One of the highlights of my choir trip to California in college was standing beside these trees that towered hundreds of feet into the air. Did you know this tree had to lose something? As a seed in a cone, it had to lose everything. It went from sitting high up in a majestic tree to falling and being covered by dirt. It had to stay there, in the dirt and refuse of the forest for some time before an amazing change began to take place. It went from being a seed in a prickly cone to a delicate little tree. With each year, it continued to grow, until it reached over 300 feet!



The Giant Sequoia is a beautiful picture of the Christian life. Where are you right now? Are you the seed still sitting in the cone high up in a tree, afraid to lose whatever you hold dear? Are you down in the dirt, feeling as though you’ve lost your very life? Are you beginning to see signs of new growth? Wherever you may be, allow yourself to be a loser. Elisabeth Elliot is a woman who lost much in her life. Both she and her husband, Jim, were willing to lose it all for Jesus. Jim lost his life in the jungles of Ecuador as a missionary. Here is what Elisabeth has to say about loss:

“There is no ongoing spiritual life without this process of letting go. At the precise point where we refuse, growth stops. If we hold tightly to anything given to us, unwilling to let it go when the time comes to let it go or unwilling to allow it to be used as the Giver means it to be used, we stunt the growth of the soul…The truth is that it is ours to thank Him for and ours to lose, ours to let go of – if we want to find our true selves, if we want real Life, if our hearts are set on glory.”

loser: part 2

“Then he said to them all: If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” - Luke 9:23-24

You want me to be willing to lose my very life, Lord? But what does that mean? It means a willingness to hold to everything loosely, except for Jesus. Whether your loss is small or big, you’re still ok because you have Jesus.

Losing isn’t easy. It wouldn’t be considered a “loss” if it didn’t hurt. However, Christ calls us to daily lose the things of this world, to lose our desires and plans, to lose our very lives and follow him. There is one thing we should not lose – our hearts. “Therefore we do not lose heart…for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” – 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

He promises that loss will hurt and that we will suffer. But where we choose to fix our eyes makes all the difference. When our eyes are fixed on the ultimate goal: Christ’s glory, our sufferings seem light and momentary compared to what we will gain. The question is, “Is Jesus worth it?” Most definitely!

And here’s the best part: after we lose everything, after we have suffered, Jesus himself will restore us! Not only will we be restored, but we will be “mature and complete: lacking nothing.” These losses, painful as they may be, give us the ability to grow in ways that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. When we come to truly believe this, the losses will not overwhelm us.

loser: part 1

I’m a loser.



Have you ever lost something? If you’re anything like me, you’ve lost many things in your life. Sometimes the most frustrating loss is when you know you’ll misplace an object, so you take great pains to put it somewhere you will remember. However, after a short time, you’ve forgotten where that special place is and spend many unsuccessful hours searching for it.

Loss is something that everyone must face. I guess its just a part of life. We have many adaptations to help us to keep from losing things – a button on the phone base to keep us from losing our cordless phones, maps and GPS systems to keep us from losing our way, even special doctors to keep us from losing our minds.



But sometimes even with the best of intentions, we lose. Some losses are small – you may not even notice its missing until you find it years later. Other losses are much more painful – the loss of your health or job, the ending of a relationship, the loss of a dream, the death of a family member or friend.

Everywhere you look, people are trying to tell you to accumulate more things. Losing is weakness. Do whatever it takes to make sure you’re on top and you have everything you could want – and more. In contrast to this perspective, the life of a Christian should be characterized by loss. What??? God wants us to lose? Well, ok. I’ll lose the bad attitude and my sinful habits. Is that good enough? No? How about if I lose some of my time to ministry and service. Still not enough? What do you want from me, God?

wait.

I recently read this from one of my all-time favorite books: Passion and Purity by Elisabeth Elliot. I have always really loved the first line that describes waiting on God, but all of it spoke to my heart when I read it last night. It was just what I needed. Elisabeth is full of so much wisdom and a steadfast obedience to God's word.

"I do know that waiting on God requires the willingness to bear uncertainty, to carry within oneself the unanswered question, lifting the heart to God about it whenever it intrudes upon one's thoughts.

'Truly my heart waits silently for God; my deliverance comes from him.
In truth he is my rock of deliverance, my tower of strength, so that I stand unshaken.
Trust always in God, my people, pour out your hearts before him; God is our shelter.'

A roof over our heads. A hedge. A windbreak. A warm coat. Shelter from attack - from onslaughts of doubt that God would take care of everything if I would simply trust Him - what if He didn't? Waiting silently is the hardest thing of all.

i have the best job

Today in Human Growth and Development we talked about dating (aka: going out). What this looks like for 6th graders, I'm still trying to figure out. Anyways, I've had some marvelous quotes from them the last couple of days. Even though the videos are from the 80's, it doesn't matter to them - the subject matter is fascinating. Their eyes are glued to the tv screen, and they are always asking questions. Here are some of my favorites:

After studying what it feels like to be attracted to someone:

"Miss Lutes, when you're holding a girl's hand, and your hand gets all sweaty - is that because her hand is hot?"

"Miss Lutes, when you're sitting next to a girl you like in a movie, and she turns to talk to you and your face gets all warm, is that because she has hot breath?"


We had some discussion time where I was fortunate enough to hear all their philosophies of dating. The appropriate time for students to begin dating according to 6th graders is 10-18 years old. #1 worry about dating: Is he/she cheating on me? How late should teenagers be allowed to stay out? From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Then go out again. (I don't know what they would be doing at 6 a.m.) Reasons not to let a guy in the house while you're babysitting: you might get grounded - FOREVER!


Here are some questions and comments from today:

"Miss Lutes, can you even remember that far back to what its like to date someone?"

"What did they call dating in your era?" (After I told them to ask grandparents and parents what they called a guy/girl relationship)

"How old are you anyway?"

"I think the guy should ask the girl out, and the girl should pay." (This got a dirty look from the girl sitting beside him. Somehow I don't think that method is going to work very well for him)

And my favorite...

"I don't mean to be a cupid or anything, but I think someone in this class likes you!" (Said to me as he ran out the door)


Yeah, I never thought I'd say it, but I love teaching Human Growth and Development.