by Heidi Bylsma | Apr 6, 2012 | Blog
“I am the good shepherd;
I know my sheep and my sheep know me—
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—
and I lay down my life for the sheep.
~ John 10:14-15
God gets to define things the way He wants to because He is God–in charge of the Universe.
I didn’t think it was “good” when my son was evaluated as autistic.
I didn’t think it was “good” when my depression descended on my husband.
I didn’t think it was “good” when my baby girl turned blue within hours of being born and was admitted to NICU.
I didn’t think it was “good” when the Twin Towers fell.
Had I been there, I wouldn’t have called what happened at Golgotha–at Calvary’s Hill–“good” either.
The injustice of an illegal trial that sentenced Jesus to die…
The brutal beating, ripping flesh…
The rejection and abandonment by the closest of friends…
The mockery of a crowd that had praised only 5 days earlier…
The agonizing, writhing of a body wracked with pain from spikes driven through ligaments and flesh, lifted up on a roughly formed wooden cross, shreds of wood lacerating already torn skin…we’ve all seen the movie, The Passion of the Christ…
What was “good” about what happened there?
To find the good, we have to set our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. What is seen is temporary…what is unseen is eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18).
To find the good, we have to trust that God gets to call the shots and he always does what he does for His reasons…and His ways are beyond my ability to comprehend (Isaiah 55:8,9). If I could fathom his ways, he wouldn’t be God at all, but would be small and impotent.
So, God gets to define “good.”
What happened that day so many years ago, was “good.” But it sure wasn’t obvious that it was good.
Greater love has no one than this,
that he lay down his life for his friends.
~ John 15:13
Yet this was the greatest good that mankind could ever be offered.
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us,
so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
~ 2 Corinthians 5:21
What God calls “good,” sometimes seems to be anything but. The cross proves otherwise.
by Heidi Bylsma | Apr 4, 2012 | Blog
Hey there! If you are wondering if you can join us for the new Thin Within class, the answer is YES! We “gather” in 20 minutes…which is 4:30 Pacific Time, 6:30 Central, 7:30 Eastern. You don’t need anything for this first meeting! Just come on along to http://www.thinwithin.org/chat.php — Yup…that means YOU! 😀
by Heidi Bylsma | Apr 4, 2012 | Blog
From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples
that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things
at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law,
and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
“Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!
~ Matthew 16:21,22
As sincere as Peter was, though he knew Jesus so very well, Peter’s “will” wasn’t the will of God. If it had been, I would be dead in my sins…stuck in my own slime pit, trying to claw my way to God.
He had walked with the Master–his Friend, Teacher, and Confidant.
Did Peter sense the shroud of darkness descending?
There would be no place of honor on the right and the left of Jesus anytime soon.
Victory songs and celebratory cheers would have to wait. Palm Sunday was great, but that now seemed like a lifetime ago. What was ahead?
The end of this season of the disciples’ lives was imminent. Was there a sense of failure? Of waiting? Of foreboding? Of anticipation?
While their own desires wouldn’t be realized, they stood on the cusp of something far greater.
Did they fathom just how far-reaching the plan of God was?
Sometimes I hold fast to my own will…it seems so godly….as if it were birthed in heaven itself, steeped in Scripture. Bible verses support my stand, my way of thinking. I boldly take a stand for the Lord by declaring “Thus saith the Lord” about ______________ (whatever it may be).
What if I have missed the point? What if, like Peter, my will actually runs counter to a greater plan of God’s?
The cross demonstrates as nothing else that God’s will might be so very counter-intuitive. It didn’t “make sense.” How could anything good come of a righteous man dying the shameful death of a criminal on a Roman cross?
How indeed.
What am I clinging to today that may be counter to God’s plan? What must I relinquish in order to experience a far greater plan? It may mean darkness, unanswered questions, a long wait. But is it possible it will be worth it? That I should open my mind to the possibility that I am…dare I say it…wrong?
by Heidi Bylsma | Apr 3, 2012 | Blog
About 2000 years ago, Jesus, King of the Universe, condescended from the throne of Heaven. He stepped out of incomprehensible light and love to walk this earth, putting on flesh. Perfect, sweet fellowship within the Trinity was transformed. Moved by compassion, he made such a sacrifice even before the walk to the cross. The expanse between man and Holy God–immeasurable. This, the only way to bridge the chasm.
Even before the pain, suffering, and anguish of the cross, Jesus’ offer to humanity is incomprehensible. He was GOD, existing in perfection as King of all! Yet he willingly stepped out of Heaven to walk among us where he subjected himself to human “stuff”–physical pain, emotional upheavals, rejection, loss.
He came to his own people, and even they rejected him.
~John 1:11 NLT
Why on earth did he do that? He had literally everything.
While it is our tendency to grab for more than is ours, he set all that was his aside.
What manner of God is this? He wants relationship so much with you, with me, that he set aside his role as King of the Universe to be Savior of the world. He did this though it cost him everything.
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor,
so that you by his poverty might become rich.
~ 2 Corinthians 8:9
What will my response be to this grace…today?
What will your response be to this grace today?
Jesus did this. History records his presence on the earth. The question for each of us is So what?
by Heidi Bylsma | Apr 2, 2012 | Blog
Corrie Ten Boom, a Christian who survived life at the Nazi concentration camps, was asked by a reporter in a press conference if it was difficult remaining humble while hearing so much acclaim. She replied immediately, “Young man, when Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on the back of a donkey, and everyone was waving palm branches and throwing garments in the road and singing praises, do you think that for one moment it ever entered the head of that donkey that any of that was for him?” She continued, “If I can be the donkey on which Jesus Christ rides in His glory, I give Him all the praise and all the honor.”
I heard this illustration at last week’s Bible Study Fellowship lecture in Auburn, California. It struck me afresh just how much Jesus sacrificed when he set aside Kingly glory to take on flesh, to walk this earth for 33 years and to then go to the cross.
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus who,
though he was in the form of God,
did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,
being born in the likeness of men.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him
the name that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
~ Philippians 2:5-11
Jesus was/is GOD, very GOD, yet he chose to set aside everything for the sake of bridging the gigantic, unfathomable chasm that existed between Holy God and frail man. Jesus laid down what was rightfully HIS – the glory that he enjoyed with the Father before the world began (see John 17:5 and John 1:1).
Both the donkey and Jesus offer me examples of godly humility. The donkey never thought the honor and praise was for him (so often I do!) and Jesus himself set aside his “rights” as God the Son to do the will of the Father–to meet the great need of humans for a Savior.
How unlike Jesus I am. I grab for what I think is mine: “My food! My body! My way! My will! MINE MINE MINE!” like the gulls in the Finding Nemo movie. I am not even like the donkey. Instead, I am eager to claim any praise as “MINE! MINE! MINE!” as well.
This attitude is a stumbling block for me in my quest to grow more like Jesus. Sanctification is a process…a long, slow, arduous process of relinquishing, clamoring for what is “lost,” surrendering yet again, grabbing it back again, and on and on it goes. I must humbly acknowledge that all that I am, all that I have is for nothing if it is outside of God’s perfect will for me.
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for me will find it.
What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world,
yet forfeits his soul?
Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
~ Matthew 16:25-26
Today, I will stop hollering “MINE! MINE! MINE!” I will keep in mind the donkey who humbly carried Jesus out into the world. I will ponder the example of my Savior who possessed everything, but, for my sake gave it all up. I will choose to release my hold on things to which I cling and throw wide my arms to the unknown (and somewhat frightening) possibilities found when I walk in the heart of God’s will.
Practically Speaking: What is something you declare is “MINE! MINE! MINE!” that God may be calling you to lay down? I don’t have to look much farther than what I eat to find an answer to that. Am I really hungry? Is my body calling for food? Talk about mundane! God uses even something as commonplace as food to show me just how greedy and grabby I am for what isn’t mine.
by Heidi Bylsma | Mar 22, 2012 | Blog
Have you wondered for a while about diving in and giving Thin Within a try?
Are you someone who has dabbled in Thin Within but want a fresh start?
Have you been motoring along, but want a connection with a group online that is pursuing doing this thing together?
If you answered YES to any of these questions, then please consider joining us as we launch a brand new session of our online class, studying the Thin Within workbook series!
April 4th is our first introductory session…so you can order a workbook (if you don’t have one) before that time and be raring to go. The first assignment will be given following April 4ths class. April 4th will be sort of an overview as we launch into the material, discussing the first lesson on April 11th.
We meet on Wednesdays at 4:30 Pacific, 6:30pm Central or 7:30pm Eastern for an hour-long chat online. I also like to have everyone’s email address so I can send out transcripts, additional resources, assignment information and reminders–usually about two emails each week.
If you are interested, you can get the first workbook kit at Amazon or, better (Amazon takes a big chunk of the purchase price), order directly from Joe or Pam Donaldson by calling Thin Within’s toll-free number 877-729-8932 9am-5pm Eastern time. The other three workbooks are available from the Donaldsons. It doesn’t matter which workbook you use, but if you have never gone through workbook #1, I recommend doing that. Or if you need a fresh start. You can use the link for contacting me that is in the margin of the website here to let me know to add you to the class email list. I promise not to sell your email address! 🙂
If you want to know more about the workbook, there is information about the workbook on another page at my blog here and a video where I tell you about it found here.
Hope you will join us! Even better…gather some others together at your church to join with YOU! 🙂
