bride of Christ

I find myself compelled to return to the bride of Christ analogy. While sitting in my general psychology class, something suddenly occured to me.

The character qualities I'm looking for in a husband are ones that Christ already exemplifies.

I want a man who would be willing to die for me.
One Man, Christ, already did.

I want a man to protect me. I want someone who won't desert me.
Jesus is the ultimate protector. He will never leave me nor forsake me.

I want a man to spend the rest of my life with.
I already know who I want to spend eternity with.

Christ is my bridegroom.

Psalm 34:8-10
"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing."

refining fire

This Sunday I had the privilege of listening to a message titled, "Sensing God in the Storms of Life." The message had several good points, but one striking analogy.

The pastor explained the story of how silver is refined. Once the silversmith puts the silver in the fire, he doesn't take his eye off it. He doesn't let anything distract him. How does he know when the silver is perfect and pure? "I know the silver is pure when I can see my face reflected in it."

You will recall Bible verses that speak of God refining our hearts.

Psalm 66:10
"For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined."

Daniel 11:34-36
"Now when they fall, they shall be aided with a little help; but many shall join with them by intrigue. And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time."

Finally, the verse I found most powerful.

Zechariah 13:9
"I will bring the one-third through the fire, will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'This is My people'; and each one will say, 'The Lord is my God.' "

"I know the silver is pure when I can see my face reflected in it."

We are pure when we reflect God's image.

one desire, one focus

This last week has been an incredible time of growing and learning, of seeking God and relying on Him. The theme for my dorm hall is the bride of Christ. I'm so used to being dependent on my family, that it has become a crutch. It's hard and yet really good and important to learn to be on my own.

One verse has really stood out to me this week,

Psalm 73:25-26
"Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

I am praying that God will help me to seek Him and rely on Him only.

Psalm 119:10
"With my whole heart I have sought You; oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!"

chivalry

I turned over a couple of jewels in my blog surfing today on the subject of chivalry. Hannah Beth of Beauty from the Heart wrote a post titled "Chivalry is Dead"...a Commentary." She uses a teacup analogy which I would encourage you to read. Krista, from Musings of a Lady, posted a link to an inspiring story about ladies.

These two posts reminded me of a policy here at my college. During orientation evening, we were informed that girls could pick up a safety whistle at the student life office. Girls were warned to blow the whistle only in an emergency. Guys were told that they were expected to come running and protect the ladies here if they heard a whistle blowing.

I was impressed by this public expectation that guys would protect the ladies around them, but I've also been struck by the care the guys here take to open doors for girls.

Picture credit

MySpace is Everyone'sSpace

At chapel this morning, our student body received an interesting annoucement. Last year, MySpace and Facebook were banned on campus. This year they've decided to unban both, but with a little catch. Apparently the college has everyone's MySpace on file and during every chapel, they will put some random MySpace up on the projector screen.

Although I don't think MySpace or any space for that matter is inherently evil, I do see a lot more objectional material there. I have a feeling everyone will be updating their MySpaces today. Even if the content isn't bad, it could be personal.

Our campus pastor said that the purpose of this measure was to hold everyone accountable.

What do you think about this decision? Should this be left up to the students? Should the college be monitoring this?