Monday, March 8, 2010



"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit,serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope,be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.' To the contrary, 'if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." -Romans 12:9-21

This passage is one of my all time favorites (really, all of Romans is...); it's posted on my wall. The title of the section, "Marks of the True Christian", really challenges and encourages me. When I'm wracked with doubt, it's a reminder that these things are outward evidences of the redeeming work of Christ in my life. When I'm overconfident, it reminds me how short I fall of the glory of God and how much I'm in need of grace and growth. I will never fully succeed in accomplishing this list until I reach heaven, but the Spirit has promised to intercede for me with groanings too deep for words, and the Son's blood has satisfied the Father's wrath. May I never outgrow the wonderful conviction that this passage brings my soul! 

On a lighter note, I'm sad to see the end of this Chinook. It was quite the blessing, making my return to Canada after break much easier. But now, the sunshine and warmth are gone and the flakes are starting to fall. A cold wind is blowing, the sky is grey, my window is closed and the space heater cranked to protect my poor little plants. I sit quietly indoors with my tea, happy that I'm not working gloveless at the construction site next door like so many of those poor men. As I was watching out my window, I noticed a small insect, probably one of the first of the year, trapped between my screen and the closed window, trying vainly to escape to the outdoors. How often am I like that little insect, chasing after what I desire or what I think I need rather than laying those things at the foot of the cross and trusting that my sovereign God knows best? (ok, perhaps this isn't a lighter note after all)

Truly on a lighter note, I miss swing dancing. I haven't gone for months now, and my feet start twitching whenever I hear anything with that beat. We'll have to deal with this or I might just spontaneously burst into dance in class sometime. 

3 comments:

Stephen said...

I'm very sorry for your dance deprevation. Also, what grace we recieve! Praise The King!

Joshua T. Aitkenhead said...

We need to see to it that this dancing fast is ended... unless you gave it up for lent ;)

Kelsey Sturm said...

No, I didn't give it up for lent. We'll have to round up a crew and a room soon! =)