One of our Refem authors shared this video with me a few weeks ago. I am VERY skeptical of such theatrics. But it moved me from skepticism to tearful meditation on all that Christ has done for me. I share it with you, crying even now as I listen to the song again. I trust it will move you to think on Him as well.
“How can I stand here with You and not be moved by You?”
So Johnny Depp is my favorite actor, and Sweeney Todd is the first play I ever remember going to in my life, at the Follies in Virginia City, Montana. I had lost my first tooth, which means I was around 7. Yeah, I know, my mom was slightly gothic too.
So, of course this is where Fandango and I meet for advance tickets.
So, aside from all the criticisms and gothicism and icky isms we can banter, I am totally thinking of Wendy’s posts as I watched the character of Mrs. Lovett unfold, namely,
“…the temptation will be to meditate on your loneliness and become fixated on the circumstances surrounding your singleness. You need to be distracted from that self-centered mental path.”
Uh, you go girl. Just spelled it out for the character of Mrs. Lovett, brilliantly portrayed by Helena Bonham Carter. See her face above? Captured. Completely “fixated” “distracted” and on a “self-centered mental path”, because she is lonely, and follows Sweeney Todd into his evil spirals. Mrs. Lovett has a good heart, but becomes an accomplice to heinous acts, all in the name of loneliness.
Dear, sweet, precious, innocent, lonely young (and seasoned) single women who love Jesus: Take note:
Loneliness that is not submitted to Jesus can be a gateway for the Boulevard of Broken Dreams. You may be astounded at the compromises you make. You will be heartbroken. You will feel numb. You can live years in feigned happiness while satan weaves an unsuspecting web, culminating in sticky, unprecedented agonies while trying to escape.
Men who don’t love Jesus are just Sweeney Todds in the end.
And, just like the final act in the play and movie, you play with fire, you get burnt. Attested. Please listen to us. Review the posts, starting with In the Waiting, and think about this:
“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Luke 5:16
“God sets the lonely in families {churches and community groups?} , He leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.” Psalm 68:6
“Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.” Psalm 25:16
“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Joshua 1:5 / Hebrews 13:5
Oh, so much better to be “alone” (as if you can be with Jesus) than in bad company, my friends.
Okay. Don’t laugh. But this is my stage of life. No more blockbuster hits for me. No critically acclaimed dramas. Instead, as the mother of 2 young boys who love Pixar films, I find myself watching Finding Nemo numerous times of late. However, despite the 2-10 year old intended audience, I find it oddly compelling. In fact, there are several scenes in it that speak to me-reflecting my own mental battles with God over my children. I can identify with Marlin, Nemo’s dad. He’s lost his wife and other children in a violent tragedy that leaves him obsessed with Nemo’s safety. He’s fearful, and rightfully so. But his obsession with Nemo’s safety drives Nemo to an immature act of rebellion. Marlin has provoked his child to wrath.
The rest of the story is Marlin’s heroic efforts to get Nemo back and the odd group of marine life that helps him along the way. The climactic moment, at least to me, is the scene in which Marlin and Dori, his sidekick, are stuck in the whale. It’s a poignant moment in which Marlin comes face to face with his fears and the ineffectiveness of his obsessive methods for protecting Nemo. The whale becomes a God-like figure.
MARLIN
We’re in a whale! Don’t you get it!? . ‘Cause you had to ask for help! And now we’re stuck here!
DORY
Wow. A whale. You know I speak whale.
MARLIN
No, you’re insane! You can’t speak whale! I have to get out! I have to find my son! I have to tell him how old sea turtles are! [sobs]
DORY
There, there. It’s all right. It’ll be okay.
MARLIN
No. No, it won’t.
DORY
Sure it will, you’ll see.
MARLIN
No. I promised him I’d never let anything happen to him.
DORY
Huh. That’s a funny thing to promise.
MARLIN
What?
DORY
Well, you can’t never let anything happen to him. Then nothing would ever happen to him. Not much fun for little Harpo.
And then it looks like the whale is about to digest them. It becomes obvious that Marlin has allowed his fears to keep him from trusting those who are best able to help him. He always expects the worst and keeps shooting himself in the foot accordingly .
MARLIN
What’s going on?
DORY
I think he says we’ve stopped.
MARLIN
Of course, we’ve stopped. Just stop trying to speak whale, you’re gonna make things worse.
[gasps] What is that noise? Oh no. Look what you did. The water’s going down!
DORY
Really? You sure about that?
MARLIN
Look, it’s already half-empty!
DORY
Hmm..I’d say it’s half full.
MARLIN
Stop that! It’s half-empty!
DORY
Okay, that one was a little tougher. He either said we should go to the back of the throat or he wants a root beer float.
MARLIN
Of course he wants us to go there! He’s eating us! How do I taste, Moby!? Huh!? Do I taste good!? You tell him I’m not interested in being lunch!. What is going on!?
DORY
He says it’s time to let go! Everything’s gonna be all right!
MARLIN
How do you know!? How do you know something bad isn’t gonna happen!?
DORY
I don’t!
Then Marlin lets go, the whale spurts them out his blowhole, and they find themselves in the Sydney harbor-the very place they wanted to be. Of course, this doesn’t come across nearly as poignant when reading a transcript. But every time I watch this scene, I see myself, desperate to hang on to control and utterly convinced that if I don’t fix my mess myself, I’m utterly lost. I always expect the worst of others. Then there comes this point where my attempts to fix things-to correct my own mistakes or protect others from the same-crumble in my hands and fall through my fingers. My best efforts fall miserably short of the goal of fixing my problems and protecting my loved ones. Instead of a whale, it is the Sovereign God of the Universe who calls on me to trust Him. While Marlin’s savior in that moment only helps him through that particular phase of his journey, my Savior promises to never leave me and to thoroughly equip me for each test, trial, and temptation I face. But I must come to that moment in which I let go even though I don’t know the outcome. I let go of my control and fall into the arms of God’s grace. I don’t know how it’s going to work out, but in my free fall, I know that God is in control, He has the power to convict men of sin, and any positive change in other’s hearts or my circumstances is ultimately because God chose to work.
Letting go when I don’t know the immediate outcome is a difficult but necessary act of faith in God-especially where my children are concerned. God understands this-just think how many of Scripture’s pivotal stories revolve around parents and their children. Dealing with fears that you’ll never have children (Abraham, Sarah, Hannah). Giving up your children in sacrifice to God (Abraham and Isaac, Hannah and Samuel). Children who break their parent’s heart through rebellion (David and Absalom, Jacob and his sons who turned on Joseph). Fine if God wants to use me for His purposes-but trusting Him with my children tests my faith in a new and intense way.
I am learning as a relatively new mom that I am powerless to control all the factors that affect my children. But I know the One who can and does, and He is the best of Fathers.
Psalm 62:8 Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.
“Long lay the world, in sin and error pining,
Til He appeared, and the soul felt its worth….” O Holy Night lyrics by French wine seller, Placide Cappeau, 1847
The stain of sin had bled throughout mankind for thousands of years.
Thousands of years is a long time. A world could get weary waiting that long.
“A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices…”
Weary. Bone tired. Bushed. Done in. Sick and Tired. Worn out. Ever feel that? So did the Shepherds. The lowest working class, they were just doing their best at a very ordinary job, keeping watch over their flocks by night.
Night. Darkness. Quiet. Wonder what their hearts were pining for right before they saw…What the?…Light?
…”and the glory of the Lord shone around them.” Luke 2:9.
How thrilling! How unconventional! The wealthiest Kingdom announcing its New Born Prince to ordinary, weary, poor peasants. How…odd.
“For yonder breaks, a new and glorious morn…”
I should say. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:1-5. 
A Morning like no other. Light had finally come to a weary world. And Light is Good. Very Good. Because darkness can no longer overcome us. Not our circumtances. Not our bank accounts. Not our own condemning hearts. Hope is born. And hope does not disappoint.
Ever.
“ Fall on your knees…”
“When they saw the Star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the Child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped Him.” Matthew 2:11
It was the end of a long, weary journey. Following a heavenly Star to find an earthly one. Did they rehearse what they would say? Did they have preconceived ideas of what, who they would find? How long did they stay?
We don’t know. God only records that they fell down to worship Him. Apparently that was the only important detail. Emotion strong enough to overwhelm wealthy, educated men of great authority. Good heavens…this was…most unconventional. Odd. What Child could inspire such unrequested adoration from grown men? Certainly, this was no ordinary Child.
The long journey had tugged at their souls for months. And now, enveloped into humility, they feel something.
Their soul’s worth.
Can’t wait to meet them some day and compare notes.
Because we are all on unconventional journeys. We are weary. Bone tired. We need Light. And, Oh God! Do we need to feel our worth. Our whole soul’s worth.
And that only, ONLY happens when you meet Jesus.
Mary felt her worth. The Shepherds felt their worth. The wealthy wise men felt their worth. A French wine seller felt his worth.
2,000 years later, a wounded, bruised, weary world longs to feel their worth.
Their soul’s worth.
In Jesus.
FALL ON YOUR KNEES.
Merry Christmas, Mars Hill. Merry Christmas, weary World.
by Chandin Persaud, Mars Hill Member & Cupcake Conquerer in Christ
I love celebrating Jesus’ Birthday. I love His beautiful birthday tree, His birthday songs and His birthday goodies, oh yes, the birthday goodies. Christmas cookies, truffles, candy, hot coco, chocolate, nuts, chocolate covered nuts, and sweet pastry bread, all of the delicacies that one could desire. And this is why I have grief around Jesus’ birthday. It is terribly difficult to not use the birth of my Savior as an excuse to sin. For me, resisting gluttony is more difficult this time of year than any other.
The partaking of food is a huge part of our celebrations, and it is biblical, but it is often used as a justification to “let loose’ and indulge for months. This overshoots celebration and winds up in selfish gratification rather than God glorification. The average American gains multiple pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas.* Repentance usually doesn’t come until the New Year, where 45% of women’s New Year resolutions are to lose weight.** Food has become the god of our nation. At the heart of all of this is sin and it needs to be treated as such.
One of the many problems with gluttony is that it is seen as a “small issue,’ if at all seen as a sin, even in the church. While studying this subject I found a plethora of Christian weight loss resources, complete with photos of smiling women resembling girls on the cover of Fitness or Shape magazine with captions of out-of-context Scripture: “I can do all through Him who strengthens me!” (Actually, those resources are a great way to lose weight because I lost my appetite just reading about them!) Not a mention of sin or Christ or righteousness or repentance. Yet Scripture repeatedly tells us the dangers of over indulgence. Proverbs 23:2 tells us to “put a knife to [our] throat if [we] are given to gluttony” and to not join those who drink much wine or gorge themselves on meat (v.20). Gluttony is a big deal and is a spiritual decay that slowly devours our righteousness.
Paul says in Philippians 3:19 that for enemies of the cross, “their end is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.” Their problem isn’t just overeating, but rather having seriously mixed up priorities. Their mind set is on the temporal and not on the eternal. They live for instant self-satisfaction and self-gratification rather than eternal satisfaction and God’s glorification. They seek pleasure, not God.
Thomas Aquinas, one of the very early church fathers, is best known for his writings and beliefs on gluttony. He prepared a list of 5 different ways gluttony can be committed: Eating too soon, too expensively, too much, too eagerly, and too daintily. Why? Because gluttony never looks to heaven in the feast; but is obsessed with his stomach, unthankful and never satisfied, and blasphemes his Feeder. Is expensive food bad? Is eating an early lunch bad? No, it is the motive behind these actions that causes gluttony.
Gluttony is a spiritual cancer because it spreads to other areas in our lives. When we lose control in a “little” area, such as our plate, how are we to have self-control or discipline in other areas of our lives like our worship, ministry, money, sex, and temper? It may take a long time for it to spread into these other areas, but by the time we realize we’ve lost all self-control the damage will have already been done. But it is important to remember that nothing is beyond the redemptive hand of Christ.
I didn’t begin to struggle with food until I met Jesus in the spring of 2005. I stopped partying and doing drugs when I came to Christ and I felt pretty proud of myself, which was a sin I noticed much later. But, strangely, my temptation had become food. I could hardly control myself around a plate of cookies at a community group and at dinner I found that I was obsessed with the plate in front of me. I hadn’t been like this before. I noticed other areas where I had been disciplined were weakening. I struggled to control my temper and would blow up at many of the people I loved. But the truth of it is that I had traded “big” sins for a “smaller” one. I traded the sins of drunkenness and drug use, which aren’t accepted by Christians, to gluttony, which often is. My appetite hadn’t changed much from when I was a non-Christian. I still craved things outside of Christ more than Christ himself, which was so utterly disgusting.
It has been a long battle with this sin and I am learning how to fight. If I were to be honest I would admit that the reason I want to fight gluttony most of the time is not because I want to be holy, but because I do not want to gain weight. My eyes were opened to what was going on while studying Romans 6:12-14.
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you since you are not under law but under grace.
This shows there is a fight in the life of a believer for the throne in our bodies. The interesting thing is that this throne always belongs to something out side of ourselves; we are always a slave to something-either to Christ or to sin (John 8:34, Lk 13:16). It shows there are challengers to this throne. Sex, appetite, comfort, laziness, and many other bodily passions are contending for this spot in our bodies. It is interesting that Paul here is talking specifically about our body. There is not just “the throne of our life” but the throne of our bodies. Once the rebel sin takes the throne, it controls our passions — our desires (v.12). Paul is using warfare imagery here, and our bodily members are weapons. They are used for unrighteousness when sin is on the throne and are weapons for righteousness when the rightful King is ruling. For example, the desire for food when we are hungry serves us well. We know we need nourishment and can care for our bodies in a healthy way. But when sin takes the throne of our bodies, the desire becomes gluttonous or can evolve into disordered eating. The enemy is ruling. And our lips, tongue, mouth, and stomach become weapons of unrighteousness, waging war on the kingdom of God. The fight begins at desire.
When I am tempted by my desire for more than my fill I ask myself, “who reigns?” or “who is on the throne in my body? Am I going to allow this cupcake to kick King Jesus off His throne, which He purchased with his own blood? Is my stomach going to be a weapon against the kingdom of God or is it going to fight against the enemy?” I still struggle in this area, but most of the time I meditate on these verses and ask myself these questions, and then I am able to put down the food and walk away. Not so much for the sake of my hips, but for the sake of holiness and His kingdom.
Please keep your weak brothers and sisters in mind this Christmas season. If they say no one of your homemade cookies, candies, or pies that you slaved over, do not feel personally insulted and insist and guilt them into having another: they could have already had their fill of goodies. This is a time of celebrating the gift of our Savior who graciously forgives our sin and cleanses us of our filth, which includes too many of his birthday cookies. There are always times for celebration and enjoyment of God’s good gifts throughout the year, but the time for holiness and sanctification is now.
*www.healthguidance.org
**www.associatedcontent.com
“We Three Kings” is one of my favorite Christmas songs. 2 verses in particular which I’d like to share here we so often sing without thinking of what is being said, but these particular words always grab me.
Born a babe on Bethlehem’s plain;
Gold we bring to crown Him again;
King forever, ceasing never,
Over us all to reign.
Glorious now behold Him arise;
King and God and sacrifice;
Alleluia, Alleluia,
Sounds through the earth and skies.
It’s Christmas time yet again, we get to celebrate the birth of Jesus. What a privilege that we actually get to celebrate it. I know it’s hard for me to remember that sometimes: that there are people who are not allowed to celebrate Jesus’ birth. And for those of us that are — we seem to want to celebrate giving crap-loads of stuff instead.
This Christmas, for me at least, is filled with a lot of things that I don’t know how to deal with. About the only thing I feel like I know right now is that God is gracious and merciful, and that He will accomplish His purposes. So, this Christmas I want to celebrate Jesus - King, God, and sacrifice. Amazing God.
I remember Christmas 2002 at Mars Hill Church quite well. It was my first Christmas in Seattle and at Mars Hill, and I remember my initial horror when I figured out the link of the title of this Christmas sermon with the content.
The whores in Jesus’ lineage. That’s it in a nutshell. The churches in which I grew up didn’t preach much on whores and certainly didn’t title their sermons in such a scandalous way. But I have to say that sermon got my attention and stuck with me. Listen to it if you have time. If you don’t have time, here’s the basic idea. Women who were disdained in their society because of their sinful sexual activities are redeemed by God. Their stories are transformed. They are no longer remembered in the history of the church as whores but as the mothers of the lineage of Jesus. These women remind us that, while our culture may exploit women from multiple angles, our Savior has long been in the business of loving us, transforming us, and giving us His name.
This is WHAT HE DOES. Redemption. Reconciliation. Restoration.
. Therefore we have Hope.
The devil, things and people being what they are, it is necessary for God to use the hammer, the file and the furnace in His holy work of preparing a saint for true sainthood. It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply. The Root of the Righteous, A.W. Tozer, p. 157
****
“But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.” Job 23:10
“For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined.” Psalm 66:10
“Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.” Isaiah 48:10
“For He is like a refiner’s fire and like launderers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver.” Malachi 3:2, 3
I grew up with a 585 foot smelter stack in my backyard, as it were. A little different than having a view of the Space Needle. 
The Bible teaches nothing is left to chance, and God grew me up in Anaconda, Montana in an environment of miners and smelters and heat. Thus, it is deeply familial to read about the Refiner’s Fire in the Bible, a metaphor often used to describe spiritual purification. Immediately I revert to childhood images of the smeltering process, where molten batches of useless ore separate from the precious metals. This is impossible without intense heat, and it helps me wrap my head around the intense furnaces God allows in seasons of life. He KNOWS what He’s doing, it’s NOT all for nothing, and IF I submit to the entire process, spiritual silver SHALL emerge. The One who is Faithful and True PROMISES.
If the generalities of Christmas are secondary to you this season, perhaps the Refiner Jesus has allowed a winter furnace. Let Him have his way, sisters, and do not want so much for relief until the smallest drops of dross and slag are purged in your purification process. For certain, the Bible was written in tears, and to tears it will yield its best treasures. God has nothing to say to the frivolous man or woman.
Have thine own way, Lord. May we shine for Your Kingdom’s Sake .
A few weeks ago this sweet lullaby, Away in a Manger, brought me to tears as I played it on the piano and sang it’s precious words. Yes, I have heard it year after year and at first the words are wonderfully familiar and bring a warm feeling of Christmas; hearing it makes me almost smell evergreen needles and wassail. But as I played it over again and really sang the words as worship I realized how true they still are in my life as an adult and how much I need Jesus more than ever.
I love Thee, Lord Jesus, Look down from the sky. And stay by my side, ‘Til morning is nigh. Quaint, yes, but still just as true today as when I was five.
As my mini-woship session ended and I was alone again with red candles and an advent wreath I whispered my favorite line again, Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay; Close by me forever And love me I pray
This Christmas no matter if you are a child or have children, let yourself take a moment to be young at heart and experience a very simple faith.
Jesus loves you, he was born for you, he wants to be near you each day.
Away in a Manger,
No crib for His bed
The little Lord Jesus
Laid down His sweet head
The stars in the bright sky
Looked down where He lay
The little Lord Jesus
Asleep on the hay
The cattle are lowing
The poor Baby wakes
But little Lord Jesus
No crying He makes
I love Thee, Lord Jesus
Look down from the sky
And stay by my side,
‘Til morning is nigh.
Be near me, Lord Jesus,
I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever
And love me I pray
Bless all the dear children
In Thy tender care
And take us to heaven
To live with Thee there
Warning: this is a long one. But I hope it makes you laugh, smile & think seriously about what it means to be a woman in relationship with men, and what kind of men you want around you.
I very much enjoy salsa dancing.
My friend and I go when we have the chance, and it never fails to amuse, bewilder, and teach me on what it means to be a woman, and what it means to interact with a man.
Last week I was out again, and I learned something new about myself.
But first I’d like to share some previous insights into my identity as a woman, and what kind of men are out there.
The Dancing Woman (Me):
Reforming the Feminine Content