Culture Shock

 “As you experience this new culture, you are going to encounter many differences. Remember that things may not be necessarily wrong or right—just different.”

I was sixteen years old when I heard these words of wisdom. Although it took me a long time to really believe them, these words have since changed my life forever. My junior year of high school, my family took in Andrea—a foreign exchange student from the Czech Republic. Since she was only six months older than me, we became immediate friends. No, wait. Somehow, more than friends. Andy is more to me than just an “exchange student.” Andy is my sister. Aside from lacking a blood relation, Andy has become my sister in every sense of the word.

When she arrived that fall, I did not live out the advice given to me. For months, little irritations built up inside of me and compounded frustration. Natively from Eastern Europe, Andy did things in a way that was just... wrong! She wouldn't use the sheets on her bed, she made salads without any lettuce, and she would wear the same outfit two days in the row... ridiculous, I know! Irritation itched at my patience, and I just couldn't understand why she didn't do things my way—the “right way.” I would run to make the dinner salad so I could fill the bowl with lettuce before she got there. Maybe now she'll learn!

I did eventually learn patience throughout that year, but the biggest lesson was yet to come. After she returned to her home country, I found myself deeply missing her—differences and all. I went to visit her in Prague, and I lived with her family. Finally, I understood. Immersing myself into her culture revealed the truth: not wrong, just different. I have since been to the Czech Republic four times, and I can't wait to go back again. I've learned to enjoy the freshness of different traditions and lifestyles, and it's opened my eyes to the truth that the “American” way does not always equal the “right” way.

I believe that every person should step out of their own culture and deeply experience another one. Like St. Augustine said, “the world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.”

*A short story written for my nonfiction class--described as a "statement of belief" from a specific example in my life. The format is similar to that from http://www.thisibelieve.com/

Letting God Determine My Steps

"God, show me some of your plan... just a glimpse... I know I need to follow You in faith, but I really just need to know what Your plan is for me..."

As I've sought after Him, God has been guiding my decisions. I beg and plead for Him to give me just a brief glimpse of what He has planned for me. When He leads me down certain paths, I grow excited in anticipation of the plan that I think He is revealing to me--the confusing part is when that plan doesn't follow my expectations.

Changes in career, missions, relationships, ministries... I diligently pour my heart out in prayer, abandoning my own desires to pray like Moses did: "if your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here" (Exodus 33:15). In the depths of my heart, I desire to follow God's will for me regardless of what I think is best.

As I abandon my own desires, I begin to see His blessing--encouragement to either seek an opportunity or walk away from it. I follow Him when He answers "Yes!" ... yet I've had a few situations lately when those "Yes" situations crumble, or He leads me in a new direction after just a short time. Questions and doubts seep into in my mind:

Did I not hear Him correctly?
     Was I just listening to my own stubborn desires?
          Am I being punished for something?
     Is God trying to test my faith?
Did I mess up what I was supposed to do along the way?

I prayed through these questions, but none of them seem to be the answer. I know I was listening to Him. I know I was surrendering my own desires. I know that--as flawed as I am--I was earnestly seeking Him as I continued down that path. However, I still felt like God was going back on what He told me. After all, I know I was listening to him. Why would he tell me to take one path then abruptly change His mind? I've grown emotionally dizzy from the direction changing. He leads me down one path then another, and another, and another...

I'm realizing that God sees more than I see.

When God is speaking to me, I hear His voice and start sprinting. He tells me to take the right turn, and I mistakenly assume that I know exactly where the road is headed. But what I'm learning is that He is guiding me step-by-step:

In his heart a man plans his course,
but the LORD determines his steps.

Proverbs 16:9

As God determines my steps, I start planning my course and assuming that I know what is in store for my life. But looking back over this last year and seeing what He's done in my life, His hand is moving. Through the various turns He has directed me to take, I have ended up where I am right now. Each turn didn't point me in the direction that I would pursue indefinitely, but existed as merely the next step in the direction He wants me to go.

It's like navigating around a city: when traveling across town, if you take a left on 12th street, you probably won't be following 12th street for the rest of your journey. Taking 12th street will lead you to 1st Avenue, where you'll take a right onto Main and follow it until you reach Reserve....

When God gives me directions for my life, it's not necessarily the entire plan mapped out for me. I've changed my major several times, considered different careers, pursued different relationships, been involved in several ministries... but overall, I have no clue what God has in store for me in the long run. As much as I want to plan my own course, I know that He will be determining my steps. And I know that He will get me where He wants me to be -- one step at a time.

An empty church filled with people

What does God think about "Christians" that attend church, but do not live out their faith? Is He content with knowing that they're at least hearing the message? I mean, the church is for the sick, not the healthy... right?

We all know these people: they come (most) every Sunday, but you rarely see them serving others in the church or otherwise; they occasionally throw a couple bucks in the offering box, but they don't tithe 10% of their income or give until it hurts; they often say good things in church, but if you look at their life at home, work, or school, it's a completely different story. What does the Bible say about these people?

"Through him [Jesus Christ] and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith." (Romans 1:1)

Our actions as believers do not earn us our salvation or get us to rightousness--on the contrary, they are the result of our faith in Jesus Christ. Therefore, if someone's life is not showing obedience to God, what is that saying about their faith?

"For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous." (Romans 2:13)

It is not merely our vast understanding of the Bible that will lead us to righteousness (or right-ness in the eyes of God), but salvation and faith through Christ Jesus, lived out through our obedience.

"Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, 'Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.'
Jesus replied, 'Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.' " (Matthew 8:20)

Jesus didn't seem to be interested in building his numbers as quickly as possible. There are several accounts of Him warning people that --if you want to follow Him--you have to make major sacrifices in your life.

"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth." (Revelation 3:15-16)

Speaking to the church in Laodicea, God makes it clear that He is uninterested in the lukewarm Christian. Following these verses, in verse 17, He goes on to describe them as "wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked" . . .I guess I never looked at the average pew-warming, lukewarm Christian in this way.

"Then He will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me othing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I need clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

They will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." (Matthew 5:41-46)

This was the most convicting passage for me; God's requirements for eternal life was not solely based on the redemption of Jesus Christ, but also on how we live our lives as a result of His free gift. What good is a dead faith to God?

All of this being said, I believe that God is not interested in people following Him with a noncommitted heart. . . because He wants all of our heart. He sent His own son to die for us so that we could be saved (John 3:16-17), and every single person is in desperate need of that salvation:

"This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace throught the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." (Romans 3:22-23)

*All Bible verses are taken from the New International Version.

The Sprit intercedes for us through wordless groans...

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

Romans 8:26

Last night, I wasn't doing so great. Overwhelmed from my day, I sat in my room as tears streamed down my face. I whispered prayers without words, my heart unable to express to God how much I needed Him in that moment.

I was about to just go to sleep when I felt the desire to pray. Knowing that I needed God's comfort, I pulled out my Bible reading plan. The first chapter for the day was Psalm 42, and from the very first line, I knew that God's Spirit was speaking my prayers through the words of the chapter. When I didn't know the words to express my pain and need for God, the Spirit knew.

Here are the words of that Psalm; words written thousands of years ago by a distant and foreign king, yet still somehow the words my heart could not find.....


Psalm 42
¹ As the deer pants for streams of water,
   so my soul pants for you, my God.
² My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
   When can I go and meet with God?
³ My tears have been my food
   day and night,
while people say to me all day long,
   “Where is your God?”
⁴ These things I remember
   as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go to the house of God
   under the protection of the Mighty One^[d]
with shouts of joy and praise
   among the festive throng.
 ⁵ Why, my soul, are you downcast?
   Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
   for I will yet praise him,
   my Savior and my God.
 ⁶ My soul is downcast within me;
   therefore I will remember you
from the land of the Jordan,
   the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.
⁷ Deep calls to deep
   in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
   have swept over me.
 ⁸ By day the LORD directs his love,
   at night his song is with me—
   a prayer to the God of my life.
 ⁹ I say to God my Rock,
   “Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
   oppressed by the enemy?”
¹⁰ My bones suffer mortal agony
   as my foes taunt me,
saying to me all day long,
   “Where is your God?”
 ¹¹ Why, my soul, are you downcast?
   Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
   for I will yet praise him,
   my Savior and my God.

Thinking or Planning? A Look Into Jeremiah 29:11

            Four hundred years after the completion of its first printing, the King James Version of the Bible is still commonly used and accepted as one of the most trustworthy English Bibles. Because of its widespread credibility, the King James Version has penetrated the English language to the point where scholars agree that it is one of the strongest influences on the development of the English Language (Crystal, 62); however, in more recent years, the King James Version is slowly becoming obsolete within the evangelical Christian culture. New translations are overtaking the King James Version's monopoly of Biblical authority because the newer versions are written in a form of English that is easier for the common man to understand. In addition, today's Biblical translators have both a better understanding of and an older source for the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts than the translators of the King James Version had in 1611 (Hamlin, 19).

            With both the old and new translations coexisting, debate about which translation to accept as “correct” is prevalent. Theological differences often arise because of the variations in the words chosen for each translation. An example of this type of difference can be found in the Old Testament book of Jeremiah, verse 29:11. At first glance, the King James Version appears to be saying that God has good “thoughts” towards the Israelites, yet the New International Version states that God has good “plans” for the Israelites. This word deviation could add to or detract from the debate of whether God has a plan for Christians and is actively orchestrating their lives or not. When comparing the New International Version's translation of Jeremiah 29:11 to the King James Version, the two may appear to be contradictory; however, upon digging deeper, we find that the two translations convey the same message about God's providence.

The New International Version

            “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Zondervan NIV Study Bible, 1188). In modern Christianity, the New International Version's translation of Jeremiah 29:11 is often quoted as a verse that reflects the good plans that God has for His followers. Christians frequently find hope in the belief that God has their life planned out for them and plans to give them “hope and a future.” In contrary to the belief—or maybe complementary to the belief—of free will, Christians accept the promise of God’s plans as an assurance that they don't have to worry when they go through hard times. One renowned Christian author, Leslie Ludy, writes about her own experience of surrendering her will to the plan that she believes God has for her:

I remember when God first challenged me to give up trying to write my own love story and allow Him to do with this area of my life exactly as He saw fit. I hesitatingly gave the "pen" of my love story to the Author of romance, worrying that I would end up with a bleak, drab, dismal, second-rate version of love as a result . . . . Now I laugh at my ridiculous fears. Jesus Christ takes very good care of the things we entrust to Him. The love story that He wrote for me was completely beyond anything I ever could have hoped for or imagined (Ludy, 34).

This passage from Ludy's book, Set-Apart Femininity, is a reflection of how Christians believe that God has good things in store for them. Bible verses like the New International Version's Jeremiah 29:11 can encourage this belief because of how it states that God has good plans for His people.

The King James Version

            “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” (King James Version). In this translation of Jeremiah 29:11, the Lord is admitting good thoughts toward the Israelites. His thoughts for them are “of peace, and not of evil,” but they do not necessarily carry any providential weight. Whereas the New International Version speaks of specific “plans” for the Israelites, the King James Version uses the word “thoughts” and does not appear to support the theology of God having an active plan for His people. To look beyond this initial interpretation, English Baptist pastor and theologian John Gill (1697-1771) brings into perspective the usage of the word “thoughts” in Jeremiah 29:11 and how it applies to the Christian life:

these [thoughts] were within him, and known to him, and him only; they were remembered by him, and continued with him, as the "thoughts of his heart are to all generations"; and so would not fail of being performed; men think and forget what they have thoughts of, and so it comes to nothing; but thus it is not with God; he has taken up many thoughts in a way of love, grace, and mercy, concerning sinful men; about their election in Christ; a provision of all spiritual blessings for them; redemption and salvation by Christ; their effectual calling, adoption, and eternal life (Exposition of the Entire Bible, Jeremiah 29).

Gill breaks down this passage clearly by contrasting human thoughts with God's thoughts. Whereas the thoughts of humans are fleeting, the Christian view of God is that He is all-seeing, all-knowing, and all-powerful. God's thoughts would not fail to be carried out.

            Gill's commentary is not merely a fluffing of the original text because the verse concludes by saying that God's thoughts for the Israelites will lead to “an expected end.” This end implies that the believer's life does in fact have a God-planned ending for them.

Conclusion

            To the common reader skimming over these verses, the word choice alone could make the two translations appear to be contradictory. The substitution of “thoughts” for “plans” in the King James Version could cause a crisis of faith; the promise and assurance they had been relying upon could come crashing down. After a comparison of the New International Version to the King James Version, we find that the two translations convey the same message about God's plans for the Israelites.

            In light of all this, why would Christians desire for God to have a plan for their lives—it seems to contradict the idea of free will. Renowned Christian author, C.S. Lewis, faced head-on the debate of free will versus God's plans for each person. In his book Mere Christianity, Lewis says that

free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having…. The happiness which God designs for His higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily united to Him and to each other in an ecstasy of love and delight compared with which the most rapturous love between a man and a woman on this earth is mere milk and water. And for that they must be free (53).

As with the former excerpt by Leslie Ludy, the idea of surrendering to the will of God is not often viewed as a loss of free will within the Christian life but the choice of accepting God's plan over their own. Jeremiah 29:11 is a beautiful verse that speaks of the plans that God holds for His people, whether accepted from the King James Version or the New International Version.

Works Cited

Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge University Press, 1995, 2003. Print.

Gill, John. Exposition of the Entire Bible. Book of Jeremiah. www.freegrace.net/gill/. Accessed 11/16/11. Print converted to Web.

Hamlin, Hannibal; Jones, Norman W. The King James Bible after 400 years: literary, linguistic, and cultural influences. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Print.

King James Version. www.biblegateway.com. Web.

Lewis, C. S. Mere Christianity. New York: Touchstone, 1996. Print.

Ludy, Leslie. Set-Apart Femininity. Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2008. Print.

Zondervan NIV Study Bible. Zondervan Publishing Company, 2002. Print.

A Heart's Desires

Gaze drifts over my shoulder
Rose-colored eyes fade to grey
My heart mistranslated
Turn past my title page

I lay and dream that winters surround me
Yet fire's heat dance on my cheeks
Petals of sweetness kiss my lips
And I gently succumb to sleep

Take me beyond my dreams to reality
Fulfill my secluded longings
Whisk me away and prove to me love
That finds my heart's depths

I sense our path before us bears
To redeem my every dream
Silk conceals my toes by you
Rise to cherish me

Pink Polish Panick!

Nineteen months ago, my parents adopted a beautiful baby girl named Alyssa--she is such a joy to our family, and I love her to death! A beautiful addition to my life from having her around is that God has been teaching me about His character and His relationship with us.

The other day, Alyssa had her toenails painted for the first time... quite the milestone, I know! Well, as odds would have it, there was quite a meltdown when mom tried to put Alyssa's pajamas on her.

Why? Because they were footie pajamas! How dare we try to cover up those pretty pink toes?!?! We eventually put normal, open-toed pajamas on her and then we were able to find peace for the evening...

...yet, as I headed to bed, the situation really stuck with me. How often do I waste my time screaming at God because I can't see my pink toenails??

Earlier that night I had a good tear-fest while driving home in my car. I cried out to God, asking Him why the blessings in my life weren't turning out the way that I'd been anticipating. One specific promise He made to me long ago.... God, what happened to keeping that promise?

Now I think of my toenails.

God isn't taking away the blessings in my life, and He is still keeping his promises... but maybe right now they're just a little hidden. Just because I can't see my pink toes doesn't mean that they're gone. I need to have faith in God's character even when the blessings in life aren't easily seen. Because He has true character, and He never fails us.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart...