Galatians

So, I started my SBS (School of Biblical Studies) last week and we just finished our first book, Galatians today. For those of you unfamiliar with this school in Y, it's nine months of studying the entire Bible inductively. You go through each book of the Bible five times throughout the course, aiming to observe, interpret and apply. It is a school I have been wanting to do since I did my DTS and haven't had the time to do until now. I consider it an immense privilege to be able to be here.

There are 59 students in my school, 19 staff members. It makes for quite a crowd of us. I am living in an apartment in the city of Dan Shui, Taiwan until the end of this year with 19 other people, 5 of whom are my immediate roommates. Despite the intense community and my introverted tendencies, I've been really enjoying the fellowship of the other students, hearing their stories and getting to know them. It is immensely refreshing to just be a student, to soak in the word of God for HOURS throughout the whole day, and to just allow God to work on my heart (all while enjoying the occasional cup of coffee at Starbucks!).

So, I hope to blog here about the things I'm learning from each book. It will probably be a bit more personal and less informational, but if you are wanting to share with me things you are learning from these particular books of the Bible as well, I'd be happy to open it up for dialogue! "Iron sharpens iron." I'd love to be sharpened by you.

So, Galatians. First, I must share a bit of personal history with this book. I took a class in college on Romans and Galatians for my Bible degree at Northwestern College. I'm sure the professor was great, but I really struggled with that class and felt like I hated theology, I hated the term 'justification by faith' and I felt like I nearly lost my salvation by the end of it all. We got really deep into theological debates and I felt like these books turned to sawdust in my mouth. I was so confused as to what I really believed. To top if all off, I ended up doing a project with the person I was dating at the time out of the book of Galatians, and it ended up being a real interpersonal struggle and we didn't get a very good grade.

So, I came to Galatians this last week with that history. I had to admit, I was disappointed that we didn't start somewhere else, anywhere else. But, dive in we did. We learned the method of inductive Bible Study and tore apart Galatians for ourselves. As I saw Paul's heart for the Galatians, how they had once embraced the Gospel so wholeheartedly and now they were being taught by false teachers that what they received wasn't enough, but they needed circumcision/the law as well. I believe Paul sums it up when he says if they turn back to the law, they are saying Christ died for no purpose (2:21). When we look to anything else for our worth, identity, value, salvation we say that Christ was useless. That is the seriousness of legalism!!

I have really been challenged by this especially after running myself in the ground and nearly hitting burnout. I was so convicted this week of the pride in my heart . I thought I was a super-leader. I thought I could do so much in my own strength. And I started looking outside of God to fulfill my needs. It brought me to the place I am now...brokenness, weakness, dependency. I am thankful for where I am now, but so saddened that I de-valued Christ and that is what brought me here. Grace. Oh the sweet, freeing grace of God. I spent a good deal of time this week just repenting of my pride.

Another thing that really hit me was areas of my understanding of the nature and character of God that are untrue. One of the staff was giving a lecture about the phrase "the fullness of time" that God brought Christ into the world (4:4). God's purposes were never just the law but it pointed to Christ. And this took 2000 years to happen. God's timing is never wrong. And he doesn't lie. Then she said, "God doesn't play games with you." This struck me straight to the core. I have been believing that God has messed with me this last year. I committed to things that fell apart, I hoped for things that were huge failures, and I somewhere along the way came to believe that God was messing with me, speaking promises and not fulfilling them. Again, I was up on my balcony just weeping at the revelation of my unbelief.

But, it's been SO GOOD! If I was spending so much time in the word and not being changed by it, I would surprised. It's a huge privilege to be able to just allow God's truth to wash over me. And the beauty is that God brings up these areas in our heart for healing, for freedom, to give us something new. Before I came to do this SBS, the word God has been speaking is "Behold, I make all things new." He is taking away the garbage to give me something new and beautiful.

So, thank you friends for letting me be a bit vulnerable, and I just ask for your prayers. I'm asking God every day for the spirit of wisdom and revelation (Ephesians 1:17) not just for head knowledge, but for heart change, so that I may share it with others.

Dubai

I've made my way through Dubai a number of times as it's the easiest port of entry to Af. Most times I crash for a night and continue my journey. This time, because I had to get my visa for Taiwan, I ended up staying about 5 days and renting a car.

My last day I drove to see the Burj Khalifa, which is now the tallest building in the world standing at 162 stories. Oddly enough, I'm about to board a plane where what used to be the tallest building is, Taipei 101. This building is so tall it reaches the clouds. Unfortunately it is temporarily closed so I was unable to get up there. But a word to the wise...if you do want to visit it, buy tickets ahead of time on the internet. They're about 4x as much if you just show up.

Anyways, I just wanted to post a photo, say I'm still alive and making the journey. There's so much to write and a number of times I've wanted to sit down and blog, but it's been quite a busy and emotionally exhausting season. I will post things here as the muse stirs.

(and I took much better photos of the building with my camera but it's currently in my checked baggage as I sit through a layover in Malaysia. When I get settled in Taiwan, I'll post some more).

All the Single Ladies...

At the risk of sounding like a cynical single woman, I wanted to post something I’ve wondered about for a long, long while. I joined the organization I currently work with eight years ago (!!). I did my training in a semi-comfortable location in the USA and attended conferences packed with lots of young people of all shapes and sizes eager to “Go!” and serve where God has called them. We heard people serving from all areas of the world in all areas of the world, challenging us to take up the places where no one or few people are serving.

Tonight I sat around the table at our single girls’ house. There are six of us here and one currently out the country. The two families and the one single guy live at the other house. We were talking about the ratio of single men to single women in these parts of the world. Many of us have served in other areas and as we “compared notes” we realized, us single women DRASTICALLY outnumber the single men. In this country in my organization, it’s currently 2 single men and 14 single women, another location: 17 single women, 0 single men, you get the picture. It seems the further away I get from developed nations, the less men who are “workers” I see. And yet when I listen to M’s theory in classes or seminars or read books on it, most strategies are geared towards men, especially in predominantly Mus. parts of the world.

My question is, “where are the men?” Why is it that very few take up the challenge to go to the hard places, and yet single women seem to flock to those areas? And, men….don’t you realize how many amazing, marriageable women there are on the field…ones that aren’t afraid of the icky spiders or walking through mud but yet still want to have a hero in their lives and someone to care for them? Women who are sold out and are going to serve Jesus with or with out you?

Of course, I wish I could objectively ask these questions so people don’t point and go “ah yes…she just turned thirty and is now starting to get desperate and bitter.” I’m not. But, I’m just curious. And I’m wondering if maybe we should start championing strategies that focus on women, especially since we make up the majority of the workers in remote places. I have heard it said that Mus. women are the largest unreached people group in the world. Maybe that’s why so many women are taking up the call…because it is definitely on the heart of God.

But if you are a single man, sitting at home on your computer, wondering what to do with your life that will make a difference in this world...I could offer advice and make a few suggestions. I know this nation would welcome you with open arms.