O, death, where is your sting?

1st John 5:16-17 says "If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death...All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death." 

I had made a note in my Bible asking "Like what?" and for years had been irritated by my lack of understanding. Today in church, God spoke Truth and this was finally clarified in my mind. I am so grateful for the light of understanding! The pastor reiterated the context of 1st John, that it is a book written not to show how to become a Christian but rather what your life should look like if you are a Christian. Working from there, he pointed out that John is saying for a Christian--one who is a believer in Christ as Savior--sin no longer leads to death. When a believer sins, it leads him/her to the Cross over and over and over. 

After a truth-filled sermon, we ended the morning with a baptism. There are few things which bring me to tears each time I consider them, but baptism is one of them. What a beautiful and literal picture of our salvation. Through baptism we identify with Christ's burial, and most importantly, His resurrection. I absolutely love the celebration when the person comes up out of the water. How wonderful that we can truly rejoice in new life NOW! We do not have to wait for His return to experience this new life. 

I'll close with lyrics from one of the songs we sang this morning. I love the strong declaration of Truth and exhortation to the Church to stand up and live with Christ! 

Christ is Risen, by Matt Maher

Christ is risen from the dead, trampling over death by death

Come awake, come awake, come and rise up from the grave!

Christ is risen from the dead, we are one with him again

Come awake, come awake, come and rise up from the grave!

Oh, death, where is your sting? 

Oh, hell, where is your victory? 

Oh, church, come stand in the light!

Our God is not dead, he's alive, he's ALIVE!

A little scattered...

There are many things which have crossed my mind to blog about....but without a computer at my fingertips all the time, I get distracted and my passion fizzles. I had a good one on singleness and virginity, a quippy one about the Old Testament plagues and my apartment, and plenty of opinions about everything...but alas. Instead you simply get what's currently on my mind.

Earlier this week, I was up on the 95th floor of the Hancock building and my friend commented about how weird it is that I live in Chicago--I'm one of the people bustling about the city. When I think about how high up we were and how little the people looked, it is weird to think about. But when I'm down on the streets, either walking or driving, Chicago doesn't feel big. I'm glad about that--I don't like feeling intimidated or frightened. If I get turned around, I can figure out where I am and where I need to be.

And on a side-note, walking on the sidewalk isn't hazardous to your health like it is in China. Here, they don't pave the walkway with slick marble tiles. There aren't exploding tiles after it rains. There aren't unmarked holes into which you can fall up to your thigh. Things are relatively flat, level, and the people all walk at relatively the same brisk speed (no getting stuck behind slow-pokes!).

There are still days when I miss China. But mostly I'm still getting adjusted to life in this city. I'm thoroughly enjoying my long vacation, but looking forward to not only starting my new job but also getting a paycheck!!

Moving, moving, moving!

Sorry for my lack of posting. I recently moved to Chicago, and it's been quite a whirlwind past two weeks! Quick update: Got back from China (I am SO done with international flights), 4 days later went to Chicago to apartment-hunt (found one!), 3 days after that I bought a car (lots of annoying things went wrong with that, but it's all good now!), and 5 days after that, I moved in!! I've lived in my new apartment for a week now, and it's starting to feel like home. It will feel even more so once I have all the boxes OUT and all my pretty things hung and displayed and everything put where it belongs.

More later!