Not Unredeemed

… living the beautiful tension between what is, and what will be …

Tag Archives: Yada


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Into Me You See {Intimacy}

What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. A.W. Tozer – Knowledge of the Holy

Who God is to us is one of the most important things about us, because it reveals the transformation that the Lord has done in our lives and our understanding of who He is. There is one major important step however that needs to come before we can clearly see who God is and subsequently what we think of Him.

 I read in a periodical the other day that the most fundamental thing is how we think of God. By God Himself, it is not!  How God thinks of us is not only more important, but infinitely more important. Indeed, how we think of Him is of no importance except in so far as it relates to how He thinks of us. C.S. Lewis – Weight of Glory

While Tozer is right and I still agree with him, Lewis presents another very important side. We must first see ourselves as God sees us, before we can truly see God.  Continue reading →

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Contented Desire

Life is rarely either or, though most of us wish it was, as we prefer to live on one side of the road or the other. Maturity demands we walk the center-line, pulling elements from both sides of the road and wrestling them into balance.  And so it is with contentment and desire. Two elements I never thought could blend in the life of a single person – until I understood yada.

Several weeks ago I had the privilege of coordinating a wedding for some friends.  After the wedding I felt strange and realized I wasn’t experiencing the “wedding blues” (You know, the “how many weddings will I have to sit through before it’s my turn Lord? I hate coming to weddings alone… happy for them but trying to mask how depressed I feel” blues….). I was genuinely and completely happy for them with no all consuming/crushing longing on my part.

How did this happen?  Do I still want to get married? Absolutely! Do I still want a partner in life and ministry? More than ever.  But I’m content. I always thought that if you were “content in your singleness” it meant you were resigned to it and could no longer have the desire to be married, or you just plain didn’t care any more. But the Lord has been redefining singleness and contentment for me, showing me a different way. Continue reading →


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What Are You Waiting For?

When it comes to sex, why are we waiting?  We are told not to have premarital sex, we’re told to be pure and save ourselves. But why? We’re told sex outside of marriage is wrong and maybe sometimes we’re told about diseases or adverse emotional effects – but why are we told to wait? Why does the Bible say it is wrong? What and why are we waiting for?
In Dannah Gresh’s newest book, “What Are You Waiting For – The One Thing No One Ever Tells You About Sex?” she answers those questions and more. She explains the “why not” and the “just don’t”. I received this book for free from Waterbrook Multnomah’s Blogging for Books program to read and review it for them. It is by far the best book I have ever read on sex for young women; and although written for women, some guys would really get a lot out of it too. It combines scripture, science and real life examples.

Gresh is also not afraid to tackle the hard issues of porn, homosexuality and masturbation.  She does a great job of being real, without getting graphic. Her word studies into the Hebrew and Greek make scriptures come alive as you hear God’s heart on human sexuality. This is a MUST read for all unmarried girls* and young adults.

I highly recommend this book for youth leaders – it is a big tool we can use to address why we wait to have sex. There are discussion questions in the back if you choose to use it as a small group curriculum. It is designed more for the individual but can be used for small groups. God doesn’t say no to spoil our fun, He says no because of …. Well – you’ll just have to read it!

Parents, if you have older teenage girls or young adult daughters this book will be a huge resource to you both. It’s the most balanced, biblical and scientific blend on purity that I have ever read. And it’s not just for girls who haven’t had sex yet. It speaks to young ladies wherever they are at. Get it. You will be glad you did!

*Due to the content of the book I wouldn’t recommend it for girls any younger than 16 unless the parents have read it first or the girls are mature.


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Is

Is. The state of being. Who you are – we are – right now, in this moment. Present. We only physically live in the state of “Is”. Yet we never really do. At least I don’t.  I’m always dwelling on the ‘what was’ or the ‘what can be’. I never stop and live NOW. Right here in this very moment as I write this, or the moment you are reading it. The “is” of our lives.

I’ve missed so much.

No wonder we aren’t happy or satisfied, always looking for more.

We’re missing the only thing (and the only One) we can really, physically have. The state of being – of “Is” and the I AM.

“This is where God is. In the present. I AM – His very name…. I AM, so full of the weight of the present, that time’s river slows to a still… and God Himself is timeless. It’s not the gifts [that He has given us] that fulfill, but the holiness of the space. The God in it … This is a supreme gift, time, God Himself framed in moment. [“Is”] … time is only of essence, because time is the essence of God, I AM. This I need to
consecrate: time.” – One Thousand Gifts, Ann Voskamp

Can I learn to do that? Concentrate the now?

Right now “is” the only moment I have love Him. Here I can “Yada”* my Lord!?! The I AM?

If He is present I want to be also.

Today I am learning this. Learning how to simply be**.  He’s the one that created me to be, is He not? “Your hands have made me and fashioned me, give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.” Psalm 119:73.   Who has He made me right in this moment? Can I worship Him by just being? Continue reading →


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A Paradox of Love – Yada

Love – it’s predictably unpredictable. It confuses me, exhausts me, drives me, gives me direction, and defines me. There is no formula for it, yet love is a tangible reality.  It can be defined but not completely grasped. Love can be found and chosen, given, received, rejected, manipulated, crushed, grown and squelched.  People both live because of it and die for it. Love defies boundaries and constraints; but can’t thrive without them.  It is fluid and at the same time absolute. Love is the pinnacle of life and the paradigm of Christ.

Love is caught in the release, a passionate balance, and an endless energy. It intentionally decreases for increase and holds back to bring freedom. Love is instinctive and taught, but never bought. It breaks and heals, blinds and brings clarity, bids and forbids, calls and answers, fights but doesn’t force. It’s sexual and it’s platonic, unconditional and intimate. It’s a choice and it’s a feeling. Love is knowing and being known. Never was there a concept that held so much power, definition, dimension, and conflict of meaning united under one word.

I am a person who loves definition and clear direction – I long for black and white while I live in a world of gray. I serve a God who is clothed in rainbows of color and depths of mystery. I prefer extremes; to live passionately by standing on one side. Yet the paradox of love demands a balance – a center in the irony of those extremes.  Continue reading →