Hope in What???

Today I created a page on Buddhism for my China portfolio. This is what I wrote in my "personal thoughts" section:
"Visiting a Buddhist temple was extremely eye-openning for me. Seeing all of the people bowing down and worshipping a clearly man-made idol was so sad. They have no hope. Their only fighting chance for "salvation" and "heaven" is to offer sacrifices and worship an idol who can do absolutely nothing for them.

"Those who lavish gold from the purse and weigh, out silver in the scales, hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; then they fall down and worship! They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it, they set it in its place, and it stands there; it cannot move from its place. If one cries to it, it d oes not answer, or save him from his trouble." (Isaiah 46:6-7)

There seemed to be a presence of evil surrounding the temple. Because these people were not worshipping God, they were indirectly worshipping the evil one. How frightening for them! Not only do they not have any hope, their souls are in bondage to the devil."

Praise God that He is our hope!

I read a verse this morning about hope that I really liked:
"...we are His house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope." (Hebrews 3:6)
We are His house if we continue boasting in our hope, Jesus Christ.

Pride Problem

Pride is one of my biggest struggles, and probably one of the biggest for many Christians. As new creations, we most likely do not struggle with the sins of murder, lying, stealing, etc. We tend to struggle more with inner sins, (such as pride, envy, conceit, discontentment, etc.). I am a perfectionist, and so I try to do everything right and make everyone happy. I can get so wrapped up in feeling that I'm doing pretty well, that I almost forget my desperate need for Jesus. At a recent spirtual disciplines retreat with my church, I had this awesome realization. Jesus was perfect in my place so I don't have to be! That is absolutely amazing! Of course, in our striving to become more like Christ, we are aiming towards perfection, yet we will never achieve it until we are made perfect in Heaven.

Another way I see pride in my life is in my prayers. This may seem odd, but let me explain. Often, when I am praying for forgiveness or other people, I close, and then think to myself, "That was a good prayer."

A few verses that are helpful in battling pride are Proverbs 16:18, and 29:23.

Do you honor Christ with ALL of your words?

So, my mom and I had a conversation today with a college student. In her sophomore year, she and her friends were having a conversation about abortion. One of her friends, a Christian guy she knew from church, was asked what he thought about the matter. He said that if his wife/girlfriend wanted to get an abortion he wouldn't like it, but would let her do whatever she wanted. She couldn't believe that this guy did not have convictions that lined up with the faith he professed.

By not taking a stand for the unborn, this professing Christian had maligned the name of Christ. If we profess the name of Christ, we need to live lives that honor it. We nust take so seriously every idle word that slips through our lips because we will give an accout to God (Romans 14:12).

As well as our words, our actions speak loudly to all. By professing Christianity, people will watch to see if our words, and actions, glorify the Lord or not.

About the Title

A few resons for the title. First, a song called "Hear the Call of the Kingdom" by Keith & Kristyn Getty says this:
Hear the call of the kingdom;
lift your eyes to the King;
let His song rise within you as a fragrant offering
of how God rich in mercy
came in Christ to redeem
all who trust in His unfailing grace.

And secondly, Ephesians 5:2
And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.