φίλος - Phileo

A few years ago, a friend of mine started signing his emails with Phileo. Phileo (verb) is used 25 times in New Testament, and is one of the Greek words for love. It comes from the root word "Philos" which is the word translated “friend.” Phileo love is the brotherly affection of friendship. I love this word. I want it to define my life. I believe it perfectly captures what the Bible intends for friendship. Paul tells the church in Rome to be devoted to one another in brotherly love, honoring one another above themselves. That is phileo love - selfless and pure. Paul also admonishes Timothy, that young men and women should treat each other as brothers and sisters with absolute purity. I have made this my goal. I want to be above reproach. I want to love from a pure heart with the kind of love that is appropriate for the situation. In English, we do not have the vocabulary to fully describe and understand appropriate types of love for the differing relationships we have on our lives. But that is not the case in Greek. In Greek, we have agape, phileo, eros, and storge. There are passionate loves, friendship loves and unconditional loves, each for a specific time and purpose. Well, as an unmarried young woman, I desire that phileo love would define the relationships of this stage in my life. The kind of love that makes every other young woman my sister, not my rival. And every young man my brother, not a potential. I believe and hope that if Christians started treating each other this way, it would revolutionize the church.

Now, this is not something that I have mastered by any means, but Jesus is faithful. Just the other day I made a new friend - a young guy from the states who was visiting Israel for the summer. As I try to do with new friendships, I asked Jesus to show me how I could love this new friend with phileo, like my brother. Well, a few days later, we were having lunch with some new acquaintances and one of them looked at us and asked, "Are you two brother and sister?" It's important to note here that we are not even the same race! My friend is Hispanic and anyone who knows me, knows that I am the definition of what we'll politely call "fair skinned." And yet, we were mistaken for being siblings. In my heart, I thanked Jesus and gave Him the glory. It may sound small and silly, but it showed me something very important. When we ask Jesus for righteousness, He is faithful to come. It could have been so easy for the person to mistake us as a couple, which would have been mildly embarrassing and far less inspiring to blog about. But no, we gave the pure appearance of family. Thank you Holy Spirit. I want to live a life of absolute purity. I want to live a life of phileo.

Jesus gave me Ninja Skills

So here's the story...

Tonight I had a lovely evening with my new, good, friend Mandie. The evening was so much fun and so precious, but that is a different story. We were talking, sitting in a valley below the House of Prayer. It was staring to get dark and we decided to wrap it up. But then about 6 Arab boys and young men came up near us. It seemed harmless at first, but as the time went on, we really felt that we needed to leave. I had cautiously been keeping my hand on my purse and camera that was laying next to me on the grass. But in a split second, I lifted my hand to readjust and one of the young men took his opportunity. He reached down for my things and managed to grab my Cannon SLR camera. I don't really know how I did it, but in a second a just yelled "Lo!" ("no" in Hebrew) and lunged to grab the dangling neck strap of my camera as he turned to run. I pulled it back to me, and as it slipped from his hand, it came back and smacked me... but I got it! It's true, some guy tried to mug me... and I won! Some of the boys who saw what happened offered to get the police, but considering that the guy didn't get away with anything, we didn't think it was necessary. And from the way he ran away, my guess is that he's half way to Jordan by now...

Mandie and I walked home immediately, praising Jesus for His protection and for giving me the ninja fast skills to grab my stuff back! As a friend recently reminded me... Abba keeps me.

It's been a new and interesting experience living here in Israel on my own. In all honesty, I never thought I would be able to do this. Maybe it was due to watching a few too many suspense movies a few years to early, but the thought of living in a big city alone always scared me. There's probably a "healthy fear" there, (what an oxymoran, haha) causing me to be cautious. But it's been really cool to see the work that Jesus has done in my heart in this season, here in Jerusalem. I do not live in fear. Circumstances sometimes force me to walk home alone at night, but I do not fall prey to fear. I will not. I often walk home praying in the Spirit, knowing that I am encircled with the Spirit of the living God! What can touch me?! Seriously, Jesus is so good, and so big, and loves me so much, in such a perfect way, that fear is always driven out. Now, that's not to say that I don't use wisdom. I make all efforts not to walk home alone at night if I don't have to, I avoid certain neighborhoods and keep a can on pepper spray on my keychain. But I do not put my faith in those things, for they can fail me. But my Jesus never fails. I walk in the light... even at night. Listen to this story of Gladys Aylward (another woman I want to be when I grow up). She firmly put her trust in Christ, even when things looked a little scary.

When Gladys Aylward was on her way to China to fulfill the call of God on her life, the enemy must have known how powerful her minstry would be because he tried to thwart her before she even arrived. In Russia, she was detained by corrupt government officials. As she sat in a hotel room, thinking about a way to escape, an officer tried to force his way in. Boldly she told him, "You are not coming in here."
"Why not?" he smirked.
"Because this is my bedroom."
"I am the master, I can do with you what I wish!"
"Oh no, you cannot. You may not believe in God, but He is here. Touch me and see. Between you and me God has put a barrier. Go!"
The man stared at Gladys, shivered, and without a word, turned and left.

Can you see why I like her so much? This is how we as believers should be living. We must know and make it known that God is protecting us. Oh that I too would have her boldness in declaring God's protection!

So yes, someone tried to mug me. But Jesus is bigger and protected me and Mandie from any real harm. I will not live in fear. I came home and told my roommates the story. After the initial shock, they lovingly asked me if I was ok emotionally. And I can honestly say that I am. Not out of an ignorant, cavalier attitude, but from truly knowing that Abba keeps me. So I will live my life in this city. I will get on the bus, refusing to let the enemy win by keeping me off for fear of bombings. I will walk to and from my apartment in the authority of Jesus Christ. Yes, the world that we live in is fallen and full of many evils, but we must never forget that Jesus is bigger.

And when you need Him, He will provide the necessary ninja skills... trust me.

When I Grow Up...

Most of you who know me well, know that I want to be a lot of people when I grow up. That's right, not things... people. When I was little, I wanted to be a lot of things: a teacher, an astronaut, a marine biologist, I even had a deep desire to be a waitress. I think it was a fascination with getting to wear a visor. What can I say, some dreams come true.

But these days, I want to be people when I grow up - Amy Carmichael, Beverly my cubical neighbor at work (affectionately referred to as my 69 year old best friend and powerful intercessor), Ruth the Moabitess, Elizabeth Elliot, Jackie Pullenger, and Nancy the beautiful woman of wisdom who leads the watch right before mine in the mornings, here in Jerusalem. These women are those of godly character, feminine grace, and heroic love. The could all be gal pals with the Proverbs 31 woman and have all become a shining example to this 20 year old one. Whenever I meet a woman like this, who is living a life devoted to Christ and is passionately in love with Him, I normally respond with "I want to be her when I grow up!"

Today, we have built a 21st century church to fit into our 21st century world. We are hip - we have coffee shops in our churches and our churches in coffee shops. The worship music is "relevant" and the media department is cutting edge. We look cool and manage to make Jesus pretty cool too. Now, all this in and of itself is not bad. But there is a grave danger waiting just around the corner... In our efforts to make to church culturally relevant to the younger generation, we have lost the older one. Our culture is constantly dividing us on generational lines. There are senior discounts and child discounts. There's "grown-up" movies and kids movies. And now, in the church, we have "youth services" and "adult services" - where parents' and kids' only Sunday morning interaction is the car ride to and from church. Separate worship, separate messages, separate lives. Or the even more extreme, whole youth churches, where there is not even the possibility of being forced to interact with "old people." How could a young person possibly be able to learn about Jesus with a faithful man or woman there who has known Him for 50 years?! Seriously?

We have lost respect for the older generation in the church today. We have separated ourselves from our potential mentors, shepherds and spiritual parents. We are consumed with the newest Christian fluff that hits the Christian bookstore shelves, and have never even heard of spiritual giants like Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, Hudson Taylor and Smith Wigglesworth - much less read a word they wrote. May we look to those bold forerunners who have paved the way for us with gratefulness and admiration. Not to mention the shining examples of faith we have in the Bible and the early church. But to discover these treasures, we would have to actually be reading our Bibles, which is another topic for another blog.

I look to these amazing men and women and desire to live the lives of faith they did - rescuing Indian children from human trafficking, introducing Jesus to those who have yet to know His great love, laying down my life in the service of others, pure devotion to the King and becoming a warrior of intercession. That is what I want to be when I grow up. Now, I am almost 21 years old and many would debate that my time for dreaming of what I want to be when I grow up, is long past. But I hope that I will never stop desiring to do great things for Jesus. I want to walk in the well trodden path of the saints and I want to aspire to even more when I am well into my 70s and 80s. Moving from glory to glory, never relenting in abandoning my life to Him.

And so I keep dreaming. I continue to see the beautiful, virtuous work of Christ in those further on this life journey than I, and choose to follow their example. What do you want to be when you grow up?

It Happened to Me!

Last night seemed like it was going to be an ordinary, relaxing erev shabbat. I was looking forward to food, friends, and the peace of the sabbath as I was rode the elevator up to my friend's apartment... and then it happened. Just like a movie, the elevator lurched, the lights blacked out and then it died. That's right, I was stranded. I was left alone in the pitch black somewhere between floors. I immediately had visions of the elevator plummeting down the shaft with only the concrete bottom to break my fall. Than I saw myself in the dark 3 foot by 5 foot space all night while I waited for the paramedics to come save me. That was in a movie, right? Then the worst one hit me, what if no one realized I was missing? What if I had to stay in there all night? In the dark... alone... hungry. I began to bang of the doors, yelling "I'm stuck in the elevator! Hello!" My phone didn't have any service, but with the little bit of light that my blue screen gives, I was able to find the emergency button and push it vigorously. You'd be amazed how quickly panic sets in when you're in a situation like that. Now, if you can believe this, all the afore mentioned scenarios and actions happened over the course of about 30 seconds. After that, my sanity kicked in and I began to pray. Once I began to do the one thing that would help me most, a supernatural peace came over me and the fear evaporated. Now I'm not saying that I was content to live in that elevator for the rest of my life or even the rest of the night, but the panic was gone.

John's first epistle, he tells us that perfect love casts out fear. That's one of those verses that I grew up knowing, but never really beleiving. But I'll let you in on something - God means what He says and every word in that book we call the Bible is solid truth. When you realize that the Creator of the Universe, Lord of every living thing, King of Kings, Alpha and Omega, and Holy Father loves you with a perfect love that has not even a hint of selfishness in it, your fear seems to vanish. In fact, it begins to look downright silly. If the Divine loves me like that, no middle eastern elevator is going to make me tremble. My only regret about last night is that is took me 30 whole seconds to turn to Jesus. My prayer is that I would know the Father's love deeper and truer until He is the first and only place I turn in time of trouble. Imagine a life without the presence of even the slightest fear... it is a life of love. Well, for those of you who are wondering, I made it out of the elevator - hence the fact that I am able to write this for your reading pleasure. I was stranded for a very undramatic 2 minutes. The power kicked back on and I made it my appropriate floor. I later found out that this happens semi-regularly. I'll chalk it up to just another initiation into life in Israel. But for the record, I think I'm going to stick to the stairs from now on. After all, doesn't it say somewhere to not test the Lord you God? :)

How Low Can You Go?

I've realized something over that last few months - my life is very much like limbo. Not the supposed waiting place for souls... the party game. You know, it's a staple at Hawaiian luaus and roller skating parties. Somebody will turn on some music that in any other situation would be completely unbearable, and you attempt to make your way under the horizontal pole, broomstick, or whatever you have on hand with your body arched back. All the while people are chanting the limbo challenge "How low can you go?" Now you may ask what this has to do with my life. And considering that I do not live in a perpetual luau nor have I worn roller-skates since the 2nd grade, this is a very valid question.

Lately I feel like the Holy Spirit has been challenging me, "How low can you go today Chelsea? How humble will you choose to be? With what sacrificial love will you serve those around you?" These can be very convicting, yet inspiring questions! I long to go lower, that Jesus may be lifted higher. I want to decrease that He would increase. I want to consider others above myself. But I must first answer the question, how low am I willing to go? Well, in the Christian life game of limbo, the bar has been set unbelievably low... in a good way. You see, Jesus was the most humble servant to walk the earth. He is how we are to measure all of our actions and behavior. He has given us a perfect example of humility.

Sometimes we believers sing these powerful worship songs, pleading Jesus to take us where He is. We long to be lifted up to heaven and dwell in His presence. But instead of bringing us up, what if He chose to bring us down to where He is as the Suffering Servant. Are we willing to go that low? If I try to shimmy my way under the impossibly low bar of humility that Jesus has set, in my own strength, my legs will inevitably give out from under me and I will end up on my back. The only fruit of that method is discouragement, pain and failure. But if I let the Holy Spirit take me there in His strength, He will carry me under the bar, conforming me more to the image of Yeshua every step of the way.

And so my answer to Holy Spirit's question is, "Take me as low as Jesus."

How low can you go?

Ethiopia in my Heart

Check out this video that my friend David made about our time in Ethiopia. I can't watch it without crying. Enjoy!

Jesus & Jane

This morning I had humorous conversation with one of my roommates at the breakfast table. We were discussing books and movies and someone brought up Jane Austen's classic, Emma. My roommate began to tell of her complete dislike for the book which ultimately resulted in her tossing it aside after only the first 100 pages. I, being quite the Jane Austen fan ,was naturally appalled by this! How could she rob herself of such a masterpiece. For those of you who are not familiar with the story, Emma is a young woman with a affluent lifestyle in 18th century England. She is selfish, spoiled, inconsiderate and downright rude for much of the book. Now you might be siding with my roommate on that description alone, but the climax of the book is Emma's redemption. Through a series of events, Emma sees the cruel folly of her ways, repents, reforms and even manages to live happily ever after with the man of her dreams by the last page. This is what I was so intent on explaining to my roomie this morning in our playful debate. But, try as I might, she could just not get past Emma's selfishness at the beginning of the story. As she stood to take her dishes to the sink, she matter of factly called back that she just can't read stories where the main character is terrible and still manages to "get the guy at the end," even if she does change. I teasingly responded with, "Do you read your Bible?"

Although this trite conversation could be quickly forgotten as just another feminine dialogue in a house of 5 young women, it has stuck with me. I am Emma. I am prone to selfishness and sin. That's my story. But through a series of divine actions, I've come to a place of repentance, turning from my sin nature into life in the Spirit. And I even get to end up with Prince Jesus at the end of the story. Today I am struck by the simple beauty of the gospel. Although I am completely undeserving, Jesus has snatched me from the flames and called me into a life of love with Him.

Although I am a self-confessed lover of Miss Austen's work, I can not credit her with the beauty of Emma's storyline. There is nothing new under the sun and her novel is simply a lesser version of the greatest love story ever told. Set your heart on Jesus today and mediate on the beauty of your salvation story. If you want some more inspiration, you could read Emma, watch the movie, or better yet... read your Bible.