Lynn Cowell: On Being You

Be Perfect?

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

—Matthew 5:48

But wait; what does he mean by “be perfect”? I checked it out in my Greek dictionary. This word for perfect is teleios meaning “perfect, mature, complete, finished.”Jesus sounds pretty harsh in this verse. Be perfect! When it comes to our hair, body and all that outside stuff, it is exhausting trying to be just right. You mean Jesus wants us to be that way on the inside too? It just about makes me want to give up!

Let’s plug that word in: “Be complete and mature just as your heavenly Father is complete and mature.” Sounds like something we want!

We want to be complete; not lacking anything. We want to be whole; not broken. Jesus wants that for us too!

My friend Lisa Whittle poses this question: whole or hole? When you look at your heart, do you see one that has been made whole, despite what you might have already been through in your short life? Or do you see a hole, one created by your situations or choices, that desperately needs to be filled?

If you see a hole, you need him. You need him to come and heal you; make you perfect and complete.… continue reading

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By Lynn Cowell

“Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived in Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?” 1 Samuel 16:4

Inseparable. Where Lexi was; Noelle was. At least last year. This year, things changed; Noelle changed. Dumb stuff last year was important this year; popular kids, expensive clothes and “in” parties. Last year, she didn’t care what she looked like; this year she wouldn’t get caught dead without make-up.

That was just the outside things. Noelle’s heart was different too. Being around the pop crowd meant doing what they did.

Knowing Lexi didn’t approve of things she was doing made Noelle not want to be around Lexi; leaving Lexi broken hearted. She wasn’t judging Noelle, so why did Noelle feel this way?

In our verse today, Samuel, God’s man, obeyed God. Whatever God asked him to do, he did…and others knew it. When Samuel went into a city, the officials of that city felt uncomfortable. Why was Samuel coming? Would he call them out on the sin in their lives? Just being around Samuel made them uncomfortable.

Maybe this has happened to you. It definitely has happened to me; a lot.… continue reading

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By Lynn Cowell

Are you a Dating Teen?

Have you ever had feelings of excitement but knew you were doing something completely wrong? For awhile you had watched from afar, then up a little bit closer and next thing you know, you’re right there. And once you’re there, you found it wasn’t so bad, in fact, it was quite thrilling. At least for now.

Scary isn’t it? How quickly we can slink to doing the one thing that not so long ago we judged another for doing? How did it happen; how did we end up here? Simple really…one small step at a time.

Susie’s mom had often talked to her about remaining pure until she got married. Of course she would! It wasn’t even a question; she had the purity ring to prove it!

That was before Jack. Being with him always made her feel right; he made her problems slide away.

In the beginning of their relationship, the little stories Susie fabricated for her mom were only small lies. “We’re going to hang out at the park”; her parents would never let her go to Jack’s when his parents weren’t home! One by one the deceptive lines became Susie’s norm; her secret world crafted behind a wall of dishonesty.… continue reading

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 By Lynn Cowell

She kept telling herself it was wrong; she was going to stop. Each time he called her, though, she said yes. Having him want her; to be with “unpopular” her made Marley feel so good. She just couldn’t say no.

What is it with sin that drags us in, even when we know it isn’t good for us? Cookies every day after school, smoking weed, copying homework…all of it – bad for us; bad for our health, our brain, our future. Yet we keep going back again and again and again.

I like what Mariah once told me, “I know me. I know that I just can’t even try some things once, because I am the type that will want it again and again.”

Mariah is one wise girl. She may not know what it says in Genesis 4:7, but she knows that the best way to protect your heart is never start. “…if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

Crouching. I picture a starving tiger, hiding in the African grasses, preying on an unsuspecting deer. The vulnerable deer relaxes for a moment and suddenly finds itself in the jaws of the powerful beast.… continue reading

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By Lynn Cowell

Math and I are arch enemies. That’s no surprise; writers and numbers rarely mix. The problem was I had to have Geometry to graduate.

None of it made sense to me; I failed my first test. Handing me the paper with the red F, my teacher gave me a new seat…in the back of the room. “Obviously you don’t get it so that is where you belong.” I thought teachers were supposed to help you?

photo © 2011 Sean MacEntee , Flickr

Are there days when you feel like everyone is against you? Even when you’re trying your hardest?

Been there. A tilt-a-whirl at the fair, I was always spinning, spinning, spinning, trying to make (or keep) everybody happy. It was so exhausting and worst of all, I wasn’t even sure who was the real me.

Until I really got God was for me. He made that clear: “What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31 NIV

He wanted me; mess ups and all. You know what happened when I got He was for me? I stopped caring so much what others thought of me!… continue reading

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What we say says a lot about who we are.

Think this one through.

It’s the first day of school. There’s a new girl in your class you’ve never met before. What’s one of the first things you do?

You listen.

What does she say?

What she talks about and how she talks about it tells you so much. Based on what comes out of her mouth, you will probably decide whether you want to get to know her or not.

So, it’s no surprise God has something to say on what we say:

“Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.” Ephesians 5:4

In The Message it’s even clearer:

“Don’t talk dirty or silly. That kind of talk doesn’t fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect.”

Dirty or silly. That cuts out a lot, doesn’t it? Discussing the latest You Tube rage, hottest guy on TV or new song on the radio, how often does is it obscene, foolish or coarse?

It’s not just the topic either; it’s the way we talk about the topic, using current fad words. While these words change fast, most of them should never start.… continue reading

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It didn’t matter what the temperature was outside, that summer I put in the miles. Running until my side ached, I pushed myself to become a part of our high school’s cross country team. Barely able to make it around the track in the beginning, training in the heat when out of shape was beyond hard. The payoff had come though; for the first time in my life I was in shape and it felt great! Until…

Until I started running with the team. That’s when I discovered I was slow! I couldn’t believe that after working that hard, I was that slow. I had no idea, not until I started comparing myself to others. Now I was unhappy; I wanted to run faster. I wanted to be like those girls.

Nothing pulls joy down like comparison. I want her grades, her skin, her hair, her voice, her body, her stats, her car, her wardrobe, her style, her boyfriend, her crowd; it goes on ad infinitum.

In Ecclesiastes 4:4, Solomon tells us “…all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”

Striving, the struggle inside of us driving us beyond reason comes from envy; wanting to be like her.… continue reading

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“I really don’t like to go to church. It’s boring and I don’t get anything out of it.”

Have you ever thought? Ever said that?

I have, not that I’m proud of it. Just being honest with you.

There is a really huge problem here. Just notice how many times the word “I” appears. I really don’t like. . .I don’t get anything. The problem is it’s not about us, it’s about Him!

I’m going to assume that since you’re hanging out on this website, like me, you’re a radical, Jesus-loving girl. We’re past the point of going to church because our parents make us or we feel like it’s “the right thing to do”. We’ve got our own reasons.

But are they the right ones?

Psalm 149:1 says, “Hallelujah! Sing to God a brand-new song, praise him in the company of all who love him.”

Singing? I love the singing. My church can really rock it out! Our band is amazing; our leaders could definitely make it professionally. But is that really the reason I should love it?

David says, “Sing to God…” The question is: am I really singing to God or am I singing because it makes me feel good.… continue reading

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As the leader of her school’s Bible study, she encouraged other people in her high school to stand up for Jesus. “Be bold; let’s change our school” she’d say. In front of the group, she seemed so confident; unafraid of standing out. Somehow, though, something was wrong. Though she meant to be encouraging, her approach was condescending, making others in the group feel bad instead of bold. They left the meeting feeling as though they were not as good as her; not good enough. Her words and actions didn’t make others want to be like her… or like Jesus. Something was missing.

There is something missing…love. Without love, all the words and all the actions are nothing. In fact, they are worse than nothing. Not only do they not honor Jesus; they dishonor him. Pride and hypocrisy are the opposite of love; the opposite of Jesus.

Jesus says: “If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.… continue reading

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By Lynn Cowell

Yes, she was a Christian. She loved Jesus; really she did! But sometimes…well, it was just hard! Say for instance when it came to her purity ring. Karen knew when she received it for her 13^th birthday that staying pure before she got married was something she wanted to do. It wasn’t hard in middle school; at least most of the time. But high school was different. Kids really didn’t get it; didn’t get her. Maybe it would just be easier to leave it at home…

Then there was the time when the new girls from her English class were coming over. They really didn’t know her yet; didn’t know that she loved Jesus. They might think the verses taped to her wall were weird. Maybe she should take down them down, at least until they got to know her. And what if her sister starting talking to them about Jesus? She probably shouldn’t have them over.

Karen feels a mess! Her thoughts trying to dictate who she is and what she’ll stand for!

Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples, was in the same spot as Karen. He loved Jesus; he really did. When the time came to stand beside his friend, though, he allowed fear to overtake his love.… continue reading

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This is a test post in Lynn Cowell’s column: On Being You. It will post on the first Wednesday of each month beginning with 4/4.

… continue reading

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