If you are a night owl, insomniac, taco bell fan or can recall your college days you are familiar with the 4th meal. It’s the middle of the night and there is just a hint of hunger pains, in order to cut them off, food is required. It usually plays out this way: You open the refrigerator door and look inside, not sure what you’re looking for until it strikes you and then there is that deep sense of satisfaction allowing you to continue on with your night of work, video games, or last second cramming.
Churches are like refrigerators to some people, the curious come and open the door staring blankly inside. Not sure what they are looking for exactly but something, something they can’t put words on but they know they need.
My generation likes the search, they like the journey; but they aren’t necessarily looking to find. Often they want to connect with God but they don’t use spiritual tools to make this connection. The community of church can provide the encouragement for them to make that honest and authentic connection with Jesus Christ.
My generation, call us the boomerangs or the lost generation or Mosaics, is searching, at our core we understand that there is a void. We are receptive, and with the right tone and delivery we will listen to what the church has to say.
But many are just looking in refrigerators. They don’t know what they want. They just know they are hungry. They may not know they are hungry for the Word, but they are searching. It is the churches responsibility to show them exactly what they need, namely the Bread of Life and Living Water. Real churches create an essential community where the essential truth of Jesus Christ is experienced.
This community is one where hard to love people find unending love; where people learn how to engage a world searching for truth. It’s one where sins are washed away, a place where the community is inclusive and the exclusive Gospel is proclaimed. A place where people think outwardly instead of inwardly. It’s more than a white box; it’s a different kind of community. It’s the community where Jesus lives
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Gospel or Religious-A Conclusion
I had an interesting discussion with a friend, not based on this verse, but a trait of the religious none the less and the idea was something I have never even thought about, and I LOVE new ideas.
I believe "the religious" are also integrally tied to and associated with buildings. Those that do not have the faith to worship an unseen God must ground their false hope in something visible and tangible, but such things are always shaped in a way that satisfies the worshipper. Architecture can powerfully convey a sense of awe that can easily be misrepresented as a "spiritual" experience. Those who are committed to false religion fiercely guard their buildings. That was true in Jesus' time as well as today (as we well know). And I had never thought through this: The gospels clearly record the tearing of the temple veil from top to bottom at the time of Christ's death. I believe this is stated plainly in Scripture to declare the end of the dependence on the temple. God's presence was going out from the holiest place to reside in the hearts of believers by the presence of the Holy Spirit. However, the temple remained in use for another 30+ years. Someone either sewed that veil up, or had a new one made. The "religious" will not give up their buildings even when God works to destroy those buildings by his own hand. However, God will not be mocked, and as we know in 70 AD it was torn down stone from stone.
I am not devaluing the buildings we call “churches” or sanctuaries” simply saying that the good easily becomes god in those 4 walls.So now what? We point out the traits, now what do we do in light of them?I agree reiterate I am more prone to display the tendencies that I have just decried than to act like a saint. But I think it was Professor MacLean who once asked my theology class “Are you saints who have sinned, or are you sinners who have been forgiven?” My apologies if misquoted. I think the point is the Pharisees were self-deceived. They genuinely thought they were being effective in missions, doctrine, etc. They were in denial, as many are today if we give an honest evaluation of the state of the church. I would say that Paul thought he was being effective as a pre-converted Pharisee (Phil. 3). And at times I certainly have been just as guilty. I can recall thinking that if you did not have a Sunday night service you were a liberal and did not love the Bible. But making that or similar issues a test of one's commitment to the Word of God, well that is straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel. Methodology is temporary; a commitment to the eternal is what is lacking.
I say this both at a personal level in my own walk with God and to the church as a whole.What are the things we really value? Are they self deceptive? If heaven had everything that you think it does streets of gold, loved ones, no pain, but NO JESUS would it still feel like heaven to you? Is God a means to an end and when the world goes awry we walk away because God didn’t keep His end of the bargain? Religious people practice religious stuff, but love less. We feel ok with a soup kitchen or Thanksgiving baskets and are ok with flipping them the bird the rest of the year.Are we consumed with religion and not gospel? Religion makes you selfish and self focused. Gospel is a response to the overwhelming love God has given us.Long story short, return to the Gospel. Stop the checklist, drop the filthy rags and seek authenticity and honesty in a relationship with Jesus Christ. I believe with all my heart this will cost us. If we preach it in our churches many will leave because they are more into the religious checklist than the cost of following Jesus. After this sermon, Jesus was crucified; it’s not popular. On a personal level it will cost us friends and the approval of others because we are following the foolish things and placing a stumbling block in their way.
I love the Gospel more than _________Fill in the blank and follow through
I believe "the religious" are also integrally tied to and associated with buildings. Those that do not have the faith to worship an unseen God must ground their false hope in something visible and tangible, but such things are always shaped in a way that satisfies the worshipper. Architecture can powerfully convey a sense of awe that can easily be misrepresented as a "spiritual" experience. Those who are committed to false religion fiercely guard their buildings. That was true in Jesus' time as well as today (as we well know). And I had never thought through this: The gospels clearly record the tearing of the temple veil from top to bottom at the time of Christ's death. I believe this is stated plainly in Scripture to declare the end of the dependence on the temple. God's presence was going out from the holiest place to reside in the hearts of believers by the presence of the Holy Spirit. However, the temple remained in use for another 30+ years. Someone either sewed that veil up, or had a new one made. The "religious" will not give up their buildings even when God works to destroy those buildings by his own hand. However, God will not be mocked, and as we know in 70 AD it was torn down stone from stone.
I am not devaluing the buildings we call “churches” or sanctuaries” simply saying that the good easily becomes god in those 4 walls.So now what? We point out the traits, now what do we do in light of them?I agree reiterate I am more prone to display the tendencies that I have just decried than to act like a saint. But I think it was Professor MacLean who once asked my theology class “Are you saints who have sinned, or are you sinners who have been forgiven?” My apologies if misquoted. I think the point is the Pharisees were self-deceived. They genuinely thought they were being effective in missions, doctrine, etc. They were in denial, as many are today if we give an honest evaluation of the state of the church. I would say that Paul thought he was being effective as a pre-converted Pharisee (Phil. 3). And at times I certainly have been just as guilty. I can recall thinking that if you did not have a Sunday night service you were a liberal and did not love the Bible. But making that or similar issues a test of one's commitment to the Word of God, well that is straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel. Methodology is temporary; a commitment to the eternal is what is lacking.
I say this both at a personal level in my own walk with God and to the church as a whole.What are the things we really value? Are they self deceptive? If heaven had everything that you think it does streets of gold, loved ones, no pain, but NO JESUS would it still feel like heaven to you? Is God a means to an end and when the world goes awry we walk away because God didn’t keep His end of the bargain? Religious people practice religious stuff, but love less. We feel ok with a soup kitchen or Thanksgiving baskets and are ok with flipping them the bird the rest of the year.Are we consumed with religion and not gospel? Religion makes you selfish and self focused. Gospel is a response to the overwhelming love God has given us.Long story short, return to the Gospel. Stop the checklist, drop the filthy rags and seek authenticity and honesty in a relationship with Jesus Christ. I believe with all my heart this will cost us. If we preach it in our churches many will leave because they are more into the religious checklist than the cost of following Jesus. After this sermon, Jesus was crucified; it’s not popular. On a personal level it will cost us friends and the approval of others because we are following the foolish things and placing a stumbling block in their way.
I love the Gospel more than _________Fill in the blank and follow through
Friday, June 19, 2009
Religion or Gospel Part 2
What exactly does religion replacing the Gospel look like? Jesus gives 7 woes... I would describe them this way:
•Religious people are obsessed with recognition (vv. 5-6). They love conventions, titles, and public praise.
•Religious people focus on external conformity to tradition and not inward transformation (vv. 25-26). It's not to say that they don't also teach inward transformation, just that they are defined more by the externals than the internals. As D. A. Carson says, "Error is truth out of proportion."
•Religious people focus on the sins of other rather than on their own sins (vv 2, 28). •Religious people esteem secondary traditions over a love for God (vv 16, 23-24). If you conform to their traditions, they consider you godly. If you don't, there's no way you possibly could be. They strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.
•Religious people are generally judgmental and angry in their tone (v. 23) It’s a simple result of self righteousness. When you hold your views so tightly in a closed hand, you must demonize others for their views. There is more concern over an argument, than in love.
•Religious people think we are always talking about someone else. There is no evaluation; personal growth is taken for granted. Character and brokenness is assumed and so the sins and the evils of the world are all we concern ourselves with since we have mastered our own lives.
I can write about these things because they have described me at one point. Not just in the past, but in some ways I have these tendencies now.My whole point is this: pharisaism is alive and well and at work in the church. And it is causing the slow and painful death of the bride of Christ. We must change from the doctrine of the religious to Gospel of Jesus Christ.
•Religious people are obsessed with recognition (vv. 5-6). They love conventions, titles, and public praise.
•Religious people focus on external conformity to tradition and not inward transformation (vv. 25-26). It's not to say that they don't also teach inward transformation, just that they are defined more by the externals than the internals. As D. A. Carson says, "Error is truth out of proportion."
•Religious people focus on the sins of other rather than on their own sins (vv 2, 28). •Religious people esteem secondary traditions over a love for God (vv 16, 23-24). If you conform to their traditions, they consider you godly. If you don't, there's no way you possibly could be. They strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.
•Religious people are generally judgmental and angry in their tone (v. 23) It’s a simple result of self righteousness. When you hold your views so tightly in a closed hand, you must demonize others for their views. There is more concern over an argument, than in love.
•Religious people think we are always talking about someone else. There is no evaluation; personal growth is taken for granted. Character and brokenness is assumed and so the sins and the evils of the world are all we concern ourselves with since we have mastered our own lives.
I can write about these things because they have described me at one point. Not just in the past, but in some ways I have these tendencies now.My whole point is this: pharisaism is alive and well and at work in the church. And it is causing the slow and painful death of the bride of Christ. We must change from the doctrine of the religious to Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Are we Gospel Based, or just Religious?
I have been thinking a lot lately about my ideas of church and how we seek after God, and I am truly troubled by the state of American Christianity. From the mindset these ramblings flow. I don’t claim to have the answers; this is just what I have been reflecting on from Scripture and listening to DesiringGod.org
In Matthew 23 Jesus seems to deal with a very religious group and analyzing why they weren’t growing, even though they were super religious and were passionate and knew their Bibles and had good morals.
I don’t think the reason the church is declining is in America is because people’s hearts are harder than they have ever been. People’s hearts have always been hard. People outside of God has always been dead. Every human being needs a new birth, it has always been the miracle of
God to save and it is no newer today than in the past.
Is 59:1-2 reminds us God’s arm is not shorter today, his ear is not more deaf today. God is every bit as powerful and compassionate as the day He stayed on the cross and said “Father forgive them”
The more I read the Bible the more I am convinced a lack of the move of God is never the result of a God who is too small to save, but of His people to believe God.
Is 30:18 The Lord waits to be gracious, He waits. He rises to meet us.
It’s not a shortage of God; the fields are still white with harvest.
If God is not moving we should ask why.
Recently I have been thinking a lot about this.
In Matthew 23 Jesus makes some observations
1.) Over time religion seems to choke out the gospel among God’s people. Religion grows up out of the heart of man like a virus, like an idol choking out what is true for a shadow of the truth.
2.) We can easily see this conflict in the past but fail to see it in ourselves. (vs. 29) Ironic for the Pharisee’s for they were about to kill the greatest prophet. Jesus even acknowledges in verse 15 they love missions and Scripture (vs. 5) and doctrine (vs. 16). In verse 23 they are into disciplined obedience the kind of people who say “I’ve never seen an R rated movie” or “Didn’t kiss my wife until we were married”. They thought these things meant God should be blessing them and they should be growing, but He wasn’t and they weren’t.
3.) Religion makes us horribly ineffective at evangelism (vs. 15) They travel far and wide to make a single convert. Compare that to Jesus and those who flock to Him. Not just the religious, but the irreligious: prostitutes, tax collectors, soldiers, people from different cultures. Jesus preached hard things, He was into discipleship. Religion makes us unattractive to the world and if our church is not healthy it’s probably a good sign we are too religious…
And Jesus goes on to give 7 woes. My next writing will be a condensed description of religion. Unless we repent of these things no program, no strategy will help our church. Perhaps the lack of health in our church is a merciful sign from God proclaiming loudly above our religious pretext that we are not walking with God any longer.
In Matthew 23 Jesus seems to deal with a very religious group and analyzing why they weren’t growing, even though they were super religious and were passionate and knew their Bibles and had good morals.
I don’t think the reason the church is declining is in America is because people’s hearts are harder than they have ever been. People’s hearts have always been hard. People outside of God has always been dead. Every human being needs a new birth, it has always been the miracle of
God to save and it is no newer today than in the past.
Is 59:1-2 reminds us God’s arm is not shorter today, his ear is not more deaf today. God is every bit as powerful and compassionate as the day He stayed on the cross and said “Father forgive them”
The more I read the Bible the more I am convinced a lack of the move of God is never the result of a God who is too small to save, but of His people to believe God.
Is 30:18 The Lord waits to be gracious, He waits. He rises to meet us.
It’s not a shortage of God; the fields are still white with harvest.
If God is not moving we should ask why.
Recently I have been thinking a lot about this.
In Matthew 23 Jesus makes some observations
1.) Over time religion seems to choke out the gospel among God’s people. Religion grows up out of the heart of man like a virus, like an idol choking out what is true for a shadow of the truth.
2.) We can easily see this conflict in the past but fail to see it in ourselves. (vs. 29) Ironic for the Pharisee’s for they were about to kill the greatest prophet. Jesus even acknowledges in verse 15 they love missions and Scripture (vs. 5) and doctrine (vs. 16). In verse 23 they are into disciplined obedience the kind of people who say “I’ve never seen an R rated movie” or “Didn’t kiss my wife until we were married”. They thought these things meant God should be blessing them and they should be growing, but He wasn’t and they weren’t.
3.) Religion makes us horribly ineffective at evangelism (vs. 15) They travel far and wide to make a single convert. Compare that to Jesus and those who flock to Him. Not just the religious, but the irreligious: prostitutes, tax collectors, soldiers, people from different cultures. Jesus preached hard things, He was into discipleship. Religion makes us unattractive to the world and if our church is not healthy it’s probably a good sign we are too religious…
And Jesus goes on to give 7 woes. My next writing will be a condensed description of religion. Unless we repent of these things no program, no strategy will help our church. Perhaps the lack of health in our church is a merciful sign from God proclaiming loudly above our religious pretext that we are not walking with God any longer.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
We play church when…
WE REPRODUCE WHAT GOD DID BEFORE
I have been in churches where God has moved mightily on a Sunday, but the problem became that the next week people were trying to conjure up the same experience they had the previous Sunday. God is creative, and just because He painted the picture a certain way one week, doesn’t mean He wants us to put it in a gallery. He’s creating something new!
In revivals throughout time God has emphasized a different “under-emphasized” doctrine. In the 1900s it was the moving of the Holy Spirit (Wales, Azuza). Before that it was holiness. Before that the Word of God and what we believe about it. You could even say today that God is moving in young generations with the issues of social justice (He still cares for the poor, orphans, and widows).
But no matter what you believe about where God is moving right now – we believe that He is doing something fresh. He is doing the job of CREATING. We need to stop doing the job of RE-CREATING, and let Him do His fresh work in us. David in Psalm 51 when he had committed adultery, “CREATE in me a clean heart, O God”. That word is the same word used in the Creation story (bara). It means to create out of nothing. We need to ask God to create something out of the nothingness of our lives.
Because remember what Martin Luther said, “God made the world out of nothing, if we are not yet nothing, God cannot make something out of us.”
I want to be NOTHING on Sunday (and every day), so I can be God’s SOMETHING on Monday (and every day).
We don't hear from God because we don't expect from God. The new generation of believers rarely seeks God like their parents, will we help or hinder their journey? Will we be brave enough to seek out God for our selves? Or will we be content to look fondly at what he's done in the past
I have been in churches where God has moved mightily on a Sunday, but the problem became that the next week people were trying to conjure up the same experience they had the previous Sunday. God is creative, and just because He painted the picture a certain way one week, doesn’t mean He wants us to put it in a gallery. He’s creating something new!
In revivals throughout time God has emphasized a different “under-emphasized” doctrine. In the 1900s it was the moving of the Holy Spirit (Wales, Azuza). Before that it was holiness. Before that the Word of God and what we believe about it. You could even say today that God is moving in young generations with the issues of social justice (He still cares for the poor, orphans, and widows).
But no matter what you believe about where God is moving right now – we believe that He is doing something fresh. He is doing the job of CREATING. We need to stop doing the job of RE-CREATING, and let Him do His fresh work in us. David in Psalm 51 when he had committed adultery, “CREATE in me a clean heart, O God”. That word is the same word used in the Creation story (bara). It means to create out of nothing. We need to ask God to create something out of the nothingness of our lives.
Because remember what Martin Luther said, “God made the world out of nothing, if we are not yet nothing, God cannot make something out of us.”
I want to be NOTHING on Sunday (and every day), so I can be God’s SOMETHING on Monday (and every day).
We don't hear from God because we don't expect from God. The new generation of believers rarely seeks God like their parents, will we help or hinder their journey? Will we be brave enough to seek out God for our selves? Or will we be content to look fondly at what he's done in the past
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
I am furious today. I can't really write the reasons since the people who caused such a thing may in fact read this. Don't worry it wasn't one of you my friends. I have such a love hate relationship with church, that is the building that represents it, I thought rather than write a new tirade, I offer a glimpse at a section of the book I am currently writing.
Best Box in Town
“I don’t know much about God, but they’ve built a nice cage for him.” ~Homer Simpson
I remember as a boy being around the age of 10 working with my church’s drama ministry. We had a passion play that had become the Easter tradition of many. Not content to put on a full length play with just regular lights the technical team worked very hard to make stage lights. A 2 pound coffee can, an outlet and a lot of wire to a dimmer. It wasn’t Broadway, but everyone could see. As the lights were hung, and slowly and laboriously aimed with coat hangers I was excited to be a part of something so cutting edge. I had never seen stage lights in a church before and I was so happy to see that doing something well was important to my church. The show went wonderfully on Friday and Saturday night the Gospel was presented clearly and many people in the audience came and asked to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. I remember leaving Saturday night to go to a diner to eat, as the man who played Jesus climbed on a ladder and stuck the lights back in the drop ceiling.
I stopped and protested,
“We have a Sunday night show, all of the lights will be off their marks, we’ll have to completely re-aim them!”
The actor looked at me, exhaustion in his eyes, and said,
“Some people say a church shouldn’t look like a theater.”
Do you know what the big problem is when any place is filled with people? It looks like it’s been used by a bunch of people. Walls get scuffs, carpets get stains, chairs break, tiles need replaced, and everything needs to be vacuumed.
When it comes to church, I think signs of use are good things. Places of worship, are supposed to build people, not walls.
So often there is a disconnect between what a church says and a church does. And we know that actions speak louder than words. I have been at churches with lots of money, and I have been at churches with no money. I have seen volunteer cleaners and I have seen paid janitors. And of course I have talked to leaders who swear by their building and leaders who would meet in a tent if it brought people to know Jesus Christ.
As a young minister, it is difficult to imagine church much different than the church I grew up in, a long sanctuary and a small foyer, a downstairs with tile floors and a kitchen, a long hallway with some class rooms and a youth room in the back. I found myself planning my ministry ideas around a building that wasn’t mine. My thinking was so tied to a space that ideas that took place outside of that space were immediately discarded.
And if I as a young man with a ridiculous imagination can’t get passed the confines of the church walls, how can the leaders who have served there for years?
We are instructed to be good stewards of the resources God gives us, and there is a difference between being good stewards of His gifts, and caretakers of His museum.
Buildings, like art, demand a response. They have expectations, and set standards silently; empty space is never truly empty. Our sacred spaces do well to separate us from the world with the intent of focusing us on God, but just how separate are we supposed to be? No matter how good the music, how nice the curtains, how pretty the people dress on Sunday, Monday is coming and there are no curtains or music or dress code to keep you from dealing with life’s very real problems. Why then do we spend so much on our building? It is provable that churches that do an ascetic remodeling grow briefly, it should be noted that the bulk of this growth is church hoppers looking for the newest and best and if filling the pews is all you care about, and reaching the hurting is happy perk; then move ahead with the building plans.
They say give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he’ll eat all his life. Lesser known is the build a fishing pole and it’s useless without a person.
God will build His church, His people. Not his stone faced building. Not a steeple. Not a newly paved parking lot with additional handicapped spaces. His people.
If we spend more money on remodeling our building than we do on evangelism, mentoring, and discipling then our church is going to be condemned in the places that really matter.
Best Box in Town
“I don’t know much about God, but they’ve built a nice cage for him.” ~Homer Simpson
I remember as a boy being around the age of 10 working with my church’s drama ministry. We had a passion play that had become the Easter tradition of many. Not content to put on a full length play with just regular lights the technical team worked very hard to make stage lights. A 2 pound coffee can, an outlet and a lot of wire to a dimmer. It wasn’t Broadway, but everyone could see. As the lights were hung, and slowly and laboriously aimed with coat hangers I was excited to be a part of something so cutting edge. I had never seen stage lights in a church before and I was so happy to see that doing something well was important to my church. The show went wonderfully on Friday and Saturday night the Gospel was presented clearly and many people in the audience came and asked to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. I remember leaving Saturday night to go to a diner to eat, as the man who played Jesus climbed on a ladder and stuck the lights back in the drop ceiling.
I stopped and protested,
“We have a Sunday night show, all of the lights will be off their marks, we’ll have to completely re-aim them!”
The actor looked at me, exhaustion in his eyes, and said,
“Some people say a church shouldn’t look like a theater.”
Do you know what the big problem is when any place is filled with people? It looks like it’s been used by a bunch of people. Walls get scuffs, carpets get stains, chairs break, tiles need replaced, and everything needs to be vacuumed.
When it comes to church, I think signs of use are good things. Places of worship, are supposed to build people, not walls.
So often there is a disconnect between what a church says and a church does. And we know that actions speak louder than words. I have been at churches with lots of money, and I have been at churches with no money. I have seen volunteer cleaners and I have seen paid janitors. And of course I have talked to leaders who swear by their building and leaders who would meet in a tent if it brought people to know Jesus Christ.
As a young minister, it is difficult to imagine church much different than the church I grew up in, a long sanctuary and a small foyer, a downstairs with tile floors and a kitchen, a long hallway with some class rooms and a youth room in the back. I found myself planning my ministry ideas around a building that wasn’t mine. My thinking was so tied to a space that ideas that took place outside of that space were immediately discarded.
And if I as a young man with a ridiculous imagination can’t get passed the confines of the church walls, how can the leaders who have served there for years?
We are instructed to be good stewards of the resources God gives us, and there is a difference between being good stewards of His gifts, and caretakers of His museum.
Buildings, like art, demand a response. They have expectations, and set standards silently; empty space is never truly empty. Our sacred spaces do well to separate us from the world with the intent of focusing us on God, but just how separate are we supposed to be? No matter how good the music, how nice the curtains, how pretty the people dress on Sunday, Monday is coming and there are no curtains or music or dress code to keep you from dealing with life’s very real problems. Why then do we spend so much on our building? It is provable that churches that do an ascetic remodeling grow briefly, it should be noted that the bulk of this growth is church hoppers looking for the newest and best and if filling the pews is all you care about, and reaching the hurting is happy perk; then move ahead with the building plans.
They say give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he’ll eat all his life. Lesser known is the build a fishing pole and it’s useless without a person.
God will build His church, His people. Not his stone faced building. Not a steeple. Not a newly paved parking lot with additional handicapped spaces. His people.
If we spend more money on remodeling our building than we do on evangelism, mentoring, and discipling then our church is going to be condemned in the places that really matter.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Come Awake
"Long is the way, and hard, that out of hell leads up to light."~John Milton
Sometimes in life when you look back you realize that you have been in overhaul mode. Not for any real reason; I never said "Today is the day I shall change everything!". Yet somehow here I am on a path away from where I have resided so long. It is strange these places have no name, but I, like Milton, sometimes ascribe appropriate names based on the feeling a place evokes.
I don't know that there is much outside of myself that anyone would understand, but I have come to the conclusion that when in doubt try something different. I, as a Christian, have spent too long trying to "be still and know" God as opposed to getting out and living like God knows me. That is not to say my actions mean anything, but the movement is faith. Faith that God is changing me, faith that I can trust Him direct me, faith that old and tired muscles can still make a difference.
For those who have hit a spot where knowing is not enough, then my challenge is simple: Move.
God is so much bigger than our sad state of affairs, and even our best fortunes. Movement is required in the walk of faith, or as the old saying goes we are just sliding backwards.
Sometimes in life when you look back you realize that you have been in overhaul mode. Not for any real reason; I never said "Today is the day I shall change everything!". Yet somehow here I am on a path away from where I have resided so long. It is strange these places have no name, but I, like Milton, sometimes ascribe appropriate names based on the feeling a place evokes.
I don't know that there is much outside of myself that anyone would understand, but I have come to the conclusion that when in doubt try something different. I, as a Christian, have spent too long trying to "be still and know" God as opposed to getting out and living like God knows me. That is not to say my actions mean anything, but the movement is faith. Faith that God is changing me, faith that I can trust Him direct me, faith that old and tired muscles can still make a difference.
For those who have hit a spot where knowing is not enough, then my challenge is simple: Move.
God is so much bigger than our sad state of affairs, and even our best fortunes. Movement is required in the walk of faith, or as the old saying goes we are just sliding backwards.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Hear Me Now
In that instance where He calls me "son" I am aware that He is my Father. For me this is an action, for Him it is simply His character. The act I do, my response, is a reply to His Person, His Spirit, His love that is within me. When He moves, I move, and so I must move. My movement my faith is the moment of realization, I am not, and He is. I betray my own right, except to call myself son, and Him Father. Because I am not my own father, it is useless for me to try and awaken a recognition of Him by simply calling myself son in the hollow of my own silence. My own voice only rouses a dead echo when it calls out to itself. There is no awakening in me, unless I am called out of the darkness by Him who is light. Only He who is life is able to raise the dead. And unless He names me son, I remain dead, and my silence is the silence of death. But when He speaks my name, that interior devastation, that silence becomes life and I know I am, because He is. There is no longer a dead echo, but a triumphant voice of life. My life is always listening, His is always speaking. My salvation is in this, hearing and responding. So this silence is my very salvation. Interior silence is impossible without mercy, grace, and my part, humility.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Colossians 2:6-7
Just as you have received so walk. Do you remember the passion and zeal with which you accepted God’s grace? That moment you realized you had no hope, but hope was already there for you? The determination with which we ran towards God. The initial reaction, the spark that exploded and changed our whole lives. We knew miracles were possible because in that moment we received the miracle of forgiveness. This is how we received. All else pales in comparison to this beautiful and priceless gift. But with each step we take away from that moment we tend to let it fade. It becomes not a motivator, but a memory. The greatest occurrence in our lives becomes a footnote instead of the love story of our lives. It is not we once were and now are; but we have started and must continue. We can not forget that first moment anymore than the leaves of the redwood can forsake their roots. In, through, and by the roots life has come to the whole tree. Foundation is immediately followed by growth; they must not, can not, be separated. And growth must be pursed like salvation was. Like our very lives depend on it. I have been rooted but must not tire of being built up. No it must be passionately pursued at all costs, less our roots be in vane.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Time to blog again
What does it mean to know and experience my own "nothingness"? It is not enough to turn away in disgust from my illusions and faults and mistakes, to separate myself from them as if they were not there, as if I was someone other than myself. This self-annihilation is a worse illusion than the rest, because it is a pretend humility which in saying, "I am nothing" means in effect, "I wish I were not what I am". This comes from an experience of all of our failings, all of our deficiencies and an acknowledgement of our helplessness, but that does not alone produce any peace. To really know our nothingness…we must love it. But we can not love it, unless we come to terms with it, accept it as our own. That only comes from what I can only describe as a supernatural experience of our complete dependency, understanding we exist only as far as we accept our humility that loves and prizes that fact that we are morally helpless before God. Completely and utterly. To love our nothingness in this way we must divorce ourselves from all that is not us. We must see and admit that it is all ours and that it is all good. Good in that our nothingness reflects God's "everythingness"; good since our deficiencies. Our helplessness, our complete moral and spiritual bankruptcy attract the mercy of God. To love our nothingness we must love ourselves. Knowing that we have nothing we must not be afraid to beg God who has all. The proud love their "self sufficiency" in their own eyes. The humble love their very inadequacies. The more we are content with our own poverty, the closer we are to God, because then and only then can we accept our poverty in peace, expecting nothing from ourselves, and absolutely EVERYTHING from God. "May all your expectations be frustrated. May all your plans be thwarted. May all of your desires be withered into nothingness. That you may experience the powerlessness and poverty of a child and sing and dance in the love of God the Father, the Son, and the Spirit." - Henri Nouwen
Life is shaped by the end you live for….
Life is shaped by the end you live for….
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