I wonder if you have had an opportunity to extend the grace, shelter, or presence of Jesus in the last week. My wife and I have had a few opportunities and sometimes it hasn't been easy. I am sure we also missed a few opportunities along the way.
Last night we went late to dinner at Arby's. We were the only customers in the place and it felt empty. After a long day, it was nice to have an empty place all to ourselves. But then a young woman arrived. She went straight to the trash and leaned over and looked inside. She startted talking to herself and to the trash. She spoke incoherently in a way that suggested to me that she was trying to get herself ready to speak with others. Pretty quickly, she went up to the counter and looked over the Value Menu to find something she could afford. She had only a few dollars and her clothes were well-worn.
The girl behind the counter was polite and helpful. She gave the wanderer a larger size drink than she had ordered. The clerk offered the woman a sandwich, which was refused. Then the woman left pretty fast. This almost empty restaurant along with the girl behind the counter became a place of safety for those few moments: a refuge for a weary soul, a place of hospitality.
Have you seen or practiced any hospitality this week. Tell us your story. You can comment anonymously if you wish. You might also tell how the experience affected you - however snall or large.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Quick to Listen
“My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19)
This morning, at breakfast with friends, we discussed the spiritual exercise of submission and someone mentioned James 1:19. Imagine stepping into your home where your spouse begins to vent and accuse…QUICK! Close your mouth and listen! Think you’ve got a response to tirade that is assaulting you…WAIT! Slow down; don’t speak yet. Give it some time or you will probably regret what you say – that conversation is going to take some unexpected turns and, more than likely, you won’t end up where you thought you would.
You drink your tea till it’s empty in a restaurant, only then to notice the milk that had dried into the crevasse at the bottom from some previous customer. You are repulsed. You feel the emotions rising quickly inside and…WAIT! Slow to anger. Slow to speak. You have already paid the price for someone else’s negligence, but don’t let that control your character.
This is submitting to others when you have a sense of power or rights at stake. This is aligning your will and freedom with God’s will and freedom.
How do you submit to your spouse or your children or anyone who should serve you?
This morning, at breakfast with friends, we discussed the spiritual exercise of submission and someone mentioned James 1:19. Imagine stepping into your home where your spouse begins to vent and accuse…QUICK! Close your mouth and listen! Think you’ve got a response to tirade that is assaulting you…WAIT! Slow down; don’t speak yet. Give it some time or you will probably regret what you say – that conversation is going to take some unexpected turns and, more than likely, you won’t end up where you thought you would.
You drink your tea till it’s empty in a restaurant, only then to notice the milk that had dried into the crevasse at the bottom from some previous customer. You are repulsed. You feel the emotions rising quickly inside and…WAIT! Slow to anger. Slow to speak. You have already paid the price for someone else’s negligence, but don’t let that control your character.
This is submitting to others when you have a sense of power or rights at stake. This is aligning your will and freedom with God’s will and freedom.
How do you submit to your spouse or your children or anyone who should serve you?
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ
I have been thinking of those words from Ephesians 5:21 every day this month; I have prayed over them and wondered how to practice submission on a daily basis.
Submission is not something you can “muscle-through.” There are some behaviors one can adopt, and it would definitely be possible to appear submissive under certain circumstances, but that sort of cuts against the grain of submission.
I have tried to submit myself to Donna in our marriage relationship, but we have been married, going on 27 years – our patterns of behavior are deeply rooted. Any changes I make to myself may be noticed, but they are hardly concrete until they have been practiced for some length of time. And I have tried to be giving of myself in that relationship for most of those 26 years.
I have tried to submit myself in relationship to my children as well. But they are children and not peers so that kind of submission doesn’t always look like submission. It may look so when I forfeit the television or something out of deference to them, but not when I am grounding my daughter from her cell phone. Yet they are the same inside me.
I have tried to submit myself to my brothers and sisters, to people I meet, to my parents…I feel less righteous than before, not because of my behavior, but because I feel as though I am missing something that is essential and I don’t know what it is.
Thoughts, suggestions, critiques?
Submission is not something you can “muscle-through.” There are some behaviors one can adopt, and it would definitely be possible to appear submissive under certain circumstances, but that sort of cuts against the grain of submission.
I have tried to submit myself to Donna in our marriage relationship, but we have been married, going on 27 years – our patterns of behavior are deeply rooted. Any changes I make to myself may be noticed, but they are hardly concrete until they have been practiced for some length of time. And I have tried to be giving of myself in that relationship for most of those 26 years.
I have tried to submit myself in relationship to my children as well. But they are children and not peers so that kind of submission doesn’t always look like submission. It may look so when I forfeit the television or something out of deference to them, but not when I am grounding my daughter from her cell phone. Yet they are the same inside me.
I have tried to submit myself to my brothers and sisters, to people I meet, to my parents…I feel less righteous than before, not because of my behavior, but because I feel as though I am missing something that is essential and I don’t know what it is.
Thoughts, suggestions, critiques?
Sunday, February 14, 2010
The Spiritual Practice of Submission
The following is my sermon notes for Sunday's lesson. I invite comments regarding the message as I encourage your participation in this discussion about Submission as a spiritual discipline. Thanks.
2010-02-14 The Spiritual Practice of Submission
Don Morrison S 11th and Willis Church of Christ
Today we continue our look at Spiritual Disciplines by examining the practice of submission.
I want to admit, up front, that the whole concept of submission doesn’t sound very appealing to me on the surface. I want to confess that it is almost bred into us that the individual is supposed to be self-determined and autonomous.
Then I want to admit, that knowing how difficult it is for us to look plainly and fairly at the idea of submission. I thought about turning straight to Ephesians 5:22, 23 where scripture says, “Wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body...” I knew that would be a great start for everyone’s Valentine’s Day.
And now, having just brought that to mind, I want to ask you to set that aside. I want to ask you to set aside all your preconceptions about submission and look through some scriptures about the practice of submission as a spiritually transforming way of life for all of us—not just one gender, not just those who are not bosses, not just those who are really, really spiritual, or the losers—for all who would follow Christ.
As Zen read earlier (Philippians 2:5-8) that Jesus placed himself in a position where he is, by his very nature, God, but where he also became completely submissive to the Father’s will.
Prayer
• Open heart and mind to see submission not only from the perspective of our worldly experience.
• But as a virtue that can liberate us.
• Bring us first to you—to submit to you first and then to be as you would have us.
• Help us to be pliable in your hands, moldable, submissive to your will as Jesus, our Savior
So let’s start with the verse just before Ephesians 5:22
Ephesians 5:21
Submit to one another out of reverence to Christ.
Submission to one another is an expression of our reverence for Christ
• Not just submission toward God, but in relation to one another.
• Story about Ken Cukrowski reading the Greek text with me
• Relationship between student and teacher that the student must submit to.
• A student cannot get the full benefit from his teacher if he cannot place himself in the position of submission to his teacher
1. Submission to one another frees us from the need to be in charge and in control.
In that same vein, when Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James, John, Thaddeus, Bartholomew and the rest to come follow him as his disciples, they were committing themselves to a certain role in their relationship with Jesus.
• Jesus told some of them, “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” (Mark 1:17)
• It is what he will make of them, by his power or expertise, if they will place themselves at his feet—so to speak—and become his disciples.
• Do you wonder what Jesus can make of you if you place yourself at his feet and let your will and freedom align with his?
• Without submitting to him, neither they or us could become his disciples. It is when we align our will and freedom to his will and freedom that we actually become his followers.
2. Submission changes us into someone who can be a follower, a learner a student.
I want to point out one more of the changes that submission can bring to our lives when we practice it.
First, let’s look at Samson and Delilah in Judges 16:4-9
• Samson idealized self-determination and autonomy
• He pursued a Philistine wife rather than marry according to the law
• He was humiliated by her when she gave away the answer to his riddle
• Samson’s relationship with Delilah was more like a rivalry. They kept trying to outmaneuver each other.
• I know I am starting from a difficult place, using Samson and Delilah, but imagine if they had submitted to one another.
• Calhoun’s definition: “Submission that leads to growth means aligning my will and freedom with God’s will and freedom, expressed by submitting to one another out of love and reverence for Christ.”
• Imagine Delilah seeking Samson’s will and freedom rather than her own wealth or her people’s desires.
• Imagine Samson seeking Delilah’s will and freedom rather than mocking her with lies, or setting her aside for his own self-promotion.
3. Submission changes us by teaching us to value others for what they might have to offer.
Recap
1. Free us from needing to be in charge
2. Ability to be a better disciple of Jesus and learn better from others
3. Learning to value the thoughts and ideas of others, including those of people we would like to be close to and have enduring relationships with.
Now let’s read more from Ephesians 5 while we hold to this idea of submission and the ways it changes us.
V 21 aligning my will to the greater good of the body of Christ, the church.
• how does that look at the business meeting?
• How does that change my conversation after the body makes a decision I didn’t like so much?
V22 the wife aligns her will and freedom to her husband.
• Not becoming a doormat saying, “do whatever your want to me.”
• Rather, deciding not to push her way (even though we all know that she is usually right because… well just because) and align herself with him
V 25 The husband aligns his freedom and will with his wife’s.
• serving her as Christ serves
• Seeking her needs above your own—submitting your needs to hers.
Submission is not about becoming less of a person or less valuable a person. It is about changing us into the image of Jesus who submits himself to the will of the father.
2010-02-14 The Spiritual Practice of Submission
Don Morrison S 11th and Willis Church of Christ
Today we continue our look at Spiritual Disciplines by examining the practice of submission.
I want to admit, up front, that the whole concept of submission doesn’t sound very appealing to me on the surface. I want to confess that it is almost bred into us that the individual is supposed to be self-determined and autonomous.
Then I want to admit, that knowing how difficult it is for us to look plainly and fairly at the idea of submission. I thought about turning straight to Ephesians 5:22, 23 where scripture says, “Wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body...” I knew that would be a great start for everyone’s Valentine’s Day.
And now, having just brought that to mind, I want to ask you to set that aside. I want to ask you to set aside all your preconceptions about submission and look through some scriptures about the practice of submission as a spiritually transforming way of life for all of us—not just one gender, not just those who are not bosses, not just those who are really, really spiritual, or the losers—for all who would follow Christ.
As Zen read earlier (Philippians 2:5-8) that Jesus placed himself in a position where he is, by his very nature, God, but where he also became completely submissive to the Father’s will.
Prayer
• Open heart and mind to see submission not only from the perspective of our worldly experience.
• But as a virtue that can liberate us.
• Bring us first to you—to submit to you first and then to be as you would have us.
• Help us to be pliable in your hands, moldable, submissive to your will as Jesus, our Savior
So let’s start with the verse just before Ephesians 5:22
Ephesians 5:21
Submit to one another out of reverence to Christ.
Submission to one another is an expression of our reverence for Christ
• Not just submission toward God, but in relation to one another.
• Story about Ken Cukrowski reading the Greek text with me
• Relationship between student and teacher that the student must submit to.
• A student cannot get the full benefit from his teacher if he cannot place himself in the position of submission to his teacher
1. Submission to one another frees us from the need to be in charge and in control.
In that same vein, when Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James, John, Thaddeus, Bartholomew and the rest to come follow him as his disciples, they were committing themselves to a certain role in their relationship with Jesus.
• Jesus told some of them, “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” (Mark 1:17)
• It is what he will make of them, by his power or expertise, if they will place themselves at his feet—so to speak—and become his disciples.
• Do you wonder what Jesus can make of you if you place yourself at his feet and let your will and freedom align with his?
• Without submitting to him, neither they or us could become his disciples. It is when we align our will and freedom to his will and freedom that we actually become his followers.
2. Submission changes us into someone who can be a follower, a learner a student.
I want to point out one more of the changes that submission can bring to our lives when we practice it.
First, let’s look at Samson and Delilah in Judges 16:4-9
• Samson idealized self-determination and autonomy
• He pursued a Philistine wife rather than marry according to the law
• He was humiliated by her when she gave away the answer to his riddle
• Samson’s relationship with Delilah was more like a rivalry. They kept trying to outmaneuver each other.
• I know I am starting from a difficult place, using Samson and Delilah, but imagine if they had submitted to one another.
• Calhoun’s definition: “Submission that leads to growth means aligning my will and freedom with God’s will and freedom, expressed by submitting to one another out of love and reverence for Christ.”
• Imagine Delilah seeking Samson’s will and freedom rather than her own wealth or her people’s desires.
• Imagine Samson seeking Delilah’s will and freedom rather than mocking her with lies, or setting her aside for his own self-promotion.
3. Submission changes us by teaching us to value others for what they might have to offer.
Recap
1. Free us from needing to be in charge
2. Ability to be a better disciple of Jesus and learn better from others
3. Learning to value the thoughts and ideas of others, including those of people we would like to be close to and have enduring relationships with.
Now let’s read more from Ephesians 5 while we hold to this idea of submission and the ways it changes us.
V 21 aligning my will to the greater good of the body of Christ, the church.
• how does that look at the business meeting?
• How does that change my conversation after the body makes a decision I didn’t like so much?
V22 the wife aligns her will and freedom to her husband.
• Not becoming a doormat saying, “do whatever your want to me.”
• Rather, deciding not to push her way (even though we all know that she is usually right because… well just because) and align herself with him
V 25 The husband aligns his freedom and will with his wife’s.
• serving her as Christ serves
• Seeking her needs above your own—submitting your needs to hers.
Submission is not about becoming less of a person or less valuable a person. It is about changing us into the image of Jesus who submits himself to the will of the father.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Defining Submission
In the book, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, Adele Calhoun describes Submission as aligning one's will and freedoms with God's will and freedoms. How does that definition change/reinforce your perception of submission?
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Virtue?
Is submission a virtue? Or is it just becoming a doormat? What does it look like to be strong and to submit?
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Submit
You probably know that the word Islam means submission. There have been times when I wondered how Islamists interpret that idea: submission to what, and whom? I looked up the word “submission” on Google and one hit came up with a picture of a woman’s bare back with some form of Arabic writing across her skin, from her shoulders all the way to her waist. There were also trickles of blood striped across the writings where she had been flogged. The idea of the picture was clear: some submit more than others.
The same might be said of Christianity, I suppose, which means “Christ-like.” Many muslims must wonder what Christ is truly like, having been injured by perversions of Christianity for hundreds of years.
I bring these two images up because the concept of submission is so foreign to us and so difficult to embrace as a Christian virtue. Yet, just as love, honesty, fidelity, and loyalty to Christ are our pursuit, so is submission. Submission can be forced, as the picture I mentioned illustrates, but for us it is voluntary: We choose to be subordinate as Christ also chose.
Jesus submitted to the will of the father over his own, when he chose to lay down his life, of his own accord, for the father and for us. Further, Jesus chose to submit to the priests and teachers of the law when he endured a mockery of a trial, the overwhelming pain of his beating and the humiliation of being stripped publically and displayed to all.
Why would anyone put themselves through such traumatic agony if they had a choice? Jesus believed he was submitting to God first.
When submission is only about authority and loss of stature, it is hardly virtuous. But when as Christians, we can overlay our submission to God to our submission in this world we can find greater meaning and virtue.
Ponder the meaning of this verse from Ephesians 5:21, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” What does that mean when you think you are right? When you think someone else is too bossy? How does God redeem our submission to make it virtuous?
The same might be said of Christianity, I suppose, which means “Christ-like.” Many muslims must wonder what Christ is truly like, having been injured by perversions of Christianity for hundreds of years.
I bring these two images up because the concept of submission is so foreign to us and so difficult to embrace as a Christian virtue. Yet, just as love, honesty, fidelity, and loyalty to Christ are our pursuit, so is submission. Submission can be forced, as the picture I mentioned illustrates, but for us it is voluntary: We choose to be subordinate as Christ also chose.
Jesus submitted to the will of the father over his own, when he chose to lay down his life, of his own accord, for the father and for us. Further, Jesus chose to submit to the priests and teachers of the law when he endured a mockery of a trial, the overwhelming pain of his beating and the humiliation of being stripped publically and displayed to all.
Why would anyone put themselves through such traumatic agony if they had a choice? Jesus believed he was submitting to God first.
When submission is only about authority and loss of stature, it is hardly virtuous. But when as Christians, we can overlay our submission to God to our submission in this world we can find greater meaning and virtue.
Ponder the meaning of this verse from Ephesians 5:21, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” What does that mean when you think you are right? When you think someone else is too bossy? How does God redeem our submission to make it virtuous?
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Submission
Adele Ahlberg Calhoun describes submission as aligning my will and freedom with God’s will and freedom, believing that God’s will includes freely submitting to each other out of love and reverence for Christ. (Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices that Transform Us, p. 118).
The idea of Submission brings different concepts and emotions to mind depending on our experiences. I want to think of submission as a virtue, but I know that it is not always thought of that way. What do you think and feel about submission?
I am posting some passages that relate to submission and I would like you to respond to them. You might also post any references you think may be helpful in studying the spiritual practice of submission.
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord… Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right... Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord…Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ… And masters, treat your slaves in the same way… (excerpted from Ephesians 5:21-6:9 NIV).
An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
To this John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less. (John 3:25-30)
Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. (Hebrews 13:17)
Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. (Romans 8:5-9)
May God bless our study of submission.
The idea of Submission brings different concepts and emotions to mind depending on our experiences. I want to think of submission as a virtue, but I know that it is not always thought of that way. What do you think and feel about submission?
I am posting some passages that relate to submission and I would like you to respond to them. You might also post any references you think may be helpful in studying the spiritual practice of submission.
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord… Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right... Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord…Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ… And masters, treat your slaves in the same way… (excerpted from Ephesians 5:21-6:9 NIV).
An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”
To this John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less. (John 3:25-30)
Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. (Hebrews 13:17)
Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. (Romans 8:5-9)
May God bless our study of submission.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Devotional Thoughts on Gratitude
1 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 7 asks a question I have found myself pondering: “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?”
You could look around right now and reflect on what you are receiving at this moment. Of course there is the air we take for granted, but just feel it now as it fills your lungs and your nostrils. It flows and does its work without any thought or extra care from you. And the protection from the elements provided by this building or your home or car. The other morning I rushed through the dry, cold, still air to my car and quickly closed the door as I scooted in. I shivered, impatient for the anticipated warmth from the heater vent. In that short time, think of all that I received from God – a car; the cold of winter; the dryness rather than the penetrating cold of moisture; the knowledge and possession of the coming warmth; a place to go that required my journey; a place to start that journey and the safety of both; the roads on which my car would travel; the agreement with our neighbors to abide by standard rules that allows a safe interaction while driving; the ability to move myself, with hardly a thought, to the car and to quicken the pace without any concern. We could go much further in the pursuit of all that we receive. But one more thing needs to be said before we move toward gratitude.
Some of those things you have received cannot be purchased at any price. There are those who would pay anything to own what some of us receive freely, without thought. From another perspective: others work just as hard or harder with both their minds and their bodies, but will never have the opportunity to receive what you have. Perhaps their mind is not as agile as yours or their body not as able; perhaps they didn’t receive the same opportunities.
Which of these can you thank God for, right now? Can you reflect a little further to realize other blessings you may regularly take for granted, but which make a profound effect on who you are and what you are able to do?
When you begin to notice these works of God in you and for you, you may also find a tendency to balance them with thoughts of what you do not have or what you have lost. Why do we sometimes do this? Does this affect our attitude of thankfulness? Is it possible that in losing something we now miss we may have gained something else? Perhaps even something that we are presently unaware of?
You could look around right now and reflect on what you are receiving at this moment. Of course there is the air we take for granted, but just feel it now as it fills your lungs and your nostrils. It flows and does its work without any thought or extra care from you. And the protection from the elements provided by this building or your home or car. The other morning I rushed through the dry, cold, still air to my car and quickly closed the door as I scooted in. I shivered, impatient for the anticipated warmth from the heater vent. In that short time, think of all that I received from God – a car; the cold of winter; the dryness rather than the penetrating cold of moisture; the knowledge and possession of the coming warmth; a place to go that required my journey; a place to start that journey and the safety of both; the roads on which my car would travel; the agreement with our neighbors to abide by standard rules that allows a safe interaction while driving; the ability to move myself, with hardly a thought, to the car and to quicken the pace without any concern. We could go much further in the pursuit of all that we receive. But one more thing needs to be said before we move toward gratitude.
Some of those things you have received cannot be purchased at any price. There are those who would pay anything to own what some of us receive freely, without thought. From another perspective: others work just as hard or harder with both their minds and their bodies, but will never have the opportunity to receive what you have. Perhaps their mind is not as agile as yours or their body not as able; perhaps they didn’t receive the same opportunities.
Which of these can you thank God for, right now? Can you reflect a little further to realize other blessings you may regularly take for granted, but which make a profound effect on who you are and what you are able to do?
When you begin to notice these works of God in you and for you, you may also find a tendency to balance them with thoughts of what you do not have or what you have lost. Why do we sometimes do this? Does this affect our attitude of thankfulness? Is it possible that in losing something we now miss we may have gained something else? Perhaps even something that we are presently unaware of?
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
I Give Thanks…
Thank you, Lord, for my children. Each of them has blessed my life and the lives of others in unique ways. Each of them has challenged me in ways I could not have imagined; they have taught me about myself and other temperaments; they have taught me about a new kind of love. They have made me a better person.
Thank you, Lord, for the wife of my youth - for her years of giving and faithfulness; for her grace to our children and her industrious provisions for our family. Thank you for her intelligence, for our differences that challenge and bring appreciation for something wonderful I might not have known otherwise. Thank you for giving us companionship in our often individualized living and for creating one out of two
Thank you, Lord, for my parents and the family I grew up in - For the faith and righteousness that my parents exemplified and expected. Thank you for our ability to sacrifice for one another, to endure rivalry with grace, to allow for differences with appreciation. Thank you also for my extended family, for the good that was modeled in front of me, for the heritage of faith that teaches me what my own faithfulness can mean to others. Thank you for my brother’s and my sister’s family – that they have embraced me and mine with their hearts and hands.
Thank you, for your disciples, my God, who have surrounded me in times of triumph and defeat. Even in the worst of places and times, you have provided someone to minister to me. And in other times, you have given me that same opportunity. Thank you for trusting me and bringing me wholly into your family – a full participant and complete heir.
Thank you for Jesus. Thank you for stepping out from the veil of rules to reveal yourself personally to us. Thank you for enduring our worst and being encouraged by those rare moments when we truly love you deeply and completely. Thank you for letting us touch you in a crowd, or in a home, or in a place of worship; to touch your side where you were wounded, to touch your time with our common needs and habits, to touch your feet with our pain and tears, and to touch even your clothes and feel power flow into us through you. Thank you for enduring us past the point of endurance.
Thank you for the stuff of this world that you give us – for food and cars and homes and clothes; for education and jobs and prosperity. Thank you for the freedom we enjoy. Thank you for the cleansing rain, the changing seasons, the cool breeze, the shade of trees and their fruit that grows and produces by its own work on our behalf. And for so many more blessings that we cannot count, Lord…
Thank You.
Thank you, Lord, for the wife of my youth - for her years of giving and faithfulness; for her grace to our children and her industrious provisions for our family. Thank you for her intelligence, for our differences that challenge and bring appreciation for something wonderful I might not have known otherwise. Thank you for giving us companionship in our often individualized living and for creating one out of two
Thank you, Lord, for my parents and the family I grew up in - For the faith and righteousness that my parents exemplified and expected. Thank you for our ability to sacrifice for one another, to endure rivalry with grace, to allow for differences with appreciation. Thank you also for my extended family, for the good that was modeled in front of me, for the heritage of faith that teaches me what my own faithfulness can mean to others. Thank you for my brother’s and my sister’s family – that they have embraced me and mine with their hearts and hands.
Thank you, for your disciples, my God, who have surrounded me in times of triumph and defeat. Even in the worst of places and times, you have provided someone to minister to me. And in other times, you have given me that same opportunity. Thank you for trusting me and bringing me wholly into your family – a full participant and complete heir.
Thank you for Jesus. Thank you for stepping out from the veil of rules to reveal yourself personally to us. Thank you for enduring our worst and being encouraged by those rare moments when we truly love you deeply and completely. Thank you for letting us touch you in a crowd, or in a home, or in a place of worship; to touch your side where you were wounded, to touch your time with our common needs and habits, to touch your feet with our pain and tears, and to touch even your clothes and feel power flow into us through you. Thank you for enduring us past the point of endurance.
Thank you for the stuff of this world that you give us – for food and cars and homes and clothes; for education and jobs and prosperity. Thank you for the freedom we enjoy. Thank you for the cleansing rain, the changing seasons, the cool breeze, the shade of trees and their fruit that grows and produces by its own work on our behalf. And for so many more blessings that we cannot count, Lord…
Thank You.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Since God Chose You to be Holy…
One of my elders, Raymond, is known for his tender heart. He says he can cry at the drop of a hat, but that’s not really true – he cries for people. He is touched by the joys, the struggles, the losses of people who cross paths with him. His tenderheartedness is reflected in the compassion and dedication he exhibits in every encounter with people. And he is not the only one who cares. We all, who have decided to follow Christ, feel the struggle of balancing our responsibilities with our desire to serve the needs of others.
Colossians 3:12 says, in part, that tenderhearted mercy reflects our holiness. Indeed, this verse says that God chose us to be holy. He made his people unique when he selected them from out of the pool of humanity and set each one aside into his “keepers” bin. Then he says here is one way you need to reflect your uniqueness: treat people with a compassionate mercy.
Mercy is to not give people what they deserve. It is withholding punishment. It is also providing for them when they have not earned it. Mercy defies reason, since reason would dictate equity, but mercy freely slathers on much better than you could have expected. When you look back at mercy, you are still in wonder at how it could have worked out to be so beneficial for you.
Now, for all of those who have become immune to emotional entanglements with others; for those who often quote, “if a man will not work, neither shall he eat.” (2 Thess 3:10); for those who love justice more than mercy; and who are perhaps more taken with the legal requirements of scripture, please note that this is an emphatic statement – a command. You must be completely enshrouded with a tender heart that expresses itself through mercy. Give, give, give to others more than they ought to responsibly expect. And don’t stop. Look, there’s someone else over there who could use a little compassion.
Colossians 3:12 says, in part, that tenderhearted mercy reflects our holiness. Indeed, this verse says that God chose us to be holy. He made his people unique when he selected them from out of the pool of humanity and set each one aside into his “keepers” bin. Then he says here is one way you need to reflect your uniqueness: treat people with a compassionate mercy.
Mercy is to not give people what they deserve. It is withholding punishment. It is also providing for them when they have not earned it. Mercy defies reason, since reason would dictate equity, but mercy freely slathers on much better than you could have expected. When you look back at mercy, you are still in wonder at how it could have worked out to be so beneficial for you.
Now, for all of those who have become immune to emotional entanglements with others; for those who often quote, “if a man will not work, neither shall he eat.” (2 Thess 3:10); for those who love justice more than mercy; and who are perhaps more taken with the legal requirements of scripture, please note that this is an emphatic statement – a command. You must be completely enshrouded with a tender heart that expresses itself through mercy. Give, give, give to others more than they ought to responsibly expect. And don’t stop. Look, there’s someone else over there who could use a little compassion.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Jesus Loves Me, Jesus Loves You
In about 1997 the Mango Church of Christ and the Tampa Bay Church of Christ merged. They had come from very different backgrounds with very different personalities. The median age at one was about 37 and the other about 60. In the one, most of the brothers and sisters had grown up in the Church of Christ; in the other, most had been members less than 10 years and many had formerly lived very worldly lives. It is not hard to imagine many other differences between these two divergent groups of people. Yet they had made a decision to come together and work together.
The new congregation was named the Bay Area Church of Christ. Even after the merger was official, there were still many obstacles to be overcome. In a seminar each of the staff spoke about how the church could be united around and benefit from their respective areas of work. One of the ministers started his session by asking the question, “How do you feel about the Church?” My thoughts immediately wandered back through my experiences with the church. I thought of those who had cared for me and nurtured my spiritual growth. I had been the recipient of amazing love through the body of Christ. But I also thought of the pain that had come to me and to my family through our experience with the Church. I realized that there were people I didn’t want to sit next to in worship, or even be in the same room with ever again.
After his initial question, “How do you feel about the Church?” and a long pause, the speaker made what seemed to me to be a profound and convicting statement: “Christ, Jesus died for her.” That hit me in the face. Those brothers and sisters that I had felt so alienated from – Jesus died for them. The ones who had hurt me and I had kept my record of sins on them – Jesus died for them. The ones who were my enemies were worthy of the blood of Jesus, my very own Savior. How could I feel such enmity for those who Jesus loved so deeply and completely?
At that moment, another realization came to light: I was his enemy when he loved me. I was against him when he was for me. Those brothers and sisters who I had set myself against were no different than me and Christ poured out his life to purchase them and me together. How could I receive such love and grace from Jesus and refuse it to others? I was a hypocrite to love those who loved me and reject the rest. I had to learn to love the way Jesus loves.
“Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you, rather it is an old one you have had from the beginning. This old commandment – to love one another – is the same message you have heard before. Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the the truth of this commandment and you also are living it.” (1 John 2:7-8a)
The new congregation was named the Bay Area Church of Christ. Even after the merger was official, there were still many obstacles to be overcome. In a seminar each of the staff spoke about how the church could be united around and benefit from their respective areas of work. One of the ministers started his session by asking the question, “How do you feel about the Church?” My thoughts immediately wandered back through my experiences with the church. I thought of those who had cared for me and nurtured my spiritual growth. I had been the recipient of amazing love through the body of Christ. But I also thought of the pain that had come to me and to my family through our experience with the Church. I realized that there were people I didn’t want to sit next to in worship, or even be in the same room with ever again.
After his initial question, “How do you feel about the Church?” and a long pause, the speaker made what seemed to me to be a profound and convicting statement: “Christ, Jesus died for her.” That hit me in the face. Those brothers and sisters that I had felt so alienated from – Jesus died for them. The ones who had hurt me and I had kept my record of sins on them – Jesus died for them. The ones who were my enemies were worthy of the blood of Jesus, my very own Savior. How could I feel such enmity for those who Jesus loved so deeply and completely?
At that moment, another realization came to light: I was his enemy when he loved me. I was against him when he was for me. Those brothers and sisters who I had set myself against were no different than me and Christ poured out his life to purchase them and me together. How could I receive such love and grace from Jesus and refuse it to others? I was a hypocrite to love those who loved me and reject the rest. I had to learn to love the way Jesus loves.
“Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you, rather it is an old one you have had from the beginning. This old commandment – to love one another – is the same message you have heard before. Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the the truth of this commandment and you also are living it.” (1 John 2:7-8a)
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Colossians 3:12-17
Reflections before I Get There
Colossians chapter three does not stand on its own; 2:23 says that the rules we make for ourselves, or even those imposed upon us by religion, “have no value in restraining sensual indulgence.” (NIV) One translation says, “These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desire.” (NLT)
I confess that I have been a part of the tribe that has worked very hard to conquer the sinful desires in my life by adherence to the rules. I don’t mean just any arbitrary rules. I chose the best: straight from scripture (and my parents, and my church, and my own interpretation of all those…). And, I confess that it worked – that is, it sort of worked. I felt stronger by my adherence to the rules. I felt more pleasing to God because of my adherence to the rules. I felt that I was a better testimony because of my adherence to the rules. The rules were comforting as long as I believed that I was staying on top of them. But I finally realized that, although those rules of religion may change my behavior, they weren’t doing much to change me.
If Colossians 2:23 tells me that the power to overcome sin is not found in the rules, then the next verse tells me how sin is overcome – it is in being raised with Christ. Although much of this chapter, and the next, is occupied with right living, the reader is blessed who notes that, there is no claim here that righteous living will overcome sin and its inherent conflict within us. There is nothing to say that following even these rules will transform one into the image of the Christ. Instead, these “moralisms” are emphatically described as the result what has already been accomplished in Christ.
2:20
You died with Christ and were set free from the battle to attain righteousness through the rules that work in the flesh.
2:23
Those rules have no value in the transformation from a person embattled with sin to the one who lives in the image of Christ.
2:6, 7, 3:1-3
The power of transformation comes from sinking our roots deep into Christ, accepting him as the only way to win the spiritual battle with the allure of this world and its rules. The thought here is not that one roots himself in Christ, but that he allows (passive) his roots to sink into Christ, further, that he allows his life to be built firmly on those roots and his faith can also be expected to grow. Perhaps it could be said, Since you have accepted Jesus as your Lord, let him do his work in your body to anchor you, construct you and nourish your faith. That is similar to 3:1, Since you have been raised to new life (instead of trying to re-create that old life into something worthy, grab hold of your new vision of heaven and hold tightly to it. Stop being controlled by the old vision of a better you in this world and let heaven’s vision transform you. Someone has said, “live up to what Christ has done for you.”
1. If rules of righteousness provide no help in conquering evil desires, do these passages offer any help?
2. How may the rules contribute to self righteousness? Or defeat? How are rules comforting? Or disconcerting?
3. How does rule-keeping affect one’s testimony about the Christ?
4. How might Paul have meant for 3:12-17 to differ from the idea of rule-keeping?
5. Pray about the work of Christ in raising you into a new life and how his righteousness might live in your body. Do you think God might show you the answer to this prayer?
Colossians chapter three does not stand on its own; 2:23 says that the rules we make for ourselves, or even those imposed upon us by religion, “have no value in restraining sensual indulgence.” (NIV) One translation says, “These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desire.” (NLT)
I confess that I have been a part of the tribe that has worked very hard to conquer the sinful desires in my life by adherence to the rules. I don’t mean just any arbitrary rules. I chose the best: straight from scripture (and my parents, and my church, and my own interpretation of all those…). And, I confess that it worked – that is, it sort of worked. I felt stronger by my adherence to the rules. I felt more pleasing to God because of my adherence to the rules. I felt that I was a better testimony because of my adherence to the rules. The rules were comforting as long as I believed that I was staying on top of them. But I finally realized that, although those rules of religion may change my behavior, they weren’t doing much to change me.
If Colossians 2:23 tells me that the power to overcome sin is not found in the rules, then the next verse tells me how sin is overcome – it is in being raised with Christ. Although much of this chapter, and the next, is occupied with right living, the reader is blessed who notes that, there is no claim here that righteous living will overcome sin and its inherent conflict within us. There is nothing to say that following even these rules will transform one into the image of the Christ. Instead, these “moralisms” are emphatically described as the result what has already been accomplished in Christ.
2:20
You died with Christ and were set free from the battle to attain righteousness through the rules that work in the flesh.
2:23
Those rules have no value in the transformation from a person embattled with sin to the one who lives in the image of Christ.
2:6, 7, 3:1-3
The power of transformation comes from sinking our roots deep into Christ, accepting him as the only way to win the spiritual battle with the allure of this world and its rules. The thought here is not that one roots himself in Christ, but that he allows (passive) his roots to sink into Christ, further, that he allows his life to be built firmly on those roots and his faith can also be expected to grow. Perhaps it could be said, Since you have accepted Jesus as your Lord, let him do his work in your body to anchor you, construct you and nourish your faith. That is similar to 3:1, Since you have been raised to new life (instead of trying to re-create that old life into something worthy, grab hold of your new vision of heaven and hold tightly to it. Stop being controlled by the old vision of a better you in this world and let heaven’s vision transform you. Someone has said, “live up to what Christ has done for you.”
1. If rules of righteousness provide no help in conquering evil desires, do these passages offer any help?
2. How may the rules contribute to self righteousness? Or defeat? How are rules comforting? Or disconcerting?
3. How does rule-keeping affect one’s testimony about the Christ?
4. How might Paul have meant for 3:12-17 to differ from the idea of rule-keeping?
5. Pray about the work of Christ in raising you into a new life and how his righteousness might live in your body. Do you think God might show you the answer to this prayer?
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Spiritually Formed
Eugene Peterson wrote, Eat This Book, from the conviction that we need to read and digest the spiritual words of God found in scripture. In Revelation chapter 10 John was preparing to take notes on the message he had heard from the angel, when he was interrupted by a voice telling him to go and retrieve the scroll from which the angel had been reading. John went to get the scroll, but then, oddly enough, the angel told him to eat it. It seems strange to think of eating even a small piece of paper, yet John ate the scroll of God’s word as he was told and it tasted sweet, but it soured his stomach.
Peterson hopes that we can approach scripture in the same way John was instructed. The Bible is not just rules of conduct, lists of doctrines, or even great stories about God and his people. God’s word is not dead words on paper, flattened and manageable. We must take it inside of us, let it digest into us and affect us…even if it sours our stomach.
This is the idea of formation. For much of my early life, I looked to the scripture only for doctrinal truth. I was missing the point of letting the word do its work of changing me more into the image of Christ. We would do well to submit our “self” to the words of scripture, to let the word critique our living, our attitudes toward righteousness and unrighteousness. As we read the word, we seek not just to learn some new fact or idea, but to learn about ourselves inside the word, to let it speak to our bodies and then, through our bodies to speak to others.
Our best worship for Jehovah God is to let our learning re-create us into his image (Romans 12:1). Where we live, right now, is God’s gift for our spiritual development (Acts 17:26, 27). You should take some time to contemplate the mystery of your own creation and the creation that surrounds you: all of it is from God for your eternal benefit. Submit yourself to God by being what he created you to be, participating with him in his work. Let your life become so intertwined with God’s that when you tell your story, people also hear his.
If we truly are what we eat, as the popular saying asserts, then let us not be formed by this world and its culture, but by the word of God living and digesting inside us. Let our story be God’s story in our bodies.
Peterson hopes that we can approach scripture in the same way John was instructed. The Bible is not just rules of conduct, lists of doctrines, or even great stories about God and his people. God’s word is not dead words on paper, flattened and manageable. We must take it inside of us, let it digest into us and affect us…even if it sours our stomach.
This is the idea of formation. For much of my early life, I looked to the scripture only for doctrinal truth. I was missing the point of letting the word do its work of changing me more into the image of Christ. We would do well to submit our “self” to the words of scripture, to let the word critique our living, our attitudes toward righteousness and unrighteousness. As we read the word, we seek not just to learn some new fact or idea, but to learn about ourselves inside the word, to let it speak to our bodies and then, through our bodies to speak to others.
Our best worship for Jehovah God is to let our learning re-create us into his image (Romans 12:1). Where we live, right now, is God’s gift for our spiritual development (Acts 17:26, 27). You should take some time to contemplate the mystery of your own creation and the creation that surrounds you: all of it is from God for your eternal benefit. Submit yourself to God by being what he created you to be, participating with him in his work. Let your life become so intertwined with God’s that when you tell your story, people also hear his.
If we truly are what we eat, as the popular saying asserts, then let us not be formed by this world and its culture, but by the word of God living and digesting inside us. Let our story be God’s story in our bodies.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
What do You Want?
“God, can I please have a girlfriend?”
“Well, George, I don’t see why not.”
“Yeah, me neither God, but it’s not working out so well. You see, there’s this girl I’ve been seeing, but now she is saying that we shouldn’t see each other anymore. I really think I love her and I don’t want to lose her.”
“Oh, I see. You know I have been watching and involved in that relationship too.”
“You have? Then you know that I have always treated her nicely. I have been respectful and affectionate and I have tried to be there for her no matter what.
“What I don’t understand God, is that I have been asking for this for a while now – I have told you before how badly I want this relationship with her – but you have not answered me. You remember that Jesus said, ‘you may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.’ I asked in Jesus’ name, so why haven’t you been answering?”
“Well, George, there is this little thing you call, ‘free will’. I am not going to make her choose you. But there is something else you need to understand – ‘in Jesus’ name, amen’ are not magic words I gave so that you could conjure up the world at your beck and call. Those words convey a meaning that is much too valuable to abuse like that. When you ask for something in my son’s name, you are claiming his purpose and authority.”
“What? I don’t understand, God.”
“Yes, I have known that for awhile. You have seen those WWJD bracelets around for some time, right? So you probably know that is an acronym for ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ It’s a question that can help you orient your heart and thoughts to behave as my son would in every circumstance. At least as well as you can.”
“Well sure God, I’ve done that before.”
“Yes, and I have been pleased with your efforts.
“That is what praying in Jesus’ name means. It means to think about what you pray for in light of what he wants. In this case, what he wants for you and for her. And I can tell you that he does not want to make her love you against her own will. You might try a different approach, like, asking for guidance on how you can honor me in this relationship with her, whether you are ever a couple or not.”
“But God, that’s not what I want.”
“And that is the problem…you are saying you do not truly want to pray in Jesus’ name, you only want magic words to get your own will accomplished.”
“When you put it that way, it sounds bad.”
“It is bad, George. But it doesn’t have to be. I promise that if you truly pray in the name of my son – for his purposes and under his authority, I will bless you with blessings created especially for you.”
“Lord, I really want her, but I will try what you have said because I want you more.”
“Well, George, I don’t see why not.”
“Yeah, me neither God, but it’s not working out so well. You see, there’s this girl I’ve been seeing, but now she is saying that we shouldn’t see each other anymore. I really think I love her and I don’t want to lose her.”
“Oh, I see. You know I have been watching and involved in that relationship too.”
“You have? Then you know that I have always treated her nicely. I have been respectful and affectionate and I have tried to be there for her no matter what.
“What I don’t understand God, is that I have been asking for this for a while now – I have told you before how badly I want this relationship with her – but you have not answered me. You remember that Jesus said, ‘you may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.’ I asked in Jesus’ name, so why haven’t you been answering?”
“Well, George, there is this little thing you call, ‘free will’. I am not going to make her choose you. But there is something else you need to understand – ‘in Jesus’ name, amen’ are not magic words I gave so that you could conjure up the world at your beck and call. Those words convey a meaning that is much too valuable to abuse like that. When you ask for something in my son’s name, you are claiming his purpose and authority.”
“What? I don’t understand, God.”
“Yes, I have known that for awhile. You have seen those WWJD bracelets around for some time, right? So you probably know that is an acronym for ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ It’s a question that can help you orient your heart and thoughts to behave as my son would in every circumstance. At least as well as you can.”
“Well sure God, I’ve done that before.”
“Yes, and I have been pleased with your efforts.
“That is what praying in Jesus’ name means. It means to think about what you pray for in light of what he wants. In this case, what he wants for you and for her. And I can tell you that he does not want to make her love you against her own will. You might try a different approach, like, asking for guidance on how you can honor me in this relationship with her, whether you are ever a couple or not.”
“But God, that’s not what I want.”
“And that is the problem…you are saying you do not truly want to pray in Jesus’ name, you only want magic words to get your own will accomplished.”
“When you put it that way, it sounds bad.”
“It is bad, George. But it doesn’t have to be. I promise that if you truly pray in the name of my son – for his purposes and under his authority, I will bless you with blessings created especially for you.”
“Lord, I really want her, but I will try what you have said because I want you more.”
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Praying
Henri J. M. Nouwen’s short, yet profound book, The Way of the Heart: connecting with God Through Prayer, Wisdom, And Silence, begins at the first open page:
Solitude. Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit where he undertook one of the most severe tests on his life. I suppose Satan sought to nip his ministry in the bud, so to speak. But it is promising that God did not abandon Jesus, ever. While he was in the wilderness, accosted by Satan, God sent his angels to minister to him. In the solitude of the desert, Jesus found the wonderful presence of his father in the midst of some of his darkest temptations.
Silence. The psalmist says, “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10) To be still is to wait quietly. According to this verse, two powerful things can happen when we come before God listening and waiting in silence. First, we can be assured that he is God and second, while we are quite before the Lord, listening, he will be exalted among the nations.
Prayer. Nouwen criticizes our tendency to reduce our approach to God to a mere intellectual pursuit, advocating an intentional exercise of the heart in prayer. “When we enter with our mind into our heart and there stand in the presence of God, then all our mental preoccupations become prayer.” (p. 86) Nouwen points the way, through prayer, to a restful heart in a tumultuous world. This makes our prayer life of great value in our daily Christian walk.
Ancient spiritual wisdom to heal our troubled modern souls
On Solitude
“Solitude is the place of purification and transformation, the place of the great struggle and the great encounter…the place of our salvation”
On Silence
“First, silence makes us pilgrims. Secondly, silence guards the fire within. Thirdly, silence teaches us to speak.”
On Prayer
“The prayer of the heart opens the eyes of our soul to the truth of ourselves as well as the truth of God. The prayer of the heart challenges us to hide absolutely nothing.”
Solitude. Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit where he undertook one of the most severe tests on his life. I suppose Satan sought to nip his ministry in the bud, so to speak. But it is promising that God did not abandon Jesus, ever. While he was in the wilderness, accosted by Satan, God sent his angels to minister to him. In the solitude of the desert, Jesus found the wonderful presence of his father in the midst of some of his darkest temptations.
Silence. The psalmist says, “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10) To be still is to wait quietly. According to this verse, two powerful things can happen when we come before God listening and waiting in silence. First, we can be assured that he is God and second, while we are quite before the Lord, listening, he will be exalted among the nations.
Prayer. Nouwen criticizes our tendency to reduce our approach to God to a mere intellectual pursuit, advocating an intentional exercise of the heart in prayer. “When we enter with our mind into our heart and there stand in the presence of God, then all our mental preoccupations become prayer.” (p. 86) Nouwen points the way, through prayer, to a restful heart in a tumultuous world. This makes our prayer life of great value in our daily Christian walk.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Teach us to Pray
Jesus said that we must become like little children and perhaps nothing puts us in that role more than the simple act of prayer. Prayer is childlike in its approach to the father. Paul encourages us to pray in all circumstances at all times (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and yet the very nature of prayer makes approaching the throne room of God something more than just usual. Like children, who take for granted that their parents are always looking out for them and are ever present in their lives, we approach God without pageantry or procedure. And, like children who are quite aware of their need for their parent’s provision and direction, we also see our prayers in the context of a dependant speaking of his or her need.
And yet, prayer is also a kind of place we enter, it is more than merely speaking out-loud. We gather for prayer, we go to a quiet place or a private place for prayer, we may even journey to a place of majesty or of fond memories for a special time of prayer. Although we may have spontaneous prayer, we also have a more disciplined time of prayer that, by its very nature, declares that we are very different from the God we pray to and somewhat removed from him. Like a child who plans a conversation with a parent and approaches the parent with respect, we too come before God with great reverence.
A 4 year-old boy was asked to lead the family prayer over Christmas dinner,
A child recognizes both the accessibility of God and the holiness of his time with God. God is a friend, but he is also sacred; he is comforting and awe inspiring. We can learn something from observing children the prayers of children.
Don Morrison
*(from Letters to God, weblog, http://my-prayer-for-you-today.blogspot.com/2009/01/childrens-prayers.html).
And yet, prayer is also a kind of place we enter, it is more than merely speaking out-loud. We gather for prayer, we go to a quiet place or a private place for prayer, we may even journey to a place of majesty or of fond memories for a special time of prayer. Although we may have spontaneous prayer, we also have a more disciplined time of prayer that, by its very nature, declares that we are very different from the God we pray to and somewhat removed from him. Like a child who plans a conversation with a parent and approaches the parent with respect, we too come before God with great reverence.
A 4 year-old boy was asked to lead the family prayer over Christmas dinner,
He began his prayer, thanking God for all his friends, naming them one by one. Then he thanked God for Mommy, Daddy, brother, sister, Grandma, Grandpa, and all his aunts and uncles. Then he began to thank God for the food. He gave thanks for the turkey, the dressing, the fruit salad, the cranberry sauce, the pies, the cakes, even the Cool Whip. Then he paused, and everyone waited--and waited. After a long silence, the young fellow looked up at his mother and asked, “‘If I thank God for the broccoli, won't he know that I'm lying?’ *
A child recognizes both the accessibility of God and the holiness of his time with God. God is a friend, but he is also sacred; he is comforting and awe inspiring. We can learn something from observing children the prayers of children.
Dear God, please take care of my daddy and my mommy and my sister and my brother and my doggy and me. Oh, please take care of yourself, God. If anything happens to you, we're gonna be in a big mess.*
Don Morrison
*(from Letters to God, weblog, http://my-prayer-for-you-today.blogspot.com/2009/01/childrens-prayers.html).
Thursday, October 22, 2009
The Word of God
When I think of the Word of God I almost always go to the scripture in Hebrews that says, “the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates, even to dividing soul and spirit, joint and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) That passage teaches us several important ways the Word of God affects us.
The word of God is alive. We may read it in ink on paper, but it is much more than that. The word doesn’t change, but it applies to every situation we can endure or imagine. The same passage may come to mean something new regarding our present circumstances. When we are looking for direction in our lives, “seek first the kingdom of God” may mean something valuable to us as an encouragement, but when we are backslidden, it may mean something entirely different. Then when we wonder what we might say to someone to encourage their Christian walk, “seek first…” may give new meaning in old words. Yes, and the word also lives because it changes things. From the very beginning we see the creative power of the word. God spoke and it came to be. The word of God is just as creative today: “seek first the kingdom…” may not be a command as much as it is a promise, for God gives us everything we need to accomplish whatever he has asked.
Often, we may find great comfort in God’s word as we see his interaction with humanity, but Hebrews also reveals another side of the word – it cuts. If we always only find comfort in the word, we are not letting it do all that God has purposed in giving it to us. He wants us to be shaped and convicted by the words that describe his righteousness.
Finally the word has something to do with judgment. And I am both thankful and frightened by the realization that the word searches my private thoughts and even my attitude about things. When the preacher encourages us to have an attitude of gratitude, with God, that translates to faith. My mind is nowhere near to perfection, my attitudes are often at war with my own desires and goals, but God knows me. He has walked with me when I am weak and when I have had the strength to help others. His word teaches me new things about myself in all those circumstances. When the word judges the thoughts and attitudes of my heart, it finds more work for the holy Spirit in transformation and for the blood of Jesus in forgiveness.
The word of God is alive. We may read it in ink on paper, but it is much more than that. The word doesn’t change, but it applies to every situation we can endure or imagine. The same passage may come to mean something new regarding our present circumstances. When we are looking for direction in our lives, “seek first the kingdom of God” may mean something valuable to us as an encouragement, but when we are backslidden, it may mean something entirely different. Then when we wonder what we might say to someone to encourage their Christian walk, “seek first…” may give new meaning in old words. Yes, and the word also lives because it changes things. From the very beginning we see the creative power of the word. God spoke and it came to be. The word of God is just as creative today: “seek first the kingdom…” may not be a command as much as it is a promise, for God gives us everything we need to accomplish whatever he has asked.
Often, we may find great comfort in God’s word as we see his interaction with humanity, but Hebrews also reveals another side of the word – it cuts. If we always only find comfort in the word, we are not letting it do all that God has purposed in giving it to us. He wants us to be shaped and convicted by the words that describe his righteousness.
Finally the word has something to do with judgment. And I am both thankful and frightened by the realization that the word searches my private thoughts and even my attitude about things. When the preacher encourages us to have an attitude of gratitude, with God, that translates to faith. My mind is nowhere near to perfection, my attitudes are often at war with my own desires and goals, but God knows me. He has walked with me when I am weak and when I have had the strength to help others. His word teaches me new things about myself in all those circumstances. When the word judges the thoughts and attitudes of my heart, it finds more work for the holy Spirit in transformation and for the blood of Jesus in forgiveness.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
What is Most Real?
It could be an odd question, but it’s a good one to consider: What are the things or beliefs that are most real to you? You should take some time and contemplate your answer. Let your mind wander; think of the implications.
Abraham and his son, Isaac walked together to the mountain top where Isaac was to be killed in sacrifice to God. Certainly, nothing about this procession could have felt right to Abraham, not the least that the God he had come to trust so completely over the last 40 plus years was asking something so out-of-character. When had God ever asked for a human sacrifice? When had God ever sought to destroy his promises?
The only conversation between father and son are about the supplies for the sacrifice. It seems to me that most of the journey was spent in silent contemplation. I imagine Abraham reaffirming, over and over, the conclusion he must have arrived at the night before: the God who is powerful enough to give him his son, Isaac, at such a late age is surely powerful enough to raise the dead, if he wishes. And he must wish to raise Isaac from the dead, since he is pivotal to God’s promise to bless all nations and to create a nation for himself. And God has not failed to keep every promise he has made.
On the other hand, Satan certainly used the opportunity to carry on another conversation in Abraham’s thoughts. Satan would have questioned God’s motives for giving Isaac to Abraham. He would have worked to undermine Abraham’s conviction that God loves; that God has a plan for his life and for Isaac’s; that God may be able to raise the dead. Satan would have done his best to create doubt about every facet of Abraham’s faith and hope.
Some people envision Abraham walking heroically up the mountain, on his way to a pre-determined victory. Others see him stoic, emotionless as he puts one foot in front of another, blindly obedient to the Almighty. I can only imagine that Abraham had the same intense battle as Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane – that the intensity of the battle for what is real waged in his face and throughout his body. The weakness and the strength worked through his bones and his mind.
Whether Abraham contemplated his faith on this journey, or whether it was a predetermined fact in his mind and heart, Abraham lived in the protective reality that our God is God – and loving and gracious in nature. The answer to, “What is most real?” is our faith.
May he be the most real for us in our blessings and our troubles.
Abraham and his son, Isaac walked together to the mountain top where Isaac was to be killed in sacrifice to God. Certainly, nothing about this procession could have felt right to Abraham, not the least that the God he had come to trust so completely over the last 40 plus years was asking something so out-of-character. When had God ever asked for a human sacrifice? When had God ever sought to destroy his promises?
The only conversation between father and son are about the supplies for the sacrifice. It seems to me that most of the journey was spent in silent contemplation. I imagine Abraham reaffirming, over and over, the conclusion he must have arrived at the night before: the God who is powerful enough to give him his son, Isaac, at such a late age is surely powerful enough to raise the dead, if he wishes. And he must wish to raise Isaac from the dead, since he is pivotal to God’s promise to bless all nations and to create a nation for himself. And God has not failed to keep every promise he has made.
On the other hand, Satan certainly used the opportunity to carry on another conversation in Abraham’s thoughts. Satan would have questioned God’s motives for giving Isaac to Abraham. He would have worked to undermine Abraham’s conviction that God loves; that God has a plan for his life and for Isaac’s; that God may be able to raise the dead. Satan would have done his best to create doubt about every facet of Abraham’s faith and hope.
Some people envision Abraham walking heroically up the mountain, on his way to a pre-determined victory. Others see him stoic, emotionless as he puts one foot in front of another, blindly obedient to the Almighty. I can only imagine that Abraham had the same intense battle as Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane – that the intensity of the battle for what is real waged in his face and throughout his body. The weakness and the strength worked through his bones and his mind.
Whether Abraham contemplated his faith on this journey, or whether it was a predetermined fact in his mind and heart, Abraham lived in the protective reality that our God is God – and loving and gracious in nature. The answer to, “What is most real?” is our faith.
May he be the most real for us in our blessings and our troubles.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
If We Are Really in a Battle, Who is Our Enemy?
Christians long to know that they have done something of importance in the kingdom of God. We find the passage in Matthew 25 where Jesus says that by serving one of the least of his disciples, we serve him – even by giving a simple drink of water. Sometimes we hope that is significant enough because we have got so many other things going on in our lives that we are not sure what else we can do. Or we just don’t see how we can make any other contribution.
So when do we need the armor of Ephesians 6? What is it for?
Most people make a great deal out of the defensive nature of the armor of God mentioned in Ephesians 6:10-20. And maybe that is the correct way to understand it - perhaps the apostle is only equipping us to not lose ground. There is value in that. And defending our ground is a difficult battle when against Satan comes at you with temptation. But it is worth noting that when a Roman foot soldier went into an offensive engagement, those are the same weapons he would take.
But, getting more to the question, it may not be so important that we design the battle plan so that we know we are in the battle, as it is that we just put on the armor and fight the good fight. When I don’t know what to say, but I know the person I am talking to needs to hear from God – that is a spiritual battle. When I want to help someone out, but I just don’t have the time or the energy – that is a spiritual battle. When I am embarrassed or hurt – that is a spiritual battle. Those are the opportunities we have to live out of the good news of our faith and to share it with others. Those are the times when our faith, our gift of righteousness, the word, our readiness all comes into play. What we do and say may be rather small and plain, but those are moments of battle when we feel the intensity and we know we were tempted to fall back.
If we are not aware, we lose the moment. That’s one of the reasons why it is so important to put on the armor. Wearing the armor helps us to remember that we are indeed in a struggle for the kingdom of God. When we are not aware, there is still a battle raging around us, but we cannot win, if we do not fight. Perhaps then, the battle looks like us being engaged in the lives and welfare of others. Perhaps it looks simply like that cup of water. Maybe, the biggest part of my battle is what I fight within myself.
Putting on the armor of God is like our own personal call to arms. It says, “I will be engaged – I will not be oblivious.” It says, “I am ready to fight – I will not miss the opportunity to serve.” Then the enemy I often fight is my own self-absorption, my own will, my own agenda.
Lord, help us to take up your cross and follow you, whether it is in plain, simple service or in great sacrifice. Help us to be ready and engaged in that moment so we will stand for you.
So when do we need the armor of Ephesians 6? What is it for?
Most people make a great deal out of the defensive nature of the armor of God mentioned in Ephesians 6:10-20. And maybe that is the correct way to understand it - perhaps the apostle is only equipping us to not lose ground. There is value in that. And defending our ground is a difficult battle when against Satan comes at you with temptation. But it is worth noting that when a Roman foot soldier went into an offensive engagement, those are the same weapons he would take.
But, getting more to the question, it may not be so important that we design the battle plan so that we know we are in the battle, as it is that we just put on the armor and fight the good fight. When I don’t know what to say, but I know the person I am talking to needs to hear from God – that is a spiritual battle. When I want to help someone out, but I just don’t have the time or the energy – that is a spiritual battle. When I am embarrassed or hurt – that is a spiritual battle. Those are the opportunities we have to live out of the good news of our faith and to share it with others. Those are the times when our faith, our gift of righteousness, the word, our readiness all comes into play. What we do and say may be rather small and plain, but those are moments of battle when we feel the intensity and we know we were tempted to fall back.
If we are not aware, we lose the moment. That’s one of the reasons why it is so important to put on the armor. Wearing the armor helps us to remember that we are indeed in a struggle for the kingdom of God. When we are not aware, there is still a battle raging around us, but we cannot win, if we do not fight. Perhaps then, the battle looks like us being engaged in the lives and welfare of others. Perhaps it looks simply like that cup of water. Maybe, the biggest part of my battle is what I fight within myself.
Putting on the armor of God is like our own personal call to arms. It says, “I will be engaged – I will not be oblivious.” It says, “I am ready to fight – I will not miss the opportunity to serve.” Then the enemy I often fight is my own self-absorption, my own will, my own agenda.
Lord, help us to take up your cross and follow you, whether it is in plain, simple service or in great sacrifice. Help us to be ready and engaged in that moment so we will stand for you.
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