Forty days is a long time.
Almost 6 weeks.
But they could be forty of the most significant days of your life.
There are some days in life that you really wouldn't write home about. But then there are seasons like these:
- "And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights." (Genesis 7:12) - Noah
- "When I went up on the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the Lord had made with you, I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water." (Deuteronomy 9:9) - Moses
- "For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand." (1 Samuel 17:16) - right before David showed up with his slingshot
- "....he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God." (1 Kings 19:8) - Elijah
- "Jonah began by going a day's journey into the city, proclaiming, 'Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.'" - (Jonah 3:4) - but all in the city of Nineveh repented during that time instead
And then there was Jesus:
"...for forty days He was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them He was hungry." (Luke 4:2)
"After His suffering, He presented Himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that He was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God." (Acts 1:3)
Forty days can be amazingly significant.
For centuries, the Church has celebrated (yes, celebrated! ) a season called Lent. Lent is the 40 (actually 47) days before Easter, beginning today, Ash Wednesday. It is a season of repentance, a season of wilderness wandering, a season of remembering that without Christ we would still be completely lost and dead in our sin - and celebrating (on those seven extra days especially!) the reality that our sin has been forgiven, our debt has been paid, and we have - if we've proclaimed Jesus as our Lord and Saviour - been made right with God.
6 days of repentance. 1 day of celebrating. 6 days of repentance. 1 day of celebrating. (etc.) - until Good Friday - the darkest day of the Christian year - gives way to the glorious light of Easter Sunday.
The idea of fasting during Lent might be totally new to some of us, but many of us have either come from or heard of traditions that encourage "giving up" something for Lent. If you're tempted to do it just because you think you "ought" to - I'd challenge you to go ahead and give up something anyway - but re-evaluate why you're doing it. Fasting is a very appropriate form of worship and repentance - but God makes it clear in Isaiah 58 that the state of our hearts when we fast is what matters to Him.
Fasting alone isn't enough. It's just a ritual, empty of meaning, if we're not bringing our hearts into our activity. But if we give up something we love - be it television, social media, or some sort of food - for Lent, and we do it as an act of worship, and seek Him instead... Well. Just imagine what could happen. (Read Isaiah 58!)
The next 47 days of your life are packed with promise.
Are you willing to journey with Him through them? Are you willing to take a good hard look at your own sin and repent for it? And are you ready to receive a new revelation of the depth, height, breadth, and length of His grace? Because this is what we celebrate, as we willingly enter a season of wilderness, fasting from things we could have but choose not to, because we know there's something so much better on the other side of this season, if we will wait on Him for it...
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If you'd like to explore this season of Lent a little more intentionally, or even just add a little more structure to your quiet times, we would love for you to join us in a daily online devotional study from now until Easter Sunday. We'll send you an email every day with a list of suggested Scripture readings and a devotional thought for the day. To sign up, just email me at happy (at) torchchurch (dot) tv.
(cross-posted on the pastor's blog at www.torchchurch.tv)
the fine art of procrastipreparation
It occurred to me a few days ago that it's almost Lent. How did that happen?! Where have the past two months gone?! Wasn't it just Christmas? My tree is still up...
One of the things I'm trying to focus on as I slowly shift into a new way of viewing the Sabbath and adjusting my life to make it a more central practice is preparation. This can be... challenging. Procrastination is something at which I am relatively talented, and it extends to everything from doing my dishes and shredding my junk mail to writing sermons and catching up on correspondence. Being prepared - ahead of time?! - takes a little forethought.
Grocery shopping has generally become something relegated to Saturdays. I confess that since last Lent's discipline of using up the food in my cupboards before buying more, I have become very lax in my attitude and practice towards groceries. I have slipped back into "go to the store and get dinner" mode, instead of planning ahead to what I will eat later this week and shopping for it ahead of time. Cravings often dictate my shopping, rather than discipline. I am not okay with this. I have been - but I'm not. Especially in light of Lent, and in light of longing to experience true Sabbath rest and joy more fully.
Since my Sabbath is on Saturday, I need to find a way to do my shopping on another day. My goal is to have my first Sabbath meal (Friday night) ready and waiting at the end of the day - no preparation required, just coming home and sinking into Sabbath the way you sink into slumber at the end of a good (but long) journey - with joy, relief, celebration, anticipation, and contentment. This past weekend, it just barely happened. I gave up my plans to make a big long trip to the grocery store at which I really ought to be shopping, and spent a lot more money at a closer store buying mostly just what I needed. Dinner went in the crock pot at 11:00am - it was ready by 7:30pm. An hour late, but hey, it's a start, right? ;-) And it was amazing. But shopping on Friday morning felt like the fine art of procrastipreparation. I knew all week I need to shop. I could have dragged myself off the couch and to the store in the middle of the week, but I didn't. I was tired, and I was lazy.
This week, I will not procrastinate in my preparations. I'm actually putting it on the calendar. Tuesday, 7pm: Go grocery shopping. With a list.
Why start with food, on this journey towards keeping the Sabbath better? Well, Sabbath is a celebration - a celebration of the goodness of creation, the creativity of our amazing God, and the beauty of redemption. All good celebrations should involve some sort of a feast - and on the Sabbath, traditionally celebrated by God's people as the "queen" of all days - we should be eating the best meals of the week. Healthful, extravagant, shared.
I'm working on building a balanced schedule of sharing that first Sabbath meal with friends versus simply sharing it with Jesus. And with Lent coming up, it's time (again) to give up all those foods that don't help me at all and to move into a more healthful style of living anyway. So here's to giving up the fine art of procrastipreparation in favor of planning for the Sabbath, and a more healthy lifestyle in general.
One of the things I'm trying to focus on as I slowly shift into a new way of viewing the Sabbath and adjusting my life to make it a more central practice is preparation. This can be... challenging. Procrastination is something at which I am relatively talented, and it extends to everything from doing my dishes and shredding my junk mail to writing sermons and catching up on correspondence. Being prepared - ahead of time?! - takes a little forethought.
Grocery shopping has generally become something relegated to Saturdays. I confess that since last Lent's discipline of using up the food in my cupboards before buying more, I have become very lax in my attitude and practice towards groceries. I have slipped back into "go to the store and get dinner" mode, instead of planning ahead to what I will eat later this week and shopping for it ahead of time. Cravings often dictate my shopping, rather than discipline. I am not okay with this. I have been - but I'm not. Especially in light of Lent, and in light of longing to experience true Sabbath rest and joy more fully.
Since my Sabbath is on Saturday, I need to find a way to do my shopping on another day. My goal is to have my first Sabbath meal (Friday night) ready and waiting at the end of the day - no preparation required, just coming home and sinking into Sabbath the way you sink into slumber at the end of a good (but long) journey - with joy, relief, celebration, anticipation, and contentment. This past weekend, it just barely happened. I gave up my plans to make a big long trip to the grocery store at which I really ought to be shopping, and spent a lot more money at a closer store buying mostly just what I needed. Dinner went in the crock pot at 11:00am - it was ready by 7:30pm. An hour late, but hey, it's a start, right? ;-) And it was amazing. But shopping on Friday morning felt like the fine art of procrastipreparation. I knew all week I need to shop. I could have dragged myself off the couch and to the store in the middle of the week, but I didn't. I was tired, and I was lazy.
This week, I will not procrastinate in my preparations. I'm actually putting it on the calendar. Tuesday, 7pm: Go grocery shopping. With a list.
Why start with food, on this journey towards keeping the Sabbath better? Well, Sabbath is a celebration - a celebration of the goodness of creation, the creativity of our amazing God, and the beauty of redemption. All good celebrations should involve some sort of a feast - and on the Sabbath, traditionally celebrated by God's people as the "queen" of all days - we should be eating the best meals of the week. Healthful, extravagant, shared.
I'm working on building a balanced schedule of sharing that first Sabbath meal with friends versus simply sharing it with Jesus. And with Lent coming up, it's time (again) to give up all those foods that don't help me at all and to move into a more healthful style of living anyway. So here's to giving up the fine art of procrastipreparation in favor of planning for the Sabbath, and a more healthy lifestyle in general.
when one falls down: dealing with sin together
"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." (Ecclesiates 4:9-12)
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." (Ecclesiates 4:9-12)
You hear these verses a lot at weddings, and rightly so, but its applications are so much more universal. This principle is true in marriage, yes, but also in our friendships and in the Church. We (all of us: you and me, Torch as a whole, and every church in our county, state, country, the world) are one body. (1 Corinthians 12:12-14) Each one of us, individually, is a part of something greater - we were meant for community, and a community we are - so, if one part of our community suffers, we all suffer (1 Corinthians 12:26). Just as having a broken arm affects the rest of our body via our central nervous system, the whole Church suffers when anyone within her suffers. We're not always aware of it - our toes don't generally seem to notice if we have a migraine - but the truth is, while our toes may not be aware that they're not being called on to bear our weight as much because of the migraine keeping us flat on our back, it is affecting them. And so it is with the Church.
I was really blessed this week, reading the post Pastor Carter wrote and emailed to our church, detailing his personal struggles with lust, and recommending some practical steps to take for those of us who deal with it as well. I appreciated his transparency, and I know that God is using his story to help others. But as I read, I found myself in the same camp as his wife: I don't quite get it.
Pornography isn't a hard-core issue for me, so there are other things that simply aren't an issue either: I can view some forms of art and see beauty, where others would simply find a stumbling block. I can wear certain clothes and feel completely decent, while others dream of the early 1800s and all those high-necked and long-skirted dresses women used to wear. There are doorways to sin for men that are NOT a doorway to sin for me.
So what do I do?
How can I best be a part of this community that is the Bride of Christ, exercising my freedom in Christ to be who I am - while respecting that fact that there are people - in this body - who wrestle with things that I don't find to be a problem?
In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul discusses an issue that may seem a bit foreign to us. In his day, there were all kinds of temples that honored many different gods and idols, and people were free to worship wherever they wished. Worship, in those days, included the sacrifice of various animals - but after the sacrifice was made, the actual (essentially barbequed) meat sometimes ended up on the tables of the various priests of each god/idol, but also sometimes ended up being sold at the market (since there was only so much each priest's family could eat). For a Christian in this environment, it could pose a bit of a problem. It was forbidden for the Jews to eat meat sacrificed to idols - and most early Christians still followed Jewish laws... but did it count if you bought a steak at the market and didn't know it was previously sacrificed to somebody else's God? And what if it was? You knew the truth: The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it! (Psalm 24:1) Thank God for the steak, and eat it, for heaven's sake! But at the same time... this steak was offered to a demon, not to God. So wasn't it tainted, somehow?...
Paul very wisely said this: "'I have the right to do anything,' you say - but not everything is beneficial. 'I have the right to do anything' - but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others." (1 Corinthians 10:23-24). The steak is fine - you're free to eat it - but if it makes your brother stumble, for the sake of his conscience - opt to be a vegetarian today! It's not going to hurt you, and it will only help your brother if you don't.
So how do I help my brothers (and sisters) when they wrestle with something I don't? I choose not to exercise the freedom I have in Christ - for their benefit. I choose to care more about them than I do about myself. I make choices that will help them. I choose to enter into their suffering, as if it were mine.
And if I don't get it? If I have no idea what makes them stumble or what helps them stand?
I ask questions. Not because I need to, or because it's required - but because I care. I care too much for my brother to send him a link to an awesome Katy Perry song because the album cover artwork might be an issue for him. I care too much for my sister to loan her this really great book I just read because there's that one scene in the middle that might cause her to stumble. I care too much to just let this all slip by as if it didn't matter. Is pornography an issue for me? Nope. But it is for my sister in Christ. It is for my brother in Christ. So it will become one for me, so that when my brother or sister falls down, I will know (at least a little) how to help them up - and how to help them not fall down again.
And so it should be - not just with this sin, but with every sin. Because sin causes us to suffer, and when one of us suffers, we all do, whether we know it or not. Thanks be to our God-with-us, who understands this intimately. For "because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." (Hebrews 2:18)
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)
And let us approach that throne of grace together - holding each other up when we cannot stand alone.
Amen.
an adjective-defying experience
i realize there's a bit of irony in using the compound adjective "adjective-defying" to describe my experience this weekend... but i'm not sure there really is just one word that would work. "awesome" doesn't quite touch it - tho it's close.
i went "home" this weekend. home to a place where i now know very few people, home to a place that still brings me so much comfort and safety just by being in it. i cheered (literally, out loud) when i crossed the Michigan border, and i kid you not, at one point about an hour later, i suddenly realized that i'd been grinning like an idiot for awhile... :)
i spent two glorious days in a luxury, eco-friendly hotel.
i ate - and ate - and ate! - amazing food: scrambled eggs, bacon, roasted potatoes, rye toast, flatbread pizza LOADED with feta and kalamata olives, chicken corn chowder, minestrone, fish and chips.
i had red wine and orange juice and hot buttered rum (my favorite espresso drink at the best coffee shop in the world). i had an amazing cup of french-press coffee.
i spent time with two dear friends i haven't seen in years.
i worshiped with them and with some other friends at a church that has grown astronomically since the last time i was there.
i listened to beautiful music - classical, pop, worship, Irish (in the Irish pub where i had the fish and chips), and folk.
and i read. an entire book. cover to cover. and it changed my life. is changing. will change.
there are no words that could ever completely describe these two days spent doing all these amazing, blessed and life-altering things with the Lord - but here are a few that just begin to get at it:
beautiful. wonderful. tough. amazing. unexpected. lovely. abundant. peaceful. right. true. dangerous. blessed. intimate. challenging. restful. pure. long. short. (far too short.) lonely. communal. lush. restorative. informative. formative. social. sweet. transformative.
i'm sure there are others that describe it as well.
i hope to be able to unpack some of it over the next few weeks. stay tuned.
and in the meantime: go buy yourself a copy of Dan Allender's Sabbath... i won't tell you that it will change your life. but it did change mine. and it's a good book.
prayer and fasting and faith on the earth - part two
I've been on a bit of a journey, off and on over the past few years, periodically fasting and praying for the healing of a good friend. I am still confident that God has said "yes" - I actually have a sticky note on my refrigerator detailing the day it happened - but we haven't seen it yet. For awhile I felt like it was time to cease praying and simply wait for God's yes to come - but lately I've been feeling a little more urgency to start praying again. And I've found myself in unexpected conversations with people about healing, and I feel that once familiar stirring to pray for "greater things" again... but I'm still not quite sure what to do with all of it, intellectually, anyway.
You may want to backtrack a bit and read the first post in this series so you can follow my train of thought as I continue to process all of this. Here's the link:
prayer and fasting and faith on the earth - part one (you'll want to read the comments too)
Okay, so fast-forward to this weekend. I have some friends who recently have been experiencing a degree of success in praying for people to be healed. On Saturday, they were hanging out with some other friends of theirs who had a prophetic word that there was someone with a left shoulder that was bothering them, and God wanted to heal it. They asked people they met all day, but they never found anyone.
Sunday morning, I woke up early in a ton of pain. Somehow in the night, something had happened to my left shoulder, and I could hardly move it. The muscle behind my shoulder blade just ached, and reaching for things was intensely painful. This did not bode well, as I was leading worship yesterday. So I emailed some of the prayer warriors in our church and asked them to pray for me. All morning long, people prayed - and when it came down to it, there were two kinds of prayers being prayed.
The first type made sense to me - "God, we know You can heal, and we want that - but if you choose not to, then please just give her the strength to carry on and lead well this morning." Yep. Believing that I would be able to lead was no problem - but believing that I'd do it pain-free came harder. So this was a prayer with which I could easily agree. I wanted to be healed - don't get me wrong - and I believe with all my heart that my God who once made the sun stand still, and once even made time go backwards is certainly able to heal my shoulder - but there was an intellectual assent that He might not. Was that faithless? Or practical? I'm not sure.
Then there was another type of prayer prayed over me. The sort of prayer that went more along the lines of "Shoulder, we command you to be healed in the Name of Jesus, to be restored to the way God created you to be." Now theologically I don't have a problem with that prayer at all. As I explained in part one of this series, I believe that it is entirely biblical to tell someone to be healed. But it didn't happen.
It hasn't caused a crisis of faith - I still believe (possibly irrationally, but I don't care) that God can heal, that He wants to heal, and that it's entirely likely that I may one day finally screw up the courage to practice healing, embracing success and failure alike as my friends are doing, and learning from the process. I'm not in the least upset that I woke up this morning with my shoulder still aching. But I do sort of wonder why He said "no."
It's possible that it's simply to grow my faith. Leading worship from that place yesterday was difficult, but it was also one of the sweetest runs I've had in a long time. I don't often feel God's presence when I lead - it's a much more intellectual and practical experience that most would expect - but yesterday He gave me the grace to actually feel engaged in worship, and it was a joyous morning. I wasn't pain-free, but it was bearable while I was on-stage, and that was an answer to prayer. But I wonder. I'm encouraged that He told people I don't even know, so that my friends would be on the lookout for an opportunity to pray for healing, and so that I'd feel incredibly loved by a God who was thinking of me before I even knew what the day would hold. But with all of that - why wasn't I healed yesterday?
Praying on the way home, I felt like He said it would be a while. I'm okay with that - tho I'll be honest and say that I'm kind of hoping (er, wishing...) for a short while as opposed to, you know, months. It's a muscle ache - it will eventually sort itself out. I'm not worried about it, just uncomfortable. But I wonder what it is that I'm to learn from all this, and if it is a matter of needing more faith - not very strongly wishing God would heal me, but being 100% positive (hoping, believing, confidently trusting) that He will.
And how does all of this affect (or should it affect?) the way I pray for other people in need of healing?
I'm not sure. More reflections to come in a day or two. But in the meantime - thoughts?
You may want to backtrack a bit and read the first post in this series so you can follow my train of thought as I continue to process all of this. Here's the link:
prayer and fasting and faith on the earth - part one (you'll want to read the comments too)
Okay, so fast-forward to this weekend. I have some friends who recently have been experiencing a degree of success in praying for people to be healed. On Saturday, they were hanging out with some other friends of theirs who had a prophetic word that there was someone with a left shoulder that was bothering them, and God wanted to heal it. They asked people they met all day, but they never found anyone.
Sunday morning, I woke up early in a ton of pain. Somehow in the night, something had happened to my left shoulder, and I could hardly move it. The muscle behind my shoulder blade just ached, and reaching for things was intensely painful. This did not bode well, as I was leading worship yesterday. So I emailed some of the prayer warriors in our church and asked them to pray for me. All morning long, people prayed - and when it came down to it, there were two kinds of prayers being prayed.
The first type made sense to me - "God, we know You can heal, and we want that - but if you choose not to, then please just give her the strength to carry on and lead well this morning." Yep. Believing that I would be able to lead was no problem - but believing that I'd do it pain-free came harder. So this was a prayer with which I could easily agree. I wanted to be healed - don't get me wrong - and I believe with all my heart that my God who once made the sun stand still, and once even made time go backwards is certainly able to heal my shoulder - but there was an intellectual assent that He might not. Was that faithless? Or practical? I'm not sure.
Then there was another type of prayer prayed over me. The sort of prayer that went more along the lines of "Shoulder, we command you to be healed in the Name of Jesus, to be restored to the way God created you to be." Now theologically I don't have a problem with that prayer at all. As I explained in part one of this series, I believe that it is entirely biblical to tell someone to be healed. But it didn't happen.
It hasn't caused a crisis of faith - I still believe (possibly irrationally, but I don't care) that God can heal, that He wants to heal, and that it's entirely likely that I may one day finally screw up the courage to practice healing, embracing success and failure alike as my friends are doing, and learning from the process. I'm not in the least upset that I woke up this morning with my shoulder still aching. But I do sort of wonder why He said "no."
It's possible that it's simply to grow my faith. Leading worship from that place yesterday was difficult, but it was also one of the sweetest runs I've had in a long time. I don't often feel God's presence when I lead - it's a much more intellectual and practical experience that most would expect - but yesterday He gave me the grace to actually feel engaged in worship, and it was a joyous morning. I wasn't pain-free, but it was bearable while I was on-stage, and that was an answer to prayer. But I wonder. I'm encouraged that He told people I don't even know, so that my friends would be on the lookout for an opportunity to pray for healing, and so that I'd feel incredibly loved by a God who was thinking of me before I even knew what the day would hold. But with all of that - why wasn't I healed yesterday?
Praying on the way home, I felt like He said it would be a while. I'm okay with that - tho I'll be honest and say that I'm kind of hoping (er, wishing...) for a short while as opposed to, you know, months. It's a muscle ache - it will eventually sort itself out. I'm not worried about it, just uncomfortable. But I wonder what it is that I'm to learn from all this, and if it is a matter of needing more faith - not very strongly wishing God would heal me, but being 100% positive (hoping, believing, confidently trusting) that He will.
And how does all of this affect (or should it affect?) the way I pray for other people in need of healing?
I'm not sure. More reflections to come in a day or two. But in the meantime - thoughts?
a shameless plug for what looks like a GREAT movie
Some friends from an era of my life which feels much longer ago than it actually was have been involved in the production of what looks like an INCREDIBLE movie. I will definitely be looking for it when it comes out.
You can check out The Frontier Boys on Facebook or on the official website. :)
You can check out The Frontier Boys on Facebook or on the official website. :)
random ramblings, vol. 6
It's been awhile since I've written a rambling post, so since I'm procrastinating on any number of other things I ought to be doing, here you are. :) Seven random facts that have relatively nothing to do with anything.
1. Today was one of the most decidedly non-Sabbathy Sabbaths I've had in a really long time. I'm actually strangely glad to say that - mostly because it means that I've had a Sabbath on a weekly basis for a while now. But I'm feeling it this evening, the lack of Sabbath. I had literally a dozen errands to run today, things I just haven't had time to do; I managed to fit in nine of them before deciding the other three could wait. And actually, now that I've said that, I can't even remember what one of the remaining three was.... Anyway. All of that is to say that life has been incredibly fast-paced of late. Which makes me really happy about Random Rambling #2.
2. I'm going on vacation. :) Totally impromptu (well, somewhat planned, as I made reservations two days ago, but still... it wasn't on the calendar until last week!). It's just for a weekend, but I can't wait. Two days, mostly me and Jesus, in one of my favorite places. I have a rare Sunday off from Torch next week, and I'm looking forward to spending time in worship with some dear friends I haven't seen in far too long.
3. You know you're involved in church service planning when you evaluate the risk of buying a movie you've never seen before by factoring in whether or not the production company is included under your church's CVLI license... just in case there's a sermon illustration in there somewhere.
4. I haven't seen "Ladies in Lavender" or "A Room with a View" in far too long. I should fix that...
5. I have entirely too many unread books on my shelves. I wish I had time to fix that, too....
6. I'm looking for a really good Lenten devotional guide. Does anyone have one to recommend?
7. I'm sorry to say that my kitchen table is, once again, cluttered with unopened mail, mostly of the unwanted variety. I'm hoping to get to it tomorrow, but the good news is, I have a good friend coming over on Thursday, which will necessitate cleaning before then. :) One of these days, I really am going to get a handle on this.... And okay, I will just confess. I started a new box for that sort of thing somewhere around Christmas. But it is GOING DOWN by the end of February. Really. Mostly because I need that box for other things...
So there you have it. Seven random ramblings. Merry Christmas.
I suppose one of these days I should also take down my tree.....
1. Today was one of the most decidedly non-Sabbathy Sabbaths I've had in a really long time. I'm actually strangely glad to say that - mostly because it means that I've had a Sabbath on a weekly basis for a while now. But I'm feeling it this evening, the lack of Sabbath. I had literally a dozen errands to run today, things I just haven't had time to do; I managed to fit in nine of them before deciding the other three could wait. And actually, now that I've said that, I can't even remember what one of the remaining three was.... Anyway. All of that is to say that life has been incredibly fast-paced of late. Which makes me really happy about Random Rambling #2.
2. I'm going on vacation. :) Totally impromptu (well, somewhat planned, as I made reservations two days ago, but still... it wasn't on the calendar until last week!). It's just for a weekend, but I can't wait. Two days, mostly me and Jesus, in one of my favorite places. I have a rare Sunday off from Torch next week, and I'm looking forward to spending time in worship with some dear friends I haven't seen in far too long.
3. You know you're involved in church service planning when you evaluate the risk of buying a movie you've never seen before by factoring in whether or not the production company is included under your church's CVLI license... just in case there's a sermon illustration in there somewhere.
4. I haven't seen "Ladies in Lavender" or "A Room with a View" in far too long. I should fix that...
5. I have entirely too many unread books on my shelves. I wish I had time to fix that, too....
6. I'm looking for a really good Lenten devotional guide. Does anyone have one to recommend?
7. I'm sorry to say that my kitchen table is, once again, cluttered with unopened mail, mostly of the unwanted variety. I'm hoping to get to it tomorrow, but the good news is, I have a good friend coming over on Thursday, which will necessitate cleaning before then. :) One of these days, I really am going to get a handle on this.... And okay, I will just confess. I started a new box for that sort of thing somewhere around Christmas. But it is GOING DOWN by the end of February. Really. Mostly because I need that box for other things...
So there you have it. Seven random ramblings. Merry Christmas.
I suppose one of these days I should also take down my tree.....
full circle
It's been an amazing journey these past few years. In May of 2007, I spent a few hours in the seminary library, studying commentaries for fun, and wrestling with a certain but still somewhat ambiguous calling - coming to terms with my inner Donna Reed and realizing that in spite of my hesitancy to find out what it was, God's call on my life was much different than I'd dared to dream. In July of 2008, I preached my first official sermon on a Monday night at a young adult group - using a sermon illustration that has become Torch quasi-legend. (Remember that time I got chased by a buffalo? lol. So does everybody else...)
And today? Today I am headed back to the library to begin research for my first ever Sunday morning sermon.
(AHHHHH!!!!!!) I am excited and terrified all at once.
It's a little surreal, looking back, and still feeling a tiny shred of that old reluctance to step out - but feeling at the same time, in spite of that little bit of sheer terror, so incredibly confident that God has called me to do this.
Nonetheless, I am very grateful that I have a month to write, re-write, and re-write again. :)
Wish me luck! Or better yet - pray that I get out of the way and am quiet enough to hear what He's speaking thru the text, and can relay it effectively. :)
Thanks!
And today? Today I am headed back to the library to begin research for my first ever Sunday morning sermon.
(AHHHHH!!!!!!) I am excited and terrified all at once.
It's a little surreal, looking back, and still feeling a tiny shred of that old reluctance to step out - but feeling at the same time, in spite of that little bit of sheer terror, so incredibly confident that God has called me to do this.
Nonetheless, I am very grateful that I have a month to write, re-write, and re-write again. :)
Wish me luck! Or better yet - pray that I get out of the way and am quiet enough to hear what He's speaking thru the text, and can relay it effectively. :)
Thanks!
a new venture
As I grow into my role on staff at Torch, every now and again, I find something new on my plate. This month, it's blogging. :) Our website's been under construction for awhile, and now that it's (mostly) finished, there are all sorts of new features, including a pastor's blog. I've been asked to contribute, and this week, my first post went up.
Let me tell you - blogging for someone else's blog is challenging! :) Writing for our church blog is way different than just coming here to my virtual "room" and sharing my heart. But it was a really good stretch for my shepherding skills and my writing.
And since it's all I've got right now - here it is. :)
----------------------------
Stay Dependent On Your King
Have you ever gotten to the end of your day, only to look back and realize that you were pretty much the worst version of yourself you could have possibly been?
- Maybe you snapped at people left and right, for no particular reason, or over-reacted to situations that would have gone better if you’d just taken a minute to think (or to take a deep breath) before dealing with them
- Maybe you cut someone off in traffic, or left that file on your desk at home in spite of the fact that you were supposed to give a big presentation - on all the info in that folder
- Maybe the printer jammed (again) and you swore in front of your boss - who isn’t a believer.
Whatever it was - the sun’s going down, and all you want is a do-over. You know you’re not going to get it, but in the midst of all the guilt you feel over the myriad of ways in which you’ve screwed up, you’re resolute: tomorrow will go better. You will make better choices; you will keep your temper; you will get it right. And maybe, somehow, it will make up for today...
Except that it won’t.
This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.” - Isaiah 30:15 (NIV)
Ouch.
Suddenly, that resolution you just made seems a little ... well, ridiculous. Because honestly, without His help, there isn’t a whole lot of hope that tomorrow will go much better. Most of today went the way it did because you weren’t depending on Him; you were doing it on your own, and it didn’t work. You weren’t quiet, you didn’t trust Him, you felt guilty (but you didn’t repent - you didn’t do a 180 in your heart or with your actions), and you weren’t even slightly at rest. You were anxious and tense; your tone of voice was sharp when you spoke. You were - to sum it up - knee-deep in sin for most of the day.
Trying to do better might seem like the right thing to do, but the truth of the matter is, it’s not going to go any better tomorrow than it was today if you don’t get some help. No matter how genuinely you want to go into tomorrow representing Jesus - the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, it’s not going to happen if you try to do it on your own.
So what do you do?
Well, first, you repent for your sin, and admit that you can’t save yourself. Let’s look at that verse again, this time from the Message paraphrase:
“Your salvation requires you to turn back to me and stop your silly efforts to save yourselves. Your strength will come from settling down in complete dependence on me - the very thing you’ve been unwilling to do.” - Isaiah 30:15b (The Message)
Did you catch that? Your salvation requires you to turn back to God and stop your ridiculous efforts to save yourself.
The Bible says: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” - Ephesians 2:8-10
It is by grace you have been saved, through faith... not by the things you do. Better still - the very faith you have in His grace? Even that isn’t yours; God gave you that, too! Your salvation is completely a gift, and all you had to do was ask for it. It wasn’t free - it was incredibly costly - but it was given to you as a gift, completely paid for, when you asked for it.
Now as Ephesians 2:10 points out, God does have things for you to do. Being kind to your coworkers, modeling a godly character in front of your kids, and living an upright lifestyle on campus are all important - but doing those things in love and obedience doesn’t save you. Jesus does. Did. Is. Will. Salvation and sanctification (becoming like the One who saves you) go hand in hand - but you have to stay dependent on Him. Jesus promised, “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.” (John 15:3-4)
Stay dependent on your King.
Cease striving, beloved. Be still, and know that He is God. (Psalm 46:10a) He is sovereign; He is your King. And as your King, He tells you: “In repentance and rest is your salvation; in quietness and trust is your strength.” Don’t allow yourself to be counted among those who “would have none of it.” And if those five words convict you, then ask yourself:
- What is it that keeps me from repenting of my sin? (Is it my pride? My stubbornness? Too much self-reliance?)
- What keeps me from resting in the knowledge that it is by grace that I have been saved? (Do I still feel like I need to prove my worth somehow to God?)
- What is filling my life with noise, drowning out the still, quiet whisper of His voice to my heart? (Am I spending too much time watching movies, or reading? Is my schedule so full that I don’t have time to simply stop and wait on Him to speak to me?)
- What is keeping me from completely trusting Him? (Am I afraid that He will let me down in some way? Or am I afraid of what people will think if I follow Him more openly than I do?)
Take some time today and wrestle with those questions. You might be surprised by some of the answers. You might even already know them. But once you’ve gone there, all that’s left to do is to tell Him, and to settle down in complete dependence on Him, putting your faith in His incredible, unending, limitless, and amazing grace.
Epiphany
The church in which I grew up did actually celebrate Epiphany. No matter what night of the week it was, we went to church on January 6th. The sanctuary was still decked out in all its Christmas splendor, and the candles were lit in the stained glass windows. The service was quiet, reflective, beautiful. It was about journey, discovery, revelation, seeking, and finding. And it was one of the avenues by which God taught me to seek Him.
Much of the church calendar is simply a journey through the Scriptures, with pauses for reflection, repentance and celebration at appropriate moments. Today, Epiphany, is a reflective celebration day, and centers around the story of the wise men from the east who came to worship Jesus.
Reading their story again tonight, I was awestruck. These men - however many there actually were - travelled a really long way to give Jesus some rather unusual presents. They came, they worshiped - and then they went home.
(I wonder what they talked about - or if they even talked at all - on the way home...)
There is so much to learn from these wise men. They were God-seekers; they were people who paid attention to the signs of the times. They were faithful, determined, persistent. And they were worshipers.
There may have been days when they were tired - desperately tired - but they kept on, and they reached their goal. They sought Him - and found Him - and worshiped Him.
May we do the same this year.
Amen.
Much of the church calendar is simply a journey through the Scriptures, with pauses for reflection, repentance and celebration at appropriate moments. Today, Epiphany, is a reflective celebration day, and centers around the story of the wise men from the east who came to worship Jesus.
Reading their story again tonight, I was awestruck. These men - however many there actually were - travelled a really long way to give Jesus some rather unusual presents. They came, they worshiped - and then they went home.
(I wonder what they talked about - or if they even talked at all - on the way home...)
There is so much to learn from these wise men. They were God-seekers; they were people who paid attention to the signs of the times. They were faithful, determined, persistent. And they were worshipers.
There may have been days when they were tired - desperately tired - but they kept on, and they reached their goal. They sought Him - and found Him - and worshiped Him.
May we do the same this year.
Amen.
Book Review: The Heart Mender, by Andy Andrews
Andy Andrews' The Heart Mender is an inspiring story about the power not just of love, but of forgiveness, community and faith. Intertwined with the love story of an American woman and a German soldier during World War II (and with the stories of their friends and neighbors) is a bit of the author's own story, as he uncovers the clues that lead him to discover the romance.
Andrews is a skilled storyteller, and weaves dialogue and description to create vivid and believable characters. The issues with which the characters struggle are real, and the answers to which they come are hard-won - but throughout the book is a firm and unyielding hope and confidence that love will, in the end, triumph. From beginning to end, the storylines illustrate the truth that bitterness and resentment do nothing but continue to wound, while making the choice to forgive can do everything towards bringing healing and hope to a broken heart.
One of the things I most appreciated about this story is that while it is a love story, it doesn't happen in isolation. It blossoms in the context of a community, and affects - and is affected by - that community. I love that. It makes the entire book feel even more true - because in real life, relationships do inevitably happen in the context of community.
I absolutely loved this story. I have actually read it twice now, and already loaned it to a friend. So I am happy to say that Thomas Nelson actually sent me an extra copy to give away on my blog! :) If you're intrigued and would like to read it, please let me know by commenting below. Your names will be entered in a drawing, which will take place a week from Saturday.
Disclosure in agreement with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising": I received this book for free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
Andrews is a skilled storyteller, and weaves dialogue and description to create vivid and believable characters. The issues with which the characters struggle are real, and the answers to which they come are hard-won - but throughout the book is a firm and unyielding hope and confidence that love will, in the end, triumph. From beginning to end, the storylines illustrate the truth that bitterness and resentment do nothing but continue to wound, while making the choice to forgive can do everything towards bringing healing and hope to a broken heart.
One of the things I most appreciated about this story is that while it is a love story, it doesn't happen in isolation. It blossoms in the context of a community, and affects - and is affected by - that community. I love that. It makes the entire book feel even more true - because in real life, relationships do inevitably happen in the context of community.
I absolutely loved this story. I have actually read it twice now, and already loaned it to a friend. So I am happy to say that Thomas Nelson actually sent me an extra copy to give away on my blog! :) If you're intrigued and would like to read it, please let me know by commenting below. Your names will be entered in a drawing, which will take place a week from Saturday.
Disclosure in agreement with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising": I received this book for free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
Christmastide reflections
It is four o'clock in the morning on the sixth day of Christmas, and I am up - against my will and against my better judgment. I can't sleep, and I can't figure out why - but as I've been sitting here, reading, thinking, trying to get past my frustration, I have realized some things.
Christmas, as I've shared before, has always been my favorite time of year. Even before I truly understood the gift that this holiday is, there was something about the lights and the quietness and the colors and the smells and the hope (even on an ocean coast) of snow - that was simply magical. Mysterious. Right. It was special; it was different; it was something I waited for all year.
I was so hopeful this year that the magic and the mystery would still capture my soul - and it has, in moments, here and there. But the pervading sense of joy and peace and happiness that filled my soul on December 23rd has gotten lost somewhere in the craziness of the past few days. The rest of the world has moved on past Christmas, and to a degree, I feel like I've been moving on right along with it.
But I'm not of that world, and as I've come in the past half hour to realize all the ways in which I've forgotten that this week, I have made a decision. I refuse to be swept by that tide any longer. It is Christmastide yet, and it is only half over. There is still waiting and watching to be done. There is still worship to offer. Praise to bring.
And so here I am, at what is now almost five o'clock in the morning, watching and praying, enjoying the lights on my tree and a cup of chai, and thanking God that He's stopped me in my tracks for this moment. I am, at last, putting down all the things that have distracted me all week, and am instead kneeling in my heart beside a manger, in awe of the tiny, quiet, perfect miracle that was actually the beginning of the greatest thing that has ever happened in the whole world. The very Son of God was born - to us, the Scripture says.
To us. For us. With us.
He was here.
He is here.
...and He is coming back.
In this quiet moment, there is nothing more real or more true, and I am filled with gratitude and wonder.
Merry Christmas, friends.
Christmas, as I've shared before, has always been my favorite time of year. Even before I truly understood the gift that this holiday is, there was something about the lights and the quietness and the colors and the smells and the hope (even on an ocean coast) of snow - that was simply magical. Mysterious. Right. It was special; it was different; it was something I waited for all year.
I was so hopeful this year that the magic and the mystery would still capture my soul - and it has, in moments, here and there. But the pervading sense of joy and peace and happiness that filled my soul on December 23rd has gotten lost somewhere in the craziness of the past few days. The rest of the world has moved on past Christmas, and to a degree, I feel like I've been moving on right along with it.
But I'm not of that world, and as I've come in the past half hour to realize all the ways in which I've forgotten that this week, I have made a decision. I refuse to be swept by that tide any longer. It is Christmastide yet, and it is only half over. There is still waiting and watching to be done. There is still worship to offer. Praise to bring.
And so here I am, at what is now almost five o'clock in the morning, watching and praying, enjoying the lights on my tree and a cup of chai, and thanking God that He's stopped me in my tracks for this moment. I am, at last, putting down all the things that have distracted me all week, and am instead kneeling in my heart beside a manger, in awe of the tiny, quiet, perfect miracle that was actually the beginning of the greatest thing that has ever happened in the whole world. The very Son of God was born - to us, the Scripture says.
To us. For us. With us.
He was here.
He is here.
...and He is coming back.
In this quiet moment, there is nothing more real or more true, and I am filled with gratitude and wonder.
Merry Christmas, friends.
comfort and joy
"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him; and He helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song, I praise Him." (Psalm 28:7)
As we've been reading along in God's word and in The Uncluttered Heart this week, reflecting on joy, there is one idea that I've felt God driving home to me all week: whether or not you have joy is not dependent on whether or not you feel joyful.
It started with the reminder from Monday's reading about joy being a fruit of the Spirit. "Hap, you have my Spirit; therefore, you have joy." It isn't something I can produce on my own - it's something He grows in me. I may not experience the emotional benefits of it all the time, anymore than I experience the benefits of wearing my favorite (and very warm) sweatshirt while it's in the laundry - but just because I'm not aware of it, doesn't mean I cease to have it.
Because Jesus is my Saviour, I have the Spirit of God in me (John 14:16-17).
Joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).
Therefore, I have joy.
Awesome, right? But it gets even better. The Bible also tells us two other things about joy:
1. that the joy of the Lord is our strength. (Nehemiah 8:10)
and 2. that joy replaces sorrow. (Esther 9:20-22, Isaiah 35:9-10, Isaiah 51:11, Jeremiah 31:12-13)
And this is a part of the good news of great joy that we wait for in this Advent season. (Luke 2:10). Emmanuel, God with us - Jesus - came to this world for a little while, experienced first hand what life is like for us, paid the price for our sins, and rose from the dead. Then, when He went back to His Father, He asked Him to send us His Spirit to help us - and one of the things the Spirit does is produce joy in our hearts - joy that strengthens us when we are weak and beaten down by the sorrows of this world; joy that foreshadows and is a promise of the lasting joy that will be ours, when all things fade away, and we are finally Home with Him.
Sorrow - no matter how deeply felt - is only temporary. Joy will come. Indeed, it is already here!
There is so much comfort in that.
"God rest ye merry, gentlemen" (and women). It's been my favorite Christmas carol for ages, and I love those words.
"God rest ye" - may God cause you to rest. "God rest ye merry" - may God cause you to rest with gladness in your heart.
Wherever you are today, friends, whatever the sorrows that burden your heart - my prayer for you is that you will remember the deeds of the Lord and His kindness toward you, that joy will flood your soul as you do, and that you will find at the end of this day that God really has rested ye merry.
As we've been reading along in God's word and in The Uncluttered Heart this week, reflecting on joy, there is one idea that I've felt God driving home to me all week: whether or not you have joy is not dependent on whether or not you feel joyful.
It started with the reminder from Monday's reading about joy being a fruit of the Spirit. "Hap, you have my Spirit; therefore, you have joy." It isn't something I can produce on my own - it's something He grows in me. I may not experience the emotional benefits of it all the time, anymore than I experience the benefits of wearing my favorite (and very warm) sweatshirt while it's in the laundry - but just because I'm not aware of it, doesn't mean I cease to have it.
Because Jesus is my Saviour, I have the Spirit of God in me (John 14:16-17).
Joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).
Therefore, I have joy.
Awesome, right? But it gets even better. The Bible also tells us two other things about joy:
1. that the joy of the Lord is our strength. (Nehemiah 8:10)
and 2. that joy replaces sorrow. (Esther 9:20-22, Isaiah 35:9-10, Isaiah 51:11, Jeremiah 31:12-13)
And this is a part of the good news of great joy that we wait for in this Advent season. (Luke 2:10). Emmanuel, God with us - Jesus - came to this world for a little while, experienced first hand what life is like for us, paid the price for our sins, and rose from the dead. Then, when He went back to His Father, He asked Him to send us His Spirit to help us - and one of the things the Spirit does is produce joy in our hearts - joy that strengthens us when we are weak and beaten down by the sorrows of this world; joy that foreshadows and is a promise of the lasting joy that will be ours, when all things fade away, and we are finally Home with Him.
Sorrow - no matter how deeply felt - is only temporary. Joy will come. Indeed, it is already here!
There is so much comfort in that.
"God rest ye merry, gentlemen" (and women). It's been my favorite Christmas carol for ages, and I love those words.
"God rest ye" - may God cause you to rest. "God rest ye merry" - may God cause you to rest with gladness in your heart.
Wherever you are today, friends, whatever the sorrows that burden your heart - my prayer for you is that you will remember the deeds of the Lord and His kindness toward you, that joy will flood your soul as you do, and that you will find at the end of this day that God really has rested ye merry.
on seeking peace
All week long, the Spirit has been whispering the same half of a verse, over and over again, to my soul: "Seek peace and pursue it." (Psalm 34:14b)
Seek peace and pursue it. Seek peace and pursue it.
I've been trying. In this week of Advent Peace, I've been pursuing peace as if it were the elusive White Stag of Narnia. Every now and again, I've glimpsed it. I've found it in some unlikely places: Christmas shopping, driving around in my car, cleaning the house, charting Christmas carols. I've found it in likely places, too: the quiet moments when I've paused to worship, decorating Christmas cookies with our Tuesday night Advent group, having dinner with one of my best friends. But then something would happen, and I would find myself wondering where that peace had gone.
Seek peace and pursue it.
I will not go into the details of why this week was so incredibly difficult. I will simply say that I am so glad for the respite that this morning brought. Saturday is my Sabbath day - a day to worship and rest and simply be. For the first time since last Saturday, I did not roll out of bed with a task list. There are things to do today - grocery shopping for the holiday dinner I'm cooking tomorrow, Christmas shopping, etc. - but they can happen whenever I get to them, and it doesn't really matter to anyone else. Today there are no pressures, no demands, no responsibilities. Today I am free to finish decorating my tree, and to be my introverted self. Today... I can rest.
I am so glad God built Sabbath into our lives. He knew how desperately we would need it. A day to stop. Breathe. Remember Him. Reorient. Reprioritize. Oh, wait - life isn't actually about all that stuff that seemed so important last week. It's about glorifying God and enjoying Him forever. Right. Okay, let's try that, then.
And again, I find myself so grateful for Advent, and a week that forced me, by its liturgical rhythms, to remember peace. I needed the daily reminder to be a shalom-bringer, and to look for the ways in which God was at work in the seeming chaos that was this week. I needed that constant whisper: "seek peace and pursue it."
One of the things I am learning (again) is that peace and rest go hand-in-hand. It is possible to be at peace in the midst of insanely busy seasons, to be internally at rest in the midst of complete craziness. I don't always live that way - and at the end of weeks like this past one, I am extremely grateful for mercy and grace and the promise of a new day! But if God tells us to seek peace and pursue it, it is because peace is something we need... and it is because peace is something that will be found for the seeking.
Our responsibility is not to "achieve" peace somehow - but to simply pursue it. And as we seek it, peace will come. For He himself is our peace (Ephesians 2:14), and it is His promise that if we seek Him, He will be found (1 Chronicles 28:9).
There is so much comfort and joy in that. So God rest ye merry, friends - as we, with Hope and Peace, lean into Joy this coming week.
Seek peace and pursue it. Seek peace and pursue it.
I've been trying. In this week of Advent Peace, I've been pursuing peace as if it were the elusive White Stag of Narnia. Every now and again, I've glimpsed it. I've found it in some unlikely places: Christmas shopping, driving around in my car, cleaning the house, charting Christmas carols. I've found it in likely places, too: the quiet moments when I've paused to worship, decorating Christmas cookies with our Tuesday night Advent group, having dinner with one of my best friends. But then something would happen, and I would find myself wondering where that peace had gone.
Seek peace and pursue it.
I will not go into the details of why this week was so incredibly difficult. I will simply say that I am so glad for the respite that this morning brought. Saturday is my Sabbath day - a day to worship and rest and simply be. For the first time since last Saturday, I did not roll out of bed with a task list. There are things to do today - grocery shopping for the holiday dinner I'm cooking tomorrow, Christmas shopping, etc. - but they can happen whenever I get to them, and it doesn't really matter to anyone else. Today there are no pressures, no demands, no responsibilities. Today I am free to finish decorating my tree, and to be my introverted self. Today... I can rest.
I am so glad God built Sabbath into our lives. He knew how desperately we would need it. A day to stop. Breathe. Remember Him. Reorient. Reprioritize. Oh, wait - life isn't actually about all that stuff that seemed so important last week. It's about glorifying God and enjoying Him forever. Right. Okay, let's try that, then.
And again, I find myself so grateful for Advent, and a week that forced me, by its liturgical rhythms, to remember peace. I needed the daily reminder to be a shalom-bringer, and to look for the ways in which God was at work in the seeming chaos that was this week. I needed that constant whisper: "seek peace and pursue it."
One of the things I am learning (again) is that peace and rest go hand-in-hand. It is possible to be at peace in the midst of insanely busy seasons, to be internally at rest in the midst of complete craziness. I don't always live that way - and at the end of weeks like this past one, I am extremely grateful for mercy and grace and the promise of a new day! But if God tells us to seek peace and pursue it, it is because peace is something we need... and it is because peace is something that will be found for the seeking.
Our responsibility is not to "achieve" peace somehow - but to simply pursue it. And as we seek it, peace will come. For He himself is our peace (Ephesians 2:14), and it is His promise that if we seek Him, He will be found (1 Chronicles 28:9).
There is so much comfort and joy in that. So God rest ye merry, friends - as we, with Hope and Peace, lean into Joy this coming week.
love, hope and habit
"May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you." - 1 Thessalonians 3:12
I read this verse this morning, and I'll confess - my first thought was, "what does this verse have to do with Advent?" But as I reflected on this verse a little longer, it became clear to me that it might actually have everything to do with Advent. And here's why.
This week, we're thinking about Advent hope, right? The hope that we have because Christ was born - because "the Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood" (John 1:14, The Message). Now think for a minute about the people you know who know this hope. What kind of people are they? What adjectives would you use to describe them? (What adjectives do you think should describe them?)
People of hope have a positive outlook. They're the staff you meet in the store in the middle of the Christmas rush who take the time to smile at you, and make you feel like you're their only customer, even tho there's ten people in line behind you. They're the people who ring bells for the Salvation Army on street corners and wish all the people who don't seem to care a merry Christmas anyway. They're the people who get really bad news and yet try their level best to find a bright spot in the middle of complete horrible situations. They're the non-complainers. They're the people with whom you find yourself wanting to spend time because just talking to them is incredibly life-giving. They love you.
Are you a person of hope?
I'll admit it. I am - but I don't always act like it. But my attention was captured today by the words in the prayer from today's Uncluttered Heart post. The idea that hope is something that I actually need to practice hit home. When you practice something, you usually tend to get better at it over time.
So what will it take for me to practice hope today? And in so doing, will I "increase and abound in love" for people, as so many people of hope have abounded in love for me? Yes.
So that Scripture really does have everything to do with Advent...
One of the things I love most about Advent is that it isn't just about waiting for Christmas and remembering the Story. It's also about remembering that the Story isn't over yet. Here's another passage, written by the apostle John, that has everything to do with Advent, too:
I heard a voice thunder from the Throne: "Look, look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making His home with men and women! They're His people; He's their God. He'll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good - tears gone, crying gone, pain gone - all the first order of things gone." (Revelation 21:3-4, The Message)
This gives me so much hope. And today, I'm going to remember it, and with His help, try to love Him and love people better simply by practicing a positive, hopeful outlook - no matter what this day may bring. And if I keep at it, one day being hopeful will simply be habit. (I'm hoping for it, anyway.) ;)
I read this verse this morning, and I'll confess - my first thought was, "what does this verse have to do with Advent?" But as I reflected on this verse a little longer, it became clear to me that it might actually have everything to do with Advent. And here's why.
This week, we're thinking about Advent hope, right? The hope that we have because Christ was born - because "the Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood" (John 1:14, The Message). Now think for a minute about the people you know who know this hope. What kind of people are they? What adjectives would you use to describe them? (What adjectives do you think should describe them?)
People of hope have a positive outlook. They're the staff you meet in the store in the middle of the Christmas rush who take the time to smile at you, and make you feel like you're their only customer, even tho there's ten people in line behind you. They're the people who ring bells for the Salvation Army on street corners and wish all the people who don't seem to care a merry Christmas anyway. They're the people who get really bad news and yet try their level best to find a bright spot in the middle of complete horrible situations. They're the non-complainers. They're the people with whom you find yourself wanting to spend time because just talking to them is incredibly life-giving. They love you.
Are you a person of hope?
I'll admit it. I am - but I don't always act like it. But my attention was captured today by the words in the prayer from today's Uncluttered Heart post. The idea that hope is something that I actually need to practice hit home. When you practice something, you usually tend to get better at it over time.
So what will it take for me to practice hope today? And in so doing, will I "increase and abound in love" for people, as so many people of hope have abounded in love for me? Yes.
So that Scripture really does have everything to do with Advent...
One of the things I love most about Advent is that it isn't just about waiting for Christmas and remembering the Story. It's also about remembering that the Story isn't over yet. Here's another passage, written by the apostle John, that has everything to do with Advent, too:
I heard a voice thunder from the Throne: "Look, look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making His home with men and women! They're His people; He's their God. He'll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good - tears gone, crying gone, pain gone - all the first order of things gone." (Revelation 21:3-4, The Message)
This gives me so much hope. And today, I'm going to remember it, and with His help, try to love Him and love people better simply by practicing a positive, hopeful outlook - no matter what this day may bring. And if I keep at it, one day being hopeful will simply be habit. (I'm hoping for it, anyway.) ;)
advent: stillness
The verses for our devotional study today are Isaiah 2:3-4. In Verse 2, God says that "He will teach us His ways so that we may walk in His paths." The Message paraphase of this verse says that "He'll show us the way He works so we can live the way we're made."
There's so much security in that, isn't there? We were created to live life God's way, and He's promised to teach us everything we need to know to do that. No more running around, trying to figure out what it is we're supposed to be doing that we're not doing that's leaving us with this empty, unsettled feeling that there's got to be more to life that "this" (whatever it is). It is far more simple than that. All we need to do is follow the directions that He's given/gives/will give us.
But here's the thing about directions: you actually have to listen to them and do what they say for things to go well. I have a set of bookshelves I've put together myself, and let me tell you - the one I didn't read the instructions for is extremely unstable! And life works the same way - if we're going to live it well, there's a set of instructions to follow, and we need to listen to them.
Listening for God's voice takes time, patience and practice. It's possible to read His Word without actually understanding a word of it on the heart level where it's meant to instruct us. It's possible to pray frantically for help in a situation for which we need specific direction and then rush off without waiting for an answer, still trying to figure out what we're supposed to do, on our own.
But God's Word says there's a better way:
"...In repentance and rest is your salvation; in quietness and trust is your strength..." - Isaiah 30:15
We need to get quiet.
Quite some time ago, a good friend of mine picked up the phone and made a reservation for me at a retreat center. I was leading a song at church that weekend, but there was something in the way - something that was blocking my ability to lead it from my heart. And so my friend packed me off to a retreat center for 5 hours, to sit quietly with God, and find from Him the wisdom and instruction I needed.
The first 1/2 hour was painful. I had about eighteen million things I was thinking about other than the task at hand. Getting quiet, internally, seemed like an insurmountable task. But my friend, far more seasoned in this sort of thing than I was, had warned me it would be like that, and I'd taken with me, on his advice, a notebook. Every time something came into my head that could be labelled as a "distraction" (for example: things to add to the grocery list, emails I needed to write, phone calls to make, etc.) - I just wrote it down, so I could deal with it later. And finally, all the head chatter faded, and I moved into silence, and waited.
And He spoke. Through His Word, through the beauty of creation all around me, directly to my heart - and even through the nap I ended up taking that day. And 5 hours later, I was so at peace, and knew what I needed to do to live the way I was made to live, instead of the way I'd been trying to live instead. I'd confessed the sin I needed to, and walked straight out of the barren wilderness of it into the rich, full mercy of God. It was beautiful.
And it began with being still.
Sometimes life can be so overwhelming. It's busy, frantic, fast-paced, and loud. It's tough to hear anything in an environment like that. But if we could just be still...
"The Lord is my light and my salvation - of whom shall I be afraid?.... I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Be strong, and take heart, and wait for the Lord." - Psalm 27:1, 13-14
But how do we do that? How do we "be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord"?
Well, we repent for what we need to. We slow down and rest (even when there's a million things to do, because they will still be there later). We get quiet. We choose to trust Him (no matter what). And we listen. We listen for the Voice that will always speak truth, whose words are life and light to all who hear them, and who promised us that all we see is not all there is.
And we keep on waiting on Him, day after day, because we know, no matter how dark things may seem some days, that there is always hope.
"Do not be afraid, for I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be for all the people. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:10-12)
There's so much security in that, isn't there? We were created to live life God's way, and He's promised to teach us everything we need to know to do that. No more running around, trying to figure out what it is we're supposed to be doing that we're not doing that's leaving us with this empty, unsettled feeling that there's got to be more to life that "this" (whatever it is). It is far more simple than that. All we need to do is follow the directions that He's given/gives/will give us.
But here's the thing about directions: you actually have to listen to them and do what they say for things to go well. I have a set of bookshelves I've put together myself, and let me tell you - the one I didn't read the instructions for is extremely unstable! And life works the same way - if we're going to live it well, there's a set of instructions to follow, and we need to listen to them.
Listening for God's voice takes time, patience and practice. It's possible to read His Word without actually understanding a word of it on the heart level where it's meant to instruct us. It's possible to pray frantically for help in a situation for which we need specific direction and then rush off without waiting for an answer, still trying to figure out what we're supposed to do, on our own.
But God's Word says there's a better way:
"...In repentance and rest is your salvation; in quietness and trust is your strength..." - Isaiah 30:15
We need to get quiet.
Quite some time ago, a good friend of mine picked up the phone and made a reservation for me at a retreat center. I was leading a song at church that weekend, but there was something in the way - something that was blocking my ability to lead it from my heart. And so my friend packed me off to a retreat center for 5 hours, to sit quietly with God, and find from Him the wisdom and instruction I needed.
The first 1/2 hour was painful. I had about eighteen million things I was thinking about other than the task at hand. Getting quiet, internally, seemed like an insurmountable task. But my friend, far more seasoned in this sort of thing than I was, had warned me it would be like that, and I'd taken with me, on his advice, a notebook. Every time something came into my head that could be labelled as a "distraction" (for example: things to add to the grocery list, emails I needed to write, phone calls to make, etc.) - I just wrote it down, so I could deal with it later. And finally, all the head chatter faded, and I moved into silence, and waited.
And He spoke. Through His Word, through the beauty of creation all around me, directly to my heart - and even through the nap I ended up taking that day. And 5 hours later, I was so at peace, and knew what I needed to do to live the way I was made to live, instead of the way I'd been trying to live instead. I'd confessed the sin I needed to, and walked straight out of the barren wilderness of it into the rich, full mercy of God. It was beautiful.
And it began with being still.
Sometimes life can be so overwhelming. It's busy, frantic, fast-paced, and loud. It's tough to hear anything in an environment like that. But if we could just be still...
"The Lord is my light and my salvation - of whom shall I be afraid?.... I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Be strong, and take heart, and wait for the Lord." - Psalm 27:1, 13-14
But how do we do that? How do we "be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord"?
Well, we repent for what we need to. We slow down and rest (even when there's a million things to do, because they will still be there later). We get quiet. We choose to trust Him (no matter what). And we listen. We listen for the Voice that will always speak truth, whose words are life and light to all who hear them, and who promised us that all we see is not all there is.
And we keep on waiting on Him, day after day, because we know, no matter how dark things may seem some days, that there is always hope.
"Do not be afraid, for I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be for all the people. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:10-12)
waiting. quietly, but with great joy...
It's almost here!
Tomorrow is the first day of Advent, and I have been waiting for this moment for almost two months. No, actually, more like eleven and a half months.... I love Advent.
Some of my best childhood memories are centered around Advent. Decorating the banisters of our New England church sanctuary with real evergreens and red ribbons and candles and a Christmas tree so tall you could barely see the top from the floor. Replacing the green banners of Ordinary Time on the pulpit with the rich purple hues of Advent. Taking a break for soup and crackers with the church family, and eating out of the church's fine china dishes. (Washing and drying all those dishes after lunch!) Making wreaths to take home and hang on our doors. Waking up every morning to open the next little door on the Advent calendar that hung on the cabinet in the kitchen. Watching the colored lights twinkle in our tree. Setting up the Nativity scene on the bookshelf. Putting out our Christmas decorations. Listening to Kenny and Dolly and Amy Grant and Alabama and Bing Crosby and Manheim Steamroller and countless others sing Christmas carols, back in the days when we had actual records and cassette tapes. Wrapping Christmas presents. Popping popcorn and watching Christmas movies. Lighting a candle every Sunday on the altar at church, marking one more theme celebrated, one week closer to Christmas. Wondering why the third candle is pink.
And FINALLY - Christmas Eve. Dressing up, leaving home in the dark. Caroling outside the church for an hour before service for the people passing by and coming to church. Caroling some more indoors. The beauty of the Christmas story read aloud. Hearing a soloist sing "O Holy Night" and hoping that someday I'd get to sing it (one day, finally, I did). Lighting the Christ candle, and then passing the light of Christ's love from candle to candle through our historic church sanctuary and singing Silent Night together acapella. Watching the familiar faces of friends and family shine with the mystery and beauty of it all as we ended our service in quietness, peace, and candlelit wonder.
And now that I'm older, this season has become even more special than the magical memories it held in my childhood. For now I understand, in a way I didn't then, what this season is really all about.
Advent is a season of waiting. A season of joy, hope, peace, love, wonder - and waiting, expectantly, for something to happen. It's the pathway, the journey to Christmas. And with Christmas, comes radiant, amazing, overwhelming love - in the form of a baby boy, born in a stable. The very Son of God, laid in a manger, here to experience all that we do - and to make a way back to God for us.
God waited a long time to send His Son. He waited for the perfect moment. But while He was waiting, He did some things. He wrote it in the stars, that this baby was coming. Remember the Magi, following that star? Think about the fact that light takes time to travel, and that what you see in the sky is actually something that happened a really, really, REALLY long time ago - and think for a moment: God put a star in the heavens that would point the way to His Son AGES before His Son would be born. Does the wonder of it floor you, even just a little bit? He also promised us that a Saviour would come - His prophets foretold His coming, and His people waited, too. And then, finally - He came. And He is coming again.
For these four weeks of Advent we wait. We remember. We hope, dream, imagine, wonder, experience the mystery that is the gift of God's Son, born in the city of David: Christ the Lord. We sing special songs - songs we sing once a year. We celebrate. We give gifts that echo, tho they could never compare with, the Gift that we've been given. We light candles.
We wait. Quietly, but with great joy.
Last year for Advent, my friend Amanda and I did a devotional study together with a book and a website called The Uncluttered Heart, by Beth A. Richardson. We loved it so much that we've invited our church family to go through it with us this year. Nineteen people have signed up so far! We are super-excited about this. :)
And if you want to join us, we'd love that, too. The Uncluttered Heart website has all the info you need to get started.
Hope to see you there!
and Happy Advent-Eve. :)
Tomorrow is the first day of Advent, and I have been waiting for this moment for almost two months. No, actually, more like eleven and a half months.... I love Advent.
Some of my best childhood memories are centered around Advent. Decorating the banisters of our New England church sanctuary with real evergreens and red ribbons and candles and a Christmas tree so tall you could barely see the top from the floor. Replacing the green banners of Ordinary Time on the pulpit with the rich purple hues of Advent. Taking a break for soup and crackers with the church family, and eating out of the church's fine china dishes. (Washing and drying all those dishes after lunch!) Making wreaths to take home and hang on our doors. Waking up every morning to open the next little door on the Advent calendar that hung on the cabinet in the kitchen. Watching the colored lights twinkle in our tree. Setting up the Nativity scene on the bookshelf. Putting out our Christmas decorations. Listening to Kenny and Dolly and Amy Grant and Alabama and Bing Crosby and Manheim Steamroller and countless others sing Christmas carols, back in the days when we had actual records and cassette tapes. Wrapping Christmas presents. Popping popcorn and watching Christmas movies. Lighting a candle every Sunday on the altar at church, marking one more theme celebrated, one week closer to Christmas. Wondering why the third candle is pink.
And FINALLY - Christmas Eve. Dressing up, leaving home in the dark. Caroling outside the church for an hour before service for the people passing by and coming to church. Caroling some more indoors. The beauty of the Christmas story read aloud. Hearing a soloist sing "O Holy Night" and hoping that someday I'd get to sing it (one day, finally, I did). Lighting the Christ candle, and then passing the light of Christ's love from candle to candle through our historic church sanctuary and singing Silent Night together acapella. Watching the familiar faces of friends and family shine with the mystery and beauty of it all as we ended our service in quietness, peace, and candlelit wonder.
And now that I'm older, this season has become even more special than the magical memories it held in my childhood. For now I understand, in a way I didn't then, what this season is really all about.
Advent is a season of waiting. A season of joy, hope, peace, love, wonder - and waiting, expectantly, for something to happen. It's the pathway, the journey to Christmas. And with Christmas, comes radiant, amazing, overwhelming love - in the form of a baby boy, born in a stable. The very Son of God, laid in a manger, here to experience all that we do - and to make a way back to God for us.
God waited a long time to send His Son. He waited for the perfect moment. But while He was waiting, He did some things. He wrote it in the stars, that this baby was coming. Remember the Magi, following that star? Think about the fact that light takes time to travel, and that what you see in the sky is actually something that happened a really, really, REALLY long time ago - and think for a moment: God put a star in the heavens that would point the way to His Son AGES before His Son would be born. Does the wonder of it floor you, even just a little bit? He also promised us that a Saviour would come - His prophets foretold His coming, and His people waited, too. And then, finally - He came. And He is coming again.
For these four weeks of Advent we wait. We remember. We hope, dream, imagine, wonder, experience the mystery that is the gift of God's Son, born in the city of David: Christ the Lord. We sing special songs - songs we sing once a year. We celebrate. We give gifts that echo, tho they could never compare with, the Gift that we've been given. We light candles.
We wait. Quietly, but with great joy.
Last year for Advent, my friend Amanda and I did a devotional study together with a book and a website called The Uncluttered Heart, by Beth A. Richardson. We loved it so much that we've invited our church family to go through it with us this year. Nineteen people have signed up so far! We are super-excited about this. :)
And if you want to join us, we'd love that, too. The Uncluttered Heart website has all the info you need to get started.
Hope to see you there!
and Happy Advent-Eve. :)
you're welcome
Have you ever been in an ordinary run-of-the-mill conversation and found yourself suddenly floored by something you just said?
This happens to me frequently when I'm with close friends, but it's usually in the context of saying something I probably should have run thru the filter first, or saying something to be funny and then joking about, "oh, did I just say that out loud?" But today it happened with two simple words that I've said thousands of times before without thinking about them at all:
"You're welcome."
It's just what you say, when someone says "thank you," right? But think for a minute about what those two words mean when you put them together outside of the generic, rote conversation in which you usually find them. "You're welcome."
You - are welcome. You're welcome.
Wow.
What does that mean? In French, it's "bienvenue," which translates literally to "good coming." You've come well; it's well that you came? I was glad to do what you're thanking me for because I'm happy you're here, that you're a part of my life.
You're welcome here.
My heart's posture toward you is one of welcome.
We say it to a lot of people, strangers and friends alike. But do we mean it?
Food for thought. :)
This happens to me frequently when I'm with close friends, but it's usually in the context of saying something I probably should have run thru the filter first, or saying something to be funny and then joking about, "oh, did I just say that out loud?" But today it happened with two simple words that I've said thousands of times before without thinking about them at all:
"You're welcome."
It's just what you say, when someone says "thank you," right? But think for a minute about what those two words mean when you put them together outside of the generic, rote conversation in which you usually find them. "You're welcome."
You - are welcome. You're welcome.
Wow.
What does that mean? In French, it's "bienvenue," which translates literally to "good coming." You've come well; it's well that you came? I was glad to do what you're thanking me for because I'm happy you're here, that you're a part of my life.
You're welcome here.
My heart's posture toward you is one of welcome.
We say it to a lot of people, strangers and friends alike. But do we mean it?
Food for thought. :)
honesty, prayer, and the power of song
Quite some time ago, I worked as a nanny for a family who had a little girl (who is now grown up and has graduated from college). Sometimes, at the end of the day, if her parents were away or working late, I had the privilege of tucking her in and listening to her prayers. They inevitably began one of two ways:
"God, thank You so much for this day!" (followed by an explanation of why said day was so awesome)
or
"God... (pause) ...this has not been the best day in the world." (followed by an explanation of why, but often followed by:) "BUT...."
and anything could happen then. "BUT - thank You that tomorrow is another day." or "BUT - thanks for being there with me anyway." or "BUT - i know You have a plan for this."
She taught me a lot about prayer. about God. and about being honest with God in prayer.
And tonight, listening to the Tallis Canon for about the 25th time today (because I've needed it that much - this song centers me, re-orients me to the Truth and to Life and to the way things should be) - I find myself praying:
"God, this was really not the best day in the world. There are so many things about it that I would go back and fix if I could. But I know You are good, and Your timing is perfect, and I will wait on You. I will to wait on You. I choose it. I will do this. I will wait, and I will trust You, and I will be honest and I may yell and rage and tell You exactly what I think, but at the end of the day, Lord, You are GOD and You can do anything You like with me and with this day and with my life. So here it is - and Glory to Thee, my God, this night, for all the blessings of the light - for there are so many, and they are all from You. Forgive me, Lord, for Thy own Son, the ill that I this day have done... I messed it up a lot today; I've messed it up a lot for ages. But You are good, and Your love endures forever. Your mercy knows no bounds. Your grace is sufficient for me. I trust You, Jesus."
Praise Him above angelic host; praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost - for He is worthy to be worshiped and honored and praised and extolled and loved and adored and trusted.
Somehow, it will all work out okay. And I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. So be still, o my soul, be still. Be still, and take heart, and wait for the Lord.
Be still, and take heart, and wait for the Lord.
"God, thank You so much for this day!" (followed by an explanation of why said day was so awesome)
or
"God... (pause) ...this has not been the best day in the world." (followed by an explanation of why, but often followed by:) "BUT...."
and anything could happen then. "BUT - thank You that tomorrow is another day." or "BUT - thanks for being there with me anyway." or "BUT - i know You have a plan for this."
She taught me a lot about prayer. about God. and about being honest with God in prayer.
And tonight, listening to the Tallis Canon for about the 25th time today (because I've needed it that much - this song centers me, re-orients me to the Truth and to Life and to the way things should be) - I find myself praying:
"God, this was really not the best day in the world. There are so many things about it that I would go back and fix if I could. But I know You are good, and Your timing is perfect, and I will wait on You. I will to wait on You. I choose it. I will do this. I will wait, and I will trust You, and I will be honest and I may yell and rage and tell You exactly what I think, but at the end of the day, Lord, You are GOD and You can do anything You like with me and with this day and with my life. So here it is - and Glory to Thee, my God, this night, for all the blessings of the light - for there are so many, and they are all from You. Forgive me, Lord, for Thy own Son, the ill that I this day have done... I messed it up a lot today; I've messed it up a lot for ages. But You are good, and Your love endures forever. Your mercy knows no bounds. Your grace is sufficient for me. I trust You, Jesus."
Praise Him above angelic host; praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost - for He is worthy to be worshiped and honored and praised and extolled and loved and adored and trusted.
Somehow, it will all work out okay. And I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. So be still, o my soul, be still. Be still, and take heart, and wait for the Lord.
Be still, and take heart, and wait for the Lord.
prayer request
it's been a crazy couple of days. my mom is in the hospital. two days ago she was at work, and she just coughed - and her lung collapsed. she was in surgery within hours. the surgery was successful, but she's going to be in the hospital for a few days, and is in a good deal of pain. and my poor mom - she dislikes hospitals even more than i do.
it's been tough to be so far away. my dad and my sister are there with her, but it's my mom, you know? i just want to be there, even if all i can do is sit and read while she's sleeping, and just keep her company while she's awake.
please pray for my mom. it's going to be a few weeks of recovery, and she's usually such an active person. this is going to be - this IS - really hard for her.
thanks.
it's been tough to be so far away. my dad and my sister are there with her, but it's my mom, you know? i just want to be there, even if all i can do is sit and read while she's sleeping, and just keep her company while she's awake.
please pray for my mom. it's going to be a few weeks of recovery, and she's usually such an active person. this is going to be - this IS - really hard for her.
thanks.
meditation for worship and communion on All Saints Day
I had the privilege of teaching last night at worship and communion, and thought I'd share my thoughts with you as well. :)
On the table next to my bed is a collection of things that are very special to me. I half-jokingly refer to it as an altar, because most of the objects on this table are actually icons - objects that, at least for me, point past themselves to God.
There are a lot of things on this little altar, but here are just a few:
There's a birthday card from a friend and mentor. On the inside, he wrote, "God does have a plan for your life, Happy, and it is greater than your dreams." This card came at a time when I really needed to hear that, and he had no idea how timely his words were. And now, every time I see it, I am reminded that it's true - that God's dreams for me are greater than my own, and that His plan is perfect and can be trusted. The card is an icon that leads me into His presence and inspires me to worship Him for who He is: Jehovah Jireh, my Provider.
Another icon that reminds me of God's provision is a car key. My senior year in college, I took a job - the only job I could find - but it was across town, and I had no way to get there. I was telling a friend about my dilemma, and right then and there, he just gave me his car, for the whole year. His generosity reminds me to be that ridiculously generous, and this key reminds me that even when I can't see a way, God always has a plan and will provide exactly what I need.
There's also a nickel - which reminds me of something a man named John Wimber said once. He said, "I am just a nickel in God's pocket, and He can spend me any way He wants to." That quote really hit me the first time I read it - and comes to mind often (usually when I don't want to be spent the way I'm pretty sure God wants to spend me...) The quote reminds me that I belong to Jesus, not to myself, and that acknowledging His sovereignty - His Lordship over my life - is always the best way to live, and that surrendering my life is actually an act of worship. Again, it's an icon, connected to a story that points me to Jesus.
There are a lot of icons that the church has turned to over the years as well: things like the cross, stained glass images of Bible stories, sometimes even actual church buildings... We have to be careful with icons - it can be easy to turn an icon into an idol if we're not careful. How can you tell if you're doing this? The minute an icon becomes more important to us than the One to whom it is supposed to point us, we're in trouble - but icons can actually be very helpful in assisting us, as His word tells us in Psalm 77, to remember the deeds of the Lord.
It occurred to me as I was thinking about communion this weekend that Jesus gave us an incredible gift in this sacrament that we celebrate. This loaf of bread and this cup are icons that point past themselves to Jesus, and remind us of what He's done. We come to the Table, we see these two things, and we instantly remember that we are saved solely by grace through faith in Christ, and not by anything we've ever done.
This is the story: God's word tells us in Matthew 26 that "while they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to His disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."
We know from Scripture, especially passages like 1 Corinthians 11, in which Paul gives instructions to the church as to how to celebrate it rightly, that the church very early on began to celebrate what God had done for them in Christ by eating bread and drinking the cup together. Communion is a centuries-old feast of remembrance, and in coming to this Table tonight, we do, as Paul says, "proclaim the Lord's death until He comes." We remember the amazing grace that was given to us as Jesus went to the cross for OUR sins, and we give thanks. And we come together, as Christians have always done, because this gift was for ALL of us.
So tonight, as you come to the Table, I simply want to encourage you to stop for a moment and remember. This is a serious moment. We come to this Table with great joy and gratitude, but Paul also warns us to come with a proper mindset. He says, "...whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself." (1 Cor. 11:27-29)
So let's take a few minutes to pause and reflect. What is it that Lord has done for us? What has He saved us from? Is there any sin in our hearts that we haven't confessed to Him yet? Let's clear that up now, confess what we need to, and receive His forgiveness where we need it. And then come joyfully, together, each of us as we're ready, to celebrate and remember the mercy and the grace that was given to us through His broken body and shed blood, represented by this loaf of bread and this cup - icons that remind us of a very simple, but very profound truth: God loves us.
In the Reformed church, where I spent a lot of time in college, at this point in the service, they say, "come, for all things are now ready." I love that - because the truth is, Jesus HAS prepared this table for you, in the presence of your enemies, and because of His death and resurrection - surely goodness and mercy WILL follow you, all the days of your life, and you will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
So come, for all things are now ready.
On the table next to my bed is a collection of things that are very special to me. I half-jokingly refer to it as an altar, because most of the objects on this table are actually icons - objects that, at least for me, point past themselves to God.
There are a lot of things on this little altar, but here are just a few:
There's a birthday card from a friend and mentor. On the inside, he wrote, "God does have a plan for your life, Happy, and it is greater than your dreams." This card came at a time when I really needed to hear that, and he had no idea how timely his words were. And now, every time I see it, I am reminded that it's true - that God's dreams for me are greater than my own, and that His plan is perfect and can be trusted. The card is an icon that leads me into His presence and inspires me to worship Him for who He is: Jehovah Jireh, my Provider.
Another icon that reminds me of God's provision is a car key. My senior year in college, I took a job - the only job I could find - but it was across town, and I had no way to get there. I was telling a friend about my dilemma, and right then and there, he just gave me his car, for the whole year. His generosity reminds me to be that ridiculously generous, and this key reminds me that even when I can't see a way, God always has a plan and will provide exactly what I need.
There's also a nickel - which reminds me of something a man named John Wimber said once. He said, "I am just a nickel in God's pocket, and He can spend me any way He wants to." That quote really hit me the first time I read it - and comes to mind often (usually when I don't want to be spent the way I'm pretty sure God wants to spend me...) The quote reminds me that I belong to Jesus, not to myself, and that acknowledging His sovereignty - His Lordship over my life - is always the best way to live, and that surrendering my life is actually an act of worship. Again, it's an icon, connected to a story that points me to Jesus.
There are a lot of icons that the church has turned to over the years as well: things like the cross, stained glass images of Bible stories, sometimes even actual church buildings... We have to be careful with icons - it can be easy to turn an icon into an idol if we're not careful. How can you tell if you're doing this? The minute an icon becomes more important to us than the One to whom it is supposed to point us, we're in trouble - but icons can actually be very helpful in assisting us, as His word tells us in Psalm 77, to remember the deeds of the Lord.
It occurred to me as I was thinking about communion this weekend that Jesus gave us an incredible gift in this sacrament that we celebrate. This loaf of bread and this cup are icons that point past themselves to Jesus, and remind us of what He's done. We come to the Table, we see these two things, and we instantly remember that we are saved solely by grace through faith in Christ, and not by anything we've ever done.
This is the story: God's word tells us in Matthew 26 that "while they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to His disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."
We know from Scripture, especially passages like 1 Corinthians 11, in which Paul gives instructions to the church as to how to celebrate it rightly, that the church very early on began to celebrate what God had done for them in Christ by eating bread and drinking the cup together. Communion is a centuries-old feast of remembrance, and in coming to this Table tonight, we do, as Paul says, "proclaim the Lord's death until He comes." We remember the amazing grace that was given to us as Jesus went to the cross for OUR sins, and we give thanks. And we come together, as Christians have always done, because this gift was for ALL of us.
So tonight, as you come to the Table, I simply want to encourage you to stop for a moment and remember. This is a serious moment. We come to this Table with great joy and gratitude, but Paul also warns us to come with a proper mindset. He says, "...whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself." (1 Cor. 11:27-29)
So let's take a few minutes to pause and reflect. What is it that Lord has done for us? What has He saved us from? Is there any sin in our hearts that we haven't confessed to Him yet? Let's clear that up now, confess what we need to, and receive His forgiveness where we need it. And then come joyfully, together, each of us as we're ready, to celebrate and remember the mercy and the grace that was given to us through His broken body and shed blood, represented by this loaf of bread and this cup - icons that remind us of a very simple, but very profound truth: God loves us.
In the Reformed church, where I spent a lot of time in college, at this point in the service, they say, "come, for all things are now ready." I love that - because the truth is, Jesus HAS prepared this table for you, in the presence of your enemies, and because of His death and resurrection - surely goodness and mercy WILL follow you, all the days of your life, and you will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
So come, for all things are now ready.
rest in peace
A friend of mine died on Monday. It was an automobile accident, late at night, very sudden, very unexpected.
I didn't know him super well, not nearly as well as many of my friends did, but he was a great guy. Shy. Quiet.
Completely in love with the Lord.
And now he's home.
It's a little unreal.
My heart is breaking for the people who knew him best. Who will miss him more than I can imagine missing anyone. Who will need to say Kaddish.
Rest in peace, Rylan. We are so very glad for you that you are home with Him, but you will be greatly missed.
I didn't know him super well, not nearly as well as many of my friends did, but he was a great guy. Shy. Quiet.
Completely in love with the Lord.
And now he's home.
It's a little unreal.
My heart is breaking for the people who knew him best. Who will miss him more than I can imagine missing anyone. Who will need to say Kaddish.
Rest in peace, Rylan. We are so very glad for you that you are home with Him, but you will be greatly missed.
random ramblings, vol. 5
it's been over a year since my last post to the random ramblings series, so here you go: random ramblings, in no particular order of importance (if any).
1) did you know chaos is actually orderly? i'm pretty sure it's true. i read part of an entire book about it for my AP Calculus class in high school. and no, i can't recall a single time i've ever used anything else i learned in AP Calculus. (actually I can't recall much of anything else i learned in that class, either.) but i did retain that random fact, and one other: cauliflower is self-similar. if you don't believe me, go look at a head of cauliflower. every little piece of the cauliflower looks like a miniature version of the larger head of cauliflower.
i am pretty sure i've remembered this mostly because cauliflower is such a cool word. and i have a vague recollection of actually writing an entire philosophy of ministry paper using the self-similarity of cauliflower as a major introductory illustration. i don't remember what i argued or why, but i remember doing it.... if i ever find the paper, i may revisit this random rambling. :)
2) those of you who have been reading my blog for some time will be happy (i hope!) to note that (drum roll, please...): there is no longer a single (basket/ container/ drawer/ bag/ box/ what-have-you) of junk mail anywhere in my flat. (insert cheering noises here.) this has, unfortunately, had a negative impact on my kitchen table. but being as how i have people over every now and again, the pile tends to be eradicated at least once every two weeks, which, as you know, is a drastic improvement over times past. it's the little things in life... :)
3) i am sorry to report that i am once again not making coffee in the mornings. :( i love coffee. i love it dearly. but even decaf is not sitting well these days. sadness. (sniff) but yay for Mayan Chocolate Tea.
4) i am reading a book entitled Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership (How To Become An Effective Leader by Confronting Potential Failures) by Gary L. McIntosh and Samuel D. Rima. (i'm reading it for a book-club-ish type small group.) it's actually not quite as gloom and doom as I feared from the title; lots of very interesting case studies.
but i'm about 3/4 of the way thru, and in the section you might consider "practical application," the authors are discussing the process by which you actually begin to deal with the darker side of your personality. they've gone to great lengths to explain that having a dark side is normal, and that it's just part of being human. now they're trying to take the edge off the fact that actually dealing with it can be (especially when you're starting out) a long and daunting, time-consuming, tough, emotional process - by explaining what the process doesn't entail.
And I quote:
the process does not require you to "utter cathartic screams of inner cleansing."
what does it say that I read that and felt disappointed? lol.
personally, i think sometimes all you need is one great big long cathartic scream of inner cleansing. it may not actually fix anything, but it IS actually somewhat cathartic. (read - it makes you feel better.) ;)
5) i have 22 lbs of apples in my kitchen, just waiting to be made into pies and applesauce. YUM.
6) my third annual road trip with Jesus was awesome. and it was in August. i am sorry i did not take pictures this year, but i will still try to write about it a bit - hopefully this weekend. :)
7) i sat in a chair at a local coffee shop tonight that was labelled (by my friend) as "an epic fail." who knew chairs could fail epically? but this one did. it looked like it was going to be an amazingly comfortable leather chair. the sort you just sink into and don't want to get out of. ever.
it wasn't.
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