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I Don’t Think We Realize He’s Talking to Us….
Devotional Thought of the Day:
20 Listen! I stand at the door and knock; if any hear my voice and open the door, I will come into their house and eat with them, and they will eat with me. Revelation 3:20 (TEV)
“Pray remember what I have recommended to you, which is to think often of God, by day, by night, in your business,and even in your diversions. He is always near you and with you; leave Him not alone…” brother lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God – quote from Celtic Daily Prayer..
Some of us, when we read this passage, visualize a painting of Jesus, standing outside the door, robed in glory, ever hair perfectly in place. The entire walled garden radiating a sense of peace, the originates with Him.
We hear evangelists like Billy Graham, pleading with thousands to just open that door, to let Jesus in, for then their life will be idyllic, clean, and at peace.
Some of us nod our head even, thinking of that, picturing people we would like to see open that door, and let Jesus come in….
Except, that passage is not directed to unbelievers at all. We don’t think of the context, we might know it is in the book of the Revelaiton of Jesus Christ, (no “revelationS”) but we don’t realize that it was part of a letter to a church. TO people just like us, to people who claim to believe, are part of a church, and yet somehow….. are missing out on communing with God – not just daily, but all the time.
This passage isn’t talking about daily quiet times, or a prayer life that is at meals, and before bed. It’s not advocating going on some retreat either, spending time in silence and meditation.
And the time Jesus would spend with us isn’t just the perfect times, when everything is in place. It is the times where our lives are in storms, where we’ve been bruised and battered by sin, the times where we are grieving, and anxious because of the presence of death. And the simple times, as we hug our kids and grandkids, as we watch the superbowl with friends, even as we hum a song that is in our mind, as we go about cleaning our homes, or shoveling snow. He is even in our “nothingness”, those times we have when we are just vegetating, thinking of nothing, just.. there.
The church in Laodecia had forgotten this. They thought they had everything in its right place in life. Work had its place – and it was good, family its place, and they were fine, church had its place, and when it was convenient, they would make it part of their life.
But God is there, patiently waiting, pleading even, wanting to share life with them, with me, with you.
Not just to teach us, and to guide us, not just to clean up our sins, but to laugh with us, to feast with us, to share life – even the nothingness of life with us.
When we remember Jesus is here… it changes everything, The storms, though raging and violent, seem less threatening. Death loses its sting and the grief becomes a ache that is matched by knowing His comfort and finding rest.
And life is as it should be, shared with God… as we go with Him, watching Him redeeming the time.. and those we love (and will come to love)
So walk with God, throughout your days… and know He hears you when you cry, “Lord have mercy”. For He is there…
The World is My… monastery?
Devotional thought of the day:
Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may be innocent and pure as God’s perfect children, who live in a world of corrupt and sinful people. You must shine among them like stars lighting up the sky, as you offer them the message of life. If you do so, I shall have reason to be proud of you on the Day of Christ, because it will show that all my effort and work have not been wasted. Philippians 2:14-16 (TEV)
738 I will never share the opinion—though I respect it—of those who separate prayer from active life, as if they were incompatible. We children of God have to be contemplatives: people who, in the midst of the din of the throng, know how to find silence of soul in a lasting conversation with Our Lord, people who know how to look at him as they look at a Father, as they look at a Friend, whom they love madly. (1)
One of my favorite writers in David Morrell, who weaves tales of intrigue which happen to include a lot of soul searching. Often his heroes flirt with monasticism and the need for sanctuary and refuge.In one of my favorite stories, he starts in a monastery, located in one of my favorite places in the world – the mountainous forests of New England. The monks live separately from each other, in three room cells – a work room, a bedroom, and a small prayer room in between. Part of me craves that kind of life, only to come out of my cell for worship and communal prayer.
My work room would be musical and a library, my time spent writing, and dare I dream, composing music on guitar. Solitude, peace, quiet, . If you know me well, you are porbably thinking that I would never stand it, the extrovert I am would be driven nuts in a place like that. No electronics, no interaction with others? Are you really kidding Dustin?
No, I would fill the time with music and plunging the depths of writers that it takes that kind of solitude to comprehend. Pascal, Chesterton, Luther, Augustine, the Shepherd of Hermas, Douglas Adams. ( I could keep going…) To just play my guitar without thought of time, but focusing on playing to God.
I would love it – even as I realize it would take a week or two to get used to it. Our need for refuge, for sanctuary seems to be growing exponentially, even as we face information overload, even as our lives become complicated by gadget, even controlled by them. Even as communciation and agendas and pressures overwhelm and confuse us.
Unfortunately, that is not my reality. It is not my call. I live in the “real” world. And I thrive in helping people – especially helping them know God’s love.
So the question becomes… can I make the world my monastery? Can i live life in such a way that it is my monastic workroom? Where I invest myself, as I would in music, or in reading/comprehending, but with people? Can I see these things as sacred and holy as spending time on my knees. I am not like Luther, who saw little value in monstacism, I see a great benefit to the monastic lifestyle – but can we live our lives with such intent, with the peace that is found in such sanctuaries in the real world? Can we live, shining like stars, reflecting the glory and love of God in the midst of the darkness, the chaos, the stress?
That is one of the reason I would love to sit down with Josemaria, for 40 and 50 years ago, he seemed to be able to accomplish this. Surely he had his struggles, he freely admitted them in his writings. But somehow, from many different accounts, he was able to see the world as one complete work of God – that it was in the midst of the anxiety and stress where we shine brightest, where we can find the stillness of the soul, and the presence of God.
The world is my monastery? Yeah – it is, when I am in coversation with God while in the middle of it all.
It is my sanctuary – when I realize I live in Him in it.
God’s peace is with us….an amazing, undescribable peace….
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 2671-2675). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
To what extend do we sacrfice for others? And for what purpose?
English: Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Devotional Thought of the Day:
16 This is how we know what love is: Christ gave his life for us. We too, then, ought to give our lives for others! 1 John 3:16 (TEV)
“there comes a time when you have to stop crossing oceans for people who wouldn’t even jump a puddle for you…”
“But then I realize there is never going to be a day when I stand before God and He looks at me and says, ‘I wish you would have kept more for yourself.’ I’m confident that God will take care of me.” -David Platt
The above two quotes in black were on my facebook news feed this morning, one above the other. They contrast they set was incredible, as they look at relationships from different perspectives.
The first, while it is willing to make sacrifices, demands a “give and take” to a relationship. That if I am to pour my love, my sacrifice, my all into a relationship, then I should be able to expect something in return. If there isn’t some return, then the relationship should be tossed aside and no more put into it. It may not be demanding much, but it still demands, it still expects and it still will be disappointed, for such investments rarely pay off quickly, and sometime, never directly to the person who invested their all.
The second take a different tack, reminding us that the meaning of life isn’t found in our personal gain, our being valued. It puts faith in the result of our investing our lives in the hands of God, not the hearts of others. It assumes that we might wonder whether this is all “worth it”. It makes clear that suffering or denying ourselves so that others will benefit is the norm of life, for the norm of life is Christ.
This means using God given wisdom of course, knowing how to sacrifice that people will benefit, but it doesn’t mean that part of that calculation is our own pleasure, our own “fulfilment”. It assumes that fulfillment is found with Christ, on the cross, giving Himself for us, as John’s passage tells us, even as it encourages us to give our lives for others. This sacrifice is for the same reason as Jesus’s – that they may know the love of God.
Don’t hesitate to live your life in ways investing God’s love into others. Be there for them, encourage them, love them. As Paul also wrote:
1 Your life in Christ makes you strong, and his love comforts you. You have fellowship with the Spirit, and you have kindness and compassion for one another. 2 I urge you, then, to make me completely happy by having the same thoughts, sharing the same love, and being one in soul and mind. 3 Don’t do anything from selfish ambition or from a cheap desire to boast, but be humble toward one another, always considering others better than yourselves. 4 And look out for one another’s interests, not just for your own. 5 The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had: Philippians 2:1-5 (TEV)
Lord have mercy on us, and help us to love those you have brought into our lives. AMEN!
Advent Devotion: Convenient, Comfortable Christianity? Hmmm…
William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) – The Flagellation of Our Lord Jesus Christ (1880) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Devotional Thought of the Day:
But when the Son of man comes, will he find any faith on earth? Luke 18:8b (NJB)
57 As they travelled along they met a man on the road who said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ 58 Jesus answered, ‘Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.’ 59 Another to whom he said, ‘Follow me,’ replied, ‘Let me go and bury my father first.’ 60 But he answered, ‘Leave the dead to bury their dead; your duty is to go and spread the news of the kingdom of God.’ 61 Another said, ‘I will follow you, sir, but first let me go and say good-bye to my people at home.’ 62 Jesus said to him, ‘Once the hand is laid on the plough, no one who looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’Luke 9:57-62 (NJB)
650 When will you realise that your only possible way is to seek sanctity seriously. Make up your mind—don’t be offended—to take God seriously. That levity of yours, if you do not fight against it, could end up by becoming a sad and blasphemous mockery. (1)
Yesterday we began Advent, that time of year where we build expectation of Christ’s return, as we consider life prior to the Incarnation.
It is hard to look back, without considering the voices of the prophets, and their call on the people of God to take their relationship with God seriously. Their reminders that we have a relationship with God who has made it possible, and that we should neglect that relationship.
Yet too often we do.
Advent seeks to shake us from that – to prepare us for Christ’s coming – not just the 6 lbs 8 oz Baby Lord Jesus, lieing in a smelly feeding trough, but the returning Lord who gave it all, for us.
It’s a startling image in this day where peopel are put out if they are asked to pay more in taxes, or meet the expecations others place on their time and their lives. We want to be served instantly, we want it our way, we want things to be convenient, and comfortable, with no sacrifice and no cost.
We hear that salvation is free, that God paid all the cost for our sins, with Christ dieing on the cross, and we rejoice. We focus on that part of the message of God. We love it, rejoice in it, willing share that part with others.
But we don’t want the inconvenience of being in a relationship with God. It might be uncomfortable, He might ask us to sacrifice something, to downscale our lives in order to help others. He might ask us to spend time with Him, and with those people at church that aren’t like us. He may ask some of us even to suffer for the faith, and how many of us are really willing to do that?
SO the prophetic question is asked – do you trust God? Are you willing to trust Him, even if it seems to mean some personal cost? What if it means giving up a personal dream, or embracing discomfort? What if it means being alienated from family? What if it means our friends turn their back on us, because we won’t be there when they want us to be, because of our commitments to serve others, especially those others they might consider “less deserving”? Will you trust God, when it costs you a little of what it cost Jesus, the shame He embraced on the cross? Are you willing to trust Him enough that you would embrace suffering, if it meant one more person would know Christ?
Remember why – it was for the joy awaiting Him, the joy of sharing His glory with you! The joy of bringing you into the glory and love that is shared between this Triune God we worship.
Is your trust in Him, your love for Him enough to embrace a inconvenient, uncomfortable messy way of life?
Look beyond the manger, and the shining stars and “cute” depictions of the birth of Christ. Look at the rejections He endured, Look at the cross He bore, and the investment He’s made, promising you the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. KNow His faithfulness, His trustworthiness, His love and mercy….
and embrace a life of faith and trust…. knowing that no other life is worth living.
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 2728-2731). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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A New (Church) Year’s Challenge to Pastors, Priests, Liturgists, and Worship Leaders….
Devotional/Pragmatic THeological Thoguht of the Day:
18 “But can you, O God, really live on earth among men and women? Not even all of heaven is large enough to hold you, so how can this Temple that I have built be large enough? 19 LORD my God, I am your servant. Listen to my prayer and grant the requests I make to you. 20 Watch over this Temple day and night. You have promised that this is where you will be worshiped, so hear me when I face this Temple and pray. 21 Hear my prayers and the prayers of your people Israel when they face this place and pray. In your home in heaven hear us and forgive us. 2 Chronicles 6:18-21 (TEV)
32 “When foreigners who live in a distant land hear how great and powerful you are and how you are always ready to act, and then they come to pray at this Temple, 33 listen to their prayers. In heaven, where you live, hear them and do what they ask you to do, so that all the peoples of the world may know you and obey you, as your people Israel do. Then they will know that this Temple I have built is where you are to be worshiped. 2 Chronicles 6:32-33 (TEV)
658 We should make no mistake… God is no shadowy or distant being who created us then abandoned us; nor is he a master who goes away and does not return. Though we do not perceive him with our senses, his existence is far more true than any of the realities which we touch and see. God is here with us, really present, living. He sees and hears us, He guides us, and knows our smallest deeds, our most hidden intentions. We believe this—but we live as if God did not exist. For we do not have a thought or a word for him; for we do not obey him, nor try to control our passions; for we do not show that we love him, and we do not atone… Are we going to continue living with a dead faith”? (1)
“After all, the chief purpose of all ceremonies is to teach the people what they need to know about Christ.” (2)
Tomorrow we start a new year in the church. I would ask that for a moment, like “secular” new years, we think about our lives as those who facilitate the worship of the people of God. (Both those who know they are, and those who will come to know they are in this year)
Tomorrow is also the first Sunday of Advent or the Parousia, that season we spend trying to understand the desire of the peope of God for the Messiah to come, for the promises to be fulfilled, for God to dwell among us. We do this, so that we too can desire God’s presence and His return. That is why the ancient church cried out “Maranatha!” the cry of Come Lord Jesus!
There are days, especially in this last year, where I admit I was crying this out for the wrong reason, And perhaps, leading my people to cry this out for the wrong reason as well.
You see, I cried it out because things were rough, because I was in mourning, or in despair. Where I wanted the suffering of people around me to end, Not that we would die, but that we would be rescued from this place, and brought into the presence of God in Heaven, where there is no more sorrow, no more tears, no more cancer, no more death. I wanted us all to be rescued from this life, and brought into the joy, the glory, the peace of God that we shall know for eternity. We have endured a lot these last few years…have had to minister to each other, with seemingly no break. We need rest and healing and a time to breath in deeply, and know the message of Christmas, that God is with us.
Something we already know… sort of.
And that is where the challenge for this New Church Year is going to be found.
Making the experience people have when they come to our churches have be one where they are sure Christ is with them.
Where it’s not about us, where we don’t go through the motions, where we don’t block people’s reception of God’s presence because of our poor-formance (misspelling intentional)
Look at the readings from the Dedication of Solomon’s temple above, there is an assurance in Solomon’s words that they are in the very presence of God. All of Israel, gathered there, assured of His love and that nothing can spearate them from His love. That strangers, people who don’t even know who God is except for his title, would be able to come and know that this place, this altar, where we stand, is where God has gathered them as well.
For the sake of our people – this article isn’t about worship styles, traditional Liturgy, or contemporary. It’s about us, you and I, and how we approach this blessed time we share with the people of God. The time were our voices, our body language, our intimate reverence and joy betray to our people that we KNOW we are in the presence of God the Creator, That He is here. I would desires that our readings are filled with awe, realizing that this is what God has thought through and inspired so His love is revealed to His people. That the readings are also clear, and done in a language and manner that doesn’t require a dictionary to understand. That our prayers, whether pre-written or from the heart, assist them in laying every burden down at His feet, entrusting them to Him, as He desires. That every spoken word be such that thy know this is something we do, but something that is our life. That our music and the way it is played isn’t about leaving them in awe of our talents and voices, but lead them voicing their awe at the God who loves them so much, that for the joy of revealing this to them, endured the cross and all its sufferings. The God that welcomes them and draws them to Him, broken, sinful, needy, that He might heal and comfort, cleanse and encourage.
That every person, whether life-long church goer, or first time guest of God, encounter Christ.
That’s what our ceremonies are designed to teach, whether liturgical or common, whether accompanied by majestic pipe organs, or simple strings, or even acapella.
That’s what makes the difference in our lives, in the expression of our trust in God.
KNowing He is here.
Desiring Christ’s last return, not just to escape the pains of this world.. but because we will see Him, the God who loves us, face to face. That the glory we now see hints of, as we see one baptized, or receive Christ’s Body and Blood, as we see the prodigal welcomed home, and the joy of all in celebrating it, that we would see that joy, that glory in its fullness.
In His presence.
So here is the challenge, as you enter the church tomorrow. Breathe deeply, let your nerves calm down, your burdens be dropped, His joy lift you high. For we dwell, as Solomon did that day, in the very presence of God.
The God who has had mercy on us, who has come to us, and in whose presence we live.
Then, as our people see this, may they know and be assured that and rejoice they dwell in Christ as well!
AMEN
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 2759-2766). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.(1)
(2) Tappert, T. G. (Ed.). (1959). The Book of Concord the confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. The Augsburg Confession. Article XXIV (p. 56) . Philadelphia: Mühlenberg Press.
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“We’ll get together then, God. You know we’ll have a good time then!
Devotional Thought of the Day:
8 “Observe the Sabbath and keep it holy. 9 You have six days in which to do your work, 10 but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to me. On that day no one is to work—neither you, your children, your slaves, your animals, nor the foreigners who live in your country. Exodus 20:8-10 (TEV)
552 It would be bad if you were to waste your time, which is not yours but God’s and is meant for His glory. But if on top of that you make others waste it, you both diminish your own standing and defraud God of more of the glory you owe Him. (1)
There is a song that was once a faovrite of mine, perhaps not so much these days because of the reality of it in life.
Written by Harry Chapin, it tells the story of a dad and his son, who thought they would desire to spend tie together, don’t. Life and work gets in the way. And the father who said, “not today”, in his old age hears the same phrase back, “not today”. It looks forward to the day when “we’ll get together then, you know we’ll have a
Verities & Balderdash (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
good time, then”
In this life, there will be no more “then’s” for me and my dad, there will be them for my son, and trying to keep that all in balance with the demands of being a servant to the people of God is a challenge. There are those that say the pastor’s family must always come first. A noble idea, but an impossibility, if we take our ordination vows seriously. There are those who use those same vows as an escape from the family, mismanaging their time. There has to be wisdom, and yes sacrifice. And in even in that balance, there will be pain to be born. Someone will have to hear “then”, and it will hurt to hear it, and hurt to say it.
This blog isn’t about those “then’s”, but rather the one’s we say to God.
God, I’m running late this morning – I’ll spend time with you later.
God, there’s a family event, I need to be at. I’ll be at church next week.
God, we’ll have a good time together, “then”!
The tragedy is great, this neglecting of relationship. Not just for us, even as we so need God’s presence in our lives. For life is a challenge, there are hurts and betrayals, sins and disasters, and we often need his comfort. Hard as it is to imagine, our neglect of our relationship with God is hard for God as well. You see it in God’s word’s to Hosea, as God explains the hurt as Israel prostitutes herself to false idols. You hear it in Jesus voice, as he cries over Jerusalem, explaining how he longed to comfort them as a mother hen comforts and protects her children. That’s the idea of a relationship – to spend time together, and the time lost… is time where love isn’t expressed, time where we drift apart.
There is another line in the song, the words of the song where the son says, “I’m gonna be just like you dad…”
And I pray, that with God, that line is true. That we will look to our Abba Father in Heaven, and we will grow up to love Him in the way He loves us. That we will appreciate our time with Him, the way He desires to spend it with us.
Not just in heaven,but now. Hear His promises,
“You will be my people, and I will be your God. Ezekiel 36:28 (TEV)
“and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20 (TEV)
“Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and who was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourselves but to God; “ 1 Corinthians 6:19 (TEV)
Writing about our time with God is hard, because no matter how hard I try, it sounds like law, it sounds like, well discipline. I still struggle with calling prayer and bible study and such benefits -spiritual discipines – because that makes it sound like tasks and obligations, rather than the good time we have, when we understand that God is here… that God is with us. But how we encourage each other to live aware of His presence, aware of His love and comfort, of His guidance. I Know that’s how Escriva’s words sound at first, yet I also realize that they come from a person who knows God’s presence, and knows how desperately we need to remain aware of His presence. Yeah – it’s that powerful, that life changing. That everything.
Prayer not just as a formal matter, but as our time with our Dad… where we admit that He’s gotta handle the things which we can’t, where we rejoice as He fixes and heals, as He shares with us His work in recreating this world. As He brings us together to encourage each other, to celebrate His love. To realize that this God did come to us, and is here with us… even this very moment.
Such is the nature of this joy, that we need to realize what it’s cost us to overlook it. Like Harry Chapin’s song is supposed to help us dad’s, and our sons.
Lord, have mercy on us, and help us to grow up just like Jesus.
.
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 2370-2372). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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Monday and The Priorities of Work
Devotional Thought for a Monday:
23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. 24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. 25 But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.) 26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. Romans 8:23-27 (NLT)
449 Prayer, more prayer! It may seem odd to say that now when you are taking examinations and working harder… But you need prayer, and not only the habitual prayer as an exercise of devotion; you also need to pray during odd moments, to pray between times, instead of allowing your mind to wander on silly things. It does not matter if, in spite of your effort, you do not manage to concentrate and be recollected. That meditation may be of greater value than the one you made, with all ease, in the oratory. (and oratory is like a chapel or small church that is for a specific group)
450 Here is an effective custom for achieving presence of God: your first audience every day should be with Jesus Christ. (1)
It’s a Monday, and I got to the office nearly 2 hours ago. There was a situation or two (I hate to use the term emergency) that had to be dealt with, there is a call I need to make this afternoon, a friend starting checmotherapy.
I am tempted to put aside my devotional time, and my prayer time, and get craking on my studying the passage for next Sunday’s sermon. I have to have all the research done by 6:30 tonight, to share with the group of guys who study it together, to prepare to pray for another week in the pulpit. My heart sceams not to overlook this time of devotiona and prayer, for then my research will be dry, done as a matter of duty, not as a matter of loving God’s revelation to us, the revealtion of His love. I need to spend this time thinking of He and I, of laying burdens down, of spending a few moments, completely aware of God’s presence.
Yet my mind urdes me onto the tasks of the day.
I think that if this is my struggle, it must be your struggle as well. Heck I work with the word of God and forget I work in His Presence. How much more so for those of you who sit behind desks looking at paperwork or terminals, or those of you serving others in industry. Or those of you in class, or in a doctor’s office. How can you “afford” to take the time to spend a large amount of time on this? Do you neglect what you are paid for? I realize we must take time for Jesus, to revel and rest in His presence, but how when the times are so minimal?
We rely on God… we pray what we can – we lay our heart before Him and we trust in His faithfulness, in His love, in the promise of the Holy Spirit fulfilling what we are unable to come up for the words to describe. Romans tells of this, and we count on His promise, His presence, and in doing so, we might find ourselves more refreshed than when we spend great lengths of time in His presence serving Him in prayer and study. (Please do not use that as an excuse for not spending appointed times in prayer! ) But there is something special, when throughout our day, as we work at being our best,, for us to hold a running conversation with Him, to lay before Him our burdens, and our work, and to realize we do it, strengthened by God.
So make your prioirities, set your days in order… but remember the first priority that each priority is part of, to realize God’s presence with you, through every part of every day.
AMEN
Text of “Our Father” prayer with Trinity in central column (God the Father, dove of the Holy Spirit, Jesus) and Biblical and symbolic scenes in left and right columns. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1998-1999). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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Have you been neglecting yourself?
Jesus in Pray (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Devotional thought of the day::
In God alone there is rest for my soul, from him comes my safety; 2 he alone is my rock, my safety, my stronghold so that I stand unshaken.Psalm 62:1-2 (NJB)
448 You haven’t been praying? Why, because you haven’t had time? But you do have time. Furthermore, what sort of works will you be able to do if you have not meditated on them in the presence of the Lord, so as to put them in order? Without that conversation with God, how can you finish your daily work with perfection? Look, it is as if you claimed you had no time to study because you were too busy giving lessons… Without study you cannot teach well. Prayer has to come before everything. If you do not understand this and put it into practice, don’t tell me that you have no time: it’s simply that you do not want to pray!
In our society today, many of us have become expert at neglecting ourselves. About not fulfilling who we are.
We surround ourselves with things, that help us believe that we are living the good life. A home, a nice car, for me – if not the latest tech-toy then at least some powerfully fun ones. We lose ourselves in television series ( Personally I like “Blacklist” and “reality shows” (anyone hear been recently abadoned on a desert island or locked in a home with 15 strangers, or asked to stand and perform on a stage in front of thousands – Reality?) We have our careers, our degrees, even those sacrifices we make for others, and willingly let people acknowledge them. We don’t mind others knowing that we are martyrs, sacrificing our fulfillment in order to help others gain their dreams.
Even then the accolades will soon sound hollow, for our treasure has been revealled to be empty, and we realize how much we neglect ourselves.
With all the things we do, with our physical and psychological coaches, with self help books and seminars to become the best in our field, with lives everyone else might consider succesful, we find ourselves neglected, wweary, worn…
Why?
Simple, because we do not take time, never mind enough time, to sit and talk to God. To sit and rest in His presence, allowing Him to talk to us, to meditate on His love, to hand over to him every burden we have. Do we talk over our work, our home life, our free time, our decisions with God, or does He not have any input into them?
How often do we pray? Is it both “scheduled” (helping us to realize He is importnat enough to have a time in our schedules) and random/extemporaneous? Is our realtionship with Him a part of our life, or is it our life?
Most of us know the right responses to the questions above, but are our answers reflective of our life?
I get the feeling I am not going to like this chapter of St. Josemaria’s “the Furrow”. I am not going to lie looking myself in the face and realizing how much I neglect myself, by not spending time with God.
I am also sure I need, maybe even desperately need to encounter Christ more each day than I presently do.
Would you pray I would? Would you pray you will as well?
Let’s stop neglecting ourselves by neglecting God… but I pray we encounter Him more and more fully, and may we know the depth of His love. AMEN.
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1986-1991). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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The Heart of Theology & the Heart of Ministry is the Heart of Christ
IMG_6335 (Photo credit: Light from Light)
Devotional/Discussion Thought of the Day:
11 Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel? Ezekiel 33:11 (ESV)
210 At times, seeing those souls asleep, one feels an enormous desire to shout at them, to make them take notice, to wake them up from that terrible torpor they have fallen into. It is so sad to see them walk like a blind man hitting out with his stick, without finding the way! I can well understand how the tears of Jesus over Jerusalem sprang from his perfect charity. (1)
The purpose of observing ceremonies is that men may learn the Scriptures and that those who have been touched by the Word may receive faith and fear (awe) and so may also pray. (2)
One of the reasons I am a Lutheran pastor, one of the reasons I love our confessions is the same reason I often am found quoting a Catholic priest/saint named Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei. ( It is also the reason I am indebted to my non-denom Bible College professors, especially Doug Dickey and Rodney Vliet, and my fellow alum and now professor Chris G.
For all of the above, and some others in life, there is no division between pastoral practice – how we minister and equip others for ministry, and the depth of our theology. It’s not the academics against the pragmatics, the “confessionals” versus the “church growthers”. And while the theology differs a bit at times, there is a…. holistic approach that requires that we realize the harmony between doctrine and practice. The pastor/priest or whatever form of ministry (professor,teacher,deacon, director of ministry) cannot divide his day by saying, from 8-9 I will pray, from 9-11 I will do theology, from 1-5 I will fulfill my pastoral duties and ministry obligations, and from 7-10 I will do church growth. It is one constant movement, one constant life.
Otherwise, I would contend, if you think our lives can be divided like this, you have done none of the above, but have simply whistled into the wind. The Lutheran doctrine of vocation, and Escriva’s teaching on the apostolate doesn’t work this way. For both find their beginning point – and entire existence, in one place.
As this blog is titled – “the heart of theology and the heart of ministry is the Heart of Christ”.
Our theology finds itself created, not in books and seminary or catechetical courses, but in our baptism, at the point where God transforms us, begins to conform our mind to that of Christ. As we are united to the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, theology begins, ministry starts. (yes even as a baby is baptized!) For as the Holy Spirit takes up residence in us, as the word begins to germinate in us, quickening life, we become theologians, we become ministers, servants of the word.
And it is the sacred heart of Christ which replaces our cold, stone hearts (see Ezekiel 36) and we begin to see the world as Christ does. The more we see Christ’s heart and desire to be with us, the more we comprehend the depth of the Father’s love, the more we realize that our masses, our Bible studies, our retreats serve not to just impart doctrine – but to lead us to pray, to lead us to worship, to lead us to interact with God as He shares His glory with us as we dwell in His presence.
Ministry and Theology have to find their essence there, in the heart of God.
Otherwise – you can find blog after blog of theologians claiming programs aren’t based in the faith, and pastors who call their seminary experience their death, and their seminaries nothing more than cemeteries. They both have a point – and the point is the same…..
Without being found and nurtured and developed within the heart of Christ – they aren’t theology and ministry, they are academics and business practices.
But when those very same things are baptised, when they are united with the heart and mind of our benevolent, caring Master Jesus…. when we look at those struggling without Christ as St. Josemaria describes them, as we wolf down theology that shows the glory of God’s work in us, then it is theology, it is ministry, it is one….
for we are one…in Christ.
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1086-1089). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
(2) Tappert, T. G. (Ed.). (1959). The Book of Concord the confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. (p. 250). Philadelphia: Mühlenberg Press.
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Is your life of faith a struggle? Yes? Great!!!!!!
Devotional/Discussion thought of the Day…..
WARNING – THIS BLOG WILL BE SOMEWHAT BRUTALLY HONEST AND CAUSTIC
12 I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. 13 Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. 14 I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back. 15 So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you’ll see it yet! 16 Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it. Philippians 3:12-16 (MSG)
Another paradox of the spiritual way: the soul which has less need to reform its behaviour struggles harder to do so, and does not stop until it has succeeded. And the contrary is also true. (1)
Back in the 1980’s, there was a saying, “life’s a bitch, and then you die….” There are days I think we said things like that.. and were a bunch of whiney little brats. There are other days, where looking at the pains of life, whether physical or emotional or spiritual, and the saying is dead on accurate.
Life isn’t always easy. The life of faith, living each day trusting in God’s promises, isn’t easier. If anything, it takes more courage, more strength of character, more trust, not blind trust, but committed trust to promises that can only be known within our heart and soul. You see, our mind will tell us, over and over again, that such trust is based in nothing, that there is no tangible evidence for it. People will mock you for it, and there will be days so trying of our faith, that we won’t know which way to turn.
And yet, a life lived in faith is more determined to prevail. We struggle harder, we search harder, we do not stop or give up. Even when we are crushed, beaten, depressed, wiped out, when nothing makes sense. When we battle against sin, our sin, “their” sin, the damage caused by centuries and millennia of people just like us. Somehow, no not somehow, because of the trust God has given us, because He has revealed Himself to us, we endure. We realize that there is something more that what we struggle with, that there is more strength that we have been given, that every challenge is not so much a challenge to overcome, but a challenge to trust.
And so we do.
A friend’s dad was often mocked as a proponent of positive thinking. He wasn’t the kind of pastor who proclaimed that if we believe we’ll be rich, we will be, not the name it claim it type of positive thinking. But instead the kind of positive thinking shown in Paul’s epistle above – that we can strive, that we can keep going, that in the toughest times, God’s presence brings us toughness. That the scars that we carry, are used by God to cause in us growth, such growth that is remarkable. Not because we are tougher, but because we are more aware of His presence in our life. You see, we have no option but Jesus, we have no comfort but His presence.
And yes we struggle – hard. Even as Paul notes that Christ has already reached out, saved and secured us… we still have to struggle with what that means. Even as life is painful. Even as we see people struggle financially, losing jobs, not having enough money to pay bills. Even as we see others deal with family crises. Even as we see people deal with heart disease or cancer, with memory issues or just getting old. As we see people struggle with the fact that they are in bondage to sin… or they try to ignore that fact, because of the grip that sin has on them. And so we wait and pray, and pray, and attempt here and there to help them realize their sin, that they may realize the blessing of God’s mercy.
As St. Josemarie says – the more we know these things – the more we mature in our faith and yes, in our battle against sin, the harder it comes….
Greater as well though grows the strength and desire to push on, to lay ahold of these truths, to trust in the Lord who has grasped us. Our effort redoubles, our desire begins to conform to His.
For our trust in Him grows… each and every time we see His hand at work.
We don’t find life easier, we don’t find it simpler… but we don’t need to… for we know He will bring us through all things…
Of that we can be positive. Our positive thinking has nothing to do with us… and everything to do with Him.
So is life a struggle? Is trusting in Jesus challenging? That’s okay… the struggle is worth far more… than the lack of struggling could be…
Oh and btw – the “die” in the phrase that started this blog? Have you considered what comes after our death? Exactly what is promised to us when we died spiritually in our baptism into Christ. The difference is we shall see Him face to face!
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 858-860). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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