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Do We Desire Christ’s Presence in our Lives? Does it Show?
Devotional Comment of the Day:
1 One night as I lay in bed, I yearned for my lover. I yearned for him, but he did not come. 2 So I said to myself, “I will get up and roam the city, searching in all its streets and squares. I will search for the one I love.” So I searched everywhere but did not find him. 3 The watchmen stopped me as they made their rounds, and I asked, “Have you seen the one I love?” 4 Then scarcely had I left them when I found my love! I caught and held him tightly. Song of Songs 3:1-4 (NLT)
“1030 My God, when will I love you for yourself? Although when we think about it, Lord, to desire an everlasting reward is to desire you, for you give yourself as our reward.
1031 Taste and see that the Lord is good, the Psalmist says. Spiritual conquest, which is Love, has to be—in big things and small—a desire for the Infinite, for eternity”.(1)
If you gather ten average men together, they will talk about the desires they have for their baseball or football teams. They will do so with great energy, with a competitive fever, and with an incredible level of enthusiasm. You will have great trouble changing the subject. A similar group of men will wax eloquent about their cars, and the experience driving them, or the cars they dream of driving. ( My preference – just one of two cars from 1970-71 – the Triumph Spitfire or Datsun 240z)
But change the subject and ask them to talk about the passion and admiration they have for their wives, how thye adore them and value them, and they clam up. ABout the only thing they will discuss with less emotion is their faith.
And that is a problem.
A serious problem.
There are even books out there advising pastors to not talk about God and our relationship with Him, for it will drive men away. Tenderness, compassion, caring, deep love, these are words that we are told we cannot continue to use, for men will turn off their minds, and stop listening to the sermon, or the lesson. Talk about the logic of Christianity, the proofs of it, heavy theology fine. Create systems and programs and methods for growing the church? Fine. Desire for Christ’s presence? Nope. Christ’s passion and compassion for people? Never! Spend an hour weeping and praying over the brokenness of our communities, begging God to show us how to intervene? You have to be kidding.
It is it any wonder that we’ve ripped the heart out of the church, that we our passion for the lost, the hurting, the broken has all but dried up? That our church’s have developed into houses of reason, that the “approved music” by denominations is complex and majestic and too dang hard for the average person to sing and praise their God with? We’ve taught people that they can’t trust their emotions, forgetting that in Christ, those emotions have been cleansed, that in baptism the heart of stone has been replaced by a heart of flesh. Desire for God is dismissed, too pietistic, too emotional, and those things don’t belong in church, we are told.
Is it any wonder our churches are dying?
The above quote in red is from the Song of Solomon, and ancient commentators thought of it as an appropriate description of the emotinal bond between Christ and His Beloved, the people that are gathered as the church. The desire there described would blow past any limitations in order to see, to be with, to know (not just “biblically”) the Beloved. And the beloved responds in a similar manner. Desire, longing, and emptiness when the presence of the loved one isn’t there. Other theologians have said it can’t be, and I wonder if it is less because of the physically intimate talk, or because of the transparent desire for the presence of God.
St Josemaria didn’t hesitate in describing such love, neither writers like C.S. Lewis (read Till We Have Faces) and Gene Edwards or George McDonald, philosophers like Pascal, pastors like Luther and Wesley. Songs like Amazing Grace and It is Well and A Mighty Fortress in their completeness describe this desire, this longing, this adoration of God, and of His desire to make His presence clear in our lives, as He does throughout all of scripture!
“I will be your God, and you will be My people! (Leviticus 6:12 and many more places!)
God desires a relationship with us, He desires to pour out His love upon us, that is what salvation is all about. A God passionate for His people. A God who would do more than move heaven and earth for His people, a God who would prove out His love by sacrificing His Son.
Yeah – that’s intimidating, but also so incredible, so overwhelming,
And it is a treasure that we can share, for as we come to know His desire for us, we realize it is a desire for the world, and for our family, neighbors and friends.
HIs desire for us, even before we cry, “Lord have mercy”, is an answer to that cry…
May we respond to His desire for us, with a growing desire to spend our lives in His presence, and exhausting ourselves in that which pleases Him.
AMEN
(1)Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 3643-3647). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
How Can We Love Those Trapped in Darkness?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
19 So I gave orders for the city gates to be shut at the beginning of every Sabbath, as soon as evening began to fall, and not to be opened again until the Sabbath was over. I stationed some of my men at the gates to make sure that nothing was brought into the city on the Sabbath. 20 Once or twice merchants who sold all kinds of goods spent Friday night outside the city walls. 21 I warned them, “It’s no use waiting out there for morning to come. If you try this again, I’ll use force on you.” From then on they did not come back on the Sabbath. 22 I ordered the Levites to purify themselves and to go and guard the gates to make sure that the Sabbath was kept holy. Remember me, O God, for this also, and spare me because of your great love.Nehemiah 13:19-22 (TEV)
Every single day, do what you can to know God better, to get acquainted with him, to fall more in love with him each moment, and to think of nothing but of his Love and his glory. You will carry out this plan, my child, if you never, for any reason whatever, give up your times of prayer, your presence of God, with the aspirations and spiritual communions that set you on fire, your unhurried Holy Mass, and your work, finished off well for him. (1)
Through the darkness of sin, Your love reached out to me! The cost of it all, You bore there on that tree! For nothing could stop You declaring us Clean! Conquered sin, Rose again, now eternail You reign, and so we praise you! (2)
Yesterday I wrote about the church Militant, that Christian soldiers aren’t marching off to war with sinners, but to liberate those who are oppressed and in bondage to sin. That are so caught in darkness, that they sturggle to hold on to it, for that is all they know. We mistake that struggle, far too often, as an attack on us. It is so like the classic lifeguard interaction with a drowning person. The drowning person strikes out in desperation, and if the lifeguard isn’t careful, the drowning person will take them both under. It takes skill and patience and wisdom to save someone who is drowning. To know when and where to move, but also to know that these hits are not an attack – but even more a sign of their desperation.
As the lifeguard is sent to save the drowning preson, so too we are sent by Christ to bring His love, His mercy, His peace to those who need to be freed from sin. To those whose darkness needs to be shattered.by the light of Christ. They to thrash and strike out – and far too often, we respond, not with the patience and care to save them, but as if they are spoiling for a fight – and we are ready. We take their struggle to survive – which they cannot on their own – as an attack on Jesus, or the church or us.
In the meantime, they are dying… the people we’ve been sent to bring salvation to, the people we’ve been sent to reflect Christ’s glory and love to…..
You might be wondering what this all has to do with the reading from scripture, from the book of Nehemiah. And with St. Josemaria’s words.
Call it a lesson in Life-guarding, a lesson in how to deal with those who we think are attacking us, but are really floundering in life. For if we “go to battle” them, what will happen is that we will founder as well. We will take our eyes off of salvation if we go to battle.
When what we need to see instead, is these people the way the God does – the way oen who would save them and bring them life abundant does, the way the One who died because He loved them does.
That my friends, can only happen, the more time we speand rejoicing in His presence, the more time we realize we live in Him, and He is us. The more we are transformed into His image (see 2 Cor. 3:16) Then we see His heart – the depth of His love for us – and we will begin to realize that “us” is more than just ourselves – and our friends at church – but us is all people – all ethnicities, all languages, and.. eventually – even those that are out there – itting away at those who would try to bring them back to life, back to standing on solid ground, back into the presence of God.
Where they belong.
Where we would stand against that which would keep people from God, that which would rob them of their time, resting in His presence. That’s one of the roles of the Levites – the servant priests of God. To try to guard the precious time people have with God. That they can know Him more and more – that they can just enjoy His presence, His love, that they can celebrate His mercy, His healing. The more we, those who minister, those who serve and shepherd, see what happens as our people do this, the more we treasure its impact on them, and the more we realize how this opens their hearts up to seek and save the lost – by brining Christ’s love to them.
How can we love those struggling in darkness, thrashing about, even appearing to attack us? By realizing how much God loves and desires to cleanse us all, and make us His children. That’s how we learn to love sinners, trapped in darkness… by learning how Jesus loves us… even there and then as well.
Lord, Have mercy on us, and teach us to show that mercy to all….
(1)Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 2667-2671). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
(2) Lyrics by Rev. Mike Rayson and Dt Parker…
Do We See What God is Doing Now? Express YOUR awe anew! Thoughts approaching the New Year,
Devotional THought to End the Year:
1 Praise the LORD! Sing a new song to the LORD; praise him in the assembly of his faithful people! 2 Be glad, Israel, because of your Creator; rejoice, people of Zion, because of your king! 3 Praise his name with dancing; play drums and harps in praise of him. 4 The LORD takes pleasure in his people; he honors the humble with victory. 5 Let God’s people rejoice in their triumph and sing joyfully all night long. Psalm 149:1-5 (TEV)
950 We should indeed respect things that are old, and be grateful for them. Learn from them by all means, and bear in mind those past experiences, too. But let us not exaggerate; everything has its own time and place. Do we now dress in doublet and hose or wear powdered wigs on our heads? (1)
As a minister, as a servant of Christ and His church, I have had the chance to stand in awe, as I’ve observed God work. Last year, as I was in China, and saw people hungry for the gospel, as I saw pastors and church leaders hungry for training. As I visited missionaries and saw in them a hunger to be minister to, a hunger so met, that a simple worship service was fileld with tears, with incredible joy, with incredible love. I’ve seen it here at my church, as those who needed God’s comfort and peace in times that trusting in God and knowing HIs presence shuold have been challenged, were comforted and able to pray with a quiet confidence. As people approach the altar, leaving burdens dropped, and receiving in exchange, the Body and Blood of Jesus, and treasuring that joyous moment.
He is amazing, this God of ours, and we should stand in awe of His presence. A presence we should melt in, not from fear, but in awe of His love that I can only use terms like passionate, and intimate, not because of it being erotic, but because of its power and completeness.
A love that is the stuff of song, a love that creates in the musician, the artist, the poet, the wood and metal worker, the blogger, a new work as we find ways to express that awe.
Others have done this in the past, as they have used their heart and minds and hands to create masterpieces in every form, visible, audidble, tactile, They give us examples of what can be done, they can help keep us focused on Jesus.
Without such awe, Luther would have never realized what a place of rest God’s presence is, and written of Him as our Mighty Fortress. Augustine wouldn’t have penned tomes, exploring the fullness of theology. St Francis and Mother Theresa wouldn’t have found His beauty among lepers, Pascal wouldn’t have written of the fire that burns. And people like Michael Card, John Michael Talbot, Matt West and Mark Hall and Chris Gillette wouldn’t be writing music now. To express the joy that is found in knowing God’s presence here, in that awe inspiring us to worship Him.
You see, God didn’t stop inspiting people after the sixteenth century, He didn’t stop working in people’s lives after the death of the apostles, Or after the publication of any hymnal. When we cling to these things, and demand that they are the only way to properly worship God, it can be admission that we don’t see Him working today, that nothing He is doing leaves us in awe, and we create an idol out of past. We stand in awe, not of God, but of their experience, their awe. We end up like the sons of Sceva, trying to rid people of what oppresses them by incanting God because of someone else’s relationship.
Do you see what God is doing now? In your life? In the life of your family, the church, and in your community, which He longs to bring into Christ, through your love demonstrating His?
God;s presence recognized now means that people will need to express their awe, people will need to use their words, their instruments, their talents within their culture, within their time, to do so. Learning from those who’ve gone before, listening to ensure they do not stray, yes. But the people of God need to praise God for what He is doing in their lives, Lives that are claimed at the cross, year lives we lived in 2013, and soon in 2014. The Lord is with us! Rejoice! Be in absolute awe! With all you are, respond in joyous praise!
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 3851-3854). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Related articles
- A New (Church) Year’s Challenge to Pastors, Priests, Liturgists, and Worship Leaders…. (justifiedandsinner.com)
- Let us worship Him (poetryjoy.com)
- I Got Nuthin… or do I? The Hard Lesson of Trusting (justifiedandsinner.com)
I was glad when they said, “let’s go to the house of the Lord?” Really?
Devotional THought of the Day:
1 It made me glad to hear them say, “Let’s go to the house of the LORD!” Psalm 122:1 (CEV)
4 The one thing I ask of the LORD— the thing I seek most— is to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, delighting in the LORD’s perfections and meditating in his Temple. Psalm 27:4 (NLT)
Have you ever woken up in the morning, and felt ashamed because you didn’t bounce out of bed, eat reakfast and race to the car, wanting to get to church a little early, to help or just to pray?
Or when people are so joyously ravind about their worship “experience”, have you wondered if they somehow were in a different dimension and were part of a different service?
Do you worry that you are becoming like that church in Revelation that was described as having lost their “first love”?
Good, that means I am not alone!
It may not happen as much anymore, but there are seasons in my life, even as a pastor, when church became a chore. Where my sense of worship became more mechanical, where I just did my job. And no, I wasn’t glad when the alarm went off, when I wasn’t overjoyed at being in church, and my mind ran off to a thousand other things. Where scriptures like the first one above, just seemed to cause more guilt, than encouragement. Where I figure, well if I can’t get anything out of it. at least I can serve God.
Which leads me to ask, what are expecting? Hopefully some good music (here excellent music) a decent sermon, some needed hugs and smiles.We expect to hear that our sins are forgiven, that all is right in God’s view of the world.
These things are all awesome things, but they aren’t the reason we are glad to go up to the house of the Lord.
Pslam 27 gives us the reason, to gaze upon Him, to fidn the greatest joy in His presence, to be able to just, know His love, and revel in it. What we need to remember about such gatherings that God draws us to be part of, the communities He brings us into, is that He is there. The reason I am glad to go to church, is when I think through all the ways He makes His presence clear to us, when are gathered by Him in His name. When we can breath and slow down, and His comfort and ehaling find us, where we feast with Him. When I can realize the motions I so often find myself going through, as not just motions, but God ordained dance steps with Him as our partner. Where we hear his guidance, where we look upon His love, the body and blood given and shed for us, when we remember His promises poured out on us in Baptism. Church isn’t about the actions, but the Lord’s presence those actions reveal.
Think about Moses, walking onto Holy Ground, about Isaiah before the throne of God, about Solomon as they dedicate the temple – and God’s presence fills it, about Thomas in the upper room gathering, seeing the hands and side… pierced for Him. Know His love, revel in the relationship that is manifest there.
the reason I was glad to go to the house of the Lord? Because He is there… calling me to come be part of His family… to come home, to be home, with Him.
Related articles
- December 1 (stmarkssa.wordpress.com)
He Has Sent, and Sent Again, and therefore, We Call Out to Him!
He Has Sent, and Sent Again,
and therefore, We Call Out!
Galatians 4:4-7
† IHS †
May you truly know the grace and mercy of God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, which has seen you through this year, and will accompany you in the next!
The Trinity at Work…as the Father sends.
One of the things I find fascinating is the heritage of the church in Ireland. Perhaps we know about St Patrick and his three leaf clover, or the a Celtic cross and the knots on it like I am wearing today, the kind of cross the one hanging over the altar is modelled after. There are others. Bede, the author of “Be Thou My Vision”, and one of the great historians of the early church, and Adain and Finian. The early Irish Christians were known for their artwork, especially their Biblical manuscripts and stone and metalwork. If you do a little research, they were also know for their missionary zeal, for bringing word of God’s love to mankind.
One of the reasons we did our Advent series on a Celtic look at advent, is that of the theologians I’ve read, the early Christians in Ireland and Scotland were amazed at the interaction of the Trinity in Scripture. The mystery of how Three are One, and One are Three, and the paradox of what that means for us.
It’s been said that every denomination plays favorites among the Trinity. Some focus on the authority of God the Father. Others, especially us in the Lutheran sphere, focus a lot on the work of Christ, how He came to make us right before God, how when we are joined to His death and Resurrection, we are cleansed of our sin. Others have focused primarily on the Holy Spirit, with an emphasis on personal holiness and using the gifts the Spirit gives us, as we are made alive through the Spirit’s power.
Yet God is three, and yet one, Three who love us and work in our lives. We see it in today’s reading, as we hear Paul tells us that the Father has sent Jesus, and sent the Holy Spirit, and that is why we can truly call on Him, our heavenly Dad.
He sent Christ to deal with our sins
We’ll get to the Father at the end of the sermon, so we start looking at what St. Paul tells us about the Father sending Jesus to us. Quite appropriate as it is the fifth day of Christmas, don’t you think?
Paul says in verse 4, “when the right time finally came, God sent his own son,” He sent Jesus. The word there for sent is “apostled”, to send someone was an emissary, an ambassador with the authority and power to establish a relationship.
What it would take, in this case, was simple. He had to buy our freedom from the things in our life that captivate us, that seem to control us, that oppress us and stop us from loving God, and stop us from loving each other and those that so dearly need it.
That is the what is so devastating about sin, the actions and thoughts and life that we count on, that society tells us brings us joy and fulfillment; they don’t bring us joy, they enslave us. We spend so much time chasing them, and when we “get” them, trying to defend them, or defend why they are the center of our life. This sin, for all sins are part, ends up owning us, owning our time, our lives, our souls.
Which is why Jesus came to purchase, why he came to take us off the market. To not only purchase us, but also to free us and to make known that we are adopted by the God the father. To enter into not just a business relationship, but also one of family, of not just respect, but love.
He sent the Spirit to confirm our adoption.
It is incredible to think of this freedom that has been purchased for us, these chains that have been broken. It is so incredible, that I think we often lose sight of the freedom, and the incredible relationship that we have with God. Which is why the Father sent the Son, and then they sent the Holy Spirit to us, to confirm in us that which Jesus had already accomplished.
If we need it confirmed, and I most definitely believe we do, for so many things would try to steal the peace and comfort of knowing God’s love, the Holy Spirit is here, in our hearts. The proof, the guarantee of God’s love for us, that He will never leave or forsake us.
Knowing that presence, knowing our place in His heart, and His place in our hearts, we are prompted to call out to God, as a child calls out to his father. Sometimes this is in time of need, in desperation. Sometimes it is in excitement, as we realize His glory, as we are excited in His presence.
Luther wrote:
63 In addition, you must also know how to use the name of God aright. With the words, “You shall not take the name of God in vain,” God at the same time gives us to understand that we are to use his name properly, for it has been revealed and given to us precisely for our use and benefit.
Since we are forbidden here to use the holy name in support of falsehood or wickedness, it follows, conversely that we are commanded to use it in the service of truth and all that is good—for example, when we swear properly where it is necessary and required. So, also, when we teach properly; again, when we call on his name in time of need, or praise and thank him in time of prosperity, etc. All this is summarized in the command in Ps. 50:15, “Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver you and you shall glorify me.” All this is what we mean by calling upon his name in service of truth and using it devoutly. Thus his name is hallowed, as we pray in the Lord’s Prayer.[1]
Here is why the Spirit comes and dwells with us, why He comes into our hearts, so we have such a relationship with God, that we can run to him, when hurt, so that He can comfort and bring us peace, or when we are excited, and want Him to share in our joy.
This is our God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, a God who comes to us, a God who brings us into His presence, who share with us His glory, who gives to us in ways that are so incredible, that we struggle to believe that He didn’t make a mistake. The entire Trinity, their work focused on communicating to you and I a love that is beyond anything we can imagine.
A love for us…
So what do you need to cry out to Him for?
So maybe this morning, we’ve found ourselves in need of crying out for His help, crying out with our last hope. This is your God, who sent Jesus to make it so, and the Holy Spirit to convince you that it is the fullness of time for those cries.
Maybe this morning you are just overwhelmed with His grace, and you need to cry out to Him with excitement, with praises that go on.
Both cries are appropriate, and we can, as His family join in those prayers, and in those praises.
Then, may we all realize, that because we are His children, because the Trinity has heard our prayers and praises, that we can dwell in their peace, in their love. For God is here, He has freed us from all that would hold us captive, and has made us His children.
It is the fullness of time for us as well…. To know the Lord is with us. AMEN?
[1] Tappert, T. G. (Ed.). (1959). The Book of Concord the confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. (p. 373). Philadelphia: Mühlenberg Press.
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.
Related articles
- An Impressive Resume (justifiedandsinner.com)
- Is it insane to keep doing/teaching/preaching the same thing over and over, and expecting… (justifiedandsinner.com)
- “We’ll get together then, God. You know we’ll have a good time then! (justifiedandsinner.com)
- A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World (joshuareich.org)
Is God Listening? Is God here?
Devotional thought of the day:
“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. 8 Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!Matthew 6:7-8 (NLT) 7
463 Your prayer will sometimes be discursive; maybe less often, full of fervour; and, perhaps often, dry, dry, dry. But what matters is that you, with God’s help, are not disheartened. Consider the sentry on duty. He does not know if the King or the Head of State is in the palace: he is not told what he might be doing, and generally the public figure does not know who is on guard. It is not at all like that with our God. He lives where you live, He cares for you and knows your inmost thoughts. Do not abandon the guard-duty of your prayer! (1)
One of the more interesting challenges I have, is teaching my son how to pray. Not the words to say, he has that down, but how to realize that prayer is a conversation with God. That God is there, that God is listening, that God is present.
For a very intelligent 6 year old, who can read like a teenager can eat, what isn’t in front of him, visible, is hard to see. It is hard not to see prayer and simply something we do together, a time we spend together. Body language and voice intonation lets me know he is involved, yet not quite discerning the presence of God. At least that seems to me to be what I’ve seen over the last year or so develop.
I look at people, and are we any different? As we gather, two or three, together. As we pray together in Church, never mind if I dare ask people about their prayer habits. I’ve thought about the pastors gathering that is hosted at my church, and wondering what would happen, if we talked about out prayer habits, and how many would show up if I pre-announced that topic! (Even writing this makes me a bit nervous, because if I ask them, they will surely ask me!)
So how to encourage this regular conversation with God? How do we dare open our lives to Him? How do we pour out on Him our anxieties, our concerns and how do we know He is listening? How do we know the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer of all creation is waiting to talk to me?
The problem is, like a 6 year old, we struggle to believe in that we cannot touch, We want documentation, a proven methodical concept that works the same way each time. In a way, we want to reduce prayer from the dynamic communication it is, to a formulary set of practices that will work the same way, each time. And when it doesn’t, we can analyze what we did wrong, or dismiss the entire thing as a intellectual fraud.
Relationships are a matter of the heart though, not of our mind. They are surprising and fluid, they are intense, and yet if abandoned dry out. They are life, which is why its called a life of prayer. It is experiental – beyond our ability to logically or within our scope of reason. So why would a relationship with God be any more rational, definable, subject to our control? Knowing His presence is observable, but not with our eyes. It’s know through a trust in Him that is alien to our minds, but with which the heart overrides that analysis, and does so in great joy… for it is there we find peace.
All I can say is faith relies on Him. It trusts Him. He promised to be here,
Jesus in Pray (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
and He promised to listen and to craft our lives and all that happens to work out for our best. He invited us to pray, taught us how to lay it all out before Him, to let Him care for our burdens and bring life to our weary and broken lives.
I pray that we can be aware of the promises and the reality of them.
AMEN
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Burdened? With those of Christ, or Those of the World?
Devotional Thought of the Day:
28 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. 29 Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. 30 Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG)
414 Is the burden heavy? No, a thousand times no! Those obligations which you freely accepted are wings that raise you high above the vile mud of your passions. Do the birds feel the weight of their wings? If you were to cut them off and put them on the scales you would see that they are heavy. But can a bird fly if they are taken away from it? It needs those wings and it does not notice their weight, for they lift it up above other creatures. Your “wings” are heavy too! But if you did not have them you would fall into the filthiest mire. (1)
It’s one of the great mysteries of ministry, the ability to endure, and the strength that comes when we shoulder the burdens we are called to bear as we walk with Jesus.
There are days and weeks where pastors and others who serve the church get worn down, we are tired and weary and nearly breaking under the strain. I saw such a week ago, at another pastor’s memorial service. So many of my brothers looked worn down, beaten, broken. I didn’t pay much attention to the service to be honest, as I was mostly praying for the pastors sitting on either side of me. We are a tired bunch these days, many of us overburdened, many of us at the point where we can forget to look to Jesus. As we forget it is He that works through us, caring for His people.
As I was reading this morning, I came to the above quote from St. Josemaria. Having read of his life, of the existence during a civil war when brothers were dieing, of working tirelessly to see a vision where people – all people of the church realized that they were God’s worksmanship – that He had a role for each one, I realized these just weren’t words of advice. These were words of experience, words that shared the hope of realizing that we live at our best, when we take on those burdens of Christ.
Similarly, Eugene Peterson’s translation of an oft quoted passage strike home as well. It talks of the relationship we have with Christ. The relationship based on letting Him lead, letting Him choose the burdens we must carry. He replaces the burdens of sin, and shame, and guilt and resentment and regret with grace, with love, with putting all that aside to walk with Him, as He re-creates lives, as He restores what was broken, as He brings healing to that which was sickened and weakened by neglect and oppression. That’s God’s work, not really ours, though often it happens as we talk, as we hold the hand of one weeping, praying for them.
The burdens we do carry… seemingly heavier than those we set down, set us soaring. Not because they make us stronger, for that is not the nature of a wing. Wings primarily work because they catch the wind, and the wind pressure supports them and lifts them up. This is how the Spirit works in us, the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, who dwells in us, who cleanses us, who works through our words to bring people into that amazing relationship we have with God.
Ultimately, there is a time to stop, to listen to breathe. To pick up my guitar or sit at my keyboard (music not this one) and play… and realize the God who named me as His child, who called me into this ministry, who knows what He is doing. For if we don’t do that, surely we shall crash, surely we won’t be able to get out of the crud we entered as we ministered to people dealing with it in their lives. It’s the lesson an old Baptist jail chaplain taught me, as we served together. He told me when I left the jail, before I started my car to sit there, take a few moments to realize Christ’s promises to me in baptism. to remember that He has cleansed me, that He has taken all the real burdens from me, and that He will never leave me.
That’s a burden that is a blessing, and enables us to do everything else.
May you find the time today to take on His burden/blessings. AMEN
English: fragment of the Gospel of Matthew (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 1858-1864). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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Would you like a better life?
Scenes from the Passion of Christ: Christ on the Cross (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I have come in order that you might have life—life in all its fullness. John 10:10 (TEV)
11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. 14 Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty. Philippians 4:11-14 (NLT)
Live in the presence of God and you will have supernatural life. (1)
If historians centuries in the future judge our culture based on FB entries, I wonder how they will judge us? Will they see us as a content and happy lot, or will they find us a bunch of unsatisfied whiners who complain about everything from our government to our church to our shopping experiences to of course our freeway speeds?
Would we take a different life, if we thought the option was better?
The odd thing is, our life could be better, more abundant, more incredible.
If we only took the time to realize what is given to us in our baptism, in the Lord’s supper,
If we could only realize that we actually live in the presence of God, it is His promise, and it changes everything.
.
That’s how Paul could be content in everything even in jail, That’s how martyrs can find joy, as the 2nd martyr, Stephen did. (the first martyr, in my thinking was Christ – who testified to the Father’s love with His death) That’s how St. Francis could find joy working with people with leprosy, or Bonhoeffer could write such incredible works while training men and doing time in jail. Indeed that’s how Jesus could endure the shame of the cross – looking to the joy that walking with us would be.
I will admit – it is a challenge – to leave our burdens to God, to simply walk in His presence.
But oh! When we do… when we realize He desires to carry our burdens, as we walk with Him through this life.
It is a different life, it is a better life… this walking with Jesus.
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). The Way (Kindle Locations 738-739). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
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The Eucharist: the Strength to Reveal Christ to Others…
English: The Lord’s Supper. Christ standing at an Orthodox altar, giving the Eucharist to the Twelve Apostles. Frescoes in the upper church of Spaso-Preobrazhenski cathedral. Valaam Monastery Русский: Алтарная апсида верхнего храма Спасо-Преображенского собора Валаамского монастыря. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Devotional/Discussion Thought of the Day:
This can only mean that whenever you eat this bread or drink of this cup, you are proclaiming that the Lord has died for you, and you will do that until he comes again. So that, whoever eats the bread or drinks the wine without due thought is making himself like one of those who allowed the Lord to be put to death without discerning who he was. 1 Corinthians 11:26 (Phillips NT)
If you don’t keep in touch with Christ in prayer and in the bread, how can you make him known to others? (1)
Though I have been in churches of many denominations and brotherhoods, the three I have spent the most time in, have had something in Common. The weekly celebration of the Lord’s Supper, also known as Communion, or my preference, the Eucharist.
To be honest, it is something that I took for granted far too often. The Eucharist was something that when I was younger I thought was a spiritual “fill-up”, an opportunity to refocus, a chance to be reminded of God’s promises, a chance to remember His grace covering my sin, as surely as His blood was poured out on the ground.
You might be saying, well Pastor Dt, that’ what it is all about – isn’t it? That moment of refreshing, a weekly “mountain top” experience, a break and rest from the norm, and a break from the sin which haunts them. A chance to really realize what holiness is about…
As we think about what the Eucharist results in, we slowly lose sight about it is… the Body of Christ, given for us; the Blood of Christ, shed for us…
It is not just about knowing God’s love – it is time with Him. A time for His to comfort and cleanse and help us explore with Him the height and depth, breadth and width of His love, and the Father’s love. A time not just where we are reminded of His covenant and its promises, but where He, Himself, reminds us of that promise – most specifically His loving presence. That we are His family, called to dinner with Him as the Host…
That is why Paul can say we proclaim His death – it is ours, we who are untied to Him in His death and resurrection (our re-birth) It is time with Him in that moment beyond time, that foretaste of the feast that will be thrown when we all have come home. We proclaim it – not just for our benefit – but that others would join us at this incredible moment, in this incredible time with Him…celebrating out union…our being the beloved. It is from there, from that depth of intimacy with Christ, that knowing Him and being known by Him, that the kerygma – the desire to introduce others to Him springs forth.
Not from duty…
But from the passion He has for us, the unbelievable love He has for us….
And we know who we are introducing people to, not just a way to “be saved”, but the God, the incredible, majestic, glorious God who loves them, Who gives them life… and brings them into His glory.
It is where we find the answer to our plea… Lord have mercy…. and know He does that in a way beyond expression… and it is He, even more than us, the is joyous in the reunion.
Godspeed us all to this realization.
Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). The Way (Kindle Locations 396-397). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition
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