tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-169472962024-03-13T05:11:41.298-07:00The Wood Between the Worlds(Re)Defining God's church in a POSTMODERN world... YOU REALLY NEED TO READ THIS STUFF!Greg Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18154674989764272395noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16947296.post-55673100885675570222012-12-21T16:19:00.002-08:002012-12-21T16:19:19.355-08:00<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">What does
it mean to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">experience God</b>? I
Google-ed it just now – at some risk – and got a lot of well-meaning stuff. I
rolled my eyes at most of it!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Personally,
I don’t want to experience God’s blessings, or even His power for that matter.
I just want to experience Him.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I come to
this with the following “baggage”:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I believe I can experience God.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I believe the experience of God
is a good thing. In fact, I believe it to be the main thing – the first
thing.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I believe God deeply desires
for us to experience Him.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I believe my tendency is to
experience God in order to get something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I must proceed with caution, because I believe in experiencing God
I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">do</i> get something.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I believe the world has clouded
my mind on experiencing God, making me a consumer and someone who is, in
the words of C.S. Lewis, “far too easily pleased.”</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I believe there are many, many
miss-understandings about the experience of God. I believe there are many
“experience” counterfeits. I believe the church desperately feels the need
to teach on experiencing God, the same churches whose teachers no little
on the subject.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I believe there are people who
genuinely experience God – and on a level I have not yet … experienced.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I do not believe experiencing
God is complicated or hard to achieve in some sense.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I believe the evil one is very
threatened by God’s children truly seeking to experience God.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I believe experiencing God
demands patience, trust, perseverance, and faith – a faith that is willing
to resist tagging an emotionally charged moment or a pleasurable gas pain
as the experience of God. I believe God calls all the shots when it comes
to experiencing Him.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I believe we most likely
experience Him more than we think we do, and in many diverse ways.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I believe God rewards us when
we seek an experience of Him.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I believe the experience of God
is primarily with the heart. Surely, though, the mind, the emotions and
the physical are somehow “involved.”</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I really believe we experience
God when we are still and alone. I believe this because the world – whose
god is the evil one - is so noisy and congested.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I believe my experience of God
pays a dividend in the lives of my friends.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I believe in a God generous and
lavish with His love.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I believe the experience of God
defies definition and quantifying. Certainly there is no recipe/formula
nor are there x number of steps to experiencing God. Yet, I believe we
must <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">do something</i> in order to
experience God.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I believe grace needs to be
mentioned in any conversation about the experience of God. I believe God
is Sovereign, and that we have responsibility.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I believe extreme caution and
humility must accompany any conversation about the experience of God since
we are so prone to impose our own idea systems on them. I believe it is a
good thing to talk about the experience of God.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I believe human relationships
to be a context as well as a metaphor for the experience of God.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I believe prayer is a central
component in experiencing God. </span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I believe experiencing God can
be a corporate thing.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I believe experiencing God not
to be a “holy grail,” in that it is some monumental “goal.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God is our destination, our goal, and
followers of Christ have this in the “already” category.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Somehow, and finally but not
exhaustively, I believe I will “know” it – sense it – when I do experience
God. But, admittedly, I have very little to say on this subject.</span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Philippians
2:12-13</span></h3>
<span class="textphil-2-12"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">So
then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only,
but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and
trembling; </span></span><span class="textphil-2-13"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and
to work for <i>His</i> good pleasure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(NASB)</span></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"></span><br />
Greg Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18154674989764272395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16947296.post-43890171495503483042012-05-20T12:02:00.001-07:002012-05-21T03:38:52.157-07:00On BELIEF . . .<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;">
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<b><span class="text Isa-41-10" id="en-NIV-18462">So do not fear, for I am with you; </span></b></div>
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<b><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Isa-41-10">do not be dismayed, for I am your God.</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span class="text Isa-41-10">I will strengthen you and help you;</span></b></div>
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<b><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Isa-41-10">I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10</span></span></b></div>
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<span class="indent-1"><span class="text Isa-41-10">As I write, I am learning that endurance and hope are two sides of the same coin. I am seeing my heretofore self-centered THEO-logy (go figure!) coming to naught. And, I am seeing that as a good thing! God is really good at disappointing us when we try to make it all about us. Fortunately, hope is welling up in my spirit as I began to <i>believe, </i>truly believe that God is real and I can live as if He is real! And, I am enjoying the gift of endurance... with a glorious and eternal Banquet set for me in the (hopefully) near future.</span></span></div>
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<span class="indent-1"><span class="text Isa-41-10">God being real is easy for the mind but not for the feet. I give intellectual ascent to a <i>real </i>God, but do I - day to day - behave as if He is real? Fear and worry are my middle names. I have taken anxiety-reducing medications! Matthew 6 says repeatedly that worry is a sin.</span></span></div>
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<span class="indent-1"><span class="text Isa-41-10">Last week, I had to ask my son to leave our home. His choices simply did not come in line with our values, plain and simple. Counsel from many trusted friends affirmed our decision. Yet, I worry and I am very afraid. Granted, some of that is both legitimate and good. But, will I rest in faith on the belief that I am doing the right thing, that God is Who He says He is - my Provider, He loves and grieves for my son more than I do, and that my obedience will not come to calamity (at least, as He defines calamity)?</span></span></div>
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<span class="indent-1"><span class="text Isa-41-10">A.W. Tozer writes, right out of the starting blocks in <i>The Knowledge of the Holy</i>, page 1:</span></span></div>
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...The gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like.</div>
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Again, he says:</div>
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A god begotten in the shadows of a fallen heart will quite naturally be no true likeness of the true God.</div>
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So, because my God is too small (as J.B. Phillips would say), when I read Isaiah 41, it has no consequence for me. It is no big deal, only stained-glass words from an archaic Bible.</div>
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Take a test yourself. Read Philippians 4:19 and ask if you really do believe it.</div>
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And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.</div>
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OK, belief is tested in life not words. One can only answer that question as one is, just that, tested!</div>
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I am being tested.</div>
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God, through Isaiah, is saying to me, "Greg, do not fear... namely BECAUSE I AM WITH YOU." He follows: "The very reason I ask you to abandon dismay is that I AM YOUR GOD." He goes further, " I can and will give you all the strength and help you need <i>and... </i>I AM THE LOVING AND FATHERLY SAFETY NET UNDERNEATH YOU RIGHT AT THIS MOMENT." Get it? Fear and dismay are quenched under the overwhelming soul-entrenched Presence of a Big God!</div>
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What I believe about God is being challenged! God, grant me the grace to believe unto daring and courageous and trusting obedience. Please help my unbelief.</div>Greg Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18154674989764272395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16947296.post-80497517013125463402011-03-13T12:22:00.000-07:002011-03-13T12:48:07.426-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Cc_qHCCCzTI/TX0ayU64xiI/AAAAAAAAAMs/UXj-1TxbPKE/s1600/slave%2Bto%2Brightouesness.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 228px; height: 151px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Cc_qHCCCzTI/TX0ayU64xiI/AAAAAAAAAMs/UXj-1TxbPKE/s320/slave%2Bto%2Brightouesness.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583648564920763938" border="0" /></a><br /><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" ft="{"type":"msg"}" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="messageBody" style="font-size:130%;">You are not your own.<br />You are not who you are going to be.<br />You are not now who you could be.<br />Reason is: You think you are your own.</span></h6>Greg Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18154674989764272395noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16947296.post-84585456149738841832009-12-20T11:37:00.000-08:002009-12-24T12:47:24.340-08:00What the Church Needs Now<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/Sy6AAhhJhMI/AAAAAAAAALk/CZsUSlv7p_Y/s1600-h/CONTRITE.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 248px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417408148259046594" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/Sy6AAhhJhMI/AAAAAAAAALk/CZsUSlv7p_Y/s320/CONTRITE.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">Back in the early days of this century Christendom ceased… abruptly. We all shrugged wide-eyed, looked at each other and asked, ”Now what?”<br /><br />With a bloated blogosphere at hand, virtually everyone has weighed in! The problem with all these prognostications is that the ones answering the question often happen to be the ones who brought about this church-plight in the first place!<br /><br />Don’t get me wrong – we must “figure this thing” in one sense. Kudos to those of us who deign to comment on it. But, more words are not the answer. Condemnation of one another is not the answer. “Better ideas” solve nothing. We do not need simply to pedal harder, “do better.” Neither do we need more exotic and consumer-driven ways and means.<br /><br />The ways and means of God are tight and tidy.<br /><br /><em>Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today</em> (Dt 6:4-6).<br /><br /><em>This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob</em> (Dt 30:19,20).<br /><br /><em>No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God</em> (Mic 6:8).<br /><br /><em>Jesus replied, “You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments</em> (Mt 22:37,38).”<br /><br />Yet, fleshing it out is another issue, right? Might we first ask ourselves: How did we get into this fix? I think the answer is both simple and obvious: We have crawled up on the throne and asked God to get down. And, being the gentleman that He is, He moved.<br />This is yet another chapter in the human story theologians call the Deuteronomic Cycle: Sin-punishment-repentance-restoration.<br /><br />The answer, let’s admit it, is humility. How complicated are these words from James (4:10) “<em>Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor</em>”? Or Isaiah’s words (Is 57:15):<br /><em></em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>The high and lofty one who lives in eternity,<br />the Holy One, says this:<br />“I live in the high and holy place<br />with those whose spirits are contrite and humble.<br />I restore the crushed spirit of the humble<br />and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.”</em><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span><span style="font-family:verdana;">In the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, there are these words and phrases regarding humility:<br /><br />(Humility is not) Willful self-disparagement<br />(Nor are the humble) Guilty, vile, and helpless worms<br />Inward fasting<br />Aptness for grace (Luther)<br />Pure receptivity<br />Unassuming readiness to accept favor<br />(Humility) Requires constant self-examination<br />Trusting the kindness of the giver<br />I possess nothing I haven’t received<br />Lowly<br /><br />Saint Augustine: “If you ask me what is the first precept of the Christian religion I will answer, first, second, and third, Humility.”<br /><br />In John 13 and Philippians 2, Jesus is our Model, our Exemplar, our Teacher.<br /><br />God, Keynote Speaker at the opening of the Temple, gave of these bedrock words regarding the ways and means of our faith (2 Chr 7:14):<br /><br /><em>Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.</em><br /><br />We need restoration. We need forgiveness. We need help. We cannot enjoy “restoration” until then. It seems a no-brainer; humility and repentance are the pre-requisites we so desperately need as a body of Christ-followers.<br /><br />May I pray for us – God’s church.<br /><br />GOD ALMIGHTY, MAKER OF ALL, GIVER OF HOPE, FORGIVE US, FOR WE HAVE SINNED AND DONE WHAT IS EVIL IN YOUR SIGHT. IT IS AGAINST YOU AND YOU ALONE THAT WE HAVE SINNED AND DONE WHAT IS EVIL IN YOUR SIGHT. PLEASE SHOW US MERCY, SHOW US GRACE, WASH US CLEAN WITH THE FORGIVENESS OF CALVARY. BLOT OUT THE SIN THAT HAS BROUGHT THIS “CHRISTIAN NATION” TO WHERE IT IS… NEARLY APOSTATE. YOU HAVE PROMISED: A BROKEN AND CONTRITE HEART YOU WILL NOT DESPISE.<br />RENEW IN YOUR CHURCH A CLEAN HEART AND A LOYAL SPIRIT.<br />BY YOUR GRACE, OPEN OUR GRACE-GIVEN HEARTS AND LIPS TO DECLARE YOUR PRAISE.<br />LOOK WITH FAVOR ON ZION AND HELP HER; REBUILD THE WALLS OF JERUSALEM. </span></div>Greg Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18154674989764272395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16947296.post-3887143766102882622009-11-10T17:46:00.000-08:002009-11-10T18:12:13.833-08:00Will the church survive?<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/SvodaJkDoPI/AAAAAAAAALc/uv2odEtWyvc/s1600-h/futurechurch.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 156px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402663038065287410" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/SvodaJkDoPI/AAAAAAAAALc/uv2odEtWyvc/s320/futurechurch.jpg" /></a> <span style="font-family:verdana;">The success, if you will, of the church lies with the few who willfully, yet counter-<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">culturally</span>, see hope in Christ alone, who are willing to answer the call, "Come to Me," and are daring enough to "Be still." I might add those who pray and fast as well.</span> <div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">It is those who let convention and outcome go hang, those who know God enough to trust Him fully for outcome and are confident He will honor their faith.These are the ones who are willing to go years upon years, if necessary, without what the contemporary church calls "results." The future of the church rests on those whose trust is truly radical.</span></div></div>Greg Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18154674989764272395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16947296.post-61377117248411233212009-07-22T12:32:00.000-07:002009-07-22T12:47:54.439-07:00On the Future of the Church<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/Smds4uP72OI/AAAAAAAAALE/F9z1Dl2pCT4/s1600-h/future+church.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361373603151206626" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/Smds4uP72OI/AAAAAAAAALE/F9z1Dl2pCT4/s200/future+church.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">I put the following on my Facebook status recently – my thoughts this summer are full tilt about church:<br /><br />Leaders won't take the church into a healthy future. Neither will those intent upon "the will of God," nor the ones committed to a "healthy church." The hope for the church lies upon ordinary people who have experienced intimate nearness to God, Himself. Of Peter and John it was said, "They recognized them as having been with Jesus (Acts 4:13)."<br /></span></div><br /><div><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">A few comments on the future of the church: </span></div><br /><div><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"> Pastors nowadays are good at evangelism, not helping others cultivate intimacy with God. These “converts” are like seed thrown by the path which will invariably get trampled by today’s culture and die.</span></div><br /><div><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"> Pastors nowadays are good at running an organization. Churches have organization, but if the leadership is not in tune with the Spirit and deeply committed to personal Godliness, the only product will be fruitless activity, not kingdom building. </span></div><br /><div><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"> Pastors nowadays are scholarly and good orators. But, if the words are not formed in the crucible of the prayer closet by a heart grown healthy in stillness and solitude ever heeding the Spirit’s direction, then sermons become nothing more than moralistic prattle telling others how to behave. And, God’s kingdom is not built. </span></div><br /><div><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"> Pastors nowadays are good at telling others about obedience to Jesus. I know of very few that know Jesus – see the difference? We can figure out the implications of this one quite easily.<br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;"> The “successful” church will consist of, as Brennan Manning puts it, “bedraggled ragamuffins” whose desperate and primary goal is to plumb the depths of Christ-acceptance. Church people nowadays (who get this honestly from their leader(s) who think they know the love of the Father, but don’t) are driven by guilt or fear that God is gonna getcha! This will not survive the current wave of cultural and godless persecution.<br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;"> The healthy church will devote priority energy toward building community, true community – the context for true spiritual growth. (I have defined community elsewhere in my blog).<br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;"> The healthy church will hold tradition loosely, careful not to jettison practices just because they have been around for a long time, nor lose the respect for the holiness of God through crazy and novel innovations.<br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;"> The church of the future will live by and submit to the authority of God’s Holy Word, the Bible. Scholarship is a must. The right combo is a smart mystic!<br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;"> That’s all for now. Thanks for reading!</span> </div>Greg Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18154674989764272395noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16947296.post-1276682843152134732009-07-19T15:51:00.000-07:002009-07-19T16:23:38.443-07:00On EXPERIENCING God<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/SmOq7kfULVI/AAAAAAAAAK8/hiRqt4-G7CM/s1600-h/sky-writing%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 140px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360315921885048146" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/SmOq7kfULVI/AAAAAAAAAK8/hiRqt4-G7CM/s200/sky-writing%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">The experience of Jesus as Lord, which brings forth the response of faith, varies as widely as the people who encounter it.<br /><br /><strong>Could it be that we “experience” God more than we think or are aware of? We so limit ourselves by our already set ideas of experience.</strong><br /><br />(Quoting John McKinzie) The basic element seems to be recognition. In Him [Jesus] the obscure is illuminated, the uncertain yields to the certain, insecurity is replaced by a deep sense of security.<br /><br />Our trust in Jesus grows as we shift from making self-conscious efforts to be good to allowing ourselves to be loved as we are (not as we should be). An inner stillness pervades our being….<br /><br />Self-absorption fades into self-forgetfulness, as we gaze upon the brightness of the Lord.<br /><br /><strong>Incremental and a slow process for me! I want fireworks, adrenalin and sky-writing. God wants to cuddle with me and warm my heart!</strong><br /><br />… The personal experience of the glory of Jesus, the shattering encounter with the transcendent/immanent Christ, is the foundation of the faith and the hope that form and inform a life of naked trust.<br /><br /><strong>Oh, how I want everything under the sun but what I really need… HIM!</strong><br /><br />Like faith and hope, trust cannot be self-generated. I cannot simply will myself to trust. The one thing I need to do I cannot do.<br /><br /><strong>Yet, somewhere along the way, we must practice stillness, solitude and a protracted willingness to listen and obey.</strong><br /><br />What does lie within my power is paying attention to the faithfulness of Jesus. That’s what I am asked to do: pay attention to Jesus throughout my journey, remembering his kindness (Ps 103:2).<br /><br />Trust comes from some experience of the other person, an experience not reducible to proof. Most often, it grows in a relationship of mutual love, one in which we have loved, and been loved, by another.<br /><br /><strong>Experience comes from a humble, yet eager, heart.</strong> </span></div><br /><div><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">The story of Job implicitly states that we can endure the unwanted intrusion of evil when we have experienced a theophany – that is, an insight into the reality of God.<br />Walter Burghardt writes: “Only trust makes evil endurable – trust not because God has offered proof, but because God has shown his face.<br /><br /><strong>Experiencing God seems to be, at its core, an experience of being totally loved and accepted by God and accepting that acceptance.</strong><br /><br />[Quoting Walter Kasper] “Experiencing God’s love in Jesus Christ means experiencing that one has been unreservedly accepted, approved and infinitely loved, that one can and should accept one’s self and one’s neighbor.”<br /><br />[Quoting Julian of Norwich] It is God’s will that we receive three things from him as gifts we seek. The first is that we seek willingly and diligently without sloth, as that may be with his grace, joyfully and happily, without unreasonable depression and useless sorrow. The second is that we wait for him steadfastly, out of love, without grumbling and contending against him…. The third is that we have great trust in him, out of complete and true faith, for it is his will that we know his will that we know that he will appear, suddenly and blessedly, to all his lovers.<br /><br /><strong>Experiencing God comes from an existential awareness that I am God’s little boy (girl), that He is my Daddy in the purest and most infinite sense of Daddy-ness!</strong><br /></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />(From Ruthless Trust by Brennan Manning, Chapter 7, “Trusting Jesus” – bold words are my own)</span></div>Greg Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18154674989764272395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16947296.post-43761031685402182282009-06-11T16:41:00.000-07:002009-06-30T09:42:17.869-07:00<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/SjGX2AVUOcI/AAAAAAAAAKo/1NmX6P9sgLs/s1600-h/GOD.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346221186723625410" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/SjGX2AVUOcI/AAAAAAAAAKo/1NmX6P9sgLs/s200/GOD.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">ALL of God's intentions are good (Ephesians 1:9). No matter what we think. The wording in the Greek means that God exercises His will ONLY for a Good Purpose! Do we SEE God that way... all the time? Or is He often aloof, distant, un-caring or even mean? May we seek with relentless passion to have a clear and correct understanding of our GOOD God.</span></div>Greg Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18154674989764272395noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16947296.post-79048531445289347692009-05-25T08:52:00.000-07:002009-05-25T09:00:10.486-07:00Thou shalt have no bearings!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/ShrAKWKYR8I/AAAAAAAAAKg/LhBgInvJz18/s1600-h/truenorth.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339791592181483458" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 177px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/ShrAKWKYR8I/AAAAAAAAAKg/LhBgInvJz18/s200/truenorth.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">We live in a country that has outlawed compasses. And, we are now being told that compasses don't exist. And, those of us who cry out with the truth that says compasses DO exist and are vital to our survival as a culture are being shot on sight. Hmmm ... scary!</span></div>Greg Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18154674989764272395noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16947296.post-47491395830385867872009-05-16T14:16:00.001-07:002009-05-19T16:26:10.498-07:00Aphorism, anyone?<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/Sg8udcZ_xAI/AAAAAAAAAKY/MrpcUotyqtA/s1600-h/afraid.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336535166833640450" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/Sg8udcZ_xAI/AAAAAAAAAKY/MrpcUotyqtA/s200/afraid.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">Saying NO to sin means saying YES to the Presence Who takes away our fears. (Isaiah 41:10)</span></div>Greg Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18154674989764272395noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16947296.post-33901274490976440772009-03-26T15:28:00.000-07:002009-03-26T15:50:41.402-07:00PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/ScwF99zAfWI/AAAAAAAAAKI/5FWnhLlh3bs/s1600-h/Peak.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317631822136376674" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 140px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/ScwF99zAfWI/AAAAAAAAAKI/5FWnhLlh3bs/s200/Peak.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">We must expend our greatest energy coming to know with all our heart that we are loved by a God of pure, infinite and unfathomable love. Yes, we obey, trust, worship, serve and witness. But, we have come to think of these things as primary. Not so! Recall the words of C.S. Lewis:<br /></span><br /><p><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></p><p></p><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />Put first things first and we get second things thrown in; put second things</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> first and we lose both first and second things.<br /><br />True love, true and pure service and devotion to God, is an outflow, a result, a product of a heart that has been consumed (or is being consumed) in God’s unconditional acceptance. This love is new and admittedly foreign to our experience, mysterious and inexplicable, outrageous and incomprehensible. This love is the zenith of too-good-to-be-true! It is the treasure hidden in the field, the pearl of great price, the Alpha and the Omega!<br /><br />As you journey life’s days, as you daily serve the God you barely know, may you find a way to allow God to express His love to you. Practice solitude – be alone and quiet long enough that you can clearly hear His voice of love. Also, practice community. He will commonly appear to you in the form of another person, a friend – one who, like you, is on the same journey.</span><br /></span>Greg Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18154674989764272395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16947296.post-29319364462513266392009-03-14T17:27:00.000-07:002009-03-26T15:28:11.636-07:00<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/SbxLpjatl7I/AAAAAAAAAKA/aHx6WM2ER3c/s1600-h/true+worship.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313204837644343218" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/SbxLpjatl7I/AAAAAAAAAKA/aHx6WM2ER3c/s200/true+worship.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">I’m sitting here re-reading George Barna’s Revolution, now 3 years old (a long time in today’s terms). In it he describes this 20 million strong sub-nation of Revolutionaries this way: The have no use for churches that play religion. They eschew ministries that compromise or soft-sell our sinful nature to expand organizational turf. The refuse to follow people in ministry leadership positions who cast a personal vision rather than God’s…. They refuse to donate one more dollar to man-made monuments…. They are embarrassed by language that promises Christian love and holiness but turns out to be all sizzle and no substance.<br /><br />They are seeking a faith experience that is more robust and awe-inspiring, a spiritual journey that prioritizes transformation at every turn, something worthy of the Creator whom their faith reflects. Revolutionaries zealously pursue an intimate relationship with God, which Jesus Christ promised we could have through Him.<br /><br />(All this is quoted from pages 13-15).<br /><br />For God’s sake, let’s give it to ‘em!</span></div>Greg Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18154674989764272395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16947296.post-56370800212404309922009-02-15T10:38:00.000-08:002009-02-15T11:38:34.577-08:00COMMUNITY DEFINED<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/SZhvMqbwRiI/AAAAAAAAAJY/CBB4R4Nz7P4/s1600-h/church+sign.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303110824568571426" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 104px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/SZhvMqbwRiI/AAAAAAAAAJY/CBB4R4Nz7P4/s200/church+sign.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/SZhqJ1ajGrI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/GUHe8e-EoK4/s1600-h/walking+alone.jpg"></a><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">I hear from all points that the church is not doing community. Community is missing from the church and is an essential ingredient to kingdom growth.<br /><br />Yet, I see churches “committed to” building community… community is even in their name and kingdom growth is not happening to any appreciable extent.<br /><br />I’m sure I could Google community and find many valuable definitions, characteristics and points to be made about what community is and how to do it.<br /><br />Here’s mine.<br /><br />I believe that community is like the wall on which a mosaic is cemented, the fabric on which a cross-stitch is sown. Community is an environment – not un-like the agar in a Petri dish… wholly conducive and pristine for growing the things desired. (Oh, and by the way, you can’t make things grow!)<br /><br />In our contexts – the world and the church – community is the medium in which kingdom growth occurs most verdantly, freely and purely.<br /><br />Community is life-on-life intimate relationships among Christ-following believers. It is characterized by, in a word, <strong>love</strong>.<br /><br />In Christian community there is sacrifice, investment.<br /><br />Community comes at a high price.<br /><br />Community is messy, mysterious and frustratingly unpredictable.<br /><br />Community is not something that can be forced or hurried.<br /><br />Strategies and tactics are often of little use in the grand scheme of community. A thorough look at the life of our Community Exemplar – namely, JESUS – and one sees very little “plans” and “process.”<br /><br />That is because community nearly defies a recipe! (By the way, don’t forsake planning, setting goals, praying for results, making outlines and lists! Recall: <em>The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.</em> Proverbs 16:9)<br /><br />Jesus chose some friends, allowed them to live with Him, gave them things to do commensurate with their readiness for ministry and then he … kinda just … LIVED. And DIED that others might live.<br /><br />And his friends – having been in community with Jesus and having grown to trust and obey Him because He had been found to be TRUST-worthy – began to act like Jesus.<br /><br />Better yet, they began to LIVE like Jesus did. Outsiders “<em>recognized them as having been with Jesus</em>” (Acts 4:13) – community was successful, and the kingdom of God grew.<br /><br />Ya just gotta get in there and get dirty!<br /><br />Yet, community is the only environment in which true Kingdom Growth can take place. It is where believers practice new and godly forms of behavior with acceptance, patience and encouragement from others.<br /><br />It is not simply an act of our will. Yet, we must simply will to be with Jesus. Willing community is skipping a step. Community is only possible in and through those who have experienced the personal acceptance of Jesus (both in solitude and community). Then and only then do Christ-followers have something (namely, love) to give to others.<br /><br />In sum: For those who want to do and be about community.<br /><br />1. “<em>Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness</em>” (1 Tim 4:7b). I would suggest this where you decide to do things like pray, be alone with God, listen, fast, read your Bible, go to church, worship and so on. Seek both to learn about all these things and to practice each of them deeply, earnestly and regularly.<br />2. Pray for God to direct you into a true experience of community – the kind in which you can give and receive true love.<br />3. Live life with other Christ-followers.<br />4. Seek others – particularly those outside the faith – with whom you can influence as you live an intentional godly life.</span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">5. Read the New Testament and pattern your life after Jesus’. Find out how He lived, who He chose to hang out with, what He saw as important, what He did, then … go thou and do likewise!</span></div></div>Greg Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18154674989764272395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16947296.post-73209178020422161842009-02-07T16:14:00.000-08:002009-02-07T16:26:57.045-08:00AN EXERCISE IN PRAYER<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/SY4mxmeLx0I/AAAAAAAAAJI/Zao6VrdNykM/s1600-h/prayer.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300216445044246338" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 144px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/SY4mxmeLx0I/AAAAAAAAAJI/Zao6VrdNykM/s200/prayer.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">Find a quiet place where you can be alone.<br />Get in a comfortable position with your back straight.<br />Reduce distractions – pictures, things. Don’t turn out the lights.<br /><br />Sit and relax.<br />Shut your eyes and focus on as little as possible. Breathe.<br />Wait until you are aware that you are physically and mentally calming down. This may take a few minutes.<br /><br />You will be distracted. Deal with each one with repentance – acknowledge each one and return quickly to your task of prayer.<br />Recall the father’s reaction when the Prodigal Son returned – open arms of acceptance and joy!<br /><br />Read these words slowly and with a “listening heart.”<br /><br /><em>This is what the Sovereign Lord,</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>the Holy One of Israel, says:</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>“Only in returning to me</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>and resting in me will you be saved.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>In quietness and confidence is your strength.”<br /><br />So the Lord must wait for you to come to him</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>so he can show you his love and compassion.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>For the Lord is a faithful God.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>Blessed are those who wait for his help.</em> Isaiah 30:15,18<br /><br />Be aware that you are relaxing and focusing.<br /><br />Take a few moments to tell God Who He is – how wonderful He is.<br />Use your own words. If it is not too awkward, speak aloud in a soft voice.<br />Don’t allow negative thoughts to enter your mind about the “quality” of your words to Him.<br /><br />Read these words slowly and know that in praising God we draw near to Him.<br /><br /><em>Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>Worship the Lord with gladness.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>Come before him, singing with joy.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>Acknowledge that the Lord is God!</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>He made us, and we are his.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>We are his people, the sheep of his pasture</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>Enter his gates with thanksgiving;</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em><strong>Go into his courts with praise</strong>.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>Give thanks to him and praise his name.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>For the Lord is good.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>His unfailing love continues forever,</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>And his faithfulness continues to each generation</em>. Psalm 100<br /><br />Confess your sins to God.<br />Be specific. Start with these words: Read slowly.<br /><br /><em>Search me, O God, and know my heart;</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>test me and know my anxious thoughts.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><strong><em>Point out anything in me that offends you,</em></strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>and lead me along the path of everlasting life</em>. Psalm 139:23,24<br /><br /><em>Have mercy on me, O God,</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>because of your unfailing love.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>Because of your great compassion,</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>blot out the stain of my sins.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>Wash me clean from my guilt.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>Purify me from my sin.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>For I recognize my rebellion;</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>it haunts me day and night.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>I have done what is evil in your sight.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>You will be proved right in what you say,</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>and your judgment against me is just.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>For I was born a sinner—</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>But you desire honesty from the womb,</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>teaching me wisdom even there.<br />Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>Oh, give me back my joy again;</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>you have broken me—now let me rejoice.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>Don’t keep looking at my sins.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>Remove the stain of my guilt.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>Create in me a clean heart, O God.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>Renew a loyal spirit within me.</em> Psalm 51:1-10<br />But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 1 John 1:9<br /><br />Know now… try to experience the fact that you are forgiven, clean and pure before God!<br /><br />Take a couple of moments to thank God. Thank Him for the things in your life that have eternal significance. Be specific.<br /><br /><em>Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.</em> James 4:10<br /><br />Wrap up this time of prayer with ASKING.<br />Ask whatever you want!<br /><br /><em>Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God</em>. Philippians 4:6<br /><br /><em>Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it</em>. James 4:2<br /><br />Remember the words of Jesus to Blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:51):<br /><br />WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO FOR YOU?<br /><br />God is asking you that! Give Him an answer.<br /><br />Ask God for a humble heart.<br />Seek a heart which says,”God, I want what You want for me.”<br /><br />Maybe start a list of friends to pray for.<br />Ask God to bring your friends to mind during the day.<br />Ask God for ways to bless your friends.<br /><br />Finish your time with the Lord’s Prayer. Concentrate on each and every word.<br /><br />Tell yourself: Regardless of how I feel right now, this has been a Good Time!</span></div>Greg Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18154674989764272395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16947296.post-4523710944912270532008-12-26T16:41:00.000-08:002008-12-28T09:55:15.370-08:00Community as the Hope for the Church<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/SVWH0vJqUVI/AAAAAAAAAIs/hXwOxf1-qG0/s1600-h/penguins.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284279077869080914" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/SVWH0vJqUVI/AAAAAAAAAIs/hXwOxf1-qG0/s200/penguins.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/SVWGRNDjuZI/AAAAAAAAAIc/1JFI4UUJijI/s1600-h/Jesus+walking.jpg"></a><br /><br /><div align="left"><span style="font-family:verdana;">I think I want to chime in again... if that's OK. (I guess that is why we have the delete key.) (SEE BLOG BELOW)<br /><br />I think often about the church and her future; I can get pretty worked up if the truth be known!<br /><br />Let me build on a few of broad principles:<br /><br />1. God, by His very nature (Trinity), is relational (community).<br />2. That makes you and me - created in the essential image of God - relational, too.<br />3. (Therefore) Church - whatever else we make of it - is and must be relational.<br />4. Sin, like drift, provokes in us what I might broadly term anti-relationship.<br />5. The future of the church lies in her ability to re-capture COMMUNITY.<br /><br />Eugene Peterson in <em>A Long Obedience in the Same Direction</em>, in his chapter on Community, says, "Another way to avoid community is to turn the church into an institution" (pg. 179).<br /><br />This is true; in fact, you and I above the age of, say, 30, know very little about church that is not institutional. Therefore, as we try to come together post-Twentieth Century and post-Christian Era, we are entirely likely to build the church AS WE HAVE ALWAYS KNOWN IT. Getting out of a rut takes lots and lots of strength, courage and perseverance! Otherwise, we'll end up with just another version of the institutional church.<br /><br />I do not want to harangue on about what I think we oughta do at this point. I do want to make points, if you will, what I see will characterize the church successful.<br /><br />1. We need to take our lessons from … Jesus.</span></div><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br /><div align="left"><br />2. He reached the point of total surrender to His Father. He said, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work” (Jn 4:34). Those church-ers will be successful if they look, smell, and taste like Jesus because they have become so intimate with Him and His will. That is the first endeavor.<br /></div><br /><br /><div align="left">3. Jesus had three intimate relationships (Peter, James and John), nine in His Sunday School class, and seventy that He taught. His teaching was almost exclusively life-on-life. Jesus simply said to His friends, “Follow Me.” “Come live life with me.” Jesus was intentional and strategic about His relationships. Jesus knew He was worth knowing and being with. Successful church-ers will strategize their lives similarly.<br /></div><br /><br /><div align="left">4. Jesus was not hindered by church. Church was a normal part of his weekly life, but His ministry was not hampered because He had to park camels for early worship (what the institutional church calls “service ministry”). I do think Jesus served in the nursery as needed. Servants at heart do that kind of thing!<br /></div><br /><br /><div align="left">5. Jesus taught by example. Nowadays we call it “training.” Church-ers will not enlist; they will train, and train by example. Apprenticeship comes to mind at this point.<br /></div><br /><br /><div align="left">6. We must presuppose, as Jesus did, that people are ignorant and must be shown how to do relationships. Jesus did not conduct “sign-ups.”<br /></div><br /><br /><div align="left">7. Church-ers who get clued into this be-with-Jesus thing (not that complicated, I might add) will do anything and everything possible to obtain holiness. Look no further than Jesus: Jesus disciplined Himself for godliness (Mk 1:35, et. al.). Jesus practiced disciplines the institutional church is downright hostile toward! Like stillness, rest, prayer, and solitude.<br /></div><br /><br /><div align="left">8. Church-ers who desire success for the church understand incarnation. We are little Jesuses. That makes us worth knowing. It is good for those who do not know Jesus to be with us! Church-ers will spend a lot of energy simply doing relationships.<br /></div><br /><br /><div align="left">9. One caveat: Doing relationships is not the same as having a meeting. It is not the same as what we have come to know as “fellowship,” either! It is costly and dirty; mysterious, unpredictable and protracted, the fruits of which are in God’s hands!<br /><br />I am not intending to take pot shots at what we know as church. However, we are in a deep rut. May we aspire toward the charge leveled against Peter and John after being arrested for healing a lame beggar by the institutional church leadership:<br /><br />Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and<br />understood that they were uneducated and untrained men,<br />they were amazed, and began to<br /><strong>recognize them as having been with Jesus</strong>. Acts 4:13</span></div></div>Greg Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18154674989764272395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16947296.post-91962371713274347712008-12-05T18:15:00.000-08:002008-12-05T18:46:22.965-08:00What Ought We Be Becoming?<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/STnnZ6P_YbI/AAAAAAAAAHI/wtksJ96ESj8/s1600-h/SittingStill.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276502870760317362" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 146px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/STnnZ6P_YbI/AAAAAAAAAHI/wtksJ96ESj8/s200/SittingStill.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>This is a response to a conversation the leadership of our church is in regarding the ways and means of church, particularly how to get people un-stuck.<br /><br />Thanks for including me in this conversation. I perused it earlier in the week and it grabbed me; it is just now that I can sit, pray and write.<br /><br />The questions we ask and continue to ask are, indeed, from the heart. No question. We all want God to be glorified in and through ourselves, our families and our church. I am convinced we all want to see God's Kingdom built in our community.<br /><br />I want to challenge our ideas of what that is supposed to look like.<br /><br />What is the definition of "stuck"? I am afraid the answer is often subjective beyond my comfort: Not enough people are coming to church, not enough people are in small groups, giving is down, shallow faith is rife, people are leaving the church, etc.<br /><br />All the assessments below notwithstanding (all are "accurate" insofar as I can see, by the way); I think people are not stuck. I think they are right where they want to be.<br /><br />I am not sure what the remedy is, either. I am not even sure we need to be asking that question, as if: When we discover that "remedy" and DO it, then God is obliged to bless us - make our church healthy, big and growing.<br /><br />God is the giver of increase (1 Co 3:7). We are to be faithful, evangelize, make disciples, pray, pray for workers, pray for increase, assemble, worship, obey, raise our family "in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord," etc., etc.<br /><br />I remember J. I. Packer in <em>Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God</em> saying that the evangelist is finished evangelizing not when "he seals the deal" so-to-speak and a convert is made. Evangelism has taken place when we elicit a decision from the one to whom we have just shared.<br /><br />We must learn to battle in the realm of ideas; ideas we possess and live by that may or may not be God-honoring no matter how Christian they sound!<br /><br />I think the question might be changed from "What ought we <em>do</em>?" to "Who ought we <em>be</em> becoming?" This question is first and foremost and individual question long before it becomes a corporate one. We are to abide in Christ and He will, through us, bear fruit (Jn 15).<br /><br />Am I guilty of being with Him? Have I submitted the hours of my day to Him? Is my lifestyle such that if the plug were pulled on Christianity, I would be the laughingstock of the neighborhood for the silly and yet large investment I have made? Read 1 Corinthians 15:19!<br /><br />Do I know Jesus intimately? Do I smell like Jesus?<br /><br />Am I seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness? By the way, there it is again: "...And all these things will be added unto you... [by HIM!]."<br /><br />Richard Rohr in his book <em>Everything Belongs</em> uses the phrase "Don't push the river." You and I are traveling along life's journey in the boat of God's Providence. He "works all things at the counsel of His own will" (Eph 1:11). No doubt you and I are to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling" (Ph 2:12), choices matter! But, I think we could adjust our ideas a bit and learn - through our intimate relationship with Jesus - that our charge is to trust and leave the driving to Him.<br /><br />This is the death to self that the New Testament refers to.<br /><br />I blame Larry Crabb for the following indictment:<br /><br />You maneuver; you do not trust. You negotiate, you do not worship. You analyze to gain control over what happens; you do not depend. You seek the Better Life of God's blessings over the Better Hope of God's Presence. (From <em>The Pressure's Off</em>, pg. 8)<br /><br />Later in the book, Dr. Crabb introduces us to the "Papa Prayer." This is up against our traditional (what Crabb calls the "Old Way") - idea driven - prayer that goes like this:<br /><br />Change that.<br /><br />Whatever in my life is causing pain, I ask you to change it. Straighten out my daughter, give me a spouse, restore my health, provide an income.<br /><br />Use this.<br /><br />Show me what principles I'm to follow to make that happen. Direct me to the person or resources I need to help make it happen.<br /><br />Satisfy me.<br /><br />I long to feel alive, content, fulfilled, and happy. Do whatever it takes to make me feel satisfied with me, with life, and with You. (<em>The Pressure's Off</em>, pg. 209)<br /><br />Here is the Papa Prayer:<br /><br /><em>Present</em> yourselves to God as you are.<br /><em>Attend</em> to where you notice God's presence of absence.<br /><em>Purge</em> yourselves of whatever, at that moment, might be keeping you from noticing more of God.<br /><em>Approach</em> God with abandonment and confidence, dedicating yourselves anew to coming to Him to know and enjoy and reveal Him, not to using Him to make your life better. (The Pressure's Off, pg. 211. Incidentally, Crabb's next book, The Papa Prayer elaborates on this simple prayer.)<br /><br />To the church I say:<br /><br />Sit with Jesus. Allow Him to calm your soul. Realize when the calm comes that this is normal. Then learn to cultivate stillness, for it is in stillness that we see, hear and touch God.<br /><br />Live with each other. Ask for the eyes of Jesus when dealing with friends as well as enemies.<br /><br />Pray with maturity - for forgiveness, for others, for God to advance His Kingdom using you and me.<br /><br />Then, move out, calmly, into faith-driven obedience. And trust Him.</div>Greg Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18154674989764272395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16947296.post-2273699446994719512008-11-19T13:58:00.000-08:002008-11-21T12:53:32.570-08:00Eternal and Natural Therapy<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/SSSP_KJLmUI/AAAAAAAAAHA/Zgm2P0jLoG4/s1600-h/candle+prayer.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270495779147716930" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/SSSP_KJLmUI/AAAAAAAAAHA/Zgm2P0jLoG4/s200/candle+prayer.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">Never wait to praise God, when things are just peachy.<br />Praise Him ever - at sun up, at dusk. Praise Him because He is your own personal God.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />Can you praise Him when you are in circumstantial pain?<br />If so, you are numbered among those who know Him well enough that knowing God is Joy in itself, un-affected by anything ... anything.<br /><br />If not, your joy is circumstantial, fickle, unpredictable, shifting sand... idolatrous! It is more about you than God.<br /><br />If not, get there - you can, you know! Repent. Be with Him, think on Him. Imagine Him and His enormous love and care for you.<br />For you!<br /><br />And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.<br />Praising is really natural. Complaining is not.<br />Think on God! Do it a lot, for a long time.<br />Wrestle against distraction. We've been taught not to listen and think.<br /><br />Let's recover our natural bent to think long on God.<br />Eternal and natural therapy for the soul!<br />You and I were made for this. </span><br /></span>Greg Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18154674989764272395noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16947296.post-62905968847521237572008-04-29T16:17:00.000-07:002008-05-24T08:01:53.301-07:00God's YES !<a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/SBetu8k0ukI/AAAAAAAAAF0/P-sfhWT3c2Y/s1600-h/DNA.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194811717241322050" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/SBetu8k0ukI/AAAAAAAAAF0/P-sfhWT3c2Y/s200/DNA.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">Beth (not her real name) has captured my heart. I think she is my alter-ego. I see a ton o’ me in her… not all good, some good.<br /><br />Recently, as I was listening to a wise friend speaking about God’s YES, I had her very on my mind.<br /><br />Let’s say, before time began, God “pondered” whom He might create. Among His infinite and perfect thoughts were the names of forthcoming children. Deep in the heart of God, at one divine, sweet moment, God smiled Beth into existence! There was no Oops! God does not goof. Even before Beth actually came to be, she was “fearfully and wonderfully made” by the Master Creator.<br /><br />Beth is more magnificent that any beautiful sunset. She is more exquisite than the DNA of which she consists. She is gorgeous in the Eyes of God… and that is all that matters.<br /><br />I don’t think Beth has come to appreciate God’s beauty quite yet. Trouble is, when you and I and … Beth look in the mirror and have negative thoughts, we are audaciously dissin’ God’s sterling handiwork.<br /><br />God said YES to Beth. Not MAYBE or OH, WHATEVER. HE SAID <em>YES</em>!<br /><br />Beth is the only Beth there ever was or ever will be. She is one of a kind. She is a prototype of one. She is priceless. I can see God now! Through tears of joy and a quivering, smiling chin, He whispers, “Beth, I love you! I think I’ll give you lots of red hair! Yes, Beth, YES!”<br /><br />Beth hears lots of NO’s, the loudest of which are her own. God I pray for Beth. Mute the NO’s that have such a negative impact on Beth’s heart. Give her a chance to hear Your YES. Help me say YES to her for You.</span></div>Greg Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18154674989764272395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16947296.post-4638510551440092822008-04-05T07:07:00.000-07:002008-04-05T07:55:01.663-07:00On Living in the Present<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/R_eOEH_tdYI/AAAAAAAAAFs/zCnhltYFFzI/s1600-h/river.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185769697457304962" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/R_eOEH_tdYI/AAAAAAAAAFs/zCnhltYFFzI/s200/river.bmp" border="0" /></a> (From Henri J.M. Nouwen's <em>Here and Now</em>, p. 20)<br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">When we dare to trust that we are never alone but that God is always with us, always cares for us, and always speaks to us, then we can gradually detach ourselves from the voices that make us guilty [dwelling on the past] or anxious [fearing the future] and thus allow ourselves to dwell in the present moment. This is a very hard challenge because radical trust in God is not obvious. Most of us distrust God. Most of us think of God as a fearful, punitive authority or as an empty, powerless nothing. Jesus’ core message was that God is neither a powerless weakling nor a powerful boss, but a lover, whose only desire is to give us what our hearts most desire.<br /><br />To pray is to listen to that voice of love. That is what obedience is all about. The word “obedience” comes from the Latin word <em>ob-audire</em>, which means to listen with great attentiveness. Without listening, we become “deaf” to the voice of love. The Latin word for deaf is <em>surdus</em>. To be completely deaf is to be <em>absurdus</em>, yes, absurd. When we no longer pray, no longer listen to the voice of love that speaks to us in the moment, our lives become absurd lives in which we are thrown back and forth between the past and the future.<br /><br />If we could just be, for a few minutes each day, fully where we are, we would indeed discover that we are not alone and that the One who is with us wants only one thing: to give us love. </span>Greg Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18154674989764272395noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16947296.post-23497928432185639262008-03-30T17:42:00.000-07:002008-03-30T18:11:51.941-07:00Wasting Time With God<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/R_A6Q3_tdXI/AAAAAAAAAFk/wGzR1OJZ7kY/s1600-h/giants_parade_080205.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5183707232686929266" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/R_A6Q3_tdXI/AAAAAAAAAFk/wGzR1OJZ7kY/s200/giants_parade_080205.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head,</em> the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ<em>. My task is to bring out in the open and</em> make plain<em> what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along. Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels</em>! EPHESIANS 3:8-10 MSG (italics added)<br /><br />GOD’S PLAN FOR YOU AND ME IS TO BE SO ENAMORED AND CAPTIVATED WITH THE LOVE GOD HAS FOR US THAT WE UNDERGO A TRANSFORMATION WHEREBY WE ARE SO DIFFERENT, NOTICEABLY AND ATTRACIVELY DIFFERENT, THAT A LOST AND SEARCHING WORLD FLOCKS TO US LIKE FOOTBALL FANS DO SUPER BOWL TICKETS.<br /><br />The headline reads: CHRISTIANS DIVORCE AT A RATE HIGHER THAN NON-CHRISTIANS! Have we lost our minds?! Have I lost mine?<br /><br />Why is Tiger Woods the greatest golfer in the world? Because he acts like the greatest golfer in the world, that’s why! His behavior confirms his claims. He is consumed with golf – golf is his passion. His heart is for golf; his life is completely congruent to his claim. He is exactly what he says he is. (Mind you, I doubt if he, himself, has ever clamed such superiority, but you get my drift. And, the fact that he makes no claim is confirmation in and of itself!)<br /><br />Tiger’s eternal destiny aside, I absolutely admire the man because he is so authentic. He has committed his life to being the best at golf he can be and patterns his life perfectly accordingly.<br /><br />Now, take out golf and put in Jesus, church, or Christianity. BAM! We get it right in the kisser (or maybe the heart….). Is my life as congruent and consistent as Tiger’s? Is yours? NO. I could go on for days talking about all the ways the church is NOT the church, but neither of us need to be convinced of what we already know so sadly and clearly.<br /><em></em></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God</em> (Eph 3:14-19).<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><em>God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us</em> (Eph 3:20,21).<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">THIS IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE – you and I have been given the gift of knowing (relationally) the God of the Universe. This is the simplicity of the Gospel. And, the extent to which you and I BATTLE WITH ALL OUR MIGHT against DISTRACTIONS EVERY SECOND OF EVERY DAY, and simply become still long enough (Psalm 46:10) to know by experience our Loving and Relational God, we will smell like the One we represent, the One Who loves us infinitely, the One Who wants ALL to have this Pleasure.<br /><br />Hear the words of Jesus:<br /><br /><em>When he came back to his disciples, he found them sound asleep. He said to Peter, "Can't you stick it out with me a single hour? Stay alert; be in prayer so you don't wander into temptation without even knowing you're in danger. There is a part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there's another part that's as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire"</em> (Mt 26:40,41).<br /><br />We cannot be a church of activity if we have not been first and foremost the church passive, sitting with and enjoying the Presence of Jesus and receiving the spiritual impetus for all the activity. We cannot go out and win the lost if we as individuals have not been impassioned by spending time with Him in secret aloneness. We cannot give away what we have not received.<br /><br />You and I can become passionate for God, first for Him and then for His mission work. It begins alone in stillness… something of which the devil has robbed us. Just try to spend a scant 10 minutes alone with Him! Our brain shrieks of the stupidity of this “foolishness”! “You coulda been mowing the yard, paying the bills… leading someone to Christ!” What a waste of time stillness is!<br /><br />Well, it is in this wasting of time with Jesus that you and I hear the voice of God calling us His beloved! It is in times of silence and solitude that we are renewed – capable of letting God be God and not requiring the same of our world and friends.<br /><br />It is in stillness and solitude that we become passionate for God’s Kingdom work. And, not before then.<br /><br />To borrow a phrase: JUST DO IT.</span></div>Greg Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18154674989764272395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16947296.post-45991502087685128232008-01-06T15:42:00.000-08:002008-01-06T15:51:24.300-08:00Desk Calendar Devotion #3<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/R4FpcRZmaNI/AAAAAAAAAE0/ogc_SILZJqs/s1600-h/desk+calendar.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5152515383116589266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/R4FpcRZmaNI/AAAAAAAAAE0/ogc_SILZJqs/s200/desk+calendar.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">"I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches" (Ps 119:14). Compare Psalm 1:2. It's all about doing things God's way. When we do, life is smooth (in His eyes), we glorify Him, AND it brings US delight!</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">Imagine - delight - a part of my daily experience: the same kind of delight we experience when we eat fine chocolate! A non-delight-er is a sourpuss! The image of God in us LOVES to bring Him glory!</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">Today, Lord, may I unleash the power of Your Spirit in me and BRING delight to You ... AND ME!</span></div>Greg Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18154674989764272395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16947296.post-50716657678398005902007-12-30T12:02:00.000-08:002008-01-01T07:07:41.584-08:00Desk Calendar Devotion #2<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/R3f7LBZmaMI/AAAAAAAAAEU/lYpsydic_K8/s1600-h/desk+calendar.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5149860865694394562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/R3f7LBZmaMI/AAAAAAAAAEU/lYpsydic_K8/s200/desk+calendar.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Matthew 11:28 says, "Come unto Me, and I will give you..., many things to do to serve Me." I don't read it that way.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Ever remember a day just after a great night's sleep? Attitudes were sweet and positive. Work was ... almost ... a pleasure. Tempers were thick and life was enjoyed. Such is life for a believer who truly enters (and relies upon) God's holy Rest.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Might we consider a strategy whereby we prioritize and really DO rest, trusting the salvation of the world to Him. Too often our lives convey the idea that God can't do it without us</div>Greg Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18154674989764272395noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16947296.post-1274335938774683652007-12-29T11:38:00.000-08:002007-12-29T12:01:02.787-08:00Desk Calendar Devotion #1<a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/R3anbBZmaLI/AAAAAAAAAEM/E0DLIchNcXI/s1600-h/desk+calendar.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5149487306618857650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/R3anbBZmaLI/AAAAAAAAAEM/E0DLIchNcXI/s200/desk+calendar.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">"And lo, I am with you always...." How do we deal with a God who'll never leave us nor forsake us? Do we act as if He is here (both to love and to judge)? Is God's Presence existential? Can it be organic? May we feel it? Touch it? Know it?<br /><br />How ever we experience the Presence of God, it <em>is</em> there; it is <em>here</em>! He is Emmanuel - God is with us! Like the "opposite" of His transendence (other-ness), so His Presence is full and forever!<br /><br />We are guarded by His peace (Ph 4:7), we hope in the surety of His Spirit's righteousness (Eph 1:13; Hb6:12ff). His enduring and encouraging love does, indeed, last forever. Sin begets loneliness, worry, confusions, compulsions, and discouragement.<br /><br />Might we learn to climb into the lap of our Emmanuel!<br /><br />God is super-here!</span> </div>Greg Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18154674989764272395noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16947296.post-14784597776793638812007-12-26T19:36:00.000-08:002008-06-02T17:44:17.630-07:00Experiencing God?<a href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/R3MeBBZmaKI/AAAAAAAAADw/W7R4Zftp_3k/s1600-h/rose_window_big.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5148491801919121570" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/R3MeBBZmaKI/AAAAAAAAADw/W7R4Zftp_3k/s200/rose_window_big.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">I have a deep, continual and desperate desire to "experience" God. I also do not have a clear understanding relative to just what experiencing God is supposed to be like.<br /><br />Here is an idea that I do have, maybe right, maybe wrong: Experiencing God is a good thing. I think that if I show up (and I do) and allow Him to determine what happens during our time together, then I will “experience” Him and will have come to know Him better resulting in my detachment from the world, the flesh and the devil.<br /><br />Just now I sat quietly for around a half an hour. I tried to focus on Him and not my own stuff (although I did do some serious intercession) – I understand how me-centered prayer can be.<br /><br />I also understand a bit about God’s Grace, Providence and Timing. I understand that the previous 30 minutes was a good thing, period. I have God’s word on it.<br /><br />But, am I truly getting to know Him better? If that is defined as I did above, I begin to wonder if I am. I am inundated with evil thoughts, fantasies, and am very often drawn into sin.<br /><br />What does an “experience” of God look like? What does it feel? How can one improve on the “experience”? Sure, I understand the danger of connecting experience with feelings, but I just wanted to ask those questions anyway.<br /><br />I sure would like help… as if I’m not doing well “experiencing” God. Maybe I am doing well-er than I thought! Maybe I need to pray Psalm 139:23,24 more often and with more fervor. Maybe I have this deep hidden sin that remains un-confessed and therefore a mass impediment to my experience of God. Maybe, as Brennan manning says of his times with God, “I think He is just glad I showed up!!”<br /><br />Maybe God is holding out. Maybe I am going through a desert, and God is intentionally allowing me to experience dryness so that he can shape me somehow.<br /><br />Then, how do I explain my irritability? My impatience? My critical spirit? My fear? Why is peace so elusive?<br /><br />I know I am in good company with many of the psalmists, but often even that does little good in consoling me. I want, I long for an experience with God, to experience His manifest Presence, His divine Encouragement in a noticeable way. A way that, when it happens, I have a keen awareness of it. I sure would like to have an emotional thing happen. I mean, how do we know something happens if we don’t … experience it with some sort of sense, for crying out loud?<br /><br />I am not discouraged – maybe that is confirmation that I have, indeed, experienced God. I am not about to give up. I am not gonna quit, either! I am not going to live in the future when …. God has me in the now… where He is.<br /><br />He has promised that He is “with me always, even unto the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). That is good enough for me (possibly another sign that I have experienced God, huh?)</span></div>Greg Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18154674989764272395noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16947296.post-9393052376802979122007-12-25T12:20:00.000-08:002007-12-29T12:14:33.598-08:00He's Right In Front of You!<a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/R3F1rBZmaII/AAAAAAAAADc/6HLJD3Os-Us/s1600-h/nativity.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5148025231031822466" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_R2qLPKlr1LI/R3F1rBZmaII/AAAAAAAAADc/6HLJD3Os-Us/s200/nativity.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">The prophet asks the people: “<em>Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy</em>? (Isaiah 55:2a)”<br /><br />I ask that of myself very often. I spend so much time and energy, thoughts and money on all those things that, at the time, promise to fulfill me, yet I know wouldn’t and won’t… but I “bought” them anyway.<br /><br />I am convinced we all know – on a soulish level – that we have an eternal need within us, only met by something eternal, and are desperate without it.<br /><br />That “it” is Jesus. Oh, stop it! You don’t have to start that stale, been-around-forever crap that tries to refute Jesus being the “way, the truth and the life.” You’re sitting at a computer… no one is watching you. You’ve got nothing to prove right at this moment. Get real for at least one second!<br /><br />He <em>is</em> all that!<br /><br />What if He really, REALLY is all that? I think He is – I am convinced He is.<br /><br />I think every heart knows that.<br /><br />The birth of Jesus is irrefutable. ‘Tis the season we’re in right now! His claims are, too; the ones in which He claims to be God, the Savior and Creator of the world as well as the Alpha and the Omega (the beginning and end of all things).<br /><br />He died and came back to life – another irrefutable, scientific, empirically substantial fact!<br /><br />OK, OK. Enough of that.<br /><br />Back to me, personally. I am convinced. I am sure.<br /><br />I scribbled this in church yesterday at one and the same time totally convinced that Jesus is all I need, yet willing to chase rainbows of the most diverse and creative varieties.<br /><br />GOD IS HERE!<br />“I AM” IS WITH US.<br />HE IS OUR DESTINATION.<br />TERMINUS.<br />OBJECTIVE.<br />GOAL.<br />HE IS WHERE WE ARE GOING.<br />HE IS EVERYTHING.<br />HE FILLS US; HE FULFILLS US. HE TOTALLY SATISFIES US.<br />HE IS WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR; OH, THE CRAZINESS OF WORRY<br />AND DEMANDS.<br />DAMN YOU, SELF – YOU FROTHING LIAR!<br />HE IS THE HAND WE, THE GLOVE, RECIEVES.<br />HE HOLDS THE KEY… HE IS THE KEY!<br />HE IS MINE, I AM HIS.<br />THERE IS NO NEED TO LOOK ANYWHERE ELSE.<br /><br />On what do you base your life?<br /><br />One contemporary of Jesus asked Him (not a bad question in my estimation): “<em>Are you the One we’ve been expecting, or are we still waiting</em>? (Matthew 11:3 MSG)”<br /><br />Jesus’ reply seemed to say, “John, ol’ buddy, I have confirmed that I am The One way beyond any doubt. Now it is yours to believe or disbelieve.”<br /><br />My worldview must say – with the Psalmist (14:1) – “<em>The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God</em>.’”<br /><br />Suppose I am right and you disagree. Ergo, you spend the only life you have been given wastefully.<br /><br />Suppose I am wrong and you agree? So what? You spent the only life you have been given charitably.<br /><br />Suppose I am right and you agree. You’ve won the eternal lottery!!! Not only that, you begin receiving dividends even before they are due!<br /><br />Allow me to expand the prophet’s quote from above (Isaiah 55).<br /><br />Is anyone thirsty?</span><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">Come and drink—</span><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">Even if you have no money!</span><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">Come, take your choice of wine or milk—</span><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">It’s all free!<br />Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength?</span><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">Why pay for food that does you no good?</span><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">Listen to me, and you will eat what is good.</span><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">You will enjoy the finest food.<br />“Come to me with your ears wide open.</span><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">Listen, and you will find life.</span><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">I will make an everlasting covenant with you.</span><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David.<br /><br />Choose Life. No need to look elsewhere.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;">Merry Christmas!</span></div>Greg Whttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18154674989764272395noreply@blogger.com0