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Archive for the ‘Formation’ Category

All You Can Eat Is Not Always The Best Choice

Posted in Formation on June 1, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Yesterday, Kristi, Bryson and I made a quick trip to Lubbock to pick up a few things.  Before heading home, we stopped by one of our favorite eating establishments which specializes in smoked meats – OK, we went for barbeque.  We were pleasantly surprised to find that we arrived on an evening offering all-you-can eat ribs.  It has been a while since we indulged in ribs and so we decided to splurge.

You may be thinking, “A perfect end to a holiday.”  I would normally agree with you but here is the catch.  I cannot eat at this particular place without paying the price with indigestion and nausea several hours later.  I am not sure if it is the barbeque or the fact that I eat until I can hardly walk.  So sitting down to order, I knew the price that indulging would force me to pay.  But I chose to pay the price for the enjoyment of the moment.

This reminded me of the struggle we all have with sin.  Paul dealt with this struggle just as we do today.  You can read about it here.   The problem is that we are basically selfish and self-centered.  We want our own way and we want it now – regardless of the price we may pay later.

Jesus never told his disciples that following him would be easy.  Following him means putting our desires aside in order to give ourselves completely to living as Jesus lived – for others.  I challenge you today to strive to deny yourself and take up your cross and follow Jesus.

Just as the barbeque was not worth the momentary pleasure – so sin is not worth the alienation from God that it causes.  Stay strong today.

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It’s In the Surrendering

Posted in Formation, Grace on May 25, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Last night I couldn’t sleep.  So I got my earbud headphones and listened to the Jesuit devotional, Pray As You Go, devotional for yesterday.

The reading for the day was the story of a man who wanted to know what he needed to do to get to heaven.  Jesus pointed out that he needed to keep the commandments.  The man replied that he had been doing that since birth.  So Jesus responded with the instruction that the man must sell all he had and give the money to the poor and then come follow him.

The account says the man went away grieving because he had many possessions.

Listening to this reading did not help with my inability to sleep, in fact, it gave me something else with which to wrestle.  As I laid there pondering the story, I was reminded that following Jesus is really about surrender.  In order to truly follow Jesus, pleasing him and living as he lived must be our first priority.

This is a daily struggle.  I have mentioned this before but the problem with being a living sacrifice is that we have the ability to constantly crawl off the altar.  Daily we must commit to surrendering our desires to Jesus and taking on his desires as our own.  I can say that over time this becomes a bit easier, but don’t let anyone ever tell you they have it mastered!

So what is Jesus asking you to surrender to today?

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Catching the Wind

Posted in Church, Formation on May 14, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I had to run an errand on Tuesday of this week and when I returned to the church what I saw really brightened my day.  Our King’s Kids (parents’ day out program) were in the field across the street from the church.  They were running around having a blast.  It was a warm day and other than a little wind (which was beneficial for their activity) it was a glorious day.

The kids were having kite day – but not your typical kind of kite.  These were hand made and special – as much wind catchers as kites.

Who would have ever thought of making kites from plastic bags?  These kids were having the time of their lives.  I appreciate the ladies who make our King’s Kids possible and the work they do with the children.

It is so important for kids to have fun at church.  I have come to believe that adult commitment to the church is often directly linked to the cumulative experience a person has had with the church from an early age.  In other words, people who have had a bad experience in church as children or students are far less likely to be involved as adults.

This is not to say that church should be all fun and games.  Obviously, one of the primary goals of the church is to partner with parents to strive to help children grow spiritually.  But there must be a balance between enjoyment and learning – and all of it has to be grounded in loving, safe and supportive relationships.  The key is to learn to harness the enthusiasm and fun and direct it in constructive ways toward spiritual growth.

I would love to hear what your church is doing to minister to children.  We can learn a lot from each other.  Leave a comment and let me know.

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Day Full of Prayer

Posted in Formation, Hope, Missions on May 6, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Today is the National Day of Prayer.  People all across America are gathering to pray.  It is exciting to see the news of groups gathering to pray for their city officials or to lift up their schools.  It should be a reminder of just how great the nation is in which we live – an environment that still allows this kind of activity.

As I think about setting aside a day to pray, it stirs up a couple of thoughts in me.  One is that we allow ourselves to become so busy that it takes setting aside a day as a reminder to stop and pray.  I hope that today will remind us that every day should be a day of prayer.

The second thought is that while praying for God to move in our nation or to guide our leaders or to work through our schools are all worthy and needed prayers, maybe today we should include praying that God will change the world through me.  So often, even our prayer life reflects how we think the problems of the world have their source in something or someone other than ourselves, ie. “God, help them make better decisions.”  “Dear Lord, change their hearts.” “Holy Father, provide for the hungry.”  Maybe our prayers today (and every day) should be a little closer to home.

My prayer for you and for me today is this:  Holy and merciful Father, use me today to make a difference in a hurting world.  Burden me with a passion to see lives changed for you.  Strengthen me with your patience and power to stick with it long enough to see that change happen.

Bess someone today!

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Nothing Is Impossible

Posted in Formation, Hope, Motivational on May 4, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I am here, and last night I had the blessing of sitting in an amazing worship service and hearing Andy Stanley speak on the impact that the reality of life can have on our dreams.  I am not talking about the dreams we have when we are sleeping, I am talking about the dreams we have when we are awake.  Maybe the things we used to have but don’t much take time for any more.

The reality of the world has a tendency to squash our dreams into something manageable.  When it comes to following God’s will for our lives, that is a tragedy!  Why is it that we have allowed our circumstances to affect our ability to dream – to imagine what God could do?

Have we forgotten that God created this world?  Or that Jesus was truly raised from the dead after three days?  If there truly are no limits for God, then why do we insist on trying to limit God’s ability to do mighty things through us?

Stop it!  Stop it today!  Stop it now!

Ephesians 3:20-21 says this:  “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

God will surpass anything we can imagine if we do not place limits.  So take some time to dream today.  What does God want to do through you?

It can happen!

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Ask Me and I Will Do It

Posted in Formation, Hope on May 3, 2010| Leave a Comment »

This morning, the Pray-As-You-Go reading was out of John 14.  As I listened to the reading about Jesus being the Way to the Father, I was reminded of something.  The reading ended with verse 14 (take a look at John 14:13-14 here).  The question then asked  for meditation was this:  “Do I take seriously Jesus’ promise in these verses?”

Jesus made it clear that he would do whatever we  ask, when we ask it in his name but what does that mean?

Jesus used a phrase, “in my name” to clarify that our requests must be in line with his heart – in other words, we need to be asking in the frame of mind of the old question, “What would Jesus do?”  I think verse 13 helps us understand this idea a little better.  Jesus tells his followers that the purpose is for the Father to be glorified through the Son.

As long as God will receive glory, Jesus will do anything we ask of him.

Do you truly believe that whatever you ask of Jesus, he will do?

That is a promise I plan on meditating on all day!

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Faded Desire

Posted in Formation, Hope, Motivational, Uncategorized on April 30, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Shane Hipps, in his book, Flickering Pixels, deals with the role of the heart in spirituality.  He explains that it is the heart – emotions – that drives desire and without desire our spirituality dries up.

. . . the most damaging effect of suppressing the heart is that it deadens desire.  That deep longing for life, love, and God fades.  Instead, we come to expect less from life.  We acquire the bland taste of a domesticated god who resides somewhere in our head.  But our head is not home for the divine.  The head helps us understand the divine from a safe distance.  This is a powerful and valuable enterprise to be sure, but there is a difference between knowing about God and knowing God.

I don’t know about you but I do not care to serve a “domesticated god.”  The God I choose to serve is full of mystery and strength, love and grace, justice and mercy.  There is no domestication of the one true God – and we should rejoice in that fact!

How faded is your desire?  How badly do you want to move beyond knowing about God to a point of truly knowing God?  Do not seek knowledge – seek a relationship.

Father, may you fill us with desire to truly know you today and to grow in our relationship with you!

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Portal to the Heart

Posted in Formation, Grace on April 29, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Whatever is in your heart comes out in your actions and your words.  Matthew 12:34-37 speaks to this – you can read it here.

This is a powerful passage.  Our words are a reflection of who we really are inside.  We can say, “I didn’t mean that,” after we have said something we regret.  But the reality is that the words coming from our mouths are an overflow from our hearts.  Our mouths give the world direct access to our being – scary isn’t it?

I don’t know about you, but some days I need a check valve in the line from my heart to my mouth.

We can work on keeping our words in check but the point for us to wrestle with today is this:  the key to this dilemma is to constantly work on what is in our hearts.  If our hearts are filled with hate, jealousy or selfishness, then the words coming from our mouths will reflect that reality.  My prayer for us today is Psalm 51:10 – “Create in me a pure heart, oh God.”

What is filling your heart today?

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Persistently Consistent

Posted in Formation, Hope, Motivational on April 21, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I have been reminded this week of the joys of getting back into the swing of exercising on a regular basis.  Today marks day three.  I am still in the phase of not being able to walk normally nor straighten my arms.  I told myself I would “ease” back into it slowly.  But as has been my pattern in the past, I worked up the desire to get back into the gym and once there, over did it – now I am paying the price.

However, I know from experience that the answer to my pain is consistency.  Eventually, the pain will subside and over time, the sacrifice of a little sleep will result in more energy and better flexibility.

I have found that my spiritual walk shares many of the same characteristics.  The key to any spiritual practice is consistency.  So often we allow ourselves to relax in our commitment to pray and read the Bible and before we are fully aware of it, we have gone weeks without spending time with God.  So we resolve to jump in and often overdo it – overcommitting ourselves and soon we are burned out and even worse, feeling guilty about it.

But if we can ease into a routine of spending time with God, carving out 20 minutes or so, 3 or 4 times per week and remain consistent, then in a matter of days we will begin to feel more energy, peace and joy in our lives than we have ever experienced.

Spiritual progression comes from God, but we have to persistently do our part.  Commit today to stay consistent in your routine of spiritual practices – your walk in following the Way and then stick with it – don’t let up.

You will never regret time spent with the Creator of the Universe!

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A Thirst for God

Posted in Formation, Grace on April 20, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I have mentioned before that I regularly listen to the Jesuit podcast, Pray as You Go.  It is a 10 minute daily devotional done in a guided Lectio Divina format (spiritual reading).  I encourage you to check it out.  You can do that here.

At any rate, the opening question in yesterday’s podcast was this, “Can you feel that thirst within you that only God can quench?”

I had to wrestle with this question.  I am not sure that I can, at least not on a regular basis.  Sure, there are times when I am sensitive to God’s leading in my life and to the desire that I have to be guided.  But on a daily basis, I have to admit that I get wrapped up in doing what I think “has” to be done and neglect the fact that I should be more focused on what God wants me to do.  I should thirst for God as if my life depended on it because it does.

Do you ever find yourself in this situation?  Perhaps you are there today.

If so, here is my prayer for us today:

Father, you know that we love you – that we desire to be loved by you.  But so often we get busy in our routine and neglect to truly seek after you.  Fill each of us today with an insatiable desire and thirst for you – for more of you!  May we not be able to truly rest unless it is in you!

Amen

May you be satisfied today by the Living Water!

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