Clay in the Hands

We talked about prayer in our worship service this past Sunday and we will continue on that topic this coming Sunday.  If you read the book of Mark, you are struck with the sense that Jesus spent time in solitude (look here for an example).  He felt the need to get away and focus on communication with God.

Now if Jesus felt the need to spend time alone with God, how can we think that we could possibly live the way we know we should live if we don’t do the same?  Time alone with God in prayer and scripture reading are the foundation for living and growing in our relationship with God.

So where do you go to be alone with God?  What do you do when you are in that place?

I would love to hear your response – who knows, it might make it into the sermon this week.

Thanks for reading!

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Have you ever noticed how everyone looks forward to the weekend?  Why is that?  Is it because the days are different somehow?

The obvious answer is that the weekend brings days away from work – days off – for most people.  Isn’t it interesting that God knew we needed days off.  Genesis is clear in that when God was creating the world, the seventh and final day of creation was set aside for rest.  The writer could have just as easily said, “and on the 6th day God created . . .”  and ended the story there.  But God knew that we needed to understand the importance of rest – of time away from our regular routine.  So much so that the 7th day was included in the story to help us understand that rest is just as much a part of creation as the creation of the earth, the animals, the plants and us.  In order to function fully as God intended for us to function – to fulfill our calling as human beings – we need rest.

So what are you going to do with those days off?  I challenge you this weekend, or the next time off that you have, to 1) spend some time doing something totally different.  2) Spend some time in prayer and  3) spend some time with your family.  God will honor it and you will be ready to go for the next week.

Have a great and restful weekend – and thanks for reading!

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This morning I am thinking about living the transformed life.  When you stop and think about it, that is really what following Jesus is all about – striving to be more like him.

We have developed some concrete steps or tools to help us in our effort to become more like Jesus – scripture reading, prayer, worship, service, just to name a few.  These are all essential.  But lest we think this transformed life is something we attain, remember this:  God calls us to be faithful in what we know to do, but at the end of the day, the growth, the transformed life, comes from God – not our efforts.

I read a quote this morning that said, “We know that living a transformed life means living at God’s direction with grace-given capacity.  This is more than we can do on our own, and, in fact, living the transformed life does not mean trying harder.  It means trusting more and staying close to the only One who can make us more than we are.  As we learn to put our trust and faith in God, we become open and available to receive God’s forming and transforming power in our own lives.”  (Rueben P. Job)

Wow!  Do you find this a little liberating?  The drive that is within each of us tells us that if we want to see progress in whatever we are attempting, we have to try harder and push farther.  But we are reminded today that while our effort is an essential component to our spiritual transformation, it is not the essential element.  Trust in God.  Make yourself available to what God wants to do in and through you today and then watch God work a miracle.

Thanks for reading!

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I woke up this morning with this thought running through my mind.  I kept asking the question, “What does living the Christian life look like in a purely practical sense.”  Or put another way, if I say that I believe in Jesus and his teachings and have dedicated my life to follow him, then what should my life truly look like to those around me.  The answer that came to me and still comes to me almost hauntingly is this:  “The answer lies at the foot of the cross.”

If I imagine myself standing at the foot of the cross, with all the sites and sounds of that horrific event swimming around in my mind, I begin to see the life of an authentic Jesus follower in vivid clarity.  I am not saying that we must each die on a cross literally, but Jesus was very clear that following him meant dying to self and taking up our cross daily.

But lets keep this image concrete and tangible – the authentic life – the life lived in commitment to Jesus – is one of sacrifice and humility.  When I look at the cross, I see a man who gave up everything and humbly did what God told him to do for others – all others including you and me.  He sacrificed everything for what he believed in – what he knew God wanted.

So, I ask the question again, “What does living the Christian life look like in a purely practical sense.”  The answer lies at the foot of the cross.  The Christian life, authentically lived should be a life of humble sacrifice – giving ourselves completely over to whatever God leads us to do.

• Putting others’ needs before our own
• Loving not only those who love us but those who don’t
• Showing mercy and grace in our relations with one another
• Turning the other cheek and not demanding my rights if I have been wronged

(Just a very brief and incomplete listing of traits)

I challenge you today to think about this, “If I claim to be a Jesus follower, does my life show it – do others see it?”

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Many of you are probably old enough to remember when computers began to make their way into everyday life.  It was a new thing for most of us.  I was in graduate school in the late 80’s when I got my first computer.  It had a 20 megabyte hard drive and I thought I would never use that much memory (wow!).

Back then, the software was good for the time but there was an issue with putting things on the screen and then having to print the file to see what it would actually look like on the page.  Software that could give you the same look on the screen as the page proudly advertised the acronym WYSIWYG.  It became a word that people recognized.  The acronym stood for “What You See Is What You Get” – pretty creative huh?  You could format the document or spread sheet and see on the screen what it would look like on the page.

In thinking about all of this, I am reminded that as Christians, we are to be transparent.  When people encounter us, what they see should be what they get – no hidden agendas and no masks.  I realize this is counter-cultural.  The world would say “never show your hand” and “don’t let them see you cry.”  In other words, the world would say, “never let them see your true self.”  Wouldn’t life be simpler if everyone was just honest and transparent.

As Christians, we must set this example.  It is a challenge for sure, but one that we are called to live if we are going to follow Jesus.  Take the challenge!

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I listen to a daily devotional podcast done by the Jesuit order.  Most days are really good but today seemed to grab me more than normal.  The passage was out of Matthew (read it here) – the story of Jesus casting the demons out of the demoniacs and into the swine.  When the demoniacs first saw Jesus, they immediately recognized him as the Son of God and asked what he wanted with them.  After casting the demons out of the men and into swine, the herders ran into town and told everyone they saw.

The story ends with the entire town coming out and begging Jesus to leave the area.  The issue is that when people come face to face with Jesus, change happens.  The demons were afraid because they knew what was coming.  The townspeople were afraid because they did not want to be confronted by Jesus either.

I have to ask myself the same question, “What is it that I hold on to or maybe holds on to me, that causes me to resist Jesus and the transformation he wants for me?”  Am I ever guilt of saying, “Leave me alone Jesus!”?

I have not been able to shake this question.  I will live in this question today and pray for God to reveal to me how I can give all of myself to God.

How about you?  Is there anything you hide away or hold on to that prevents you from being fully devoted to God?

Something to think about.

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We, as a church, are gearing up to spend 7 days in the El Paso area on a mission trip.  I am really excited about how this trip is coming together.  There are people signed up for this trip who have never been on a trip like this.  I think this experience will be life-changing for all involved.

We finished up a study on the  book of James a couple of months ago.  The overall thrust of that book in the Bible deals with living out our faith.  Mission trips are a great way to do just that – getting out of our comfort zone and doing for others; not for what we get out of it but rather for what we can give. 

If we truly have faith in God, then the outflow of that faith should, no must be compassion for others.  The Bible says that if we say we  love God  but it doesn’t show in our actions toward others then we are liars.  Hey, I didn’t say it!  Look at it here.

If we have real faith, it will affect how we relate to those around us.  It will come out in love.  Is it possible to serve others without this faith?  Sure – its called social work and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that – in fact, it is one of the most honorable  and rewarding career paths I know. 

Is it possible to have faith and no visible outflow of compassion toward others?  Some say it is – it looks like legalism and empty spirituality.  Based on the Bible, I don’t think it is possible to have an authentic faith and not have visible signs of that faith acted out in the way we relate to others.  Now is it possible to get so wrapped up in our lives and in good things and neglect the best thing?  Sure.  In fact, I think that is what is wrong with the Church (big C) today.

I believe if our lives are to be full and meaningful and if the Church is to grow and flourish, we have to refocus our lives on living out our faith on a daily basis.

What does that look like on a practical level in your life?  I would love to hear your comments.

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We had our first night of our local sports camp last night and it was a blast.  We did not have very many kids there but I was really proud of our church folks who showed up to give of their time and to show the love of Jesus to kids.  There will probably be  many stories for the blog over the next few days, generated from this 3 day event.

Last night, when it came to the snack station, the snack crew had all the kids sit around the picnic tables and then served them red coolaid and animal cookies.  One of the little boys, Grady, got all excited and asked, “Is this Jesus’ blood and skin?”  We explained that it was simply a snack, but I had to move away so that no one could see me laughing.  It was great!

I have thought about that question since then and have been touched by Grady’s understanding of communion.  When we offer the sacraments in a service, we try and make it a worshipful experience which normally takes a very serious and solemn tone – and it should.  We state that the worship experience is to remember our Lord’s sacrifice of his blood and body when he died on the cross.

But how often does it become vivid and real to us?  Has it become just another ritual? Grady, so wise at 7, understands.  The sacraments symbolize something very real. They don’t just symbolize something intangible – they symbolize real blood shed, and real flesh that was broken and beaten and pierced – skin that can be touched.

Wow!  Thanks Grady for your wisdom!  It reminded me that Jesus’ sacrifice was very real and very personal!

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This past Saturday I had to finally bring myself to cut down three trunks of an oak tree.  We noticed last year that the leaves were not coming out as well in that area of the tree but thought maybe next year . . .  But, no that part of the tree is truly dead.  So I spent the day cutting, hauling and stacking wood and branches. 

As the first trunk crashed to the ground, I noticed in the cut I had just made, some white worms.  As we looked at the wood, we found holes bored all through it.  It appears that we found the culprits.  The first thought I had was, “I wonder if these little guys have friends and family eating away at our other oak trees.”  From the outside, the other trees look fine, but so did this one just a few short months ago.

The tree may have looked fine on the outside, but the inside was a different story.  The tree was being eaten away and was rotting.  It got me to thinking about people (as do most things I encounter).  Do people ever get into this situation – looking normal on the outside but suffering death on the inside?  Jesus used the metaphor of whitewashed tombs,  you can read about it here.  

What about you.  Do you work at appearing great on the outside but neglect the inside?  When people look at you, do they see a true picture or are you hiding what is really going on?  The point of the story today is not to make us feel bad, but rather to alert each of us to two facts.  The first is that we cannot ignore the inner life.  We must be committed and disciplined to spend time in God’s word and in prayer.  We do not ever want to fit Jesus’ description.  

The second fact is that we must never forget that the people we encounter may look like they have it all together but in reality, on the inside, they may be hurting.  God calls us to show grace and compassion – to everyone.

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I realized last night at worship here at youth camp in the midst of the mountains of Ruidoso and the smell of the pine trees that my own batteries have been dangerously low for a while now.  Sometimes it takes getting out of our normal environment for God to show us how empty we have become.  

I honestly wish I had more time to be here in this place with the students to witness what God will do here this week.  But God showed me something last night and even again this morning – even in times of drought, our call is simply to follow – just follow.  That is a good reminder for me.  I have committed myself to take the time this week to recharge and I have also committed myself to remember that even when I am not sure what God has for me, the best thing I can do is simply follow.  To follow means to do the things I know to do and that means to continue to seek God in prayer and in God’s word.  So that is what I will do!

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