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Archive for the ‘Grace’ Category

Complete Surrender

Posted in Formation, Grace, Hope on March 22, 2011| 1 Comment »

This morning, I sat down in my chair to have my prayerful reading time (Lectio).  I spent some time centering myself in preparation for my time with God – trying to clear my thoughts so that nothing would hinder my hearing what God wanted to say.  The concept I focused on to try and clear my mind was the idea of complete surrender.  Each time a random thought would enter my head, I would think the words, “complete surrender.”

The passage I read was Proverbs 3:5-15.  I struggled as I read.  Nothing was jumping off the page at me.  I meditated on the verses and then went back for a second reading.  Still – not much happened.  I meditated on the idea of God’s discipline and on wisdom and then went back for the third reading.

Throughout this process, I continued to think the words, “complete surrender.”

As I closed my time in prayer, I became a little frustrated that I did not feel I had met with God.  I did not sense an encounter in which God spoke to me through the words I was reading.  I thought back over the passage as I prayed, and I remembered the first words in verse 5 – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”

I began to think about my experience.  I had entered into this time of prayer and reading with the expectation of hearing from God.  I had entered into this time with the idea that I would be completely surrendered to what God would say.  As I thought about my time, I remembered that I may not sense a vivid connection with God each time I sit down to read and pray.  That is not to say God is not present or that God is not listening and speaking, but somedays are more clear than others.  But complete surrender means I put myself in God’s hands regardless.

Then it dawned on me – that is the trust God expects of me.  Complete surrender requires complete trust.  I may not always “feel it,” but that doesn’t mean I stop trusting or surrendering.

So here is my prayer for you and for me today:

God, I do trust you.  I know that you are present and that you have plans for me today.  I surrender myself to you.  Use me as you see fit today.

Amen

Be blessed!

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Inconvenient Love

Posted in Community, Grace, Hope on March 21, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Bobby seemed like an old man the first time I remember meeting him as a kid.  It was strange because I had been taught to address adults with sir and ma’am but Bobby was just always Bobby.  He would stop by our house periodically and stay for hours – just talking to my parents – particularly my dad.  I didn’t understand it at first.  I didn’t realize that my parents were showing him Jesus’ love and grace through their actions.

You see, Bobby was in his 50’s or so, but he had the mind of an adolescent.  He was known all over town but he was lonely because few people would have anything to do with him.  And honestly, I can understand that because if Bobby had you cornered, you could not get away for an hour or more – at least not without being rude.  So people avoided him.  When they saw him coming, they ducked out of sight.  If they saw him approaching their homes, most would not answer the door.  He really didn’t have anyone.

My parents took the time to show Bobby respect and offer him something many would not take the time to offer – love and dignity.  That is what Jesus would have done.  That is what Jesus called my parents to do and so they did.  Through their actions, I was taught that showing God’s love is not always convenient.  It rarely fits our schedule to stop and take time for someone needing attention.  But it is part of what it means to be a follower in the Way.

I am so incredibly blessed to have grown up in my parents’ home!  Much of what I learned about what it means to be a Christ follower I learned from them – sometimes by verbal instruction, but more often by mere example.

Thanks Dad and Mom!  You are at the top of my list of heros!

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Sharing Hope Through Gentleness

Posted in Grace, Hope on March 11, 2011| Leave a Comment »

I use Bible Gateway for my online Bible.  Anytime I need to look something up, it is there to help.  Last night I went there to do a little reading and on the home page they list a verse of the day.  Yesterday’s verse was this:

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,   1 Peter 3:15.

What an amazing reminder.  Our entire approach to how and why we should share our story is found here.  We share our story to explain the hope that we have in Jesus.

I don’t know how often you stare hopelessness in the face, but when you do, there is no mistaking it.  You can see it in a person’s eyes.

The writer of 1 Peter reminds us that for those who follow Jesus all out, we have a hope that makes a non-believer curious.  A hope that allows us to hear a bad report from the doctor and yet still know that God is in control.  Don’t think for a second that the hope you have is not obvious to others.  It is obvious because it is not the cultural norm.  It doesn’t make sense to a person who doesn’t follow in the Way.

So this verse tells us that we should be ready when someone asks us how on earth we can still have hope when the world around us is falling apart.

But don’t miss the final instruction from this verse.  The writer says we must be ready and willing to share our story and to do so with gentleness and respect.  I have used this cliché before, but it is true – people don’t care what you know if they don’t know that you care.

Our sharing of our stories must be done through a relationship.  We must be gentle and show love and respect to others.  Quite honestly, just as much hope will be communicated through that gentleness and respect as will be relayed through your telling of your story.

As St. Francis is credited with saying, we should tell others of the love of our Savior and when necessary, use words.

Show hope through gentleness and respect today.

Be a blessing!

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The Art of Becoming

Posted in Formation, Grace on February 16, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Who are you?  Have you answered that question before?  Typically when we meet someone for the first time we introduce ourselves.  We offer our name and then what normally comes next?  I would estimate that 80% of the time, the next question is “What do you do?”

We often define ourselves by what we do – “I am a teacher” or “I am a business owner” or “I am a student.”  But is that who we really are?

A couple of years ago, I read a book that I still refer back to occasionally.  Joshua Choonmin Kang is the author, and the book: Deep-Rooted in Christ – The Way of Transformation. In his book, Kang says this:

God is more concerned with who we are than who we think we are.  He doesn’t care how many tasks we do or how big they are.  What matters is that we become what God wants us to be.  Until that time, God won’t take delight in our activities.

Who we are becoming is more important than who we are – or think we are.  As followers in the Way, we are to become who God wants us to be – and the picture of that desire is Jesus.  We are to strive to be like him.  It takes work.  It takes discipline.  It takes time – a lifetime in fact.

It begins with a commitment.  A decision that only you can make to follow Jesus – his teachings and lifestyle.  This requires spending time with him in conversation – daily.  It also requires spending time studying his teachings.  It requires actually living out the lifestyle you have adopted.  We can’t say we follow Jesus if our actions don’t reflect his actions.

Hebrews 12:1-3 says this:

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

When you think you can’t follow through with your commitment of becoming, stop and think of Jesus.  Becoming like Jesus is more than a Sunday morning activity.  It is a lifestyle.  Just remember – who you are becoming is more important than what you do.  God is more concerned about who you become and that should be all that matters!

Who are you becoming today?

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I Be Blessed

Posted in Formation, Grace, Hope on February 10, 2011| Leave a Comment »

This morning as I lay in bed praying and thinking about the day, my thoughts drifted to how I have been blessed.  I have a decent place to live – in fact, in comparison to most of the world, I live in luxury.  I have a wonderful family – loving wife and three amazing sons.  I have friends who love and support me.  I have never had to worry about whether or not my family would have enough to eat.  I am truly blessed.

But here is what makes me feel blessed all the more – I don’t deserve any of it.  God has blessed me so that I can in turn be a blessing.  I have not been blessed out of anything I am due – I have been blessed simply because God loves.  The blessing is not in what I have but whose I am.

LaPinsky Phillips has been mentioned here many times – he is a dear friend whom I cherish.  His response to the question, “How are you?”  is always, “I be blessed.”  I have written about him here.  I would encourage you to link to that post and scroll down to the comments.  LaPinsky explains it best himself.

Today, I be blessed!

How about you?

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Misguided Prayer

Posted in Formation, Grace on January 12, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Today in my prayer and reflection time, I was reminded that my prayer is often misguided.  I was reminded that my prayer should not be for God to look at my plans and bless them but rather it should be for God to work in my mind and heart to mold me into someone useful for God’s plan.

Jesus didn’t come to sanction our activity.  Jesus came to call us to a new way of living.

Remember to turn your plans over to God today.  Remember to live as Jesus taught us to live.

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He Did It For You

Posted in Grace, Hope on December 23, 2010| Leave a Comment »

This week, the wait is finally over.  This week we listen again to what angels heralded.  This week we remember what wise men traveled many, many miles to witness.  This week we rejoice in God’s ultimate plan.  This week we celebrate the coming of the Christ – Immanuel – God with us – Jesus!

Jesus is the reason for the season – but more importantly, He is the hope of our lives.

Don’t let this Christmas get by you without spending some time pondering the impact God made by leaving heaven to be born as a peasant in a world that would reject Him.  God did it for love.  God did it for you!

Merry Christmas!

 

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Scars At Christmas

Posted in Grace, Hope on December 2, 2010| 1 Comment »

I have the exciting opportunity to speak to the South Plains College BSM (Baptist Student Ministries) luncheon today at the Reese campus.  I have been thinking about this opportunity for a few days and what I should talk about.  Obviously, the thoughts of Christmas are on all of our minds.  However, I don’t really know why but I have been thinking about scars.  I have talked about scars in the past.  You can take a look at that post here.

In the context of Advent (the coming of Christmas), I am reminded that God decided to come personally to a hurting and scarred world.  All of us have scars.  Some of them are physical, visible scars and some are possibly a little less noticeable – emotional or even spiritual scars.

In the midst of our scars, today we need to remember that God loves us in spite of our scars.  In fact, it is not unusual that our scars give us an understanding of the depth of God’s love.  You see, God loves us regardless of our past mistakes.

Remember that God loves us with all our problems and rebellion, with all our bad decisions and self-centeredness.  So much so that Jesus actually came to live among us and teach us about God’s forgiveness and grace.  This is the story of Christmas.  This is what I will think on today as I look upon my own scars.

How about you?

 

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Thankful In The Midst

Posted in Formation, Grace, Hope on November 23, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Yesterday, I talked about the instructions in James chapter 1 that tells us we should be joyful when we encounter trials (you can link to that post here).  We talked about the difference between joy and happiness.

This morning as I sat down to have my prayer time, I read a blog post from Jim Dennison.  I ran across his blog, God Issues, a couple of weeks ago and have been reading it pretty regularly since.  Today, his post goes right along with this idea of joyfulness in the midst of struggle (you can link to his full post here).

Jim makes a very interesting and helpful point in his discussion of 1 Thessalonians 5:18.  He points out that Paul did not say, “Give thanks for all circumstances.”  What Paul said was, “Give thanks in all circumstances.”  Isn’t it amazing what a difference one little preposition can make!  We don’t have to be thankful for the trials and struggles that will come our way.  But we do need to remain thankful for God’s provision even in the midst of them.

Regardless of what life throws our way, God is still in control.  Psalm 11:4 says, “The LORD is in his holy temple;
the LORD is on his heavenly throne.”

So today, no matter where you are or what you find yourself dealing with, give thanks for there is a bigger picture being created and God is the one holding the brush!

 

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Trust Is the Key

Posted in Formation, Grace, Hope on October 13, 2010| 1 Comment »

I am getting really close to finishing the book of Romans.  Today I read further into chapter 15 and was reminded that I need to work on trusting God more.

Paul offers a blessing right in the middle of the chapter which I find a little odd.  Normally, Paul opens his letters with a formal greeting and then somewhere near the end he closes with a form of a blessing.

But here it is right there in verse 13.  He reminds us that one of the characteristics of God is hope and that God will fill each of us with joy and peace as we trust.

It would be easy to read over this verse (as I have done before) and miss the implication of Paul’s words.  He says that God will fill us with joy and peace as we trust God.

How many times do we pray and beg God for peace about something.  Or how often do we pray for God to make us happy or make things “good.”  And then as soon as we finish praying, we sit there and expect God to make it happen immediately.  We often expect some kind of Godly intervention to miraculously happen that makes our lives alright.

What Paul is saying is that the joy and peace will come but it will come when we let go of our expectations and trust that God really does know what we need.

Speaking from first-hand, real-life experience – that is very easy to write in this post but much more difficult to put into practice.  But today – that is what I am going to do!

So, in the words of Paul (Romans 15:13)

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.


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