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Archive for the ‘Hope’ Category

God Can’t Be Contained in the Temple

Posted in Formation, Hope, Missions, Motivational on September 18, 2009| Leave a Comment »

I was listening to a sermon by Rob Bell the other day and he got me to thinking.  When Jesus gave up and breathed his last, Matthew 27:50-51 says the curtain in the temple was ripped from top to bottom – why not bottom to top?  To prove it was God breaking into our reality.

For generations, the mentality of the people had been that the Temple was the center of their spiritual world.  It was the home of God – so much so that only one person could enter in to that place and only once per year.  Even then, the priest would have a rope tied to his ankle in the case that their sacrifice was not pleasing and God decided to strike the priest dead – they could then pull out the body.

When Jesus came, he broke into humanity – came and lived among us – experienced life just as we do.

When Jesus died, the curtain separating “God” from the world was torn from top to bottom.

What did this mean?  For starters, it meant that no longer was coming into God’s presence limited to one person a year.  No longer would man be hindered from coming to God.  No longer would man be kept out of God’s presence.

But here is another aspect to this event.  Not only was man no longer kept out of God’s presence, God was no longer kept in that place.  No longer should the temple be seen as the sacred dwelling place of God.

We know that the building is not the church, the people are the church.  We state that there is nothing particularly holy about the church building.  But do we understand that God is all around us?  Do we gather on Sundays in order to find God?  Do we expect to come into God’s presence?

Or is the point of gathering to listen and learn how to find God everywhere else?

This change in focus has the power to change everything!  God is not limited to a building.

Our lives should not be compartmentalized – we should not have our church life, our work life, our play life – etc.  Jesus should be in all parts of our lives.

Do you see Christ in everything?  Do you look for him in everyone?  Remember, Jesus said, “In as much as you have done it to the least of these, you have done it to me.”

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Lessons From a Flying Squirrel

Posted in Community, Formation, Grace, Hope, Motivational on September 16, 2009| 1 Comment »

I had the unique experience of participating for the last two and a half days with a great group of people in a leadership retreat.  Leadership Levelland began this past weekend.  We were bused to a Christian camp a couple of hours north of here where we had sessions on leadership, personality studies and various activities.  On Monday, we spent all day on the challenge course – all 26 of us.  We did all kinds of different things there but one of my favorite was called the Flying Squirrel.

In this element we had 12 people.  One person was hooked to one end of a long rope that extended up to a pulley 30 feet off the ground and then down to the other 11 who were hooked to the rope as well.  There were simple instructions:  “The squirrel (ie. me in this case) runs in one direction, and the team runs in the other direction.  When all the slack is taken out of the rope, the squirrel will be immediately carried 20 feet in the air.”

I was excited.  This was going to be a rush.  The facilitator counted off and on 3, I ran one way and the team ran the other.  I took off as fast as I could – the part I failed to remember is that I don’t run much.  I was trying so hard to make this work that I lost my balance and fell flat on my face, Superman style, in the dirt about 10 from where I started.  (Yes, in my mind I had envisioned this very differently).  Just as I was doing the chest crawl to try and get back up, the team hit the end of the slack in the rope and I shot 20 feet in the air.  It was still a rush!  The others watching said all they could see was me go down into the dirt, a big cloud of dust and then me shoot up out of the cloud – I am sure it was quite a sight.

Here are two of the things I took away from the flying squirrel experience.  One is that sometimes when we are trying new things and working our plan as best we can we still fall.  It doesn’t mean that we are a failure, it just means that we failed in that one thing – we have to get up and keep trying.

But the most important aspect to this experience was the reminder that when you have a team working for the same goal, they are there to pick you up.  We are all in this together.

So where are you today?  Have you fallen?  Get up, dust off and keep going.

Or, are you the person who should be helping someone else up after they have fallen?

As Christians, we are all on the same team, striving toward the same goal.  Reach down and pick someone up today.

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Rest in the Presence

Posted in Formation, Hope on September 14, 2009| 2 Comments »

Saturday night I could not sleep but I had an overwhelming sense of being drawn to a time with God.  Now before you put me in the “mystic” column (which wouldn’t be a bad thing), I didn’t hear an audible voice or anything, but there was a distinct burning desire in my heart to be alone with God.  So I got up, went out on the back deck, built a fire in the chimnea and just sat for a couple of hours.  It was a beautiful, peaceful and quiet night with a little chill in the air – I couldn’t have asked for anything more.

One would think, at this point in the story, that God had some life-changing revelation for me and I will forever be different because of getting out of bed and going to meet with God in that time and place.  But nothing happened (at least nothing life-changing and revelatory).  But what did happen is that I rested in knowing that God was all around me and I could just live in that moment with God and know that God is in control and has a plan.

So here is my reminder for you.  So many times we get discouraged in our daily walk because we set time aside to meet with God and it seems flat or uneventful.  But the next time that happens for you, remember to simply rest in God – rest in the fact that God is all around you and loves you!

Shouldn’t that be enough anyway?

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Out of Context

Posted in Formation, Hope, Motivational on September 10, 2009| 3 Comments »

A couple of years ago I was at a conference for church leaders. I was walking toward one of my sessions when I met up with a familiar face. Have you ever seen someone and thought, “I know I should know this person” but you could not remember their name nor how you know them? This happens to me all the time.

We shared cordial conversation consisting of questions like, “how are you enjoying the conference?” and “tell me where you are from?” It was at that point that things got interesting. As it turns out, the person was from right here in town.  At that point, I was really confused.  I had assumed the person was there from another church.  I finally had to ask, “How do we know each other?”  At that point the person said, “I am your pharmacist.”

Then it clicked.  I had assumed she was there at the same conference I was attending for church leaders but she was in the same convention center attending a conference for pharmacists!

The point to this story is this – in a white lab coat, behind the counter at the pharmacy, I would have had no problem recognizing this person.  But out of that context, 300 miles from home, I could not place her.

How often do we miss God in action because we have a preconceived idea of the context in which we will see God.  God is at work today, at every turn.  Remember that we must be sensitive to see God and recognize God’s work in even the most unlikely places and times.

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Zoom Out for a Bigger Picture

Posted in Formation, Hope on September 8, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Do you ever get bogged down in your daily life?  Do you ever get so overwhelmed with the crisis of the moment that you forget the blessings you have been given?  Sometimes we allow ourselves to be so caught up in the needs of the moment that we forget the joy that we have in knowing and being known by our savior.  It is easy to forget that God has a plan for us when we are weighted down by our daily problems.

I was reminded of this on Sunday.  There has been a lot going on in my life over the past several months and I have struggled to stay focused on God’s plan for me and my family.  Sunday, this verse was Tweeted out by @Air1 and it caused me to remember the joy that I have in Jesus.  Every once in a while I need to be reminded that regardless of the circumstances, God is still in control.

Have you ever used Google Earth?  It gives us the ability to see our surroundings from a satellite photo.  You can pick a spot and the photo will begin from the vantage point of outer space.  You then zoom in to see the state; then further in to see the town.  A few more clicks and you begin to see streets and then ultimately you can zoom in so close as to see if there is a car in your driveway – it is amazing!

Here is my point, I tend to live (as we all do) completely zoomed in – seeing only what is right in front of us.  Perhaps, we should zoom out just a bit from time to time to see the bigger picture.  I think when we do we will get a better perspective and joy will come easier.

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Open 24 Hours

Posted in Formation, Hope on September 1, 2009| 2 Comments »

One of my favorite comedians of all time is Steven Wright.  He is very unique both in his delivery and material .  His basic delivery used to be very dry and monotone and his content consisted of little one or two line questions that make you think – often playing on double meanings.  I was reminded this morning of one of his jokes.  He said he was headed into a store as the employee was locking the door.  He asked the employee, “Hey, wait a minute, the sign says 24 hours – why are you closing!”  The employee replied, “Yes we’re open 24 hours, but not in a row!”

Ok, maybe I am revealing more about my sense of humor than I should, but this got me thinking about being open.  God is always with us, guiding us, helping us.  But are we open to what God is trying to do in our lives all the time.  Or do we pick and choose when we will be open or how open we will be? Hebrews 3 talks about the fact that we should not become so hardened by wanting things our way that we are no longer open and receptive to God’s leadership.  God led the Hebrew people out of Egypt and straight to a new land.  But when they got there, they were unwilling because of the fear of the unknown, to follow through with God’s plan.  So God let them wander around in the desert for 40 years before bringing them back to the same land as before.

What is God leading you to do today?  Are you open to that leading?  Let me encourage you to have faith and be open to God’s leadership – don’t be afraid, God’s got this!

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Walls or Patios

Posted in Church, Community, Grace, Hope on August 27, 2009| 3 Comments »

Yesterday I mentioned that I would be talking about walls today.  I have been thinking a lot about walls (I still have a wall in one of the rooms in our house I built a while back and I’ve never finished – hmm, maybe I’ll do that this weekend).  Walls have one main purpose – to separate or divide.  I can’t imagine living with three boys all in one big room, I don’t care how big the room.

Walls also provide a perceived safety, keeping us safe on the inside from the evils and danger on the outside.

While Jesus was a carpenter, he was not a wall builder in the spiritual sense.  In fact, he was notorious for smashing walls down – walls between organized religion and the common folks of the day.

In our society, much work has been done to build walls in the religious circles – the taller and stronger the better.  But as I stated yesterday, maybe we need to stop focusing on our differences and start concentrating on our similarities.

What would our world be like if we took the bricks we have used to build walls and made patios instead?  A brick wall separates, a brick patio invites.  A brick wall keeps me in and you out, a brick patio provides a place for community and dialogue.

I truly believe that we can hold on to our distinctions and still work together – after all, we are all on the same team.

I don’t know about you but I think I want to live on the patio and not behind a wall.  Come on over and we’ll sit on the patio and share life together – might even throw a few steaks on the grill and really enjoy being together.

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If Not You . . . If Not Now . . .

Posted in Church, Formation, Hope, Motivational on August 21, 2009| 1 Comment »

Tobymac has a new song out called, “City On Our Knees,” you can hear a clip here.  In the song he asks the questions, “If we gotta start somewhere, why not here?  If we gotta start sometime, why not now?”  So many times we want change but we expect it to start somewhere else or by someone else.

The questions were asked long before Tobymac began to sing about them.  “If not you then who?  If not now then when?”  But if change is going to come, it has to start with me and it has to start now.  We can put it off for later or we can expect someone else to do it but I have seen what happens when we do that – absolutely nothing.

At the risk of sounding harsh, God never intended for us to be pew warmers, God intended for us to be world changers.  The very future of Christianity is dependent on us.  God has gifted us with the gift of life and love – what are we doing with it?

If not you then who?

If not now then when?

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God is Sufficient in All Things

Posted in Hope on August 20, 2009| Leave a Comment »

I was reminded yesterday just how blessed I am.  I follow @serenawoods on Twitter.  She is writing as a guest blogger here.  As I have read her posts over the past two days I have been moved as to how God has worked in her life.  I have also realized just how God has protected me my entire life.  I am humbled to see all that God has brought Serena through – I look forward to tomorrow’s post to get the rest of the story.

I am reminded, through Serena’s story, that God is sufficient.  In all that she has gone through, God has been there to support her and guide her through.

So no matter what you are facing today, remember:  God’s grace is sufficient.  God’s love is sufficient.  God’s peace is sufficient.

Be blessed!

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The Radiance of God’s Glory

Posted in Formation, Hope, Motivational on August 18, 2009| 3 Comments »

Sunrise over Levelland

This morning I did something out of the ordinary, even for me.  I got to church early and felt compelled to spend some alone time with God (that part is not that out of the ordinary).  But today I climbed up on the roof of the church and sat right on the ridge of the auditorium and watched the sun come up (yes, that is the picture here – camera phones are great).

As I sat there in the cool morning air and watched God show off a bit, I listened and watched.  I heard all the sounds of early morning – birds chirping, cars driving past with people heading into their daily routines – all of what one would normally expect.  And in the sky was the sun, or rather clouds blocking the sun.  But it was easy to know the sun was there because of the rays coming through the holes in the clouds.

What a beautiful image of life and Jesus.  We stay so busy with our lives that we often fail to look, but there in the midst of it all, larger than life is Jesus, streaming through the breaks in the clouds.  We may not see him directly but we know that he is there because of the rays that come through, overpowering the darkness.

Hebrews 1:3 says that Jesus is the “radiance of God’s glory.”  The radiance of God’s glory!  Wow, just like the rays of the sun emanating from the source through the clouds this morning.  Jesus is the visible and tangible human experience of God.

I pray that today Jesus the Son will be as real to you as the sun in the sky.  Have a great day!

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