Rethinking everything

I am just reading a preview of a new book by Alan Roxburg on Missional Mapmaking.  It is basically about developing the skills and wisdom to plan for church in a very rapidly changing culture that we often do no understand. (of even want to sometimes)
In the prelude, he talks about a large successful church had an equally busy front door and back door. It attracted people with its needs based program and they left when they found a program they preferred.
In assessing their church the leadership concluded that if they believed their own vision statement about the Kingdom of God, then they had missed the point because it had "shaped a church around meeting people's needs rather than forming them into a self -sacrificing disciples of the kingdom."

That is a pretty heavy self analysis! This is not about the style of the church but rather the inner beliefs and world view that drives our programs. We have swallowed the marketing jargon of every other business and tried to outdo each other in showing how Jesus, as particularly found within our church, is the key to a rich and satisfying life.
The life of following Jesus is uniquely satisfying; but not, I believe, because he meets our every need according to our agenda. The life of being His apprentice is far more rich that simply having our needs met - it gives us a destiny!
We do not have a product we are selling but a call to a life of learning how to live and love like Jesus.  And to spend our lives following the one who gave up everything for us, is always going to lead us to giving of ourselves for others.

I want a bigger God

I read an excellent line from Eugene Peterson this morning - "We do not have a God who forever indulges our whims but a God whom we trust with our destinies." (Long Obedience in the Same Direction)
  I think we have sometimes that we have made the King of the Universe into a god who is small and who exists to serve us and out little lives. We tell people to trust him and he will meet all their needs. Now I know that God is my provider and I have experienced that often. 
The God of the Bible was the one who said if you want to follow him, it requires taking up your cross daily - that has a harsher ring but one that is ultimately far more appealing. He invites to participate with Him in the emancipation of the world from the rule of satan and to see His Kingdom ushered in. 
He is one who does not offer smooth sailing but invites us to get out of the boat and come to Him. 
His words about only finding our life when we loose it is an invitation to living large as we become his followers and apprentices in a whole new way of living.
He is the only one we can trust with our destiny.

Late night meditation

I reflect at night on who you are, oh Lord
and I obey your law because of this.
Ps 119:55 (New Living Translation)

I am slowly reading through Ps 119 - slowly as in one verse a day actually. I often teach on a principle of meditation found in the creation story based upon the phrase that the evening and the morning were the first day. In Jewish thinking, the day begins in the evening. In this way, for example, Sabbath begins at sunset on Friday evening.
In this way also, I believe, we set the tone for the day to come by what we think about last thing at night. If I read the psalmist correctly, it seems to me that there is both power and value in meditating on the Lord as you go to sleep. I know you will sleep better than if you go to sleep thinking about the last tv program you watched or the sad state of your finances.
I also know that there is a spiritual key here. We are far more likely to commune with God when we sleep in this way. And it seems to me that, based on this verse, it should also affect how we live the next morning.
Try it for the rest of February and see what happens! I would be interested in hearing the results of your experiment!

signs and confusion

So in December when I was preparing for a message I dug up some strange pictures of signs for an illustration

There were some that I found that are just so funny because of the conflicting messages they give

My favourite is this one - 

We all feel like we have arrived at this corner at some point in our lives. And if we ask friends for counsel we get the equivalent of the signs. 

Even when I don't see clearly, I am confident of this - God gives the wisdom we need. I memorized the book of James when I was a kid and I have always remember this verse.

James 1:5-6 (New Living Translation)

 ⁵ If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. ⁶ But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.

Music for my walk

Ps 119:54 - Your principles have the music of my life, throughout the years of pilgrimage -(New Living Translation)

In my quiet time this morning I started to read Ps 119 in the New Living Translation. (It is a great psalm by the way – don’t be put off by the number of verses)

I must confess that generally when I go for a walk, I have my ipod. It can do for my ears what the country side can do for my eyes and assist my meditations. I do often find that I have to choose music very carefully as I will walk in time with it and it can control my thinking.

Applying that imagery to the verse I started with, God’s principles can be the music of our lives all along our pilgrimage.  That is such a lovely way at looking at the principles that the Lord gives us to live by. Rather than seeing them as rules and regulations, we can view them as the music that gives rhythm and flow to our steps. They are God’s artistry bringing beauty and life as we walk.

I have also used music and noise cancelling head phones at the dentist with great success. I think I need to keep pursuing this image of God’s principles as music!

Prayer for Nigeria and more

I must confess to having only marginally followed the last round of sectarian violence in Nigeria. That is until I read an open letter from an Anglican Archbishop there who said that " Christians once again have become the scapegoat of some evil intention to cause disharmony, separation, pain, destruction of lives and property, and disruption of normal civil life". Granted he is speaking from both the perspective and pain of being involved in a very tense ongoing conflict largely between the Muslim and Christian populations.
I don't want to pretend that I understand the intricacies of the political or economic situation there; but, I do hear the heart of the Archbishop. He does note that there are many Moslems who do not support the use of violence as do many Christians. Others do not.
Archbishop Kwashi calls for urgent prayer for the government of Nigeria to stand up and oppose wrong doing no matter who is doing it. That is a good prayer.
What really struck me was that in the face of opposition which is often deadly, he also said this -
Brethren: be fully assured that our faith in Christ is intact, and shall remain so in life and in death. We have a gospel to proclaim, a gospel that brings light in darkness, hope in despair, courage in danger, and joy in sorrow. It is a gospel that brings life in all its fullness, and it is this gospel alone which can bring a lasting solution to the problems of the world and of Jos.
Lord I do pray that you would be with your church in Nigeria - granting them the grace and strength do follow you. Lord raise up a community of believers that will act like you - both in your power and love.

The storm front of God's love

In the process of preparing a message, I read something from Brennan Manning that I cannot get out of my head.
"when preachers (and it can be anyone I think) wanting to justify their own anger at ... gays, Hollywood...(here you can fill in the blank of whatever is the flavour of the month to rant against) invoke the manifest anger of Jesus as he cleanses the temple, they overlook the fact that his anger is the storm front of his love" (From The Wisdom of Tenderness)
I don't want to rant against the ranters but simply comment on the lovely concept of the Lord's anger being the "storm front of his love."  I believe that his anger came from the temple being misused in a way that excluded the Gentiles so that makes total sense to me.  I like the idea of the Lord being angry at people's exclusion from being able to worship and know His love and truth.
It does open an interesting door - is the Lord's anger always related to His love?
So far, every example I have thought of fits that concept. Certainly His anger against evil stems from His love of those who are hurt by evil.
That also gives an interesting perspective on God's attitude towards sin within my life when I think about it.
I admit that I do not spend a lot of time thinking about the anger of the Lord; but this is a comforting perspective.