Lent Day 16: Get moving!

What a smart man:

Find "Daily Thoughts" from Real Simple here.

Do you crave safety over activity? Prefer to stay where you feel secure rather than venture into the unknown?

For some, a difficult past produces fear about what lies ahead. I had a wonderful childhood. My affirming parents said, "Go ahead and try it!" when I wondered if I could do something I hadn't yet tried. (Mind you, to this day Dad's still learning new things!)

If you're stuck and cautious about what the future holds, consider the following:

1. God knows your past. Your present. AND your future. Nothing surprises him about you as you were, the way you are now, or what you are becoming.
2. God is strong enough to be in control of what's coming. He is able to see you through the best and worst of times. His control oversees the actions of others, too.
3. God is all-wise. If you depend on him, he will steer you through the unknown with perfect wisdom. Because you're human, you may make mistakes. But nothing will steer you so far away that he cannot retrieve you and your situation.
4. God likes - and loves - you. He works all things together for those that love him, to those who are called according to his purpose. (Read Romans 8 for the full scoop.)

If you've committed your life to God, decided to follow and obey him, and have begun to love him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, remember this: He's in charge.

When you feel overwhelmed or frightened, remember that everything is in view for Him. And everything is under HIS control. When our granddaughter was learning to negotiate stairs, she held tightly to our fingers. When she'd slip or take too big of a step, we'd close our hands over hers and keep her from falling.

Step out in obedience and see how God's hands hold you safe. (He's more capable and even more loving than a grandparent!)

Act with confidence, not trepidation. Do your research. Be wise. Then leap into this life that is the adventure of faith! You'll be happy to know that "You're not in Kansas [nor in the same-old same-old life] anymore."

Read more:
*Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I pray to no one but you." Psalm 5:2 NLT

*O God, do not keep silence; do not hold your peace or be still, O God! Even now your enemies are in tumult; those who hate you have raised their heads. Psalm 83:1-2 NEV

*I will go in the strength of the Lord God; I will make mention of your righteousness, of yours only. Psalm 71:16 (NKJV)
*The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 NEV

*Christ was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God. 2 Corinthians 13:4 NEVMoravian Prayer: With the power of your word, O God, you spoke the universe into being and raised Christ from the dead. Help us always to act with the knowledge that our strength comes from you.

God of all time and eternity, we your human children scurry around frantic with anxiety in the face of opposition. Teach us your patience and assure us that the final victory is yours. Amen.

The beautiful ability to fear

We use the word "fear" variously to describe emotions and attitudes. We may be afraid of:

• physical harm like natural disasters or being homeless or hungry
• scary things that go "boo" on Hallowe'en or frighten us in horror films
• personal phobias like the dark, spiders, small spaces, or airplane trips
• relationships that threaten malice (or envy), political ill-will, and other harms
• being overlooked or deemed insignificant
• think others may interrupt our dreams or disrupt our goals
• approach change with uncertainty or doubt

But we "fear" in other ways, when we:

• respect those with power over us
• honor and admire those who become role models
• worry about the future
• take risks into new challenges beyond our comfort zone (act courageously)

J. T. Lowery

I'm wrestling through an idea from scripture: "Unite my heart to fear your name." (Psalm 86:11 KJV)

My mind stumbled and stopped at the connection between unity of heart and our ability to honor and respect God. When our inner beings are divided, distracted, and scattered, can we comprehend the foundation of our faith--the hinge on which we pivot toward God--which is respectful fear?

Paul writes also that hearts that are divided within faith communities cannot understand or know God: "My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ." Colossians 2:2 (See context below: read more.)

Only when we are single-minded in pursuing our relationship with God and we single-heartedly forgive and accept others in the "bond of peace," can we approach God.

Our common alternatives to such the hard disciplines of unity and love?

• Hail God as a friend or buddy, always on hand to help out or alleviate our loneliness. "You're not alone; you have God's shoulder to lean on." We don't have to change a thing - he's our crutch when we get in trouble. We may feel abandoned and disappointed when God doesn't come through like a cosmic vending machine of goodies.
• Self-help through gurus who tell us how easily (and without sacrifice) to appease God's expectations or ward off bad "karma." Our designer god looks a lot like us and only demands what we are willing to give.
• Hypocrisy and self-deception where we live as "Christians" and claim to be followers of Jesus without giving up secret sins or destructive habits. We look good while ignoring Jesus' blunt warning: "You white-washed tombs. You look nice on the outside but stink of filth and rot inside."
• Procrastination and increased fear. We never resolve the inner conflicts and fragmentation . We spiral further into darkness rather than walking in the light.

Fear of things out of our control will debilitate us.

BUT awe and reverence for God will set us free. 

He's in charge, in control, and strong enough 

to hold all things together by the word of His power.

Are you amazed at his love? Dumbstruck with wonder at his provision?

Harmony isn't a denial of suffering or ignoring of circumstances. Instead, true holistic living begins with willingness to lay down our own fragmented interests and desires to unite our hearts to fear His name.

Both personally and in the community of faith.

Read more:
*For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God. Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name for ever. Psalm 86:10-12 NIVUK

*Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his commands; seek righteousness, seek humility. Zephaniah 2:3

*A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria. … But the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went." Acts 8:1, 4 NEV

*Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord. 1 Corinthians 12:4,5

*(Paul) I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.Colossians 2:1-4

*If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Colossians 3:1
Moravian Prayer: Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous his thoughts and turn unto the Lord. Amen.

In the morning, when I rise ...

What's on your mind, first thing when you wake up? Do you wake refreshed and raring to go? Are you sloughing off dreams? Grateful the insomnia of night is past? Full of new ideas and plans?

I read today about things some people do in their sleep: eating, texting, and walking around, to name a few. In the morning, they have no memory of what they've done. The kitchen is littered with wrappers, their friends are texting back ??? , doors are unlocked, and there's mud on their shoes.

People with music in their heads find themselves waking night and day with tunes and rhythms. I improvise, focus in on a looping song, or conduct with my feet. On mornings after I've been attentive to God, I wake with hymns or choruses scrolling. Most of the time I'm not even zoned in to the music: it's just there. I tune in some mornings to find out how the night went by.

Studies show that women sleep more lightly than men and have more trouble falling back asleep. Meanwhile, men are noisier and more physically active during sleep. Great - he moves and she wakes up. That's the reason many couples begin to sleep in separate beds or rooms. (Separate duvets in the same bed in the same room works for us most of the time!)

So .... how do you improve your sleep and your waking mood? Begin to keep track of how you wake and what influences your sleep. Then work on minimizing sleep deprivation:

1. Watch your physical intake. Chich foods, drinks, and eating patterns support deep and long sleep?
2. Watch your mental intake. Sleep studies say that the blue screen light of electronics hinders sleep. Ban the TV, phone, or tablet from your sleeping area. And shut off the computer an hour before bedtime to let your mind relax.
3. Watch your spiritual intake. Are you feasting on scripture as your last act of the day? Closing your eyes with a prayer of gratitude for God's presence and provisions? Or do you agitate your soul with unforgiveness, grinding through decisions made that day, or worrying about the future?
4. Thank God for the night. He created humans with a pause to regenerate our bodies, souls, and spirits. Receiving the hours of sleep from His hands allows us to rest and renew ourselves in Him.

King David understood the rest only God could give, even when his enemies were in hot pursuit: "In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety." (Psalm 4:8)

His son Solomon wrote of the futility of efforts without God's help: "Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those he loves." (Psalm 127:1, 2)

To summarize the believer's life of rest and assurance, read Psalm 121:

¹ I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
² My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber;
⁴ indeed, he who watches over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The Lord watches over you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
⁶ the sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

⁷ The Lord will keep you from all harm—
    he will watch over your life;
⁸ the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.

I wish you sweet dreams. And wise and rested risings in the morning!

 

Lent Day 32: Thankful for security in strange times

I've begun reading scripture with renewed curiosity and wonder. Studying makes you question everything – the assumptions of childhood that God is magical and at our beck and call, the confusion of teen years when only God knows what's going on, and the vigor of young adulthood that believes anything is possible if you feel it should be done.

The one thing that has remained is utter security. I'm certain that – whatever I know or don't know – God hasn't changed.

As I read the news in tandem with scripture, I'm amazed by the return to wickedness and immorality. There were times in American history when entire towns shut down their businesses so people could attend revival services. In the present-day USA, the Ten Commandments must be removed from places of government because they might offend someone.

History records that an American President received the first copy of the New American Standard Bible with gratitude and prayers. Today, Western cultures shudder at the term "sin" as self-righteous judgment of others and the mention of "wrong" as intolerance.

How strange!

This week, President Gauck was sworn in as Germany's new president. In a cheerful article listing his qualifications, coolness factor, and his confirmation by an overwhelming majority in German parliament, "Germany in Class" headlines bubbled that "the former pastor and rights activist, arrived with his partner, Daniela Schadt, at the presidential residence on Monday, March 19." Former pastor. Partner. In the same sentence, with no moral quiver.

I remember the ongoing indignation of my grandma, who was saved during the holiness revivals in Germany after WWII. She decried any hint of sin, any move away from conservatism in churches, and any ideas that seemed to lower standards for believers. She didn't fuss too much with those outside the Church because she thought God could deal with them. She believed that if Christians lived upright and righteous lives, sinners would be drawn to the Good News.

Reading this morning, I wondered what effect this "former pastor" Herr Gauck had on his congregation. Did some of them find the path to reconciliation with God? Did any hear the Word of Life when he preached? Did the scriptures speak to him personally, confronting his broken nature as it confronts mine?

Whatever I am called by others, I want to be tolerant and loving. I know those who do not follow Christ don't hold to the standards of Jesus. But I won't compromise by calling evil good or upholding immorality or looking away from destructive acts among those who claim His name.

I'd be insecure all day long if I considered human judgment and self-justification more important than God's disapproval. Pretending that His standards have changed would mean that His nature was transient and untrustworthy. That would make life more awful and terrifying than I can imagine. Grandma's wrath would be only a tiny foretaste of what is coming.


Read more:

*O LORD, you have searched me    and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there;    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. Psalm 139:1-10 NIV

That which had not been told them they shall see. Isaiah 52:15

And the disciples went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it. Mark 16:20

Moravian Prayer: Like those early disciples, may we be so committed to serving you that the world will surely see you in the deeds we perform. Empower us to be your agents of justice in an unjust world, agents of healing in a sin-sick world, agents of welcome in a bigoted world and agents of peace in a war-torn world. Amen.

Lost worlds discovered

The news headlines today highlighted the excitement of scientists exploring Antarctica and Mars. A "lost world" of crabs, octopi, and starfish live near geothermal vents near the South Pole. There's not just one or two animals, either. There are "massive colonies" that have eluded discovery until now. Researchers are beside themselves with enthusiasm to know more.

Meanwhile, on Mars, Canadian and American technology is roaming the planet to analyze soil and make discoveries about our neighbor in the sky.

We're created to look for things, to examine and seek out the things God has hidden. With what enthusiasm humans build entire careers around theories and explorations. "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter," says Proverbs 25:2

The cool thing is that God is searching for us as well. Jesus told the story of a sheep that was lost, and the shepherd who roamed the hills until he found it. If you're feeling lost today, listen for the Shepherd's voice. Just like the scientists who are overjoyed by their discoveries, all of heaven waits to cheer you on.

Jesus talked about his unending quest to find us, thousands of years after he lived and died. He said his heavenly Father had purposed that we would belong to his flock. Jesus told people of his day, “And I have other sheep who do not belong to this fold. I must lead these also, and they will hear my voice. So there will be one flock and one shepherd. This is the reason why the Father loves me—that I lay down my life, and I lay it down to take it up again! No one is taking it from me, but I lay it down of my own free will. I have the power to lay it down and I have the power to take it up again. This is an order that I have received from my Father.” John 10:16-18 Phillips

Like a flock that mills around the legs of its shepherd, going in and out to safe pasture, let's stay close to Jesus. Let's follow him, letting him choose provision for this day. He promised green pastures and still waters, that he would guard us from wolves and ravaging predators. I can find security in a leader like that!

Read more:

*“What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one wanders away from the rest, won’t he leave the ninety-nine on the hill-side and set out to look for the one who has wandered away? Yes, and if he should chance to find it I assure you he is more delighted over that one than he is over the ninety-nine who never wandered away. You can understand then that it is never the will of your Father in Heaven that a single one of these little ones should be lost.” Matthew 18: 12-14 Phillips

*So Jesus spoke to them, using this parable: “Wouldn’t any man among you who owned a hundred sheep, and lost one of them, leave the ninety-nine to themselves in the open, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will put it on his shoulders with great joy, and as soon as he gets home, he will call his friends and neighbours together.

‘Come and celebrate with me,’ he will say, ‘for I have found that sheep of mine which was lost.’

I tell you that it is the same in Heaven—there is more joy over one sinner whose heart is changed than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need for repentance. Luke 15:3-7 Phillips

Real abundance

I'm going to quote two writers and let them speak for themselves. I was struck to the heart reading them. I would love your comments as I think about the implications, wrapping up 2009 and moving toward the New Year:

1. For many of us, raised to believe that money is the real source of security, a dependence on God feels foolhardy, suicidal, even laughable... we want a God that feels like a fat paycheck and a license to spend as we please. Listening to the siren song of more, we are deaf to the still small voice waiting in our soul to whisper, "You're enough."

"Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and all things will be added to it," we have been told, often since childhood, by people quoting form the Bible. We don't believe this. And we certainly don't believe it about art. Maybe God would feed and clothe us, in a pinch, but painting supplies? A museum tour or Europe, dance classes? God's not about to spring for those, we tell ourselves. We cling to our financial concerns as a way to avoid not only our art but also our spiritual growth. Our faith is in the dollar...

We are operating out of the toxic old idea that God's will for us and our will for us are at opposite ends of the table... Thinking like this is grounded in the idea that God is a stern parent with very rigid ideas about what's appropriate for us. And you'd better believe we won't like them. This stunted-god concept needs alteration.

On the one hand, we give lip service to the notion that God wants us to be happy, joyous, and free. On the other, we secretly think that God wants us to be broke if we are going to be so decadent as to want to be artists [or follow our dream in any direction]. Do we have any proof at all for these ideas about God?

Looking at God's creation, it is pretty clear that the creator did not know when to stop. There is not one pink flower, or even fifty pink flowers, but hundreds. Snowflakes, of course, are the ultimate exercise in sheer creative glee. No two alike. The creator looks suspiciously like someone who just might send us support for our creative ventures.

The God who has a job for us? The God who has fulfilling work? The God who holds abundance and dignity, who holds a million possibilities, the keys to every door? This God can sound suspiciously like a flimflam man.

And so, when it comes time for us to choose between a cherished dream and a lousy current drudgery, we often choose to ignore the dream and blame our continued misery on God. We act like it's God's fault we didn't go to Europe, take that painting class, go on that photo shoot. In truth, we, not God, have decided not to go. We have tried to be sensible--as though we have any proof at all that God is sensible--rather than see if the universe might not have supported some healthy extravagance...
(Julia Cameron, The Artist's Way, is not a Christian but has a grasp of God's nature and his abundance that is hard to ignore.)

2. Then someone in the crowd said to Jesus, "Master, tell my brother to share his legacy with me."

But Jesus replied, "My dear man, who appointed me a judge or arbitrator in your affairs?"

Then turning to the disciples he said to them, "Notice that, and be on your guard against covetousness in any shape or form. For a man's real life in no way depends on the number of his possessions.

"Don't worry about life, wondering what you are going to eat. And stop bothering about what clothes you will need. Life is much more important than food, and the body more important than clothes.

"Can any of you make himself an inch taller however much he worries about it? And if you can't manage a little thing like this, why do you worry about anything else?

"You must not set your hearts on what you eat or drink, nor must you live in a state of anxiety. The whole heathen world is busy about getting food and drink and your Father knows well enough that you need such things. No, set your heart on his kingdom, and your food and drink will come as a matter of course. Don't be afraid, you tiny flock! Your Father plans to give you the kingdom.

"Sell your possessions and give the money away. Get yourselves purses that never grow old, inexhaustible treasure in Heaven, where no thief can ever reach it, or moth ruin it. For wherever your treasure is, you may be certain that your heart will be there too!"
(Luke 12:13-15, 22-26, 29-34. Phillips translation, 1958)

***
Three questions to self:
1. How are we living in God's abundance today?
2. How are we planning for this Christmas season and the New Year, to make anxiety-free space so that we and our families can rest in his provision and follow him on the paths of possibility?
3. How are we planning to share his abundance as his provision for those he has chosen to bless through us?

I'd love to hear from you on this one. RK