An Imerfectly Perfect Church

Should Church be perfect?

I know that as a wife and mother, I often want to make things better (if not perfect): the house cleaner or more organized; our homelife more serene or fun depending on the circumstances; communication with my husband more (you get it).....And somehow, in my quest, I tend to make things more complicated.  Instead of enjoying where things are at, or simply maximizing what I have, I can stress everybody out trying to reach some self-imposed ideal. And often, when I simply relax and roll with grace and acceptance while doing the best I can, something miraculous happens: the imperfections become perfectly 'us'.  The process of working through life together helps shape who we are as a family. It's not always pretty, but it defintely is unique to us!

Can the same be true for the church?

In his book Practicing Resurrection, Eugune Peterson says this:

 “It is easy to dismiss the church as ineffective and irrelevant.  And many do dismiss it.  It is easy to be condescending to the church because so many of its members are unimpressive nonentities.  Condescension is widespread.  It is common to become disillusioned with the church because expectations formed in the country of death and by the lies of the devil are disappointments.  Disillusionment is, as a matter of course, common.” (p.13)

He goes on and challenges us to consider: what if God created the church to be imperfect? What if the problems we like to point out are actually designed by God to be the very thing that causes us to grow in the stature of Christ, to become mature believers?  If this is true, wouldn't that change our perspective in how we evaluate and experience Church?

I've never met a perfect family, and I've certainly never been to nor heard of a perfect church (not even in the Bible!), but we are all "imperfectly perfecting".

I love the local church, in all it's imperfections, because I know, in the end....God will complete the work He has started. In the meantime, we will continue to grow and mature in responsiveness to the calling that God has called us to.

Is Communication About the Message or the Response?

I'm reading a book, Less Clutter, Less Noise by Kem Meyer on communication strategies, and it's got me thinking.  Tell me what you think.

"Good communication is not so much about sending the right message as it is releasing the right response".

• As Christians we are very concerned with the Message, that it IS the right message.  Are we more concerned with it being "right" than we are leading others to the "right response"?
• Has our message become more important than the desired response?

"...a message might be important to your INTERNAL corporate audience but completely absurd for your EXTERNAL audience."

• Ultimately, who are we trying to reach, influence, impress with our message?
• There is a difference in how we craft an internal- v. external-oriented message.  Can we accept the difference and accomodate it?
• Have we created a culture that focuses on the internal message, to reach/influence/impress ourselves?

So what do you think?

Weakness is a Key to Strength

I hate feeling weak. I want to feel strong, able to accomplish my tasks with energy, to have something leftover at the end of the day to enjoy myself.  But if I don't exercise my muscles (whether they be physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, etc),  they lose strength over time.  And exercising muscles requires a conscious choice on my part.  Not only that, to really build strength I need to push my muscles past their point of weakness.

Right now I'm sitting here, trembly and weak after a tough work out with my trainer.  When I showed up he asked if I was ready to get my butt kicked.  He then proceeded to do just that.  It was hard.  It was embarassing to get to the point where I couldn't do something and then had to do it anyway.  And I did.  It wasn't elegant.  It was necessary.  I'll never push past my limits otherwise. 

It seems that the culture we live in has become at ease with making excuses for our weaknesses.  That we've accepted "I can't" as a reality instead of pushing past into an overcoming position. This keeps us weak!  In 2 Corinthians 12 Paul talks about his weakness and how he asked God repeatedly to remove it from him.  Instead, God used it as a point of building strength in Paul's life - God strength.  Paul was getting some God-muscle, "that the power of Christ can work through me....for when I am weak, then I am strong". 

Today, I was doing a series of exercises that were targeted at my greatest area of weakness, one after the other, ending with an exercise I seriously despise....because I can't do it.  As I did the first set, I struggled.  As I did the second set, I hated my trainer.  I wanted to quit.  I wanted to cry.  He was yelling at me to keep going.  I just couldn't.  Until I did. 

In life, we all have areas of weaknesses.  Don't ignore them.  Work through them to the point of strength. 

And by the way, I don't hate my trainer.  Afterwards I'm always glad he pushed me further.  After all, when I started I couldn't do a set of 10.  Today I did 25.  And I know he's working with me to reach my goals.

Where do you want to be strong?  What weaknesses do you have?  How are you going to push past them?
Just do it.  I know you can! :)

I Need a Boxing Name

So, I was inspired by our church series "Fighting to Win" where PD (my hubs) brought in trainers and world champion fighters from the Boxing Club to illustrate his sermons.  It's been a great series, and since I've been finding all kinds of excuses to avoid getting my exercise on, I now had no excuse since I'd met some great guys who were really encouraging for me to give it a go.  So I did.  Erik offered me a free training session to check it out.  Let me just say, after an hour I crawled into my van and cried.  But only after I had signed a contract.  It was exhausting, but fun!

That's why I need a boxing name. 

In the meantime, I'm working on building strength and stamina.  I've got a long way to go, but am making good progress (says my trainer), and I love feeling of strength flowing through me again.  And hitting a bag is fun!  What keeps me going is a strong goal with a timeline - it keeps me pressing forward.  Getting better at different skills keeps it interesting.  Trying new combinations is challenging. 

Are you pursuing a new goal?  What's keeping you motivated?

Fighting to Win - pt. 1

Okay, I'm a girl and not into boxing (some girls are, but not me).  But the truth is, we all have battles in our life that need to be fought and today, Pastor David (PD) started a new series in church titled "Fighting to Win".  It is based out of Ephesians 6:10-20, and he invited competitive boxer and trainer Ron Casper to come and share with us some basic instruction about what it takes to win in the ring.  PD then took that natural application to a whole other level in our spiritual lives.  Here's an outline of what I learned today.  Yes, even a girl can learn from boxing analogies!  :)

Your FOUNDATION is key.  Your stance needs to remain balanced, centered, positioned to move easily in whatever direction you need to go in.  If your weight is off-center, you are easily pushed off balance.  This effects how you hit your opponent as strength comes from a stable foundation.  There are three areas where we fight:
1.  The world (the negative cultural elements that pressures us in our daily lives)
2.  The flesh (me, myself, and I.  I need to take responsibility for my  stuff, my screw-ups, my sin)
3.  The devil (yep, he's real, and you can't let your guard down - stay connected to God.  Fear is
 not God and often the devil uses fear to shake our foundation (1Peter 5:8).  Recognize that and believe God - don't fear!.)

Philippians 6:10 says God wants us to be STRONG in the Lord and His mighty power, not powerless and knocked over!  If I'm strong with His strength, then I'm not going to lose!  This doesn't mean there's no battle though.

In boxing you have to understand that there is an opponent, you will get punched, and you are in the ring to win.  Can we not apply the same attitude?

God has given you all the tools you need to win.

James 4:7  Allow God to teach you (He's the best trainer you can have)

Here are some weapons we have at our disposal, illustrated by 4 kinds of boxing punches:

#1  THE JAB.  In boxing, the jab is used to feel out the opponent.  Without the jab, you've got nothing.  You have to be able to read your opponent and jabbing helps you to do that.  It sets the stage for the power punch! 

Spiritually, our jab is PRAYER.  We go through our day, praying, feeling things out.  At times a weak spot will be revealed where we can send a power punch to defeat the enemy, but we don't know where that is unless we first jab at it with prayer.  Prayer positions us for the power punch!

#2 THE CROSS.  While our "left hand" is jabbing, our right hand is waiting at the chin for an opportunity.  When it's time, the punch is thrown, not from the arm, but from the strength of the foundation.  The power comes up from the hip through to the fist.

FAITH is our foundation.  Without it, we are simply hoping to land a punch.  Faith puts action to what we are hoping for, stretching out to hit its target.  The cross is a calculated punch.  You search out when to land it instead of just flailing at the problem.  It's strategic, it hits its mark.  WORSHIP is a calculated punch.  It's in the words we use and speak into a situation, it's thanksgiving.  When the enemy is messing with us, we keep in prayer, and then Wham! we let go with worship and the full weight of who God is comes into the situation.  We've brought God right into the ring!  It's a choice, it's calculated, it's strategic.  You set yourself to worship!

#3  The HOOK.  This punch can come from either the right or left and it also uses our foundation to bring the power behind it.  When the enemy is throwing a power hit at you, that's when you go for the jab.  Your arm goes with the body, follows the body.  You could hit with just the power of the arm, but there's not real strength in it like if you use the whole body.

Our "hook" is the WORD.  When you are getting hit by the enemy, bring your right and left hook out!  Take your faith stance (we need that solid foundation -God doesn't change!) and speak the word into that situation! [and when the whole body is involved, we're not flying solo, our hook is that much more effective].

#4  THE UPPERCUT.  This is exciting!  This punch can be thrown at the body or the face, and the fighter is always looking for a hole, an opening the opponent has left - an opportunity - and this punishing blow is thrown.

WISDOM is our uppercut punch!  There is such power in Godly wisdom!  It sows good seed into our life.  Do you like what you're reaping in life?  Then look at what seed needs to be sown to get the good harvest.  Wisdom knows the power of words, and it reaches beyond hope into faith with works.  But you need to know what seeds need to be sown.  We can't always figure things out on our own, but God's wisdom can come in and show us exactly what needs to happen, exactly what direction to thrown the punch, and it's a game-changer. 

PD ended with a challenge from Ephesians 4:27, to not give the devil any foothold in our lives, but to confront head on our faulty disciplines (such as anger) and to trust our Coach (God) who spurs us past our limited capacity into His winning capacity.  Go God!

A big thank you to Ron for coming out, and his bride Erica, for sharing from his gifts and talents, bringing a very real spiritual application alive for us.  Next week, two-time world champion Muay Tai fighter Mel Menor will be with us to bring more powerful illustrations about what it takes to win in the fight.  If you're in the midst of a battle, these messages are all about preparing you to win.  Bring a friend and perhaps I'll see you there!

p.s. the messages will be on-line at http://www.c3mb.com/ if you want to listen - FREE - and keep watch for a possible video of Ron's demonstrations on display.

Keep fighting to win!

Mountains out of Molehills

There's a long hill next to my house.  It's a hill I've been familiar with for years, and now I live at the crest of it.  I have a history with this hill.  For years I've driven past it, driven up and down it, and all the while it's taunted me.  Seriously.  It has looked me boldly in the eye, causing me to look away.  See, I had this thought that the hill was too long to walk.  When you get around one corner, there's another.  It would be hard, I wouldn't make it.  I'd probably have to stop part of the way up.  So I never tried.

I moved to my home at the end of February, perched at the top of my nemesis, and felt challenged in my heart to walk that hill.  To conquer it.  Nearly 6 months later I hadn't tried.  Until today.

Can I just say, No.big.deal.  I mean, I had really worked myself up to believe how it would be.  And it wasn't.  It took maybe 15 minutes.  Down.Up.Done.  This is important to me because my bigger goal is a 3 mile loop which includes this hill, and I had to get past the hill to begin walking the loop.  This is what I learned:

Never listen to the voice that says "you can't".  It's always lying.  No matter what our hill is, we can't allow intimidation to stop us from trying the things that are in our hearts to do (obviously within God's grace).

When you launch out, don't think about the hill.  Focus elsewhere. A note here:  focusing on the finish line doesn't work for me.  I'm the type who see's the whole course when I focus on the finish line - I can't separate the two.  So, I focus elsewehre.  I put a fantastic message on my ipod and listened as I walked.  I was encouraged in my spirit, thinking on the good things being said, and paid no attention to the hill I was walking.  "Think on good things" can help propel you past your obstacles! (music doesn't work for me either, but it might for you.  I'm a thinker, and thinking upward is a positive and encouraging way to move forward for me).

The battle to guard our thinking is constant.  Today, maybe you can take a look at that area you've been avoiding because it seems too difficult.  And just possibly you'll lace up your tennis shoes and go for a walk.  It will be just the beginning!

The Purpose of Light and Dark

I'm a dark chocolate fan.  I really don't like white chocolate much at all, but the intensity and bitterness of the dark chocolate is such a great foil to the sweetness.  But this blog isn't about chocolate.  :)  I recently read this concerning light and dark, and I admit it's just beginning thoughts, but I'll restrain myself to these initial observations:

"God spoke: "Light!" and light appeared.  God saw that light was good and separated light from dark."

then this....

"God is light and in Him is no darkness at all"

then this..

"The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it.  The Lamb is its light..."

If God is light, and light is good, why the darkness? There will come a day when there will be no more darkness.  Can you imagine that?  Nothing hidden, nothing scary, all illumined.  But in the meantime, we live with darkness as a part of our existence.

What if darkness was given to us to continually put us in the tension of choosing light?

Perhaps darkness is the test that leads to our testimony.

What if the church wasn't made to "be perfect" in the first place, but to grow into perfection? 

I once was afraid of the dark, but no longer.  At one time I settled within myself that God created everything, and I trust Him, so I am not afraid.  I don't always like the dark, I like to see clearly, but being in the dark has taught me some things:

• I have learned to look for the light and to move towards it
• I have learned to keep focused on it so I don't lose sight of it
• I have learned to carry light with me in case I encounter darkness
• I have learned that God is in the dark as much as He is in the light and I needn't fear
• I have learned to use my other senses when in the dark - we are so visually dependent, that our other senses sometimes become dull

 Jesus came to give sight to the blind, to bring light to their darkness.  There's a world that loves darkness and hides in it, that shrinks back from the light, but it's light they need.  It's light we are called to walk in, light we are called to broadcast as "cities on a hill" or "lamps on a lampstand". 

This is my encouragement today - don't be afraid of the dark, but embrace the light, run towards it, hold onto it, and spread it around. 

It's too easy to focus on what's dark.  Let's focus on the light and see it push back the darkness!

The Holy Spirit Abides With You and In You

There is an incredible promise in the Bible, a red-letter, direct-from-Jesus promise for you and I to grab hold of receive right now.  There is no special atmosphere to set, people, activity or hoop to jump through in order to receive it.  It comes directly from the Father through His Son, Jesus.

"And I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever--"

The Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit, the Comforter/Counselor/Helper/Intercessor/Advocate/Strengthener, and Standby is promised to us, that HE will abide with US forever.

I don't know about you, but in times of personal weakness I have felt concern over whether the Holy Spirit was still hanging around with me.  Maybe I wasn't living "right" enough for Him to be with me.  This verse assures me, He is with me forever!

There is only one qualification for this - that I love and follow Jesus.

"If you love Me, keep [obey] my commandments.  And I will pray the Father and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever--the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you  know Him, for he dwells with you and will be in you."

Many people in the world profess to love Jesus [He's a great guy/teacher/prophet], but here love is defined in the truest sense - it moves us to action which supports our profession of love.  If I love Jesus, my life will follow Him, I will no longer live for myself [nor for other people].

Notice that it says He DWELLS....He's not going anywhere.  If I love and follow Jesus, He is glued to me.  I can't shake Him. He lives with me.  I'm His P.O. box, His address on earth.

It also says, he dwells WITH me and will be IN me [the IN happened at pentecost, Acts 2, fulfilling Jesus promise].  With and In.  He's with me and in me because I love and follow Jesus.  With and In.  Inside and outside.  There are no times when He's not there.  I don't have to issue a special invitation every time I want to hang with Him.  He is there.

So, what if I'm not feeling it?  Set your heart to love and follow Jesus.  Begin to think on Him, sing songs of love to Him, align your heart to His.  The Holy Spirit is right there.  Can you feel Him?

The Holy Spirit is Given to Those Who Obey God

Acts 5:32 says that the Holy Spirit was given by God to those obey Him.  If we want to life Holy Spirit empowered lives, then are we willing to hear and do the will of God in our everyday life? 

The Apostles were empowered to be witnesses for God, miracles and signs of wonder were happening, and even an astounding deliverance from prison occurred, freeing them to go speak "all the words of this life". 
Impulsive Peter, who had denied Jesus after the crucifixion, was now operating in the power of the Spirit with boldness.

What about you and I?  I think a lot of people wonder how to even start in the realm of walking in the Spirit.  Early in chapter 5 we have an example. 

The believers being saved during this time lived in communion together, sharing all that they had.  It wasn't required, but was a spontaneous expression of what God was doing in their midst.  It was beautiful!  Ananias and Sapphira wanted to be associated with these people.  I believe they were moved out of a conviction from God to sell a possession and give it to the Lord.  Notice they didn't sell everything, but "a possession".  They felt compelled to give something.  They sold their possession, collected the proceeds and wavered on what to give.  Do I give it in full?  I can just see it now.  Perhaps they owned a set oxen, they weren't really using them anymore, they were disposable to them, so let's sell them and give those proceeds.  We can afford that.  But once they were sold, and the money is in hand....well, we can all use money, right  "I don't have to give it all.  I'm going to give only a portion."

So they lied.  Husband and wife agreed to lie about what they were giving. 

They pretended to give what they perceived was the "acceptable amount" to gain favor.  They pretended to give it all.

They weren't giving out of obedience to God's voice.  They weren't giving from a right motivation.  They were giving to get something.  To gain a reputation.  And they were caught lying to the Holy Spirit (there's no secrets from God) and they died in their sin.

The Holy Spirit is given to those who obey God.  Are we being obedient to what God has told us, or are we holding back even a bit? 

If we want to walk in greater power of the Holy Spirit, we have to get real in our hearts.  What has God required of me?  Acknowledge it fully.  Don't hedge it, rationalize it, justify a means of escape.  Obey.

If we've been holding back from fully obeying, repent!  Quickly!  God's mercy has sustained us, now we must turn back to the truth and do it.

And begin to walk in a greater fullness of the Spirit.  Begin your best life, now.

Volleyball in the Pool

I'm sitting watching my husband and oldest son play volleyball in the pool.  They are mixed in with a crowd of strangers, batting the ball back and forth over the net.  There's smiling, cheering each other on, laughter as they all enjoy the game.  What if like could be more like that?

There is simple unity and enjoyment in what they are doing.  Anyone can play.  If someone knocks the ball out of the pool, someone else scrambles to get it with a smile and they keep playing.  No one takes themselves too serisouly and there's room for young and old to play together.

It's a refreshing place to escape the heat, and they are in it together.  Two separate teams, one game, one pool. 

Nice.  We CAN play nice if we want to.  :)

Why is church coffee so often bad?

[I hope you enjoy this blog from J.Johns, a gifted evangelist/speaker, http://www.philotrust.com/] 

Not all church coffee is bad, but the issue that poor church coffee raises is deeper and more troubling. It is that much of what we do as churches can often be described as substandard, second best, mediocre or weak.

We’ve all come across signs of slackness in church life: heating systems so dilapidated that the congregation keep their gloves on in winter, PA systems held together by insulating tape and notice boards still advertising Christmas services in February; ministers who are underpaid, live in crumbling, damp houses and drive cars that barely pass their MOTs; music groups that don’t know how many verses to play and church websites that crash when you click on them.

I'm not criticising poverty in churches. There are many small congregations where few people are employed yet they somehow manage to do the very best with limited resources and many people serving voluntary. And I'm not complaining about ministers who, through lack of resources, have to do more than anyone ought reasonably to expect. What I'm concerned about is a casual attitude to church life that accepts second best as good enough for God. This can happen in any church but is particularly troubling in churches with wealthy members who seek quality and excellence in every other area of their lives.

Why do we have a quality problem?

· In some Christian circles there is still a belief that nothing should be enjoyable, especially church. Anything that smacks of pleasure is viewed with suspicion. In this perverse view there is virtue in hard pews, out-of-tune instruments and rambling sermons. Such things – ¬and poor coffee – are supposedly good for the soul!

· There is an undervaluing of the local church. For nearly 2000 years Christians have prized their local church, but today the local church is no longer automatically high on a Christian’s priorities. There are even some who consider the local church to be irrelevant and dispensable.

· There may also be a particularly British aspect to this malaise in church life. As a nation we celebrate amateurism and informality. American churches are less prone to this, although they may suffer from the opposite temptation, aspiring to a professionalism that can produce professional organisations more akin to businesses.

Why should we pursue excellence?

· We worship a God who demonstrates excellence in all he does. He created the entire universe and then made that simplest and most satisfying of quality control statements: what he had made was good (Genesis 1). When faced with solving the problem of a human race that had rebelled against him, he chose the most costly of solutions: sacrificing his only Son.

· We serve a God who commands excellence. We may struggle with those portions of the Old Testament that talk about the details of the sacrifices and the furnishings of the temple. But what is clear is that to be one of God's people in Old Testament times required enthusiasm, expense and commitment. God's people were to ensure that the temple in Jerusalem was grand and beautiful. And as we pass into the New Testament, the spirit in which we are to worship God does not alter. God’s most excellent grace demands a response of equal excellence.

· We live among people who expect excellence. If you are reading this you are probably already convinced about the need for mission. Anything less than excellence undermines that message. People are not persuaded to accept Jesus by polished, well-done services, let alone a decent cup of coffee. God has done astonishing things in the shabbiest of churches and he can do so again. But if we talk of something that we claim is of life-changing importance and our actions reflect complacency and a careless attitude then people are going to sense a mismatch. The Holy Spirit can speak through anything but it's presumption to rely on this. To offer people words and worship of quality (and perhaps some decent coffee as well) is to make a statement that we value both our faith and them.

Excellence is not achieved easily; it requires at least three things: time, money and effort. And this is why excellence is an endangered species in some churches.

· Time. Success does not occur instantly. Excellence takes time. We all know that time is the most precious commodity we have. The result is that we end up begrudging that hour cleaning the church (I have visited some disgustingly filthy toilets in churches on my travels!), the midweek rehearsing with the music group, arriving early to set up that good coffee and be well prepared for all the children’s activities. But as Christians we need to remind ourselves that we have eternal life. Let's not begrudge a few hours on earth.

· Money. Excellence costs and we prefer to keep our money to ourselves. Yet nothing is a better barometer of our spiritual health than our giving. To sing about dedication and devotion and the wonder of what God has done for us and then to give almost nothing in response doesn’t demonstrate a living faith. If God gave himself for us in Christ then we who are saved by his life and death ought to respond with generosity.

Money isn't everything; it is just one of the three elements. Nevertheless it is important and many of the problems I have described are attributable to a shortage of funding.

· Effort. Talk to an excellent musician, artist or writer and you will find that their mastery involved hard work, sacrifice and struggle. We need to adopt the same principle. What we do in our local churches is probably the most important part of our Christian lives. We come together in worship and fellowship as communities of people to offer praise to God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and to be taught by him. We need to work to make that time the very best that it can possibly be. We need to put more effort in, to get more excellence out.

Ultimately, the weaknesses in our churches and organisations have a common root: the fact that we do not value our faith as we should. What we believe, and in particular what we believe about our local church, has ceased to become the central point around which our lives are built. It has gone from being a foundation of our lives to some sort of accessory and we need to adopt a very different mindset.

That we have poor coffee in our church is the most trivial of matters, yet I believe it is often a symptom of something very serious. It is too easy for us to be substandard in what we do for God. Friends, let us resolve to pursue excellence for the glory of God.

J.John (Canon)

Thanks and love to all those who give so generously of their time, money and effort to bring the best out of what we have and all we do.  Do you think excellence matters in church?

Gratitude is a Healing Kindness

Gratitude eases lifes squeaky spots.

Sometimes the best remedy for a vexed or troubled soul is the kindness of gratitude.

We long for it. 

It's a much-needed breath. 

It's in the heart. thoughts. words. actions of us all.  Gratitude?

Thank you. 

I appreciate you.

Not so hard. 

Really, what kind of "reality" do you want to live in?

Blogs can make me think, can challenge me, can offend, can feed me.  I recently read two blogs.  The first one is a christian satire that I enjoy, and it was highlighted in a secular paper.  The second was a christian author posing a question regarding churches and developing leadership (I'll think about posting the blog links, but I'm not inspired to at the moment.  Both led to strong dialog in the comments, and this is what I learned:

• Non-christians really do think we are off our rockers for believing in God.  They find it unreasonable, illogical, and weak.
• The non-christians who posted couldn't fathom how we believe in heaven, but were proud to announce they were headed to hell?  Not sure how it is easy to see yourself going to hell and yet find heaven unreasonable?
• Non-christians believe we are unthinking, group-think, naive people. 
• There are a lot of "unchurched" christians out there with bitterness regarding the local church, unforgiveness and unhealed hurt.
• There is a an awful lot of generalizations and stereotyping thrown around as weapons both from non-christians and christians alike
• There are also a lot of justifications and rationalizations based upon personal experience/pain (understandable, right?  Or is it?)

I could go on, but it's depressing.  Instead, I'd like to share these thoughts:

Let's love God and love our neighbor.
Let's be real, not weird
Let's put action behind our words
Let's not give up in the face of disbelief
Let's persevere in humility, not letting mockery stop us
Let's be happy, live life to the fullest, display God's goodness in our attitudes, smiles, words, hands and feet. 
Let's remember that we don't fight against flesh and blood - don't hate them, they don't know what they're doing.
Let's keep kindness in our hearts and on our tongue.  A soft answer turns away wrath.
Let's not lose every connection we have to the world around us.  They need the light we have and if we keep closing the doors, our opportunities will be non-existent.
Let's keep asking questions and listening to the responses
Let's guard our hearts
Let's forgive
Let's be healed.  Let go and be healed.

What reality do I want to live in?  What reality do I want to drive me?  Not the ones I read in the dialog.  I'm going to choose a different reality.  How about you?

Life is Not Like the Game Show "Let's Make A Deal"

Sometimes life presents us with various opportunities to choose from, and how do we know which one to choose?  I think this must be especially hard for those blessed souls who see everything as a shiny, exciting new possibility (love you guys!), or for those gifted in many different areas, but we all face the dilemma at some point. 

On "Let's Make A Deal", people have to choose between multiple doors to receive their prize. If they choose wisely, it's a great prize like a car or a lava lamp. If they choose poorly, maybe they get a stuffed monkey. The problem is they have to rely upon themselves to make the choice of which door to open.   How do you know which way to go?

We can learn from the life of Nehemiah.

Nehemiah was a cupbearer to the King, and by all accounts was good at his job - without complaint he was able to effectively and faithfully serve in the position he was placed in (people who served the King were not allowed to show any personal emotion - when in the presence of the King, it was all about the King).  There's no indication that Nehemiah was looking for a way out of service.  What changed for him was when men brought news that Jerusalem was fallen down and no one was doing anything about it.  Now Nehemiah has a burden that something must be done.

• Nehemiah had favor from the King because of his track record of excellent and faithful service to the King (a person he was enslaved to, not a King of his own country).  Nehemiah had excelled at keeping his attitude and emotions in check, in performing his work well and in honoring the King.  He was of good reputation!  No matter what position we may find ourselves in life, whether we like it or not, we have the opportunity to build a reputation.  What reputation are we building?
• The burden and pressing that Nehemiah feels to DO SOMETHING is channeled first into prayer.  He cries out to God about it.  He repents of the sins that led to Jerusalem's destruction.  He brings to remembrance the promises God had given and he asks God for favor with the King and success at rebuilding the walls. He is asking God to open the right door.

Beyond asking God to open the right door, he proceeds to position himself back in the King's presence.  This takes courage for Nehemiah because he is sad, and if the King notices this, he could be in serious trouble. 

• Prayer must be accompanied by faith-filled action.  Nehemiah doesn't shirk his job or responsibilities.  He stays true, upholding his reputation
• He positions himself where he is believing for the answers to come from.  He needs the Kings release and favor to go, so he positions himself before the King. He didn't try to make it happen on his own, he didn't run away to go it alone, he was praying and keeps himself in a position to be seen.  He is waiting.  Timing is important!

Nehemiah prayed to God and served the King for MONTHS before anything happened, from late fall to early spring.  He went through the winter burdened with a vision.

• Persist!  Stay strong, believe, pray and prepare yourself for when the door opens for you

The King did eventually notice Nehemiah's sad face, and asked what was wrong.  Nehemiah respectfully, prayerfully, and boldly asked for all that he needed.  The King's favor was there and he gave what was asked for plus more besides.  Nehemiah had spent his time of waiting wisely.  He had researched what would be needed, had considered the requirements, assessed the obstacles and he had a PLAN.  When the door opened, he would be ready.  How are you preparing yourself for the vision in your heart?  Maybe you need to get rid of debt to be ready.  Perhaps your family needs to be put in order or you need to learn something new.  What will be required of you to succeed?

• Nehemiah had such a detailed and clear vision of what success looked like!  What prize are we hoping for behind the door we choose? Can you see it clearly?

May God bless you as your pursue the visions and dreams in your heart, and may you find His favor leading the way for you as you pray, persist and prepare yourself for the success in front of you! 

What Do I Want for My Birthday?

I'm turning 41 this week, as is my amazing twin sister, Kathy (shout out!).  Birthdays are funny things.  Some years they feel so important and you feel the urgency for something special, whether it's a celebration, a meaningful gift or a surprise.  Others years are low-key and you are happy to let it slide by, sometimes because stress overwhelms the day, or better yet, you are happy and content and have all you need.

When we were first married and had little money, and perhaps even less experience of how to please each other, my husband used to ask, "What would you rather have, a gift of a memory"?  I think this was something he learned in his family.  For years I thought this was really just a cop out, a way to avoid the effort of learning what would bless the other person - me!  This feeling warred with the reasonable side of me, the side that knew a memory could be lasting and beautiful.  I wanted my husband to make the effort to find a special way of showing he knew me and how to bless me.  It was hilarious our first Christmas when I received a vacuume and a tweety bird t-shirt!  I seriously wasn't sure how to take that, but I did need the vacuume and I did know he was trying.  I wore that t-shirt for years (maybe for work parties, but I did wear it).  :)  My point is, we place a lot of expectations upon ourselves and others to show their love and/or affections through those special moments and gift-giving.  These things are important and can be real highlights, but after 18 years of marriage, it is the daily moments that make the most impact.  It's the unexpected dinner alone with my hubby where we can talk, the laughs shared at bedtime, the quiet moments when we can read each others thoughts.  Life is rich every day, every day is a gift.  Let's make the most of it, celebrainge the relationships we have every day.  Happy life everybody!  Enjoy!

Manure Stinks, but it Sure Brings a Good Harvest!

This morning I spent time in my garden, with help from my handsome older son, digging compost and manure into the soil in preparation for planting veggies.  I've been anticipating planting and harvest, so it was gratifying to shape and prep the beds, then watering the newly tilled soil.  Doing this will give me a better yield, nicer veggies for my fam to eat.  But you know, manure stinks.  When I purchased the bags of it, it filled my van with an....odor.  When I watered the garden today, it stunk. 

Sometimes it is exactly the stink that happens in our day, week, year, that is the foundational enriching amendment our lives are needing to kickstart a new, bountiful, beautiful harvest that we've been longing for. 

So, even if things around you are stinking, praise God!  Let Him work in your heart and use the stink to bring the needed change in the soil of your life.  It may not be pleasant or comfortable - we may even think we prefer to remain hard, dry, cracked and infertile - but deep down I believe we all yearn for better.

Here's to a new season, a fresh beginning, the hope of harvest.  I believe it's in you!

Sickness Has Nothing On Me!

I want you to know I've won.  To be more accurate, Christ has won and I am happily joined together with Him in victory!

The Bible says Christ paid the ultimate and final price to redeem us from sickness and death, that by His stripes I am healed, and that the very Spirit of God that raised Christ from the dead lives in ME.  I believe this and confess it over my life continually.  There has been countless times this past year when others have been sick, I have felt it try to latch on me, and I have simply refused to get sick, choosing to stand in faith that I am healed. 

Why am I sharing this?  Because I am in bed with the flu.  Why?  What happened to my faith?  Let me tell you something - sickness HAS NOT WON in my life.  CHRIST HAS WON.  The number of battles we face with the brokenness and decay of humanity can't be counted, and also true that the battles I've had victory in are too numerous to forget.  I REMEMBER them.  When one skirmish seems lost, I don't focus on this.  I don't believe I have lost any ground.  I don't rehearse that "I am sick".  I continue to declare my victory in Christ.  Nothing can take that from me.  Even when my last breath is drawn on this earth, I will continue to live in Christ, and one day, one glorious day, my body will be resurrected to life forever in perfect health with Him.

So right now, I'm going to take the rest my body needs, and I'm going to rejoice in the good things God has got going on.  And you?  The same victory is yours if you'll believe.  :)

Living Beyond Wishful Thinking

Living on wishful thinking is so darn unsatisfying!  Hope deferred makes the heart sick.  True hope is confident of it's fulfillment when it intersects with faith.

“God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promised could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This is hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.” Hebrews 6:17-19


• Faith is confidence that God is who He says He is and that He will do what He says He will do.

• Hope lies before us, not behind us. Keep looking forward! Navel-gazing and digging through the past sets us adrift, makes us wobbly, and insecure.

• Our hope is an anchor for our souls, and Christ is that hope. When we are anchored in Him, we have faith (see above definition), when our hope is Him, we have faith.

• Hope without faith in Christ is just wishful thinking. False hope.

When I have faith in God and what He has promised, then I can lean forward in hope, lean forward in life, knowing that my hope is securely fastened to One who does not lie, who is unchangeable. Faith produces a hope that will not be disappointed! This gives me a massive boldness to continue, to press forward, to persevere, to not grow weary.

So, I read His promises; I find out what He has to say for my life; I believe; I apply them; I keep applying them. One thing I’ve learned: the practice of applying His promises grows my faith and confidence like nothing else. You can start with one promise – find one that speaks into your life right now and give it a go!

Lean forward today, press into the hope you have in Christ – have faith – and start living your best life!

"Christians Hate Obama"

I was recently on a plane ride, sandwiched between two lovely people, and fully expected to doze my way home (4 AM is an early wake up call for me!), when a conversation began between myself and Paul, one of my seatmates.  I am so glad I didn't sleep!  (shout out to Paul if you're out there!).

Paul is a freelance writer, and has ventured into recording peoples personal histories, so he is good at interviewing, listening and drawing people out, and he is intelligent and kind, so we had all the makings of a great conversation. 

We discussed life, culture, interviewing, San Francisco, his work, and then he asked me about my work.  I told him I was a pastor, and this is where we both began to learn more about the other.  Let me say, before I continue, that it was entirely refreshing to dialogue with Paul without the emotional heat differences of opinion usually brings.  We both walked away having gained some knowledge, perspective, new understanding of things.

What I learned from Paul:

• Paul is a liberal, a Jew, and hangs and works with the University crowd.  His only knowledge of Christians is Pat Robertson.  Seriously.  His view of Christians:  they are angry, they hate, they are illogical, greedy, etc.  Oh yeah, television preachers with large lifestyles was another frame of reference.  Media-driven frame of reference.
• "Do the people in your church hate Obama?".  This is a question he asked me.  Read it again.  Do the people in your church HATE? 
• "Why are conservatives so angry"?  
• People may have good hearts in general, yet their hearts be hard towards the gospel.  Paul's limited, if not non-existent, interaction with Christians gave him a narrow and skewed perspective that understandably hardened his heart towards the message of the gospel.  I can't say I blame him.
• Perhaps we have lost our ability to be heard mainstream because all they hear/see is anger and hate.  I know that's not where we want to come from, but can we not see the fruit we are growing on our tree?

I have a family member who recently went to a rally regarding a possible repeal of special-rights legislation for gay/lesbian couples.  She was listening to a speech that became angry in tone, and looked around wondering about the over 51% of them that were divorced (yet up in arms about protecting marriage); what percentage were caught in sexual sin; why was it so easy to angrily cast stones?  She personally may not agree with the repeal, but she did question the emotional quotient that seemed to be driving the crowd.  When had it become so easy to point the finger when our own households are not in order?

Back to Paul.  Paul and I disagree on a lot of the things we talked about.  I believe in absolutes, yet struggle with the tensions we live in.  I believe in good and evil, heaven and hell (we both thought the idea of heaven as floating in the clouds forever sounded incredibly boring.  People have the funniest ideas about heaven - if you are a Christian, learn the doctrine of heaven!).  Though we disagreed, we were able to talk and learn from each other. 

• You can't plant seed in hard ground.  It has to be softened.  Let's not be so quick to angrily throw our seed out there hoping it will penetrate.  (Consider the soil).
• Emotions get in the way of true dialogue. 
• Affirming our "rightness" shuts doors to hearing and receiving.
• People have different perspectives.  Their frames of reference are not the same.  They may have no personal experience with Christians, the Bible, faith....Using our frames of reference, our perspective and experience to convince them of something doesn't compute. 
• Be open to having conversation, to learn from others.  It will go both ways!
• You can share the gospel without quoting chapter and verse (which is outside their frame of reference).
• Don't be afraid to share your own humanity with others.  No one is perfect, and it's nice when we admit that!

Paul is in San Diego for a conference, and I hope he has a great time in our beautiful city.  I also hope our conversation continues in his heart and it does in mine.

Meditation: Fear is Overcome by Love

"Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear.  If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced His perfect love" 1 John 4:18 (NLT).

Sometimes we experience fear for the future, and often this is fear of failing at life.  We are on a journey to succeed with our families, our work, our vision, our health...and we are afraid that it's going to come to nothing, or worse yet, we will somehow experience a hammer blow for failing.  This fear reveals that we have room to grow in understanding God's love for us.  God loves us perfectly.  We are not perfect to earn that love.  He loves us whether we succeed or fail, so live fearlessly!  Give life all you've got, knowing that God loves you, and don't let fear sideline you.

Feeling fearful?  Remind yourself of God's love and let it transform your thinking - your emotions will follow!