Joy Moments

There are these brief moments of joy
that happen
every day
and I want to remember them
before I rush on

So I'm starting a list
on a white card
in my pocket
where I write down the moments
before I forget

Then in the evening
when darkness comes
I take out my card
and lift it up
into the light

Cease Your Striving

I am coming to the conclusion that there is a certain psychological wear and tear which happens to every person as we pursue our dreams, plans and passions.

We are constantly pursuing things.
Or people.
Or accomplishments.
Or recognition.

Most of us have the eyes of our hearts fixed on some object that we are pursuing.

The Bible calls this 'striving' and it means running after things. Even good things. We are striving when we are running after whatever it is we are currently running after.

The purpose of Sabbath is to rest. To cease striving and let God care for you. It is a chance to rest from the constant pull of our passions, from the constant effort of our hearts to reach our desired goal and to receive care. This not only recharges our hearts but it also helps bring the objects of our desires into proper view again. By setting these goals aside for a time we remember that those goals exist inside of the larger context of God's love. They are passing passions that will someday be engulfed by the magnificence of God.

I believe in a Jesus who was broken for me.

Am I being broken for others?

Divine
Christ like
love
surging
through me
toward
everyone

To pray
is to dream
out loud
with God.

Hope is a great thing, maybe the best thing.

- John Cristy

The True Definition of Peace

The true definition of peace
is right relation
with God
and with people.



Why did it take me so long to figure that out?

A Question for 2008

"How can I grow deeper in love with God this year?"

Jesus' command to love God first among all other things in this world is a compelling call to create our lives with Him at the center. This is an active decision of the will to reach for God first in every situation and to value Him above all the other beauties that call out to our hearts. This first effort, reaching for God in every situation, may seem simple enough. But the second effort, valuing Him above all else, is much harder. Many things, people and ideas compete for our attentions and affections. Many treasures sparkle and shine, calling us to value them and adore their beauty. But only one treasure, God Himself, is most brilliant. So how do you live this out? How do we cherish Him daily, returning God moment by moment to the rightful place in our hearts as most beautiful and lovely?

That's the big question.

Letting go of yourself is the path to letting God in.

A Communion Throught

Our modern, materialist view of life has taken much of the sacred out of our view of the physical world. For example, desanctification of the material world has resulted in us seeing the Communion bread as 'only bread' and the Communion wine as 'just some juice'. These traditional elements cease to be the miraculous evidences of God's healing work and have become instead merely a dry crust and a token drink. But if God does indeed invest every molecule of this world with vibrant, powerful presence then why could a piece of bread not become the body of God? And what prevents a glass of wine from transforming into the living blood of Jesus?

If God can transform us by His presence, He can tranform the world too.

Christ is the sweetness of every moment. The trick is to enjoy him!

Seperation from God

The biggest thing that seperates us from God is the worry that we are seperated from God.

- Thomas Keating

Spending Time with Jesus.

I've been thinking about how Jesus shaped His disciples while He was here on earth. There was teaching, practical examples of ministry and lots of travel. But the main teaching tool he used was spending time together. Lots of time. Three years of full time living life together. Jesus' followers ate with him, talked with him, walked with Him and slept with him. They followed Him every where He went and stood nearby as He worked. He was with them every moment of every day for three years. That's 17,472 waking hours of contact time with Jesus. If you had to go to school for this you would have to attend for 16 years full time to get the same amount of contact time.

In the book of John chapter 15 Jesus is preparing His followers for a time when He will no longer be physically present with them. He is getting His disciples ready for Hi exit. What does He tell them? Keep doing what we have already been doing. Keep spending every moment of every day with Him. He calls it 'abiding in Him'. Abiding is Jesus prescription for life today. A life where He is not physically present ubt is spiritually integrated into every moment. Jesus teaches that we should spend every waking moment of every day with Him. That's how Jesus shapes us today.

When God is Silent

Sometimes I have experienced times of odd silence from God. To this day I honestly still do not know what to make of these times. When they happen I continue to pursue what I know He has already told me in the hopes that His voice will return again soon. If He has told me to work then I work. If He has told me to wait then I wait. I also work to delve as deeply as I can into the Word and hope to hear His voice through that. And through it all I seek to retain a child like sense of a dependence on Him. I seek to relax and trust. I am learning that child like dependence takes effort. It requires a daily, moment by moment choice to live in simple reliance on the reality of Jesus. Simple dependence is anything but simple.