God from a Distance

 

Pluto:  Photo courtesy of NASA's New Horizon Probe

Psalm 139:7,8a

Where can I go from Your Spirit,

Where can I flee from Your presence?

If I ascend to the heavens, You are there...

Recently, I have often felt far away from God. I haven't been going through anything that difficult or anything life-threatening.  I can't point to one thing to explain my episodic sense of spiritual isolation. Furthermore, I know the character of God. I have experienced His love and His power and His presence in real time. However, recently, those times are few and far between. 

In sum, God has often felt far away...

Then, a few weeks ago, I saw the above picture taken by the New Horizons space probe on a fly-by of Pluto over 2 billion miles from earth revealing a landscape that is over 300 degrees below zero.  And in that cold, dark piece of space, New Horizons sent back this picture of Pluto with it's gigantic heart-shaped shelf of ice over 1000 miles wide!

In that moment, God gently said to me, "Where can you go, Geoff, from My Spirit and where can you flee, my favored one, from My presence?" God reminded me in that picture of Pluto that it is precisely in those cold and dark places of life, when it seems like God is far away, that He is actually right there with us revealing to us another dimension of His love...

And not just me...but remember Moses?  How many times had he walked by that same bush before it became a beacon of eternal light? How many times had Moses walked that dusty trail before the sand transformed under his toes to holy ground?

And how long was Gideon hiding in the winepress before that supernatural encounter that transformed his life and saved the lives of his people?

And I wonder why Jesus chose a little boring hill to transfigure into radiant glory?

It is when our lives seem dusty and the way before us seems monotonous and unremarkable, it is when we are afraid, and it is when we are cold and in the dark, that we discover that the heart of God still beats for His people. 

I have thought a lot about this picture from the New Horizons probe the last couple of weeks. And I am beginning to look at things differently in the very parts of my life that I haven't seen evidence of God's presence because now I know it is in those places that God has shown up again and again for His people, not because He has to, but because there is nowhere that we can go from the heart of God...just ask those weary shepherds who one dark night, were serenaded by a host of angels and found a king lying in bed of straw.

Less doing. More being.

Reading: I have read a few Cantos of, "The Faerie Queene." (I think it is mostly in English)

Movie: Sheep Detectives (So fun!)

Music: If I Could Walk on Water (Eddie Money)

The Party Tithe

The Party Tithe

"(W)hen the place where the Lord your God will choose to set his name is too far away from you, then you may turn your tithe into money.  With the money secure in hand, go to the place that the Lord your God will choose, spend the money for whatever you wish-oxen, sheep, wine, strong drink, or whatever you desire. And you shall eat there in the presence of the Lord you God, you and your household rejoicing together." Deuteronomy 14:24-26

This changes everything. Maybe we have been taught to tithe out of a sense of duty. Maybe we have been taught to tithe because the church needs our money. Maybe we have been taught to tithe because we need a tax break or an investment strategy. Maybe we tithe because we like the feeling of being holier-than-thou. But when was the last time we hear a sermon explaining that, if we insist on being selectively legalistic, God's word demands ten percent of our income to be set aside, not for the church, not for the poor, but for a great big party? Our tithe is for joy the presence of God!

Do you remember that sermon? The sermon about the party that wasn't flowing with milk and honey bur flowing with brisket and beer? That's church renewal we can get excited about! But instead, we talk about the habits of highly effective churches and pontificate on the malaise of declining congregations. Does this even come close to the dream that Jesus has for the church?  No. Jesus describes the gathering of God's people as a foretaste of the heavenly banquet full of colorful riff-raff. (Luke 14:15-24) Baptists, beware! There will be dancing! Presbyterians, loosen your ties. Nazarenes, now is the time for wine! Seventh-Day Adventists, there is going to be meat! This is a raucous affair! in this place, int the presence of God, there is joy!

Transcendence and Credentialing

 

"I am sure of this, that the One who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day                                                               of Jesus." - Philippians 1:6
           Here is a picture of some bread that my wife made today. Yes. You can be jealous.

 

My wife has recently started making sourdough bread. She feeds the starter every morning. She makes the dough, and then she "burps" it to let out some of the built-up gasses. She will put it into the oven later in the day. The whole time, the yeast is at work transforming flour and water into something completely different...something better. Something new. 

Making bread is a lot like life. It takes time. You can't rush it.  It needs to be fed every morning. There are times when we need to be, "burped" and let go of things we have been holding on to.  But God is at work the whole time making something completely different, and...if we wait...something better. Something new! 

For the last three years, I have been working in medical administration after spending over a decade in full-time ministry.  At times I have felt stuck, but now I realize that God has been at work this whole time. God, in this season, has been helping me to release those things that I have been holding on to; things I should have let go a long time ago. Yes, God is at work, making something new...something more than flour and water.

I don't know what is next. But because of these last three years, three difficult years at work and at home, I have a better idea of who God is. He is at work and His work is not done. Furthermore, because of these last three years, I have a better idea of who He created me to be. I am excited about the future because I am convinced that the one who began a good work in me, the same God who began a good work in you, will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus; something better. Something new!

                                            Church Stopping. Less Doing. More Being.

Recently Finished: "Living Fearless," Jamie Winship (God still speaks!)

What am I reading: "Simply Christian" by NT Wright (I hope to finish this week

On My List: "How Than, Shall we Live" by Frances Shaffer (recommended by a colleague at work.)

Recent movie: Latest episode of, "The Chosen." (This was a tear-jerker!)

Recent song: "If I Could Walk on Water" by Eddie Money (Eddie has so many great songs. I am not sure this one had the play it should have...So good!)

Holy Ground...and a Jeep Comanche

 

"When I consider the heavens the work of your fingers...what is man that you are mindful of him...you made him a little lower than gods, and crowned him with glory and honor." - Psalm 8:3a,4a, and 5

Here is a picture of Will and my Jeep Comanche, circa 2009 and 1992, respectively. Both, a little lower than gods.

 

This morning, before church, my wife and I were up before the boys in our Sunday Soubhiye.  We were doing a listening prayer together, inviting the Lord to meet us where we were and speak to us the word we needed to hear. 

I have been skeptical in the past when doing these, "mindful" exercises. "Where do you feel the burden?" They ask. "Where do you feel the weight of your soul meeting the crushing weight of the world?"  They say. And that's about the time I tap out...or as our son, Will, would say, "Dip."

But this morning, I felt my feet. Usually, I try to ignore my feet. 

They have taken some wear and tear over the years. Feet in general, and my feet in particular, are unlikely things for me to think about on my own, so I began to pay attention. Then, it hit me...it was like the Lord transformed our living room floor into holy ground.  Not the Sinai desert, and no burning bush was to be found, but the Lord reminded me, in that moment, that all of creation is indwelled by His presence. I felt it on my forlorn feet.

But I was also reminded of the, "holy" part of holy ground. The other-worldly and mind-boggling immensity of God that is beyond human capacity to fathom.

This juxtaposition of words that we say so nonchalantly, "Holy Ground," is actually a portrait of the two-fold nature of a God who is as close as the ground where we plant our feet, but also the creator of that ground.  The same God who fashioned Adam out of red dirt and breathed into him the life-giving Spirit is the same God that reminded me that He is both closer than I can comprehend and bigger than I can imagine. 

And in that moment, I couldn't help but think of Moses who...at the age of 80 years old, experienced God doing a new thing in his life. It feels like that for me now...God is moving. I know, God is always moving, but there is this unsettledness now; an awareness that God is about to do a new thing, or reveal to me a new thing that will show me how he has been moving all along.

In some way, that brings me back to my old truck and our youngest son. It is fun to dream about both the things I would like to do to the truck (33 inch tires, stroked engine rebuild, 6 inches of lift, etc) and what God is doing in our youngest son who is in the early stages of discovering who God created him to be. (teacher, coach, NBA basketball player, etc). 

So, here's to the journey and the assurance that even if we don't know exactly what we are doing or where we are going, the Lord is with us...indeed, he has been leading us the whole time.

                                            Church Stopping. Less Doing. More Being.

Recently Finished: "Journey to the Center of the Earth," Jules Verne (Fun excursion to the middle of the earth.)

What am I reading: "Simply Christian" by NT Wright (I have not read Wright before.  Now, to "Wright" that wrong!)

On My List: "How Than, Shall we Live" by Frances Shaffer (recommended by a colleague at work.)

Recent movie: When the Game Stands Tall. (Football and based on a true story. Good show and good message for today.)

Recent song: "Unwritten," by Natasha Bedingfield ("Sometimes my tries are outside the lines" Boom!)

Come Down From That Tree...or, Come Out From Under Those Tree Branches!

 

June 23, 2024

"Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at you house today." - Luke 19:5b

They didn't like him too much, it sounds like. His friends from school, they thought he was a traitor. His parents were saddened about the decisions he made along the way. Sure. He was rich, but he was a sinner with a corrupt heart.  And he had forsaken his faith for ill-gotten gain.

...and out of all the people lining the street in Jericho that day, Jesus chose him to have dinner with.  His classmates couldn't believe it. His parents didn't understand it, But Jesus wouldn't have it any other way. He didn't see Zacchaeus as a criminal, or a sinner, or a heartless traitor. Jesus saw him for who he really was and for who he was really created to be...and Jesus called him by name. 

*                 *                 *

It has become a bit a spring tradition for me. Over the year, I gather branches and stack them up. Some of the branches, after big Kansas storms, fall out of the mature oaks we have growing in our yard.  Some of them, I trim from our miniature orchard we have been nursing along over the years. Recently, the power company had to trim one of our cedar trees to make room for an outdoor light on a power pole.

So, this year's pile was especially lavish. For comparison, that is our oldest son, Sam, who is 6' 2" tall.

It was time. Our neighbors began to question how much longer we were going to have our ill-favored incline. We started to worry about wild animals lurking in the detritus.

So I rented an industrial chipper and got to work. In about five hours, I had reduced the branches and bramble to chips and mulch. I spread it around our little orchard and our hostas. I used some to line the flower bed and created a little secret trail to watch the fireflies at night. It was so satisfying!

And then I discovered it...that little, beaten, and bruised forsythia bush underneath it all. (Sam is pointing to it in the picture below.) I know that it doesn't look too good now, but it will come back early next spring with beautiful yellow flowers heralding, once again, these warm days and short nights.  

It was there all along. Deep down.

And I think that we are often like this forsythia...or Zacchaeus.  We get buried.  We are there all along, only deeper down. The world suffocates us with it's demands and piles on with it's delights, and we forget who we were created to be. Underneath the weight, we can no longer hear the One who created us and still calls us by name. 

But we now how the story ends. Zacchaeus comes up from under it all...

He, climbs the sycamore, has dinner with Jesus, and was changed...or maybe it is more precise to say, "uncovered."  I like to think of the townspeople of Jericho the next day getting a knock on their door from Zacchaeus.  Some roll their eyes and some burn with hatred towards this man doing the business of the Roman government.  However this time Zacchaeus was not asking for money. He was giving it away. This day, Zacchaeus wasn't an agent of the overlords. This day, Zacchaeus was a servant of the Lord of Israel. This day he was repaying anything extra that he had taken over the years, even four times the amount of anything that he had cheated.

In my mind's eye, some people open the door and weep with joy when they understand what is going on.  Some embrace the exile. Everyone was in a bit of shock. Except Jesus. Jesus knew who Zacchaeus really was the whole time, under it all and down deep. After all, Jesus created him, Jesus knew his gifts, and Jesus had called him by his true identity. (See, "Living Fearless" below.) After all, it wasn't lost to Jesus what his name meant.  

Zacchaeus means, "Pure and Innocent."

Who is Jesus calling you to be? What is Jesus calling you to be free from? What are those things that keep you from Him and swallow you up? Don't stay buried. Feel free to bloom, even after the bruises and cares of the world have swallowed you up. He knit you together and He still calls you by name. 

            Church Stopping. Less Doing. More Being.

Recently Finished: "Living Fearless," by Jamie Winship. (If you have forgotten who you were created to be, if your prayer life feels lifeless, if you feel smothered or stuck, or if you just want to read an account of God at work...I highly recommend this book!)

What am I reading: "Journey to the Center of the Earth," Jules Verne (Fun excursion to the middle of the earth.)

On My List: "Simply Christian" by NT Wright (I have not read Wright before.  Now, to "Wright" that wrong!)

Recent movie: Seabiscuit. (Fun movie based on a true story.)

Recent song: "Don't Use Me," by Bride (Mind blown! These guys were so good!)

 Pentecost 2022

"All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other lanaguages, as the Spirit gave them ability." - Acts 2:4

        Today was Pentecost. In church, we heard again the story of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and how many people from many nations heard the Good News in their own language for the very first time.

        A lot has changed since that first Pentecost, but I am convinced that the Holy Spirit still wants us to hear the Good News in our own language...again...for the first time or, maybe, even the 100th time. 

        For me personally, at least, I need to be reminded constantly that God speaks most clearly to us when we stop.  Certainly, God can speak to us in church and always speaks to us in His Word...but it is when we step away from our busyness long enough (Just like those Pentecost pilgrims in Jerusalem) to go to church and read God's word that God has space...and time...to remind us who we were created to be.

        Lately, I have been listening hard for who God wants me to be. Through job loss and uncertainty, through our oldest son moving away to go to school, through the busyness of a sophomore in high school, a seventh grader, and an older home in constant need of attention, I have let the caucophony of the world fill me up...not the Holy Spirit.

        I should know better.

        After all, the whole idea of, "Church Stoppping" is to let go of the reins long enough to let God lead us into a deeper version of not only who we are...but of who God created us to be.  

        "The lawn needs to be mowed,"  I said.

         "Nope. Not today." Jennifer said.

        "I need to pay some bills," I protested.

        "Not today," my wife insisted.  "Today, we are going to put our toes in the pool and you are going skateboarding with your boys."

        That is what we did. Nothing on my list was done. And the Holy Spirit filled me up. "Just write," I thought I heard God say.

        "But what if I am not good enough?" I said.

        "It doesn't matter," God said, and the tongues of fire burned brighter, bringing to life places long dead. "You don't write for the acclaim of others, after all. You write so that I might bring you life."

        "I am tired," I insisted.

        "You are tired," God spoke deeply. "You are too busy. Just be."

        I took a nap. I dipped my toes in the pool. I rode skateboards with the boys.  Maybe tomorrow, I will write.

            Church Stopping. Less Doing. More Being.

Re-engagement

 

"Your harvest's aftergrowth you shall not reap, and your grapes of untrimmed vines you shall not gather; the land shall have a sabbatical year." - Leviticus 25:5

In some ways, churches across the country are re-engaging with their congregations and community after an unexpected sabbatical year.  It has been a year of virtual worship and digital assembly, palpable loneliness, and extended ennui.  But now, churches are beginning to open up again to face-to-face worship, teaching, and ministry.  There is a fresh enthusiasm to get back to work, as well as some anxiety to return to the way things were before.

In the face of this pent-up zeal, I would like to encourage the church to do the unexpected thing...the thing that doesn't feel right or make sense; stop. Then breathe.  Church leaders and parishioners do not need to rush right in to a flourish of new activity.  At least, not yet. At least, not before asking three important questions.

1. What did we miss most last year?

2. Is there anything we didn't miss at all?

3. Who are we now, one year after the world stopped and our lives and ministry changed?

As we begin to build back activities and ministries, don't miss an opportunity to redirect this exuberance into dialogue about why we do church work in the first place. "Oh, no!" I hear my inner critic cry, "Please! Not another committee or fruitless conversation!"  No. That is not what I mean and I know that no one wants that.  But maybe, when we stop and visit again with one another after so many months apart, we might just discover that God has been doing a new thing all along. 

Church Stopping. Less Doing. More Being. 

Changing Times

 

This is the stop watch given to my father (pictured above) by his father.

"For I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar -- the Lord of Hosts is his name. And I have put my words in your mouth, and his you in shadow of my hand, stretching out the heavens and laying the foundations of the earth..." -Isiaiah 51:15-16

This passage from the book of Isaiah speaks of the time when God, "stirred up the sea" and put His words in the mouth of his people.  It is a reference to the seminal event in Jewish history, the Exodus. Before Exodus and the "stirring" of the Red Sea, God's people were descendants of Abraham who were slaves in Egypt. They were a people with a calling, but they were not yet a nation.  It was during the Exodus that the nation of Israel was born.  God put his words in His people's mouths, set up the priestly class, established the sacrificial system, and gave plans for the the Ark of the Covenant which was eventually placed in the Temple in Jerusalem.  All of this is referred to in creation language, "stretching out the heavens and laying the foundations of the earth."

During this time of year, we often read about God creating a new heaves and a new earth (Isaiah 65:17 and 2 Peter 3:13). This is a refence to the seminal event of Christian history when Jesus rose from the tomb on the third day becoming our high priest (Hebrews 4:14) and final sacrifice (Hebrews 10:12), putting his words in our heart (Psalm 119:11), and making our bodies His temple (1 Corinthians 6:19), and fulfilling the law on our behalf. (Matthew 5:17)

Therefore, when we read about the the heavens and earth being destroyed (e.g., 2 Peter 3:10), it is not a physicial destruction of the world, it is rather a destruction of the old way of relating to God. We are currently living in the time of the New Heavens and the New Earth. The old heavens and earth have already been destroyed. It is interesting to note that there is, to this day, no longer a temple in Jerusalem.

And it is important for us as Christians to know this truth before we ever turn on the television or the radio.  In the news, we hear about the challenges and the suffering of this time; the fear and heartache, the pain and disease, but we will not hear anything about Jesus on the throne; establishing His kingdom on the earth and making all things right, and restoring the world...not destroying it. 

We know that Jesus will come again with shout of acclamation and the angelic army in his train.  There will be a trumpet blast and all that is wrong in the world will be made right.  Until then, it is our job as Christians to discern the times and seek out the Kingdom where God's love and power are seen and heard and felt.  This is often in the midst of the challenges and suffering, fear and heartache, pain and disease.  Finally, we are called to be His presence to those who know the wold, but not the Hope of the world.

Remember that the Bible is a book about the restoration of God's people and the earth.  Not destruction. The good news is a reversal of the curse.  During these unprecedented times, I wish you all the joy, love, hope, and peace of the new heavens and the new earth.  Joy to the World! The Lord has come; No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infests the ground; He comes to make His blessings flow as far as the curse is found!"  (Isaac Watts, Joy to the World)

 Church Stopping. Less doing. More being.

Guard Your Heart

 Our son, Sam, performing in his senior play, "Murder Me Always."

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirti within me." - King David after the murder of Uriah the Hittite (Psalm 51:10)

David, in the days that kings went out to war, didn't. (See 2 Samuel 11 and 12)

Instead, he had his way with Bathsheba, Uriah's wife, and tried to cover his sin by killing Uriah. What started out as a lack of judgment quickly became sin on top of sin and David's heart grew hard and cold. What's more, he didn't even see it.  Then, Nathan told David a story about the rich man with many sheep who took the one ewe that belonged to a poor man and David burned with rage.  David said the poor man should be paid back fourfold and the rich man should be put to death.  Still, not knowing the story was about him, Nathan sounded his incredible rebuke, "You are that man!"

Up until that moment, David is the picture of a heart that has grown cold. He can't see the sin in his own life, but he is able to judge others for their sin. Perhaps you know people like this.  They are miserable to be around, bitter, angry, and judgmental. There hearts have grown cold and their relationship with God has been damaged.  

However, David is convicted by Nathan's story and realizes that what he wants more than anything else in his whole life is not the power and perks of being king, but a vital relationship with the King of Kings. It is what we all want.  We have had those moments when God is more real and more present than anything we can see or hear or touch. We want more of that, but sin gets in the way; our hearts become cold and we become blind and judgmental. 

As Christians, we must be vigilant.  It is easy to justify sin because we aren't doing anything illegal. We think we are okay because we know that Christ has died for our sins and no one is hurt.  But we forget that Christ came to give us freedom from sin, not freedom to sin.  Little sins and big sins sneak into our lives and our hearts grow cold becomes distant, we become blind, and we don't even know it.

Guard your heart.

Guard your heart from the little sins so your heart doesn't grow so cold that bigger sins can enter in.  And if you do sin, big or little, confess it to God.  And just like David, God will soften your heart and, "restore to us the joy of our salvation." (Psalm 51:12)

Church Stopping. Less Doing. More Being.

Ravens, Ants, and the Unemployment Line

 If you look closely at our family's gathering of gourds, you might recognize Chewabacca/Rafiki, Woodstock, and Larry Boy...in additon to your standard Jack-O-Lantern and creepy cat!

"Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; yet God feeds them: how much more valuable are you than the birds!" - Luke 12:24

"Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: which having no guide, overseer or ruler, provides her meat in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest."

Perhaps the most terrifying hour in the day is dusk, when we see the light receding and we are faced with looming darkness.  Like so many across the globe during these dark times, I find myself at dusk facing the additional darkness of losing my job.

It has been a time when I must lean on the promises of God. Surely, a God who has brought me this far...through serious injury, illness, grief, and disappointment, will also see me through this present darkness.  I am not always able to do that, however, on my own...rest sucurely on the promises of God. And when I can't see the way forward, I lean on the faith of those around me who speak those words of encouragement I long to hear, "God has this."  "You will be okay."  And of course, my favorite, "You are an amazing person and somebody will be very fortunate to have you."

I don't always feel amazing, though. It is easy to doubt and it easy to despair when I have had two interviews with no job offers in seven months.  It is easy to be afraid as I sit across from my wife and three growing boys and watch with amazement at the volume of food that they eat and then marvel at the carefree way that they move through life.

For most of my adult life I have been the ant. Not a raven.  I have performed my duties faithfully and never wanted for anything to eat.  At the same time, I also know that my well-being is not ultimately dependent on my labor but on the providence of God.  Children, like ravens, are an important reminder of the One who is in control.  

So, this week, I am taking a break from the job search and I am not searching. I am not looking at Indeed, or pestering my, "network."  As much as I can, I am going to trust in the Lord of Ravens and Ants that has brought me this far, through thick and thin, floods and droughts, health and sickness, and joys and sadness.

I don't know what God has in mind as dusk gives way to darkness.  But I believe that God is with me and leading me through this valley even when I can't see Him. And I believe that in middle of the darkness it will be easier to see God's light and then it won't be so scary.   Until then, thank you for your prayers and thank you for reminding me of the promises of God and thank you for reminding me (and those around you that may be going through their own valleys) that I am amazing and that God does have this!

Chruch Stopping. Less Doing. More Being.

Enthroned

 

(Above picture is our son, Will, at the Monument Rocks south of  Oakley, KS. Yes, really Kansas!)

"And after He had said these things, He was lifted upwhile they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight."  --  Acts 1:9

It hit me like a class IV rapid on the Snake River outside of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, "It is an enthronement scene."  My seminary professor said, looking up from the Novum Testamentum Graece.  The class welcomed the respite from the precision of the Greek and was reminded of its power to pierce the heart. "Compare it to the enthronement scene in Daniel 7:13-14.  Jesus isn't leaving the disciples...Jesus is taking His throne as the long-awaited Messiah! The book of Acts is about the Kingdom entering into the world!"

At that moment, a wave of enlightenment washed over me and my worldview shifted from vaguely pre-millenial to vividly post-millenial.  Since that time, my life has been a thrilling pursuit to find signs of the Kingdom springing forth in the midst of these troubled times, "Jesus is on the throne!"

I know how easy it is to miss and that sometimes it seems far away...like the notion of a great inland sea inundating the vast Kansas prairie.  But the evidence is there when we know to look.  

There are marine fossils out on the Kansas prairie, where you would least expect them, hundreds of miles from any existing sea.  There are sharks' teeth.  The gigantic Tylosaurus.  Fossils of fish and swimming birds.  Likewise, there are also moments of joy and scenes of wonder and seasons of peace to be found in the midst of the pain and uncertainty of this age, where you would least expect to find them, great reminders of who is on the throne.

I pray that you might find hope and strength this day as you look up at the clouds in your own life. Like the clouds floating up above Will's head on the Great Plains of Kansas, high and lifted up, may they be a reminder of this enthronment scene in Acts: the Nazarene carpenter who hung out with fishermen and forgave sinners and died on a cross is also the Good Shepherd who has been raised and has ascended to His throne!

Church Stopping. Less Doing. More Being.

Worship When it Doesn't Make Sense

 

"But about midnight Paul and silas were praying their songs of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them..." - Acts 16:25

It doesn't make sense to me; trying to go over an elevated bar with a pole...upside down!  But if ever there was someone that would not be bothered by this prospect, it is our middle son, Isaac, pictured above learning the pole vault.  There is a lot to learn, but he loves it!

And if ever there were a time that didn't make sense to worship, it was Paul and Silas in the deepest, darkest, and smelliest part of the prison, feet in stocks, hands in chains, backs lacerated from a previous beating, the darkest part of the night, watched by a jailer!  Their situation was precarious at best. Why were they, "praying their songs"?  It just doesn't make sense.

I'll admit that in today's world, it still doesn't make sense. I often feel like many others who believe in a loving, powerful, and present God (head knowledge) but are dealing with massive uncertainty when it comes to employment, health, and racial tension and isolation from the church. Many current events don't compel us to worship (heart expression).  We feel like it is dark, and it is hopeless and we are trapped in prisons of anxiety, fear, and even abuse.

However, maybe it is more important than ever to worship in the middle of these current events at exactly the point when it doesn't make sense.  After all, worship is the way that connects our head to our heart.  We see this for Paul and Silas as they pray (head knowledge) their songs (heart expression). There is no separation of these events, it is one act of worship! Worship is a way that God connects what we know about God (in our brains) to what we feel about God (in our hearts).

Singing our prayers has less to do about our circumstances as it does about the one who infuses our circumstances with peace and even joy to the point where our lives become a witness not only to us of who God really is, but also to others who are listening to us just as they were listening to Paul and Silas pray their songs. Now more then ever, the world needs to hear the good news of our Lord and Savior!

Worship is the way we can once again connect our brains and our hearts to the the love and the power and the presence of God and it is a way for others to be encouraged to do the same in their lives.  Certainly, we should praise God when we experience joy in our circumstances, but we should also pray our songs when our circumstances don't make sense.

 

God, do you see me?

(Praiano, Italy September 2019)

"As the hart pants for water, so my soul thirst for Thee, O God!"  - Psalm 42:1

Last year, my wife, Jennifer, and our three boys took a trip of a lifetime to Rome and the Amalfi coast.  The picture above was taken outside of our hotel room overlooking the Mediterranean sea.  It is a stunning place with beautiful food and we would all love to go back someday.

And someday, we will.  These events are fun things to look forward to because they don't happen everyday. However, everyday, we need to be reminded that God sees us wherever we are and whatever we are going through.

We can look at beautiful places in the world and be reminded that God is powerful.  We can read in Scripture that God is loving. We can look back at events in our lives and know that God is always with us, but we need to know everyday that God sees us. It is how we are made, "My soul thirsts for Thee, O God!"  We know it in our brain...we just don't always feel it in our heart.  "God, do you see me?"

Two weeks ago, we had our trusty 2000 Yukon stolen right out of our driveway.  It is old, but it is also big and safe so our son drives it to school. And I was mad that it happened. I was mad at the people who took it and I was mad at God for allowing it to happen. I remember my prayer, "Really, God? Nice." After a couple of days, I gave up trying to find  it.  I was resigned to somehow finding another vehicle for our son that was both reliable and affordable.  But on the third day (!) police officer O'Brian called me and said, "I found your Yukon." I drove to the address, and there it was.  The thieves were gone, the keys were gone, the right rear tire was shredded, and I am still waiting for the shop to tell me that the new tire has come in. "Really, God?" was about all I could muster for prayer. "Nice."

Then, on the next day, I was doing a spiritual exercise that I heard about for the first time this summer. We were at Gull Lake Ministries in southern Michigan and our speaker was Rev. Marvin Lewis from Chicago. He was talking about our need to be seen by God and taking time to look at each day for ways in which God showed up because, indeed, God does show up. God sees us, we just sometimes miss it.  Pastor Lewis called it the, "Expectation" or, "Anticipation principle. There are just a few steps.  This exercise can be done in the evening or in the morning on the next day depending on whether or not you are a morning person. The idea is to get the head knowledge of who God is into your heart so that you begin to feel noticed by the One in whose image you have been made. Here are those steps:

1. Preparation: Acknowledge God's presence. 

2. Give thanks to God for the day.

3. Ask God for His perspective

4. Review my day: (You don't have to answer every question every day. Pick one or two.)

    a. For what am I thankful? For what am I least thankful?

    b. When did I give or receive the most/least love?

    c.  What was the most life-giving/life-draining part of my day?

    d. When did I connect/disconnect with God and others?

    e. When did I experience/not-experience the fruit of the Spirit? (Gal. 5:22-23)

    f. When did I cooperate/work against God?

Look forward to the day to come! (The Lord has something more for you than this! 2 Chronicles 35:9)

It was during this reflection on the day that the Yukon was stolen that I remembered looking up from where I was sitting on the curb as I waited for the tow truck to come. I looked up and across the street from the Yukon was a little neighborhood church. I had seen that church before, but in that moment of reflection I felt that knowledge God's love being transferred from my brain to my heart...like God was saying, "Don't you see, Geoff?  I see you." I would have missed it if I didn't pause to reflect and work through the above questions.  

So, if you struggle with intimacy with God, I encourage you to use this tool and be amazed as you begin to feel all of that head knowledge that you have accumulated of God through the years transferred to your heart!

 

Coming Up for Air

"Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice!" -Philippians 4:4

"We're kinda' like a woodpecker in a petrified forest.  Just keep busy and look for opportunities!"  -Bob Green

Sometimes, I feel like that woodpecker...just going from one tree-shaped rock to another.  It isn't easy working full-time, chasing after a fifth grader, an eighth grader, and a junior in high school, keeping up with extended family, working on this old house, and still try to glean some sort of work-life balance.  Sometimes, I just don't seem to be making a lot of progress.

These are all good things, And I know that there are many who long for meaningful work and a loving family.  I know.  And I am thankful for this business. However, I know that I am not alone in sometimes feeling so inundated with this flood of obligations, that I just can't come up for air.

Or won't, because that means neglecting someone you love or a task that needs to be done. But, I can't help but think that this isn't the way God wants us to live. It certainly wasn't how the Apostle Paul lived, "Rejoice in the Lord always."  That's tough.

At least, it is for me.  But this weekend, I took advantage of some beautiful weather and rented a big chipper and went to work on the brush pile that has been growing out back over the last several months.  The machine might have been a little overkill, but it worked flawlessly.  Big, gnarly branches were sucked in and chipped up.  The pile of unruly brush shortly became a manageable pile of beautiful mulch.  The chickens were happy. My neighbors were happy.  And I was happy...and I was ready to face my list and chase after the kids.

The stress of work and the list of obligations were forgotten for a couple of hours of joy.  I know, it is a strange thing that causes me joy.  However, it has always been cathartic for me to be outside working on a project.  For you, it may be working on a car or reading a book or playing an instrument.  For my wife, it is working on her calligraphy.  But do it. For just a couple of hours come up for air.  The joy you experience will give you buoyancy to carry you through deluge above water. You aren't being selfish, you are being faithful. Rejoice!

Church Stopping. Less doing. More being.

Look to the Hills

"I look to the hills, where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth." - Psalm 121

"Some places take your breath away. Some places let you breathe." -Unknown

Today, we woke the boys up at 4:15 am and drove two and half hours through the Flint Hills of Kansas (Yes, there are hills in Kansas!) to the state cross country meet in Wamego.

As you may have heard. Kansas is a place of extreme weather.  We are prone to bitter north winds in the winter. Hot, days and muggy nights in summer. There are occasional hail storms and tornadoes when the cold north winds and the hot south winds don't get along. There are torrid rains and relentless droughts.  There are spring storms and autumn snows.   

However, Kansas is also a place of amazing beauty.  On the Kansas plains at dawn, everywhere I looked, the sky met the horizon. Heaven kissed the earth. The sun brooded over the surface of an undulating sea of grass. I nearly wept with joy.  

It is what I needed. It is what we all need. A reset. A broader perspective. A reminder that there is more to life than a list. There is more to life than success, politics, and the stock market.  There is help and strength and peace as strong and deep as prairie grass and as gentle as a morning dove.

It has been a difficult couple of weeks. Difficult meetings at work. Health issues in my wife's family.  School drama.  Bad drivers.  It is easy for me to allow these things to wall me in and close me off...  All I see is what is right in front of me.  

Not this day. 

We were tipped off to a quaint little place for breakfast in a residential neighborhood across from the city park. The coffee wasn't great, but the pancakes were huge and the conversation was fantastic. I dusted off some old dreams of a little cabin somewhere out there on the infinite horizon, and my wife dreamed of Christmas parties and time in her studio.  We talked a lot about work and family concerns, but laughed and shared a leisurely moment while the little boys ran out to play in the park. 

We were ready when it came time to drive to the meet. We cheered our oldest son on as he ran and we enjoyed the fading warmth of the brilliant sun.  It was perfect....and, by-the-way, we won state!

Do What You Do

Disclaimer: This is not Martha's egg...but still big!

"I am going fishing." - Peter (John 21:3)

It was after everything he knew about Jesus died on a cross and was buried in a borrowed grave. He saw him die but he also saw him after he died.  Something was going on and he didn't understand what it was. All Peter knew was that what God was doing was different than what he had secretly hoped for.  He didn't know his place, but he did no how to fish. So that is what he did. 

In the face of uncertainty, Peter did what he knew.

When we first started with our backyard chickens, we had a mother hen and six beautiful eggs.  We soon had six soft, adorable chicks!  These cute little chicks soon grew into three beautiful hens and three handsome roosters. We couldn't keep roosters in town, so we had to give them away.

However, I am happy to say that all three found great homes. In fact, there was one gentleman that was so thrilled with his new rooster, he gave us an old, mangy, nervous hen.  We didn't really want this hen and it seemed more fair to us that he keep his ugly white hen, thank you. No thank you. But he insisted. He knew something about this hen we didn't...

We finally conceded as now the other chickens were agitated. We could tell the poor hen was scared and traumatized by the move and unfamiliar space. We  made her as comfortable as possible and couped her up with the other girls and went to bed. We still didn't know what to do the next morning, but when we went out to check on the growing flock, our new, nervous chicken had laid the largest egg we had ever seen!  

In the face of uncertainty, that hen (we soon named, Martha) did what she knew.

And she continued to lay gigantic eggs...for years and years.  She was amazing and we still talk about her. She soon settled in to the flock and grew a new set of beautiful feathers.  We loved Martha well and she continued to lay gigantic eggs.

When you are going through difficult times...it could be at work or at home or with your health...it is important to take a lesson from Martha and Peter; keep doing what you do.  I know, I usually say to do less, but sometimes the routine of something you know and are good at gets you through those difficult times.  I am not saying that you shouldn't stop periodically, but when life throws you a curve and the world speeds up, sometimes doing what you do slows it down just a little and allows you to settle in and see what Jesus is doing in a different light.

Less doing. More being.

Dig the Hole Deep

"We must not longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their crafiness in deceitful scheming." - Ephesians 4:14

"One of the greatest decptions in the practice of the Christian religion is the idea that all that really matters is our internal feelings, ideas, beliefs, and intentions.  It is this mistake about the psychology of the human being that more than anything else divorces salvation from life, leaving us a headful of vital truths about God and a body unable to fend off sin." (The Spirit of the Disciplines - Dallas Willard)

This summer, I spent many hours hand-digging a well in my back-yard.  The hole ended up being 13 feet deep and 13 inches in diameter.  I don't mean to brag, but that is an impressive hole!  The ground was wet and heavy clay.  The auger bit was hard to turn.  But the hole is done and soon it will be home to an automatic sump pump.  I have high hopes that this well will be effective in removing groundwater from our yard when the storms come...I will keep you posted!

And now as I reflect on my summer's work, I see many parallels to our faith.  Like that hole, our faith needs to be deep in order that we are not, "tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine."  After all, we live in a world that competes for our loyalties. After all, it is easy to be passionate about politics or gender equality or climate justice. This is fine, however, unless we are deeply rooted in our faith with prayer and study, our passion means nothing. Unless we dig our hole deep, God takes a backseat instead of the driver's seat in how we respond to these 21st century storms. Unless we have a heart transformed by God...a faith deeply rooted in Christ...we will be washed away when the storms come. 

However, Dallas Willard reminds us that in order for our relationship with Chist to be robust, our faith cannot just be deep; it cannot just be an intellectual ascent...it must also be wide.  In other words, we must include our physical bodies in the practice of our faith. Certainly, a wide faith involves acts of service.  However, we can't neglect worship, or fasting, or even our posture in prayer and in praise.  This is the point of the spiritual disciplines...they engage our whole (hole!) being in our relationship with God so that when the storms come,  we are able to stand.  

Blessings to you and yours as you dig your hole!

Church Stopping. Less doing. More being.

Real Men Raise Their Hands

Our boys raising the roof: Gull Lake Ministries 2019 (There is one behind the pillar, but you can see his arm!)

Faith in its celebration sometimes becomes a delirious joy coursing through our bodily being, when we really begin to see how great and lovely God is and how good he has been to us. (Dallas Willard, The Celebration of the Disciplines)

"Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.  How awesome is the Lord Most High, the Great King over all the earth!" --Psalm 47:1-2

"Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." So they began to celebrate. --Luke 15:23-24

There is an old picture I remember seing. I am one or two years old. Maybe I am wearing a diaper, maybe not, but I am holding a strategically placed balloon so it is okay.  In fact, it is amazing.  It is amazing not for the balloon, but for my expression; on my face I see utter, complete, belly-shaking joy.

In the last year, I can count the utter, complete, belly-shaking joy on one hand...with several fingers left over.

I don't know what happened over the last 50 years that chipped away at that joy.  I know life has happened; there were some low spots; heart breaks, discouragements, shattered dreams, worries and anxieties. Yes. But there were also high spots; birthdays, and graduations,  and our wedding day. There have been victories and celebrations of three healthy boys. We have seen incredible beauty and tasted wonderful food. We have seen the miraculous and mighty power of God at work.

But I seldom laugh like that any more, and it has taken it's toll. Not just on my heart, but on the hearts of those around me, my marriage and our children. "What can I do to make you laugh again?" my wife said to me recently, "You seem so sad.  Where is the dreamer who swept me away with visions of a life full of adventure when we didn't have two nickels to rub together?"

She's right. My wife gave me two tickets to see a movie together at Christmas. I still have them.

No one is to blame. There is no fatal wound. This really is on me, and I have resolved that in the next several months, I am going to grow closer to the heart of a God who loves to rejoice with me. I have been lost, but I have also been found.  And it may be a discipline at first, but I am going to connect with God and it starts in worship. I am no longer going to be bound and afraid of what others might think if I lift my hands in worship. I have never done this before and it makes me nervous.  It may not be at the appropriate times. And it is going to be intentional, at first. However, I believe that it will become natural because I believe that is closer to the truth of how God created me...like that little boy with the balloon who so reflected the heart of God.

Church Stopping. Less doing. More being.

UPDATE: I did it!  It was sweaty.  (I brought a handkerchief to blot my brow.) It was only during the refrain, but I was able to raise my hands in worship!  And though it was a bit mechanical, it helped me to focus, not on the words, but on the One the words were directed to.  I can't wait until next week!

Perspective

"I have come that they might have life and might have it abundantly." --Jesus

A Dream Within a Dream. Ravello, 2019

As a child, then as young man, I had very little idea of what I was going to do for a living, but whatever it was, I knew it would be legendary.  It was very clear to me that I would be very successful in whatever field was blessed enough to reap my obvious talents and charm.  

Then I received, "The Call" and my delusions of grandeur came crashing down around me like a house of cards. 

My wife (pictured above) called me to let me know that she was stranded in our twenty-year old Yukon on a residential street in a neighboring city.  At that moment, and in many other moments leading up to it, I realized that I wasn't really living the life I expected.  In fact, in many ways, my life was living me. 

Instead of realizing the blessings of family, good health, and a beautiful and talented wife, I had become consumed by the challenges of work, doing the dishes, caring for a family and fixing old cars.  Things break down...not only cars, but relationships at work and old plumbing.  These broken things have to be fixed. So, I had the Yukon towed to a friend and the two of us worked all day putting in a new fuel pump.  The car was fixed but in the process, the challenges of life were placed ahead of the blessings of God. A day with the family became a day with the Yukon.  I did spend some time with a good friend, but intstead of feeling abundant, I just felt tired.

It was an easy place to get to, but not a place I want to stay.  Maybe, like author Stephen Covey wrote so well, I have been caught in an, "activity trap" and I just need to put my ladder against another wall. 

There will always be something else to do on my list.  However, I don't have to neglect God's blessings just because the Yukon broke down and a passerby stopped to let me know I was blocking the street. No. I can choose to celebrate the fact that my wife and son were okay. And I can choose to celebrate the fact that God's Son came to fill up our lives with the good stuff...because those things are there, too, even when we get, "The Call".  It is just a matter of perspective. 

Church Stopping: Less doing. More Being.

For God so Loved the World

For God so Loved  the World...(John 3:16a)

The Christmas rush is over and we step into the 12 days of Christmas leading to Epiphany and the celebration of who Jesus really is.  The Wise Men saw the star.  The shepherds heard the angels sing. Mary and Joseph held Him and knew that God is love.   And we see, and hear, and know, and hold God's love in different ways during the different seasons of our lives.

God's love is sacrificial and we know it because of how a mother hen puts herself in harms way for her babies.

God's love is blind - not based on what we do or how we look, but who we are - and I know it through the words of my wife. Her love is proof perfect that Love is, indeed, blind...

4/30/03

My Love,

Wouldn't you know that I prefer the unpaved, un-marked  paths? I prefer them because treasures are found among their borders. Wild flowers without scientific names grow freely along their ditches, animals cross them without fear, and an occasional footprint can be found belonging to another lover of un-marked paths. This is where I found you, my restless wanderer - always looking for adventure, for a quiet place to release your Spirit. How blessed I am to have found your gentle footprint - How joyful is this live with love.

Soon, there will be three of us. Soon there will be Saturday morning cartoons and monsters in the closet. soon there will be a tiny set of footprints on the un-marked path we journey. May the seasons be the only thing that change it so that it may forever be enjoyed by the wandering lovers of this world. I would go anywhere with you. For where you are beautiful things appear, where you walk, wild flowers grow, and where you laugh all is made well.

I pray you will always be free to wonder my restless Cowboy. It's on of the million things I love about you - 

No matter who we are or what we have done, God loves us like this.  It is unconditional and it is forever.  There are twelve days of Christmas because one day would not be enough to take it all in.  So let us leave the tree up if we can and don't put the Nativity set away, not yet.  Let us see, hear, hold, read and know that God is love!

Church stopping. Less doing. More being.