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Posted in Pastors Blog | No Comments »Praying for the Presence of God
This devotional comes from a message I delivered at Cornerstone. I have been finding myself praying through this on a daily basis, and felt that others might benefit from the same. My prayer is, whether you find this as a useful tool or not, each and everyone of us would experience a greater presence of God in our lives.
Rivers have always fascinated me. The sights, the sounds, the crisp cold air that bounces from the water; they have a way of drawing me to them. I am intrigued by how much the direction of the river parallels my spiritual journey, windy, deep in some areas, shallow in others, but never a strait line.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
Psalm 46
When I find those rare moments where I can be reflective along a river side, I find my mind reflecting on God. His artistic beauty, His creativity, His unpredictability and how life is both with-in him and life all around him is greener. Last summer as I saw a deer drinking from a stream I thought of Psalms 42, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” Jesus not only is life (John 14) but he draws life.
Staring down the river also causes me to think of the people of God. Not only our winding journeys, but the ways we reflect and restrict God.
In my very unscientific point of view, the river is made up of four parts:
1. The river bottom
2. The river banks
3. The water itself
4. The source of the water
Reflecting on this simplistic structure, it has created a new model of prayer, for both me personally and for the Cornerstone community at large.
THE RIVER BOTTOM:
The river bottom, to me, defines potential depth. How deep the water can flow, as well as the depth of our spirituality is reflected here. The bottom of the river, in its very structure to hold up the river, can be overly cumbersome as to many layers begin to be added. Thus what could be positive becomes a hindrance. Reminds me of Hebrews 12: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus…”
Again, unscientifically, the river bottom is made up of three parts: Muck, obstacles and the hard bottom of the river.
The muck is the gooey stuff that if stepped in, you hope as you are bringing your foot back up a shoe will still be on it. It is the stuff that at a glace gives the appearance of being a good foundation, yet when the storms hit it is stirred up making the waters muddy and cloudy. Reminds us of what the writer of Hebrews said, “let us throw off …the sin that so easily entangles,”. It is amazing to me how many things we justify in our life as good for the time, than latter cause us to have what we value to be stuck in the mud, or how in the storms of life causes us to lack clarity and doubt God.
PRAY FOR THE DREDGING UP OF THE RIVER BOTTOM
• For the sin and nonsense in your life to be removed to keep from entangling the things God wants to do in your life.
• For the Cornerstone community, that we would individually and corporately dredge up anything that is hindering the work of God
The obstacles are things such as rocks and trees, the things that may not be inherently sinful, yet are investments of our time, energy and resources, that have little or no eternal significance. It’s funny how fiercely we protect those obstacles, guarding them with the illusion that we can protect them from the river flow. In truth, if we wait long enough, many of these things will be worn down by the water. How many senior adults have looked back on their lives saying, “Many of the things that I spent so much time and energy on all of those years just hold no value to me anymore. What a waste”. Why not remove those things now, the things that hinder us so.
PRAY FOR THE OBSTACLES THAT STAND IN THE WAY
• For the things that we pour so much of ourselves into that have no eternal barring.
• That cornerstone does not get caught up in useless programs that could rob us of our primary focus.
The hard bottom of the river is the actual limitations of the river bottom; the water can go no deeper. Or can it? Who / what has defined your self image / limitations: past hurts, other people, past failures, physical handicaps or how you were brought up? Or have you gone to the Lord and prayed, “Lord, do what is beyond my abilities, take me to depths that I never imagined.”?
PRAY FOR YOUR PERCEIVED LIMITATIONS:
• Lord, do what is beyond my abilities, take me to depths that I never imagined
• Lord, do what is beyond Cornerstone’s abilities, take us to depths that we never imagined
THE RIVER BANKS
The banks of the river provides direction for the water flow. I would understand this to be the spiritual disciplines (tools) that we incorporate into our lives to foster our spiritual development. At Cornerstone we have defined our understanding of what tools represent as the D:7, The Seven Essentials of Discipleship. I put together a whole booklet on that called “The Spiritual Portfolio”, so I wont belabor that information again. If you don’t have a copy of the Spiritual Portfolio, then please ask the help desk for one.
As a reminder, the D:7 are:
• Corporate worship
• Prayer
• Bible study
• Multiplication
• Service
. Stewardship
• Community
A life without embankments becomes a swamp. Not so healthy things grow in a swamp. A life that is obsessed with the embankment is legalistic, and life does not flow alongside of legalism. The greater question I would like to ask is, why do you find yourself not working on your river banks? Why do you find yourself justifying doing other things, than developing your spiritual journey? I would like to propose that ultimately it is a comfort issue. There are things in your life that you turn to that give you immediate comfort during your down times (gossip, anger, bitterness, lust, control, ect) Since the Holy Spirit calls Himself as the Great Comforter, why do we find ourselves turning the things that are ultimately destructive? How do you get to the point where prayer, Bible study, community and so on become the no brianer choice to turn do? Actually, rather than trying to give you a cheap answer to that question, I would like for you to use it as a point of prayer.
PRAY FOR YOUR RIVER BANKS
• Reflect on the things you turn to as a source of comfort and begin asking God to transition you to the point that He becomes your source of comfort.
• Pick two spiritual disciplines from the D:6 and begin asking God to help you grow in that area.
• Pray that the Cornerstone community will be faithful to the things that will give us clear direction according to God’s calling
THE RIVER SOURCE
Show me a place that has high banks and is deep, yet no water; and I will show you the Grand Canyon. Many activities and religions will help you become a good disciplined person, but if it does not contain Jesus, there will be no life. If you are not Jesus centric during this time, you will lack the very thing you worked so hard for.
PRAY FOR THE RIVER SOURCE
• Pray that you will always see Jesus as your source
• Pray that Cornerstone will always see Jesus as their source
THE RIVER WATER
Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, all life comes through him (John 14). Life and renewal will come solely through Him. Pray that the river will flow, pray that God would do a great outpouring in your life and in Cornerstone.
PRAY FOR THE RIVER FLOW
• Pray for the river of God to flow with a major outpouring into your life
• Pray for the river of God to flow with a major outpouring into the life of Cornerstone.
In all fields, there are lots of books on how to improve, grow and expand. Small businesses growing to big businesses. Leadership journals telling how to have more influence. Sales seminars that teach how to take a greater share of the market. How to grow your stock portfolio… the list of books and materials are vast. In the church world, it is no different. There is a whole segment of books and seminars all geared to what is called “the church growth movement.” “Top ten things you need to grow your church.” Slick flyers, cool logos, the coolest xyz in town… the list goes on and on.
These last few weeks I and several of our leaders have had the privilege of bringing the presence of God into some very challenging situations. Life is messy. People are messy. That makes ministry messy. If you are going to do ministry, meet people where they are at, and bring the presence of God into their hurting and seemingly hopeless situation, you are going to have to be real, authentic, there for them when it is not convenient to you and truly love them like Jesus does. You are going to have to roll up your sleeves.
I was joking with a few of Cornerstone’s leaders as we have been rolling up our sleeves, saying, “Well, there is nothing about this in the church growth books. If anything, this is not considered an efficient use of our time.” Getting messy, whether serving the poor or ministering to someone during a very difficult time, takes time and energy away from doing the stuff that the church growth materials say you should do. Much of this time will never be seen by the greater public. But isn’t getting messy being the kind of disciples we are called to be?
Don’t get me wrong—I want us to continue to grow. People do matter to God and the more people we have the opportunity to minister to, the greater the blessing. But I don’t want to be a mile wide and an inch deep. I am so proud of our community. I see so many people rolling up their sleeves and taking seriously the things of God. Our vision statement is, “Living and sharing the profound impact of God’s love in caring, creative and credible ways, so seekers and believers can reach their full potential in Christ.” The more we do that, the more we will grow into the kind of church God has called us to be.
Just a thought.
Posted in Pastors Blog | No Comments »How do you tell July in Death Valley, and January in New England, apart?
A month ago I did a blog on the winter seasons of life. I got some good responses and wanted to write some more on it. I am in a unique position as a minister, in the way I get to peer into the world and into communities. I hope this will help either you or someone you love.
How do you tell July in Death Valley, and January in New England, apart? Sounds like an odd question, since their differences seem as different as night and day. Yet when it comes to the soul, how can you tell them apart? In Death Valley, if you see something growing, it is a marvel. If you are stranded out there you might even see it as hope. But it is a false hope really, because if you are out there for long, you will probably die. At best you lift an eyebrow, but you know deep within, reality will set in.
In winter in the northeast, everything appears dead. If you knew no better, you would think you are surrounded by a bunch of dead trees and soon you will share in their death. But the trees are not dead. They look dead, but they are not. In fact, they are enduring a season, one that will make them stronger in the long run. One that eventually they will be better off for because they went through it. Just endure. Just endure.
How does the soul know where it is located? When have things become a hopeless despair, and when is it a season something to endure, one which you will be better off for having experienced in the long run?
I am doing a study on King David. First I did a study on King Saul. David endured winters. Saul wound up in Death Valley, with no hope of rescue. Saul had to live out his years going mad. He was being asked to lead, a job he did not want. After all, he hid in the baskets during his coronation! He was ask to be someone and lead others when he did not have the inner resources to do so. Sure he saw a sprout once in a while—but it was a false hope. He was destined to die a miserable, embarassing death.
David had some dark, dark days. Dark days even though he had done no wrong. Dark days after he did stupid things. But he endured. He ended up being called a man after God’s own heart. He was in winter. Saul was in Death Valley. David just had to endure. Any ray of sunshine for Saul was a joke. In fact, the sun kills in the desert.
So what is different? Well, two things actually. The first is the difference between the pre-resurrection and post-resurrection era. Before Jesus, the Spirit of God only seemed to reside on special people during special times. After Jesus’ resurrection, he ensured that those who follow him always have the Holy Spirit within them. So He’s there, and He never leaves. He permanently resides within us and will never, ever depart. Take comfort in that. God will never banish you to the desert.
The second thing noteworthy is that while Saul did not have the inner resources, neither did David. His hope was in what God could do, not what he could do to get out of such a desperate time. Saul, somewhere along the way, allowed for his insecurities to get to the best of him. He stopped trusting God.
One final note I want to make is how quickly most followers believe they are in a desert, when God means for their circumstances to be a winter. In fact, I would go so far as to say that in the post-resurrection era, God always means for such times to be winters, times to get stronger before your next spurt of growth. Yet we quickly assume that things are barren and hopeless, the rotting process has begun and death is the next step. We conserve and stop taking risks by playing everything safe. We don’t listen to the counsel of others because there is no hope after all, and we wallow in discouragement.
But God is meaning for our experiences to be a winter! In winter you can actually stop and enjoy some aspects of beauty. Most importantly, you keep moving. Why? Because you know two things. One, that by moving you will keep warm and you will be ok. To stop moving may feel good at the moment, not to mention feel safe, but it could kill you. Two, you know that while you can’t make spring happen, God can. So you press ahead, not because of your inner resources, but because of your faith in God and his resources.
Posted in Pastors Blog | No Comments »Our church hosted the cold weather shelter in December. This is a program where churches turn their facilities into a home for families who have no place to live. I must confess, I was a bit concerned about taking on such an endeavor because I knew it was a pretty big undertaking. But not only did people step up, they also went the extra mile… and then some! In fact, all I had to do was give permission and just show up. It is my understanding that the doctor who visits the cold weather shelter churches to medically assist our guests claims she has never seen any place so well run. I am so proud of our community. I guess it because it never occurred to our folks that these people were some project that allowed us to feel noble about our good deeds. Instead they are our guests, people with whom we can build relationships.
A lot of cool blessings are coming out of this, but I would like to focus on one. We could have thrown lots of parties and productions this Christmas season, all in the name of reaching out to people and building community. Yet experience has shown me that NOTHING, I MEAN NOTHING, accomplishes those goals better than families working together to reach out to families. There is nothing wrong with having someone over for a cup of egg nog, but if you really want to build a relationship, serve with them. That my friend, changes lives.
It’s funny how serving has become a lost art. After all, Jesus made it one of the pillars of our spiritual journey. I guess once again He knows what He is talking about.
Posted in Pastors Blog | No Comments »Winter is coming. Sure it is December already, but we have not seen the nasty part of winter yet. This means a new wave of seasonal depression is on the horizon. I see it every year. Yet every year those who struggle with it seem to be caught off guard, as if they forget they have been hit with the wave every other year about this time.
Now, I am no physiologist, but there is something I have found to be true: THE WINTER CAN BE ENDURED WITH MUCH GREATER SUCCESS IF YOU PREPARE FOR ITS ARRIVAL. This past Sunday I proposed a challenge to my congregants—we looked at the passage about how Jesus turned the water to wine. Then we looked at another passage where Jesus says that his followers will be able to do greater miracles than He was doing.
We saw how Jesus was turning one substance into another. On the cross he did a far greater miracle, he turned death into life. This Christmas season we can participate in a far greater miracle than turning one substance into another, we can give life.
For example, to be certain, turning dollar bills into an iPod is bound to put a smile on a kid’s face, which is a small miracle in itself. But to invest into that kid and give him life, that would be a far greater miracle.
My challenge is quite simple: Make room for God. If you make room for God in your life and participate in the things he is up to, you will participate in far greater of a miracle than you have ever seen before.
So how does this tie into preparing for winter? Simply this: Make room for God in your daily life and you will be on the fast track to seeing a miracle this winter season, you will see God’s presence in the cold, blustery days. Now I make no claim to some magic formula, nor do I suggest you will be able to avoid winter all together… or even at all. I just believe that if your prepare each day by making room for God in your life, the winter will miraculously take on a whole new look.
Posted in Pastors Blog | No Comments »Life is a journey. It is filled with twists and turns, mysteries and doldrums, gain and loss, wisdom and confusion, desires and disillusionment.
And we travel. Hoping that somehow in the end we had a life worth living: one that experienced to the fullest every moment that unfolded, one that is pleasing to our Holy Designer, one that stopped where it should have stopped, turned where it should have turned, sped up and slowed down when it was meant to, accomplished the things it was created to do and ended where it was supposed to end. While we are grateful for the opportunity we have, we often live life out in some frustration, some confusion and some disillusionment.
And we wonder. What would it be like if I had some sort of personal spiritual trainer or mentor or prophet, one that had divine wisdom? What would life be like if we were handed the play book, received personalized writings on the wall from above or even had someone crying out, “Yes” or “No” at each attempted step.
But the Chief Designer is not like that. He is far greater a lover of life than an engineer of robotics.
Life is lived in the journey, the mystery, the pleasure and pain, in the process of discovery. The gift of life is only tainted, perhaps even spoiled, without the unveiling of the journey. But the Creator did not abandon us with some sort of fatalistic, twisted plot. Instead the Great Lover gave us Himself. He gave us a relationship. This Creative Wonder of ours sets forth this supreme relationship in a unique way. He gives us His Son Jesus who lived and died and then lived again to pave the way for our journey to His Father. He gives us the opportunity to know Him and to make Him known.
For the pilgrimage He gives himself in many forms. He gives us the Journey Guide (commonly known as the Holy Spirit) who nudges, whispers, prods and inspires. He gives us a guidebook (commonly known has the Holy Scriptures) in which He advises, equips, corrects, tells us other journey stories and, again, inspires.
He gives us community (commonly known as the church, or at least what it should be) where we can be authentic as we get a glimpse of our relationship with Him through our relationships with others. A gathering where those on a similar journey, despite how diverse, can cry, laugh, learn, advise, struggle and, again, be inspired. The Great Communicator gave us intercommunication (commonly know as prayer) in which we can talk, listen, wrestle, grow and, again, be inspired. As the Supreme Servant, He teaches us to be both royalty and servants (commonly known as stewards), which secular society calls an oxymoron.
He gives us the privilege of being ambassadors of the Most High, not in strutting in glamour and glitz, but rather modeling after His Son, walking with dirty feet. Learning to role up our sleeves, increase by decreasing, grow through dying and, again, a place to become inspired. He is like a supreme mother who births new life, empowers us to be birthing coaches (commonly known as evangelism and multiplication).
What a blessing to partake in the experience of new life. Here we have the opportunity to connect spiritual journeys to the Ultimate Journey, where a dry creek bed becomes intertwines with the river of life. We mentor, guide, point and, again, become inspired. We must not forget that He is the God of Honor; He deserves our greatest respect of worship.
Everything we do for our Father of Jesus is an act of worship, yet there is something missing without our community adoration (commonly known as corporate worship). As a community we are blessed as together we bless our Holy Being. We cry out, we listen, we share, we touch and are touched, we worship and, again, we get inspired.
These are all gifts for the journey. As we travel, these tools will enable us to maintain our focus on the Divine Leader. The Proverbs teach us to trust Him with every ounce of our beings, not our own limited worldviews (understandings), but rather, as we seek Him each step of the way, “He will direct your paths”.
The writer of this wisdom goes on to say, “My child, don’t lose sight of good planning and insight”. So it would seem that the journey of life involves grabbing hold of the essential gifts and tools the Great Lover gives us, crafting our own spiritual portfolio (a personalized map for the spiritual journey) and beginning to walk. With each twist and turn, we revamp our portfolio as new insight is given. But it must be strategic, not just hitting a bunch of random religious rituals.
It is important to recognize that others will be coming from different starting points and will be commanded to use their tools in different ways. Thus, it would be absurd for me to insist that somehow by comparison my portfolio is more spiritual than yours is, or by that same insecurity to feel I should try to match yours. Also, recognize that the “plan” is only a guide, not a strict regimen. To treat it as such only leads us to place our trust in it, more then we trust in God Himself.
Yes, the journey does lead to a destination and it is important that we are assured that are heading to the right one. But that is all we need to concern ourselves with. We do not need to be control freaks who insist on clinging to the illusion that we know how everything will work out. We are not destination conquerors; we are on an expedition with God Himself.
For now, the excursion in itself is our destination: let’s enjoy it, learn from it, experience it, let it experience us, take in its sights and sounds, use our divine tools, but most of all, remember: the Superior Wisdom made the journey of life all about one thing… relationships.
Our relationship is to Him first and foremost, and our relationship with those we encounter along the way is to quickly follow. Don’t get so focused on the process that you lose out on the purpose. Along the way, love God with all of your heart, mind, strength and soul. Oh, and don’t forget to love your neighbor as yourself, and you will do just fine.
Life is a journey. Embrace it, live it, walk it, experience it and please, don’t forget to enjoy it.
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