My younger readers (as in, not senior citizens) probably won’t get the joke here, so I’ll let you know there’s a song from the late 60’s called “He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother.” It’s been awhile since God made me laugh. I guess it’s part of my realignment (see New Years Chiropractic post). No one is funnier than God, and I miss His jokes when I don’t hear them.
I was lamenting to God my burdensome nature of repeating the same cycle of sin in a particular area. It seemed He always has to do the ‘heavy-lifting’ in my life for anything to change, despite my
best intentions. Brother Lawrence once said, “O Lord, this is what you may expect of me if you leave me to myself.” Not that God did leave me to myself, per se. He prompted me before I spoke that critical word about an associate; I just ignored the prompting...repeatedly. Daily repenting and heading into the day, I determined to put duct tape over my mouth but found it wasn’t quite as strong as touted, even with those fibers woven through it.
Finally admitting complete defeat, I lay myself down in despair of ever changing. That’s when He told me, “It’s ok...you aren’t heavy; I’m your Father.” Breaking into a loud guffaw followed by repeated outbreaks of laughter, I realized that He had used humor, once again, to break through my attempts at serious, teeth-gritting self-sufficiency.
In this partnership we have, He does all the heavy-lifting, His yoke easy and His burden light. It’s only an illusion on our part that we are holding up our end. Just as our fathers once let us ‘help’ them with a heavy object and we proudly assisted, thinking our strength was contributing to their success. As our fathers hopefully did, He is looking at us in tender love, encouraging us to give our very best in this partnership with the Creator of the universe. He doesn’t condescend or demean our efforts. Yet when our meager strength gives out and we fall down exhausted in our tracks trying to be good, He bends down and lifts us up and whispers, “It’s ok, I have you; you’re not heavy...”
Sunday, January 28, 2018
Saturday, January 27, 2018
“He is not a tame lion...”
My fellow Narnia fans will recognize the above quote. I was reminded of it as I read this morning’s entry from my A.W. Tozer devotional: “Illumined hearts are sure to agree at the point where the light falls. Our only real danger is that we may grieve the blessed Spirit into silence and so be left at the mercy of our intellects....We’ll have the bush pruned and trimmed and properly cultivated, but in the bush there will be no fire.”
Sometimes no matter how powerfully our churches may have been birthed from fire, our tendency is to eventually ‘bulletinize’ our worship times into submission. Otherwise, they can become much too messy, too unpredictable, too much out of our control and careful planning. We may even say we’re open and flexible to the leading of the Holy Spirit, but when push comes to shove (or an order of service turns to Power), we are reluctant to live what we promised.
How will this ‘outbreak’ of God’s manifest Presence affect the schedule? Will some be offended? Will some leave and never come back? What about the usual order of things on which we’ve come to depend? What about our lunch date after church? What if some people 'become emotional' in response to what the Holy Spirit is working in them? What if time begins to lose it’s structure in response to the appearance of the One who created it? What if the only thing He’s calling us into at the moment is silence before His palpable Presence? Will this drive someone (the pastor, the music worship leader, a parishioner) to feel compelled to fill the ‘void’...the Spirit-filled silence which is actually the antithesis of ‘void’?
I am blessed to be part of a tiny congregation meeting in a manger of a building, where the best part
of our ‘service,’ in my eyes, involves sitting, standing, kneeling, lying...in the Presence of God, bathed only in quiet, anointed, instrumental music...where often no one speaks aloud unless praying for another at the altar. Sometimes not a word is spoken. God appears to like this, because He manifests Himself both powerfully and tenderly, in ways I’ve rarely experienced elsewhere. We couldn’t be worshiping Him in a more humble setting. But in a similar fashion, isn’t the humblest setting of our hearts the place He delights to dwell?
Many believers and unbelievers alike have yet to experience the manifest Presence of God. Their belief (or unbelief) comes from intellectual assent. This foundation can crack with the winds of circumstance and the prevailing philosophies of our culture. Yet once any of us actually ‘meet’ the Lion of Judah through His manifest, oh-so-real Holy Spirit, we are stopped in our tracks. There is no denying His existence or His love for us.
Let Aslan move wherever and however He desires, in the biggest to the smallest congregations and see what He will do. Be fearless and let go of the reins. Stop the program...get off the scheduled train and wait on Him. He will not disappoint, and we and our churches will never be the same.
***********************
“Farther up and further in...!”
—The Last Battle, C.S. Lewis
Sometimes no matter how powerfully our churches may have been birthed from fire, our tendency is to eventually ‘bulletinize’ our worship times into submission. Otherwise, they can become much too messy, too unpredictable, too much out of our control and careful planning. We may even say we’re open and flexible to the leading of the Holy Spirit, but when push comes to shove (or an order of service turns to Power), we are reluctant to live what we promised.
How will this ‘outbreak’ of God’s manifest Presence affect the schedule? Will some be offended? Will some leave and never come back? What about the usual order of things on which we’ve come to depend? What about our lunch date after church? What if some people 'become emotional' in response to what the Holy Spirit is working in them? What if time begins to lose it’s structure in response to the appearance of the One who created it? What if the only thing He’s calling us into at the moment is silence before His palpable Presence? Will this drive someone (the pastor, the music worship leader, a parishioner) to feel compelled to fill the ‘void’...the Spirit-filled silence which is actually the antithesis of ‘void’?
I am blessed to be part of a tiny congregation meeting in a manger of a building, where the best part
of our ‘service,’ in my eyes, involves sitting, standing, kneeling, lying...in the Presence of God, bathed only in quiet, anointed, instrumental music...where often no one speaks aloud unless praying for another at the altar. Sometimes not a word is spoken. God appears to like this, because He manifests Himself both powerfully and tenderly, in ways I’ve rarely experienced elsewhere. We couldn’t be worshiping Him in a more humble setting. But in a similar fashion, isn’t the humblest setting of our hearts the place He delights to dwell?
Many believers and unbelievers alike have yet to experience the manifest Presence of God. Their belief (or unbelief) comes from intellectual assent. This foundation can crack with the winds of circumstance and the prevailing philosophies of our culture. Yet once any of us actually ‘meet’ the Lion of Judah through His manifest, oh-so-real Holy Spirit, we are stopped in our tracks. There is no denying His existence or His love for us.
Let Aslan move wherever and however He desires, in the biggest to the smallest congregations and see what He will do. Be fearless and let go of the reins. Stop the program...get off the scheduled train and wait on Him. He will not disappoint, and we and our churches will never be the same.
***********************
“Farther up and further in...!”
—The Last Battle, C.S. Lewis
Tuesday, January 2, 2018
Drifting out of Lane
After my faithful Prius was flooded in a storm, I spent days attempting to resurrect it. Finally, I admitted defeat to the Insurance company and purchased a newer Toyota Corolla. Although we weren’t planning on taking on car payments at this time, we were grateful God led us to an otherwise inexplicably good deal. [Even the salesman, a wonderful Christian man, wasn’t sure how it had been priced the way it was.]
With one of the standard features, you can set up a warning, should you start drifting out of your lane. [It also has an emergency stop feature if you get too close to another car.] It’s easy to get distracted when you’re driving, as we all know. If you’re driving at night after a long day or on a long trip, it’s also common to get sleepy. I’m delighted to have these warnings available on my car.
I wish it were so in the rest of our lives. What if we had built-in antennae which beeped when we started drifting away from God? It’s not the radical turns but the slow drifts that are the problem for most of us. Our minds are elsewhere, not focused on the road. Perhaps we’re fiddling with the entertainment possibilities, or we’re picturing in our mind’s eye what our next step should be to find success at work. Maybe we’re pondering pursuing a relationship (possibly one God’s Word has warned us about). There are a myriad of physical, mental, and spiritual distractions which can draw us off the road God designed to truly fulfill us and accomplish the purposes and plans He has for us.
The good news is that He does, indeed, give us spiritual antennae....the Voice of His Holy Spirit within us. He lovingly prompts and warns, guides and directs. The problem comes when we choose to ignore those inner promptings. If the warnings are directly stated in His written word, we’re just
being rebellious in order to get what we think we want. However, there are so many situations in our lives that are not as clear cut. We sense there’s danger, but the area is grey enough for us to keep moving in that direction anyway, because that’s where our ‘flesh’ wants to go. Or perhaps the intellectual appeal is great or our own logic so compelling that we find ourselves in a whole other lane than we planned.
That lane is a comfortable one because it is the road most travelled, if I can borrow a turn of phrase from Frost. Everyone seems to be going that way. It is not strange and challenging territory. No one is staring at us wondering what in the world we’re doing and why. GPS is happy with us. She doesn’t keep telling us to make a legal U-turn and go back the other way.
Staying in God’s lane will ultimately and absolutely prove the best road, but that doesn’t mean it’s an easy one to travel. There seem to be more potholes and things lying in the road that must be avoided. In fact, sometimes the way ahead has only one lane, and it is foggy up ahead. Don’t worry. Be assured that when we set our destination in line with His, He will send His own special form of alert when we’re starting to drift. We just have to heed it quickly to avoid a crash.
With one of the standard features, you can set up a warning, should you start drifting out of your lane. [It also has an emergency stop feature if you get too close to another car.] It’s easy to get distracted when you’re driving, as we all know. If you’re driving at night after a long day or on a long trip, it’s also common to get sleepy. I’m delighted to have these warnings available on my car.
I wish it were so in the rest of our lives. What if we had built-in antennae which beeped when we started drifting away from God? It’s not the radical turns but the slow drifts that are the problem for most of us. Our minds are elsewhere, not focused on the road. Perhaps we’re fiddling with the entertainment possibilities, or we’re picturing in our mind’s eye what our next step should be to find success at work. Maybe we’re pondering pursuing a relationship (possibly one God’s Word has warned us about). There are a myriad of physical, mental, and spiritual distractions which can draw us off the road God designed to truly fulfill us and accomplish the purposes and plans He has for us.
The good news is that He does, indeed, give us spiritual antennae....the Voice of His Holy Spirit within us. He lovingly prompts and warns, guides and directs. The problem comes when we choose to ignore those inner promptings. If the warnings are directly stated in His written word, we’re just
being rebellious in order to get what we think we want. However, there are so many situations in our lives that are not as clear cut. We sense there’s danger, but the area is grey enough for us to keep moving in that direction anyway, because that’s where our ‘flesh’ wants to go. Or perhaps the intellectual appeal is great or our own logic so compelling that we find ourselves in a whole other lane than we planned.
That lane is a comfortable one because it is the road most travelled, if I can borrow a turn of phrase from Frost. Everyone seems to be going that way. It is not strange and challenging territory. No one is staring at us wondering what in the world we’re doing and why. GPS is happy with us. She doesn’t keep telling us to make a legal U-turn and go back the other way.
Staying in God’s lane will ultimately and absolutely prove the best road, but that doesn’t mean it’s an easy one to travel. There seem to be more potholes and things lying in the road that must be avoided. In fact, sometimes the way ahead has only one lane, and it is foggy up ahead. Don’t worry. Be assured that when we set our destination in line with His, He will send His own special form of alert when we’re starting to drift. We just have to heed it quickly to avoid a crash.
Monday, January 1, 2018
New Year Chiropractic Adjustment
A few months ago I finally followed through on visiting a chiropractor. I have known things weren’t right for quite awhile, not the least of my symptoms involving bones rubbing together when I bent over or turned from side to side. Sciatica had become my regulator visitor, as it has for many senior citizens. In addition to pain, there was just an overriding sense that things weren’t right, including my being easily fatigued and out of whack, so to speak. I was amazed at how much of a difference my first treatment made. Sometimes when you’ve been feeling poorly for a long time, you forget what it is like to feel good. My second visit, however, with a different chiropractor from the same office, was a completely different experience. The treatment was painful, and I felt ‘all wrong’ afterwards. I determined to afterwards only see the original chiropractor. I also knew that my back initially needed frequent, regular treatment so the muscles wouldn’t keep returning to their previous state, as your body tends to do.
This morning, God brought these experiences to mind related to our spiritual condition. We begin to realize that things aren’t right, that something is out of alignment and has been for awhile. However, we have become so used to this subtly and gradually changing state, that it has become our new normal. We have forgotten what it feels like to be healthy in our souls and spirits. We’ve lost the joy and delight, that natural, free flowing relationship with the Lord in which we were once carried along in His grace, enjoying the sweetness of His friendship. Our spiritual muscles have set themselves in new, unhealthy patterns.
Perhaps we’ve turned to other ‘chiropractors,’ to solve our problems. We’ve pursued other avenues to make ourselves feels better. We’ve been lured by the glittering promises of happiness from mere imitators of our Great Physician. Although they had the appearance of offering relief, our experience with them only ended in dissatisfaction or even pain.
On this New Year’s Day, let’s turn our faces to the light of His benevolent one and confess that we need His chiropractic adjustment. We cannot fix ourselves, but we know He can, and that He is not only willing but delighted by our request for help. Just looking at His smile changes everything right from the start. We know it cannot be a one-time visit, but rather an ongoing interchange that will ultimately transform us. If our discs have slipped or our vertebrae have begun to fuse, if we’ve forgotten to make and keep our appointments with Him, let’s make this our most important resolution for 2018 and for all the years we’re blessed to have on this earth.
*****************
“”Faith is a redirecting of our sight, a getting out of the focus of our own vision and getting God into focus..”
“...not a once-done act, but a continuous gaze of the heart at the Triune God”
“Lift your heart and let it rest upon Jesus and you are instantly in a sanctuary.”
—A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God
This morning, God brought these experiences to mind related to our spiritual condition. We begin to realize that things aren’t right, that something is out of alignment and has been for awhile. However, we have become so used to this subtly and gradually changing state, that it has become our new normal. We have forgotten what it feels like to be healthy in our souls and spirits. We’ve lost the joy and delight, that natural, free flowing relationship with the Lord in which we were once carried along in His grace, enjoying the sweetness of His friendship. Our spiritual muscles have set themselves in new, unhealthy patterns.
Perhaps we’ve turned to other ‘chiropractors,’ to solve our problems. We’ve pursued other avenues to make ourselves feels better. We’ve been lured by the glittering promises of happiness from mere imitators of our Great Physician. Although they had the appearance of offering relief, our experience with them only ended in dissatisfaction or even pain.
On this New Year’s Day, let’s turn our faces to the light of His benevolent one and confess that we need His chiropractic adjustment. We cannot fix ourselves, but we know He can, and that He is not only willing but delighted by our request for help. Just looking at His smile changes everything right from the start. We know it cannot be a one-time visit, but rather an ongoing interchange that will ultimately transform us. If our discs have slipped or our vertebrae have begun to fuse, if we’ve forgotten to make and keep our appointments with Him, let’s make this our most important resolution for 2018 and for all the years we’re blessed to have on this earth.
*****************
“”Faith is a redirecting of our sight, a getting out of the focus of our own vision and getting God into focus..”
“...not a once-done act, but a continuous gaze of the heart at the Triune God”
“Lift your heart and let it rest upon Jesus and you are instantly in a sanctuary.”
—A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God
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