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Story
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David
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It is hard to believe that summer is over and we find ourselves heading into September. I don’t know about you, but my summer was pretty crazy. I’m actually glad it is over so I can head into a saner schedule.
I guess I view September as a month where things become more ‘normal’ (if there is such a thing). Vacations are over, summer trips are done and school is starting back up. For me, September is a good time to assess my time and commitments.
How about you? Are you reassessing your schedule during these pre-fall weeks? I find it easy to let some things ‘slide’ during the summer. Perhaps you have let some things slide too. I know with vacations, weekends at the lake, family reunions, and just summer in general, it is easy to let gathering with your faith community slide a bit. Maybe during the spring you were making time to gather with others to worship, but the summer got you out of the practice.
Gathering for worship isn’t really a habit, it is a practice. In fact, it is one of the spiritual disciplines. John Wesley felt that gathering together for worship was a key spiritual discipline along with prayer, reading (private and public) of scripture, and the Lord’s Supper. It not simply something we “do,” but it is a practice that helps us grow in our relationship to God, to others, and even with ourselves.
If this summer you have allowed this practice to fall away, there is excellent news. September is a great time to assess this practice and begin again! Gathering for worship is something people of faith practice every week. Just join in!
Hope to see YOU Sunday!
Dave.
Story
Christmas Wrappings
David
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Jim sat looking at all the crumpled wrapping paper. Christmas was over. The presents that were so lovingly wrapped now looked like a trash heap.
“I think they beat last year’s record,” Jim said.
“What do you mean by that?” his wife asked accusingly.
“Nothing I guess. It’s just that they open them so quickly,” he responded with a touch of sadness.
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“Well,” his wife began, “they’re excited. After all, it is Christmas. It only comes once a year. Isn’t this what it is all about?”
Jim didn’t answer. His mind was already somewhere else. This couldn’t be all there was to Christmas. He knew there was more.
When he was younger his parents would take him to church. He heard the stories about the carpenter and his wife. He remembered about the miraculous birth, the shepherds in the fields and the wise men. Right now, his heart was yearning for those stories; stories of hope and love. He wanted to hear the stories of a God who loved so much that He was willing to send his son.
Maybe next year, he thought. Maybe next year we can celebrate the season differently. Perhaps we can make it about more than presents we can’t remember or don’t even need. Jim’s heart began to race. “Yes, that’s it,” he said half audibly.
“What’s it?” his wife asked inquisitively.
“Oh, nothing.”
While Jim’s Christmas season might be over, yours is just beginning. You don’t have to find yourself on Christmas morning wondering “is this all there is?” There is still time to connect with the meaning of Christmas. Each Sunday at church we will be focusing on the themes of hope, peace, joy and love. I also invite you to visit http://www.AdventConspiracy.org to discover other ways to transform your Christmas.
Peace,
David.
Story
Lent - Spring Cleaning
David
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So…how do you feel about spring cleaning? Do you love it? Do you hate it? I know some people who love spring cleaning. After a long, cold winter that is spent inside, they see spring as an opportunity to be more active, take inventory, and begin cleaning up their households, yards, and anything else they can think of. They get things in order. Perhaps things have put off during the winter. They thought about cleaning this, or taking care of that, but it was too cold, the weather was too bad, or they just wanted to stay inside. Well, welcome to “Spring Cleaning.”
Not everyone enjoys this ritual though. There are some, who, for whatever reasons, have no desire to spring clean. There are other things they would rather do with their time. Perhaps, they don’t see the need. Perhaps they look past any clutter that might have accumulated over the past year.
Which camp do you find yourself in? Or maybe, you love to spring clean, but your spouse doesn’t see the need. Or maybe you don’t like to spring clean, but you know it is something that has to be done. After a while, we do accumulate way too much stuff and have to start putting things in order. Or maybe it has been years since you really had a good cleaning and you now know it is time.
I find the season of Lent also gives us an opportunity for cleaning things up. Lent is a time we can take a spiritual inventory. It won’t help with your yard or getting rid of things you don’t need any more, but it can make an amazing difference in your life just the same.
Of course we can always choose to ignore this opportunity. We can choose to leave things as is and not take time to reflect on our lives and where God fits into them. However, if we do take the time, Lent can be a time of renewal. Last month I wrote about some practices of Lent such as prayer, scripture, worship and reflection. This month I want to encourage you to use this opportunity to reflect on your spiritual life.
Use Lent for reflection. Where is God calling you? What is your purpose? Where does God fit into your daily days?
Use Lent for Repentance. Maybe it is time to deal with issues such as anger, greed, envy, bitterness, unforgiveness, grudges or broken relationships. Maybe there are things for which you need forgiveness and you know it is time to move in a different direction.
Use Lent for renewal. It is hard telling what God has in store for you when you take the time to draw near to him in reflection and repentance. I find that it always leads to some type of renewal. My prayer is that this season of Lent you might discover renewal in your life and through that renewal you find transformation and abundant life.
Peace,
Dave.
Story
A Light Unto My Feet
David
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In Psalm 119, the writer shares his love of God's word. He wants to learn it, be guided by it, and meditate on it day and night. He views it as a light, and a comfort and in God's word he places his trust. I have not always resonated with Psalm 119. Instead, I have found reading and studying the scripture...well...hard, difficult, and at times frustrating. I have used it as a sword against those who disagree, and have had the displeasure of having it used as a dagger against me. I have spent hours trying to understand it and at times have found myself shaking my head because it didn't always make sense.
I've found that the root of much of my frustration with scripture was my approached. Our educational system teaches us that information is meant to be mastered. We are given textbooks, told to read them, memorize them, understand them, and then are tested on how well we can regurgitate the information. Therefore, we grow up reading fiction, non-fiction, newspapers, pamphlets, brochures, and other material the same way. Our goal is to understand, manage, and master it.
I've approached the Bible much in the same way. I viewed it as information that I needed to digest and understand. There were facts, figures, principles, and rules to know and dissimilate. I felt that I needed to master this book more than any other because this book is important. I would attend bible studies, buy commentaries, and listen
to various discussions and lectures all so I would be able to answer any question about this book.
There is nothing with this method. It is important to know what is contained in the pages of scripture. Paul tells us to do our best so we will be able to "rightly" explain the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15 NRSV). So studying scripture is something we are called to do.
There is another way to approach scripture though; formatively. When we approach the scripture this way, we are not trying to master the material. Rather, we are allowing the material to master us. There is a big difference. One can study scripture informationally and leave unchanged. One cannot read the scriptures formatively and leave unchanged. To read scripture formatively is to be changed. It is to be mastered.
How does one make the shift from informational reading to formative reading? Well, for one thing we slow down. Instead of trying to cover a chapter, or book, we are satisfied with a verse, or perhaps even a word. How much we study, or how much we read is no longer our concern. Our concern is that we 'hear' God through our reading and having our lives changed.
We begin by placing ourselves before God and reading a small portion of scripture. This can be a paragraph, passage, or a few verses. Some stop when something 'jumps out at them.' It is at that point that we meditate, wonder, and pray over the scripture.
Both informational and formational approaches are important. We need times when we study, gaining information and understanding. We also need those times of formation when we allow God, through His Word, to master and transform us. Yet, I believe that we have focused so much on informational reading that we could probably spend a greater amount of time in formational practices. There are countless bible studies, but is the result more love? We have the information, more information than we ever have, but do we care for our neighbors more? Our goal,
after all, is to love God and others. If our current focus on bible studies move us toward that goal wonderful. I, for one, believe we need more transformation of the heart (which formational practices bring).
May God bless you as you journey with Him!
Dave.