Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘God’

Not the Stuff–the Heart

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on September 1, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I used to make the mistake of thinking that networking was about figuring out what someone else could do for me. Now I understand, true networking is about the heart. Networking is just meeting people, listening to people, and caring about people. Jesus was the best “networker” ever!

II Corinthians 12:14a
Now I am ready to visit you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you, because what I want is not your possessions but you. . . .

In years past, I have participated in a lot of mapped out “evangelism” programs that focused on getting the “client” (poor sap who answered the door in neighborhood canvassing), to YES. It was like a business transaction. It was my job to lay out the situation (sin) and what I had to offer to solve that problem. Accept Jesus and those problems will be covered by the blood and you get an all expenses paid trip to heaven at the end of the whole shebang.

It never occurred to me (back in the day) that “Evangelism Explosion” or the presentation of the “Four Spiritual Laws” or handing out bibles at the mall or tucking tracts into crevices at public places was a long way from relationship.

It takes time to reach the heart. It takes time to earn trust.

People who are in need of help do not require coercion or convincing. This is one reason people, who are poor, hungry, sick, and terrorized, respond easily to the outstretched hand of a loving God.

But our American culture is filled with “stuff.” We have bent ourselves to the lure and trappings of comfort and possessions. We are like two year olds: No! I can do it myself. I don’t need your help. Me. My. Mine. My way. More, more, more.

Who needs God when we have all the stuff? As long as someone thinks it’s about the stuff, he/she will not need to hear me.

I can only speak out of the heart for that is what makes me uniquely “me.” And in that time, I want to know that person. And if, in that exchange of selves, we discover a place of authenticity where I can offer the story of what I have experienced in Christ and how that relationship meets me daily at the point of true need, then that is a glory moment.

Read Full Post »

Forgetful Followers

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 31, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Hard to believe: but we do forget the good things and miracles. Paul laments about the Corinthians, Moses about the Israelites, and Lord knows what head shaking is going on in heaven about me. Haven’t there been miracles and signs & wonders in my life too?

II Corinthians 12:11
Now I have been [speaking like] a fool! But you forced me to it, for I ought to have been [saved the necessity and] commended by you. For I have not fallen short one bit or proved myself at all inferior to those superlative [false] apostles [of yours], even if I am nothing (a nobody). [Amplified]

For awhile, after something wonderful has happened, we talk about it and share the story and give praises to God who touched our 3-D world with a word and changed everything in an instant. For a very brief season, we are amazed and astounded. Wow! God did that? God healed me. God saved me from being hurt in a car accident. God brought my children back. God provided food, clothing, shelter, and a job, etc.

But we humans, and I know how human I am . . . we tend ask, “what have you done for me lately?”

I stand convicted of this.

As I read through Paul’s dealings with the Corinthian church, I can hear his deep frustration and hurt.

He’s like a mother who is astounded at her beloved child for whom she did everything, and yet, here is the kid in the Detention Center or pregnant or in the hospital for a drug overdose or laid out in a morgue. How could they forget our love? Why didn’t it matter?

Paul gave and gave of himself but still, it was not enough to sustain the faith over the distance. Jesus gave and gave too. And yet, people didn’t get the message at the root of their beings either.

The parable of the sower [Matthew 13:1-23] is about us too. More of us are the rocky path, the shallow soil and the thorn patch than good rich soil. We hear the truth, we see the truth, but we don’t remember.

Forgive me Lord. Keep me mindful today. Keep me mindful of your works and your word. Keep me mindful of you.

Read Full Post »

Strength in Weakness

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 27, 2010| Leave a Comment »

For those who read my meditations regularly, you know I am intrigued by the sweep of paradox in scripture. Strength in weakness is one of the most difficult concepts to put my head around since the display of strength is my security blanket.

II Corinthians 11:30-31
If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying.

Back in the day, I worked with a small group of friends to build an avant garde dance theatre company in New York City. These types of projects are always a bit “hand to mouth” and poorly funded. It can be very stressful. I was in charge of the finances (using mostly my personal funds) and the administration of the company in addition to working full time and going to school. After a year of this, I was at the breaking point. At one of our meetings, I confessed, I was falling apart inside and I couldn’t continue to be the rock anymore. They would not allow it. “You have to be strong. We depend on you to be strong.”

And then I knew we had, all of us, put our confidence in the wrong thing: my strength and confidence That kind of strength is an illusion.

It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. [Psalm 18:32]
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. [Psalm 46:1]

But God cannot arm me with strength or “be” my strength as long as I continue in the “world’s strongest woman competition.” I have to believe in the promise. I have to be willing to reveal my weakness and only then will God’s strength be visible. My strength is a mere veil to the real thing.

Some of the tools:

  • Be willing to say, “I don’t know.”
  • Choose silence.
  • Acknowledge the successes of others.
  • Accept mistakes.
  • Forgo the praise of others.
  • Relinquish control.
  • Embrace the feelings.
  • Open the heart.
  • Submit to outside circumstances.
  • Build trust.
  • Pray.
  • Respond to the Holy Spirit.

It is one thing to talk about paradox but it’s another to actually live it. This takes a great leap of faith. It’s time to jump.

Read Full Post »

Divine Weapons

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 19, 2010| Leave a Comment »

The metaphors of war and weapons are not my favorites and yet I do believe I have access to tools within, where the Christ Spirit dwells, to help me resist my ongoing bad habits and harsh judgments I make against others. The power is all there. I just don’t tap into it.

II Corinthians 10:3-4a
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.

The 3-D world in which I walk and live has its own rules and recommendations for change. There’s a lot about “doing” and “pulling up of boot straps” and “taking charge.” But the way of Christ is different. It’s the opposite of what we think. It’s the rule of paradox. It’s “being” and not always doing. It’s letting go of “my way” and going the way of Jesus. It’s mindfulness about others.

The divine weapons don’t manifest while I’m using my own weapons. Divine power waits until I have expended all of my “personal power” and efforts.

This truth is one of the reasons why Alcoholics Anonymous and similar 12-step programs are so successful. The person must come to the end of self. There is a step, even a leap, across the threshold into the arms of a higher power. God never misses.

I cannot wield divine weapons. I can only submit to them. This is the essence of faith.

Read Full Post »

Godly Sorrow

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 5, 2010| 2 Comments »

Godly sorrow is different from the mouth saying “I’m sorry;” it’s from the heart. How can we tell which is which? We can’t tell by words alone. Only actions express sincere contrition.

II Corinthians 7:10
Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

I remember a friend of mine who had been devastated by her husband’s infidelity. He had expressed sorrow for his poor judgment and betrayal. She never believed him. He asked for total forgiveness. She could not give it. She confessed to me that she wanted him to suffer (as she had suffered). But what was she really saying? I believe she never saw “Godly sorrow.”

But I wonder, would she have recognized Godly sorrow in his behavior? If actions are the reflection of authentic regret, it’s important to know which actions would speak that truth. What does repentance look like after someone has hurt you?

Read Full Post »

Separate by Choice or Oppression

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 3, 2010| Leave a Comment »

There comes a time when a person’s principles will separate him/her from certain friendships or situations, either by choice because the circumstances are unpalatable or by the pressure of others. The question is whether the separation is a wall or a space.

II Corinthians 6:16-17a
What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” “Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord.

Even though Jesus supped and interacted with “prostitutes and tax collectors,” these folks were not his daily diet. He still had to seek out solitude and silence. He needed time with God, his heart’s true home. He also needed time with his close friends with whom he shared his himself.

This scripture reference has been used for centuries to justify the creation of exclusive “societies” in the name of holiness. Convents and monasteries became the ultimate separation and for years; they thrived until humanity called out for help and slowly they came out and brought their faith to the world around them. It was a difficult change, a time to learn balance between separation and service.

There are other ways to separate. Simply an attitude or affiliation can be a dividing wall. For some, it’s like a badge of honor to maintain a list of things they don’t do: watch R-rated movies, listen to secular music, dance to a beat, look at nude paintings or sculpture, drink wine, beer or any alcohol at all, send their children to public schools, take communion in a particular way, baptize in a particular way, pray in a particular way, and so forth. The walls become thicker and taller over time. Unfortunately, if anyone crosses over or digs a hole through the wall, he/she is considered a reprobate. The wall is fortified.

Some of the extreme examples are the groups who have created compounds in the name of “community” where rules dominate, families inter-marry, and women are considered chattel once again. There are churches where membership is a complex ritual. There are religious groups where the “shepherds” determine whether two people marry or not, or whether a family should buy a car, or how much should be tithed. Yes, these are extremes, but their is separatism all along this continuum. They become an oppression.

How or what people do in the name of God can be diverse. How an individual is led to worship and honor God is a choice. But when these practices become a source of intentional alienation, something is wrong.

It is my heart that my life would be a flowing stream that can break down walls but also create pools and coves of safety. I don’t ever want to become a stagnant pond in the name of “holiness.”

He [she] is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he [she] does prospers. [Psalm 1:3]

Read Full Post »

I’ve got a Lawyer

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 27, 2010| Leave a Comment »

The whole idea of the “judgment seat” has always given me pause. Today, as I encountered this verse, I wondered again, would I be shuttled off to the “left side” with the goats? [Matthew 25:31] But then it occurred to me: Hey, I’ve got a lawyer.

II Corinthians 5:10
For we must all appear and be revealed as we are before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive [his pay] according to what he has done in the body, whether good or evil [considering what his purpose and motive have been, and what he has achieved, been busy with, and given himself and his attention to accomplishing]. [Amplified]

I think there will still be a conversation and revelations about this life of mine (in the body). I’ll understand my mistakes in a way that I have never understood them before. I’ll be able to see the right turns as well as the wrong turns. I’ll learn how my actions manifested in the lives of others. I’ll get the whole picture.

There will be confession and forgiveness. There will be joy and appreciation. There will be knowledge.

And although I’m sure there will be an great array of missteps and even rebellion, my advocate will step forward and the one choice I made to follow, as best I could, the Christ, will be my defense.

Thanks be to God.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »