This is the final part of our study on Reuben Job's Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living, which is a modern adaptation of John Wesley's General Rules. Let me say this: Job's book is very readable, and his tone is one of much grace and encouragement. I would encourage EVERYONE to read this book! The last section is a guide to daily prayer that is truly helpful and practical.
This last segment of Job's work is phrased "stay in love with God". Wesley phrased this rule "Attend unto the means of grace". Wesley was telling us to stay connected to God. I personally like this phrasing much better than "Stay in love with God". "Stay in love with God" may sound sappy and unattainable. How do we love God? Is it a feeling? How do we stay in love with God if we are not sure if we have loved God in the first place?
Lets go back to the Scripture we began the whole study with: Matthew 22.36-40. This Scripture tells us that the first commandment (most important--first in priority) is to love God. This cannot refer to the feeling we would routinely call love. How can you command a feeling? The second part of this Scripture tells us to love our neighbor. Again, this may be--at the same time--easier to comprehend and harder to do. We can comprehend loving another person whom we can see and with whom we can interact. However, seeing that person and interacting with them may make loving them (in the routine sense of the word) more difficult! It is obvious to me that Jesus is saying "act toward them in a loving way--regardless of your feelings." That can be commanded, and it can be obeyed. So, how does this relate to the first part of the Scripture: love God? We must interpret this to be comprehended also. What does it mean to love God? It means to give God your total allegiance; to make your first allegiance be to God above all else and all others. This is not something we are going to do once and be done with it. It is not something we are ever going to do perfectly. But it is the target--the goal--for which we strive. It is what we continually bring ourselves back to when we find ourselves being led around by other allegiances. It is a decision. It is a matter of the will, not the feelings, and it can be commanded.
But, I can make this easier. Here's how: I believe that God is infinitely good, infinitely kind, infinitely lovable. The more I know about God (in Jesus) and the closer I bring myself to God, the more I will love God, the more I will see that giving God my first allegiance is the best and only sensible thing to do. The more I know about God and the closer I bring myself to God, the more I will want to give my first allegiance to God. Yes, it is counter-productive to command feelings. But as I know God, feelings may come. Of course, feelings may go, too. That is why the main issue here is obeying God's command to give God my first loyalty, my first allegiance in all things.
If my first allegiance is to God, I must stay connected with God. How can you be loyal if you do not know the wishes of your Lord? So, I make it a priority in my life to stay connected with God. Wesley encourages this by telling us to attend unto the means of grace. What mediates God's grace into your life? Well, do those things! Included in the means of grace are the sacraments: baptism and communion. Also included are spiritual practices.
Here is why attending to the means of grace is such a big deal: (in fact there are several reasons)
>I will grow in my love for and allegiance to God the more I know God.
>The only way to follow God (do no harm, do good) is to listen for God's leading. Life is complex. How can we know the way? God directs us. God can direct us best when we pay attention to God.
>As I receive inspiration and encouragement and grace and love from God, I am able to share the same with those around me.
And this only scratches the surface. What are other reasons for attending to the means of grace/practicing spiritual disciplines can you think of?
Three Books and Three Websites about Spiritual Practices:
Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster--the BEST book on spiritual practices
Soul Feast by Marjorie Thompson
The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Life by Tony Jones
rejesus.com
SpiritHome
Spiritual Disciplines Introduction [and follow the links on the left for the rest of the chapters]
Worship bulletin for February 15, 2009 is here.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Monday, February 09, 2009
Monday Review: DO GOOD
Re-read the Scriptures from Sunday.
3 John 11 What do you think are the implications of this verse? What are all of the ideas/truths that we can take away from it?
Luke 6.27-28 What truths do we see from these verses about doing good? Is Jesus asking too much of us?
Acts 10.38 Peter was one of the people who followed Jesus. He literally lived with Jesus night and day for almost 3 years. He heard Jesus teach and saw the miracles Jesus did. What did Peter take away from that experience? One thing was this: Jesus went about doing good.
Matthew 16.24-26 Doing good may be simple, but it is not easy. Who are some of the people to whom you will find it difficult to do good? What are some situations in which you will find it difficult to do good?
I displayed the chart based on the General Rules of Wesley with the Jerusalem Cross. I found this chart in the works of Steven Manskar. The sheet I handed out is here. I took some of my ideas from Manskar's Opening Ourselves to Grace, which is worth reading.
3 John 11 What do you think are the implications of this verse? What are all of the ideas/truths that we can take away from it?
Luke 6.27-28 What truths do we see from these verses about doing good? Is Jesus asking too much of us?
Acts 10.38 Peter was one of the people who followed Jesus. He literally lived with Jesus night and day for almost 3 years. He heard Jesus teach and saw the miracles Jesus did. What did Peter take away from that experience? One thing was this: Jesus went about doing good.
Matthew 16.24-26 Doing good may be simple, but it is not easy. Who are some of the people to whom you will find it difficult to do good? What are some situations in which you will find it difficult to do good?
I displayed the chart based on the General Rules of Wesley with the Jerusalem Cross. I found this chart in the works of Steven Manskar. The sheet I handed out is here. I took some of my ideas from Manskar's Opening Ourselves to Grace, which is worth reading.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Do Good: Preview for Sunday, February 8
This Sunday, we will consider the second of Wesley's General Rules: do good. This is part of a study based on Reuben Job's contemporary adaptation of Wesley's Rules called Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living. It seems that it would be a no-brainer that Christians are to be doing good, but it seems that there are a lot of other things competing for our time and attention these days. It seems that doing good is overshadowed by doing what is right sometimes. What I mean is that some Christians are so consumed by being on the "right" side of an issue, that any thought of doing good is drowned out. We readily respond to people in a harsh or mean way and think that is showing how serious we are about defending God's way. Sometimes doing good is characterized as liberal or humanistic as opposed to spiritual. But it is following the way of Jesus.
In his journal, Wesley said: "There is scarce any possible way of doing good, for which there is not daily occasion...Here are poor families to be relieved: Here are children to be educated: Here are workhouses, wherein both young and old gladly receive the word of exhortation: Here are the prisons, and therein a complication of all human wants."
In other words, there are abundant opportunities everywhere we look, at all times. The issues are how do we choose what to do, and will we take the opportunities available to us.
In Acts 10.38, Peter is preaching about Jesus and characterizes Jesus this way: "...God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good...". This Scripture makes it clear that it is godly and spiritual to do good, and it is following Jesus, since doing good characterized his life.
3 John 11 tells us "...Whoever does good is from God..." Think about the implications of that for a minute. [Pause here and think.] If you do good, you are from God. If you don't do good, it doesn't matter how much you SAY you are from God, you are not. It seems to me that, in the Scriptures, we see a lot more emphasis on right action than we do on right belief or right doctrine. I think that is because the point is to LIVE what we say we believe (that sounds like a definition of doing good), and not just TALK about it. Jesus taught us to pray for God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. The point is for people to act and live and treat each other the way God wills for them to do.
Reuben Job tells us that this rule is even more radical than "do no harm", because I am called now not to just not hurt those with whom I disagree, or who are my enemies, but I am called to positively and actively to do good to them. This reminds me of the words of Jesus in Luke 6.27-28: “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. That is the kicker: we don't get to choose to whom we do good. It is for everyone. I don't get to judge who is worthy of receiving the good I do. This rule is universal. It is also universal in that all people are called to participate in it.
Also, when I decide to do good, it means I do not wait to be asked. I am actively--proactively--seeking to do good for the people I encounter and in the situations I find myself.
In his journal, Wesley said: "There is scarce any possible way of doing good, for which there is not daily occasion...Here are poor families to be relieved: Here are children to be educated: Here are workhouses, wherein both young and old gladly receive the word of exhortation: Here are the prisons, and therein a complication of all human wants."
In other words, there are abundant opportunities everywhere we look, at all times. The issues are how do we choose what to do, and will we take the opportunities available to us.
In Acts 10.38, Peter is preaching about Jesus and characterizes Jesus this way: "...God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good...". This Scripture makes it clear that it is godly and spiritual to do good, and it is following Jesus, since doing good characterized his life.
3 John 11 tells us "...Whoever does good is from God..." Think about the implications of that for a minute. [Pause here and think.] If you do good, you are from God. If you don't do good, it doesn't matter how much you SAY you are from God, you are not. It seems to me that, in the Scriptures, we see a lot more emphasis on right action than we do on right belief or right doctrine. I think that is because the point is to LIVE what we say we believe (that sounds like a definition of doing good), and not just TALK about it. Jesus taught us to pray for God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. The point is for people to act and live and treat each other the way God wills for them to do.
Reuben Job tells us that this rule is even more radical than "do no harm", because I am called now not to just not hurt those with whom I disagree, or who are my enemies, but I am called to positively and actively to do good to them. This reminds me of the words of Jesus in Luke 6.27-28: “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. That is the kicker: we don't get to choose to whom we do good. It is for everyone. I don't get to judge who is worthy of receiving the good I do. This rule is universal. It is also universal in that all people are called to participate in it.
Also, when I decide to do good, it means I do not wait to be asked. I am actively--proactively--seeking to do good for the people I encounter and in the situations I find myself.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Rule One Summary: Do No Harm
The first of Wesley's general rules is DO NO HARM. Look at Wednesday's preview blog for more info.
Lets look at Genesis to see our situation. We are broken/fallen/alienated from God, from each other, from the creation, and from ourselves. And these are all the areas in which we need God's redemption; God's salvation. We must consider each of these areas and strive to do nor harm in each of them.
Consider these Scriptures and what they say about how we should live; how we should do no harm.
Matthew 5.21-26
Matthew 5.38-48
Ephesians 4.17-32
Romans 12.17-21
Romans 13.8-14
How does this work? How can it work? This rule is very broad. How can you do know harm? In fact it is so broad and wide-ranging that we can be overwhelmed by it. We can be discouraged by the enormity, and the difficulty, and the ambiguous nature of the task.
Where do we start?
A-You must start with a decision, a commitment: I am going to follow the way of Jesus. I am going to surrender my life to God.
B-You must practice regular times of examination.
C-You must listen to the Spirit.
D-You must sensitize yourself to the Spirit through reading the Word.
E-You must make room for the Spirit with silence and reflection.
F-You must ask forgiveness for harm you have done, and make amends where you can.
G-But you must start now to stop digging yourself into a deeper hole.
The issue is finding a way to listen to the Spirit's guidance in how to do no harm. Regular times of reflection and self-examination will facilitate hearing God's guidance.
Here are some tools that can help you: http://catumc.org/files/Examination.pdf
A-Ignatian Examen
B-Journaling
C-Spending time in reflection and silence [link to contemplatio program]
D-Regular reading of Scripture
Pray slowly through the phrases of the Scriptures and documents below. Allow time for the Spirit to bring thoughts to your mind as you pray. The Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Beattitudes or on the Examination handout above.
E-The Lord's Prayer
F-The Ten Commandments
G-The Beattitudes
H-Baptismal covenant
I-covenant prayer
Spend time this week in reflection. Make an appointment and use one of the methods above for self-examination. What is God leading you to change? How is God impressing you to do no harm?
Lets look at Genesis to see our situation. We are broken/fallen/alienated from God, from each other, from the creation, and from ourselves. And these are all the areas in which we need God's redemption; God's salvation. We must consider each of these areas and strive to do nor harm in each of them.
Consider these Scriptures and what they say about how we should live; how we should do no harm.
Matthew 5.21-26
Matthew 5.38-48
Ephesians 4.17-32
Romans 12.17-21
Romans 13.8-14
How does this work? How can it work? This rule is very broad. How can you do know harm? In fact it is so broad and wide-ranging that we can be overwhelmed by it. We can be discouraged by the enormity, and the difficulty, and the ambiguous nature of the task.
Where do we start?
A-You must start with a decision, a commitment: I am going to follow the way of Jesus. I am going to surrender my life to God.
B-You must practice regular times of examination.
C-You must listen to the Spirit.
D-You must sensitize yourself to the Spirit through reading the Word.
E-You must make room for the Spirit with silence and reflection.
F-You must ask forgiveness for harm you have done, and make amends where you can.
G-But you must start now to stop digging yourself into a deeper hole.
The issue is finding a way to listen to the Spirit's guidance in how to do no harm. Regular times of reflection and self-examination will facilitate hearing God's guidance.
Here are some tools that can help you: http://catumc.org/files/Examination.pdf
A-Ignatian Examen
B-Journaling
C-Spending time in reflection and silence [link to contemplatio program]
D-Regular reading of Scripture
Pray slowly through the phrases of the Scriptures and documents below. Allow time for the Spirit to bring thoughts to your mind as you pray. The Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Beattitudes or on the Examination handout above.
E-The Lord's Prayer
F-The Ten Commandments
G-The Beattitudes
H-Baptismal covenant
I-covenant prayer
Spend time this week in reflection. Make an appointment and use one of the methods above for self-examination. What is God leading you to change? How is God impressing you to do no harm?
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Preview of Rule One: DO NO HARM
Bishop Reuben Job in Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living, says this about rule 1: "Even a child can understand what it means, and it is applicable to everyone at every stage in life. And when practiced, it works wonders in transforming the world around us."
While this is a simple rule, it is not an EASY rule. It is difficult to do no harm. Why? Because following this rule requires a radical trust in God: we give control over to God. It is difficult because striking back or striking out seems to be in our nature. It is the way of Jesus. If we are going to followers of Christ, we must commit to this simple rule. Try it out for the rest of this week: consciously focus on doing nothing that would harm anyone or anything else. Maybe you can check in on the blog here and give us a story or two.
Here are the Scriptures for this Sunday:
Matthew 5.21-26
Matthew 5.38-48
Ephesians 4.17-32
Romans 12.17-21
Romans 13.8-14
While this is a simple rule, it is not an EASY rule. It is difficult to do no harm. Why? Because following this rule requires a radical trust in God: we give control over to God. It is difficult because striking back or striking out seems to be in our nature. It is the way of Jesus. If we are going to followers of Christ, we must commit to this simple rule. Try it out for the rest of this week: consciously focus on doing nothing that would harm anyone or anything else. Maybe you can check in on the blog here and give us a story or two.
Here are the Scriptures for this Sunday:
Matthew 5.21-26
Matthew 5.38-48
Ephesians 4.17-32
Romans 12.17-21
Romans 13.8-14
Why not read each Scripture and think about how it relates to "do no harm". You could even leave your thoughts in the comments.
The worship bulletin for Sunday, February 1 is here.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Three Simple Rules Week 1 Discussion
This last Sunday we began our series in The Refuge on Reuben Job's Three Simple Rules, which is an adaptation of Wesley's General Rules (see previous post).
Here is a summary of our study from 1/25/09:
If someone asked you, "What does it mean to live as a Christian?" what would you say?
Read the article "Studying for the Wrong Test".
In our Christianity, can we say that the foundational truths that we live out are those found in Matthew 22.36-40?
Can we say that our Christianity is fulfilling Jesus' prayer in John 17 that all believers would be one--be unified--just as Jesus and the Father were unified?
In many ways, we have gotten into such deep ruts with how we express our faith that we cannot see any other way.
It matters how you live. Jesus expects you to live your regular, daily life in a certain way.
The way of Jesus is not complicated, it is not too difficult, and it is not just for hyper-spiritual people or religious professionals.
The way of Jesus will unite Christians and give life to their souls.
The way of Jesus will truly transform our world.
Paul fleshed these concepts out some in Galatians 5.22-26 and Colossians 3.12-17.
Questions for reflection and discussion (feel free to leave your responses as a comment and feel free to comment on each other's responses):
1-Jesus said that all Scripture could be summarized by "love God with all your heart and soul and mind" and "love your neighbor as yourself". What do you think it means to love God?
2-How can love--which we would normally consider to be an emotion--be commanded?
3-Read Matthew 7.12. How does it compare to Matthew 22.36-40?
4-We face so many problems trying to live as followers of Christ. How can "three simple rules" [do no harm, do good, stay in love with God] address these difficulties?
5-If Jesus were to make a list of the major issues facing Christ-followers today, what do you think he would put on the list?
Here is a summary of our study from 1/25/09:
If someone asked you, "What does it mean to live as a Christian?" what would you say?
Read the article "Studying for the Wrong Test".
In our Christianity, can we say that the foundational truths that we live out are those found in Matthew 22.36-40?
Can we say that our Christianity is fulfilling Jesus' prayer in John 17 that all believers would be one--be unified--just as Jesus and the Father were unified?
In many ways, we have gotten into such deep ruts with how we express our faith that we cannot see any other way.
It matters how you live. Jesus expects you to live your regular, daily life in a certain way.
The way of Jesus is not complicated, it is not too difficult, and it is not just for hyper-spiritual people or religious professionals.
The way of Jesus will unite Christians and give life to their souls.
The way of Jesus will truly transform our world.
Paul fleshed these concepts out some in Galatians 5.22-26 and Colossians 3.12-17.
Questions for reflection and discussion (feel free to leave your responses as a comment and feel free to comment on each other's responses):
1-Jesus said that all Scripture could be summarized by "love God with all your heart and soul and mind" and "love your neighbor as yourself". What do you think it means to love God?
2-How can love--which we would normally consider to be an emotion--be commanded?
3-Read Matthew 7.12. How does it compare to Matthew 22.36-40?
4-We face so many problems trying to live as followers of Christ. How can "three simple rules" [do no harm, do good, stay in love with God] address these difficulties?
5-If Jesus were to make a list of the major issues facing Christ-followers today, what do you think he would put on the list?
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
It will be good to be back in the saddle again this Sunday! Photos from Snowblast 09 are here. No one got hurt, lost, or left, so I guess it was a successful trip!
What if we had a faith that was sustainable? A faith that united people and did not divide them? A faith that was simple and not confusing and convoluted? A faith that would actually work—that would make the world a better place? A faith that would credit Christianity as the solution and not as part of the problem? A faith that was life-giving and not life-draining? I think the faith of Jesus is intended to be simple, powerful, life-giving, and transformative. Let us seek this faith for our own.
This is from our worship bulletin this Sunday. This Sunday we begin a series called Three Simple Rules that is based on a book by Reuben Job called Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living. I have not found the book to be available locally, but you can get it from Amazon for $2. I would recommend buying it.
Three Simple Rules is an adaptation of John Wesley's General Rules which he formulated to help Methodists live out their call to holy living. There is some introductory material in the worship bulletin.
The worship bulletin for this Sunday is here.
We will have an online discussion available here at my blog. Each Monday, I will post a summary of Sunday’s study and a few questions for discussion and ideas for journaling or prayer or action. You can enter the discussion and ask questions by leaving comments on the post. Each Wednesday, I will post a preview of the next study with ideas for personal study.
What if we had a faith that was sustainable? A faith that united people and did not divide them? A faith that was simple and not confusing and convoluted? A faith that would actually work—that would make the world a better place? A faith that would credit Christianity as the solution and not as part of the problem? A faith that was life-giving and not life-draining? I think the faith of Jesus is intended to be simple, powerful, life-giving, and transformative. Let us seek this faith for our own.
This is from our worship bulletin this Sunday. This Sunday we begin a series called Three Simple Rules that is based on a book by Reuben Job called Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living. I have not found the book to be available locally, but you can get it from Amazon for $2. I would recommend buying it.
Three Simple Rules is an adaptation of John Wesley's General Rules which he formulated to help Methodists live out their call to holy living. There is some introductory material in the worship bulletin.
The worship bulletin for this Sunday is here.
We will have an online discussion available here at my blog. Each Monday, I will post a summary of Sunday’s study and a few questions for discussion and ideas for journaling or prayer or action. You can enter the discussion and ask questions by leaving comments on the post. Each Wednesday, I will post a preview of the next study with ideas for personal study.
Scriptures for Today:
Matthew 22.34-40
Colossians 3.12-14
Galatians 5.22-26
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Sunday January 18, 2009
This Sunday, I will in the White Mountains with the Catalina youth for Snowblast 09!! Pastor Raven will be preaching.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
MILK
Mindy and Bethany and I went to see MILK last week. It is a really good movie and the depiction of Harvey Milk's fight for civil rights for gay people is inspiring. Sean Penn did a super job.
Sobering...but what does it mean?
Follow the link below (I couldn't find any way to embed the animation) to see a US map that depicts chronologically and geographically the spread of Wal Mart across America. I'm not doing a good job describing it. Click on the link. Watch the animation. It starts out slow and then...WHAM! The year counter is in the bottom right hand corner and the store counter is in the top left corner. http://projects.flowingdata.com/walmart/
Friday, January 09, 2009
Now, for some controversy...
I have read with interest recent posts on pomomusings reviewing the book Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality: Explode the Myths, Heal the Church by Jack Rogers. Here is a link to the first one. Read them all. It won't hurt some of you to read something that stretches you every now and then.
Yes, I caught up on my blog reading today.
Another gem from Mike at _awakening.
Living Inside.
We all find ourselves with this surprising ability to love God and to desire love from God, often with no reason in particular. That doesn't happen every day, truly, but hopefully more often a you learn to trust and rest in life. Moments of unconditional love sort of slip out of you and no one is more surprised than you when it happens! But when it does, you always know you are living inside a Larger Life than your own. You know, henceforth, that your life is not about you but you are about God.
[Richard Rohr - Things Hidden: Scripture As Spirituality]
Read Merton
Read this post by Mike DeVries from _awakening.
The Wisdom of the Desert.
Last week, I recorded a History Channel program on the life of Thomas Merton. It was quite well done and reminded me of how much I love the writings of Merton. With that thought I went back to my library to see if there was any Merton writings I had not read yet. Lo and behold, I had a small collection of teachings of the Desert Fathers which Merton had translated, entitled The Wisdom of the Desert
One of the sections in the introduction deals with the issue of love. Here's just a sample of what Merton wrote:
Love means an interior and spiritual identification with one's brother, so that he is not regarded as an "object" to "which" one "does good."The fact is that good is done to another as to an object is of little or no spiritual value.Love takes one's neighbour as one's other self, and loves him with all the immense humility and discretion and reserve and reverence without which no one can presume to enter into the sanctuary of another's subjectivity. From such love all authoritarian brutality, all exploitation, domineering and condescension must necessarily be absent...
Love demands a complete inner transformation - for without this we cannot possibly come to identify oruselves with our brother. We have to become, in some sense, the person we love. And this involves a kind of death of our own being, our own self. [p. 18]
Love demands a complete inner transformation - for without this we cannot possibly come to identify oruselves with our brother. We have to become, in some sense, the person we love. And this involves a kind of death of our own being, our own self. [p. 18]
Classic Merton.
Time with God?
I found this article by Thomas at Everyday Liturgy informative and it really resonated with my experience.
My Personal Revolution of Time
January 8, 2009 - 4:10pm by Thomas
I remember how poorly I did my "quiet time" in high shcool.
I had the quiet part down. I even had the time part down. But it was not time well spent.
I had bought into the common notion that if I was quiet for a certain length of time with a Bible in my hand I was becoming a better Christian.
The picture in my mind of me opening the Bible to a random page and reading for 10 minutes is kind of pathetic when you think of it. How is spirituality dictated by random pages and quantity not quality?
I have been getting quality time now, and it has been due to a personal revolution of how I view time. I do not give God ten minutes like a mother gives her child ten cents to buy a Jolly Rancher. My spirituality is no longer self-centered, in that God has given me a new day and it is his anyway---I can give him none of my time because it was his to begin with---so I need to live within God's time and pray that he establish himself in my life. He is present. I need to make myself present in his presence. I travel to him, he does not get chump change from me.
I pray in the morning, at noon, and at afternoon. I have the times set in my Outlook to go off as a reminder. I have pages of the noon daily office at my desk and write in my journal at around three o'clock for a few minutes. I am not giving God my time. I am letting his time redeem me and the time between prayer, when my work is pleasing to him (even if it is not pleasing to me all the time). My work provides for family and the kingdom. That is enough in his eyes (while not always in mine).
I am sometimes haunted by feelings that I haven't spent vasts amounts of time with God. I am haunted by the voice of my pastor in high school who commented on how "new Christians read the Bible for 15 minutes, then grow to 30 minutes, then grow to one hour when they are really spiritual." I am haunted by the concept of time as an idol, but I must not let that control me. All time is God's, and I dwell within his time. May I always recognize this.
My Personal Revolution of Time
January 8, 2009 - 4:10pm by Thomas
I remember how poorly I did my "quiet time" in high shcool.
I had the quiet part down. I even had the time part down. But it was not time well spent.
I had bought into the common notion that if I was quiet for a certain length of time with a Bible in my hand I was becoming a better Christian.
The picture in my mind of me opening the Bible to a random page and reading for 10 minutes is kind of pathetic when you think of it. How is spirituality dictated by random pages and quantity not quality?
I have been getting quality time now, and it has been due to a personal revolution of how I view time. I do not give God ten minutes like a mother gives her child ten cents to buy a Jolly Rancher. My spirituality is no longer self-centered, in that God has given me a new day and it is his anyway---I can give him none of my time because it was his to begin with---so I need to live within God's time and pray that he establish himself in my life. He is present. I need to make myself present in his presence. I travel to him, he does not get chump change from me.
I pray in the morning, at noon, and at afternoon. I have the times set in my Outlook to go off as a reminder. I have pages of the noon daily office at my desk and write in my journal at around three o'clock for a few minutes. I am not giving God my time. I am letting his time redeem me and the time between prayer, when my work is pleasing to him (even if it is not pleasing to me all the time). My work provides for family and the kingdom. That is enough in his eyes (while not always in mine).
I am sometimes haunted by feelings that I haven't spent vasts amounts of time with God. I am haunted by the voice of my pastor in high school who commented on how "new Christians read the Bible for 15 minutes, then grow to 30 minutes, then grow to one hour when they are really spiritual." I am haunted by the concept of time as an idol, but I must not let that control me. All time is God's, and I dwell within his time. May I always recognize this.
WOW! WOW! WOW! The best thing I've read all week. Literally.
This is from the Emergent Village website, and it is hands down the best thing I have read all week.Studying for the Wrong Test
By Don Heatley:
The Kingdom of God is like a student studying for an exam. Night after night, he studied Chapter Twelve of his history book. “Surely, I am prepared for my test,” he thought. The very next day he went to school and sat his desk. Behold! The test was on Chapter Thirteen. He had studied for the wrong test. He who has ears, let him hear!
Recently, I was having a conversation with a sincere fellow Jesus follower who demanded to know my beliefs. The questions they asked made it clear that this too was a test. The very first thing they wanted to know was my stand on homosexuality, my opinions about abortion, and my beliefs about the Bible.
I don’t think I passed.
Yet I wonder if, like the student in the parable, this person was studying for the wrong test. When we pass out the number two pencils and evaluate the orthodoxy of others, why are the criteria always issues that Jesus himself never addressed? Would it not be more appropriate to ask one another the questions Jesus asked, “Have you fed the hungry? Have you given water to the thirsty? Have you clothed the naked? Have you visited the imprisoned?”
In retrospect, I cannot recall ever being asked those questions by anyone who was attempting to size up my Christianity. I have never had someone ask me, as litmus tests, questions such as, “Does your church have a prison ministry?” or “What are you doing for the homeless?” No one ever asks how I feel about materialism, poverty, war, or if I turn the other cheek. No one ever asks if I have done justice, shown mercy, or acted humbly. No one asks if I have comforted the mourning, been a peacemaker, loved my enemies, or crossed to the other side of the road to care for an outcast. No one asks if I have loved everyone as Christ loves everyone.
That is a good thing, since I would probably fail those tests too. I can take some comfort in the fact that for the most part, no one is cast out of our churches for giving the wrong answers to these kinds of questions—the kinds of questions Jesus asked. Conversely, I routinely read about individuals being expelled from churches and whole congregations leaving denominations over issues that neither Jesus nor our creeds ever mention. I never hear about a congregation severing ties with their denomination because they felt the denomination did not put enough emphasis on loving our neighbors. Perhaps they should.
It is bad enough that we pass out exams to one another. What is even worse is that many of us are studying for the wrong test.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Sunday January 11, 2009 The Baptism of the Lord
Whoa...It's been a long time since I wrote anything here. But, during the holidays we all step back a little, don't we?
This Sunday, January 11, is the second Sunday in Epiphany and is the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord. As we talked about before, the season of Epiphany (from January 6 to Ash Wednesday) is a season that is concerned with presenting Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. Events in the life of Christ that are commemorated during this season are events like the visit of the Magi (Ephiphany proper--January 6), the baptism of Jesus, the wedding at Cana (the first miracle), and the Transfiguration.
This Sunday is the Baptism of the Lord. We will examine four aspects of this subject: the implications of Jesus' baptism, the baptism of Jesus and our baptism, the significance and meaning of our baptism, and a brief service of reaffirmation of baptism.
The Scripture for this Sunday is Mark 1.4-11.
Here are some links on the subject:
Methodists: Means of Grace by Rev. Gregory S. Neal
A United Methodist Understanding of Baptism by Mark C. Trotter
By Water and the Spirit The official United Methodist document on baptism
This week's worship bulletin is here.
This Sunday, January 11, is the second Sunday in Epiphany and is the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord. As we talked about before, the season of Epiphany (from January 6 to Ash Wednesday) is a season that is concerned with presenting Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. Events in the life of Christ that are commemorated during this season are events like the visit of the Magi (Ephiphany proper--January 6), the baptism of Jesus, the wedding at Cana (the first miracle), and the Transfiguration.
This Sunday is the Baptism of the Lord. We will examine four aspects of this subject: the implications of Jesus' baptism, the baptism of Jesus and our baptism, the significance and meaning of our baptism, and a brief service of reaffirmation of baptism.
The Scripture for this Sunday is Mark 1.4-11.
Here are some links on the subject:
Methodists: Means of Grace by Rev. Gregory S. Neal
A United Methodist Understanding of Baptism by Mark C. Trotter
By Water and the Spirit The official United Methodist document on baptism
This week's worship bulletin is here.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Incarnation by Denise Day Spencer
He stands,
poised on the brink of two worlds:
One, land of eternal day,
the other, earth of mire and clay.
Behind Him,
legions of heavenly host,
bright faces covered, praising,
all chanting, voices raising.
Before Him,
chaos yawning, swift and deep,
known, yet unknown. Fear unfurling,
death and darkness churning, swirling.
He turns.
One last look at golden glory.
The Three part; He is now One.
The Father’s voice says, “Go well, my Son.”
He leaps
into the abyss.
His next memory will be a Mother’s kiss.
~ Denise Day Spencer, January 1999
Thanks to internet monk for this.
poised on the brink of two worlds:
One, land of eternal day,
the other, earth of mire and clay.
Behind Him,
legions of heavenly host,
bright faces covered, praising,
all chanting, voices raising.
Before Him,
chaos yawning, swift and deep,
known, yet unknown. Fear unfurling,
death and darkness churning, swirling.
He turns.
One last look at golden glory.
The Three part; He is now One.
The Father’s voice says, “Go well, my Son.”
He leaps
into the abyss.
His next memory will be a Mother’s kiss.
~ Denise Day Spencer, January 1999
Thanks to internet monk for this.
Happy Christmas They Say in the UK
This is a beautiful graphic. The quote is from John 1. Thanks to Mark Berry for this!
Click on the image to see it full size!
Different Reasons
Great Christmas post from Fernando Gros:
What If There Is More Than One Reason For The Season?
Imagine Christmas as being like a giant bookstore, with a range of books; some serious, some populist, some trashy, some noble. Every book is a “Christmas” book though, of course, not every book is equal. People are browsing and choosing, talking and comparing. It’s an active and buzzing place - most people are not sure why they are there, but they are trying to make sense of it and trying to have a little fun. Do we really want to be hanging out in the comics section, chugging a slurpy and passing judgment on the people who “don’t get it?”
Thanks to Bob Carlton for this.
The key word here is "judgment".
What If There Is More Than One Reason For The Season?
Imagine Christmas as being like a giant bookstore, with a range of books; some serious, some populist, some trashy, some noble. Every book is a “Christmas” book though, of course, not every book is equal. People are browsing and choosing, talking and comparing. It’s an active and buzzing place - most people are not sure why they are there, but they are trying to make sense of it and trying to have a little fun. Do we really want to be hanging out in the comics section, chugging a slurpy and passing judgment on the people who “don’t get it?”
Thanks to Bob Carlton for this.
The key word here is "judgment".
Monday, December 22, 2008
Advent with Ted the Loser
I saw this on the internet monk site (a blog I follow) and I thought it was right on target both with the essence of Christianity and the Gospel, and with our failed perspectives in American Christianity. Yeah, and it was right on target with me and my experiences, too.
Here is the intro: "This post is inspired by a FoxNews piece updating the situation of disgraced megachurch pastor Ted Haggard. Haggard was a major leader in evangelicalism until he was brought down by evidence of sexual sin and drug use."
Read the post. Please.
Cornerstone CD Ready for Download
You can get a hard copy of the Cornerstone CD at The Refuge, or you can download it from:
Digstation
CDBaby
CDUniverse
iTunes
Saturday, December 20, 2008
These Advent Days by Brett McCracken
It’s a cold December night, less than a week from Christmas. The third Friday of Advent, to be exact. In two days, I’m going home. Home to Kansas for the holidays.
This is a season that swings from joy to sadness rather quickly and unexpectedly, but I’m on the joy side of it these days. I’ve been seeing depressing movies like they’re going out of style, reading depressing books, and watching the news (more depressing than usual it seems). But in spite of my best efforts to wallow in midwinter moodiness, I’ve been overwhelmed with happiness and cheer. Overwhelmed to the point of tears (of joy).
Joy to the world. The Lord is come. Let every heart prepare him room.
It’s a joy, I think, of recognizing the smallness of oneself, while at the same time noticing the ways in which God seems to pay attention to you. That’s when the joy weighs heaviest, when we see that it has absolutely nothing to do with what we’ve done, but everything to do with who we are. That is: who God is making us and shaping us to be.
This realization typically happens around this time of year for me, when I survey the year, write my little Christmas update letter (yeah, I still do that), and think about what I’ve done, who I’ve met, where I’ve gone, etc. As I was driving into L.A. last night for a Christmas party with some church friends, I had one of those “wow, I have been so blessed,” moments when all the faces of the people I’d shared my year with came parading into my head, not in a random montage of unrelated images, but in a sort of kaleidoscope of linkage and interconnectedness. It was one of those moments when I could vaguely, powerfully glimpse a little of the divine orchestration that is at work behind all of this mad, beautiful mess.
Because I do believe that this is the case. I’m convinced that this all makes sense—my part in it, your part in it, the fires and snow and cherry pies. It makes sense on a level of sense-making that is only graspable in the way that the universe is graspable through telescopes. We can see parts of it, and in that we can infer the greatness of the whole and feel the surrogate wonder.
So it was in my car, driving on the 10 through downtown L.A., listening to my “80s heroin shoegazer” Christmas mix. I was overwhelmed by the realization that so much was so clearly happening for a reason. My job, my house, my friends, my car, the things I hear and say, write and read, fear and love… It all fits into the stories and people and places that precede it. It is all very messy and imperfect and frequently painful, but it ultimately isn’t about me or my comfort.
As a Christian, I believe that I am part of God’s church—that is, his extension of himself (via the Holy Spirit) on earth, a mission-minded body of humans that are the hands and feet of a much larger force, working in and for the world. I also believe that this happens largely in spite of ourselves, and that left to our own devices we would probably just constantly be f-ing things up.
God sent Jesus to earth to start something new. And start something new he did. But the new world that began with baby Jesus in a manger is now a world that a wider body of mortals is asked to participate in, to develop more fully and to expand, looking towards the time when all will be redeemed, made right, and reconciled. It will be God who brings this about. Only he can make things as they should be. But he asks his people—the church—to live in such a way that aspires to and expects this glory.
And in that, we sometimes see glimpses of things we can barely understand. We taste the powers of the age to come (Hebrews 6:5). I think we all can experience this. I think it’s what I’ve been experiencing these Advent days.
This is a really good Advent post. It can be found at http://stillsearching.wordpress.com/Thursday, December 18, 2008
Sunday December 21, 2008
This Sunday, December 21, is the final Sunday in Advent. That means that Christmas is almost here. That means that 2008 is almost over. As we all say in unison "Where did the year go?", lets think about that. Why does time fly? Where does the time go? Our lives flow past us like a river as we sit on the bank watching. How do we slow it down? We can't. But we can jump in. I encourage you to jump in and really be present and mindful. Check out this article: The Art of Now (Psychology Today).
I think this is much more of a spiritual issue than we think. Living in the present, being present to our lives and souls, being mindful (all mean the same thing), is a key to our spiritual formation. This is a little preview of our December 28 study. So, why did I get on this subject now? I know. More later.
This Sunday, the theme for Advent is LOVE. I encourage you to check out three articles by Julie Clawson about the LOVE week in Advent. They are here and here and here. In her tradition, love is week 3, not week 4, but we will not let this sidetrack us and we will get the message. Just a short thought: God is love, and God asks us to love. That sums it up. This week's worship bulletin is here.
I think this is much more of a spiritual issue than we think. Living in the present, being present to our lives and souls, being mindful (all mean the same thing), is a key to our spiritual formation. This is a little preview of our December 28 study. So, why did I get on this subject now? I know. More later.
This Sunday, the theme for Advent is LOVE. I encourage you to check out three articles by Julie Clawson about the LOVE week in Advent. They are here and here and here. In her tradition, love is week 3, not week 4, but we will not let this sidetrack us and we will get the message. Just a short thought: God is love, and God asks us to love. That sums it up. This week's worship bulletin is here.
Advent Poem Day 18
This advent poem is from a blog I follow: Everyday Liturgy.
Advent Poem Day 18
December 17, 2008 - 3:19pm by Thomas
The shepherds, tucked beneath
Trees sans leaves, sans shelter—
Not one leafe to share for cover—
Look up into skies void of hope.
The young man, walking slowly
Back to his lover, his dearest,
Whom he loves in such duress,
Says that no room can be found.
The young woman, tucked beneath
Blankets with holes, with stains—
Not one fit for royalty or queens—
Looks up into skies for the answer.
The new born, breathing slowly
And searching—pasty arms reaching
For a mother fatigued from pain, reeling—
Cries out the groan of creation.
Advent Poem Day 18
December 17, 2008 - 3:19pm by Thomas
The shepherds, tucked beneath
Trees sans leaves, sans shelter—
Not one leafe to share for cover—
Look up into skies void of hope.
The young man, walking slowly
Back to his lover, his dearest,
Whom he loves in such duress,
Says that no room can be found.
The young woman, tucked beneath
Blankets with holes, with stains—
Not one fit for royalty or queens—
Looks up into skies for the answer.
The new born, breathing slowly
And searching—pasty arms reaching
For a mother fatigued from pain, reeling—
Cries out the groan of creation.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Old School Contemporary Service
Matt Zamora posted this video of our service in the hall from 2002. This was before I was preaching. It's funny that I don't know a couple of the people in the band...
Follow the link!
http://64.156.56.12/fs/v.aspx?v=896c668b61606e79a16c
Follow the link!
http://64.156.56.12/fs/v.aspx?v=896c668b61606e79a16c
Stand By Me
I was made aware of this video through Tony Jones' blog. Jones says this about the video: A note about the creator of this short music video: Filmmaker Mark Johnson traveled around the globe getting street musicians and others to record part of the track for Stand By Me. Using battery powered equipment and a pocket full of Frequent Flyer miles he got tracks from dozens of performers. Each one was able to wear headphones and hear what the other performers had done.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Sunday December 14, 2008
This Sunday is the third Sunday of Advent, and the theme is JOY! The worship bulletin for Sunday is here. The Scriptures for Sunday are:
Isaiah 35.1-2, 8-10
Luke 2.1-20
Matthew 1.18-23
Our study will focus on the truth that joy comes from redemption. And this is the whole point of this Advent/Christmas story and season. God was not content to let us suffer; to leave us in our mess. God intervened in our story to deliver us--to redeem us. And that is what Advent is about. We have God's redemption, God's deliverance. But we wait. We wait for the full consummation of God's redemption and deliverance in the day of the Lord. We wait for the world to change--and for US to step up and change it--as the body of Christ. We symbolically wait for Christmas, for the re-telling of the birth of the Christ Child, which not only is the centerpiece of our hope for redemption, but is the centerpiece of all cosmic history.
Other Scriptures on redemption are: (read them with interest!)
Colossians 1.13,14
Ephesians 1.7
Romans 3.23,24
Titus 2.13,14
Galatians 4.4,5
Isaiah 35.1-2, 8-10
Luke 2.1-20
Matthew 1.18-23
Our study will focus on the truth that joy comes from redemption. And this is the whole point of this Advent/Christmas story and season. God was not content to let us suffer; to leave us in our mess. God intervened in our story to deliver us--to redeem us. And that is what Advent is about. We have God's redemption, God's deliverance. But we wait. We wait for the full consummation of God's redemption and deliverance in the day of the Lord. We wait for the world to change--and for US to step up and change it--as the body of Christ. We symbolically wait for Christmas, for the re-telling of the birth of the Christ Child, which not only is the centerpiece of our hope for redemption, but is the centerpiece of all cosmic history.
Other Scriptures on redemption are: (read them with interest!)
Colossians 1.13,14
Ephesians 1.7
Romans 3.23,24
Titus 2.13,14
Galatians 4.4,5
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Isn't Mother's Day in May?
Mindy also sent me this video, which you will probably see in worship in May. Very funny.
Did You Get the Recall Notice?
Mindy sent me this. Change your Christmas list to just say "Bicycle".
Thursday, December 04, 2008
The Second Sunday of Advent December 7, 2008
The worship bulletin for this Sunday is here. The theme for this week is peace. I have recycled my Scriptures and some of the prayers from last year. But I have come up with new/different thoughts.
Isaiah 2.1-5
Isaiah 9.2-7
Luke 1.67-79
Isaiah 32.16-17
Peace is such a deep, elusive, and almost trendy subject. There are a lot of people talking about peace in a lot of different contexts. Framing it in advent terminology, there are a lot of people WAITING for peace. I think about us--the people in America--waiting for peace. We long for peace in Iraq. In Afghanistan. But why? Just so our soldiers can come home? That's a good enough reason, but how about the suffering of the people in those countries? And we wait for peace in Sudan (and the rest of Africa). But why? Because the thoughts of the suffering bother us? Because we watched Hotel Rwanda and were moved by it?
God's heart breaks with the conflict and suffering of the world. Ours should, too, because we are called to follow the words of Jesus: "Love your neighbor as yourself". And because we are all part of each other; we are all connected.
And we wait for peace in America. In the richest country in the world, our souls are empty and in perpetual turmoil. Let us pray Psalm 80.1-3:
Isaiah 2.1-5
Isaiah 9.2-7
Luke 1.67-79
Isaiah 32.16-17
Peace is such a deep, elusive, and almost trendy subject. There are a lot of people talking about peace in a lot of different contexts. Framing it in advent terminology, there are a lot of people WAITING for peace. I think about us--the people in America--waiting for peace. We long for peace in Iraq. In Afghanistan. But why? Just so our soldiers can come home? That's a good enough reason, but how about the suffering of the people in those countries? And we wait for peace in Sudan (and the rest of Africa). But why? Because the thoughts of the suffering bother us? Because we watched Hotel Rwanda and were moved by it?
God's heart breaks with the conflict and suffering of the world. Ours should, too, because we are called to follow the words of Jesus: "Love your neighbor as yourself". And because we are all part of each other; we are all connected.
And we wait for peace in America. In the richest country in the world, our souls are empty and in perpetual turmoil. Let us pray Psalm 80.1-3:
1Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
2before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might, and come to save us!
3Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
Saved. Saved from ourselves, saved from the things we have created, saved from the things we love.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Sacred Space for Advent
Sacred Space for Advent contains several helps for our spiritual journey. Especially helpful may be the Advent Retreat, which is set up in three sessions, which may be done all in one day of retreat or in three separate sessions on different days. I appreciate Lilly Lewin pointing out these resources.
Why We Are Waiting
This is a website that offers a good spiritual explanation of the pilgrimage we call Advent. There are links to other audio selections as well.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Advent Poem Day 2
This poem is from Everyday Liturgy and I find it a meaningful prayer for Advent. The poem is credited to Thomas.
We are weary Lord of life
Lived for survival and not joy.
Take our cares and worries;
Come and bless us,
Change us,
Rearrange us.
May our house be filled with
The aroma of your presence,
And the cold drafts of
A wintry world that seeks and devours
Be stopped up
That we joyfully relax in
Our vocations, renewed by
The scent of unceasing divinity.
We are weary Lord of life
Lived for survival and not joy.
Take our cares and worries;
Come and bless us,
Change us,
Rearrange us.
May our house be filled with
The aroma of your presence,
And the cold drafts of
A wintry world that seeks and devours
Be stopped up
That we joyfully relax in
Our vocations, renewed by
The scent of unceasing divinity.
Always May God's Love Be with You
This video is of a song called "In the Sun". It was written by Joseph Arthur, but this cover is performed by Michael Stipe (REM) and Coldplay. It is part of a benefit EP that Stipe put together for Gulf Coast Hurricane Relief. I saw this performance on Austin City Limits this weekend. It is moving. And a great song.
Advent Hope
This is a really good article on hope during the season of Advent. It is written by Mike DeVries. Take time to read it.
Monday, December 01, 2008
Are You Happy?
I found this article by Scot McKnight (I follow his blog). It is a little intellectual, but it is a good read. Scot has a warm and inviting spirit in his writing.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/2008/006/14.44.html
http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/2008/006/14.44.html
From Bart Campolo's Blog
This post is from a blog I regularly read: Bart Campolo. The original post is here.
From an Email to a Struggling Friend
'Everything will be all right in the end’ still works for me, limited God and all, so long as I locate ‘the end’ way beyond my earthly life. When I fight against Chuck Norris, no one (even Chuck) can be sure exactly how long it will last or how many lucky punches I may get in before I succumb, but everyone (including me) knows that I’m going down in the end. That’s the surest hope I have: That, in the end, Love will prove to be stronger than everything else. I can’t prove it, of course, but I’ve decided to live as though it is true because nothing else inspires me, and because I genuinely like that way of life. The more I do so, of course, the more convinced I become that my hope is true. Most ways of life are self-verifying that way, which is why I sometimes tell friends who are struggling with faith that the most important question isn’t what kind of God are you sure of, but rather what kind of God do you most desperately, most surely hope for. After all, that’s the only One you’ll keep following even when the chips are down.
From an Email to a Struggling Friend
'Everything will be all right in the end’ still works for me, limited God and all, so long as I locate ‘the end’ way beyond my earthly life. When I fight against Chuck Norris, no one (even Chuck) can be sure exactly how long it will last or how many lucky punches I may get in before I succumb, but everyone (including me) knows that I’m going down in the end. That’s the surest hope I have: That, in the end, Love will prove to be stronger than everything else. I can’t prove it, of course, but I’ve decided to live as though it is true because nothing else inspires me, and because I genuinely like that way of life. The more I do so, of course, the more convinced I become that my hope is true. Most ways of life are
Publish Post
TEXT MESSAGE ADVENT DEVOTIONAL
Are you on the go? We are offering a BRIEF daily Advent devotional available through text message to your mobile phone. It will contain a Scripture verse and a prayer and will come to your phone every day (starting Monday) during Advent. If you want to receive the devotional, list your mobile number and service provider (Verizon, Sprint, Cricket, Altell, etc) on a comment to this post or email it to me at richard@catumc.org. The first message will arrive around 7pm on Monday. The rest will arrive around 7am daily.
Advent Practices
Take time to try this online advent devotional: www.followingthestar.org .
Spend time SIMPLIFYING YOUR LIFE during Advent. Get rid of what you don’t need. Pick one room or one area of your life and get started. Here are some online resources:
http://www.seattleu.edu/lemlib/web_archives/Poverty/simple_life.htm
http://zenhabits.net/2007/09/simple-living-manifesto-72-ideas-to-simplify-your-life/
http://zenhabits.net/2008/03/25-ways-to-simplify-your-life-with-kids/
http://jimmymccarty.wordpress.com/2008/07/07/simplicity-and-spirituality/
Pray one of these breath prayers during Advent:
A breath prayer is a prayer so brief that it can be prayed with each breath. The first half on inhale, and the second half of the prayer on exhale. This is a way to learn to “pray without ceasing”. Breath prayers also seem to stick in our minds and sink down into our souls and our subconscious minds. Pray a breath prayer for a specific number of times (100, etc.) or for a specific period (while you walk, drive, cook, wait in line, etc.)
Emmanuel, I believe you are with me.
Christ Child of the Manger, be born in my heart today.
Prince of Peace, may your peace fill my heart.
God of Hope, I am waiting for you to come to me.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner (traditional Jesus prayer)
Lord of Love, fill my life with your love.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Sunday, November 30, 2008
This Sunday begins Advent. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advent] Advent is a season of spiritual concentration and preparation in the Christian church. Find out Sunday how to make Advent meaningful for you.
Go here [http://catumc.org/files/Nov%2030%2008.pdf] and check out the worship bulletin for The Refuge Sunday for two ideas: simplifying your life (which is something we all need to do and might bring us some peace during this hectic time of the year) and praying an advent breath prayer. Also, I would encourage you to think about this: what will it take to make you really happy? Think about it. Journal about it. Then ACT on it.
The traditional weekly themes of Advent are hope, peace, joy, and love. We will consider one of these each week in order. So, this week is hope. Here are the Scriptures I want to consider:
Jeremiah 29.10-14
Lamentations 3.21-24
Romans 8.22-25
Even Post-Obama, hope can be a tough sell in our world. Why should we have hope? And I mean REAL hope, not just some holiday-induced fake Christian sentimentality. Lets see if we can come up with something Sunday. My hunch is that it will have something to do with Advent, Jesus, and faith.
Go here [http://catumc.org/files/Nov%2030%2008.pdf] and check out the worship bulletin for The Refuge Sunday for two ideas: simplifying your life (which is something we all need to do and might bring us some peace during this hectic time of the year) and praying an advent breath prayer. Also, I would encourage you to think about this: what will it take to make you really happy? Think about it. Journal about it. Then ACT on it.
The traditional weekly themes of Advent are hope, peace, joy, and love. We will consider one of these each week in order. So, this week is hope. Here are the Scriptures I want to consider:
Jeremiah 29.10-14
Lamentations 3.21-24
Romans 8.22-25
Even Post-Obama, hope can be a tough sell in our world. Why should we have hope? And I mean REAL hope, not just some holiday-induced fake Christian sentimentality. Lets see if we can come up with something Sunday. My hunch is that it will have something to do with Advent, Jesus, and faith.
Advent DEVO
I am going to be sending out a BRIEF (short Scripture and a prayer) Advent devotional via text message each day during Advent. It will start on Monday. It will come around 7pm on Monday, and then at 7am each day until Christmas. If you are already on my text list, you will get it. If you are not, but want to be, then email me or leave a comment here or text me (520-403-2403) with your mobile number AND YOUR CARRIER (verizon, t-mobile, cricket, etc).
Thanksgiving
At my house, we are planning to take our traditional hike after Thanksgiving dinner, if it is not raining. Another tradition is that the girls do the cooking and the guys do the dishes. We'll see if Jeremiah helps me and Tyler this year.
Often we go see a movie on Thanksgiving. I don't know if we will do that this year. The prices of movie tickets keeps going higher and higher. One way we've found to beat that is to go to the cheap theater. I recommend this. We go mostly to Crossroads at Grant and Swan (since it is a local theater) and occasionally to Century Gateway 12 on Kolb between Broadway and Speedway.
HERE IS GOOD THANKSGIVING READ FROM THE PEOPLE AT RELEVANT MAGAZINE:
Thanksgiving is upon us once again. The time of year when we get together with family and friends, eat ourselves into a mild coma and fall asleep on the couch watching plasticine announcers make asinine comments about enormous cartoon-character balloons, or look on in horror as John Madden greedily devours this year’s turducken. Without a doubt, it is the pinnacle of the American experience. Certainly, though, the time-honored holiday has to signify more than an excuse to gorge ourselves on pies and various starches. After the hectic madness of each year, and before the brutal onslaught of the Christmas rush, Thanksgiving at least offers us the opportunity to sit back and consider the things in our lives for which we have to be grateful.
But thankfulness isn’t easy for a lot of us these days. With the economy spiraling out of control, many people are more worried about their jobs and houses than finding the perfect place-setting for their family gathering. Some of us have had a downright horrible year. Thankfulness can be a very difficult attitude when we’ve faced a lot of life’s trials. Health issues, relationship troubles, family dramas—all of these things can make it hard to put ourselves in a very thankful mood, and Thanksgiving day becomes nothing more than another salute to gastronomical excess. The very moniker of the holiday is ignored.
Sometimes, in the midst of a complicated world, we can be tempted to cast a wistful eye to the origins of the holiday. Modern society seems so much more complicated than the idyllic days of the first Thanksgiving. The celebrants of the first Thanksgiving had none of the woes forced upon us by industrialization and the information age. Their woes were, of course, far worse. Though there is dispute about where the first Thanksgiving was celebrated (most scholars say it was St. Augustine, Fla., in 1565 rather than Plymouth, Mass., in 1621) one thing is certain: Disease, hunger and a grueling physical environment were all realities in the days of the first Thanksgiving celebrations. They gave thanks in the midst of circumstances it is hard for us to imagine in modern day America. Fully half of the settlers in Plymouth died the first winter. Governor William Bradford’s young wife died before the ship even landed, by falling overboard. We give thanks because we got our turkey on special at Safeway, and Uncle Carl miraculously didn’t embarrass us this year. They gave thanks for not dying in the previous calendar year. Pretty heavy stuff.
It puts a lot of things in perspective to think of those few, first brave pioneers from Europe. While their motives and methods of colonizing North America are often questionable in the light of history, their courage and fortitude are not. Certainly, they knew hardships few of us could comprehend. Yet, in the midst of it all, they set aside time to honor and thank God for His provision.
It is hard to give thanks to God when we don’t see His goodness. Sometimes the providence of the Almighty seems much more an abstract concept than a reality. Yet, thankfulness should be a part of the very fabric of our beings, in spite of circumstance. The apostle Paul was an absolute model of this attitude. Few people had the laundry list of grievances that Paul did: shipwrecked, stoned, beaten, imprisoned. Yet his attitude throughout his writings is one of constant thanksgiving, even while in chains. He tells the church at Thessalonica:
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
Thankfulness in all circumstances is not intended to massage God’s ego. Rather, thankfulness is an attitude that ultimately benefits us. When we give thanks to God in the midst of hardships, we are reminded of certain incontrovertible truths: God is good, God is gracious and God has our best interests at heart. By keeping these truths in mind, our faith becomes stronger. We begin to have the resolve to trust God, and the outgrowth of that is a new sense of peace when trouble arrives. Moreover, it’s a tremendous example to the rest of the world. To give thanks and praise to God when things are going tremendously well in our lives doesn’t prove a lot to people outside the community of faith. But to show that same thankfulness when our world is falling apart, that’s an attitude that speaks multiplied volumes.
Thanksgiving should not be limited to one day a year, but let’s start there. Let’s resolve to spend this holiday in a true condition of thankfulness. Perhaps this year hasn’t lived up to your expectations. Perhaps it’s been your worst year. Maybe Thanksgiving is actually going to be a tremendously lonely time for you. In spite of all this, give thanks. Thank God for the fact that He gave you life, and that He intends to give it to you more abundantly. That may not always resemble what we have in mind, but it will always be what’s best.
Author: Fred Burrows
Often we go see a movie on Thanksgiving. I don't know if we will do that this year. The prices of movie tickets keeps going higher and higher. One way we've found to beat that is to go to the cheap theater. I recommend this. We go mostly to Crossroads at Grant and Swan (since it is a local theater) and occasionally to Century Gateway 12 on Kolb between Broadway and Speedway.
HERE IS GOOD THANKSGIVING READ FROM THE PEOPLE AT RELEVANT MAGAZINE:
Thanksgiving is upon us once again. The time of year when we get together with family and friends, eat ourselves into a mild coma and fall asleep on the couch watching plasticine announcers make asinine comments about enormous cartoon-character balloons, or look on in horror as John Madden greedily devours this year’s turducken. Without a doubt, it is the pinnacle of the American experience. Certainly, though, the time-honored holiday has to signify more than an excuse to gorge ourselves on pies and various starches. After the hectic madness of each year, and before the brutal onslaught of the Christmas rush, Thanksgiving at least offers us the opportunity to sit back and consider the things in our lives for which we have to be grateful.
But thankfulness isn’t easy for a lot of us these days. With the economy spiraling out of control, many people are more worried about their jobs and houses than finding the perfect place-setting for their family gathering. Some of us have had a downright horrible year. Thankfulness can be a very difficult attitude when we’ve faced a lot of life’s trials. Health issues, relationship troubles, family dramas—all of these things can make it hard to put ourselves in a very thankful mood, and Thanksgiving day becomes nothing more than another salute to gastronomical excess. The very moniker of the holiday is ignored.
Sometimes, in the midst of a complicated world, we can be tempted to cast a wistful eye to the origins of the holiday. Modern society seems so much more complicated than the idyllic days of the first Thanksgiving. The celebrants of the first Thanksgiving had none of the woes forced upon us by industrialization and the information age. Their woes were, of course, far worse. Though there is dispute about where the first Thanksgiving was celebrated (most scholars say it was St. Augustine, Fla., in 1565 rather than Plymouth, Mass., in 1621) one thing is certain: Disease, hunger and a grueling physical environment were all realities in the days of the first Thanksgiving celebrations. They gave thanks in the midst of circumstances it is hard for us to imagine in modern day America. Fully half of the settlers in Plymouth died the first winter. Governor William Bradford’s young wife died before the ship even landed, by falling overboard. We give thanks because we got our turkey on special at Safeway, and Uncle Carl miraculously didn’t embarrass us this year. They gave thanks for not dying in the previous calendar year. Pretty heavy stuff.
It puts a lot of things in perspective to think of those few, first brave pioneers from Europe. While their motives and methods of colonizing North America are often questionable in the light of history, their courage and fortitude are not. Certainly, they knew hardships few of us could comprehend. Yet, in the midst of it all, they set aside time to honor and thank God for His provision.
It is hard to give thanks to God when we don’t see His goodness. Sometimes the providence of the Almighty seems much more an abstract concept than a reality. Yet, thankfulness should be a part of the very fabric of our beings, in spite of circumstance. The apostle Paul was an absolute model of this attitude. Few people had the laundry list of grievances that Paul did: shipwrecked, stoned, beaten, imprisoned. Yet his attitude throughout his writings is one of constant thanksgiving, even while in chains. He tells the church at Thessalonica:
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
Thankfulness in all circumstances is not intended to massage God’s ego. Rather, thankfulness is an attitude that ultimately benefits us. When we give thanks to God in the midst of hardships, we are reminded of certain incontrovertible truths: God is good, God is gracious and God has our best interests at heart. By keeping these truths in mind, our faith becomes stronger. We begin to have the resolve to trust God, and the outgrowth of that is a new sense of peace when trouble arrives. Moreover, it’s a tremendous example to the rest of the world. To give thanks and praise to God when things are going tremendously well in our lives doesn’t prove a lot to people outside the community of faith. But to show that same thankfulness when our world is falling apart, that’s an attitude that speaks multiplied volumes.
Thanksgiving should not be limited to one day a year, but let’s start there. Let’s resolve to spend this holiday in a true condition of thankfulness. Perhaps this year hasn’t lived up to your expectations. Perhaps it’s been your worst year. Maybe Thanksgiving is actually going to be a tremendously lonely time for you. In spite of all this, give thanks. Thank God for the fact that He gave you life, and that He intends to give it to you more abundantly. That may not always resemble what we have in mind, but it will always be what’s best.
Author: Fred Burrows
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Sunday November 23, 2008
In the church year, this Sunday is Christ the King Sunday. One idea that struck me from the article in the link is from Cyril of Alexandria, who stated that Christ's Kingship is not obtained by violence: "Christ has dominion over all creatures, a dominion not seized by violence nor usurped, but his by essence and by nature."
Christ the King Sunday always comes the last of the church year, the last Sunday before the beginning of Advent.
This Sunday is also the Sunday before Thanksgiving. We will attempt to incorporate both themes into our worship for this Sunday.
The worship bulletin is here.
Christ the King Sunday always comes the last of the church year, the last Sunday before the beginning of Advent.
This Sunday is also the Sunday before Thanksgiving. We will attempt to incorporate both themes into our worship for this Sunday.
The worship bulletin is here.
Computer transition is tough
My old Toshiba laptop that I bought in 2004 really started messing up a couple of weeks ago. The CPU ran at 100% all the time. It was hard to even run one program at a time, let alone more than one. Our network/computer guy worked on it and then I did, too, for a few days. It improved some, but not a lot. So, I bit the bullet and bought a new computer. It's another Toshiba laptop. I got it at Best Buy. It fit the criteria I was looking for: it is powerful and fast and was on clearance. (I'm cheap, OK). I told that story to explain my blogging absence of late. Not only did I have computer problems, but then I lost lots of time in setting up the new computer. Isn't that how it is? A new computer solves some problems, but then creates a whole set of new challenges. Fortunately, I'm almost done. All I've got to do is figure how to connect to the church MS Exchange server so I can get my email. All last week I ran both computers on my desk: one for my church email, one for everything else. I wonder if I looked really important?
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Download the Cornerstone CD!
http://www.digstation.com/ArtistAlbums.aspx?albumid=ALB000024378
Click this link to purchase and download songs from the Cornerstone CD (or the whole thing!).
Click this link to purchase and download songs from the Cornerstone CD (or the whole thing!).
Micah 6.8, part 3
For the past few weeks, we have been considering Micah 6.1-8 in The Refuge. This is an interesting and important passage of Scripture that asks and answers the question:"What does God want from us?". The first two parts of the answer are do justice and love kindness (chesed). The third part is "walk humbly with your God". What does this mean? I think we can state it simply like this: realize that God is God and you are not. To walk humbly with God means to recognize our place and God's place. We are not in control. We are not in control of the world. We are not in control of our lives. And we are certainly not in control of God.
It is easy for us to believe (unconsciously, almost--we would never admit to this) that the world revolves around us. But just as Galileo and Copernicus brought us to understand that the earth is not the center of the universe (or even our galaxy), so we need to come to the paradigm-shifting, earth-shaking understanding that we are not the center of the world. So often we behave and think like God is part of our world. The truth is that this is God's world, and we are only small parts in it.
Another way we need to walk humbly with God is to understand and admit the limitations of our understanding of God. It is our nature to think that we are right, that we understand properly, and that anyone who disagrees with us is wrong. But we need to disagree with us. We need to see that our concepts of God are just that: our concepts of God. God is bigger, and more complex, and more mysterious, and just MORE than we can ever conceive. In his book How (Not) to Speak of God, Peter Rollins describes a position he calls a/theism. This means that we are both theists (believers in God) and atheists (disbelievers in God). We believe in God, but we (at the same time) do not believe our own concepts of God. Another way to say that is we do not limit God to our understanding of God. We will try to explore this a little more Sunday morning.
Here is the worship bulletin.
It is easy for us to believe (unconsciously, almost--we would never admit to this) that the world revolves around us. But just as Galileo and Copernicus brought us to understand that the earth is not the center of the universe (or even our galaxy), so we need to come to the paradigm-shifting, earth-shaking understanding that we are not the center of the world. So often we behave and think like God is part of our world. The truth is that this is God's world, and we are only small parts in it.
Another way we need to walk humbly with God is to understand and admit the limitations of our understanding of God. It is our nature to think that we are right, that we understand properly, and that anyone who disagrees with us is wrong. But we need to disagree with us. We need to see that our concepts of God are just that: our concepts of God. God is bigger, and more complex, and more mysterious, and just MORE than we can ever conceive. In his book How (Not) to Speak of God, Peter Rollins describes a position he calls a/theism. This means that we are both theists (believers in God) and atheists (disbelievers in God). We believe in God, but we (at the same time) do not believe our own concepts of God. Another way to say that is we do not limit God to our understanding of God. We will try to explore this a little more Sunday morning.
Here is the worship bulletin.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Sunday November 2
This will be our annual All Saints/All Souls Observance. There is a difference between the two. All Saints Day is November 1 and commemorates (officially--in the Catholic church) all persons who have attained the status of saint. Some more prominent saints have their own feast days throughout the year, but All Saints Day especially honors those who do not. All Souls Day is on November 2 and is for the rest of us--departed ones who have not been officially designated saints by the Catholic Church. In this respect, it is sort of like Festivus (for the rest of us). So technically, all of the observances we do at Catalina (and probably all Protestant churches) is really All Souls, not All Saints (no matter what we call it or what day we celebrate it); since we do not venerate official Catholic saints on that day, we remember loved ones who have departed. However, since we Protestants believe that all believers are saints (see Romans 1.7, 8.27, 12.13, 15.25-31), I suppose we could call our observances All Saints Day.
This week's worship bulletin is here. There is an introduction to All Saints/All Souls Day there.
For this Sunday:
ALL SAINTS WORSHIP EXPERIENCE
We will offer several prayer stations during our worship service today. Instructions will be given. This type of experience may be new to you, but rest as-sured, there is no right way or wrong way to participate! Simply be open to God in all the experiences. There is no set order to go in, or any pressing need to visit all of the stations. Take your time. Pay attention to your soul. Remem-ber those who are gone. We will come together right before communion for a Remembrance of the Blessed Ones. This will be an opportunity for you to come to the front and speak the name of someone you want to remember. We will use the format “Blessed is (name of the person), who (say a few things about his/her life).” Then you will have the opportunity to light a candle in memory of that person on your way to seat.
This Sunday will also be communion Sunday.
A BLESSING FOR ALL SAINTS DAY
Maybe in this there has been a glimpse of the kingdom
A foretaste, a hint, a promise
Let it hold you and let it send you
So you will never be at peace
Until all are fed, until all know home, until all are free, until justice is done,
Until peace is the way, until grace is the law, until love is the rule,
Until God’s kingdom comes. Amen.
PICK UP YOUR GREEN CARD! There are some small green cards on the back round table that you can use to participate in the Ignatian Examen during All Saints season. Simply pause at the end of your day and reflect. For what moment was I least grateful? Record your answer and pray about that. For what moment was I most grateful? Record your answer and thank God. The card with instructions is online at http://catumc.org/files/ignatianexamenallone.pdf
Our All Saints prayers and liturgies are online here if you are interested.
May the grace and peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and forevermore. Amen.
This week's worship bulletin is here. There is an introduction to All Saints/All Souls Day there.
For this Sunday:
ALL SAINTS WORSHIP EXPERIENCE
We will offer several prayer stations during our worship service today. Instructions will be given. This type of experience may be new to you, but rest as-sured, there is no right way or wrong way to participate! Simply be open to God in all the experiences. There is no set order to go in, or any pressing need to visit all of the stations. Take your time. Pay attention to your soul. Remem-ber those who are gone. We will come together right before communion for a Remembrance of the Blessed Ones. This will be an opportunity for you to come to the front and speak the name of someone you want to remember. We will use the format “Blessed is (name of the person), who (say a few things about his/her life).” Then you will have the opportunity to light a candle in memory of that person on your way to seat.
This Sunday will also be communion Sunday.
A BLESSING FOR ALL SAINTS DAY
Maybe in this there has been a glimpse of the kingdom
A foretaste, a hint, a promise
Let it hold you and let it send you
So you will never be at peace
Until all are fed, until all know home, until all are free, until justice is done,
Until peace is the way, until grace is the law, until love is the rule,
Until God’s kingdom comes. Amen.
PICK UP YOUR GREEN CARD! There are some small green cards on the back round table that you can use to participate in the Ignatian Examen during All Saints season. Simply pause at the end of your day and reflect. For what moment was I least grateful? Record your answer and pray about that. For what moment was I most grateful? Record your answer and thank God. The card with instructions is online at http://catumc.org/files/ignatianexamenallone.pdf
Our All Saints prayers and liturgies are online here if you are interested.
May the grace and peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and forevermore. Amen.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
I'm with Jim Wallis
Over on Bart Campolo's blog, I found this article by Jim Wallis about his faith priorities which will guide his voting in the election. Good stuff. Read it even if (especially if?) you don't agree.
Ignatian Examen
We started a new spiritual practice this week in the Catalina youth group and in the Refuge: the Ignatian Examen. Download and print the page here and it will give you a form to use and instructions and introduction. The examen is a great way to reflect on your life. I think it is especially appropriate during this All Saints season.
U of A Band Day
Here is the schedule for U of A Band Day, this Saturday, November 1.
http://web.cfa.arizona.edu/uabands/pdf/BDSchedule08.pdf
Just so you don't have to read the whole thing, Sahuaro performs around 4:40pm.
http://web.cfa.arizona.edu/uabands/pdf/BDSchedule08.pdf
Just so you don't have to read the whole thing, Sahuaro performs around 4:40pm.
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