As the world has grown more complicated,
I have grown more simple.
As the world trips and stumbles over its plans, policies and procedures,
I simply follow Jesus on the path of love.
As the world argues and complains,
I grow more silent.
As the world busies itself building monuments to itself,
I simply stand in awe of the beauty and majesty of sunrises and sunsets.
As the world clamors for money and power,
I pray for peace of mind, soul and spirit.
As the world rejects and denounces God,
I hide safely under the shadows of his wings
And walk with him in the cool of the day.
As the world grows bitter and lonely,
I enjoy his sweet Presence.
As the world wars with itself,
I walk in the peace that passes all understanding.
As the world grows dim,
I live enlightened by God.
As the world talks and says nothing,
I listen to God and receive wisdom.
As the world has grown more complicated,
I have grown more simple.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
OUT OF THE SILENCE
I keep returning to the concept of “out of the silence.” God can speak through anyone and any thing. But in the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:18-23, Jesus seems to indicate that well cultivated and good soil is where the seeds do their best. So I cultivate the soil of my soul; I lay the wood for the fire; I mend my nets for the catch. Pick a metaphor, it’s the work done before hand, the time and energy expended, and then the laying it all down, being still, and listening in the silence of my thoughts to God’s thoughts, that I will hear God speak best.
Maybe that is where the age factor comes in. I can’t remember yesterday’s events unless I’ve written them down. So in the morning everything is new. I knew it all when I was young. I could argue with the best of them. Now I can’t trust my mind. I must listen and depend upon God’s wisdom. My part is to make a hospitable place for the seed of God’s word to grow.
This makes a change in my work. Researching for answers becomes resonating with what is. The studying for information becomes sitting for inspiration. It’s looking beyond the work to hear the word of God that comes out of the silence. I don’t think that just applies to spiritual issues; it is more of a total lifestyle. Imagine a society that followed this pattern; or those who handle the world’s matters. If I saw everything I do in this light it certainly will create and produce good fruit in whatever I do.
As a writer I want that; as a person I want that. I want to live my entire life out of the silence. Cultivate what I can, plant what I want, and then wait…for the plant to bear fruit, the spark to light the fire, the net to gather the catch. Out of the silence is a lifestyle I choose to live.
Maybe that is where the age factor comes in. I can’t remember yesterday’s events unless I’ve written them down. So in the morning everything is new. I knew it all when I was young. I could argue with the best of them. Now I can’t trust my mind. I must listen and depend upon God’s wisdom. My part is to make a hospitable place for the seed of God’s word to grow.
This makes a change in my work. Researching for answers becomes resonating with what is. The studying for information becomes sitting for inspiration. It’s looking beyond the work to hear the word of God that comes out of the silence. I don’t think that just applies to spiritual issues; it is more of a total lifestyle. Imagine a society that followed this pattern; or those who handle the world’s matters. If I saw everything I do in this light it certainly will create and produce good fruit in whatever I do.
As a writer I want that; as a person I want that. I want to live my entire life out of the silence. Cultivate what I can, plant what I want, and then wait…for the plant to bear fruit, the spark to light the fire, the net to gather the catch. Out of the silence is a lifestyle I choose to live.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
MISSED MIRACLES
John 9
How many miracles do I miss by getting fixated on an issue and defending my
position on that issue; or by being angry because something happened to me; or by just not attending to a specific situation or my life in general? How many miracles do I miss?
The man in this story was born blind. Jesus heals him and he is able to see for the first time in his life. That immediately puts him in the middle of a controversy between the Pharisees, his parents, his neighbors, and Jesus. No one rejoiced that he could now see. Since he was a beggar no one cared about him at all, except Jesus. The disciples used him as a theological question. The Pharisees used him as one more sticking point to nab Jesus How many miracles do I miss by getting fixated on an issue and defending my with. Even his parents seemed unaffected by his new sight. Rather than being celebrated, he was cast out.
Jesus found the man. This time he offered him more than his physical sight. This time Jesus gave him eternal life. The man’s testimony was simple; “One thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
The disciples, the Pharisees, the people all around this man missed the miracle. The man wasn’t seeking, wasn’t schooled, and wasn’t sophisticated. He was simple. He was simple in his response to the Pharisees; “one thing I do know…” and he was simple in his response to Jesus; “And who is he that I might believe n him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” The man simply said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshipped him.
Prayer: Lord, keep me from being blind to the miracles you do all around me. Keep me simple in my vision and in my words. Amen
How many miracles do I miss by getting fixated on an issue and defending my
position on that issue; or by being angry because something happened to me; or by just not attending to a specific situation or my life in general? How many miracles do I miss?
The man in this story was born blind. Jesus heals him and he is able to see for the first time in his life. That immediately puts him in the middle of a controversy between the Pharisees, his parents, his neighbors, and Jesus. No one rejoiced that he could now see. Since he was a beggar no one cared about him at all, except Jesus. The disciples used him as a theological question. The Pharisees used him as one more sticking point to nab Jesus How many miracles do I miss by getting fixated on an issue and defending my with. Even his parents seemed unaffected by his new sight. Rather than being celebrated, he was cast out.
Jesus found the man. This time he offered him more than his physical sight. This time Jesus gave him eternal life. The man’s testimony was simple; “One thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
The disciples, the Pharisees, the people all around this man missed the miracle. The man wasn’t seeking, wasn’t schooled, and wasn’t sophisticated. He was simple. He was simple in his response to the Pharisees; “one thing I do know…” and he was simple in his response to Jesus; “And who is he that I might believe n him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” The man simply said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshipped him.
Prayer: Lord, keep me from being blind to the miracles you do all around me. Keep me simple in my vision and in my words. Amen
Saturday, October 15, 2011
GOD'S SEMINARY
There is a huge difference between knowing about God and actually experiencing God. A lot of people know about God. We study theology and argue and debate issues about God, but are we experiencing God? Is the knowledge going from the mind to the heart? This to me is what worship should be. Not just more words or more information but inspiration. It is in worship that we should experience God, sit in his Presence and feel his love and acceptance. This is the “only one thing needed” in the story of Mary & Martha. Martha was busy serving Jesus while Mary was experiencing Jesus.
We have seen this tension before. “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you. Away from me you evil doers!” (Matthew7:15-23) Again in Matthew 25:1-13, “Later the others also came. Sir! Sir! Open the door for us! But he replied, I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.” And again in Luke 13:22-27, “Sir open the door for us.” But he will answer, “I don’t know you or where you came from.” Then we will say, “We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.” But he will reply, “I don’t know you or where you came from. Away from me all you evil doers.” These are very sobering verses. People who thought they were believers (Christians) because of what they did or knew about Jesus, about God, are now being told by him that he never KNEW them. There was no connection, no relationship, just knowledge and a theology about God.
God doesn’t want worker bees, people running around aimlessly doing things “in his name” for him. God wants a relationship with his people. He wants us to know him and plant his will in our hearts. Right relationship starts in silence and emptiness, not fullness and lifeless facts. God calls us into relationship with him, to be quiet before we speak, to know him before we speak of him and for him. Moses and John the Baptist prepared for their ministry in the quiet barrenness of the desert. Jesus followed in their footsteps in the sand of the desert before starting his ministry and then went out and called his disciples to “come and see,” to be with him for awhile, to learn of him, and walk with him before going out on their own. This is God’s seminary.
We have seen this tension before. “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you. Away from me you evil doers!” (Matthew7:15-23) Again in Matthew 25:1-13, “Later the others also came. Sir! Sir! Open the door for us! But he replied, I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.” And again in Luke 13:22-27, “Sir open the door for us.” But he will answer, “I don’t know you or where you came from.” Then we will say, “We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.” But he will reply, “I don’t know you or where you came from. Away from me all you evil doers.” These are very sobering verses. People who thought they were believers (Christians) because of what they did or knew about Jesus, about God, are now being told by him that he never KNEW them. There was no connection, no relationship, just knowledge and a theology about God.
God doesn’t want worker bees, people running around aimlessly doing things “in his name” for him. God wants a relationship with his people. He wants us to know him and plant his will in our hearts. Right relationship starts in silence and emptiness, not fullness and lifeless facts. God calls us into relationship with him, to be quiet before we speak, to know him before we speak of him and for him. Moses and John the Baptist prepared for their ministry in the quiet barrenness of the desert. Jesus followed in their footsteps in the sand of the desert before starting his ministry and then went out and called his disciples to “come and see,” to be with him for awhile, to learn of him, and walk with him before going out on their own. This is God’s seminary.
Friday, October 14, 2011
ATTENDING TO THE SOUL
Cultivation takes a long time. I see how many years it has taken me to add and subtract things from my life to make it more in alignment with what it was created to be. It just doesn’t happen overnight. It all has been work and that takes time. People are so hurried these days. Being busy is a goal some people set for themselves. It matters little what one is busy at…just so one is busy doing something. I am not like that and I’m not sure I ever have been. I like process and enjoy the time that process takes. Being fallow is often just as important as being fruitful. While I live with intention, I don’t live driven. I make time for what is important and to me that is simply being available to the moment at hand. It’s strange to watch people make themselves busy and then complain about how busy they are…as if there is some award to be won by being busy or some guilt erased because we are too busy to do something we know we should do. God never seems driven or rushed and he certainly does more than anyone else I know. He works in time and in season.
I feel very productive at times, but it has very little to do with what I was doing. It had more to do with my BEING. When I am cloistered with God, people respond to the love that pours out of me through no effort of my own. It is truly God in me. I feel easy and that is what people respond to. I have heard about being an empty vessel and at times I experience it. It is nothing I can manufacture, or even be trained in. It is simply tending the soil of my soul and planting the right seeds and allowing God to work it all through.
God is in the details, not just the end product. He isn’t driven by profit or production deadlines. He’s a process intender. How things get done is as important as getting things done. My times are in his hands. That is my sense of security and peace. That is the peace of attending to what needs to be attended to.
I feel very productive at times, but it has very little to do with what I was doing. It had more to do with my BEING. When I am cloistered with God, people respond to the love that pours out of me through no effort of my own. It is truly God in me. I feel easy and that is what people respond to. I have heard about being an empty vessel and at times I experience it. It is nothing I can manufacture, or even be trained in. It is simply tending the soil of my soul and planting the right seeds and allowing God to work it all through.
God is in the details, not just the end product. He isn’t driven by profit or production deadlines. He’s a process intender. How things get done is as important as getting things done. My times are in his hands. That is my sense of security and peace. That is the peace of attending to what needs to be attended to.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
FRUITFUL LIVES COME FROM WELL CULTIVATED SOULS
I want my life and my work to be rooted in good soil; soil rich and healthy and energized by the Holy Spirit. I don’t just want good ideas or quaint fads. I want conformity, not with the world but with the will and mind of God. That comes from being intentional, in my thinking and in my living. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)
I am convinced that the energy behind ruling this world’s system has an agenda. That energy requires conformity and fights to get it. That energy’s intention is to draw people away from God. The enemy is deceptive because he makes it look like the power is given to the people; but it isn’t. “Again, the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Be gone Satan.’
The energy behind this world’s system is Satan but the power is God’s. What we are lacking today is people to say “Be gone Satan.” The church is too busy doing other things or fighting amongst themselves. The only voices being heard are saying to get more power and control, voices that come up empty, with nothing backing them up. That is not the soil I want to cultivate my life in, nor do I want to even work with.
Fruitful lives and work come from well treated and well cultivated soil that is subject to God’s will, has the interest and mind of Jesus, is filled with the Truth, energized by the Holy Spirit, interwoven through with love and mercy, and fully composted with obedience. That soil will be good soil and will produce a healthy and sustainable crop. Those nutrients are not found on most TV, in most media, or on the lips of many of those who are in positions of leadership in the world.
The energy behind this world’s system has caused us to question God (“Did God actually say” (Genesis 3:1) and has encouraged us to act on our own understanding (“Come let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves” (Genesis 11:4). We do not learn from our history of mistakes and we continue to listen to the one who has no true power or control.
“My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” (Jeremiah 2:13)
I do not want to continue that pattern. As it says in a hymn by C.M. Windsor
“Lord as to thy dear cross I flee,
And plead to be forgiven,
So let thy life my pattern be,
And form my soul for heaven.”
I am convinced that the energy behind ruling this world’s system has an agenda. That energy requires conformity and fights to get it. That energy’s intention is to draw people away from God. The enemy is deceptive because he makes it look like the power is given to the people; but it isn’t. “Again, the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Be gone Satan.’
The energy behind this world’s system is Satan but the power is God’s. What we are lacking today is people to say “Be gone Satan.” The church is too busy doing other things or fighting amongst themselves. The only voices being heard are saying to get more power and control, voices that come up empty, with nothing backing them up. That is not the soil I want to cultivate my life in, nor do I want to even work with.
Fruitful lives and work come from well treated and well cultivated soil that is subject to God’s will, has the interest and mind of Jesus, is filled with the Truth, energized by the Holy Spirit, interwoven through with love and mercy, and fully composted with obedience. That soil will be good soil and will produce a healthy and sustainable crop. Those nutrients are not found on most TV, in most media, or on the lips of many of those who are in positions of leadership in the world.
The energy behind this world’s system has caused us to question God (“Did God actually say” (Genesis 3:1) and has encouraged us to act on our own understanding (“Come let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves” (Genesis 11:4). We do not learn from our history of mistakes and we continue to listen to the one who has no true power or control.
“My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” (Jeremiah 2:13)
I do not want to continue that pattern. As it says in a hymn by C.M. Windsor
“Lord as to thy dear cross I flee,
And plead to be forgiven,
So let thy life my pattern be,
And form my soul for heaven.”
NO DIMINISHED RETURNS
It makes me sad to walk into a bookstore and see the Bargain Book table. There, for $2.00 to $5.00, are the results of someone’s time and life energy that at one time sold for regular price. Diminishing returns to be sure. I have always wanted to write a book and see it displayed on the “Just Arrived” shelf, there in big, bold print for someone to buy and hopefully appreciate my time and energy to say something important and meaningful to them. But I wonder if that is still my dream when I see the Bargain Book table.
You will not find my book on either the Just Arrived shelf or the Bargain Book table. You will find my book in my storage unit, safely packed away in boxes to be completed at another time. My dream world of being a writer was safely packed away in my mind as I participated in the real life that most of us live in; a life busy with responsibilities and duties that living in these times seem to drag us into. Family, home and work aren’t necessarily bad things but they often take precedence over our dreams of the life we’d rather be living.
The thing that always intruded and took over my illusive life as a writer was my work and my ministry. My work had always been with people, either as a camp director, a teacher, a counselor, or a church leader. Working with souls of others takes all the time and energy one has. There is very little space left for the great book to be written.
But then I reflect on those people who intruded in on my writing time and absorbed all my creative energy. One is a psychologist helping people become whole. One is a college professor who is enhancing the minds of business students who will be a positive power in the future world I live in. Several are environmental scientists working hard to help us survive on this earth and sustaining that survival for generations to come. A couple are ministers in the church truly working with the souls of the people in their care. There are a few lawyers, a camp director and yes, even a writer or two.
This expenditure of my time and life energy will not end up on any Bargain Book table. No diminishing returns here. Just full blooming trees and fruits developed from seeds that I have knowingly and unknowingly sown over the many years of my life. It seems that all books eventually end up on Bargain or For Free tables or on dusty bookshelves somewhere. But seeds grow into living, creative things that constantly contribute energy.
Someday I may walk into a bookstore and see my book on the Just Arrived shelf or even on the New York Times top ten list. But for now I’ll just enjoy the better world that is being made by those inspiring intrusions of mine.
You will not find my book on either the Just Arrived shelf or the Bargain Book table. You will find my book in my storage unit, safely packed away in boxes to be completed at another time. My dream world of being a writer was safely packed away in my mind as I participated in the real life that most of us live in; a life busy with responsibilities and duties that living in these times seem to drag us into. Family, home and work aren’t necessarily bad things but they often take precedence over our dreams of the life we’d rather be living.
The thing that always intruded and took over my illusive life as a writer was my work and my ministry. My work had always been with people, either as a camp director, a teacher, a counselor, or a church leader. Working with souls of others takes all the time and energy one has. There is very little space left for the great book to be written.
But then I reflect on those people who intruded in on my writing time and absorbed all my creative energy. One is a psychologist helping people become whole. One is a college professor who is enhancing the minds of business students who will be a positive power in the future world I live in. Several are environmental scientists working hard to help us survive on this earth and sustaining that survival for generations to come. A couple are ministers in the church truly working with the souls of the people in their care. There are a few lawyers, a camp director and yes, even a writer or two.
This expenditure of my time and life energy will not end up on any Bargain Book table. No diminishing returns here. Just full blooming trees and fruits developed from seeds that I have knowingly and unknowingly sown over the many years of my life. It seems that all books eventually end up on Bargain or For Free tables or on dusty bookshelves somewhere. But seeds grow into living, creative things that constantly contribute energy.
Someday I may walk into a bookstore and see my book on the Just Arrived shelf or even on the New York Times top ten list. But for now I’ll just enjoy the better world that is being made by those inspiring intrusions of mine.
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