The Battle Rages On...Do You See It?

It is critical that we are able to see the activity of God in and around us. One of my favorite examples is that of the prophet Elisha and his servant in 2 Kings 6. Elisha is being hunted by the king of Syria, who is at war with Israel because Elisha has a God-given ability to forewarn the Israelites about the Syrian army’s every move. Overnight a Syrian force has surrounded the city where Elisha and his servant are staying. It would seem there is no escape. Early in the morning the servant got up to make breakfast and he realized they were surrounded by a great army. Terrified, the servant cried out, “Alas, master, what shall we do?” But Elisha saw something much different than what the servant saw and his response was not fear, but confidence in God. He told his servant, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (6:16). Can you imagine what the servant thought: “We don’t stand a chance! This old man is crazy!” Why the big difference in perception? Elisha saw the activity of God, while the servant only saw the activity of men. God is actively at work around us…do you see it? If we learn to walk with Him and we are willing to surrender our lives to His activity, we’ll recognize His activity and live with confidence and hope. The battle rages all around us, as Paul said in Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

Tamara Lowe

Sorry, I meant to post this in last Friday, but just found that I forgot to…I do not know who Tamara Lowe is, but I love her message!

It's All About Relationship!

I just attended a webinar that blessed me so much. It was on the topic of evangelism and of course it promoted a new book (that sounds interesting…I will let you know for sure after I’ve read it) called “Spiritual Conversations-Creating and Sustaining Them Without Being A Jerk” by Gary Rohrmayer. The title was intriguing because I have met several jerks on my spiritual journey over the years…you’ve probably met some too. Those people who have all the answers, even to the questions I don’t ask and they intend to force their answers (actually opinions) on me. Perhaps the most profound point made on the webinar was that evangelism has moved from a scripted monologue to a relational dialogue or relationship. Yes, how profound! We are relational beings. We thrive in relationships and we will generally degenerate in solitude (this is not to imply that a moment or two of solitude at my house is not a blessing!). I believe that is why God so longs to be in relationship with us…and wants us in relationship with others. Doesn’t it make sense that we would ‘do’ better evangelism (or almost everything) sharing with those who we are in relationship with rather than complete strangers?

Do We Worship?

I have wondered over the years, why is there so much fuss and concern in the church over issues such as politics, economics, and social justice... Don’t check out on me just yet, I am not saying this is bad…in fact I think we should be discussing these things, after all, while we are not of this world, we are certainly in it” (John 17:15-16). But my question is why do we (followers of Christ) fuss with these things and give relatively little attention to how we worship? Oh yeah, we'll argue about music and the worship time, liturgy and dress code…but that is not what I am speaking of. Jesus told the woman at the well in John 4:23-24, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." I don’t hear much conversation about worshiping God in spirit and in truth…about worship at all! About how to worship, or why to worship that way…why is that? Yet isn't our worship of God one of the most important things we do? One might draw the conclusion that we are less concerned with the One who governs the universe and eternity than with those whom we’ve elected to govern our society. If so, that’s a sad commentary on the state of the Church.

National Day of Prayer

May 6 will be the National Day of Prayer…that is unless some have their way. Judge Barbara Crabb, a federal judge in Wisconsin says the National Day of Prayer violates the constitutional ban on government-backed religion. She says its purpose “is to encourage all citizens to engage in prayer, an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function.” This is reported today on CNN.com (http://newsroom.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/16/can-prayer-be-unconstitutional/?iref=allsearch) First let me say we need to pray for Judge Crabb, secondly, let me say that with the state our country is in today, we better pray! My how the times have changed in just 25 years. Here’s a portion of a speech given by Ronald Reagan to the American people on February 6, 1986.

“To preserve our blessed land we must look to God…it is time to realize we need God more than He needs us…
Let us, young and old, join together, as did the First Continental Congress, in the first step, in humble heartfelt prayer. Let us do so for the love of God and His great goodness, in search of His guidance and the grace of repentance, in seeking His blessings, His peace, and the resting of His kind and holy hands on ourselves, our nation, our friends in the defense of freedom, and all mankind, now and always.
The time has come to turn to God and reassert our trust in Him for the healing of America…Our country is in need of and ready for a spiritual renewal."

All I would add is, Amen!

God Walks With Us!

For any of you facing conflict, anxiety, or stresses, I have good news. The good news is that scripture, tradition, the experience of the saints, and our own experience tell us that it is possible to face the unknown and even to face opposition without fear or defeat. To expect a life without struggle is unrealistic. However, it is realistic to expect God to walk with us and help us in living an authentic and joyful life as a Christian. To daily declare our love for God and neighbor, to give ourselves as fully as we can to God, and to ask for God’s help in living an authentic life of faith is to be prepared to meet any situation and all opposition. The powers of this world do not want to see their authority and control usurped by another, not even by God. Still, to practice a life of authentic discipleship is the answer…the only answer for victory. Once we have given all of life to God, we have absolutely nothing to lose. In fact, we have everything because God has us and is in us: "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world" 1 John 4:4.

Leadership Exposed!

I’ve been reading two books and a new study and all three on the same day focused on the topic of leadership. This is both pastoral and lay leadership in the church…the strengths and the weaknesses. In my frustration I’ve read repeatedly that church leaders need to be in relationship with God (I can hear your collective Duh!). I am sorry, but that is just not good enough, being in relationship with God is the qualification to be a church member, not a leader! We need more than that from people we expect to lead us…at least we do if we intend to go anywhere. I’ve shared this before, but Acts 6:3 gives us the Biblical qualifications of leadership in the fledgling church. “…select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom…” Now, I will admit we do a relatively good job of selecting people of good standing to lead in the church (with very few exceptions), but we by and large fail on the second and third points. Oh, we will find those who possess worldly wisdom, and that can be a desired attribute, but if they lack Godly wisdom we have failed. If our leaders are not full of the Spirit we have failed miserably! I think this applies to the local church leaders, it applies to district and conference leadership, it applies to denominational leadership: both clergy and lay leaders. What proof? Look around at the Church (whether UMC or another denomination or non-denomination). In America, the assessment is that the church is in decline…that’s an upper-management term that really means failing. At least one of the reasons the Church is failing is that our leadership are not of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom.

Our Mission Field

Oh my…has it really been nearly two weeks since I last posted? Well, since then I’ve experienced a tremendous Holy Week, a joyous Easter (both sunrise & regular services), been to the John Wesley Fellowship's Gathering on the Holy Spirit (and felt the presence of the Spirit in a powerful way!), and yesterday again found myself immersed in God’s love and grace. The Spirit was present with us at Beulah in the worship music, in the fellowship, at our groundbreaking for our new parsonage, and even at confirmation class (God does work in mysterious ways!). Now, just when I think things will settle down for a time and I can get back into a routine…we are racing towards summer church camp! Will it never end? Praise God, He provides the strength to accomplish His will. My prayer is that everything else will fall away. On a totally different note, some of us are attempting to “see” our community: that is to see who lives around us, who works here, what their needs are, both spiritual and physical. I would challenge you to slow down a bit and look around you. What is it you see? Who is it you see? Now, look again with God’s eyes…what do you really see? That is our mission field…the lost, the hurting, the defiant, the suffering…that is who God has called us to minister to.