Talking to God Without Words

The God of the Bible is a relational God. He is a communicative Being. From the Garden of Eden in Genesis to the very last words of the Book of Revelation, God interacts and communicates to His people. God walked with Adam in the cool of the day. He spoke to Abraham in a vision. Jacob encountered God in a late night wrestling match and God spoke to Joseph through dreams. For Moses, a burning bush, lightening, earthquakes, clouds, fire, tablets and snakes all became God’s instruments of communication. God spoke to Balaam through a donkey and to Peter through a rooster. Elijah found God as a gentle whisper in sheer silence and David as he lifted his voice in song. Jeremiah understood God through an almond tree. Isaiah saw a vision of heaven and a coal touching his mouth, while Daniel simply received a message from God as a mental picture. At other times, God got creative and imaginative. For over a year, the prophet Ezekiel laid on his side as a message from God to the people of Israel. On another occasion, Ezekiel took a clay tablet, drew on it and then destroyed it in front of the people and simply said, “Yup, that’s what God says…” Another prophet, Hosea’s, very life circumstances became a prophetic parable, a dramatic representation of the heart of God for His people. Scripture says that God also had some prophets say nothing verbally, rather they acted out God’s message like a mime. (You may have to dig a little to find that one). Jesus Himself used seeds, birds, flowers, children, kings, fish, nets, coins, hillsides and stories to communicate to the people of God. Jesus very life was a 4D display of God in the flesh (see John 1:1, 14, 18).

How did God communicate to humanity throughout Scripture? He utilized every possible means.

Think about it.

Discovering Who I Am

 “Who Am I…?”

This is the age-old question. Throughout the ages, philosophers, theologians, poets, psychologists, even historians have all made attempts to answer this question. Interestingly, of all the creatures of creation, humans are the only one’s who say, “Who Am I…?” The very one’s who were created with the greatest significance in the image of God seem to somewhere along the way have forgotten who they are. Henri Nouwen, in the book Spiritual Direction, points out that many of us are now prone to answer this question and define ourselves in one or more of the following ways.

I am what I do…

“I am what I do.” When I do good things and have a little success in life, I feel good about myself. But when I fail, I start getting depressed. To define yourself based on what you do is to live on an emotional and spiritual roller coaster. Isn’t this largely what one is doing when they experience what is commonly called a midlife crisis? They reach an age or season in life and they look around while asking themselves, “what have I done with my life…?” Then, based on what we’ve perceive we’ve done, we calculate how we’re doing. Our evaluations are often nothing more than the byproduct of how we faired when we compared what we’ve “done” to our peers and those around us.

As we get older and our body begins to deteriorate, rendering us unable to physically do much, all we’ll be able to say is, “Look at what I did in my life… look, look, look, look, I did something good…” Our value, worth, significance and identity will be nothing more than a distant memory and perhaps a faded plaque on the wall.

I am what other people say about me…

Another way we are prone to define ourselves is, “I am what other people say about me.” This is tricky and often subconscious. But, we have to admit, we often expend a tremendous about of head-space worrying (or at least thinking and imagining) what other people are saying about us (or at least what they think about us). Further, they don’t even have to say it or actually think it, but if we think they think it – it can control us just the same. Often, it’s not so much what other people think about you that is the problem; it’s what YOU THINK – THEY THINK.

Don’t be mistaken; what people say about you has great power. When people speak well of you, you can walk around quite freely. But when somebody starts saying negative things about you, you might start feeling sad. When someone talks against you, it can cut deep into your heart.

I am what I have…

Or, we might say, “I am what I have.” There’s a human tendency to let our things and our stuff determine our identity. The square footage of our homes, to the model of our cars, to the little designs on our hip pockets can all subconsciously serve as the building blocks of how we define ourselves in the eyes of others.

How much energy goes into defining yourself by deciding “I am what I do,” “I am what others say about me,” or “I am what I have”?

You are not, fundamentally, what you do, what other people say about you, or what you have. You are loved by God.

In the book, A Traveler Toward the Dawn, John Eagan describes an encounter he has with his spiritual director on the sixth day on his annual, silent eight-day retreat, “John, the heart of it is this:  to make the Lord and his immense love for you constitutive of your personal worth.  Define yourself radically as one beloved by God.  God’s love for you and his choice of you constitutive your worth.  Accept that, and let it become the most important thing in your life.”

“Who am I?” 
“I am one loved by Christ.”
-Thomas Merton

Consider the first human, Adam. God created Adam for the very purpose of finding pleasure in his union with the Creator of the universe.  Before Adam was given any assignment, role or responsibility, he was put in a place conducive for intimacy with the Almighty.  Scripture says,

“The LORD God took Adam and placed him in the garden of Eden.”  
(Genesis 2:15)

The Lord God took Adam and put him in the garden of Eden. The word “garden” used here means, “a place of enclosure.” The word “Eden” means, “delight or pleasure.” In other words, Adam was enclosed in the place of God’s pleasure and delight. God always surrounds those in whom He takes pleasure and finds delight. This is how the first human defined himself. His identity was not based on what he did, what other humans thought, or what he had. It was based solely on what God said. And, God said, “You are loved.” If we were to rewrite Genesis 2:15 with this expanded understanding, perhaps it would look like this:

Keepers of the Stream

There was once a town high in the Alps that straddled the banks of a beautiful stream. The stream was fed by springs that were old as the earth and deep as the sea.

The water was clear like crystal. Children laughed and played beside it; swans and geese swam in it. You could see rocks and sand and rainbow trout that swarmed at the bottom of the stream.

High in the hills, far beyond anyone’s sight, lived an old man who served as Keeper of the Springs. He had been hired so long ago that now no one could remember a time when he wasn’t there. He would travel from one spring to another in the hills, removing branches or fallen leaves or debris that might pollute the water. But his work was unseen.

Discovering Who I Am

“Who Am I…?”

This is the age-old question. Throughout the ages, philosophers, theologians, poets, psychologists, even historians have all made attempts to answer this question. Interestingly, of all the creatures of creation, humans are the only one’s who say, “Who Am I…?” The very one’s who were created with the greatest significance in the image of God seem to somewhere along the way have forgotten who they are. Henri Nouwen, in the book Spiritual Direction, points out that many of us are now prone to answer this question and define ourselves in one or more of the following ways.

I am what I do...

“I am what I do.” When I do good things and have a little success in life, I feel good about myself. But when I fail, I start getting depressed. To define yourself based on what you do is to live on an emotional and spiritual roller coaster. Isn’t this largely what one is doing when they experience what is commonly called a midlife crisis? They reach an age or season in life and they look around while asking themselves, “what have I done with my life…?” Then, based on what we’ve perceive we’ve done, we calculate how we’re doing. Our evaluations are often nothing more than the byproduct of how we faired when we compared what we’ve “done” to our peers and those around us.

As we get older and our body begins to deteriorate, rendering us unable to physically do much, all we’ll be able to say is, “Look at what I did in my life… look, look, look, look, I did something good…” Our value, worth, significance and identity will be nothing more than a distant memory and perhaps a faded plaque on the wall.

I am what other people say about me...

Another way we are prone to define ourselves is, “I am what other people say about me.” This is tricky and often subconscious. But, we have to admit, we often expend a tremendous about of head-space worrying (or at least thinking and imagining) what other people are saying about us (or at least what they think about us). Further, they don’t even have to say it or actually think it, but if we think they think it – it can control us just the same. Often, it’s not so much what other people think about you that is the problem; it’s what YOU THINK – THEY THINK.

Don’t be mistaken; what people say about you has great power. When people speak well of you, you can walk around quite freely. But when somebody starts saying negative things about you, you might start feeling sad. When someone talks against you, it can cut deep into your heart.

I am what I have...

Or, we might say, “I am what I have.” There’s a human tendency to let our things and our stuff determine our identity. The square footage of our homes, to the model of our cars, to the little designs on our hip pockets can all subconsciously serve as the building blocks of how we define ourselves in the eyes of others.

How much energy goes into defining yourself by deciding “I am what I do,” “I am what others say about me,” or “I am what I have”?

You are not, fundamentally, what you do, what other people say about you, or what you have. You are loved by God.

In the book, A Traveler Toward the Dawn, John Eagan describes an encounter he has with his spiritual director on the sixth day on his annual, silent eight-day retreat, “John, the heart of it is this:  to make the Lord and his immense love for you constitutive of your personal worth.  Define yourself radically as one beloved by God.  God’s love for you and his choice of you constitutive your worth.  Accept that, and let it become the most important thing in your life.”

“Who am I?”
“I am one loved by Christ.” 
-Thomas Merton

Consider the first human, Adam. God created Adam for the very purpose of finding pleasure in his union with the Creator of the universe.  Before Adam was given any assignment, role or responsibility, he was put in a place conducive for intimacy with the Almighty.  Scripture says,

“The LORD God took Adam
and placed him in the garden of Eden.” 
-Genesis 2:15

The Lord God took Adam and put him in the garden of Eden. The word “garden” used here means, “a place of enclosure.” The word “Eden” means, “delight or pleasure.” In other words, Adam was enclosed in the place of God’s pleasure and delight. God always surrounds those in whom He takes pleasure and finds delight. This is how the first human defined himself. His identity was not based on what he did, what other humans thought, or what he had. It was based solely on what God said. And, God said, “You are loved.” If we were to rewrite Genesis 2:15 with this expanded understanding, perhaps it would look like this:

Now the LORD took the human that He had intimately formed and put him in a place surrounded and enclosed with the reality of God's pleasure and delight.  –Genesis 2:15 rewrite

This original common-union is one of the most vivid pictures of love.  Love, was to be the primary expression of Adam’s existence. Out of this love, Adam would “work and take care of” the garden. Adam was not defined by his work, responsibility, status or position in creation; rather he was defined by the reality of God’s love. He didn’t work to earn God’s approval. He didn’t strive to acquire God’s love. He was loved. All of his life and relationships were to flow out of this central truth. And, so it is for us. “You are God’s beloved child, in whom He is well pleased.”

I AM THE BELOVED...

Ephesians 3:18-20 // REWRITE

The following is a rewrite of Paul's prayer found in Ephesians 3:18-20.

"May have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us..." -Ephesians 3:18-20 NIV

REWRITE

You are not alone. You are a part of an eternal community of Christ followers – God’s very people. As you journey together, may you have the ability to comprehend and grasp with your whole being the love of Christ. His love, that stretches wide beyond geographical regions, ethnicity and race. That love, that runs long through the story of history itself, from eternity to eternity. The love, that extends toward the very throne of God, raising us up to sit with Him; forgiven, healed, restored, joint-heirs with Christ, who have been made alive with the same Spirit that raised Him from the clutches of Death, Hell, and the Grave. His love that reached downward into the mire of human depravity, taking on the very nature of humanity, stained by sin, stricken with the very punishment that belonged to us. May this love, become deeply lodged in the very core of your being, until it changes how you see everything (God, others, even yourself).

No longer shall you be satisfied merely making castles in the sand or paddling around in the shallowness of the shoreline. Rather, may you be drawn further and further out, deeper and deeper in, until you are completely consumed by His love. May you experientially know that which is beyond human rhetoric and comprehension.

Don’t be mistaken! You haven’t seen the least of it yet. Just when you think you’ve got a hold on His love, you’re swept still further out and further out beyond that. God is able to do anything, exponentially more than we can ask, think or imagine, according to His power that is presently at work within us…

Recalling Prophecies

Timothy, MY SON,  I am giving you this COMMAND
in keeping with the PROPHECIES once made about you,
so that by RECALLING THEM
YOU MAY FIGHT THE BATTLE WELL -1 Timothy 1:18

God has a plan for each of us. At times in life, we are blessed by interacting with other followers of Christ who have an intuitive sense into what God is doing in one's life, even at discerning the special grace(s) God has imparted to a person. Elements of one's giftings, calling, etc. These words, messages and insights, when shared at a timely season, in a God honoring way, have tremendous power to direct one's course in God.

Along our journey in this world there are many things that can serve to distract and derail us from God's preferred path for our lives. Relationships, busyness, pressing needs, even forces of darkness can rally to twart our way.

At other times, discouragement and apathy settle in on our souls like a fog on a spring morning. Subtly it settles, barely noticable at first, and then before one knows it, they find themselves unable to see ten-feet ahead. Likewise, discouragement and apathy, slowly, yet steady settle in on our souls, until without nearly noticing, we are surrounded, clouded, stagnant and lacking in any sense of motivation and direction.

Timothy, as a young man, seemed to face his share of discouragement and opposition in life and ministry. Paul "urges" him to "recall" those things that had been spoken over his life prior to the fog settling.

To "recall" these prophecies, and by them, "fight the battle well." God's perspective, often found not only in His written Word, but the very words at time spoken to us by God, through others.

Over the years, there have been various influential people in my life, who at times, have spoken a timely word into and over my life. Words, that I knew were from God. Words, that either resonated with something God Himself had spoken to me or perhaps a word confirming something someone else had spoken. Regardless, there was power in these words - they brought life to something deep within.

I've kept many of these words written down on pieces of paper. At times, like Paul's instructions to Timothy, I've found it helpful to go back to those pieces of paper and simply re-read, remember and reflect on these messages. And, it is during those discouraging seasons of the soul, that these words have the potential to strengthen us, to cause something to rise up within us, to enable us to "fight the battle well."

• Have you ever experienced someone speaking a word like this to/over you?
  
  
  
• Do you have people in your life like this? People who can give perspective and insight into life, especially during the difficult seasons of the soul?

• Are there things that you have sensed God has spoken to you? Things, that in times of discouragement or misdirection could be "recalled" to help you "fight the battle well"…?

"Like golden apples set in silver is a word spoken at the right time."
-Proverbs 25:11

"A person finds joy in giving an apt reply-- and how good is a timely word!"
-Proverbs 15:23

"Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets

so that a herald may run with." 

-Habakkuk 2:2

Nannie Dairies :: Learning to Hum

Growing up, I spent quite a bit of time at my grand parents. They owned a small farm in North Carolina. My grandmother, affectionately known as “Nannie,” lived to be nearly ninety-six years old. She was blessed to maintain her mental capacities and relatively good health all the way up until the end of her life, which spanned over the course of nearly a whole century.

Since she was a little girl, she loved God with all her heart and endeavored to follow the ways of Christ in every area of her life. She was an amazing woman of faith.

One of my earliest childhood memories of Nannie is that of her humming. Humming while doing the dishes. Humming when snapping peas just picked from the garden.  Even while cleaning floors or toilets, regardless of the task, she could always be found humming.

As a child, to me this humming seemed like nothing more than background noise. I was unaware of what was going on. I was Unconscious to the realities at hand, as I was too consumed with my childhood pursuits of fun and games to notice and too naive to understand fully what these sounds meant. Yet these sounds, the sound of Nannie’s humming still echoes in my ears to this day!

During my twenty’s, during a visit home from college, it dawned on me that Nannie wasn’t just humming – she was singing. And, she wasn’t merely singing – these were songs. And, not just any songs – these were hymns. She was worshipping God…continuously.

It wouldn’t be for another ten or fifteen years before I would more fully realize and appreciate the rare quality this was to be found in a human. It wouldn’t be until I found myself surround by long work days, pressing needs and the necessities of life, not to mention three young children, who at times demonstrate more frequent fits of frenzy and sibling rivalry than the do the harmonious joy filled love shared among brother and sisters.

Moments and seasons to which one (present company particularly) would be more prone to sigh in exhaustion, rather than sing. Moments where the humming has long since digressed into mutterings about simply “getting along.”

It has been in moments like these, that I hear the echoes of Nannie’s humming rise up within my soul. Echoes of a woman, who had long since learned to rise above the challenges of life. In times like these, as the Psalm 78:7 says, she becomes “my example.”

A life that demonstrated the embodiment of the seemingly inconceivable admonitions of found in Scripture. Scriptures like Colossians 4:2, where the Apostle Paul exhorts us to “pray continuously.” Or, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19, where it commends us to “always be joyful. Never stop praying. And be thankful in all circumstances.” Or, as Colossians 3:16 instructs us, to “sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.”

These are Scriptures that can seem impossible at times to live. Yet, I know they are, because I’ve seen them lived. And, Nannie was my example.

When I grow up, I want to be like Nannie…

 “You have been my strength and protection.
That is why I can never stop praising you;
I declare your glory all day long.
(Psalm 71:7-9)

Action:

As you find yourself doing a seemingly menial task like taking out the trash, cleaning the house, mowing the grass or driving around town, begin utilizing these moments to intentionally worship God. Hum a song. Sing a hymn. Or, simply make up a sonnet from your heart to God. As with anything, the more we do this, the easier it will become and the more natural songs will flow. And, perhaps one day we’ll find ourselves just like Nannie – simply worshiping God all day long…

Daddies Home

Have you ever noticed how excitable children can be? 

How quick they are to celebrate the seemingly mundane moments of life? 

Nearly ever afternoon, joy-filled squeals erupt within my house, as I pull into the driveway. “DADDY’S HOME!” The point here isn’t my royal greatness in the kingdom of fatherhood, rather the ability of a child to become instantly ecstatic with celebration. But it isn’t just my arrival, it’s moms, sunny days, bike rides in the park, even apple sauce. A child’s capacity to celebrate the smallest moments of life is limitless.

It seems the older and more mature we become, our capacity to celebrate the seemingly small and mundane moments of life diminishes tremendously. Is it that we’re becoming smarter and wiser or duller and numb? In our sophistication we can discern numerous reasons to help deflate the enthusiasm and excitement out of just about anything or anyone.

“Because children have abounding vitality,” writes G.K. Chesterton in his outstanding work Orthodoxy, “because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, ‘Do it again’; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, ‘Do it again’ to the sun; and every evening, ‘Do it again’ to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never gotten tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy.” He concludes with the penetrating thought, “for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.”

Lately, I’ve been reflecting about how I can cultivate more of these childlike (or should I say Godlike) qualities in my own life. The following are a few small things that are helping me to move in this direction:

1. Live Today

Many seem to live with the illusion that joy will come someday when their current circumstances change. Days spent daydreaming about how much better things will be when they get married, have children, get rid of their children, get grandchildren, etc. Others get lost in the events of yesterday, replaying them as they could’ve been, would’ve been, should’ve been. The only day we can live in is the this one – the one called today. The Psalmist declared, “This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Ps. 118:24)

2. Smile

This is simple, yet profoundly practical. Here’s an experiment you can do right now. Stop reading, smile while counting to five. Scientists tell us that the mere act of smiling, actually releases endorphins (natural anti-depressants) in our bodies, causing feelings of happiness and joy to emerge. What would happen if at every stoplight, while you waited (patiently) you smiled? At the very least, we wouldn’t be so quick to jump on the horn when the person in front of us is a little slow in punching the gas-on-green.  However, I imagine we may actually being to see things from a more joy-filled perspective.

Smiling faces make you happy,

 and good news makes you feel better.

(Proverbs 15:30 GNT)

3. Designated Times of Fun

There are days when I come home, perhaps during a particularly busy or stressful week and declare “Family Fun Night.” Whereupon, all three kids begin to jump up and down chanting “Family fun night! Family fun night!” Our destination may be a restaurant, putt-putt, a play-scape or a yogurt shop. The point isn’t the place; it’s the posture and attitude. It’s a time of intentional connecting and celebration. The only stipulation is that all cell phones stay at home or in the car. After all, it’s impossible to be present with the family if my mind, eyes and thumbs are captured by the clutches of Facebook updates and such.

4. Be intentionally Grateful

If we’re not careful, we can all become full-time professional critics. We can spend our days seeing everything that’s wrong with everything, while remaining crippled in our ability to see the good, the beautiful and the divine that is often present in the mundane.

Have you ever noticed that the more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate. What is there in your life worth celebrating? What are you grateful for? What if, before you went to sleep tonight, you simply began to tell God what you are thankful for?

Every good and perfect gift is from above, 
coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights. 
–James 1:17

When we celebrate, John Ortberg writes, “we exercise our ability to see and feel goodness in the simplest gifts of God. We are able to take delight today in something we wouldn’t have even noticed yesterday.” Intentional celebration and gratitude increases our capacity for joy.

5. Dance Like No One is Watching

Have you ever noticed how often the thing that prevents us from experiencing joy is our preoccupation with ourselves? There’s a direct correlation between my willingness to pour myself out for the joy of others and my ability to notice and celebrate the multitude of small gifts God offers each day. Boredom, writes Walker Percy, “is the self stuffed with the self.”

When children become excited, they dance. When was the last time you danced? I don’t mean went to a club and danced. I mean, danced for joy? Did you know that the God of Scripture dances? The bible tells us that God dances over His people with singing. What would it look like for you to join Him? Here’s a suggestion: when at home, crank up some music and dance before God – as if no one was watching. If you are married and have children, you may even want to invite you to join you. If you struggle with this, I’ve found that it sometimes helps to put a pair of shorts on my head. Just don’t forget to smile.

  

To miss out on joy is to miss out on the reason for your existence.

Lewis Smedes

Joy is the serious business of heaven.
–C.S. Lewis

Every Life Has a Story...

What would it look like if we approached each person we encountered as if they possessed a story...?

Through the Bible...

I need a change.

Something fresh.

This pretty well summarized my thoughts as I began to reflect on various spiritual practices that I would engage going into 2012.

Over the years, there have been various ways of engaging Scripture that I've found helpful. For the past several years, I've targeted specific books of the Bible and/or passages to explore, ruminate and study. This year, the desire began to grow to read through the complete Bible from the beginning.

This type of reading plan has often frustrated me, given that I tend to prefer a slower more contemplative reading of Scripture. That being said, this year I'm hoping to be able to accomplish both.

As I'm reading through each day, I am looking for those moments where it seems most needed to slow down, pause and prayerfully reflect and journal about what's there. I'm super excited about the new discoveries that will be found this year...

Two new items that I'm really excited about: The Mosaic Bible and Glo Bible.

I was looking for a new Bible to work through. I didn't want a study Bible, yet I was looking for something that would offer something fresh to my weekly reflections. I came across the Mosaic Bible which does just that. At the front it has weekly reflections-meditations that coincide with the Christian calendar.

The following is a brief explanation by Tyndale:

Holy Bible: Mosaic is about helping you encounter Christ in a deep and authentic way, through insight from every continent and century of the Christian Church. Historical and contemporary art and writings from across the globe offer a depth of Scriptural wisdom and understanding as you read and reflect on God’s word.

Mosaic is arranged so that every week has variety of content for reading and reflection. Each week follows a theme appropriate to the Church season (such as Advent, Easter, etc). The content included for each week includes full-color art; Scripture readings; a historical reading; a contemporary reading; a prayer, creed, hymn or quote; and space for reflection.

The other resource that I'm using is Glo Bible software. As I'm reading through, I'm using Glo's "journal/add note" feature to capture thoughts, insights, reflections and prayers. For just under $35, you can sync notes from up to five devices. This works well for accessing/input from my phone, as well as from my desktop. It also works in partnership with YouVersion.

Guided Prayers

  If you are weary of some sleepy form of devotion,

probably God is as weary of it as you are.
~Frank Laubach

If you're looking to engage God and explore different forms of prayer, check out pray-as-you-go.

They offer a daily podcast (10-13minutes) that provides space for stillness, silence, reflection and simply being with Christ.

There are many different expressions of prayer found in Scripture. There are times to come to God with our lists of needs and concerns. There are also times to simply follow the Spirit's leading in prayer. Another form of prayer is simply allowing another guide our times of reflection and prayer. Pray-as-you-go offer daily reflections of such a genre. I'm committing utilize these guided-narrated prayers several times a week simply as a means of engaging God in a different manner than is typically a part of my weekly/daily rhythms...

Journaling Resources

Journaling slows down the mind to the pace of the hand

so the soul can catch up to the speed of life.

Here are a few online resources to explore journaling...

Examen.me
This is a website that allows you to create a user profile and save all your reflections. It offers daily readings, prayers, etc. You can reflect on a passage, or engage a prayer of examen. You can search entries, as well as export them to you hardrive.
http://www.examen.me


Journler
Journler (spelled as is...) is a downloadable program that allows you to save entries to your computer. You can integrate images, sound and video into journal entries. They can be searched by text, date or tag.
http://journler.com

Ommwriter
Ommwriter is a downloadable program that over-rides your screen - pushing all other programs and notifications to the background (and silent)... I has various background tracks that can be played as you write.
http://www.ommwriter.com

PRACTICING THE PRESENCE OF GOD :: PRAYER OF SURRENDER

PRAYER OF SURRENDER

A prayer of surrender is simply a point early each day when you give your day and self over to God.

It could be as simple as, “Today, this is Your day… Today, I am Yours… May Your Spirit lead, guide and prompt me throughout my day… May I be sensitive to Your prompting and respond accordingly… Today, I surrender my life to You…

PRACTICING THE PRESENCE OF GOD :: NAMES OF GOD

God took the initiative in revealing himself to humankind. God showed himself to Moses in a burning bush and then told Moses his name – Yahweh – I AM WHO I AM. God’s name revealed the transcendent immediacy of a God who was present. Flippant or magical uses of God’s name was forbidden by the third commandment. 

God revealed himself to Israel in a variety of names. In the bible, names carry particular significance. They are sources of revelation and a glimpse into the mystery of the bearer’s identity. Names and titles for God express something of the character, presence, authority and nature of the divine being. It should not surprise us that images for and names of God can be more mysterious than comprehensible. They invite us into contemplation of the holy One. They compel us toward worship rather than explanations. Behold. Look. See. Meditate. Open wide to the God who is beyond and above, yet at the same moment God in and with us.

SUGGESTIONS FOR MEDITATION ON THE NAMES OF GOD

ENGAGING SCRIPTURE :: THROUGH THE LENS OF HIS-STORY

There are a number of ways of engaging Scripture...

One is to engage it through the Lens of His-Story.

To look at engaging Scripture through the Lens of His-Story…

Stories are powerful. They shape how we see the world.

All of human life is shaped by some story.

I can only answer the question
“What am I to do?”
if I can answer the prior question
“Of what story do I find myself a part?”


(Alasdaire MacIntyre)

The way we understand human life
depends on what conception we have of the human story.
What is the real story of which my life story is a part?

(Lesslie Newbigin)

Scripture is the most powerful story ever recorded.

It is literally, HIS-STORY. It is the Story of God’s pursuit of humanity. In fact, you can take the first 3 chapters of Genesis and the last 3 chapters of Revelation and you have pretty much the complete story in and of it self. Now much happens, we know in between…

If Scripture were a Drama or a Play, it could be broken up into 6 Acts.

Scripture as a 6 Act Drama

1. Creation: God Establishes His Kingdom
2. Crime/Crisis/Fall: Rebellion in the Kingdom
3. Israel: The King Chooses Israel
   1. Scene I: A People for the King
   2. Scene II: A Land for His People

Interlude: Intertestamental Period 

       4. Jesus: The Coming of the King - Redemption
       5. NT & the People of God
             Scene I:  New Testament and the Early Church – Jerusalem to Rome
             Scene II:  the ongoing story of the Church – To the ends of the Earth
       6.   Restoration of all Creation: The Return of the King

Helpful tips for engaging Scripture through the lens of His-Story.

1. Begin to see Scripture as more than a collection of stories in which we can extract morals and principles from. It is useful for this, as well as for establishing doctrine and teaching. But, all of that needs to be framed in the context of the over-arching narrative of Scripture.
   
   
2. Begin simply by reading through the Bible.(systematically // chronologically).
• Bible Reading Plans.
  
  
3. The following are some books and resources I've found helpful in this area:
   
   
   • God's Big Picture: Tracing the Storyline of the Bible, 
   •  Drama of Scripture, The: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story
   • Whole Bible Story, The: Everything That Happens in the Bible in Plain English and  
   • The Story, NIV: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People.
     
     

NEW SERIES :: SPIRITUAL PRACTICES

Pretty stoked about the new series we're kicking off at New Community tonight.

Four weeks dealing with a few central Spiritual Practices....

LIFT :: Leadership Institute for Transformation

It's easy to get caught up doing good stuff... All the while not realize the atrophy that's beginning to take place deep within one's soul.

Moreover, it can be challenging to find venues conducive for helping us to facilitate on-going learning and spiritual formation. The LIFT courses are a great way to be challenged as a leader, interact with others on the same journey and engage spiritual practices for a healthy soul and sustainable rhythms of life and ministry.

Engaging Scripture...

How do you engage Scripture...?

Is it something you try to "read through" is some chronological, systematic, chapter-by-day manner?

Each of these have there place, but often it seems in our fervor to "get through" Scripture, we may not always experience Scripture "getting through" us.

What would it look like for us to read and engage Scripture in light of the following parable?

One traveler to another:

"I have come a great distance to listen to the words of the Teacher, but I find his words quite ordinary."

"Don't listen to his words. Listen to his message."

"How does one do that?"

"Take hold of a sentence that he says. Shake it well till all the words drop off. What is left will set your heart on fire." 

~Anthony deMello

Daily Surrender

"It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in. And so on, all day. Standing back from all your natural fussings and frettings; coming in out of the wind." (C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity)

• What are some practical ways in which we can "shove" all the voices, wishes and hopes that "rush at us like wild animals"?
  
  
• What are some practices that can better posture us to keep in step with the life-flow of the "stronger, quieter life" that comes to us in the Spirit of Christ?

Easter

“I have seen the Lord!”
John 20:18

“The disciples had seen the strong hands of God twist the crown
of thorns into a crown of glory, and in hands as strong as that they
knew themselves safe . . .
They had expected a walkover, and they beheld a victory; 
they had expected an earthly Messiah,
and they beheld the Soul of Eternity.”
Dorothy L. Sayers

In the book, Sit, Walk, Stand, Watchman Nee said, “Christianity begins not with a big DO, but with a big DONE.”  He continues: “We begin our Christian life by depending not on our own doing but upon what Christ has done.  Until you realize this, you are no Christian; for to say: “I can do nothing to save myself; but by His grace God has done everything for me in Christ,” is to take the first step of faith.  If I put a dollar bill between the pages of a magazine, and then burn the magazine, where is the dollar bill?  It has gone the same way as the magazine – to ashes.  Where the one goes the other goes, too.  Their history has become one.  But, just as effectively, God has put us in Christ.  What happened to Him happened also to us.  All the experiences He met, we too have met in Him.

“Our old man was crucified with Him,
that the body of sin might be done away,
that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin.”
Romans 6:6

This verse is not an exhortation to struggle.  That is history: our history, written in Christ before we were born.  Do you believe this?  It is true! Our crucifixion with Christ is a glorious historical fact.  Our deliverance from sin is based, not on what we can do, nor even on what God is going to do for us, but on what He has already done in Christ.

Action: Based on this reflection, give thanks to God for what He has done.

“The crowning evidence that Jesus was alive was not a vacant grave, but a Spirit-filled fellowship.  Not a rolled-away stone, but a carried away church.”
Clarence Jordan

Join a group of Christ-followers, and together celebrate the risen Christ.

“The death of Jesus is for us nothing if we have not died with Him;
the resurrection of our Lord is for us nothing
if we have not been raised with Him.”
Swiss Theologian, Emil Brunne