In & Out

Wooded Glen Retreat Center, Henryville, Indiana

"In and Out" makes me think of burgers, because I’m from California where In-N-Out Burger is the best.  There are very few In-N-Out Burger restaurants in Texas where I live now, but you can bet I know where they are and I make a point of visiting them when I can.  Their name is a description of their service method – quick food that you can eat on the go, something that was a new idea when they started, but is now our standard way of living.  We’re all in a hurry to get somewhere, so we want to get in and out in a hurry.

In and out is also how water stays clear.  This past week I was at the Wooded Glen Retreat Center in Henryville, Indiana.  It’s a beautiful place…deep blue sky, lush green trees, and a lake.  But the lake is not connected to any streams.  It’s self-contained.  Water comes in when it rains, and seeps out through evaporation, but that’s not enough in-and-out to keep the water clear all the time.  One morning we found the lake covered with a layer of scum.  Water needs the process of circulation, flowing in and out, to keep it clean.

I need that too.  I need input – reading, hearing, listening, watching, absorbing information and life and the world – and I need output – discussion, writing, singing, playing, preaching.  If I only have input, the collection of all that information in my brain becomes chaos.  If I only have output, I put out nothingness.  With both, in the middle there is processing and growth and renewed clarity.

It’s the same with our spiritual lives.  Eugene Peterson, in his book A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, says that “men and women who believingly follow Jesus (what we commonly call ‘the Christian life’ or ‘Christian spirituality’) are best guided and energized by a fusion of Scripture and prayer.”[1]  We get input, we hear from God, through the Bible, and we give output by talking to God in prayer.  Peterson says that these aren’t two separate entities, but rather a “fusion” of the two together through which the Holy Spirit works to form the life of Christ in us.

One of the ways I make sure I’m doing both parts is to write about the scriptures I’m reading.  In my journal my writing is addressed to God.  Sometimes the output is simply pondering, asking God questions about what I’m reading, or just a thoughtful, “hmmmm…..”  For my husband Rob, the output is often a song or a poem.

In the business world, this process of taking in and letting out is focused on throughput.  The goal is a higher level of productivity through faster, more efficient throughput.  In-N-Out Burger was designed to sell more burgers by getting people in and out more quickly.  In my life, though, I’ve found that faster isn’t always better.  For me throughput is more about simply allowing the processing to happen by making sure I’m doing both the taking in and the letting out.  Neither works as well without the other.

What does throughput look like for you?

The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore. -Psalm 121:8

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[1] Eugene H. Peterson. A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society (Kindle Locations 1742-1743). Kindle Edition.

Why I Keep Rereading the Bible

I don't know if anybody is asking this question, but today I got to thinking about why I keep reading.  My answers aren't all that deep, but it helped me to think about it, and maybe it will help you, too.

1.       I find God there

When I am seeking to hear from God, I can hear him in the stories of the Bible.  I can hear him talking to Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, Job, Jonah, and the prophets in the Old Testaments.  I can hear him in the words of Jesus in the Gospels.  In some parts of the Bible it is harder to hear, but I keep reading those, too, because sometimes they speak to me in different ways, or I learn things that help me to understand other parts of the Bible better.

2.       I find other cultures there

When I am reading the stories in the Bible, I am reading about people who lived in different times and places from me.  Their values were similar to mine in some ways, but very different from mine in other ways.  As I work to see from their perspectives, I am also learning to be respectful of different perspectives in people in my current world.

3.       I find challenge there

I struggle with many of the same things about which people in the Bible struggled.  At the core, our human failings are no different than they were 2000 years ago.  Reading the Bible helps me to see and understand my failings, and challenges me to let God help me overcome those failings and do better.

Because we're supposed to

Throughout the Old Testament, God tells people to remember what he has said, and to keep repeating his words to help others remember.  Jesus tells us to remember his words, and at the empty tomb the angels encourage the women to remember what Jesus has said (Luke 24:6-8).  One of the best ways to remember is to keep rereading the Bible.

I keep finding new things

Every time I do another read through, I find things I didn't see before.  I understand things I didn't understand before.  I am reminded of things I had forgotten.  The words don't change, but I do and my life does, and so do my perspectives.

This year I'm reading through using the NRSV Daily Bible which is set up in 365 sections, each with a focus verse on which to meditate, some words on which to reflect from various authors, and a prayer prompt.

“But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul." (Deuteronomy 4:29 NKJV)

Solitude

It isn’t good for the man to be alone.  –Genesis 2:18

God said these words about Adam, and proceeded to create Eve.  Thus began the first family, and just like any time there are people together, there was trouble.  Maybe that’s why God had to keep promising—to Jacob, to Moses, to Joshua, to the disciples—to be with them, to never leave them alone[1]--to help them as he helps us to get through our troubles.[2] 

God also promised that whenever we are gathered together in his name that he would be among us.[3]  Sometimes there’s nothing quite like the beauty of people working together in Jesus’ name.  And there’s nothing quite as ugly as people being ugly to each other.  We are people who need people, but we don’t like to need each other too much, so we are like the push-me-pull-you (pushmi-pullyu) from Doctor Dolittle,[4] each trying to go our own way while at the same time inexplicably connected with each other.

Why can’t we all just get along?[5]  I suppose that’s a question for the ages.  We could blame it on that first family or the serpent or even on God,[6] or maybe it’s just human nature.  Thinking like a writer, I would say that something always has to go wrong to make the story work, to keep us interested, to draw us along through the plot and wanting to see how it all works out.  It always works out in the end, though, doesn’t it?  Even the Bible, in the end, has us all in heaven singing praises to God and to the lamb with the entire host of heaven and people from every tribe and nation.[7]

We live in a world full of people.  Maybe that’s why we crave solitude sometimes, and yet God said it’s not our permanent state.  It’s not good for man to be alone.  Maybe God was the first parent to realize the difficulties of having an only child?  When there are two or more children, they can play together, but when there is only one, the parent must also be the playmate.

For whatever reason, it seems we are stuck with each other, and so we have a choice:  we can make it work and enjoy the beauty of helping and encouraging one another, or we can make it ugly and deal with the consequences.  The beauty of being together is that when there are two or more there is the potential for love.  A person who is alone can only love his or herself, and we can thank the Greeks for the story of Narcissus so that we can see how badly that can turn out.[8] 

But wherever God is, there is redemption.  The person alone who is looking at God instead of the mirror becomes someone who then reflects God to other people.[9]  Jesus spent time alone in prayer, and we need that kind of alone time, too.  Jesus also brought us the living example of grace.  His message to the disciples, the message he told them to tell the world, is that we are forgiven.[10]  And Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians that we are to be ambassadors of reconciliation.[11]  No matter how ugly we are, or how ugly somebody else is, there is forgiveness, made possible by God through Jesus Christ.  Even when forgiveness seems impossible, it is possible.  We can get along if we let God into the equation, and somehow we are best equipped for this possibility if we’ve had some solitude with God first.

The goal is to get along.  Is this what we’re teaching?  In some ways yes and in other ways no.  American individualism isn’t quite the recipe for harmonious community, depending on how we approach it.  Self-care is important, but self-esteem may be leading us down a dead-end road.[12]  As much as we are quick to claim the right to be our own people and make our own decisions, we are not alone in the world and everything we decide for ourselves has the potential to impact someone else.  The more we take that into consideration, the more we grow and the better we get along with the world.

Plays nice with others – This was what our kindergarten teachers hoped to write on our report cards.  As we got older, our successes were measured differently.  Knowledge was rewarded with good letters.  Initiative was rewarded with dollar signs.  Persistence and creativity and hard work were rewarded.  But in the end what will last beyond the schooling and the jobs and the bank accounts are our relationships with people.  In the end we will need people to care for us just as much as we did when we were first born. 

We are people who need people.  May we learn to live together in beautiful, harmonious peace.

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[1] Genesis 28:15, Exodus 33:14 , Joshua 1:9, Matthew 28:20, Hebrews 13:5

[2] See Isaiah 43

[3] Matthew 18:20

[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Doctor_Dolittle_characters#The_pushmi-pullyu

[5] Paraphrase of Rodney King in 1992 about the riots in Los Angeles http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney_King

[6] See Genesis 3

[7] Revelation 7:9

[8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissus_(mythology)

[9] 2 Corinthians 3:16-18

[10] John 20:23, Matthew 6:12,14-15

[11] 2 Corinthians 5:17-19

[12] https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/your-brain-work/200910/status-more-accurate-way-understanding-self-esteem

Ideas for Seeking God During Lent

Ask God to direct you in trying a new discipline for 40 days.  Try one or these or go with something else.  Share your ideas and insights in the comments.

·         Daily prayer email (comment below or Facebook message me to be put on the list)

·         Ten-Minute Phone Challenge - http://tap.unicefusa.org/

·         Pray using the PC(USA) Mission Yearbook for Prayer http://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/missionyearbook/

·         Pray for all nations using the Operation World prayer guide  www.operationworld.org

·         Daily Bible reading – find plans to follow at www.biblegateway.com

·         Read one chapter a day of one of the Gospels

·         Read all four accounts of Jesus’ final days

·         Read Max Lucado’s book about the passion called He Chose the Nails

 

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Our God is a consuming fire. –Hebrews 12:29

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And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. –2 Corinthians 3:18

Servants of the King

I don’t know what you’re thinking about on a Monday morning, but today I got to thinking about how the lectionary scripture schedule that many pastors use for preaching is a blessing and a challenge.  The blessing is that there are are lots of resources available because so many other people are also following the lectionary.  But there are also scriptures that get skipped so that the lectionary can be completed in three years.  For instance, last Sunday we talked about the ten lepers in Luke 17:11-19, and next Sunday we will look at the persistent widow in Luke 18:1-8, and in the process we will have skipped over Luke 17:20-37 in which Jesus talks about the coming of God’s kingdom.  The Pharisees prompt this discussion with a question, and Jesus starts off his answer by saying, “’The coming of God’s kingdom is not something you can see just by watching for it carefully.  People will not say, ‘Here it is.’ Or, ‘There it is.’ God’s kingdom is among you.’” (NIRV)

The variance between translations is worth noting.  The NIV says “within you” and the ESV says “in the midst of you,” and each of these options gives a little different shade of meaning.  But I like “among you” the best because it has echoes of Jesus’ teaching that “wherever two or more are gathered in my name, I am with them” (Matt. 18:20).

Jesus’ answer also reminds me of the verses we read from Jeremiah 29:1-7 last Sunday in which God was encouraging the Israelites to make the best of their situation, despite being in captivity in Babylon.  If the kingdom of God is in our midst, already among us as followers of Jesus, then wherever we go and wherever we are, we are bearers of the kingdom, bearers of the good news of God’s love and grace.

So what does Jesus’ statement call us to do, then?  Do we need to work to go more places?  Or to be more aware of the message we bear in our current situations?  How might that affect our interactions with people at work, at school, in stores and restaurants?  As we work for the good of the kingdom, how can we help build that kingdom? 

People are hungry to know God’s love.  Let’s work together to feed them!

It's All Over But the Shouting

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. (Isaiah 43:19)

This verse has been in my email signature for quite some time because I like the freshness and hopefulness that resonate in it.  But today, thinking about some difficult things that have happened in our family, and also thinking about the difficult events in Jesus’ life that we’ll be remembering in our worship services over the coming week, this verse takes on a different flavor.  And it’s a good reminder for me that indeed God is always doing new things, and we can trust that in the long run these new things are good, but they are not necessarily easy.  In fact, sometimes they’re really hard and painful.  And naturally we like to avoid pain, and we fight against it.  Sometimes by fighting it we can push it away, or postpone it.  But if God is in it, it won’t go away forever.

So today this verse got me to thinking about things I have been fighting against.  Change is on the horizon and although I like change, I don’t like some of the ramifications of change.  The funny thing is that I didn’t realize how much I’d been fighting.  “Fighting” sounds so active that you’d think it’d be hard to miss, but with me it’s been subtle and I didn’t catch on.  I don’t know if awareness makes it any easier, but at least I can understand it more and maybe talk about it some…with those involved and with God.

I heard the passion story again today in a new way watching this video about Good Friday.  As I was watching, I thought of this verse from Isaiah.  God was doing a new thing through Jesus but it was not a pretty thing like the new buds on the trees or the new grass coming up for Spring.  It was an awful, painful thing.  But it needed to happen to fully accomplish our reconciliation with God.  And the reality is that in life some things are like that.

Are you fighting against something new that God is doing in your life, too?

A New Thing

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. 

(Isaiah 43:18-19)

Isaiah’s words gave much-needed hope to people living in exile and captivity.  Today they still speak to us.  Newness is exciting.  We like new things.  Isn’t this why we like shopping?  New cars, new clothes, new toys.  It’s therapeutic to clean out the old things to make room for new ones.   So what is this new thing that God is doing?  Isaiah says it is happening NOW, but seems to realize that we aren’t always so great at perceiving God’s work.  “Do you not perceive it?”  No, sadly, not as well as I’d like to.  I know that his work is subtle and his timing is not always in line with my expectations.  I need patience and trust. 

I used to be an avid instigator of new things.  An unmerciful renovator.  But I’ve had time to look back and see that there were gaping wounds left behind from some of this.  I still look forward to new things, but it’s hard to forget the “former things” entirely.  Now I am careful, even suspicious sometimes of new things.  Is this from God or someone else?  Is this just me or is this part of God’s plan?

Then logic takes me through the equation—if God is sovereign, then he’s in charge of even my missteps.  He says he makes “all things new” (Rev. 21:5) and that even the things meant for bad can be made good (Gen. 50:20).  All.  Everything.

Still, I don’t want to charge ahead blindly.  I want to perceive what God’s doing and follow that, not make my own way.  So what does that mean?

Maybe I like this Isaiah passage because sometimes I have felt like I’m living in exile and captivity, just like the Israelites.   I thought I was exiled to a place full of people who didn’t like Christianity.  I thought I was captive to the shackles of the “daily grind” of full-time work in a job that wasn’t ideal.  Then I thought I was exiled to a place where everyone seemed to like Christianity but it wasn’t real, and so many people that I loved were far away back in that place I’d lived in before.  But how much of my exile and captivity was really just my attitude?  And how much of what frustrates me today is just because my perception isn’t in line with God’s?

Some questions are just impossible to fully answer. 

What is the new thing that's happening today?  A renewed openness to the work of God, whatever that may be.  God, renew a right spirit within me, whatever that means.  Sometimes I know and understand, or at least I think I do.  Today I’m not so sure I understand, but I know that God does.  I know that he’s working on me and my situation even when I can’t tell (Phil. 1:6).  Today I am not clear on the details, but I pray that at least I’m not getting in the way of the work God is doing.  Maybe I’m even helping somehow.  I hope so.

VanGemeren[1] says that unlike the NT and modern understanding of the semantic field of meaning in “new,” the word in Hebrew in the OT is more restricted to a sense of renewal and restoration.  So God’s “new thing” is tied up in our relationship with him.  He’s restoring us to our former state, before all the stuff that got in the way happened.  That could mean a lot of different things, or it could be as simple as going back to our newly created state—Genesis Garden of Eden or the clean slate-ness of newborn babies.  Maybe we try too hard to make newness something big and complicated, when it’s simply about seeking God? 

I think the reality is that life looks a lot like this:

Jesus is waiting with open arms and we have all the best intentions in the world, but there are just so many really awesome distractions and complications.  And there are so many different roads to travel, and so many different ideas to consider.  Maybe that’s why the best answer to everything is so often this:  “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

The irony of that verse is that this post started with a verse about something new, and “be still” isn’t new at all.  I’ve written about it before.  It’s in blog posts, essays, research papers, my final evaluation paper from CPE, sermons and countless journal entries.  And, yes, both the Psalms and Isaiah were written thousands of years ago, so none of it is really new, but the work of the Holy Spirit in me is always new.  That’s why God’s mercies are new every morning (Lam. 3:23).

It just seems so un-American to “be still.”  We’re supposed to work hard, never give up, earn our way.  Yes, in business, but not with God.  But then what are we supposed to do?  This is exactly what the people asked Peter the day they first heard the gospel (Acts 2:37).  His answer is simple:  “Repent.”  Turn to God.  So we’re still back to the same old thing—“Be still and know that I am God.”

But… but… but….  It’s so easy to think of so many questions and objections.  I’d feel so much better with a new haircut, a new job, some new shoes.  I’d get there so much better with a new car, some new friends, a new church.  But that’s all new on the outside.  What we really need is to be new on the inside.   And that’s what God does as only he can do.  And that’s why we aren’t very good at perceiving it.  We look at the outer things, but God looks at the heart (1 Sam. 16:7).  And so he patiently waits while we make all our little end runs and sidetracks.  And like Sisyphus we end up right back where we started.  He’s still God.  He’s still in charge.  He still loves us, and he always will.  And our hearts belong to him.  Thank God for that.

Hearts are tricky things.  But the Holy Spirit is even trickier.  So be still.  And have a great day!

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[1] Vol 2, page 31, New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997)

A New Wind

There’s a new wind blowing through our church today.  In some places it’s just a faint stirring in the trees, but in other places it’s a gale-force wind that’s really stirring things up. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland (Isaiah 43:16).  Sometimes it might not seem like it, though.  With the proliferation of blogs and social media, the public voice of the church is singing a lot of different songs, not always good ones.   I think it’s no wonder that we have trouble getting some people interested in becoming part of our churches because we spend so much time publicly complaining about them.  Grandma always said, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.”  Grandma was so wise.  And she was echoing Paul, who said, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Ephesians 4:29).  Which is why I’m very excited about the free book I downloaded yesterday here.   I’ve only read the introduction so far, but I like what it says and the premise behind the project.  I really hope a lot of people are interested in this book. I think they might be, because one question I’ve heard from people in all the churches I’ve been involved with over the past couple of years is “what do we do?”  They’re concerned about declining attendance and aging demographics and know they need to do something about it.  I like the fact that they’re asking, and I appreciate that they seem to know that there’s not one simple answer.  Well, ok, maybe there is, but it’s really just the beginning of the answer—prayer.  And I think that’s the other cool thing about them asking the question, because I know many of these people have been praying and that’s part of what prompts them to ask in the first place.  God’s at work through those prayers and in those people.  And he’s calling them to a lot of different things, not all the same things.  And some of them will work and some of them won’t, but at least they’ll have been tried.  I don’t think we should expect overnight successes.  Yes, things move faster in our modern world, but “making a way in the wilderness” isn’t quick work.  It takes many years of running water to dig a river bed, or to reroute that river bed, but it’ll happen slowly but surely.  To use my other weather analogy, gentle breezes are refreshing, but gale-force winds do damage.  I’m sure there’s a time and a place for both the breeze and the wind, as well as for the trickling stream and the rushing river (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).  However God chooses to work in a particular place and time, all I know is I want to be a part of it.  Don’t you?

“Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.” Joel 2:23 

Loose Ends

I’ve just finished reading a book by one of my favorite authors, Alexander McCall Smith, called The World According to Bertie.  It’s part of his “44 Scotland Street” series.  Many of his books started out as weekly serials in a Scottish newspaper, and I enjoy imagining what it might be like to read the book in installments.  The way life has been for me this year, that’s about how I’ve read it anyway.  There are several different story lines in these books, all connected because they happen in the same building, even though the characters in each plot thread rarely interconnect.  As with most works of fiction, you can tell when you’re near the end because the plot lines start to resolve, so that the book comes to a close having tidied up the loose ends.  We prefer our movies this way, too.  When the studios have tested movies in focus groups, they have found that audiences don’t like stories that don’t resolve.  We want to have things settled, so we don’t leave wondering.  We can deal with some open-ended questions, but there can’t be too much of that or we won’t recommend the movie to our friends, and it’s the buzz that makes for big box office numbers.  What’s funny to me about this today is that real life isn’t always so nicely resolved.  This is one of the things I noticed working as a chaplain at the hospital this summer.  When someone is in the hospital facing death or the potential of it, all the loose ends in their lives come into sharp focus.  All the family messiness comes with them to the hospital.  One of the ways chaplains help take care of some of these loose ends is to help patients execute healthcare power of attorney forms.  Never got around to getting married?  Ok, but you can still give your significant other the authority to make life-or-death decisions for you—just sign here.  Don’t get along with your next of kin?  It’s ok, you can override their authority over you by appointing someone else as your legal agent.  What I find highly ironic now as I reflect on this scenario is that I started down the path to ordination largely because of my belief that no matter what other answers might be helpful, the ultimate solution and resolution is Jesus.  In the ecumenical environment of the hospital, I could not offer that solution.  Worried about death?  It’s ok, because Jesus has conquered sin and death.  Do you know him?  Can I tell you about him?  I prayed for peace and comfort with many people, and for those who were already Christian, I did this in Jesus’ name.  I could help them to remember what they already knew, but if someone answered the question, “How do you find strength” with something other than Jesus, I had to work with what was already there.  One of my fellow chaplains would frequently ask, “Do you feel like you helped this person?  How did you help them?”  I would usually answer “yes” because I had given the patient the opportunity to talk about whatever was troubling them.  But I know that any help that didn’t have Jesus at the center was going to be short-lived.  So there was perhaps short-term resolution in my conversations with patients, but long-term resolution was out of my hands.  Really this is what happens with the characters in the “44 Scotland Street” series—there is short-term resolution, but the long-term resolution is outside the scope of the book.  And frequently this is how life is.  We get a snapshot, a glimpse, but so often the bigger picture is beyond our field of vision.  And that’s why we need God’s resolution—Jesus.

Define Impossible

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, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

This is such a huge promise, but also one that we’re afraid to trust. Why? Is it that logic overpowers us? Are we afraid of being disappointed if we trust this? But we believe in God’s power to create the world from nothing, and to heal the sick and to raise the dead, right? Maybe the problem is that we do believe and are afraid that God will answer with more than we can ask or imagine, and we don’t want to have to face that?

This verse comes at the end of Paul’s prayer that we would grasp the immensity of God’s love which surpasses knowledge. That certainly sounds like an impossible request. And yet I think we do get the chance to have moments in which we “see” God in a way that speaks this understanding into our hearts, and in a way that goes beyond the capacity of our minds to fully comprehend or explain. Maybe this is what Mary was experiencing when she “pondered” things in her heart. I think this is what happens at the moment of conversion for those who become Christians as adults, and for those who find God in a new and deeper way in the midst of a crisis. How someone gets to this moment is less important than just that they do get to this point.

Immediately following this verse, Paul begins his teaching about unity in the Church. That certainly seems like the impossible dream right now. Looking back through the Church’s history, I think it has always been a struggle, though. And yet this is what Jesus himself prayed for us (John 17).

He is able. I think we need to hold on to our hope and keep on praying—for deeper understanding of the immensity of his love, for answers in the midst of seemingly impossible situations, and for the unity of the body of Christ.

To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 3 Again

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, 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, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Eph. 3:16-20 NIV)

Apparently this is the theme for my week. Yesterday morning my teacher started class by reading us this passage. I had already used it as the introduction to my paper for her class, written a journal entry prompted by it, and referred to it in at least two conversations and one email about several different situations. Today it gives me hope about the possibilities of finding insights into a question I’ve been batting around for a couple of years. Is it possible, useful, Biblical to understand the thought processes of people who don’t think like I do? According to this verse, with God in the picture, it ought to be possible because "he is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine." So, assuming it’s possible, then what is to be gained? Is this a valid pursuit?

I think it will be some time before I can really answer those questions in practice, but in thinking about them now I am reminded of Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians, “I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some” (1 Cor 9:22). Without seeking to understand another’s thought processes, I don’t think we can be as effective as we ought to be in truly communicating with each other, and especially in effectively communicating the love of Christ.

I realize that understanding is not achieved quickly. It requires spending time, asking questions, observing. Too often I find myself speaking instead of listening, and missing opportunities to ask questions that would lead to understanding. Often I wish I could go back and “do over” those conversations, but I know I can’t, so I pray that when the next opportunity arises, I will be a better listener. I hope and pray and have to trust that through the work of the Holy Spirit, God is teaching me how to “make the most of every opportunity” (Col 4:5).

Meanwhile, I also pray for those people I have already met that I didn't understand, to whom I didn't quite know what to say and so I just talked past them, about whom I later wondered why they would say the things they did. I suppose it's unrealistic to expect to understand them all, but at least I'd like to have done a better job at trying, and pray that in the future I wouldn't shrink from a discussion with those who like to argue, or work so hard to fill the empty spaces in the conversation with anecdotes and quips.

Some might say there's danger in this pursuit because in understanding their perspectives, I may lose sight of my own. I suppose that's a valid concern, especially since I think it is part of the reason I have not pursued certain conversations in the past. I think I was afraid of losing my religion in the process of understanding theirs. Would that really happen? Is there really anything anyone could say that would stop me from believing what I already know? And if the conversation raised troubling questions, wouldn't I go back to God for those answers and in the process find greater strength and breadth and depth in my faith? That's how it's supposed to work, isn't it? I think it is. God promises to give wisdom, unfailing love, and to be there no matter what. So what am I afraid of?

"What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)

Quiet Time, Showers and Blindness

There is a sort of conventional wisdom that says profound thoughts come from sitting on the toilet. The sitcom “Scrubs” pokes fun at this in an episode in which the janitor installs an “epiphany toilet” on the roof of the hospital: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmn1ts_AIhA . But, for me, the best place for profound thinking is the shower. I’m not sure why, although I suspect that is partly because I frequently take a shower right after I finish praying and reading the Bible. So, I suppose, it’s no surprise that today’s shower brought forth this profound comparison: Taking a shower is like daily quiet time.

You may be thinking, “Why on earth would a shower be like quiet time?” Or maybe you’re saying, “Well, of course it is, and why didn’t you think of this sooner?” Just in case you’re one of those thinking more in the why vein, I’ll tell you, and for those of you who think you know, you may be surprised, because here’s my reason: Both of these are something I religiously do daily but which I also tend to want to avoid. There are some obvious aspects to this, and some not so obvious. Sometimes I don’t really feel like I need a shower or my time seeking God, but logic tells me that whether or not I feel needy, there is benefit to doing it anyway and it just plain must be done. Sometimes I just do not want to take the time required for showering or seeking God, because I am anxious to move on to other things. And sometimes I am not looking forward to dealing with unpleasant issues. In the shower, this might be shaving my legs, which is one of those annoying chores that goes with being a woman. In seeking God, this might be confronting some bad behavior I need to change. None of these things stops me from doing what needs to be done, but instead keeps me from getting to it as quickly or with a willing spirit.

It occurs to me that in both cases, sometimes I dread taking a shower or spending God time, not because of the action itself, but because of what comes afterwards. In the case of the shower, this means deciding what to wear, a process I hate. To get around this, I made a deal with myself that rather than spending 30 minutes trying things out and exhibiting my tendency toward extreme indecision, I would put on the first thing I saw or thought of and stop there. It works pretty well most of the time, but I still have a bit of reluctance about it. Similarly, what comes after my quiet time is sometimes the need to put into practice what I have just learned, or to wear what I thought about, in a sense. If I have faced a difficult issue or made a life-changing realization through seeking God, I cannot just walk away as if it never happened, although I’ll be honest, sometimes I try to.

Now to the more obvious comparison: Both showers and God-time make us clean, and frequently in ways we cannot necessarily see. We know that sometimes we cannot tell for ourselves how badly we need to be clean. We cannot always smell ourselves, but on the chance that others might smell what we can’t, we shower. I think prayer and Bible reading work in the same way. We do not always know what God needs to do in us, but we seek him, and then he does his work in us in ways that we cannot always see. He makes us cleaner on the inside, just like the shower gets us clean on the outside.

Ok, in the end, maybe it’s not so profound, but isn’t it a little fun to think about? In case you just said “Yes” or even “Yeah, I guess, maybe,” I’ll tell one more thing I thought about in the shower today: Blindness. When I take a shower, I have to take my glasses off, so I can’t really see much except colors and rough shapes. I find my way because I’m pretty careful to keep everything in its place, but sometimes I have to feel my way around a bit—like when the shampoo and conditioner get switched around or moved, and I have to feel the shape of the bottle to figure out which is which. Or if something falls on the floor, I have to close my eyes to keep the water from getting in and feel around to find whatever fell because I can’t see it. If I could wear my glasses or keep my eyes open, things would be easy to find and the whole process might be quicker, but I can’t and I just have to deal with that. I trust that it’s there somewhere and I keep going until I find it. I think our spiritual life is like this, too, only in a much bigger way because there is so much we can’t see. For instance, we can’t see what’s going on in someone’s mind or heart. Sometimes we think we can, but really we can’t. Nor can we see what’s going to happen next year or tomorrow or even an hour from now. We can predict, and sometimes we do pretty well at that, but we never know for sure because things can all change in an instant. We are walking through life like people without their glasses on and even sometimes with their eyes closed. And because of this sometimes we bump into things and get hurt. But we trust that moving forward brings us closer to God and closer to wherever we need to be, and so we keep going…and going, and going.

Which brings us back to showers and quiet time. Both are vitally important, so we keep doing them. . Ok, maybe not “vitally,” exactly. You will not die if you skip either one…at least not right away…and once in awhile I give myself a day off from one or the other. But I almost always notice the difference when I do, and I would hate to see what I would be like if I went several days without either one. Both my body and my attitudes would start to stink! Not that I don’t have my moments of stinkiness anyway, but I do my best to be preventative as much as I can, and wash daily. It’s the least I can do.

Bible in 90 Days - Day 2

It's only the second day and already I've learned some important lessons. One is that I can't lollygag around about getting to this reading! The first day I took my time about starting into quiet time, read my usual devotional books and then started on the 90-day reading plan, only to be interrupted because my time was up and my walking partner was ready to hit the track. When I got back, I tried to go back to the reading and was interrupted again and again because now the world was awake. So today, day 2, I got up early and started with the 90-day reading first instead of last. It's 8:15 and I'm done, yay!

As I read today, I found myself wanting to write about some of what I was reading, which was something I had stopped doing over time but hadn't understood why. I think the reason is that I used to read with the intention of reading until something struck me, but over time I had fallen into a pattern of just reading one chapter a day. Now, reading more, I realize that I need to remember to expect more from my reading and not just settle for a chapter and no response.

These are some of the passages that struck me today:

1. Genesis 17 & Circumcision--How odd that must have seemed to them. They were all adults! Can you imagine Abraham telling these men to do this? "Here, cut this skin off me, will you?"
2. Genesis 19 & Sodom--The Sodomite men wanted to have sex with the two angels and Lot considers that worse than offering them his virgin daughters. Hmmm.... Also, it seems this is what prompts the angels to make up their minds about destroying the city.
3. Genesis 25 & Wife #2--I never realized that Abraham remarried after Sarah died and had 6 more sons!
4. Genesis 21 & 25 & Ishmael--God promised to bless Ishmael because Abraham asked him to, even though God made him send Ishmael away, and then Ishmael had 12 sons, just like Isaac did, and those sons became 12 tribes, also just like Isaac's sons. I think that's the last we hear of them, though.

Bible in 90 Days

I first saw the challenge on Bible Gateway. The banner ad said, "Do what 75 million people dream about: Take the Bible in 90 days challenge, June 1 - August 29." (You can check it out here.) I'm not sure why that caught my eye. Maybe because that is almost exactly how much time I have before I start grad school? Maybe because having just finished a degree in literature, I want to try reading the Bible fast enough to get a better sense of the broader themes?

Since I became more serious about my faith 7 years ago, I have read through the Bible twice. I read a little each day, sometimes a chapter or two, or sometimes considerably less if I'm struck by something and decide to stop and pray about it. I have learned a lot about God in the process, but by the time I get to the end, I've long forgotten the beginning because of the great amount of time that has passed. So I am curious to see if my perspective and understanding change as a result of a faster read-through.

I'm also intrigued by the prospect of a 90-day read-through because this semester I read Kant's essay, "What is Enlightenment" and strongly agree with his suggestion that we need to develop our own understanding without having to rely entirely on someone else's guidance. Similarly, I think Kant would agree that we need to know the Bible for ourselves, not just through what others have told us about it. And knowing the Bible enables us to know God more directly, which is ultimately what we're all seeking. I'm hoping the faster read will help me to know the Bible better, and, as a result, to know God better, as well.

Growing

Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:18

This is our path, continually seeking to grow towards God. And he draws us to him, like the sun draws the faces of the flowers and the trees stretch their branches out to its rays. We lift our faces and our hands up to him as we worship and he blesses our turning to him. We lift our hearts to him each morning as we seek him in prayer and through his word and he blesses us with understanding and a deeper knowledge of his ways and his love.

But I am easily distracted. As I walk from one room to another on my way to get something or do something, I see something else that needs doing and, stopping to do it, forget where I was headed. I think my days with God are like this, too. I start off each morning turning my focus toward him, but the lessons of the morning do not often last far into the day as new things take my thoughts on to more mundane matters.

So what’s the fix for this? Is there a fix for this? I know how to get back on track each morning. How far do I wander off in the course of the day? I have had times where the activity of the day is also about seeking God—writing a Bible study, preparing a worship service—so that the distractions were also pointing me to God. I have sought to get to a place where those are my job, but currently they are not.

There are times in the midst of the day when my thoughts turn to God because I know I have just had a thought that is something he’s been teaching me not to think, and I immediately reign in that thought and pray for forgiveness. There have been some days where I have felt called to pray hourly for a particular issue, and those days I am able to follow through, although often with just a little less regularity than I planned.

Overall, then, am I growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus? Yes, I think so. I feel like I have learned a lot, and been blessed by his presence and the knowledge of his love.

I like knowing that my day comes to a close with another opportunity to seek God in his word when Rob and I read our daily devotional together in bed. I think that’s a big part of why all this works. God has given us people to help keep us on the path. Not only Rob, but most of our friends also encourage us in our walk.

So we reach deep for his living water and stretch up to the light of his glory and he feeds us and helps us grow day by day more and more pleasing to him. Praise God!