Great Comfort

Our city has been blindsided by the death of a teenager this week. There are no answers that make sense right now and grief can be overwhelming for family and friends. The answers we seek won't be found on this side of heaven, but we can take comfort in knowing that we are not alone in our sorrow. God Himself is with us-the Creator with indescribable powers who holds the universe in His hands and holds us all as well. We pray for the peace that passes understanding and the great comfort that only He can give.

On Time

I was blessed to be at the Good Friday celebration with the Passion tour this past week (due to the generosity of good friends.) I am still processing many things from that night-moments where God was clearly speaking to me and others where He hasn't answered what I am asking just yet.

I am still meditating on one particular lyric from a song titled, "Always." It simply sings, "Oh, my God, He will not delay, my refuge and strength always."

This idea of God not delaying in the rescuing of His children is comforting. I know that it often feels as if God is taking His time, but He always answers exactly when He means to. He doesn't postpone His response when we turn our eyes and hearts to Him. He is never late, but is always right on His time.

Where does my help come from? It comes from the Lord.

What Now?

Resurrection Sunday was a blessed day with large crowds of people attending churches throughout the world.  I have seen online stories of baptisms and very large numbers of people in services. I am celebrating the message of Christ that was shared and the incredible volunteers that made so much of it possible. I also can't keep my mind from moving to what is next.

We have proven that we can draw a crowd (actually that Jesus can), but for lives to be changed there has to be more than just big numbers. How are we mobilizing the next generation of leaders? What are we doing to move people past the shallow steps of early faith and into something passionately meaningful with depth? What efforts are we continuing to put into our community to let them know that Jesus is still alive and pursuing them today? How are we reaching out to the harassed and helpless that are wondering if there is any hope for them on this Monday after Easter?

Many people and churches rest immediately after Easter, but I firmly believe that it is the season to pray and work even harder for the heart of our communities.

That's Enough

If you were to ask people to describe in one word what they would like their life to be, I doubt they would use the word mediocre. That's not really a level to attain to and doesn't inspire visions of things to come.

The truth however is that we tend to settle for that in our relationship with God. We become content with what He has already done in our lives and we stop there. We aren't having any major financial difficulties so we stop praying about our money. Our families are fairly healthy and getting along for now so we stop praying for God's work in it. Our churches seem to have a decent number of people in the seats each weekend and we leave feeling good about ourselves so we stop praying for growth and stretching. We become complacent because of the work that God has already done and how far we have come from where we used to be. 

In the book of Joshua we see the story of the Israelites conquering the Promised Land. It is a testimony of God's power and His ability to fulfill His promises through His people. In Joshua 18:3 however we see Joshua say this, "How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you?"

The Israelites had become content in their current situation. God had brought them victories, but His plan wasn't done yet. He intended for them to keep pushing on towards the goal He had called them to. It was going to require faithful obedience to His calling on their lives. 

Like the Israelites we have to decide if what God has already done is enough for us or if we are willing to push past mediocrity to see what radical steps He has for us next.

Get Ready

There was a place in Nashville that my wife and I used to love to go out to eat called The New Orleans Manor. It was a buffet style place that served dinner only, but was almost $30 per plate. It served some of the best seafood, prime rib and other incredible foods that make my mouth water even today. We loved the place so much that we had our wedding dinner there with friends and family.

When you knew you were eating there for dinner you changed your eating habits for the day. I wouldn't eat lunch at all and would only eat a small, early breakfast. I wanted to be as prepared as possible for a great meal and didn't want anything to take away from the experience.

Are we preparing in the same way for God to do something amazing in our lives or we rolling along and hoping that a Holy Spirit moment might happen? Are we talking about having a great Sunday in our churches or are we preparing ourselves spiritually for it? In Joshua 3:5, Joshua is about to lead the Israelites across the Jordan River and start the campaign to take over the promised land. He tells them, "Make yourselves holy, because tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you." 

Perhaps we would see greater works of God in our lives and in our churches if we would eagerly anticipate them and start the work of setting ourselves apart for His blessing.

Awakening by Stovall Weems

I finished reading the book Awakening by Stovall Weems this past week and was blown away by the depth of spiritual insight and application. The book is written on the principle of the need for spiritual awakening in each of us and how we can attain that by fervently seeking God through prayer and fasting. As the founder and lead pastor of Celebration Church, it is obvious that he is committed to this vision and practice for his personal life as well as for the growth of God's church. Stovall believes in the desire for all Christ-followers to be passionately pursuing this spiritual insight with the Holy Spirit. He writes, "Awakening to the presence and power of God is both a one-time event and recurring newness we experience throughout our lives."

Weems writes with a passionate style that captures the attention of any reader and also inspires you to practice these spiritual disciplines so that this awakening can be personally experienced. He presents theologically sound evidence for frequent times of prayer, worship and fasting and yet also offers practical advice to help in the process. The use of personal stories from people in his church make the book even more real and the resulting experiences more tangible.

I recommend this book for anyone who is serious about pursuing fasting as a spiritual discipline and a way to open your spiritual life to what God has ready to bless you with. I am excited about entering into a church-wide time of prayer and fasting this summer and the awakening that God will bring for our church. This is a book that I will recommend to anyone asking about fasting and I will certainly be re-reading it myself.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Up Front

Most of our human relationships work like this: invest time, share respect and treat each other well enough that you eventually form a strong bond of love. When that chain is broken, we don't end up with a strong relationship-in fact it leads to one not being formed at all.

One of our biggest struggles as flawed humans is that we impose that same pattern on our relationship with God. We believe that if we attend church, don't look at porn, don't get drunk, pray & read our Bible fairly regularly and are decent people that He will love us. When we mess up any of that it's a bad day and we think God is disappointed and His love decreases.

The error in this philosophy is that we are imposing human characteristics on God. He doesn't place His love for us at the end of our relationship, but at the beginning. His love isn't given because we have earned it, but simply because of who He is and who we are to Him.