get cleaned up

Image by Denis Collette…!!! via Flickr

“God does not tell us to clean ourselves up before he listens to our prayers.” – Kurt Hannah

There are times when we feel as though we are unworthy to come before God. Times when we feel burdened with guilt and worry, when there are things which are causing us to become worried that approaching God would be the worst thing for us.

Some of us think that we need to clean up our lives before we can approach God. We think that we have to stop drinking. We have to stop lying, cheating, stealing. We have to stop looking at pornography. We have to stop lusting.

We think we need to be perfect before we can come back to God.

The problem is, the only way we get perfect is by coming back to God. The only way we get rid of the chains that drag us down is by asking God to free us. The only way we come out from under the burden we carry is by having God remove it from us.

The only way we can be free, is by admitting that we need help.

We have this incredible promise that God has sent his Son into the darkness of this world as incredible light. When we are surrounded by the death and decay brought about by the brokeness which humanity has caused in this world, God brought life and newness.

Fall has always been a weird season for me. Weird because I love the crispness, the sharpness, the brightness that comes on a clear fall or winter day, but on the other hand I am keenly aware that the cold is killing things all around me. The trees become stripped bare.

The light that comes in Fall, however, is precious to me. Precious because I know it is fleeting. Precious because it is surrounded by darkness.

We do not need to clean ourselves us before we come to God. We need to go to God to get ourselves cleaned up.

monday thanks

“[G]ifts have no significance in and of themselves. Gifts only have meaning in that they trace the outline of God’s heart.” (Ann Voskamp from A Holy Experience)

Since joining the Gratitude Community, I have been trying to savour the gifts that God has been giving me. Truth be told, it has been somewhat difficult to focus on the gifts. There are so many things that take up mental space and energy, it is difficult to create room for thanks.

It is difficult to make room for God.

Sometimes I feel as though I am a husband, run off his feet with work stopping only long enough in the kitchen to stuff a sandwich in my mouth as I head out the door to do something else, neglecting my spouse in the process.

I feel as though I am neglecting God in my daily work.

This may sound strange for someone who is a pastor. It may be easy to say that all my work is directed toward God. It would be easy to argue that everything I do is an act of devotion and love toward God, but that would simply not be true. There are too many days that go by when I give God the cursory peck on the cheek and completely ignore him for the rest. There are too many days when I miss his tender touch as I run about doing my own thing. Too many days I do not see his gifts.

This is why Mondays are a real gift for me now. Mondays I sit down and think about what God has given me, how he has blessed me, where he has touched me. Days when I can really experience his gifts.

21) the crunch of gravel on a well worn path

22) a bench during a long walk

23) reminders of our brokeness

24) the majesty of the Rocky Mountains

25) the calm of water

26) this ache in my soul

27) the convicting closeness of God

28) heated seats

29) a partner who will listen, even when my thoughts are incoherent

30) the grace of change

autumn in the rain

Image by Denis Collette…!!! via Flickr

Dismal dreary days lead to a dismal dreary heart. A life that finds hope hard, strength weak, and rest difficult.

Autumn in the rain.

The trees shed their coverings and stand naked against the steel gray sky. Rain and wind lash at the windows and threaten to make hearts as cold as the bare feet on this hardwood floor.

Disillusionment occurs when real life doesn’t live up to our expectations. — Sarah Cunningham in Dear Church: Letters from a Disillusioned Generation

Maybe this happens when people do not live up to our expectations. Disappointment just does not really fit the feeling. Sure that is there. There is a sadness and heartbreak, a feeling of being let down. More, though, is this feeling that they have let themselves down. A feeling that they are not being true to who they claim to be, to who God is calling them to be. A frustration that there is freedom available if they could only open their eyes.

Disillusionment has this sense of removing the rose coloured glasses through which we see the world. A freeing from false belief or appearance. To be disillusioned is to be able to see through the masks that others wear. A freedom to see things as they really are.

Recently, I was sitting in church and it hit me.

Is this really it? Are we being the church God had in mind? Is this what God had in mind when he stood with his disciples in the final moments of his life on earth and told them to go into all parts of the world and declare his authority over all creation? Is this what he envisioned when declaring that the gates of Hell will not prevail against the church of Jesus Christ?

I think not. I think that we have allowed consumerism, pragmatism, and individualism to deeply implicate our vision of Church; we can no longer see clearly what God intended for us to experience as the people of God. — JR Kerr on the Q blog

Is it possible that our focus on the existing entity to which we belong, the physical congregation which gathers at a given place a given number of times every week, is hindering our vision of what we could be in Christ? Is it possible that God is calling us to sacrifice our own comfort in order to follow where he is leading? Is it possible that he is calling us to pick up a cross (an instrument of torture and death) to follow him?

Autumn in the rain.

There is hope even in this, because it is only through our own death that we receive his life.

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downward mobility

Our society is obsessed with success, and this success is defined in a very specific way. Our society calls us to live a life that seeks more comforts than our parents had, each generation is supposed to have a bigger house, more cottages, more travel, more money, newer cars, better things.

The goal of so many people in this world is to move up in the social class structure.

Just look at the difference in these wine commercials.

Both of these use the same sort of technique to get us to purchase wines, they suggest that their wines will increase the joy of the family get together. The second one, however, shows a much higher level of living. The houses are bigger. The celebration is bigger. Even the gatherings are bigger.

The Christian, however, is called to a much different lifestyle. We are called to sell our stuff and give to the poor. We are called to share what we have with those in need. We are called to downward, instead of upward, mobility.

This is so hard to do. Our culture encourages mass consumption. Mass accumulation. If we run out of room in our normal storage spaces, we can rent storage lockers or rooms down at the local storage space, even though we have WAY more storage space in our houses than our parents and grandparents did.

I have to admit that I have bought into this in many ways. I am constantly thinking about ‘upgrading’ whatever I have. My computer is old and slow, should get an upgrade. My car is getting a bit older, should think about upgrading it. The list goes on and on.

But what if we took Jesus seriously when he called us to a life of simplicity? What if we could sell some of our stuff, or at least refuse to add to the stuff we have without getting rid of some of what we do have? What if we were able to live simply so that others can simply live?

Can we live a story which runs counter to the consumption story that we have been living for so long?

I wonder.

crazy love: a review

Christians spend so much of their time trying to live the right way. We try not to swear or use foul language. We try not to tell dirty jokes. We try to make our kids sit straight and be quiet in the worship space.

Do you ever wonder if we are trying to do the wrong things?

Sometimes I wonder if we major in the minors and completely ignore the big things God is calling us to. I wonder if we gloss over Jesus’s radical calls to obedience in the scriptures on purpose, or if we simply miss it.

Francis Chan, in his book Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God says that yes, indeed, we have missed it. At least the vast majority of us have.

You may wonder if this is simply another angry book blasting the North-American church for not following Jesus. To be honest, I wondered that myself. As I began to read the book, I actually felt that it moved rather slowly. Chan takes his time outlining what it means to follow God, and makes sure that we understand just who this God is.

He incorporates his website in his text, urging the reader to go and watch some videos that are hosted there. I found this somewhat distracting. When I sit down to read a book, I want to read the book. I do not want to have to take the time to go to my computer and watch a visitor.

These drawbacks were more than made up for, however, as the book progressed. Chan Biblically draws an outline of what it means to be a follower of Jesus, not in specifics but in attitude.

His explication of what it means to be obsessed with Jesus really hit home for me. Here is a quick summary of his description of a person deeply in love (obsessed) with Jesus.

People who are obsessed with Jesus: give freely and openly, without censure, aren’t consumed with their personal safety and comfort above all else, live lives that connect them with the poor in some way or another, are more concerned with obeying God than doing what is expected or fulfilling the status-quo, know that the sin of pride is always a battle, do not consider service a burden, are known as givers, not takers, think about heaven frequently, are characterised by a committed, settled passionate love for God, are raw with God, have an intimate relationship with Him, are more concerned with their character than comfort, know that the best thing they can do is be faithful to his saviour in every aspect of his life.

While there are other books that relate the same subject, they rely more on experience than scripture. Chan makes a concerted effort to remind us that it is only in Jesus that we are saved, and that for the glory of God. This salvation calls us to lead a radically different life than those around us. This is one of the best books I have found that outlines the Biblical basis and demand for radical discipleship in an accessible and engaging way.