Category Archives: Spiritual Formation

Thankfulness for your Church Family…

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Today, as I sat with Alverta’s son and daughter-in-law, I noted Fred was reading Life Together. Just seeing the book reminded me of something I typed from it years ago. I will cut and paste it here.

In the Christian community thankfulness is just what it is anywhere else in the Christian life. Only he who gives thanks for little things receives big things. We prevent God from giving us the great spiritual gifts He has in store for us, because we do not give thanks for the daily gifts. We think we dare not be satisfied with the small measure of spiritual knowledge, experience, and love that has been given to us, and that we must constantly be looking forward eagerly for the highest good. Then we deplore the fact that we lack the deep certainty, the strong faith, and the rich experience that God has given to others, and we consider this lament to be pious.  We pray for the big things and forget to give thanks for the ordinary, small (and yet really not small) gifts.

How can God entrust great things to one who will not thankfully received from Him little things?  If we do not give thanks daily for the Christian fellowship in which we have been placed, even where there is no great experience, no discoverable riches, but much weakness, small faith, and difficulty; if on the contrary, we only keep complaining to God that everything is so paltry and petty, so far from what we expected, then we hinder God from letting our fellowship grow according to the measure and riches which are there for us all in Jesus Christ.

This applies in a special way to the complaints often heard from pastors and zealous members about their congregations.  A pastor should not complain about his congregation, certainly never to other people, but also not to God.  A congregation has not been entrusted to him in order that he should become its accuser before God and men.  When a person becomes alienated from a Christian community in which he has been placed and begins to raise complaints about it, he had better examine himself first to see whether the trouble is not due to his wish-dream that should be shattered by God; and if this be the case, let him thank God for leading him into this predicament.  But if not, let him nevertheless guard against ever becoming an accuser of the congregation before God.  Let him rather accuse himself for his unbelief.  Let him pray God for an understanding of his own failure and his particular sin, and pray that he may not wrong his brethren.  Let him, in the consciousness of his own guilt, make intercession for his brethren.  Let him do what he is committed to do, and thank God.

Christian community is like the Christian’s sanctification.  It is a gift of God which we cannot claim.  Only God knows the real state of our fellowship, of our sanctification.  What may appear weak and trifling to us may be great and glorious to God.  Just as the Christian should not be constantly feeling his spiritual pulse, so, too, the Christian community has not been given to us by God for us to be constantly taking its temperature.  The more thankfully we daily receive what is given to us, the more surely and steadily will fellowship increase and grow from day to day as God pleases.

Christian brotherhood is not an ideal which we must realize; it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate.  The more clearly we learn to recognize that the ground and strength and promise of all our fellowship is in Jesus Christ alone, the more serenely shall we think of our fellowship and pray and hope for it.

~Life Together, by Deitrich Bonhoeffer  pp. 29-30

One of the most amazing things about that statement is its timelessness. When I typed it, I was using Word Prefect 4.2. That dates it to what, about 1987? But it’s still as applicable today as it was then.

I thank God for my church family. Always. (1 Thessalonians 1:2)

Sometimes We Can Be Clueless…

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Those who know me well know I can be mercilessly critical of myself — particularly of my ministry. Yesterday, I preached a sermon twice. That’s not new; I’ve been doing the two services for, what, about a month? But this week I observed something peculiar.

In the first service, I sensed the Holy Spirit’s presence in a greater way than the norm. I can’t explain how that feels or how it happens, but there are times in a service when you can feel the Holy Spirit working in a special way. Such was the case for me in the first service. But in the second service, I felt none of that. I felt like the sermon was disjointed. It seemed to me that the illustrations were muddy. I thought that the applications were irrelevant. And I felt that it was way too long — like ten minutes longer than the first. Giving you a glimpse into my struggle I admit to you that this was so distressing that I wondered, “What am I doing? This sermon is pathetic! I should stop now!” Sunday afternoon I listened to the first service. I was right — it was as good a sermon as God ever allows me to preach. I didn’t listen to the second service. I didn’t want to face the discouragement I was sure it would bring.

It wasn’t until this morning, Monday, that I listened to the second. And as I did, I realized it was the same as the first. In fact, every criticism I had leveled at myself from Sunday noon until Monday morning was false. The sermon was cohesive, the illustrations clear, the application accurate, and the time — if you take out the technical glitch, it was two minutes shorter than the early service. The words were the same; the tone was the same; the heart was the same. And I have a sneaking suspicion that the work of the Spirit was the same.

I am just clueless, at times.

This leads me to speak to you about your cluelessness. Self-criticism can be a tool that the enemy uses to make you give up. But the truth is that we are often clueless as to the effectiveness of our service to God. Only he can objectively evaluate. And in his grace he accepts that which is lacking, improves that which is weak, and judges by standards separate from ours.

In response to the fact that we are unable to judge objectively, God says, “I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.” — Jeremiah 17:10 (NIV)

Do yourself a favor: Obey the leading of God as he directs you to serve him. Leave the criticism to him.

Because it was shorter, I posted the audio from the second sermon on the church web site. If you would like to hear the first, it’s here. I am pretty confident that both of them are good. 🙂

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Getting a Good Night’s Sleep…

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Years ago a college student I know was having trouble with nightmares. Every night, she would lose sleep as she would awaken with a sense of fear and dread. Eventually she couldn’t even get to sleep, fearing what she might dream. Every night she would call her mom and ask her to pray with her so she might get some rest.

Eventually, I sent her this prayer, written by Laurel and me, hoping it would be of assistance. She called me and said it had been a great help. The words of the prayer aren’t some kind of magic formula, however the truth represented and the commitment made were key to having a good night’s rest.

God — thank You for bringing me into Your family, making me Your child, and blessing me with “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms with Christ Jesus.” Thank You for giving me this time of physical renewal, mental rest, and emotional refreshment as I sleep. I receive it as one of Your gifts for me — one of Your children — and I trust You to guard my body and mind as I sleep.

I have thought about You and Your truth throughout this day. I choose to dwell on those thoughts as I go to sleep. I commit myself to You for protection against every attempt of Satan and any other unclean spirits to attack me as I sleep. Guard my heart and mind from nightmares. I reject all fear and cast every anxiety upon You, Lord, for You care for me. I resolve to rest in You as my rock, my fortress and my strong tower. Place Your peace upon this resting place. In the strong name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.

Sleep tight.

Valuing the Body — and it’s members…

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Tonight at church we celebrated The Lord’s Supper in a joyous way.

I spoke on the theological issues and perspectives of The Lord’s Supper, using Wayne Grudem’s chapter on communion in his book on systematic theology. Then we spoke about the value of the Body of Christ, where we speak of his physical body, the bread, or the people we think of as the Body of Christ.

To make that last point practical, I personally served each person present the bread, asking others to share things they appreciated about the one receiving the bread. A variety of character qualities came up: a loving heart, dependability, a servant’s heart, being a good teacher, having a good sense of humor. It was good to hear and say these things.

What made this communion service the best I’ve ever been a part of was the edification of the body. As each one heard the others express their love and appreciation for him or her, something beautiful happened: The body was refreshed and strengthened.

You can do this any time. Communion was a great time to do it. But you can call someone on the phone, message them on facebook, send them an email, or go to the trouble to compose a poem on a card and say, “You are important to me and to the Body of Christ because…”

Give it a try. It’s a joyful thing to do.

Traveling the Length of Israel

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September  11, 2011

Today was a great day of travel. While my mind was on the remembrance of 9-11 my heart was clearly in the moment in Israel.

Our day began with a great breakfast in which I discovered halvah. It’s a sesame seed and honey mix, and baked into a pastry, it’s to die for. I had seven!

After breakfast we went nearly the length of Israel, heading down the highway along the Jordon river, seeing the many date palms and banana trees. At times we could see the boarder between Israel and Jordon, with army patrols along the fence.

Finally we arrived at our first stop – Masada. While Masada is not a biblical site, it is surely a testimony to a people who feel they should be slaves to no one, except the Most High God. Here, the last of the Jewish rebels held out against Rome, for six months as Rome built encampments far below.

Imagining their meeting in their synagogue as the Roman siege ramp neared completion is sobering. How do you decide to kill your own wife and children, and then your closest friends? Such commitment to something higher than themselves is attractive and moves one to consider one’s own commitment level.

From Masada we went to The Dead Sea. Doron mentioned more than once that the water level in the Sea is extremely low. When you see it, you understand exactly what he is talking about.

Still, it was fun for the people on the tour to get into the water and be amazed at their own buoyancy and forming a chain as they floated.

Some even dared cover themselves with the black mud so they might emerge more beautiful. That’s a matter of opinion, I am sure.

After the swim in the sea we went to the Qumran community and saw a film on their way of life. The film conjectured that John the Baptist was one of their own, but such speculation is just that – speculation. We walked to see the caves, and we were especially near the one where the boys found the majority of the scrolls.

Doron noted the sovereignty of God in uncovering this. I noted the God’s work in preserving his word. At the Qumran community, I presented the devotion that had been blown away – literally blown away – on The Sea of Galilee the day before.

This time it was clear and well-received, as I spoke of how Jesus is our refuge, suggesting that the Cities of Refuge were named by God with Christ in mind. Chuck lead several songs as we sat in the community. Thanks for praying for me as I minister here.

As you think of it, pray also for Chuck, Sunday was the second anniversary of the death of his wife, Kathy. He was quiet today.

From there we headed to Jericho where we had opportunity to buy Hebronic glass. We saw the Mount of Temptation, just outside of Jericho.

This Palestinian area is very different than the rest of Israel. We also saw the sycamore tree – not the one Zacchaeus climbed, but the Palestinians selling postcards and figs would like you to think that the wee little man climbed that very tree.

By this time we were getting pretty punchy, singing the song that bears Zacchaeus’ name.  While in the store we sampled Turkish Coffee, one of Bobbie’s passions. Doron loaded her up with two cups and she was bouncing around in the bus. I took a video of it and will post it if she is not nice to me. 😉

Now, on to Jerusalem. As we went up to Jerusalem, we passed many Bedouin camps. Their lifestyle is so foreign to us, it would be fascinating to visit them. As we came closer to Jerusalem, we passed the place Jesus lived while in the area – Bethany. Then, on the final ascent to the city Mike, our driver, put in a CD of the song, “Jerusalem,” as the sun set. It was thoroughly moving as we all sang the parts we knew, eyes sparkling with something between tears and excitement to arrive in the holy city.

Upon our arrival we got settled in our rooms and went to dinner. It was a good day. We look forward to exploring the city tomorrow.

Thanks for your prayers – particularly for the devotional time. It was much improved today.