The message this week was on the letter to the third church in Pergamum
This was a rich message and I could write about it in a number of different ways but the title of my blog is My Humble Walk, so I feel that the best way to approach the messages is in how they impact me personally and in my walk and growth as a Christian. And so the key point I got out of this weeks message was that since we were created in God's image, we were made to worship Him and to get our needs met through Him alone. When our relationship with Him is broken then it impacts our relationships with things and people. Since we were made to worship, we will seek to worship, if not God we will turn our worship towards people, things, money, power, relationships, prestige any number of things. The way to heal broken relationships with the "horizontal" all these things, is to fix the relationship with the "vertical" God. And the healing for that is found in the word, manifested both in the written word and in Christ himself. But what does that mean? I am preparing to get back into the counseling field in the next couple of years and the implications of this are important to me in re-entering the helping profession. So can I help others fix unhealthy relationships if I don't focus on their spiritual relationship? Or can the spiritual relationship be healed through healing of other relationships? Some people have such a distorted image of who God is because we ascribe to Him characteristics of people. In my work with abused children there was so much anger toward God who was seen as both an abuser and an abandoner. So if we help people have hope in mankind by providing healing and health through human relationship can we then pave the way toward broadening the view of who God is and provide access to Him. That is how I see it now. I don't want to work in the capacity where I can't address issues of faith, but I also don't want to focus on getting right with God first when that seems unimaginable or perhaps too abstract to someone. Sometimes we need a concrete reference point, to get a grasp on something tangible before we can understand it's spiritual implications. My pastor talked about Hidden manna, meaning "just enough" God provides all we need, just enough of all we need in Christ not Christ plus something. Christ sufficient.
I also believe that hidden refers to obscure. God hides his truth, He claims to do so in His own word,not hide it so that we can never find it if we seek, more so that we can develop a treasure map so to speak to find it. He wants us to be delighted to find His truth to have kind of an aha moment. And that is what I would like my counseling to be, a kind of treasure map to something bigger than I alone would ever be able to provide.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Monday, May 23, 2005
third letter to Revelation
Our message today was based on the third letter in Revelations, addressing a church located in the area where Satan has his throne and "Satan lives" For a bit of background on this church our Pastor told us that Germans found a huge statue of Zues sitting on a throne in this area and brought it back to East Germany a long time ago, interesting when you consider what East Germany was about. It was a message about staying faithful and not giving into the practices of the surrounding community which involved idolatry and Pastor Andy believes that there is a direct link between idolatry and immorality. The people there believed that it didn't matter what you did with the body as long as you kept your mind good. The mind, the ability to reason was all that matters. He sees that we aren't that removed from that kind of mindset. It is a kind of religion that doesn't demand all of you, just your thoughts. But we forget how holistic we are. And that we are body/mind and spirit and we don't just function out of one of these, but out of all of them intertwined and we are affected body/mind and spirit by the choices we make. Made in the image of God, we are made to commune with him, to worship and fellowship with him, this is our vertical relationship. This vertical relationship and the state it is in affects our "horizontal relationships" Those we have with people, and things here in our life. If the "vertical relationship" is broken the horizontal will be broken as well. This leads to Pastor Andy's reoccurring theme. And that is how necessary it is for us to find our identity in Christ. This theme permeates all of his messages and he weaves every scripture reference together to all come to the same conclusion. Find your identity in Christ. It is the only way for you to be satisfied. It is of course the message of the gospel and it is timely for us in this day. When I was in school we learned about Maslow's hierarchy of needs, as an individual will focus on basic needs like food or shelter and when that no longer becomes an issue they move up a pyramid to the next level of needs, the top of the pyramid is self actualization. And as humanistic as Maslows hierarchy is, it says something about who we are as human beings, we want purpose to our life. It is not surprising that Rick Warrens book Purpose Driven Life is the top selling book in America. We as a civilization, collectively are at the point where most of the underlying basic needs are met and now we want to find out our purpose, or identity, why are we here? It is our newest most pressing need. And Andy keeps coming back to the fact that we are to remember that we are Christ's, that is who we are. But when we don't realize that and our vertical relationship is broken, we strive to find our identity or fulfillment in people or things on earth, we start to form unhealthy relationships with people, or possessions or money. We attempt to make these things satisfy us and they never will, not for more than a moment. We can become trapped in our own desires. We become enslaved. Tod always says "you don't own your possessions they own you." We are currently learning that firsthand as an investment we took on is consuming our time and energy and while it still seems like a good thing, we often wonder, did we really count the cost?
Andy concludes by stating that the answer to getting back to a healthy vertical relationship is found right at the beginning of the letter- the word of God, sharper than a two edged sword, this word which is found in the Bible and in Christ Himself is life giving and I think it is referenced latter in the letter as the hidden manna. Which is the food given by God himself. Food that satisfies the hunger we try to satisfy with so much else, I have a slightly different interpretation than Andy in the word hidden, he claims that it means "enough" God in the new testament hid the manna and brought out just "enough" to be satisfied on a daily basis. I think hidden refers to spiritual because Christ hides spiritual truth in both his parables and in his miracles. The way I see it, and of course i am not a pastor but I read the Bible as if on a great treasure hunt, is that God hides His truth. He hides it in His word, he hides it in our life. He doesn't hide it so that it is impossible to find, but He wants us to search for it and to discover it and to be delighted when we do. Much like a parent hides Easter eggs in places where a child can find it. He wants us to be seekers of him and pursuers of Him. And when we seek Him first, He will give us manna, spiritual food, Christ himself. Food that will fill all the places that we try to fill with so much else.
Andy concludes by stating that the answer to getting back to a healthy vertical relationship is found right at the beginning of the letter- the word of God, sharper than a two edged sword, this word which is found in the Bible and in Christ Himself is life giving and I think it is referenced latter in the letter as the hidden manna. Which is the food given by God himself. Food that satisfies the hunger we try to satisfy with so much else, I have a slightly different interpretation than Andy in the word hidden, he claims that it means "enough" God in the new testament hid the manna and brought out just "enough" to be satisfied on a daily basis. I think hidden refers to spiritual because Christ hides spiritual truth in both his parables and in his miracles. The way I see it, and of course i am not a pastor but I read the Bible as if on a great treasure hunt, is that God hides His truth. He hides it in His word, he hides it in our life. He doesn't hide it so that it is impossible to find, but He wants us to search for it and to discover it and to be delighted when we do. Much like a parent hides Easter eggs in places where a child can find it. He wants us to be seekers of him and pursuers of Him. And when we seek Him first, He will give us manna, spiritual food, Christ himself. Food that will fill all the places that we try to fill with so much else.
Monday, May 16, 2005
Message Recap Revelations 2:8-11
The message today was second in a series of seven letters to the seven churches in Revelations. Missed the first one, so I ordered it on tape, will blog about it later
The second letter was the letter to the the church in Smyrna- the first "urban church" a church with physical poverty but spiritual wealth. A suffering church. This is a message spoken about suffering. The 10 days of persecution refers to the the limit that is placed on suffering. Suffering to the point of death refers to the fact that the suffering may be so great as to lead to that, but that is not the end all. Our pastor illustrated this by stated that there is a boundary both in the time frame of suffering and the extent of suffering. It can only reach to the point of death. But there is something beyond this boundary and that is the time of judgment which encompassed both grace and forgiveness or a death sentence to the second death. A death that refers to hell and eternal suffering and separation from God. A kind of suffering that I believe we can't even fathom. The letter to Smyrna indicates that the believers there will not be hurt at all by this second death. The tone of the message was partially set to the reality that we had a funeral for our church family the day before for an infant who died in utero just a few days before he was due to be born. He was a beautiful baby, perfect in every way, but tragedy struck in the womb and left his family and friends and our church confused, heartbroken, and deeply grieved. It was a time of suffering. And so our pastor stated that you can not comfort people by saying "this is God's will" It is never God's will for tragedy to occur. There is a falleness to our world and there is an evil being at work bent on our destruction (Satan) but God can work his will through horrible circumstances. And the extent to the tragedy can never reach beyond the grave. After that we are to be found in the presence of Christ. Our Pastor says there is no scriptural evidence we can find to support that God is the author of tragic circumstances (I don't know that I agree but I will address that later). But that tragedy is a part of our reality and always will be but it has a boundary, it can not rob us of hope and it can not keep us from living a life that is fruitful and full of purpose, but it stays with us, it reminds us that we have been touched by it whenever we bump into it in our life. But it can never be strong enough to separate us from what truly matters and that is the love of Christ.
My take-I understand the tone of today's message and felt that it offers a sense of hope and healing to those still reeling from the blow of the baby's death. It is then that we question "why God why?" And while I agree that we should never tell grieving people that a tragedy is "God's will" It sounds trite and it makes God out to be one who is out to assault us, I have to say that I believe some tragedies are in fact God's will. Let me explain-I think the Bible itself is full of "Tragedy"
But let me also say that our definition of tragedy, based on our limited scope is very different from God's definition of tragedy. God sent a flood to destroy most of the earth, God continually destroyed his own people narrowing them down to just a remnant. God sent his own son to die for the sins of mankind. Are these not examples of ways that make us question God's system of redemption? And if even the winds and waves obey Him, as they did when Christ stilled the storm, could not God prevent some natural disaster like hurricanes or floods or even the tsunami? If we can't accuse God of abuse, can we accuse Him of neglect? I mean who wouldn't report to the police a crime that we heard was about to happen. If we were to stumble upon plans for a terrorist attack or a school bombing, are we not held responsible to inform authorities, to do what we can to prevent it from happening? Surely God sees tragedy before it unfolds so why doesn't a God who supposedly loves more than we can even imagine loving, do something about it? And why are there some cases where he does seem to intervene? Why do some people have stories of miracles or of narrowly escaping death that they credit to God. Who is this God who has the power to change things but often doesn't?
Well, I have to come back to the belief that His view of tragedy is different from ours. His view of tragedy is losing one of His own to that second death and He will do what He needs to do to intercede on our behalf. I have one small picture of that from my own experiences. I had to take each of my children in for immunizations to protect them from deadly diseases. It is very hard for a mother whose goal is to protect her children to subject them to pain. It was especially hard when the nurse asked me to help hold them down. "My children" I thought, are not going to understand why Mommy is not going to protect them but is going to be an enemy preventing them from escaping pain. Furthermore, they have no concept of what Polio is or diphtheria or Mumps or measles or Hepatitis. They will only know that they are experiencing pain and Mommy is allowing it." And so I held down the upper part of their little bodies while they screamed as nurse jabbed four different needled into their legs and all the while I bent close and whispered in their ear of my love and kissed their temples, and when it was over I held them close and let them cry in my arms. This, I think gives me a small inkling of who my God is. The most horrifying tragedy I can possibly imagine is nothing, NOTHING, compared to what God knows to be tragedy. He has experienced both having come to life in human form, suffered human suffering, and then suffered Hell on the cross. He knows the difference, and He will do all He can to rescue us. We can't see how, much like my children can't see the difference between a round of immunizations and the crippling, life threatening disease of polio, but I have to trust that my God is more loving than I can ever possibly imagine, in all circumstances. And that when suffering comes my way ( and I believe it eventually comes to all) He will be there, bending down whispering of his love and holding me as I weep.
Of course, I hope it goes without saying that these are words that someone experiencing a tragedy need not be given for comfort. Someone in the midst of a crisis needs for us to enter into their grief, to mourn with them, pray with them, hold their hand, allow them to question without giving answers, allow them to experience the full gamut of emotions without judgment, to take hold of their burden with our own two hands and do whatever we can do to help lift it and carry it with them.
The second letter was the letter to the the church in Smyrna- the first "urban church" a church with physical poverty but spiritual wealth. A suffering church. This is a message spoken about suffering. The 10 days of persecution refers to the the limit that is placed on suffering. Suffering to the point of death refers to the fact that the suffering may be so great as to lead to that, but that is not the end all. Our pastor illustrated this by stated that there is a boundary both in the time frame of suffering and the extent of suffering. It can only reach to the point of death. But there is something beyond this boundary and that is the time of judgment which encompassed both grace and forgiveness or a death sentence to the second death. A death that refers to hell and eternal suffering and separation from God. A kind of suffering that I believe we can't even fathom. The letter to Smyrna indicates that the believers there will not be hurt at all by this second death. The tone of the message was partially set to the reality that we had a funeral for our church family the day before for an infant who died in utero just a few days before he was due to be born. He was a beautiful baby, perfect in every way, but tragedy struck in the womb and left his family and friends and our church confused, heartbroken, and deeply grieved. It was a time of suffering. And so our pastor stated that you can not comfort people by saying "this is God's will" It is never God's will for tragedy to occur. There is a falleness to our world and there is an evil being at work bent on our destruction (Satan) but God can work his will through horrible circumstances. And the extent to the tragedy can never reach beyond the grave. After that we are to be found in the presence of Christ. Our Pastor says there is no scriptural evidence we can find to support that God is the author of tragic circumstances (I don't know that I agree but I will address that later). But that tragedy is a part of our reality and always will be but it has a boundary, it can not rob us of hope and it can not keep us from living a life that is fruitful and full of purpose, but it stays with us, it reminds us that we have been touched by it whenever we bump into it in our life. But it can never be strong enough to separate us from what truly matters and that is the love of Christ.
My take-I understand the tone of today's message and felt that it offers a sense of hope and healing to those still reeling from the blow of the baby's death. It is then that we question "why God why?" And while I agree that we should never tell grieving people that a tragedy is "God's will" It sounds trite and it makes God out to be one who is out to assault us, I have to say that I believe some tragedies are in fact God's will. Let me explain-I think the Bible itself is full of "Tragedy"
But let me also say that our definition of tragedy, based on our limited scope is very different from God's definition of tragedy. God sent a flood to destroy most of the earth, God continually destroyed his own people narrowing them down to just a remnant. God sent his own son to die for the sins of mankind. Are these not examples of ways that make us question God's system of redemption? And if even the winds and waves obey Him, as they did when Christ stilled the storm, could not God prevent some natural disaster like hurricanes or floods or even the tsunami? If we can't accuse God of abuse, can we accuse Him of neglect? I mean who wouldn't report to the police a crime that we heard was about to happen. If we were to stumble upon plans for a terrorist attack or a school bombing, are we not held responsible to inform authorities, to do what we can to prevent it from happening? Surely God sees tragedy before it unfolds so why doesn't a God who supposedly loves more than we can even imagine loving, do something about it? And why are there some cases where he does seem to intervene? Why do some people have stories of miracles or of narrowly escaping death that they credit to God. Who is this God who has the power to change things but often doesn't?
Well, I have to come back to the belief that His view of tragedy is different from ours. His view of tragedy is losing one of His own to that second death and He will do what He needs to do to intercede on our behalf. I have one small picture of that from my own experiences. I had to take each of my children in for immunizations to protect them from deadly diseases. It is very hard for a mother whose goal is to protect her children to subject them to pain. It was especially hard when the nurse asked me to help hold them down. "My children" I thought, are not going to understand why Mommy is not going to protect them but is going to be an enemy preventing them from escaping pain. Furthermore, they have no concept of what Polio is or diphtheria or Mumps or measles or Hepatitis. They will only know that they are experiencing pain and Mommy is allowing it." And so I held down the upper part of their little bodies while they screamed as nurse jabbed four different needled into their legs and all the while I bent close and whispered in their ear of my love and kissed their temples, and when it was over I held them close and let them cry in my arms. This, I think gives me a small inkling of who my God is. The most horrifying tragedy I can possibly imagine is nothing, NOTHING, compared to what God knows to be tragedy. He has experienced both having come to life in human form, suffered human suffering, and then suffered Hell on the cross. He knows the difference, and He will do all He can to rescue us. We can't see how, much like my children can't see the difference between a round of immunizations and the crippling, life threatening disease of polio, but I have to trust that my God is more loving than I can ever possibly imagine, in all circumstances. And that when suffering comes my way ( and I believe it eventually comes to all) He will be there, bending down whispering of his love and holding me as I weep.
Of course, I hope it goes without saying that these are words that someone experiencing a tragedy need not be given for comfort. Someone in the midst of a crisis needs for us to enter into their grief, to mourn with them, pray with them, hold their hand, allow them to question without giving answers, allow them to experience the full gamut of emotions without judgment, to take hold of their burden with our own two hands and do whatever we can do to help lift it and carry it with them.
Monday, May 02, 2005
Message Recap "crossing over to the Other side"
The message today was based on the text from Joshua 3 &4. This is where the Israelites are to exercise their faith and walk through the river to the promised land. The river is at flood stage and does not part until the priests carrying the ark of the covenant place their feet in the water. The message was that God calls us to follow him and doesn't provide assurance until we first obey. Our faith journey is just that; an opportunity to keep moving, always exercising our faith never staying in one place to get comfortable. The title of this blog is My Humble Walk, emphasizing the walking part as always moving, never arriving, but always getting closer to where I am suppose to be. The humble part, well that attests to the fact that I tend to fall down a lot. And sometimes when I fall, I just sit there. and decide to get comfortable. And sometimes I get all excited and race on ahead, only to find I've taken a wrong path and need to back track. The title is taken from Micah 6 "Walk humbly with your God." Walking with God requires me to walk a little bit behind him, listening to Him for direction. That takes practice because sometimes he says "Move forward" when I am frozen in fear, and sometimes he says "wait" when I am chomping at the bit to go in a direction I am sure is the right one. So how can I distinguish between God's voice and my own? Meaning, how do I know when God is saying "go in this direction" vs. My own ambitions or God saying "wait" verses my own fears or complacency keeping me stuck.
It reminds me of a story I heard once about a man who proposed to a woman saying. "God spoke to me and told me to marry you." to which she replies something like "Really? God spoke to me and said it's time to break up." Who was really in touch with God's voice, if either?
I've learned from experience some ways to distinguish God's urging vs. My own thoughts and desires. I've found that God can be a bit relentless. If he is urging something, the thought is a nagging one never really letting go of me. I have also found that if I don't wait when I sense I should my thoughts take on a rebellious quality. "This is my life and I am going to do what I want to do." I have always felt regret after making decisions with that mentality. So I have tried to walk with a certain sense of curiosity even when things seem to be going wrong or I feel like I am walking alone. "I wonder where God is going with this?" and I have learned a few times to jump into the river with both feet even when I have felt terrified. I have always found out later why that was necessary and it builds a history between me and God, where I learn to trust him more. Of course there are probably more times than not that I have camped out on waters edge afraid to go in. I am a total comfort seeker and I do have plenty of fears. But I have a God who keeps on urging and who seems to be very patient with the stumbling bumbling fool who is trying to walk along side of him. I am glad He waits up for me.
It reminds me of a story I heard once about a man who proposed to a woman saying. "God spoke to me and told me to marry you." to which she replies something like "Really? God spoke to me and said it's time to break up." Who was really in touch with God's voice, if either?
I've learned from experience some ways to distinguish God's urging vs. My own thoughts and desires. I've found that God can be a bit relentless. If he is urging something, the thought is a nagging one never really letting go of me. I have also found that if I don't wait when I sense I should my thoughts take on a rebellious quality. "This is my life and I am going to do what I want to do." I have always felt regret after making decisions with that mentality. So I have tried to walk with a certain sense of curiosity even when things seem to be going wrong or I feel like I am walking alone. "I wonder where God is going with this?" and I have learned a few times to jump into the river with both feet even when I have felt terrified. I have always found out later why that was necessary and it builds a history between me and God, where I learn to trust him more. Of course there are probably more times than not that I have camped out on waters edge afraid to go in. I am a total comfort seeker and I do have plenty of fears. But I have a God who keeps on urging and who seems to be very patient with the stumbling bumbling fool who is trying to walk along side of him. I am glad He waits up for me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)