some thoughts from joel




				*Great Thoughts* How often we are blind to God's work within our very hearts. How many times we are given understanding as a grace, and yet we believe it is our own cleverness or ingenuity. How many times we think we come to some deep thought and believe it is our own. What are all these if not graces from God? My very mind, "so wonderfully observant," is a gift from God. And yet all this time I have failed to recognize how good God has been to reveal these very simple things to me. It is a profound grace to think God's thoughts after Him; to know that my deepest thoughts come not from my own mind, but from the Giver of all good gifts. For the first time, it seems, I give Him thanks for the grace of realizing all of this. What good is the greatest mind (which I am far from possessing!) if it does not know the One Who made it? What benefit is knowledge if it fails to lead me to the Source of all knowledge? It is no small thing that I prayed tonight that the Lord would keep my heart from pride in my knowledge. How gracious He is to show me that all I am and know and understand is given to me as a gift! How gracious He is to show me how much more there is to learn! May these protect my heart from pride. *Humility* Humility is not a practice of seeing ourselves and saying how lowly we are ("I am a worm!"). Humility is not looking at ourselves at all because we are lost in our concern for others. And we are most perfectly humble when we are concerned only for God and His will. It is this orientation of our lives that enables us to serve others with true humility. It is this orientation that allows us to see that it is not our goodness, but God's goodness working through us. What gratitude should fill our hearts, then, as we realize what God can do through such flawed people! Justify I think we would like to console ourselves with the idea that some people never make mistakes or willfully do wrong. Then there is some scale, and though we are not as high and holy as some, at least we are better than a great many. If we are better than most, then we should be able to feel comfortable with the way we are. "Change? Me? Why should I change? I'm not as bad as them!" I pray that God will save me from the false humility that pretends to acknowledge my own willful disregard for God's desires, yet only rejoices that I am not as bad off as the next guy. I pray that God will help me to recognize that, without Him, I am as lost as the lowliest sinner. See...there I go again! Who Is My Brother? It is very tempting to create enemies out of our brothers and sisters. They do not cooperate with our dreams and plans and so they become frustrating obstacles to our will. Hatred, cleverly disguised as smug "toleration," enters our hearts as a little seed: Cain reborn. We hold our fellow traveler in contempt in so many subtle ways: a coarse report to a trusted friend, a careless phrase dismissing him as backwards or unenlightened. We undermine our brother's reputation as we endeavor to remove the obstacle he has become. We enact the "blessed subtraction." It is the path of humble love that recognizes our common failure to make open paths for others. We too are obstacles. Where did I ever get the impression that MY will supercedes all others? That was the sin of Cain's father and mother. The new Way is to willingly submit "my will" to Another. I know the anger that follows the frustration of my will--it destroys me and those around me. Could I find the humility to love those people rather than my plans? Can I refuse the temptation to love myself (my plans, my schedule) more than other people? Can I escape the failure of my fathers (Adam, Cain) to love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength? Can I love my brother even when he's in my way? Conquer My Heart It is a painful joy when God conquers my heart. It is painful because I so often fight to hold on to my territory. It is painful because God does not fight back. He never uses force to bring me back--only love. Time and again, He invites my surrender--His entrance into me and mine into Him. Why do I so often kick against his loving invitation? It is a joy when God conquers my heart because it is then that I discover the beauty of life. I discover His richness when I release my hold on the things I so often cling to. My life is currently a struggle for integration. Kirkegaard said that Purity of heart is to will one thing. I find myself in a place that tempts me to will an infinite number of things. They all pull me apart microscopic piece by piece. They are the many dis-tractions of my life. And in the middle of it all, I seek the One who can keep me together. I am destroyed unless I stay close to the Master. I am undone unless I cling to my Creator. With all the people praying the prayer of Jabez, we would do better to pray the "Jesus prayer": Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, Have mercy on me. Giving and Receiving You may have heard it said that giving your life to God means that He will take your life from you. "No more fun...No more freedom to live as I see fit!" But what God desires to remove from our lives is that which is carcinogenic. More than that, He gives well beyond what He takes. He takes the limited, temprary false loves in our lives and replaces them with the Infinite One who is love. One more thought...God only takes what we offer up with open hands. He can only give when those same hands remain unclenched--ready to receive and give away again. On Humility It is good that a person should be ignorant of his goodness or attractiveness. It is better, though more difficult, that a person, having been made aware of his goodness and attractiveness (of character), pays it no further attention because he looks not on himself, but only to God and others. On the Necessity of Fellowship A man does not make himself better. He is made better because of the influence of others…or more particularly because of the influence of The Other. Alone we tend toward self-destructive paths. We need a fellowship and a Guide to direct our journey. Also you and I must seek to help others remain in the path. I need you to make me better. You need me to make you better. On the Subtle Force of Envy Envy makes itself present in very subtle ways. The casual word that undermines a brother or sister springs up from the jealousy of another's success. The self-justification of complacency when I see a brother or sister in the place that I would have for my own. This is so dangerous to my heart. It robs me of life. It robs me of possibilities-namely, the possibilities for friendships and learning. They are lost because of my sin-that subtly destructive force of envy. On the Inadequacy of Mental Assent To a great extent we have come to believe/assume that: 1) the Christian life is about living in such a way that we avoid the nasty possibility of eternal suffering (as we think of suffering), and 2) the way to ensure protection from that suffering is to believe a certain list of propositions (cognitive assent, or agreeing in principle rather than in practice), and/or doing more good things than bad things. What if these are only peripheral issues? What if the Christian life is really about the human life? What if it is not so much about assenting to the right list, but rather living as we were intended to live? As Christians, we believe that Jesus was (and is) God's special "logos" who embodied what it really means to be human. I say this because I wonder how much our emphasis on orthodoxy has skewed our understanding of God's mission for us to embody His heart and character in this world that has been twisted and misshapen into rebellion against him? *On the Presence of Christ in Human Relationships* Fellowship between human beings is possible only because of t he mediation of Jesus Christ. Bonhoeffer wrote, "There is no way from one person to another. However loving and sympathetic we try to be, however sound our psychology, however frank and open our behavior, we cannot penetrate the incognito of the other man, for there are no direct relationships, not even between soul and soul. Christ stands between us, and we can only get in touch with our neighbors through him. That is why intercession is the most promising way to reach our neighbors, and corporate prayer, offered in the name of Christ, the purest form of fellowship." And this is seen most clearly in the relationships that do not acknowledge the mediation of Christ. When I do not allow the reflection of another to pass through the Mediator, I cannot make any significant connection with them. I am unable to hear them or identify with them. There is not hope that we will share any sort of 'koinonia'. However, Christ is there between us, whether we acknowledge it or not. It is because of his mediating presence between us that we have any degree of 'koinonia' at all. Paul wrote, "He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." This is the case not only of the fabric of the universe (those incomprehensible quantum connections-"rings," "strings," and other things), but of the fabric of human relationships. Christ is not only the singular mediator between God and humans, he is the singular mediator between human beings. And this is true to a degree-however diminished-even between those who do not acknowledge it. And that means that no one is beyond hope in this life. We Are Hungry We are hungry for true community. We have tried to find it in the crowd on Sunday morning, but there must be more. We have tried to find it by living vicariously through the lives of characters on the television, but they vanish like the fragile fog. We need you to help us see what true community is. Help us by pointing to the perfect community of the Father, Son, and Spirit. Help us by pointing to the community of faith as God intended it to be. Help us by demonstrating that kind of community. Dwell with us and let us dwell with you. Let us share with each other so neither of us is lacking anything. Help us by simply being present. Feed us with your silent presence. Feed us with the Bread of Life. We are hungry for answers to life's difficult questions. We are hungry for an end to our confusion. We are hungry for words to explain our feelings and thoughts. Help us by struggling through these questions with us. Help us to untangle the mess that confusing language has made in our minds. Help us by giving us language to describe our experience. Help us by showing that you are confused as well. Help us by working through it with us. Feed us with a clear word from God. Feed us the Bread of Life. We are hungry for God's message to us. Help us to know that God is not silent. Help us to know that God responds to our questions and requests. Help us to understand the Bible. Help us to understand who Jesus was and is. Help us to understand what salvation means. Help us by listening to our questions, knowing our needs, and asking God to speak to us through you. Help us by listening to God without your own agenda. Help us to hear Jesus when you speak to us. Feed us the Bread of Life. We are hungry for safety. We are hungry for someone to listen to our fears and not laugh. We know they are irrational, but they are there nevertheless. We know they may sound silly, but please, just hear them without calling us silly or stupid. Just let us talk until we have finished--hear us out--then listen beyond our words and hear our heart. Feed us with answers from God. Point us to truth in the Scriptures, not your or anyone else's philosophy. Help us by giving us anchors to keep us steady as well as to pull us out into deeper waters. Feed us by offering us open ears and open hearts. Feed us by pointing us to Jesus. Feed us the Bread of Life. We are hungry for someone to demonstrate the compassion of God. We live in a world that rarely shows us that we are valuable. We live in a world that takes without mercy. We live in a world that moves on to the next useful thing without considering the fact that we are still here. We live in a world that consumes without compassion. Feed us by loving us for who we are, not for what we can provide for you. Feed us by loving us as we are, not only if we clean ourselves up and make ourselves pleasing in your sight. Feed us by loving us when we are acting like an enemy. Feed us by suffering with us out of your love for us. Feed us by being like Jesus who left the heights of heaven to come and walk among us. Help us by receiving us with all our imperfections. Feed us by joining us in the heartache of our demolished childhood, and help us to discover healing. Help us by pointing to One whose brokenness makes us whole again. Help us by staying with us as we struggle through a lifetime of healing. Feed us with your continuous loving presence. Feed us the Bread of Life. We are hungry for love. We are hungry for someone to love us for who we are, not what we can provide for them. We live in a world that defines our value by our usefulness. Help us by showing us that we have value regardless of how we benefit you. Help us by showing us that we are loved, simply for being us. Help us to feel valued by wasting time with us. Help us to feel more valuable than your schedule or your agenda. Feed us by being Jesus with us. Feed us the Bread of Life. We are hungry for hope. We are hungry for a way to live that is different and better than what I live now. Do you hear us? Do you understand that we already know that our lives are messed up? Do you hear us crying out for a better way to live? Help us by demonstrating the life of Jesus. Help us by giving us ways to make His life a reality in our lives. Help us to know how to walk in his steps. Teach us how to pray by being pray-ers. Teach us how to live in the presence of God by being people of God's Presence. Help us to enter into the life of God's kingdom today, not after I die. Jesus told us to be perfect as his Father in heaven is perfect. Help us to make that a reality. Help us to see that it is possible. Help us to see that it is good. Feed us by showing that it is possible to live like Jesus did. Feed us the Bread of Life. We are hungry for laughter. Do you see how we try to escape the burdensome tragedies that overwhelm us every day? We have Leno and Letterman and Murphy, but we want a reason to laugh with joy, not at the diminution of other people. Help us to find the freedom that brings laughter. Help us to discover the hilarious grace that comes with a clear conscience. Help us by being able to laugh at yourself, because then we can laugh at ourselves too. Help us to know that we will not be belittled because we are sure of your love for us. Help us to know that we cannot be diminished because we are loved by God. Feed us with your laughter. Feed us with the joy that comes in knowing Jesus. Feed us with the Bread of Life. We are hungry for honesty. We are cynical because we live in a world of duplicity. Help us by letting your guard down. Help us by letting your "yes" mean "yes" and your "no" mean "no." Help us by not hiding behind your words. Help us by making yourself vulnerable. Help us by showing us your authentic self. Help us by destroying our suspicions because of your transparent heart. Help us by reaching out to us with open arms. Help us by showing us the God in whom there is no shadow. Help us by showing us the God who cannot lie. Feed us by pointing us to Truth. Feed us the Bread of Life. We are hungry for pictures to guide our experience. We do not want techinical jargon or even religious sounding words that are foreign to us. Teach us with the simple, common images that communicate the Truth. Help us by speaking like Jesus who used wheat, bread, water, wine, birds, flowers, salt, and light. Give us images that shape our thinking. We think in images. Help us find the right images. Feed us by giving us a mustard seed. Feed us by pointing us to the Light. Feed us the Bread of Life. We are hungry for clarity. We are bombarded with words. We are tired of cute alliteration. We are tired of clever word plays. Help us by giving us one clear word from God. Help us by being simple, not simplistic. Feed us by thinking through the complex questions we have and understanding them enough to explain it to a child. Feed us with the simple beautiful Word. Feed us the Bread of Life. We are hungry for grace. We believe that we must "measure up." We believe that we must be clean before we can come to God. Help us by showing us that God meets us where we are now. Help us to understand the meaning that grace is a gift, not something we become worthy of. We don't know how to open our hands to God. Help us to open our clenched fists so we can freely receive what God freely gives. Feed us by being gracious to us. Feed us by sharing the grace you have received from God. Feed us the Bread of Life. We are hungry for peace. Strife is abundant in our world. We do not have the sanitized past or present you may have had. We identify with the shattered lives you see on the talk shows. What is bizarre to you is not far from our normal. We are hungry for peace-filled existence. Help us to find that. Feed us the Bread of Life. We are hungry for forgiveness. We know the mess we've made of our lives and yours. Help us by loving us past our failures. Help us by sharing with us the forgiveness you have received from God. Help us by pointing to the forgiveness God has made available through Jesus. Help us by reminding us of the security of God's forgiveness. Help us by not holding our past failures against us. Feed us with your unwavering friendship. Feed us by forgiving us more than seven times, because we will surely fail you. Feed us the Bread of Life. Thoughts at Play Imagine a church that is truly unique. We must break out of the mold. Forget realism, let's realize idealism! Whoever started with a dream of mediocrity? Why should we? Let's paint God a masterpiece! Let's have celebration as a group, but why does the group have to be a certain size… 50…500…5,000? Let's be the Church. The building was made for the Church, not the Church for the building! Jesus is the head of the Church, not the head of buildings or even just Sunday morning services. As I sit and type I am confronted with my own preconceived ideas of how things should be. Order of service. Music, prayer, sermon, communion, prayer, goodbye… Isn't the important thing that we have order in service-as opposed to chaos? Large group. Concert performance. Worship leader. Worship leader? As if worship only happens one hour a week? As if worship only happens when someone helps me learn how to sing new songs? How can we unravel the traditionalistic straightjackets without stripping ourselves of the fine linens of tradition? How can we be culturally relevant and Scripturally sound? We had better figure it out. Practice double vision and double hearing. See ourselves from two perspectives: heaven to shape our character (because we need to be changed by God), culture to shape our communication (because it needs to hear from God in its own language). I find it interesting that God never spoke to His people in languages they could not understand. Let us be a colorful people. Thank God that He created light in all its various wavelengths! Let our environment reflect our colorful lives. Oh, are you uncomfortable with painting outside the lines with colors outside the pre-packaged selection? Did you ever see a sunset? Have you ever witnessed the infinite variety of colors in autumn and spring? Does not God wish us to be extra-ordinary people? Are we not supposed to let our light (in all its glorious wavelengths) shine before men so they will see our good deeds and praise our Father in heaven? God has created us to create! Let's create something truly extra-ordinary! True creative community. A peculiar people realizing their extra-ordinary potential. Eminently relevant. Luminously relational. Distinctively real.