I am reading through I Chronicles in my time of listening to the Lord. A few verses struck me today. In I Chron. 22:19, "Now devote your heart and soul to seeking [YHVH (Yahveh)] your God." David, King of Israel charged this to his son Solomon while gathering the materials to build the first Temple in Jerusalem, Israel. The second Scripture is I Chron. 23:30, "They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise [YHVH]. They were to do the same in the evening." This is what the tribe of Israel named, Levi did as their job each day. Compound these verses with the book I am reading and teaching from by Francis Chan, Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit and I have multiple thoughts running through my mind.
I know for fact that our Lord is real. I believe. What I sometimes struggle with, is His silence. I think He maybe stretching me right now. Last night I was in conversation with my wife about our budget. We are reworking it trying to figure out where money that should now be freed up is going. We should have some more money at the end of this month if we will adhere to the new budget. The interesting thing is that the money is the only money we will have for anything extra. It is also the exact amount of a full tithe to the Lord. I awaken this morning and find myself between sleep and prayer, prayer and sleep until I finally force myself out of bed. The family leaves and I am sitting alone, reading and eating Frosted Mini Wheats and I think about the budget again and this thought occurs to me, "We need to give that money to the Lord even if it means no extras. Shouldn't we be trusting Him for those anyway?"
Next, I come into the office and read these verses, longing to hear Jesus speak to me the way that he spoke to the seers and prophets of the Old Covenant. I am longing and seeking the Lord, but I wonder if he wants me to venture a little further from my comfort zone this time and that is why He seems silent even as my heart is turned to Him. Will I venture? Is it just about tithing and trusting (which seem to come up over and over lately, which probably makes that a HUGE hint) or is it more about retreating? Do I need to do more prayer walking? Surely, the silence of our home or in the office is enough... His Spirit is everywhere and we worship Him in Spirit and truth. Time will tell, and it is my hope that we will put our full trust into Him as a couple and as a family. I pray that my belief will be strengthened and proven sure guidance for this family that God desires to lead through me.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
About Nickels and Noses
"Counting nickels and noses" is sometimes church leadership speak on church attendance and offering.
I read in I Chronicles 21:1, "Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel." Some theologians and preachers will speak of this as an issue of the pride of David, King of Israel. You see, Joab, David's commanding officer, tries to talk him out of it, but David does it anyway and it leads to the death of 70,000 soldiers! What a severe penalty! In the context of the story you almost think it has little to do with David's pride and more to do with David's security. It seems he wants to know that he has a large and powerful enough army to deal with any threats against the nation of Israel. In the spiritual realm, God has been consistently emphacising Israel's need to rely upon Him and not theirselves. Even so, we have recorded for us approximate numbers of conversions in the book of Acts where the Spirit is working and drawing people to Jesus.
Sometimes, in the church it seems like we in church leadership get caught up in either one of these two things as well. Either we feel like we need to know how many people are attending so we can justify an expense such as adding a staff member or building a larger sanctuary, or at times we just want to know how large the gathering of believers is so we can record this and chart church growth. Are we more like the book of Acts doing these things or do we sometimes come closer to David and the other kings of Israel that were seeking to find some type of security that would come from knowing those numbers rather than knowing the Lord? Some might be offended that I even bring this up at all. However, is it possible when we make a big deal about attendance, that Satan could be rising up against the Church?
I read in I Chronicles 21:1, "Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel." Some theologians and preachers will speak of this as an issue of the pride of David, King of Israel. You see, Joab, David's commanding officer, tries to talk him out of it, but David does it anyway and it leads to the death of 70,000 soldiers! What a severe penalty! In the context of the story you almost think it has little to do with David's pride and more to do with David's security. It seems he wants to know that he has a large and powerful enough army to deal with any threats against the nation of Israel. In the spiritual realm, God has been consistently emphacising Israel's need to rely upon Him and not theirselves. Even so, we have recorded for us approximate numbers of conversions in the book of Acts where the Spirit is working and drawing people to Jesus.
Sometimes, in the church it seems like we in church leadership get caught up in either one of these two things as well. Either we feel like we need to know how many people are attending so we can justify an expense such as adding a staff member or building a larger sanctuary, or at times we just want to know how large the gathering of believers is so we can record this and chart church growth. Are we more like the book of Acts doing these things or do we sometimes come closer to David and the other kings of Israel that were seeking to find some type of security that would come from knowing those numbers rather than knowing the Lord? Some might be offended that I even bring this up at all. However, is it possible when we make a big deal about attendance, that Satan could be rising up against the Church?
Preaching or Teaching Lessons
I realize the ministry I do is fruitless apart from Jesus through His Spirit so I pray for words, for Him to work and for His blessing. I long to hear from Him what people need to hear and then I read yesterday I Corinthians 2:1,4-5 "I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God... My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power."
This led me to question my teaching and preaching. We are so worried about boring kids and boring adults with the Bible. We work on teaking our messages with story and chalk it up to the fact that Jesus taught in story. There is an addage about how it is a "sin" to bore people with the gospel. In this day and age, a great preacher is one who makes us laugh, who enables us to see the sermon in our head, who tells great stories, and of whom we feel like the service flew by quickly. Is this how Jesus describes His favorite people? It seems to me, His emphasis is more on the faithfulness of an individual to Him, His kingdom and His message, and a lot less about how eloquent our sermons are. We sit and ask the Spirit to come to us and help us prepare and then we add of this stuff we can think of to make Scripture more entertaining to listen to. I know this sounds like a rant. I am not fed up or frustrated. I just want to make sure we are doing all we can to honor the intent of Scripture and not compromise the message. I also fear that I may be guilty of seeking eloquence and good storytelling, allowing those to be my wisdom and persuasive speaking over allowing the Lord's Spirit do demonstrate His power.
This led me to question my teaching and preaching. We are so worried about boring kids and boring adults with the Bible. We work on teaking our messages with story and chalk it up to the fact that Jesus taught in story. There is an addage about how it is a "sin" to bore people with the gospel. In this day and age, a great preacher is one who makes us laugh, who enables us to see the sermon in our head, who tells great stories, and of whom we feel like the service flew by quickly. Is this how Jesus describes His favorite people? It seems to me, His emphasis is more on the faithfulness of an individual to Him, His kingdom and His message, and a lot less about how eloquent our sermons are. We sit and ask the Spirit to come to us and help us prepare and then we add of this stuff we can think of to make Scripture more entertaining to listen to. I know this sounds like a rant. I am not fed up or frustrated. I just want to make sure we are doing all we can to honor the intent of Scripture and not compromise the message. I also fear that I may be guilty of seeking eloquence and good storytelling, allowing those to be my wisdom and persuasive speaking over allowing the Lord's Spirit do demonstrate His power.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Bubbles
My boys received a package in the mail today and amongst other things in it were bubbles. After work, I came home to find Ashley blowing them through the kitchen telling me how she did earlier until she became dizzy. I said to her, "What if bubbles never popped?" Now, I know the rational ramifications, that the world would constantly fill with bubbles until they were everywhere and you could not see to drive, or who is coming to visit. But think about it, they are so floaty and airy and funny feeling when they land on you. What if you could scoop up the bubbles that landed on the floor or ground and throw them back up into the air again? What if you could kick them all around? What is it exactly that causes bubbles to burst anyway? You may know that feeling of working so much to get a good bubble to form and then to take off, only to see it pop. It can be overwhelmingly sad. We take this difficult experience and compound it by using it as an expression, "I don't mean to burst your bubble, but..."
Perhaps one day someone will invent a non-toxic soap that can create bubbles that do not pop. Until that day comes, enjoy those minute magical moments of beholding encapsulated air in that iridescent film riding on currents of wind... that is until they meet their untimely demise shattering into history.
Perhaps one day someone will invent a non-toxic soap that can create bubbles that do not pop. Until that day comes, enjoy those minute magical moments of beholding encapsulated air in that iridescent film riding on currents of wind... that is until they meet their untimely demise shattering into history.
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