April 2, 2005 · 9:26 pm

An unexpected gift

Today I received a gift.  It was totally unexpected,  thoughtful, and wonderful.  A bouquet of flowers to top off a day that held all the promise of spring. 

Thank you, thank you.  To think that Christians as far away as New Hampshire, England and who knows where else are praying for us.  And friends right here as well, praying and supporting us in so many ways.  It is one thing to connect via the internet but that bouquet of flowers was physical evidence that you are real people out there.  I may never meet you this side of heaven but your love and concern are real to me now. 

Thank you for blessing me – another touch of God on my life.  And as you have extended your circle to include me in your prayers, be assured that mine are also with you.

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April 2, 2005 · 8:00 am

More Ready Than You Realize by Brian McLaren

Brian McLaren seems to stir up controversy in conservative evangelical circles.  I have never thought of myself as being particularly “liberal” in my theology.  However, since my teens, I have never felt comfortable holding strong and inflexible opinions on matters theological; at least those that fall outside of the group of truths that I considered essential to my faith in Jesus Christ.  Among these was the essential belief that Jesus was the Son of God and because of his sacrificial love for me, my only hope for restoration of a relationship with God. 

I am not a trained theologian so I guess that might account for some of my reticence to hold strong opinions on theological issues too.

When I come across criticism of McLaren’s books, I realize that I am probably not half as conservative as I thought.  Most of what I have read of them rings true in my experience and is consistent with what I have come to believe. 

I have just finished reading More Ready Than You Realize and I like what he says in this book about evangelism.  Spiritual friendships are the ways God will use us to introduce others to Christ and help them along the way.  McLaren also believes that it is in the context of a Christian community that people we have befriended will come to experience the fullness of a relationship with Jesus.  And so we need to make room for new comers, new seekers, for those part way along the road to faith.  What they see us modeling should be the motivation for them desiring to belong to Christ and to the community of faith.

 “Sometimes belonging must precede believing…
 
Motivation by exclusion says something like this: We’re on the inside but you’re on the outside.  We’re right, and you’re wrong.  If you want to come inside, then you need to be right.  So, just believe right, think right, speak right, and act right, and we’ll let you in.. 

…we need to move beyond motivation by exclusion.  Our motivation by acceptance will say something like this: We are a community bound together and energized by faith, love, and commitment to Jesus Christ Even though you don’t yet share that faith, love, and commitment, you are most welcome to be with us, to belong here, to experience what we are about.  Then, if you are attracted and persuaded by what you see, you’ll want to set down roots here long term.  And even if you don’t, you’ll always be a friend.

     This approach is more in sync with Jesus’ own example.  He was criticized for being a “friend of sinner” – in other words he welcomed and accepted people who did not yet “believe right, think right, speak right, and act right.”  But he knew something we need to know:  if people can belong long enough to observe how God is alive among us, if they can belong long enough to see whatever good exists in our lives as individuals and as a community, they can come to believe.”(p84, 85)

It used to worry me that there had to be some definite point of conversion or it wasn’t genuine somehow.  Experience has taught me otherwise.  I think there are both gradual and sudden forms of recognition that Christ is real, is alive and is God.  Both are valid.  It is pretty rare to meet someone who has had a conversion experience outside of the nurturing of a Christian friend or community.  And I think that is what this book is all about – opening our eyes to the fact that we need to cultivate these spiritual friendships that will bring others into Christ’s kingdom and encouraging us to get out there and start doing it.

 

 

 

 

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April 1, 2005 · 8:04 pm

Pretending or real?

Real Live Preacher has taken a vacation it seems.  But he has an article in The Christian Century that talks about protecting our personal space as part of the way we pretend in church.  He calls that Disneyland Christianity.  In contrast there is another kind of Christianity that calls for a radical intimate communion with Christ and our fellow believers.

On Wednesday night I kind of fell apart.  This is not like me.  I am strong, you know, keeping my emotions well under control.  But Wednesday night we were reading the chapter on love in Blue Like Jazz; the chapter where Donald Miller talks about coming to the realization that God loves us and how we need to accept this fact in order to love others and ourselves.  Anyway, I was asked about my experience showing love in cases where it is not returned.  My children have taught me much about this.  Wednesday had been a real bad day.  I could not shake the voices in my head that wanted to drag me down.  So being asked this question just kind of broke the dam, so to speak. 

Now, if I had kept on pretending that all was well, that I was handling the immediate problem of Grace’s pregnancy well, I would not have experienced the love of my friends that night.  Maybe falling apart was the best thing for me to do at the time.  It let me take the love they gave me that night and do some healing.  If I did not have friends around me, I would be one of the most lonely people right now.  I have survived loneliness through other family issues.  I do not ever want to go back to that self protective false front – not with my friends; not with my church.

It’s kind of crazy this kind of love that God offers us.  It is so free and so good.  There is so little benefit in hiding behind a false front of fake goodness and peace.  Letting my church (ie, my friends) help me carry my present burdens is letting them be extensions of God’s love to me. 

I hope I can do this for others in my turn.  I hope they can learn like me that real Christianity is radically intimate as God’s love flows through us to meet each others needs and the needs of our communities. 

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March 31, 2005 · 6:42 am

Reminders

Last night God showed up as a friend reached over and held me when I cried.  Yesterday the accusing voices were too much for me.  I needed to be reminded that God loves me.  So he did.

This morning I see God in the beauty of the sun rising in a clear sky, in the flight of the geese as they take off from the river, in the breeze moving the branches outside my window.  Like the promises of spring in the world around me, in the surety that it is coming, I am reminded of the constant presence of God. 

God stay close to me this day.  I need to hear your voice.  Silence the voices that want to drown you out.

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March 29, 2005 · 10:52 pm

Psalm 124

   Psalm 124 (NLT)

    1If the LORD had not been on our side–
       let Israel now say–

    2 if the LORD had not been on our side
       when people rose up against us,

    3 they would have swallowed us alive
       because of their burning anger against us.

    4 The waters would have engulfed us;
       a torrent would have overwhelmed us.

    5 Yes, the raging waters of their fury
       would have overwhelmed our very lives.

    6 Blessed be the LORD,
       who did not let their teeth tear us apart!

    7 We escaped like a bird from a hunter’s trap.
       The trap is broken, and we are free!

    8 Our help is from the LORD,
       who made the heavens and the earth.

This happened to be my reading for today.  Sometimes when I am a bit lost I read the prescribed reading for the day, especially the psalm.  It seems to fit better than just reading them all in order, although I have done that too. 

I was thinking how well this one fit for today.  “If the Lord had not been on our side…”

If the Lord was not at my side right now, how would I cope?  If the Lord was not at my side right now how would I deal with a belligerent daughter whose hormones are somewhere off the scale? 

“If the LORD had not been on our side when people rose up against us,
they would have swallowed us alive because of their burning anger against us.”

That seems to sum up my life all too frequently these days.  But… there is that last verse that reminds me that God is my help – I am not alone.  I can lean on him and he will not get tired of holding me up.

All day I have been remembering this psalm.

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March 27, 2005 · 8:49 pm

Easter Blessings

If you take a peek over at Randall’s site, you will get a look at what we were doing early this morning.  It was good, if a bit on the wintry side.  It really wasn’t as cold as it seemed last year when the snow had already gone.  But the sun – well saying it rose did require a bit of faith – but we were sure it was up by 6:48 as predicted.  It is always fun having everyone in to our home for hot drinks after. 

And there were a couple little spiritual treats to the morning.  My partner(business) apparently wanted to be there this morning.  I wonder sometimes at the circumstances that provide the incentive for faith to take small steps in the right direction.  It is good to see.

Then an Easter celebration.  To say that it was “good” to be there this morning worshipping with this community of faith that has become so close to me is an understatement.  I don’t have a word that describes the feeling of support by friends during a time of trouble.  The love shown to us by these people is as much proof of Jesus’ resurrection as the witnesses that saw him in person.  Jesus’ Spirit was there working through just ordinary transformed people saying his words to us, letting us lean on them right now.  And the other thing that I celebrated today was just the way that the fledglings are trying and starting to flutter their wings of faith.  I celebrate the fact we have people in our midst that are free to come and learn and check out what this whole God thing is about.  I hope we can show them how much we care about them too.

This afternoon was another reason to celebrate.  Dad got to attend church today and this afternoon we got together at the home to spend the afternoon with him.  We had our dessert together, visited in his presence. (He mostly stayed awake)  Then we brought out the violins and my recorder and we sang and played some of the old Easter hymns.  My kids stayed and sang along with the others, bless them.  Well the dessert was a pretty good reason to be there but they could have chosen to take off and not stay for two hours.

Then to top it off, I was napping on the couch and Grace came by. We had a good, not-angry, kind of mother – daughter talk.  Some stuff about pregnancy.  Some stuff about the boyfriend.  And a lot of stuff about faith, some differences that are important between our faith and the Muslim faith, and how we might explore together what faith in Jesus is all about.

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March 25, 2005 · 8:26 pm

The Good Friday Chat

This morning I went to the combined Good Friday services that our church participates in.  Perhaps it was the hasty manner in which it was put together this year but it seemed more like a pep rally than a worship service to me.  Lots of singing.  Lots of exuberance in the service.  I know God was there but I just cringed a bit at the inference that it was so great so many Christians of different denominations could worship together – as if that was somehow so wonderful and not the norm to be expected.  Just wondered what we were all doing in there in our huddle cheering when the real game is going on around us outside the walls of all our churches.  I think I was looking for worship.  I needed to connect with God on a deeper level than what was going on.

But last nights service as we gathered around the Table was meaningful enough to allow me to ride a bit on the presence of God that was in that place last night.  It is hard to put into words the significance of serving the elements to friends who have become so close and who through our present troubles are standing by us.

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March 24, 2005 · 5:42 pm

Soccer, soccer

This wekend Sara is off to play soccer in a tournament in Calgary.  I think the reason for entering the team in this tournament is to give them a chance to play in a larger venue – at least in theory.  I think it is more about the trip than about soccer – but maybe I am wrong.  I have to remember to put money in said girls account so she can live off healthy food for the weekend – like McD’s.  But remember, they are going to get plenty of exercise.  I hope she has a good trip and lots of fun.  The events of the past couple of weeks have been stressful on her as well as the rest of us. 

This afternoon I switched vehicles with my son so that he, wife and son could make a trip to Saskatoon.  I get the pick-up.  It has a few quirks.  CK brought it over to my office but forgot to lift the brake pedal – which for some reason turns the lights off. (do you think we might have a short of some kind?)  It was as dead as a doornail when I was done work.  So I had to get a boost.  David warned me about some other quirk but for the life of me I can’t remember what it is.  I expect I will find out and hopefully the trick to fix it will come back to mind as well.  Oh well – my grandson must ride in style.  At least in safety.

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March 24, 2005 · 7:27 am

Maundy Thursday

My daughter wretches and cries in the bathroom next to our bedroom.  I hear and want to wrap my arms around her.  She knows I am upset.  I was angry last night and now she won’t let me near.  It seems everything I do is the opposite of what I need to do or say.  I am so afraid for her.  I need the right words.  I need wisdom.  I need love that will meet her needs, not my own.  I need patience.  And I’m not doing so well with any of the above right now.  Yesterday ended badly. 

Today is another day.  Maundy Thursday.  It’s hard to go to the table unforgiven, apologies unaccepted.

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March 22, 2005 · 7:14 am

Let the day begin.

This was part of my reading this morning.  I have been reading through the accounts of the events leading up to Easter in all the four gospels.  This last week – Holy Week – I am in the account recorded for us by John.

John 14:27 (NLT)
 I am leaving you with a gift–peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn’t like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

It came to mind that the peace the world gives and seeks – is the peace of a trouble free life.  Jesus stated this  to his friends just before he is betrayed and the whole chain of events that make up the last days before his death begins.  So this peace he speaks about is not freedom from a difficult life.  I think he is speaking about the fact that he left us his spirit – he did not leave us alone.  We are not abandoned to exist only in the physical world.  His peace transcends the circumstances we find ourselves in.

“So don’t be troubled or afraid.” 

This is not an easy kind of peace.  I am beginning to see it though.  And all I have to do is remember this one day at a time.  I don’t have to see the big picture or the end results of everything.  He’s walking with me through today.

So let the day begin.

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