Addictions

I am sitting down at the end of a great day...things unfolded at a rapid pace all day and now I am reflecting on the day and all of its activities.

I was going through some old files and ran across a note that I received from a person who was transitioning from one ministry assignment to another. He had a rough time in the place where he served. He felt like he was always "rowing upstream" against a tidal wave of dissent.

I am not sure why he even wrote the note to me in the first place, but I was struck by the scripture verse that he cited at the beginning of his note. Here it is....

“Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won’t come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is.” John 3:20-21

Following the scripture he highlighted a phrase....“Addicted to denial and illusion…”

Then he wrote these words...."Wow. It’s one thing to be addicted to a substance or act, but then to become addicted to the denial of these problems is something I never thought of."

We live in a world driven by addictions and denial. (My words.) The remedy? "Working and living in truth and reality."

At the close of the day I "welcome God-light" into my life. When the "God light" breaks through my darkness I can begin to recognize the "God-work" for what it is.

All of this is made possible by His grace in my life. I am not sure where my friend is who wrote the note to me. I have lost track of him...God hasn't. I hope that he has experienced some "God-light" illuminating his path.

Here's the challenge...."get in the God-light" and enjoy the journey!

Learning

Mark Twain said it well.

"If you hold a cat by the tail, you learn things you cannot learn any other way." That sums up a lot of lessons about life and the fact that sometimes learning takes place under less than ideal circumstance.

In my reading this week I ran across a sentence that made me smile. "We could learn a lot from crayons, some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, while others bright, some have weird names, but they all have learned to live together in the same box."

Learners understand they will meet some sharp people, some pretty people, some dull ones, some bright ones and even some with weird names. But effective learners know that we all have to live together in the same box.

I want to be a life-long learner.

Although there are times when I feel like I am "diagonally parked in a parallel parking world" I continue to desire growth that comes from continual learning.

What are you learning today?

From one crayon to another...don't miss today's lessons.

Freedom

I have a friend who serves on the Campus Crusade for Christ staff at the University of Connecticut. Monthly she and her husband send a newsletter telling the story of those whose lives have been touched by the Gospel. They serve tirelessly to impact young people's lives with the Message of Hope.

They are working with a generation who is exploring new found freedom as they escape the bounds of home and parents. Some of them experiment with things that are new and enticing. Others enter into profligate lifestyles sending them into a downward spiral.

In the August 20, 2007 newsletter in an article entitled, "What God is Doing" they wrote these words. "So many times their freedom ends up imprisoning them in lifestyles they don't find fulfilling and yet they can't seem to escape."

Those are haunting words I copied into my journal after I read them late last summer.

Strangely enough, these are words that can be used to describe all kinds of people, not just college students at the University of Connecticut.

E. M. Forster wrote words that sparkle with truth when he penned, "we must be willing to let go of the life we have planned so that we can have the life that is waiting for us."

My friends who serve on the Campus Crusade staff are trying to help students "let go" of their plans so that they can embrace "His plan." That is not a bad definition of evangelism. Seems rather simple and yet so profound.

Jesus was matter-of-fact: "Embrace this God-life. Really embrace it, and nothing will be too much for you. This mountain, for instance: Just say, 'Go jump in the lake'—no shuffling or shilly-shallying—and it's as good as done. That's why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you'll get God's everything. Mark 11:22

What do you need to "let go" of and what do you need to "embrace?" Your answer will determine the trajectory of your life's story.

Just a thought.

Subversive

Yesterday I was reading and ran across a statement from C.S. Lewis that grabbed my attention. I share it today because of the power of his words.

Writing in Mere Christianity, Lewis referrred to the world as “enemy-occupied territory” and Christianity as “the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us to take part in a great sabotage.”

I guess that makes me an "undercover agent" who lives life out in the open. Quite a paradox when you think about it. Subversive, yet overtly open.

It made me wonder how to live a kingdom life like C. S. Lewis described. There are times when I think I have a grasp on what that means, and times when I don't have a clue. I do know that it is possible because I have seen momentary glimpses of His grace that remind me that is the kind of life I am called to live.

This type of life is a life lived in the land of excellence. I am not using that phrase in the busines sense of "management by objective" and "win-win" yada-yada-yada.

I like what Quinn says in his provocative book entitled, Deep Change. He says, "The land of excellence is safely guarded from unworthy intruders. At the gates stand two fearsome sentries – risk and learning. The keys to entrance are faith and courage."

To be an "overt undercover agent" I must be willing to have faith to address the risks and courage to learn if I am ever to walk in the "land of excellence."

You may be thinking..."I wonder what the 'land of excellence' means?" From where I sit this morning I would define the "Kingdom of God" as the "land of excellence." Not a bad definition.

Walk about the land today and enjoy the scenery, you are participating in the Kingdom of God.

Nominations

Wow! Finally! At last we have nominees for the fall election.

One is "the" nominee for the Republican party. The other is the "presumptive"nominee for the Democratic party.

What is the difference between "the" and "presumptive?"

If you are "the" person, that means that you are seen as the "real thing" and confirmed as such. If you are "presumptive" that means that you are what you are based on probability.

Technically speaking, both candidates are the "presumptive" nominees for their respective parties. It is interesting that the Republican party is marching forward with a candidate they perceive to be "the" person to lead their party. While the Democratic candidate is labeled as "presumptive"

Now I am not making any kind of judgment on either candidate. I am just intrigued by the monikers that describe those running for President of the United States.

Would I rather be "the" person or the "presumptive" person?

Here is my thought.

I want to be "the" person rather than the "presumptive" person. I am not speaking in political terms. I am speaking in Kingdom terms.

I am called to be a person after God's heart, not a person based on the probability of someone else's opinion. To many people live based on what others say about them or in the fear of how others will perceive them.

The presidential election process will begin and drag on throughout the summer and fall. 150 days from now we will elect a new president.

The candidates will move from "the" and "presumptive" status to Presidential status.

I will be glad when it is over. In the meantime I am seeking to be "the" person He wants me to be. I am shedding the garments of presumption, consumption and assumption so that I can follow Him with all my heart.

Just some thoughts that crossed my mind this morning...What do you think?

Theophany

That is a great word...It is a word that literally means, "a visible manifestation of a deity."

A "visible manifestation."

I am not sure if I really understand that concept. We serve a God who is unseen and yet there are times He shows up and reveals Himself.

Shaking hands with people from New Life church on Sunday afternoon gave me the opportunity to experience a theophany. God manifested Himself in individuals who stood in line to eat lunch following their service on the East Side of Flint.

I feel a little like Jacob in the Old Testament who dreamt of angels on a stairway to heaven. It could have been that he ate something he shouldn't have eaten before drifting off to sleep. It could be that his body was sleeping but his mind was in overdrive. In either case, God showed up.

He wakes from his dreamy sleep and exclaims, "surely the Lord is in this place-and I did not know it." Genesis 28:16

Am I the only one that recognizes the presence of the Lord 20 minutes after He shows up? Am I the only one that realizes His grace looking back on a situation rather than sensing it in the moment that it is happening?

A theophany is the realization that, "surely the Lord is in this place...."

It is one thing to allow ourselves to look at God, but it is another thing to allow God to look back at us. Grace makes both possible.

Truth be told, there have been many more times where I have said like Jacob, "surely the presence of the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it."

I am trying to cultivate a renewed sense of "God's presence and grace" in my life. I am praying that when His presence and grace are close by, I will recognize them.

Here are a several questions that haunt me as I think about the story of Jacob and the escalator of angels.

Do I really believe that God's grace still works in the lives of people who are running away from Him?

Do I really believe that God's grace still pursues those when they pursue their own way?

Do I really beleive that God's grace still finds people when they have lost their way?

Do I really beleive that God's grace illuminates the darkest places of life?

The answer is Yes!

Jacob was right when he said, "surely the presence of the Lord is in this place..." How we respond to that fact shapes our understanding of grace.

Just a thought as I journey through the "unforced rhythms of his grace."

Autobiography

I love to read stories and have often thought about the task of outlining creative stories. I ran across the following and thought it might be an encouragement to those who long to tell and write great stories.

Autobiography In Five Short Chapters

by: Portia Nelson

Chapter 1

I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I fall in.

I am lost…

I am helpless, It isn’t my fault.

It takes forever to find a way out.

Chapter 2

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend I don’t see it.I fall in again.

I can’t believe I am in the same place but, It isn’t my fault.

It takes a long time to get out.

Chapter 3

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I see it is there.

I still fall in…it’s a habit.

My eyes are open.

I know where I am.

It is my fault.

I get out immediately.

Chapter 4

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

Chapter 5

I walk down another street.

Nuf' said...

Keep thinking, creating and writing!