Filled with the fullness

Just some scribble to remind me about the messages from Calvary today....reasons why.  Does it ever occur strange we need to be reminded of these things?  We do need reminders...I did. 


Ephesians 3:14–19
“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.......to be strengthened ....  to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. ”

In case some of you read this with a little hesitation, I can assure you this is not mind control, weird stuff like some of us have seen and others have heard.  This is not imposed, but simply ways to be wise in the Spirit.  Control for example is one I know that I have struggled with, trying to make things happen, instead of a trusting response to the Spirit (not somebody else's expectation).  

Likewise, submission to one another does not undermine the Spirit, but in fact checks a sort of hierarchical mind that forbids resistance, or fears to resist. This submission doesn't replace the order of the State, The leadership, the family...it simply gives room for the Spirit to speak through anyone, in humility of course.

Check me if I am wrong.  :)   The goal is simply to experience the fullness...of His Spirit.  "Father, may your will be done"

Great is thy faithfulness

Psalm 127 

Unless the Lord builds the house,

They labor in vain who build it;

Unless the Lord guards the city,

The watchman stays awake in vain.

Kent Bottenfield, a former pro baseball picture came and played and sang music Sunday that had us reaching for God....He can't read music, not one note. Really. Guss what, he doesn't have to because God is faithful.

The same day Craig Brighton's  Habitat house for Patrice and Cameron came toward a close, but inside this story were so many others, a house full of people affected by Craigs faithfulness, and God's faithfulness to him.  JD for example just recommitted his wedding vows after 40 years, and a few months on the habitat job.  He brought his friend Patrick to the job, a man who is ready to leave the restaurant business to do something that "matters". Cameron, a young boy who should have died 3 years ago due to inoperable brain cancer.....now in a race with time to find God.  He has had help from Matt and Kristen, and Craig at camp. Did Craig have this all worked out, nope, he doesn't have to....


The song below is the one that Kent always plays wherever he goes....It brings him to  Psalm 61 "Take refuge in the shadow of your wing".  I heard that twice Sunday. 




Great is thy faithfulness 

Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
there is no shadow of turning with thee;
thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;
as thou hast been thou forever will be.

Refrain:
Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
all I have needed thy hand hath provided;
great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
sun, moon and stars in their courses above
join with all nature in manifold witness
to thy great faithfulness, mercy and love. Refrain

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! Refrain

Prayer: What makes it go? What makes it stop?

What makes it go?  
What makes it stop?
A super short summary of notes from the Sunday School message. As a church, we are reading through "The Message of Prayer" by Timothy Chester.   One of the great helps is the emphasis on our need for God, even in prayer.   The story of George Mueller who struggled with prayer until he learned to start with scripture.  In our Iron Man meeting, the scriptures here were given to help Jump-Start prayer.  See how much you can read without breaking into prayer.

If this really is so important, why is it so hard?
Men in the foxhole with bullets all around don't have that problem.
People with hearts ablaze with gratitude and wonder don't have that problem.


Do we really need to pray more, or love and need God more?

Disc Golf Tournament: A day to build

More Photos Here

"Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon.  Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me." 
^{Nehemiah 4:17-18}

Q: "How do you get to know people?"
A: "You serve alongside"

Two people, two months apart,  same question.  Both men gave the same answer.  I learned more about these men than in any other single day as Calvary hosted the First Annual Disc Golf Tournament.  It was a great time to get to know David, Brian, Ron, John, Bruce and  so many others....as we helped prepare and serve the players. 

Disc Golfers are an interesting lot.  While they like to compete, it wasn't just about the competition.  I wondered if many ended up here for a reason, in a sport where perfection is rare, and technique is almost second to talk.  Disc golf is a forgiving sport, and a lot of the guys that came to play seemed to need forgiveness.  They got it.

At lunch, these men with tattoos, skull shirts, and piercings sat and listened intently as Pastor Mark read about the undeniable existence of God, man's tendency to resist him (Romans 1)and yet God's answer in giving His Son Jesus as a ransom (John 3:16).When these guys left late in the afternoon after 36 holes (yikes!)  they actually took turns thanking us.  They said it was the BEST first tournament they had ever been to, that it was folksy and warm and a rare treat they should return to every chance they get.

We worked together today to build.  it was a good day.

The Dark Night of the Soul

The Dark Night of the Soul

Days when you feel Down
Absolutely normal part of Christian life
Christianity means you have a perspective how to grow through it
A wonderful story....a tiny fragile moth
The struggle to come out of the cocoon was an opportunity.....
Remember all that God has done for you, and His people

Spiritual Warfare: The real deal...(repitition again)

The past few weeks God has been using repetition to get my attention.  This time its about seeing difficulty from His perspective, not mine.  What do you think?

LAST WEEK: 
"What if....I told you..... your story is not about you?"
"What if your problem was not going to be 'solved'?" 


Message at Calvary Baptist YESTERDAY...

Daily devotional TODAY.....Key point: Do not be enslaved by difficulty but be set free through it.

Monday, August 02, 2010

It's Not Christianity 

 

We've exchanged that great hymn "Onward, Christian Soldiers" for a subtle but telling substitute, a song that is currently being taught to thousands of children in Sunday school each week, which goes something like this (sung in a very happy, upbeat tune):

I may never march in the infantry,
ride in the cavalry,
shoot the artillery, I may never fly over the enemy
but I'm in the Lord's army, yes sir!

There is no battle and there is no war and there is no Enemy and your life is not at stake and you are not desperately needed this very hour, but you're in the Lord's army. Yes, sir. Doing what? may I ask.

The reason I bring this up is that if you want the real deal, if you want the life and freedom that Jesus offers, then you are going to have to break free of this religious fog in particular. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery" (Gal. 5:1). So here's a bottom-line test to expose the Religious Spirit: If it doesn't bring freedom and it doesn't bring life, it's not Christianity. If it doesn't restore the image of God and rejoice in the heart, it's not Christianity.

The ministry of Jesus is summarized by one of those who knew him best when Peter brings the gospel to the gentiles: "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and . . . he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him" (Acts 10:38). The stream of Spiritual Warfare was essential to Jesus' life and ministry. It follows that it must be essential to ours if we would be his followers. 

(John Eldridge...Waking the Dead, p 162-163)

The music man: You can sing

My friend Joey sent me a note earlier today about the play asking if I would like to go, we both knew one of the actors.  Later that afternoon,  flipping through the newspaper (which I never do), I saw an ad for the same play.  

I had a great time, not just to meet and talk with Joey's daughters, Mark, Matt, Colleen, John, and others, but just to be reminded about the power of hope.

The story is about a man, and a woman and a town who are all changed in the course of coming together and seeing things not as they are, but as they can be.  I actually teared up when the little boy who had been trapped by a fear of speaking began to sing, because he had been given hope by the promise of playing a musical instrument.  

The music man was a salesman who gave people so much hope that they could sing, dance or play instruments, they forgot about everything else.  Only the mayor was able to resist the "spellbinder" (because he stood to loose money).  The heroine knew the music man's story was a hoax, yet she was swept off her feet because he inspired the town to greatness.  Poignantly, she loved even though she knew who he was. In turn, her love inspired the music man to make good on His promise. 

A couple of my favorite quotes:

"Oh, my dear little librarian. You pile up enough tomorrows, and you'll find you are left with nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays. I don't know about you, but I'd like to make today worth remembering."

"There was love all around, but I never heard it singing. No I never heard it at all, Till There Was You."

This show reminded me of the movie "The Postman", where an apocalyptic  con-man is accused of giving out "hope like candy",  and ends up causing a great restoration as a result of coming to believe for others.  

God sees us not as we are, but as we will be.  That hope draws us towards Him in conversion, and beyond; helping us live life  to the full, and sing to Him as He sings to us. Its that hope that changes lives. 

Thanks Joey, Matt and Mark!