One thing that really strikes me in reading through the gospels with the kids is that Jesus worked hard to put people off. Anytime the crowds are too overwhelmingly supportive, and begin to border on crowning him their king, he says things like "Eat my flesh" and "Hate your mother and Father" and "take up your cross" (which was a humilating and abasing way that only the lowest were executed), "liquidate your wealth and donate it." He makes it *hard* for people to come to him.
We just read the section in Luke where Jesus is telling them to count the cost of being a disciple, and telling them it will cost them everything.
The first thing that hits me in reading these things is how unlike today's church ministries was Christ's ministry. We lower the bar, using immoral TV shows to illustrate points, video games and coffee bars to make people feel at home, slick music videos and all manner of ways to make people comfortable, make church cool, make the message clear and attractive. Jesus made the message hard to understand and offensive--on purpose. He taught in riddles. He told people that unless they were willing to do the hardest things, then don't bother coming. He didn't just give recommendations on how to be successful, but told them to be "Perfect." He also called religious people names like hypocrit and snake, and other things that would certainly be called divisive and critical.
Am I saying that it is wrong to use media and seeker-friendly means to bring people to Christ? Am I saying we should be more like Jesus by being inflamatory and obtuse? No, not really. But I think, as we make those decisions, we do have to ask ourselves why Jesus didn't do everything he could to collect the largest number of followers he could. And perhaps there is something in that motive that we could learn from. God is not a God that does everything possible to pave a road for people to come to him. He made a way, but it is not a highway. He loves us, but he isn't easy.
The other thing that really squeezes my heart is the demand for total allegiance, and unshakeable commitment. There were days when I could make declarations about how fully committed I am and how permanent my faith was. But now, I find my heart weak, and my faith flimsy. I can teach my children how worthy the Lord is and how good our hope is, but that doesn't mean that my own heart never waivers. I get tripped up in looking to the future. I feel full of the grace of God today, when the only death in my life is having to get off the computer and make lunch. But what about when I need more sustenance than that? Can God still raise the dead? What a silly nail-biter I am. I'm glad that God gives me the daily manna I need, and I know from past days of suffering that he gives a double portion of his presence in those times. May I walk fearlessly.
Showing posts with label End times. Show all posts
Showing posts with label End times. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Thursday, November 8, 2007
The Last Beautiful Day
Today is the last beautiful day. Today, the sun will cast golden light on fiery leaves, and we'll stomp them into crackly oblivion under our feet. Tomorrow, it will rain and blow and they will be soggy and dead and the chance will be gone for another year. But today is the last day to squeeze delight from worn out summertime. We'll laugh loud, and run, and not think of tomorrow's rain. We'll climb a tree and eat an apple and pitch to core to splatter on the post. We'll sit together, and huddle tight in chilling air and watch the last pale blue green sunset.
Today is the last beautiful day. There is much to prepare: the gutters will overrun if they are full of leaves, and must be cleaned today or our walls may rot. It should have been done last week. The rain is coming soon, and there is firewood that will be wet if we do not haul it today, we have too little and will be cold for winter if there is no dry wood. The several cords we have may not last the season. The rain is coming, and it will cut us off from playing outside with friends and neighbors. We need to bring in the outdoor furniture so that it doesn't spoil this winter. We've been too lax, we must dig in and use this last chance to brace for winter.
Today is the last beautiful day. There is much to prepare: the gutters will overrun if they are full of leaves, and must be cleaned today or our walls may rot. It should have been done last week. The rain is coming soon, and there is firewood that will be wet if we do not haul it today, we have too little and will be cold for winter if there is no dry wood. The several cords we have may not last the season. The rain is coming, and it will cut us off from playing outside with friends and neighbors. We need to bring in the outdoor furniture so that it doesn't spoil this winter. We've been too lax, we must dig in and use this last chance to brace for winter.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Stirling Engines
Have you ever heard of a stirling engine? They are really cool. They use difference in temperature to do work. Imagine a chamber that is tube shaped and has a piston in it. You create a difference in temperatures from one end to the other, either by heating or cooling or both. You might stick one end in your fire and the other in cool water, for example. When the hot air expands, it moves the piston one way, then a displacer pushes the hot air to the cold end where it contracts so there is less resistance for the piston to reciprocate. A flywheel carries the momentum.
Unfortunately, the work it does, is not cleaning the house.
Unfortunately, the work it does, is not cleaning the house.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Life is like a walk to Mt. Doom
We just finished watching all of LOTR with the older kids. It was the first time I'd watched the whole thing. I don't like violent movies, and I get figetty during extended action scenes. But I read the trilogy to the kids a couple years ago, and we have all been passionate LOTR afficionados ever since.
The whole LOTR thing is very dear to my heart. Here's a community of people living at the end of their age. And Frodo says something like "I wish this wasn't my life. I wish it hadn't come to this." And Gandalf answers that we don't get a choice about the times we live in, we just get to decide what to do with our time. I feel the twist of Frodo's lament, and the wisdom and peace of Gandalf's answer. Let's live in the Now and Love What Is.
I am afraid of Frodo's destiny though: "We saved the Shire, but not for me." When he reached the Far Country, did the sword of the nazgul cease to pain him? Will the agony of sin follow us beyond this chapter of the story? How is it that hell doesn't taint heaven?
The whole LOTR thing is very dear to my heart. Here's a community of people living at the end of their age. And Frodo says something like "I wish this wasn't my life. I wish it hadn't come to this." And Gandalf answers that we don't get a choice about the times we live in, we just get to decide what to do with our time. I feel the twist of Frodo's lament, and the wisdom and peace of Gandalf's answer. Let's live in the Now and Love What Is.
I am afraid of Frodo's destiny though: "We saved the Shire, but not for me." When he reached the Far Country, did the sword of the nazgul cease to pain him? Will the agony of sin follow us beyond this chapter of the story? How is it that hell doesn't taint heaven?
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
But it IS the End of the World!
Perhaps the hardest thing I have to deal with in my life is the expectation that we are at the zenith of our earthly lives. It won't get any better than this, and will likely get very, very much worse before it gets blissfully better. However, I don't understand the blissfully better very well, and have a very graphic vision of the worse.
What's worse, I have children that I must prepare for their lives in this. I can't honestly paint beautiful pictures for them about their future, nor do I dare paint the horror that could also be. All I can do is assure them of the goodness of the God we serve, and the awesome future we will share at the return of Christ. And teach them what they need to walk in faith, no matter what.
Here is a snip of something my daughter wrote for a school assignment:
What if the sun exploded? Well lets say that it did explode. So one day you were walking along. Then a few people come running up the street yelling that the time has come. You are puzzled for a minute but the you realize it was what you had all been waiting for for years. The death of the sun.
Now, I don't think Revelation says the sun will explode and I don't think that particular fear is hanging about her head. However, this sense of impending doom is a part of her life, and I hate, HATE, HATE that above all. I hate it when people in my husband's confidence talk about prophecy in front of her, I hate it when they leave printouts about the anti-Christ around the house, and I hate the gun she got for her birthday. I'd like to spit "doom" out permanently and raise my children with an honest optimism instead of this evasive "Don't ask about that" stance.
And yet there can be no resurrection without death. There can be no birth without labor. There can be no restoration without destruction. I would just like my epidural now, thank you very much.
What's worse, I have children that I must prepare for their lives in this. I can't honestly paint beautiful pictures for them about their future, nor do I dare paint the horror that could also be. All I can do is assure them of the goodness of the God we serve, and the awesome future we will share at the return of Christ. And teach them what they need to walk in faith, no matter what.
Here is a snip of something my daughter wrote for a school assignment:
What if the sun exploded? Well lets say that it did explode. So one day you were walking along. Then a few people come running up the street yelling that the time has come. You are puzzled for a minute but the you realize it was what you had all been waiting for for years. The death of the sun.
Now, I don't think Revelation says the sun will explode and I don't think that particular fear is hanging about her head. However, this sense of impending doom is a part of her life, and I hate, HATE, HATE that above all. I hate it when people in my husband's confidence talk about prophecy in front of her, I hate it when they leave printouts about the anti-Christ around the house, and I hate the gun she got for her birthday. I'd like to spit "doom" out permanently and raise my children with an honest optimism instead of this evasive "Don't ask about that" stance.
And yet there can be no resurrection without death. There can be no birth without labor. There can be no restoration without destruction. I would just like my epidural now, thank you very much.
Monday, September 17, 2007
WHAT Joy?
- Hebrews 12:2-3
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
This weekend, our extended family gathered for a little campout at the grandparent’s house. Sitting around the campfire, I posed a question that comes from that verse up there. “What was the joy that inspired Jesus to endure the cross?” This wasn’t just idle curiosity or an invitation to an intellectual exercise to me. As my writings here have revealed, I need to know why I should endure whatever comes in the future, and more immediately, deny myself now. I think Jesus walked in the hope that he intends us to walk in also, so it matters WHY he did what he did.
The group was comprised of an eclectic sampling of older and younger, conservative and charismatic, strong in faith and some who feel far from God. Here are some of the answers, paraphrased:
“I think we are the joy that Jesus was seeking. I don’t really know any Biblical support for that, but that’s my impression.”
“He was looking forward to the Bride. He desired the intimacy of restored relationship with his people.”
“It was for glory that Jesus obeyed his Father and went to the cross. He didn’t do it because he felt like it, but because his Father said to. Jesus bought a Kingdom with his blood.”
“He was inspired by looking forward to making all things whole and complete. His death and resurrection laid the foundation for creation to be healed and restored. His joy is the perfection of all things.”
Then Great Grandpa said he thought that Jesus expressed his motivation well in his prayer in John 14:
[I pray that] all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
"Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
"Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."
This blows me away. Aspects of all the motivations mentioned were there, and at least one more as well.
First of all, Glory. Since that was kind of an empty word to me, I went to my study tools to see what I could find. I was not surprised to see glory described as a bright shininess or overwhelming power or honor. I was more intrigued by the primary meaning, though, which went back to the root of “to seem” or to make apparent. The glory of Christ was that the Father’s BEING, His Essence, was IN Him (Col 1:19). The Glory of God is not just an ethereal shining, but it is everything that He truly is: Good, Loving, Strong, Noble, Just, Merciful, Eternal, Powerful, etc. And Christ shares his glory with us: not just his power or right to rule, or the glow of righteousness, but the I AM that was within him is now IN us! The Essential God—the “I AM that I AM” has been shared with us, planted in us: “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.”(Col 2:9-10)
The cross of Christ was a benevolent act, to give us something we lacked. And check out what it is: “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one.” He went through this to share his being so that we could have fellowship with one another and with him? It must be really important to God, this ability to belong to one another and live in peace and connectedness. The Kingdom of God that Christ establishes must be in essence one of unity of believers, because He is Love.
Some people have emphasized the aspect of the glory of God that is his authority, power, and justice. This is accurate as far it goes. However, the Glory of God that is put in us is much, much more. It is the very Holy Spirit in us, the indwelling, and it is primarily given for relational purposes: that we may be one with one another, and with God, sharing in His very nature, in ALL its fullness.
Col 2:9-15
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.
13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Drawing in a Breath
I am discovering a beautiful thing right now, and this blog writing has been a part of it. I am sorry if this writing doesn’t speak clearly or is contradictory or is way too long, but it is the imperfection of it that is allowing my soul to breath in the life of God. I am just going to give what I have, a partial understanding in a childish heart, and I’m going to give it with abandon, because I’m okay. I need to hash these thoughts through, and this is how I was made to do it. Maybe the process can help someone else understand something better, maybe it won’t. If it doesn’t, it is still doing me a world of good.
I am accepted by the Father and given an irrevocable name. I will persevere and lay hold of my salvation. I am one of a web of Called Out Ones, and I belong. Mike, if you’re out there, I just listened to your sermon on the Indwelling vs. the Incarnation, and I receive that word from the Father that Christ is my head and He alone will lead me. I am walking in freedom and joy as I awkwardly give—in coaching the lego team, in serving my husband, in shepherding my kids, in writing rambling blog entries, in preparing to teach silly classes on paper crafts and birds, preparing for a camping trip that I could have had a bad attitude about, having friends over in my lower class home. I feel His pleasure in it.
I am discovering that I have “everything I need for life and godliness.” My heart has, in the past, turned to wanting. It would begin a sentence, “I wish….we had a church/more money/could go to Hawaii/were born with different color hair, etc.” The conviction in my husband’s heart that the Day of the Lord is coming soon to end all normal life functions, pretty much made all those wishes totally irrelevant. It took away the option of getting terribly wrapped up in preparing for my kids’ college, or redecorating, or going on a luxurious vacation, or crafting the ultimate business or ministry. So, life has been very hard without the draw forward. But I am slowly grasping the joy of the now, and the eternal hope of the future. When we realize that God is close to the broken hearted, there is no danger in having your heart broken, because the Comforter is greater than all.
Because of the Spirit, we have forever. I may only get started learning to draw now, but I will have all eternity to practice and seek mentors and find beautiful subjects. I don’t have to worry that relationships aren’t progressing as fast as I’d like, because I will have forever to get to know and enjoy my brothers and sisters in Christ. I don’t have to despise the day of small beginnings. I can step down a road, and if it is cut short now, I will have a chance to pick it up later.
I find that my wishes are silly. I wish we had a church. Yet, here around me are a great cloud of believers that support, know, and love me, as well as any cohesive church ever did. I wish I had something to offer, but I can offer the things that don't seem like much to me (because they are what I do naturally) and they are something to someone else. Go figure! Praise the Author of the Story!
Heb 10:14 ...by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
Let's hear it for the Now and the Not Yet of our hope!
I am accepted by the Father and given an irrevocable name. I will persevere and lay hold of my salvation. I am one of a web of Called Out Ones, and I belong. Mike, if you’re out there, I just listened to your sermon on the Indwelling vs. the Incarnation, and I receive that word from the Father that Christ is my head and He alone will lead me. I am walking in freedom and joy as I awkwardly give—in coaching the lego team, in serving my husband, in shepherding my kids, in writing rambling blog entries, in preparing to teach silly classes on paper crafts and birds, preparing for a camping trip that I could have had a bad attitude about, having friends over in my lower class home. I feel His pleasure in it.
I am discovering that I have “everything I need for life and godliness.” My heart has, in the past, turned to wanting. It would begin a sentence, “I wish….we had a church/more money/could go to Hawaii/were born with different color hair, etc.” The conviction in my husband’s heart that the Day of the Lord is coming soon to end all normal life functions, pretty much made all those wishes totally irrelevant. It took away the option of getting terribly wrapped up in preparing for my kids’ college, or redecorating, or going on a luxurious vacation, or crafting the ultimate business or ministry. So, life has been very hard without the draw forward. But I am slowly grasping the joy of the now, and the eternal hope of the future. When we realize that God is close to the broken hearted, there is no danger in having your heart broken, because the Comforter is greater than all.
Because of the Spirit, we have forever. I may only get started learning to draw now, but I will have all eternity to practice and seek mentors and find beautiful subjects. I don’t have to worry that relationships aren’t progressing as fast as I’d like, because I will have forever to get to know and enjoy my brothers and sisters in Christ. I don’t have to despise the day of small beginnings. I can step down a road, and if it is cut short now, I will have a chance to pick it up later.
I find that my wishes are silly. I wish we had a church. Yet, here around me are a great cloud of believers that support, know, and love me, as well as any cohesive church ever did. I wish I had something to offer, but I can offer the things that don't seem like much to me (because they are what I do naturally) and they are something to someone else. Go figure! Praise the Author of the Story!
Heb 10:14 ...by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
Let's hear it for the Now and the Not Yet of our hope!
Friday, September 7, 2007
Christian Community
I am reprinting an article here by Wayne Jacobsen, titled "Why I Don't Go to Church Anymore." It is an excellent treastise on being the church, and is balanced and without venom. I hope you will enjoy it and be encouraged--no matter where you find yourself on Sunday mornings:
Why I Don't Go To Church Anymore!
BodyLife • May 2001
By Wayne Jacobsen
Dear Fellow-believer,
I do appreciate your concern for me and your willingness to raise issues that have caused you concern. I know the way I relate to the church is a bit unconventional and some even call it dangerous. Believe me, I understand that concern because I used to think that way myself and even taught others to as well.
If you are happy with the status quo of organized religion today, you may not like what you read here. My purpose is not to convince you to see this incredible church the same way I do, but to answer your questions as openly and honestly as I can. Even if we don't end up agreeing, hopefully you will understand that our differences need not estrange us as members of Christ's body.
Where do you go to church?
I have never liked this question, even when I was able to answer it with a specific organization. I know what it means culturally, but it is based on a false premise--that church is something you can go to as in a specific event, location or organized group. I think Jesus looks at the church quite differently. He didn't talk about it as a place to go to, but a way of living in relationship to him and to other followers of his.
Asking me where I go to church is like asking me where I go to Jacobsen. How do I answer that? I am a Jacobsen and where I go a Jacobsen is. 'Church' is that kind of word. It doesn't identify a location or an institution. It describes a people and how they relate to each other. If we lose sight of that, our understanding of the church will be distorted and we'll miss out on much of its joy.
Are you just trying to avoid the question?
I know it may only sound like quibbling over words, but words are important. When we only ascribe the term 'church' to weekend gatherings or institutions that have organized themselves as 'churches' we miss out on what it means to live as Christ's body. It will give us a false sense of security to think that by attending a meeting once a week we are participating in God's church. Conversely I hear people talk about 'leaving the church' when they stop attending a specific congregation.
But if the church is something we are, not someplace we go, how can we leave it unless we abandon Christ himself? And if I think only of a specific congregation as my part of the church, haven't I separated myself from a host of other brothers and sisters that do not attend the same one I do?
The idea that those who gather on Sunday mornings to watch a praise concert and listen to a teaching are part of the church and those who do not, are not, would be foreign to Jesus. The issue is not where we are at a given time during the weekend, but how we are living in him and with other believers all week long.
But don't we need regular fellowship?
I wouldn't say we need it. If we were in a place where we couldn't find other believers, Jesus certainly would be able to take care of us. Thus, I'd phrase that a bit differently: Will people who are growing to know the Living God also desire real and meaningful connections with other believers? Absolutely! The call to the kingdom is not a call to isolation. Every person I've ever met who is thriving in the life of Jesus has a desire to share authentic fellowship with other believers. They realize that whatever they know of God's life is just in part, and only the fullest revelation of him is in the church.
But sometimes that kind of fellowship is not easy to find. Periodically on this journey we may go through times when we can't seem to find any other believers who share our hunger. That's especially true for those who find that conforming to the expectations of the religious institutions around them diminishes their relationship with Jesus. They may find themselves excluded by believers with whom they've shared close friendship. But no one going through that looks on that time as a treat. It is incredibly painful and they will look for other hungry believers to share the journey with.
My favorite expression of body life is where a local group of people chooses to walk together for a bit of the journey by cultivating close friendships and learning how to listen to God together.
Shouldn't we be committed to a local fellowship?
That has been said so often today, that most of us assume it is in the Bible somewhere. I haven't found it yet. Many of us have been led to believe that we can't possibly survive without the 'covering of the body' and will either fall into error or backslide into sin. But doesn't that happen inside our local congregations as well?
I know many people who live outside those structures and find not only an ever-deepening relationship with God, but also connections with other believers that run far deeper than they found in the institution. I haven't lost any of my passion for Jesus or my affection for his church. If anything those have grown by leaps and bounds in recent years.
Scripture does encourage us to be devoted to one another not committed to an institution. Jesus indicated that whenever two or three people get together focused on him, they would experience the vitality of church life.
Is it helpful to regularly participate in a local expression of that reality? Of course. But we make a huge mistake when we assume that fellowship takes place just because we attend the same event together, even regularly, or because we belong to the same organization. Fellowship happens where people share the journey of knowing Jesus together. It consists of open, honest sharing, genuine concern about each other's spiritual well being and encouragement for people to follow Jesus however he leads them.
But don't our institutions keep us from error?
I'm sorry to burst your bubble here, but every major heresy that has been inflicted on God's people for the last 2,000 years has come from organized groups with 'leaders' who thought they knew God's mind better than anyone around them. Conversely, virtually every move of God among people hungering for him was rejected by the 'church' of that day and were excluded, excommunicated or executed for following God.
If that is where you hope to find security, I'm afraid it is sorely misplaced. Jesus didn't tell us that 'going to church' would keep us safe, but that trusting him would. He gave us an anointing of the Spirit so that we would know the difference between truth and error. That anointing is cultivated as we learn his ways in his Word and grow closer to his heart. It will help you recognize when expressions of church you share life with becomes destructive to his work in you.
So are traditional congregations wrong?
Absolutely not! I have found many of them with people who love God and are seeking to grow in his ways. I visit a couple of dozen different congregations a year that I find are far more centered on relationship than religion. Jesus is at the center of their life together, and those who act as leaders are true servants and not playing politics of leadership, so that all are encouraged to minister to one another.
I pray that even more of them are renewed in a passion for Jesus, a genuine concern for each other and a willingness to serve the world with God's love. But I think we'd have to admit that these are rare in our communities and many only last for a short span before they unwittingly look to institutional answers for the needs of the body instead of remaining dependent on Jesus. When that happens do not feel condemned if God leads you not to go along with them.
So should I stop going to church, too?
I'm afraid that question also misses the point. You see I don't believe you're going to church any more than I am. We're just part of it. Be your part, however Jesus calls you to and wherever he places you. Not all of us grow in the same environment.
If you gather with a group of believers at a specific time and place and that participation helps you grow closer to Jesus and allows you to follow his work in you, by all means don't think you have to leave. Keep in mind, however, that of itself is not the church. It is just one of many expressions of it in the place where you live.
Don't be tricked into thinking that just because you attend its meetings you are experiencing real body life. That only comes as God connects you with a handful of brothers and sisters with whom you can build close friendships and share the real ups and downs of this journey.
That can happen among traditional congregations, as it can also happen beyond them. In the last seven years I've meet hundreds if not thousands of people who have grown disillusioned with traditional congregations and are thriving spiritually as they share God's life with others, mostly in their homes.
Then meeting in homes is the answer?
Of course not. But let's be clear: as fun as it is to enjoy large group worship and even be instructed by gifted teachers, the real joy of body life can't be shared in huge groups. The church for its first 300 years found the home the perfect place to gather. They are much more suited to the dynamics of family which is how Jesus described his body.
But meeting in homes is no cure-all. I've been to some very sick home meetings and met in facilities with groups who shared an authentic body life together. But the time I spend in regular body life I want to spend face to face with a group of people. I know it isn't popular today where people find it is far easier to sit through a finely-tuned (or not so finely-tuned) service and go home without ever having to open up our life or care about another person's journey.
But ultimately what matters most to me is not where or how they meet, but whether or not people are focused on Jesus and really helping each other on the journey to becoming like him. Meetings are less the issue here than the quality of relationships. I am always looking for people like that wherever I am and always rejoice when I find it. In our new home in Oxnard, we've found a few folks and are hopeful to find even more.
Aren't you just reacting out of hurt?
I suppose that is possible and time will tell, I guess, but I honestly don't believe so. Anyone who is engaged in real body life will get hurt at times. But there are two kinds of hurt. There's the kind of pain that points to a problem that can be fixed with the right care—such as a badly sprained ankle. Then there's the kind of pain that can only be fixed by pulling away—as when you put your hand on a hot stove.
Perhaps all of us have experienced some measure of pain as we have tried to fit God's life into institutions. For a long time most of us hung in there hoping if we tweaked a few things it would get better. Though we could be successful in limited ways during moments of renewal, we also discovered that eventually the conformity an institution demands and the freedom people need to grow in Christ are at odds with one another. It has happened with virtually every group formed throughout the history of Christianity.
Are you looking for the perfect church?
No, and I don't anticipate finding one this side of eternity. Perfection is not my goal, but finding people with God's priorities. It's one thing for people to struggle toward an ideal they share together. It's another to realize that our ideals have little in common.
I make no secret of the fact that I am deeply troubled by the state of organized Christianity. Most of what we call 'church' today are nothing more than well-planned performances with little actual connection between believers. Believers are encouraged toward a growing dependency on the system or its leadership rather than on Jesus himself. We spend more energy conforming behavior to what the institution needs rather than helping people be transformed at the foot of the cross!
I'm tired of trying to fellowship with people who only view church as a two-hour a week dumping ground for guilt while they live the rest of the week with the same priorities as the world. I'm tired of those who depend on their own works of righteousness but who have no compassion for the people of the world. I'm tired of insecure people using the Body of Christ as an extension of their own ego and will manipulate it to satisfy their own needs. I'm tired of sermons more filled with the bondage of religion than the freedom of God's love and where relationships take a back seat to the demands of an efficient institution.
But don't our children need church activities?
I'd suggest that what they need most is to be integrated into God's life through relational fellowship with other believers. 92% of children who grow up in Sunday schools with all the puppets and high-powered entertainment, leave 'church' when they leave their parents' home? Instead of filling our children with ethics and rules we need to demonstrate how to live in God's life together.
Even sociologists tell us that the #1 factor in determining whether a child will thrive in society is if they have deep, personal friendships with nonrelative adults. No Sunday school can fill that role. I know of one community in Australia who after 20 years of sharing God's life together as families could say that they had not lost one child to the faith as they grew into adulthood. I know I cut across the grain here, but it is far more important that our children experience real fellowship among believers rather than the bells and whistles of a slick children's program.
What dynamics of body life do you look for?
I'm always looking for a people who are seeking to follow the Living Christ. He is at the center of their lives, their affections and their conversation. They look to be authentic and free others to hurt when they hurt, to question what they question and to follow his voice without others accusing them of being divisive or rebellious. I look for people who are not wasting their money on extravagant buildings or flashy programs; where people sitting next to each other are not strangers; and where they all participate as a priesthood to God instead of watch passively from a safe distance.
Aren't you giving people an excuse to sit home and do nothing?
I hope not, though I know it is a danger. I realize some people who leave traditional congregations end up abusing that freedom to satisfy their own desires and thus miss out on church life altogether. Neither am I a fan of 'church hoppers', who whip around to one place after another looking for the latest fad or the best opportunity to fulfill their own selfish desires.
But most of the people I meet and talk with are not outside the system because they have lost their passion for Jesus or his people, but only because the traditional congregations near them couldn't satisfy their hunger for relationship. They are seeking authentic expressions of body life and pay an incredible cost to seek it out. Believe me, we would all find it easier just to go with the flow, but once you've tasted of living fellowship between passionate believers, it is impossible to settle for anything less.
Isn't this view of church divisive?
Not of itself. People make it divisive when they demand that people conform to their revelation of truth. Most of us on the journey are accused of being divisive because freedom can be threatening to those who find their security in a religious system. But must of us aren't trying to recruit others to leave their congregations. We see the body of Christ big enough to encompass God's people however he calls them to gather.
One of the things often said about traditional church is that Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in American culture. We only meet with people who look like we do and like things the way we do. I've found now that I have far more opportunity to get with people from a broader cross-section of his body. I don't demand others do it my way and I hope in time that those who see it differently will stop demanding we conform to theirs.
Where can I find that kind of fellowship?
There's no easy answer here. It might be right in front of you among the fellowship you're already in. It might be down the street in your neighborhood or across a cubicle at work. You can also get involved in compassionate outreaches to the needy and broken in your locality as a way to live out his life in you and meet others with a similar hunger.
Don't expect this kind of fellowship to fall easily into an organization. It is organic, and Jesus can lead you to it right where you are. Look for him to put a dozen or so folks around your life with whom you can share the journey. They may not even all go to the same congregation you do. They might be neighbors or coworkers who are following after God. Wouldn't that kind of interconnection among God's people yield some incredible fruit?
Don't expect it to be easy or run smoothly. It will take some specific choices on our part to be obedient to Jesus. It may take some training to shake off old habits and be free to let him build his community around you, but it is all worth it. I know it bothers some people that I don't take my regular place in a pew on Sunday morning, but I can tell you absolutely that my worst days outside organized religion are still better than my best days inside it. To me the difference is like listening to someone talk about golf or actually taking a set of clubs out to a course and playing golf. Being his church is like that. In our day we don't need more talk about the church, but people who are simply ready to live in its reality.
People all over the world are freshly discovering how to do that again. You can be one of them as you let him place you in his body as he desires.
© Copyright 2001 by Lifestream Ministries
Permission is hereby granted to anyone wishing to make copies for free distribution.
Why I Don't Go To Church Anymore!
BodyLife • May 2001
By Wayne Jacobsen
Dear Fellow-believer,
I do appreciate your concern for me and your willingness to raise issues that have caused you concern. I know the way I relate to the church is a bit unconventional and some even call it dangerous. Believe me, I understand that concern because I used to think that way myself and even taught others to as well.
If you are happy with the status quo of organized religion today, you may not like what you read here. My purpose is not to convince you to see this incredible church the same way I do, but to answer your questions as openly and honestly as I can. Even if we don't end up agreeing, hopefully you will understand that our differences need not estrange us as members of Christ's body.
Where do you go to church?
I have never liked this question, even when I was able to answer it with a specific organization. I know what it means culturally, but it is based on a false premise--that church is something you can go to as in a specific event, location or organized group. I think Jesus looks at the church quite differently. He didn't talk about it as a place to go to, but a way of living in relationship to him and to other followers of his.
Asking me where I go to church is like asking me where I go to Jacobsen. How do I answer that? I am a Jacobsen and where I go a Jacobsen is. 'Church' is that kind of word. It doesn't identify a location or an institution. It describes a people and how they relate to each other. If we lose sight of that, our understanding of the church will be distorted and we'll miss out on much of its joy.
Are you just trying to avoid the question?
I know it may only sound like quibbling over words, but words are important. When we only ascribe the term 'church' to weekend gatherings or institutions that have organized themselves as 'churches' we miss out on what it means to live as Christ's body. It will give us a false sense of security to think that by attending a meeting once a week we are participating in God's church. Conversely I hear people talk about 'leaving the church' when they stop attending a specific congregation.
But if the church is something we are, not someplace we go, how can we leave it unless we abandon Christ himself? And if I think only of a specific congregation as my part of the church, haven't I separated myself from a host of other brothers and sisters that do not attend the same one I do?
The idea that those who gather on Sunday mornings to watch a praise concert and listen to a teaching are part of the church and those who do not, are not, would be foreign to Jesus. The issue is not where we are at a given time during the weekend, but how we are living in him and with other believers all week long.
But don't we need regular fellowship?
I wouldn't say we need it. If we were in a place where we couldn't find other believers, Jesus certainly would be able to take care of us. Thus, I'd phrase that a bit differently: Will people who are growing to know the Living God also desire real and meaningful connections with other believers? Absolutely! The call to the kingdom is not a call to isolation. Every person I've ever met who is thriving in the life of Jesus has a desire to share authentic fellowship with other believers. They realize that whatever they know of God's life is just in part, and only the fullest revelation of him is in the church.
But sometimes that kind of fellowship is not easy to find. Periodically on this journey we may go through times when we can't seem to find any other believers who share our hunger. That's especially true for those who find that conforming to the expectations of the religious institutions around them diminishes their relationship with Jesus. They may find themselves excluded by believers with whom they've shared close friendship. But no one going through that looks on that time as a treat. It is incredibly painful and they will look for other hungry believers to share the journey with.
My favorite expression of body life is where a local group of people chooses to walk together for a bit of the journey by cultivating close friendships and learning how to listen to God together.
Shouldn't we be committed to a local fellowship?
That has been said so often today, that most of us assume it is in the Bible somewhere. I haven't found it yet. Many of us have been led to believe that we can't possibly survive without the 'covering of the body' and will either fall into error or backslide into sin. But doesn't that happen inside our local congregations as well?
I know many people who live outside those structures and find not only an ever-deepening relationship with God, but also connections with other believers that run far deeper than they found in the institution. I haven't lost any of my passion for Jesus or my affection for his church. If anything those have grown by leaps and bounds in recent years.
Scripture does encourage us to be devoted to one another not committed to an institution. Jesus indicated that whenever two or three people get together focused on him, they would experience the vitality of church life.
Is it helpful to regularly participate in a local expression of that reality? Of course. But we make a huge mistake when we assume that fellowship takes place just because we attend the same event together, even regularly, or because we belong to the same organization. Fellowship happens where people share the journey of knowing Jesus together. It consists of open, honest sharing, genuine concern about each other's spiritual well being and encouragement for people to follow Jesus however he leads them.
But don't our institutions keep us from error?
I'm sorry to burst your bubble here, but every major heresy that has been inflicted on God's people for the last 2,000 years has come from organized groups with 'leaders' who thought they knew God's mind better than anyone around them. Conversely, virtually every move of God among people hungering for him was rejected by the 'church' of that day and were excluded, excommunicated or executed for following God.
If that is where you hope to find security, I'm afraid it is sorely misplaced. Jesus didn't tell us that 'going to church' would keep us safe, but that trusting him would. He gave us an anointing of the Spirit so that we would know the difference between truth and error. That anointing is cultivated as we learn his ways in his Word and grow closer to his heart. It will help you recognize when expressions of church you share life with becomes destructive to his work in you.
So are traditional congregations wrong?
Absolutely not! I have found many of them with people who love God and are seeking to grow in his ways. I visit a couple of dozen different congregations a year that I find are far more centered on relationship than religion. Jesus is at the center of their life together, and those who act as leaders are true servants and not playing politics of leadership, so that all are encouraged to minister to one another.
I pray that even more of them are renewed in a passion for Jesus, a genuine concern for each other and a willingness to serve the world with God's love. But I think we'd have to admit that these are rare in our communities and many only last for a short span before they unwittingly look to institutional answers for the needs of the body instead of remaining dependent on Jesus. When that happens do not feel condemned if God leads you not to go along with them.
So should I stop going to church, too?
I'm afraid that question also misses the point. You see I don't believe you're going to church any more than I am. We're just part of it. Be your part, however Jesus calls you to and wherever he places you. Not all of us grow in the same environment.
If you gather with a group of believers at a specific time and place and that participation helps you grow closer to Jesus and allows you to follow his work in you, by all means don't think you have to leave. Keep in mind, however, that of itself is not the church. It is just one of many expressions of it in the place where you live.
Don't be tricked into thinking that just because you attend its meetings you are experiencing real body life. That only comes as God connects you with a handful of brothers and sisters with whom you can build close friendships and share the real ups and downs of this journey.
That can happen among traditional congregations, as it can also happen beyond them. In the last seven years I've meet hundreds if not thousands of people who have grown disillusioned with traditional congregations and are thriving spiritually as they share God's life with others, mostly in their homes.
Then meeting in homes is the answer?
Of course not. But let's be clear: as fun as it is to enjoy large group worship and even be instructed by gifted teachers, the real joy of body life can't be shared in huge groups. The church for its first 300 years found the home the perfect place to gather. They are much more suited to the dynamics of family which is how Jesus described his body.
But meeting in homes is no cure-all. I've been to some very sick home meetings and met in facilities with groups who shared an authentic body life together. But the time I spend in regular body life I want to spend face to face with a group of people. I know it isn't popular today where people find it is far easier to sit through a finely-tuned (or not so finely-tuned) service and go home without ever having to open up our life or care about another person's journey.
But ultimately what matters most to me is not where or how they meet, but whether or not people are focused on Jesus and really helping each other on the journey to becoming like him. Meetings are less the issue here than the quality of relationships. I am always looking for people like that wherever I am and always rejoice when I find it. In our new home in Oxnard, we've found a few folks and are hopeful to find even more.
Aren't you just reacting out of hurt?
I suppose that is possible and time will tell, I guess, but I honestly don't believe so. Anyone who is engaged in real body life will get hurt at times. But there are two kinds of hurt. There's the kind of pain that points to a problem that can be fixed with the right care—such as a badly sprained ankle. Then there's the kind of pain that can only be fixed by pulling away—as when you put your hand on a hot stove.
Perhaps all of us have experienced some measure of pain as we have tried to fit God's life into institutions. For a long time most of us hung in there hoping if we tweaked a few things it would get better. Though we could be successful in limited ways during moments of renewal, we also discovered that eventually the conformity an institution demands and the freedom people need to grow in Christ are at odds with one another. It has happened with virtually every group formed throughout the history of Christianity.
Are you looking for the perfect church?
No, and I don't anticipate finding one this side of eternity. Perfection is not my goal, but finding people with God's priorities. It's one thing for people to struggle toward an ideal they share together. It's another to realize that our ideals have little in common.
I make no secret of the fact that I am deeply troubled by the state of organized Christianity. Most of what we call 'church' today are nothing more than well-planned performances with little actual connection between believers. Believers are encouraged toward a growing dependency on the system or its leadership rather than on Jesus himself. We spend more energy conforming behavior to what the institution needs rather than helping people be transformed at the foot of the cross!
I'm tired of trying to fellowship with people who only view church as a two-hour a week dumping ground for guilt while they live the rest of the week with the same priorities as the world. I'm tired of those who depend on their own works of righteousness but who have no compassion for the people of the world. I'm tired of insecure people using the Body of Christ as an extension of their own ego and will manipulate it to satisfy their own needs. I'm tired of sermons more filled with the bondage of religion than the freedom of God's love and where relationships take a back seat to the demands of an efficient institution.
But don't our children need church activities?
I'd suggest that what they need most is to be integrated into God's life through relational fellowship with other believers. 92% of children who grow up in Sunday schools with all the puppets and high-powered entertainment, leave 'church' when they leave their parents' home? Instead of filling our children with ethics and rules we need to demonstrate how to live in God's life together.
Even sociologists tell us that the #1 factor in determining whether a child will thrive in society is if they have deep, personal friendships with nonrelative adults. No Sunday school can fill that role. I know of one community in Australia who after 20 years of sharing God's life together as families could say that they had not lost one child to the faith as they grew into adulthood. I know I cut across the grain here, but it is far more important that our children experience real fellowship among believers rather than the bells and whistles of a slick children's program.
What dynamics of body life do you look for?
I'm always looking for a people who are seeking to follow the Living Christ. He is at the center of their lives, their affections and their conversation. They look to be authentic and free others to hurt when they hurt, to question what they question and to follow his voice without others accusing them of being divisive or rebellious. I look for people who are not wasting their money on extravagant buildings or flashy programs; where people sitting next to each other are not strangers; and where they all participate as a priesthood to God instead of watch passively from a safe distance.
Aren't you giving people an excuse to sit home and do nothing?
I hope not, though I know it is a danger. I realize some people who leave traditional congregations end up abusing that freedom to satisfy their own desires and thus miss out on church life altogether. Neither am I a fan of 'church hoppers', who whip around to one place after another looking for the latest fad or the best opportunity to fulfill their own selfish desires.
But most of the people I meet and talk with are not outside the system because they have lost their passion for Jesus or his people, but only because the traditional congregations near them couldn't satisfy their hunger for relationship. They are seeking authentic expressions of body life and pay an incredible cost to seek it out. Believe me, we would all find it easier just to go with the flow, but once you've tasted of living fellowship between passionate believers, it is impossible to settle for anything less.
Isn't this view of church divisive?
Not of itself. People make it divisive when they demand that people conform to their revelation of truth. Most of us on the journey are accused of being divisive because freedom can be threatening to those who find their security in a religious system. But must of us aren't trying to recruit others to leave their congregations. We see the body of Christ big enough to encompass God's people however he calls them to gather.
One of the things often said about traditional church is that Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in American culture. We only meet with people who look like we do and like things the way we do. I've found now that I have far more opportunity to get with people from a broader cross-section of his body. I don't demand others do it my way and I hope in time that those who see it differently will stop demanding we conform to theirs.
Where can I find that kind of fellowship?
There's no easy answer here. It might be right in front of you among the fellowship you're already in. It might be down the street in your neighborhood or across a cubicle at work. You can also get involved in compassionate outreaches to the needy and broken in your locality as a way to live out his life in you and meet others with a similar hunger.
Don't expect this kind of fellowship to fall easily into an organization. It is organic, and Jesus can lead you to it right where you are. Look for him to put a dozen or so folks around your life with whom you can share the journey. They may not even all go to the same congregation you do. They might be neighbors or coworkers who are following after God. Wouldn't that kind of interconnection among God's people yield some incredible fruit?
Don't expect it to be easy or run smoothly. It will take some specific choices on our part to be obedient to Jesus. It may take some training to shake off old habits and be free to let him build his community around you, but it is all worth it. I know it bothers some people that I don't take my regular place in a pew on Sunday morning, but I can tell you absolutely that my worst days outside organized religion are still better than my best days inside it. To me the difference is like listening to someone talk about golf or actually taking a set of clubs out to a course and playing golf. Being his church is like that. In our day we don't need more talk about the church, but people who are simply ready to live in its reality.
People all over the world are freshly discovering how to do that again. You can be one of them as you let him place you in his body as he desires.
© Copyright 2001 by Lifestream Ministries
Permission is hereby granted to anyone wishing to make copies for free distribution.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
There's More
Faith says “There’s More.”
Sometimes I’m tempted to close my hand and withhold what is asked because my resources are limited. “I can’t give you this, it’s all I have!”
But Faith says, “There’s more!” and freely gives out of the wealth of the Father.
Sometimes, I close my eyes in fear, and resist what is or might be. “This horrible thing is all there will ever be!”
But Faith says, “There’s more!” and extends the vision of eternal peace and life on a restored Earth, sharing in the glory of the Son.
Sometimes, I am sure I am all alone. “No one is beside me, no one understands!”
But Faith says, “There’s more!” and reveals a host of brothers and sisters that share in One Faith, One baptism, and pursue the same God and Father of all.
Sometimes, I smugly declare that I’ve understood it all. “I have grasped the mind of God.”
And Faith, smiling, says, “There’s more!” and reveals treasures to the horizon, untasted.
Sometimes I’m tempted to close my hand and withhold what is asked because my resources are limited. “I can’t give you this, it’s all I have!”
But Faith says, “There’s more!” and freely gives out of the wealth of the Father.
Sometimes, I close my eyes in fear, and resist what is or might be. “This horrible thing is all there will ever be!”
But Faith says, “There’s more!” and extends the vision of eternal peace and life on a restored Earth, sharing in the glory of the Son.
Sometimes, I am sure I am all alone. “No one is beside me, no one understands!”
But Faith says, “There’s more!” and reveals a host of brothers and sisters that share in One Faith, One baptism, and pursue the same God and Father of all.
Sometimes, I smugly declare that I’ve understood it all. “I have grasped the mind of God.”
And Faith, smiling, says, “There’s more!” and reveals treasures to the horizon, untasted.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Churchless Faith
We are believers without a body. What nonsense that is! Here we are, walking out a faith that says that outsiders will know we trust Christ by how we love one another, and we are largely cut off from the typical "one anothering" of a church! We find ourselves living in an age where we see the Day approaching, and completely unable to figure out how to gather together, as Hebrews 10:25 encourages us to do.
We've been told to just go to church. I'd really like to. Honest I would. But my husband and I are burdened with the impression that it matters what we believe and it matters if what we embrace is true. Can we chime in singing "More Love, More Power..." when we've been given "everything we need for life and godliness?" Shall I shrug it off when the pastor's wife attempts suicide--and not question that the faith we are pursuing together does not appear to be the abundant life that Jesus promised, marked by love, joy, peace, patience, etc? I am not asking people to be perfect. I just need the gospel preached to be the Good News that Jesus sacrificed everything to bring us.
When we go to church, we see people who are not being revived by truth and comforted by the love of one another and God. The last church we went to (for a year), charged $300 for its discipleship program--the main way people could connect with one another and learn more about their faith. This discipleship program--"Ministry Training Institute" it's called--has people listen to teaching, then break into groups and practice what they heard. They pretend that someone is unsaved, and practice what they would say to them. This baffles me. We walk by the new way of the Spirit. I assume that there are people in these groups with actual needs--hurts, wounds, questions, etc. And instead of using this time to *actually* minister and connect with one another, this time is used for posing and pretending so that they can put on a better show at some other point!
MTI also gives homework. Apparently, the students must pray with a certain number of people to receive Christ, a certain number to be "baptized in the Spirit", etc. Three different people approached me or family members to see if we wanted to help them fulfill their checklist. They didn't know us, didn't really care if they were offering what we needed or if God was leading, they only had their eyes on getting those points so they could graduate from MTI with the proper credentials. The woman who offered to pray with me to receive the spirit asked me to do so while I was in the middle of coordinating an event for 300 people! This is what is being most promoted as fellowship and growth in Christ at that church. I don't even know where to begin with that. Just go along with it? It seems like blasphemy. Pointless at best, excrutiatingly damaging at worst--that was the body that had their dear pastor's wife make an attempt on her own life. I feel for them. Am I wrong to bail off the sinking ship? Should I expose my kids to that? My husband is so discouraged by it, it locks him up for half the week just feeling so alienated. I don't even want him to go there. But where is it any different? I don't know of any place where the truth is taught and fellowship is lived. Shall I just go to church and not worry about whether what is preached is true? Shall we just go to a church where our ideas would be disruptive to what the pastor sees as the direction the church is going? We believe that tithing is wrong--not good, not neutral, but not okay at all. Do you know a church where anyone who is allowed to teach could hold that perspective? What would become of the group enthusiasm for the building project? ;-)
We've been told to just go to church. I'd really like to. Honest I would. But my husband and I are burdened with the impression that it matters what we believe and it matters if what we embrace is true. Can we chime in singing "More Love, More Power..." when we've been given "everything we need for life and godliness?" Shall I shrug it off when the pastor's wife attempts suicide--and not question that the faith we are pursuing together does not appear to be the abundant life that Jesus promised, marked by love, joy, peace, patience, etc? I am not asking people to be perfect. I just need the gospel preached to be the Good News that Jesus sacrificed everything to bring us.
When we go to church, we see people who are not being revived by truth and comforted by the love of one another and God. The last church we went to (for a year), charged $300 for its discipleship program--the main way people could connect with one another and learn more about their faith. This discipleship program--"Ministry Training Institute" it's called--has people listen to teaching, then break into groups and practice what they heard. They pretend that someone is unsaved, and practice what they would say to them. This baffles me. We walk by the new way of the Spirit. I assume that there are people in these groups with actual needs--hurts, wounds, questions, etc. And instead of using this time to *actually* minister and connect with one another, this time is used for posing and pretending so that they can put on a better show at some other point!
MTI also gives homework. Apparently, the students must pray with a certain number of people to receive Christ, a certain number to be "baptized in the Spirit", etc. Three different people approached me or family members to see if we wanted to help them fulfill their checklist. They didn't know us, didn't really care if they were offering what we needed or if God was leading, they only had their eyes on getting those points so they could graduate from MTI with the proper credentials. The woman who offered to pray with me to receive the spirit asked me to do so while I was in the middle of coordinating an event for 300 people! This is what is being most promoted as fellowship and growth in Christ at that church. I don't even know where to begin with that. Just go along with it? It seems like blasphemy. Pointless at best, excrutiatingly damaging at worst--that was the body that had their dear pastor's wife make an attempt on her own life. I feel for them. Am I wrong to bail off the sinking ship? Should I expose my kids to that? My husband is so discouraged by it, it locks him up for half the week just feeling so alienated. I don't even want him to go there. But where is it any different? I don't know of any place where the truth is taught and fellowship is lived. Shall I just go to church and not worry about whether what is preached is true? Shall we just go to a church where our ideas would be disruptive to what the pastor sees as the direction the church is going? We believe that tithing is wrong--not good, not neutral, but not okay at all. Do you know a church where anyone who is allowed to teach could hold that perspective? What would become of the group enthusiasm for the building project? ;-)
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Expectations
Time was when my life was drawn forward by the expectation of the next great thing: getting married, graduating college, moving to another state, starting a business, expecting a baby, going on a trip. But having had my last child several years ago and moving to a home that we never expect to leave, there is no longer anything on the horizon that is so happy. I know that my children will grow up and leave. Or that someone will die. In fact, in watching the times, the next likely event coming up will be the pouring out of God's wrath in a comet strike on earth. But I don't want to "go there" now. No sense in exposing myself as a nut case right off the bat.
So, how to live. Day by day, listening to the Father's heart, laying down my life to care for those that God puts in my circle.
I find myself wondering how other people live dangling over the abyss. When there is nothing but loss to anticipate, how do others live? Of course, I do have the eternal hope of Christ's return and the resurrection/trainsformation of the Saints. But there is a whole lot of death between here and there.
So, how to live. Day by day, listening to the Father's heart, laying down my life to care for those that God puts in my circle.
I find myself wondering how other people live dangling over the abyss. When there is nothing but loss to anticipate, how do others live? Of course, I do have the eternal hope of Christ's return and the resurrection/trainsformation of the Saints. But there is a whole lot of death between here and there.
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