Running on Empty

Before technology in vehicles, you had to guess how many miles you had left when the gas gauge was low. Today, we have the luxury to look at the dashboard and see what the computer estimates is left. Knowing that is a good thing. It helps you from running out of gas. How do we know if we are running on empty? Often times we don’t know until it is too late. One of my favorite songs is “Everlasting God”. It’s a song that is based on a passage from Isaiah 40 that reads, “The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.”

Many times we try to see how far we can get, unintentionally, without spending quality one on one time with God. Our egos get in the way of the ever- present Holy Spirit that is beckoning our attention. Many of us try to get through the whole week with just spending one hour on a Sunday morning with God and filling up as much as we can during that hour`. Meanwhile, we remain on cruise control. We try to fill our tank with everything but what is necessary to function: fellowship with friends, insightful books, worshipful music and “drive-by” encounters with God are all things we look for and try to do. While these are all positive activities, they are not sufficient enough for sustained spiritual growth.

In the book of James, we find where our dependence, our source of strength, should come from. We need to be completely, solely dependent upon Him. He is our strength, our fuel. Subjecting ourselves to Him, our motives and our desires to His, leaves us full and confident to continue our journey.

You Can Do It...He Will Help

I saw this shirt the other week. It was a bright orange shirt that looked like a billboard for the Home Depot. Actually, it looked just like the Home Depot sign. Instead of reading, “Home Depot” it read “Holy Spirit”. For years, the Home Depot has had the slogan, “You can do it, we can help.” Well on this shirt it says, “You can do it. He can help.” And it is true, you CAN do it! Whatever it is. Too often we limit the potential of the Holy Spirit by saying things like, “Oh I can’t do that.” We face resistance and we sometimes give up. But there is a voice that tells you, “I believe God is at work in you!” What would happen if we let go of our need to control? What would happen if we truly relied on the power of the Holy Spirit? What would happen if we truly believed God is at work in us? What would happen to us? What would happen to our churches?  We know what it is like.  We go to a conference, hear other speakers, read about new ideas only to have them squashed by other people. “Oh there’s no way we could ever do that,” some would say. “Oh people won't like that," others would say.  “But we’re Lutheran,” comes the response. So!?!   Why limit what we can do? Why limit the power of the Holy Spirit? Because when we do, we end up declining or happy with "status quo".  We end up being half disciples only producing half of our potential. Because here is the truth found in Scripture- Jesus promises a coming Advocate (The Holy Spirit) and that Advocate is present with us. God has given us a God sized vision and we can’t let the present realities overshadow the possibilities of tomorrow. You CAN do it, and he WILL help!

Show It to One Another

God is doing amazing things. It’s hard sometimes to stop and realize what God’s Spirit is actually accomplishing in our lives. Too often we focus on the negative and let others drag us down. The culture in which we live in always tells us, “It’s not enough.” But when is it ever enough? If we stop and think about it, the more we gain and acquire, the more we demand. Dallas Willard, Professor in the School of Philosophy at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, once said in an interview, “We are designed to be creators and initiators, not just receivers.” What do you have to celebrate? How is God’s Spirit moving in your life? If you need a reminder, read the book of Philippians. Paul reminds this community in this letter about the encouragement, comfort, tenderness, and compassion they enjoyed in their relationship with Christ, and then directed them to show that to one another. I, like Paul, celebrate the good things that God is doing in the lives of others, and am blessed to see others blessed by God.

Gratitude

I have to admit that I am one of those “go-for-broke” visionary people in ministry.  I’m focused and always thinking about the next big thing. At times I find myself emotionally, spiritually, and physically stretched to my limits. Sometimes I fail to stop and appreciate the Spirit’s work that is being done right now. Gratitude for what God has done and will do, should be a natural and normal part of our life and ministry. The Psalms contain countless reminders to us to praise God for every conceivable thing. Gratitude transforms attitudes, inspires hearts, affirms our calling, and builds relationships. Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said from his jail under Nazi rule, “In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.” We can learn from Dietrich.  He was able to focus on what he could give while sitting in a Nazi concentration prison.  During the time when life seemed hopeless, he was able  to stop and give thanks.  We can also.  There is so much more to be thankful for in our lives, even when we too feel hopeless.  Take some time to see all the good that God has done for you.  Take the time to give Him thanks and praise.

Bless Others

Profound statements...I hear them, read them, see them.  I ponder on these profound statements and try to apply them in some way.  Not that I think they are the only thing in my life that I trust and follow, but I use them to help me have a better understanding of whose I am.  Well, another profound statement jumped out at me while finishing the book Velvet Elvis  by Rob Bell . 

I was reading the section on serving others...I was thinking that I should get this book done because I have  another one ready to go and  "it" hit.  "God chooses people to be used to bless other people".  Yes, it is true.  We are used to bless others in His name.  That is why we are here.  We are not here to exist for ourselves, but to bless others in His name.  It could be through the church.  It could be through our work.  It could be while sitting at Starbucks.  No matter what...we are here to bless others.  Our words, our actions, our thoughts are all for God.  If we keep the focus on what we are here for and the purpose God has for us, then the things we do will not only bless us, but also bless others.  This makes our life and others '  lives better.  I'm totally awed by how God uses people.  I see the  people that have been true blessings in my life by their words and actions.  I pray that I'm a true blessing in others'  lives by my words and actions.  To bless others...sometimes it can be hard to do, but as I work on remembering whose I am, then blessing others will be the outcome of serving God.

Sabbath

I am almost done with the book "Velvet Elvis".  It has been a powerful book to read but a very deep book with lots of thoughts to ponder.  I have found myself reading over and over again the same paragraph...just yesterday, I found myself reading the same sentence over and over again.  Yes, yesterday, I caught myself rereading the same sentence...it stuck in my mind...it really made me think more and more.  The sentence..."I have learned that the real issue behind the Sabbath isn't which day of the week it is but how we live all the time."  (Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell)

The Sabbath is a day when we should slow down.  As Rob Bell puts it, we need to "let the engine come to an idle".  What a concept.  It is amazing what people tell me their schedule is like.  Mine is the same way at times.  We are running here and there.  We are the "super____________" (you can fill in the blank).  We have to do it all, be it all and fix it all. We are it all.  Even on Sunday, in worship, we aren't completely engulfed in worship...we are thinking about what has to happen, where we need to be, what are we going to eat.  We don't ever slow down and really have a Sabbath.  A Sabbath is a chance to slow down and take a good look at what God has done.  Take a look at all that is good and rejoice in it.  A Sabbath is a time for us to receive the grace and peace of God and to really know that it is there.  We all need to slow down.  We all need to live the Sabbath.  Not just on Sundays, but every day. 

Powerfully Present

The pressures of ministry seem to be creeping up on me lately. I seem to have lost my “spark” for visioning for the future. That’s my gift, and it’s what I like to do. I see the big picture and I try to surround myself with people that can help catch the smaller details. Lately though I have been consumed by other “stuff”.  What happens when all the “stuff” of the world creeps in on you? What do you do? What do you do when you feel like you are giving your all but God isn’t showing up? What do you do when you cast vision but few seem inspired? What do you do when criticism comes at you left and right? What do you do in those times of your life when you feel like you are a hamster on a wheel? We all have those times. Last week during one of my low points I was searching scripture and came upon the story of Joseph.  I could identify with him. Bottom of a well? You bet! He was thrown in a well, sold into slavery, falsely accused of rape, and ultimately imprisoned. Ok, so I started feeling a little better about my situation. And yet, right there in the middle of this BIG story there’s these words, “And the Lord was with Joseph.” What? I thought when the Lord was with you things are supposed to be going well. Don’t you agree? Isn’t it interesting that when things aren’t going well we always default to feeling as though God has abandoned us. And yet the truth in Joseph’s story-which is our story- is that God is most powerfully present even when it seems He is most apparently absent. We don’t get to choose when bad things will happen to us, but we do get to choose how we will respond. Joseph’s response was one of faith, and in that choice lies an amazing amount of hope.