Independence Day Celebration

Independence is such a revered concept in America that we actually have a holiday named for it. In fact we celebrated it last week. It’s July 4^th or Independence Day. At journey we celebrated it with a Patriotic Pig Roast. Instead of meeting in the morning we met in the afternoon and instead of meeting at the usual place we met at the Fisher Farm. It was a great time of food and fun.

Yet there is an independence that we as Christ followers were never intended to have, an independence from God and from one another. Jesus when he was asked by one of the experts in the law “what is the greatest commandment?” said it was to love the Lord your God and to love one another as ourselves, Matthew 22:35,36.

³⁵One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: ³⁶"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" ³⁷Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'^{[b] 38}This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'^{[c] 40}All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

How do we love God with all of our heart and love one another as ourselves? That’s the question we asked this past Sunday at journey. We concluded that we love God by following the admonition of Proverbs 3:5,6.

⁵Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. ^[a]

Then we live in interdependence with one another by recognizing that we are not complete in and of ourselves but merely one part of “the body” in which no part is more important than the other and everyone sorrows with those who sorrow and rejoices with those who rejoice, 1 Corinthians 12:12,

¹²The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body.

While I am grateful for the independence and freedoms I enjoy as an American I am even more grateful for the privilege of being part of a people who are seeking to live in dependence of God and interdependence of one another.

Clarity, is only a song by John Mayer

One of the things I’ve found myself looking for in life is clarity. I don’t think I’m alone. Brennan Manning in his book Ruthless Trust tells a interesting story of the brilliant ethicist John Kavanaugh who went to work for three months at “the house of dying” in Calcutta. He went there seeking a clear answer as to how best to spend the rest of his life. On the first morning there he met Mother Teresa. She asked, “And what can I do for you?” Kavanaugh asked her to pray for him.

“What do you want me to pray for?” she asked. He voiced the request that he had brought thousands of miles from the United States: “pray that I have clarity.”

She said firmly, “No, I will not do that.” when he asked her why, she said, “Clarity is the last thing you are clinging to and must let go of.” When Kavanaugh commented that she always seemed to have the clarity he longed for, she laughed and said, “I have never had clarity; what I have always had is trust. So I will pray that you trust God

The truth is I have often prayed for clarity and I have often prayed for clarity for others, yet I agree with Brennan when he says “that clarity is sometimes the biggest obstacle on our journey of trust.” I mean if you have clarity you really don’t need trust and if you have trust you really don’t need clarity. Jesus disciples were obviously concerned with a lack of clarity when Jesus told them he was going away. Consequently they became anxious and worried. Jesus told them not be anxious but rather to trust, John 14:1. A lot of things make us anxious, but the bottom line is to replace our pursuit for clarity with trust, trust in God and trust in Jesus Christ.

¹"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God^[a]; trust also in me.

Clarity by John Mayer (Click the title to hear the song)

I worry, I weigh three times my body
I worry, I throw my fear around
But this morning, there's a calm I can't explain
The rock candy's melted, only diamonds now remain

Ooh ooh ooh ooh

By the time I recognize this moment
This moment will be gone
But I will bend the light, pretend that it somehow lingered on
Well all I got's

Ooh ooh ooh ooh

And I will wait to find
If this will last forever
And I will wait to find
If this will last forever
And I will pay no mind
That it won't and it won't because it can't
Because it just can't
It just can't
It's not supposed to

Was there a second of time that I looked around?
Did I sail through or drop my anchor down
Was anything enough to kiss the ground?
And say I'm here now and she's here now

Ooh ooh ooh ooh
Ooh ooh ooh ooh

So much wasted in the afternoon
So much sacred in the month of June
How bout you

And I will wait to find
If this will last forever
And I will pay no mind
When it won't and it won't
Because it won't
And I will waste no time
Worried 'bout no rainy weather
And I will waste no time
Remaining in our lives together

"I Quit!"

For most pastors they quit almost every Monday. Maybe it’s the Elijah syndrome, I don’t know but nevertheless the other day I quit, not from the ministry but from trying to charge or in control of “the church.” Funny because the truth is I was never in charge or in control anyhow, but somehow I had come to think I was or at least was supposed to be. Maybe that’s the reason why a segment on the Glenn Beck show the other day resonated so much with me. I’m not a regular listener but I might be after hearing this.

He was doing an interview with a guy named Richard Eyre. He has written a book called “The Three Decievers” He states that these are the thing we all strive for and measure our success by. . .they are control, ownership and independence.

The problem as I see it is that while they are all valued in the world, they are actually all objectives contrary to The Word. For instance we are not in control of anything. God is the only one in control and to try to be in control is to try to be God.

Second ownership. We don’t own anything and the things we think we own will either burn up or be left behind.

Third is independence. Again though it is a particularly highly valued objective in American culture, it is actually “the” major attitude that hinders spiritual growth and community.

What Richard Eyre goes on to do then is propose an alternative objective for each of these. An alternative that I think is much more in line with the Bible even though I do not know whether he is a Christ follower or not. Nevertheless they are worth sharing and maybe talking about more in detail later. They are Serendipity, Stewardship and Synergicity. The last one sounds like a bit of a stretch just to make it alliterative so maybe he is a Christian or at least a pastor. I might blog more about the book later but if you want to read more on your own you can check it out at “The Three Deceivers”

What Did You Get for Christmas?

Do you remember what it was like as a child to wake up on Christmas day and go downstairs or out in the living room and see all the presents underneath and around the tree? You would open them up one by one, play with them for a while and then sometime before the day was up you’d phone your best friend and tell him everything you got. (I suppose now they just text message their friends while they are opening their presents.)

Well before we are too critical, that’s actually what the shepherds did after the very first Christmas. They didn’t text message their friends but they did return to their jobs, to their friends and even their family to tell that what they had heard and seen.

17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

Could I pause here for just a moment? We have an awful lot of information floating around out there about how we should witness to others and share our faith. For many Christians I know that is one of the most terrifying things, to tell somebody else how they feel about Christ. And part of it is because we have misunderstood what it means to be a witness.

A witness doesn’t necessarily mean you have to know (1) the four spiritual laws or (2) the evangelism explosion presentation of the gospel or (3) the Romans road or (4) any of the other methods that have been created to put the gospel in some sort of format.

Witnessing merely means you tell somebody else what you has happened to you. On that night the shepherds, had heard and seen that a Savior had been born, to them, the lowliest and least likely of all people.

Next week when we return to work or even this weekend when we return to our friends or family, let’s commit to being a witness, a witness of the things that God has done for us.

20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

I Am Tankful For. . .

II know it's not Thanksgiving but I "stumbled" across this the other day and thought it was too good to wait to share next year so here it is today. It might be good to remember as we prepare our hearts for Christmas.

I Am Thankful For...

• For the teenager who is not doing dishes but is watching TV, because that means he is at home and not on the streets.
  
• For the taxes I pay, because it means that I am employed.
• For the mess to clean after a party, because it means that I have been surrounded by friends.
• For the clothes that fit a little too snug, because it means I have enough to eat.
• For my shadow that watches me work, because it means I am out in the sunshine.
• For a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing, because it means I have a home.
• For all the complaining I hear about the government, because it means that we have freedom of speech.
• For the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot, because it means I am capable of walking, and that I have been blessed with transportation.
• For my huge heating bill, because it means I am warm.
• For the lady behind me in my place of worship when she sings off key, because it means that I can hear.
• For the pile of laundry and ironing, because it means I have clothes to wear.
• For weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day, because it means I have been capable of working hard.
• For the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours, because it means that I am alive.

and finally....

• For too much e-mail, because it means I have friends who are thinking of me.

What I'm Thankful For

I thank my God every time I remember you. Philippians 1:3

Name one thing you can thank God for this year that you couldn't thank Him for last year. Here are a few of my thoughts...

One thing we can be thankful for is the price of gas. Who would have thought we would ever see gas prices under $2 a gallon, let alone $1.57?!

Another thing I am thankful for is that the elections are over. That means no more political commercials! (at least for a while).

Also, I am thankful for the prospects of a new roof, courtesy of Hurricane Ike.

As I reflect over this past year, I am MOST thankful for where the "journey" has taken me - a deeper relationship with the Lord, birth of Journey Church, and the MANY new & deeper friendships I have with people like YOU!

A year ago we prayed that if God wanted us to plant a church that He would provide three things: a people, a place and provision. Now, a year later, He has provided all three! How thankful I am to just be a part of His plan and to obey His command to "go into all the world and make disciples." (Matthew 28:18)

Dance like no one is watching.

Sing like no one is listening.
Love like you've never been hurt and
live like it's heaven on Earth."

A while back I was faced with a difficult decision that required taking a risk. A friend of mine understanding my "fears" gave me a wall plaque that said "dance like no one is watching." I shared it Sunday to illustrate how the Holy Spirit can transform us with his power to do what we wouldn't do on our own, Acts 2:13-41. Little though did I realize it is part of a larger quote. Does anyone know who said it? His picture is next to the saying. Now all I need is the courage to sign up for dancing classes! Yea right