More Than Just A Feeling

“It’s one thing to sing about God and recite quotes about God and invoke God’s name; it’s another be aware of the presence in every taste, touch, sound, and embrace.” – Rob Bell (from the book What We Talk About When We Talk About God)

Over the past month I’ve been given the opportunity to learn about and consider spirituality and the body. This has been a great exercise in understanding God with fresh eyes and no limits. Choosing to allow myself to be more fully aware of the presence of God in all areas of life has revealed to me that God is so much bigger than I ever thought or imagined. And I would say that I used to think that God was absolutely huge.

The Rob Bell quote above gets at what I’m trying to communicate. I have slowly been realizing that my awareness of God took place in a box. As long as it fit in the box, I was good. Anything outside of the box was typically discarded immediately.

I’m realizing that being aware of God is more than just a feeling.

Because of this, I’m trying to destroy the box.

Allowing myself to encounter the presence of God through all of my senses is becoming a wonderfully new way for me to not only deepen my relationship with God, but it has helped me to notice God in the routine and mundane things of life.

Here’s to being aware of the reality of our great, and awesome God as we enjoy incredibly tasty food with friends, sniff out the most amazing smells, join our voices in the song of the redeemed, listen to the sounds of the season, and choose to express love and compassion with a simple touch.

Soul On Fire

The lyrics to this new song by Third Day and All Sons & Daughters captures where my heart is at these days as I focus on what it means to know God more deeply and be okay with simply being in His presence.

The following phrases are some of my favorites from this song.

“God, I’m Running for your Heart…” – I love the movement that comes to mind when I hear these words. I’m also a fan of how running for the heart of God is a way for me to declare that God knows best and I want what He wants.

“God, I’m Longing for your ways…” – This line is a great reminder to me that my ways fall short and I need to constantly be aware of the ways of God as they relate to all of life…relationships, work, play, learning, etc.

“In the darkness lead me through…” – Usually I want to run from the darkness or escape it. But this lyric reminds me that God can be present in our darkness and He desires to lead us through it, rather than helping us escape it. Encountering the power and presence of God in the midst of our darkness has the potential to open new and exciting doors that we never knew even existed before.

I hope you not only enjoy this great new song, but that you allow God to speak to you in the midst of it.

Raisins, PB, and Coffee!

I am thankful for raisins because they make a great snack, peanut butter because it makes my tummy smile, and coffee because it tastes oh so good!

How about you? What are you thankful for?

Centered Again

There’s an old Vineyard worship song entitled Come Lord. I’ve always been a fan of how simple, yet engaging the lyrics are. (I wish I could have found a link so you could listen, but unfortunately I couldn’t). Here are the lyrics:

Come Lord
Come reign
Fill this place
With the glory of Your holy name

Move our hearts
Closer to You
Come, Lord, come do
What You want to do

There’s not much to the lyrics, but I find them very helpful in centering my heart on inviting God to come and rule and reign in my life.

Do you have a favorite song or Scripture that helps you to center on God?

Auto-Pilot

I was reading an article in Inc. Magazine about Kyle Vogt, who is on his way to providing the first self-driving technology system in America. Auto-pilot is no longer a thing of the future, it’s a part of the here and now.

As amazing and trendy as this invention is for the auto industry, when it comes to our journey of faith, choosing auto-pilot won’t get us any closer to our destination. Instead, disengaging from our relationship with God and being content with a decision we made at some point in our lives, actually brings our souls to a halt and prevents us from experiencing life the way God intended.

The Apostle Paul’s encouragement to the church of Colosse is as relevant to us today as it was to them many years ago. Consider what he wrote in chapter 2, verses 6 &7:

“And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” (‭Colossians‬ ‭2‬:‭6-7‬ NLT)

Choosing auto-pilot might seem at times like your only option, but you’ll be missing out on living a purposeful and fulfilling life. Build your life on Christ and buckle-up, because the adventure that awaits you will be more than you could ever hope or dream.

It’s easy for followers of Jesus to disengage and turn on auto-pilot. For me, one of the ways that I keep from engaging the auto-pilot setting is to ensure that I’m sharing faith and life with other followers of Jesus and giving them permission to ask the hard questions and challenge me to constantly make pursing Christ top priority.

How about you? What have you done in your life to prevent yourself from switching to your automated systems?

How do you Measure Greatness?

“Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.” (‭Psalms‬ ‭145‬:‭3‬ NLT)

When we mention to one another that so and so is great, we typically follow that statement with one specific reason for their greatness. It’s quantifiable greatness. There’s a limit to their greatness. It’s measurable.

Not so with God.

How exactly does one reduce God’s greatness to the point where it can be measured? We can’t. There’s no way for us to create an exhaustive list of the ways in which our God is great.

From the grand miracles to the unexplained surprises; from the depth of his love to the attention to the tiniest detail, God’s greatness is on display. Even since the creation of the world, all of God’s creation has proclaimed his greatness. No matter what’s been going on, there have always been those who continue to give voice to how great and wonderful our God really is.

Even when it seemed as though the entire world was against God, Noah and his family were found to be righteous and proclaim the greatness of God.

Despite being captured by the Babylonians Daniel and s few of his friends remained faithful to God and made sure that they continued to proclaim the greatness of God.

I would even venture to say that during the four hundred years prior to Jesus’ birth, when God was silent, there were those who couldn’t help but proclaim the greatness of God.

So, how will you join with the host of others in proclaiming the greatness of God? Perhaps you and your family could share stories around the dinner table tonight. Maybe you’ll respond to this post or simply update your FB status. No matter how your day unfolds, look for an opportunity to share with someone else about the greatness of God.

Excess

“Excess is that thing that we could give away today, and it wouldn’t change a single aspect of our tomorrow.” – Jeff Shinabarger (More or Less)

If you think about excess the way Jeff Shinabarger describes above, I would tend to think that we all have quite a few items in our homes that we could put in that category. As I stand here at my desk I notice the following:

– 4 Bibles
– 2 Guitars
– A bunch of books
– Some knick knacks (and paddywacks)

That’s just what’s in view right now. Not to mention all of the stuff in the other rooms of the house.

I’m considering what I’m to do with this excess, especially as I realize that I can’t play both guitars at the same time, and all those Bibles are accessible online.

I’m a big fan of living simply because it forces me to make better choices when it comes to living out the values that my family and I have adopted. Taking inventory of what we own to determine what is truly excess is a giant step toward living simply.

Who’s with me? Who’s ready to take this step with me?

Roots For Life

“Longevity is a hidden secret for those who truly want incarnational fruit. This incarnational fruit doesn’t just happen. It happens over time, and the more time we can give to a community, a street, a school, a sports club, or a pub, the more impact we will have.” – Hugh Halter, from his book Flesh

Incarnational fruit is simply life-change among those who’ve been influenced by followers of Jesus because they embodied Jesus in their thoughts, words, and actions…wherever their lives were stationed.

I believe that Hugh Halter hits the nail on the head, because, if followers of Jesus are unwilling to consider putting down roots and sticking it out for the long haul, then we are, in many ways, forfeiting any hope of seeing incarnation fruit.

I realize that this is just not possible for certain individuals and families, based on their employment, etc. But there are definitely some among us of whom God is tapping on the shoulder, inviting them to embrace longevity and sink their roots for the sake of a community.

It’s a simple decision to embrace an awareness of God’s work among us. I’m reminded of a verse from the book of Acts, chapter 17, where the author communicates that, “from one man he made every nation of the human race to inhabit the entire earth, determining their set times and the fixed limits of the places where they would live…”

You see, I’m convinced that God desires to be dynamically involved in our lives. This involvement isn’t forced, it’s welcomed. Welcoming God’s rule and reign and involvement in our lives is a result of walking by faith and not by sight.

For many of us, welcoming God’s involvement and leadership in these ways is not going to come easy nor is it going to happen overnight. Perhaps the first step may be that we get to the point that we want this to be what we want. Even that is a way of positioning us toward allowing God to help us consider putting down roots for life.

I know, for me, that I’ve wrestled with this idea of longevity and am at the point where I know that I long to hear God’s voice and desire to obey. So, as I wait and listen, I look forward to God’s revelation in this area. For now, I commit to being present in the neighborhood where God has placed me. I choose to build friendships with those whose front doors are just 50 feet away from mine. And I”m looking for those places where my family and I frequent where we can continue to connect with the people who are there all the time. It might be the gym, or Starbucks…and that’s a great place to start.

Have you ever sensed that God is asking you to put down roots in a specific place for life for the sake of a community?

Faith vs. Doubt

Rob Bell, in his book, What we Talk about when we Talk about God, shares the following:

“For many people in our world, the opposite of faith is doubt. The goal, then, within this understanding, is to eliminate doubt. But faith and doubt aren’t opposites. Doubt is often a sign that your faith has a pulse, that it’s alive and well and exploring and searching. Faith and doubt aren’t opposites; they are, it turns out, excellent dance partners.”

I have to say that I used to be in that camp where doubt was thought to be the opposite of faith. For the longest time I didn’t know what to do with people who expressed doubt in God. I can’t really explain why. I think part of it was that I hadn’t ever allowed myself to doubt.

Recently, I’ve been challenged to consider how God chooses to meet us in the darkness that often comes with seasons of doubt. There can be great healing and wholeness for those who allow God to be present in the midst of their doubting and asking questions of faith and life. Giving ourselves permission, as well as others, to work out our doubt as opposed to running from it, will often times result in a deeper walk of faith than ever imagined.

Bell writes, “Doubt is often a sign that your faith has a pulse, that it’s alive and well and exploring and searching.” I love this imagery. It makes perfect sense to me.

As I consider that I will most likely have some seasons of doubt and questioning in my future, I count it a blessing to know that I have some incredible friends who will not only give me the space to wrestle, but who will stick by me and not abandon me. They will choose to stand firm and remain fateful. Sharing faith and life and doubts in the midst of community makes all the difference in the world.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for great friends who have become true family.