This past Wednesday I was in Boston for the memorial service of my young (to me) friend who is now "present with the Lord." Stan's death hit me deeply, perhaps as deeply as any I have experienced. That straight-from-the-pit-of-hell disease cancer robbed him of the long life that we had envisioned for him. He lives on, of course, in the radiant presence of the Lord he loves so much, but he leaves a young widow and two little boys behind (1 and 3). Many of us battled in prayer for Stan's healing over the past 18 months or so, but we were unable to lay hold of it.
I suppose I am taking a bit of risk in sharing the thoughts prompted by Stan's passing, but I feel strongly led to do so. I am framing them in the form of "Things I will and will not do." Here goes.
I will grieve much and encourage those who loved Stan to grieve much and well. My website has a paper I wrote about the importance of grieving, so I won't belabor this point, but believers often have a hard time grieving. Somehow our "Christian thinking" has become twisted so that we think that it's wrong or not very spiritual to grieve loss. Nothing could be further from the truth. Just because we know that our loved one is with Jesus (and certainly gloriously happy about it!) and that God will give us grace to go on and even work good out of this doesn't lessen our sense of pain and loss. True, we grieve differently than those without hope, but grieve we must because loss is loss regardless of how the ultimate outcome looks. So I will grieve much in Papa's presence.
I will pray for and check on those closest to Stan, particularly his wife (Stacy) and sons. As you may have detected in previous entries, I am learning that prayer is far more important and far more effective than I ever dreamed. When you/I pray, God listens intently. And I will be lifting up dear ones much as Papa leads over the months ahead, knowing that my prayers matter. I will also be checking in on Stacy regularly down the road. Sometimes after the dust settles from a tragedy, people get caught up in their own lives and forget the bereaved. I will put reminders into my calendar to ensure that I won't do this to Stacy who is like a daughter to me (more perhaps than she realizes).
I will celebrate the incredible life of my friend and treasure many good memories. Stan's memorial service was indeed a celebration of his amazing life. In 44 years he packed in a lot of life. Like all of us, he was "flawed," but he was also an incredible expression of grace to many.
I will not rewrite the Bible based on my experience. One has to do strange things with the Bible to believe that it isn't always God's will to heal the sick, yet especially in the Western church we have allowed our experience to rewrite the Bible so that Psalm 103:3 changes from "heals all your diseases" to "heals occasionally some of your diseases" and James 5:15 changes from "the prayer of faith will heal the one who is sick" to "the prayer of faith might heal the sick." You get the picture. (And for any who wish to debate this with me, please don't bother and read Andrew Murray's Divine Healing which does as good a job as any of establishing God's will in this matter).
Another part of the Bible that I won't rewrite, though, is God's promise to work things out for good (Romans 8:28-29). Although the premature death of my friend was not God's perfect plan, He now has a perfect plan for those who are left behind. As The Shack so wonderfully describes, God doesn't bring evil, not ever, nor does He allow it in the sense that many think, but He does redeem every thing that we invite Him to redeem (and a lot that we don't invite Him to redeem!). We will see God's redemptive purposes worked out in Stan's family in the days ahead (indeed, we are already seeing that).
Also, I will not accuse anyone of failure. It is futile, of course, to try to figure out why things like this happen, but sometimes folks so desperately want an answer that they start casting around for an answer in a way that suggests that "if only...we had prayed more, tried this, prayed with more faith, etc." this wouldn't have happened. Such thinking eventually leads to an accusation against someone (sometimes even God). On my part, I am quick to become introspective and start accusing myself. I can quickly find myself thinking that I should have fasted more, spent more time in listening prayer, traveled to Boston sooner, etc. But as Aslan points out in The Chronicles of Narnia, asking "what if" is futile and only leads to accusation. "No one is ever told what would have happened, but you can find out what will happen!" I love that! So rather than ask why, I will ask "what now, Papa?" And I am confident that if Father wants me to learn more about this so that healing does happen for others, He will be able to show me what I need to know when I need to know it. Yes, I am deeply sad--even troubled--that I have been so slow to learn but accusation leads nowhere and takes my eyes off of Papa.
Finally, I will encourage everyone in times like this to think more about "Who" than "why" or "what." It is no accident that the psalmist over and over again says things like "God is my refuge" (not answers, promises, principles, etc., but GOD). It isn't trite in the least to say that "Jesus is the answer" when it is said in the right context, folks! God Himself is our comfort, our strength, our tower of hope. The answer now and always is WHO, and I run to Him.
Grieving with hope in the Presence of Abba,
Tom, Abba's little boy
Friday, January 30, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
God's Will: Home, sweet home!
I am tired tonight and processing the premature death of a very dear friend, but I wanted to pass along some treasure I have been gleaning from my re-reading of an Andrew Murray classic, God's Will: Our Dwelling Place. Every time I read this wonderful book, things get clearer for me as to the absolute centrality of God's will to the life of a follower of Jesus. And since I am so weary, I will allow our wise friend from the past to do most of the talking.
First, a general statement about God's will that I think is incredibly trustworthy and true to experience (from p. 163). "God's will is at first a deep, hidden mystery. He who lives to that will, as far as he knows it, may count on being led deeper into it as the manifestation of a holy, mighty, infinite goodness. Let me give myself to it as too infinite love." Wow! For so many years I thought of God's will as something to be done rather reluctantly, yet Jesus taught us to pray for His will to be done on earth as in heaven (where everything is good and perfect--hmmm!), and Paul describes God's will as good, pleasing and perfect.
Then a comment on the necessity of our doing God's will from page 104. "The will of God is so entirely one with the nature, perfection, and the love of God, that to neglect or refuse any part of it makes it impossible for God to fully reveal himself to us and to bless us." Again, how many people make it their first thought that the best way to blessing is absolute surrender to God's will?
Finally, a comment on the relationship of grace and God's will from page 105. "People have not seen that grace is nothing but the will of God manifested. And, as grace came through Christ's doing of that will, so its one object is to unite us with that will, and have it done as it is done in heaven. Doing the will of God has been something additional -- a supplement to what the grace of God has done, an expression of gratitude -- instead of being the very door into all the love, salvation, and blessedness out of which the grace came and into which it leads. If we understood this, every desire for help from God for salvation, happiness, and the enjoyment of his love would be identified with standing perfect and complete in all that will." Kind of says it all, doesn't it?
More later. Time to pack for yet another little trip!
Stay lost in Papa's love, surrendered to His will,
Tom, Abba's little boy
First, a general statement about God's will that I think is incredibly trustworthy and true to experience (from p. 163). "God's will is at first a deep, hidden mystery. He who lives to that will, as far as he knows it, may count on being led deeper into it as the manifestation of a holy, mighty, infinite goodness. Let me give myself to it as too infinite love." Wow! For so many years I thought of God's will as something to be done rather reluctantly, yet Jesus taught us to pray for His will to be done on earth as in heaven (where everything is good and perfect--hmmm!), and Paul describes God's will as good, pleasing and perfect.
Then a comment on the necessity of our doing God's will from page 104. "The will of God is so entirely one with the nature, perfection, and the love of God, that to neglect or refuse any part of it makes it impossible for God to fully reveal himself to us and to bless us." Again, how many people make it their first thought that the best way to blessing is absolute surrender to God's will?
Finally, a comment on the relationship of grace and God's will from page 105. "People have not seen that grace is nothing but the will of God manifested. And, as grace came through Christ's doing of that will, so its one object is to unite us with that will, and have it done as it is done in heaven. Doing the will of God has been something additional -- a supplement to what the grace of God has done, an expression of gratitude -- instead of being the very door into all the love, salvation, and blessedness out of which the grace came and into which it leads. If we understood this, every desire for help from God for salvation, happiness, and the enjoyment of his love would be identified with standing perfect and complete in all that will." Kind of says it all, doesn't it?
More later. Time to pack for yet another little trip!
Stay lost in Papa's love, surrendered to His will,
Tom, Abba's little boy
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Learning Along the Way
First, Alex, who comments on this blog wrote an incredible entry on his blog that I recommend to you. You can get to his blog by clicking on this link. And next week I hope to have another link for you to my friend, Gary Goodell's thoughts on how intimacy with God, community with one another and outreach fit together. But for this week, I share with you some thoughts that were beginning to dawn on me one year ago. I found them in my journal and wanted to share them with you as things I am learning along the way. Again, straight from my personal Secret Place journal with minor editing.
Here is a summary of some of the things I have been learning these past few days. First, I am learning both the importance of and the practice of continuous dialogue with you, Abba, no matter what. Whether during ministry times, or when I am pondering anything--all the time, I think it is possible and essential to be in constant communion and communication with you. I don't yet have a very good idea how to live that way, but I do know that it's what we must move into if we are to live as “kingdom-of-God” people.
The second thing I am learning, from reading The Kingdom Triangle by J.P. Moreland, is just how distorted our culture is and how this distortion has led so many people to pursue the wrong kind of happiness. Our culture tells us that the primary goal in life is our pleasure, our comfort, our “happiness.” But the pursuit of that kind of happiness, where it's all about me and my enjoyment, leads to continually increasing narcissism and depression and confusion, especially for believers who are clearly called to live a life that is not about pursuing happiness but pursuing You and Your Will.
The third thing I am learning is how little of the supernatural realm we have all tapped into. As I read the story in the Smith Wigglesworth devotional this morning about the lady who was told to pray in the Spirit and was then taken in the Spirit to Africa during the time of Mr. Burton's illness, and that he was raised up as she continued to pray, I realized that that is the "normal Christian life" that you intend for us, Father, but it is extremely abnormal and unusual for me and almost every believer I have ever met! We are settling for crumbs from your table when you have prepared for us a banquet, a feast, but I do not know how to get there except maybe perhaps the things you are teaching me that I describe in items number one and two above. And I would add to that a third item which is the importance of faith and the obedience that derives from it. Smith Wigglesworth continually brought people back to trusting the word of God, the Bible, because he knew it expressed the absolute trustworthiness of your character, and because he knew it was the only thing that we could use to bring us to a place of genuine, confident faith--the kind of faith that moves mountains, heals the sick, always cast out demons, etc.
Just some lessons I am learning along the way. I am happy to say that these lessons (and many others) are thankfully being added into my life. It's good to look back one year and see some progress at least!
That's it for this time. Keep pressing into Papa's love.
Tom, Daddy's little boy
Here is a summary of some of the things I have been learning these past few days. First, I am learning both the importance of and the practice of continuous dialogue with you, Abba, no matter what. Whether during ministry times, or when I am pondering anything--all the time, I think it is possible and essential to be in constant communion and communication with you. I don't yet have a very good idea how to live that way, but I do know that it's what we must move into if we are to live as “kingdom-of-God” people.
The second thing I am learning, from reading The Kingdom Triangle by J.P. Moreland, is just how distorted our culture is and how this distortion has led so many people to pursue the wrong kind of happiness. Our culture tells us that the primary goal in life is our pleasure, our comfort, our “happiness.” But the pursuit of that kind of happiness, where it's all about me and my enjoyment, leads to continually increasing narcissism and depression and confusion, especially for believers who are clearly called to live a life that is not about pursuing happiness but pursuing You and Your Will.
The third thing I am learning is how little of the supernatural realm we have all tapped into. As I read the story in the Smith Wigglesworth devotional this morning about the lady who was told to pray in the Spirit and was then taken in the Spirit to Africa during the time of Mr. Burton's illness, and that he was raised up as she continued to pray, I realized that that is the "normal Christian life" that you intend for us, Father, but it is extremely abnormal and unusual for me and almost every believer I have ever met! We are settling for crumbs from your table when you have prepared for us a banquet, a feast, but I do not know how to get there except maybe perhaps the things you are teaching me that I describe in items number one and two above. And I would add to that a third item which is the importance of faith and the obedience that derives from it. Smith Wigglesworth continually brought people back to trusting the word of God, the Bible, because he knew it expressed the absolute trustworthiness of your character, and because he knew it was the only thing that we could use to bring us to a place of genuine, confident faith--the kind of faith that moves mountains, heals the sick, always cast out demons, etc.
Just some lessons I am learning along the way. I am happy to say that these lessons (and many others) are thankfully being added into my life. It's good to look back one year and see some progress at least!
That's it for this time. Keep pressing into Papa's love.
Tom, Daddy's little boy
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
The Surrendered Life
I am a bit pressed for time today, so I am sharing some quotes from one of my favorite "mentors," Andrew Murray. I rediscovered some treasure from his writing last Saturday that fits well with the ongoing discussion I inadvertently started a few posts ago! After the quotes from Andrew Murray, I will close with a quote from my journal that follows along the same lines and explains why peace and stillness are so dear to me.
First, from Divine Healing, chapter 32, some of Andrew Murray's thoughts about the Vine and branches in John 15.
“Absolute dependence on God is the secret of all power and work. The branch has nothing but what it gets from the vine, and you and I can have nothing but what we get from Jesus.
“The life of the branch is not only a life of entire dependence, but a deep restfulness. If you desire to be a true branch of Christ, the living Vine, just rest on Him. Let Christ bear the responsibility.
“But you say, ‘Won't that make me slothful?’ I tell you it will not. No one who learns to rest on the living Christ can become slothful, for the closer your contact with Christ, the more the Spirit of His zeal and love will fill you. A man sometimes tries and tries to be dependent on Christ. But by worrying about this absolute dependence, he tries and he cannot get it. Instead of worrying, he should sink down into it entire restfulness every day.
“Rest in Christ, who can give wisdom and strength. That restfulness will often prove to be the very best part of your Christian witness. You can plead with people, and you can argue. All they will know is that a man is arguing and striving with them. This is what happens when two men deal with each other, without Christ. But if you will let the deep rest of God come over you—the rest in Christ Jesus, the peace and holiness of heaven—that restfulness will bring a blessing to their heart, even more than the words you speak.” (pp. 141-142)
“Do not confuse work and fruit. There is a good deal of work for Christ that is not the fruit of the heavenly Vine. “ (p. 143)
And now, from my journal, December 14, 2007, an epiphany about how hard we sometimes make it for God to speak to us! I trust you will forgive the rather personal tone of some of my journal quotes!
"Father, I see now that so often we/I have essentially forced you to break into our world in order to communicate with me/us. Your desire is that we become so still and so tender and so attentive to you that you don't have to push, and we don't have to work hard in order to have you speak to us. Rather that we are so attending to you—ah, Father—just as you showed me from the very beginning: that I need to be face to face with you and that I need to be like the one whom you can “guide with your eye” (Psalm 32:8) and that I need to be like the one whose eye is on you as a maid on her mistress or a servant on his master (Psalm 123:2). You have shown us how it is that you wish for us to live, but we have tried in our own strength so many times to figure something out. I think of R____ as he came flooding into my mind just now—I have tried to figure out how to pray for him, yet what I really needed to do was just listen and listen and listen until I really heard you. I wait for you, O Lord, I wait for you."
Learning to rest, learning to listen,
Tom, Papa's little boy
First, from Divine Healing, chapter 32, some of Andrew Murray's thoughts about the Vine and branches in John 15.
“Absolute dependence on God is the secret of all power and work. The branch has nothing but what it gets from the vine, and you and I can have nothing but what we get from Jesus.
“The life of the branch is not only a life of entire dependence, but a deep restfulness. If you desire to be a true branch of Christ, the living Vine, just rest on Him. Let Christ bear the responsibility.
“But you say, ‘Won't that make me slothful?’ I tell you it will not. No one who learns to rest on the living Christ can become slothful, for the closer your contact with Christ, the more the Spirit of His zeal and love will fill you. A man sometimes tries and tries to be dependent on Christ. But by worrying about this absolute dependence, he tries and he cannot get it. Instead of worrying, he should sink down into it entire restfulness every day.
“Rest in Christ, who can give wisdom and strength. That restfulness will often prove to be the very best part of your Christian witness. You can plead with people, and you can argue. All they will know is that a man is arguing and striving with them. This is what happens when two men deal with each other, without Christ. But if you will let the deep rest of God come over you—the rest in Christ Jesus, the peace and holiness of heaven—that restfulness will bring a blessing to their heart, even more than the words you speak.” (pp. 141-142)
“Do not confuse work and fruit. There is a good deal of work for Christ that is not the fruit of the heavenly Vine. “ (p. 143)
And now, from my journal, December 14, 2007, an epiphany about how hard we sometimes make it for God to speak to us! I trust you will forgive the rather personal tone of some of my journal quotes!
"Father, I see now that so often we/I have essentially forced you to break into our world in order to communicate with me/us. Your desire is that we become so still and so tender and so attentive to you that you don't have to push, and we don't have to work hard in order to have you speak to us. Rather that we are so attending to you—ah, Father—just as you showed me from the very beginning: that I need to be face to face with you and that I need to be like the one whom you can “guide with your eye” (Psalm 32:8) and that I need to be like the one whose eye is on you as a maid on her mistress or a servant on his master (Psalm 123:2). You have shown us how it is that you wish for us to live, but we have tried in our own strength so many times to figure something out. I think of R____ as he came flooding into my mind just now—I have tried to figure out how to pray for him, yet what I really needed to do was just listen and listen and listen until I really heard you. I wait for you, O Lord, I wait for you."
Learning to rest, learning to listen,
Tom, Papa's little boy
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
The Joyful Life
So...the discussion continues, eh? Thank you, Alex and Scott, for your comments on last week's blog. Alex, your summary of things is really right in line with how I also would express things.
Scott...well, I want to honor your request for honest input. And up front let me say that I agree with you that we are all essentially saying the same thing and that part of what appears to be variance is simply due to where we fall in the "five-fold" ministry gifts to the church (you are "evangelist," I am "prophet/shepherd"). I also want to say that I deeply respect and trust you and rejoice in what I know God is doing in and around you and that I trust your ability to hear Him and obey Him. And I honor your deep desire to learn--for me lifelong learning is an essential quality of all who would finish well.
So...first, to all who read this blog, you won't really understand me very well unless you are familiar with writers like Andrew Murray, A.W. Tozer, Brother Lawrence, Bill Johnson, Dallas Willard, et al. And you will do well to read my paper on intimacy and mission (on my website which has a link on this blog).
Second, as to how I have been brought to this paradigm shift, Scott, it wasn't really because of reaction to an overly busy experience of church life. Rather, like you, I could no longer live with the dissonance between what I read in the Bible in describing the advance of God's Kingdom and what I saw in the church around me. It was actually my desire to see God's people reach the harvest through a genuine "Gospel of the Kingdom, salt and light, power-not-mere-words" approach that led me to seek God's face. In the process of my reaching out for supernatural power, I encountered Him in a way that turned all previous understandings of the Christian life upside down. And the paradigm changes continue unabated. So I guess I would describe what happened to me more as a response to an invitation from God rather than a reaction to things around me. (But we all would also say, of course, that much of what is called "church" at present is more cultural than anything else and therefore ineffective, so yes, there is reaction as well, I think).
Third, Scott, I share your aversion to self-centered, consumer-based "churchianity." I am grieved that for whatever reason the message of repentance, surrender and joyful obedience has been hidden from many. I am sad that the message of righteousness, peace and joy has been lost and in its place a weak, "add-on-to-your-life-but-don't-change-things" message has been given. I could go on, but I think y'all get my drift.
Fourth, what brings me joy? My list would be similar to yours, I think. Living loved, living loving, being free from having to do anything but getting to do lots of things in His power--doing what I see Father doing--this all brings me great joy. Spending hours in His presence, listening, praying and then watching His presence on me affect those around me with desire for Him brings me joy. Watching demons tremble then flee at the name of Jesus, brings me joy. Being able to "read someone's heart" in a way that sets them free from shame and guilt that has tormented them for years--that brings me joy. Taking the time to listen intently to a little child whom others ignore--that brings me joy. Being able to focus fully on the person in front of me that communicates deep care and concern because of God's deep care for them--that brings me joy. If I could summarize, I think I would point everyone to how joy is described in John's Gospel. Jesus lived in that joy and bestowed it on those who follow Him.
I hope this helps, not only you, Scott, but others as well. As I have probably said before, the bottom line for me usually comes down to two questions: "Whom am I trusting at any given moment?" and "On whom am I really depending at any given moment?" For me, it takes living a peaceful, almost mystical, life to be able to answer "God" to those questions with consistency. Perhaps for others, that is not the case. All I know is that in the past 4 1/2 years since this journey started I have been more fruitful than the previous 55 years of my life. And the sheer joy of living this way is too great not to give away...
This is long enough for this time, methinks.
May each of you become ever more God-blinded in this new year!
Tom, Daddy's little boy
Scott...well, I want to honor your request for honest input. And up front let me say that I agree with you that we are all essentially saying the same thing and that part of what appears to be variance is simply due to where we fall in the "five-fold" ministry gifts to the church (you are "evangelist," I am "prophet/shepherd"). I also want to say that I deeply respect and trust you and rejoice in what I know God is doing in and around you and that I trust your ability to hear Him and obey Him. And I honor your deep desire to learn--for me lifelong learning is an essential quality of all who would finish well.
So...first, to all who read this blog, you won't really understand me very well unless you are familiar with writers like Andrew Murray, A.W. Tozer, Brother Lawrence, Bill Johnson, Dallas Willard, et al. And you will do well to read my paper on intimacy and mission (on my website which has a link on this blog).
Second, as to how I have been brought to this paradigm shift, Scott, it wasn't really because of reaction to an overly busy experience of church life. Rather, like you, I could no longer live with the dissonance between what I read in the Bible in describing the advance of God's Kingdom and what I saw in the church around me. It was actually my desire to see God's people reach the harvest through a genuine "Gospel of the Kingdom, salt and light, power-not-mere-words" approach that led me to seek God's face. In the process of my reaching out for supernatural power, I encountered Him in a way that turned all previous understandings of the Christian life upside down. And the paradigm changes continue unabated. So I guess I would describe what happened to me more as a response to an invitation from God rather than a reaction to things around me. (But we all would also say, of course, that much of what is called "church" at present is more cultural than anything else and therefore ineffective, so yes, there is reaction as well, I think).
Third, Scott, I share your aversion to self-centered, consumer-based "churchianity." I am grieved that for whatever reason the message of repentance, surrender and joyful obedience has been hidden from many. I am sad that the message of righteousness, peace and joy has been lost and in its place a weak, "add-on-to-your-life-but-don't-change-things" message has been given. I could go on, but I think y'all get my drift.
Fourth, what brings me joy? My list would be similar to yours, I think. Living loved, living loving, being free from having to do anything but getting to do lots of things in His power--doing what I see Father doing--this all brings me great joy. Spending hours in His presence, listening, praying and then watching His presence on me affect those around me with desire for Him brings me joy. Watching demons tremble then flee at the name of Jesus, brings me joy. Being able to "read someone's heart" in a way that sets them free from shame and guilt that has tormented them for years--that brings me joy. Taking the time to listen intently to a little child whom others ignore--that brings me joy. Being able to focus fully on the person in front of me that communicates deep care and concern because of God's deep care for them--that brings me joy. If I could summarize, I think I would point everyone to how joy is described in John's Gospel. Jesus lived in that joy and bestowed it on those who follow Him.
I hope this helps, not only you, Scott, but others as well. As I have probably said before, the bottom line for me usually comes down to two questions: "Whom am I trusting at any given moment?" and "On whom am I really depending at any given moment?" For me, it takes living a peaceful, almost mystical, life to be able to answer "God" to those questions with consistency. Perhaps for others, that is not the case. All I know is that in the past 4 1/2 years since this journey started I have been more fruitful than the previous 55 years of my life. And the sheer joy of living this way is too great not to give away...
This is long enough for this time, methinks.
May each of you become ever more God-blinded in this new year!
Tom, Daddy's little boy
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Ministering From A Place of Peace, Part Two
Goodness, my last post stirred up more comments than anything I have ever posted. What's up with that? My thanks to Jeff, Alex, Scott and Ron for your comments, all of which I see as harmonizing well with what I am trying to say (with perhaps a few tiny adjustments :-)).
Anyway, since this generated so much comment, I sensed that I needed to add a few more thoughts about this. Hopefully as I do so I will in some way respond to last week's responses, but if I don't, my primary purpose is not to respond but add more thoughts.
First, let me point out that I am still learning how to practice this myself. It has taken over four years for me to get to a place where I even felt comfortable writing about it, and I am still learning a lot. The past two days I have been aware of anxiety creeping up on me--something that led to extra time with Papa this morning (whenever the peace leaves, as Smith Wigglesworth said, I have "missed the plan," I have dropped back into a wrong view of God or me or both or whatever). I don't feel bad about having to learn this, though, because even the great Apostle Paul wrote of his anxiety over the churches (2 Corinthians 11:28) and later in life wrote that he had "learned" to be content in all circumstances (Philippians 4:11-13). So as far as I can tell, only Jesus lived this out perfectly. Having said that, however, I do believe that it's possible, desirable and necessary to live and serve from a place of peace!
Why is this so important? Because if we don’t live in peace, our demeanor, body language, etc., denies the very message we proclaim! Also, if I am filled with anxiety (fear), how can I take the time to stop, like Jesus did to focus on a little child, or a woman who had just been healed in a crowd? If I am not peaceful, how can I feel free to focus completely and totally on the person right in front of me, like Jesus? How can I be authentic in my announcing a “gospel of peace” if my own life is a constant denial of it?
Please don’t start feeling guilty or defensive on me! God wants this for you more than you do—both because of His sheer love for you and because He wants us to be authentically validating His message of love and peace by being people who exude love and peace. (I very often ask God to make me one of the most loving, joyful, peaceful and dangerous-to-the-darkness people on the planet!). Listen, dear ones, at the heart of this for me is the end of pretense and the end of doing things on my own initiative. Only when I am able to say, for example, that I cherish and love my wife the way Jesus loves the church do I have authenticity. But even here I am not suggesting that a brand new believer cannot share, even in his/her less than mature condition. Scott's example of the demoniac healed by Jesus reminds us that the bottom line is to hear Jesus and do what He says. But what about those of us who have walked with Jesus for a while? Men, do you pray for your wife the way Jesus prays for His Bride? Authenticity would suggest to us that we are heading in that direction in earnest, I think.
It's not that good things cannot come from human effort or initiative, folks. Any act of kindness is good, and Paul said that he was glad even for those proclaiming the Good News for the wrong motives (see Philippians chapter 1). Rather, the question centers around the effectiveness of what we are doing and the effect it has on us. In Matthew 7 those who were healed by the false ones did indeed benefit from the healing, ☺but the end result for those who didn't know Jesus was not good!
My concern here is that many believers don’t seem to grasp the truth that because God is so very, very good, we can enjoy the journey with joy and peace, even while we follow Him into “mission.” Only you can answer the question (or perhaps your spouse, too) as to whether you live a life that exudes peace, kindness and joy (in a way that fits your personality and uniqueness). My point here is that "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control" are the normal qualities of a life lived following Jesus. And as I have learned to live full of God's Spirit, surrendered in a way I never thought possible, overwhelmed with His peace and delight in a myriad of ways, then those qualities are indeed becoming more and more predominant in my life. Try it, you will (and those around you) will like it!
Also, surrender and truly gazing upon God’s beauty, His goodness, are keys that cannot be ignored. But I will need to write about that later, I guess.
Enough for now. I am sure I have stirred up more stuff again. But for those of you who know me, tell me, friends, do I live this out or not? My words are empty if others cannot see evidence (I am not looking for validation here, just reassurance that I am a "trustworthy witness" so that my challenge to everyone rings true!).
Have a wonder-filled Christmas season,
Tom, Abba's little boy
Anyway, since this generated so much comment, I sensed that I needed to add a few more thoughts about this. Hopefully as I do so I will in some way respond to last week's responses, but if I don't, my primary purpose is not to respond but add more thoughts.
First, let me point out that I am still learning how to practice this myself. It has taken over four years for me to get to a place where I even felt comfortable writing about it, and I am still learning a lot. The past two days I have been aware of anxiety creeping up on me--something that led to extra time with Papa this morning (whenever the peace leaves, as Smith Wigglesworth said, I have "missed the plan," I have dropped back into a wrong view of God or me or both or whatever). I don't feel bad about having to learn this, though, because even the great Apostle Paul wrote of his anxiety over the churches (2 Corinthians 11:28) and later in life wrote that he had "learned" to be content in all circumstances (Philippians 4:11-13). So as far as I can tell, only Jesus lived this out perfectly. Having said that, however, I do believe that it's possible, desirable and necessary to live and serve from a place of peace!
Why is this so important? Because if we don’t live in peace, our demeanor, body language, etc., denies the very message we proclaim! Also, if I am filled with anxiety (fear), how can I take the time to stop, like Jesus did to focus on a little child, or a woman who had just been healed in a crowd? If I am not peaceful, how can I feel free to focus completely and totally on the person right in front of me, like Jesus? How can I be authentic in my announcing a “gospel of peace” if my own life is a constant denial of it?
Please don’t start feeling guilty or defensive on me! God wants this for you more than you do—both because of His sheer love for you and because He wants us to be authentically validating His message of love and peace by being people who exude love and peace. (I very often ask God to make me one of the most loving, joyful, peaceful and dangerous-to-the-darkness people on the planet!). Listen, dear ones, at the heart of this for me is the end of pretense and the end of doing things on my own initiative. Only when I am able to say, for example, that I cherish and love my wife the way Jesus loves the church do I have authenticity. But even here I am not suggesting that a brand new believer cannot share, even in his/her less than mature condition. Scott's example of the demoniac healed by Jesus reminds us that the bottom line is to hear Jesus and do what He says. But what about those of us who have walked with Jesus for a while? Men, do you pray for your wife the way Jesus prays for His Bride? Authenticity would suggest to us that we are heading in that direction in earnest, I think.
It's not that good things cannot come from human effort or initiative, folks. Any act of kindness is good, and Paul said that he was glad even for those proclaiming the Good News for the wrong motives (see Philippians chapter 1). Rather, the question centers around the effectiveness of what we are doing and the effect it has on us. In Matthew 7 those who were healed by the false ones did indeed benefit from the healing, ☺but the end result for those who didn't know Jesus was not good!
My concern here is that many believers don’t seem to grasp the truth that because God is so very, very good, we can enjoy the journey with joy and peace, even while we follow Him into “mission.” Only you can answer the question (or perhaps your spouse, too) as to whether you live a life that exudes peace, kindness and joy (in a way that fits your personality and uniqueness). My point here is that "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control" are the normal qualities of a life lived following Jesus. And as I have learned to live full of God's Spirit, surrendered in a way I never thought possible, overwhelmed with His peace and delight in a myriad of ways, then those qualities are indeed becoming more and more predominant in my life. Try it, you will (and those around you) will like it!
Also, surrender and truly gazing upon God’s beauty, His goodness, are keys that cannot be ignored. But I will need to write about that later, I guess.
Enough for now. I am sure I have stirred up more stuff again. But for those of you who know me, tell me, friends, do I live this out or not? My words are empty if others cannot see evidence (I am not looking for validation here, just reassurance that I am a "trustworthy witness" so that my challenge to everyone rings true!).
Have a wonder-filled Christmas season,
Tom, Abba's little boy
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Ministering From A Place of Peace
In case you missed it, I am pasting here Alex's comments on my last entry. His observations provide a great lead-in to my topic for today.
"I want to comment on something also that has really been bothering me, for what it's worth. It is the whole "missional" idea of church ministry. Hey - I am all for the church reaching this world and living outside of itself, but there is so much push towards this "missional" concept that is still sadly lacking signs of the kind of inner life we have been talking about. It can be so utilitarian in its goal of aligning church ministry and people to this missional approach, that I feel that it threatens to place people's gifts as nothing more than a means to an end. Is God more or less pleased with us when we are "using our gifts for His purposes." But this is exactly the kind of language and tone I am hearing from people, and I feel it is the flip side of the same wrong coin of emphasizing our works, our performance, our gifts - what we do - as opposed to living out of the daily discovery of who we truly are in Him. One places the emphasis on how we can best serve "His goals" (whatever we think that is, sounds like some kind of divine corporation), the other places the focus on daily communion with God and active listening and response."
Thanks, Alex! Your comments provide a good background for the contrast between ministry that is driven by mission and life that flows to others from a place of rest and peace.
My comments this week were generated by a question from some dear friends who asked me to elaborate on my statement that I don't have to "recover" much from "ministry" when I remember to do things from a place of peace and rest. Not sure how to tackle this, but here goes.
First, this may turn some of you on your heads, but I no longer divide my life into compartments like "ministry times" and "family times" and other times, etc. Rather I view all of life as a joyful, sacred dance with the Lord Jesus. "Ministry" as it is usually thought of simply flows out of this peaceful dance with God. All of life is an offering to God and to others. Brother Lawrence talks about this. I don't have time here to elaborate, but many before me have said similar things. Note that living all of life as a sacred and joyful offering to His Father is how Jesus lived and it has wonderful advantages. Two that come to mind are that we don't have to "pray ourselves up" or "work ourselves up" to "minister" and that we don't have to be concerned as to whether or not we are "anointed" at any point because all of life is lived gazing at God, dancing with Him and what comes from us is anointed because it's the overflow, the rivers of Holy Spirit water that Jesus talks about in John 7:37-39.
Second, in order to understand how to serve from this place of peace, one must first learn how to get there. It has taken me over four years to reach any sort of consistency in this, and I am still not always able to do it. But establishing this inner stillness and learning to live there is the privilege of every believer (Galatians 5:22 comes to mind, along with many other passages) and is essential to all who would learn to "do what Jesus did" (better, allow Jesus to serve other through you).
Third, once we learn how to live in the place of peace, we can then be available to God to serve or not serve at His leading. The inner peace enables us to hear Him well, even in the midst of what would normally be stressful situations, and since we have nothing to offer others apart from Him, hearing Him is essential. The inner peace also enables us to rest in His authority, awash in His love and power--this is especially useful when one is expelling demons, trust me!
Fourth, the inner stillness, then, becomes the "meter" by which I am aware of whether or not I am flowing with God in what He is doing, in His power, or have drifted back into human effort, relying upon mere human resources. This really works by the way. Whenever my peace disappears, it is a totally reliable signal that I have "missed" what Papa is doing and is inviting me to join Him in.
Fifth, living/serving in this place of peace prevents what we do from being merely human effort. My sense is that most of what is called "ministry" today is driven by human energy from human initiative. The importance of this paradigm shift to a peace-infused life cannot be overstated. When I am peaceful I am able to catch and cooperate with what God is doing. Also, the inner peace facilitates my treating every person as precious and the object of God's affection and attention. Instead of just slapping a tract in their hand or pushing them towards a decision, I am able to pause and show genuine care and respect. I trust this makes sense. It's certainly how Jesus operated. He was fully present for each person Papa led Him to and was never rushed or hurried. People who miss this often find themselves being, as Alex states, "missional" but working for God instead of flowing with Him--this results in weariness and sometimes results in a striving, driven approach to others. Instead of inviting people into our lives and exuding kindness that invites, we push on them with our own sense of purpose.
Hmmm. I had better stop here. Do I need to explain more how to reach this place of peace and stay there? I do understand the other way to "minister," believe me. I spent most of my life "serving God and others" with the resultant adrenaline let down after "ministry" and the spotty at best results that come from human inititated, human powered serving. So I am committed to helping to foster a revolution that will help Jesus' followers to live as He did, always serving from a place of peace.
Let me hear from you. I wish to serve you well.
Tom, Abba's usually peaceful little boy
"I want to comment on something also that has really been bothering me, for what it's worth. It is the whole "missional" idea of church ministry. Hey - I am all for the church reaching this world and living outside of itself, but there is so much push towards this "missional" concept that is still sadly lacking signs of the kind of inner life we have been talking about. It can be so utilitarian in its goal of aligning church ministry and people to this missional approach, that I feel that it threatens to place people's gifts as nothing more than a means to an end. Is God more or less pleased with us when we are "using our gifts for His purposes." But this is exactly the kind of language and tone I am hearing from people, and I feel it is the flip side of the same wrong coin of emphasizing our works, our performance, our gifts - what we do - as opposed to living out of the daily discovery of who we truly are in Him. One places the emphasis on how we can best serve "His goals" (whatever we think that is, sounds like some kind of divine corporation), the other places the focus on daily communion with God and active listening and response."
Thanks, Alex! Your comments provide a good background for the contrast between ministry that is driven by mission and life that flows to others from a place of rest and peace.
My comments this week were generated by a question from some dear friends who asked me to elaborate on my statement that I don't have to "recover" much from "ministry" when I remember to do things from a place of peace and rest. Not sure how to tackle this, but here goes.
First, this may turn some of you on your heads, but I no longer divide my life into compartments like "ministry times" and "family times" and other times, etc. Rather I view all of life as a joyful, sacred dance with the Lord Jesus. "Ministry" as it is usually thought of simply flows out of this peaceful dance with God. All of life is an offering to God and to others. Brother Lawrence talks about this. I don't have time here to elaborate, but many before me have said similar things. Note that living all of life as a sacred and joyful offering to His Father is how Jesus lived and it has wonderful advantages. Two that come to mind are that we don't have to "pray ourselves up" or "work ourselves up" to "minister" and that we don't have to be concerned as to whether or not we are "anointed" at any point because all of life is lived gazing at God, dancing with Him and what comes from us is anointed because it's the overflow, the rivers of Holy Spirit water that Jesus talks about in John 7:37-39.
Second, in order to understand how to serve from this place of peace, one must first learn how to get there. It has taken me over four years to reach any sort of consistency in this, and I am still not always able to do it. But establishing this inner stillness and learning to live there is the privilege of every believer (Galatians 5:22 comes to mind, along with many other passages) and is essential to all who would learn to "do what Jesus did" (better, allow Jesus to serve other through you).
Third, once we learn how to live in the place of peace, we can then be available to God to serve or not serve at His leading. The inner peace enables us to hear Him well, even in the midst of what would normally be stressful situations, and since we have nothing to offer others apart from Him, hearing Him is essential. The inner peace also enables us to rest in His authority, awash in His love and power--this is especially useful when one is expelling demons, trust me!
Fourth, the inner stillness, then, becomes the "meter" by which I am aware of whether or not I am flowing with God in what He is doing, in His power, or have drifted back into human effort, relying upon mere human resources. This really works by the way. Whenever my peace disappears, it is a totally reliable signal that I have "missed" what Papa is doing and is inviting me to join Him in.
Fifth, living/serving in this place of peace prevents what we do from being merely human effort. My sense is that most of what is called "ministry" today is driven by human energy from human initiative. The importance of this paradigm shift to a peace-infused life cannot be overstated. When I am peaceful I am able to catch and cooperate with what God is doing. Also, the inner peace facilitates my treating every person as precious and the object of God's affection and attention. Instead of just slapping a tract in their hand or pushing them towards a decision, I am able to pause and show genuine care and respect. I trust this makes sense. It's certainly how Jesus operated. He was fully present for each person Papa led Him to and was never rushed or hurried. People who miss this often find themselves being, as Alex states, "missional" but working for God instead of flowing with Him--this results in weariness and sometimes results in a striving, driven approach to others. Instead of inviting people into our lives and exuding kindness that invites, we push on them with our own sense of purpose.
Hmmm. I had better stop here. Do I need to explain more how to reach this place of peace and stay there? I do understand the other way to "minister," believe me. I spent most of my life "serving God and others" with the resultant adrenaline let down after "ministry" and the spotty at best results that come from human inititated, human powered serving. So I am committed to helping to foster a revolution that will help Jesus' followers to live as He did, always serving from a place of peace.
Let me hear from you. I wish to serve you well.
Tom, Abba's usually peaceful little boy
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