When I came across this church, I was reminded of Ezekiel and the vision of the valley of dry bones.
I wonder…is this really what becomes of churches that are minus the Holy Spirit?
Could life be restored to this church?
Christians generally regard trust in God as a good thing. Even U.S. currency says “In God We Trust”, reminding us to depend on eternal rather than earthly treasures.
But how much do we really trust Him?
Our ladies’ Bible class recently studied Acts chapter 1:
23So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” 26Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.
In our Sunday class, Lewis observed that we worry less about driving a car than flying in an airliner even though airline travel is proven to be safer, largely because in a car we feel more in control. Are we as Christian decision-makers relying too much on human abilities: researching the facts, weighing pros and cons, asking others’ opinions, going with our gut feelings?
Maybe we’re really a bunch of control freaks fooling ourselves about trusting in God. Maybe those who cast lots are on to something the rest of us have no clue about.
I’m not saying we should ask God what we should wear each day, but we could look to Him far more often than we do.
Jeremiah 17:7 ”But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.
What difference would it make if we trusted Him more?
Some of us are looking forward to the Pepperdine Lectures coming up May 5-8, 2009 (Susan says to register for housing by next Tuesday). I had a blast last year, although I ran into schedule conflicts and missed my college buddy Andy Wall’s talk on “My Faith Journey with U2.” When our church received the lectureship CDs we ordered, I made sure to borrow Andy’s talk so I could hear it… later… like right before I wrote his Christmas card!
Among other things, Andy talked about U2’s song, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” as an expression of our yearning, our sense of emptiness/futility/longing for something more in life. U2 helped Andy realize that unsettledness is a normal part of the journey of faith, but it doesn’t mean we’re on the wrong path. After all, we know we can never fully meet/experience God here.
All this reminds me of Philip Yancey’s book, “Rumors of Another World : What on Earth are We Missing?” —
“To me, the great divide separating belief and unbelief reduces down to one simple question: Is the visible world around us all there is? Those unsure of the answer to that question—whether they approach it from the regions of belief or unbelief—live in the borderlands. They wonder whether faith in an unseen world is wishful thinking. Does faith delude us into seeing a world that doesn’t exist, or does it reveal the existence of a world we cannot see without it?
“I ‘think out loud’ by putting words on paper, and out of that process this book emerged. I begin with the visible world around us, the world all of us inhabit. What rumors of another world might it convey? From there, I look at the apparent contradictions. If this is God’s world, why doesn’t it look more like it? Why is this planet so messed up? Finally, I consider how two worlds — visible and invisible, natural and supernatural — might interact and affect our daily lives. Does the Christian way represent the best life on this earth or a kind of holding pattern for eternity?”
I recommend both Andy’s talk and Yancey’s book, and hope and pray that the impact of absence may bring some to Christ.
Where in life do you see a God-sized hole?
(To read more about the impact of absence, see my prior post.)
Red, fleece gloves. Stylishly perfect for keeping my hands warm, except that they weren’t doing such a hot job on a snowy winter’s day in Yosemite National Park. After playing outdoor tourists one post-Christmas afternoon, my family and I piled into my dad’s sizeable Buick, and I tossed my gloves on the dash — the better to heat my icy digits in front of the air vent.
We drove through a tunnel on our way out of the park, chatting and laughing about the day’s joy. I happened to glance at my gloves and discovered that they had changed color. No longer red, they were now completely black. The sodium vapor lighting had dampened the color from my matching scarf and red-trimmed coat as well.
There was nothing I could do to make those gloves red again. Looking at them more closely did not bring back the color, nor did turning them inside out or shaking them. Color was restored only when we exited the tunnel into full-spectrum sunshine. Beautiful color flooded our car the instant we emerged from the strange yellow lighting.
What’s amazing to me is that (more…)
Although I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions, it’s that time of year when folks think of getting back in shape after the excesses of the holidays. However, what kind of shape should we as Christians be focused on?
Our ladies’ Bible class recently studied James chapter 5:
13Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
We all know from experience that prayer does not always result in physical healing. But perhaps we as the church put too much focus on physical health.
How might our lives be transformed if we put more focus on our spiritual health, and confessed and prayed for each other as James exhorts us to do?
“Celebration of Discipline” lists several ways to get a spiritual workout. Our minister Lewis is encouraging us to address our spiritual fitness by resolving to read through the Bible in a year, which is sort of like core strength training. I’m thinking of looking more into this confession and prayer stuff.
How are you thinking of getting spiritually fit this year?
