The Difference a Day Makes

I was reading a little Dietrich Bonhoeffer this morning- and by the way, who doesn't love a theologian and teacher that does all of his writing under the shadow of a Nazi government and ends up dying in a concentration camp for participating in a scheme to assassinate Hitler? You know his writing will have some real zing to it- how could it not? Anyway, I digress...

In his small book,Meditating on the Word, Bonhoeffer makes this statement, "The present day marks the boundary of our cares and concerns. It is long enough to find God or to lose him, to keep faith or fall into disgrace." In this chapter, Bonhoeffer is calling out for Christ-followers to see the daily need to meet God in prayer and in the Word. He advocates a kind of discipline that we might call "legalism"- meditating on Scripture each day, whether we feel like it or not, as an "obligatory service to the One who desires our prayers and praises."

There's something about me that wants to run from this idea. I want to believe that my relationship with God can be more free than that- more natural and more spontaneous. Yet I know the truth of Bonhoeffer's words. A single day where I have ignored the presence and person of God in my life is more than enough to get myself off track. I am amazed at how quickly my thoughts can turn from positive to negative, my soul goes from faith to fear, and my focus blurs from sharp to hazy. While I want to believe that I can get to know God when I feel like it and on my terms, I am learning that there is too much laziness, too much distraction in me, for this to build a deep connection with God.

So, I am coming to a reality of devotion- I must bring myself before God each and every day, or else face an uphill battle to recover what is lost. One day is more than enough to lose sight of what matters most. Thankfully, one day is also enough to start fresh and fix my eyes on Him.

May you seek Him in this day as you journey on-

Nick

Swing Low

Have you ever noticed that when you get sick physically, it affects you in so many more ways than just your physical body? Being sick always reminds me how "connected" we are to ourselves. We tend to break life up into segments- physical, emotional, spiritual, etc, but all of the pieces of who we are overlap and work together to create the great whole.

So, when I'm sick, I don't just hurt physically. I suffer mentally. (Granted, most people believe that I suffer mentally on a regular basis.) I also suffer spiritually. For whatever reason, a sick body typically leads me to a sick soul, where I feel very weak about who I am.

Since this is a blog primarily about spiritual things, I thought I'd share a few of the ideas I have about staying strong in a time of suffering spiritually. Maybe some of these will be helpful to you if you find yourself in a time of "soul sickness." Here's a few things I do, to varying degrees of success:

1)Recite one-sentence prayers. I don't know about you, but I really struggle to pray when I'm sick. I tend to have less compassion for others when I feel this way, but I also feel that a mental fog makes it tough to concentrate. I find the ancient "Jesus Prayer" to be useful- Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner. Repeating this over and over keeps my heart open to God.

2)Remembering Scripture. I Corinthians 10:13, Hebrews 12:1-3, and Ephesians 4:8 are helpful to me in times of feeling low.

3)Don't Get Dramatic. When I'm sick, I can feel like the world is closing in and nothing is worthwhile. I have to remind myself that this is no time to make major life decisions, or to think that those major decision are even on the line. Sometimes, I have to just take a deep breath and say, "this too shall pass". It doesn't sound very spiritual, but it helps remind me that healthier days, physically and spiritually, will come.

How about you? What do you do when you start to feel a spiritual low? We've all been there- share your thoughts!

May you stay encouraged on your journey today,

Nick

Stop It!

This weekend, I mentioned a classic Bob Newheart sketch from MadTV where Newheart plays the role of a psychologist. His advice is pretty hilarious! Take a look here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYLMTvxOaeE

(You'll have to copy and paste the link into your browser. For some reason, the blogger "create a link" feature isn't working today. Thanks Blogger!)

Enjoy the journey-

Nick

A Lost Cause?

I've been having a great e-mail discussion with a friend. Lately, we've been bantering back and forth about what it means to "be holy." The word 'holiness' sounds very religious and isn't something we readily warm up to in faith. But holiness is called for throughout Scripture. In a meager attempt to help redeem this concept, I share my thoughts with you here.

Now for holiness. I agree that there's a lot of gray area out there and difference of belief will occur- we even see this in the NT with eating food sacrificed to idols (not a real hot topic anymore). But what I would describe as black and white are those principles that can be traced throughout Scripture and give a clear and consistent picture of what God calls holy. In the gray areas, we come with humility and seek harmony with God and others. In black and white, we have to lay down our feelings (because that's part of surrender) and be willing to say, "I will do this because you are God and you know better than I do. I will trust you."

Holiness seems to call us to a form of law-keeping. But, some might inject, aren't we free from the law if we follow Christ? When Scripture teaches that we are free from the law, the meaning is that we are free from law-keeping as a way of being made right with God. That is now the sole role of Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection. We still have a law to keep, however- the law of love, or the law of Christ, which is mentioned several times in the New Testament. I would describe that law as "doing what please God". Augustine once said, " If you love God, you may do as you incline” True- because a person who truly loves God will be inclined to please God, which is why Jesus and Paul both summed up the entire law in the simple command, “Love God”.

Like I said this weekend- whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do everything for the glory of God. But how do I know what pleases God? By looking at Scripture to see what things God consistently calls good and what God consistently calls evil, and then having the humility to wrap my life around that viewpoint. Not in a legalistic, judgmental, I'm-better-than-you-because-I-keep-so-many-rules, kind of way, but with a heart of love for God that has been changed by Jesus. What has changed? That I am not on the throne of my own life deciding what is good or holy. In other words, I've come to realize that I am not God, and that is a good thing.

And I think that when the law of love is obeyed with an attitude of grace and joy, this is VERY attractive to others. When others feel accepted for who they are, when people see a life well lived, when people observe love, joy, peace, patience, etc, not only in your life but also directed towards them, this is an attractive holiness. I think why people flocked to Jesus wasn't because he was just like them in every way (participating in their sin), but because he was a holy man, a prophet, that wasn't afraid to look them in the eye and call them friend. He wasn't afraid to touch them as the Pharisees were. He had a joy-filled relationship with God and he invited others to know that same relationship.

On our journey, may we have this same kind of attractive holiness.

Peace.

Nick

Destinations...

This weekend, I read this prayer at the end of the message. Perhaps you'd like to hear it. I love that it's written by a well known explorer. This is the prayer of Sir Francis Drake...Disturb Us Oh Lord...

Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life:
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land, We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope and love.

And also a little fun- the destination really does matter! Just ask Jack Handy:
"One thing kids like is to be tricked. For instance, I was going to take my little nephew to Disneyland, but instead I drove him to an old burned-out warehouse. 'Oh no,' I said, 'Disneyland burned down!' He cried and cried, but I think that deep down he thought it was a pretty good joke. I started to drive over to the real Disneyland, but it was getting pretty late."

May the conduct of your life take you closer to the ultimate destination on this journey-

Nick