How do you relate to God? Is He the Great commander giving us laws to live by or one we feel we are obligated to serve? Is He the Almighty Genie in the sky? I know in my heart what I am supposed to believe about God, but find myself many times operating with an entirely different set of images that affect my relationship with the Lord. With – Reimaging the Way you Relate to God is a new book by Skye Jethani. The tag line intrigued me: “Stop living your life under, over, from, and for God and start living in communion with Him.”Jethani describes five postures that Christians often take toward God because of the way they view Him. He writes a chapter on the four most common ways: under, over, from, and for. “Life under God sees the world as governed by the capricious will of God. Life over God places immutable natural laws at the center. Life from God assumes the world orbits around the self and its desires. And life for God sees a divine mission a the core of all things.”The second … [Read more...]
Thanking God for Weeds
I was driving last week down one of our back county roads. Tall tasseled green corn stood in formation on each side of the highway. Lining both sides of the road as far as I could see grew countless blue dayflowers. Delicate Queen Anne’s Lace danced in the breeze.Even the clover blossomed in pick colors.“Thank you” tumbled out of my mouth.The beauty of God’s world captured my voice and all I could say was “Thank you.”“Thank you, Lord God, for crafting these dazzling details in Your creation.”If the only prayer you ever say in your whole life is "thank you," that would suffice. —Meister Eckhart***************************************************************************** I realized later that except for the corn, the beauty I experienced that day arrived in the form of unwanted weeds. In fact the blue dayflowers are classified as noxious and hard to control.Made me wonder: What do I cling to that would be categorized as toxic? Are there other unwelcomed … [Read more...]
God’s Immediacy – Lectio Divina
Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you … [Read more...]
POVERTY – Quote of the Week – Mother Teresa
Image by Teo's photo via Flickr"We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty."Mother Teresa … [Read more...]
Healthy Spiritual Nourishment – Five Bible Verses to Ponder
Image via WikipediaPonder - what a delightful word!To ponder usually means to think about something.But it has more depth than that.To ponder can mean to consider quietly, somberly and deeply; to examine attentively or deliberately or even to wrestle with.One definition referred “to weigh in your mind.” The word actually comes form Latin meaning to weigh. I like that image. Take a Bible verse, for instance, and gently put in on the scales within your head balancing it with your life experiences, your beliefs, your hopes and dreams and let it slowly seep into your heart.My favorite definition is to “chew on.” Or as Rainer Maria Rilke wrote writing that requires the reader who “does not always remain bent over his pages; he often leans back and closes his eyes over a line he has been reading again, and its meaning spread through his blood.”Eugene Peterson wrote a book about the art of spiritual reading call “Eat This Book.” His definition is “reading that … [Read more...]
Surprising Serendipity
I paid no attention.It was routine as usual.My mind scurried ahead, planning my next half hour and really, the rest of my day.Grabbing my second cup of coffee, I casually walked back to my office ready to write this post.But God jumped in and surprised me with a surprise serendipity.Passing by the window, movement from my garden caught my eye.A tiger swallowtail butterfly danced on my flowers.Grabbing my camera, all my plans disappeared. I knew this was a moment to capture.Amazingly I crept so close, I thought this delicate creature might land on me instead of the flowers.God dipped into his paint well for colorful details. Look at His workmanship in the tiny joints and beady eyes.Intrigued, I wanted to know more. Take a look at these fascinating details about butterflies. Imagine how complex and perfect is God as Creator. · There are about 24,000 species of butterflies· Butterflies “smell” with their antennae and “taste” with their feet. Butterflies have one pair of … [Read more...]
Using My Eyes to Hear God – Lectio Divina
I will look to see what he will say to me – Habakkuk 2:1 I will look to see what he will say.What a strange way to hear You, Lord.Looking to see what you are saying.I miss Your voice when I listen more to the world’s noise than You.I don’t hear Your message when I focus more on me and less on You.I know at times You speak in a whisper.I never thought of using my eyes to hear You better.Looking around me, I see You in my backyard garden and know you tend my growth as well.Digging into my Bible, I run my fingers over Your Word, Your words, and see in them You printed before my very eyes.Your love becomes visible in the twinkling delight of Kyla’s eyes and tiny fingers of newborn twins.Pour out Your spirit upon me so I have the awareness when I turn away from Your face.When I can’t hear Your voice, Lord, open my eyes to read Your lips.Help me tune my antenna to Your wavelength of sacred signals.Help me to listen.Help me to see what You say. … [Read more...]
Am I Ready? – Quote of the Week – Esther de Waal
Image via Wikipedia“It is so easy to play the world’s game which is the power game, the game which depends on setting myself apart from others, distinguishing myself, seeking the limelight and looking for the applause.I find that it is only too easy to become compulsive in my continual need for affirmation, for more and more affirmation, as I anxiously ask Who am I? Am I the person who is liked? Admired? Praised? Seen as successful?My whole attitude towards myself becomes determined by the way in which others see me. I compare myself with others, and I try to emphasize what is different and distinctive about me. The three temptations which Christ faced in the wilderness are equally my temptations: to be pertinent. To be spectacular. To be powerful.Am I able, like Christ to put them down?Am I prepared to shed all these outer shells of false ambition, of pride?Am I ready to admit that the mask is a disguise put on to cover up the insecure self? And the armor a shield to protect the … [Read more...]