We need Jesus!

This Sunday a variety of Christian communities around the world will be reading the following passage… Mark 4:35-41

5On that day, when evening had come, Jesus said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him.37A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38But Jesus was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 40He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Many of our lives have a bit of uncertainty right now. Jobs? Families? Money? Relationships? Balance? Purpose? Missional Calling? Time? Etc…

How often do you look at all of the things going on around you and feel a bit trapped on a boat that is being toppled by waves? It happens to me sometimes. Often when this happens I do a couple things… I pick up a bucket and start throwing water overboard (this doesn’t usually work as the rain continues to pour in), then I move to freak out…

This may be a bit of what the disciples went through, on their own strength wanting Jesus to get up and start throwing buckets of water out of the with them, but he was what?? sleeping??

I get the opportunity to spend time with a lot of leaders at Visio Dei talking about our faith journeys. Sometimes we feel like Jesus is sleeping and don’t really know how to wake him up. Sometimes we are shouting at God for an answer or direction and don’t really see it. Sometimes we are just too overwhelmed to realize that Jesus is still peacefully with us. Sometimes we try out all sorts of ‘buckets’ before we realize our capacity isn’t enough.

When I read this, I am reminded that when I am afraid, uncertain or trying to hard to do things on my own. I need to run to Jesus, to trust Jesus, to seek his word, to pray, to put down my bucket long enough to listen to him calm the storm and sit in awe of his command.

I’m not suggesting that when we do this we will automatically have all of our questions answered, I don’t believe God works that way. But, when we do this, we become more connected to our God, Jesus, Love, Hope, Peace, Passion, Mission…

We need Jesus. Run to him, cling to him, learn from, find others to help you do this too, allow him to fill you with the power to do what you are called to do.

What do you think about when you read this passage?

 

Eat the word~

A few years ago I remember hearing a sermon somewhere about “eating the word”… for some reason that phrase stayed with me. I believe it was talking about how we are to approach the scriptures, to taste it, to chew on it, to meditate on it, to digest it, to allow it to nourish and change us… something like that??

Anyways, today I started out with my memory verse: So, let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Gal. 6:9

Then, I went and started to read Galatians, started with ch. 6 and then added 5. In light of the shepherding training that we had on Sunday and the teachings from Corinthians, I thought this passage would be applicable to our community, a passage to eat, a passage to digest, a passage to consider. 

So, I am going to type out this passage here and bold the parts that stood out to me. I may interject some thoughts or questions along the way. I think it would serve you well to eat this word! 

 

So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. Listen! I Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of not benefit to you. I say it again, If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses. For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace. 

• maybe its not circumcision for us, but there are other things that we look to for justification… what is it for you? — let it go! 

But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us. For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love. 

• so what does that look like? 

You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom. The false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough! I am trusting the Lord to keep you from believing false teachings. God will judge that person, whoever it is, who has been confusing you. 

• What are you confused about? What do we need to be cautious of? 

Dear brothers and sisters, if I were still preaching that you must be circumcised–as some say I do– why I am I still being persecuted? If I were no longer preaching salvation through the cross of Christ, no one would be offended. I just wish that those trouble-makers who want to mutilate you by circumcision would mutilate themselves. 

For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead use your freedom to serve one another in love.  For the whole law is summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself” But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another. 

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 

• anyone ever feel this way? 
• I have this thought that if we are pursuing our spiritual gifts and using them, we will be more filled with the spirit and less filled with the sin nature. as we are practically, prayerfully and actually running towards who God has created us the sinful desire will loose power! 

But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. When you follow the sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that kind of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God! 

• this isn’t a check off list, it can’t be in light of the beginning of the chapter, its an observation of what happens to us. the sickness of sin invades our life, we must pursue “faith expressing itself in love”

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another. 

• what can we learn here? trust! prayer! humility! — we ALREADY have freedom, we need to believe that we do. 

ARE YOU STILL WITH ME? I’M ALMOST AT 1000 WORDS, SO I KNOW THIS IS GETTING LONG, BUT WE JUST FINISHED GALATIANS 5 AND HAVE THE WHOLE NEXT CHAPTER TO GO THROUGH. IF YOU NEED TO TAKE A BREAK AND COME BACK, IF YOU NEED TO TAKE A COUPLE DAYS TO EAT THIS WORD, PLEASE DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU…. moving on…

Dear brothers and sisters, if another brother is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 

• there it is… share each other’s burdens, this is the law of Christ! 

If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important! 

• i just love that part! 

Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct. 

• anyone else ever struggle with comparison? anyone else ever feel responsible for others? 
• there must be a difference between sharing in each other’s burdens and taking over responsibilities of others… maybe some learning on boundaries will be helpful! 

Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them. Don’t be misled– you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone–especially those in the family of faith. 

• there it is again… this communal aspect to living out our faith in love… this encouragement to not give up, this tension between resting in our freedom and what the Spirit does and a call to persevere by our actions… Got to love the gray and the mystery… Got to pursue the Spirit and allow it to surprise us!

NOTICE WHAT LARGE LETTERS I USE AS I WRITE THESE CLOSING WORDS IN MY OWN HANDWRITING. Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look to good to others. They don’t want to be persecuted for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save. And even those who advocate circumcision don’t keep the whole law themselves. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast about it and claim you as their disciples. 

As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. It doesn’t matter whether we have  been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle: they are the new people of God. 

• Wow! Do we believe it? Do we see ourselves as new creations with new trajectories for life? We have spiritual gifts, we have gifts that God makes powerful by his grace, we have freedom from external pressure to measure up with the world or to get our status from our stuff, our relationships, our crowds, our abilities. 
• Humility, graciousness and love seem to be the theme here to me. Its all about God! 

From now on, don’t let anyone trouble me with these things. For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus. Dear brothers and sisters, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen

• I’m not quite sure about that part, but it seems to me that Paul really wants the Galatians to get this idea of freedom and new life, to pursue the Holy Spirit and to let go of the legalism without falling into temptation… 

SHADES OF GRAY… THESE CAN ONLY BE DISCOVERED AS WE LIVE LIFE TOGETHER IN COMMUNITY. THANK YOU FOR BEING A PART OF OURS! 

 

I would love to hear your thoughts on any of this. My prayer is that as we learn together we can encourage each other to engage with what our own issues might be and how we can humbly help each other to truly believe and act on the truth that we are made new through Christ alone.

 

A recommendation

I just finished reading Leadership Essentials by Greg Ogden & Daniel Meyer. Over the past several months I have been considering how the lessons learned in the book could help me with my own leadership at Visio Dei, my personal life, and equipping others for leadership. It has been a huge help. Its one of those books where I will go back and need to review the material over and over again. 

 

It is broken up into 12 lessons, each starts out with a key point, then has a memory verse, then a scripture passage to go through, then some commentary, then some reflection questions and action steps. It is set up to do each lesson in a week, but I took a little longer than that. 

 

Anyways, if you are looking for a new guide to studying scripture and a good probe into your faith and leadership journey. This is the book I would recommend. 

 

Here is a quote that I will need to take with me…

In order to overcome temptation we need to internalize how much we are already loved by our Father in Heaven. 

 

Main things a Shepherd Does in Visio Dei Home Groups

Today I got to sit down with one of our new shepherds. Every time I talk with one of you I get reenergized and reminded of why we are doing things the way we do them. Reminded that God is the one who gets the glory and reminded that he makes each one of us uniquely to participate in what He is already doing around us.

I am working on concisely communicating the “job” of shepherds… here is a stab at it…

 

Three main things shepherds are responsible for:

1) Welcoming Environment

Consider the culture of the group and work to make it place where new folks are welcomed and included. Things to consider… Are new people getting connected? Notice who is there… Who is not there? When the group has large social gatherings, reach out to those not as easily included… Look at the group through the filter of the newcomer or the uncomfortable…  Set an example… Incorporate and encourage activity that helps to create an inviting environment (i.e. prayer requests, stories, social time, etc.) 

2) Gifts

Work with others on your servant team to help group members discover and act on their gifts and talents.

Notice who needs be followed up with, and follow up with them. Give encouragement to people when you see opportunities to use gifts and talents. Work with me to effectively use the assessme website. *I’m still working on developing ongoing processes to help you guys with this*

3) Internal Needs of the group

When things happen in group members lives, help with celebration, mourning, organizing care for, etc. (meals, visitation, cards, parties, money, prayer). 

 

Does this make sense to you? Any questions, comments?

 

You are sending forth ripples!

Each time a [person] stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., from an address given to South African young people on their Day of Affirmation, 1966

Where have you seen this in action lately?

Lets Celebrate and continue!

 

The Kingdom

I came across this quote a few weeks ago, wrote it down and stuck it in my wallet. I pulled it out today and thought… that is really great! 

“The Kingdom is God’s presence and power breaking into human personality and culture to bring about the glorious renewal of life.”

Where have you seen God’s Kingdom lately?

 

Developing a Vision

Here is a challenge this week… Choose one person in your life, could be in your family, your work place, your home group and start praying for them. Ask God to open your eyes to what the Holy Spirit is doing in them.

Do you have that person in mind?

So, I gave a chapter of “Connecting” by Larry Crabb to our shepherds. Let me know if you want a copy.

I would like to highlight some important aspects and set forth a challenge to you for application. This chapter was all about developing a vision for another’s life. Not a selfish vision, but a God breathed vision; not a vision that focuses on obstacles or challenges, but a vision that focuses on hope and grace. A vision that requires us to pray like crazy and dream bigger than ourselves.

Here are 5 observations to remember when encouraging the people God places in your life:

1) A Spirit-inspired vision sometimes includes an idea of what a person could do, but it ALWAYS centers on who that person could BECOME.

2) A Spirit-inspired vision for someone reliably creates anguish in the heart of the visionary.

3) A Spirit inspired vision for someone is necessarily the product of spiritual discernment. Without ongoing fervent prayer, our vision for others becomes self-serving.

4) A Spirit inspired vision sometimes develops best when the one about whom we’re forming the vision is farthest from God.

5) A Spirit inspired vision is less concerned with practically moving someone in a good direction and more concerned with catching a glimpse of what could be.

So, take some time this week to consider who God has placed in your life. Can you begin to see one person the way that God does? Ask the Spirit, Our Lord, for help doing this. Then respond, have patience and hope for what God wants to see happen among us.

What part of this is most changeling to you?
Where have you caught a glimpse of Spirit inspired vision?
When has someone spoken God’s words into your life?

 

Celebration

Have you celebrated recently? I mean taken time with your home group, servant team, or friends to rejoice in what God is doing? If you haven’t… DO IT!!

God is at work in us and all around us. Sometimes its easy to focus on the what’s next without cherishing the Glory of God at work in our lives and the lives of others.

Some Suggestions:

• Simply go around and have people share things they have seen God doing, possily at the beginning of a home group gathering.
• Have paper and pens for everyone to write on through the course of an evening and a big box to put them. Pull out the pages over time and read them out loud.
• Post on your blog about how God is moving.
• Ask God to help you see how he is working your life and in the lives of others.
• Sing at the top of your lungs when you realize the love of God and how you get to be a part of it.
• Post a comment here saying something you would like to celebrate.

 

Take Time to be thankful

It moving towards Thanksgiving and there are many things I could write about being thankful for the blessings God has given to each of us, but I want to suggest something to you. If you are reading this and you are a leader or a part of a team of people… think about those you work together with, think about the gifts, talents, abilities, and unique aspects that these folks bring to your life and work. 

 

Take some time to notice, to thank them, to remind them they matter to you, and most importantly to God.

 

Again and even Deeper

A priest was walking down the road and found a monk praying on his knees. He stopped the monk and said, “You must be very close to God.” The monk replied, “Yes, God is very fond of me.” 

 

My initial reaction to this story is how self-centered and off base the monk is to respond that way. I thought for sure the next commentary in my book on servant leadership would be something about how he was self focused and needed a reality check… BOY WAS I WRONG!! 

 

Instead, the author (Greg Ogden) suggests that in order for us to really be servant leaders as Jesus was we need to know how much God loves us already, regardless of performance, regardless of all the good things we do to further his kingdom, regardless of how much we pray or how little we seem to screw up… God loves us, that is why we love others. 

Its simple right? You may be thinking, “Traci, this is not rocket science 1 John 4:19 says we love because he first loved us; John 3:16 says for God so loved the world that he gave his son… there are many other passages that describe this same thing, what is so special about this realization?”

 

My answer is, I have known all of those verses and have studied and incorporated them into my life over the years in many different ways, but as I am working with our church and trying to empower people to use their gifts and think about serving I have been challenged. I recently read an account in John 13 where Jesus washed the disciple’s feet. This passage was prefaced with Jesus knowing that all things had been given to him by the father and the assurance that he had about returning to be with him. 

 

Jesus probably wouldn’t have gone to the cross if he didn’t have that assurance. Guess what, we have the same assurance! In our fears and failures, we have the love of God and have been called his children as well. There is no need to strive and get acclamations for our gifts or our deeds.  We serve a God who is very fond of us. 

 

Do you believe, deep down, that God is fond of you?