What if we started a small group that was different, a small group that was committed to living life together, to dining together, to playing together, to serving together, a group that spent its Saturdays serving others, its Sundays in rest and the Word, its Mondays being the light of Jesus in its workplaces, its Tuesdays gathering for community and theological reflection, its Wednesdays reaching neighbors, its Thursdays eating with each other, and its Fridays reveling in holy hedonism.
What if?
“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
-Jesus of Nazareth
I get along with my neighbors pretty well. There’s a large family with a lot of teenagers that live next door to me, very nice people. The kids offer to help out pretty regularly whether we’re moving furniture or having a cookout. The guys at the end of the block had us over to their new roof deck our first night in the new house. Mr. Swan let me borrow his water hose a week or two ago. A few folks from across the alley came to our housewarming last weekend and brought wine.
I don’t have a gate on the back of my fence, and I don’t want one. But there’s that person who has their dog poop in my backyard, and trust me, it’s not accidental. I realized this morning that what I thought was a popped front bike tire due to the heat was actually someone letting the air out of both tires.
I didn’t do anything to you. We dropped off cookies to everyone on the block and invited you to a cookout. We’re quiet and respectful.
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ’sinners’ love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ’sinners’ do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ’sinners’ lend to ’sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
-Jesus of Nazareth
For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.
-Malachi 2:7 (ESV)
The lips of a priest should guard knowledge. He is the messenger of the Lord.
We don’t have priests now like they did then. Then, only priests could approach God. Now, no person mediates between us and God except for Jesus, the great high priest, and He is God. So all who follow Jesus are priests because we have access to him and he is God.
That said, God has placed some in positions of influence and authority to speak into the lives of others. God has chosen to make some his messengers to speak His truth to others (Ephesians 4:11).
So to those of us who consider ourselves called by God to shepherd others I ask, do our lips guard knowledge? When we open our mouths are the ears of those around us filled with words of discernment and understanding? Does wisdom escape from between our lips?
Only if we are actively seeking the will of God through prayer and Scripture, “For the shepherds are stupid and do not inquire of the Lord; therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered.” -Jeremiah 10:26 (ESV)
I recently finished reading The Rest of God by Mark Buchanan. In a book full of sage advice, one line was particularly resonant: “I want to learn to pass through a day without passing it by.”
It seems we’re always looking ahead to the next thing. As soon as we finish the work day we can go out with friends. We can’t wait to get married, buy a house, and get a new job.
I spend a lot of my time looking forward instead of savoring the moment. It is good to be future-oriented, to dream, to plan, to think ahead, but we can’t let that get in the way of reveling in the now, of enjoying to the fullest this particular moment, of delighting and finding fulfillment in where God has us for this season in life.
I am married, have a job that I love, and just bought a house. These are all good and wonderful things, but I can tell you that the grass is always greener on the other side. My wife is amazing, yet marriage complicates life. My job, while great, has been busy recently. And my house is spacious and beautiful but sucks up far more time and money than my apartment ever did.
Wherever you are; whatever you’re doing; whomever you do or don’t know, stop and enjoy this moment. Time is a precious gift that can never be recovered. It is our choice to waste it wishing we were somewhere else or to delight in now.
Today, or now yesterday, I suppose, was my sabbath, the first one I’ve had in a couple of weeks. Usually I observe it religiously (pun intended), but my day off last week was filled with enough errands to be anything but restful.
It’s my busy season at work. Small group registrations are due, which means helping leaders register their groups, reviewing leadership applications, meeting new leaders to discuss the leadership covenant, and producing the Atlas, our catalog of small groups.
I’d be lying if I said I work as hard or as long as some others on staff at NCC or in our congregation, not to mention that I love what I do. But it is a busy time nonetheless, a time of long days and working weekends.
Today was not a good day to take off, not a good day to ignore my e-mail. Doing so means that there are likely some groups submitted late that won’t be listed in the Atlas. It means that there will probably be a pile of e-mail waiting for me in the morning. It means that I may be working late again tomorrow.
Yet all of that made today a very good day to take off. Today was a day to read Scripture, to read books, to write, to have dinner with my wife, and to play with my friends. Today was a day to refresh and recharge so that when I face the pile of work that will undoubtedly be waiting for me in the morning, I’ll have the spiritual, physical, and emotional energy to perform well.
God created us to observe sabbath, to take one day each week when we cease doing what is necessary to do what is most beneficial. Sabbath is not an archaic ritual but a gift. It keeps our priorities straight, our egos in check, our bodies healthy, and our souls fed.
I want to be known.
The chief end of man, of all creation, is to glorify God, to make Him known.
My chief end is often to glorify myself, to make myself known.
God, crucify my pride, my self-importance, my greed, that I might serve you. May my joy be found in your glory, not my own. May people see not me but you.
The Old Testament book of Ezra tells the story of a prophet by the same name who leads a group of exiles back to their homeland.
In his own words: “I gathered them to the river that runs to Ahava, and there we camped three days. … Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, ‘The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.’ So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.”
I love the raw honesty, the fearful yet active faith. The story is incredibly simple yet unfathomably deep. The king had already given Ezra an immense amount of wealth and almost certainly would have provided protection, but Ezra had put God on the line and wouldn’t jeopardize His reputation. So they fasted and implored God, and He listened to their entreaty.
Last night I was laying in bed and asking God for a deeper relationship with Him or for Him to use me more or something like that. I don’t even remember what exactly, but I felt something inside me ask how badly I wanted it. Did I want it badly enough to set my alarm just a little bit earlier, to wake up in time to spend some time with the Lord?
This morning I got just a little less sleep and spent a little more time in the Word. I’m a little more tired but a little more fed. What are you willing to give up for that which is most important to you?
I think there are some lessons that God has been trying to teach me over the past few months, namely, to trust Him and stop trying to control everything and consequently to have peace and joy in the midst of stressful circumstances.
Unfortunately, these were lessons that I did not learn. Buying our house was certainly a stressful ordeal. Things weren’t as smooth as I would have liked. Near the end of the process I realized that God was probably trying to teach me not to worry, to trust Him, and yet even after I realized this, I still worried, I still got stressed, and I failed to trust.
Sometimes I’m so dense.
The 50th day after Easter is called Pentecost. The 10 days leading up to Pentecost make up the Pentecost season, marking the period between Jesus’ ascension into Heaven and the day when Jesus’ followers received the Holy Spirit.
We’re approaching the day of Pentecost and are in the middle of a sermon series called “Miracles” here at NCC, so it seemed appropriate that we pray that God would move in a powerful way, much as he did at the first Pentecost.
Consequently, we are doing a 10 day fast, praying and believing that God will do great things.
I’ve decided to fast a few things, each symbolic of the things I’m believing God for.
I’ve given up alcohol as I pray for my brother’s health. He’s had some stomach problems for a while now. I’m praying for total healing. (Alcohol = not super-great for your stomach)
I’ve given up coffee as I continue to pray and believe for another place in the marketplace for NCC. (Coffee = something I drink at work)
I’ve put myself on a strict diabetic-friendly diet as I pray that God would heal me of diabetes. Note that I manage my diabetes well, but I usually do this through extra insulin rather than proper diet.
I’ve given up searching for a home as I pray and trust God that He will provide the right place. This is perhaps the most difficult fast I’ve ever done. There’s always the idea that something great could come on the market and disappear during the 10 days I’ve stopped looking.
There you have it. There are a few other things, but they are either overly-personal or not mine to share publicly.
If you’re interested in doing a Pentecost fast, it’s not too late. We’re only a day-and-a-half in. Join us in fasting and believing that God will glorify himself through miracles that only He can do.
