How Human Was Jesus? ? -- Patrick O'Connell

If this title doesn’t strike you as ‘odd’ you may be like I was a few years ago. As I’ve reconsidered the question using contemplative prayer, I find my life and my relationship with him being transformed. I know a man who is just like me (minus sin) who lives [walks, talks, discusses things, plays, prays for things, has personal preferences, favorite songs, and loves beauty…] in heaven with my Father. Now, I know he happens to also be fully God, but that does not diminish the human reality of this heaven dwelling man, Jesus. Somehow, my post-resurrection imaginings had over-emphasized the fully God side of his personhood to the point of obscuring my ability to see that what in fact awaits each true disciple of Jesus: a post-death extension of our human existence (minus sin) in heaven with this human friend and savior, Jesus. Humanness is not something to be overcome. Humanness is, in God’s words “VERY GOOD”! Humanness (minus sin) is eternally beautiful and precious.

So, how has this been transforming?

Keeping in mind these truths, I’ve simply been carrying on a prayer conversation with the Father asking Him to make me willing to be more human. I practice listening for, and then rejecting, lies which try to discount or disqualify various healthy human joys, passions and pursuits on the basis of their lack or overt ‘spiritual’ significance. I, at times, pray with engaged imagination “Father, reveal to me the ‘me’ you imagined when you said ‘Let there be a ‘me’!”.

As I’m slowly discovering the ‘me’ God envisioned ‘me’ to be, I’m simultaneously finding myself Spirit- empowered to put on (almost like putting on a robe) greater confidence, behaviors, and even different language rising forth from this more fully human version of myself.

It’s exciting. It’s a process. It’s scary at times. It’s an adventure I will (with God’s help) not draw back from. In the end I believe it’s a part of my faith walk I’ve been missing; It’s a pathway to the life of passionate-compassion, mercy, patience which will continue to make me an effective, compelling human witness to the love of Jesus, our savior.

My next prayer is this: that I may learn how to pass on to those whom God sends me this love and passion for God and a determination to do the same for those God sends them.

Cost of Reproduction

I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.  John 12:24

For a kernel of wheat, reproduction is a total commitment!  As Jesus made clear to His disciples, unless it dies, it remains as it is—a single seed.  Ironically, when it dies, it becomes many.   

Drive to multiply

We see the commitment to reproduction demonstrated throughout nature.  Plants devote their energy to producing scores, hundreds, thousands of seeds in a bid to create a few or even one scion.  Animals invest their strength, time, their very lives to producing, protecting, and launching a succeeding generation.  This is powerfully and poetically portrayed in  the documentary March of the Penguins . A ‘must see’ if you haven’t already.

God the multiplier

This drive of nature is much more than a practical necessity.  It reflects the very nature of God.  His first command to Adam and Eve, freshly made in His image, is that they ‘be fruitful and multiply’.  Their fruitfulness was to reflect the Fruitful God, source of all life. 

When God decided to hit the ‘restart’ button on His plan of salvation through the calling of Abram, multiplication was again His goal.  He promised that Abram/Abraham would be the father of descendants as numerous as the stars. 

There were a lot of Jews in the world when Jesus was born among them, but these were not the promised multitude.  It was not those born of blood nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God, through Jesus, that were given the power to become children of God. (John 1:12-13 reordered) The Father is devoted to having children, many children, more numerous than the stars or sands of the sea shore. 

How committed is the Father?  ‘He did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all’ (Rom 8:32).  How committed is the Son?  He came … ‘to give his life as a ransom for many’ (Mt 20:28).

Partners in reproduction

And this is where you and I come in!  As those made in God’s image, filled with Christ’s Spirit, drawn to life in His Body, we are now to share in His sacrificial commitment to reproduction.  Jesus’ instruction to his disciples was to ‘go make disciples of all nations’ (Mt 28:18).  Jesus makes it very clear that this is the top priority.  He says that this is how the ‘… Father is glorified,  that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples’ (Jn 15:8).

Frankly, hearing this I start to get uncomfortable.  All nature points to the costly commitment to reproduction (ask any Mom about that!).  God speaks of and then acts with total commitment to multiply His family.  And then He invites me to join Him sacrificially in the process of reproducing disciples.  But I’m not that committed to it!  Sure, I would like to see more people become children of God.  But am I really willing to be the kernel of wheat falling into the ground and dying for it? 

A preference for leaves

There are other things which tug at me.  Renewal,  cooperation among Christians, growing in character, worship, maybe wisdom, good things all — and, of course if I am honest, pleasing myself!  

Is this not maybe true of much of the Christian church, and even us here in The Word of God?  The costly investment in disciple making is for individuals and ministries what a special call, not so much for ordinary Christians like us.  But are we really reflecting the driving passion of the Father’s heart in this, He ‘who so loved the world that He gave his only Son’ (Jn 3:16)?

Fruitfulness unleashed

The Father fully understands our situation.  He knows that we prefer growing branches and leaves to making the tremendous investment in fruit.  He is the Vinedresser who lovingly prunes us that we may bear fruit.  I see this not as a threat for low performance, but as a promise to conform us to the image and priorities of the Son, empowering us to do what He does — bear fruit/make disciples.

What fruitfulness would be unleashed if you and I and the whole church, were to make the same costly investment in bringing forth the next generation that we see all around us in nature, and supremely in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? 

Make disciples? Me? Out of my pay grade!

We know that Jesus’ last directive to his disciples was ‘Go and make some more’! Whatever else His Body is to be about, it should certainly be making disciples. But most of us, and I include myself here, feel that is is a bit over our head. Yes, SOMEBODY should be making disciples. There must be experts who can be especially devoted to this task, which is good, because we feel inadequate. The idea of forming a completely mature, fully trained, widely experienced disciple is daunting! But fortunately, that is not the task laid on each of us individually. The challenge of raising up disciples who can raise up other disciples is the calling of the whole Body – together. Each of us have a part to play in this: raising our children, maybe working with just one or two people, or maybe just adding to the grow of a fellow disciple is some small way.

Our goal is to create a ‘culture of discipleship’ where we are all looking for how we can pour into others what the Lord has poured into us, not keeping it for ourselves. This is more than knowledge or teaching. It is a sharing of life. As Paul said to the Thessalonians:

We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. 1Thess 2:8

Much about living the life of a disciple is ‘caught’ rather than taught as we share our lives with others. Being just a little more intentional about sharing our life with the young, the new in Christ, the spiritually hungry can help them be discipled in the way of Jesus, too. Not so hard.

Where could we start today to join in making discples, the assignment Jesus gave us which His Spirit empowers?

Kingdom Concerns In Medical Practice -- Dr. David Thorrez

Help from the Great PhysicianBefore I go to work, my goal is to always pray and connect with the Lord before I even leave home. In daily prayer, I should remember my co-workers and their needs, my patients and their physical, emotional and spiritual needs including their need for a compassionate ear and excellent care.

Sometimes I’ve had to ask the Lord to help me love a particular patient or parent. Like “Jerry”, a teen, who I had a hard time relating to because of several negative parts of his personality and how they rubbed me the wrong way. After praying for the grace to love him, I found myself genuinely glad to be his doctor and wanting to do everything I could to help him.

There was a time in the last few years when I realized that I was not thinking of my patients as I should. I began to beg the Lord every day to change my heart to be more like His in how I thought of my patients and to give me His love for each one. The Lord started to show me, without my trying to do anything on my own, that this child or that teen was like Him in certain aspects, and I could treat that patient as one of my “favorite” patients.

Many of the people that I come in contact with – for me this is especially the parents of my patients – are not only stressed but hurting. Bruised reeds. I have to be very careful not to injure them any more but to be like Jesus: “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench.” Is 42:3 and Mt 12:20.

Environment Where I work is important. It is better to be in a place with at least one other Christian to relate to.

Having a Bible or 2 in the waiting room as well as in patients’ rooms sets a tone along with Christian magazines and literature alongside secular magazines. Bulletin boards can notify readers about Bible studies and special events like “Hosanna”.

The Christian approach to sexuality must be reflected in the choice of handouts offered and books recommended for parents and teens. Focus on the Family has many “perfect” resources for both teens and parents. www.focusonthefamily.com

Benefiting from Kingdom partners Coworkers are critical for all of us. If you want to start praying with some of the people you work with but don’t know how to start, go to Hospital Christian Fellowship www.hcfusa.com . They have been around for 70 yrs and they can give you lots of seasoned wisdom on getting started with prayer, Bible studies and fellowship whether you are a clerk, janitor or nursing supervisor.

It is very easy for all of us to be critical of co-workers who “don’t know” what you think they should know or don’t act the way that someone with their responsibilities should respond. Don’t criticize but first you have to talk to the person involved yourself.

Encouragement is one of the chief things that we are called to do. Is 61:1-8 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the brokenhearted. . . . to comfort all who mourn. . . to give them oil of gladness in place of mourning, a glorious mantle instead of a listless spirit. See also Luke 4: 16-18

Role models have been very important to be. I’ve been privileged to & inspired by working with Drs. Dan Heffernan, Win Fox, Ellen Gryniewicz, Phil Fleming, Chas. Leland, Deb Boyer & Dan and Lisa Benz.

I’ve learned a lot as well from nurses I’ve worked with: Becky Giszczak, Kathleen McCarren. Having been visibly surrounded by “so great a cloud of witnesses”, I know I have been in a privileged spot to see God working.

Acting in Jesus’ place Jesus never turned anyone away! How can I say ‘No, you don’t have insurance and I won’t see you’?

God has called us to be in special place in the lives of people who have needs. We are to be His vicars – His deputies, acting in His place and called to follow the Spirit’s leading in our touch on the image of God in each person.

Sources for more information WWW.cmda.org.com (Christian Medical Dental Assoc) see their section on Prescribe a Resource a list of resources for patients struggling with various issues.

Empowered for the Road

As we get ready to celebrate Pentecost again this Sunday I am reminded once more that Jesus connects the gift of the Spirit with our participation in his mission. We are familiar with the Acts 1:8 passage, but let’s also remember John 20: 21&22

Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

We all love the Spirit’s empowerment for prayer and worship, for hearing God’s word, and experiencing his presence, for guidance and miracles. As we thank him for this many rich gifts, let’s give ourselves again to using them in his mission. We have all seen shiny, perfectly preserved 4-wheel drive pickup trucks which have never left the confines of paved roads and heated garages. How much more fitting it is to see a battered pickup truck which shows the evidence of the hard service for which it was designed and built! Having been equipped with a super charged hemi engine and 4-wheel drive with tremendous torque and towing power, with a crew cab and extended bed, let’s use those gifts in kingdom building and not worry about the paint job or getting a little dirty and dented!

Come Holy Spirit! Vroom, Vroom.

Holy Week Readings

Jesus went to Jerusalem to announce the Good News to the people of that city. And Jesus knew that he was going to put a choice before them: Will you be my disciple, or will you be my executioner? There is no middle ground here. Jesus went to Jerusalem to put people in a situation where they had to say yes or no. That is the great drama of Jesus' passion: He had to wait upon how people were going to respond.HENRI J. M. NOUWEN, "A Spirituality of Waiting," The Weavings Reader

In the Cross is salvation, in the Cross is life, in the Cross is protection from our enemies, in the Cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness, in the Cross is strength of mind, in the Cross is joy of spirit, in the Cross is the height of virtue, in the Cross is perfection of sanctity. There is no salvation of the soul, nor hope of everlasting life, but in the Cross. THOMAS A KEMPIS, The Imitation of Christ

He died, but he vanquished death; in himself, he put an end to what we feared; he took it upon himself, and he vanquished it; as a mighty hunter, he captured and slew the lion.

Where is death? Seek it in Christ, for it exists no longer; but it did exist, and now it is dead. O life, O death of death! Be of good heart; it will die in us also. What has taken place in our head will take place in his members; death will die in us also. But when? At the end of the world, at the resurrection of the dead in which we believe and concerning which we do not doubt. AUGUSTINE, Sermon 233

There is wonderful power in the Cross of Christ. It has power to wake the dullest conscience and melt the hardest heart, to cleanse the unclean, to reconcile him who is afar off and restore him to fellowship with God, to redeem the prisoner from his bondage and lift the pauper from the dunghill, to break down the barriers which divide [people] from one another, to transform our wayward characters into the image of Christ and finally make us fit to stand in white robes before the throne of God. JOHN STOTT, The Preacher's Portrait

Easter is not the celebration of a past event. The alleluia is not for what was; Easter proclaims a beginning which has already decided the remotest future. The Resurrection means that the beginning of glory has already started. KARL RAHNER, Everyday Faith

National Day of Prayer, May 1

On Thursday, May 1, Christian across America will be gathering at City Halls, Legislature Buildings, Schools and Churches to pray for our nation as part of the annual National Day of Prayer (www.nationaldayofprayer.org ).  The theme for this year is ‘Investing in Hope... Transforming our Nation Through Prayer!’.  Locally there will be an observation at the Federal Building in Ann Arbor from 12:15 pm to 12:45 pm led by Pastor Mike Frison from Knox Presbyterian Church and sponsored by PACT.  All are invited to join us for a time of quiet prayer and intercession.  There will also be an observation in Ypsilanti, but the details are still being determined. If you can’t make it to one of the public prayer time, please take a few minutes that day to join in praying for our city, county, state and nation.

40 Days of Prayer

Joining others to pray for Washtenaw County

The Word of God is again joining with about a dozen churches to pray for Washtenaw County during the 40 Days from Ash Wednesday to Palm Sunday. For the past several years we have taken a couple of days in a continuous 24-hour prayer vigil shared by all the churches.

This year there will not be a vigil, but participating churches are asking folks to pray a few minutes every day using the Seek God for the City prayer guide. In addition, people are ‘adopting’ a particular day and praying in some special way for the topics associated with it. In this way we can be blanketing the County in prayer asking God to blanket it with His Kingdom!

For more information, including how to adopt a day, contact the community office:  734/994-3243.

Privilege of Partnership, by Phil Tiews

When I was an undergraduate I had a job in a thoroughbred frog farm at the University of Michigan. You laugh, but we had frogs whose ancestors could be traced back through dozens of generations! They might have looked like ordinary Rana Pipiens but these were strictly blue-blood, or maybe green-blood, amphibians. My role was very small, only a few hours per week, but I had been invited to be part of the team by the foremost ‘frog man’ in the world, the professor directing the lab. You might wonder why bother selectively breeding frogs. It turns out that it is very important for some forms of research, including vital medical and genetic research, to be able to trace the genealogy of test subjects, including frogs. We were not really in the business of making pedigree frogs, but of curing illnesses and advancing the scientific frontier, and I got a chance to be part of it all. Seen in that light, my small and lowly contribution takes on more significance and dignity.

I must confess that there are times when the Christian life feels more like a duty and Christian service a burden. (I realize I may be unique in this, but bear with me!) However, recently I was struck in a fresh way with what a privilege it is to be invited into the Lord’s life and to join him in his life mission—to seek and to save.

He could have just rescued us and put us in a protected place for safekeeping. Instead he says to us, ‘I have need of you. I can use you as my partners in this work I am doing. You bring special qualities to the job, which I have given you for just such an hour and call as this. Come on, let’s go together.’

If there is significance and dignity in helping to breed frogs in order to push forward the boundaries of scientific discovery, how much more in helping to rescue men and women and push forward the boundaries of Kingdom recovery!

This opportunity is for a brief time only. One day soon, one way or another, we will be with the Lord in glory and the time of participation in Jesus’ mission will be over. Let’s recognize our opportunity for partnership now and join with Jesus full heartedly.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, the strife will not be long; this day the noise of battle, the next the victor's song. To those who vanquish evil a crown of life shall be; they with the King of Glory shall reign eternally.

Ruined, Rescued, Recruited, Retrieved, by Phil Tiews

St. Patrick’s Day, 1907 off ‘the Lizard’, a mile long reef extending south from the coast of Cornwall, Great Britain, a huge storm was raging. This is the region where the North Atlantic smashes into the English Channel and is notorious for its tides and currents, known as the graveyard of ships. The SS Suevic, 12,000 tons, sailing from Melbourne was just hours away from its destination in Plymouth. The officers couldn’t see the stars to navigate, but they thought they saw the Lizard Lighthouse ten miles off and so in misplaced confidence proceeded full-steam ahead to reach port by next morning. It turned out that they were actually right on the Lizard rocks and crashed onto the reef so hard that they were unable to extricate themselves. The 141 crew and 382 passengers, 60 of them under 3 years old were ruined. Ruined Advent is not simply a run-up to Christmas. It is a time to rehearse the great Biblical truths. Ephesians 2 reminds us that before Jesus came ...

you were dead in your transgressions and sins... we were by nature objects of wrath.

Like those on the Suevic, we were ruined. All our efforts to direct our lives in the face of a hostile environment had only succeeded in driving us on the reef of the justified wrath of God. Our peril was not of accidental drowning, it was the sentence of death for crimes committed.

Rescued When they finally realized they could not save themselves, the Suevic fired distress rockets into the stormy night sky. In every village along the Cornwall coast, there was a chapter of the Royal National Lifeboat Institute. These volunteers, fishermen and tradesmen from the villages of the Lizard, Cadgwith, Coverack & Porthleven saw the rockets, manned their 39-foot open lifeboats and shoved out into the storm. The tide and gale were so strong that they could barely make headway and it was so foggy and dark that after rowing the four miles they located the Suevic by running into the side of it, and tossing a crew member into the sea–the first person that was rescued that night!

The first boats arrived just in time to avert a disaster. The Suevic had launched two of its own lifeboats filled with women and children. There was no way that they could safely negotiate the channel through the rocks to shore, so local men jumped into the boats to guide them. When these inadequate boats tried to return, they were smashed on the rocks.

Over the next 16 hours the four RNLI boats made trip after trip, 15 different crews taking turns in the six-man boats. Hanging from rope ladders as the waves threw the lifeboats up and down against the side of the Suevic, they tossed children and then their mothers into the arms of their comrades in the boats below. By 10 am they had rescued 456 people without a passenger or rescuer being lost. The remaining folks were taken off by a tugboat as the storm subsided.

No RNLI rescuer died that night, but in Advent we remember that our rescue from God’s wrath was more costly. It cost the Rescuer, Jesus, his life, but then...

God...made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions...God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus...it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesian 2

Recruited We are indeed seated with Christ in the heavenly realms – but not yet fully! We are also still here in the earthly realm. This is a time to remember what we have been rescued FOR. Jesus, the lifeboat Captain tells us to ‘...go make disciples of all nations…’. He has recruited us to the high honor of joining him in snatching others from ruin. And he is no shore-side commander, for he promises, ‘...I am with you to the close of the age.’ During Advent we remember that this life is not about collecting the most toys or experiences or honors but about being with Jesus as he goes tirelessly back and forth to rescue people from the shipwreck of their lives.

Retrieved The season of lifeboat work will not go on indefinitely. One stormy night on the Sea of Galilee Jesus commanded the storm to ‘Be Still!’ and it was! In Advent we celebrate that one day Jesus will say to the tumult of time and the tempest of demonic assault and the hurricane of human hubris–Be Still! And it will be! One day he will come back and on THAT day he will take us to the Father’s house that we may be with him always.

But this is not that Day. This day is our day to man the lifeboats with our Captain, the Lord Jesus, and push out into the storm and the dark and the fog to respond to the distress flares which are streaming into the night sky from those shipwrecked on life’s reefs.

Cry out to the Lord with One Voice

It was snowing and in single digits outside but a faithful band from churches around Washtenaw County gathered at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church on Wednesday, January 22nd to ‘Cry out to the Lord with One Voice’, the twelfth annual Concert of Prayer marking the Octave of Christian Unity, Martin Luther King’s birthday, and the anniversary of Roe v Wade. For more than a decade churches in the Ann Arbor – Ypsilanti area have rotated hosting this evening of intercession to pray for the important issues of the division among Christians, the need for racial reconciliation, the preservation of life and the urgency for transformation in Christ. Interweaving Scripture, worship, brief messages from several pastors and congregational participation, the evening brought people together before the Throne of God, fulfilling Jesus’ command to ‘watch and pray’. You can go to www.pact-washtenaw.org to get information about next year’s Concert of Prayer and other news of inter-church cooperation in Washtenaw County.

Marvelous

At the end of December I was reading in Zechariah and ran across this passage: This is what the LORD Almighty says: “It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to me?” declares the LORD Almighty. Zech 8:6

The returned exiles of Judah couldn’t believe or even imagine the promises of restoration that God was extending to them. In this passage the Lord is gently chastising them for their unbelief. It may seem marvelous (or impossible!) to them when they look at themselves and their circumstances, but do they think that God, the almighty is stumped? He isn’t doubting whether it can be done. It would not be marvelous for the one who spoke the worlds into existence to speak Israel into restoration.

I experienced this as an urging from the Lord for me – and for us in the The Word of God – as we go into 2014. Let’s look for the Lord to do those things which would be marvelous in our eyes, knowing that nothing is beyond his mighty power and love.

Have a blessed New Year!

Your brother in Christ, Phil Tiews

Christmas in Poem

“Among the oxen (like an ox I’m slow)I see a glory in the stable grow
Which, with the ox’s dullness might at length
Give me an ox’s strength.
Among the asses (stubborn I as they)
I see my Saviour where I looked for hay;
So may my beast like folly learn at least
The patience of a beast.
Among the sheep (I like a sheep have strayed)
I watch the manger where my Lord is laid;
Oh that my baa-ing nature would win thence
Some woolly innocence!”
     —C. S. Lewis, Into The Wardrobe

Immensity cloistered in thy dear womb,
Now leaves His well-belov’d imprisonment,
There He hath made Himself to His intent
Weak enough, now into the world to come;
But O, for thee, for Him, hath the inn no room?
Yet lay Him in this stall, and from the Orient,
Stars and wise men will travel to prevent
The effect of Herod’s jealous general doom.
Seest thou, my soul, with thy faith’s eyes, how He
Which fills all place, yet none holds Him, doth lie?
Was not His pity towards thee wondrous high,
That would have need to be pitied by thee?
Kiss Him, and with Him into Egypt go,
With His kind mother, who partakes thy woe.
     —John Donne, Nativity

On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity
This is the month, and this the happy morn
Wherein the Son of Heav’n's eternal King,
Of wedded Maid, and Virgin Mother born,
Our great redemption from above did bring;
For so the holy sages once did sing,
That he our deadly forfeit should release,
And with his Father work us a perpetual peace.
     –John Milton, On the Morning Of Christ’s Nativity

A New Life -- I Peter 1:3-9

Here is a 'Message' version of I Peter 1:3-9 If you can, read through it s-l-o-w-l-y... Consider the depth and undeserved richness of the gift Peter is exclaiming about. This is the gift you have been offered and have received. As you read, remember God really wants all his hand-crafted creatures to receive this gift...

A New Life I Peter 1:3-5 What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole. I Peter 1:6-7 I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory. I Peter 1:8-9 You never saw him, yet you love him. You still don’t see him, yet you trust him—with laughter and singing. Because you kept on believing, you’ll get what you’re looking forward to: total salvation.

Now, ask God to bring to mind someone(s) you and He would really love to see respond to the offer of faith.... Imagine the internal state of this person as they do so... Consider what joy it would give you (and God). Thank God that He wants this more than you.

As this person comes to mind in the future, keep before you the image you had of the person as they responded to God's offer of faith.

Father thank you for you universal call to faith. Thank you that you've placed a longing for a life built on trust deep in the heart of every human.

Help us live the reality of our new life and so witness without stressing to the joy, the laughter, the thankfulness which you've placed in us.

Thank you for new life to be lived today.

We remember as encouraged all those you call us to encourage. We look forward to all the ways you will call us to do what we see you doing in this coming week.

Thanks for being our Dad and inviting us into your family.

Mists And What Cannot Be Shaken

I am reading my way through the New Testament a bit at a time and I have been struck with how often the issue of permanence and impermanence shows up. Hebrews tells us, ‘Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken…’ (Heb 12:28) and just a few pages later James reminds us, ‘For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes’ (James 4:14). In his first letter Peter speaks of our imperishable, undefiled and unfading inheritance and the perishable gold and silver which are unable to ransom us, so Jesus ransoms us with his imperishable blood instead. It goes on and on! Frankly this strikes me as backward. My life reality seems very solid to me. I have aches and pains, I have rock-hard financial realities I have to deal with, I want 25 year warrantees on everything I purchase, there is very concrete pressure all around. Life seems very substantive and its robust buffeting often gets in the way of my more ‘spiritual’ aspirations.

But God reveals to us through his Word that it is I who have it backwards! All these things around me and in me which seem so rugged and stable and impinge on my life so much are in fact to be shaken. They are a mist, they are passing away. The things which now appear to me so ‘spiritual’, that is vague, ephemeral, elusive, are in fact the only solid, permanent, immovable, imperishable things – the unshakeable kingdom which God has given us.

I get the image of shafts of incredibly hard glass that have been driven down into our world. We go struggling along in our solid-seeming-but-really-a-mist world and we bump up against these unseen-but-imperishable kingdom shafts. They are what is ‘really real’, not the mist which consumes our attention. We can choose to step into those shafts of kingdom life in Jesus, but we can’t yet stay in them continuously. They don’t yet fill everywhere. That is why we pray ‘thy kingdom come, thy will be done’. Drive more kingdom shafts into this reality. Make the kingdom more contiguous until the day you bring the whole kingdom crashing in at your return!

In the meantime the Lord through his Word tells us not to get too attached or too bent out of shape by the solid-seeming mist. He has us living here for the sake of discipleship (loving ever more Jesus and his kingdom) and mission (helping others to love Jesus and his kingdom). As the Spirit grows us we will be able to discern those invisible kingdom shafts better. They distort and shred the this-world mist around them. Bitterness turns to love, cursing to blessing, addiction to freedom, mourning to rejoicing, judgment to forgiveness, death to life! We begin to see where those kingdom shafts are and where new ones are being driven through the mist into the earth, and can begin to step into them and live there more and more—and bring others with us.

I have a long way to go. This life and its concerns still seem pretty solid to me. The more I bump into those immoveable, unshakeable, eternal shafts of the kingdom, though, the more I want to live there. The more the Spirit is opening my eyes to look for them and point them out to others so that together we can all live more and more in that kingdom which cannot be shaken.

Chaplains in the Ypsilanti Schools

Pastors in the ‘Love Ypsi’ network have been building relationships with Ypsilanti school officials over the last year. They first got involved following the suicide of a young high school girl. When they asked the Ypsilanti High School principal what they could do to help, he invited them to come and be available to students who wanted to talk with someone as they processed this tragedy. With the combining of the Ypsilanti and Willow Run school districts this Fall, school officials have anticipated a greater need for community involvement. They have asked the ‘Love Ypsi’ group to provide pastors who can just be present at the new High School and Middle School every hour school is in session! They would like them to walk the halls, talk with students, and be available if there is a need for more.

What an opportunity! Tony Weatherly, who has been largely responsible for the bridge-building, sees this as a major breakthrough and a great opportunity for the Church to serve the real needs of the broader community – and bring a Kingdom presence right into the heart of the schools.

Obviously, it will take a lot of involvement for many pastors to cover the need, so pray for the Ypsilanti pastors to catch the vision and invest the time to step into this Kairos moment – the time is now, the Kingdom of God is at hand!

God is our refuge

From Ps.344 I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. 5 Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. 6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. 8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

When have you known God as refuge? When a boss or person in authority 'scolds' without comprehension of the truth of the situation?

When you find yourself ridiculed for being 'who you are'?  or when God allows a life crisis to overtake you without warning; Being turned down for a promotion you'd been sure about Like losing a job without notice-Failing a major exam-

For me it was the sudden death of my 20 yr. old son, John.  At such times we either run towards God as refuge or away from life as meaningless.

Day by day the Lord continues to deliver us from all our fears... As we name them and specifically seek him for freedom exercising our covenanted right to renounce them one by one!

Do you realize how radiant your face looks as you walk without shame having separated yourself from all your fears??

David's formative years were in fields watching over the sheep by night... Pondering God's beauty & greatness, his unchangeable qualities like his steadfast love and mercy, his justice, his desire for intimacy with us, his people.

Father, give us the discipline to set aside sufficient time to abide in you as David did... long enough to honestly seek, intentionally take refuge, truly taste and see your goodness, doggedly discern areas of fear/ anxiety, realize our need for deliverance and then claim it with gusto!

For all this brings you pleasure and glory!

When the going gets tough -- love one another

John in his brief second letter seems to be writing to a church undergoing some duress.  Exactly what the issues are we have to deduce from the letter, but what strikes me is John’s instruction to the church.  Basically what he has to say is, “when the going gets tough, love one another”.  This is the commandment we had from the beginning, this is the one to stick with when things are unclear or when the pressure is mounting or you don’t know what to do – love one another. As I was discussing this with some brothers and sisters in our Bible study recently, I was struck with how relevant this is for us in The Word of God right now.  We are trying to clarify our vision and move into a more missional direction.  Some things are changing, some things are not, and nothing is flowing with breathtaking power.  In the midst of this do we grow impatient, lose heart, give up?  John tells us what to do – go back to the basics and love one another.

Mother Theresa said “Don’t look for big things, just do small things with great love.”  This is a good corrective for those of us you hunger for inspiring and clear vision.  Don’t wait until you have it.  do the small things before us each day with great love.  As we do so, we participate in the great vision of He who is Love, and I believe our own part will become clearer.

Stay calm and love on!

Do Not Be Afraid To Speak My Word -- John Whiting

Do not be afraid to speak my word.Proclaim it strongly! People need to hear it. Even if people contradict you and oppose you, proclaim my word! My word will be vindicated by events: the humble will be raised up, and the proud will be brought low, and all people will see that Jesus is Lord!

This message came at a time when I'd been reflecting on Exodus 14:13-15. Several points in that passage stood out to me:

"Do not fear!" "Stand your ground!" "You will see the victory the Lord will win for you today." "Tell the Israelites to go forward."

As the apostle Paul wrote, we haven't received a spirit of timidity. God is bold because he knows he has something we need very badly. He knows that no obstacle can stop him, and he wants us to go forward boldly with him on his mission of mercy.

From another perspective, I was struck by the magnitude of the benefits which are provided by life in Christ even in the present "age": -knowing God personally! -receiving and perceiving infinite love -receiving forgiveness -receiving a purpose in life -freedom from: --habitual sins --addictions --fear and anxiety --resentment --pride -family ties in the Body of Christ -a sure hope -peace -joy -healing -spiritual -psychological and emotional -physical -in personal relationships -empowerment to love and to bring blessings to others -and certainly others that I've left off this list.

Spreading the Gospel is a tremendous work of mercy. As the apostle Paul wrote about the Holy Spirit -- who, of course, produces all the benefits cited above -- these benefits are the first fruits of what we'll experience in heaven. People need these things desperately. I think God wants us to keep these things in mind as we consider whether and how to share the Gospel with others. We're not "selling" merely a dry, abstract, legal forgiveness. We're offering real, living personal relationships with tangible, observable benefits in the here and now. The Kingdom of God truly IS "at hand"!

There is no discontinuity between life in heaven and life on earth. We're living in eternity now. The choices we make now and the relationships we form now will endure, with eternal consequences. I think we should keep this in mind as we consider how to evangelize. I think this is the message that we need to proclaim. Christianity is not about "pie in the sky, by and by". What we do to others, we do to Jesus. God is not an "absentee landlord". "In him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). The Kingdom of God is at hand!

Your Covenant; Your Corner of the Kingdom, by Patrick O'Connell

I gave a talk at a recent prayer meeting based on a chapter from Mike Breen’s book, Covenant & Kingdom, in which he follows these themes from Genesis to Revelations. He illustrates how these two themes repeatedly draw the believer’s attention to the overarching purpose of the Father to increase our capacity to live as citizens of heaven on earth. The talk (archived on the Word of God website for Feb. 17, 2013) addressed ways that King David’s understanding of Covenant and Kingdom informed his thinking and actions from poet shepherd to protector king. We didn’t have time for some of the ‘Practical Tips’ portion of the talk, so here they are. Try listening to my talk the others in the Covenant & Kingdom series and consider how the Spirit of God may want to use these suggestions for his glory and your benefit as his disciples. Three applications for us as heirs of the Covenant and representatives of the King.

First, the covenant promises oneness. We are one with God. He is one with us. Daily we have the privilege of accessing this reality all it takes is time…

• Time to adore,
• Time to intercede,
• Time to meditate:
  • On Creation/ Creator,
  • On Sinful leanings already forgiven,
  • On God’s character expressed in accounts of Jesus words and actions and attitudes…
  • On the whisperings of Spirit to spirit… and as we spend time hearing from God we can record this in a journal of some sort…

Second, we can use the covenant’s promise of shared authority and power to extend the King’s rule…

• In our lives - By discussing with someone things we’ve been shown about our character vs. God’s character which need to change, and some steps involved in doing so
• In the lives of others

• By including them, as led by the Spirit, in our lives
• By praying for their felt needs
• Through direct prayer ministry like praying over them for healing or offering unbound prayer.

Thirdly, we can continually seek God for wisdom to know how to join Jesus in his ongoing mission as he addresses the injustices of our day to the orphan, the disabled, the poor, the neighbor in great emotional pain, those enslaved to sin, those enslaved by the sin of others, the widow, the international.

• To get a hint of which of these (or other) injustices Jesus may be calling you to invest in correcting, just prayerfully read the list while noticing which situations which come to mind cause you the greatest sorrow, pain or anger.