Journaling

Journaling – a way of tracing the hand of God upon one’s life  . . . to celebrate the power of God in the midst of my own weakness. . . a testimony of the faithfulness of God in my life. . . to perceive the divine whisper, to transform into print, the still, small voice of God. (MacDonald)

I am and have been for years – a journalner.  I can’t image a day without it.  I have decades of spiral notebooks filled with my most inner thoughts and conversations with my heavenly Father, times of such sweet and intimate communion with my Lord that I can hardly believe they're real – but I know they are, because I’ve written them down.

So when I came upon MacDonald’s section on Journal keeping as a way to listen to God, of bringing order into our private world – something inside me reacted with sheer joy and a shout of Amen!

So if you’re looking for a way of drawing closer to Him, take some time alone, grab a notebook and something to write with and just tell Him what’s on your heart by writing it down.  And in the in-between times, when you’ve said what’s on your heart - be still and listen, don’t get rushed but wait expectantly.  It may take some time but His desire is to be in communion with us, to tabernacle with us.  He just needs a willing and receptive heart and time to speak.

Not sure where I'm going with this but . . .

I was thinking this morning of all the conflicting noise that surrounds us today, that divides us today. Everyone has an opinion and feels the need to express it to the rest of us . . . myself included.  God is NOT the author of confusion but our enemy sure is and he is exploiting it to the max.  We don’t have to agree to get along, we just have to be willing to be gracious to one another, to listen and try to understand what is being said.  No one gets it right all the time.  We are, after all, all sinner who have fallen short of the glory of God.  So let’s not villainize those who see things differently.

Sometime, however, we just have to part ways – when our opinions and values become more important than a relationship.  That sounds a bit harsh, but there is a level of differences, extreme differences, which I find are a barrier to any real relationship.  (Keep in mind that I’m an introvert and can only handle just so many relationships to start with.)  I wish these folks no ill will, nor do I think any less of them, but if I find no common ground I say it’s time to just move on. To be at peace with others sometimes requires separation.  Boundaries and fences do make for good neighbors.

For me, personally, the common ground that most often keeps me in a relationship is Jesus.  While I may not agree with their views and opinions, I can accept them as a fellow follower of Christ.  Acceptance does not mean agreement – it just means a willingness to remain – one beggar telling another beggar where to find food. We are to pursue peace (Heb 12:14) and if it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. (Rom 12:18).

In the midst of all the noise, take a moment to stop, be still and listen for His voice  - and where He leads, follow.

About a garden

That inner spiritual center – a garden, a place of potent peace and tranquility, a place where the Spirit of God comes to make self-disclosure, to share wisdom, to give affirmation or rebuke, to provide encouragement, and to give direction and guidance.  A quiet place where there is the absence of busyness, the defiling noise, of confusion.

This quote is from a book I am currently reading called Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald and it reminded me of the following:

Many years ago at a conference the speaker asked us to image our inner lives as a garden. We were to ask Jesus to come in and to allow Him to pull out the weeds.  It has always stuck with me, the image I had of Him joyfully, and with get abandon, pulling out the weeds and tossing them aside.  As I remember there was quite a lot of work for Him to do, and He was tireless in His efforts.  There was such a sense of rejoicing.  He and I both found such pleasure in uprooting and getting rid of the weeds so that my garden could produce the fruit for which it was intended.

Today, while there is still work to be done, there is that place of peace and tranquility, a place of quiet confidence and rest.  I am so very blessed in knowing that my life is in His hands. That my garden is being tended to by The Great Gardener.

A memory

Several times lately I have been reminded of a time, a long time ago, when I hit the wall and broke down in tears, deep soul wrenching tears as I sat on the floor of the chapel at Holy Comforter Church.  I remember one of the things I was aware of was to avoid false Jesuses.  I became aware that many would “come in His name” but there is only One true Jesus and I wanted desperately to make sure He was the one I followed. 

I remember too at that moment recalling a scene in Hinds Feet, where Much Afraid is climbing the mountain, alone. It’s storming around her and she’s clinging to the cleft in the rock.  The Shepherd comes to her and asks something like – what if all the promises weren’t true, would you still follow me?  And her response is “yes” and I realized that would be my response as well.  Because He is so much more that the promises.  He is love and all that is good and right, it’s not about what He gives, but Who He is.

I know I’m not all that He has called me to be, at least not yet, but I am so confident in His love that I can keep climbing.  I have come to know that His Spirit is strong in me – that has nothing to do with me but all because of Him.  I don’t know why He has chosen me, there are so many who are so much “bigger” than I am, so much “more” than I am but that doesn’t seem to matter to Him – He just loves me and I am so very grateful and will continue to rejoice in His amazing love.

Some thoughts regarding washing feet

The secret to harmony and unity is learning, practicing and accepting the washing of one another’s feet.

He/Judas took the sop from Jesus' hand, and that was the final chance he had. When he did, Satan entered into him, and Judas was no longer his own master in any degree at all. . . Jesus sacrificed himself in order to save his disciples; Judas sacrificed Jesus in order to save himself. Those two philosophies dominate the world today.

Is there, then, a point of no return?

In this final appeal, Jesus is directing a word to the holders of the two basic attitudes present, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives any one whom I send receives me." That is a word to the disciples, and to us, that when someone comes to us to wash our feet, to help us with some problem of sin or error in our life, we are to remember that this person is sent by Jesus. Therefore it is Jesus himself who is standing before us. It is he who is offering to wash our feet. And we are not to resent this kind of ministry on the part of others. We are not to say, "You have no right to come to me. This is my own private affair; you have nothing to do with it." But we are to remember that "He who receives any one whom I send," Jesus says, "receives me." Let us not, like Peter, fall into the error of rejecting the indispensable ministry of cleansing which Jesus offers. (Stedman)

Often times that “someone” that Jesus sends is His Spirit, although He is always at work – when He reveals our wrong, our sin, through our conscience and gives us the opportunity and the privilege of repenting and “receiving” Jesus (of having our feet washed).

(As an aside, in typing this out I at first typed “repeating” rather than “repenting”.  What a difference one letter can make – there’s a lesson there, not sure just what it is though.)

Lessons from the storm

 – that there does reside in people a desire to help those in need, to be our brother’s keeper, so to speak.  It has to do with our consciences, given by our Father and a part of His purpose that we should love one another.  This goes above and beyond our being Americans (although I must confess I am proud to be one) – rather than our independence it reveals our dependence on each other.  For man was not meant to live “alone” but in relationship and community.  I personally believe that starts with our communion with God our Father, through faith in His Son and the working of His Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds.

In the storms in is helpful to remember that the storm won’t last, that He is in the storm with us and has promised to get us through to the other side.

What to do about John Mark

What a reminder this is that we are dealing with the God of the Second Chance! Some may have muffed things badly in a ministry, or failed in some area of life. Oftentimes in the world, no second chance is offered, but the God of grace offers a second and even a third and fourth chance.  (Stedman/Col 4:10)

I have always found comfort in the story of Paul and Barnabus and their parting of the ways because of John Mark.  I think both had legitimate reasons for their positions, there was not a right and wrong answer – God used both.

Paul didn’t want to take a chance that John Mark would bail on him again.  He didn’t trust him.  When someone has betrayed you – while you can forgive them – it is not always wise to put yourself in a position where they are apt to betray you again.  Paul was no stranger to adversity and needed someone he could count on.

Barnabus, on the other hand, wants to give John Mark a second chance (he is after all a son of encouragement).  He probably saw something in John Mark that was worth developing.  He could just as easily have been betrayed but was willing to risk it.  In the end it appears John Mark rose to the occasion.  And finally he was reconciled with Paul and was even given his approval.

I see value in both and more importantly God was able to use both for His purposes.  Often times I’ve seen Christians part company for all kinds of reasons.  I just believe that God can use these divisions for His own purposes.  And sometimes these divisions are necessary because we can become too comfortable and set in our ways.

I think it’s important to remember that ultimately God is in charge.  As long as we are seeking Him and walking towards Him, we will also be drawing closer to one another and eventually our divisions will cease. Hard to imagine at times, but I believe it’s true.