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I’ve been thinking lately about revivals that fizzle out. And it’s not just revivals. For two thousand years, God has worked among us to raise all of us to the level of working discipleship that will bring Heaven to earth. And, at least to my mind, there’s a reason folks call these periods of active discipleship a “revival.” For two thousands years, we–His Body–have been napping like Rip Van Winkle! Read the rest of this entry »
My grandmother had a ritual for us kids every night, when she was with us. Before we all went to bed, She would hug each of us, make a cross on our foreheads, and say “Good night, God Bless” with a kiss, and a small pat on our heads, or shoulder, depending on where her hand landed. It wasn’t formal or anything–it was just the last thing she did before we went to bed. She blessed us.
All over the world, families have been blessing their children for a long time. Jesus’ own ministry was rooted in a culture that blessed children regularly. Judaism continues that custom today! Spanish parents and grandparents also bless their children, in a ritual they call “bendición.” It’s a hands-on ritual. When you want to bless someone, you touch them. It’s Biblical.
As a real disciple, I feel woefully inadequate. I’m old, (well, ok, maybe not *that* old,) but I’m cranky, I’m a hermit, and my body fails me at every turn. It’s weird that it took me all these years to realize *now* what He expects me to be–now, when I’m least likely to do anything the world would call significant. I don’t get it. But I get Him. I guess for Him maybe that’s something He can work with.
In concert with the 2008 Bejing Olympics, my Faith Community, Christian Life Assembly, is running a Spiritual Olympics series, complete with messages, service opportunities, and medal ceremonies for believers who have overcome significant challenges in their lives and are faithfully walking the Discipleship road. It’s an awesome vehicle for motivating believers to walk the Discipleship talk.
A friend and spiritual mentor told me once, after a long period of personal and community turmoil, that “there are no ‘normal’ communities.” What he meant was that no matter where I went, I would never find a conflict-free environment. No matter how “righteous” the group purported to be, some folks in the group would invariably fall short of their discipleship covenant. Humanity has a built-in propensity to walk on the dark side. Scripture calls it “sin.” The Body calls them “wounded healers.”
Recently, a leader of the Florida Outpouring, Todd Bentley, crashed and burned. There were plenty of warning signs. Todd has a long history of character and ministry flaws. But the fruits of the Spirit’s move in Lakeland were real and abundant. Thousands of folks were led to the Lord, healed, delivered, and restored.
Diss
transitive verb
Definition: 1. to diss; (US, slang) to put (someone) down, or show disrespect by the use of insulting language or dismissive behaviorDisrespect
transitive verb
Definition: 1. To show or express disrespect or contempt: 2. To treat rudely; To ignore or discount: To be discourteous, impertinent, impolite, impudent, uncivil, inconsiderate, insolent, rude, ungracious, thoughtless.
It’s easy to take God for granted. After all, He’s done an awesome job running things! Our world has functioned flawlessly, without our help, for billions of years. The sun comes up and goes down, the moon shines and disappears, the planets swirl around each other in countless galaxies, the winds blow, the rains come, things grow, die, and regenerate again, in seemingly endless cycles of life, death, and resurrection. The grandeur of it all has become commonplace to most of us. We’ve grown numb to the wonder of creation and indifferent to its Creator.
I was on my way to church on Sunday, and slowed down to talk to an old guy from our church who was pulled over along the road. I was worried that he was in some kind of distress. His car door was open, and he was sitting on the driver’s seat. I rolled down my window and asked him if he needed help. He said “no, I’m just making sure that turtle gets across the road.” I nodded and drove past. I’ve never seen anyone west of Stone Harbor stopping traffic for a turtle…
Then I was out shopping when a car drove by with one of those “boom blaster” radios, and the sounds of NPR’s “A Prairie Home Companion“ thundered across the parking lot. Go figure . . .
Night prayer is a habit I picked up in a monastery. Every night, the last sounds we made were the words of Compline prayer. After that a Grand Silence fell on the house. It was an awesome ritual–committing ourselves and the house into the arms of the Lord for safekeeping. Whatever happened during the day, by the time my head hit the pillow, the world and I were at peace in my Father’s arms.
Two packages I ordered from Amazon came today under unusual circumstances–actually three packages–but none of them actually from Amazon. I was a little annoyed with UPS. They hardly ever screw up my deliveries, but these were sitting in the rain! We’ve had serious thunderstorms lately. Today’s lasted about 2 hours. The packages were sitting on the patio bench–not under cover of the overhang or even inside the storm door–but out in the full force of the storm. The boxes were limp.
I brought them inside, but am dumbfounded by the way the largest box was labeled and shipped. The entire box is rectangular-18×24x8–and covered on every corner and seam by Tape that says “Mountain State Schoolbook Depository,” “CAUTION verify order before stamping–marked books may not be returned.” Read the rest of this entry »
Today I listened to a program on Weekend America about an African American poet who has suffered lifelong scarring from chicken pocks. Facing the effects of that scarring has given her a stronger, happier, and deeper view of what life is all about. It’s a theme that runs through my own life too.
Lately I’ve been watching other folks battle life-threatening illnesses. One, a father whose family has already struggled through a spouse’s mental illness and an only child’s lifelong handicap, has survived a first bout with lung cancer. He’s the only bread-winner in the family, and took a couple of months off from work to recover from the lung surgery, radiation, and chemo. He’s back to work now, but the impact of his illness has left him a little more sensitive, a little less irritating, and a lot more reflective.
Another, after losing his wife last year, has had a stroke and kidney failure. He spent some time in ICU but he’s back home and driving again. There’s a new openness in him, a willingness to acknowledge his vulnerability, and he’s friendlier. There’s a new level of understanding between us.
There’s something about living through serious life issues that changes our perspective, reshaping our priorities and giving us new attitudes about what is important. Read the rest of this entry »
