As a Dad with three young boys, I love silence. I don't hear it much but I love silence, well at least most of the time. During our extended afternoon communion service yesterday I noticed something that showed it self again today as I was praying, it was too quiet.
When I get silent before God, I am not real patient. As a type A guy, who is a fast talker and quick thinker, silence in conversation often makes me feel uneasy. I have learned over the years to be patient with others during conversation and so I don't get bothered much by pauses in personal conversations. But as we had a corporate prayer yesterday I was reminded that I haven't mastered the ability to master listening in my prayer time. As the auditorium fell silent, I felt my mind asking for a sound, really any distraction. Even this morning as I was praying (the Lord was gracious this weekend, I have a massive cold, but the Lord allowed me the strength to preach a funeral, a wedding and Sunday Services, and sing two specials, but this morning my voice is gone, but it held out and I am praising God for that!) my mind seemed to desire an interruption, something to break the silence.
This struggle reveals an area of my life that I lack patience in. I am too often in a hurry when I speak to God. I want to praise Him, or maybe even plead with Him, but after I done with that I don't wait for response. I don't wait for God to answer.
As I write this post, I want to you to know that Pastors struggle with basic growth issues, just like every other redeemed sinner does. I am massive list person, so today I added to my list "prayer time" followed by "sit for 5 minutes in silence and let God speak". I can't tell you how hard that was! I had to keep clearing my mind of the days events and meetings, but God still was kind to me. He reminded me of people who needed prayer, He reminded me of grace that I had been given, He reminded me of grace that I needed for today. Today it was a gentle quietness from God, somedays I need the stern quietness of God to rebuke my sinful heart.
In a day of noise, music, commercials, media, social networking and more, let me encourage you to make time to stop. Simply stop and be quiet before a holy God who wants to speak to you. If you were still what would God say to you? This question is worth answering!
Monday, March 30, 2015
Friday, March 13, 2015
"truth" is timeless; "right" is not
The title of this post is a chapter title from a a book entitled Worship Like It Matters by a Brett Habing that I just finished reading. I was interested to read the book mostly because for several years Brett was a professor where I attended college, and her was the music director at my church during those years. So I already knew his character and faithfulness to the Lord, and now I would get to read a book that was about a topic he thought was important enough to write a book about. (it was a good read, you should pick up a copy)
I want to highlight one of the sections he wrote about. In order to do that I am going to quote a section of the book and then make some applications.
"The Gospel is truth that will never change or lose its power. It transcends all time and culture yet maintains the diverse beauty of God's workmanship. The Gospel doesn't remain despite change; it remains within change, and it never loses its efficacy or integrity. Does that sound like you. or do you feel your way is constantly attacked and threatened? If you hold zealously to tradition, change will threaten you, even if you are no longer right. Your intransigence may eventually cause you to be in the wrong." (pg. 41-42, emphasis his)
I love the thought he presents here. The Gospel remains within change. The world, the church, families, nations, etc all change, and the Word of God remains constant, powerful and applicable. We tend to have 2 major groups within the church: first group wants change (traditions are meant to be broken) and the second resists change (we have never done it that way before).
Personally I don't think either of those opinions really portrays what the church should look like. It is our job to communicate the Gospel to a lost and dying world in a way that the world understands and in a way that demonstrates that we serve a holy God.
We often establish tools and routines to benefit our church and ministries, and after a while they cease to become tools and they become mandates. "We have to do it because we have been doing that for years." Be encouraged that we have tools for a reason, and sometimes we might even find that there is a better tool out there to do the same job. Don't fear new tools, don't despise the old ones, simply be willing to use the best tool for the job wether it is an old one or a new one. Because regardless of the changes that surround it, the Gospel remains powerful and effective.
I am excited to hear and read of many churches, even ones locally that are shaping their churches to be God honoring and effective in our present world. There is much being done for Christ and I am excited about the future.
I want to highlight one of the sections he wrote about. In order to do that I am going to quote a section of the book and then make some applications.
"The Gospel is truth that will never change or lose its power. It transcends all time and culture yet maintains the diverse beauty of God's workmanship. The Gospel doesn't remain despite change; it remains within change, and it never loses its efficacy or integrity. Does that sound like you. or do you feel your way is constantly attacked and threatened? If you hold zealously to tradition, change will threaten you, even if you are no longer right. Your intransigence may eventually cause you to be in the wrong." (pg. 41-42, emphasis his)
I love the thought he presents here. The Gospel remains within change. The world, the church, families, nations, etc all change, and the Word of God remains constant, powerful and applicable. We tend to have 2 major groups within the church: first group wants change (traditions are meant to be broken) and the second resists change (we have never done it that way before).
Personally I don't think either of those opinions really portrays what the church should look like. It is our job to communicate the Gospel to a lost and dying world in a way that the world understands and in a way that demonstrates that we serve a holy God.
We often establish tools and routines to benefit our church and ministries, and after a while they cease to become tools and they become mandates. "We have to do it because we have been doing that for years." Be encouraged that we have tools for a reason, and sometimes we might even find that there is a better tool out there to do the same job. Don't fear new tools, don't despise the old ones, simply be willing to use the best tool for the job wether it is an old one or a new one. Because regardless of the changes that surround it, the Gospel remains powerful and effective.
I am excited to hear and read of many churches, even ones locally that are shaping their churches to be God honoring and effective in our present world. There is much being done for Christ and I am excited about the future.
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)