Abide Week: wait

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man abides in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5

a*bide [uh-bayhd] verb, a*bode or a*bid*ed, a*bid*ing 4. to wait for; await

Remember that time when you were doing what you assumed God had intended for you, and still nothing happened as you thought they would or should?

Remember when you prayed frequently; when you asked, seeked, and knocked to no avail? Remember wondering why God would ask you to do these things if he was not going to answer you?

Those are moments of waiting. They are moments of abiding.

A significant part of my story over the course of the last 7-8 years has been an education in waiting and abiding. It is incredible looking back on those moments when I had certain expectations, which were never  granted. 

Moreover, it is incredible the things God has shown me since then. He has shown me on a few different moments what would have happened if I had been granted what I thought should have happened, and those results would have been detrimental on every occasion.

Abiding in Christ is learning a sense of waiting with patience. It is learning that the things you think should happen may be more detrimental to you than you had thought they would. It means learning to trust the intent and wisdom of a Father with your best interests in mind and has no intention of giving you everything you think you want and need.

Abiding is a practice of patience. It is...

waiting.

Why Ted Williams is unwelcome

"Oh wait! You actually needed more help than the makeover we gave you? We are ashamed of you now." - America

I have been sucked into the firestorm of the Ted Williams story this week. I cannot help but see a hard reality of our media and American culture weaving its way into the story.

We were so quick to overlook any possible deeper issues in order to make ourselves look better by helping this man with a makeover, but once they cleared away the dirt, grime, and hair, they found "demons" like alcoholism and a dark past. Now the story changes.

Suddenly, the man with the golden voice is another tabloid regular, and there is an air of disappointment in the media coverage.

It makes me wonder, "Do you really think all you had to do was cut his hair and give him some new clothes?"

Today, I am wondering how many churches do the same thing. How often do we want simply to get someone "saved" without any concern to the reality of brokenness that lies underneath? Are we willing to enter into those things after the initial saving?

Suppose we do enter into someone's broken story, are we going to react with grave disappointment as though we never expected the sin-soaked nature of humanity to rear its ugly head after they accept Jesus Christ?

No answers here...just reflection...

 

Abide Week: continued condition

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man abides in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5

a*bide [uh-bayhd] verb, a*bode or a*bid*ed, a*bid*ing 3. to continue in a particular condition, attitude, relationship; last

Negativity is a powerful snare we often feel entrapped in. Days and weeks are wasted with our incessant inner fight to get rid of our negative thoughts. When willing them away reveals itself an empty attempt we find ourselves layering the negativity of our inability to change it onto the layers, which had initially brought us to that place.

None of us desires to be stuck in this trap, or it would not, by definition, be a trap at all. Relief, though minimal, is found in the realization we are not the only one who wrestles with this negativity within. Our sense of loneliness is not reality, but realizing that in theory is easier than it is in practice.

This negative person within us, which we spend the bulk of our time and energy wrestling is possible to be released when we are able to be in a continued condition and attitude toward Christ. We can lose the negative person within.

In order to lose him, we have to realize where the negativity came from. We also have to realize we do not create emotion. Think of every emotion you have: anger, sadness, happiness, negativity. You do not create those emotions by an illustrious act of will or thought.

Emotions are not creations; they are reactions.

Every emotion is a reaction to something else that has happened to us and created a certain belief. Every behavior we do is a reaction to something we believe in our core. Realizing this, the way of losing the negative person within us means, first, determining what it is that has created the negativity. What has happened to us to create within us the emotion of negativity?

Once you realize, after searching, what that thing is, you have to change it. We cannot change the behavior alone because it does not get to the root of the real issue. In order for the behavior to change, the real change must be in the belief. Search yourself and determine what it is that makes it okay for you to be negative and change that thing within yourself.

That change will bring the loss of the negativity, but more importantly we are getting at the real understanding of having a continued condition and attitude toward Jesus.

Tell me the story of you

Per one of my goals for 2011, here is a poem based on the one sermon I have preached thus far this year: Tell me the story of you Tell me what remains untold unless you are pricked enough to put forth narrative

Tell me the story of you and your God so I might know and tell the untold story of me

An ounce of experience outweighs all the weight of theory Tell me the story of you and your experience of life love and a God who orchestrates all of it.

Tell me the story of you without tall tales or overstated overtures

without comparison to complicated stories of others

Tell me the story of you that I may know your Author

Abide Week: held continually

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man abides in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5

a*bide [uh-bayhd] verb, a*bode or a*bid*ed, a*bid*ing 2. to be held or kept continually

Repeated throughout the Psalms you see a sense of being held by God. In many instances it is a protection from danger found in being kept by God.

There is a protection. There is a rare tenderness. There is an empathy found in being held. I can think of only a few moments in my life when I was physically held. They were moments of brokenness and sadness. They were moments when I simply had nothing left to stand on or hold myself up.

My daughter is 4 months old right now. She is incapable of walking or crawling; she is barely able to hold her own body up for any significant amount of time. She has a dependant need for me to hold her. She would not get anywhere or anything if someone does not hold her and carry her.

Jesus is telling us very plainly, "You are incapable of anything or getting anywhere unless I hold you and keep you...continually."

There are moments when my daughter does not want to be held, and in those moments she has no choice but to stay right where she is.

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As creatively as you can, describe what it is like to be held continually?

#AbideWeek

Abide Week: remain

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man abides in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5 a*bide [uh-bayhd] verb, a*bode or a*bid*ed, a*bid*ing 1. to remain; continue; stay

The most basic understanding of what it means to abide in Christ comes down to this first dictionary definition.

To remain.

In a culture which grows more and more weary of commitment, it is a difficult challenge to remain anywhere for anything.

There is a direct challenge to the heart of the Christian to remain with Jesus. He tells us to stay here. Do not wander off.

The truth of most people who give up on faith is they never really 'gave up' with one swoop; they wandered away.

It likely began with a stubborn isolation (as though they could do faith and life alone), and it lead to further wandering until, at some point, they realize just how far they have wandered out.

Jesus tells us to remain close. Stay close! This is the first understanding of abiding in Christ.

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The most creatively you can, describe what it looks like to remain close to Jesus?

#AbideWeek

Abide week

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you abide in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." -John15:5

a*bide [uh-bahyd]

verb, a*bode or a*bid*ed, a*bid*ing

1. to remain; continue; stay 2. to be held or kept continually 3. to continue in a particular condition, attitude, relationship;          last 4. to endure, sustain, or withstand without yielding or submitting 5. to wait for; await 6. to accept without opposition or question 7. to pay the price or penalty of

Your God is too small [video]

I was asked to perform my piece, Your God is too Small today at Sacramento Traction 2011. Upon watching this video I remembered my need for re-acquaintance with Tony Horton and P90X.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_ztoTWLN2M&fs=1&hl=en_US]

Why I love one paragraph: American city

Chicago

Why not New York, right? I love Chicago for its rich history of blues music and comedy. I love the midwestern feel that serves as a subtle but strong background to the big city. I love legit Chicago-style deep dish pizza. I love a Chicago [hot]dog. I love the chill of the wind off of Lake Michigan in the dead of winter.

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In ONE PARAGRAPH, why do you love your favorite American city?

#WhyILoveOneParagraphWeek