Independence Day and Our Calling in Christ

    I’m studying 1 Corinthians right now, and I read a passage that struck me as super relevant to our upcoming holiday.  In chapter 10, Paul is calling the predominantly Gentile church of Corinth to consider their ancestors (v.1) who experienced the exodus from slavery in Egypt.  In verse 16 he points out ways that the Passover meal, which commemorated that event, was repurposed by Jesus.  He talks about the 3^rd of 4 traditional Passover cups.  This 3^rd cup was called the “cup of thanksgiving” (or “blessing”).  It represented rescue from slavery in Egypt, God’s establishment of covenant with them, and sustenance provided by God, and it was traditionally drank with a prayer of thanksgiving for those things.  Jesus, however, asserted that it should henceforth represent the ultimate, final rescue from slavery to sin and the new covenant and provision through His shed blood on the cross. 

Then, Paul goes on to mention the bread, which Jews called “the bread of affliction” (Deuteronomy 16:3).  The bread, unleavened due to the haste of Israel’s flight from Egypt, was eaten with bitter herbs to represent the great suffering which accompanied their journey to freedom.  Jesus, as Paul alludes, identified personally with that suffering and asserted that the breaking of bread would henceforth represent His bodily suffering for our ultimate deliverance.

Paul uses the Greek word, “koinonia,” however, to describe what all this has to do with his audience (the Corinthian believers).  This word is translated often “participation” or in other places “communion.”  Paul says that believers participate together in the broken body and shed blood of Christ which was offered for mankind’s rescue from slavery.  We too are called into death for the good of the world. 

 

This makes even more sense when seen in context.  In the previous chapters Paul has been calling the Corinthians to give up their rights and freedoms for the sake of caring for those around them.  They were boasting in their freedom to eat and act however they wanted to in Christ due to their recently acquired knowledge of salvation in Christ, but Paul calls them to a different way.  In chapter 9 he gives an example from his own life of how he gave up the right to earn an income from His ministry, take a wife, and to benefit from the fruit of his work, all for the sake of winning as many as possible for Christ.

 

So in chapter 10, Paul emphasizes the call to a counter-cultural life through death way of living as demonstrated by Christ through his reference to the Lord’s Supper.   

 

As we approach Independence Day tomorrow, and enjoy celebrating the freedom we enjoy thanks to the heroic suffering of those who went before us, I think it is appropriate to recall also, as Jesus called His disciples to do on their Independence Day, the ultimate freedom from slavery to sin which Christ invites us to participate in sacrificially.  It is a freedom through participation in death for the good of others.  Yes, we enjoy freedom from slavery to sin and delight in the covenant promises we inherit through Christ, but we also go with Him to the cross, training our bodies for slavery to Christ, participating in His suffering with Him that we, like Him, might offer hope and healing to the world. 

Spiritual Cycles, the Goodness of God, Pursuit of Healing, and the Living Word

I'm shoring up a bunch of my musings over the past several months.  I write these things in a note in my phone entitled "Writing," hoping that I will have a future time to flesh out the concept further through writing.  I usually have to flesh out a bunch of it all at once due to time constraints.  I need to start dating each things in the note.

Probably 4-6 months ago I wrote: 

“The cycle replayed repeatedly in the Bible: calling, intent to follow, fear, sin, consequences (slavery), crying out, rescue, a journey out of slavery, and a journey to claim promises.  We live this cycle over and over in our relationship with God and reality (God).  Teaching on recognizing that cycle?”

It's interesting to me that I wrote that several months ago because just a few weeks ago I came across a Youtube video where the OneStory creators explained their story map for the entire Bible which shows how cycles replayed over and over again.  Their map teaches students how to recognize the phases.  Their phrases are a bit different though: wild place, through the waters, blessing in dry places, covenant, garden, choice, and a seed of promise.

I guess to take the best of both their map and my own concept of the cycle, I might go with:

1.  Calling / Invitation to the Garden 
2.  Intent to follow
3.  A choice:
•  Fear/Sin (proceed to #4)
•  Trust/Surrender (proceed to #7)
4.  Consequences / slavery / wild place
5.  Crying out
6.  Journey out of slavery / through the waters
7.  Blessing in dry places
8. A journey back into the garden / journey to claim promises
9. Loop back to #3 sooner or later (at least while on this earth)

 

A related item from my note: 

We can’t stay in the exhilaration of a tune’s crescendo very long.  Neither can we spiritually stay in the heights.  It is precisely the slower, darker notes which birth the exultation, and they too convey their own beauty.

 

Next item in my note: 

“The resurrection was God’s endorsement of the cross.  It shows us that God would rather suffer and die than overcome evil by violence, and it invites us to live by taking up our cross as Christ did.  Life through death.”  

 I’m still wrestling through trying to understand what happened with the cross and Jesus’ life.  On the one hand it WAS violence.  But was God doing it?  Willing it?  Was God unleashing His anger on Jesus, or was God with Jesus on the cross, showing us the way forward (life through death)?  It seems like pitting God against Jesus doesn’t work, since they are One.  And I can’t bring myself to accept concept of an angry God.  He clearly set up a universe where sad consequences happen as a result of choices to act contrary to reality – which I think Roman’s 1 calls “wrath.”  But I have a hard time calling that anger or even wrath because of what those English words mean (when we talk about them in any human context).  God’s version of them has to be something other--something purer and something that is somehow loving/seeking of restoration.

Dallas Willard said, 

“I’ll either allow my view of evil to determine my view of God and cut Him down accordingly, or I’ll allow my view of God to determine my view of evil and elevate Him accordingly.”   

The problem is, I feel like depending on your chosen systematic theology you can use scripture to support whatever view of God you want to take.  This is where I think personal experience with God – via faith (a risky choice to act on the assumption that He’s good and trustworthy)—comes to bare.  Often we have to get to a low place to be willing to take that sort of risk.  We cry out (#5 above) and decide to head for the Red Sea even though it looks impassible from a human standpoint, but we’re at the end of our rope and willing to give Gods’ a shot.  At least that’s what it feels like inside of our heads.  In reality I think there’s a drawing, reassuring, fueling, and supernatural enabling on God’s part which facilitates our faith.  

As we step into the waters, we see Him hold back the current and make a way forward for us, and we come to know Him experimentally.  That experience becomes a data point - a personalized revelation of God inserted into your life.  We bring that data with us as we approach scripture, and it helps us to discover truth.

Next note: 

“Seeing nature is peering into the mind of God.”

Next note: 

“To the degree that I am willing to wrestle with my mind’s dissonance in open conversation with the Creator, I begin to experience the true joy of discovery and I taste what the scriptures call ‘gospel.’”

Next note: 

“Jesus always told people who came to Him for healing, ‘your faith has healed you.’  Maybe we should understand, therefore, that spiritual healing is also on offer for those with faith enough to pursue it.”   

That’s essentially the choice (#3 above) that Jesus demonstrated and proclaimed.  He said that the reign of God was real and presiding over the earth such that anyone could choose to enter it and live by kingdom realities (choosing trust and surrender rather than fear and sin).

Some weeks later I apparently was having the same thought and wrote, 

”Jesus regularly told people, 'your faith has healed you.’  What if faith is also what is necessary to experience spiritual healing? Maybe if we were just as aware and desperate about our sin as Bartimaeus was about his blindness, and if we were willing to be persistent and socially unacceptable (even when rebuked) in our pursuit of healing, we might receive healing?  Not that we could reach perfection.  Bartimaeus’s sight surely maintained the limits common to human eyes.  But perhaps we might see real, noteworthy progress—the type of progress that causes those around us to praise the God who still honors faith today.”

Next note: 

“Life is like a river.”   

I remember this being a big and centering thought that I seemed to receive from God based on the issues I was dealing with in my mind on that day, but didn’t have time to fully flesh out in writing.  I think I was envisioning myself floating along in a large, steadily flowing river, accompanied by my family and regularly floating near other people in my vicinity, and regularly passing by / bumping into random debris, rocks, and floating logs.  The temptation is to focus solely on those people and situations right around us and forget that the river contains all of it, knows all of it, and continues to move us all along through it.  We can choose to fear the course of the river, or we can choose to move with it, watching for where it will go next, and adjusting ourselves accordingly, trusting that the river is worth floating in, and reaching out to help along those floating near us.

“In Him we live and move and have our being.” 

 

Next note is a quote from Tim Mackie from a Bible Project class, 

“What’s of value is the substance of what the words are about…” (speaking of scripture), “The words are a vehicle to communicate something that is real—SomeONE that’s real, and because the words are a vehicle, the wording as such is not an end in itself.” 

He was speaking about how New Testament authors often quoted the Old Testament in broken and switched around/combined ways rather than doing perfectly verbatim quotes the way our culture does (to avoid the dreaded evil of plagiarism).”  This stood out to me because of how I’ve been seeking to understand, in recent years, the mean of Jesus being “The Living Word,” and struggling with the feeling that we sometimes worship scripture over and above God Himself.  He inhabits His word, but I think, as Mackie points out, that He is the meaning intended through the words.  That is why Jesus, who lived out the intended meaning of the Old Testament can rightly be called the living word.  He is the meaning – the substance which inhabits scripture when scripture is engaged with in an open, honest pursuit of truth with the help of the Holy Spirit.  That, however, is probably not as common as we might think.  We much more often go to scripture with our own agenda, and miss the One who inhabits it.

 

That's all for now!  I shall muse on 😊 

Who Am I?

While on my walk with God the other day I was struck by how significant my personal and even spiritual growth has been through understanding more about myself via personality profiles like Myers Briggs, Right Path, and the Working Genius. 

I think as I come to discover greater and greater nuance of how God designed me, the more delight I take in being who He made me to be, and the more confident I feel to contribute my strengths to the rest of humanity.  As I learn about the nuanced ways that humans think and function, I also come to appreciate and delight in the ways that God brings different people together for each one’s good.

 

Who am I? 

 

I am a “researcher” (on the Right Path profile).  I LOVE to discover and curate answers, solutions, and new or greater understanding and clarity.  I can spend hours working at seeking those things without feeling tired.  In fact, I ENJOY doing so.  I love being able to contribute to others’ understanding, success, joy, etc. through researching and putting together information and plans that will help them.  When I see a system that yields certain frustrations, I don’t give a second thought to researching or brainstorming potential improvements for the greater good.  And if the said improvements are something I’m able to accomplish through my wonder, invention, intuition, or administrative gifts (to be discussed shortly), I will work at accomplishing it with dedicated focus and attention to detail until it’s finished.

 Knowing this about myself brings me great joy, because it is something I can contribute to others joyfully as a help to them, and in so doing I contribute somethings special that God has given me for the good of others.  I can offer it generously and confidently as a gift.  Knowing this is a unique attribute of mine also makes me aware that for many other people, pursuing answers and innovative solutions like this is not as life-giving and natural as it is for me. 

I used to assume that others experience life mostly the same way as I do, and the more I learn and grow, the more I realize that we are all SO incredibly unique with nuanced superpowers to contribute to others.  Researching is one of mine.  I used to keep it mostly to myself due to worry that others would think me presumptuous if I offered my help in that area, but I now recognize that I have something unique to share.  And this heightens my joy and sense of belonging in my Father’s world. 

 

I am a Wonderer and Inventor (working genius profile)

I LOVE to contemplate hidden realities and potential, and I REALLY enjoy inventing and creating products which respond to, demonstrate, and clarify those realities and potentials that I see.  Brainstorming and generating ideas is incredibly fun for me, and I get so much satisfaction from helping others ideate in order to improve on the status quo.  I naturally question systems and processes with an eye for potential improvements without ever being asked.  And when I say that this is fun for me, I mean I regularly naturally choose doing that during my down-time over other “relaxing” activities, because it brings me life.

This can be a downside to my personality, so I’ve had to lean on other strengths (such as my intuition) and the input of others around me to know when I’m moving outside of my lane.  Every strength can become a trait that bowls people over.  But when I’m able to offer this ability perceptively or even better… when REQUESTED by a friend or co-worker who knows my strengths, I find that using my wonder and invention to contribute to the beauty in God’s world to be potentially the most satisfying experiences I ever have. 

Since discovering this aspect of who God created me to be, I have become more and more confident and joyful in using my love for writing, systematizing, curriculum planning, and general ideation to bless others.  This is a gift that I would have held back and hidden much more in the past, assuming that I was presumptive to offer.  I thought that others would think me prideful to put forward my work.  But I realize more and more that this is a unique gift that I have when paired with my particular passions.  There are many wonderers and inventors in the world, but a limited number of them also have the same passions that I do and operate in the same social circles that I do.  God has given me these unique gifts to offer for the good of those around me in the lanes that He’s provided for me to run in for His glory.  This thrills me, and makes me so excited to be a part of what He’s doing.  I can contribute my geniuses generously and lovingly, and let Him protect my heart after I’ve put my work out there.  It’s very vulnerable, but also gives me such a sense of my own belonging and value in God’s world.

 

I am an INTJ / INFJ (Myers Brigg) with an above average emotional intelligence.

I am a strong introvert with a higher-than-average emotional intelligence.  I get energy by spending time alone with my thoughts and possibly a pen and paper.  I also get really built up by one-on-one time with a friend.  On the flip-side, I get quickly overwhelmed, discouraged, and overly self-critical in group settings.  To be successful in group settings, I need to prepare well, and then follow up the time by some good alone time to process with God.  I will not function optimally otherwise. 

I used to think that I had personality flaws due to my own lack of effort or wisdom since I felt so awkward and failing in group environments. I assumed my keen observance of others’ emotions and energy levels was normal, and that I merely had an inferior ability to respond appropriately to all the simultaneous input.  I have grown to understand, however, that while my introversion does require me to lean on the strengths of extroverts who love me in group settings, it also equips me to love people really well in one-on-one settings.  It has also led me to develop an ability to thoughtfully plan for meaningful group interactions. 

Taking in all the different emotions and social energy in the room can certainly be overwhelming for me, however all of that input is valuable insight that allows me to recognize the hurts, anxieties, needs, strengths, gifts, and longings of others—especially with regard to relationship (a core human need).  I can not only contribute some of those insights to others, but I can act on it through affirming those individuals, praying strategically for them, and planning interactions that will put them at ease and help them feel the love and belonging of Christ. 

Recognizing those gifts that I possess make the awkward social overwhelm that I feel in group settings worth it.  And it helps me dispel accusing thoughts about my own inept social skills.  I may be mostly silent in a group setting. I may not laugh at the right moments.  I might ask questions that feel ill-timed or out of place.  But in the midst of it all, I am taking in loads of information and preparing to love people well in my own unique way.

 

I am a Myers Briggs Intuitive.  This means God designed me to naturally notice patterns of behavior and connections between occurrences which, paired with my introversion and emotional intelligence, give me a hard-to-explain sense of how certain projects and interactions will turn out.  Intuition is something that I still have only a rudimentary understanding of, but I am learning that my hunches about things are generally worth giving thought to and potentially sharing with others.  I have also learned, however, that my intuition can weigh me down and give me anxiety about potential outcomes while those who perceive information through sensing may be unhampered by those considerations and able to move forward based on actual data.  That is a strength in others that I really appreciate and that relieves me of quite a bit of worry at times.

 

I am a Thinker who flip flops as a Feeler at times.  As I have grown more confident in who God made me to be, I have come to recognize some competing impulses within myself.  I’ve discovered that when I am most secure in my identity, I make decisions and judgements primarily through objective analysis of data and principles.  However, my intuition and emotional intelligence have often come to bare swaying me toward making decisions based on others’ feelings and opinions.  In moments when I am less secure in my identity I can disregard logical rational in favor of meriting the favor of others.  When I do that, it is generally out of self-preservation motives rather than out of brave love.  On the contrary, when I make a difficult decision based on objective analysis of all data before me, I can take others’ thoughts and feelings into account and love them through honoring communication and understanding even as I act on the decision that I see as best.  This approach tends to be more an act of faith and trust in God for my value rather than others’ opinions.  I think that is who God created me to be.

Knowing these things about myself pushes me deeper into dependency on God, and also nudges me toward receiving the help and support of others who are not as pulled in opposite directions as I am.  I find that I am often able to best contribute to a decision by sharing the opposing feelings and data that I carry within me and then allowing others who can be more objective than myself to speak clarity and affirmation into the situation. 

I sometimes feel like this is an unfortunate aspect of who I am, however, it’s who God has brought me to be at the current moment, and so I’m learning to embrace it and accept my reliance on others while I seek to grow and learn from them.  This is the me who God loves today, but also the me who God is actively working on in connection with others.  I am thankful for God’s intentionality to grow and develop me and also for the strengths of others who journey alongside me in partnership.  What a beautiful matrix the body of Christ is!

 

I am a Myers Briggs “J”, meaning I have a preference for structure and a decisive approach to the outer world.  I LOVE to make sense of processes, needs, and routines through charts, schedules, defined pathways, definitive plans, and preparedness.  This is a gift that I have learned to use as a way of loving and helping those that I care about.  I often pair this attribute with my researcher gifts to problem solve in methodical ways and trouble shoot with plans and systems for potential improvement.  I LOVE to take identified goals and form a plan for achieving them.  I constantly use this gift to serve my family through curriculum planning, meal planning, grocery planning, vacation planning, house upkeep planning, daily schedule planning, etc. 

This quality of my personality is something that I am learning is quite uniquely nuanced when paired with the other facets of my personality (introversion, intuition, thinker researcher, inventor).  God has made me someone who can dream about possibilities, perceive potential emotional responses to said possibilities, generate potential improvement plans and systems, analyze the pros and cons associated with those generated plans, and invent means of communicating all of that in an organized structure that others can enter into with me for discernment and troubleshooting.

 

I Need the Strengths of Others

Each of the personality traits and gifts I have written about has a plethora corresponding strengths and gifts which I lack.  While I might be a researcher, I am definitely not a supporter, driver, or adapter.  I need to lean on others who have those gifts.  While I am a Wonderer and Inventor, I am a terrible Enabler and Galvanizer.  I have to recognize the time and place when those skills are needed and learn from those who bear them beautifully.  And I definitely need the support and help of extroverts,  Sensors, Feelers and Perceivers to be able to participate aptly in many different circumstances.

 

All of that may sound like a bunch of nerdy mumbo jumbo to the average person, but to me it is the unique kiss of my heavenly Father planted in my soul for the good of His family.  He understands every facet of my strengths, weaknesses, joys and frustrations intimately (much more than I do myself), and He crafted each aspect of me with intentionality, placing me uniquely into a social sphere where I could learn to grow into who He designed me to become alongside other uniquely gifted and equipped image bearers.  What a joy it is to discover more about Him as I discover more about me!  And what a blessing it is to me as I am able to share myself with others.  AND what a treasure hunt it is to uncover the nuanced personalities and super powers of other complex human beings who God has planted me beside.  Koinonia with God and with others is such a multifaceted diamond that makes me delight more and more in the Jewel Smith the longer I live!

2024 Thoughts and Reads

This year I have been coming to terms with the idea that the primary thing God gets out of my life is not what I do for Him but who I become.  I’m learning to be satisfied with being and responding rather than initiating and producing.

I haven’t spent as much time writing this year, though I’ve still done a fair amount of contemplating.  Sometimes I have a thought that captivates me, and I jot it down to think on further at a later time.  Here are a few of those musings from 2024:

1.    To one who is pursuing their own kingdom, that kingdom is their world—their cherished existence—their own constructed reality—and so any attack on that kingdom feels like murderous violence against THEM.  It feels, in an ideological sense, like the physical descriptions of hell that we have entertained as we contemplate God’s ultimate reckoning of all things (which of course includes their kingdom).

2.    A theology of burdens – a small component of God’s heart of compassion for the world, bestowed upon one—a delight to be light and love in a particular place at a particular time.

3.    It seems like the main reason people assume that God no longer communicates with humans through experiences is their own experience (or lack thereof).  So in effect they use a rubric they say they don’t believe in to arrive at their conclusion.

4.    It’s not my job to control my children.  Rather I just train them toward godliness, respond to them in godliness, and respectfully protect them for godliness.

5.    So God lovingly created man and placed him in a suitable environment that for all intents and purposes would urge him toward the type of life which would enable him to thrive.  Creation itself would both bow to his acts of virtue and rebel against his moves away from the Divine.  In this way he could readily see the best way forward at any given time and have the best possible chance of choosing the type of life he was created for—the abundant life of trust in a good and capable Father God and partnership with Him for the ever-increasing joyful participation of all in the life of God.

6.    The goal is not to arrive at perfection, but to grow and discover more and more of God, and to continue transforming as we experience Him more and more.

7.    How do blessings work?

Sometimes I look for a resource that I feel a need of, and am unable to find it, and so after months of feeling agitated by its nonexistence, I cave and begin to create it myself.  This year, that resource has been a family devotional series which would introduce to my children practical ways of training for and truly seeing the counter-intuitive kingdom of the living God—not a kingdom of "oughts" and "shoulds", but a repeated, unending invitation to let love cast out fear.  This is still an ongoing project for me, but the initial introductions to my children have been very encouraging.  And the invention of it is so life-giving for me. 

When we do family devotions now, Skye likes to ask, “Will we doing experiments this time?”  Disclaimer: I have not referred to anything in our devotions as “experiments,” but it’s kind of fun that that’s how she sees our learning activities together.

Books that have impacted me this year:

-       Devotional Classics edited by Richard Foster and James Bryan Smith

I love the way this book takes some of the juiciest nuggets from some of the great writing of Christian authors from the past 2000 years and serves it up in bite-sized, topical delicacies.  I will warn you, however, that you’ll find yourself ordering a lot of secondary books when you read this one.  I took my good time going through it but have not begun going through it a second time, because some of it is so deep and penetrating, that I want another go and digesting it. 

 

-       Letters by a Modern Mystic by Frank Laubach

Similar to Practicing the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence, this book is incredibly brief (too brief, really) and refreshingly raw as it portrays one disciple’s journey to experience God daily.  I found myself motivated and inspired every time I read one of the short excerpts.

 

-       Room of Marvels by James Bryan Smith

I have read very little fiction in recent years, but a couple things made me unable to not read this one: 1. It’s a story which deals with visions of heaven by an author I respect, so obviously that’s enticing, and 2. I know a bit of the author’s own story, and could tell that this book was significantly related to the his experience of losing loved ones and seeking meaning.  In some ways it is similar to the Great Divorce, by C.S. Lewis.  I found it much more accessible, though (easier to understand and follow).  It also proposed ideas about heaven which were a true delight to contemplate.  Anything about heaven revealed to one who has longed for it so desperately, is worth paying attention to I think.

 

-       The Great Emergence by Phyllis Tickle

I picked this up at the library after hearing that it describes a phenomenon of the Christian church at large in which every 500 years, cultural and historical dynamics crescendo into a pivotal theological “rummage sale” that inevitably results in a parting of ways between branches of the church but also an ensuing upsurge in evangelistic effort and global exposure to Christianity.  The book’s clear and concise description of this occurrence was fascinating.  The reformation, the great schism, and the initiation of the monastic movement/Council of Chalcedon are examples that the author looked at; I was thankful for the simple overview of each.  The language this author gave to current religious dynamics at play in our own cultural moment was really helpful to me as well.  I found the whole thing very thought provoking and historically educational as well.

 

-       Becoming Dallas Willard by Gary Moon

Having read many of Willard’s books, this biography brought it all together for me in a narrative of his life, that I identified with occasionally, and that inspired me often.  It helped give additional depth and credence to his books, and also helped me see that God doesn’t bestow pearls of wisdom overnight.  Biographies about a disciple’s journey with the Lord through highs and lows are always so, so good, and this one is no exception.

 

-       Honey For a Child’s Heart by Gladys Hunt

At the recommendation of my sweet friend Whitney, I delved into this fun read and found myself so inspired to read aloud to my children from truly GOOD books.  As a result, we have enjoyed the Winnie the Pooh series, the Little House series, and many others.  I especially appreciate the book lists provided which I periodically use as I’m placing hold requests at the library.

 

-       Death By Meeting: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni

Lencioni is always a super engaging read with incredibly practical application points.  This fable was no exception.  This one, in particular, showed me the value of contributing counter opinions and additional ideas in a work setting.  Instead of assuming that the first opinion shared should rule the day in order for Christian principles to preside, boldly sharing a counter-view and being willing to respectfully discuss pros, cons, and addendums can bring all the gifts of the body into play and result in a much fuller, representative product, not to mention a process that sharpens and deepens the team itself.  I’m working on boldness.

As I close out this post, I’m realizing that I am more and more finding myself impacted by podcasts just as much or more than I am by books, and yet I haven’t written about them. Perhaps I shall soon.  The 3 most significant ones coming to mind right now are:

-       Bema Discipleship

-       The Working Genius Podcast

-       Strengthening the Soul of your Leadership

God-Sightings at Church

A couple weeks ago I had the privilege of attending a half-day prayer retreat with the leadership of our church.  One of the opening activities was an exercise in which everyone contributed short statements of praise and thanksgiving to God for ways they had seen Him at work in our church recently.  Afterward, I felt like there was SO much more to say (and I'm sure that more would have been said had there been more time allotted for the activity).  Since then, I’ve wanted to put words to what I see God doing among our little family of disciples.

Since returning from Peru two years ago, I have witnessed so much spiritual growth and movement of the Spirit at our church.  I feel like I've had a unique glimpse of it too, having recently arrived after a long time away. 

I see our church growing in prayer initiatives on the part of our leaders, and in boldness to jump into prayer and try new ways of prayer on the part of lay people—trends which speak loudly of the Holy Spirit’s work among us.

-       Leaders are gathering for prayer each Sunday before worship.

-       Ladies in Bible study are becoming bold to pray out loud in response to the things they are learning and articulating their own affection for God and His work in their lives even in a large-group setting.

-       Several regular prayer meetings are happening among different women--meetings which were completely initiated by those women as a result of the Spirit's prodding on their hearts.

-       Our church recently hosted an all-day prayer room for world missions and many people signed up and came and prayed together, and many fasted.

-       Quite a few leaders gathered for prayer before sending a team to India.

-       Our leaders recently gathered for a half day of prayer together.

-       I see evidence that several who have not felt strong in prayer are pursuing it in new ways and willing to jump into prayer activities that would have previously have been uncomfortable to them.

 

I’ve noticed new levels of vulnerability demonstrated in our people.  People are more and more willing to share the Word's impact in their own lives, and learning to share not only their weakness but their delight in the growth God is providing.  I believe this is becoming one of our church’s greatest strengths.  

-       Leaders regularly share from their heart quite honestly about how a call to confession convicted them, as they lead on Sunday mornings.

-       At women’s Bible studies women are sharing more personally in their comments and also in their prayers.

-       In Sunday School people are weekly expressing their own particular struggles, desires for growth, experiences with the Lord, etc.

-       A new men’s group began meeting weekly for accountability, mutual sharpening, and prayer.

-       Several women have been willing to share testimonies of their own spiritual journey publicly in Bible study announcements and missions announcements.

-       Quite a few adults and recently some youth have been sharing the works of God in their lives in Middle School and Youth meetings.

-       People are impromptu sharing ways that the Sunday sermon and Sunday School lessons are striking a chord with them and causing them to meditate mid-week.

 

I see people becoming comfortable with the idea that God INTERACTS with His people to this day, providing timely direction, encouragement, and circumstances in response to our pursuit of Him.  I even see people becoming expectant to hear about those sorts of God-sightings in each other’s lives.

-       People are beginning to ask each other informally about how they’ve seen God at work or what He’s been teaching them.

-       People are texting each other mid-week about ways God has shown up in their lives.

-       Even long-time Christians are becoming bold enough to ask questions about how they can experience God in new ways.

 

I see people humbly stepping into new leadership roles in the church.

-       Several new couples are volunteering to lead at different times in the Middle school ministry.

-       New volunteers are helping with local community outreach ministries.

-       New people are stepping into leadership of the missions committee.

-       God provided two new staff members with a real heart for youth ministry.

-       God recently called both a new elder and a new deacon into ministry.

-       A new women’s ministry leader has stepped into leadership as well as a returning one.

-       I see new people volunteering in Children’s ministry.

-       There are also other things in the works which I won't mention, but suffice to say that God is prodding still others toward new levels of involvement and leadership in the near future.

 

I see people eagerly responding in practical ways to the teaching they receive at church.

-       When there is an opportunity to physically respond in a worship service, MANY do so—even though it’s a practice outside our norm.

-       When asked to share how they applied last week’s Sunday School lesson, several share personal testimonies to that effect.

-       When resources for spiritual growth are shared, there are always people who hunt down those resources and even talk them up to others.

 

I see relationships at church going deep.  As people grow in boldness to pray out loud, share from their heart in group settings, ask genuine questions, and try out new things, they become more and more known and cherished by the others around them.  This, in and of itself, yields additional intercession and spiritual growth mid-week, because as we know each other more deeply, we are moved to pray for one another more often, and to spur one another on in the faith more regularly.

 

What a delight it's been to watch the Lord at work these past two years at our home church, and to partake in the growth with them!  And to see very specific answers to requests that I (along with many others) have been presenting before the Lord for our congregation, is such a joyous privilege.  

He is truly ON THE MOVE.

 

My Top 5 Reads of 2023

 I wasn’t thinking I would write about my top 5 reads this year, partially because I wasn’t sure that there were that many I would want to rave about publicly, but at 4:30 this morning when I found myself fully awake in bed, it became clear to me that there were five, and that was my divinely orchestrated moment to write about them.  So here you go.

 

#1 The Exodus You Almost Passed Over by Rabbi David Fohrman 

This is this book I’m most excited to write about from this year—not that I think it’s necessarily the best of the five I’ve listed here, but it was certainly the most surprising thing I’ve read in a long time.  It answered questions for me that I thought unanswerable, and significantly changed my perspective on Romans 9, specifically the part referencing Pharaoh. The writing style was SO engaging, I found myself unable to put it down.  I don’t think I’ve read another nonfiction book that so compellingly kept me coming back for more in a suspenseful sort of way. 

-       It dealt with the “hardening” of Pharaoh’s heart, and what that word, or rather, those words (it turns out there are actually two different distinct words used in the Hebrew which got translated into the singular English word) meant.

-       It tackled several interesting questions about the Exodus story:

o   Why was Moses’ initial message to Pharaoh just a request for 3 days of worship in the wilderness rather than complete freedom for the Israelites?

o   Since God was so keen on getting the Israelites out of Egypt, why didn’t He just have them escape during the plague of darkness while the Egyptians were unable to leave their homes for 3 days straight?

o   How was it loving for God to “harden” Pharaoh’s heart?

o   When God offered Pharaoh the honor of deciding the precise time that the plague of frogs would end, why in the world didn’t Pharaoah say, "right now!??"  Why did he instead respond, "tomorrow?”

-       The book changed my perspective on the Exodus story completely, causing me to see it as an incredible reflection of God’s compassion for Pharaoh and the Egyptian people (and thus, the nations of the world in general) rather than merely one of His wrath.

-       It drew an undeniable and really fascinating connection between the entire exodus story and the story of Jacob’s burial at the end of Genesis, which put the whole story into a context and perspective I never would have picked up on myself.

-       It understandably explained the surprising perspectives of the Jewish sages, or Biblical commentators from ancient times, on the Exodus story—some perspectives that would have been common knowledge to the religious teachers during Jesus’ day.

 

#2 Dirty Glory by Pete Greig

This book I listened to on audio while on a road trip last spring, and so I unfortunately do not have any notes or highlights to go off of as I attempt to recap it for you.  I wish that I did.  At some point I need to go back and read a physical copy.  This book tells the narrative of the birth and growth of the 24-7 prayer movement, and simultaneously presents story after story of God’s miraculous responses to the prayers of His people in the past few centuries.  As such, it compelled me toward prayer and an attitude of pilgrimage with God, not through theological arguments or practical how-to’s, but through story.  It is testimony after testimony of God’s intention toward His people, His eagerness to respond to them, and the incredible delight waiting for us in relationship with our heavenly Father.

 

#3 God’s Smuggler by Brother Andrew

This one was another page-turner.  Derek and I actually read this one together, out loud, and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.  It’s the story of Brother Andrew’s upbringing in the Netherlands during Nazi Germany’s occupation there, his resistance to and eventual surrender to Christ, and his radical pursuit of God’s direction for his life which led him behind the iron curtain repeatedly to smuggle Bibles to individuals and entire congregations meeting in secrecy without a single copy of God’s word.  It captures so well the thought process and emotional development of brother Andrew through wild and miraculous experience after experience.  SO many times he should have been arrested and His Bibles should have been confiscated, yet God repeatedly stepped in and took the situation into His own capable hands.  This book was just so fun to read, and incredibly faith building at the same time.  I have since found myself searching for other books like it.

 

#4 Living in Christ’s Presence  by Dallas Willard and John Ortberg

This one I’m currently listening through for the 2^nd time (this time with Derek—and the conversations around it have been fantastic).  My first time listening to it while flying to Malasyia, I stopped halfway through, backed up and started over because it was so good I wanted to let the first half sink in better.  So you could almost say I’m on my 3^rd pass through it.  This book is the transcription of a conference in which Dallas Willard and John Ortberg took turns speaking and responding to questions both from one another and the audience.  For those who find Dallas a little dense, John provides a really helpful perspective and his way of relentlessly asking blunt and practical questions of Dallas makes the whole thing more tangible and digestible.  I’ve loved listening to the audio, because you hear the actual authors speaking as they did to the actual audience, and you pick up on engaging nuances of their interaction with one another, but I really want to read through it again as a physical copy so I can take notes for future reference.  In the talks, they give fresh perspective on life with Christ, discipleship, the church, the difference between knowing Christ experientially and knowing a lot about Him, practical ways to use spiritual disciplines for combating specific sin struggles or negative tendencies, and a host of other topics incredibly relevant to life with Jesus Christ as your friend and director.

 

#5 The Princess and the Goblin  by George Maconald

This one I had actually read before as a child, but this year I read it again, this time out loud to Finn.  For one, it’s just a delightfully engaging and fanciful story.  The copy I ordered also has beautiful pictures.  But this time through, I actually found it to be spiritually challenging as I picked up on many metaphorical truth nuggets that George Macdonald worked into the story.  There’s just something so delightful about learning truth for life from a story isn’t there?  Macdonald, who C.S. Lewis regarded as his master teacher, had such a way, like Lewis himself, of capturing spiritual realities through other-worldly stories.  Some of his, I have found a bit too “out there” for me to wrap my mind around, but this one is so engaging and understandable that Finn and I both completely adored it.  I recommend it for kids (maybe age 7 and up?  It might still be a bit wordy for Skye at this point) and adults alike.