There are no words for these tragedies...
... nor should there be.

I felt a similar panic last year when our little town had the elementary school on lock down with my daughter inside. The deputies pursued and arrested a man with a gun that had tried to outrun them by going through the school yard. Similar is as far as it goes. The depth of panic and pain of Friday's events cannot be measured by our words; and it seems like we have to have the trite expressions of comfort or clever zinger or quip... not appropriate today... or for time to come.

As parents we are never meant to bury our children, meant to look at unopened Christmas presents that are now, in home in Newtown Connecticut,  symbols of tragedy. We see our children as the best of what we have to project into the future, and leave the worst of our world behind them... on to a better life and future promise. Therein lies the hope of our lives and love. Trusting what God has designed that parents would never see that day.

Romans 12:20-21

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

  

Evil came to that school. Now we overcome.

Our Church in a Video

Deafening Silence...

The common answer to God's answers to prayer are Yes, No, and Not yet. We seem to be satisfied with the tidy simplicity of this true but yet incomplete statement. We are all familiar with the fourth response, silence from God. Often the silence gets placed in the the "Not Yet" category, but that leaves out this key process- souls seem to be forged at times. Heat, pressure and pounding soften and form the hard spots of our souls. The instrument that has the most effect on my soul is silence. It's like you're being haunted by a quiet pain... a relentless unrest that makes us frustrated and demand, beg or cry to know why? Why won't you speak? It builds and creates a tension that causes us to finally look at ourselves and wonder if that silence is intended to silence me, making me ready. That leads us to a place where we finally break and ask the question that changes everything... What if my perceptions, behaviors and ideas just need to go, God, so I can hear you? Silence is heavy, deafening until finally... the noise goes away and we hear, hear His whisper, His quiet direction that is so, very easily missed unless our struggle makes us desperately sensitive.

I (meaning we) often have this problem of defining our intimacy with God by results. It's as if the milestones and goals that we set make us holy instead of His presence in our lives defining our spiritual life; and life as a whole. The first things to listen for in silence is truly the false perceptions and standards that we... well, use to keep us from doing the real work, obeying Him. In my experience, I can't hear because I won't listen.

Shalom

Fasting

We are fasting as a faith community, in essence, setting apart a day to focus on what God is saying to us regarding a new meeting place. Scripture does not command Christians to fast. God does not require or demand it of Christians. At the same time, the Bible presents fasting as something that is good, profitable, and beneficial. The book of Acts records believers fasting before they made important decisions (Acts 13:2; 14:23). Fasting and prayer are often linked together (Luke 2:37; 5:33). Too often, the focus of fasting is on the lack of food. Instead, the purpose of fasting should be to take your eyes off the things of this world to focus completely on God. Fasting is a way to demonstrate to God, and to ourselves, that we are serious about our relationship with Him. Fasting helps us gain a new perspective and a renewed reliance upon God.

Although fasting in Scripture is almost always a fasting from food, there are other ways to fast. Anything given up temporarily in order to focus all our attention on God can be considered a fast (1 Corinthians 7:1-5). Fasting should be limited to a set time, especially when fasting from food. Extended periods of time without eating can be harmful to the body. Fasting is not intended to punish the flesh, but to redirect attention to God. Fasting should not be considered a “dieting method” either. The purpose of a biblical fast is not to lose weight, but rather to gain deeper fellowship with God. Anyone can fast, but some may not be able to fast from food (diabetics, for example). Everyone can temporarily give up something in order to draw closer to God.

By taking our eyes off the things of this world, we can more successfully turn our attention to Christ. Fasting is not a way to get God to do what we want. Fasting changes us, not God. Fasting is not a way to appear more spiritual than others. Fasting is to be done in a spirit of humility and a joyful attitude. Matthew 6:16-18 declares, “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

Being Free

We don't really understand freedom. We don't. We often thing that freedom is getting to do what you want, when in fact that is truly the quickest path to bondage ever... I am free to use drugs- and get addicted. We need to realize that freedom is a functional freedom and a disciplined heart is true of freedom. We are truly free when our hearts are committed to fulfilling the design that God has for us as we are created to do. So you are now free to love by the power of God's spirit dwelling inside you. You are free to serve, reach out, and free not to do, free from the fleshly desires that make you do all the things you regret. That is freedom.

Galatians 5 ¹⁶So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. ¹⁷For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
 ¹⁹The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
 ²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. ²⁵Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

The Problem of Evil

Often times we look at evil as a an entity unto itself, with power and ability to punish at will. We forget that so often evil is a consequence of choice. The next question is then... Why give us choice God? Why should we be able to wield such a powerful tool? Because with choice comes good and love too. I now can choose to love God and choose to obey God and with that choice I too can choose to overcome evil with the Kingdom of God. We are faced with a huge responsibility, and a huge blessing,choice. Power placed in the hands of the wounded healers to heal, or to choose to harm.The only thing scarier than this is the idea of no choice. That we cannot participate in work of God, we are players on a stage, acting out our parts till the end of life comes. No true submission, no real buy in, no sacrifice to define worth, no willing love... that is too trajic to imagine.

To submit...

We struggle with submission. The idea of putting oneself under, or lowering our status for the sake of another. Oh, we struggle with the idea and with the practice that I am not the one in control. The definition is also interesting...
Submit

Pronunciation: \səb-ˈmit\

Function: verb

Inflected Form(s): sub·mit·ted; sub·mit·ting

Etymology: Middle English submitten, from Latin submittere to lower, submit, from sub- + mittere to send

Date: 14th century

transitive verb 1 a : to yield to governance or authority b : to subject to a condition, treatment, or operation submitted to analysis>
2 : to present or propose to another for review, consideration, or decision; also : to deliver formally <submitted my resignation>
3 : to put forward as an opinion or contention intransitive verb 1 a : to yield oneself to the authority or will of another : surrender b : to permit oneself to be subjected to something
2 : to defer to or consent to abide by the opinion or authority of another

To yield, to let another ahead, to give way, I like that, to give way. More to think about here...

Hebrews 12:9
Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!

How much more, Just some stuff to chew on.

Shalom