Swing Low

Have you ever noticed that when you get sick physically, it affects you in so many more ways than just your physical body? Being sick always reminds me how "connected" we are to ourselves. We tend to break life up into segments- physical, emotional, spiritual, etc, but all of the pieces of who we are overlap and work together to create the great whole.

So, when I'm sick, I don't just hurt physically. I suffer mentally. (Granted, most people believe that I suffer mentally on a regular basis.) I also suffer spiritually. For whatever reason, a sick body typically leads me to a sick soul, where I feel very weak about who I am.

Since this is a blog primarily about spiritual things, I thought I'd share a few of the ideas I have about staying strong in a time of suffering spiritually. Maybe some of these will be helpful to you if you find yourself in a time of "soul sickness." Here's a few things I do, to varying degrees of success:

1)Recite one-sentence prayers. I don't know about you, but I really struggle to pray when I'm sick. I tend to have less compassion for others when I feel this way, but I also feel that a mental fog makes it tough to concentrate. I find the ancient "Jesus Prayer" to be useful- Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner. Repeating this over and over keeps my heart open to God.

2)Remembering Scripture. I Corinthians 10:13, Hebrews 12:1-3, and Ephesians 4:8 are helpful to me in times of feeling low.

3)Don't Get Dramatic. When I'm sick, I can feel like the world is closing in and nothing is worthwhile. I have to remind myself that this is no time to make major life decisions, or to think that those major decision are even on the line. Sometimes, I have to just take a deep breath and say, "this too shall pass". It doesn't sound very spiritual, but it helps remind me that healthier days, physically and spiritually, will come.

How about you? What do you do when you start to feel a spiritual low? We've all been there- share your thoughts!

May you stay encouraged on your journey today,

Nick

Stop It!

This weekend, I mentioned a classic Bob Newheart sketch from MadTV where Newheart plays the role of a psychologist. His advice is pretty hilarious! Take a look here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYLMTvxOaeE

(You'll have to copy and paste the link into your browser. For some reason, the blogger "create a link" feature isn't working today. Thanks Blogger!)

Enjoy the journey-

Nick

A Lost Cause?

I've been having a great e-mail discussion with a friend. Lately, we've been bantering back and forth about what it means to "be holy." The word 'holiness' sounds very religious and isn't something we readily warm up to in faith. But holiness is called for throughout Scripture. In a meager attempt to help redeem this concept, I share my thoughts with you here.

Now for holiness. I agree that there's a lot of gray area out there and difference of belief will occur- we even see this in the NT with eating food sacrificed to idols (not a real hot topic anymore). But what I would describe as black and white are those principles that can be traced throughout Scripture and give a clear and consistent picture of what God calls holy. In the gray areas, we come with humility and seek harmony with God and others. In black and white, we have to lay down our feelings (because that's part of surrender) and be willing to say, "I will do this because you are God and you know better than I do. I will trust you."

Holiness seems to call us to a form of law-keeping. But, some might inject, aren't we free from the law if we follow Christ? When Scripture teaches that we are free from the law, the meaning is that we are free from law-keeping as a way of being made right with God. That is now the sole role of Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection. We still have a law to keep, however- the law of love, or the law of Christ, which is mentioned several times in the New Testament. I would describe that law as "doing what please God". Augustine once said, " If you love God, you may do as you incline” True- because a person who truly loves God will be inclined to please God, which is why Jesus and Paul both summed up the entire law in the simple command, “Love God”.

Like I said this weekend- whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do everything for the glory of God. But how do I know what pleases God? By looking at Scripture to see what things God consistently calls good and what God consistently calls evil, and then having the humility to wrap my life around that viewpoint. Not in a legalistic, judgmental, I'm-better-than-you-because-I-keep-so-many-rules, kind of way, but with a heart of love for God that has been changed by Jesus. What has changed? That I am not on the throne of my own life deciding what is good or holy. In other words, I've come to realize that I am not God, and that is a good thing.

And I think that when the law of love is obeyed with an attitude of grace and joy, this is VERY attractive to others. When others feel accepted for who they are, when people see a life well lived, when people observe love, joy, peace, patience, etc, not only in your life but also directed towards them, this is an attractive holiness. I think why people flocked to Jesus wasn't because he was just like them in every way (participating in their sin), but because he was a holy man, a prophet, that wasn't afraid to look them in the eye and call them friend. He wasn't afraid to touch them as the Pharisees were. He had a joy-filled relationship with God and he invited others to know that same relationship.

On our journey, may we have this same kind of attractive holiness.

Peace.

Nick

Destinations...

This weekend, I read this prayer at the end of the message. Perhaps you'd like to hear it. I love that it's written by a well known explorer. This is the prayer of Sir Francis Drake...Disturb Us Oh Lord...

Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life:
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land, We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope and love.

And also a little fun- the destination really does matter! Just ask Jack Handy:
"One thing kids like is to be tricked. For instance, I was going to take my little nephew to Disneyland, but instead I drove him to an old burned-out warehouse. 'Oh no,' I said, 'Disneyland burned down!' He cried and cried, but I think that deep down he thought it was a pretty good joke. I started to drive over to the real Disneyland, but it was getting pretty late."

May the conduct of your life take you closer to the ultimate destination on this journey-

Nick

Chew Your Food

I don't know why, but I've always assumed that when I read the Bible, I'm supposed to read a lot. Like the more I read, the better. If you are "spiritual", you read a couple chapters a day. If you're really "spiritual" you read more. Billy Graham read 5 psalms a day. THAT must be spiritual. Quantity matters more than quality.

While this may have increased some general Bible knowledge, a mentor pointed out to me that this isn't the best way to grow. It's like eating at a buffet- you eat and eat, and most of it's good, but in the end you don't really enjoy it because you tend to over-do it. He encouraged me to eat slowly- in other words, to read just a small piece of Scripture at a time, and then meditate on it throughout the day.

For this to work for me, I can read no more than 2 or 3 verses. Sometimes I read more until I get to a verse that really speaks to me, but lately I've been reading through Philippians a couple verses at a time. This little letter is so crowded with food for thought that a couple of verses is more than enough to chew on. And something good is happening in this meal. While I still have to fight the nagging doubt that no one truly "spiritual" would only read a couple of sentences at at a time, I find this routine gives me a chance to really reflect.

One quick example. Philippians 2:12 and 13 is good food for almost a week, but one thought in particular has stood out to me. Here, Paul encourages us to, "Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear." In the next sentence, he reminds us that, "God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what please him." Isn't that a great thought? I love the idea that even as we give our all to please God by following His word, He is working in us at the same time. What's more, this verse would seem to suggest that by the nature of our working hard to obey, we open up our lives even more to God's work in us. We work. God works. We work out what God is doing in us while God works in us doing His will. This kind of divine partnership provides strength for the journey.

Had I been reading my typical 3 or 4 chapters at a time, I likely would have never paused here. But here I am, still chewing several weeks later.

What are you chewing on? Is it time that you slow down enough to believe that quality out-does quantity, even in spiritual matters?

Today, may you know the kind of God that is working in you- both to give you the power to please him AND the desire to do so.

Enjoy the journey-
Nick


(I realize that it's been sometime since my last blog. Let's just say that our family vacation was good and getting ready for the Fall has consumed quite a bit of time- but God is good and the next season of ministry looks great. Thanks to you who read regularly and have checked back about 100 times with nothing new. As always, I'm honored that you read what I have to say...NS)