We had a humorous moment today in class. Yes, humor and theology can go together. We were having a discussion on the role of the Holy Spirit in the Trinity, and our professor was discussing how we find it difficult to communicate with or pray to the Holy Spirit. In his words, "I can talk to Jesus, sure, but I don't know how to talk to a bird!"
If you think about our conceptions or ideas of the Holy Spirit, none of them really invoke a warm, relational feeling. The Bible depicts the Holy Spirit as a dove (bird), fire, wind, breath, or even a ghost. We have a difficult time even imaging the Spirit as a personal being as we do with God the Father or Jesus the Son.
And yet, Jesus himself told his followers that it would be good if he went away, and the reason he gave was that if he went away, the Holy Spirit could come. Think about that- Jesus, who had a real, physical body and was talking face to face with his friends, said the best thing he could do was leave so the Spirit could come. I don't know about you, but that tells me the Holy Spirit is pretty important.
Perhaps you, like I, might confess that you don't really know how to approach the Holy Spirit. How do you picture the Spirit? Is He as central to "God" as the Father and the Son, or have you allowed him to be less than significant in your relationship with God?
I'd love to hear from you. May you experience the fullness of the "shy member" of the Trinity today-
Peace,
Nick
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Getting in the Spirit of Things
To open class today, our professor shared with us some of his theological convictions to set the tone for the class. I really appreciate his openness- most of our profs play it really close to the vest and leave you guessing where they really land theologically.
For our prof, he finds the foolishness of the Cross as the starting place of theology. In his words, we have to embrace that we are basing our entire system of belief on something that world finds foolish. And in this foolish cross, we find the most accurate and complete picture of who God really is. He is a God that loves us so much he has given himself on our behalf. Any theological conclusions we draw must align with this.
In order to know God, we must respond to this foolish cross by following Christ in his death. Rather than a physical execution, we must experiencing a death of our old, sinful self which we call the flesh. As our flesh dies, and only when it dies, we can experience the joy and power of new birth.
And now here's the point he landed on that has me thinking tonight: in light of all this, why do we think we can manage the flesh? My prof stated, and I would agree, that even in our churches we have come to believe that we can clean up our old self and manage our flesh well enough so as to have a good life. This is a false, and misleading, assumption. As the apostle Paul wrote, "For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do." (Gal. 5:17) In other words, if we want to experience the fullness of God in our lives through the presence of the Holy Spirit, then the flesh has to go. We don't manage or clean up our flesh. We let it die on the cross with Jesus and humbly wait for him to bring us to new life- life in the Spirit.
What do you think? How do we know if we're just trying to manage the flesh rather than allow God to kill it on the cross? What does it look like to be brought to new life? I have some ideas, but I'd love to hear yours. I would encourage you to spend a few moments meditating on Galatians 5:16-26. Powerful stuff!
May you know the power, and the foolishness, of the cross on your journey today.
Peace-
Nick
For our prof, he finds the foolishness of the Cross as the starting place of theology. In his words, we have to embrace that we are basing our entire system of belief on something that world finds foolish. And in this foolish cross, we find the most accurate and complete picture of who God really is. He is a God that loves us so much he has given himself on our behalf. Any theological conclusions we draw must align with this.
In order to know God, we must respond to this foolish cross by following Christ in his death. Rather than a physical execution, we must experiencing a death of our old, sinful self which we call the flesh. As our flesh dies, and only when it dies, we can experience the joy and power of new birth.
And now here's the point he landed on that has me thinking tonight: in light of all this, why do we think we can manage the flesh? My prof stated, and I would agree, that even in our churches we have come to believe that we can clean up our old self and manage our flesh well enough so as to have a good life. This is a false, and misleading, assumption. As the apostle Paul wrote, "For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do." (Gal. 5:17) In other words, if we want to experience the fullness of God in our lives through the presence of the Holy Spirit, then the flesh has to go. We don't manage or clean up our flesh. We let it die on the cross with Jesus and humbly wait for him to bring us to new life- life in the Spirit.
What do you think? How do we know if we're just trying to manage the flesh rather than allow God to kill it on the cross? What does it look like to be brought to new life? I have some ideas, but I'd love to hear yours. I would encourage you to spend a few moments meditating on Galatians 5:16-26. Powerful stuff!
May you know the power, and the foolishness, of the cross on your journey today.
Peace-
Nick
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Straining to Hear...Nothing
In one of the books I am reading for tomorrow's class, the author frequently brings up the value of silence in a church service. (Liturgical Theology, Simon Chan) I had to chuckle a bit when I thought about this, because it seems like at our church everyone starts to get nervous if there is silence for more than 2 seconds! But how can I blame them? I feel the same way! I immediately wonder, "what's going on? Why is no one talking? Am I forgetting something?"
Let's admit it- in general, we are not comfortable with silence. In our iTunes, Zune, Bluetooth world, we don't know what do with it. Silence feels so out of place it is actually deafening. We rush to fill the silence with something, anything that keeps our brains in tune.
As I embark on two weeks of study, I find myself in a unique place. Away from the office, the kids, and all my routines, I am confronted with a great deal of silence. I have already experienced more of it in one night than I can recall in any recent week. (or month) And so, realizing that this silence may be common in the next two weeks, I am trying to give in to it and allow it to have a formative effect in my life.
Have you ever done the science experiment where you stir up sediment in a jar of water? As long as you keep the water agitating, all the particles spin around and the water is cloudy and dark. Only when you allow the water to stop spinning do the pieces of sand and rock begin to filter to the bottom and once again, in silence, the water becomes clear. You can see what before was only a mist. I think this can be the value of silence in our lives. We are so busy that everything spins around and the good, the bad, and the ugly of our lives are just one big blur. But in silence, we agree to let everything stop spinning. We wait for it all to sift to the bottom of our heart (or soul) and we can evaluate what belongs and what does not. In silence, we gain clarity.
I think this is why Jesus so often went away by himself to pray. The gospels say that Jesus often sought out solitude. Why would someone who had such a clear sense of purpose in life need any solitude or silence? Because Jesus knew that in silence, God could continue to make clear the next step.
So, for the rest of this month, I am attempting to enjoy silence. This will not be easy for my over-active, fill-up-every-inch brain, but I will try. And Lord willing, I will tell you how it goes!
How about you? What role does silence play in your life? Can you be comfortable in it? If so, tell us how you got there!
Peace on you and your journey-
Nick
Let's admit it- in general, we are not comfortable with silence. In our iTunes, Zune, Bluetooth world, we don't know what do with it. Silence feels so out of place it is actually deafening. We rush to fill the silence with something, anything that keeps our brains in tune.
As I embark on two weeks of study, I find myself in a unique place. Away from the office, the kids, and all my routines, I am confronted with a great deal of silence. I have already experienced more of it in one night than I can recall in any recent week. (or month) And so, realizing that this silence may be common in the next two weeks, I am trying to give in to it and allow it to have a formative effect in my life.
Have you ever done the science experiment where you stir up sediment in a jar of water? As long as you keep the water agitating, all the particles spin around and the water is cloudy and dark. Only when you allow the water to stop spinning do the pieces of sand and rock begin to filter to the bottom and once again, in silence, the water becomes clear. You can see what before was only a mist. I think this can be the value of silence in our lives. We are so busy that everything spins around and the good, the bad, and the ugly of our lives are just one big blur. But in silence, we agree to let everything stop spinning. We wait for it all to sift to the bottom of our heart (or soul) and we can evaluate what belongs and what does not. In silence, we gain clarity.
I think this is why Jesus so often went away by himself to pray. The gospels say that Jesus often sought out solitude. Why would someone who had such a clear sense of purpose in life need any solitude or silence? Because Jesus knew that in silence, God could continue to make clear the next step.
So, for the rest of this month, I am attempting to enjoy silence. This will not be easy for my over-active, fill-up-every-inch brain, but I will try. And Lord willing, I will tell you how it goes!
How about you? What role does silence play in your life? Can you be comfortable in it? If so, tell us how you got there!
Peace on you and your journey-
Nick
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
One Step Ahead
(For the next few weeks, I will be in Bosnia. Our team is going to post regular updates on our church blog- http://headlight2.blogspot.com/- but I will also post them here. I will also be posting a few of my own thoughts on occasion, or pictures, so be sure to check back!)
When Jesus said, "Come, follow me!" he was serious.
Too often, we hear this as an invitation to study and learn the historical life of Jesus in order to replicate how He lived. But I get the feeling that Jesus had more in mind. I think He actually wants us to follow Him now- to look ahead, get a sense of where He's going, and set our feet on the same path.
As I prepare for this journey to Bosnia, I can't help but feel that as a church, we are doing just this. From the first days of our partnership with Bosnia, we have sensed God at work. God has been orchestrating and arranging things in a divine way before we even become aware of it. I have had a strong feeling all along the way that He is always one step ahead of us.
And so this trip has at its source real inspiration from God. I have been mindful of this as I undertake the mammoth amount of tasks that go into a costly international expedition. Whenever I have been tempted to think the trip is too much work, or too much money, I remind myself of where God has been in this journey. Always a step ahead. We haven't been praying and asking God to bless our efforts- to join us where we are at. No, we have been asking God to give us the courage to follow Him!
He is leading us to Bosnia. Why? I am not exactly sure. And I'll bet that the first disciples of Jesus had similar feelings. They knew he was calling, they could see where he was leading, but they had no idea what was about to happen to them. It was a risk to follow into such unknowns, but their faith was rewarded as they walked with the King of Kings.
I hope that you, at least in some small way, can feel connected to our trip. It really isn't about us- God is going to use it for far more. We'll find out together exactly what that is!
May you find that on your journey, Jesus is always one step ahead of you. And may you have the courage and the strength to follow Him.
Peace-
Nick
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
You Can't Have It!
For those of you connected to EHA, you know that we've had a few randomly scheduled worship nights at the church lately. For those of you who've attended, you know how powerful they have been!
Last week, one person came up to the "open mic" and shared something that has stuck with me. She came up and made a declaration that more of us should be making. It went something like this:
"I just want to say to the Devil, "You can't have my marriage. You can't have my child. You can't have my church. We must be on the verge of something good here at this church, and Satan is mad. He's thinking, 'okay, one worship night is a fluke, but they won't come again.' And here we are and he must be mad. We are on the verge of something. And to think, I almost stayed home and watched American Idol. How stupid do I feel!"
I love the fact that this was shared from the heart, and that she had the boldness to declare her marriage, her family, and her church off-limits to the enemy. What would happen if Christ-followers took up the offensive against Satan like this more often? It's sad that we can get caught up in being on the offensive against political or cultural ideals and miss the true source of evil.
So, where do you want to say, "Satan, you can't have it!" Because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.
Are we on the verge of something as a church? I don't know. But if God is putting this kind of Spirit in our people, I know that good things will come from that!
On a journey with you-
Nick
Last week, one person came up to the "open mic" and shared something that has stuck with me. She came up and made a declaration that more of us should be making. It went something like this:
"I just want to say to the Devil, "You can't have my marriage. You can't have my child. You can't have my church. We must be on the verge of something good here at this church, and Satan is mad. He's thinking, 'okay, one worship night is a fluke, but they won't come again.' And here we are and he must be mad. We are on the verge of something. And to think, I almost stayed home and watched American Idol. How stupid do I feel!"
I love the fact that this was shared from the heart, and that she had the boldness to declare her marriage, her family, and her church off-limits to the enemy. What would happen if Christ-followers took up the offensive against Satan like this more often? It's sad that we can get caught up in being on the offensive against political or cultural ideals and miss the true source of evil.
So, where do you want to say, "Satan, you can't have it!" Because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.
Are we on the verge of something as a church? I don't know. But if God is putting this kind of Spirit in our people, I know that good things will come from that!
On a journey with you-
Nick
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