God / god

History is crowded with men who would be gods; but only one God who would be man.
Unknown

Trust and Obey

As in the old hymn...trust and obey, for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

When humans attempt to follow this path, on our own, we find that we are endlessly trying and failing. We get caught in the trap of willpower and determination. The reality for many is that no matter how hard we try we never quite get it right.

As children our behavior is rewarded or punished. In our wee little minds we equate reward with being loved more or better when we are good, when we please others. Unfortunately as we grow, this pattern manifests not only in our relationships with friends and family but we may also believe it of God. He will love me more if I am good. It's a vicious cycle that has a tendency to work on our self confidence...how we feel about ourselves...never good enough. We get the "obey" part but we drop "trust" from the equation.

We must remind ourselves, daily, hourly that if we can trust God with the bad stuff that happens in our lives, we can also trust Him to love us in spite of it. That's what He does...

Clutter

This was posted on the Naked Pastor blog...a few talented strokes of pen and ink says more than hundreds of words...how many of these things are coming between you and God?

Spiritual Types

I recently took the "Spiritual Types" test on the MethodX website. I am a Sage! At first I had to giggle a little...Sage to me means "wise"...somehow that generally doesn't get mentioned when I describe myself. But then I read the definition...

You are a Sage, characterized by a thinking or head spirituality. You value responsibility, logic, and order. Maybe that's why you were voted "Most Dependable" by your high school classmates. Structure and organization are important to you. What would the world be like without you? Chaos, that's what! Your favorite words include should, ought, and be prepared. What makes you feel warm and fuzzy? Like Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof it's tradition! tradition! tradition!

Because you love words, written or spoken, you enjoy a good lecture, serious discussions, and theological reflection. Prayer for you usually is verbal. You thrive on activity and gatherings of people, such as study groups. Sages on retreat likely would fill every day with planned activities, leaving little time for silence or solitude.

We need Sages for your clear thinking and orderly ways. You pay attention to details that others overlook. Sages make contributions to education, publishing, and theology. You often are the ones who feel a duty to serve, give, care, and share with the rest of us.

On the other hand, sometimes you seem unfeeling, too intellectual, or dry. Can you say "dogmatic"? You may need to experience the freedom of breaking a rule or two every now and then. God's grace covers Sages too, you know!

Suddenly I realized it did fit...and your response is, "So what?" or "Big deal!" But it is a big deal. Not because I can suddenly pass my self off as "wise"...but it does give me some insight into why and how I think and learn.

Take the test yourself, you may be a sage too! Or a prophet or a mystic or....

Politics

As we are now up to our eyes in the political process and everyone is trying to convince you where you should cast your vote I ask only two things...

1. Once you have chosen where you will stand, make your voice heard!
2. Once you determine which candidate best fits your ideals, VOTE! No one will ever fit the bill perfectly but you have two to choose from, pick one!

There is no reason or excuse not to vote. It is a privilege and a right but most of all it is your duty.

Truth is not determined by majority vote.
D. Gwyn

More on Prayer

One of the obstacles to prayer is confusion about what it is and what it is not. Almost anything can and has been said in the name of God in prayer. Abuses in prayer abound, both outside and inside the church. It's little wonder that many people are confused or just generally don't think it's worth the effort.

Centuries ago, Martin Luther made a couple of interesting observations about prayer that are still helpful today. Both take the form of what prayer is not:
* First, prayer is not telling God something that God otherwise would not know. When we
pray, we are not bringing God up to date on what is going on in the world. As Jesus
commented to His disciples, God knows our needs before we even speak (Matthew 6:8).
Prayer does not tell God anything.
* Second, prayer is not a means of forcing God to do something that God would not
otherwise do. Prayer is not leverage on God or a way to manipulate Him. What He does,
He does because of who He is, because of His gracious nature. Prayer does not make God
do anything.

These comments raise an interesting question. If prayer is not telling God anything that He would not otherwise know or talking Him into something that He would not otherwise do, then what is it?

Martin Luther's point was that prayer is not for God...prayer is for us. We don't pray because of it's effect on God, we pray because of the effect it has on us. It is a tool that God has given us for our own benefit. Prayer does not change God, it changes us.

Chosen

God says to each of us, "You are my chosen one. I love you. I'm proud of you. Know that I have forgiven you. I call you by name. You are mine. I have entered into covenant with you and will stand by you in all times and places."

"Dare to live fully the life to which I have called you."

S. Gregg-Schroeder