Exploring Contemporary Christianity

Author: sherry.l.macintyre@gmail.com (Page 3 of 7)

Out of the Shallows #2 – Lighten Your Load

Using the SOAP method I’m doing a devotional called “Out of the Shallows” with Northpoint Church. This method of Bible study uses the acronym SOAP to dig deeper into scripture, rather than just casually reading through the Bible.

‘S’ is writing down the part of scripture that kind of jumps out at you, or seems to have meaning to you.
‘O’ is to observe what it is really saying, the deeper meaning or truth.
‘A’ is for application. How does it apply to your life? What can you do differently in light of this truth?
‘P’ is for prayer. What do you want to tell God or ask him to help you do about this?
Read the first scripture study here http://www.christiannotchristian.com/out-of-the-shallows-go-the-extra-mile-overcome-evil-with-good/

Jesus’ Irresistible Offer

Today’s Scripture
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Jesus, Matthew 11: 28 – 29

S – Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest… For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

O- He gives us rest. He gives us peace. Not necessarily by removing our burdens, but by replacing our yoke with his own. A yoke is defined as a harness for two animals, usually oxen, to share a burden when pulling farm equipment. But a yoke also refers to a wooden bar one places over the shoulders to carry two equally weighted loads. Think of someone carrying two buckets of water balanced on their shoulders this way. It occurred to me; we carry this type of yoke single-handedly to double the weight or burden we can carry. But when we use the other kind, to yoke animals together, it halves their burden. 

Lightening Your Load – It’s All Up to You

This scripture is beckoning us to let Jesus carry half our load. And, who are we kidding, if we let him, if we trust him, he does much more than that. Much more than his ‘fair share’. He attaches himself to us and shoulders the yoke with us. We learn a new way to live and it lifts and restores our  soul. It is as though the weight of the entire burden is taken from us, and we get the rest, the relief and the peace that only God can give.

A – Surrender to him. And now I am really directing this to myself because here is where I struggle…Oh my gosh, just do it, Sherry….. Let. It. Go. Stop trying to solve everything on your own. Stop thinking you even can. I (we all ) need to just try bringing all the concerns and difficulties of this life to Jesus, and letting him lead and guide us through it all.

P – The last words above came to me in prayer as lyrics from a beautiful song by Bethel. You can check out the lyrics and music here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VUzQrtRqDQ
“Through it all, through it all….my eyes are on you. Through it all, through it all…it is well.”


Please join me for more of this journey through Scripture by journaling your own thoughts using the SOAP method. And if you would, by subscribing with your email address in the box, top right of this page. I would really appreciate your support in this way. Your email will not be shared in any way. Thanks!

Out of the Shallows – Go the Extra Mile

Using the SOAP method I’m doing a devotional called “Out of the Shallows” with Northpoint Church https://northpointchurch.org/ . This method of Bible study uses the acronym SOAP to dig deeper into scripture, rather than just casually reading through the Bible. 

‘S’ is writing down the part of scripture that kind of jumps out at you, or seems to have meaning to you. ‘O’ is to observe what it is really saying, the deeper meaning or truth. ‘A’ is for application. How does it apply to your life? What can you do differently in light of this truth? ‘P’ is for prayer. What do you want to tell God or ask him to help you do about this?

Overcoming Evil With Good

Today’s Scripture: 

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends… if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink… Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Paul, Romans 12:17-21

S- do not repay anyone evil for evil… If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone… Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.  

O– Interestingly, this verse starts by instructing us what not to do; the bare minimum that’s required of us is, at the very least do not “get someone back” for an offense. Then, very purposefully, scripture gives us an alternate focus; we are to attempt to live in peace with everyone. And finally – and I think it is a very gradual coming to this, for most of us – Paul tells us to actually return good  to someone for their evil. Imagine that. What a fantastic and counter-cultural thought at that time in history! And even now, really. 

Who ever instructs their kid to be nice to the bully? Who befriends the workplace jerk? Who seeks out the crabby cashier and pursues friendly chitchat?  At best, we are told as children or know instinctively as adults, to avoid them. But Jesus? No way. He didn’t turn from trouble. Or from the troubled. He knew that to make any real change in the situation, there needed to be a heart change. 

Going the Extra Mile

How’s that going to happen if people keep running away from the problem person? If all the “good” kids steer clear of the bully, what’s going to change? He will become more isolated, more misunderstood, probably lash out even more, and the problem grows. It’s no different for adults, really. The workplace bully gets that label – maybe since childhood. And all it does is invite hate, or worse – avoidance. Jesus wants more from us. We are called to be meek. We associate meekness with weakness, but it is really a quiet strength. Jesus’ version of meekness is strength and self-control under pressure. A meek person might look like they are  “taking it” when a bully is dishing it out, but they are exhibiting self-control and looking for an opportunity to initiate a change in the offender’s thinking.

We are called to help others even when it’s uncomfortable. I think this is advanced Christianity. It’s not all about avoiding bad people, bad places, bad things. It’s about going the extra mile. Sometimes it’s about engaging them or even confronting them- gently and lovingly- to do the most  good. 

A- As a strong Christian, if I am one, I am called to do the work that others cannot. We are purposed and positioned, at times, to not only avoid doing the wrong things, but doing  something about those wrong things. It can be messy, uncomfortable, even dangerous. Where in the world is there darkness, unfairness, oppression and people in need that cannot defend themselves against evil? That’s where I / we need to go, figuratively or literally. Even if it’s in our own backyard. Especially if it’s in our own backyard.

Praying for those who are doing terrible things is a great place to start, though it is so counter intuitive, we often do not think to do it.


P- Dear Lord, you are so good and I am humbled by your grace, that washes over me daily. Help me know when you are calling me to overcome evil with good. Grant me the strength, the wisdom and the courage to love those who are hardest to love and who need it most. Amen

Please join me for more of this journey through Scripture by journaling your own thoughts using the SOAP method. And if you would, by subscribing with your email address in the box, top right of this page. I would really appreciate your support in this way. Your email will not be shared in any way. Thanks!

Where Was God on Good Friday?

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

I can’t stop thinking about these words of Jesus’ spoken on the cross. Much has been speculated about this. Some say God abandoned him, turned away from Jesus, because he could not be in the presence of sin. That, as Jesus bore our sins on the cross, God had to leave him,  covered in our sin.
But I don’t know if I can wrap my mind around that.

I feel like maybe it had to do with the reality that Jesus was fully God and fully Man. He was human til the end. And just as we do sometimes, he felt betrayed by his Father, even though he wasn’t. God never left him, just like he never leaves us nor forsakes us.

Jesus knew God, Jesus was God, yet he felt forsaken by God. Because in his humanity, in such a horrible situation, it seemed he had been abandoned. And he knew we would, at times,  feel abandoned by God too. That there would be times when we couldn’t really see God working in our lives. And these would be those ‘darkest before the dawn’ moments. Like that day on the cross.

Did God turn away as his Son was mocked, beaten, bloodied, tortured, disfigured, totally dismissed, disbelieved and disregarded…?


No…
I believe He stayed. He watched. He strengthened his Son….His own flesh and blood. It pierced his heart to see what his own could do to his Own.  It still does today…
When we mistreat one another, disregard our fellow man…  do unspeakable things to God’s other children. Our own spiritual siblings.  In big and small ways. From violent crimes and horrible offenses, to emotional abuse and neglect, to simply dismissing, ignoring or belittling another human being. It’s like watching your own kids treating each other badly, really not getting along. It hurts.  Deeply at times.

No. God may have turned his face away from the sin but not from the Son. And because we are joint heirs with Christ when we accept him as our Lord and Savior, God never turns away from us either. Because we are not our sin. He may well look away when  we choose to sin. But God is always there for us, he’s always accessible. He’s always waiting for us to turn away from our own sin and towards him, in repentance. And he’s more than ready, more than eager, more than excited to welcome us back to him. Nothing you’ve ever done could cause God to turn away from you when you turn towards him. At any point in your life that you become ready to accept him and turn towards him, he’ll be there.

Maybe God does look away when we are sinning. But he never leaves us.  And to know that even Jesus, while on the cross, felt like God left him… I think that speaks to Jesus’ humanness. And perhaps he said those words because he knew we would feel the same way at times. What a comfort it is to know that  Jesus can relate. I think it helps us to really believe that God is always there. He really never leaves, no matter how terrible things are, no matter how bad it gets.
No matter how alone we feel, we never really are.


Waiting On God

One of my recent favorite TV series is Downton Abbey. It’s set in the early 1900s about a prominent family who lives in a big English manor where there’s a complete waitstaff; cooks, servers, footmen, lady’s maids, etc. Every person who lives in the house has  a servant or a helper of some sort. And one of the classic images is of the family sitting down to dinner and all the servers lined up behind them waiting on them. They’re not waiting for them to do something,  they’re waiting on them as a waiter in a restaurant waits on you. In other words they’re just waiting with anticipation on any need to arise, or any order or request that the family might have. They are ‘at the ready.’

As Christians, we use the phrase ‘Waiting on God’ when we are praying about a situation in our life and asking God to help us or direct us on how to go forward. Often, we find ourselves in a holding pattern of sorts, as we wait to hear from God. ”Well I don’t know what to do next, I’m just waiting on God.” And we think of that as a time to be inactive and to passively  wait until God does something for us.

Waiting On vs. Waiting For

But maybe we need flip the script. To look at it as more of a servant-Master relationship. If you are waiting on God – newsflash – you are serving him. You are waiting for any request, order, or suggestion from God that you can act on, that would be in his best interest (and, incidentally, yours too.)

In the Downton Abbey analogy the staff wasn’t just waiting for the family, they were waiting on them. That means they were eagerly awaiting the smallest request, the least possible need of the family that would surface… they would jump on it and serve.
When we say we are waiting on God, is this what we mean?

Are we ready and willing to do what God asks, or do we just want him to supernaturally fix everything? (I’m not gonna lie, this is often where I find myself in my prayer life.)

Maybe we need to look at waiting on God in the Downton Abbey way.  We say we’re waiting on God, but we’re really just waiting for him. We tend to confuse the two.  We just wait and wait and feel like we can’t do anything because we ‘haven’t heard from God yet”.  Well maybe that’s the wrong perspective. If God hasn’t answered your prayers yet, can you look to him for instruction instead of solution?  

Even better, can we take it one step further? We are asking God to solve our problem. Instead maybe  we could ask God ‘In my present situation, how can I solve someone else’s problem?

Maybe your current difficulty has strategically placed you to meet someone else’s need. Your experience has put you in the position to help or support someone going through a similar situation. Perhaps even a non-believer that needs your help,  but also wants to hear what you have to say about faith.

So right now if you are in need and you are asking God for something, and you’re waiting on him……. maybe listen for, look for, ask God for… someone that has a need that You can meet.

When you meet someone else’s need, often that person or someone near them can then meet someone else’s need, maybe even your own! There can be the most beautiful ripple effect. If we all do our part -in whatever way our situation has uniquely qualified us- we can all come together in this great big jigsaw puzzle of perfection that God has planned.

But when we refuse to obey, or we miss or ignore God’s promptings, there’s a missing piece to the puzzle. Sometimes, we are so busy telling God everything we need from him, we forget to listen for a response. Perhaps when it seems that God is not answering our prayers, it’s because we have not followed the very instructions he has given us that would lead us to our answer.

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10


Lenten Reflection on The Desires of Your Heart

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart….Ps 37:4  

Can this really be true? All we need to do is ‘delight ourselves in the Lord’ and he will give us everything we want?  And, what does it mean to delight ourselves in the Lord, anyway?

As usual, scripture verses from the Bible can be taken lightly and literally, but often have a deeper meaning that takes a little digging.

We can delight ourselves in the Lord by putting him first in our lives, living by his commands and his example. By letting Jesus be just who he is…. the  Lord of our life. When we are conscious of God in our life, and we lean on him, trust him and defer to him every step of the way, alongside prayer, worship and scripture study, these are all ways of delighting in the Lord.    

So this verse seems to say if we delight ourselves in the Lord by doing these things, then God will give us whatever we desire. But what if it means, instead, that He will give us new things to desire?

It’s like if we delight ourselves in the Lord then maybe he will change our desires, and give us new, more meaningful things to desire. If we devote our life to the Lord, He will shape the desires of our hearts into what it is that will really satisfy us. He will cause us to want  and desire different things. Meaningful things. Things that will bring us deep-seated joy over temporary  happiness.

Anyway, do we really think that if we delight ourselves in the Lord  we kind of just suddenly start getting every material thing we want? You know…an ‘A’ on that test, more money, a better job, a bigger house, a nicer car,  awesome vacation, perfect children, more… “happiness?”

Although these things might  make us happier in the short term, I think maybe God is in the business of helping us find joy over happiness. A contentment and a peace that surpasses the temporal enjoyment of material things.

So we think we want all this cool worldly stuff, but if we delight ourselves in the Lord maybe he shows us what the true desires are that are deep in our hearts. In our spirits. Maybe God gives those to us instead of just heaping upon us a bunch of ‘stuff’ if we agree to delight ourselves in him.

Instead of chasing after the wealth of this world, maybe we begin to consider setting our sights on the treasures and the riches stored up in the next.

And when we truly delight ourselves in the Lord, we no longer have such a strong yearning for all things shiny, bright, expensive, new  and ultimately, empty.

What God gives us is a new desire. Something that will bring us closer to Him, through sacrifice and service to others, or through using a gift he has given us to make the world a better place. He places in us a better, deeper, more profound desire. A desire  that he knows will give us joy, contentment and peace.


Being Present in God’s Presence

Seek ye first the kingdom of God… and all these things will be added unto you.
Matthew 6:33

Recently praying and thanking God for all he has done in so many areas of my life. Realizing that He heals in so many ways; physically, emotionally, relationally and spiritually.
He  is called Jehovah Rapha ‘The Lord our Healer’.

And I know he has healing in store for us all, that has not yet manifested. I have realized that God wants us to live from the inside out, and perhaps that is how he heals us too. First spiritually, then in our hearts and souls -our thoughts, emotions and desires- then lastly, physically. This would make sense because, truly that is the order of importance.

And  I was thanking God for all his provision; his comfort and his  peace, his joy and strength, his grace, mercy and all the things he provides daily.
God is also called Jehovah Jireh ‘The Lord our Provider’.

As I prayed it occurred to me that maybe I only really need to  thank him for his presence. Because His Presence encompasses all these other things. His presence is comfort. His presence is healing. His presence is peace.

And in His presence is freedom from worry, freedom from lack, freedom from fear. Maybe it’s really only God’s presence that we need to pray for. It covers everything we need.

It’s funny because lately, every time the realization washes over me… he is here with me right now… when this occurs to me, I have an immediate sense of peace, an immediate sense of resting in God’s presence. And an overwhelming sense of gratitude. It’s just an incredibly real feeling, an incredible Truth. Hard to describe, but it’s so different from saying  ‘I think, I feel, I believe.’ It’s like I just know. I know He is there, and I know He is all I need.

Dear Lord, help me to remember that you are comfort,  you are protection, you are love, you are truth you are faith, hope,  trust and so much more…. So when I pray for all these things, I’m really just praying for you to be present to me. I need simply  to pray for the awareness of your presence, believing you are everything you say you are, and I receive all of these things!

In your presence is fullness of joy…Psalm 16:11

Lenten Reflection on Grace

Out of his fullness we have all received grace upon grace already given. John 1:16

What is grace?

Most Christians agree that biblically it means receiving undeserved favor. Getting what you don’t deserve because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. More specifically, receiving salvation and forgiveness of our sins, not because of our behavior or some action on our part, but because of what Jesus did for us on the cross.

I think that grace upon grace means we’ve  been offered this incredible, astonishing grace, the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. But then, once we acknowledge and accept that, God gives us even more grace. Grace for every day of our lives. Grace to face every problem that confronts us.

Grace to change and transform into what God intended for us to be. Grace to forgive and  to accept forgiveness. Grace to love the unlovable, and to accept love. Grace to rise above the unfairness that is in the world. And to serve others even when we don’t feel that we are being served fairly. Grace for compassion even when we don’t feel it. Grace for patience even when we don’t have it. Grace for kindness and connection when we really  don’t even want it.

Grace for a kind of Love that supersedes simple human love. Grace for agape love, this God-like, self sacrificing, all encompassing Love that we can only find and only feel and only give when He is at the center of our life.

Okay guys, so I’m trying something new… I’m going to be doing shorter posts, more frequently throughout the rest of Lent. And so help me God I’m going to try to do less editing and just put out there what He has put on my heart. So please forgive any questionable grammaticals (Like that one right there) and just know that you are reading what’s in my heart and what I feel God is saying to me. Please let me know what you think by commenting below.

The Ultimate Valentine

The Science of Love…?

Thinking about the origins of love as Valentine’s Day approaches…
Were humans equipped to love at the very start? Logically, if you take God out of the equation, and look at it from a scientific point of view, it really doesn’t make sense.
I mean, which molecule creates or fosters love?  Which organ causes us to love?  We say we feel love in our heart,  but we know that’s not really literally true. Our brain is responsible for much of the process, of course, but how would feelings of love – or any emotions for that matter – evolve...and why?

I get that we have a vested biological interest in keeping those who share our lives and our  DNA safe and healthy and strong, but to put it in Tina Turner’s words…What’s Love got to do with it?

It doesn’t seem necessary to love someone to do the right thing and take care of them, or care about what happens to them, and protect them. So where in our human bodies did love come from?

It would seem that humans must have been pre-programmed for love by Whomever created us…

A prayer of Love for Valentine’s Day

Lord You are Love… Thank you for giving us love. Thank you for being love for us and through us. Thank you for allowing us to love and be loved, because you first loved us.

Love From Above

Lord You Are Love… you gave love, you showed love. And you’re responsible for all the love on the planet. It all originated with you. And it was especially made known to us when you sent your son, Jesus. He… communicated and conferred the essence and the reality of Your Love onto your people. Jesus is the ultimate Valentine.

Jesus was the example of love.  He was the embodiment of love. He  encouraged love and inspired those who knew him to love.  And even today though we do not know the person  of Jesus, he still inspires love.

Because we know him in Spirit, He still inspires compassion. He still inspires generosity. He still inspires service. Because without these things we are merely human. But with these things, as we emulate You, God, by emulating your Son… we become more and more like You and more aware of being  “made in your image and your likeness”.

Lord You Are LoveBeing made in your image was never intended to mean that we look like you… in body, in person  or in countenance. But that we “look like you” in Spirit.  In our nature and in our actions and our reactions; towards each other…In Love.

Know that you are loved by the One who matters most. Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

The Mystery and Frustration of Prayer

Recently a new friend was telling me that she was having shoulder surgery soon. So I was just praying for her that things go well, of course, and that she recovers quicker than expected. And praying for her surgeon too, that he does what needs to be done, does it efficiently and superbly.

 

But then I thought well, yeah, a lot of people are probably getting shoulder surgery today. So I threw that addendum prayer onto the end, as I think we often do… Lord please help everyone who’s getting shoulder surgery today. And then I added… well, everyone who’s getting any kind of surgery today, too, I guess.  And wait… anyone who’s in the hospital today and suffering in any kind of pain. And, oh! …..every doctor that’s working today to help fix them… And then what about the people who are in pain but can’t afford to be in the hospital? Or have no access to healthcare. And so then my prayers drifted there. And what about places in the world that are so remote that there isn’t even such a thing as a hospital or doctors or surgery?

 

And of course, as you can see prayer can become endless. Which is, really, a good thing I guess. But it starts to feel almost futile. Like, does it ever end? Does all this vague praying dilute the effectiveness or the sincerity of my prayers? Is there ever a time I can feel like I’ve prayed enough?

 

I guess that’s why Joyce Meyer says she likes to  “pray her way through the day.” She says we can pray to God about anything. And she does mean anything. She prays that her hair stylist does a good job on her hair. She prays that she bowls well on her bowling league. She prays for every little thing in each part of her day. I used to think someone who prayed like that was ridiculous. But now I admire them so much.

Should We Pray All Day?

I think when Paul said we are to pray ceaselessly, that’s what he means. Not that we should sit with our heads bowed, or kneel with our hands clasped in fervent, holy prayer 24/7. But that we just pray and have an ongoing conversation with Jesus all day long about everything that’s going on in our lives, and the lives of people around us.

 

Brother Lawrence was a monk who lived in the 1600s  in a Carmelite monastery in Paris and he really got this. Basically his job at the monastery was mostly working as a cook. He focused on spending every minute of the day in God’s presence, and for God’s purpose.

He wrote letters to a friend about this spiritual practice. And his writings were put in a book after his death called The Practice of the Presence of God. An excerpt can be found here.

It was a series of the letters that he wrote about how every little thing he did was for God. Every dish he washed in the kitchen, every plate he served… his mind never strayed far from God throughout his entire day.  He got to the point that every single thing he did, he did out of love for God.  He talks about how it was only difficult for the first 10 years.(!)

 

It sounds like a lot of work. But I’ve been trying to do it, been working on it.  I’m nowhere near Brother Lawrence’s level of commitment, but I am trying to make prayer my go-to whenever I remember, all throughout the day.  Good times, bad times, regular times. Trying not to wait for a crisis to think to  pray. 

And it really does become a very comfortable, reassuring, peaceful practice to rely on. It’s just such a great reminder that God is always right there with you. And a reminder of the peace that you can have when you acknowledge his presence.

 

So when prayer seems endless and sometimes frustrating it’s helpful to remember that every word that you speak to God with sincerity, every moment you take to listen for his answer, draws you closer and closer to him. And to that beautiful mystery…the peace that passes understanding, that we are all searching for.

 

Love Came Down


God put love in a body and sent Him down to earth…

Because he knew that we needed to see his love. Tangibly. In a form that we could understand and an example that we could follow.

God put love in a body and sent Him down to earth... So we would know that there is hope.   In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. His  light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:4-5   There’s no force on this Earth, no source of power in the universe that is stronger than his love.

There is no darkness or difficulty, no loneliness or grief, no sickness, addiction or problem that his light does not shine upon and carry you through. No matter the good or the bad that’s happening in your life this holiday season, his light is there shining… for you! He’s there for you and for me. His light, his power, his comfort, his courage, his provision, his peace… Is there for anyone who wants it.  Anyone who reaches out and asks for it. It’s there. He is there.  You are never alone because he never leaves you nor forsakes you.

God put love in a body and sent him down to earth… So we could know we have a Father in heaven who guides us and protects us. Who gives us wisdom, purpose and peace. He helps us see that we are here for more than  maybe we had thought.  More than whatever we see on the surface.  What is important about you is not what you have or  what you do.
God loves YOU. That. Is what makes you significant. You are loved, you are important,  you are a child of God.  And you are exactly what God wants for Christmas this year.

Blessings for a Very Merry Christmas to you all !

 

 

« Older posts Newer posts »