Writing in the Sand

Men and women throughout history have discovered the great hope of the cross. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn for many years was a prisoner in Soviet concentration camps. His days were made up of backbreaking labor and slow starvation. One day he gave up, feeling no purpose in fighting on. Laying his shovel down, he walked over to a bench and sat down. At any moment a guard might order him to get up, and when he failed to respond, the guard would probably beat him to death with a shovel. Solzhenitsyn had seen it happen many times.

As he was sitting there waiting for death, he felt a presence near. He lifted his eye and saw an old man with a wrinkled, utterly expressionless face. They had never communicated because prisoners were not allowed to talk. This old man took a stick, and in the sand at Solzhenitsyn’s feet he drew the sign of the cross. As Solzhenitsyn stared at the cross his entire perspective shifted. He realized in that moment that the cross was the hope of mankind, even against all-powerful Soviet Empire. He slowly got up, picked up the shovel, and went back to work under the power of the cross, later to become a prophetic voice to the nations.

The cost of Christian discipleship has always been the same. Christ still calls: ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me (Matt. 16:24). Our Lord still summons us to walk the pathway of the cross.

Love’s arms were never stretched so wide as upon the cross. May the chorus of “Lead Me to Calvary” be our prayer as we commence our pilgrimage to Calvary:

Lest I forget Gethsemane

Lest I forget thine agony,

Lest I forget Thy love to me,

Lead me to Calvary.

Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross. – Hebrews 12:2

A man standing on the deck of a ship suddenly heard a deafening rumble as a volcano on the shore burst into flame. The whole countryside was lit up, and then the flame died. In those moments, he said, was revealed the fire that is ever burning in the heart of that mountain.

As we contemplate the Passion of our Lord, His suffering on Calvary, we have a glimpse of the love that is forever in the heart of God for each of us. Calvary is the supreme articulation of God’s love for the world. As we ponder the stupendous scene of the Son of God impaled on a felon’s cross on our behalf, we are constrained with Charles Wesley to exclaim:

Amazing love! How can it be That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

The writer of Hebrews invokes just such a contemplation: “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross,despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2). May our contemplation lead to a deeper consecration of ourselves to the One whose love surpasses our understanding but wins our hearts.

Dear Savior, lest I forget Your love to me, lead me in Your path of suffering all the way to the foot of the cross.

40 Days with the Savior

Pilgrimage to Calvary

Introduction:  The tiny hill of Calvary has become the pinnacle of history which towers over all other events.  The world has gloried in its cross – carved it into every form of beauty, emblazoned it on the flags of nations, and engraved it on the scepters and diadems of kings.  The mighty impact of Calvary divided time in two.  Christ’s death made Calvary the door through which humanity might enter eternity.

“The Cross transforms everything,” writes John R. W. Stott.  He states, “The Cross lies at the center of the historic, biblical faith.”  Indeed, the word cross comes from the Latin crux which means the3 essential or deciding point.  The cross is the central point of history.  The destiny of every soul lies in the promise of the cross.

No theme is so sacred, so sublime, as the suffering death of Christ on Calvary.  It was on the cross that the Son of God paid the tremendous cost for our salvation and eternal life.  It was on the cross that Christ balanced mankind’s ledger with God, wiping out our spiritual bankruptcy before a holy and just God.

These forty meditations may serve as a pilgrimage of the soul, journeying through the final week and sufferings in the life of our Lord.  They will help us reverently contemplate the sublime sacrifice of our Lord and draw us nearer to the cross and its mighty meaning for our lives.

Why forty meditations?  The number forty has sacred significance in Scripture and Christian history.  When the hope of the world was sheltered in the Ark, there was rain upon the earth for forty days (Genesis 7:17).  Israel’s wilderness wanderings lasted for forty years, during which God provided manna for their sustenance (Ex. 16:35;  Num. 32:13).  Moses tarried on Mt. Sinai for forty days when God gave the Ten Commandments (Ex. 24:18).  Israel’s spies scouted the Promised Land for forty days (Num. 13:1-25).  Elijah tarried in Horeb forty days before God’s revelation to him (1Kings 19:8).  Jesus fasted in the wilderness for forty days after which He overcame the tempting of the devil (Luke 4:2).  Our Lord remained after His resurrection, confirming the faith of His followers in that critical period, for forty days (Acts 1:3).

Christians traditionally commemorate the forty days before Easter as Lent, remembering the suffering and sacrifice of Christ.  It is a time devoted to meditation, self-examination, discipline, and renewal.  Ash Wednesday inaugurates Lent with prayer and Holy Week before Easter.  Good Friday is Lent’s climax.

These forty meditations can serve as devotional readings during the Lenten period or for any season when one is led to contemplate the sacred last week of the life of our Lord and its meaning for us.  When we come to the end of these reflections, let us affirm with the Apostle Paul, “God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  (Gal. 6:14).

—–>excerpts from Henry Gariepy – 40 Days with the Savior

Summer Personal Growth Plan – T.R.E.K. (Final Part)

K ————————>

^^ Know in a deeper way, that God continues to shape the interior of my life to the level of my obedience.

^^ Kingdom rhythms – pay attention to being drawn into busyness, cultural nuances and latest ‘fads.’

^^  Kayak regularly – being on the water brings solitude, silence, and surprises

^^  Kindle- fuel my passions for family, learning, adventure, speaking into the lives of others and the Word.

^^  Keep close to heart, the spiritual markers, altars, and thin places where God showed up in surprising ways to remind me of His love and be available to those incarnations.

I know that I am on a TREK that will be filled with wonder, wanderings and waffling.  But I am more and more convinced that if we desire to live a life of mediocrity and never take the steps to create a greater capacity for ourselves and those we serve and lead, we exist in a deficit position.

I also know this is much bigger than me.  But I can see it and I would do it even if I didn’t get paid.  I seek to never let the journey come to an end, but to keep on the trails of nurturing my interior life and personal development for God’s glory!

Ready to go with me?  Let’s Go!

Summer Personal Growth Plan – T.R.E.K. (Part Four)

R ————————>

^^ Re-imagine and give myself to the ‘bigger picture’ of what God wants to do in me and through me.

^^ Re-visit the way God wired and shaped me in order to be a more intentional influence to those I serve.

^^ Rhythm- develop systems that help me live out of a sense of ‘practicing the presence of God’ versus busyness for God.

^^ Re-discover my passions and pathways where I lead out of my greatest contribution to the kingdom of God.

^^  Resolve to put into my mind only that which will enhance, engage, enlarge, and embrace the Word of God.

———————————————————————————————————————————-

E ———————->

^^  Exchange mediocrity for velocity – moving at the speed of the Spirit.

^^  Embrace and create personal and spiritual momentum

^^  Embark on an adventure in God’s Word to a place, theme or topic I have not given much attention.

^^  Engage ‘deep precessing’ of my integrity and character

^^  Enlarge my heart for the things that define my ‘holy discontent.’

^^  Explore a new learning curve for topics that will generate discovery process in order to move people deeper and wider in their growth and development.

To be continued———————>

Summer Personal Growth Plan – T.R.E.K. (Part Three)

The word ‘trek’ means ‘any long or difficult trip.’  I understand that this venture I am embarking on won’t be easy.  As in trekking, I will encounter stumbling blocks, failures, discouragement, self-loathing and perhaps ridicule from others however, ‘there is no gain without pain,’ and I cannot pass on to others what I myself do not possess.  And I will need the help of others to join me, if not on the trail- then in the ingredients that make up a good Trek, encouragement, prayer, accountability, refreshment and rest.

Each of the four letters that make up the word T.R.E.K will serve as an acronym for the elements I have articulated for my adventure during the summer months. These four areas I have developed, will be used as a catalyst in moving forward into the next chapters of my life.

Trekking is not always as adventurous when you go alone so, I invite you to TREK with me.  To develop your own Personal Growth Plan (T.R.E.K.) and see what surprises God has along the way for us.

In these next blog posts, I will outline the areas that I need to give intentional focused attention and hope that they will serve as an encouragement for you to begin to develop a Summer T.R.E.K. Personal Growth Plan for yourself.

T ———————>

^^ Terminate those areas of my life that have control of me and continue moving towards being under God’s control.

^^ Track what I put into my body so that it honors being ‘healthy.’

^^ Transform busyness to developing systems and rhythms

^^ Trace any area where I am not living consistently on the outside with who God is creating me to be on the inside.

^^ Treat accountability with greater capacity that will serve as mutual nurturing.

To be continued——->

Summer Personal Growth Plan – T.R.E.K. (Part two)

In the ‘role of the wilderness’ – Luke 4:1-13 (T.R.E.K.)  the preparations of a leader cannot be overemphasized.  Both Luke and Matthew record Jesus’ time in the wilderness at the beginning of His ministry.  Jesus spent 40 days alone, in a desert, abstaining from food and noise and distraction.  Both Gospel writers tell us this was a time ordained by the Holy Spirit.

So what happens to a leader in this wilderness season? Luke gives us a hint——->

^^ We recognize that God will lead us into seasons of growth, not gratification

^^ We fight battles and overcome temptations to take shortcuts

^^ We learn discipline and the art of depending on God

^^ We are broken of self-sufficiency and self-promotion

^^ We solidify our sense of mission

^^ We gain perspective

^^ We are prepared to enter our vocation with new perspective

Just a thot—–>  When was the last time you gave yourself permission to engage in a  TREK ‘wilderness’ experience?

To be continued———>

Summer Personal Growth Plan – ‘T.R.E.K.’ (Part One)

One strategic lesson I have learned over the years is ‘if you don’t have a plan for growth – it’s not going to happen automatically.’ As the Sunday School chorus taught us ‘you must go deep before you go wide.’ Over the past twenty years, the last week of each year I would take some time to myself in a quiet space and look over my plan from that year and assess where I was strong and progressed and where I was not as strong and what needed more attention.

This year,  I am developing a Plan for Personal Growth called  ‘Summer T.R.E.K.’ The word TREK will serve an an acronym and I will identify 3-5 areas of personal and spiritual maturity that I will give focused attention to this summer, June – August.

Some of the areas I will develop and give focused attention to are the following—->

^^ The process of personal discipline

^^ Accountability

^^ Character

^^ Develop systems and rhythms

^^ Integrity

^^ Create Momentum

^^ Sabbath

^^ Creating Positive Change

^^ Living Consistently

^^ Influence through Relationships

^^ Living out of the Word

I would invite you to join me on this ‘Summer T.R.E.K.’ in going deeper in our personal and spiritual maturation in order for us to go wider in personal and spiritual influence.

This quest is characterized by ‘The Role of the Wilderness’  found in Luke 4:1-13

To be continued—–>

Thin Places (Part Two)

I remember when as a teen, we used to have recreation parks all around our city in the Berkshires of Massachusetts.  I spent many hours at our local park, ice skating on the frozen pond skiing and sliding down what I thought was a huge mountain. (really only a large hill).  Playing group games and cards and thinking we were the ‘cool group.’  I learned a lot of life lessons in that local park.  It soon became the place where God spoke to my heart and called me into full time ministry.   It was one of those ‘thin places‘ for me when God showed up in an unexpected place.  When I go back to my home town, I often drive by that park while visiting family.  Why?  Because I have tough days like everybody else, and I need a ‘burning bush‘ to  remind me of why I’m doing what I’m doing.  It was an ‘altar‘ place for me.

I wonder if Peter ever rode back out to that spot on the Sea of Galilee where he walked on water?  Did Zacchaeus ever take his grandchildren back to climb the Sycamore tree where he caught his first glimpse of Jesus?  Did Lazarus ever revisit the tomb where he was buried for four days?  Did Paul ever ride out to the mile marker on the road to Damascus where God knocked him off his high horse? Did Abraham ever take Isaac back to Mt. Moriah where God provided a ram in the thicket?  And I wonder, if Moses ever returned to the burning bush, took off his sandals and thanked God for interrupting the forty year routine of his life by giving him a second chance to make a difference.

Thin places calls you to discover new ways to look for God in the past so that you might experience Him more profoundly in the present.  When you are broken, God meets you in thin places.

What if you could retrace your life and discover its thin places – places where the division between this world and the eternal fades?

Thin places are snatches of holy ground, tucked into the corners of our world, where we might catch a glimpse of eternity.  They are ‘Aha” moments, beautiful realizations when the Son of God bursts through the hazy fog of our monotony and shines on us afresh.

Just a thot—->When God seems absent from us, He is often doing His most important work in us.

Thin Places (Part One)

A few years ago Dave and I spent some time in the Rockie Mountains in Colorado.  As we drove the winding road through the middle of the mountains, we witnessed some of the most spectacular sights we will remember for a lifetime.   We saw hundreds of caribou feeding on the green grasses in the fields, wild flowers I never knew existed and mountain ranges that took our breath away.  With the majesty of it all, it was one of those times I felt like I was on top of the world and I just wanted to stand there and clap and give God an applause for creating such beauty.

Mark Batterson in his book, ‘Wild Good Chase‘ says that Celtic Christians referred to these moments as ‘thin places‘ – moments where heaven and earth seem to touch, where the natural and the super-natural worlds collide – creation meets creator and sin meets grace.

This was one of those moments and one of those places for Moses, where God showed up in an ordinary place in a bush on the back side of a desert that became ‘holy ground.’  That seems to be the way the Holy Spirit works.  He is predictably unpredictable.  He loves to show up in wild places and wild times.

Jewish scholars have concluded that God showed up in a burning bush to show that ‘no place is devoid of God’s presence, not even in a burning bush in the back side of a desert.’ God can show up at any time and at anyplace.  You can be at your desk working, sitting in rush-hour traffic or lying on your sofa.  He loves to show up in wild places at wild times.  God is here, there and everywhere.  The ‘holy ground’ wasn’t the Promised Land.  It was right where Moses was standing.

Just a thot —–>Don’t wait until you get to the ‘promised land.’  You’ve got to worship along the way.

To be continued———->

‘Intimacy’ – Is it for Real? (Final Part)

There are many similarities between having a good marriage relationship with your spouse and having a good personal relationship with God. In the Bible, there is a lot of language that refers to marriage in describing a personal relationship with God. Those who receive and profess Jesus as their Lord & Savior are referred to as the “bride of Christ”. In Jeremiah 2:2 God says “I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the desert”; in Jeremiah 3:14 God speaks to His people after they had left Him: “Return, faithless people, declares the Lord, for I am your husband” and in 3:20: “But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you have been unfaithful to Me.” We are God’s 1st love, and He wants to be our 1st love and have an intimate personal relationship with us.

“God who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord is faithful.”                                                                          - I Corinthians 1:9

Is it possible to know God intimately and be His friend ? What does ‘to know’ God mean in the Bible? It means much more than just knowing about God. God wants us to know Him and His love & mercy & goodness,… in very personal and real ways, to enjoy His presence in our lives, and to see and then join Him in His activity & work in and around us.

“This is Eternal Life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”
- John 17:3

“…. So that you may know and believe Me (God), and understand that I am He.” – Isaiah 43:10

“Teach me your ways so that I may know you and continue in your favor.” – Exodus 33:13

What is God’s greatest desire for you ? God sees you as precious treasure and He longs to have a close relationship with you. More than anything He wants you to have an intimate love relationship and friendship with Him. God wants you to spend time with Him and intimately communicate with Him, to enjoy fellowship with Him, to trust and follow Him, and to give your life meaning and purpose.

Do you desire a deeper and closer relationship and friendship with God ? Is your desire to know Him and to please Him growing ? Do you know that hearing God’s voice is by far the most important part of your prayer & fellowship time with God?  God needs to touch our hearts so that Jesus is our first love, and so that we will faithfully and passionately seek Him and follow Him, however and wherever He may lead us.

“It is a joy to Jesus when a person takes time to walk more intimately with Him. The bearing of fruit is always shown in Scripture to be a visible result of an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.” – Oswald Chambers

“O, the fullness, the pleasure, the sheer excitement of knowing God here on earth.” -Jim Elliott

“I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.” – Paul (Philippians 3:8)

??? How does this happen?  I often get asked that question.  Just as we pursue a relationship with a friend – wanting to really know them and what they’re all about, we want to be with them and experience joy in their presence.  As a Christ-follower, we pursue Him by getting to know Him by reading His ‘Love Letters’ to us in His Word, in intimate times of prayer, in fellowship with other Christ-followers and in discovering your ‘holy discontent‘.   Your ‘holy discontent’ is your God-ordained passion.  What makes you cry?  What makes you sad? What makes you mad? What will you pound on the table for?  A mission that breaks your heart for the things of God.

God relentlessly pursues us in this same way.  It’s an adventure!  A Sacred Romance! A Wild Goose Chase!  Chase Him with everything you’ve got…..because he’s chasing you too!