Balance

For most of my life, I have performed somewhat of a balancing act.  You ever heard the phrase, “God doesn’t want fence riders?  You’re either in or your out.”  I don’t know if it’s a weakness or a thorn God has given me, but for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to place more weight on what He thinks of me rather than what everyone else around me thinks.

I live in this haunting space between allowing God to lead me to rest beside his quiet waters, as Psalm 23 offers, and trying to carry the unbearable weight of pleasing men.  I can’t get it through my thick skull that Jesus really is serious when he says, “My yolk is easy and my burden is light.”

I am not usually one to run away, but sometimes, especially lately, I’ve just wanted to run.  I want to get lost somewhere in the Colorado mountains, living off the land in an old mining cabin.  Then I read Psalm 23 and David says, “He makes me lie down in green pastures.  He leads me beside quiet waters,” and I realize I’m trying to do the impossible; control what is happening around me so that I’m a little more comfortable.

I cannot tell you how badly I want to release that control and let God make me lie down, to soak up those quiet, refreshing waters.  If I could just grasp the concept that David enjoys, oh the weight that is lifted…

God, lead me to rest.  Make me lie down and relish just being in your presence.  Bring me to dwell in your house forever, because I cannot get there on my own.

Sorry about the lack of significance today…

hypocrisy…

So here I am… I haven’t recanted from my previous post nor do I feel that I am somehow acting more redemtively in my blogging now that I have taken a month or so off. I guess I’ll just claim my hypocrisy and move on.

I need some help. I’m not sure how many of you have experienced what Acts 2 is describing in the life of the church, but that is what I hope to create through a small group or house church launch within our barely one-year-old baby; VineLife. And no, my goal is not to re-create the first century church because I think at this point, it is a near cultural impossibility, though I think the persecution portion may be coming our way sooner rather than later…

Here is what I mean. As I see it, there are a few things happening in Acts that I would like to release into our midst. Check it out.

1. There is a multi-ethnic gathering of people
2. The Holy Spirit is visibly active in their midst
3. The Spirit is not picky about who it lands on. Everyone is drenched with it’s power.
4. The gospel was spoken (The story of Jesus Christ)
5. People had no other reaction than to give their lives to Christ
6. They devoted themselves to the Apostles teaching, which was THE GOSPEL, the story of Christ
7. And to quote the last four verses of the chapter; All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Now, my question for you is not, is it even possible to create this kind of community? I am not interested in debating whether or not God is God and can do anything he wants. I want to know how to make this happen. How can we create such a community that is by it’s very essence, the living, breathing, moving, growing, changing and stretching body of Christ for the sake of this world?

What is it going to take for us who call ourselves disciples of Christ to live radically, to bring heaven here instead of hiding in our air conditioned buildlings waiting for Jesus to come “take us away.”

to be continued…