Tag Archives: disciple

Anger management

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http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/adult-health/in-depth/anger-management/art-20045434?pg=1&footprints=mine

The link is to an article on the Mayo Clinic website about anger management. This is a rather readable and helpful link. I would have just copied and pasted, but there were a bunch of fussy requirements, just didn’t want to get into it.
A few comments though, one of the suggestions, “think before you speak”, man there are a lot of people out there who would do themselves and everyone else too, a big favor if they’d just do that. Hey I’ve said things and realized, shortly thereafter, wow, that was dumb. Lose the juvenile attitude, just because you “have the right” doesn’t always mean you should exercise it.
There is a right way and a wrong way, give it a little time, think it out and then rationally, “this upset me and this is why”. No one’s asking you to be a doormat, by the same token, again, a right way/a wrong way.
Get some exercise! Too often it seems that person has too much energy to burn and chooses to burn it with outbursts. I have two heavy bags, a speed bag and pads upstairs at church and a bag at home. You need to work something out, come on down, I will personally hook you up. Then you can come downstairs to my office and we will talk.
And yea, little humor could go a long way. I grew up with my buddy in the Coast Guard, he’s the older brother I never had. He could handle situations like that so well. He would get this “puckish” expression on his face and then make a “puckish” remark, and everyone would immediately unclench. I try to “channel” my big brother any time I get into that (not always successfully). (Oh yea, if you don’t know what “puckish” means, drop me a line) (One other note, he was a “Gold Gloves Boxer”, who put me in a hold once, I had to beg to get out of. He could also shoot the eye out of gnat at 100 yards. You have to learn control especially when there are firearms available and especially when you’re carrying one as a law-enforcement officer. He was and he’s great.)
Quit holding grudges, nothing good comes of it, get over your pride and deal with it. There is too much to do for the Kingdom! You got that much energy and passion? I got a million things you could do here at church.
When we look to the Lord and see what He went through, for us, really how can we be otherwise? And don’t think I’m being Pollyannish here either, believe me, I will readily admit I can go off. But I’ve also found that it just doesn’t pay to do so. Often that person really does need a little compassion. I’m not saying you should be abused and if you really can’t deal with it, walk off, refer him/her to me. But just don’t get into it, think about what Jesus had to deal with, that we are called to be a servant and sometimes we serve best by just taking it in prayer. If Jesus can hang on the Cross and say “forgive them Father…”, can’t we find a way to forgive and then a better way to deal with it?

Integrity in the workplace in faith in Christ

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Father Nkwasibwe raises a point which I think deserves a lot of consideration in terms of organizational management. “Only a leader who has undergone a personal path of conversion and lived with an interior attitude of conversion and humility can be an example of the effort to downgrade workplace religious bias, prejudice and discrimination and other sinful inequalities. Such a leader enjoys the moral courage of freedom, responsibility and participation in social, cultural and religious interchange and promotion of the common good.”

Ya, ya, I can hear the clenching from here. The contemporary wisdom goes something like this, you have to hire someone who is completely unbiased, unattached, uncommitted, just “un” everything. I have to wonder if that is someone you can really trust. One of the main reasons for this blog is to champion the concept of living one’s faith life out in the workplace. Now, I will grant you that many see their faith life as converting the heathen. And I’m certainly not saying that given the opportunity in the workplace that I wouldn’t witness to Christ. I have, but when I do/did, it was with integrity. I’m there to present Christ, to tell people what He’s done in my life. What the Lordship of Christ in my life means, and what eternal life means. Now to be truly faithful to that, my witness has to be one that is with integrity, doing my job in a way that glorifies Christ. Not getting into holy wars, not picking on people, not discriminating etc. Always remembering that part of living my life in Christ in the workplace is to do my job with integrity and not using it as a way to abuse my position in favor of those who agree with me. Is that easy? No.

On the flip side, that person who has no scruples in terms of their life regarding “God”, however they see that, that’s better? No, it just isn’t. This is a person who’s decided that they know best, they trust only in their own judgment, or the judgment of other people. That is the continued downfall of secularism. We continue to try and impose individual, unguided, uncritical, frankly mostly about how I can do things to enhance me, and then expect that person to make principled, unbiased judgments. That’s a ridiculous expectation. This person is, bottom line, all about him or her. If anything they will discriminate against people of faith, like the college professor who picks out Christian students and decides that for a variety of reasons, they just don’t have it, tries to bully them into denying their Christian convictions. Come on, are there more Ken Lay’s and Bernie Madoff’s in the business world, or more David Green’s (owner of Hobby Lobby)? Ya right, who would I trust more? Come on! Who could I expect to hold accountable and who would think that they are a law unto themselves?

I’m not saying that Christians are always the most humble or the most principled. But I can go to David Green and if he’s not acting according to Christian principles I can hold him accountable. Ken Lay, Bernie Madoff et al, the only thing they are accountable for is the bottom line, investor value anything else, they will do as they judge and that’s what will get the secular man or woman in trouble every time.

“Self leadership, which is an offshoot of conversion, is that leadership that spurs others through moral values and exemplary skilled practices because nemo dat quod non habet. …Latin … “nobody gives what he or she does not have’. No matter what, this cannot be bypassed if effectiveness and righteousness are to be realized… Undergoing a path of conversion involves sustaining on-going renewal and connotes persevering in holiness, true friendship and altruistic service. … a journey of discovery, spiritual progress or soul’s journey toward God…”

“…it is also when conversion occurs that the leader can develop courage to lead the workplace community to ascend from the disrepute to which unethical practices and religious rivalry and confrontations have drawn most business actions.”

A man of faith is going to be a lot more likely to step up and take the heat and trust God’s providence as compared to the just cowardly, infantile, pathetic actions of people like Lay, Madoff and Dennis Kozlowski of Tyco. Just squirrely little weenies. I know, not very charitable, but it is what it is. (Quick note, I had to Google Tyco. You know what the first reference was “tyco scandal”. Ya, just how you want to be remembered.)

Popular media likes to try to portray people of religion as bigots, narrow-minded, abusive. But the reality completely contradicts the popular fiction. I’d rather work for Hobby Lobby or Chick Fil A before I worked for Dennis Kozlowski.

Our group meets for discussion on Wednesday 10am, coffeehouse at the corner of  W King and Beaver Sts. Parking is behind the church 140 W King St, about a 50 yard walk from there. No charge, no committment, I will even buy your first cup of coffee. We are still in Gene Veith’s book, “God at Work”. See you then and God bless you.

 

Spiritual attack

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I suppose Good Friday isn’t a time to be whining, good things are happening, the Lord has been blessing us. But it’s hard to break this feeling of being under both spiritual attack and spiritual oppression.
In my heart I know that is a good thing, if you are truly being effective for the Kingdom, you certainly put a target on your back, you are going to attract Satan’s attention. In that sense I say bring it, if I’m going to be the one to suffer the slings and arrows, if I am taking the hits for Jesus, He tells us that we should rejoice, that it is commendable: “ESV Matthew 5:11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
People who are just going through the motions, trying to stay “safe”, not stepping out for Jesus or His church, they aren’t a threat to Satan, so he’s not going to cause them grief. Wouldn’t the strategy be more to keep people kind of fat and happy and isolated? You just stay there and go by the numbers and nothing happens to you, I’m just interested in the guy who is trying to bring the Kingdom of Christ into my world. This is Satan’s world, those who are Christians are in the world, but not of the world. Seems that for those who actually step out, they draw the fire, while everyone else hides behind their barricades.
Jesus certainly stepped out, Jesus certainly confronts the world and no matter how attacked I feel, I know that Jesus is going to be there to support me and to keep me going. Jesus promised us: “And behold, I am with you always even to the end of the age.” (Matt 28: 20) In the meantime I certainly covet your prayers, I continue to pray that I stay strong and faithful, trusting that if I am drawing Satan’s fire, then Jesus must be using me effectively and I’m staying out of His way as best I can. But pray that this oppressiveness will be turned from feeling as if I’m being pushed down and give me strength to rise up and push back hard in the strength of Jesus Christ. We remember the death and sacrifice of Jesus today, His paying for our sins on that cross. Good Friday is the second most important day on the Christian calendar. On this day, Jesus made full payment for our sins, lifted what separates us from the Father. Sunday, He rises from the dead, our sins have been paid for and now we are restored to eternal life in Christ, the life that the Father had always intended for us in our resurrection. This is a great time for family, but set some of that time to worship together, today and Sunday. In His peace.

Justified by the faith that God gives us

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Justified by the faith that God gives us.
March 23, 2014 First St Johns

We make our beginning in the Name of God the Father and of God the Son and of God the Holy Spirit and all those who know the faith that God gives us, said … AMEN!

So Paul starts right out of the chute for us: “Therefore since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through out Lord Jesus Christ.” (Rom 5:1) Faith one of the four onlys. I got a little red line in my word processor when I wrote “onlys” there is only one only, yet in Christ, there are four onlys. Remember back in confirmation, the four onlys that guide our faith, yea, I don’t know how you can have four superlatives, there’s good, better, best right? Best is the superlative, the best, there can only be one best, yet in the mystery of the Christian faith, we have four bests, four ultimates. Go figure? Sola Scriptura, sola gratia, sola Christi, sola fide. Only Scripture guides our life in Christ, only grace guides our life, only Christ guides our life and only faith/fide makes us righteous. Paul says we are “justified”, because of our faith in Christ we are justified, we are just. If we were brought to court, if we were accused, we would be found innocent, justified. Why? Because we are innocent? Ambrosiaster writes: “Faith gives us peace with God, not the law, for it reconciles us to God by taking away those sins which had made us God’s enemies. And because the Lord Jesus is the minister of this grace, it is through him that we have peace with God. Faith is greater than the law, because the law is our thing, whereas faith belongs to God. Furthermore, the law is concerned with our present life, whereas faith is concerned with eternal life. But whoever does not think this way about Christ, as he ought to, will not be able to obtain the rewards of faith, because he does not hold the truth of faith.”1 So, where do we get this faith? We have a lot of churches that teach that you are responsible for generating your own faith, if you aren’t stacking up, if you’re not healthy or pretty, or talented, or rich, it’s because you lack faith, they teach that God wants us to be happy, healthy, wealthy, pretty, talented, but if we can’t crank up our faith ability, well then it’s our fault and if we don’t make it in these areas it’s a sign that our faith is lacking. Can we, being sinner, somehow miraculously generate our own faith? By grace “sola gratia”, we are given the faith that we need through Jesus. God’s grace gives us the free gift of faith, nothing we can do can give us faith, or help us to increase our faith. We pray, we journal, we attend worship and receive absolution and the Body and Blood of Jesus, we study scripture and through these God gives us faith, God gives us what we need, when we need it. We can reject it, we can decide it’s not fast enough and far enough, like Israel in our Exodus reading. They decided, they wanted what they wanted now! It’s tough to be in the desert, no water in sight, wondering when you’re going to get your next glass of water. We’re all guilty of that, I’ve decided that this is what I need and I need it now. The Hebrew word hsn means to test, as the “Keyword Study Bible” points out: “the Lord has the right to test the faithfulness of His people, Abraham, Moses, David the people complaining to the leaders or the leaders complaining to God or both. And also the sense that God can test our faithfulness.”2 You probably saw the story in the last couple of weeks of the 18 year old daughter who sued her parents, because she felt she was entitled to support even though she was technically an adult. She picked up and left her home, but still expected her parents to foot the bill. The judge in the case according to the New York Post even “blasts her for gross disrespect”. Pretty much every article I saw about her described her as a spoiled brat. That is how the Israelites come off in our reading. God has miraculously delivered them from their grinding slavery in Egypt, he has provided them with food every day in the desert, He has provided them with clothing that for forty years will not break down, He has provided them with water and at the right time would have provided them with the water they needed, but because they were acting like spoiled brats and threatening to stone Moses, God gave in and gave them what they wanted. But they failed the test, God had kept them alive and promised to continue to do so, but they decided they were too important, God was continuing to give them faith, but they rejected it, got what they wanted, but failed. The Hebrew word ,byrI means to quarrel but has the same sense as the spoiled woman, that Israel was somehow entitled to plead their case in court against God, that they felt they were unfairly treated and “deserved” what they wanted.
If God is giving us our faith, we should know that God is faithful and therefore we really don’t have a right to test His faithfulness. The faith that He gives us is intended to be sufficient, when we presume to be above testing, we make an idol of ourselves, we decide that we are above that, too important for testing. Instead of looking for what God is doing in your life through this test, just like taking a history test to show how much you’ve learned in school, when we are tested we look for the lesson, the advancement in our life and grow in our relationship with God, in our ability to be a good disciple a disciple is a student, but he/she is also a teacher. We have to learn in order to be able to teach those who God gives us to disciple. What better way for someone to learn, then by you being able to say, this is how God taught me faithfulness, how God put me into a situation that tested my faith, this is what I learned, how I learned to apply the lesson and now I’m teaching you because of what I learned through God’s testing. Because at some point, that person that you are discipling is going to come into his/her own testing, and the hope is that they will remember what you taught them, see how God is working in their life and we pray their attitude will be, “ok God, I can see this is testing, help me to see what this is about and help me Lord to, essentially, pass this test.” Your disciple learns through your teaching, through the testing that God gave them and they grow as disciples and have something to pass on to those that they disciple. The cycle of life in the Christian life.
We see great examples of faith and we admire those who have lived a life of great faithfulness, St Patrick in last weeks sermon showed great faith in going back to dark, dangerous Ireland. Mother Theresa in the dark streets of Calcutta, St Paul going from city to city preaching a man who is God, who was crucified, and then resurrected. The suffering and testing these people were put through and to what end? None of them really knew in their lifetime, but years later we still remember and admire them, because they did not resist the faith that God gave them.
Chuck Swindoll writes about Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn during his eight years in the Russian Gulag Archipelago: “…his parents died and his wife divorced him. Upon his release from prison he was dying of a cancer that was growing in him so rapidly that he could feel the difference in a span of twelve hours. It was at that point that he abandoned himself to God, in three lines of the incredible prayer that came in that dark hour: ‘Oh God, how easy it is for me to believe in You. You created a path for me through the despair … O God, You have used me and where You cannot use me, You have appointed others. Thank You.’” Do you want to be remembered as a spoiled brat? That it’s all about you and what God wants, what He is trying to do in your life doesn’t matter? Swindoll tells about a monument at Saratoga, the turning point battle in the American Revolution. The statue has four niches in it, one for each American general who participated in this vital battle, “the first stands Horatio Gates; in the second, Philip John Schuyler; and in the third, Daniel Morgan. But the niche on the fourth side is strangely vacant…” Anyone care to guess who should have been in that niche? … Benedict Arnold! “’The empty niche in that monument shall ever stand for fallen manhood, power prostituted, for genius soiled, for faithlessness to a sacred trust.’”3 We remember people like Arnold with contempt, we spit on the name when it’s mentioned. We remember the Israelites who so shamelessly rejected God’s faith and threatened His prophet and teach about them with contempt. We remember, someone like the Samaritan woman in our reading today and while she questioned Jesus, tested Him, she is remembered by us for her simple faith, she was the first woman evangelist. After she was given the faith to understand who Jesus is. She said to Jesus: “I know that Messiah is coming… and Jesus said to her ‘I who speak to you am he.” She rushed back to her village to tell everyone that Messiah was here and Jesus spent two days, with hated Samaritans and because of that many more were given the faith to believe “because of his word.” Do we want to live in faithfulness, to know true life in Christ, to daily remember our baptism in Him and His sacrifice for us and to trust in the hope and promises of our baptism? Or do we want to be remembered as the spoiled brat who sued her parents?
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Shalom and Amin.

God builds leaders and gives them gifts for leadership

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Thought I would refer back to Fr Frederick Nkwasibwe’s book Business Courage as much as being a Christian is supposed to be about spiritual growth and maturity, yes I agree that there are interpersonal relationship benefits. (p 224) “…spirituality is considered a system of developing the inner life or spirit of the leaders and workers in order to receive and awaken important gifts. Moxley (2000), in his book Leadership and Spirit, makes a list of such gifts. They include becoming more centered internally and better connected relationally, getting a new kind of self-confidence, having a sharper understanding and acceptance of our personal power, becoming better able to engage in the activity of leadership and fostering a genuine partnership in relationships (p 151). For them, spiritual development is correlated to human development through developing interior life.”

Certainly it makes sense as we grow in the image of the Lord we grow in our relationships. Certainly Jesus is an example of how we should relate to others and in different situations. For those who needed confronting, He did not have a problem confronting. For those who needed compassion, He gave compassion. Not in a way that was enabling, but in a way to let people know that He knew we are weak vessels, we need compassion, but we also need encouragement. We need to understand that we need to grow, have better skills, be better listeners, empathetic, encouraging, on and on, just as Jesus was. He encouraged, but He also made it clear that He expected better. The more we become more like Him the better we relate to others.

I have had to be assertive, I’ve had to take the lead, confront problems. Can’t say I’ve always enjoyed it or looked forward to it. There were plenty of times when I wished I could have avoided confrontation and there were times when I just did. I can look you in the eye though and say that the more I’ve grown in Christ, the more I’ve felt the need to confront, especially when it was in Christ, but also to do what was right and to step up for the weak, the disadvantaged, the bullied. But always as a witness for Christ, always pointing people to Him through our better skills and in fact relying on Him to give us the words to speak. I’ve had plenty of times when I wondered “where did those words come from”. The Holy Spirit works through us at the workplace as much as anywhere else in our life. Hey we normally spend more time at work then anywhere else in our life, why would God leave that part of our life out and what we need to function in that part of our life unequipped? God has certainly developed leaders and He gave them the necessary gifts for leadership.

Let’s discuss more and/or Dr Gene Veith’s book that we’ve been talking about for awhile. Wednesday 10am Green Bean Coffee Co at the corner of W King and Beaver Sts, park behind the church.

Salting and Lighting your world

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Salting and Lighting Your World

First ST Johns Feb 9, 2014

We Make our beginning in the Name of God the Father, and in the Name of God the Son and in the Name of God the Holy Spirit and all those who are the salt and the light of the world said… AMEN

Are you the salt of the earth? Reminds me of that great song from Godspell, “You are the salt of the world, but if that salt has lost its flavor, it ain’t got much in it’s favor, you can’t have that fault and be the salt of the earth.” Salt and light were precious commodities back in Jesus’ time. If He was talking to us today He might ask us if we are the petroleum oil and the Amana freezer of our time. Salt and light were valuable, unlike today where, relatively speaking oil and refrigeration are relatively cheap, everyone uses oil in some form and pretty much everyone has a refrigerator/freezer in their home. Tory Borst notes: “Salt is one of those common everyday items we use without thought. We grab the shaker and shake. According to the Salt Institute (www.saltinstitute.org), in the year 2002 over a billion dollars were spent on salt in the United States alone using about 24 ½ million tons of salt.” In Jesus’ time it was more the exception than the rule that you would be able to light your home at night or you would be able to salt your food to preserve it. For the average worker, they would do their work during the day, they would get paid on that day and they would buy what they needed to eat for the rest of that day, they simply didn’t have a way to preserve food for a month, even a few days as most people have today. The phrase “he’s not worth his salt” comes from around that period, Roman soldiers would be paid in salt, if they weren’t performing their jobs properly it was said they weren’t worth the salt they were being paid.

It really goes back to a very fundamental question that we should be asking ourselves all the time. Henry Blackaby‘s devotional raised the issue and he points out what should be a constant reminder to us, are we salt, are we that preserving agent in a corrupted, degenerating world. “Your life is designed and commissioned by God to enhance a community and to preserve what is good and right.” (Henry Blackaby Experiencing God Day by Day p 51) Origen writes: “As salt preserves meat from decaying, so also do Christ’s disciples, [that’s you and me, not just the 11 guys with Jesus, we are all Christ’s disciples], do Jesus’ disciples have a preservative effect?” That is do we simply decay and degrade along with the environment, or is there something active in us? That being the Holy Spirit. Chrysostom writing again says “The worldly are less like lamps than buckets, lacking in God, they are empty from above but full from below.” Do we want to be stretching toward what’s above instead of wallowing in what’s below? Those around us in the world deserve the same chance following the leading of the Holy Spirit and help those around you to be full from above.

Blackaby points out when we are focused on God and what He is guiding us to do, are we staying in front of God? This may be a digression, but it’s part of being a soldier of the Cross too. Do I go and worship, restrengthened, yes even rearmed in Christ. Have we been in His presence in worship, hearing the preached Word, strengthened by the Body of Christ, our brothers and sisters? If we haven’t been strengthened by the Body and Blood of Christ, can we truly be prepared to be salt to a world, that is decidedly unsalty and very corrupt and degenerate world. We are regenerated through the things that God gives us, baptism, Scripture, the preached Word and the Body and Blood. We are not only salt in the world, but we are also sufficiently armed to face the spiritual challenges that keep pushing back against everything that is Jesus. Worship, discipleship, the things that we do to serve and worship God give us our saltiness.

Blackaby asks: “How do we test the ‘saltiness’ of our life? Look at our family. Are we preserving it from the destructive influences that surround it? Examine our workplace. Are the sinful influences in our work environment being halted because we are there? Observe our community. Is it a better place because we are involved in it? What about our church?” Chromatius tells us: “Those who have been educated for heavenly wisdom ought to remain steadfast so as not to be made tasteless by the devil’s treachery.”

No one is saying that your environment is perfect, we are always going to live in a fallen world. But because of our saltiness, is the world around us being impacted? When I worked in finance and during my time on active duty, people did come to me, and they did kind of expect a little more from me, and they did want to “talk”. I was a light in my environment that people were drawn to. Chromatius again, says: “ Jesus’ disciples are called the light of the world because they are illumined by One who is the true and eternal light.” If we are in Christ, we cannot help but project His light. No, it’s not like a lighthouse, “hey look at Driskell over in his cube, all lit up”, but it’s a supernatural radiance that the Holy Spirit produces in you that people look for guidance like sailors looking at a lighthouse. I’m not saying that I was just all that, but it seems that I did make an impact. Many of us, who expect whiz-bang results, I can’t say my results were whiz-bang, but I can say that God was using me. Let’s make it a constant recheck, are we affecting our environment for Christ in the way the Holy Spirit is leading us to impact?

Kevin Haug, who labels himself a Lutheran preacher in Texas told a story written by Warren Hudson of Ontario, Canada. He writes, “One night at the end of a special Saturday night worship service a thunderstorm unleashed a bolt of lightning that plunged the church into darkness.” With the congregation seated in total darkness, the pastor felt his way to the kitchen to find some candles. The pastor handed out the candles to everyone present. Persons lit their candles in much the same way as many churches do on Christmas Eve, each person lighting the candle of the person next to them. The worshipers then made their way through the church’s winding hallways to the front door.
“Peering out, we could see the rain coming down in sheets,” Warren remembers. With traffic snarled, people were running for the nearest shelter. Looking around they realized that the entire city was in darkness. “There in the darkness we stood,” Warren writes, “a little band of Christians, each clutching a light, not sure whether to venture out into the storm or stay inside the church in hopes that the storm would soon blow over.”
Isn’t this an appropriate analogy for many of us in the church? We know there is a world out there enshrouded in darkness. A world out there that is bland and in need of spice. Yet, what do we do about it? Do we face the storm and shine our light? Do we add some spice to the world?”

You really can light up your environment and make it a lot more interesting, a lot more compelling and yes, a lot more challenging. But once you are hooked on jumping in and challenging, not in an arrogant way, or obnoxious, but in a compelling way and in a loving way, showing to others the love of Christ. It is exhilarating, you can’t see it, but as Jesus tells us: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” This isn’t to brag on yourself, but by letting your light shine, seeing what God does through you, You glorify God and others see you being glorified by God. God initiates, He raises you up to be salt and light, you become that to others and by virtue of what you’ve done God is glorified to all. It truly is amazing that by being salt and light God continues to raise us up, raise others through us and justly and deservedly brings glory to Himself.

Spend some time this week, get out your journal, I know all of you contribute so much to your church, your family, your associates, but do they see how God is taking something so ordinary as salt and light and using it to His glory, by glorifying you and turning others to Him through you? How can you help others to know that the true source of your spiciness and light is our Father in heaven?

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Shalom and Amin.

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Hi, my name is Jim and I’m a sinner

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Gordon MacDonald in Leadership Journal (winter 2014 p 29) writes about his experience attending an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, I haven’t finished the article, but immediately I see so many parallels to what church should be:

“I was no sooner seated than the people on either side of me introduced themselves … and expressed gladness that I was there.” Shouldn’t that be what happens at church, a new person sits down and those around him/her make him feel welcome? “In fact, before the hour ended, four men, one after another handed me cards and said, ”I’m John, here’s my cell number. Call me anytime, and I’ll come and meet you if you need a friend.” What can I add to that? I also like that the meetings get right to it, no messing around, no one more quick word with your buddy. We are here for a reason, let’s get to it and do it.

MacDonald takes his turn to speak and tells them (since he’s not an alcoholic he doesn’t say “I’m an alcoholic”) but just says it’s my first time here. The response is “keep on coming, keep on coming”, he says that is said in the same way in church we might say “‘Praise the Lord”. He also notes as the others speak “change does not come easily, but it does come.” This is the same as church, as being a Christian, you do not automatically become right up to snuff, but God takes you, using the Body of Christ, the people there who make up Christ’s Body and begins to change you, begins the process of being more Christ-like. That is so great, everyone there encouraging the person “to keep coming, keep coming.” My take away is that we are all glad to be here, we are glad you are here, we look forward to knowing you better, and being good disciples. So don’t stop now, you’ve only begun!

No one feels they should somehow “chose”, AA , like the church, it is what it is and has stood the test of time. It’s not catering to the new generation or some secular fad, both have proven that when people become serious, about a serious form of worship (read liturgical) the church has been leading people to Christ and feeding them in this form of worship for centuries. Trying to make it into entertainment or buddy-buddy doesn’t move you closer to Christ doesn’t leave you in awe of a great, all knowing, all powerful God who can make real changes in your life, really can lead you into new life in Christ and will ultimately lead you into an eternal resurrection. When you have brothers and sisters in Christ they sometimes become closer to you then family. They are there to help you and guide you. They know that they are just beggars who know where the bread is and help others . They are excited to see you there and want to help you as much as possible. AA, like the church, isn’t there for your convenience or your comfort, it’s there to actually make you feel challenged, a little outside yourself, a feeling that there is so much more and I’m missing it and I’m also messing myself up more by not taking it in and growing in it. (After all the only alternative is the sinfulness, a lost, dead world)And it’s also there to make you very aware of what everyone else needs, for the Church everyone needs Jesus and we in the church have to understand that and look for what our individual role is in helping others to know Him as Savior and Lord.

When there’s someone new, go over and meet them, no pretense, no stuffiness, just simply an attitude of: “this is someone who the Holy Spirit has brought here to worship and since the Holy Spirit has put that person near me, then I have to greet that person as a brother or sister. Excited, enthusiastic (but not obnoxious), looking forward to what God has in store for us, and letting them know that just like any good brother or sister, I am there for them, that I look for what the Holy Spirit has for me to do in that person’s life. Isn’t that great? What an adventure!

In His time and His way

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Henry Blackaby in his book “Experiencing God day by Day” talks about how different persons in the Bible had to wait on God, He made promises to them, but those promises would be fulfilled in His time not theirs. He talks about how Joshua was promised that he would conquer the Holy Land, despite long odds. After all was said and done Joshua looked back and realized what an amazing work Yahweh had done. The same can be said for Abraham and Sarah, David, Moses. Looking back on my own life, I realize what amazing things that God has done in my life. But I’ve noticed that He usually works very subtly. True Yahweh parts the Red Sea for Moses, and does other supernatural works, when necessary. But God has made a universe that is extraordinary and also very structured. Most scientist today will agree that the universe looks like it has been designed to be the way it is. All the forces of nature, all of creation are just so extraordinary, so why would God normally step out of His extraordinary creation?

Since He set up the universe His way, it makes sense that He is going to operate in that universe according to the way He set it up. God has done amazing things in my life, I’m sure He’s moved in your life too. I’ve often looked back, journaled about what He has done after the fact and been in awe of the things He has done.

Take some time and really look back on your life. Quit being so presumptuous thinking that God has to swoop in like Superman and save the day. He is going to do what is necessary, but also in a way that you will grow as His disciple.  God won’t jump through hoops and perform for you. It’s not about you, it’s about glorifying our God who has done so many amazing things in our lives. ImageImage