Thursday, January 19, 2017

What in the world...?

HAS EVERYONE GONE CRAZY?

It might seem like that. People seem more tense than ever. It seems like everything's a battle, and there's blood everywhere. The world seems pretty broken, and the future looks mighty dim, and we're all shaking our heads, wondering how we got to this crazy place. But here's the thing...

This is nothing new. The world's crazy. Always has been.

There is, however, a path that helps us make sense of it and navigate it and maybe even make a dent in it. And that path is called The Way of Jesus.

But The Way of Jesus is all about steps. 
So this is your formal invitation to Step One.

The Way of Jesus, like any path to a place where you've never been, is better walked with someone who knows the way, or at least someone who's a few steps ahead of you. So, Step One on The Way of Jesus is to find some running partners, some navigators, some guides.

We're inviting you to join us. We Questers are asking the very same questions you're asking, but we think we've found a path through the crazy. We're feeling our own way down this path, and we're inviting you to get on it with us.

It may be bumpy and dangerous, but what way isn't? And at least on this Way, you don't have to go it alone, and it's headed toward someplace we think you'll like.

Take the first step by joining us at our Sunday Gathering.

Friday, January 13, 2017

Courage is...

When we think of courage, we tend to think about people throwing themselves on top of an exploding hand grenade or battling a terrible illness or taking great risks to aid disaster victims. But courage comes in all shapes and sizes.

Sometimes it takes a surprising degree of courage just to get out of bed in the morning.

And while we may not be called to fight off wild dingos in order to save a newborn or jump onto a moving train in order to rescue the President, many of the things we ARE called to may require almost as much courage.

In fact, sometimes it requires enormous amounts of courage just to continue doing what you've been doing. 

We've been talking on Sundays about the value of waiting. We've been discussing how waiting on God is all about trust, but how sometimes it's really hard, because we don't see results. 

But here's the thing:

Sometimes the value is not in the receiving but in the trusting. Sometimes it's not about input/output or give/receive or cost/benefit. Sometimes it's all about persevering. 

This is why Paul tells us that "suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." (Romans 5:4-5) These things are listed in succession on purpose. Sometimes we must suffer to build strength and integrity, and only then can we experience hope. 

But notice that nowhere in that list do we find "quitting" as an option. It doesn't say, "suffering produces misery; misery, complaining; complaining, quitting." Whatever mission we're called to, there is intrinsic value in seeing it through to completion.

And this progression is absolutely critical if we expect to stay on mission. Perseverance is pleasing to God. He loves it when we respond to his call and hang on for dear life. This is why Jesus tells us that the one who takes risks and stays on mission will be considered faithful and will ultimately reap the rewards of their perseverance, which includes high praise and increased responsibility. 

"Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!" (Matthew 25:21&23).

If we play it safe, if we avoid risk, or worse yet, if we quit, the rest of that parable doesn't favor us. 

We know the passage that says, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" but shouldn't that lead to the logical conclusion that, if we know we're on mission, if we know God has called us to something, what could be better than that? Even if we aren't seeing the outcomes that we'd like or expect, why would we want to be anywhere else?

Most of the time, being bold and courageous is just about hanging on. It's about waiting well. It's about trusting God. 

Be bold and courageous. 


Thursday, January 5, 2017

How long?

Waiting is hard.

We don't like waiting. That's why we like microwave ovens. It's hard to make a case for microwaves, as far as food quality and taste are concerned. But they win, hands-down, in the not-waiting department. So everyone has one. Because we hate waiting.

But last Sunday, we talked about the value of waiting (listen HERE) - about trusting God's timing.

Unfortunately, as Peter reminds us, to God "a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day." So, even if God is right on top of things, it might not seem like it to us.

But, think about this...

When we read that passage, we tend to focus on the "a thousand years is like a day" part. And that makes us think that God doesn't really care about the fact that our waiting seems very long. "If a thousand years is just like a day to God, then our lives are just a blip. Our life is like nothing at all to him."

But that's only half of that verse. The other half says, "a day is like a thousand years." Think about that. Perhaps millennia are like minutes to God, but apparently, a minute is like a millennium as well. 

In every moment, God sees infinite possibility - he experiences a thousand years' worth of experiences in every moment. So he sees big as small, but he also sees small as big. 

Consequently, our lives are not a meaningless blip to him, but rather an infinite array of beautiful possibilities - a thousand lives crammed into one. 

And because he IS God - because he knows each possible permutation - because he knows what happens if we do this or that - and he knows how it all turns out when we do - he is the ultimate authority on when to do what, amen?

So waiting on the Lord is just trusting that. Do you believe he knows? Or perhaps more importantly, do you believe he cares? If you do, learn to wait. Because it is in the waiting that we see him working. Maybe not in real time, but definitely in retrospect.

Waiting is hard. But it's worth it.