a little ark like…

Birth of Jesus Foretold

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord Godwill give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:26-38, ESV)

Greetings favored one!

What would you do if an angel came to you and said, “Greetings favored one! The Lord is with you.”

I have to be honest I would run screaming! I know the Lord is with me, but if I’m favored of the Lord, I know that that means there is going to be trouble ahead. Now don’t get me wrong, God will be there to guide me and comfort me, but I also know that following the Lord brings on troubles or situations we would not enter if it was our own choice.

But that is just it isn’t it. God calls us to be a little ark like and carry His word and light into the world, and that is what each of us is.We are a little ark like when we partake of communion, we are the carrier of Christ into the world. So remember you are like Mary, beloved and blessed by the Lord to be a carrier of God into your community. So go and be an ark to send forth His love and light!

10 Ways to Stand Up for Your Great Idea

Dan Rockwell's avatarLeadership Freak

Shooting down

Your idea got shot down. Give up, play safe, or push forward?

Courage and boldness create your future.
Cowardice solidifies your past.

Leaders don’t give up quickly.

Boldly advocate.
Courageously stand up.
Tenaciously push forward.

How to stand up for your ideas:

Courage and boldness don’t have to be rude, irritating, and adversarial.

Jerks aren’t courageous they’re fearful.

  1. Build alliances. Boldly support the ideas of others as much as you support your own. Stand with others if you expect them to stand with you.
  2. Forget defending. Adversarial relationships emerge during defensive conversations. You defend and they shoot down. It’s lose – lose.
  3. Explore. Defending pushes away; exploring invites in. “I’d like to explore an alternative outreach program. What if …”
  4. Choose private first. Don’t put people on the spot in front of colleagues. Introduce and explore ideas in one-on-one conversations.
  5. Align with current circumstances and organizational values. When values collide…

View original post 169 more words

Wisdom?

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. Wisdom from the Spirit Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. (1 Corinthians 2:1-11, ESV)

Have you ever listened to somebody talk about something and you didn’t understand anything they said? You heard the words and could make sense of the sentence structure and the language, maybe some of the words they said you didn’t know, but you got most of them, but it was just not making sense to you. Like they had a lot of knowledge but they were not able to convey it to you.

Paul says here, when he first came to Corinth he did not speak in lofty language, but spoke to the Corinthians on a level they would understand. How often do we, who claim to be Christian, use words that mean something to us, but to someone not a part of our inside group don’t understand? Can you think of some of them?

Eucharist
Communion
Narthex
Sanctuary
Kyrie
Sanctus
Nave

Can you name some more? Do you know all of the above words? We use these words and expect people not part of the inside group to get it. We are not speaking on their level, on a plain they can understand. That is what Paul speaks about. We can not use terms or words to describe God to people that do not know those words. It is the great quote from Attack of the Clones “Seems you Jedi would know the difference between knowledge and wisdom…” You see we can know all the right things and use all the big words in our vocabulary, but the wisdom of the situation deems we speak on a level not at that point and to the community and place we are at. Our knowledge will not get us any where, and no one will come to an understanding of who God is through our lives if we do not become part of the community and impart the wisdom we have.

Don’t dumb it down, because that is not it at all, it is making so the audience can understand.

The people are listening, will you help them see God, or will you confuse them with your knowledge of your redeemer?

Exile…

Then the word of the Lord came to me: Mortal, your kinsfolk, your own kin, your fellow exiles, the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, “They have gone far from the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession.” Therefore say: Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far away among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a little while in the countries where they have gone. Therefore say: Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. When they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, so that they may follow my statutes and keep my ordinances and obey them. Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God. But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, says the Lord God Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. And the glory of the Lord ascended from the middle of the city, and stopped on the mountain east of the city. The spirit lifted me up and brought me in a vision by the spirit of God into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen left me. And I told the exiles all the things that the Lord had shown me.(Ezekiel 11:14-25 NRSV)

Have you ever had your heart set on something, a hamburger from a specific restaurant, or something that you could only get at a specific store, and when you got there you saw the sign… Sorry We’re Closed.

Have you ever been away from somewhere and you could not go back? Somewhere you left because you had to for whatever reason, but if you really had the choice you would have never left?

The verse above is a vision to those who were in exile from the promise land. They are God’s people and they were removed from their homeland and not able to return. But even in their bondage and exile, God still promises to be with them. And He reminds them that they are His people.

SO even when things seem dark, have faith that God is looking over you, and He is your God and you are His child. He is caring for you even when you can’t get what you want, God will always provide you with what you need.

Consuming fire…

20130519-104641.jpgWhen the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.” But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ (Acts 2:1-21 NRSV)

It is the day of Pentecost? This is how this passage starts. Because Pentecost was not something new.

This is the giving of the Spirit to us who live in the New Testament but for our Hebrew Scripture brother and sisters this is a feast they have celebrated for many years. This is the Festival of Weeks, or Shavuot. You see this is one of the festivals that is a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. That is what all of the people from different countries and languages were there. But this was not the first Pentecost. The Spirit has blown and moved through God’s people before and has since.

Pentecost for us New Testament is the giving of the spirit, but this is not the first and last and only blowing or moving of the Spirit. See Acts chapter 8 with the Ethiopian Eunuch or chapter 9 with Saul/Paul’s conversion or chapter 10 with Cornelius’ family conversion. Here are three moving of the Spirit that blew through the lives of the believers.

We need to be open to the moving of the Spirit and allow God to move in our lives.

So when will your next consuming fire come and set your life ablaze?

Greater than these…

Philip said to him, Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us. Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:8-17 ESV)

Did you see that? Philip asked to see the Father and Jesus said that he had seen the Father, because he had seen Jesus. But not the fact that we have seen the Father because we have seen Jesus is not what is important here.

It is what Jesus says about what those who believe will do. Jesus said that those who believe in Him will do the works that He has done and even greater works than these. Wow! Jesus just said you will raise the dead, heal the sick, and lame, and the like and then we as believers we will do greater works than these! When was the last time you raised a person from death to life, or healed the sick or lame? Unless you are a doctor or surgeon, you may have a problem naming this. And yet Jesus says you will do greater works than these. If we have not done the first how is it we will do greater than these?

The Spirit is ever present to us as believers and therefore we have this advocate to help us. We have the gift of having the Living God in us all the time. He is ever present with us.

I would say that we have brought the death to life and healed the sick and the lame. Maybe not the way we would think, but thought the lives we have lived we have done the miracles that Jesus did and even greater.

Live your life in such a way that living spirit is blowing through your life and others see God in your very being. You will do greater things than these because He is always living in you!

Once and for all?

O Lord , how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great. There go the ships, and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it. These all look to you, to give them their food in due season. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground. May the glory of the Lord  endure forever; may the Lord  rejoice in his works, who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke! I will sing to the Lord  as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord . Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more! Bless the Lord , O my soul! Praise the Lord ! (Psalms 104:24-35 ESV)

When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.

When God sends forth His Spirit we are created and the face of the ground is renewed! God sent His spirit to us on Pentecost the birthday of the Church but is that the only time?

When you send forth your spirit… the psalmist wrote this a long time before Pentecost, did they have to wait that long?

Is the sending of the Spirit a once and for all event? Or does God send His spirit and create things when He needs to or feels like it?

Why are we afraid to have the spirit blow through our lives?

Chosen

“But now hear, O Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen! Thus says the Lord who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen. For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams. (Isaiah 44:1-4 ESV)

Have you ever wondered where your protection has come from. Fear seems to be a part of our everyday life. Few is the thing that always seems to creep in and take over. We fear what will happen to us, to our loved ones. Things that we can not control try to takeover our lives and control our thoughts and actions.

The one who has made you and formed you in your mother’s womb chose you before the beginning of time. So the creator of the world has your best interest in mind.

So allow the one who has chosen you to take your fear away!