When we hear the word "church", we each get an image in our head. The word comes with a meaning that has been shaped by our experiences, good or not so good. For some, it is intuitive that we encounter Jesus is church, and for others, "church" has scorned us in such a way that we don't really want to walk into that physical place. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ,Merritt reflects that "when Christians gather together, they become a temple... If I attempt to follow Jesus alone, I put my finger in the dike of God's presence waiting to flood my life. Like stones stuck together with divine mortar, something happens when I gather with others that can't happen any other way in any other place... Being a part of a faith community forces me to coexist with people I didn't choose, to follow a God I can't prove. And in that space, I grow" (p 170).
God calls us to be in community. He uses others to teach and grow us and this is when true joy is built! "Church" is made up of people, and people are messy. Are we opening our eyes to experiencing Jesus through connecting with others? Merritt closes his book by challenging us "to a lifelong posture whereby we live aware, peering around every corner knowing that God may be waiting there... To live with wide eyes. Expectant. Scanning horizons and peeking around corners, looking for God in the unlikely places and faces" (p 180-1). That is how I want to live and see. Expectant and vigilant. Ready to see the ways that Jesus is so much better than I could ever imagine. Lord, I pray for every one of us to continue to fix our eyes on you and be blown away by your goodness, love, righteousness, and mercy. I pray that we continue to abide in You and live in a posture to see people, places, and moments as you see them. In Jesus Name, Amen.
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God's timing is impeccable. After a few solid months of feeling super close to God, experiencing goosebumps on a regular basis, and having incredible moments of hearing Him speak to me, the last month or so He had become disconnected and distant. When I sat down to read chapter 9 of Jesus is Better Than You Imagined I felt a little lost, questioning His presence when a couple months before I had felt Him leading me so strongly. I didn't want to talk to Him as much, and I found it was more difficult to communicate with Him than it had been for quite some time. I had felt so close to Him for so long. Why did He seem to just disappear? God doesn't want to play a cosmic game of hide-and-week. He wants to grow me, stretch me, and teach me. When I accept that God's quietude may mean He's up to something, it frees me to embrace rather than resist the experience. And when I open my hands to the mystery of divine absence, I'm challenged to start moving forward in faith again. (p. 157) I was in a dangerous place. In His silence it would be easy to let those steps of our close relationship slip. Take time out for your Words? But Jesus, my husband is traveling and my chore list just doubled... Spend 5 minutes of quiet to listen to You? But Lord, I suddenly have more work than I can handle... Sit down and focus on prayer? Sorry, God, but a quick prayer of thanks before a meal is just going to have to be enough for today. Move forward in faith. "Will you follow Me even though you don't feel Me?" "Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world." (James 4:8) Does God feel silent in your life right now? What steps of obedience will you take, showing your trust that He is still there? God, help me to see your silence as an exercise in faith. Help me to trust that in the moments of felt absence You are still at work. God never left. He was just giving me some space. He knows that sometimes you need to experience His absence to crave His presence, and sometimes we know Him better by missing Him. (p. 161) Even as I read the printed words about entering Sister Louisa's Church of the Living Room and Ping-Pong Emporium (or CHURCH), I wondered how I would feel actually walking in there? Would I be uncomfortable? Fearful? Or would I walk in with a loving confidence as Jesus would?
I completely enjoyed this chapter that Jonathan Merritt wrote in Jesus is Better Than you Imagined. As he looked around in this place of religious mockery, Merritt recalls, "These pieces remind me that "religion" attempts to build a box in which God lives. It ties down the Almighty with the constraints of routines and rules and limitations and political affiliations. Religion says that God does only certain things in certain ways, no more and no less. But faith know better..." (p 132). In faith, we fix our eyes on Jesus himself. And Jesus "did not just call sinners; He identified with them, befriended them, dwelled among them" (p 141). Jesus begins His ministry not by watching others be baptized, but by getting in line with them. Take a bit of time this week to Read Matthew Chapter 3. This is just one of the many times that Jesus came alongside sinners. Dear friends, can we ask ourselves seriously if we are following religion or following Jesus? Are we hearing religious messages and going about life or are we seeking Jesus for ourselves and surrendering to His ways? Merritt reminds us that encountering sacrilege is unavoidable. Do we "get offended, turn and run" or ask ourselves what "God might be up to in those sacrilegious spaces" (p 147)? 1 Thessalonians 5:22 tells us to "reject every kind of evil". We are also commanded to "love others as He has loved us" (John 15: 12). May we, through the power of Jesus Christ, stand firm in The Truth while offering the Grace that God offers to us. In Chapter 6 of our book, we are challenged to encounter Jesus in waiting. Waiting is not something we have to do much of these days. And in my life, this has not been helpful with my problem of impatience. Times have changed, rapidly increasing in pace, and the world around me waits for nothing. This physical reality has shaped my spirituality, which is why I want God to answer my prayers as soon as the request leaves my lips. (p. 104) Do you "grow weary in waiting because (you) think every wait is a waste", as I do? What if I change my view on waiting and instead view it as time to let God work? Did you catch the part about Noah?? Did you realize God told him to build an ark, he obeyed, and once it was finished he then had to wait another 45 YEARS before the rain started??? Seriously? Why did I not know that before? "For Noah, waiting on the Lord was an opportunity to walk with the Lord." (p. 105) God, help me to see waiting as an opportunity to grow closer to You and allow You to work. Do you find yourself in a time of waiting? But those who wait on the Lord |
Kaylee & HeatherWe were just two moms who started abiding in Christ and praying together weekly. Find out more about Our Story. Archives
September 2020
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