Everyone Gets to Play - sermon/message link

Our family has been part of the Vineyard Association of Churches for 26 years now.  I love and appreciate many distinctives of the the Vineyard (the main and the plain, doing the stuff), and 'Everyone Gets to Play' is something I feel passionately about.

Many Vineyard church will celebrate 'Back to Church' Sunday this week, Sept 9, 2018, with the theme of 'Everyone Gets to Play.' I had the opportunity to cast some vision and share my passion with my church family this past week.  Link is below :-)

Everyone Gets to Play, Sept 2, 2018

New Horizon Vineyard, Rowlett, TX

Still. Still. Still.

Still

 #oneword2018

(Verses inspired by the Austrian carol/lullaby, ‘Still, Still, Still’, as played by The Piano Guys.)

Still. Still. Still.

Come away and rest in My love.

No longer scramble; grasp hold of my hand.

Climb up next to Me in My light.

All that you bear is not yours to carry.

Trade yours for Mine for My yoke is light.

Still. Still. Still.

Come away and rest in My love.

Still. Still. Still.

All I ask you to give is your time.

Turn aside from demands and allow Me to love you.

You're tired and you're weary, I see.

Sit in the stillness; listen for My voice.

Quiet your soul and just breathe so deep.

Still. Still. Still.

Come away and be quiet with Me.

Lent 2017 - Day 13 - Isaiah 24:14 - Sing

"They lift up their voices, they sing for joy; over the majesty of the Lord they shout from the west.  Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord; in the coastland of the sea, give glory to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.  From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise, of glory to the Righteous One."

In the midst of chaos there is praise.  In the midst of darkness there is singing.  Literally in the middle of this chapter describing utter destruction --- this:
-lifting up voices
-singing for joy
-shouting
-giving glory
-singing praises

Today I'm down and discouraged, grieving losses of friendships, relationships, a few hopes and dreams.  In the midst I hear ...

Praise. Lift up your voice. Sing. Shout.

Not because anything is different or because change is guaranteed.  Not as a magic spell conjuring a change in circumstances.  Not in order to regain what I've lost. So why then? What is there to praise?

The majesty of the Lord.  The constant. The reliable. The unchangable.

The focus transfers off of me and on to The One who does not change or waver.  The focus transfers off the temporal and on to the eternal.

And so I sing.

Lent 2017 - Day 12 - Isaiah 22:22 Shall

"He shall open, and none shall shut; and He shall shut, and none shall open." Isaiah 22:22

There is comfort in this for me.  It reminds me of why I can trust.  When the Lord says He's doing something, it's done; no one can prevent it.

When the Lord decrees that a person will do something, it's done.  No one, no circumstances, can prevent someone from carrying out something God decreed.  This comforts me because it reminds me that someone is in control in this out of control world.

Lord, I'm grateful I can KNOW your purposes will be carried out.  Help me to remember when I can't see any signs of anyone being in control.  Help me to trust when fear or grief tries to step in between me and my Savior.  I pray I can also take part, can do what the Father is doing, and be one of those that opens and shuts at the Lord's direction.

Lent 2017 - Day 11 - Isaiah 18:3 - When

Day 11 - Isaiah 18:3 - When

"When a banner is raised on the mountains, look! When a trumpet sounds, listen!" ESV
"As soon as a standard is raised ... you will see it, as soon as a turret is blown, you will hear it" NASB

Two translations of the same verse say very different things to me.  (Imagine if I could read Hebrew!)

When --- look! When --- listen! That says to me, 'Pay attention!' Look for what is going on.  It echoes a verse my husband is dwelling on, "The son does only what he sees the Father doing." (John 5:19)  I want to see what You're doing! I don't want to miss it because I'm distracted elsewhere.  I want to be tuned in.

As soon as --- you will. This is different and reassuring.  It is less challenge issued and more confidence inspired.  I hear in this, "My child, don't worry.  Walk with me, and you won't miss a thing." Why does that touch me? The Lord is saying, "You're with me; you're part of this project.  You won't miss it because you're in the midst of it."

When we're loading in at the theater (for my son's drama group), I see when the set walls are constructed.  I'm there, game on, part of the show.  No one has to tell me to pay attention. This is the picture of life with God.

I fear at times that I require the 'Look! Listen! Pay attention!" I'm in awe at the thought that I can walk with God . "My child, as soon as ... you'll see it. Don't fear you'll miss Me.  You won't."

Lent 2017 - Day 10 - Isaiah 12:3 - Draw

"Therefore you will joyously draw water from the springs of salvation." Isaiah 12:3

I respond to this image with yearning, emotion and confusion.  I find it beautiful in a magnetic way.  But what does it mean?

'Joyously' is the only part I understand on the surface.  I picture smiles, enthusiasm and energy.

'Draw water.' When I think of water I think life, refreshing, sustaining. Jesus offers living water so we would never thirst again. If I'm never thirsting, does that means longing is fulfilled? In Matthew, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall see God." I equate thirsting and drawing water with seeing and knowing God.

'Springs of salvation.' Springs to me means a never ending supply that does not run dry. There must be a source for the springs of salvation. Jesus = salvation = living water. Salvation provides for us what we need.  I can't save myself anymore that I can create water.  I go to the source and draw.  I take something to put the water in or I drink right there.  (If I have something to put it in I can share it!)

Joyous! This is life!! There is joy in this walk with Jesus.  Joy in the presence of living water.  Joy in refreshing.

Lent 2017 - Day 9 - Isaiah 12:2 - Trust

"Behold, God is my salvation.  I will trust and not be afraid." Isaiah 12:2

So simple yet so profound. So simple yet so difficult. Trust = do not be afraid.

Fear has been a big part of my life.  After all, panic attacks are fear in extreme form.  My crazy, unreasonable, Satan inspired fear that something is wrong with me, that I'm having a heart attack, that I will die is dealt with solely by trusting.

I trust God when He says the days ordained for me are already recorded. (Psalm 139:16). I trust God when he asks, "who of you, by being worried, can add a single hour to his life?" (Matthew 6:27)

Either God is in control of my days ... or He's not. There's really no middle ground.

Either God is good ... or He's not.  Again, there's no middle ground.  So if I don't SEE the good, I trust there is good.

Not easy -- but simple.

Lent 2017 - Day 8 - Isaiah 17:17-18 - Look

"In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel.  He will not look to the altars, the work of his hand, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made." Isaiah 17:17-18

Do I have to wait for that day? Can I accept the caution and start looking now - directing my attention to my Maker, fixing my eyes on the Holy One? To do this I have to turn my gaze away from other things - things I worship, things I have made, things I have done.  Are these things I take pride in or would be tempted to boast about?

Altars.  That's the one I have the hardest time identifying with.  Things I've placed on a pedestal.  Things I've put on a higher plane than they ought to occupy.  Things or people I've placed before God. What does this look like in the 21st century? Is it the things or people I look to for satisfaction, fulfillment or to feel good? Hmmm, like my marriage, my husband, my friendships, my children.  It could be a job. It could be a hobby or other pursuit.  In micro moments it could be facebook when I'm tired and lonely, Netflix when I want to forget the world.  These things and people aren't wrong in themselves just like the work of my hands is not a bad thing.  The wrong comes in what I am looking to those things or people to provide.

Another way to ask this is who or what is my source of contentment, love, peace, well-being?

Lent 2017 - Day 7 - Isaiah 14:13 - Pride

"You said in your heart, I will ... I will ... I will ..." Isaiah 14:13

What have I said in my heart that 'I' will do? This passage referring to the king of Babylon is a caution against raising myself up, against putting myself in the position of Lord and ruler.  I don't intend to try to usurp, and in reality I never have the power and authority I think I have.  I'm like a child climbing up on a throne, trying on a crown, and pretending to be in charge.

This Lent my pride is ever before my eyes.  I'm grateful and also embarrassed.  I'd kept it hidden pretty well, from myself at least.  My murmurs stayed in my heart - 'I will.' My judgements stayed in my heart.  My criticisms stayed in my heart.  God in his mercy is pulling them into the light and placing them before me one by one.  I'm sorry for thinking I'm smarter.  I'm sorry for rejoicing that (I think) I can do something better.  I'm sorry for anger than stems from hurt pride because I think I know better.  I'm sorry for wanting control, for wanting to decide.

Out loud I say I will repent.  I will humble myself before you.  I will seek first the kingdom of God.

Day 6 - Lent 2017 - Isaiah 11:10 - Resting place

"Then in that day, the nations will resort to the root of Jesse who will stand as a signal for the peoples; and His resting place will be glorious." Isaiah 11:10

The root of Jesse = Jesus = resting place. The grammar may not work exactly, but that's how I read this.  Jesus - visible above the fray. I'm assuming that his resting place is the place where Jesus is. And it is glorious.

With Jesus - the place where Jesus is - is rest.  I'm in a weary place, and I can't imagine anything more glorious than a resting place.  No time limits. No fatigue. No rising anxiety because of all that needs doing or all who need something from me.

If the person is a place then that place is infinitely accessible.  If Jesus himself is the resting place, and if Jesus himself is with me, then I can be in a glorious resting place any day, any time.

I get there by reaching for his presence.  I don't need to find God; He is already here.  I need to pause, to listen, and to reach.

Day 5 - Lent 2017 - Isaiah 9:1 - Joy

"But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish ... you have increased its joy. They rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest." Isaiah 9:1, 3

This makes me think joy is something You value/desire/like/give. As a Father, you long to see your children rejoicing.  Yet life brings anguish and sorrow, and you don't always remove the source of anguish instantly.  On this earth we suffer, we struggle, we grieve.

Does anguish always end? "There will be no gloom." In a walk with Jesus --- it's not a walk in continual anguish, is it? Does our feeling of anguish dissipate because the source of anguish is resolved, or is it because we are changed in the midst of suffering?

I think of Betsie and Corrie Ten Boom in the concentration camp.  Corrie describes Betsie as walking in joy through anguishing circumstances.  For Betsie they did not change; she died in the midst of them.  Both women were delivered - one straight to heaven where there is no anguish ever, and one to continue to walk the earth with struggle and joy.

You want to teach us true joy.  And it doesn't come from comfort, good times, or temporal pleasure.  True joy is deeper.  It can be experienced in the good times, but we confuse it with just being happy and enjoying life.  Perhaps anguish can purify joy by propelling us into the arms of joy itself. Perhaps joy is not a fleeting emotion but a solid presence.

Lent 2017 - Day 4 Isaiah 7:4

{More than 5 minutes of writing today because sometimes I'm not quite there yet.}

Isaiah 7:4
"Be careful, be quiet, do not fear and do not let your heart be faint." NASB
"Listen, calm down. Don't be afraid. And don't panic over ..." The Message
"Take heed and be quiet; do not fear or be faint hearted for ..." NKJV

Three different versions of the advice to a king with an enemy on his doorstep.  Today those words speak to me as I face not an enemy but a mountain of 'to-do's.'

Take heed - or listen.  Follow my advice. Pay attention.

Be quiet. Lord, is 'be still' implied in this? It's impossible for me to hear unless I'm quiet, and quiet is usually accompanied by stillness.  Quiet is rare in our world.  Quiet does not happen without intent and purpose.

Don't be afraid - do not fear.  Does this mean don't fear my inadequacies? Don't fear that I will fail? Don't fear that I will disappoint others?

Do not let your heart be faint.  Don't panic.  You mean I have control over this response? What?!?! How?

Faint heart --------- fixed heart
Panic ------------------- promise

My child, fix your heart, your focus on me first.  Seek me first, lay everything before me, and rise to face the day firm and steadfast. This is not advice, it's more like the law of gravity, cause and effect.

My child, panic arises from a lack of trust.  I say this not to chide you but to remind you there is another way.  My promises erase panic.  When you cling to and trust in the truth that I am good, I am love, and I am with you, your heart is strengthened and peace replaces panic.  Another cause and effect.

Lent 2017 - Day 3 - Isaiah 5:15

(My 2017 Lenten discipline - 5 minutes of writing a reflection on daily reading. Unintended - 5 minutes of editing too.;-)

"Man is humbled, and each one is brought low, and the eyes of the haughty are brought low." Isaiah 5:15

Repentance is a hidden blessing of the Lenten season.  I need to be 'brought low,' not in a 'woe is me,' or beating up on myself, but by looking hard and carefully at my pride.

"Thank goodness I'm not like that tax collector."  How often do I allow a similar thought? Thank goodness I'm not like that person lashing out at the checker. Or those two gossiping at the table behind me.  Or the woman in front of me with no teeth.  My thoughts, when I acknowledge them, are embarrassing.

Or what about my pride in comparing myself so I will feel more confident? "My cake looks and tastes better. My kids are better behaved. I'm smarter/wiser/more clever."  Ugh!! So, so ugly.

Or the greatest pride of all - the disease of 'I'm right.'  I know best.  Patting myself on the back and looking down my nose at 'the wrong.' Feeling so superior has to be the antithesis of humility.

I need to climb off my high horse and get on my knees.  I'm sorry, Lord, for thinking I'm more special than any one of your creations.  For exalting myself. My pride is ugly, and I am ashamed.

When I get real and admit my pride, when I acknowledge my ugly thoughts and confess ... grace flows more easily. Humility and repentance uncork grace and allow it begin to flow through me.

Lent - Day 2 - Isaiah 4:1

{5 minute musing (+ 5 minute editing ;-) on one portion of today's reading.}

"...only let us be called by your name." Isaiah 4:1

This half a sentence - a cry, a pleading.  Please let me be called by your name!

To be called by the Lord's name is to be associated with Him, to be grouped with Him, to be owned by Him.  If I have His name, I'm family.  His name is an external sign for all to see that I'm related.

I belong.

I have a place.  I never need to wonder who I am.  I never need to fear because protection is implied by sharing a name. I know that someone will fight for me, that someone will stand up for me.

Also implied by the fact of sharing a name is being chosen.  Unless I was born to this name, the only way I can share it is if I was chosen, if I was invited to be called by this name.  Someone wanted me.

I belong.  I am chosen.  I am wanted.

Lent 2017 - Isaiah 1:3

Lent.  My favorite season of the church calendar. Permission, encouragement even, to let go of good things in order to pursue the best thing.

Writing is a vital part of my relationship with God (a part I frequently neglect) so my Lenten discipline this year is to write for 5 minutes reflecting on something I read in the She Reads Truth devotion for the day.  This year they are spending Lent in the book of Isaiah - MY FAVORITE BOOK! - which only increases my excitement.

5 minutes of writing a day.  I can do this.

Day 1
"But Israel does not know, my people do not understand" Isaiah 1:3

I am Israel.  I do not know nor do I understand.  This is because I'm trying to apply my own knowledge and to understand out of my own capabilities.

So often the answer is rest and receive.  When I'm focusing on gathering knowledge and trying to work out understanding like God is a logic puzzle to solve, there is no space to receive.  It's all me - and little of God.

Maybe that's what this 5 minute exercise is for - 5 minutes to rest and receive.  To actively listen and thereby begin to know and understand.  To be like Mary for 5 minutes and sit at the feet of Jesus. (I can spare 5 minutes, right?) Because I'm me, I sit at his feet and take notes.  I think that's ok since I write to add another R - Remember.

I want to know. I want to understand.  Is it possible that the way to knowing and understanding is to rest, receive, and remember?

Weak

A month ago I stumbled across Kate Motaung's Five Minute Friday blog challenge.  http://katemotaung.com/five-minute-friday/

Each week she posts one word and the challenge is to write for 5 minutes on that word.  I thought I'd try it to encourage myself to write.  The exercise was amazing and revealing for me, stretching me, pulling me, provoking me.  Last Friday's word was weak.

Weak

"When I am weak, I am strong."

The foolish things to confound the wise.

How to celebrate weak? How to stand weak on its head?

---from vulnerable, incapable, needy, disrespected ....

---to strong, God-reliant, confident, humble.

I hate feeling weak and helpless yet that visceral emotion reveals a true weakness - lack of trust.  Weakness of strength, capability, the ability to stand firm in trials or troubles is ALL provided for by a relationship with God.  Lack of trust is the weakness that limits my ability to receive and therefore overcome the difficult, withstand the unstable, and thrive instead of survive.

Awake my Soul

Coming home from a retreat is often a slam back to reality.  And even the most profound insights get lost under the laundry, dirty dishes and to do lists.  This retreat was all about incorporating rest or whitespace into daily life in very practical ways, and I'm determined to follow through and pursue the presence of God through whitespace.

It's seems somewhat ironic to me that the method to awaken my soul is to be quiet! Noise to me is not just about sound but about inputs.  Noise can be words, can be social media, can be email and can also be people asking me questions, can be the radio or can be TV.  Quiet for me is closing down those input, and that is what brings me rest.

The other day I realized I was in a room alone and could anticipate an hour free from interruptions.  Instead of grading chemistry tests, checking email, or working on the project due by the end of the week, I indulged in meditating on scripture via the WordSwag app.  At first I felt guilty, but then I realized that reading and re-reading the words, choosing a photo for the background, and switching out fonts until I found one with the right 'feel' allowed me to dwell on the verses in a different way.  The resulting images speak to my soul.  The process gifted me with 30 minutes of unexpected soul rest.

Advent and Paradox

(I wrote this while listening - over and over.)
The Piano Guys "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel"

A sadness permeates me this advent.  I know the reasons – life…sin. But the ache begins to resemble a longing.  And the cello in The Piano Guys “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” cries my longing.

Yes, this is a season of joy.  But waiting for the coming of Christmas, of the coming of Christ, is also a longing time.  2000 years ago they waited for freedom from captivity.  We are not so different, only our captivity is different.  They longed to be free, we long to be free, and so we should.

The kingdom is here and not yet.  Paradox.  Christ came and brought freedom to captives.  The freedom He offered in the flesh 2000 years ago was not what people expected.  Similarly the freedom He offers today is frequently not what we expect or what we plead for.  We live in a world of sin and suffering, with an enemy that seeks to steal, kill and destroy.

For the first time, my observance of advent is more focused on the longing than any of the trappings of Christmas.  We will decorate.  We will celebrate.  But the joy and sorrow of this year, the changes, the stumblings, the growth, are all tangled together leaving me overflowing with paradoxical emotions.

Come, Lord Jesus is a cry and a comfort.  I begin to understand that I’m waiting, not just during advent, but I’m waiting for much longer and for much more than the coming of Christmas. For Christ’s return.  For a new world.  For complete freedom. 

I rejoice that I’m finally grasping part of the bigger picture.  I shouldn’t be too comfortable here because this is not my home.  As I live and work and love and laugh and weep and struggle I SHOULD be longing.  For the first time I don’t just sing the words, but I FEEL the words.  Come, please come, Emmanuel.  God with us.

The Motivation behind the Oracles

"My heart cries out for Moab" Isaiah 15:5

In these oracles we should never forget that all people are God's people.  He loved and loves not only Judah and Israel but ALL men - Assyrians, Philistines, Moabites, Egyptians, Cushites, etc..  He warns for the purpose of repentance.  His intent is always redemption and salvation for all.

This is true even today.  He doesn't force repentance, but He does graciously and repeatedly extend the opportunity.

I wrote this on a Sunday morning, and then our pastor preached on Jonah.  Is this the only prophetic book that records a repentance?  Jonah prophesied about 40 years before Isaiah.  Ninevah was in Assyria, the enemy that was pounding on Judah's door during the time of Isaiah.  Evidently, the Assyrians were cruel beyond belief, so cruel that Jonah's unwillingness to go there is understandable in human terms.  

Unlike the 66 chapters of Isaiah's prophecies, we have one line from Jonah.  

"Yet forty days and Ninevah will be overthrown."

Maybe he said more and it's not recorded.  Maybe he just spent a day walking the city and shouting this prophecy.  What happened next illustrates for us the reason God sent prophets.

"Then the people of Ninevah believed in God... (and the king issued a proclamation) 'Let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands.  Who knows, God may turn and relent, and withdraw His burning anger so that we shall not perish?' When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked ways, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them.  And He did not do it." Jonah 3:5,8-10

This is the heart of God!!  Jonah defines it for us later on (even though he's complaining).

"For I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity." Jonah 4:1

I believe this is God's hope and desire for all nations and all people.  This is why He sent prophets, and this is why Isaiah wrote the oracles against the nations.  God's desire was that the nations would hear the warning, believe in God, and repent.  

As we were reminded in chapter 14, what God intends will stand.  His intent is repentance and His desire is to 'relent concerning calamity.' But God holds back from forcing repentance.  He does not grab us and slam redemption into our chests, forcing us to embrace it.  He offers.  He warns.  He knows ahead of time who will accept and who will reject.  I believe He grieves.

"My heart cries out for Moab."  And Assyria.  And Israel.  And Judah. 

And Iran.  And ISIS.  

"For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You."  Psalm 86:5