Thank you for this article; may we more and more rejoice in the presence and healing power of our Lord through his Spirit. And many thanks to Dunamis and their excellent and practical workshops.
Some of the strongest and most beautiful people I know are people who have struggled, whether it be with mental illness, or with tragedy, or abuse. It becomes part of who they are and contributes to their often deep faith. They've been a gift to me in so many ways. Would I wish that these "bad" things never happened? Maybe. But then I would have missed knowing the wonderful people that came through these things. And I would be a different person too.
May the Lord continue to build diversity in his Church, including the CRC; and may we find the new clothes we need to support that work of the Spirit. Amen.
I love this story; it's such a good illustration. All of us are dependent on God's grace - and we can also reflect that grace to one another. What an amazing blessing that is!! It begins with honest confession of our brokenness. We can never move to grace when we hide and pretend nothing is wrong. Where in our congregations and communities are those safe places, where we can be open, honestly sharing our struggles with sin? It's there where we can find grace and healing. We must work to create spaces for openness and honesty - that's where it all begins.
I once heard a sermon on Mother's Day that focused on all the feminine images of God in Scripture (i.e. Jesus weeping over Jerusalem, longing to gather his people as a hen gathers her chicks ... there are so many). It was excellent in considering the love of God, the love of our mothers, and how we reflect God's love to others.
The Spirit blows where it will; our relationship with the Lord must allow for enough trust to be open to being controlled by the Spirit, rather than the other way around. I agree that our need for control can hinder the Spirit and his work. May the Lord open our hearts and minds to cooperate fully with the work of his Spirit in and among us.
I would venture to guess that the apostles and disciples in Acts spent much more time together in prayer and in fellowship than most of our congregations do today. I wonder how much time is spent in quiet, submissive, listening prayer together as one way of discernment. I've seen consensus come to a group through quiet listening prayer after posing a potentially divisive question to the Lord. It was amazing to see how the Lord spoke both individually, yet with a collective voice, to this group of people who were quietly waiting, expecting to hear from him. I think in those kinds of moments is when I've come closest to sharing that sentiment, "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us". And then I've been more confident going forward with the action that was decided. We serve a God who reveals himself to us - But are we willing to listen?
I agree that it would be great to have the apostles' discernment process filled out a little more. Ruth Haley Barton spoke eloquently about discernment at the recent World Renew Partners gathering in Muskegon.
I also agree that there are times when it's important to go back first, to build the capacity to move forward - discernment with the guidance of the Holy Spirit is critical in this process as well.
It's encouraging to me to read these "real" stories of the Bible - It gives me hope that the Lord can use even the likes of me.
Regarding 2 Samuel 13; it's a passage that is dear to my heart for many reasons. One is the nobleness of Tamar. Another is the time that I was asked, as an InterVarsity campus staff member, to give a presentation in which several members of the MI State University Counseling Center were present. They were curious to know how a Christian talks about sexual assault. They wanted to improve their service to Christian students on campus (there are lots of Christian students at MSU). They recognized that the experience of sexual assault often became an issue of faith for Christian students. So with a primarily secular audience I opened my Bible to 2 Samuel 13. They were amazed that this story was in the Bible. They said, "this is the same story we hear every day" in our work with those who have been victimized by sexual assault. From the unsuspecting one who was overpowered, to the responses of others, to Tamar's grief and desolation - it was a familiar story to them. And they appreciated hearing why this experience impacts faith. Christians need a safe space to explore questions that arise, such as "Where was God?" Or, "how can an all-powerful God allow this to happen to a child he loves?", etc. It was a wonderful, God-blessed, discussion all around. On the Safe Church website there is a discussion guide for this passage; you can find it here under group discussion resources. I think there is a reason that this passage is in the Bible, and it shouldn't be ignored.
Thanks for the post - I think that this is more than a suggestion or a good idea, but is critical to the future of our denomination. We simply must learn to better relate to those who are different than ourselves. Thanks again.
Posted in: Tensions in Church Over Vaccinations
Please vaccinate your children, for the sake of everyone.
Posted in: Growing the Church in the Power of the Holy Spirit
Thank you for this article; may we more and more rejoice in the presence and healing power of our Lord through his Spirit. And many thanks to Dunamis and their excellent and practical workshops.
Posted in: Would I Shed the Cross I Bear, If I Could?
Some of the strongest and most beautiful people I know are people who have struggled, whether it be with mental illness, or with tragedy, or abuse. It becomes part of who they are and contributes to their often deep faith. They've been a gift to me in so many ways. Would I wish that these "bad" things never happened? Maybe. But then I would have missed knowing the wonderful people that came through these things. And I would be a different person too.
Posted in: Time to Buy Some New Clothes
May the Lord continue to build diversity in his Church, including the CRC; and may we find the new clothes we need to support that work of the Spirit. Amen.
Posted in: In Thy Presence…
I love this story; it's such a good illustration. All of us are dependent on God's grace - and we can also reflect that grace to one another. What an amazing blessing that is!! It begins with honest confession of our brokenness. We can never move to grace when we hide and pretend nothing is wrong. Where in our congregations and communities are those safe places, where we can be open, honestly sharing our struggles with sin? It's there where we can find grace and healing. We must work to create spaces for openness and honesty - that's where it all begins.
Posted in: How Does Your Church Celebrate Mother's and Fathers' Day?
I once heard a sermon on Mother's Day that focused on all the feminine images of God in Scripture (i.e. Jesus weeping over Jerusalem, longing to gather his people as a hen gathers her chicks ... there are so many). It was excellent in considering the love of God, the love of our mothers, and how we reflect God's love to others.
Posted in: Controlling the Holy Spirit
The Spirit blows where it will; our relationship with the Lord must allow for enough trust to be open to being controlled by the Spirit, rather than the other way around. I agree that our need for control can hinder the Spirit and his work. May the Lord open our hearts and minds to cooperate fully with the work of his Spirit in and among us.
Posted in: Controlling the Holy Spirit
I would venture to guess that the apostles and disciples in Acts spent much more time together in prayer and in fellowship than most of our congregations do today. I wonder how much time is spent in quiet, submissive, listening prayer together as one way of discernment. I've seen consensus come to a group through quiet listening prayer after posing a potentially divisive question to the Lord. It was amazing to see how the Lord spoke both individually, yet with a collective voice, to this group of people who were quietly waiting, expecting to hear from him. I think in those kinds of moments is when I've come closest to sharing that sentiment, "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us". And then I've been more confident going forward with the action that was decided. We serve a God who reveals himself to us - But are we willing to listen?
I agree that it would be great to have the apostles' discernment process filled out a little more. Ruth Haley Barton spoke eloquently about discernment at the recent World Renew Partners gathering in Muskegon.
I also agree that there are times when it's important to go back first, to build the capacity to move forward - discernment with the guidance of the Holy Spirit is critical in this process as well.
Posted in: The Dark Side of Social Media
Safe Church has bullying resources on our website here.
(or http://www.crcna.org/SafeChurch/resources-abuse-awareness/bullying)
Posted in: More on Those R-Rated Texts
It's encouraging to me to read these "real" stories of the Bible - It gives me hope that the Lord can use even the likes of me.
Regarding 2 Samuel 13; it's a passage that is dear to my heart for many reasons. One is the nobleness of Tamar. Another is the time that I was asked, as an InterVarsity campus staff member, to give a presentation in which several members of the MI State University Counseling Center were present. They were curious to know how a Christian talks about sexual assault. They wanted to improve their service to Christian students on campus (there are lots of Christian students at MSU). They recognized that the experience of sexual assault often became an issue of faith for Christian students. So with a primarily secular audience I opened my Bible to 2 Samuel 13. They were amazed that this story was in the Bible. They said, "this is the same story we hear every day" in our work with those who have been victimized by sexual assault. From the unsuspecting one who was overpowered, to the responses of others, to Tamar's grief and desolation - it was a familiar story to them. And they appreciated hearing why this experience impacts faith. Christians need a safe space to explore questions that arise, such as "Where was God?" Or, "how can an all-powerful God allow this to happen to a child he loves?", etc. It was a wonderful, God-blessed, discussion all around. On the Safe Church website there is a discussion guide for this passage; you can find it here under group discussion resources. I think there is a reason that this passage is in the Bible, and it shouldn't be ignored.
Posted in: Living Well Amongst Religious Diversity
Thanks for the post - I think that this is more than a suggestion or a good idea, but is critical to the future of our denomination. We simply must learn to better relate to those who are different than ourselves. Thanks again.
Posted in: Grunt Crew and Other Stories
Great story about Max - thanks for sharing.