The Great Struggle

When faith is weak and the heart becomes heavy.

Has joy become a burden and peacefulness a chore?
Has life filtered down to a series of doldrums?
Motivation is scarce and complacent. To whom do we turn, but the one from which faith finds it's favor and pure source. Oh holy Father give us the strength to carry on. Christ I Believe, help my unbelief!

For far too long and too frequent have the days run together without a reverence for the simple blessings, the little graces that sprinkle down like a heavenly mist. Oh the thankfulness we owe for even the shortest breath, the warmth of a single ray of the sun's radiance, the coolness of a zephyr in the summer heat. Yet in the midst of these we ignore the daily sustenance of our souls. Father forgive our selfish and ignorant hearts.

Winter's Cold: When Numbness Intersects with Faith

Do we struggle "with" faith; Or is it that we struggle "in" faith? 

Pause. Think. 

If faith being a divine gift why would we then struggle "with" it and not just accept it? 

 Tough. Why must we simply accept "it"? Because we must derive meaning from "it." Bingo. 

I believe we struggle "in" faith. 

Why? Well, for starters faith, in the same way as grace is, an ocean. We must plumb it's depths; The vast unknown. In addition to our own human inquisitive nature. Yet we have a life line, a floatation device, that will keep us from drowning. The Holy Spirit. 

But what about when things are rough and choppy or extreme or frigid? In other words what do we do with faith when reality hits, when we are faced with the changes and ups and downs of life. Where is or rather how do I use my faith? Do I ask the Holy Spirit for guidance and growth in faith? Do I exercise my faith like a muscle? Am I ready for things that may or may never happen? What about the inevitabilities in life? All questions I and many of you may have. But what about answers? 

Well that's it isn't it. The answers, they are the things we want and want now. And as we find out in life aren't the things that come to us immediately or in some cases never at all. Only God knows and sometimes He's not telling. Don't you think that when He doesn't give us that immediate answer either we're not ready or it's for our benefit. 

Simplicity is beautiful yet life is so complicated. The more we try to control out of ourselves the complicated it gets. Faith is there to help us and guides us in our journey. It reassures and reaffirms us. We don't need all the answers. We need faith.

I'll leave you with this thought. 

The more I learn as the older I get, the reality I am faced with is that I really don't know much at all. And in fact I don't need to. I can step back and take things in stride, that is, not that I am letting go or letting up in my journey just that some things, in fact, that most things are beyond us and maybe they should stay there and we should just have faith and be content in faith itself. 

grace & peace

Not just loving, but loving well.

To live is to love, and to love is to live. 

Sounds simple enough doesn't it? Well, it's not. We would all hope it to be, then reality sets in. 

Yeshua taught us that we are to bless those that curse us. 

Try that next time someone cuts you off in traffic... I'm guilty of not blessing that's for sure. Then again aren't we, hopefully, works in progress? The point isn't just to pronounce a word of blessing at a single point in time when the crazy guy next you is drifting over without his signal on while showing off his latest attempt at sign language. Blessings should be given all the time. We are all sinners here. We cannot escape that while still being alive in this mortal body. Our own mortality is the evidence of sin. Instead of focusing on negative reactions, bless. 

To live is to love and love blesses.

Christ is our example. We are to live like He did. Blessing and loving others. Oh wait there's this one exception... we're finite. We have this thing called time hanging over our heads. We have a limited amount of time to live, to bless, to love. How do we spend time? Loving others? Growing, pushing ourselves beyond our comfort zones? Getting to know others on a deeper level? This my friends is what God is doing. He is calling us closer to Himself, deeper into our spiritual lives, and further in our journey in this physical world.  

To love is to use more than words to express it. 

Love is tangible.

To love we must live, living a life of love. 

Sometimes it takes a lifetime. 

True loving requires living a life of loving. Day to day. Moment by moment. In the sun, in the storm.

Love God with our whole being, heart, soul, strength, mind, intellect, etc. 

Love our neighbors as ourselves. 

Loving others, if not also ourselves, may take a lifetime. It's not the quantity or number of people that we love for Christ, it is the quality and depth we demonstrate with the love of Christ toward others.

Not just loving, but loving well.

"Preach the gospel always, if necessary use words." 

Living a life of love will speak before you open your mouth. 

In love, actions are louder than words. But sometimes words are necessary.

Grace & Peace

Costly Grace

“Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him… Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock… Costly grace is the sanctuary of God; it has to be protected from the world, and not thrown to the dogs. It is therefore the living word, the Word of God, which he speaks as it pleases him. Costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus, it comes as a world of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart. Grace is costly because it compels a man to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him; it is grace because Jesus says: ‘My yoke is easy and my burden is light.’”
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Where has the warrior gone in today's typical Christian "Church?"

"Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead And Christ will shine on you." 

Where are the mighty and strong warriors of God?
Where are the praying men of God? Where are the ones who will heal the sick and raise the dead? Where are the humble of spirit? Where are those with broken hearts for the lost?
Our purpose is more than meeting physical needs for people, we are to proclaim the Gospel in word and deed, that men believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and are saved.

Why are you sleeping? Wake Up!

There is much work to be done. Rise in the power of your God. 

This is a call to action, this is a battle cry, 
this is the heart of worship- to proclaim the sovereignty of God 
to all nations, all tribes, all people.

That we depart from the fear of what the world thinks about us.

We ARE meant to be more than timid children, we are spiritual warriors waging a war for the Kingdom of Heaven. The true Kingdom is in the heart and mind, and what we believe in our hearts and minds determines our actions. 
We must live what we believe. 

Seek the face and heart of God and He will reveal Himself to you. Come to Jesus with open hands and empty hearts, that He is all you hold onto, that He is all that fills your heart, He is your first love. A humble heart, a broken and contrite spirit is what God desires, that we are living a life of repentance but also living in the boldness of Christ’s atoning sacrifice. 
We are to be fearless in the face of death, because we are more than conquerors, we are disciples of the living God.

There is a movement just below the surface, a generation is waking up to the needs of the people. Living in obedience to the commands of Christ, living in the power of the Holy Spirit. We know not the specifics of the future, but it is safe to say from the knowledge of the understanding of history and events foretold in the scriptures that perilous times are ahead. Are you prepared to give an account to Almighty God? Have you been washed in the blood of Christ Jesus? Are you living in that truth?

Revival is the greatest need of our time but are we willing to pay the price? Are we willing to give all our heart, all of our mind, all of our soul, all of our strength, every part of our being for His will to be done in our lives? For us to glorify Jesus the Messiah in that manner will consume us like a fire, are we ready for the world to come and watch us burn? We, just as the apostle Paul said, must die to ourselves daily. We must die to our selfish tendencies, our fleshly desires, our own will must be crucified so therefore we can rise in the resurrected power of Christ, living in submission to His will, obeying His commandments in love. 

Love God. Love People.

Our focus must remain on Jesus Christ! Just as Peter started to sink when he took his gaze away from Jesus, we must keep our eyes, our minds, our hearts fixated on Him. Christ is the Gospel, in Him is life, He is Salvation. 

Make this your prayer:
I am praying for my own heart as well as the hearts of my fellow believers in Jesus. That you will raise an army. Devoted and faithful to love, obedience and holiness. Move in our hearts in such a way that You are all we want, that we burn in our hearts to do Your will. God unleash Your Spirit on the world in such a way that we begin to walk in apostolic power; healing the sick, raising the dead, that we will glorify You Almighty LORD of heaven and earth and all that is under the earth, in Your Son Jesus the Messiah through the power of the Holy Spirit. Revive our hearts we are your people, oh LORD! You are our only hope. Amen

Where's the love? A series of introspective questions and thoughts for the Body of Christ

What's the deal with people falling through the cracks in the church?

What ever happened to the grace and redemptive and transformative power of Christ in the church? 

Has the glory really departed, have we let humanism and philanthropy dictate instead of seeking the presence of God and the moving of the Holy Spirit in our lives?

Are some of us too busy doing good deeds to realize that our brothers and sisters and not just the "lost" are broken and hurting and are desperately seeking healing?

Are we as Christians, as leaders, as pastors, as friends truly investing in each others lives. Not just a shallow question here and there but legitimately caring for one another, through doubt, fear and pain are we pointing to Christ. Are we actively lifting up Christ as the means to not only salvation but continuing spiritual healing through out life?

A friend of mine stated that Christianity is not about going deeper but further. I strongly disagree. Look at the organic structures of trees. Trees that have a shallow root system are easily uprooted and are more susceptible to drought. Conversely, trees with deep root systems tend to endure and last longer. We see a similar analogy found in the teachings of Christ Jesus in the parable of the two houses, one being built on sand with a weak foundation and the other being built on the rock and having a firm foundation. While I may agree with this same friend in that we are able to see that scripture may have a multi-layered quality to it, that we can see multiple truths in it, we must never forget the foundational truth of Christ. 

So what is my point… 

That our lives, our faith, our hearts, must run deep! 

Not in a forced sense of duty, but in being compelled by a passionate desire for Christ himself.


How can we say we truly know God, truly have fellowship with the Father if we are not deeply in love with the Son? How can we love God and neglect our brothers and sisters? Are we not to feed the sheep? If we as humans are image bearers, than shouldn't we be reaching out to all humanity and even more so to those who confess Christ? If we are not actively caring for each other with in the Body of Christ, what example is that setting to the world?

I pray that we have both an individual/personal and also a unified/collective deep love for the living God in Spirit and Truth and also a deep love for one another, Christian/non-Christian, all image bearers of the Father. Because we have been redeemed, we must love and be loved, radically, in a transformative and spiritual way!

Weak and Powerless?

What is it, in the mental/internal sense, that causes us to feel weak and powerless?

That state of mind that seems to point out our defeats and failures? 

It is a struggle that all of us deal with, some more than others. Is it fear of commitment is it from past events that we have let them get the best of us or haunt us, we let those events or circumstances shape us instead of moving past and overcoming them in order to fulfill our greatest potential. It is understood that we cannot forget these instances that have molded us but we can break the mold! The power of Christ transforms, it doesn't leave us the way we came it renews us, makes us into a new creature, a new being, blameless and perfect in the sight of God. That is not to say we will not fight against the things of this world, temptation, the cravings of our sinful flesh, but our Spirit is made right. And in that instance of our Spirit being made new our hearts change, our desires change, we cease to love the hurtful things we once did, whether they be against others or our selves, we begin to hate those things, not wanting to do them anymore, yet still we wrestle with them and may fall but we cannot continue in that old pattern. Now we love to do the things we once thought silly and ridiculous, reading the Bible, praying, worshipping God, helping our neighbor for the love of God, these all seemed foolish and still do to many, but it is this foolishness to men that the world so desperately needs, they need the love of God manifested in us, those of the Body of Christ. We need to be loving others but we cannot truly fulfill that unless we first are loving God. We have to seek God with all that we are, our entire being, it is His truest desire. 

In doing that we obey in love, wanting to be closer to God, deepening that relationship. He fills us with His love overflowing so that we just create a mess of love all around us, loving our family, friends, co-workers, employers, employees, neighbors, enemies, politicians, government officials, strangers, the poor, the homeless, the elderly, the young, the tax collectors, the overly religious, the atheist, the garbage man, the postal worker, the retail teller, the janitor, everyone. God is not a respecter of persons as it says in Romans, so neither should we. That means we do respect people but it doesn't matter who they are what they've been through, His love and grace is for all. 

So don't get discouraged, don't feel like you've failed. Rise up in the power of God and live life abundantly, to the full, for His good pleasure, live a life of worship! Yes we were weak, we were powerless, but no longer, we have the power of Christ with in us, "Greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world." 

So love God, seek Him out, call on His name.

We can endure all things through the power of Christ!

Thoughts on the Unity and Bride of Christ [the Church]

Looking into the heart of things we find it difficult to separate our desires from the things of this world to the things that truly matter, love, kindness, peace. We need to step back and look at things from a greater perspective and say, "Is what I am living for, striving for of God?" Are the things I am doing really benefitting the Kingdom of God, am I seeking to help love others to build up the Church, His Bride? We must seek unity in the Bride of Christ. We must seek God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength; all our being, every fiber! This is call of Christ to be united with us in communion in fellowship with Him through His promise and gift of the Holy Spirit. May we all seek God to be filled with His Spirit that it may enable us to love Him more, to love others and strive to bring them into the Body of Christ. It starts in the heart, it moves to the souls, and is expressed in action. Are we living by faith, in tune to the Spirit? Are we living out that faith in action? In regards to the world, never back down, never surrender. In regards to Christ, the only way is surrender and submission to the will of the Father. 

Let this be our prayer: 
God let your Spirit revive this Body! Jesus, help us Your bride, as we wait for You. Minister to us in Your Spirit. Don't let us become lukewarm, stagnant, weak and powerless! Strengthen us almighty God in Your Spirit and in Your Truth, that we may worship and obey You in Love! Seeking You always, wanting to give You glory and honor in all things. We thank You for Your grace and You know we have need of more of it, bless us oh Father. Amen.

"For it is by free grace (God's unmerited favor) that you are saved ([a]delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ's salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God;

Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law's demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.]"

Ephesians 2:8-9 AMP

Do we really understand Grace?

I know there are times I think I do, then I realize that what I think I know is only a drop of water in a vast ocean. Like the author writes in the song "How he Loves"; 'if grace is an ocean we're all sinking.' This means so much to me, it illustrates further how we can never fully understand the size and scope of God's Grace, only be immersed in it, swim in it, be soaked thoroughly by it, in a sense. 

Do we believe in the power of Grace?

Just when I get to that point where I'm saying that I believe in it, God comes and shows me that what I think I believe is only a part, a fraction, a glimpse and that His power and love in His Grace are so unfathomable that we will never measure it's depths, never calculate it's value for it is truly priceless. The very God who made us died for us to reconcile the relationship he desires to have with us, not a "Jesus is my buddy" but a truly intimate relationship. As the Psalmist writes, 

"Deep calls to deep 
in the roar of your waterfalls; 
all your waves and breakers 
have swept over me." 
-Psalm 42:7

Our souls long for this relationship, God by His Grace has made it possible through our faith in His Son Jesus Christ to have a right relationship with Him, Amen! What a free and undeserving gift we have been giving! That alone should cause us to rejoice and turn from our wickedness that God in His goodness and kindness would do that. 

Father God I ask that You move among us, that You make Your presence known, that You would be real to us. Give us a fervent heart, a longing desire to commune with You, to love You with all our being; all our mind, soul, strength that You renew a right spirit within us, 
You're Spirit, and that we listen to Your Spirit. Give us words to speak, work through us to fulfill your plans, that You be glorified. In the name of Your Son Jesus we pray this. Amen.

Encouragement for workers in Divine Labor

"Do not depend on the hope of results. You may have to face the fact that your work will be apparently worthless and even achieve no result at all, if not perhaps results opposite to what you expect. As you get used to this idea, you start more and more to concentrate not on the results, but on the value, the rightness, the truth of the work itself. You gradually struggle less and less for an idea and more and more for specific people. In the end, it is the reality of personal relationship that saves everything."

— Thomas Merton

There is great adversity in the walk of life. Each day bears it's own struggles. Every step seems difficult at times. 

This all seems so burdensome, but without these trials how can we grow? We must persevere, we must call upon the LORD for Divine help. But we must not give up. If our brother falls before us we must rush to their side to lift them up. If we are struck down there is another to take our place. Our labor is not in vain, eternity with the eternal God is our reward. Not heaven, not harps, not halos, but a person, Jesus Christ himself is our great reward. If we don't love Him here and now, and share His love with those in our lives, how can we possibly do so in eternity to come? 


Love starts here, eternity starts now.

"...the hour is coming, and is now here..."

"But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.
God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."
John 4:23-24

On my way to work one day, I was praying and worshipping in the car and I got a word from the Lord. Usually, when people say that it's some thing more or less telling someone to do or not do an action etc. And honestly at times my human nature wants to question and often I am skeptical. This was unlike anything I can wholly explain.

This was God centered. What the Godhead wants from us, as men as leaders, as worshippers, as sons, as brothers, as image bearers. The word I received was "Magnify" and specifically to Magnify YHWH, His Name and his person. 
This is twofold: 1. Magnify as in exalt, lift up, make great and proclaim. despite the odds against us, corporately and individually. 2. Magnify as in looking through a lense to bring near or close in scope and in focus. 
We are to Worship God in emminance or position and worship him in His Immanence or closeness to us. 

My prayer for you this day is that you feel the warmth of God's Mercy and Grace brother(and sister). Lent has begun and we must take this time to look inwardly and repent to God then outwardly and repent to our brothers(and sisters). 
Amen

[For a spiritual exercise, listen to Audrey Assad's song Restless. Listen to the words, let your heart speak and worship God, make your faith your own seek the Lord Jesus Christ!]

Be blessed. 
Grace & Peace

The Path

Divine intimacy is the path to Christ. 


Christianity is not about doctrines alone it is about one thing and one thing alone, namely the person of Jesus Christ. Without Christ, faith is empty, grace has no value, and scripture is nothing but a fairy tale of moralism. If we are not Christ centered, we are self centered. If we are self centered, we are inherently doomed and are hopeless. Christ is our Hope, Christ is our faith, and by His grace we are saved. Christ is everything, thus concreting the necessity of Christ as foundation and cornerstone but also as the keystone and capstone of our faith.

Reflection and the Beauty of Transforming Grace

Because I haven't been posting much over the past couple years as I had wanted to, I am now trying to make a concerted effort to do so. In this process, I've been reviewing and reflecting on my older posts.

Wow...

It's hard reading things that I know are true and right but so quickly I have, not forgotten, but have lost focus of, things that should be clear, things that must be black & white I have let fall into the gray.  I guess this is just part of life and learning as I get older, and hopefully by the grace of God, wiser.

Sometimes we, and this is so hard to admit, fall backwards. You know, taking two steps forward only to slip three steps back. That kind of thing where you're trying desperately to move forward but you just can't seem to get ahead. It could also be focus too. I'm not or haven't been focusing on what I should. I have been distracted.

First things first. I will freely admit that once again I have been distracted by the currents of the day; the economy, the political arena/stage, my own selfish desires and worries. As a result my spiritual growth has stalled somewhat. What got me going recently was taking time out on Good Friday with a spiritual brother and traveling to Mount Saint Mary University to go through the stations of the cross at the grotto. It truly was beautiful. I needed it. Not only did I need it then at that time as a retreat and escape from distractions to focus on the spiritual, but I also need need that break to occur more regularly.

This is what I'm finding out about myself as a person and more importantly in my spiritual relationship with Yeshua. I must make time and for me personally it must be outdoors in God's creation, in the woods, on a mountain, by a river or stream, this is where God meets me. Yes, He's everywhere, but this is where we hangout. I've known this for a while but amid the noise and distraction I lose focus on it over and over. Now I realize this is my fight. I must battle the ever encroaching distractions in my life and get away. For spiritual clarity, for renewal, for communion with the Divine.

Practicing the Presence.

Out there which in ways is really in here. Getting away from everything else in order to get within myself. To admit, to confess, to come clean, to be as a stone washed by the river. Letting God in to smooth over my rough edges. I must understand myself to understand others. We share the same struggles but with different faces.

Well that's what this whole thing is about, Life. Living in the space between. Life is the Constant Struggle. We are all living in the Tension.

Some of us like the old song find ourselves going down to the river to pray, others of us go to the mountain top. Either way we must choose where we will go and we must go somewhere, it's no use not going somewhere. Take time to get away. Even if it's a half hour it's better to go than not. God rewards us when we go. Faith gets us going. If you need faith, ask. It always begins with asking. Like the man who brought his kid to Jesus to be healed from an unclean spirit. When Jesus asked Him if he believed he said, "LORD I believe, help my unbelief." That is powerful. I know I believe but the parts of me that are still struggling to believe I know God will help me believe.

So let that be your prayer, "LORD I believe, help my unbelief." Next thing you know you'll be out there hiking and praying like the saints of old.

Be blessed my friend.

Reflections of Faith in Time

Sands of Time when exposed to the pressure and fire of our experiences turn to glass, which like a lens we perceive our life. Yet still our own selfishness blinds us. We will never truly be an observer when our own life is involved. Our perspective skews our sight. At least while we are still living.


Thank God for Divine Mercy and Grace!!!


Wow it's been two years since my last post. I'm thinking about doing it more often honestly. So here goes. On FB I posted this as my status earlier and I wanted to continue that line of thinking.


We have more than enough "churches," what we need is "The Church." Pastors are a dime a dozen, more than most see it as a job not a calling. We don't need more pastors; we need real shepherds to point us to The Good and True Shepherd. "The LORD is my Shepherd..."


This past year has had it's share of ups and downs; physically, economically, and especially spiritually. I am a Thinker. I dwell on things, I contemplate, plan, revise, meditate, and to a fault question. Not so much doubt but question the universality of things, as in the phase, "Unity, not Uniformity." 


Along the journey that is life, many of us find ourselves on a spiritual path. Some find Absolute Truth, others can't seem to see past quasi-truth through spiritual relativism. I'm not here to debate these issues in extreme depth. I adhere to there being Absolute Truth, and specifically that of an all powerful, all knowing, all present, Personal Creator; YHWH of the Hebrew and Christian Bibles. Yes I believe in the Trinity, etc, etc. Skip past all the argumentation and theological presuppositions. Get to the Personal Creator part. God wants to be known to us. As over used as it is, faith in God is about "Relationship not Religion." 


Follow me. God wants to hear our prayers, but He wants more than that. God wants our praise and even more so our worship, but still He wants more. God wants our love, yet still more. Not just love for Him like were fulfilling a prerequisite. No, He wants honest affection, deep desire. 


Simply put, God wants to be intimate with us. 


Closer to us than the air in our lungs. He wants to permeate our lives. 


Does this require change on our parts? Most definitely. 


"But that's legalism!" 


NO. It's not. It's love. Love in action. 


Us accepting His love toward us and giving it back to Him, direct love. And also to others, loving Him indirectly. How's that? Loving God by Loving others.We cannot truly love others without loving God first. Because the love must come from someone. After all He loved us while we were still enemies to Him.


So change? Yes. In the same way we show love in a relationship by changing aspects of our behavior and life, this too happens and must happen between us and God. Hint: God doesn't change... you know what that means, we must.  Does God want us to become a robot? And follow a stiff and dry traditional method of rigid religion? I'd hope not. Remember King David? Guy danced around the streets of Jerusalem shamelessly. He wrote the Psalms, sung and played the harp. Creativity it's a gift. But it's not just the gifts and talents we have it's how we direct them. How we give credit to God not steal the glory for ourselves. That's Pride, it sucks, and it always comes back to bite us in the end. 


Now back to that loving that God wants. He not only wants love for Himself, but He wants us to love others with the love He gave us that they may know His love through us. Like we're just a conduit for His love to flow through. Like if someone is messed up and God the Great Physician operates on them, we are the scalpel, you know, an instrument in His hand.  Now that's perspective.


What am I getting to? I'm getting to a series of questions I am faced with. Do I have to go to a church to be at church? Why are people so concerned about a building of brick and mortar and not a living Body of people? Are these questions too much? If I'm not surrounded by a hundred people repeating the same words or lyrics does God still hear me? What is the church's purpose? Is the church in America obese? I mean really? Is it full of unhealthy things? Fat? Excess? Excessive programs and activities that keep us busy but don't promote healthy spiritual growth? What can we learn from the Christian Celtic monks like St. Patrick? Or even from that of the Italian St. Francis of Assisi? Or Jesus Himself praying in the garden of Gethsemane? 


There is something that connects Nature/Creation and the Presence of God. Yes, God is everywhere. No, I'm not getting all "New Age." I'm just saying we made church buildings,(not that they are bad), but God made nature. I'd like to think of it as His church or cathedral. Maybe I'm being overly cynical, but to me going to a church sometimes feels like putting up a Eureka! or Kelty tent in a massive gothic cathedral to worship God in? Absurd isn't it?! (I know it may not be the best example).


Last fall I left a church I had attended and volunteered in for the past seven years. Now I'm at a point in life where I've seen people who left the church after high school or had nothing to do with it come back or into the faith. But is it about church the place or "The Church" the remnant of devout deeply personal faithful followers of Jesus the Messiah? I seen the fakes, the half-hearted, the angry, the weak in faith. I've seen many fall away. It's sad. We're all broken. But don't give up. All this is to say I haven't left the faith, I haven't given up. I'm exploring faith in a way that most find strange or out of the norm. And that's okay. Why? Because I worship in Spirit and Truth. I attend church off and on. The important thing is not the building but the people. It's finding a place to meet God without being overwhelmed, without being distracted, without being smothered, without facing an inquisition of our whereabouts the week(s) before. What if we as Christians, maybe not all but a few, wanted to meet God out in His Creation? What if we went on a hike on Sunday morning to a quiet rock or by a stream or to a mountain top? We went to a place He made for us not a building we "made for Him" (but looks like more it's been made for ourselves). You don't have to do it all the time but every once in a while by yourself or with friends in the faith, get away worship God in freedom. I'm not saying this is how you must worship God, not by any means. What I am saying is you may need a break, a sabbatical, a breath of fresh air. I know I did and still do. I don't love God any less, in fact I"m falling more in love with my saviour! 


What do I do exactly? 


Pick a place to go to, usually a state park. I'll throw a CD in to sing along to or just to listen and prepare my mind and heart before I get to the trail head. I'll bring a Bible, maybe a devotional or two and some water. I usually leave the phone in the car or if I'm going way out there at least turn it off and put it in my pack. Then I walk and talk to God, mostly internally in my head but sometimes out loud. I ask a lot of questions. Then I find a nice place to stop and I'll read a Psalm or two or three. Meditate on the words. Pray some more and sometimes I'll read one Psalm repeatedly letting the words reverberate within my soul.


I hope someone at least tries to do this. I wouldn't mind the company. Keep the faith!  


Thank God. Praise God. Ask God. Worship God. Thank God.