February for me is a month to rush through. It's a hard month. A depressing month. Something to endure rather than enjoy. When February arrives, I'm in the midst of winter fatigue. By the time President's Day arrives, I need more than a break from winter; I need it to end! Because February has so little to be commended for, I am grateful it's the shortest month of the year.
As I have pondered my relationship with February, I've realized that it's symptomatic of how I tend to view time in general. Often when I am traveling through my life, I'm looking ahead to what's coming next. When facing a challenge, I anticipate it being accomplished. When I'm doing a chore, I look forward to relaxing. When I'm hurting or angry or tired, I get my sights on feeling better or gettin comforted. In thinking about my relationship with time, I realize that I treat an awful lot of my life the way I treat February.
Such an approach is profoundly at odds with the desire I have to know and experience God. Since God lives in the present moment, whenever I look beyond the moment at hand, whenever my focus is on what's ahead, I miss out on being present to the One who is with me here and now. One of my challenges is to be more at home in the present moment and to discover the blessing of God in each moment of each day.
As February begins, I find myself being challenged by these words of the Christian monk Thomas Merton. "Love the winter, when the plant says nothing. In this mystic season, I want to remember to unplug the flashing lights and sip the long evenings, to breathe in the moon, dance in the dark, to love this winter nothing." For in doing such things, I might discover that God is present even in February.
--Bryan
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Geneva's Vision & Mission
Geneva's Vision:
Exalt God, Edify and Equip each other, and Engage the world.
Geneva's Mission:
Exalt God, Edify and Equip each other, and Engage the world.
Geneva's Mission:
Embody the fullness of Jesus Christ;
Exalt God through Christ-centered worship;
Edify each other in the faith through Godly nurture and Christian love; and
Equip God's people to
Engage the world with Spirit-empowered ministry.
What do these words mean to you ?
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Where Faith and Crisis Meet
As a kid growing up in Southern California, when people talked about "going to the desert," they were referring to taking a trip out to the resort areas of Palm Desert or Rancho Mirage. Being in the desert meant soaking up the sun, lounging by a pool, playing golf on one of Bob Hope's immaculate courses. Going to the desert was a treat, a luxury to escape the pressures and routines of life.
My youthful impressions of "going to the desert" stand in stark contrast to what Jesus experienced in the first few verses of Mark's gospel. We're told that right after Jesus was baptized, the Spirit of God "drove him out into the wilderness" for a 40 day battle with the devil. Unlike the gospels of Matthew and Luke who provide details of this experience and share how Jesus triumphed in the battle, Mark is content to let us know a battle happened and that it was a struggle for Jesus.
We don't find in Mark any commentary on why the Spirit drove Jesus into the desert. But the writer of Hebrews provides some reflection: "Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered" (5:8). While Jesus was profoundly blessed at his baptism and heard God tell him how much he was loved, it was in the desert where he learned obedience.
As a person seeking to live a more authentic, Christ-like life, that truth reminds me that desert times are necessary if we are to learn what obeying God really means. While times of affirmation and blessing are wonderful in their own right, we can't learn obedience in such times. It is only when we are in contexts where we face trial, temptation, and danger that we can be shaped in deeper ways to be faithful to God's intent for us.
That helps me to look at this current economic crisis in a different light. While I desperately want President-elect Obama and his administration to be successful in righting our economy, the current situation provides an opportunity to learn a deeper obedience to God. Central to a life of faith is trusting God. Trusting God when the sun is shining, the economy is growing, and the kids are behaving is one thing. Having that trust when your account values are plummeting, your house has lost a third of its value, and your employer tells you you have thirty minutes to pack your office items is a whole different reality.
Desert times get us down to brass tacks. We are forced to face our demons, confront our fears, and acknowledge our fraility. While profoundly difficult, such times provide the place for us to learn what true faith and obedience is all about. Such times, with the Spirit's help, can bring us to a place where we can obey God's command to trust him, to be generous with what we have, to not worry, and to live according to God's promises and faithfulness--no matter what.
My youthful impressions of "going to the desert" stand in stark contrast to what Jesus experienced in the first few verses of Mark's gospel. We're told that right after Jesus was baptized, the Spirit of God "drove him out into the wilderness" for a 40 day battle with the devil. Unlike the gospels of Matthew and Luke who provide details of this experience and share how Jesus triumphed in the battle, Mark is content to let us know a battle happened and that it was a struggle for Jesus.
We don't find in Mark any commentary on why the Spirit drove Jesus into the desert. But the writer of Hebrews provides some reflection: "Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered" (5:8). While Jesus was profoundly blessed at his baptism and heard God tell him how much he was loved, it was in the desert where he learned obedience.
As a person seeking to live a more authentic, Christ-like life, that truth reminds me that desert times are necessary if we are to learn what obeying God really means. While times of affirmation and blessing are wonderful in their own right, we can't learn obedience in such times. It is only when we are in contexts where we face trial, temptation, and danger that we can be shaped in deeper ways to be faithful to God's intent for us.
That helps me to look at this current economic crisis in a different light. While I desperately want President-elect Obama and his administration to be successful in righting our economy, the current situation provides an opportunity to learn a deeper obedience to God. Central to a life of faith is trusting God. Trusting God when the sun is shining, the economy is growing, and the kids are behaving is one thing. Having that trust when your account values are plummeting, your house has lost a third of its value, and your employer tells you you have thirty minutes to pack your office items is a whole different reality.
Desert times get us down to brass tacks. We are forced to face our demons, confront our fears, and acknowledge our fraility. While profoundly difficult, such times provide the place for us to learn what true faith and obedience is all about. Such times, with the Spirit's help, can bring us to a place where we can obey God's command to trust him, to be generous with what we have, to not worry, and to live according to God's promises and faithfulness--no matter what.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Faith and Economic Crisis Intersection
How has your faith been strengthened and/or challenged by this economic crisis?
Friday, January 2, 2009
New Beginnings...
As the calendar brings a new year, I am reminded that God brings us new beginnings, new hopes, and new dreams again and again. Where would you like to see the Spirit of God work in the coming year?
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