Too Bright To See

Last night we had worship using our new projector and screen.  I heard several times from people the screen looked great and was really clear, but it was too bright.  I asked what they meant by "too bright" and they said it was almost hard to look at the screen because it was so clear and so bright.

This got me thinking about what are the areas of my life I don't look directly at because I really would rather not see them clearly.  When the light of the Gospel shines on my failures it can be painful to look at and it can bring a word of mercy.  God sees me clearly even when I do not want to.  Who exactly am I hiding from?

Oh How I Need You

There is a great duo called All Sons and Daughters who have been putting out great worship music for a couple of years now.  This morning their song "Oh How I Need You" has been rattling around my head.  I'm always interested in how artists come up with their art and here is a link to the story behind the song.  Click Here for the Story.

Here is a link to Oh How I Need You so you can have this great song going through your head too!

Blessings today. . .

Wake Up And Fight!

This is a little late, but the picture above is from Woody Guthrie's journal.  These are his new year's resolutions.  I like these a whole lot.  #33 is my favorite.  Wake up and fight.

Most of the time when I wake up I just want to fight for more sleep, but reading Woody's words has me thinking about what I ought to be fighting for each day.  This year at Peace we'll be fighting for hungry kids, homeless families and those who don't feel welcome.

What are you fighting for?

Peace,
Will

Shortcomings

A friend was recently telling me about a job interview and how you always get asked to share your greatest weakness.  As a manager I've heard people answer that question by saying, "I work too hard."or "I care too much."  Those aren't weaknesses.  Those aren't even answers.

When I am asked that question I know immediately how to answer.  I fail to communicate often enough about events.  A wise man once told me, "When you get tired of hearing information, the people around you are just starting to hear what you are saying."  As a pastor I'm surrounded by activity and most of it is really good stuff.  The kind of stuff I want everyone to know about.

When I look at how Jesus lived and led I notice he consistently stayed on topic and communicated clearly.  Even when those around him tried to change the conversation Jesus brought them back to the good news of the kingdom of God.  I've got a lot to learn.  Thankfully God works best where we are weak.

What it Takes to Get There

Before you set out on any journey of significance you need to do some planning.  (Even short trips require some advance work.  Do I have my keys and wallet?)  And yet we seem to think that living a life of faith is as easy as waking up.  Why do we not plan to be open to God's leading on a daily basis? What does it take to become a people focused on Jesus.  It takes work.

Unfortunately, you will not simply wake up one day at your ideal weight or able to play the piano, or speak a different language.  You need to put the time in to prepare for all of those things.  There is a brief, but well done piece on what it takes to move forward once we're serious.  Click on the link below and let me know what you think.

What it takes!

Fall Into Life

Well, I sure didn't intend to take the summer off from blogging, but that is what happened.  

I've been talking with folks about best intentions a lot over the last few weeks.  It is clear to me that a good number of people I know are living life by obligation as opposed to living in God's blessing.  

When you live by obligation there is always something you haven't finished and there is always someone around who isn't living up to their end of the bargain.  This is a frustrating way to live.  Living in God's blessing takes into account the fact that we aren't going to get everything done.  We are broken.  We need help.  And even more importantly we are forgiven.

In the picture above I'm preaching at Christikon in July.  This was the part of the sermon where I sang a mash-up of Bob Marley's Three Little Birds (you'll know the chorus which says, "don't worry about a thing, every little thing is gonna be alright) and Have No Fear Little Flock.  We are not a people of fear or worry.  We are children of the King.  I'm doing my best to remember this daily.  I'm gonna need some help, so sing with me.

A Failure?

In February I decided to read the Bible in 90 days.  It was a big challenge and I thought it would be a cool thing to do.  I made it over halfway through.  (It helped that I took a trip to the midwest with long layovers between flights both ways when I caught up on my reading plan.)  I felt good about getting that far.

Then it happened.  A week went by without making it all the way through the assigned reading.  Then another.  Then another.  I just wasn't keeping up and then I stopped altogether because it felt hopeless to be so far behind.

Today I picked up where I left off, but I'm not going to sprint through God's word.  I've decided to read in a new way.  I'm still going to read straight through.  (I'm almost done with Isaiah now.)  But instead of trying to read huge chunks in a sitting, I'm going to read until a passage strikes me in such a way that I want to ponder it for an extended period of time.  I may read several chapters or just one.  And that is okay.

Too often I'm an all or nothing kind of guy.  God meets us where we are and today He's graciously meeting me as a guy who is learning all or nothing is not the best way.