spirituality

Contemplation: to separate something from its environment; in a religious sense it is a type of prayer or meditation.

Life is busy and it only seems to get more crowded as it goes on. We get caught up in a web of schedules, appointments, expectations, responsibilities and so on and so on. Take a moment, to catch your breath. To remember that there is more than this endless grind. The Lord made you for more, don’t forget that. 

Enjoy your Thursday Contemplative mix as you:

Pray. Read some scripture. Or simply, just take a deep breath and let it out.  

Out on my drive here’s what I saw…

May the light of the Lord break into the gloom of your life today…

I Believe in Father Christmas

They said therell be snow at Christmas
They said therell be peace on earth
But instead it just kept on raining
A veil of tears for the virgins birth
I remember one Christmas morning
A winters light and a distant choir
And the peal of a bell and that Christmas tree smell
And their eyes full of tinsel and fire

They sold me a dream of Christmas
They sold me a silent night
And they told me a fairy story
but I believed in the Israelite
And I believed in Father Christmas
And I looked at the sky with excited eyes
till I woke with a yawn in the first light of dawn
And I saw him through his disguise

I wish you a hopeful Christmas
I wish you a brave new year
All anguish pain and sadness
Leave your heart and let your road be clear
They said there’ll be snow at Christmas
They said there’ll be peace on earth
Hallelujah noel be it heaven or hell
The Christmas you get you deserve

There’s plenty of things to believe in when it comes to Christmas. And we like to wrap our arms around all of them. The Christmas Spirit. Giving. Santa. Hope. Tradition. Cheer. Goodness. 

So what part of Christmas do you hold to and what part do you let go?

As anything in life, we must cling to Jesus and nothing else.

Joy is learning to perceive things that run counter to prevailing wisdom about how the world works. 

-Rob Bell

Is joy simply feeling happy? Or is it knowing that in any situation, God is up to something… and being okay with that. 

Do we ever question our church culture and how it seems to others?

[ht: Kevin Bussey]

“We are not to find work to do, rather are we to be sent to work by God. Once having understood this we shall truly experience the reality of the authority of the kingdom of the heavens.”

Spiritual Authority – Watchman Nee

In ministry,  often find myself being bombarded with with all sorts of good things to engage in (conferences, work with other ministries, or causes). They all seem like upright and good things for the Lord. But no matter how good and profitable they may be,  if they’re not what the Lord is calling me to do, then they are ultimately a waste of my time. My life is busy and always seem on the verge of getting busier. Knowing the Lord’s will is paramount in doing Kingdom work and also in keeping my sanity. There are many good paths, but only one right one.

Talk about hittin’ the flippin’ nail on the head.

Say what you will about Brian McLaren, but I like him. I’ve read several of his books and I don’t agree with everything he says, but he certianly challenges me to think.

In his new book Finding Our Way Again he recounts an interview he conducted at a pastors conference with Dr. Peter Senge. It went something like this:

Dr. Senge was saying that in any given bookstore, the best selling books are first, “how to get rich” and second, books on Buddhism.

“Why are books on Buddhism so popular, and not books on Christianity,” McLaren asked.

Senge replied, “I think it’s because Buddhism presents itself as a way of life, Christianity presents itself as a system of belief. I would want to get Christian ministers thinking about how to rediscover their own faith as a way of life, because that’s what people are searching for today. That’s what they need most.”