Month: January 2011 (Page 2 of 3)

Devotions based on James Smith’s book, The Good and Beautiful Community

All of us have friends or family that we would like to share our story with that they may be drawn into the life of faith. They are watching us all the time, and our actions are communicating for good or for ill. The author gives us simple activities to help us share without embarrassment. The first thing we can do is to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to send people our way who need the Lord and to be watchful of whom they may be. We can reach out to them by asking them to go to lunch or coffee and asking nonthreatening questions. We can be good listeners and it will give us clues as to the condition of their hearts. What is that person struggling with? Where is God working in their life?  Then we can connect their situation with the gospel.  If they are hurting, share the good news of Jesus wanting to be there in their pain etc.  Sometimes we may be asked to tell our story and it is good to let the person know we are not perfect and we also struggle…but nevertheless have put our faith and confidence in God. At a certain point we can invite the person to join us at church, or a social setting, or a service project, or small group Bible Study. Then keep praying for them and trust God. Let us point others to Him!

Devotions based on James Smith’s book, The Good and the Beautiful Community

Our lives are a witness to the world that we have something real and they want to know the reason we have hope. Some people are especially gifted at sharing their faith but we all are witnesses, even when we are not conscious of it. We share Him in two ways: with our life and with our mouth. Our lives are the most profound witness to our connection with God. But there are also times people give us permission to explain what we believe and why. We cannot claim to be perfect but our job is to point others to the One who is perfect. We have hope because of His death, resurrection, ascension and return some day. Our future is bright because of His finished work!  As Jesus story becomes our story, our behavior changes too. St. Francis said, “Preach the gospel wherever you go. When necessary use words”.  Romans 12:1-18 tells us just how to preach the gospel without words.

 Dallas Willard said: “The true social activist is the person who lives as an apprentice of Jesus in his or her ordinary relationships.”
There are times when we are called to share the hope within us in words and we need to do it with gentleness and reverence. ( I Peter 3:15-16)  Timing is important too and we need to be patient and alert to the opportunities. Each day we get to make a masterpiece with our lives that witness to the Hope that is within us.

Devotions based on James Smith’s book, The Good and Beautiful Community

How do we keep a balance between spending time with God and caring for others? The author suggests spending 2 hours focused on God and 4 intentional acts for others. ( 2 by 4)  The time spent with God could be intentional as we go to church for an hour but going with a sense that we are meeting God. Or it could be spent in being quiet before Him, or thanking Him as we list our blessings, or reading the Word reflectively, or just listening, or journaling etc. But also let us go on to do unselfish acts of kindness and generosity. Think, what can we do for others starting with little things ( like taking someone’s tray back in the cafeteria) to bigger things like helping someone move?  Be creative! How about letting someone go ahead of us in line? Or simply spending time listening to someone?  The author suggests doing  4 acts of kindness this week, remembering that we are a citizen of another world!  Let us stay balanced between time spent with Him and giving ourselves unselfishly to others!

Devotions based on James Smith’s book, The Good and Beautiful Community

As we follow the Lord we need to avoid making rules and laws and trust the leading of the Spirit.  There can be a tendency to turn our individual, Spirit-led practices into corporate laws. Because we may be led to live in a poor area to help the ones living there, doesn’t mean that no Christian should own a house over $200,000. The kingdom of God is not about rules, but about the goodness, confidence, and laughter we discover when we let the Holy Spirit lead us. We need to come to our own conclusions on such matters, and avoid turning them into laws that all others must obey, or judging those who do not do as you do. William Penn grew up in the upper class and had the best education available. At age 23 he became a Quaker and it was common in his day to wear a sword, which was not to harm anyone but a sign that the wearer belonged to the upper class. Penn struggled with whether he should wear the sword for it was a symbol of war and a symbol of class distinction, two things Quakers are against. When he asked Fox, his mentor, he was told, “Wear it as long as you can.”…meaning that in time he would be led to make the right decision. William gave up the sword but not right away. As we are changed inwardly, so do things in our lives, but not overnight. So let us avoid legalism and listen to what the Spirit tells us, not our neighbor!

Devotions based on James Smith’s book, The Good and Beautiful Community

We are called a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people. I Peter 2:9.  Peculiar means different and strange and as Christians we should be different from the world. If we are truly following Jesus and led by the Holy Spirit, we will transcend the laws of our culture.  When persecuted we will bless and love instead of getting even!  When cursed  we will repay with blessings?  Do we live by the higher law of love? Do others want to know Him because they see us a people who have peace, joy, and love?  The God we serve is extraordinarily different than any other god the world has ever heard of. He loves us so much that He became one of us and died for us when it is not deserved. He is generous, good, loving, and peculiar…His ways are not our ways or His thoughts our thoughts. ( Is. 55:8)  His desire is to transform us into peculiar people who love others, even if they don’t love us in return. It is all too easy to be like our culture where we treat people as objects for personal gain etc. Let us cut against the grain and become a community of people rooted in another world. Let us have the courage to love and forgive the unlovely and the unforgivable as He does us.

Devotions from James Smith’s book, The Good and Beautiful Community

This book has to do with learning how to love our neighbor as our self.  Any of us can do a wonderful act of service but if we do not do it in a spirit of love, it is of no value.  When we do sacrificial acts for others, it can gain attention but we must beware that it can lead to vainglory and not bring glory to our Heavenly Father. The purpose of doing kind things is not to be seen by others for, ”The heart of the matter is the heart.”   As it says in Galatians 5:6, “The only thing that counts is faith working through love.”  Living faith is trust and confidence in God expressed in acts of love in our relationship with others.  If we just focus on social justice we can become self-righteous and insensitive. We need personal faith as well. It is not that we just do a good deed here or there but our lives should be good deeds, that flow from Christlike character.  Let us live in continuous contact with the kingdom of God.  We love, serve, forgive and care for others because God first loved, served, forgave and cared for us. So the life we are now living with God just spills over onto everyone we meet. Let us remember that daily encounters with others are the arenas in which our relationship with God becomes incarnate!

Devotions based on Mark Buchanan’s book, Spiritual Rhythms

In all of the seasons we go through we need to draw from the well of prayer.  Prayer is the key and the secret to opening the doors of the Kingdom.  Prayer is a privilege, not a duty.  It is not an act of exertion but a source of replenishment. We have ready access to the presence of God and can come any time from any where. 
We also need to drink from the well of community. Two are better than one.  ”If they fall down they can help each other up.” A friend makes our lives profitable, comfortable, less lonely, less frail, less vulnerable.   A friend increases life’s goodness and gives us strength.   The author realized one day that he did not have one friend he could call on at 3 am. if there was a crisis. So he dug a well of friendship and spends time now weekly with 2 friends who he can share his innermost struggles with. And of course, Jesus is the best friend we can have and know that He is always right there with us.

Devotions based on Mark Buchanan’s book, Spiritual Rhythms

When we are dry and thirsty, we need to draw from the well of worship. The kind of worship He wants is worship in spirit and truth.  He desires that we seek Him in our inmost place and that we worship in truth.  It’s so much more than going through the motions of worship for appearances sake- it is rather meeting Him afresh who lives and sees us.  We need to also go to the well of the Word of God daily, in season and out of season. Go for strength beyond ourselves, wisdom above ourselves, and courage bigger than ourselves.   His Word is our foundation and we can be sure that adversity will test this foundation. As we hear His word, we need to respond in obedience. Let us ask ourselves what do  we already know that we’re not doing? If God has told us, we need to just do it. Let us be doers of the Word and not hearers only!