Gone fishing. That is the hope anyway. Over the summer of 2015 I will be entering a season of rest. We have had a number of changes in our life and will be taking some time to rest during the summer. I have decided as well to take a break from blogging. I may still write a little for the fall, but it will be a much slower speed for my family. This will be my last post until September 2015.
How do you take rest? What do you find restorative?
One tip for creating space to hear from God.
The week after writing about the post,“If we do not build an altar to meet with God, he cannot honour us with his fire,” I was struck by the reality that so many of us struggle with, the rhythm of creating space. If Jesus is the source of water in my life, then why do I not drink from that pool?
I cannot remember where I read this comment:The disciplines we have during the good moments will help us during the valleys of life. Forget for a moment what that would look like. What if you just pulled out your schedule, and for the next six weeks, one time a week, you scheduled 30 minutes to build the altar?
In my journey challenges have come from a number of areas. For example, responsibility from work, from family, the need for sleep, bad habits and or bad rhythms already established in my life. And, then there are the excuses we come up with.
In my life when I have not scheduled the time, I have failed to be restored. It has hurt my journey in life. When I do schedule the time, not only do I become grounded in Jesus, I am better husband, father, friend, pastor and person. It is as if God has designed our life in such a way to leak, and this forces us to come to him to be filled. In turn this reminds us of our need for God.
What if over the next six weeks you heard from God? What if you gained a greater or deeper understanding of who God is and what he has done? This is why we schedule our time, to draw from an eternal well and hear from Jesus.
I am just not a calendar person you may say. Maybe, but you seem to find a way to eat food every day.
Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water” (John 4:13-15).
Pull out the calendar and plan time to meet with Jesus. Try it just for six weeks and let me know what happens?
Any suggestion on how to use that time? If you are looking for help send me an email: matthew@matthewlaker.com
Go ahead over the next six weeks, plan 30 min. each week to build space to hear from God.
The bible reveals who God is.
Growing up there was a little saying that went like this, “The bible is, “Basic Instructions before leaving earth.”” Now there are a number of things wrong with that saying as well as a few good things. However, it shaped my view of the scripture, and in a way closed me a little to its power.
One negative was in viewing the bible as a means to know how to act. It definitely does reveal a lifestyle for God’s people, but what is the motivation? At times, I would read the bible to know how to act. Then ever so slightly I began to believe that God will accept me if I act a certain way.
However, the gospel is about a God who loved me before I was a following him. The gospel calls us to holiness, but only after Jesus has my heart. The gospel reveals that my motivation for living a holy life does not come out of the need to be accepted. Jesus is already there. It comes out of who God is, what he has done and who I am in Christ. By the way, fulfillment in Christ deals with our need for acceptance.
What if as you read scripture you change the lens a little? What if it has less to do about how you should act, and points us to what to believe and how to think? For example, I obey because of who Jesus is, and not in order to be accepted.
Please hear me, I believe there is a lifestyle that Jesus calls us to. We cannot just go live how we want. I do believe that to follow Jesus means one limits his or her life. Then, in this limitation a wholeness is experienced, or we are on the way to experiencing it. The scriptures do reveal a lifestyle that is expected of a child of God. For example, one aspect is living a generous life. However, the motive is based on who God is and who I am in him. Often one is not living the gospel life because there is something they are not believing to be true about Jesus.
As you read the scriptures, let it challenge you about who you believe God is? What if you let scripture challenge how you think? Our actions come out of what we believe.
Jesus said to a group, “First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside all will be clean” (Matthew 23:26).
There is a sense here that this group of Pharisees’ motivation was all wrong. There was a wrong belief which resulted in destructive behaviour. There was a wrong understanding of who God was and the life he was calling them to.
What if the scriptures are directing us on how to think? How we think or what we believe will drive how we act. We will not see the fruit Jesus speaks about if our thinking or belief does not align with who he is and who we are in him.
Therefore, as you are reading the bible, ask these questions:
How is this passage challenging my belief about who God is?
If this is true about God, then how does this direct how I live? What is my motivation for that?
For many followers of Jesus, we desire to have a relationship with him. We desire to know the power and experience the presences of God in our life.
As we follow Jesus we need to create a set time in our rhythm of life, where we sit sat at the altar to meet with God.
But why?
The simple reason is this:
We are nothing without the presence of God, and nothing is more important than experiencing the glory of God.
If we do not build the altar to meet with God, he cannot honour us with his fire (presence).
We want God to lead and speak in our life, but are we creating space to hear from him? Are we using the lens of scripture to view life circumstances? The building of the altar is a metaphor for creating space to worship and hear from God.
For so many today, we have surrendered to the idol of busyness or exhaustion. There is no margin (for God) in many people’s lives here in Canada and the western world. Many followers of Jesus desire to experience renewal, and the presences or power of God in their lives. However, they fail to build alters to meet with him to receive it.
The idea of, and image of an altar has been helpful in my journey with Jesus. I understand some may struggle with this image, but it is a place, a moment to meet with God. Yes, God is with me wherever I go. Yes, I can speak with him throughout the rhythms of life and we need to. We need to live out the teaching of Romans 12 with our life being laid out on the altar before Jesus.
However, I still believe in the need of altars. But, not in the sense of sin sacrifice for atonement – that is finished in Jesus Christ. What I am speaking of are moments of pause so that we intake the gospel. It is like in an engine piston. As it goes up it takes in oxygen and gas. Then it compress it. The altar moment is a time where we are taking the gospel in and letting the spirit compress it, then in the Spirits’ timing, he ignites us and power comes. From there we go and engage the world.
Jesus would often get up early or pull away from the disciples and crowds to seek God the Father. He reveals to us a pattern, a rhythm to follow in life.
We need to be careful of the idol of religion and not become legalistic. That is to say if I do this, then God has to burn the altar. To think that way makes this moment to be about you and not God. This is not about putting your quarter in, and God comes out.
This is about creating space to worship God, to be reminded about who he is and who I am. Remembering that nothing is of any use without the presence of God, and nothing is more important than experiencing the glory of God.
But if we do not build the altar to meet with God, he cannot honour us with his fire (presence).
If we want to see the power of God, we are going to need to build the altar, so he can honour us with his presence.
For some, the Old Testament seems scary. As you read through the Old Testament, you may find it difficult at times to apply the text.
This week’s Bible reading tip is more of a question to ask?
It comes from Peter Enns “NIV Application Commentary on Exodus”
“What is the connection between the meaning of a text in its original setting and the effect of the resurrection of Christ has on our understanding of that meaning? (p.22)”
As a Jesus followers we use those two paths to help understand the Old Testament passages.
Two steps outlined
1. First we allow the text to speak for itself
Based on the surrounding text and movement of thought found in the words, we seek to understand what is being said. There may be small exceptions, but generally the text will reveal enough for us to get the big picture.
Questions to ask:
What is the text revealing about God?
What is the text sharing about who the people of God are or what God is calling the people to?
The starting point starts with the text itself, not our circumstances.
2. In light of the resurrection of Jesus, what changes?
How does the gospel inform our understanding of the story in the Old Testament?
An example would be found in the Old Testament, the temple. The place people go to meet with God. The gospel reveals that, Jesus is now the temple, a better way to meet God the Father.
Romans 15:4 ESV
For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Don’t be afraid of the Old Testament, but following the example of the apostles reflect upon it through the lens of Christ/gospel.