Psalm 63:1-2-- Reflection -- w/ 7 tips to hear from God.

My hope is that you can use this small reflection to help you seek the depths of God's Presence!

"God, You are my God;"
           Pause and ask yourself if what you declare by reading this line is true for you?  Is God really YOUR GOD?  In other words, Does He have control of your life?  Is he the one who guides and directs your paths?  Take some time to invite Him to fill you and guide you today!

"I earnestly seek You.  
I thirst for You; 
my body faints for You in a dry and desolate land without water."
           This declaration is what naturally follows the first IF indeed the first is true for us.  If God is really OUR GOD, than what else would we seek besides HIM?  Pause and ask the Spirit to examine the longings of your heart...don't just assume they are for God...If you find your heart divided, and the "natural longing" of your heart right now is NOT for God, then take some prolonged time to do what the next line instructs...(if your heart IS longing for God -- what is next will come more naturally)

"So I gaze on You in the sanctuary to see Your strength and Your glory."
           If God is not the longing of your heart then chances are you have not spent a lot of time doing what this verse says lately.  Maybe you're reading your Bible regularly and praying for people and trying to "do your best" to live a good Christian life.  But when have you last stopped just to GAZE at GOD in order to behold His strength and glory?

The question for most is HOW?  How do I gaze at God? (meditate on Him, be still in His Presence)  It all sounds wonderful--but for any who have tried we all know how easily our minds get distracted by our own thoughts and things around us.  But my friends, don't give up--keep pressing into God's presence--learn to gaze at Him and dwell with Him more and I promise He will speak, and He will surely reveal more and more of His power and glory to you--and more and more of His faithful love and tenderness!

Here are some helpful things that I have used as I continue to learn to "gaze at God" more:

-Invite the Holy Spirit to take over -- submit yourself to Him, ask Him to help you.

-WRITE -- I find writing down my thoughts and what I feel I'm hearing from God incredibly helpful.

-Jot down distracting thoughts --- I also keep a piece of paper near me to jot down "distracting thoughts" that come into my mind so that I can stop thinking about them because I know I can return to them later.  This for me has been incredibly helpful in getting rid of the "noise" of my task oriented mind.

-Use Scripture to focus on God.  Look up a short passage that describes or speaks of God--meditate on that passage to help you focus.

-Surroundings.  Position yourself in a place that is conducive to being still and reflective.  For me it's different at times.  Being in nature is helpful, or at the very least being somewhere quiet where the chances of interruption is minimal.  Find the place that works for YOU.

-PRACTICE --- sometimes your attempts will be frustrating and feel "in vain", but keep "practicing"--"practice gazing at God until it is no longer an exercise but a natural rhythm of your life"

-Share the journey with others --- share the experience in groups, and have people you can talk to about what you are experiencing in your personal times.


Below is a quote from AB Simpson about his experience of seeking God's presence:

“Be still, and know that I am God.” Then came the conflict of thoughts for tomorrow, and its duties and cares; but God said, “Be still.”

And as I listened, and slowly learned to obey, and shut my ears to every sound, I found after a while that when the other voices ceased, or I ceased to hear them, there was a still small voice in the depths of my being that began to speak with an inexpressible tenderness, power and comfort.

As I listened, it became to me the voice of prayer, the voice of wisdom, the voice of duty, and I did not need to think so hard, or pray so hard, or trust so hard; but that “still small voice” of the Holy Spirit in my heart was God’s prayer in my secret soul, was God’s answer to all my questions, was God’s life and strength for soul and body, and became the substance of all knowledge, and all prayer and all blessing: for it was the living GOD Himself as my life, my all.

You can find Simpson's full account of his experience HERE

The Harvester

The above picture is called "the Harvester" by LeMoine FitzGerald of the "Group of Seven".  Today as I sat in my office praying, and was trying to "enter God's presence", God gently reminded me that while I was always welcome "to come to His Throne" -- that in fact He is always right here with me--even right now in my office.

At this reminder I boldly said--"O Lord I want to see and feel You tangibly HERE"...and I waited...soon I started to feel like I had no real idea what I was looking for...but I had a sense that God wanted me to keep waiting with my eyes open -- more time past and I felt less and less confident that I would encounter anything "supernatural"... then my eyes came to this picture which is on my calendar.  It's not the first time I looked at it, nor the first time I read the title of that painting -- but this time when I did my breath caught in my throat and I knew God was pressing in and speaking.

Just the other day I past a couple farmers, drenched in sweat from baling hay all day--and I recalled my teen years when I worked on farms, and among other things had to help with loading and unloading hay during the harvest--it is HARD WORK!  But it is also satisfying work for you get to see the bounty of the harvest pile up in front of you--and the better the harvest, the harder you need to work.

For the past 8 months I have tried every single day to pray the prayer that Jesus told us to pray in Luke 10:2--"The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few.  Therefore, PRAY to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest."  Right after this Jesus then says to His disciples: "Now go; I am sending you out like lambs among wolves."

(my alarm on my phone has just gone off--10:02am -- to remind me to pray that very prayer again!)

Here is the point I want Christians to hear -- especially my church family of Crossings:

Jesus said the harvest is ABUNDANT.  In fact in Acton, already many years ago we have had people who have seen visions of Acton as a golden wheat field; and other visions of people crying out to Jesus in the streets of Acton!  The Harvest is ready and it is abundant!

But are the workers ready?  Are the workers willing to put in the hard work that the harvest requires?

Remember, the more abundant the harvest the harder the work that is to be done--BUT--don't miss this--the greater the harvest the more abundant the JOY of the work.

God has called us into HIS harvest to be co-labourers with Him!  Dear Christian will you put on your work clothes, walk out into the harvest field and work hard?  Are you willing to sweat and feel the sting of the hard work of harvesting?  Are you willing even to be like a sheep among wolves?

It is time!  The harvest is abundant --- where are the workers?  Where are the ones willing to give themselves to the Mission God is calling us into?  Are you watching from the edge of the field?

There are long hard hours of harvest ahead -- it will not be easy -- BUT -- there will be GREAT JOY at the harvest -- and the Spirit will fill His workers with abundant provision for all that we need!   All the hard work will be more than worth it!

PRACTICAL WAYS TO START:

-Pray -- perhaps you want to join me in setting your alarm for 10:02am every day to remind you to pray for the Lord of the Harvest to send labourers.

-Pray for open doors and opportunity to share the gospel -- and go into each day expectantly

-Join other workers so you can work alongside -- encouraging each other, praying together, strengthening each other and spurring each other on.  (Crossings folks -- in the fall -- join a "Missional Community" to learn with others how to live out the mission in the everyday stuff of life!)

-As Jesus said -- "Now Go..."  --- get out there -- you may not know exactly how to do what you need to do--But once you are in the field, especially along with others, you will quickly learn -- but you need to "GO" -- you cannot harvest from the sidelines!

Exploiting the Vulnerable

Today I was rocked by a couple videos on a couple different subjects.

The first was a video about pornography and the affect it has on the brain and the harm it is causing in our society.  I was deeply troubled by the facts presented about how the sex industry exploits the vulnerable in our society.

The second video is one probably many of you have now seen--or at least have seen trending (and maybe are avoiding!).  It is the latest video exposing some of the practices of Planned Parenthood.  Again, my soul agonized at the ease with which our society discounts the rights of the most vulnerable for the desires of those who have the ability to wield their power over the vulnerable.

Both of these videos, while containing unique and important issues (that I will not address here)  pointed to one common disturbing trend in our society -- the exploitation of the vulnerable.

For a society that gets all up in arms over animal rights -- and is very vocal about our personal rights and freedoms -- it is frightening how quickly those same voices don't seem to grant the same rights and freedoms to those whom they somehow deem as having "less rights than themselves".

This is not new --- history going back thousands of years points to the repeated pattern of "powerful humans" exploiting "vulnerable humans" and using whatever means they needed to justify their actions.

As a Christian this is an especially important trend to pay attention to as God has always been One who sought the care of the "poor, needy and marginalized" --- When Israel was rebuked by their Prophets one of the re-occurring things that was rebuked was the exploitation of the poor!  (**note that "God's people" were not exempt from this shameful exploitation -- repeatedly, right into the Christian Church in the New Testament, God's people at times had to be rebuked and corrected because they started to overlook the vulnerable)

When Jesus walked the earth--He had harsh words for the rich who exploited the poor but extended incredible compassion to the vulnerable.  The Apostles continued this emphasis and one of the marks of the early Christian faith that the world found so intriguing was that "none among them were in need".  And this teaching continued as over and over Paul, Peter, James and others taught Christians to make sure that the poor, the orphaned and the widows (the most vulnerable) received special care.

Perhaps the Church is in need of another reminder of our responsibility to look after the most vulnerable!  Both these cases (Abortion and Pornography) exemplify our societies justification of  "the powerful human" exploiting the "vulnerable human". (The rights of one trump the rights of other)

Simply ask yourself this:  Is the life of an unborn child not of just as great of value as your own? (What about the life of an aborted baby who still has a heartbeat?)  Is the life of a woman sold and exploited for sex not of just as great of value as any other human?  (I watched another documentary a while back on how we get such cheap clothes by exploiting humans in other parts of the world-- Are they of the same inherent value as you?)

The actions of our wider culture say NO.  Somehow the value of one human becomes greater than another.

However, the Gospel says ALL HUMAN LIFE IS OF GREAT VALUE!.   As broken and depraved as humanity is, even at the core of our nature, God determined by His love that we were still worth saving.  The gospel is good news extended to ALL PEOPLE that brings forgiveness and life to all who will come to Jesus. -- The gospel declares that all of humanity is loved and valued by God.  Therefore those who live by the gospel ought to live in a way that sees ALL LIFE of great and equal value.

Dear Christian -- let the gospel change you and cause you to rise up and defend the vulnerable just as Christ rescued you when you were weak and powerless in sin.

Dear friend who does not yet know Jesus --You are loved already, you are valued even if you have no regard at this moment for God -- He does not abandon, and He will not abort the mission of making known His profound love for you through Jesus!

below is the link to the video on the effects of pornography.  The other video I'm sure you can find trending in cyberspace!

The Porn Pandemic

The Documentary on cheap clothing and its true cost can be found here.

Return to MILK!

One of the most misunderstood and misused metaphors used by a lot of well-intentioned Christians is the metaphor of "solid food vs milk".

I am not going to go into the fact that solid food is NOT more complex theological studies--but rather a life changed by the gospel and shaped by obedience (happy to talk in person to anyone about that!)

Rather the focus of this post is to call us back to GOOD MILK!  In the mix of Christians talking about wanting "solid food", "milk" has gotten a bad rap...However listen to what Peter says to a group of Christians:

"DESIRE the unadulterated spiritual MILK..." (1 Peter 2:2)

What is this milk?  It's Jesus Himself!

"...coming to Him, a living stone..."  (1 Peter 2:4)

Peter's point to a people who are already saved, and increasing in knowledge and holy living is that they should never give up their infant like dependency on the pure milk of Jesus...for Peter says it is by this milk that we "may grow by it in salvation" (2:2b)

So what's my point...why I am I bothering posting this?

Somehow, somewhere along the line a lot of Christians (myself included) fall into a peculiar trap--we start to act as if we must do more for God and prove ourselves "mature" and worthy of "solid food", and we view the simple, pure, unadulterated intimacy that we have with Jesus through the gospel as "beneath us"...or at least, in our past as we have moved on to "deeper things"!

Here is the problem -- without ongoing, continual intimacy with Jesus, we cannot and will not accomplish anything worthy of being called glorifying to Him...we will pile up "good works" that are nothing but "filthy rags" in His sight (google "Isaiah filthy rags and good works" if this reference doesn't make sense to you!)

So if you are like me, and all too often have started trying to pull up your boot straps to "do more for God"...I invite you to STOP and come back like an infant who longs for pure milk -- come back and enjoy "your first love" (see Revelation 2:4) ... You are never "too mature" or beyond the pure, unadulterated spiritual milk of intimacy with Jesus -- it is GOOD and we are meant to ALWAYS drink of it (Him) -- for He is Living Water (or milk if you will!) and true life is only found as we drink deep of HIM!

If you struggle to find this kind of intimacy -- you are not alone -- don't over complicate your approach to Jesus -- He is not needing you to prove anything, but only to seek Him!  (I'd love to talk in person to anyone wanting to discover more about what ongoing intimacy with Jesus looks like -- you can walk alongside with me as I discover it more and more for myself!)

Love for Bruce Jenner

Transgender. (Bruce Jenner, Caitlyn Jenner)

Many who read that word and these names will have varying reactions...for some it's confusion, for some it's very strong feelings about progress, for others there is fear of the unknown, and for others there is a sense of sorrow.

Many will also make their opinion of me depending where I land regarding this issue -- If I hold the "wrong view" some will call me a bigot and heartless.

So let me begin by saying, I have sat personally with those who were in the midst of "transition" and spoke to them about my love for them, Jesus' love for them and expressed the willingness to journey through the decisions ahead with them.  I've looked into the eyes of those who call themselves transgender, and I've listened to the confusion and hurt that they've expressed--my heart has broken for them in those moments--the torment they have expressed to me is real.  That being the case -- I not only sympathize but have great compassion on those who experience this torment--including Bruce Jenner.  But that being the case--you may find it surprising that I believe Bruce Jenner has moved further from finding his "true identity" rather than closer.

Therefore I am not, and will not celebrate with the masses about Bruce Jenner.  Not because I have anything against him--but because I long for him, along with all people to discover an identity that is true, and life-giving.  He, nor any of us will find that identity through any sort of change or manipulation that we try create in our own lives.  (whether that be sexual, moral etc)

I am not writing this to argue about the feelings of the transgender or gay community; I acknowledge openly that I believe their feelings to be very real and so in that sense very TRUE!  Just as I acknowledge openly that many men experience feelings of lust for many women -- they are very real and very true.  The question is are they right and therefore to be acted upon.  Or if you don't like the idea of "right and wrong" applied to this scenario let me put it this way -- Is acting upon those true feelings and desires ultimately beneficial to a human being finding true fulfillment in life?

If the goal of human life is ultimately meaningless beyond a string of "in the moment experiences" that ultimately amount to nothing but death -- one might be able to argue for acting upon those feelings or desires.  But what if there is more?  And what if our feelings and desires don't always lead us "rightly"?  What if the lure of instant gratification actually forfeits our longing for true identity and purpose?

If human life is not meaningless--these are questions worth entertaining--and if you are entertaining them the best answers I know of are found in the story of the Bible, and in the perfect love that God offers ALL humans by His grace through Jesus.

Let me give you a quick glimpse at the story -- if your heart goes out to someone like Bruce Jenner and his search for identity--so does mine! -- Read the following with an open heart.

God created us out of His perfect love, to know and receive His perfect love in relationship

In creating humans He created us male and female, IN HIS IMAGE (gender is important!  We were created to perfectly compliment the other!  Women with their own beauty, gifts and needs.  Men with their own beauty? ;), gifts, and needs)  When we distort gender, we are distorting part of God's design for us.  But beyond just the gender issue is the issue of being "in God's image" -- in short this means that God meant OUR identity to reflect HIS identity -- so that not only would we as humans know His perfect love--but that through us His love would be reflected and communicated to all creation!

So why are so many humans (all humans!!!) longing for an identity where we are secure, loved and find meaning?  Short answer: SIN.  As humans we have all turned to other means other than God's love to try fulfill and live our lives.  God lets us go our own way for he gave a free will; He does not force us to love Him.  But the result of leaving Him who gives us identity through His perfect love is that now we all struggle with a longing at the core of who we are--a longing for love, and longing for identity.  --- and despite all our attempts to "find a new identity" -- even going to the length of sexual surgery for some -- we are not finding what we are looking for ...

The abridged version of the story is--this is where JESUS enters the picture of our lives.

Jesus is God's answer to rescue us from our own choices, and the sin and death we find ourselves bound in so that once again we can experience the love of God and the Identity that He gives.

Jesus came into our midst -- a human like us--experiencing the same feelings and struggles, but by nature fully God and able to rescue us from sin, and free us from its outcome, death.

The Good News about Jesus speaks to the longing of Bruce Jenner to find an identity that "fits".  Jesus is the answer to the longing that is in every human heart to know and experience a life of love and meaning.  Jesus offers us a New Identity -- one in which we are made righteous (that is--our identity is 'put right'); the Identity we were created to bear but despite all our efforts we could never find.

The really Good News is -- Jesus loves you, He love Bruce Jenner -- yes He loves even Caitlyn Jenner,  None is outside of Jesus' love -- He offers you His love today, He calls for you to stop striving for an identity that you will never find on your own; He calls for us to repent of (turn away from) those strivings which only lead us further from Him, and instead accept His grace and forgiveness.

You may come to this point and say -- Kellen you didn't really deal with the "transgender" issue --I know.  That is a discussion that needs to be had openly with humble hearts all around--preferably in person.  What I know however is the longing of the human heart for love...and what I further know is that all our attempts to find a love that ultimately fulfills us falls painfully short of our hearts longing--because our hearts were created for One Perfect and unconditional love -- that is the love of God -- that love is what Jesus offers to all of us.  That is the love He is offering to you right now.

Further discussion is welcomed --I'd love to listen and I'd love to pray for and with any of you -- but my preference is to sit face to face--so feel free to send me a message!

Practical Lent Suggestions

During the season of Lent -- which leads up to the celebration of Easter -- many people will give things up.  ("fast" from something)

This is a good practice...BUT... if all we do is give up something; we are missing the point of Lent (or any fasting) -- the point is not just what you give up (in fact that should not be your focus); the point is what you seek to GAIN!

Simply put--Lent is about seeking JESUS.  We fast from things that crowd Him out, or distract us from Him, or that by going without will remind us to focus on Him.

But instead of just telling you to "focus on Jesus", I want to offer some practical advice as to how you can make your "giving up" of something into an opportunity to GAIN so much more of Jesus!

It starts with our FOCUS.

Do NOT focus on your fast -- focus on JESUS.  If you are giving up sweets; don't spend your whole day lamenting that you are going without and sharing with everyone who will listen how much you are missing sugar.  To do so is to have the opposite effect that the fast ought to have.  In fact Jesus warns us in Matthew 6 to make sure that we DON'T let people know when we are fasting but to instead carry on as we would most other days as far as outward appearance is concerned (Matthew 6:16-18)  Remember that JESUS is your focus -- it is HIS approval we seek, not each others!

So focus on Jesus, not on the thing you are fasting from, and especially not on the reactions of others.

Secondly, REPLACE what you have given up with the BEST.

In other words, don't just give something up and leave a void--fill the void with JESUS.

Here are some examples of what that might look like:

If you gave up tv or facebook:  During the time you would have been watching tv or on facebook take time to pray and read the Bible.  Instead of filling your mind with the stuff of our world--fill it with the Word of Jesus!  (Imagine if all the time you spent on tv/facebook was spent getting to know Jesus!!  How much better would you know Jesus at the end of 40 days!?)

If you gave up sweets or something like alcohol:  Take the money you would normally spend on sweets or alcohol in 40 days and GIVE IT AWAY!
Additionally--every time you start craving that thing you gave up let it remind you to thank Jesus that He is more than enough and learn through these 40 days to depend on Jesus more and more.

These are just a couple examples -- but hopefully they give you an idea of how you can not just give something up, but GAIN something so much more.

I would love to hear what you are giving up for Lent, and what your plan is for getting to know Jesus better during the next 40 days!

Are you Content or Complacent?

Content or Complacent -- these two words are similar; yet display a radically different attitude.

Complacent: "Showing a smug satisfaction with oneself or one's achievements"

Content: "A state of satisfaction, peaceful happiness"

Paul said he "learned to be content no matter what the circumstances..."  Later he says this is because he looks to the "One who gives him strength" --- JESUS is the source of contentment no matter whether he is well fed or hungry.  This is contentment, and this is good.

However, Proverbs says:  "the complacency of fools will destroy them"  (Prov 1:32b)

I've heard Christians use the word "contentment" to describe their satisfaction with their current experience of Jesus -- and they almost display a disdain toward the idea of longing for more than what we currently know of Jesus.  This is not contentment -- this is complacency.

Jesus did not set us free from sin, and fill us with His Spirit so that we could be complacent with the bare minimum of who He is.  Rather, He is a ever-flowing spring of life, an infinitely deep well of Love and He intends that our life would be spent going ever deeper into who He is, growing ever more confident in His grace.

There is a deep end to Jesus--deeper than any ocean depth.  It is ok to begin your journey in the shallows; but it is lazy complacency to remain there--the shallows is NOT the place of contentment--true contentment is experienced as we dive into the depths of Jesus and we realize that all else besides Him is worthless!

Be content in all circumstances because you are ever growing more in love with Jesus.  But never allow yourself to be complacent, as if you have arrived and are experiencing all that Christ has for you--I assure you there is more!  Look always to the One who gives MORE than we can ask or imagine!