Legalism

26 Monday Mar 2012

Posted by Seeking Peace in heart, heart for God, Jesus, legalism, legalist

Edited post: There are things I say at the moment I feel strongly about that upon a night’s sleep, even a short one, and a re-read I think it’s something I said that didn’t need to be said.

Yesterday, I was moved to speak to someone with whom I disagree on some points of scripture. I won’t say it was a great conversation because the point of the talk, letting them know I and others had been hurt by what was said initially, got drowned out in more of what had been originally said. I guess I’ll say there was more talking than listening. I don’t expect everyone to agree with me so I leave the conversation thankful I brought it up, thankful that it will bring peace to put it out there and thankful that confessing my hurt that I was holding will lead to healing from that hurt and moving forward.

There are things I don’t always enjoy doing but that can be beneficial. Yesterday was one of those days.

Grace and peace to you.

The Harding Experience

30 Monday Jan 2012

Posted by Seeking Peace in Harding, heart, passion, young hearts, young people

≈ Leave a comment

I spent the past weekend at Harding University and had a fabulous experience. I love being around young people and this was a few days filled with young people – seeing their lives and hearing the dreams and passions. On Thursday, I sat in on interviews for a summer youth intern at our church and was uplifted by hearing these kids desire to serve God and work with other young people. What blew me away was their willingness to share some of their own struggles and how they were working through them. It was encouraging to experience their transparency and their mission for living more righteous and holy lives. Friday and Saturday were spent in discussions on plans for teachers (I’ll be one) for UPLIFT 2012. That consisted of several hours with youth ministers and youth ministry volunteers and, again, it was encouraging to hear their heart for reaching young people with the good news. var gaJsHost = ((“https:” == document.location.protocol) ? “https://ssl.” : “http://www.”); document.write(unescape(“%3Cscript src='” + gaJsHost + “google-analytics.com/ga.js’ type=’text/javascript’%3E%3C/script%3E”)); try { var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker(“UA-12356560-1”); pageTracker._trackPageview(); } catch(err) {}

I’ve got a child going to Harding next year and I’m so pleased that is the school of choice. There is good and bad in every place but the students I met encourage me about what the future holds.

Grace and peace to you.

A Borrowed Message

20 Friday Jan 2012

Posted by Seeking Peace in Eldredge, heart, heart for God

≈ Leave a comment

var gaJsHost = ((“https:” == document.location.protocol) ? “https://ssl.” : “http://www.”); document.write(unescape(“%3Cscript src='” + gaJsHost + “google-analytics.com/ga.js’ type=’text/javascript’%3E%3C/script%3E”)); try { var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker(“UA-12356560-1”); pageTracker._trackPageview(); } catch(err) {} I’m posting an email I received from John Eldredge that is taken from his book, The Sacred Romance, because it speaks to me of where I’ve been, where I find myself now and where I need to be on-guard for in the future. It’s so easy to lose heart for what is important by getting wrapped up in the minor events of today. It’s easy to exert a great deal of time and energy into house-hunting, car-shopping, running here and there, school and lose focus of where I really want to be going and where and I really want (and need) my energy to be focused so that I am feel truly fulfilled in this life. Lord, pull me close and help me open my eyes to the things can fill my heart…and my mind…and my soul.

A Loss of Heart

It was to the most religious people of his time that Jesus spoke his strongest warnings about a loss of heart.

It is tragic for any person to lose touch with the life of their heart but especially so for those of us who once heard the call in our heart and recognized it as the voice of Jesus of Nazareth. We may remember him inviting us to a life of beauty, intimacy, and adventure that we thought was lost. For others of us, when he called, it felt for the first time in our lives as if our heart had finally found a home. We responded in faith, in hope, and in love and began the journey we call the Christian life. Each day seemed a new adventure as we rediscovered the world with God by our side.

But for many of us, the waves of first love ebbed away in the whirlwind of Christian service and activity, and we began to lose the Romance. Our faith began to feel more like a series of problems that needed to be solved or principles that had to be mastered before we could finally enter into the abundant life promised us by Christ. We moved our spiritual life into the outer world of activity, and internally we drifted. We sensed that something was wrong, and we perhaps tried to fix it-by tinkering with our outer life. We tried the latest spiritual fad, or a new church, or simply redoubled our commitment to make faith work. Still, we found ourselves weary, jaded, or simply bored. Others of us immersed ourselves in busyness without really asking where all the activity was headed. At one point in my own spiritual pilgrimage, I stopped to ask myself this question: “What is it that I am supposed to be doing to live the spiritual life in any way that is both truthful and passionately alive?”

Grace and peace to you.