Happy New Year 2010

Happy New Year 2010!!! The blog took a back seat to some events going on in late 2009. Those are over now so the blog will be getting more attention in 2010.

Over this last New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, our home church of Troy Christian Chapel conducted its' fourth annual 24 Hour New Year's Prayer Time. We had a watchnight service and I had the privilege of being able to deliver the message for the service. I have posted the text here.

Revelation 21:1-8
1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." 5He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." 6He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."

We are about to embark on a new year, the year of Our Lord 2010. It is seems ironic that our culture, which is very oriented to the present-moment and is easily distracted by every shiny object placed in front of it actually takes time for reflection as we move from one year to another. In addition, if you count years the way many do today, we shift from not only one year to another but from the first to the second decade of the 21st century.

It is rather common for the media to look at the year which is ending year in a summary review. We look back at the most newsworthy items and remember those who died during the prior year. Individually, this is a time to “take stock”. It is a time for New Year resolutions.

In looking to the year which has just past, I think we also need to look at and focus on the future. Consider how we are all being drawn into the future with the passage of time. The flow of time can be compared to a quickly moving stream or river. On many of our recent family summer vacations in northern Michigan, Zack, Rocky and I have gone “tubing” on the Indian River in the northern Lower Peninsula. This kind of tubing is not the one where you tie an inner tube to the back of a fast moving boat. Instead, you simply sit down in the tube, wince at how cold the water is, even in August, push off from shore and simply float down the river for a few hours. Sometimes, to have us stay relatively close to each other, one of us might try to grab the branch of a tree from the shore and try to stay in place while the others catch up. Trying to stay in place in that fast moving river is not easy. It is tiring and takes a bit of effort. In the same way, in the flow of the stream of time, trying to hold onto the past is also difficult.

I am not talking about simply remembering the past. That is definitely a good thing to do, especially if you are trying to avoid repeating past mistakes. What I am talking about is how some people, in their hearts and minds, live in the past. I think there are three ways this happens.

1. Failing to recognize the passage of time; We often treat the time given to us by God on this Earth as an infinite resource rather than one which is most definitely fixed by death. It is living opposite of what the Psalmist tells us in Psalm 90:12: “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” One who fails to recognize the passage of time does not number his or her days aright. The value of time as a FINITE resource is lost on this person.

2. Obsessing over what is perceived as better times. Such “better times” might be thought of in terms of the economy, relationships in family, dating, marriage, etc. The American Christmas experience can fuel this type of living in the past. Pastor Paul Edwards pointed out on his talk show in November how many of the sappy, sentimental Christmas songs of today can actually bring about a sense of depression as we might do more than just remember Christmases past but perhaps long to somehow re-create or go back to a Christmas in times past. Time’s arrow points only one way and such a re-creation or idealization simply cannot be done.

This mindset is not confined to the Christmas season. In our materialistic, youth-oriented culture, there is a temptation for us as we get older to look back and yearn for days in the past in which we had youth, optimism, strength, good looks, a better-paying job (or even simply a job). Our body might be living in 2010 but our heart and mind is living (and chained to) a bygone time.

3. Obsessing over past faults, failures, regrets, errors and sins. I am not talking about imagined faults or a sense of false guilt. I am speaking about unpleasant things which really happened, some of which were out of our control, in which we were, in a sense, a victim, as well as those instances in which we had full control of a situation and still purposely erred or sinned, perhaps even victimizing someone else.

Keep these three points in mind. I’ll be dealing with them again in a few moments. Remember earlier that I compared the flow of time into the future as a quickly-moving stream. I need to stress that those who are believers in Christ have the Lord Jesus Christ as a traveling companion as we go “tubing” into the future.

To push this analogy just a little harder, it can be said that Christians first encounter Christ at different points in the stream of time. Whenever that encounter happens in our personal history, we find that Scripture shows us that when people first encounter Christ, we encounter Christ in a way which may seem strange to our hearing and jar our thinking. When Christ first becomes manifest to a person or persons, a crisis occurs. In John 3:19, we read:

“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.”

The word that the NIV translates as “verdict” and the NASB translates as “judgment” is the Greek word “CRISIS”. Listen to the passage again in this light of this:

“This is the CRISIS: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.”

One definition of the word CRISIS is
“A stage in a sequence of events at which the trend of all future events, esp. for better or for worse, is determined; turning point.” Doesn’t that describe so well what the presence of Christ does in our lives?

We see this in the parable of the 10 Virgins found in Matthew 25. You might recall the basics of the parable. Five are wise and five are foolish. However, a close reading of the parable will show that if one could be an observer of the events of this parable, no distinction can be made among the virgins until the appearance of the bridegroom, the symbol for Christ. It is only then that a foolish virgin can be distinguished from a wise virgin. The arrival of the bridegroom precipated the crisis of whether provision was made ahead of time or not. Simply put, Christ brings CRISIS. He brings separation and division. When we first met Him, He too brought about a CRISIS for us as well.

To continue the analogy of time as a stream moving toward the future, Christ, the Crisis bringer, can be compared to a channel marker which controls and separates traffic on a river. In the case of Christ, the channel marker indicates a type of “fork in the road”. Just as Christ divides humanity into a type of sheep or goat, (see once again Matthew 25 for this parable of division as well), Christ splits our stream of time into two different directions. We are going to the future. However, the stream is then split into two. One stream of time, the one in which Christ is not a part, empties into a lake. It is not a placid, peaceful lake such as a Houghton or Higgins Lake up north but rather into the Lake of Fire.

The other stream takes us to the new heavens and the new Earth. It is that which is spoken of in the text I read at the beginning. Allow me to re-read a portion of that text:

3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." 5He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

What wonderful promises await us in that future time and place. Note also that the separation of God’s people from evil is from this point a permanent one. Thus, we are moving not only toward the future, we are moving toward the HOLY FUTURE. Holy in both senses which the Bible applies to the term. Both moral purity as well as separation to God away from evil. We will be living in God’s dwelling because God will be living with us.

With all of this in mind, how should we respond?

1. SEVER THE BONDS IN WHICH YOU CHAIN YOURSELF TO THE PAST
Lay aside guilt over past sins, errors and failures. If you are believer in Christ, remember that Christ died for your sins, ALL OF THEM. Ask God to forgive you. Trust that He has in Christ. If necessary, forgive yourself. Don’t remain chained to the past any longer. Ask forgiveness of God, if needed, for misusing the finite gift of time which He has allotted to you. Lay aside unrealistic expectations from your past. Trust God that though your outward circumstances may have suffered over the years, your best days are not behind you. Nor are you going to be having your best life now. Unfortunately, having your best life now is true only for hellbound unbelievers, not for a Christian. For a believer in Christ, your best life awaits the time of the holy future.

2. ABIDE IN CHRIST – Please be more concerned about abiding with Christ than with living the Christian life. Hopefully, that got your attention. Should we be living the Christian life as Christians? Absolutely. Yet, in the attitudes of our hearts and minds, we may find it more comfortable to do Christian things rather than spend time and our lives in the presence of our companion who travels with us into the holy future. If you abide in Christ, simply staying with Him, living a genuine Christian life will flow naturally. Will it take effort? Yes. However, that effort will not seem incredibly burdensome to you. Rather, it will flow from the joy of being in the abiding presence of the Lord in your life. As Psalm 16:11 says: “You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy;” and Nehemiah 8:10 concludes the thought: “The joy of the LORD is your strength.”

3. BE A MIGRANT TO THE FUTURE – In the Detroit area, it is not uncommon to see or know individuals who have migrated from a foreign culture to American culture. Sometimes, these migrants will reflect the cultures from which they came. This can happen by way of such things as language, food or clothing. In these cases, the place from which they came has a strong influence on their present moment.

In what way should Christians be migrants? We know we are pilgrims in an alien word. We get a further hint from Saint Paul. In Romans 6.11, Paul tells us that we need to “consider ourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Being actually dead to sin and outside its reach is a mark of the life we will have in the new heavens and the new Earth, in the holy future. So, for a Christian, the way in which we conduct ourselves is not the past influencing the present, but rather the future influencing the present. Our migrant culture, as foreigners in this world, is based on future experience, not the past experience. We can live the life of the land to which we are going and do so now. Live as one who knows the time and place to which you are migrating and where you will eventually spend eternity.

4. DON’T PUT OFF THE THINGS YOU ARE CALLED TO DO & WISH TO DO- If we are not chained to the past but know we are being called into the future, we can live life in the present moment with a confidence that God is with us. Ask God to give you the wisdom to know what He is asking of you. Keep in mind that Scripture tells us that God gives us the desires of our heart. I understand this not as God fulfilling our personal whims but actually supplying to us the desires for the things He wants us to want. My counsel is that unless you are stopped by circumstances outside your control, follow through on what God has put on your heart. It might be something such as going to seminary or taking a missions trip. Perhaps it is something which may not seem as outwardly noble as what I just mentioned but are still important things nonetheless. Such things as taking that once-in-a-lifetime cruise with your family, telling someone close to you that they are loved and so important in your life. Perhaps, it is even something as simple as the joy of learning to play a musical instrument like an Irish Tin Whistle. It could be any number of seeming small things. Use these opportunities wisely and well.

I need to conclude. In October of 1964, Ronald Reagan, 16 years away from being elected President of the United States, gave a speech called “A Time for Choosing”. In that speech, Reagan stated he believed that the American people had a rendezvous with destiny. While that may very well be true, I know that the Bible indicates we have a rendezvous with the future.

[AT THIS POINT IN THE SERVICE, WE PUT UP THE IMAGE YOU SEE AT THE TOP OF THIS BLOG ENTRY}REQUEST POWERPOINT TO BE USED]
This rendezvous with the future was portrayed graphically in a set of paintings which make up the altar piece of a cathedral in Ghent, Belgium. In this painting done by the Van Eyck brothers in the 1420s, we see in symbol the gathering of God’s faithful from all of history. These people from every language, tribe and nation gather around the throne of God and of the Lamb, Christ Jesus. This is where we are being drawn. This is where we belong, with all of the saints of all history who also met Christ the Crisis Bringer in their voyage down the stream of time. Standing shoulder to shoulder with them, we will rightfully be worshipping God forever. As believers in Christ, that is our destiny.

With God’s help, will you choose to sever the chains holding you to the past so that you can live that life of the holy future, both then and now?

Recap of the 24 Hour Prayer Vigil

Here are some pictures taken during our 24 Hour Prayer Vigil held from December 31st to January 1st. The first picture was taken at a prayer station having to do with our contributions to the body of Christ. Individuals could add a piece of stained glass to help show how the individual contributes to the whole.

The second picture is that of a barbed-wire cross which reminded us of the cruelty of what the Lord Jesus faced to pay for our sins. On this cross, we would place a piece of dirty cloth and would take a piece of clean cloth in its place, to remind us of the great exchange which Christ made in which He paid for our sin and we are given His perfect righteousness in its place.

Around midnight, it started to snow. And did it snow. It was a powerful reminder of God's peace in our surroundings. It did make for some interesting stories among us as we exchanged stories of the challenges of getting to church during a middle of the night snowstorm. We were so blessed to see some of our fellow intercessors braving the snow at 4am to 6am to get to church.

This is a long view of the labyrinth we used in our fellowship during the Prayer Vigil. There were seven stops (prayer stations) which were powerful and vivid reminders of God's love.

We know that some folks who wanted to come to the Prayer Vigil simply could not get there due to the snow. Yet, we sensed that God did indeed want us to do what we were doing. There was a sense of quiet and peace both outside (with the falling snow) and inside with the labyrinth and in the sanctuary. In the church sanctuary, there was silent prayer for repentance and reflection, both on the end of one year and start of a new one.

Happy New Year 2008 from the School of the Solitary Place .

24 Hour Prayer as 2007 ends and 2008 begins

Once again, my home church of Troy Christian Chapel, is conducting a 24 Hour Watchnight Prayer Time from 2pm today through to 2pm January 1st. I'm home for a few hours and thought that I would report that it has been a blessed time for us.

Happy New Year 2008... a year of continued grace!!!

Freedom From Quiet Time Guilt - Part 2

Here is Part 2 of Greg Johnson's tract "Freedom From Quiet Time Guilt":

2. The Culprit: Legalism
The root of Quiet Time Guilt is legalism. Often when we think of legalism, we think of the petty man-made rules that have so often strangled the churches—rules against dancing or drinking or makeup or ‘secular’ music. But these legalistic rules are merely an outward sign of a deeper legalism of the heart. When prayer and Bible study are thought of primarily as duties (‘disciplines’) rather than as grace, both prayer and the study of Scripture become unfruitful in our lives. We put ourselves on a performance treadmill and cease relying on God’s grace to sustain us. We trust in ourselves and our consistency, becoming proud if devotionally successful—or despairing because of our inconsistency. Either way, our spiritual self-reliance short-circuits the inexpressible joy of life in Christ. The quiet time becomes a human work whereby we think we gain—or lose—God’s daily favor. When we’ve started our day with Scripture, we presume that God’s blessing will rest upon us because of it. When we fail in our quest for devotional consistency, we feel we’ve short-circuited God’s grace in our lives. Quiet-Time Guilt.

If this describes you or anyone you know, the situation is far worse than you think. Jesus condemned the Pharisees for this very attitude about Bible study. “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me” (Jn 5:39). Yes, that’s what Jesus said. Bible study can be a sin. The Pharisees assumed the Bible a book of rules or principles for living, but failed the grasp it as a story about God’s love for his people. The quiet time can drive you far from God if you fail to understand that the Scriptures are a story about grace. The Scriptures are a story about Jesus Christ, the man of grace. His works—not our works—are the center of the biblical story. And this Jesus gives grace daily to those who fail him. How you approach the Bible—as needy sinner or as self-reliant Pharisee¾says a lot about the state of your soul.

Just like Bible study, prayer too can be sinful. Remember what Jesus said about the Pharisee and the tax collector. The one saw prayer as a work, the other as an expression of need. The one who merely expressed his neediness to God—the expression of our neediness being the heart of true prayer—that one went home right with God.

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Lk 18:9-14).

Often we assume that if we really had it together and could approach God without sin, without failing, with only pure spiritual successes to offer, then God would somehow delight in our prayer more. The opposite is true. If you approach God in that manner, you approach him as his enemy. We are all fallen. If we presume to approach him as something more than needy, dependent sons and daughters, God rightly takes offence. There’s nothing more dangerous than the pride of devotional consistency.

The Moravian Revival

During the last few weeks, I have been reading an account of the wonderful work of God among the Moravian Brethren in the village of Herrnhut (The Lord's Watch). The account is entitled "Power From On High." It was written by Rev John Greenfield in 1927 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Moravian Revival of 1727. An Adobe version of the book, released for distribution this year, can be found here. It should be noted that within weeks of the start of the revival, a movement started among the inhabitants of Herrnhut to commence round the clock prayer. Even more remarkable is that this 24 hour prayer did not stop for a century. The story is a great testimony of God's grace. I hope you find it as inspiring and faith-building as I have.

The photograph is of a painting of Count Zinzendorf, the leader of the Moravian Brethren during this era.

A Happy New Year (Off to a prayerful start)

Our church concluded its time of 24 hour prayer this afternoon at 2pm. By the grace of God, we had full coverage of all hours during the 24 hour period. It was an absolutely blessed time. It was also the first time that I was able to participate in something like this where a part of my time was spent in prayer, reading and reflection between the hours of 2am to 5am.

While I know that God hears prayer at whatever hour of the day it is offered, I think that there may be a special blessing for those who are crying out to the Lord in prayer when the rest of the world around us is dark and our community is asleep.

I think that those who participated had a sense of what the peace of heaven must be like. We hope to do this again (perhaps annually). In a few hours that I had at home earlier today (I've been rather busy with the 24 hour event itself in not only praying but helping to work through some of the logistics), I came across the text of a Watch Night service conducted by Charles Spurgeon in London on December 31, 1855 (Text here). It is a solemn reminder that our fund of time on this Earth is limited and to learn to pray and cry out to God to "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."(Psalm 90: 12 NIV). I suggest reading it today on New Year's Day (even though any day of the year would be a good time to read it and take its' message to heart).

Happy New Year from the School of the Solitary Place!!!

A Wonderful Time of Prayer

Our congregation is currently having a time of 24 hour prayer at our church. We believe that God opened a door for us to do this a little over a month ago when two members of our prayer group, independent of each other's knowledge, presented a case for 24 hour prayer at our church and did so within a few hours of each other.

As I write this, we are in the tenth hour of prayer and the last hour of the year 2006. This has been and continues to be a blessed time as we reflect on the past year and pray for a spirit of repentance on the individual, family, congregational and national church level. Our pastor today preached in conjunction with our vigil of prayer. He preached on Ephesians 3:14-21 and presented Paul's (and Christ's) grand vision of what the church can and should be. It is my last prayer of the year 2006.

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Thank you Lord Jesus for 2006. Be with us in the year 2007, the year of grace.