Spiritual Formation: Van Devotions

I have a confession to make.

I have a really hard time finding time to do devotions. And that's mostly because I have a really hard time finding a place and a time to really get alone with God. My husband and I have 5 small children. Clearly, I cannot even use the bathroom alone. And since they are all typically awake before 6am, getting up before them is not really feasible. So more often than not, if I want to have devotional time, it's in front of children.

Do you know how difficult it is to have a magnificent, meaningful, spiritual moment of time alone with God in the presence of 5 small children? If you have any children, or know any children, I'm sure you've got a pretty good idea. I love my kiddos  - they are fantastic, amazing, interesting, fun beings who are jam packed with laughter and energy. Meditation is not in their vocabulary. Often times, the best I can do is load them in our mini-van with snacks and electronic devices and sit in a park with my Bible and attempt to concentrate. It's not ideal. It doesn't feel spiritual, especially when I have to holler towards the back of the van to stop the fighting, screaming, and pestering.  It feels frustrating. Annoying. And a waste of time.

But the truth is, it isn't.

God's Word will not return void. It is alive, powerful, and active. And these things are true no matter how spiritual I feel at any given moment. It is God's Word and it has worth in and of itself. So if I faithfully read even when my situation isn't perfect, God will faithfully reward me with Himself because HE IS PERFECT. But there's more.

When we pull up to our favorite park, where snacks and electronic babysitters have become the norm, something else has normalized, too. One of my toddlers inevitably asks, "Mommy read Bible now?"

Yes, darling. Just for a few minutes, Mommy will read her Bible now.

And even though it's hard to concentrate, and it's impossible to feel 'spiritual,' and I get cranky at times when I'm trying to do devotions in my van, my little ones are learning the importance of my Bible, God's Word, no matter what my situation says. I may not be able to get time alone, but I can still make time with God a priority. I might not be able to create an atmosphere that feels spiritual, but God will still meet me there. I might get distracted and have to begin again, but God rewards those who earnestly seek Him. So I'll offer a little extra grace when my children get bored, and give myself some, too, when I get a little bit out of sorts. And focus on what's important: seeking God through His eternal Word.

Let the van devotions begin.

Good News! It's Tuesday! Seek God for security.

Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33, NIV). It’s hard to feel secure in a world where so many bad things happen. It’s hard to feel secure when we don’t know what the future holds. And it’s hard to feel secure when we experience Post-Adrenaline Depression, or fatigue, or any other kind of sadness or grief. Even the most confident among us can feel pretty insecure at times, whether it’s on a small level (am I really prepared for this song?) or a grand scale (What if I lose my job?). Sometimes, insecurity just comes.


But here’s the thing – insecurity does NOT come from God. Neither does fear. However, God gives us the antidote to these things – Himself. This doesn’t mean that if we had more faith, everything would just be ok. If we were better Christians, we wouldn’t feel this way. If we just prayed more, or better, or harder, we wouldn’t experience Post-Adrenaline Depression or any other negative feeling. I don’t agree with this at all, and sometimes, Christian platitudes just get in the way, rather than helping us grow closer to God.

The Christian walk is not to see the world through rose-colored glasses, filled with pithy sayings and trite remarks. Rather, the Christian walk is spiritual warfare. It is a fight to the finish. It is hard work. It means we will face difficulty. It means we’re in the trenches of war each and every day, but Jesus Christ is right there with us. Fighting insecurity means that rather than beating ourselves up because we don’t have peace, we instead make a conscious decision to put our faith and trust in God in spite of our feelings.




Never feel badly because you have anxiety or fear – when we read the book of Psalms, we see how much the Psalmist experienced all sorts of emotions: fear, insecurity, despair, joy, and hope…. King David was known as a man after God's own heart, and yet, he still experienced fear, despair, insecurity, and sorrow. Psalm 55:17 (NIV) says, “Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.” King David isn’t saying he’s never afraid, but he cries out to God when he IS afraid because he knows that God will hear him. God loves it when we call on Him! And He loves it when we choose to put our trust and hope in Him even when we are afraid or insecure.

Next time Monday comes, and you feel afraid, or tired, or depressed, or insecure, don’t beat yourself. Instead, cry out to God! Make a conscious decision to put your trust in Him no matter what your feelings tell you. 

Good News! It's Tuesday: Seek God in Faith.

Good news! Tuesday is here!

"The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. 

Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning."

(Lamentations 3:22-23, NLT).

I need those new mercies even more than I need my morning coffee. It's time to move forward, to remember God's great love for us, to dig deep in His Word, and get to work for the week. Sometimes on a Monday, reading God's Word is a relief for my soul. And sometimes it feels like I am just going through the motions, reading the words on the page, but still feeling pretty empty in my soul from the aftermath of Sunday. But just like we talked about Monday, feelings don't give us the whole story. We need to separate how we feel from the facts so we can get a better picture of the Truth.

The book of Hebrews tells us: "And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him." (Hebrews 11:6, NLT). It doesn't matter if you FEEL spiritual when you approach God's Word. It doesn't matter if we FEEL God's presence, or His love for us, His mercy, or His faithfulness, because feelings don't always tell the whole story.  Our feelings are important, but what the Bible says is Truth, and we can depend on that even if we don't feel it.  We can believe that God loves us even when we can't feel the depths of His love. We can depend on God's faithfulness even when we can't see it. We can be assured that He will reward us for seeking Him even when we feel empty in our soul.

Sometimes, the only time I get to delve into God's Word is sitting in my van with my children, who are eating snacks and watching a movie. or sometimes, it's late at night when i'm tired, or early morning with my eyes still bleary and the coffee hasn't even perked yet. The reality is, I won't feel like a super-Christian during these times (or ever). I probably won't have a clear enough head to truly focus on the presence of God. I don't feel spiritual when I'm passing out snacks or propping my eyes open to read just a few more verses. But the Bible is true: we have to have faith that God will reward us for seeking HIM no matter what our circumstances or our feelings might have to say on the matter.

The Bible doesn't say that God will rewards us for seeking the feeling of His presence. Or seeking whatever it is that we want God to do for us. The Bible says He will reward us for seeking Him in faith.

Today - and everyday - take the time to seek God. Nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.
Seek God in faith. No matter what it looks like, feels like, sounds like. Seek Him.

Prayer for the Weekend: The Word

Lord God Almighty,

At Your Word, the world happened. You spoke, and life came. With Your words, You created.

You are the Author of creation, the Author of life.

You sent us the Word to dwell among us, to be with us, to be one of us. Your Word became flesh, and took on human skin, and paid the highest price so our wandering souls could be Yours again. You left for us Your written Word so that we might know You.

Your spoken Word breathed life in the beginning; Your begotten Word redeemed life that was lost. Your written Word reveals truth so we might thrive in this world and in the next.

Almighty God, there is power in Your Word.

Please draw us to Your written Word so that we might be drawn to You. Speak Your Word into our hearts, so that we might love and worship You. Enable us to live out Your Word, so we might bring Your Word to others. Help us believe Your every Word.

Thank You, God, for Your Word, and may we have an insatiable hunger for it.

Amen

John 1:1-5, NLT

Prologue: Christ, the Eternal Word

1 In the beginning the Word already existed.
    The Word was with God,
    and the Word was God.
² He existed in the beginning with God.
³ God created everything through him,
    and nothing was created except through him.
⁴ The Word gave life to everything that was created,^[a]
    and his life brought light to everyone.
⁵ The light shines in the darkness,
    and the darkness can never extinguish it.^[b]

Thought for Thursday: Read your Bible

“A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.”

― Charles H. Spurgeon

“Out of 100 men, one will read the Bible, the other 99 will read the Christian.”

― Dwight Lyman Moody

“The Bible was not given for our information but for our transformation.”

― Dwight Lyman Moody

“The Holy Scriptures are our letters from home.”

― Augustine of Hippo

Read more: http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/quotes-about-the-bible-25-awesome-sayings/#ixzz3ZSetlmk0

The Powerful Bible

Have you ever sat at your computer screen and just blankly stared at the web pages in front of you? Have you ever scrolled Pinterest, or Facebook, or any other website, your eyes seeing the data in front of you, but feeling like your brain just cannot process it at all? Some would call this data smog, information glut, or simply, information overload. Our brains can only take in and process so much information – it filters out a lot, and we cannot remember it. We increasingly consume information, but we cannot process all of it, so we numbly scroll for more, trying to get our information fix. I don’t know why certain facts or images are retained, and other’s aren’t – but with so much data coming in, the brain can’t accurately assess what needs to stay and what can be let go. Consequently, I find myself remembering random Facebook statuses, information that is completely irrelevant to my life, and just stuff. I know it’s a waste, and yet I go back for more. I catch myself scrolling and scanning without even realizing it.

And yet, we have access to the most life changing book that has ever been written. A book that is truth, not gossip. A book that heals, not hurts. A book that gives us access to the Creator. So why do we spend more time on what’s irrelevant than the love letter written to

us from God? Hebrews 4:12 says ^“For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” (NLT). There is power in God’s Word!

But do we truly live like God’s Word – our Bible – is powerful? Do I read it because, as a good Christian, I’m supposed to read it? Do I read it because it is a good book? Or do I read it because it is The Good Book? What if I read the Bible as eagerly as I scrolled through blogs, and Facebook, and, yes, even Pinterest? What if I read the Bible like a book that I just couldn’t put down? And what if I believed that reading it would make a difference in my life? Not just a “self-help” I’m going to be a better person difference, not just a “someday I’ll go to heaven” difference.  What if we accepted the Bible as a mystical expression of God’s love for us – something more powerful than us, too great for us to fully understand, but something we can completely believe in?

How would life be differently if we expectantly believed that God’s Word would make a difference in us, through us, and for us? How would we read it differently? How would we change? What would we do differently today if we could grasp the power of God’s Word?

A spiritual plan.

It is as critical to living as breathing, as necessary as water and air. And yet few Christians - pastors included - don't struggle with carving out a time-slot from our busy lives to spend time with the Lord through prayer and Bible study. Something always seems to get in the way, and even good things can keep us so busy that we gloss over the most important thing- our relationship with Jesus.

One of the few things that I recall from visiting my grandparents was their daily devotional time. I'll never forget watching my Grandma, white-head bowed over her Bible, pouring herself out over the Words of God.  She with her cup of hot water, and Grandpa with his grapefruit. Nothing between them but their open Bibles and open hearts. Perhaps it was easier because they were  retired, or perhaps not. But I hope to cultivate such a strong habit in my life that my children and my children's children want that daily devotional time, too. I hate to admit it, but it's hard for me  to accomplish.

My life is busy, as yours is as well- I have a husband, small children,  ministry, writing, and teaching. Family and friends and bills and dirty clothes and a thousand other things all demanding my time and attention. And I am almost never alone in this phase of life with small children in need of love and attention. So where do I begin? How do I create space in my day for the most important Person?

A professor of mine in seminary, Dr. David Earley, had an idea that I return to when my spiritual life begins to wane. He taught me that if I want to grow in my relationship with God, I need to have a plan. In his class, we practiced creating and using 2 to 4 week spiritual growth plans. I tried and failed, tried and failed, and I even failed some more, but even my failed plans took me further than I would  have been if I had no plan at all.

Dr. Earley suggested that we use our plan at first to increase the time we spend with The Lord. Where am I right now and where do I want to be in 2 weeks? How do I get there?  How much time do I spend with The Lord? How much time would I like to spend? What is a realistic increase for the next few weeks? Do I use a reading plan or a prayer model? These should be incorporated in the plan, he shared. And then we pulled out our calendars and scheduled the plan. A consistent time and place was the ideal means of making our plans stick, but that wasn't always practical. I tried getting up at 4am, and found out that didn't work at all. So I changed around meetings and work schedules, weaving in a little time here and there. When I finished a plan, I evaluated where it had taken me and then created a new one. I felt like most of my plans failed, but still my relationship with my God grew.

I believe God rewarded my efforts to know Him better, to hear His voice, and to love Him more.  The more time I spent with Him, the more I wanted to be with Him, whether sitting quietly in prayer or soaking up His Word. As I reflect on those early plans that I created, I realize I need to create another. It's time for me to re-evaluate my schedule, my priorities, and my time spent so that I can make course corrections that will keep me in step with the Holy Spirit.

How do you make your time with God a priority?

Prayer for the Weekend

Father in Heaven,

Your Word is truth. You always keep Your promises, every single one.

You are a shelter in the storm, a help in time of trouble, comfort in sorrow, and strength when we are weak. You heal our broken bodies and mend our broken hearts. You hear our cries of pain and our cries of praise. You listen to our voices when we call. You love us. You have made us Your own.

As Sunday comes close, we ask for You to give us a sense of Your Holy Presence, an expectation of Your nearness, a desire to know You more. Provide us peace in anxious preparation. Give us the words to say and sing.  Help us praise and preach with eloquence and excellence. Give us love for those who hear us. Grant us time to rest.

We ask that you will move in our hearts, our homes, our sanctuaries. Move in mighty and mysterious ways that can only come from You. Protect us in times of spiritual warfare; defend our families and guard our hearts.

Please pour out your Holy Spirit upon us all. Anoint us for this weekend’s worship. Let us praise You with our whole hearts so You can fill us up again.

In the powerful name of Jesus,

Amen

Are you bored at church?

Have you ever felt like you just didn't connect with God during a worship service? You showed up, ready to praise the Lord, but the service felt empty, dry, or just boring. Or maybe your mind was just everywhere but on God, with so many things running through your head - your to do list, your grocery list, stress at work, your children's sports schedules… oh wait, were we supposed to be praying just now?

Yes, I’ve had Sundays that felt just like that.  And I’m the worship leader.

There’s a couple of things to consider when worship feels dull…

First, our feelings don’t always tell the whole story. Jesus said, “For where 2 or 3 gather in my name, there I am with them” (Matthew 18:20). So whether we feel God’s presence among us or not, He is right there with us. He is Emmanuel, God with us. He meets us where we are. So when we are scattered, bored, annoyed, sad, or lonely, God meets us there. It isn’t the worship leader’s job to lead us into the presence of God… simply coming together in the name of Jesus means we are in the presence of the Almighty God. It is our responsibility as worshippers – whether in leadership or not- to cultivate our awareness of His nearness. Hebrews 11:6 reminds us that God rewards those who earnestly seek Him. How would our outlook of a church service change if we came, expecting to find God in our midst? How would we change if we made an active choice to believe that God would be there with us no matter how we felt?

Secondly, we cannot worship well a God that we do not know. When I was in college studying music, I remember being rather bored when I had to listen to recitals given by students that I didn’t know. Since I knew nothing of their ability, their style, their education, their performance meant little to me. I felt like I was hearing the same old pieces of music over and over again. But when I listened to the senior recital given by my future husband, I was enraptured. I was invested in him personally, as his fiancé, and musically, in his performance – I had listened to him practice for hours on end, worked through difficult passages with him, discussed the composers of his pieces, and worked hard to accompany him for part of the recital. My investment in him as a person and in his work made his recital exciting and important to me.

The same is true with Jesus. If I am not very invested in Him, then spending time in a worship service probably won’t be that meaningful to me. But when I spend time with Him, daily wrestling with His Word, working hard to know Him better, sharing my life journey through prayer, seeking to accompany His work, then I am far more excited to spend time worshiping Him alongside of my church family.   

My question is this: how can I adjust my time so that I have a little more time to dig deeper spiritually? How can I spend my time more wisely so that I can invest it in Jesus? What would change if I closed my browser and opened my Bible? Would I be different if I spent some time on my smartphone studying a Bible app instead of Facebook? What will you do?

Need ideas to help your congregation worship? Here's 7.  

7 Ways to Teach Your Congregation to Worship