Pastor Wrinkles: The Lenten Journey Pt. 22

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Well our group coaching session didn’t happen today.  Our coach was ill and with winter storm Saturn roaring down upon us  promising another foot of snow we won’t have a make-up day for a few weeks. Oh well, blessed are the flexible for they shall not be bent out of shape! Still I am a little sad. 😦

Segue…

water under the bridge!

water under the bridge!

It’s hard to believe that we are more than half way through the season of Lent. Resurrection Day is right around the corner! This is a season preparing the body for new life… new direction…change!

God has been speaking to our lead pastor about changes coming. Oh, how my heart longs to see what things God has in store for those of us who are believing for forward advance. I am not so naive as to believe that those changes will come without curves, twists or bumps in the road, but I am OK with what may come because I know that” God works all things together for good for those who love God and who are called according to His purpose.” (Ro. 8:28) I am more settled in my heart than ever before. I am in love with the Savior of the world AND  He has called me to the kingdom for exactly this time. I know that I know that I know that I am where I need to be. Further I am doing what God wants me to be doing.

Here are a few questions for the day:

Are you at peace with your position?

What has to change?

What is your mission?

What things in life need to change so that you can fulfill that mission?

I look forward to your answers.

Pastor Wrinkles: Happy In the Heart Attack Pt. 4

We’ve been chatting over the last few days about learning to be joyful in the midst of life’s heart aches. If you missed the last conversations they can be found here:

http://wp.me/p39vIx-8x

http://wp.me/p39vIx-8z

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We finished last time by saying… grieving doesn’t last forever; But it can hold up our next step to joy or happiness in the heart attack if we don’t give it voice. That next step is:…

In the midst of life’s heart attacks Go back to what you know and wait patiently for God.

John 21:1-3  Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Many people criticize Peter for going back to fishing after Jesus resurrection. Some think it was a sign that he was going back to his old life. I don’t. I think Peter was simply at loose ends. Jesus had risen from the dead, but what did that mean? What was Peter supposed to do with that knowledge? He didn’t know. So I think he simply went back to doing what was available what he knew while he waited for God. This is good advice. So many of us go through a bad spot in life and the first thing we do is change everything. We start making major life decisions before we have grieved or before we have sought God for His direction.

Charles Spurgeon said, “Stand still- keep the posture of an upright man, ready for action expecting further orders, cheerfully and patiently, awaiting  the directing voice; and it will not be long ere God shall say to you  as distinctly as Moses said it to the people of Israel, ‘Go forward.’      If the Lord Jehovah makes us wait, let us do so with our whole hearts; for blessed are all they that wait for Him. He is worth waiting for. The waiting itself is beneficial to us; it tries faith, exercises patience, trains submission, and endears the blessing when it comes. The Lord’s people have always been a waiting people.”

And John Ortberg says this about waiting for God. “Biblically waiting is not just something we have to do until we get what we want. Waiting is part of the process of becoming what God wants us to be.”

Waiting is not just doing nothing while we are hanging around for the God bus to show up. Biblical waiting is continuing in what we know to do until God shows us what we don’t know how to do. It is continuing in what we know even though we know that the continuing is not the answer. It is continuing in what we know because that is all we have of faithfulness to God and because  waiting will always eventually lead us to step three in becoming happy in the heart attack which is… See you tomorrow.

Pastor Wrinkles: The Lenten Journey Pt. 21

Tomorrow is our church staff’s first group coaching session. For the last two weeks we have been filling out  surveys regarding learning styles and personal approaches to team building. I have to tell you I am excited about this opportunity that has been  provided for us. My excitement indicates a big change in mental attitude. Two years ago I would approach trainings like this with great fear and judgment. Now I find them synergistic.

This morning our coach sent us three questions to consider as we prepare for the session tomorrow:

1. What areas should we develop? Maybe this question would be  better asked…
“What area(s) should be developed first? There is so much to work on as we prepare for the move of God that is coming and is even now upon us. But what can we work on together as a staff?
I am learning that while God is constantly moving in a thousand ways about me I can only join Him in a few of those movements at a time. So what does God want us to focus on now?
If the rest of the staff is like me they have created a huge list of “vision” things for the year. Yet I know that we are not called to be overwhelmed. While God has given us a vision that stretches perhaps far into the future we only have to concern ourselves with the step we are on now.  So how can we know what is supposed to be first on our list? By asking question 2.
What area if  focused on would make the biggest difference for us?
I think for us this has to be discipleship, leadership training and activation. We need both to raise up new leaders and to put them into action while at the same time continuing to change the paradigm of the congregation to a lay- led model; But those are just my thoughts. I am interested to see how all our ideas work together tomorrow to come out with a direction for the next quarter.
What is holding us back from being the best that we can be?
As a staff I think the only thing that holds us back is intentional unity behind a purpose. I am holding out great hope that tomorrow’s session will show me how some of the things God shared with me at the beginning of the year fit into the big picture of what God is doing in the church.
So how about you in your personal life, family life, corporate life, church life…
What areas should  you develop?
What area focused on would make the biggest difference for you?
What is holding you back from being the best that you can be?
 

Pastor Wrinkles: Happy In the Heart Attack Pt.3

Yesterday we finished off post two by saying… “When life’s heart attacks come they can be opportunities for great joy if we will just follow God’s path.”

If you missed the first two portions of this study you can find them here:

http://wp.me/p39vIx-8x

http://wp.me/p39vIx-8z

When Peter had the first of his life’s heart attacks (see our Scripture reading from Pt. 1), he did four things that are a pattern for us to follow when we face our own  heart attacks.

The first thing Peter did was to grieve the heart attack.

Luke 22:60-62-Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.

J.R.R. Tolkien wrote, “I will not say, do not weep, for not all tears are evil.” Yet we live in culture that is largely afraid to grieve. Maybe this comes from our ancestral roots. I don’t know, but we often act like grieving is an evil thing. Yet when heart attacks come they cause pain. We have to grieve that pain: privately, or publicly, through therapy or mountain climbing, primal scream or prayer. We have to grieve to be healthy.

Harold Kushner says, “We can endure much more than we think we can; all human experiences testify to that. All we need to do is learn not to be afraid of pain. Grit your teeth and let it hurt. Don’t deny it. Don’t be overwhelmed by it. It will not last forever. One day the pain will be gone and you will still be there.”

Kushner is right grieving doesn’t last forever; But it can hold up our next step to joy or happiness in the heart attack if we don’t give it voice. That next step is:… Tune in tomorrow to find out! 🙂

Pastor Wrinkles: The Lenten Journey Pt. 20

“There are only two things that pierce the human heart. One is beauty. The other is affliction. And while we wish there was only beauty in the world, each one of us has known enough pain to raise serious doubts about the universe we live in. From very early in life we know another message, warning us that the Romance has an enemy.” Brent Curtiss, The Sacred Romance

I have been writing about the calling and the romancing of God these last few days. The Bible sometimes reads like a fairytale (with the exception of  it being absolute fact). The call of a loving God beckons  each of us to a happily ever after; But just like in every good fairytale there are dragons and dark castles filled with nightmares between us and the Love of our lives.

It is in discovering and conquering our dragons and monsters that we gain access to the plans of God and the intimate relationship that God wants us to have. One thing I have learned during this season of Lent is that sometimes our dragons lie invisible. Just beneath the surface of our hearts they rest slumbering under deep spells of denial. Yet even slumbering dragons have the power to keep us back from our dreams unless they are committed into the hands of  the Savior who can defeat them all.

God has been faithfully revealing things in my heart and life that I didn’t even know were there: A fear of success planted in my heart by a relative who said I would never be capable of taking care of myself; a fear of standing out planted by someone who took every opportunity to make fun of the way I looked; a fear of standing up for myself.

All of these are like arrows lodged in my heart making me afraid to take the voyage all the way to God’s plan even though I believe it is the best for me and will lead me on the greatest of adventures.  I am like a boy standing high on a limb over a lake holding fast to the rope swing. My heart is pounding with the excitement of taking the plunge but I am afraid to step off of the limb.

But this season is all about bringing my hurts and fears to God and allowing Him to heal them. I am no longer standing on a limb that holds me back. I am standing on the promises of God that propel me forward.

What promises from God’s Word have the potential to propel you forward?

Pastor Wrinkles: Happy In the Heart Attack Pt. 2

What follows is part 2 of Pastor Wrinkle’s latest sermon.

Dick Cheney was once questioned about his physical health by a  white house reporter. His answer to the question was “ Except for the occasional heart attack I never felt better.”

Isn’t that true for all of us? Life is full of occasional heart attacks. No one is exempt. No one gets out of life pain-free. No one: Not the President; Not the Queen of England; Not the storekeeper in his shop; Not the doctor in his operating room; Not even the Pastor in his pulpit. Everyone is subject to the occasional heart attack.  I’m not talking about the physical condition caused by heart disease although that is one form of heart attack. I am talking about those things in life which cause us to wish we had died: It can be the death of a loved one; A long-term illness; A divorce; Or a child hooked on drugs. We all have our own personal heart attacks. Some of them catch us by surprise and knock the wind right out of us and others are of our own making. So it was with our Scriptural passage yesterday. Peter  made a tragic error in choosing sides and it sent his life into a tail spin.

Now I know we would all like to get out of life scott free. We all want heart attack free lives, but we have to face reality; That isn’t going to  happen. This world is a heart attack zone, bad things happen here ever since  Adam and Eve blew our chances at Eden by eating the apple. Bad things are going to continue to happen until Jesus comes back and sets things right. Yet somehow still we think we can try in our own power to fix things.

You may have heard recently that a meteor hit Siberia. This meteor it is said struck the ground going forty thousand miles per hour  and injured over 1,000 people as it struck the earth and blew out windows in a city of 1,000,000.

The response of the world is to ask “How can we stop this from happening again?”

I have a simple answer. “We can’t.” Meteors fall and you can’t tell them to stop. Heart attacks happen and you can’t hold them back. It’s part of living in an imperfect world.

Further you can’t stop a heart attack from hurting. By definition they are things that strike at the heart of who you are. You don’t just wave them off like yesterday’s bad chicken. They are more than mere annoyances. They are painful things that you have to work through.

So you can’t stop them and you can’t stop them from hurting

But what you can do is learn to be happy in the heart attack.

“How does that work Pastor J?” You ask.

“We are supposed to be happy about falling meteors, divorces,  loved ones dying and real life heart attacks?”

No we aren’t supposed to be happy about tragedy but we can be joyful in tragedy.

James 1:2 says Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.”

When life’s heart attacks come they can be opportunities for great joy if we will just follow God’s path.

More tomorrow….

Winter Puppies

This is what happens when little white dogs meet with a little wet snow!

Nothing a half hour with a blow dryer and a dog brush won’t fix!

Pastor Wrinkles: The Lenten Journey Pt. 19

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    In my meditation this morning God took me back to the first stirrings of my heart towards Him. I think I was always aware that there was something bigger than me in the universe. Even though everything around me pushed me to believe that we were just the results of billions of years of evolution I knew in my heart that there was a Divine Spark in the universe. I didn’t know what that spark was and I felt far removed from it but I knew it was there.

   Then in eighth grade Jesus began to call. I knew I was searching for God. I searched amongst the saints of the Catholic church. I wanted the closeness to God that they experienced. I thought that I could perhaps find Him if I was good enough. Then I turned to the Jehovah’s Witnesses. I studied with them for a bit and learned that only certain were chosen to be close to God and the rest should learn to settle for their lot in life and be glad of salvation.

   A teacher took me aside one day after hearing I was studying with the J.W.”s and explained to me salvation by faith alone through grace alone. I heard about a God who loved me and who actually wanted me to be close to Him and who had made the way. All I had to do was believe and receive and my life would change.

    Nothing has been the same since I entered into this sacred romance with God. I am changing. He has put me on a journey. Eternal life started the day I accepted Jesus.

As I fast this Lenten season the flames of  divine romance are being kindled into a mighty bonfire. The things that dampen my resolve and my love for Him are being removed. I am romanced by a God who is wild and orderly all at once and so far beyond my ken that I stand everyday amazed by this Lover who has come seeking me!

When was the first time you encountered the God who loved you? 

Pastor Wrinkles: Happy In the Heart Attack Pt. 1

Here is an excerpt from Pastor Wrinkles latest Sunday sermon, “Happy In the Heart Attack. Our topic for this study is learning to find peace and joy in the midst of life’s heart attacks.

Our text:

 Luke 22: 52-60 John 21: 1-22

Luke

52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs?53 Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.”

Peter Disowns Jesus

54 Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. 55 And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. 56 A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.”

57 But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.

58 A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”

“Man, I am not!” Peter replied.

59 About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”

60 Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.

John

21 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas(also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee,the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together.“I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”

“No,” they answered.

He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.[c] When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.

10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them,“Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Jesus Reinstates Peter

15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter,“Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. 18 Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him,“Follow me!”

20 Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) 21 When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”

22 Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return,what is that to you? You must follow me.” 23 Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”

 

More tomorrow!

Pastor Wrinkles: The Lenten Journey Pt. 18

As Joyce Meyers says, “The battlefield is the mind.”

If we can win the battle in the mind then we will win the battle.  So today’s question for meditation:

What way of thinking do you want God to change in you?  I have already addressed this in previous posts ( the” I can’t do it mindset”) so perhaps a good use of time tonight will be to address how God changes our hearts and minds. The word of God says:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer
your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true
and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing
of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his
good, pleasing and perfect will.” Rom. 12:1,2 NIV

We humans have a need to consistently re-present ourselves to God in a mind-set of sacrificial living. We must constantly ask ourselves, “What area of this life needs to be given for love of Jesus.”

Such sacrifices always seem costly at the moment but as Jesus said, ” everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in
return and will inherit eternal life.” MA 19:29 NLT

The sacrifice will drive us into prayer and study of the Word, It will bring us out of the pathway that conforms with the world’s understanding.  Our way will  no longer follow the patterns of our upbringing, our families or our friends where those patterns come into conflict with the rightly divided Word of truth.

Through this season of Lent I feel my heart being prepared by God to walk in His miracles. I feel like He has given me a story larger than myself to live in, a story many others may struggle to believe. He is changing me so that I can live in the larger story.

How is God enlarging your story this year?