Author: Craig

Following Jesus and Busy

/ Craig / Leave a comment

Last night at our community vision night our speaker Tyler Miley taught us that the sense of stress & anxiety grows as the distance between our responsibilities and our  capacities grow.  Finding the right balance for life in order to reduce that space and to find our individual and even seasonal balance is essential.

I was reminded me of another reflection I had on the growth of the church in Philippi. In Acts 16 we hear about a business woman named Lydia:

13On the Sabbath we went a little way outside the city to a riverbank, where we thought people would be meeting for prayer, and we sat down to speak with some women who had gathered there. 14One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth, who worshiped God. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying. 15She was baptized along with other members of her household, and she asked us to be her guests. “If you agree that I am a true believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my home.” And she urged us until we agreed.

 

Lydia was a business woman.

She ran a household. And was clearly influential  — she created the space for others to hear the Gospel and respond.

Her expensive purple cloth business was likely quite successful and connected her with the upper levels of society.

As there was not a synagogue in Phillipi (it required 10 Jewish men) they had a place of prayer.

 

Lydia was probably a busy person. But her pattern of life created the space for thoughtful engagement with God. Her pattern of life was influenced by the Sabbath and she created space for rest. Her pattern of life included her extended family and community so she created space for support. Her pattern of life had margins so she was able to extend hospitality.

 

And now God had opened up her heart to Jesus and brought salvation to her and her circle of influence. She says, “I am a true believer in the Lord.”

 

I wish we could observe in the Scripture what the pattern of her life looked like in the days following her baptism. But this thought remains with me: to think I’m too busy for Jesus misses the mark.

You and Your City

/ Craig / Leave a comment

On our 10,000 KM journey from Vancouver and back we went through a lot of cities: Seattle, Portland, Las Vegas, Santa Fe, Odessa, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco.

From the road its difficult to appreciate them. To know them and enjoy them one has to exit and stay a while. It helps too to meet someone in the city and find out what they enjoy. The longer one stays with the “real city people” the more possible it becomes to get into the “flow” of that city.

During our holiday I read through the book of Acts. Its possible to map the movement of the Gospel via people as they left from Jerusalem and went to cities all around the Mediterranean.  When they “landed” in those cities people like Luke and Paul got into the flow of commerce and accepted cultural dialogue. It seems that they kept a positive posture toward the city and its inhabitants. Here’s what it was like when they landed in Philippi (Acts 16:11-13):

11We boarded a boat at Troas and sailed straight across to the island of Samothrace, and the next day we landed at Neapolis. 12From there we reached Philippi, a major city of that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. And we stayed there several days.

13On the Sabbath we went a little way outside the city to a riverbank, where we thought people would be meeting for prayer, and we sat down to speak with some women who had gathered there. 14One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth, who worshiped God. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying. 15She was baptized along with other members of her household, and she asked us to be her guests. “If you agree that I am a true believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my home.” And she urged us until we agreed.

What’s your posture toward the city or the community you live in?

Love it? Hate it? Avoid it? Live it?

Here’s a recent tongue-in-cheek- commentary on what its like to get into the flow of Vancouver.

The Rescue and Exclusivity

/ Craig / Leave a comment

A Facebook friend recently commented that Christians should be more afraid of going to the mall than they should be of going to Burning Man. We do have our set of familiar sins and “gods” that hide in plain view. We get used to them, until we recognize their slavery and experience the rescue of God. Even as we are delivered from some sins we need to be reminded and we need spiritual revitalization.

God commanded Israel in Exodus 1:1-3, “I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land Egypt, the place of your slavery. You must not have any other god but me.”

Over the past month my family traveled in the States to visit and develop partners for the Great Commission work here in Vancouver. We also took time to visit with friends and to visit some the natural beauties of the Western United States. At Bandelier we walked along the former home structures of the Ancestral Pueblo People who had lived there  about 1000 years ago.   I was deeply moved as I realized that 1200 years after the birth, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus these people lived and died without knowledge of Him. Though they may have known God the Creator they lacked this vital revelation of God’s grace and deliverance from sin’s death. Hearing the Gospel ushers us into God’s greatest rescue. Hearing the Gospel helps us see the gods we have created.

“So faith comes from hearing, that is hearing the Good News about Christ.” Romans 10:17

Ask God to give you fresh eyes and a sensitive heart to read and reflect on the Gospel this week.

Some things you might want to be true about your church

/ Craig / Leave a comment

Some things you might want to be true of your church.

“Ever since I heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you.  I pray for you constantly…”  Ephesians 1:15-16

I want this to be true of the church I serve:

We have a strong faith in the Lord Jesus.

We have a love for God’s people everywhere.

There are people who are thankful for us.

There are people who are praying for us.

God’s Plan

/ Craig / Leave a comment

God’s Plan

9God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. 10And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. 11Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.12God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. 13And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him. Ephesians 1:9-14

God has a plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ–everything in heaven and on earth.

When my plans are not working out… God has a plan.

When tragedy creates big holes in my heart… God has a plan.

When death feels so final… God has a plan.

When I experience joy anyway… God has a plan.

When achievement is not enough… God has a plan.

When I hold my kids… God has a plan.

When I love my wife… God has a plan.

When the scale of greed overwhelms… God has a plan.

When I know I’m not like Jesus… God has a plan.

When God has a plan…

He’s going to get it done!

We can praise Him!