We had an opportunity to visit the Church of the Nativity while in Nazareth on our visit to Israel. The lines were long and several tour groups were there, each with their guide explaining the customs and history of the church and surrounding area. Behind us, there was a Russian group with a very loud guide pressing in on us and making it difficult for us to hear our English-speaking guide. I was the last in our group, so as we inched along, the guide behind us was walking backward, not noticing where she was. As we started down the steps to the shrine (the supposed rock where the baby Jesus was born), the group began to press in to us and push us out of the way. I became somewhat frustrated and angry in what I perceived as rudeness on the part of the guide and her group. As I expressed my frustration to friends, I was reminded that when Jesus was on earth, the multitudes pressed in on Him, crowding him, touching Him, invading His personal space. He did not become frustrated at this, but was able to focus on His purpose at hand. He intentionally took the time to get away from the crowds, so when they pressed in, He was able to maintain control. At one point, He was even able to sense when a woman in need touched His garment and responded to Her need immediately. I pray for the peace to be still in the crowds, put aside distractions, and remain focused on His purpose for me. Though I may not be in the midst of a crowd, my “stuff” (to-do list, calls, texts, emails, etc.) constantly press in on me. I need to be focused and be able to sense when someone in need touches me. I can only do that with His help.

I’ve gotten to the age that I talk about “the good old days”. In my mind, I like to relive a time when the outlook of our country and economy was better. I can remember looking to the future, setting goals to accomplish, and seemingly living in the future. Well… the future is NOW. My kids are almost grown, my career is at its peak, and much of the negative outlook from years ago has been filtered out.
When the Jewish remnant was returned to Jerusalem from Babylon the older men could remember what things were like when Solomon’s temple was there. The nation was rich, the temple was beautiful, and the presence of God’s Shekinah glory was there. Times must have been better before the exile. But if they were better, why were they taken away? Why were they led captive?
Maybe things weren’t as good as they remembered. Maybe things weren’t really as good as I remember. Attempts to dream and live too far out in the future prevents us from living fully in the present. I am blessed beyond what I deserve with a wonderful family, career, and friends. I pledge to spend less time planning and dreaming, spending more time relishing and molding my present. God will take care of my future with a life beyond my dreams as long as I live my present tucked in His will.

In college, I was told by an English professor that if you started a book and were not thoroughly engulfed in it within the first few hours, you should put it aside. There are too many good books out there to justify wasting your time. I wish I had listened to his advice while reading The Next Christians by Gabe Lyons. While there are many good points made in the book, getting to them was a struggle for me. I found myself dreading my time set aside to read and have a difficult time pinpointing why I had that sense.
I enjoyed the early description of how the church has lost its place in the physical and social landscape of our culture. The move from town-square-oriented communities to the business districts and strip malls has not left out the church. In the change of our community landscape, the status of the church is being changed from the visible stalwart of downtown to integration into the neighborhoods where people live. “The church has stealthily moved away from the center of life to the periphery.”
In looking at the “New Normal” and how Christians interact with current culture, there are some interesting categorizations. Looking at our interactions as being Separatists (Insiders, Culture Warriors, and Evangelizers) or Cultural (Blenders or Philanthropists) offered a view of where Christianity has been for our recent history. Also, the recognition of the need for restoration is an important concept, realizing the need to not separate from the world, but rather the need to be thoughtfully engaged in the world. I also found enlightening the approach to God’s work with humanity being broken down into creation, the fall, redemption, and restoration.
The remainder of the book is devoted to the method by which we relearn what restoration is and how to accomplish it. He discusses the need to be provoked (not offended), creators (not critics), called (not employed), grounded (not distracted), in community (not alone), and counter-cultural (not “relevant”). Achieving second things comes from putting first things first.
I think my difficulties with the book began with the use of references to important people of the past several years. From the onset, name-dropping seemed to be part of the writing process. Listing important people the author had met with to counsel and discuss topics of modern Christianity did not impress me and seemed to be prevalent and at times, even a focus. It was a distraction for me and at times seemed to limit the delivery of the message.
However, my main difficulty in reading the book, came from the use of the name “Next Christians”. The subtitle (“The Good News About the End of Christian America”) should have given me a clue. Lyons seems to take stabs at corporate Christianity and its failures while giving examples of specific projects and actions of a few people as the answer to all of the Church’s problems. He wants to use specifics as an answer to generalizations. He seems to dismiss the work of many current and past Christians, though many have sought (and accomplished) the same principles he is promoting.  While the work of the Church as the body of Christ continues, I was confused by his minimizing of the foundations laid by many in our cultural history. While the gospel has not changed, the world has. Finding ways to be more relevant in the world has always been a challenge of the people of God, not because of God, but because of us.
Lyons begins the book by stating that seven years ago, he was embarrassed to call himself a Christian. I question whether that has changed.

I received this book free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group as part of their book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

This morning I left to take my son to swim practice at 5:30 am and noticed that it was warmer than usual (41° instead of 11°). However, the usually bright stars were hidden by the clouds and rain was falling. I enjoy looking at the stars and constellations through a clear sky. According to forecasts, the clouds are not supposed to break and the day is to be dark and dreary. Reading the 5th chapter of Isaiah and how “even the light is darkened by its clouds”, I had to wonder what my clouds are. What do I allow in my life to block the source of light? What keeps me from seeing things in the brightness of full day sun? For the coming new year, I pray for removal of the cover of clouds and for the mind and spirit to see my path in full sunlight (or maybe that should be Sonlight).

I am not a patient person. I like to keep moving. Last week, Gena and I were going shopping and came upon stalled traffic at a bridge. Rather than wait in traffic, I took an exit and looped around to a completely different area than where we had planned to go. When I pull in to a drive-through, if the line is more than a couple of cars long, I will leave to go somewhere else, even though it may actually take longer than waiting. I will change channels on the TV instead of waiting through the commercials.
Many times in my life, I have felt that I knew God’s plan for me. Also, there have been many times that I did things  just to keep moving, even though it may have changed my direction. Spur of the moment decisions have undermined carefully thought out plans. I wanted His plans completed in my time frame.
I pray for patience that I look for God’s timing and not my own. I pray that I can cease striving to accomplish tasks and projects on my schedule. I pray that I can be an active waiter: listening to God’s direction, knowing when to wait and when to go, and having the courage to rely on faith, not needing proof or results.

How often are we distracted from our purpose? How many times do we work and plan out projects and goals, only to have something come along that captures our attention, leading us to another path. When we see something ‘bright and shiny’ we turn away, forgetting where we are going and what we should be doing.
When I am involved in something, I tend to stay with it until completion as long as there is a readily reachable short-term goal. The farther away the goal, the harder it is to stay on track. Physically, when I plan to exercise today, I will. When I try to set four days a week, I will sometimes get distracted. When I plan for a ten-pound weight loss, I am frequently distracted by Dairy Queen.
Financially, I can avoid spending money on junk for a while. I can look the other way in the check-out line at the grocery store. But every once in a while, I get distracted and spend on something big when I shouldn’t.
Spiritually, I know my long-term goals of obedience and faithfulness. Daily, I can set aside devotional time and opportunity for prayer. Frequently, though, I get distracted and the daily walk with conversation and listening becomes a sprint to see how quickly I can finish and move to my distractions.
I pray that I may have the strength to ignore the distractions and forge ahead, focused on the goal of obedience…only through Him.

We have a wonderful, loving Labrador who brings great joy to the family. When she was a young dog (we didn’t get her until she was about 16 months old) I worked with her to show her the boundaries of our property. We have an underground fence and we put flags around the fence line and she quickly learned where she could go and where she could not. At first, she had to learn what was meant by that discomfort she felt when she got too close to the line. Early on, she would occasionally break through, deciding that the risk was worth it, but then she would have trouble deciding how to get back home. She would wait outside the border for me to take off the collar and safely lead her back home.
I was thinking about this when I watched Bella romp around the back yard. She has learned from my teaching where she can go and stay safe. All she knows is that within our boundaries, she has freedom to play, eat, drink, and rest. She has a pretty good life. She doesn’t realize that crossing the boundaries puts her in danger of being hit by a car, being in the presence of wild animals, or being tempted to snap/bite passersby. She is being protected by her owner and friend. When I come home, she is so excited to see me and spend some time with me.
God has given us directions (commandments), boundaries (statutes), and His viewpoint (testimonies). He knows we need protection from things we cannot see or contemplate. Within His boundaries, I have freedom to roam and have all the provisions I need. Sometimes, I take the risk and cross the fence, wondering how to get back home, but He is always there to lead me back across safely.
I pray that I can be as happy to spend time with my God as my dog is to spend time with me. Her unconditional love and affection only mimics the love He has for me.

Uniformity with people who do not follow God is possible. Unity is not. That is, unless I choose to sacrifice truth and ignore wickedness. Being ‘unequally yoked’ not only involves relationships of intimacy (i.e. dating and marriage), but also relationships with friends and, maybe more importantly, business dealings. Seeing how King Jehoshaphat aligned himself with wicked King Ahab through marriage, politics, military, and business is an example to me of how I attempt to thwart God’s plan for me by not seeking His will in all areas of my life. I can never find what I am looking for in life outside the will of God. He loves me too much for my wandering plans to succeed.