Devotion: Trail Blazing

 

Ex. 13:21

The LORD went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night.  22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.

I was trail running the other week when I came to a fork in the trail.  I had been following white blazes, but was suddenly faced with a choice.  Both directions were decorated with green blazes--the whites had disappeared.  I went down both paths, hoping that the white blazes would reappear.  No luck.  I had to make a choice as to which way to go.  In the end, I just made the best guess I could and pushed forward.  While it wasn't the way I had expected, I did get back to my car eventually.

I made at least three mistakes on this outing.  1) I had thought I knew the route so I left my map in the car, 2) I went out there by myself, and 3) I wasn't paying attention a few miles earlier to see if the white trail had split off.

For many of us, life can have this experience.  We may be heading in the direction we had mapped out and planned, when suddenly we are faced with an unexpected decision.  And neither option seems to fit with what we had expected to find around the next bend.  Ultimately, we have to make a decision and push forward, trusting that we will persevere.

One of my favorite images in the Bible is how God became a pillar of fire and cloud for the Israelites as they were hiking out of Egypt.  He illuminated their paths in the evening, and give direction during the day; He never left their side.  

This is God's promise to us as well.  Though we may find ourselves lost and uncertain about where to head; though we may think we know the direction we want to go, or we go it alone, or we just stop paying attention and allow life to whiz by us, we can rest assured that whatever trail we end up taking God is going before us blazing his trail for us.

 

It's Time

For Coach K.

Barry Boys are already practicing.

Jack looks like a point guard when he gets on his fast break.
James is a defensive specialist who will take the foul
And Thomas--well clearly he is the bruiser. We are working on his hanging on the rim too.

Devotion: Church Attendance

As we enter the Digital age, it would be very feasible to download the sermon of your favorite minister, put in a popular Christian music CD and “have worship” in front of your computer.  If worship is merely listening to a sermon and singing along to some songs, why is this not sufficient?

Reading through CS Lewis—a mid-20^th century author and theologian—he writes,

            “When I first became a Christian, about fourteen years ago, I thought that I could do it on my own, by retiring to my rooms and reading theology, and I wouldn’t go to churches and Gospel Halls…I disliked very much their hymns, which I considered to be fifth-rate poems set to sixth-rate music.  But as I went on I saw the great merit of it.  I came up against different people of quiet different outlooks and different education, and then gradually my conceit just began peeling off.  I realized that the hymns (which were just sixth-rate music) were, nevertheless, being sung with devotion and benefit by an old saint in elastic-side boots in the opposite pew, and then you realize that you aren’t fit to clean those boots.  It gets you out of your solitary conceit.”

            Written in 1944, I think CS Lewis words are even more appropriate in our culture.  If we just gauged our worship attendance on whether we “got something” out of it, we are missing the main point of gathering for worship.  The gathering of a community of people to give glory to God.

            Notice how CS Lewis acknowledges his dislike for going to church, yet persists in his attendance such that he eventually does discover the “great merit of it” and sees the great spiritual depth of the people he felt superior to.  This is the same encouragement the writer of Hebrews gives the early church.  “And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day approaching” (10:24-25)

The writer of Hebrews was seeing the energy beginning to fizzle from the church community, but he knew that it was important to gather together, to encourage, to provoke one another towards love and good deeds.

How might you be encouraged towards love and good deeds?  Who is someone that you once felt superior to that you later realized you were not fit to clean “their boots?”  Who may be someone that you would like to see growing in their faith?

13 Months

Devotion: Seeing Clearly

Matthew 7:3-5 3 Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your neighbor, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' while the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye.

This past Sunday, Dr. Wood referenced this passage from Matthew's Gospel. As he did so, it struck me how personal and literal I take this verse. Why? Because when I was 8 years old, my cousin threw a stick into my eye. I vividly remember what it feels like to have a stick in the eye. In fact, the eye doctor informed me that I was millimeters away from losing my
eyesight in that eye. As a result, I have a permanent scar from that incident.
Therefore, whenever I hear this verse mentioned, I am reminded of the danger and discomfort of neglecting our own personal shortcomings. While we may be quick to point out the faults of those around us, we need to be aware of how flawed we are.
When the stick was in my eye, I tried to play it off and act all tough as though nothing had happened. My cousin knew better and ran for help, but I still tried to diminish the fact that I had a stick in my eye. Do we not also do the same with the things in our lives that cause us to
sin? Do we not strut around pretending that we are okay, yet the ones closest to us know the true depth of our problem; they can see more clearly.
And now, ever time I go to the eye doctor for contacts I get asked what the scar was from. The rest of the year I typically forget about that experience, but the scar remains. Likewise, we all carrying around scars from incidents in our pasts, and if we are quick to judge other people while neglecting the fact that we too carry these scars we are not seeing
clearly.
What I love about Jesus comment is that it actually still allows us to challenge our friends in how they decide to live out their lives. But Jesus tells us to first take care of the stick in our own eye—the things in our own lives that cause us to stumble—and then we are able to "see clearly" in order to help our friends, family and coworkers.
What ways are living right now that cause discomfort? Who is a trusted friend that could see the problem more clearly for you? What scars do you carry from past incidents? How might you gain clarity over your own life in order that you may be able to help others see more clearly?