Friday, July 24, 2009

Taking a Rest

On every journey, sometimes you just need to rest. Even though driving is "just sitting down," it is tiring. Sometimes, those rest stops that you encounter along the journey seem quite heavenly. It is a blessing to be able to just stop and rest.

Surprisingly, rest stops are also needed in our faith journey. We need to sometimes just stop and remind ourselves of who we are, and who God is. God doesn't just recommend rest stops, instead, God actually commands us to rest. The 4th commandment which tells us to "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy" is one of the longest commandments. (Ex. 20:1-17) This should indicate to us, the readers, that this one is an important one.

Keeping the Sabbath is an important command, but it is also a command that is easy to forget and overlook. We think, "I don't have time to rest now, I'll do it later." But God encourages us to rest now.

You see, when we rest, we stop all of our minute by minute running, and we have time to remember. We remember that we are God's creation. We are deeply loved by our Creator. And, there is a plan and a purpose for our lives beyond running errands. Keeping the Sabbath reminds us of all of these things.

So this week, I have no deep or difficult questions for you to ponder. Instead, go take a BREAK! Enjoy the Sabbath, and remember that you are created by a Creator who loves you more than you can ever imagine.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Dealing with Detours and Navigating U-Turns

The text for this week is 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:16.

There is much to talk about in this text, but for me, the verse that stands out is 7:9, which says: "Now I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because your grief led to repentance; for you felt a godly grief...."

The context of this verse is that Paul wrote the church in Corinth a letter in which he was forced to use "frank speech" and admonish them for their actions. But, it grieved Paul to be forced to use such honest speech. The entire book of 2 Corinthians (at least up until this point) shows Paul trying to explain his actions and reconcile with the Corinthian church.

All of this is of course very important. But even more important for me is the idea of "godly grief." What is "godly grief" and how does it work in our lives.

We all know that confession and repentance is important. One must be honest with God and freely admit faults and failings. But, feeling bad and guilty is NOT where the story ends. If you ask my family and friends they might tell you that I often suffer from an overactive guilt complex. I'm always wanting to apologize for things that are not my fault and/or out of my control. But, that over-active grieving is not the goal here.

When Paul says that "godly grief" is important, he is not just talking about feeling grief for our actions, but he is also encouraging repentance. Repentance is that moment of turning around and re-focusing your life on God. He tells the Corinthians that their grief led them to repentance, meaning they were able to turn around.

Questions for the week:

How would you define godly grief?
When is it important & when do we take it too far?
What can we do to help us in that process of turning around and putting our focus back on God?

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Paving the Way for Reconciliation

The text this week is 2 Corinthians 5:11-6:11.

In this passage, Paul continues his argument for why the church in Corinth should accept him and his ministry. The bulk of his argument in this section centers around the fact that it is God's reconciliation with us that makes it possible for us to reconcile with others.

There are several verses that stand out to me:
After discussing the meaning of the death and resurrection of Christ, Paul writes in v. 5:16 - 17: "From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view ... So if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!"

v. 5:20 - 21: "So, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

v. 6:1: "As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain."

The image for the sermon this week is paving a road. When paving a road, most of the work comes before actually laying down the asphalt. The same is true with reconciliation. Paul realizes that even though reconciling human relationships is important, the most important part of reconciliation is preparing that foundation with God. It is because of the work Christ did, that we can be reconciled to God, and reconciled to one another.

Questions for the week:
What does it mean to be an "ambassador for Christ"? How can we do this in our everyday lives?

Why is it important to understand our reconciliation with God, before we can be reconciled with others?

Where have you seen reconciliation in your own life? (Reconciliation with God? Reconciliation with others?)