Tag: peace

Posted in Different Scriptures

Walking Through our Emotional Forest with Jesus (a prayer prompt)

Posted on by Wick

Read slowly, pausing as needed…

In 1 Samuel 16:7, God tells his prophet Samuel, “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Later in Acts 15:8, as non-Jewish followers of Jesus begin to receive the Holy Spirit, Peter proclaims “God, who knows the heart, shows he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as He did to us.” We believe God doesn’t just “look into” our hearts. He knows our hearts already. As those made in His image, we are aware of hearts and emotions, though we cannot know the hearts of others as He can. In moments like this one, we slow down to become aware of our own hearts in His presence, as it’s the only human heart He enables us to know fully. Knowing our own heart prepares us to share our hearts in reciprocal relationships as those made in His Triune image.

With this in mind, I want to invite you to close your eyes for a moment (or at least, stop looking around as you read these words). Take a deep, slow breath and allow the room around you to fade away. Acknowledge intrusive thoughts as they come, and set them aside for later. With your eyes closed, imagine yourself surrounded by a small forest of full, green, leafy trees. Pay attention to the stillness, the quiet, and how refreshing it is just to breathe deep in this space. You are surrounded by life.

As you imagine the trees surrounding you, you begin to notice there are 6 trees, almost in a circle surrounding you. Many smaller trees and shrubs fill in, but you begin to notice these trees seem to hold a special invitation by God for you to approach and consider. These are the 6 primary emotions we often feel, and each is capable of helping us reflect the image of God in a unique way. In these moments we will listen to the heart of God, who knows our hearts, and allow Him to guide our awareness.

The first tree you notice near you, is the tree of Fear. Where have you felt afraid in the past week? What has made you experience anxiety, or feel rejected by others? Ask God to make you aware of how these feelings have been present. (Pause as God guides, before continuing.) “Lord, we confess that we are sometimes afraid. We do not live in perfect trust with you, and the feeling of fear helps us to become aware of where we can turn to You in new ways. Calm our fears, Jesus. We are thankful for your presence even when we are afraid.” (Take a deep, slow breath before continuing.)

The next tree you notice near you, is the tree of Happiness. Where have you felt happy in the past week? What has made you experience being proud, joyful, or optimistic? Ask God to make you aware of how these feelings have been present. (Pause as God guides, before continuing.) “Lord, we are thankful for those moments our happiness comes from those things which delight you. We confess sometimes we seek happiness in ways that are not of you. Holy Spirit, make us more aware of our happiness, and may we experience the sources of Your Joy.” (Take a deep, slow breath before continuing.)

The next tree nearby is the tree of Anger. Where have you felt angry in the past week? What has made you experience feeling hurt, or threatened by others? Ask God to make you aware of how these feelings have been present. (Pause as God guides, before continuing.) “Lord, we confess that we sometimes feel angry. Your Word offers guidance, ‘In your anger, do not sin.’ We ask that you would guide us to understand how our anger reveals opportunities for growth and healing sourced in Your Holy Spirit this week. Set us free from any chains of anger still holding us, and bring your healing even now, Jesus.” (Take a deep, slow breath before continuing.)

As you look around the trees, you notice the next one is labeled Disgust. Where have you felt disgust this past week? What has made you experience disappointment, disapproval, or the desire to avoid others? Ask God to make you aware of how these feelings have been present. (Pause as God guides, before continuing.) “Lord Jesus, you experienced the disgust of injustice. You experienced the disappointments of human misunderstandings or stubbornness. Fill us with your patient compassion even now, for a world and a humanity wounded by sin. We are thankful for how our disgust can make us aware of where You invite us to grow.” (Take a deep, slow breath before continuing.)

Now take a deep breath. We only have two more trees. Notice God is smiling as you spend time walking with Him, aware of these trees together.

The next tree God draws your attention to, is a tree marked Sadness. Where have you felt sad this past week? What has made you experience loneliness, despair, or even guilt? Ask God to make you aware of how these feelings have been present. (Pause as God guides, before continuing.) “Father, we know your heart is tender, as we confess the tenderness of our own hearts before You. We know you wept in Your sadness, and you invite us to come near to you even now, entering Your comforting embrace. Bring healing where our hearts hurt. Help us to always be honest with our sadness, even as You show us the hope of your eternal healing, where sorrowful tears will be no more.” (Take a deep, slow breath before continuing.)

Finally, we see the 6th tree of our short hike, one labeled Surprise. Where have you felt surprised this past week? What has made you experience confusion, amazement, or being startled? Ask God to make you aware of how these feelings have been present. (Pause as God guides, before continuing.) “Lord Jesus, we are thankful for the process of learning to trust You through the unknowns. Just as Your disciples, we follow You while only seeing what is necessary to take each new step forward. Make us humbly aware of how Your surprise reveals the whimsical joy of our loving creator this week. As we walk side by side with you, startle us with revelations of Your goodness and Love.” (Take a deep, slow breath before continuing.)

“And now, Father – Son – and Holy Spirit, as we open our eyes and the trees begin to fade – help us to continue seeing with Your heart-centered vision. Reveal to us how each new feeling invites us to know ourselves as You know us, and Love us. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.”

Posted in Different Scriptures

His Lordship…our peace.

Posted on by Wick

Recently I was preaching and I asked the question; “How often do we respond from a place of defending and protecting Jesus anxiously as if His future depended on us?” A friend on the way out of church that morning asked me “But what does that look like?” His question is one that I think we’re often seeking together as the body of Christ. If we’re honest, I think it would sometimes be easier if we just had a clear word “do this” or “avoid doing this”.

I keep trying to put the answer into one specific measurable response, but it keeps crawling away from me.

I think it’s because of this: Two people may be involved in precisely the same activity. Perhaps it’s feeding the hungry, ministering to a person in prison, or even something like being politically engaged. One person has gotten involved out of a grateful response to, and desire to join the Love of Jesus in action. They are confident in the Lordship of Jesus, and the peace of His Lordship permeates their words and actions. Gladly enjoying His new reality, they want to help others know the Loving Truth they’ve discovered as His child. They’re taken up the “armor of God” (Ephesians 6) to stand firmly in Jesus’ Lordship, even when the schemes of Satan (the deceiver) come. They are firm in His Truth, living in His righteousness, ready in His peace, and shielded by faith. They have His salvation firmly protecting/healing their heart/mind, and allow the Holy Spirit/Jesus to be their only weapon, knowing the battle is not against flesh and blood. Our calling is to stand as victors already, confident in the New Reality our Lord has begun.

The other person has become involved out of an anxious response to feeling as if their world is threatened and they need to do something to regain or protect control of things. They’re defensive, poised for battle, and looking for ways to defeat any opponent who seems to rise. On the surface, some of their moments may look very similar. The hungry are fed. The prisoner is ministered to. But because they have different sources of motivation – they will naturally exist and respond differently in such moments…reflecting their perceived purpose there. They know Ephesians 6 talks about being strong and putting on armor, but they see a world that needs to be conquered “in the name of Jesus”. They will wield what they consider to be their “sword”, pieces of scripture, as if the Word of God must be weaponized to be effective. Without peace in their hearts, they will be drawn into every argument and potential argument, feeling as if Jesus and His ways/word need to be defended or used “effectively” – otherwise evil might still somehow “win”.

But our “struggle” from Ephesians 6:12 is not against an enemy in a battle still raging between two armies. Our struggle is against the last remaining fighters of an already defeated army, still hiding in places of darkness. We stand confidently in the peace of Jesus’ Lordship (Ephesians 1:20-23), as we watch His Spirit complete the victory declared long ago at His resurrection. That doesn’t mean things will always go well for us – in fact, there have been many martyrs who stood in His Lordship. Yet even in such moments, a reality beyond the temporal one that claims power over us is revealed, and by His Spirit we are enabled to rest in the Truth of His eternal Lordship more than our comfort/power in this life. Such a death testifies to a reality worth dying for…which is the reality we believe is worth living for as well.

May our lives reveal the reality of God’s Love revealed in Jesus and the Lordship of the Lamb even now…

Posted in Different Scriptures

missing from the “full armor”

Posted on by Wick

As I spent time this morning reflecting on the days’ lectionary passage, I was struck by something for the first time. This passage (Ephesians 6:10-20) I’d grown familiar with, since I was a boy, suddenly contained truth I hadn’t noticed before. More specifically I should say – as I asked God what He wanted me to notice, I became more and more aware of this particular Truth.

I remember learning about Ephesians 6 as a kid. We’d have physical belts, breastplates, shoes, shields, helmets, and even a sword. Putting on these fake pieces of “armor”, and stomping around the Sunday school room like an obnoxious child-soldier, I had opportunity to be the class clown AND teachers’ pet simultaneously. Those moments were always enjoyable for me, as an extrovert who wasn’t always particularly good at answering the teachers’ questions. Thankfully, I’ve matured in some ways since then. (mostly)

As I’ve grown, I’ve come to understand the importance of Paul’s words to the church in Ephesus. Whatever battle scenes I may have imagined Paul painting as a child have faded, and I hear the heart of Jesus in his words. He invites the church to cling to these solid foundations as vital to sustaining our faith in a world that doesn’t yet recognize/know Jesus as Lord fully.

It’s important to know and cling to the Truth of the gospel, no matter what our current experience happens to be, and live in that direction. It’s vital to remember the righteousness (the ways of justice, and right-ness) God desires, that becomes our life as we are found in Christ. We’re called to be people always ready to seek/promote the peace of reconciliation, taking it where Jesus leads us. We’re urged to hold fast to our faith, as a shield capable of deflecting the flaming arrows of the enemy (who is not a person/group, but a spiritual power or force/system). We put on our helmet of salvation, offered by the “head” of the body in Christ. We take up the sword, which is the Word of God empowered by the Holy Spirit (not words from a page, but the teaching of the gospel message).

But even in being fitted with all of this armor, there is usually something incredibly important missing. A crucial piece of being ready, and being able to “stand firm” that we don’t often include when we dress up that student in front of the class. Ready for it?

Paul is speaking with plural Greek words. Not to “you”, but to “ya’ll”.

This is not a battle we are preparing to fight alone. This is not something I can “do on my own”. This was not meant even for my family to seek to do on our own. There is something vitally important about the assumption Paul made to his audience in Ephesus – that all of this was something they were doing collectively. This comes through over and over again in his writing, especially as these words come only a couple chapters after he talks about the uniquely gifted parts of the body in Ephesians 4.

John Wesley even called this aspect of “Christian conference” one of the “Means of Grace”. We don’t discover “what is true for ourselves”, but rather wrestle together about what the Truth means for us all (and in each new season). We are shaped in His “Righteousness” as we come alongside one another, confessing our sins and being shaped vulnerably in His Light together. We promote peace graciously in the context of forgiving community, becoming a living refuge in a world where anxious communities form/bond in response to threats/fears. We lock shields of faith with those surrounding us, believing and testifying to the Love of God that has transformed us (and those before us), even when we feel attacked. We are bound together by our trust in the salvation offered in Jesus Christ, the “head” of which we are made one body. Finally, we wield the sword of God’s Word – not as something I grasp fully and completely on my own. Empowered by the Holy Spirit for understanding, we humbly approach the message of the gospel we have received and joined, with the global Church across all times and places.

May we never forget this incredibly important piece of “putting on the full armor of God”, so that we may “be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power”…