heretic...

... a hateful sounding word, isn't it?

it's being thrown around a lot these days.

here's what the dictionary has to say about it:

1. a professed believer who maintains religious opinions contrary to those accepted by his or her church or rejects doctrines prescribed by that church.

2. Roman Catholic Church - a baptized Roman Catholic who willfully and persistently rejects any article of faith.

3. anyone who does not conform to an established attitude, doctrine, or principle.

etymologically speaking, it means to be able to choose.

Galileo was condemned as a heretic for supporting Copernicus’s thesis that the earth revolves around the sun and not vice-versa.

do you believe the earth revolves around the sun? if so, you would have been in the same boat in which Galileo found himself.

Paul was described to the Roman governor Felix as the leader of the heresy (aireseos) of the Nazarenes (Acts 24:5). what about you?

all of Protestantism was declared heretical by the Roman Church. possibly still is, behind closed doors.

believing and practicing the priesthood of all believers was declared heretical. anyone who 'preached' or 'taught' who was not a part of the hierarchy was a heretic.

John Wycliffe - because his translation didn’t suit the hierarchy; William Tyndale - tried for heresy, strangled and burnt at the stake in 1536; Jan Hus, Joan of Arc, Thomas Cranmer and many folk under the rule of Bloody Mary.

Billy Graham, Beth Moore, Moody Bible Institute, Max Lucado, Michael W Smith, Baylor University, Chuck Swindoll, NavPress, Intervarsity, Christianity Today, Mother Teresa, Bono, Quakers, Charles Stanley, Chuck Colson, C S Lewis, Franklin Graham, J I Packer, James Dobson, Joel Osteen, John Piper, Martin Luther King, Jr.

just a few who have had the appellation thrown their way.

oh, and anyone who uses any other Bible but the KJV.

there are lots of other words being thrown around - universalism, trinitarianism, ultimate reconciliation, hell, heaven, slippery slope - to name a few.

but - what i am hearing more than the words is that which is behind some of the words. it’s not pretty.

it sounds a lot like hate.

i don't know about any of you, but this really grieves my heart. aren't we - those of us who name His name in some form or other - supposed to find love in our hearts for others who also name His name?

why can’t we trust Him? - trust in His character?

if we trust Him with ourselves, can’t we trust Him with others?

do we trust Him with ourselves - to keep us from harm and deception?

can we not do the same for others?

confession - i don’t know everything there is to know about God. surprise! i have no clue ‘how’ He has and will work all things together for His purpose. i do know, to some degree, what the Bible has to say about salvation and reconciliation. i am aware that a strong case can be made for ultimate reconciliation - a strong case can be made against ultimate reconciliation.

why don’t we slow down, take a breath and a step or two back, consider Him and choose the better way.

why don’t we leave the out-working up to Him?

He can be trusted.

off the map...

[originally posted March 9, 2011]

The way of trust is a movement into obscurity, into the undefined, not into some predetermined, clear plan. The next step discloses itself out of a discernment of God acting in the desert of the present moment. Naked trust is the life of one who leaves what is nailed down  and secure by walking into the unknown without any rational explanation to justify the decision or guarantee the future.

~ Brennan Manning

the presence of grace...

[originally posted March 9, 2011]

It's true. We really do only pass this way but once. My hope is that we all come to understand that the passing through is packed full of moments that are full of the kind of happenings that can mysteriously awaken us. And it's the presence of grace and our yielding to that grace that breaks up the hard packed ground and allows the life inside to break through and grow.

~ Kent Burgess

He is...

[originally posted February 22, 2011]

Christianity is not a formula, but the Person of Jesus Himself. Never think that Christianity is a matter of adjusting behavior, but rather, of letting Christ live through us in His strength and power.

~ Malcom Smith

the narrow way...

[originally published February 10, 2011]

eavesdropping on some hearts this morning...

"It is a shock to many who would settle for a life of serving God that, above all else, He fervently desires our friendship. He desires us infinitely more than we desire Him."

~ Malcolm Smith
~~~

And that is the most beautiful... and yet hardest thing to find and accept... it's the narrow way... that fits your feet walking with him... apart from all you "think" you know... it's an experience... the wide way is me walking with all those things I "think" I know... as opposed to walking with the one making HIMSELF known... He loves me...

~ Stephanie McEntire
~~~

When I read things like this it makes me uncomfortable because I've been trained to see God above all things as Sovereign and Holy, and there is no question that He is those things. Jesus however, most often characterized God as Love and emphasized this in many of his parables and teachings. There's all sorts of things that scream in my mind to minimize that love God has for me as somehow not dignified enough for such a powerful God. It's true however. God is madly, passionately and desperately in love with us, ultimately because of who He is.

His love is driving, personal, extravagant and even wasteful in the eyes of some. It's when I see this God and accept Him and His love for me that I learn to walk without guilt, shame or fear and trust in that love as the greatest foundation of all, undergirding all of my life. 

It's when I set aside all the "buts" and accept that God is indeed this loving that i am free to live and love as He created me to.

~ Bart Breen

quiet places... full of sound

[originally posted January 27, 2011]


standing by a tomb of a knight. Sir Richard Pembridge… a Knight of the Garter who fought at Crecy and Poitiers. he died 1375.

as far as i can tell, there are no other living beings in the Cathedral. it’s late morning, the light is gentle… unobtrusive.

i am aware of all the prayers which have been uttered in this place… the sense of them more than the sound.

yet there is the sound of them...

as unobtrusive as the light… but just as present.

the vaulted stone ceiling which soars far above seems filled with the presence of the prayers. the aisles and chapels and niches... full of their presence... the heart petitions of the people who have gone before.

centuries upon centuries of sound… in the quiet.

~~~~~
photo courtesy of Britain Express
http://www.britainexpress.com

primordial grief...

... read something yesterday which struck a deep note for me.

have you ever wondered what Eve felt in the garden after she ate and gave Adam to eat? have you ever wondered what she felt when God came looking for them and found them hiding?

have you ever wondered…

… how she felt when she/they knew they were naked? [and by the way, who told them they were naked?]

… what she felt when the reality of what had happened... what they had done?... what.. she.. had done?... began to break through to her?

… what she felt when the loss of Eden came crashing in on her?

forget the loaded-ness of the Genesis story... think for a moment what it would feel like knowing that in a time of weakness - because of a very crooked place within… a place where healing and restoration was yet to be worked - a decision was made which put your loved ones in a place of difficulty for the rest of their lives.

have you ever made such a decision? i have.

as i read about that grief immeasurable and bleak… Eve’s grief in the Garden and after… when the full weight of what she had done bore in on her, i felt that grief… i knew that grief, even if only in part… I shared that grief and my heart broke for her.

He is bringing me through it - i trust He brought her through it, too.

even though i walk through a valley deep and dark… He is with me.

can we be friends?

ever been presented the opportunity to connect with a person completely - in every way, except being alive - different?

what do we do with that opportunity?

ignore it?

approach with fear?

demand the other change?

attempt to change ourselves in order to be attractive to the other?

get approval from some authority before we let 'them' into our lives?

here’s a thought - maybe we could just be who we are - with no pretense, demands or agenda - and welcome them in.

could be life-changing for both - in a very good way.



photo courtesy Sheryl Senter Hackett Matters

He is kind...

Last Wednesday my neighbor left a message on my phone to call her. I could tell by her voice that it wasn't just a chat she was wanting.

This is the wonderful story she shared.

About 20 years or so ago, my neighbor Susan had a friend, Marilyn, who lived in an apartment about a block and half away. Marilyn had a great, friendly dog who loved to play with Susan’s kids. She - the dog - would come up the hill for a visit every day while Marilyn was at work. Susan and kids would take care of the dog when Marilyn was away.

The dog jogged with Susan every day.

One day, while they were jogging, a car hit the dog. My neighbor held her in her arms as the precious companion died. Needless to say, she was heart-broken.

A few years later, Marilyn moved away from the village into the city. She and Susan kept in touch, but not as before.

On Wednesday, Susan was running errands in the city and, on the way home, spontaneously decided to change her route to pick up something for supper.

The street she turned onto had quite a bit of going-home traffic and there, running down the street dragging her leash behind her was a very frightened little dog. The cars were avoiding her as best they could - slowing down, swerving and honking of horns, etc.

Susan was able to pull over. She called to the dog and prayed and called and prayed. Finally, the dog ran to her, miraculously dodging between cars.

The dog let Susan scoop her up and get into her car; there was a tag on the collar - oddly from a vet here in the village.

Just as Susan was beginning to call the vet, a van pulled up behind Susan, the driver honking the horn for all she was worth.

The driver piled out of her van and ran to Susan’s car; as Susan got out of her car, of course they both knew the other - old friends - Susan and Marilyn. It was Marilyn’s dog.

Susan, who had never been able to forget the death of the first dog, was now able to save and return a beloved pet to the very same friend - and Marilyn was able to receive alive her dog - from the same friend.


The gentle kindness of Father - His redemption of sadness from so long ago.

following

For each of us, there is a unique place of courage to following Him. Ah but He wills it and He does it - our part is only to say yes. I was thinking about those beliefs we hold on to for dear life which may not be Him. Sometimes we can feel as though all - and I mean all - the slats are going to be knocked out from under us if we say yes, we want to know Who He really is - regardless. We have a lot at stake in our beliefs. For some of us, there is security - false though it be - in not making waves in our personal lives - in our inner parts. For some, it's the outer part - pride and position and reputation may be involved. It is so difficult for some of us to say we were mistaken.

Did you ever see the Indiana Jones movie about their search for the grail? There was a part when Indiana was going to where the grail was and he had reached an opening in the cave and had to cross over to the other side of a chasm - but there was no visible place for him to place his foot. He remembered the riddle and put his foot out - seemingly into empty space - he risked his all that he might find the grail. Lo and behold, there was a bridge between the walls.

A poor analogy, but...

... it does take a certain amount of courage

... or desperation

... to launch out into the depth of the river which is over our heads.

in Him

"Father put us into the one place we’d always get our needs met -- He put us into Christ. He put us into the one place we’d always get our prayers answered -- He put us into Christ. He put us into the one place where His heart would always sing out “Yes, and amen” -- He put us into Christ. He put us into the one place where the enemy cannot touch us, He put us into Christ." Graham Cooke

the journey

“To journey without being changed is to be a nomad. To change without journeying is to be a chameleon. To journey and to be transformed by the journey is to be a pilgrim.” Mark Nepo

freedom

“We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man or a woman but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.

"When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves."

Viktor Frankl

heart-song

"a friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words." author unknown

open

i've had the words 'live vulnerably with Father' going round and round in my heart the last several months. i know there are still painful places in me that i just as soon no one poke around in (particularly *God* [calling Him that makes Him, in my mind, the emotionally distant, angry Being i grew up with for some reason. i hear *Father* so very differently]) - because that just might mean some more pain 1) looking at that stuff in the light, and 2) having it dealt with.

then i remember He is Father and that He is Love and Gentleness and Kindness and Mercy, not angry and distant and unmoved by my plight - and that Love holds me and keeps me from falling to pieces while the pain is uncovered and healing brought.

i am learning to know and rely on Love...

and to live with arms open...

and to trust the holding power of Love when it hurts.

inhale

this from a new friend in Father:

"This air we breathe. It's an amazing thing given by God for life. We only can have enough for one breath at a time. I mean, it's all around us, but when we breathe, we do not stop inhaling because we have taken in all the oxygen we will ever need. Rather, we have all the oxygen we need for THIS breath. Then we exhale, release carbon dioxide, and make room for more oxygen."

Bryan Waters

to which may be added -

selah

anything...

"God can do anything, you know...

...far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us." Eph 3. 20-21 The Message

as I ponder on this again - He has done incredible things for us - because He loved us and came - because He took on flesh and dwelt among us - because of the incarnation - I am again blown away - because He whispers in my heart - not in the whirlwind or earthquake but in a soft whisper - eternity whispers - oh my - this is too great - who can grasp it? - the eternal One in our heart.

Selah

this Jesus...

... the Jesus i am coming to know is the One Who had friendship/fellowship with the tax collector, the woman 'caught' in adultery, the little girl who was 'dead', the father whose heart was breaking because of his son who continually threw himself into the fire. the Jesus i am coming to know is the One Who did not withdraw Himself from the woman with the issue of blood. the One Who in essence said, 'phooey on the laws of the sabbath' and healed all over the place on that day - because He is the Sabbath and He was being true to Himself. the One Who loved us so much that He became incarnate - that we might be connected to Him, His Father and the Holy Spirit in that glorious, eternal relationship/fellowship - that dance that many of His saints talk about.

the Jesus i am coming to know dislikes [understatement] the actions of those who use, abuse and mislead folks. He seems to not have a whole lot of patience with the religious who will not see - and who hinder others from seeing Him as He is. the Jesus i am coming to know was and is moved with incredible compassion regarding mankind's blindness and chosen ventures into the pig pens of the world.

the Jesus i am coming to know doesn't keep a score-card on me - or on any one else. He has more patience with me than the ocean has drops of water. He doesn't beat me - or anyone else when our lives get messy. He gives me His hand, lifts me up out of my crippled place and enables me to jump, run and walk with Him.

the Jesus i am coming to know is so very eager to teach me Who He is - to take away the structures in my mind which argue against Him. He delights in freeing me from the chains of sin which bind me in order that i can experience the freedom and grace of His life.

i could go on and on - but perhaps by now, you get the picture - Jesus the express image of the Father - yahoo!

this Jesus - and more and more - as i am willing to set aside that wearisome burden of living in the imaginations of my making [and the world's, the flesh's and the devil's] as to who He is and saying yes to His life and Who He is, is the One i am coming to know.

in our brokenness...

the following taken from an article on a special blog


"Discovering Jesus in the dungeons of our brokenness means that we do not have to dream of a Magical Other or plaster our dream upon their face and demand that they live up to our unearthly expectations. And it means that we do not have to impose our agendas upon the lives of our friends, or of creation. Discovering Jesus in the dungeon means we are free to live in and out of the real dream of the Father, Son and Spirit, for now our adoption is no dream at all, but the simple truth. We are included in their shared life. The Father, Son and Spirit have pitched their tent inside our dungeon. Such a discovery is the beginning of faith and repentance (a radical change in the way we see), and it is the beginning of the freedom to accept others and to be accepted, to know and to be known, to love and to be loved, to delight and being delighted in."

C Baxter Kruger http://baxterkruger.blogspot.com/2009/12/expectation.html

today...

... hear His voice


It never ceases to amaze me - tucked in here and there - in the most unexpected places - one stumbles over the fact that He has always desired to reveal Himself to us.

Moreover, this revealing is quite often to the unimportant, insignificant, no-name no-power folks in society.

Case in point: a few weeks ago I was finishing reading a historical novel about, as it turns out, a key figure in the linage of kings and queens of England.

There it was, tucked into the last quarter or so of a very long book. A simple person is brought into the story - one to whom He had revealed Himself. Surprisingly, a woman - not a man, nor priest, nor bishop or pope. Not even to a king or prince - or princess. Her name was Julian - Julian of Norwich.

In England in the 1400's, He visited Julian in order that she might know Him - not as the religion of the day portrayed Him. The religion of pilgrimages to various shrines to pray to whatever relic was being touted - maybe a little toe bone of saint so-and-so, or a vial of the milk of Mary, or a thorn from the crown given to Jesus, or a splinter from the spear of the Roman soldier.

He cut through all that and spoke to her of His great love for His creation. He made Himself known as Love - pure and simple and true.

It was a time of believing God was distant and very angry with folks. A time that believed He had to be appeased in any way possible - the longer and more difficult the pilgrimage, the better. The more money given to the shrine keepers, the better.

It was a time of fear of excommunication and damnation. A time which did not know - nor even consider - that Father just might not be as religion said. Oddly enough, and though it may look a little different, we have many similar beliefs and practices today regarding God.

Father made Himself known to this woman - this humble person. She, in turn, shared this with Catherine - the key person in the English king/queen linage.

Catherine was in the most devastated place of her life with no hope on the horizon. Among other very difficult circumstances, she had suffered the loss of a child, for which she blamed herself. Catherine made a pilgrimage of many weeks by herself to a shrine. Having received no answer to her prayer of help for her child, she attempted suicide. In the midst of attempting suicide, a man of the cloth rescued and introduced her to Julian. Time spent with Julian made all the difference.

Time spent learning Him - made all the difference.

Whether this actually happened - whether Catherine met Julian - I don't know for sure. That is not really the point.

The point is that, throughout all the years and centuries, there have been folks who heard Him - mostly in a way that cut right across the practices and teachings of the day.

There have always been those who would hear...

There still are those who hear...

and listen...

and pay heed.