Blessed Contentment

Man do I need that. I have tried so damned hard to be “somebody”. I feel driven to gain the approval of others. The striving and posing make my life miserable. I want to stop trying to be somebody and just be who I am. I am a son of the high King. I have the birthright of a prince. I am an heir to an unbelievable inheritance. If I could just get that I would own a peace and a freedom and a confidence that can’t be bought.

Paul got it. In his letter to the Galatians he wrote:

My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion and I am no longer driven to impress God.

The Most Valuable Thing In Creation

Relationship is the most stunning and valuable thing in all of creation. Relationship is an eternal treasure that outshines any other conceivable thing of value. The most beautiful, fulfilling and profitable relationship available to us is our relationship with God.

In this relationship...

we are Free
we are Known
we are Understood
we are Accepted
we are Included
and we are Loved

Through this relationship we are Transformed, Empowered and Fulfilled.

Recalculating

Guest Blog by Gary Barkalow

Several weeks ago I took my wife to Sonoma, California for our 30th wedding anniversary to celebrate the beauty of our marriage in the beauty of wine-country. It seemed very fitting since Jesus' first miracle of turning water into extraordinary wine was His demonstration that He could turn what is ordinary into something extraordinary and intoxicating. (John 2)

We flew into the San Francisco airport where we picked up our rental car. Once we located our car in the parking garage, I set up my new GPS devise which my family bought me for my birthday earlier that month. Shortly after turning it on, it gave me the message, "unable to acquire satellites." The signals my guidance unit needed were blocked by the structure around me. As I pulled out of the car rental garage after showing the attendant my paperwork, I noticed that I had just a few yards left before I would have to turn either left or right and choose a lane for different highways. I pulled off to the side to allow the GPS to start working but the attendant started yelling and signaling me to get going. As I moved up to the stop light, I was faced with a decision without adequate information. I picked a lane and started moving. THEN, the GPS spoke up - It had connected with the satellites and calculated my position.

The GPS promptly instructed me to take the next left, but I couldn't. I was stuck in the right lane with a barricade on my left. As I drove past the on-ramp I should have taken in this unfamiliar, chaotic place I started to go to panic, anger and shame. And then I heard a calm, re-assuring voice say, "recalculating". The GPS realized that I had missed my turn and was recalculating a new route for me to take to our destination. After a few tense and uncertain moments, I realized that this was not a disaster and that I could relax, enjoy conversation, music and beauty as I simply moved forward as instructed.

What started out as an anxiety and regret-ridden road-trip, turned into an exhilarating, adventuresome journey to a beautiful destination, and all because I was able to get out from under the obstructions and trust the guidance of something that knew where I wanted to go and how to get there, even with the mistakes I had made.

God is so kind and forgiving with our blunders, misunderstandings, reluctance, over-ambitiousness, immaturity and sinfulness. So many times I expected Him to say to me, "You blew it, you're on your own now, I'm done trying to help you." Instead, God invites us to out from under all the obstructions (wounding, sin, warfare) to His guidance. "Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress." (Heb. 12:1 NLT) I have come "to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners." (Isa. 61:1)

But then, when we blow it and have a repentant heart; God says, "recalculating." In other words, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you." (Psa. 32:8) "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." (Jer. 29:11 NLT)

Let us keep our heart free to hear His voice and relaxed with the faith that He will "recalculate" our way when needed.

Gary

To learn more about Gary and The Noble Heart visit http://www.thenobleheart.com

Where do I go to church?

There is an institution that is commonly called “church”. I like to refer to this as the institutional church or IC for short. It does not seem to me that the IC is what Jesus and the apostles were referring to when they spoke of the Church. When I read passages referring to the Church the New Testament they don’t make sense if I think in terms of the IC. I am writing this because, in later blogs, I will be discussing the effect the IC has had on my life and where I currently am in relation to the IC. And, I want to be clear that I am writing about the Institution and not The Church.


Author Wayne Jacobson has this to say about Church…

“Asking me where I go to church is like asking me where I go to Jacobsen. How do I answer that? I am a Jacobsen and where I go a Jacobsen is. 'Church' is that kind of word. It doesn't identify a location or an institution. It describes a people and how they relate to each other. If we lose sight of that, our understanding of the church will be distorted and we'll miss out on much of its joy.”


To read the full article (Why I Don't Go To Church Anymore) by Wayne Jacobson follow this link http://www.lifestream.org/bodylife.php?blid=32

How you doin?

The journey, sometimes it feels good, sometimes it feels awful. How it feels is not the point. The point is to engage in the journey. If you are actively engaged in the journey then it is good. There are aspects of everyone’s journey that are unpleasant but must be experienced. And, there are times in the journey when you will not be happy with your own behavior.

So, if you ask me, “How are you doing?” The best I can say is “I am on the journey” It‘s not going “good” or “bad”. It’s the journey. What I can tell you is how it feels and what I am going through right now. Being honest about what you are experiencing and how it feels is liberating for you and others and it enkindles participation in the journey. “By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.” (Mat 5:16 The Message)

But to judge yourself or others by what it feels like or what you are going through is just religious bull shit.

Buuuttugly

I have noticed that it is easy for me to go from self confident to smug and arrogant. Self confidence is a heady drug. It feels good but it can distort my perspective. If I am not careful it becomes arrogance. And that is buuuttugly.

Why the destination

The destination is the goal that you share with the Father. It's where you want to go and where He wants to take you. It motivates the journey and gives purpose to the relationship.