by guest writer J. Thomas
How can I improve my conscious contact with God and gain spiritual
discernment?
Improving my conscious contact with God and gaining spiritual discernment is a question that I’ve been mulling over as a member of a 12-step group for recovering addicts for the last 10 years and as a Christian for the last 27 years.
In 12-step fellowship, we say that we “work the program” and we “work the steps.” There is wealth of wisdom in the rooms and it took a while to find a meeting that “worked” for me. My first experience going to a 12-step meeting was strange. It was in the basement of dimly lit church basement. As members share, they stare sadly and blankly at the center of the floor, as if to raise their eyes to look at the others were a shame too painful to bear. I feel out of place, and it takes another 5 years before I finally come back to 12-step. And when I do, there is such a difference. Still in a church basement, but with better lighting – but really, it’s the people. Sharing about their victories and failures, sometimes even laughing at how God is keeping them sober despite themselves. Once committed to a healthy community and reading the literature, I eventually begin to work Step 11 with the help of a trusted sponsor. Step 11 states, “Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood God, praying only for knowledge of God’s will for us and the power to carry that out.” That’s a nice definition of discernment – knowledge of God’s will for us and the power to carry that out. And the way to improve it, equally clear – through prayer and meditation.
Photo: Pedro Lima through unsplash.com
From a mainstream Christian perspective, I sift through my memory verses I learned in college through The Navigators’ Topical Memory System. The winner is what Paul writes to the Romans, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2 ESV). So, if you define spiritual discernment as the ability to know that God’s will is good, acceptable, and perfect, discernment is gained by (i) resisting worldly patterns and (ii) renewing the mind. The authority on spiritual matters comes from the Bible and the Holy Spirit within the context of a community of Christians. Bible verse, check. Holy Spirit, check. Community of believers? Let me tell you what one of my many youth group pastors pointed out to me. Paul uses two distinct words, conform and transform, which both mean to change. However, the word conform emphasizes change coming from an external pressure while the word transform emphasizes an internal change that makes its way outward.
As an analyst by trade, I know that there is a lot to unpack here, and I am excited to share with you my story on how I weave the two takes on spiritual discernment together that will both demystify discernment and provide a useful application to increase freedom one day at a time. Let’s take a deeper look at 2 questions: How is my relationship with God and spiritual discernment connected? Why do I need spiritual discernment and knowledge of God’s will?
How is my relationship with God and spiritual discernment connected?
By knowing God, not just knowing about God, I begin to recognize His voice and wisdom for me. As a teenager growing up in the 1990s, my dad smokes Marlboro Lights, and I am getting more curious about cigarettes. After four occasions of stealing my dad’s cigarettes and smoking them in the attached garage when my parents aren’t home, I begin to worry that I’ll become addicted if I continue. My burning question – is smoking a sin? It’s not an easy answer because it’s not one of the Ten Commandments. I also don’t see direct Bible references, only something about how my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, but it is way too abstract for a teenager to grasp. And if it is a sin, is my dad sinning every time he smokes?
With my budding relationship with Jesus, I literally enter my closet and through prayer, I ask God the question, “Is smoking a sin?” I quiet down my own thoughts (meditate) and pretty soon a thought comes to mind: “What does it matter to you? You don’t smoke.” Whoa! Where did that thought come from? It certainly wasn’t from me because I have exactly two possible answers to the question – yes or no. This third answer, that didn’t come from me. Because I’ve encountered God and have a personal relationship, I recognize the love in His voice. It took the whole dad-thing out of the picture. There was no more conflict between my dad’s actions and what I felt uneasy about in my own internal compass. And after receiving a communication like this, it was simply a matter of obeying or disobeying a direction that was just for me.
Photo: Samantha Sophia through unsplash.com
Prayer and meditation is a two-way street, not a one-person monologue to God. How did God communicate His will to me? He used my thoughts – but an inspired thought that I discerned was not from me or from the world. The miracle is that I believed and followed. I admit that I tried a few more cigarettes after that encounter, but soon afterwards, I prayed confirmation of God’s revelation to me – to really know – it was God’s will and by the Holy Spirit, the willingness to believe and put it into practice. God’s direction can come from anywhere – people, books, sermons, my own thoughts. When that direction is verified through the Bible and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the context of Christian community, an inkling can become a God-encounter.
To demystify my example, I probably heard dozens of public service announcements on smoking, even more pastors and adults telling me not to do it. To add to that, many inklings from my conscience when the temptations to experiment arose. Maybe 100 messages like this telling me that I shouldn’t smoke. But for whatever reason, on that 101st time I heard it, it clicked in my head. I attribute that difference to my Lord and Savior.
Why do I need spiritual discernment and knowledge of God’s will?
Discernment and knowledge of God’s will allow me to do the only thing I can do in this life – enjoy the journey. When I walk through a challenging life season, the most difficult thing is confusion. The uncertainty of not knowing why or how long I will endure a sour lot. Spiritual discernment does not promise exact reasons for God’s will, but it is a way for me to attest that His way is good, pleasing (NIV translation), and perfect. Paul provides a framework for gaining discernment that can be applied every day with a little thought and intimate time with the Holy Spirit.
First, is to recognize the worldly patterns that pressure me – and to not conform. I recently went through a difficult season with my wife where I was constantly asking for us to sit down and talk about important issues in our marriage that had been building up. Each time I ask, I get the message that she is too tired or that it is not a good time. As I persist on a particular topic that’s causing me sadness, I feel wounded that she doesn’t want to talk it out with me. As I meditate and allow myself to feel the feelings of rejection, I realize that this thought, “my wife doesn’t want to talk with me” was an echo of a thought that my parents didn’t want to talk with me.
Growing up in a Korean-American home, the language barrier, generation gap, cultural differences, and time-constraints of an immigrant family led to my feeling deep isolation and loneliness. I was not asked about my day, and I couldn’t communicate to my parents basic feelings like “I feel sad” because I didn’t know the word for “sad” in Korean. Unconsciously, the family context (the world) sent me a strong message – my parents don’t want to talk with me. In my formative years and adolescence, this message penetrated my flesh like a bullet and got lodged in there. What I realize is that my wife, unknowingly, is pushing on the spot where the bullet was lodged each time she communicates she doesn’t want to talk. She didn’t shoot the bullet, and even I didn’t realize it was there. Through meditation, I uncover the worldly pattern responsible for my woundedness.
Photo: Jacek Dylag through unsplash.com
Second, Paul writes that I can be transformed by the renewing of my mind. As I discover this bullet, I cry out to God and feel the pain of growing up in an emotionally neglectful family. I renew my mind with the truth that my heavenly Father does want to talk with me. He wants me to share about my day. He wants me to listen. He wants to communicate back to me. In that encounter, God does heart surgery and removes that lodged bullet from decades ago. The old pattern thrust upon me by an external system is cast off, while I let a new thought into my heart. As I let God’s truth come into my heart, the Holy Spirit changes me from the inside out. I don’t feel with such intensity a woundedness when my wife says she doesn’t want to talk. Feeling misunderstood in my intentions or invalidated in my feelings, still hurts – a lot. But it doesn’t cut me to the core like it once did. I am still in the process of healing. My childhood and marriage struggles were difficult and confusing times, but I am enjoying the journey because I can say with confidence that all of God’s will and good and acceptable and PERFECT.
The Holy Spirit changes me from the inside out.
Bio for J. Thomas
Almost 20 years after returning from a short-term mission trip to Mongolia, J. Thomas is publishing his book Dry and Barren Land: Walking through Seasons of spiritual dryness in a blog format at dryandbarren.com. As a religion major at Dartmouth College, he studied philosophy, biblical studies, and the sociology of income inequality. J. Thomas lives in New Jersey with his wife of 17 years and their 4-year-old daughter who loves being read the book, The Thomasbears and Great Door, a book (for kids of all ages) he wrote for his wife on their 4-year anniversary. He taught himself guitar to express love to God in worship and devotion. J. Thomas also picked up a new hobby in July 2020, tweeting under @dryandbarren to translate mainstream Christian truths for our generation.
by Christine Sine
“Heaven’s kingdom realm can be illustrated like this:
“A person discovered that there was hidden treasure in a field. Upon finding it, he hid it again. Because of uncovering such treasure, he was overjoyed and sold all that he possessed to buy the entire field just so he could have the treasure.
“Heaven’s kingdom realm is also like a jewel merchant in search of rare pearls. When he discovered one very precious and exquisite pearl, he immediately gave up all he had in exchange for it.” (Matt 13:44-47 TPT)
A couple of weeks ago I noticed that every time I sat down in my office my eyes were drawn to the beautiful mother of pearl shell shining brightly in the light in my display cabinet. My pearl of great price I said every time I looked at it. It reminded me of the other pearl like objects in my collection – a peacock rock and laborite and of course my opals that sparkle with the same glorious opalescence of pearls. My pearl of great price hidden in plain sight in the midst of familiar objects I rarely take time to notice.
Not surprisingly, it is this magnificent shell that came to mind when I started to think about creating another contemplative garden. And so the garden above came into being filled with objects that I consider pearls of great price and discovered in the unexpected but ordinary places of my belongings.
I wasn’t really sure why I wanted to create this garden. It did not have any significance in the liturgical cycle of the year or in the cycle of the seasons either. Then I thought about the discernment process I have been going through and I realized that in this context it has a lot of significance.
Three questions have surfaced for me as I contemplate my garden:
- What have I “sold” or given up for Jesus, my real pearl of great price?
- What is the field I have bought because I thought there was treasure hidden it?
- What have I found in that field that really does qualify as a pearl of great price?
Here is what has come to me:
- I gave up family and friends in Australia to travel the world but gained family and friends throughout the world as a result and I have ended up with closeness to my family in Australia I would never have experienced otherwise
- I gave up a house in New Zealand I thought would be my forever home and lived as one “with no fixed abode” for many years, finding instead a place of belonging in God and eventually a home in Seattle that is more than I could ever hope for.
- I gave up the stability of medical practice in Australia and New Zealand and found instead a journey of vocational exploration that has been far richer than I could ever imagine.
- I gave up the financial security of medical practice for a life of wandering with few resources and found in the process the amazing faithfulness of God to provide in abundance for my needs.
- I gave up a life of rigid certainty and clear boundaries for one of uncertainty but creative openness where the boundaries of of life and faith were shattered and redefined. In the process I discovered the joy and delight of growing intimacy with a God who has no boundaries.
As I contemplate this list today I am overwhelmed with awe for all that I have gained because of my willingness to “sell” what I once thought was of great value to “buy” instead a relationship with Jesus who has become not just my Saviour but also my very special companion and friend. The treasures that God hid in the fields I “bought” on my journey through life have been rich and varied – not just pearls I feel, but also diamonds, sapphires, opals and many more that are valuable to me alone. Some are precious stones I still cannot name either because they are still partly buried in the field or because I may have dug them up but still have not identified them.
What Is Your Response?
Take some time this week to think about the pearls of great price that you have dug up throughout your life. What have you had to give up in order to buy the “fields” in which they were hidden? What did these “pearls of great price” look like? Why are they precious to you? What have they taught you about God and what it means to be a follower of Jesus?
Once again I am posting the beautiful Taizé style service from St Andrews Episcopal church in Seattle. I hope that you find this to be as relaxing and refreshing as I do
A contemplative service with music in the style-of-Taize for the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost. The Rev. Richard Weyls, prayer leader, with music by Kester Limner and Andy Myers.
Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-710-756 with additional notes below.
“My Peace,” “Atme in Uns,” and are songs from the Taize community – copyright and all rights reserved by GIA/Les Presses de Taizé.
“Parable Song” – By Kester Limner and Andy Myers, shared under the Creative Commons License, Attribution (CC-BY).
“Shepherd Song” – Words adapted from John 10:11-18, music by Kester Limner, shared under the Creative Commons License, Attribution (CC-BY).
“Kyrie for October 11” – Text by Kester Limner, shared under the Creative Commons License, Attribution (CC-BY) Music copyright and all rights reserved by GIA/Les Presses de Taizé.
www.saintandrewsseattle.org
by Alex Tang
We are living in fear. One tiny RNA virus named SARS-CoV-2, averaging 0.125 micron in length, brought our civilization as we know it to its knees and caused great health and socio-economic disruptions. With the COVID-19 pandemic infecting 35 million people with more than a million deaths, all of us irrespective of our social status, ethnicity or country’s healthcare level of care are at risk. Especially vulnerable are those who are over 65 years of age with co-morbidities. Countries, states and cities are forced into lockdowns where everyone is confined to their homes to prevent the spread of the virus. The economic ramifications of the lockdowns with retrenchments, closing of companies and millions falling below the poverty line is a sad unfolding drama. For many of us, our fear is our constant companion in these times. We are fearful of our health, our safety, our future and of the future of our communities. After about seven months, this fear has permeated into our subconscious and is manifesting as irritability, anger, anxiety and depression. Often we do not know why we are feeling the way we do. Some people have cleverly named it “Covid-19 fugue” but it is actually a bondage of fear. This bondage of fear kept us blind to the very thing we need – hope.
Zephaniah, a minor prophet speaking at a time of great socio-economic disruptions caused by the Babylonian conquest (death, pestilence, famine), noted, “The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17 NIV). While we are in bondage, it is easy to lose sight of the Lord who offers hope. Instead, we are drawn into the downward spiral of fear, anger and anxiety to deep depression. This depression is different from the medical condition depression which needs expert psychiatric/psychological help and sometimes medications. This depression caused by the bondage of fear is caused by our present circumstances, the resilience of our spirits, and the power of principalities and power that hold sway in this fallen world.
Paul writing to the Corinthian Christians who lived in a world similar to ours with its natural and socio-political disruptions explained how to break the bondage of fear in 2 Corinthians 10:3–5 (NIV)
3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
With the spiritual weapons supplied by the Holy Spirit, we can take responsibility for our mental health by breaking the bondage of fear. There are three steps we can take to break this bondage of fear.
First, we name the fear. Naming, in the biblical sense, is knowing. We have many fears so it is helpful for us to ask the Holy Spirit to help us identify or name them. Then we subject each of these fears to the following rubric.
1. A fear situation where we have control and can act – situation mastery
This is a situation where we have the ability to control and to take action. One example is washing hands, wearing masks, staying at home, social distancing and attending services online. Here we have situation mastery. There is no need to fear being infected by the virus.
2. A fear situation where we can’t control but can act – ceaseless striving
A situation where we can do something but are in a situation where we have no control over. One example is a person suffering from cancer. That person has no control over the cancer in his/her body. However, the person can do something about seeking treatment. Often, many people are not satisfied with sticking to the treatment of a medical oncologist. They will try alternative medical treatments, faith healings, herbs and even some obscure claims from the internet. This is ceaseless striving. Our fear drives us to keep striving, often in vain.
3. A fear situation where we can control but can’s act – accepting
Here is a situation where we have control but can’t act. This is often a very fearful situation as our natural instinct is to do something. Not being able to do anything is very stressful and anxiety provoking. One example is if we own a hotel, we have total control over the total operations of the hotel. Unfortunately, our hotel is in a country or city under pandemic lockdown. We cannot act to get guests because of the movement control order. We fear that we will lose the hotel to the bank. Millions of business owners, especially the smaller ones, live with this fear. It is also likely that many churches will be closing because of the pandemic.
4. A fear situation where we can’t control and can’t act –letting go
There are situations we find ourselves in that we have no control over and there is nothing we can do about it. Some of us live in fear for our loved ones who live in another country or city. We not only worry for their safety but we fear for them too. These are very fearful situations but if we are able to name them, we can break the bondage of these fears.
Second step after naming our fears is to befriend them. If our fear falls under the category of situation mastery, do something about it. We will find that the hold fear has on us, as we do something about the situation, lessening. In the ceaseless striving category, we should choose to be realistic and not just act to do something. In the last two categories, it is about accepting and let the Lord do what He has purposed for our lives. This is where trust and hope come in.
The third and final step is to continue praying. Fear will always try to keep us in bondage and away from our trust and hope in God. We have to be vigilant in our thinking. Do not be distracted and let our thoughts be drawn to where our fears dwell, especially in ceaseless striving and areas where we must let go and let God. It is so easy to be drawn back into the bondage of fear. Paul has the antidote for us in Philippians 4:6–8 (NIV)
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
We are living in difficult and fearful times. Frederick Buechner in Beyond Words: Daily Readings in the ABC’s of Faith writes, “Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid.” It is easy to let our fears take control of our lives. We may be living in bondage to fear without knowing it. God has given us the means to break this bondage and the freedom to live with our fears. The key is trust and hope in the Lord. May we live in freedom from fear. Reinhold Niebuhr’s Serenity Prayer is a good guard against living in bondage of fear.
God, give me grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.
Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.
Amen.
——————–
Alex Tang is an author, spiritual director and practical theologian. Visit his website Kairos Spiritual Formation at www.kairos2.com
By Lilly Lewin
My friend, Ed Goode, is a pastor, photographer and contemplative… he created our freerangefriday post today in the form of a video meditation. Watch and consider what the Holy Spirit wants to say to you today.
What did you notice as you watched the video? What emotions came up for you? What are you curious about?
How have the last few months changed your view of things? It’s definitely been a long haul of emotions and changes for all of us.
What the video again. How has getting outside in nature helped you in these last few months? What has inspired you?
Who or what has helped you along this journey of the pandemic? Spend some time thanking Jesus for these people and these practices.
This weekend, get outside, take a parable walk and let Jesus speak to you through Creation. Here is the Parable Walk Practice we use at thinplaceNASHVILLE to get you started. You might use Psalm 12 as Ed did. Read and or Listen to the psalm before you start your walk. You could take photos of what the Holy Spirit highlights for you, or pick up a feather, or a stone or some other item that God uses to inspire you. Breathe, walk, notice, pay attention!
Listen to the wind of the Spirit.
- PARABLE WALK PRAYER PRACTICE:
Silently walk in God’s Creation, or, you may prefer to sit somewhere where you have an expansive view of creation.
Keeping in mind God’s invitation to you in our scripture reading
Keeping in mind what Jesus talked to you about as you listened to the Bible reading (or pick your own Bible Passage).
Invite the Holy Spirit to speak to you through what you see, hear, smell, and experience outside.
What do you notice as you walk?
What do you hear? Take time to listen.
What do you smell? Breathe deeply.
Spend time reflecting on how God is speaking to you through Nature. What do you see, hear, smell, touch?
You might look for something that symbolizes a characteristic of God that you want to know and experience. Like HOPE, PEACE, SECURITY, LOVE etc.
You might choose something that symbolizes a characteristic of God that you have experienced today or this season in your life.
Or Watch for symbols of what Jesus is doing in your life… Or what He longs to do.
Consider writing about this in your journal, describing the way in which what you have found is a tangible expression of your encounter with God through creation. - Share your experience with someone… or do this as a group… walk individually but then come back together and share what God showed you.
- And check out Ed Goode’s website. He has beautiful photography and more viso divina meditations you might enjoy. And leads Contemplative Photography classes in Cincinnati, OH and online. Ed also sells his photographs at imagoimages.net
©lillylewin and freerangeworship.com
The beginning of lockdown unleashed a burst of creative energies inside of me, which really helped me to process the tremendous stress and uncertainty we were facing. You see, my husband lost his job due to the pandemic and began volunteering at a local NPO. We had plans that were forced up into the air and together with the world at large, are having to face the unknown one day at a time.
At a stage in the process, I found the wells of creativity drying up. I found myself entering a cocoon. I feel change shaping a new awareness. I feel myself trying to figure out the way forward, while healing the past, and at the same time discerning how to be present in the now with peace and trust! And it is here that I am trying to cultivate some daily practices to use as rhythms to help navigate these passages of great uncertainty.
Some of the variety of RESOURCES (I use the free version in all of these apps) that have been helping me have been:
Hallow app: hallow.app/share/SUU78V
- A Catholic-based app with a number of daily meditations to choose from. Under the Dailies section, you can try the Daily Gospel, Meditation, Examen. They have made the entire “Stuck at Home” Praylist freely available.
Soulspace: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chois.soulspace&hl=en_US
- Today’s Meditation is available freely on a daily basis with a quote and beautiful artwork to accompany. Their courses “Stability in Shaky Times” and “Peace in Political Uncertainty” are available free for the moment.
Soultime: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.soultime.app&hl=en_US
- Nature backgrounds with peaceful sounds, Bible readings, and several free meditations to listen to along themes such as 6 Days of Soultime, Hope in the Storm, Scripture for Comfort, Scripture for Peace.
YouVersion: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sirma.mobile.bible.android&hl=en_US
- Bible reading app, read or listen to scripture, choose from thousands of themed devotionals.
Abide: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=is.abide&hl=en_US
- Daily meditations along different themes and many themed meditations to listen to in the freely available version. Also, you will find long meditations on Youtube at Abide Sleep Meditations:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClSf95kSFthb2NNHle4a7fw
Pray as you Go: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=pl.foxcode.prayasyougo&hl=en_US
- Daily meditations with music and scripture plus questions for personal contemplation.
Lectio 365: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.prayer247.lectio365&hl=en_US
- Daily meditations with scripture readings and questions for reflection.
Fiton: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fiton.android&hl=en_US
- Movement, stretching, at home exercises and health.
Centering Prayer: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.contemplativeoutreach.centeringprayer&hl=en_US
- An app we use together with our children – you can set times for a centering sit that is accessible for younger pray-ers.
Spotify: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spotify.music&hl=en_US
- Create your own music playlist of choice, listen to thousands of songs, discover new music in the genre of your choice.
One of the areas this time of uncertainty has brought to light is a feeling of “out of control”. When the universe of stars, expanding matter and inexplicable wonders is pointing us to putting control beyond self, to the Great One who made it all, and who continues to make and create our…life…plans…dreams…desires…and hopes. Even when they seem to be at a dead-end.
I have to remind my heart of these things… that it is never too late and there is never a day of impossible with God. That Thomas with all of his doubts was the only person Jesus invited to engage in a personal encounter with his wounds, placing his hand into the side and wounds made by nails and a sword. With an invitation…to believe. In Jesus we will discover places inside of ourselves as yet unexplored if we take up the invitation with a simple yes and find that courage in the eyes of children does in fact exist within ourselves. A simple yes in the eyes of God is a wonderful thing.
For those of you who would like to pursue centering prayer with your children, here is some of our experience:
We began activating times of listening prayer with our girls around the beginning of 2019, starting at ages 6, 8 and 10. We use the Centering Prayer app by Contemplative Outreach and choose a beginning prayer, a start sound of birdsong, or singing bowl etc. and then silence of, at first, 3 minutes, now we’ve moved to 4 minutes, it closes with a sound of your choice and then I close with a scripture before our time of sharing which I record on my phone.
Firstly, I encourage each of the girls to choose a word they would like to hold in God’s presence such as joy, peace, grace, love etc. to begin the time of prayer with a focal point.
Then, I encourage them to ask Jesus, What would you like to share with me today?
It’s as simple as that, and what started out as a bit of a challenge (to sit still etc.) has now become an expected rhythm and practice. How wonderful to know that we do not have to wait until we are old enough to read, or have a quiet time, or sit through a sermon… to have a relationship with God. Everyone can have a conversation with Jesus.
Each of the girls gets a picture, which is where I encourage them to ask Jesus for the interpretation. They get words from Jesus that encourage them and all of us. A simple sentence or two mostly together with a symbolic picture. About their identity, or a comfort, reassurance, or prophetic hope.
Early on in our times, my one daughter had a vision. She saw a priest kneeling at an altar with a living lamb on it. A knife had fallen from his hands onto the floor.
I said, “Do you see that Jesus is saying you don’t need to make a sacrifice to pay for your sins, because the perfect Lamb of God has already taken your sins away when He died for you on the cross! You don’t need to work to be good for God! He has done it all for you! He loves you so much!”
Even when we feel grumpy and don’t feel like it, we have come out uplifted and encouraged as we share this time together.
I say to the girls, find your own comfortable spot, with no distractions, and close your eyes. That’s it and it takes all in all about 10 minutes.
Jesus overheard them and said, ‘I want little children to come to me, so never interfere with them when they want to come, for heaven’s kingdom realm is composed of beloved ones like these! Listen to this truth: No one will enter the kingdom realm of heaven unless he becomes like one of these!’”
Matthew 19:14 TPT
‘This is what I will do in the last days—I will pour out my Spirit on everybody and cause your sons and daughters to prophesy, and your young men will see visions, and your old men will experience dreams from God.'”
Acts 2:17 TPT
by Tom Sine
Recently, we posted an article sounding a warning that recession next is going to hammer Gen next unless we take steps to expand options for Gen Z!
This is a wake-up call that the Pandemic Recession is already having a much more devastating impact on our black and brown neighbors than any prior economic crisis in US History according to the Washington Post.
Waking Up to a Growing Economic Divide
The most current report on the Pandemic Recession to this point reveals that “Hispanic Americans saw the steepest initial employment losses and still have the most ground to catch up to reach pre-pandemic employment.”
The recovery is also spread unequally. “White Americans have recovered more than half of their jobs between April and February. Meanwhile, Black Americans have recovered just over a third of employment lost in the pandemic.” The wealthy have experienced little pain from this recession and many of them could help finance major job training opportunities.
In 2019, before this recession began, “the median income for white families was $69,000 compared with $40,300 for Black families and $40,700 for Hispanic families.”
This Pandemic recession is widening the gap further between white, Black and Hispanic families. Research shows that some of greatest burden of this recession has fallen on mothers. They have become part or full time teachers as well as trying to work. Too many these days are also struggling to provide enough food for their children.
“’There are very clear winners and losers here. The losers are just being completely crushed. If the winners fail to bring the losers along, everyone will lose,’ said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics.”
With so many of us, our neighbors, and their families struggling to survive, we need all of our churches to wake up to this opportunity for compassionate creativity. In these turbulent times, it is essential all our churches to join those congregations to shift their attention from a little token charity to creating new forms of serious neighborhood empowerment.
Churches Shifting From Token Charity to Neighborhood Empowerment
As churches are struggling with all the issues about how to gather and meet, there are a few churches in recent years who are part of an epidemic of imagination. A growing number of congregations, who are no longer meeting in their sanctuaries, are activating their church kitchens. They are using their kitchens to prepare school lunches for kids in their community whose families are among those who are struggling to get by.
In recent years, I am discovered a growing number of churches that were choosing to move from a little charity to serious neighborhood empowerment in times like these. For example, a few years ago, the Colonial Church in the Twin Cities sold some of their property for $2 million dollars and wanted to find creative ways to make a real difference in their community. So, they took 20% of the income from the sale to launch ways to achieve real neighborhood empowerment called: Innové that I mentioned in an earlier post. Essentially, Innové was a very imaginative invention to bring lasting change to the lives of those in their communities. It offers a concrete way that many churches could shift from token charity to serous empowerment in this pandemic recession.
Innove was an innovative approach that begins by inviting young people in the Twin cities and their ideas in social change-making to an annual contest. Each year, the winning team was given money from the property sale to help them launch. They also had a support team of business professionals from the church who volunteered their time to help them launch.
The first year winner was Leah and her launch team. They became increasingly concerned that major sectors in the poorer neighborhoods were “food deserts”, where there were virtually no grocery stores. Those that did exist were often very expensive with no fresh produce. Leah and her team used the money they received to purchase an old school bus. That was the beginning of the Mobile Market. They filled their bus with a selection of reasonably priced food and fresh produce. With the help of their business support team, they not only successfully launched but they purchased 3 more buses. The last time I heard, many people in underserved neighborhoods in the Twin Cities were very grateful for Leah and her team of young innovators for this highly valued social innovation. (Taken from “Live Like You Give A Damn: Join the Changemaking Celebration” by Tom Sine)
Could your church join those congregations that are creating ideas for local change-making in your neighborhood? Your church might even come up with innovative job training programs to enable all of your neighbors particularly focusing on those of color to become employed again. Can you imagine the lasting difference your church could make in the lives of your neighbors as we all struggle to find our way out of this harsh Pandemic Recession? Do share any examples your church creates. We would love to share some of the new ventures you are creating with our other readers.
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