Mr. Oswald Chambers (the copyrights to the photo have expired)
Rarely do devotional classics of the caliber of Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest disappoint.
I’ll have you know, this classic is like the Chuck Norris of devotions.
Each day you can be encouraged my the divine inspiration that came through his pen for these short devotions. (Oh, you know, calm down… I’m not saying it’s The Bible. It’s just, simply put, (in academic terms I learned in graduate school)…. “frickin’ awesome”.
Find it here. Just add it to you bookmarks and be done with the searching, already.
Time needed 3-6 min: Your spiritual challenge today is…
Ever wonder how, or if, the Baptists are related to the Methodists? Or the Quakers from the Mennonites?
I’ve been enjoying this site, and I subscribe to their blog, Parchment and Pen. Today they sent an interesting diagram of Christian tradition in tree form (family tree of God?)
Christian tradition diagram (click to get to their site)
Is this a crab-apple tree? Or the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Or maybe….
Old Spice gives us a great take on manliness; über coup for Isaiah Mustafa today!
link
Is God manly?
We live in the shadowlands. The goodness and love we find is a shadow of perfection, of the Eternal Mind. God, the Divine. The source of pure love and goodness, or mercy and grace.
God is not the father you had, God is the Father (or mother) you wish you had, and still need.
At the moment, I don’t think it can be better shown than in this clip of precious love that sees us through. (Olympian, Derek Redmond and his dad. It’s great stuff.)
Friends, let us love each other this way. VIDEO LINK
I use the word “training” here, because if I used the word “discipline” it would be an immediate turn off. You may just click away in a huff or something. I’m tip toeing around for you this time.
Discipline has a “dirty word” feel to it now, right? We seem to associate it with pain for the sake of gain, or something too hard, or bothersome. Really, a disciple is a person in a training mode, learning, and absorbing things meant to improve him and his life.
This post is the third installment to deconstruct and renovate our lives that have taken on the “personal reality show” traits. This default setting we have to center our lives around our desires, wants, needs, and shortcomings, keep us stuck. Gone is the life-giving existence that comes from understanding that Reality is the realm of God–It’s not about us. We are invited into a richer, deeper Story that isn’t gained or lost with our successes or failures. God is the Star of the show, and it’s his Story. This is a life lived in the realm of peace/shalom. Lay your burdens down, friend.
You may have some ideas in mind of what life looks like once this changeover has been made. I’m hoping you’ll share your ideas about it. I’ll 5 ways a person lives out a greater Story, and maybe we can all learn something.
When you live the bigger Story…
1. You regularly make and keep unlikely friends.
You don’t see people as tools for your own purposes, or to satisfy your desires and needs. No one is beneath you in the social strata, because you can well see that it’s not your story, but God’s. God’s Story includes all people, so you do too.
2. You regularly give to those who cannot repay you.
(Volunteer) Your actions stop being about personal gratification and getting ahead in some way. Giving freely punctuates this idea. You realize that generosity is life-giving in its own right, and it’s a win-win situation.
3. You shut up more, ask questions, and wait for the full answer.
Talking with people isn’t about saying something, being heard, or pitching some kind of agenda. It’s about the other person. You ask questions to know better, to understand better, and you give up the selfishness inherent in small story communication.
4. You stop self-promoting.
Making sure others see you in a certain light doesn’t balloon anymore as a thrust of your interactions. Sharing has nothing to do with making yourself look good, or impressing people. The self-centeredness is gutted from your words and actions, making life about something far bigger and better than you.
5. You listen.
In small stories we listen to get an edge. Sometimes what we call “listening” is really just pausing briefly out of some rudimentary convention, so that when we speak, we can be better heard (but only because we aren’t literally talking over someone). It boils down to merely “listening” for a chance to speak; but this is not genuine listening. When we listen, we change. The interaction makes us somehow different than we were before.
If you train with these 5 ways of interacting and seeing Reality in mind, it will give you no choice but to improve your life as you yield to a bigger Story.
