intentions

Fresh Start

/ JJS / Leave a comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 54; 146, 1 Kings 1:32-2:4 (5-46a) 46b, Acts 26:24-27:8, Mark 13:28-37

It’s not unusual for a new CEO to clean house and hire in a team better suited to their vision. Outgoing pastors traditionally steer clear of the congregation for months or years so the new minister can get as fresh a start as possible. There is often unfinished business the outgoing leader, for whatever reason, did not resolve. Sharp transitions open a psychological door for change to enter.

Like many leaders, David was entirely aware of what he’d left undone. Before he died, he advised his son and successor Solomon on the unfinished business of the kingdom. Most of it was in the form of disloyal advisors and rivals who had thus far been spared punishment. Solomon, in what could be considered a pretty hostile takeover, had them all executed within three years.

We can’t go around executing those who hold us back from a fresh start, but we may need to make some seemingly brutal decisions.

The biggest impediment to change is not a lack of will, but lack of understanding how change happens. Recovering addicts and paroled criminals who return to the environments where their troubles began are significantly more likely to relapse than those who find somewhere else to go. Those are extreme examples, but when we are ready to take the next step on a spiritual journey, we first need to identify what’s kept us from taking that step so far. Friends? Comfort? Habit? What rewards us for staying where we are instead of going where we want to be? We must change that first.

It’s important to remember that’s going to be different in tone and purpose than a typical career-minded change. We aren’t trying to promote or exalt ourselves, but rather to grow more humble, more servant-like. That may cost us relationships and status. It will certainly cost us comfort. These changes are difficult and scary, and therefore easy to avoid or backslide. We can set ourselves up for success by making it more difficult to remain or go back than to move forward. If you can’t get off the couch, give it away.

Comfort: Change is possible…

Challenge: … but you have to make it possible.

Prayer: Hear the voice of my supplication, as I cry to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary. (Psalm 28:2)

Discussion: What’s the best change you’ve ever made? How did you do it?

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What Counts

/ JJS / Leave a comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 56; 149, Isaiah 66:1-6, 1 Timothy 6:(1-5) 6-21, Mark 12:35-44

“It’s the thought that counts.”

If someone selects what they think is the perfect gift, but we don’t care for it, that’s probably true. On the other hand, if someone spends a month intending to visit us in our sick bed but never shows up … not so much.

Christians are taught actions do not save us, but we are also taught we must think the right things – namely that accepting Christ as our savior is the only way to salvation. However, we are far more comfortable with rules than abstract ideas so we often reduce that acceptance to a set of “correct” words, pronouncements, and expressions. This creates a paradox: we are freed from the law of actions by reinventing it as a law of belief. The danger is that adhering to this new law becomes just as meaningless if it bounces off our tongues without ever piercing our hearts.

Regarding its religious practices and sacrifices, Isaiah told the nation of Israel:

Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who kills a human being;
whoever sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog’s neck.

The Lord was angry because the people of Israel made their prescribed sacrifices and said the required prayers, but practiced no compassion for the widows, orphans, and outcasts among them. Is hiding an unloving heart behind a law of actions substantially different from hiding one behind a law of religiously correct thought and speech?

When a poor widow dropped two all-but-worthless coins into the temple treasury, Jesus told his disciples hers was the greatest gift, because others had “contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had.” Our own abundance may be measured in more ways than finances. It may also be measured in privilege, freedom, comfort, etc. If we believe the “right” things, but give only from abundance, have we really embraced all the implications of accepting the sacrificial love of Christ? True acceptance motivates us to acts of compassion and sacrifice not because we must, but because loving Christ is more than a thought.

Comfort: Christ invites us to relationship, not religion.

Challenge: Examine where you have abundance. Could you give until you feel the pinch?

Prayer: I seek to love as Christ loves, to share the abundance of his grace. Amen.

Discussion: What do you think about but never seem to get around to?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group , visit comfortandchallenge.tumblr.com, or follow @comf_and_chall on Twitter. You’ll  have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!

Big Rocks

/ JJS / Leave a comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 63; 149, Nahum 3:8-19, Revelation 13:11-18, Luke 12:32-48

Dr. Stephen Covey tells a story about a professor trying to teach his students a life lesson. He puts some large rocks in a jar until no more will fit. Everyone agrees the jar looks full, but he pulls out some gravel and pours as much as he can to settle between the rocks. Everyone again agrees the jar looks full, so he pulls out some sand and pours it in to fill every last bit of space. The point of the story is not that you can always fit more in, but that you have to start with the big stuff.

Jesus beat Dr. Covey to the point by about two thousand years when he said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Faith is a big rock, but because we know God is always going to be there, it’s easy to think we can drop it into the jar of life at any time. While we delay, the less important things fill our lives like sand pouring into an hourglass. We say, “I will have time for mission projects after work settles down” or “I will give to charity after my car is paid off.” Except work never settles down, and there’s always another bill to pay, so before we know it the jar is topped off and the big rocks never make it in.

Most of us aren’t prepared for how busy and difficult life can get, and in the heat of the moment we mistake the urgent for the important. Intentions mean nothing if we don’t prioritize them. When there’s a discrepancy between what we say is important, and what we devote our time and resources to, we better examine the contents of our jar or the content of our heart. If good intentions pave the proverbial road to hell, it’s a road paved in sand and gravel.

It’s not too late. Christ has a fresh, new jar waiting for you. Let go of the sand that filled the old one, and let him show you where to find the big rocks.

Comfort: Being intentional about the big things, and the small things will fall in place.

Challenge: Do a time study of your week. Are you spending time where you think you are? Where you think you should be?

Prayer: Lord of Heaven and Earth, I will honor you with the first fruits of my time, my talents, and my treasure. Amen.

Discussion: Is there a story – Biblical or otherwise – that leaves you wondering what happens next?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group or follow @comf_and_chall on Twitter. You’ll  have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!

Crash Course

/ JJS / 1 Comment

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Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 15; 147:1-11, Hosea 13:1-3, Acts 27:9-26, Luke 9:1-17

Imagine you are a sailor on the Mediterranean sea two thousand years ago. Your crew has been charged with transporting a prisoner from Jerusalem to stand trial before the Emperor in Rome. It’s almost winter, and many ships have already docked to wait out the angry weather until spring. Your captain though is eager to complete this voyage and sets sail. The prisoner has the nerve to suggest a delay. He is probably none too eager to meet his fate, you think. Trusting in your captain, the idols you’ve tucked into your bunk, and the value of your cargo, you set sail with the rest of the crew.

And then it turns out the prisoner was right. The swells are impossible to navigate. The ship stops a few times, makes reinforcements, but eventually finds itself helpless before the mighty wind. The crew curses as they throw cargo overboard and watch their profits sink. Then, in desperation, they toss over the tackle. The prisoner, damn his eyes, calmly tells everyone they will survive, but they’re going to have to run the ship aground. And you know he’s right.

The truth made Paul unpopular. No one likes the guy telling them they have to crash to survive. We especially don’t like him when he’s right. Once in a while we take a brave step out of the box and deliver the unpopular message, but more often than we are Paul, we are the sailor – or Pharisee – grumbling and ignoring that guy so we have more time to listen to the guy who tells us what we want to hear … even as things fall apart around us.

The truth is, sometimes you have to crash your ship – or throw profit overboard, or abandon your ideology, or wreck your comfort – to save your life. God doesn’t set out to ruin you, but if you’ve stubbornly stuck to the foolish course, the disaster may have to play out before you can move on. God will wait as long as it takes to find your safe harbor. The truth, however difficult, is your guiding star.

Comfort: When you decide to correct course, no matter difficult, we are drawing nearer to God.

Challenge: Plan a an hour of solitude each week to meditate on the direction your life is taking. Perhaps keep a notebook or journal of what you’d like to correct, how you might do it, what difficulties you might encounter, and your progress. End each session with a prayer of thanks to God for being with you.

Prayer: Thank you, God, for second, third, and fourth chances. Guide my steps so they might always lead me toward you. Amen.

Discussion: What efforts have you made to improve yourself?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group or follow @comf_and_chall on Twitter. You’ll  have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!