Living Unfiltered for God

Today, we are going to finish our discussion of St. Francis of Assisi's Peace Prayer. The last few posts have been spent looking at how it would look if we actually lived our lives they way he suggests in the first half of this prayer. What would it look like if we actually sowed things like love, pardon (forgiveness), faith, hope, light and joy into the world and the lives of those around us? We decided it would take looking like we're living life counter-culturally; living in a way that is not necessarily the norm for today's society. Today we will look at the second half of the prayer. To me, the unasked question that is begged is, " What are you seeking? " O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive,  it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,  and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. As I read t...

Earlier this month we talked about waiting... Waiting for Christmas to come and waiting to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I wanted to take a little more time though, to talk about how we should wait and what it is we are waiting for... David spoke a lot of waiting. You can find this theme in many of the Psalms.  I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. ( Psalm 130:5-6 ) For David, waiting seemed to be almost a physical act. The way he describes the process of waiting, it's almost like it's something palpable. And he waited with hope. Hope is such an important aspect of waiting. Without hope, waiting isn't something positive, it turns to something more related to fear, or dread. With hope, though, there is promise. Something to look forward to; something we are earnestly desiring - much like Christma...

When do you start listening to Christmas music in your house? That's usually a question that has a definite answer. in our home, it's typically the Friday after Thanksgiving - that's the day that we usually break out the Christmas music and start. I must confess though, this year I started a little earlier. I had a CD or two in my car going before Thanksgiving. For some reason, I was anxious to get an early start! One of the great things about Christmas music, especially if you are Christian, is that singing about Christ becomes "mainstream"! Sure there are lots of Christmas carols that really have nothing to do with Christ, but many of them do. And in regards to those that do, I have a couple a couple of questions for you... Do you really listen to the words? Do you really think about the lyrics that you are singing? Have you thought about the power of what we are proclaiming when we sing some of these songs? One of my favorites is "O Holy Night...

As we mentioned the other day, as much as this is a joyful time of year, it seems that difficulties and stress have a way of attacking us in a special kind of way in the days leading up to Christmas. I tend to view much of life through the lens of spiritual warfare, so this makes sense to me. What other time of year, besides Easter, is the focus so much on Jesus and what He has meant to our world? Of course the enemy wants to attack us now! Of course he wants us to take our eyes off of what's important and try to make us focus on what's wrong with the world and even our lives. One of my favorite accounts from the old testament is in 2 Chronicles:20 . Word had come to Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, that they were about to be attacked by a huge army. He was about to be in a situation that, in his own strength, there would be nothing he could do.  What he could do though, was pray. And so he did, in a very public way for all to hear. And at  the end of the prayer, he s...

We have just returned from the CFO family camp that we attend every summer. Over the last ten years it has become one of the highlights of our year. It was while there last year that God placed on my heart the whole concept of living unfiltered for Him and inspired me to create this blog. I thought it was fitting then, to include something in this space that I wrote while I was there this year. Destinations "Destination". It's such a funny word. It sounds so final. It almost woos us towards itself - with the promise of arriving - arriving at our "destination". The truth is, there are really many destinations in our lives. The root of the word, too - destiny - tends to make us think that there is only one - that at some point you "get there". But no, while we do have one final destiny - one final destination - that of spending eternity worshiping with Jesus - life is a journey. A journey with multiple seasons, multiple phases of our lives. Our ci...

On this Easter morning, as we rejoice in celebration of our risen Savior, let's be grateful for the obedience that Jesus displayed to make this day a reality. It really was the ultimate act of obedience to God. Three times Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, three times asking God if there was another way, and hearing from our Father that there was not, three times said, "may Your will be done." ( Matthew 26:36-42 )  I've often wondered of the significance of the number three here. The number three typically represents divine completeness. It is used often in scripture. For example, Peter denied Christ three times (after the rooster crowed three times), and Jesus later reinstated Peter by asking him three times if he loved him. For me, an even closer parallel for the garden prayer is found in John's account of what took place right before Jesus was arrested. Jesus prayed three times - once for himself, once for his disciples, and a final time for all...

Several evenings ago I attended a memorial service for a friend's husband. I didn't realize it but he was 11 days younger than me. That gets your attention. As I was waiting to pay my respects to my friend, now a widow with twin 3-year-old daughters, I thought about how they handled the last couple of years through his illness. They navigated it with strength, courage, and an unwavering faith. There was always a subtle confidence that came through in every update of their journey. And now, that part of the journey over, as I spoke with my friend another confidence was exhibited. That of knowing where her husband was - celebrating with Jesus in Heaven - and knowing that whatever future may be in store for her and her girls, God has it all under control.  This is exactly what our pastor was referring to in his message last Sunday when he taught us that we must have, " confidence, even when we don't have clarity. " The same confidence that Jonathan had when attack...

What came into your mind when you first read the title above? Did you even think about it? If not, and even if you did, take a brief moment now to think about what it is that causes you fear. I'd like for you to have something in mind as you read what follows.  Now that you have something specific in mind, let me ask you another question... Is God bigger than whatever it is you came up with? Before you start arguing with me in your head, think about it. Whatever that thing is that you're thinking about, don't you think that God, specifically your faith in God, can help you overcome that fear? It has been said many times that the opposite of fear is not courage, but faith. Faith is what gets us through. Faith is what gives us the ability to be courageous. When God spoke to Joshua and told him to "be strong and courageous" it was followed with the assurance that He (God) would be with Joshua "wherever you go" ( Joshua 1:9 ). Joshua had to have faith...

I thought it would be good to look at what "living unfiltered for God" looks like using an example from the lives of the apostles. In Luke 5:4-11 , we have a great example of Simon (who would become Peter) being obedient to the words and call of Jesus. The story presents a model that we all (should) go through when living in obedience to God. Recognize His voice. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything.” (Luke 5:4-5a) At this point in the story, Simon had just been listening to Jesus teach, (from his own boat, actually). By referring to Jesus as Master, he was acknowledging that there was something different, something divine, about Jesus. Simon knew that he should listen and pay close attention to what Jesus had to say. Do what He says (even if it seems a little crazy). But because you say so, I will let down the nets...

"The voice of the Lord is powerful;  The voice of the Lord is majestic."   ( Psalm 29:4 ) We've been talking a lot in this space about the importance of doing what God says when He tells us to do something. The idea of which makes up the basis of living the unfiltered life that we desire. He speaks, we act. When we hear His prompting, we obey. This all begs the question though, how exactly do we go about actually hearing what He is saying? How do we hear His majestic voice? How do we know what it is we are supposed to do? We're not necessarily talking about the " What is God's will for my life? " type of question right now. That is more of a big picture, long term discernment type of issue. While that is very much a part of the unfiltered life, what we want to focus on for now are those gentle, subtle promptings and hearing that "still small voice". I don't claim to have a lot of answers on this one but I can share what I've l...

How easy is it for you to trust someone? Do you automatically do so, or does the trust have to be earned, or built? What about with God? Does He have to earn it? How do you grow your trust with Him? What types of things grow your trust in the Lord?  I think these questions are pertinent, because if we are going to truly live an "unfiltered" life for God, we have to learn to trust Him. Really trust Him. Trust Him with a "more than we trust anyone or anything in the world" kind of trust. He's going to ask us to do things, to go places and to say things that may not be comfortable. For us to be able to do them, we'll have to trust that it will all work out OK.  So how do we make this happen? Our pastor offered up some clues regarding this last Sunday during his message on  Delighting in the Lord . He said something that really made a lot of sense... That our faith starts with obedience, but then it moves to trust. That the best way to increase your trust ...