Enjoy the Garden...

"Every day, when Adam and Eve walked by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they had to remember they were never created to have it all. There is always something missing in life. This is, in fact, the mark of a created being, for only God is whole and complete, lacking nothing. The missing part of our lives can either drive us crazy to the point where we lose paradise by reaching for more than we currently possess, or it can become the best altar for our prayers, where we remind ourselves of our dependence on God. When we understand how dependent we really are, we become free to enjoy the rest of the garden, as well as the people inside it, without trying to make them our savior."
-Sacred Thirst; by Craig Barnes

Another moment

Today...after dropping off my son at school, I noticed the brightness of the sun. It was odd. It was beautiful really...it immediately reminded me of the grandeur of God. Immediately I began thinking...or was enabled by the Spirit of He who is alive within me...to consider the victory of Christ. He is the initiator of "success". He designed me...you..all of "this" that is present. The Light put on skin. He became one of His own and revealed a plan. This same "plan" was simply His version of a dramatic love story and the reality of a rescue plan.

A plan to rescue...me. Forever. That's the Promise of God.

This...today, was just one reminder of His truths. Be encouraged...you can face today. The love of God is real...and true...the warmth and light of the Designer abound!

Blessings,

-ao

What’s “ministry” got to do with it?

 

I have a friend who recently told me to go and be “the 65 year old man” in my community – the one who isn’t afraid. The one who won’t back down and ‘tells it like it is’. He said, to be the man who God has called me, already, to be….and actually is.

What would it be like? If I would not feel that time is owed and practice needs rendered in my own life and ministry in order to earn something along the way where I would then….whenever that really is…have the opportunity, the respect, the reputation or whatever else to be in ministry. Would I then be able to tell others about Jesus in a different way? Would I be Godlier than I am now or ever will be? The bible says I have have inherited “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms…” – it’s present tense. Not will-be, or shall become, or one day when every tongue confesses and at the 2nd coming, etc. – but I HAVE ALL of God’s blessings from His infinitely wonderful and eternal Kingdom within me, now!! Christ in me. This is reason enough to believe in who’s I am and not what I am or what I will become. So, Andy; stop acting like your time is coming, and, in the name of Jesus, GO, now…and BE the man you are.

I have been camping here off and on in my heart…and this a.m. during some reading time I thought of this a little bit…It wasn’t just my life, but the lives of those around me who embark on this same journey. A journey to reflect the love of God and invest in lives of teenagers in our community. Young Life leaders. Youth Pastors. Friends. Followers of Christ. His body, really. I wondered, “What are we doing?” ; “Are we pursuing the love of God?”; “How do we know that we know the love of Jesus and are truly known by Him?”

Is there any evidence in your life that you KNOW Jesus? Is there any evidence in my life of what my words, my blogging, my tweets, my emails and my “title” would SAY I (so called) am?  According to Jesus….there better be. It’s worth consideration. What about those I’m partnered with? Can we simply rely on a cool t-shirt or a plethora of ministry momentum and “success” to gain an interest in what the Savior has done for us? Can we rely on this and follow a pattern of “ministry” but really live in a middle-of-the-road life pattern? This means not actually following Jesus and His words. It’s a big deal. Another friend of mine says, “How will we know if John or Jane Doe truly IS a Christian…..we’ll see!” What he means is by a reflection of their lives.

Here’s one way of seeing it:

What I do comes from who I am; who I am comes from who’s I am…and who I am called to be.

Or, as one ‘old, black preacher’ put it, “…Be who you is, and don’t be who you ain’t…” (Ragamuffin Gospel; Brennan Manning)

So, friends in ministry – what are we doing? Where do we stand? Do we say it….believe it….or do we know it and practice it all the better?

Are we standing at the gates of Hell? Are we fighting off those who have yet to see or hear or even really understand? Are we reminding and telling and living in a way as we suit up for battle…a war…a stand off against the other side – the one created by God who wanted equality with God or greater….so God sent him to be punished – forever. In the process he is allowed to attempt to terrorize you and me. And he tempts us in many ways to believe our way is better than God’s. I think our own way in its core – is the way of God; yet there is one who is really good at deceiving our minds and hearts. Therefore, we must stand at the gates of Hell….and point to the One who is everlasting life and love. We must live a life of one who has been changed by the Redeemer and has “changed direction”(repented) and wears the gear every day to, with the Love of God, encourage not only the saints….but the others – all of them….all of us. We must point to the love and embrace and saving power of Christ Jesus….into eternity in Heaven with God the Father.

Will you do this?

Will we cloth the unclothed? Will we be ones who stand up at Club and proclaim Jesus..will we attend church and raise children to sing “Jesus loves me, this I know…for the Bible tells me so…” and yet bypass those who are in need? Will we forget to communicate the gospel in our very lives only to “communicate” the message of Jesus with our lips alone?? The message of God’s love is imperative that more than lip service occur – we must be affected…if we are not “seized by the power of a great Affection….” we have no effect. Perhaps we have no reality other than ultimate parting-of-ways with a loving God. Can we love Jesus and teenagers and anyone else in the way Jesus told us to? Can we communicate the gospel and yet live it out, too? Well, that was the intent…..somehow we have botched it. But, in Christ, I can look to Him and receive IN Him all I ever need – He will send me out to do “all these things and more” and to do “greater things” than what was once done.

If Jesus came to reveal the love of God. I suppose I am to reveal Jesus. If I am to reveal Jesus, perhaps my life should reflect the same message of Christ. I think that’s a good place to start. My life. Reflecting the love of Jesus.

Will I really do this? Will I do this or simply hand out “lolly pops” of “sweet” mercies to my high school friends, others in the church, and encourage those around me to eat from a bag of goodies which lasts only a little while and is a temporary token of what is designed to be forever and is very real: The Gospel. The love of Jesus Christ.

Do we know the love of God? By what evidence…..

 

Blessings,

-ao

Words...and He makes it all: Jan. 23rd

At the edge of the horizon there's a great clash of two powers..a collision of Dark & Light. After this colossal stalemate...Light emerges.

"Trust in him at all times, O people;

pour out your heart before him;

God is a refuge for us." -Psalm 62:8 ESV

A yearning within has two possible sources, belonging to the One who formed us...centered in Him, or belonging to a desire that is not Him.

..and, still, underneath it all...is the One. He is in all things. Holding all things together...even if we can't "see". #fullnessofGod

-overflow of Psalm 62:1-8 & Col. 1:15-23


May the Love of God seep into our hearts on this day!

Blessings,

-ao

He Knows my Name

If God, who is acquainted with all our ways, offers the richness of giving what we could never earn,perhaps a willingness to receive is due.


The picture that God knows me inside and out...a God of power & intimacy..who created me yet remains involved not only with His creation, but within my life everyday. He is acquainted with all of my ways (Psalm 139) yet His grace, the giving of what is not deserved..or the receiving of it, is offered me and I am to walk along in my life living in a manner worthy of Him?

Sure. Whatever. Completely true.

Yes, but how...

"..And the secret is simply this, Christ in you, yrs, Christ in you!" -Col. 1:27 JB Phillips

May we remain in looking up to a God who knows our name..sees every tear...is keenly aware of our thoughts, and He hears when we call.

Belonging to the Father....

Blessings,

-ao

Out of the overflow....

This week, I am sitting in the themed, "Made in His Image" of  'The Blue Book' After my time in Advent and into Epiphany season...it seems the Lord is leading me to guided and structured times with Him. Some of these postings, if not most, will come out of the overflow of my time in the Word. Here is today's...

  As the rising of the sun...there is light...reminding us of the Light & the Image Bearer hurled into existence; we are heirs of its majesty.

This was the overflow of Psalm 8 & Colossians 3:1-10 along with some readings for reflection (see Blue Book).

Blessings,

-ao

When u fail...turn around..again.

Luke 22:32

"But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."

..turn back..strengthen brothers. BOTH are for me. I have failed...have turned back. Daily. Maybe, too, those around me..may be strengthened.

-a lil bit from my time with Jesus today

Blessings,

-ao

Test Post

Testing an app. Posts to come soon from my phone again.

Blessings,
-ao

Messiness is a place where hope lives

 

Hi, how are you?

How’s it going?

What’s new? How’s the family – was your Christmas good?

How are you doing?

It’s a series of common questions when people encounter one another. The meaninglessness of random “hellos” along with the “how are you doing” questions that are followed by random conversations that have no intent or meaning – a matter of conversational rite of passage, per se. It’s been almost two weeks since Christmas morning and now the hustle and bustle of the holidays are over, and the next retail magnets begin to move in for their versions of attraction to any of us who would give in to our shopping temptations and tendencies. Yet, there continues to be encounters with people who will ask, as if they really mean it, “Hi, how are you?” but what they mean is “hello” – and can’t say it. It’s not the norm….it’s not what we are accustomed to. People want to be cordial and want to be interested but the problem is – most are not interested, they are preoccupied and their own lives are so full they have a mess that is leaking out of their ears….because of their self imposed fullness; or, so they think.

People would ask Olivia and me about our Christmas and we would reply how it was and what we thought of and encountered. It began as something good but turned into a bit of a “I need to put the brakes on this conversation” mode because, for some of those talks, we could tell the other person was passing by and saying hi, but since there are Christmas trees and holiday greeting cards out, it makes sense to ask about the holidays as a general greeting to others. We wanted to talk about Christmas. We wanted to talk about Jesus. We wanted to tell (and still do) the story of what Christmas means in our home and how we have worked to celebrate Christ and His birth and our family time together…and how excited we have been to greet others this time of year and more than that, to cozy up at home and be a family. But, maybe that isn’t “for” all those other people – just the ones who might really want to know. I once heard a friend say that when others ask how you are doing, if you REALLY told them how you REALLY are doing….you would quickly find out who your REAL friends are. So, when people ask, I try and answer in an honest way rather than a passing by of social greetings. Sometimes, I get the hint and shorten my responses.

So, what about Christmas? What about my house? What about the mess? What about when people say, “ours was good, how about you….” – do they really mean it? Well, they asked….so I tell. I wonder if sometimes they, or we, or I would say it like it is – what would be different?

Hi, how was your Christmas?

     -Great! It was nuts. It was messy, the house is crazy, there is stuff everywhere….wrapping paper that hasn’t been thrown away, boxes that are all over the house, dishes are out and unclean, left overs are still on the counter and drying out – the toys are spread out, the needles of our tree are hosed and prickling everyone in the living room. The t.v. is on all the time, music is playing, the trash needs taken out and we laid out of church because we could…..yes we celebrated the birth of Jesus like never before….yes it was the Godliest Christmas at home I have been a part of – yes, our lives are and certainly can be a wreck….but, hey! Big deal!!! It was awesome!

Seems okay, during the holidays to have this wonderful and acceptable laziness greeted with divine embrace and Godly experience…equaling a joyful Christmas and family time. However, what if THIS was the everyday experience? What if the mess and the food and the madhouse affect was a typical scenario? Would we really tell others? Would it be okay? What would people think….

They would think our lives were a mess. They would think we don’t have it together. They would think we were a bit of a wreck. Hmmm, sounds kind of…..true. I am a mess. I don’t have it all together. I am a wreck. I have been a wreck and will probably be one for quite a while. Isn’t a wonderful thing? I am in a place where I must rely on the love of God. I cannot pull it off and make things all good and okay everyday – it cannot be done. There is a problem with this world and I am not the fix. But, Christmas happened…and Jesus put skin on to reveal the love of God so those who don’t have it together, like me, can rely on Him. And the messes….create patterns of dependence on God!

My mess puts me in a position to trust in and rely on God.

Shall we allow the mess to screw things up and wreak havoc? Shall we allow the mess and the reality of who we really are to misalign our identities?

Our messiness is exactly why Jesus became a baby. Our messiness is exactly why ‘he who knew no sin became sin…..so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.’

My mess is the business of God. And I belong to him, thank heavens.

Blessings,

-ao