Abide in God

Happy New Year my friends!

During the last weeks of 2009, I spent a lot of time in prayer and contemplation as well as spent a good amount of time reading in the New Testament and some other good books. I have been thinking a lot about what God would expect of me as we left Sunnyvale, California and embarked on our new ministry adventure in New Castle, Indiana. This last week He made it very clear to me that there is one primary imperative for this year--to abide in Him! To remain connected to the True Vine, to practice the presence and rest in God, to soak deeply in the Sciptures daily and journal, to fast and listen, and in all things to remain focused on God who is the great Gift-Giver and not on the gifts themselves. As we learn in John 15 to prioritize the life-giving connection to Jesus Christ, who is the True Vine, and who through the Holy Spirit will sustain me and grow me so that the Father may bear fruit on my branch. Through the pruning, through the times of plenty and want, through seasons of great or little fruit, it is my imperative to abide! Not to focus on the fruit or even on myself as the branch, but to focus on my connection to the Vine.

So, as part of my personal journey in this new season of my spiritual disciplines, though no one thing I will be doing is new, I want to utilize my blog. As my mentor Pastor John does, I want to start the annual discipline of reading through the Bible in a new translation each year. What a great way to keep the Word of God fresh! For 2010, I am going to read through it in my favorite translation--the NAU or New American Standard Updated. For journaling, I am going to resume 'The Way' Journaling, but now post it on my online Blog. This is a format the pastoral team of Crosswalk learned from Pastor Wayne's Doing Church as a Team Conference probably over 5 years ago and that we encourage at Crosswalk. It's the S-O-A-P format where I record a Scripture that spoke to me in my daily reading, I make an observation about it and then I journal out a life application for my life and ministry. I then end with a prayer time.

Here is an example of what I hope to be posting each day from my Scripture reading for January 1, 2010 using the S-O-A-P system.

S: Read Genesis 1-4 (Genesis 3:21 describes, "The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.")

O: I have read through Genesis so many times and especially what I consider the Bible's Prologue (the first 11 chapters). There is so much to be found in these first 11 chapters that theologically and anthropologically undergird the entire metanarrative of God's pursuit of humanity starting with the chosing of Abram in Genesis 12. The Creation Narratives of the first 3 chapters, the first humans and the descendants of Adam and Eve including the drama of Cain and Abel. Then moving us to Noah and the story continues. Amazing stuff! This one verse jumped out in my reading today because of its context. We are talking about the Fall of Humanity...this is big stuff! Not only has sin entered the Garden of Eden, but the consequences of choice have been given to the serpent, the woman (who wasn't even named until after the Fall and she receives her consequences from God; then Adam names her in Gen 3:20--that's a whole other journal entry for another day), and then the man to include a curse of the ground. Ouch! There are serious long-standing generational consequences to good old Adam and Eve breaking a rule and listening to that seductive serpant, but what do we see in this verse. God is in intimate communion with His children: 1) in the midst of their bad choice (yes, that is sin!); 2) in the midst of receiving their consequences for said sin (Gen 3:14-19); and 3) moments from being cast out of the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:22-24)--break in trust leading to punishment. God is doing what a loving Parent (this action more of a Mother than Father in most cases in our society!) would do for His children prior to sending them out into the cold for a long and hard journey--God makes them "garments of skin...and clothed them." Wow! God, the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth, whose first two humans just made bad choices and disobeyed Him, is not so upset that He has to leave the room and count to 20; rather, He is lovingly providing for them on their next leg of the journey. He remains with them!

A: I must personally be aware of my God's intimate communion to this day with His children. As a believer in Jesus Christ, I have the sacred privilege of being called a child of God. God has promised to give me His presence and to never leave me even if I were to forsake Him. True, I may sin and there are very real consequenes (Oh, how I know this!). There are seasons of discipline and seasons of pruning, but in each of these times God is lovingly present and providing! Mine is not to fear, but to focus on God's presence and remember that He is the One who provides in my life. When I sin, I must face the consequences that will follow, but God will not turn away from me though He may have to turn me away from the good intent He had prepared for me. Just as Adam and Eve had to leave the Garden of Eden to face their new future, the story was not over and God remained intimately involved, even to the details of clothing them...a need that only arose because of their sin! Now, that is mind boggling...God is love!

P: Lord, teach me this kind of faith and faithful love. Teach me LORD of your rich provision in all circumstances. I love you LORD and ask that you open my heart and mind to the fullness of your glory and rich love, which is beyond my mind to grasp or apprehend. And Lord, as you teach me may I live this kind of life of love, trust, grace, truth, provision, protection, and pardon. May I learn to be who you have intended me to be. Thank you Lord for your richness and your great gifts! Thank you LORD for my salvation in Jesus Christ! I love you God. In Jesus' name. Amen.

This year of our LORD 2010 has countless possibilities and amazing grace to embrace. It is my prayer that I can share the conversation that God is having with me so that you may experience the fresh bread of my daily abiding in Christ. There is much more to describe and talk about with you on how God is impressing my heart for this year, but there will be more time for that in the coming weeks. Please pray for me and for us, as God's Church, that I and we will remain in Him as He remains in us.

I rest in Him,

Jerry