Post- Kairos Lethargy

³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,
       and young men stumble and fall;
 ³¹ but those who hope in the LORD
       will renew their strength.
       They will soar on wings like eagles;
       they will run and not grow weary,
       they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:30-31(NIV)

Pastor Kristin Hunsigner put this verse on my warm-fuzzy at Kairos this year. (For those of you who don't know, warm fuzzies are little postcards youth event participants send to each other through the week.)  When I got back on Friday, I had to go to work on Saturday, and then again on Monday.  Usually I catch up on my sleep by taking a 24 hour nap.  Not so this year, and my recovery has been kinda slow.

I kinda thought this verse was perfect for how I'm feeling now.  I'm tired and haven't had enough free time to reflect, finish warm fuzzies or even fire up my XBox 360. Having that time to reflect is important.  Like studying for a test, repetition is important.  So I encourage you to read over the verses from our week (I Peter 4 (Yes the whole chapter) and reflect upon them.  Now that you're done with your time away from the world, what do you think about the verses we spent the week living?

http://kairosverse.blogspot.com

Selah

Psalm 67

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.

 ¹ May God be gracious to us and bless us
       and make his face shine upon us,
       Selah  ² that your ways may be known on earth,
       your salvation among all nations.
 ³ May the peoples praise you, O God;
       may all the peoples praise you.
 ⁴ May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
       for you rule the peoples justly
       and guide the nations of the earth.
       Selah
 ⁵ May the peoples praise you, O God;
       may all the peoples praise you.
 ⁶ Then the land will yield its harvest,
       and God, our God, will bless us.
 ⁷ God will bless us,
       and all the ends of the earth will fear him.

 When I read this verse today I became curious about what the word Selah was doing there.  A little googling told me that no one really knows, but many people think it has something to do with a musical pause.  I particularly enjoyed reading this explanation: http://www.mountainretreatorg.net/faq/selah.html  Ultimately, I liked the definition of  a pause for thoughtful reflection.  Since we're not singing this, the definition works for this discussion.

After having a definition, I re-read the psalm and it was very mellow.    You read a line or three and then pause to reflect.  This is song about how Awesome God is and how we should praise him.  The devotional I am reading brought up the thought that it's easy to praise God when things are going our way.  It's not so easy when things are going wrong.

It seems like this is just the kind of psalm to read when things are falling apart around us.  Sometimes when we're upset we don't need commiseration, but something to lift us out of the muck.  Even in the dark of night, God, our God, will bless us.

Are you my neighbor?

 ¹⁵ " 'Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.
 ¹⁶ " 'Do not go about spreading slander among your people.
      " 'Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor's life. I am the LORD.
 ¹⁷ " 'Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt.
 ¹⁸ " 'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

Leviticus 19:15-18 (NIV)

I've been reading Christ In Our Home, a daily devotional that Pastor David Penman, the chaplain for Kairos this year, gave to the Kairos planning group.  At first I didn't want to steal from it, but I've decided to share my thoughts based on where the devotional leads me.

Today the discussion was about how sometimes when we love others as ourselves, we are doing a pretty bad job because we don't love ourselves all that well.  The good news is that God loves me even when I don't love myself.

This got me thinking . . . all those times when Jesus is talking about our neighbor, he's not just talking about our friends - or even our enemies - he's also talking about ourselves.  The above verses jumped out at me as an instruction manual on how to deal with depression.  Depression is often caused by being angry with yourself.  Verse fifteen says, don't be too hard on yourself.  This doesn't mean you shouldn't be upset when you do something wrong, but don't berate yourself endlessly for the mistakes you've made.

Verse sixteen is pretty straightforward.  Don't kill yourself.  Seems like kind of a "no duh" thing to say, but placed with the slander part it also seems to talk to the idea that people who are mad at themselves sometimes go out of their way to ask for trouble.  Don't do things that are dangerous just because they are dangerous.

In verse seventeen we get straight to the heart of the matter: "'Do not hate your brother in your heart."  You cannot hold onto the anger.  There's a popular saying, "Hate the sin, not the sinner."  This distinction is important when you're looking inward at your own sin.  We are hardest on ourselves.  But until we can separate ourselves from the sin and say, "That's not who I have to be."  The sin continues to hold power over us.  "Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt."  Own up to what you have done.  Really examine it, and make a decision to change your behavior - and then rely on the Lord to help you.

This brings us to verse eighteen.  Love your neighbor as yourself.  When Jesus is asked what the greatest commandment is, this verse from Leviticus is what he quotes as number two, after "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind."  Number two is love your neighbor as yourself.  Where to begin?  You start with yourself.  You love yourself so that you can love others.  God will always give us more love, so don't forget to hold onto some for yourself when you're giving it away.  Trust in the Lord.

http://kairosverse.blogspot.com

Bad Romance

1 Surely God is good to Israel,
       to those who are pure in heart.

 2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
       I had nearly lost my foothold.

 3 For I envied the arrogant
       when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

 4 They have no struggles;
       their bodies are healthy and strong.

 5 They are free from the burdens common to man;
       they are not plagued by human ills.

 ²⁸ But as for me, it is good to be near God.
       I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;
       I will tell of all your deeds.

Psalm 73:1-5

Today I watched some of Lady Gaga's videos for the first time.  I had heard some covers of her songs at youth event talent shows, but never heard any of her actual music.  After watching Bad Romance, which I found very artsy, I did some reading about her.  The song appeared on her second album, The Fame Mnster.  She was quoted in Rolling Stone as saying about the album while writing it, "I’m kind of obsessing over the decay of the celebrity and the way that fame is a monster in society!"

In looking for a verse for today, I opened up my concordance and looked up the word "lost".  It's how I've felt lately, and I wanted to see what the Bible had to say on the subject.  Other than lost coins and sheep, and prodigal sons, there was one psalm that used the word.  So I looked it up.  Verse two fit with how I was feeling, "But as for me, my feet had almost slipped".  As I read it in context, the verse was about losing faith because of seeing the prosperity of people who get things for nothing.  Verse four says, "They have no struggles".  This reminded me of the Lady Gaga quote.

It's so easy when we watch TV, listen to music, and go to movies, to be drawn in by the celebrity.  We see things that are better than what we have.  Entertainment entertains because it allows us to escape our lives.  We want our lives to have happy Hollywood endings because we want hope.  We like mushy romances because we want to be loved.  As a society we have a bad romance with celebrity.

Jesus shows us a better way.  He teaches us to love one another.  Psalm 73 speaks of how it's natural to envy, and concludes with where we should return - the side of our Lord.  We are sent out into the world to witness, and that means that we will be tempted by the world.  The key is to remember to come back to Jesus.  That's one of the reasons we have church every Sunday - to remind us of the gift of Grace God has given us.  It is greater than all the money and fame in the world.

http://kairosverse.blogspot.com

My soul finds rest in God alone.

1 My soul finds rest in God alone;
my salvation comes from him.

2 He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

Psalm 62:1-2 (NIV)

This verse reminds me of Exodus 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before me". Except that it's turned on its head. Instead of a commandment from God, it is an exclamation of God's greatness. I have no other gods before me, because my salvation comes from my God. He is my rock, my fortress. My soul finds rest in him. It's just so uplifting to view one of the commandments, and the one Jesus said was the most important, in such a wonderful new light.

http://kairosverse.blogspot.com

Being Put to the Test

No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.

I Corinthians 10:13 (NRSV)

This was one of the verses in the second lesson on Sunday, March 7th. I underlined it. I've been carrying it around in my back pocket ever since until I got around to writing a blog post on it. This verse spoke right to me in church that day. I've been having a tough time of things lately, and this was a nice reminder that God won't give me anything that I can't handle. When you're struggling to see daylight, it's hard to get out one step at a time. Instead it's easier just to ignore your problems. Sure, they often get worse, but if you ignore them, it doesn't matter, right? The funny thing is, even if you ignore them, God doesn't give you anything you can't handle. No matter how bad things are, you can get through them. One step at a time. One day at a time. God is always there beside you - and that's a good reminder to have.

http://kairosverse.blogspot.com

Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum (INRI)

Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read:

JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews."

Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."

John 19:19-22

On Sunday I was looking at the paraments in church. I noticed the one on the altar had letters above it, and I wondered what they stood for. So at the end of the service, I asked VA Moyer, the pastor who had preached that day. He told me it was the Latin letters that had been written on the cross. So I looked it up.



Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum

Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews

So often we see symbols and don't know what they mean. It was interesting to find out why those letters were on the parament. As I was looking up the Bible verse, I read the next few verses as well, which are included above. I find it fascinating that Pilate, who crucified Christ because he was afraid of the people, also feared God. I may be reading a lot into these two verses, but Pilate was willing to admit that Jesus was who he said he was. If a man that was not a Christian can do that, cannot we as well?

http://kairosverse.blogspot.com

Sharing Our Faith

This was the second of two personal reflections I wrote for a retreat this past weekend.

Open your journal and write down your response to these questions. Spend as much or little time as you need to answer these questions. When you are done please sit quietly until your small group leader tells you it is time to come back.

Have you ever tried to share your faith with someone?

Have you ever had someone share their faith, Christian or otherwise, with you? How did you respond?

Jesus tells us that we are to share the faith in a passage called the Great commission. Read Matthew 28:18-20. Jesus tells us to go and make disciples of all nations.

What’s your first response to this? Is it fear, nervousness, excitement, or something else entirely?

Jesus spoke these words to his disciples. Why do you think they apply to us as well?

Often when we are not prepared for a question, it is difficult or impossible to answer it. Take a few minutes and write down what you would say if someone asked you what you believe in. There is no right or wrong answer here. If someone asked you what you believe, what would you tell them?


http://kairosverse.blogspot.com

Sinners & Saints

Here is a personal reflection I wrote for a retreat I planned this past weekend.

Open your journal and write down your response to these questions. Spend as much or little time as you need to answer these questions. When you are done please sit quietly until your small group leader tells you it is time to come back.

When you think about the word sinner, what comes to mind?

What does the word saint make you think about? Would you ever call yourself a saint?

Martin Luther said that we are all both sinners and saints. Open your Bible and read Ephesians 2:8-9. This passage talks about how we are saved by God’s doing – not because of anything we do for ourselves. Even though we sin, God continues to forgive us and offers us his free gift of grace.

What do you think about being both a sinner and a saint? Do you think this means it’s ok to sin, or does it mean something else?

What does this information mean to you when looking at other people?

Does it make it easier to forgive them?

How does this affect your relationships with friends, family and others around you?

http://kairosverse.blogspot.com

Youth

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

1 Timothy 4:12 (NIV)

I've been reading a lot on youth ministry lately: books, emails, and papers written by friends in seminary. One of the themes that keeps coming up is relationships, and how relationships with youth are an important part of youth ministry. This is youth ministry 101, so it's not surprising it comes up. One of the things I've been thinking about though, is that it's not just about adults having relationships with youth, or even youth having relationships with each other.

Youth ministry's ultimate goal is to make new Christians. Therefore successful ministry must not only model healthy relationships, but teach its participants to create new relationships and sustain them. Most of my closest and longest-lasting relationships are with people I grew up with in the church. These are the relationships I come back to - the people I fall upon in times of need. They are also the people with which I share my joys.

1 Timothy is called one of the pastoral letters. It is written to leaders. It is famous for the above verse. This verse is calling youth to mentor others. You do not have to be an adult to work with youth. Ministry of any kind is about relationships and you are never too young to minister.

http://kairosverse.blogspot.com

Delightful Service

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4

So today's verse comes from Princess Belle. Chelsea LeValley who I watched play Belle this past weekend, had the above verse in her cast Bio. It struck me as very appropriate for a Princess, someone who is a role model to little girls and young women alike. :)

Recently I've been talking a lot with people about the purpose of their lives. "What am I supposed to be doing with my life?" "What is God's plan for me?" "How can I feel fulfilled?" The answer is simple, and yet it is a lifelong journey.

What is God's plan for you? He wants you to share the good news. He wants you to tell everyone about Jesus. That is God's plan for you. "But how?" you ask. Well that's where it gets a bit tricky. That's also where today's verse comes in handy.

What does it mean to delight in the Lord? God gives us all gifts. When I am asked, "What does God want me to do Doug?" My reply is, "What do you like to do?" God gives us gifts. The things that we really like to do are the things we're good at, and those are related to the gifts God gives us. So the question, "What should I do?" can be answered, "Whatever God made you to do!"

Of course, it's not always as easy as that. When I asked someone the other day what they liked to do, the answer was soccer. How do you turn that into a lifelong way to serve? I don't know. I'm still working on that one. However how you act on and off the field is a chance for you to witness. You never know who you might inspire and not even know it.

The other thing you can do is listen to the people around you. Part of the process for becoming a pastor is to have the internal call that God gives you be affirmed by an external call. That means people have to think you'd make a good pastor. When someone tells you you're good at something, even if you have trouble accepting the compliment, file it away. External call is God's way of helping to affirm that we're on the right path.

So take a look at what God is calling you to do, and if it doesn't make sense you know where to find me. :)

http://kairosverse.blogspot.com

It's All in the Timing

For he says, “At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you.” See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!

2 Corinthians 6:2

I was in the Ash Wednesday service at Peace Lutheran in Charlottesville this week. The past week had been pretty stressful because I had some pretty major things hanging over my head. I had gotten them done earlier in the day and I felt tons better. As I listened to these words in the service, they spoke to me. I remembered someone saying that sometimes God's time is waiting for us to be ready. I felt like that was what happened to me. I had to be ready to take a step on my own, and that was what made the time right for things to work out. In the same way we are not meant to be a passive people, but to act out our faith on a daily basis.

http://kairosverse.blogspot.com

How do I share my faith?

After Jesus died and was resurrected, His last words recorded in the book of Matthew are called the Great Commission.

Read Matthew 28:16-20 in your Bible.

Talking about our faith is a scary thing. Are there certain people it is easier to share our faith with?

If someone asked you what you believed, what would you tell them?

What if you came across someone who didn’t believe Jesus was the son of God who died for our sins. What could you say or do to share your faith with them?

http://kairosverse.blogspot.com

Who is my strength when I am weak?

What do we do when our faith is weak?

Read Ecclesiastes 4:10 in your Bible.

What does this passage say about friends?

How do you rely on your friends?

Read Romans 15:30 in your Bible.
Paul asks the Roman church to pray for him when he is weak. Did you know that people in our church pray for you? What do you think about that?

Who could you pray for right now? Write a short prayer for them.

Have you ever had your friends let you down? What do you do when that happens? Read Proverbs 3:5-6 in your bible.

How easy is it to put your trust in God?

How do you go about putting your trust in God?

Previous Reflection: http://kairosverse.blogspot.com/2010/01/how-do-i-live-my-faith.html

http://kairosverse.blogspot.com

How do I live my faith?

Living our faith in a sinful world can be a difficult thing to do. Read Mark 12:29-31 in your Bible.

Jesus tells us the two greatest commandments. The second is often called the golden rule. How is following the golden rule living out your faith?

Can you think of other ways to live out your faith?

Read Ephesians 5:1-2.
How can you be an imitator of God?

Previous Reflection: http://kairosverse.blogspot.com/2009/09/what-is-faith.html

http://kairosverse.blogspot.com

Who am I?

Last September I promised a series that I used for my youth group overnight. I never followed through, and so I decided to start the new year by completing that series. I have left the wording the same in case anyone else wants to use them for a retreat. The one I posted in September is actually the second reflection. This is the first. I will post links to all of them bel

These are interactive. Take the time to pull out a journal, a notebook, a scrap of paper, or pull up your blog, or a Facebook note and spend 20 minutes writing your own thoughts down. You can share them if you want, but this reflection time is for you. If you find you have things you want to discuss, you know where to find me. :)

Throughout this weekend we will be taking time in the Word of God. You will have four opportunities to do so. Find a quiet, comfortable place – outside or inside. Take your journal, a pen and your Bible. Do not come back early. Spend the entire 20 minutes reading and reflecting quietly. We will come get you when the time is up. Please be respectful of others and do not talk during this time. What you write in your journal is personal. We will not read it and will not ask you to share it unless you want to. When the weekend is over, you get to take your journal home with you.

Open your Bible and read Genesis 1:26-27.

The Bible tells that God created us in His image. What does that mean to you?

How do you see God reflected in you?

How do you wish you could be more like God?

Are there ways you wish you could be less like God?

Open your Bible and read John 3:1-21.

Jesus tells us that we must be born again. You’ve probably heard that saying before. What does it mean to you?

Reflect on your baptism and your confirmation process (whether you are finished or working towards confirmation). How has being a baptized child of God affected your life?

Next Reflection: http://kairosverse.blogspot.com/2009/09/what-is-faith.html

http://kairosverse.blogspot.com