The other week my daughter, Anjali, received a greeting card filled with stickers from Grandma Marshall. She was so excited (stickers are one of her greatest joys).
We are currently trying to instill the idea of gratitude in our children, so I suggested to Anjali that she write a thank you card to her grandparents. She was thrilled with the idea, so I gave her a pen and card and she began writing furiously while she expressed herself aloud, "Dear grandma and grandpa, Thank you for the stickers! I love them so much! I was so happy to get stickers. I like stickers very much. Thank you for sending me stickers. They are princess stickers...i love princess stickers. Love, Anjali."
Her thoughts were priceless...the only problem...Anjali is two years old and she doesn't know how to read or write. I, on the other hand, do know how to write :-) I could have allowed Anjali to dictate to me what she wanted to say to her grandparents...I could have written it out perfectly. When they received it, the words would have been clear and easy to understand.
So why did I let her write it? Because I know that the imperfections in Anjali's letter are what make it so special to her grandparents. They don't want a well written thank you card from me; they want the random, heart felt scribbled card from Anjali...it's perfect.
We serve a mighty God. Everything He does is perfect, but He also sees the power in our imperfections. He is made strong in our weakness. I think this may be what David was expressing about God in 2Sam when he says, "You stoop down to make me great." God brings Himself to our level and uses us in our imperfection. Amazing.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
the Encounter
This Easter Element Church had over 1200 people walk through its doors (hundreds more than previous weeks). I guess there's a sense of obligation this time of year, right? Jesus was beaten, died on a cross, and rumor has it...he did it for us. Why shouldn't we feel obligated to remember.
The interesting thing is, now it's over...Easter has come and gone and so have thousands of people who, most likely, won't be seen again until December 25th.
Religion is about something that happened...a child was born, a man was crucified, a book was published, and a religion was formed.
Relationship is about something that happened to YOU. God sent His only son, because He couldn't imagine losing you. He let His son die, because it was the only way to get you back. He gave His word so that the path to Him would be clear. And now He spends His days creating experiences in your life that will allow you to know Him.
In order to go from religion to relationship there must be an encounter. We must have personal experiences with God.
In 1 Samuel, God tells Samuel to anoint Saul king. When Samuel tells Saul that he is to be the new king, Saul responds something like this, "Me? I'm a nobody?"
Saul didn't understand his value to God...he needed an encounter.
In 1Sam 10:2-7, Saul gets his encounter. Samuel tells Saul (paraphrased), "When you leave today, you are going to meet two men and they are going to tell you where your donkeys are. They are also going to predict the words of your father. From there, going up to Bethel you will meet three men. They will be carrying 3 goats, 3 loaves of bread and a wine skin. They will offer the bread to you and you will take it. Next you will meet some prophets. They will have instruments being played before them and they will be prophesying. Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and YOU WILL BE CHANGED INTO A DIFFERENT PERSON. Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you."
God gave Saul three unique encounters in order to build his faith. Saul was no longer trusting his own ideas, he was a different person...a person who had experienced God. Once we encounter God, we are different. Our experiences build faith, and our faith builds a relationship, and our relationship stops us from being Easter Sunday Christians.
The interesting thing is, now it's over...Easter has come and gone and so have thousands of people who, most likely, won't be seen again until December 25th.
Religion is about something that happened...a child was born, a man was crucified, a book was published, and a religion was formed.
Relationship is about something that happened to YOU. God sent His only son, because He couldn't imagine losing you. He let His son die, because it was the only way to get you back. He gave His word so that the path to Him would be clear. And now He spends His days creating experiences in your life that will allow you to know Him.
In order to go from religion to relationship there must be an encounter. We must have personal experiences with God.
In 1 Samuel, God tells Samuel to anoint Saul king. When Samuel tells Saul that he is to be the new king, Saul responds something like this, "Me? I'm a nobody?"
Saul didn't understand his value to God...he needed an encounter.
In 1Sam 10:2-7, Saul gets his encounter. Samuel tells Saul (paraphrased), "When you leave today, you are going to meet two men and they are going to tell you where your donkeys are. They are also going to predict the words of your father. From there, going up to Bethel you will meet three men. They will be carrying 3 goats, 3 loaves of bread and a wine skin. They will offer the bread to you and you will take it. Next you will meet some prophets. They will have instruments being played before them and they will be prophesying. Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and YOU WILL BE CHANGED INTO A DIFFERENT PERSON. Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you."
God gave Saul three unique encounters in order to build his faith. Saul was no longer trusting his own ideas, he was a different person...a person who had experienced God. Once we encounter God, we are different. Our experiences build faith, and our faith builds a relationship, and our relationship stops us from being Easter Sunday Christians.
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