Pain to Power



Our recent confirmation classes came to an end yesterday. We used the program “Confirm Not Conform” by adapting it to our needs.  Our last class was on Spirituality which focused on the Episcopal worship liturgy. The title of this lesson was called Pain to Power! Our text was Isaiah 53, the Suffering Servant. As we moved through the liturgy, it was easy to see how God through his son, Jesus, can turn our pain and sorrows into power to transform our world. Not once did Jesus avoid the pain he was to suffer for us. He faced it head on and used that energy to transform not only himself through the resurrection, but he empowered us through God’s Spirit to be transformed, changed, into a new creation. When you and I face our own pain and sufferings with God by our sides, we open our hearts to allow God’s Spirit to bring healing to our lives and, in doing so, we have the power to heal the world.

Overcoming the world

 

      What would it take for you to blossom in the midst of hardship?

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

God Breaking Through in Our Lives

How many times do we look at our phone to see who is calling us? If a number is unfamiliar, we sometimes if not all the time, do not answer it. I must admit occasionally I do that myself. The other night at 9:30 p.m. an unfamiliar number appeared on my phone. I let it ring a few times then something said answer it. I did and the result of that phone call was a person whom I met maybe twice talked for a good hour about how she needed to find God to give her strength in her life. Much was happening in her life that she was finding hard to handle. She heard from someone about St. Barnabas, and that I attend the church. During this phone conversation, I did the listening as she told me what had happened in her life for the past 5 years. She does not think that God is in her life. I replied, "If He wasn't in your life then why did you call me?" The end of the conversation left her saying that she was so thankful to me for taking the time to listen. I said it wasn't just me listening, but also God- the one who gave you the strength and courage to make that call.

God is amazing in all His works. I wonder how He finds the time for all of us? So next time an unfamiliar number appears on your phone, answer it..
                                                                                                                   L.Lee

An Acts 8 moment!

"You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ's own for ever." BCP 308

It was wonderful to be able to baptize the Duke family last Sunday, July 29, 2012.

The power of God's Holy Spirit!

Getting Our Hands Dirty

Getting Our Hands Dirty:

Becoming involved in something meaningful and being prepared to put in the effort and hard work to make it happen.

poster by Roland Tiangco.

There are so many things that we wish were different, but things do not simply happen because we wish it or we just talk about it. We can question decisions and methods. We can complain about leadership. We can become frustrated. But in order for our world to get better, one needs to act, to do something, for change to occur.

I believe that is what the Episcopal Church USA has done and is doing. Our General Convention, which met in Indianapolis, IN just ended and though I was not able to attend some amazing things have been set into motion. Many of the sermons ( http://www.episcopalchurch.org/ ) sparked a desire to do something. But things will not just happen unless you and I are willing to get our hands dirty -to take the initiative and ownership of the issues at hand.

But what usually happens after all the excitement, all the emotional “hoopla”, when everyone goes home to the “real” world? We make excuses that we are too busy or too stressed and cannot handle one more thing. We expect “others” to carry on the work and to just pass the information on to us.

But why can’t it be YOU? or ME? Can we do one thing today that will energize us to take that step to bring about change, to get our hands dirty?

 Jesus understood this when He said “the harvest is plenty, but the workers are few.” Luke 10:2

 Are you willing to labor for Christ? I think that is why we Christians are here on this earth. What do you think?

dmr+

Heroes of Faith

                                           
 

The Scriptures talk about heroes of faith in the book of Hebrews chapter 11, but I thought of some people who have made an impact on my life as a believer. First, it begins with my grandfather. He lived and walked the footsteps of Christ. He was a man that met no stranger that he didn't like. A man that thought of others first and then himself.  He was kind and gentle.

Second, I think of Sister Robert Ann. My fifth grade science teacher. She introduced me to the idea that I could have a relationship with God.  She believed in me by allowing me to share the gifts God had given me. My true hero is the one that knows me better than I know myself. The one who has been with me through hardships and good times. The one who has, I know, forgiven me and through whom I have learned to forgive myself – that is God.

One never knows who they will meet along their life's journey. We may come across many people that we can call our heroes of faith. When God puts you in a certain place (like St. Barnabas) and places people and a priest that inspires you, encourages you through her teachings of the Gospel of Christ and strives for you to become the person God expects you to be, I call  people like that my heroes of faith as well..

So, who are your Heroes of Faith?

                                                                                                                         Lorraine Lee

For those who have wondered what has happened to us, well, we are up and running again. There are some changes with this blog. First, there will be others from St. Barnabas posting their thoughts and ideas about what is happening in their lives and with the people of St. Barnabas. Second, together we will make sure that there is at least one post every week. So check us out and see what has been going on at St. B's.

South Africa Trip

Recently, Dave and I made a trip to South Africa and Zimbabwe. It was one of the most exciting trips we have made. We visited Kruger National Park, Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Langa in South Africa. We also traveled to Zimbabwe, where we were chased by baboons and saw the beautiful Victoria Falls.

One of the absolutely insane things we did was to do the “Zip Line” across the gorge at the top of the falls. I say insane because no one in their right mind would actually pay to be thrown over a cliff to fly about 300 feet above water. At least, that is what I kept telling myself as they put the harness on me.                                         
Take a look at the evidence of this event.

It was very scary for me because I do not like heights of any kind. We had to stand on this little platform and attach to this cable line. Dave and I did it tandem, because even though I may be crazy, I am not stupid. I was not going to do this alone. You talk about taking a leap of faith ---- well, once I committed to dying ---- there was such a peace that came over me when I finally realized the harness I was in held and I was going to be okay. Hey, is there a sermon coming on????? All in all, Dave and I enjoyed the trip immensely. If you ever want to see all the pictures we took (about 400) we would love to share them with you.

I thank all of my St. Barnabas family for allowing me to take the time to go. Thanks to the Reverend Marcia McCrae for filling in two Sundays for me. My hope is that everyone who reads this Blog will get a chance to travel to South Africa and Victoria Falls some day. ......And take your own "leap of faith".

Peace, Denise+

Having a Critical Spirit.....

Criticism—when we hear this word we are convinced that when a person is doing it he/she is justified to give one’s own “opinion” or “view” on a situation or person. But when someone criticizes us or what we are doing, well, that becomes a negative or hurtful situation.

Matthew 7:1-2 (NIV) says, “Do not judge or you too will be judged, for in the same way you judge others, you will be judged and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

If we were to replace the word “judge” with “criticize” I think this passage takes on a whole different focus.
“Do not criticize or you too will be criticized, for in the same way you criticize others, you will be criticized……”

Catherine Marshall* talks about a time when God asked her to fast one day from criticism. What she found out was that a critical spirit always focuses on self and one’s perspective is distorted. A spirit of criticism has a tendency to block positive creative thoughts and ideas that God longs to give us. Being critical puts an obstacle in the way of God’s Spirit and hinders God from working love, mercy and acceptance in and through us.

Being critical of someone or something only takes our focus off of what God is wanting you and I to accomplish. When we see something wrong in another person’s behavior or a situation, instead of criticizing or grumbling about it, God desires that you and I seek God’s Spirit through prayer to intervene and correct what is needed. Because in all truth change can only come through the power of God’s Spirit.
Let us together love each other and let God transform the areas that need fixing.


*Catherine Marshall, A Closer Walk (Old Tappen, NJ: Chosen Books/Revell, 1986)

Growing weary in doing good

Galatians 6:9    “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

There are many reasons for growing weary. One of those reasons is because we step away from God and deprive ourselves of the nourishment God provides through His Word and fellowship with believers. We grow weary in our efforts, missing the harvest ahead, because we’re busy trying to accomplish everything in our own strength without ever stopping at the cross of Christ.

If we look at the verse from Galatians, we see that reaping the harvest arrives in “due time”—that is God’s time and because of His work. Our responsibility in the equation, however, is to continue to do good work – meaning strive to fulfill the call on our lives according to Scripture truths; and to not give up –not allow difficult circumstances or challenges to cause us to throw in the towel and stop persevering to the end. We need to nurture our relationship with the Lord through being with God personally and with the body of Christ. We also need to ask God to shake up our priorities so that He is first in our lives as we look to the harvest ahead.

Gracious God, I pray that you will strengthen us when we become weary and help us persevere to see the harvest ahead. Thank you, Lord, for the work you are doing in us and through us. I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

What does it mean to be a Missional Church?

We hear so much lately about being "mission-minded" or becoming a "missional church"; but what does all of that mean? According to Alan Hirsch, most churches think they are missionally minded because they have a mission statement or they talk about the importance of mission. But a missional church is a community of believers who are more focused on moving outside the church and allowing God to work in and through a person in every sphere of his/her life. No longer are we to attract people to "come and see", but we must place our energies on "go and be".

Ray Oldenburg writes about "third places" in his book, The Great Good Places. First places are our homes. Second places are where you and I might work or the place where we spend most of our day hours. Third places are the informal settings where we enjoy hanging out and relaxing with friends. Places like coffee shops, restaurants, the mall, or fitness centers. All of these settings are "mission fields" design to share the Good News of the Gospel. Being missional is to be evident in the whole life of a believer in Christ, not just while they are in church.

Below is a link to a video that explains the way you and I are to be missional in our thinking both as an individual and as a church.

http://missionalchurchnetwork.com/missional-community-simple/

"Ordinary Time"

We are about half way through what the church calander call the Pentecost Season. Yet it appears that the further we move from the celebration of Pentecost during “ordinary time”, life within the church can appear to be dull and boring. Let’s face it, Advent, Christmas, and Easter Seasons are all so exciting. Our worship services are different with lively music and color. Even Lent is exciting because of the mysteries associated with sacrifice and prayer.

So why have the Church Fathers and Mothers designed our church year with such a long Pentecost Season? I believe one reason is that it gives you and me time to grow -- to dig deeper in our relationship with God. Remember Pentecost was the coming of God’s Holy Spirit to dwell within each of us. The book of Acts talks about how this indwelling of God’s Spirit was manifested in the lives of the disciple of Christ -- so too for you and me. Pentecost Season is a time for you and me to discover the ways in which God’s Spirit works in and through our lives.

God knows better than anyone what our deepest potential is in relationship to the larger picture of life. Our responsibility is to discern from God’s Spirit what God’s will is for us so that we can live into it. Another way to say this is that we need to cultivate spiritual discernment.

Spiritual discernment is the quest to discover God’s will in our lives. Jesus said in John 5:30 “I can do no thing on my own … I seek to do not my own will but the will of [the One] who sent me.” In today’s world, you and I are the body of Christ. Our purpose as Christ followers is to allow God to act in and through us as we live out our lives.

Spiritual discernment allows our rational minds to join with our intuition by allowing God’s Spirit to mysteriously reveal to us what we need to know and how we need to act. It is a prayerful informed and intentional attempt to sort out the voices we hear with in. By cultivating our spiritual senses, we develop a keener sense of what God’s voice sounds like within us. Our goal in spiritual discernment is in fact to find the mind of Christ.

Though prayer is a key component of spiritual discernment, it is not about saying prayers to ask God to guide us, but more of a sense of being still and listening with the ear of our hearts. It draws us in and harmonizes our lives with God’s plan. It requires silence and waiting. Practicing spiritual discernment quips us to be constantly alert to the presence and guidance of God’s Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.” (Jn 15:5)

Pentecost Season is long and ordinary because our focus needs to be within – growing deeper in our connection to God’s Spirit. It is a time to become grounded in our conviction that God’s Holy Spirit is an active presence in our everyday lives. God’s Spirit is eagerly waiting for us to open ourselves to God’s will. Can you discern that?

The Plumb Line

Last Sunday’s scripture reading in Amos 7:7-17 talked about God using a plumb line as a standard for the Israelite people. The simple plumb line is the oldest tool used in the construction trade. It is used to determine if something is or is not perfectly aligned or upright. God’s Word functions as a plumb line that tells us how the stresses of the world will make faulty human construction doomed to collapse. God’s Word is the Holy Scriptures, but much more. The Holy Scriptures are about God’s involvement in the existence of humanity. The Old Testament gives us the story of God’s presence and involvement through the Israelite people. The New Testament is the story of God’s Son, incarnate, living among us as an example of a life lived centered on (always pointing to) God. God’s Word is not only the written scriptures, but also the living Christ. Christ is our “plumb line” for living in this world. It is the measure by which you and I deem what is important.

The Church today finds itself, as Amos did, a reluctant prophet to the world reminding the world of the unpleasant realities of human crookedness. But as the Body of Christ, we, the Church, have a standard to follow that standard is Christ, himself. We are called to be in relationship with the living God always checking to see if we line up with God’s love, mercy, forgiveness and peace. When Christ’s followers live uprightly, then the world will be able to see its own crookedness.

St. Barnabas' Feast Day

Today, June 11th, is St. Barnabas' Feast Day. Since our church is named after St. Barnabas, it is a great day of celebration. Our church community will celebrate on Sunday, June 13th to honor our patron saint.

All we know of Barnabas is to be found in the New Testament. A Jew, born in Cyprus and named Joseph, he sold his property, gave the proceeds to the Apostles, who gave him the name Barnabas. He lived in common with the earliest converts to Christianity Jerusalem. Barnabas was instrumental in persuading the community in Jerusalem to accept Paul as a disciple. With Paul he brought Antioch's donation to the Jerusalem community during a famine, and returned to Antioch with John Mark, his cousin. The three went on a missionary journey to Cyprus, Perga (when John Mark went to Jerusalem), and Antioch, where they were violently opposed by the Jews that they decided to preach to the pagans. When a dispute arose regarding the observance of the Jewish rites, Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem, where, at a council, it was decided that pagans did not have to be circumcised to be baptized. On their return to Antioch, Barnabas wanted to take John Mark on another visitation to the cities where they had preached, but Paul objected because of John Mark's desertion of them in Perga. Paul and Barnabas parted, and Barnabas returned to Cyprus with Mark; nothing further is heard of him, though it is believed his rift with Paul was ultimately healed. Tradition has Barnabas preaching in Alexandria and Rome, the founder of the Cypriote Church, the Bishop of Milan (which he was not), and has him stoned to death at Salamis about the year 61. The apocryphal Epistle of Barnabas was long attributed to him, but modern scholarship now attributes it to a Christian in Alexandria between the years 70 and 100; the Gospel of Barnabas is probably by an Italian Christian who became a Mohammedan; and the Acts of Barnabas once attributed to John Mark are now known to have been written in the fifth century. Barnabas’ feast day is June 11. St. Barnabas is known to be an encourager, one who empowers others to use the gifts that God has given them. He was instrumental in leading many to Christ and strengthening them in their spiritual journey.

Why Go to Church?

There is a lot of talk these days about how going to church is no longer necessary. Our technology provides us with preaching on TV, Internet, Iphones and various other communication tools. We can fellowship on facebook, twitter, and other chat rooms. But the best reason that I think a Christian believer should go to church is because Jesus did! Luke 4:16 says that “as was His custom, Jesus entered the synagogue on the Sabbath” (emphasis mine). Jesus did not go to church because of what he could get out of it, he went because it pleased God. Our commitment to church every week is not based on if we feel like it or not, but it is based on what God gets out of our going. God wants us to be there – personally- because you and I are the Body of Christ and where two or three are gathered, God is in our midst.

There is much we have yet to learn about the spiritual function of gathering together to worship. Our “church” family is as important, if not more important, than our physical family. Anne Ortlund in her book Disciplines of the Beautiful Woman puts it this way:

Let me tell you about my friend Bruce’s family of schnauzers. We paid a visit when mamma schnauzer had her puppies. The whole family of them were in a playpen in the kitchen. That enclosure was their whole world, and those tiny pups snuggled to their mother for warmth, food, love – everything they needed.

They had no idea that they were totally dependent on a larger family, a human family – Bruce, June, and their children – who were (under God) the ultimate source of the provision of all their needs.

Your physical family can provide you with warmth food and love, but recognize that the true source of godly love, warmth, nourishment, and togetherness comes from a larger family – the eternal family – your faith community.

The Scriptures tell us to use our gifts to nourish the Body of Christ and to draw nourishment from the Body so that all of us (adult singles, young people without Christian parents, and married without spouses) will be able to feel cared for, loved and nourished in God’s beautiful forever-family. When we are loved, fed and prayed for in our church family, the relationships in our physical family are wonderfully healed and nurtured.

Paul holds us, the family of God, to be the highest of all human relationships when he says to the Philippians, “It is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart…. God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more.” (Phil.1:7-9)

In every one of our lives there is a can of worms. There are skeletons in the closet of every human being. We need Christ and we need each other to grow into the people God created us to be. It may be painful or even embarrassing, but God has given us each other to help us grow into the full stature of Christ.

Pentecost

Yard Sale

Recently our church hosted a “Yard Sale”. Actually, it was held in our parish hall, but still it involved collecting used items that people had in their homes that they no longer had need of. We received some very nice items that showed little or no use. We also received items that had shown much use and a lot of love. What amazed me about the items collected was the variety of “things” that people have in their possession. Some items were very useful in their function, other items were hard to determine what they were used for and still some items were beautiful and others plain ugly. For the people who donated the “things” in our sale, well, they no longer had use for them or they had stored them for so long that the space the item was taking up was needed for something else.

As I walked among the tables that held these “things”, I began to think of the old axiom “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure”. As I pondered this idea, what surfaced was how we as people see each other verses the way that God see all of us. For many, people are viewed as objects, what can be gotten out of another, what can they do for me, how will this benefit me. People, if they do not meet the criteria that a particular group sets, well then, they do not measure up and therefore are seen as “junk”. But in God’s eyes, we are all seen as precious treasures or another way of saying it – as collectibles.

There are two primary characteristics of collectibles: desirability and rarity. You have heard the saying that “God does not make junk”. This holds true to the way that God sees you and me. We are collectible. We are wanted because God desires you and me. “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you” (John 15:16). You and I have been chosen by God – God desires us. But unlike the collectibles we have, God does not place us on a shelf to be admired. God calls us to go and bear fruit, that is, to share God’s love and caring with those around us.

Rarity, another characteristic of a collectible, is how God views us. No one on this earth who has ever lived is just like you. Oh, there may be someone who may look like you, such as a twin, but to be exactly like you – there is none. That is why people can be identified by their DNA. God says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5) and  “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13). God tenderly and lovingly created us. God could have just thrown us together with a snap of the finger, but no, God chose a delicate, intimate way of forming us in our mother’s womb. God has been completely involved in creating you and me as a rare creature designed to love and be loved.

One man’s junk may be another man’s treasure, but in God’s eyes there is only treasure to be found. For you and I are desirable and rare from God’s perspective.

Alleluia, the Lord has risen!

"Why do you weep?" This question was asked of Mary at the tomb of Jesus by two angels and Jesus, himself. Death is not the end of the story of Jesus nor is it the end of our stories. Jesus first spoke to Mary at the tomb and yet she did not hear him. She saw him as a gardener because she expected Jesus to be dead. The saying, "What we perceive is our reality", holds true with Mary and the other disciples. If we do not expect God to work in and through our lives, then the chances are that we will never see evidence of God's hand in our lives.

"Why do you weep?" Jesus spoke to Mary, but she did not hear. Is Jesus speaking to you? Is he asking to be recognized (perceived) by you as the Jesus who is alive - the Jesus who is risen? What does your heart want to answer? This Easter season, take a moment to listen to your heart and perceive the risen Lord. Alleluia, Christ has risen. The Lord has risen, indeed!

Refiner's Fire

Recently at St. B's we were able to bless our new fire pit that we constructed back in December 09. It was such a wonderful time to be together as a church family. Not only did we thank God for our beautiful setting, we were also able to enjoy some hotdogs, smores, and just spend time relaxing and sharing our stories. There is something about fire that stirs within each of us a myrid of emotions.

In scripture, God is represented many times by the image of fire.  The danger and mystery that fire invokes has a way of touching our souls. In Malachi (3:2b-4) it says, "For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the LORD in righteousness." God is constantly working on our behalf to burn away the things that keep us from fully loving and being loved by Him.

In Hebrews, God is a consuming fire. For many that can take on a very negative, fearful understanding of God. But what if we looked at it a little differently.  In the Gospel of Matthew (3:11) John the Baptist says "...but He (Jesus) will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." God is a consuming fire, baptizing you and me with fire. This could mean that God so desires you and I to the extent that our Creator is willing to totally engulf and immerse us in his love as a fire consumes and absorbs everything in its path. By consuming us, we are transformed into the image of Christ. God wants us to be whole and complete the way we are intended to be.

As we journey through Holy Week experiencing the path that Christ took to the cross and then the excitement beyond, remember that God so desires to not just be a part of your life -- but desires to consume all of your life, thereby allowing true life, resurrected life to shine forth.