Dream Journey Haiku

Dream Comes

Bask in the Presence,
             shadow of Your wings inspire;
                        lofty thoughts of mind.


                Dream Dust

  Clouds surround my soul
       as I sweep the broken shards.
               Shattered dreams and dust.


     



Dream Renewal

           Rising up again,
     prayers soaring above the clouds
refresh me anew!

  

Rivers of Living Water

“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

̶ Jesus, John 7:37

“It sounds so simple. H20 - two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. This substance also known as water, is one of the most essential elements to health.”

̶ From the Importance of Water, Freedrinkingwater.com/water-education

  

Water, water everywhere,

Nor any drop to drink.

̶ Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

Without water we would die. In fact, while we can fast from food for long periods of time, death will overtake us in a matter of a few days if we have no water.  Two-thirds of our body weight is water and our brain is 95% water and our blood is 82%. Even mild dehydration will cause us to feel achy and our thinking will become fuzzy or cloudy.

And yet Jesus says that those believing in Him will have rivers of living water flowing out of their hearts. What does this mean? Even before this passage He was speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well on the same topic:

“If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living waters.”

─Jesus, John 4:10

Obviously Jesus is speaking metaphorically; He is not literally saying that all of the sudden an Amazonian river is going to burst out of a person’s heart for ever more, drenching everything in that person’s path. And yet, that is exactly what He’s saying.

How do I mean? Let’s continue further in the first Scripture reference.

But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

̶ John 7:39

Free-flowing

The Bible clearly explains that Jesus is not talking of literal water, but is instead saying that the Holy Spirit in a person’s life will flow like a river.  When was the last time you visited a riverside? My youngest son and I did just that a few weeks ago by sitting on bench only ten feet from the banks of the Willamette River. The river just flowed. Birds floated on the top and rocks sank into its depths. It moved obstacles of tree debris and flowed around obstacles of bridge support pillars. But it just kept moving at its own pace and in its own strength. I couldn’t rush it, or stop it, or any way control it—it just flowed where it willed. It flowed with great grace and beauty, and equally great strength.

Is this what Jesus was referring to in regard to the living waters of the Holy Spirit’s flow in our lives?

Life and Water

Other aspects of water include life, for without water, we would die, plants would die, animals would die; in fact, all the life on the planet would die, including oceans drying up and mountains lying bare of snow.  No water would turn the earth into nothing but a large, whirling rock.

Could this also be what Jesus was referring to? Without the Holy Spirit our lives would be equally barren? Or thinking on a more global basis, without the Holy Spirit’s presence on earth, the barrenness of mankind would be its undoing. This is explored in the Book of Revelation—but that’s another blog. 

The Refreshing

Water also gives a refreshing and a thirst-quenching satisfaction. Ever water a wilting plant?  What happens? The plant perks up. What about drinking some water after a long bout of heated exertion, whether working in the yard in 90 degree August heat or running a 10K? The water refreshes a parched palette like nothing else can.

Is this what Jesus is referring to? I think Jesus is referring to all of these aspects. In the working of the Holy Spirit there’s beauty and power; there’s flee-flowing ease and the bringing down of barriers; there’s a lushness and zest for life; there’s satisfaction and refreshing. Jesus, our multifaceted Savior, is rendering a simple metaphor to explain the fathomless depth of the gift of Holy Spirit. But notice that He doesn’t explain the Holy Spirit as a tyrant or despot, but sometimes, due our failure to yield to the Holy Spirit, others perceive the Holy Spirit as just that because they see our failures. When we let our Self get in the way of the Holy Spirit and do things in our own power, we usually wind up being a poor witness.

Walking by the Spirit

But a heart fully yielded to the Holy Spirit will indeed resemble living waters and not tyranny.  This person will be a refreshing to other people, a salve to hurting souls, and will lead people to the harbor of deliverance, salvation in Jesus Christ. 

God in Adversity, Part 2

View from Room 7001

The Sunday before my Friday surgery I had the opportunity to be anointed with oil and prayed over by our pastors and other leaders and friends. Entering into this time I felt free to share the details of the surgery along with my fears. I had a single fusion over ten years ago but this upcoming double-fusion surgery was to be more than twice my previous surgery. This meant the pain I had experienced before would not only be present this time, but would be even more. Now I fully realize countless people, some of my friends and family included, have been through significantly tougher circumstances than mine, it’s just this, so far anyway, is my toughest medical challenge—so the fear of the pain, the length of recovery, and the loss of mobility were very consuming fears.  Not to mention the procedure itself—someone digging around inside my neck and spinal cord—was also quite disconcerting. 

After the anointing and prayer, I didn’t really feel any different. In fact, my body didn’t shudder and I wasn’t knocked off my feet (which would have been disastrous in my condition!).  But as the day wore on and I had quiet moments with nothing but my own thoughts and prayers, I sensed something profound deep in my soul—peace.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7, NKJV.)

I actually didn’t feel anxious or worried at all. In fact, I found myself looking forward to a further vision of being healed and feeling better than I’ve felt in probably a year. Yes, I knew there would be pain; yes, I knew there would be a relatively long recovery time; but I knew that by Summer I should be in full health and as soon as the surgery ended, I’d be out of danger of paralysis.  I also had a deepening sense of confidence in my surgeon, I knew God would be involved somehow and I also knew she was well-experienced and quite concerned about me. She would be bringing her “A-game” to the OR.

The day of the surgery Janey and I prayed before heading to the hospital; we both prayed that God would somehow be glorified through this and I specifically prayed for joy; yeah, crazy, huh? I prayed for joy. 

But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23.)

A typical definition of joy is “a feeling of great pleasure or happiness” (New Oxford American Dictionary, 2^nd Edition eBook, 2008).  This definition is more of a worldly definition and very circumstance oriented; being happy is usually because some exterior circumstance is happy to you.  But surgery, for me anyway, is not a happy thing.

However, the Greek word for ‘joy’ in this passage is χαρα (chara), and according to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1990), it means ‘cheerfulness, calm, or gladness.’  Wow!  What a definition.  This is what I had in my soul, of all places and of all circumstances; I was cheerful, calm, and even glad. My blood pressure wasn’t elevated and my breathing was steady and normal.  No way would this be my natural state given the circumstances, it was a supernatural outpouring of the indwelling Holy Spirit.  And people gravitate to cheerfulness and God knows this. Was Jesus grumpy and morose?  Of course not.  In fact, He was a healer and he even prayed for the forgiveness of those nailing Him to the cross. That is certainly not the picture of a sourpuss Savior.   

Does this sound like a grumpy Jesus to you:

“I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd.” (Jesus, John 10:10b-11a.)  

Or how about this one:

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”  (Jesus, Matthew 11:28-30.)

There are several other examples of course, but the point is that along with my IV I was also receiving an infusion of Holy Spirit that spilled out in χαρα, joy.  Even after my surgery recovering in my room cheerfulness was just my norm.  When Ray, the czar of the bladder machine woke me up 3:30 AM, I was still cheerful. I was able to get know all the nursing staff, found out about their families, their lives, their dreams—it was awesome—and it wasn’t my natural man.

At one point, the cleaning lady popped into my room as I was playing worship music on my iPod and that got us talking about Jesus.  In fact, I was able to have spiritual conversations with at least half the staff.  Again, that’s just not my old-man nature, that was the Holy Spirit at work. God was showing me that yes, indeed; He shows up even while you’re lying in the hospital bed and having to use a walker to get to the bathroom! But His concern was beyond me, He also wanted to touch the hard-working nursing staff through His work in me. Whether they recognized it or not, God was blessing them for their commitment to caring for humanity created in His image. 

And when I would wake up in the wee hours because of the pain, I’d look out my 7^th floor window and see the lighted Capital Building.  That brought happy memories and reminded to just pray in the Spirit to again be awash in the warmth of His love for me.

Plus God kept me energized by all the visitors coming by.  Close to 30 people stopped in to say ‘hi’ and see how I was doing.  What’s more, I can’t describe it well, but I could sense that so many people were praying for me. More than once I was brought to tears of joy in that hospital bed because of God’s work in the situation and all the people showing love and concern for me.  Tears are welling up in my eyes right now as I write this.  God, the Author of the universe, cares that much about a single life. And He cares that much for you:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned.”  (Jesus, John 3:16-18a, emphasis mine.)

This is my testimony of this experience. God moved mightily to touch my life and many other lives as well. And He continues moving in the situation even now.  Yes, pain is a reality and recovery time is lengthy, but God transcends this with His washing of Holy Spirit infusion.  But this isn’t unique to me:

This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 2:3-5, ESV.)

God is calling us to salvation in Jesus. And lest you wonder how to be saved, how to enter into this incredible relationship with our Heavenly Father, I share the answer of Paul and Silas to the cry of the Roman jailer:

“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

And they said, “Believe in the name of the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” (Acts 16:30-31.)

God awaits.

The Path of Fast

There’s been a lot written about fasting.  The most reliable source, of course, is the Bible.  Jesus even fasted.  In fact, He often sought to be alone in the wilderness to pray and be with His Heavenly Father.  During these times He was often fasting from sleep and sometimes food. We can even fast today. 

Recently, at a leadership conference, God placed on my heart the call to organize a group of men to gather once a quarter on a Saturday to go out into a nearby wilderness to pray and fast for a day.  Nineteen were invited, but only four of us could actually do it.  

So a few Saturdays ago, the last time ESPN College Game Day was in Eugene (guess what I fasted from?), we headed off into a beautiful wilderness area in the Willamette Valley.  Just four guys, none of us with any special accolades or major national awards, just four guys desperate for God, stomping down paths into the wilderness to seek a deeper sense of His presence in our lives. 

Not surprisingly, God showed up.  Each of us had an encounter with Him.  What’s funny is He didn’t call any us to step into some big movement or give us any massive idea for outreach.  Instead, God encouraged each of us to shed the distractions of our lives and culture to more fully pursue Him. I was specifically shown that through these several months of trials, I’d become prone to kind of “checking out.”  Just relaxing a little after dinner was my excuse, but God showed me that I was really sliding into neutral, disengaging from life and family, shutting down my mind and heart.  Perhaps I felt I just couldn’t take any more so my protection was to just withdraw for a while.  Have you ever felt that way?  What do you do?  Do you need to shed a little clutter out of your life too?

God reiterated on my journey down that Path of Fast to keep shedding the distractions of life.  He encouraged me to have the courage to continue the inventory of my life that started in the ER after my accident. Clear out the clutter and lighten the load of the useless stuff and junk in my life was the encapsulation of His message to me. 

Accomplishing this isn’t some mystical ceremony with flickering candles and fog; instead, it’s really a phone call to Comcast to pull the plug.  It’s cleaning out my iTunes of old secular songs that crept back in. It’s ceasing the comparison of my stuff with someone else’s.  It’s cleaning out the cabinets in the house and in my mind.  It’s not caring how big my house is or how cool my car is how exotic my vacation.  Dross was weighing me down and cooling relationships with both Jesus and my family.  And on that forest path at the foot of the Coast Range God showed me now was the time to initiate the clearing out, for if not now—then when?  Without the intention to start, it would never get done.  And for me to truly give my best to God, I had to remove the cultural clutter clouding my spiritual vision. 

So the cleanup has begun.  And, yes, I’ve lost weight, quite a bit, actually.  Oh, not in pounds, but definitely weight off my shoulders and out my life.  I don’t need to compete or compare myself with anyone, I’m here to please Him, God; not my neighbor, not my colleague, not anyone—only God.  Once the clutter is clear, then the Holy Spirit can run freely in my soul, and I will be at my top spiritual condition once the barriers of clutter and of distraction are removed.

So, yes, it’s good to slow down and fast now and then regardless of how vibrant or dormant your walk with the Lord may be.  As we earnestly and intentionally seek God, He will honor that by impressing His presence deeper into our souls.

Being Prayed For by Others

Over the last few weeks a number of people have asked how I’m doing (see my previous entry, What Happened?).  Thankfully, I am able to respond that I’m fully recovered. In fact, all the tests I’ve had from a CAT scan, to an MRI to an EEG all show normal (though some of my friends may contest this). All I can say is, “Praise God!”  This is such a huge relief because the doctors were conjecturing there may be some mass (i.e., a tumor) in my brain or I had suddenly developed a seizure disorder (can that actually happen at 49?).  But God in His mercy has spared me from these; it was most likely a combination of hypoglycemia and exposure to noxious fumes.  In other words, I fainted! (What a manly thing to do in the fertilizer aisle, at least I have a nice scar to show for my manly effort!)

What’s interesting, though, is through my recovery I never really feared any test results, I wasn’t dwelling on the “what ifs” and I truly sensed the peace of Christ ruling in my heart (see Colossians 3:15).  Sure, my Bride and I prayed much during my recovery, but what’s more, many other people were praying for me as well.  And while it may sound strange to some, I actually sensed their prayers; it was like a supernatural blanket of warmth continually caressing my soul.  It reminds me of James 5:16b:

The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.  

Also Ephesians 6:18:

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.

Prayer is so multi-faceted that I dare say we take it too much for granted.  Earnest, heart-felt prayer unleashes Holy Spirit power in ways we are hard pressed to understand.  Jesus dedicated countless hours to prayer, and He taught the Apostles to do the same.  The sheer number of references to prayer in the New Testament ought to get our attention.  And through my little fainting mishap, I learned a little more about prayer myself, but this time not as the one who prays, but instead, as the one being prayed for.  It’s hard to explain, but it’s real; like the old Newsboys song says, “It’s a Spirit thing.” 

Indeed, it is!  And it’s available to anyone who has trusted their heart to Jesus Christ.  Such a relationship is a heartbeat away, for as Paul and Silas said to the Philippian jailer in Acts 16:30-31 when he asked:

“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.”

No other work is required; placing your trust in Christ invites the new birth of the Holy Spirit into your life and secures an eternal destiny with Jesus in Heaven. No longer will you have to fear going to Hell because Jesus Christ now holds you tightly and nothing and no one will cause Him to lose His grip on your soul (see John 10:29-30).  And just one of the countless blessings we receive from Christ, is being the recipient of prayers prayed by fervent brothers and sisters who have concern for others. 

Come, and join the family of Christ if you haven’t already. 

Haiku for the Common Person

Sometimes the soul is satisfied by poetry.  Perhaps you’ve felt that way; if so, try these on for size. 

Moves

Sand moves on the beach,

          the tides and winds shifting now.

                   Change is in the air.

On Thinking

          Boundaries breaking;

Consciousness being stretched wide.

                             Restless with my life.

Tuesday

Sitting at my desk,

Not my final destiny.

My mind wanders far.

Catch the theme; whether this has a real name or not, I call it thematic Haiku or therapeutic thinking. 

A New Year's Resuolution Revisited

About a week ago I was thumbing through my journal and stumbled upon this entry from December 31, 2010: “What will be my resolution this year?  Most likely to not let other’s moods, demeanors or treatment of me affect my mood or my outlook on life.”  I must confess disappointedly, I have blown this resolution to smithereens on several occasions since January 1, 2011. 

Morose and sullen personalities often rub me the wrong way and I react by becoming morose or sullen myself.  But how can I shine as a light when I so easily allow my light to be doused by the extinguishing blackness of others?  It is in that blackness that the light most needs to shine.   The light of Christ emanating out of a person’s life pierces through the suffocating darkness of another person’s soul.  It is this light that dawns into an otherwise perpetual night in many a heart. 

People that are surly or unruly with me often cause me to draw away so as to shelter myself from the abuse. Given that it’s not a physical abuse, should I still draw myself away from them?  With the light of Christ discussed above also comes a warmth that can chase the chill of darkness away from the surly and unruly.  But if that light is purposely withdrawn, not by the Lord, but by the Christ-follower, then how are the surly and unruly to ever experience the grace of God?    It may very well be this grace that provides the warmth needed to melt the cold heart of stone to reveal the vulnerable and fearful flesh underneath. 

And yet, of course, there are those with the hearts of stone that are so stubborn that it may take several light-carrying Christ-followers invading this person’s life to finally chip enough stone away from their heart to open it up to God’s grace.

Endurance, though, is the challenge.  What if I invest much of my life and yet see no results?  To that ever-burning lament, I would remind the suffering Christian warrior of Philippians 2:14-16: 

Do all things without grumbling or questioning that you may be blameless in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the Word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.  (ESV)

So take heart, dear sojourner, you are not alone, many of us are desperately trying to chip away at stoney hearts and coming away with more bruising than chips on the floor (think about that, it’ll come to you).  But God will eventually prevail, even in all our frustrations, to reveal Himself to the heart of stone that still has a spark for the Truth.    

Personal Prayer

“Lord, may my joy be full,

may my peace be deep,

may my love be real,

and may I walk in the personal power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.”

I pray this every day, regardless of my circumstances.  My current trials seem trivial when compared to the many other tragedies in the world today; but still, my family and I are enduring a couple of challenging trials.  But even so, I still pray the above prayer. And there are pertinent Scriptural references for each item:

·         Joy:  1 John 1:4 and Galatians 5:22.

·         Peace:  Philippians 4:7 and Galatians 5:22

·         Love:  1 John 4:7 & 11 and Galatians 5:22

·         Indwelling Holy Spirit:  Ephesians 6:10.

Granted, there are several other pertinent references, but I want to give a brief list for now.

I think some may consider praying the same prayer daily, or even at various times throughout the day, to be nothing but rote recitation or vain babbling. That may be so for some folks but not for me because this particular prayer reminds me that God is always with me regardless of how I feel or what my circumstances are.  What’s more, it also reminds me that only by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit will I actually realize and then exude genuine joy, peace, and love. Without the Holy Spirit working in my life, these items will be merely surface-level veneers to be ripped away when the storms of trials assail my soul.

But when I really seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit, He is always there to comfort me. Another good point to remember is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is available to all who believe in their heart that God raised Jesus from the dead (see Romans 10:9 for more on how to be saved).

What prayers are meaningful to you?  Feel free to post them via the comments portion of this post, perhaps your prayer will be the one that touches someone else’s soul!

God and the Ocean

I love being at the beach.  I love to hear it, see it, smell it, and even taste it via the salty air.  The ocean never ceases to amaze me and to fill me with awe.  Nothing in nature reminds me more of God than the ocean.  Even mountain ranges, as beautiful as they are, still don’t evoke the same sense of awe as the ocean.  I guess because there are so many metaphoric and symbolic connections between the ocean and God.

For instance, we can turn our back and leave the ocean, but it’s still always there.  The same is true of God, while we may turn our back on Him, He is always there.  Another thought is the expansiveness of the ocean; standing on the shore the ocean seemingly goes on forever.  God, of course, does indeed go on forever—He is the always was, always is, and always will be God.  The ocean is deep, and God is deeper still.  The ocean is powerful, and, obviously, so is God. 

There’s other symbolism reminding me of God.  Consider Jesus calming the stormy seas of Galilee (Mt. 8:23ff).  The disciples were terrified and fearful of capsizing and drowning right there and then.  Periodically, squalls would come up on unsuspecting fisherman, engulfing them in raging storms, often claiming the lives of all on board the small fishing vessels.  Matthew 8 is just such a squall. 

Adding even more intrigue to this record is the fact that Jesus is sleeping through it all.  When He was awakened by His panicked disciples, He replied, “You of little faith, why are you afraid?”  Then He did the unthinkable, He calmed the storm, a jaw-dropping experiencing for the disciples to say the least! 

Keeping this record in mind, another element of the beach, at least on this current trip, is the wind.  In fact, I ran yesterday on the beach in winds gusting up to near 60 mph, that’s some heavy wind.  And yet it was exhilarating (perhaps only runners can understand this)!  Wind is a great reminder of the Holy Spirit (see John 3:1-21).  Jesus referred to people being filled with the Holy Spirit as being similar to the wind and in Acts 2:2 the entre of the church is ushered in by an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and is documented as being like a rushing wind.  Imagine the power of the Holy Spirit. 

This same Holy Spirit, with this same power, can calm the seas between our ears; so as the storms of life assail us, may we remember that just as Jesus calmed the physical storm, the indwelling Holy Spirit can calm the stormy seas in our souls. 

Peace, Prayer and Community

“Don’t worry over anything whatever; whenever you pray tell God every detail of your needs in thankful prayer, and the peace of God, which surpasses human understanding, will keep constant guard over your hearts and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7, Phillips).

Could peace and identity be key ingredients for genuine community?  Could prayer be a prime catalyst for ushering in peace and identity?  Comments from my last post got me thinking about these things (thanks to you who commented). 

Christ-followers will have the best impact on culture if the Christian community itself offers something different.  But do we offer something different?  The more personal question is do I offer something different?  Too often the answer is, no, I don’t.

This realization hit home early this morning as I grimaced in pain due to the tension I’m carrying in my neck and shoulders.  Tension coming from child behavioral issues, job ambiguity, and taxes (oh my, taxes are a grind!).  All these thoughts began coalescing into a cacophony of concern causing me to reach for the Ibuprofen (and a cup of coffee).  But another result of the tension was being snappy with my wife and five year old son (whose birthday is today, by the way).  So is being snappy with my wife and family offering the culture anything different?  Is being snappy, also called “grumpy,” drawing people to what’s inside me?  Of course not, I’m being just like everyone else—worried and joyless.  If all my other Christian friends are the same way, then we have a community of nothing different than anyone else; we have a community that no one really wants to be a part of, even me.

So what is the antidote to this worried joylessness?  The simple answer is prayer, but there’s more to it.  Another rendering of Philippians 4:6-7 is: 

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (NLT).

The word “peace” is hard to define, but it includes the sense of quietness and rest.  God is inviting us to allow Him to quiet our minds so that we can truly be at rest.  We can’t truly rest when we’re worried about stuff we have little to no control of. 

The phrase “live in Christ Jesus” implies we are to deeply identify with Christ Jesus Himself.  This is not a mere acknowledgement of Christ, but a deepened understanding of what He has done for us and what being indwelt by the Holy Spirit means to our lives. 

All of this is catalyzed, or initiated, by prayer.  God is inviting us to enter into this rest and deepened identity, but notice that He doesn’t barge in or force it on us; instead, He lovingly invites us in if we choose to accept His invitation.  Granted, along with prayer we also need to read and understand His Word, but perhaps establishing genuine community begins with each individual bowing in prayer.  In doing this, we then experience that quietness and rest in our own souls which will emanate to others we have contact with; and this will be attractive to the larger community.

So pray on, dear friend, pray on!