the best kind of sermon

There are two kinds.

The first sermon is the one that makes me cringe because I hear from God’s word something I haven’t been doing.  It’s the kind that makes me feel awful and disappointed in myself.  It’s the kind that makes my shoulders sag and leaves me quiet and wondering what I can do to live in a manner that’s more worthy of what Christ has done for me. 

The second kind of sermon is the one that has me shaking my head up and down, saying, “That’s right, Preacher!”  It’s the kind where I hear from God’s word, and I do a little inward celebrating because I know I’ve been doing exactly what I should be doing.  The kind of sermon that makes me smile because I know I’ve pleased God. 

I like the second kind better.

match the stride

I didn’t know about type-A personalities when I was kid.  I just knew dad walked really fast wherever we went. 

I remember jumping in the truck with him and going down to the hardware store.  We got out of the truck, and he was already halfway down the sidewalk before I even set foot on the ground.  I had to run to catch up with him. 

He would always bark over his shoulder, “Keep up.  I’m not waitin’ for ya!”   He was a man with things to do.

Dad never once kept his promise to leave me behind, but he also never slowed his stride to match mine.

Now I walk fast.  I remember walking past someone once, and the person said, “Now there’s a woman on a mission!”

Paul says to Christians, in Galatians 5:25, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” 

How fast does the Spirit of God walk?    

my personal story of finding God

When I was in high school I felt far from God.  I had chosen to follow him when I was young, but as I walked away from my baptism in a cold Wyoming river at the age of 8, I remember thinking, “This is it?”  I felt deeply disappointed that I didn’t have a profound internal experience. 

Almost a decade later I sat in a high school science class, glazing over at a lecture on cell division.  It was my own soul that was divided, partly committed to following God and partly doubting if he was even real. 

“Lord, if you’re real I want to know it –to really feel it deep inside.”  A desperate prayer that changed everything. 

The following summer I went to church camp and took an afternoon class about how to have a “quiet time”.  As I sat on the grass in a beautiful garden, I learned how to pray and read my Bible and spend time with God. 

When I got home from camp I tried it -spending time with God.  Boring drudgery!  I pushed through my first attempt that seemed to last forever and was shocked to see only a few minutes of time had passed. 

Day after day of drudgery.  Praying to someone who didn’t seem real. 

But something was happening.  Slowly I got to know God.  Sometimes I would read the Bible and it would seem personal –really personal.  Sometimes I would pray about something specific and would get an answer to my prayer.  Amazing.  I began to experience God interacting with my life. 

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”  (Jeremiah 29:13) 

I hadn’t realized he had been waiting for me to spend time with him.   

Now every waking moment is a quiet time, and I’ve never been so confident that God is real.

what's your score?

My son brought home a syllabus for his freshman PE class.  In it the teacher clearly laid out his grading method. 

Daily grades are based on a 4-3-2-1-0 scale. 

4 –exceeds request and requirements of instructor –participates without being watched

3 –participates in class activities –meets the requirements

2 –cruises in neutral –participates only while being watched

1 –not prepared for class –shows little or no improvement

0 –no effort to participate during class

In Colossians 3:22-23 Paul challenges Christians to live a “4” kind of day.  “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.  Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” 

It's a daily grade.  Are you cruising in neutral?

swipe

My husband just got a new toy –a Droid (all the cool kids at work have one.)  He was showing me the swipe feature, which I had never seen before.  SO COOL!  How does the phone know where you are going with your word?  Swiping from letter to letter in one quick, fluid motion without lifting your finger.

And since I’m weird and see a blog post in everything, here’s what it made me think of:

I’ve been a follower of Christ since 1977.  As I have more and more experiences with God in my life, his movement feels like swipe technology.  As he works smoothly in each circumstance, I am beginning to sense where he is going.
 

Which takes me to my all-time-favorite Bible verse.  Jeremiah 9:24.  “Let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me.”  So not to boast (which always means you’re about to boast), but I totally am enjoying seeing where God is going with my life -not all the details right up front, but sensing the direction.   

Can you trace the life experiences you've had to see where God has been at work in a certain direction?