GOD CAME NEAR

I’ve recently been in a season of feeling somewhat distant from God. That’s not to say that God actually has been distant from me though, which is an entirely different thing.

 

Then The Meeting Place 20^th anniversary happened. The Meeting Place (TMP) was the church where I was mentored as a worship leader through my 20s and into my 30s. I spent 10+ years attending TMP and serving there as a musician and worship leader. So much of my spiritual journey happened in that place. I met my wife there, I was married there, I worked there, I served God there, I made mistakes there, I built life-long friendships there, I learned to love Jesus there…

 

I moved to Vernon about 6 years ago, and have been back to TMP to lead worship a handful of times, and it has been wonderful. But things change and you can’t relive the past – I’ve learned that, and I’m ok with that.

 

Something happened on Jan 30, 2011 at the 20^th anniversary of TMP. In the life of Jon Buller, God came near. But maybe what I really mean is Jon Buller came near to God. No, we weren’t re-living the past. But we did have the amazing opportunity to welcome back 2 of our teaching pastors, and the first lead pastor as well as past and present worship leaders. And I am sure that I was not the only one that experienced God’s nearness.

 

To describe what happened is difficult – I’m still trying to process all of the miraculous work that God did in us and among us that night. But I can say that I think the ultimate goal of the evening was to celebrate God’s story in that community – past, present and future. And that is what we did. As we did it, through teaching and music, sharing, dancing, story telling, praying… it seemed God began (or rather – continued) to work in that place.

 

I believe there was deep healing of hurts, and I know there was profound celebration on all kinds of levels. There was a ministry of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of many, and the theme of the night seemed perfectly named – MOMENTUM – because that’s what it felt like was happening in our midst. Hope and faith continued to grow, or for some was renewed and restored.

 

So, thank you Meeting Place for so many things, especially the richness of the faith in God that you gave me in that time of my life, which still continues today. And of course, thank you for the gift of participating in your twenty-year anniversary, where I could feel again that God comes near.

SABBATH REST

Recently I was at the pastors retreat for the Alliance churches of BC. We heard Mark Buchanan speak. He is the author of 'THE REST OF GOD' a great book I recommend to you.

Here is a diagnostic list for you that he shared with us. Mark shared that these kinds of lists can be a little dangerous but they can also be a good tool to ask yourself some questions about your own self-care. It is also not an exhaustive list - i.e. there may be items that you could add to make it more personalized for yourself or others.

So I encourage you - don't be too hard on yourself, but read this list, reflect and process it a little bit. I think we could all be encouraged to rest in God more... And by the way - Sabbath rest obviously does not have to happen on a Sunday! Find times for resting in God (tuning out all distractions - getting silent) at whatever time / place during the week you can!

You know you need sabbath rest when...

• your emotional response to a situation is disproportionate to the trigger of that response (your friend is 5 minutes late or your child spills their drink and it is as if the world is caving in)
• you are both restless and listless (want to do something but don't care enough about anything, so you remain unmoved)
• you have a growing resentment against ___________  (fill in the blank: work, spouse, kids, other drivers etc…)
• you complain a lot about ______, and obsess over it rather than changing it
• other people start their conversations with you by saying “I know you are busy, but…”
• your intimacy with God starts diminishing
• you feel entitled or “owed” something
• you being feeling sorry for yourself, undervalued or under-appreciated
• you fantasize more and more (escapism from real life)
• old temptations/anxieties re-awaken with increased intensity
• physical health issues begin to arise
• you stop caring about what you really care about

source - MARK BUCHANAN teaching at BC district Alliance church pastor's retreat

Friends - don't be overwhelmed by this. Just respond by carving out time to REST in God. Some quiet time, some reflection, some scripture, some prayer, some sleep! If there is absolutely no time in your life, just start small - 15 minutes, then fight for 20 minutes, then try and carve out 30 minutes or an hour.

May we all find a little bit more REST in God this week and every day.

THE ENEMY

My last blog was part 1 on serving God. Here is an interesting take on how our service of God, can actually become an enemy of God... again I am sharing from Oswald Chamber's insights.

Chambers says 'Beware of anything that competes with your loyalty to Jesus Christ. The greatest competitor of true devotion to Jesus is the service we do for Him. It is easier to serve than to pour out our lives completely for Him. The goal of the call of God is His satisfaction, not simply that we should do something for Him. We are not sent to do battle for God, but to be used by God in His battles. Are we more devoted to service than we are to Jesus Christ Himself?'

It is amazing how easily we fall into this trap - especially if you happen to work in ministry like me, but I am sure for everybody else too. I get to work, and the urgent things seem to right away outweigh the important things... and so I jump into my task list for the day, postponing my time with God until 'later', and 'later' never comes.

In talking with a friend this week he reminded me - when armies are at war, one of the first strategies of the opposing army is to cut off communications. If you can hit the communications centre, you have a huge advantage. This is all too true in the spiritual battle that we so quickly forget we are involved in. The enemy will strike at our communication time with our friends, spouses, families and most importantly with our God. When that happens, we become isolated and vulnerable to so many more levels of attack.

So, may I remind you (and me) today of the importance of not letting service of God, come at the expense of your relationship with God. It is out of that relationship and the time that you spend with the Source of LIfe that you will have life and energy to serve and love God and people.